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Tahoe National Forest’s Truckee Ranger District to Begin Spring Prescribed Fire Operations

5/4/2017

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Truckee, Calif. – The Truckee Ranger District, part of the Tahoe National Forest, will conduct prescribed fires this spring to reduce build-up of hazardous fuels and continue ecological restoration. Planned projects include low-to-moderate intensity understory burns of forest litter and vegetation on the forest floor.
The goals of these projects are to reduce the severity of potential future wildfires and provide added protection for communities in the wildland urban interface. In addition, prescribed fire will help to promote a diverse and more resilient forest and improve habitat for wildlife. The Forest Service is also working to reduce fuels by thinning dense stands of trees and brush using mechanical thinning, mastication, and hand removal of vegetation throughout the Forest.
Cooler temperatures and ground fuels that are just becoming dry enough to carry low-intensity fire make spring an ideal time to conduct prescribed burning. All prescribed fire projects are conducted in accordance with an approved prescribed fire burn plan. Burn plans describe the specific conditions under which burns will be conducted, including the weather, number of personnel, and opportunities to minimize smoke impacts.
This spring we plan to implement 300 acres of understory burning approximately one mile south of Stampede Reservoir near Russel Valley.
Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after lighting. Smoke settles in low lying areas at night and into the morning and usually lifts out during normal daytime warming. All prescribed fires are monitored closely for burning and smoke dispersal conditions and, if necessary, action is taken to mitigate concerns as they arise. Forest Service fuels management personnel work closely with the California Air Resources Board and the local air quality management districts to minimize smoke impacts to communities. Crews also conduct small test burns before igniting a larger area to verify how effectively fuels will be consumed and how smoke will travel.
“We are sensitive to the impact smoke has on people, especially those with respiratory conditions and allergies and we make every effort to conduct prescribed fire operations during weather patterns that carry smoke away from communities,” said Linda Ferguson, District Fuels Management Officer. “Large summer wildfires are a reminder of the importance of fuels reduction and that smoke produced during a prescribed fire is much less intense and of shorter duration than that of a wildfire. A moderate amount of smoke now could prevent a lot of smoke later.”
For more information, or to receive prescribed fire notifications via e-mail, call or email Linda Ferguson at (530) 587-3558 or [email protected] . For more information on prescribed fire on the Tahoe National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe and participate in the conversation at twitter.com/Tahoe_NF and www.facebook.com/TahoeNF.
If you would like to learn more about prescribed fire versus wildfire, please visit www.smokeybear.com/prescribed-fires.asp.
 
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
 
 


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Hooray For Less Taxes! We Hope

5/4/2017

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 By Dr. Glenn Mollette 


Americans pay too much in taxes. President Trump's idea to eliminate four of the seven tax brackets is an excellent idea. Most Americans are sick and tired of paying everything they make in taxes. If you enjoy paying taxes and disagree with what I am writing simply write the Internal Revenue Service a check every month and mail them more money.


Let's consider some of the big money people first. A single person making $415,051 dollars is in the upper tax bracket and pays 39.6% of their wages. To make our math simple we might as well say 40% or about $166,000. This would leave the affluent single person with about $249,000. For all the Americans making minimum wage or living on disabled social security they may wag their heads, point their fingers and say, "That's a heck of a lot of money and those dang people should be paying a lot more tax than that!" The single person paying this much money on the other hand probably calculates that they are probably carrying seven or eight non-working Americans and could feel a bit irritated by how much tax they are paying.


Let's stay in the upper bracket and consider two married people working, filing jointly and making $466,951 will also pay 39.6% of their income or let's say 40%. For a round figure they will pay about $186,780 in taxes. This would leave them with about $280,177. This is a lot of money to live on. However, imagine handing the government almost $187,000!


The old adage is if you make it then you should pay it. My contention is who wants to work longer hours and harder and then pay most of it in taxes? We have our Congress people to keep up in their lifestyles. We have roads and bridges to maintain. However, everywhere I go I see tolls for roads and bridges. What about our tax dollars?


Let's go to the low bracket people. A single person making $9,276 is in the 15% tax bracket or $1,391 roughly in taxes which is a lot of money! This leaves the single person with only $7,885. I realize there are other considerations and possible deductions but this is simply for analysis and thought. The main point is no one can do much on $9,276 and much less on $7,885. If this person is placed in the 10% tax bracket they pay $927 and this is a gain of $464. This is a lot of gasoline money for someone on such a meager income.


However, the standard deduction would nearly double under Trump's proposal.
"We are going to double the standard deduction so a married couple wouldn't pay any taxes on the first $24,000 income they earn. So in essence, we are creating a zero tax rate - yes, a zero tax rate for the first $24,000 that a couple earns," said Gary Cohn, head of Trump's National Economic Council, during the news conference which introduced the new plan.
The standard deduction for single filers is $6,350 and $12,700 for married couples filing jointly for 2017.
Too many Americans have an attitude that it's okay for the wealthy to pay 39.6% and even more but realistically every American gets tax weary. We want a strong military and a strong country along with Medicare and Social Security but more and more tax dollars is not appealing to anyone who has to shell it out.


President Trump's idea will bring some relief to all Americans. Will our country suffer? No. More people will feel like working a little more knowing they can bring more of their paycheck home. His idea of only three tax levels of 10%, 25% and 35% will encourage the current workforce and stimulate the economy with more working people.  Less people working cannot carry this country even if they were paying 50% in taxes. A smaller percentage of money from millions more of employed people going to work will generate more money for our government and overall economy in the long run. 


Trump's proposed corporate tax rate of 15% will also help us keep some jobs and bring some jobs back home.


Regardless of your tax bracket, let out a big "hooray for less taxes!" We can only hope. 




Glenn Mollette is a syndicated columnist and author of eleven books. 
He is read in all fifty states.  Enjoy books by Glenn Mollette via all book dealers.
Contact him at [email protected].   Like his facebook page at www.facebook.com/glennmollette









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​ Sierra County Supervisor Lee Adams Appointed to Commission on State Mandates

5/4/2017

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Former RCRC Chair Awaits State Senate Confirmation

SACRAMENTO, CA – April 27, 2017 – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Thursday announced the appointment of Sierra County Supervisor Lee Adams to the Commission on State Mandates (Commission).  The Commission’s primary responsibility is to hear and adjudicate local entities’ claims that allege the State has imposed a reimbursable state-mandated program on a county, city, school district, or community college district. 
Supervisor Adams’ public service career spans 36 years, leading to his current role as the 1st District Supervisor of Sierra County (elected in 2008).  Prior to 2008, Adams served as Sheriff-Coroner of Sierra County, County Deputy Sheriff, and Administrative Sergeant.  In addition, Supervisor Adams represents Sierra County on the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) Board of Directors, serving as RCRC Chair in 2015.
“We applaud the Governor for appointing Supervisor Adams to the elected official position on the Commission on State Mandates,” said Bob Williams, RCRC Chair and Tehama County Supervisor.  “Supervisor Adams’ background and experience in local government will serve rural California well in this new capacity.”
Established in 1985, the Commission is a quasi-judicial body comprised of seven members – the State Controller, State Treasurer, Director of the Department of Finance, Director of the Office of Planning and Research, a public member with public finance experience, and two local elected official positions which are appointed by the Governor.  The public member and the two local elected officials are subject to confirmation by the State Senate and serve for a term of four-years.
In addition to the Commission’s primary responsibility, additional duties include the review of county applications for findings of significant financial distress.
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Citizens File Lawsuit Against State of California

5/4/2017

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May 3, 2017
For Immediate Release
Citizens for Fair Representation (CFR) will file a lawsuit against the State of California for lack of representation and dilution of vote. CFR represents citizens from 21 rural counties in the northern area of the State. A long list of plaintiffs have joined CFR in the lawsuit, representing a diversity of cultures, ages, races and political philosophy.
Over the last 3 years, most of these plaintiffs have petitioned the California State Legislature and Secretary of State seeking equal/fair representation,  Tens of thousands of letters, phone calls and emails have gone out to their elected representatives, requesting they introduce a Bill or Resolution, creating a more representative balance in both legislative chambers. The plaintiffs have personally  visited  individual legislative offices,  but plaintiffs claim that all requests have gone ignored,  leaving them no choice but to now enter the legal process.
Currently, California's population is just under 40 million,  represented by 40 State Senators and 80 Assembly members. The same number of elected representatives that  in 1862 represented 416,640 people.
Prior to 1964, just about every County was represented by one State Senator. Today a California State Senator represents an average of 1 million people, with each  assembly member, representing 500,000.  Currently,  11 northern rural counties have one Senator whose vote is diluted by 15 senators representing the single County of Los Angeles.
California's imbalance of representation ranks the worst on the list of 50 States. The small state of New Hampshire has 400 in their StateHouse of Representatives, with one representative for less than 4,000 people.  There are 24 State Senators,  or 1 for every 55,000 citizens. New Hampshire's ratio of balance closely models the representation that CFR is seeking to accomplish.  If CFR is successful, this would be history in the making, not only for their 21 counties, but all of California's 58 counties and those in other states.
Claimants state, “California's refusal to increase its levels of representation to reflect its exponential population growth is both arbitrary and unconstitutional. “
The case, Citizens for Fair Representation vs Secretary of State Alex Padilla, will be filed on May 8th, in the United States District Court, Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division.  Citizens for Fair Representation is a 501(C)(4), a non profit corporation.
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Final Survey of 2017 Finds Water-Rich Snowpack

5/1/2017

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SACRAMENTO –Today’s manual snow survey by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada found a Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) of 27.8 inches, 190 percent of the May 1 long-term average there (14.6 inches).
 
Electronic measurements indicate the water content of the statewide snowpack today is 42.5 inches, 196 percent of the May 1 average. The SWE of the northern Sierra snowpack is 39.9 inches (199 percent of average); the central and southern Sierra readings are 47.1 inches (202 percent of average) and 37.6 inches (180 percent of average), respectively.
 
Today's readings will help hydrologists forecast spring and summer snowmelt runoff into rivers and reservoirs. The melting snow supplies approximately one-third of the water used by Californians.
 
"California’s cities and farms can expect good water supplies this summer,” said DWR Acting Director Bill Croyle. “But this ample snowpack should not wash away memories of the intense drought of 2012-2016. California’s precipitation is the most variable in the nation, and we cannot afford to stop conserving water.”
 
Snowpack water content is measured manually on or near the first of the month from January to May. The Phillips snow course, near the intersection of Highway 50 and Sierra-at-Tahoe Road, is one of hundreds surveyed manually throughout the winter. Manual measurements augment the electronic readings from about 100 sensors in the state’s mountains that provide a current snapshot of the snowpack’s water content.
 
The first of April is normally when snowpack water content is at its peak.
 
Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, conducted DWR’s survey today at Phillips and said of his findings, 2017 has been “an extremely good year in terms of the snowpack.”
 
Gehrke said the snowpack is encouraging in terms of surface water supplies. “The thing we’re looking out for is primarily the southern Sierra, where we have full reservoirs and in some cases a huge snowpack,” he said. “We want to make sure that we prudently manage that so we don’t cause any downstream issues.”
 
California's reservoirs are fed both by rain and snowpack runoff. A majority of the state's major reservoirs are above normal storage levels for today’s date. Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project's (SWP) principal reservoir, is 91 percent of average for the date (74 percent of its 3.5-million acre-foot capacity). Shasta Lake north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project's largest reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, is at 109 percent of average (94 percent of capacity).
 
Earlier this month, DWR increased its estimate of this year’s SWP supply to 100 percent of requests for contractors north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and 85 percent of requests for other contractors, the highest since the 100-percent allocation in 2006.
 




 

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