​Despite its rough and tumble image in the 1860’s, the Comstock and those that worked it made huge efforts to bring some culture to where they lived. Even then, they saw the value in spending an evening enjoying the arts, be it opera, stage performances or orchestral presentations. Although Plumas County may not be as “raw” as it was a century and a half ago, its residents still long for exposure to the great art of the world. At least that’s the way some feel, and the PSCF Foundation has decided to do something about that. “Plumas Goes Pops!” is a series of concerts, held at the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds, featuring musicians from the Reno Pops Orchestra. These performances will bring popular and exciting orchestral music to our rural county that is on par with much larger cities.
The Reno Pops is conducted by Chester/Lake Almanor product; Jane Brown. Jane graduated from Chester High School and earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Brigham Young University. She has taught music for the Plumas Unified School District and began conducting symphonic music in 2001. She was appointed to conduct the Reno Philharmonic Youth Symphony Orchestra where she inspired hundreds of young musicians in Northern Nevada for four years. In 2004, she was selected to conduct and serve as musical director for the Reno Pops Orchestra. Through her many concerts over the years, a following has developed in Plumas County and a Reno Pops performance is always worth the trip to Reno. In 2013 she was also appointed the conductor of the Ruby Mountain Symphony in Elko, Nevada. Her career goal, as well as the Reno Pops’ goal, is to “seek to help children and adults in our community explore a wide range of orchestral music”. They do this through innovative educational programs and offering as many accessible performances as possible. We are fortunate to have them willing to make Plumas County part of that goal.
The Reno Pops is a wonderful amalgamation of musicians, from working professionals to advanced high school artists. It includes music teachers, hobbyists and retired folk. They perform works by the world’s greatest composers, both old and new. From a Bach fugue to a John Williams Star Wars symphony, listeners are delighted by the variety and familiarity that is offered. Brown has put together a series of four concerts, each one presenting a variety of works guaranteed to please veteran concert goers, and inspire novices and youngsters. Forget about any stereotypes you may have about sitting in concert hall listening to a one hour symphony of melancholy notes. When these performances are over, you will definitely want more.
The series kicks off on the evening of Saturday, March 14 in Serpilio “Concert” Hall on the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds. This event will be a String Orchestra with piano and percussion, performing the works of Vivaldi’s first movement of his piece; Four Seasons. Other works by Joplin, Strauss, Tchaikovsky and even Gershwin, to name a few, will be presented.
The second concert will feature a Woodwind Quintet and piano on Saturday, April 11. This performance will include Prokofiev’s wonderful “Peter and the Wolf” and works by Mozart. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce our youth to this sort of music and build an appreciation that will only serve to  enhance their lives.
The third in the series will feature the Sierra Brass Quintet; the Faculty Quintet of the University of Nevada, Reno Department of Music that is sure to bring people to their feet. Works will range from the classic; Gabrieli’s Canzona Per Sonare no. 4, to the contemporary; You’ve Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman. The performance will also include selections from West Side Story. It will take place on Saturday, May 9.
The climax of the Plumas Goes Pops series will happen on Saturday, June 13 with the entire Reno Pops Orchestra performing works by Rimsky-Korsakov, John Williams, a medley from “Chicago”, all highlighted by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Each performances begins at 7pm
The PSCF Foundation is hoping to raise enough money to not only break even on the series, but to generate additional funds to continue it’s work in improving the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds. Part of that mission is promoting the fairgrounds as a vital part of Plumas County, and by offering programs like this, the Foundation feels it is accomplishing it’s goal. The cost of this series is not small, and the Foundation hopes to sell at least 200 season tickets to cover most of the expense. Tickets are available at Plumas Bank branches and the Fair Office in Quincy.
Individual performance tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students, 18 and under. Feather River College students with college identification are included in the $10 price. Season tickets, including all four concerts, are $70, with discounts available for members of Plumas Arts, Friends of the Library, Plumas County Museum Association and the PSCF Foundation. There are special offers for those wishing to show greater support of Plumas Goes Pops; including special seating, receptions and promotional opportunities. Details are available by calling 530-283-6272.
Organizers hope the community sees the value in this sort of performance and shows its support by purchasing tickets or a sponsorship. Obviously, without that support, it is impossible to bring this caliber of presentation to our County. While that is not the end of the world, it is certainly one less thing that could make our world a better place.

​SACRAMENTO -Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) introduced a measure to protect driver's information collected by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

In 2018, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that created rights for consumers, protecting them from unscrupulous businesses collecting and sharing their private data.
Despite these new regulations, a recent media investigation showed that the DMV generates over $50 million annually selling data that drivers are required to provide in order to receive a license or register a vehicle.
SB 1121 will prohibit the Department of Motor Vehicles from selling or allowing access to driver's license or vehicle registration information, which exposes Californians to infringement of their private information.
For Californians to obtain a driver's license or register a vehicle, they must provide the DMV with private and personal information, especially since the introduction of California's new Real ID, which requires additional personal documents to verify someone's identity. The information is provided to the Department on the assumption that it will remain confidential.
"It is a legitimate fear that someone may steal your identity, hack your accounts, stalk you, or just make your life miserable," said Senator Brian Dahle. "The government that you entrust with your personal information should not add to that fear and then profit from it."
As a government agency utilized by nearly all Californians, the Department of Motor Vehicles should not be able to sell this personal information to anyone outside of law enforcement for any reason. This breach of data is now a concern for everyone who uses the DMV, but especially for victims of robocalls, scams, stalking, harassment and assault.
Senator Brian Dahle represents California's 1st Senate District, which contains all or portions of 11 counties, including Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Siskiyou, and Shasta.

​Nevada City, Calif. – The U.S. Forest Service will handsomely reward up to $500 for the recovery of stolen U.S. Forest Service firefighter equipment and / or any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the theft of the government property.
The equipment and other stolen items were taken from Tahoe National Forest Headquarters in Nevada City, California during late December 2019 to early January 2020.
Anyone who is able to provide any information about this incident, may contact the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations Office at Tahoe National Forest Service Headquarters at: (530) 265-4531.
For more information about the Tahoe National Forest, go to www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe. Join the conversation by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/Tahoe_NF and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TahoeNF.

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb 17 -- Giving voice to the majority of Americans who want price transparency in healthcare, the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC] has joined other patient advocacy groups to jointly submit an Amicus Brief to support the Department of Justice's motion for summary judgment in American Hospital Association (AHA), et. al., v. Azar.

At the heart of the case is a disagreement over whether the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) overstepped its authority when it issued a regulation last November that would compel hospitals and other health providers to disclose their cash and negotiated contract prices to patients in a clear, easy-to-access format. The AHA and a cohort of hospitals sued to block the requirement, which was set to go into effect January 2021.

PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) led the coalition of transparency supporters in filing the brief, which was prepared and filed by counsel Jeffrey Harris, a partner with Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, in Arlington, Virginia. 

In addition to AMAC, PRA is joined on the brief by Independent Women's Law Center, (IWLC), and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF).

Amici argue that many American workers have high-deductible plans, which make negotiated prices part of their “out of pocket” costs and rebut AHA claims that forcing disclosure violates the parties’ First Amendment rights. As amici notes, hospitals and insurance companies routinely disclose prices in their explanation of benefits statements. Their rates are not secret, just revealed after it’s too late for patients to choose more cost-effective care. 

According to a Harvard-Harris poll, a bipartisan 88 percent of Americans support government mandates for hospitals and insurance companies to show their prices.

“America’s seniors are among the most vulnerable,” said AMAC Action Senior Vice President Andrew Mangione.  “Although those over age 65 make up only 15 percent of the population they account for more than a third of health care spending. Opaque prices can be especially devastating to them. We hope to extend these transparency rules beyond hospitals to include prescription drug prices as well.” 

The AHA and a consortium of other hospital groups filed suit against HHS in December 2019 to stop the Trump Administration's price transparency rule requiring hospitals to disclose their negotiated rates and cash prices. 

The hospital lobby maintains that HHS exceeded its statutory authority under the Administrative Procedure Act and violated the First Amendment by mandating speech in a manner that fails to directly advance a substantial government interest. 

However, no court has ever invoked the First Amendment to invalidate government efforts to provide truthful, accurate information to consumers about marketplace transactions.  Furthermore, as the Amicus Brief argues, the Supreme Court has emphasized that “[s]o long as we preserve a predominantly free enterprise economy, the allocation of our resources in large measure will be made through numerous private economic decisions.”

If the Court sides with the amici and grants HHS's motion for summary judgment, the case will be dismissed, and the rule will stand. The Court is expected to hand down a decision in the coming weeks. ​

(Chico, CA) – Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) released the following statement after helping secure $500,000 for Chico from the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP), allowing for Chico Municipal Airport (CMA) to partner with an airline to create a route to Los Angeles (LAX).  In 2018, LaMalfa sponsored and amendment to the FAA reauthorization removing a longstanding prohibition that kept Chico Airport from receiving commercial air grants.  The work was part of a year’s long effort with Jet Chico to return commercial air service to the Chico Municipal Airport.
 
LaMalfa said: “Today’s grant announcement is great news for our region and will help provide the backing needed to return commercial air service to Chico. For many years major companies have looked to expand into Butte County due to our great atmosphere, quality university educated students, and relative affordability. One major hurdle has held them back – a lack of commercial air service. A change in the 2018 FAA reauthorization in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was required to make Chico eligible for the grant. It’s been years in the making and I’m happy to have helped make this a reality. With a direct route through LAX, anyone in the world have direct connectivity to our area and see how much opportunity there is for prosperity and growth.”
​

​From March until mid-May, census takers will be conducting special operations and hand-delivering paper questionnaires to many rural and remote households for an accurate and complete count. This process started in January in remote Alaska. 
 
State, local, and federal lawmakers use statistics from the once-a-decade census to determine how hundreds of billions in federal funds will be allocated every year for the next 10 years for critical public services and programs such as Water and Waste Disposal for Rural Communities, Rural Business Development Grants, and Rural Housing Preservation Grants. Responses to the census also determine how many seats a state gets in Congress.  
 
The Census Bureau recently published a story explaining the importance of counting rural and remote populations, which may be helpful for residents in Sierra to understand why some of your surrounding communities will be one of the first to be counted in the 2020 Census this spring. 

​FARM BUREAU OPPOSES ‘SPLIT-ROLL’ TAX INITIATIVE
 
Warning that an initiative on property taxes threatens harm to rural communities, the California Farm Bureau Federation has voted to oppose it. Known as Initiative 19-0008, the measure would establish a split-roll property tax that would reassess commercial and industrial property, including agricultural facilities. Backers are collecting signatures to qualify the initiative for the November ballot.
 
“It’s unusual for Farm Bureau to oppose a measure at this early stage, but our board of directors is very concerned about the impact this initiative would have on rural California,” CFBF President Jamie Johansson said. “Although its backers claim agricultural land would not be affected, the initiative would trigger annual tax reassessments at market value for agricultural improvements such as barns, dairies, wineries, processing plants, vineyards and orchards.”
 
Johansson said Farm Bureau opposes efforts to weaken Proposition 13, the 1978 tax-reform measure that limits property tax increases.
 
“Proposition 13 protects California farmers by giving them certainty about their property tax bills,” he said. “The split-roll measure would increase the tax burden on California farmers at a time when family farms and ranches already face threats to their water supplies and rising costs to comply with the state’s employment and environmental regulations.”
 
Johansson said measures that increase costs for family farmers and ranchers undermine their ability to supply jobs, especially in rural California, and their ability to supply food and farm products for customers in California and worldwide.
 
“The split-roll tax initiative would add more economic pressure on rural areas that are already under strain, and that’s why we oppose it,” he said.
 
The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 34,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of nearly 5.6 million Farm Bureau members.