Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

“Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare,” according to the New York Times.

“The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether the party should rethink its commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability as 2012 elections loom.

“Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser in the race against Jane Corwin. But Ms. Hochul seized on her Republican rival’s embrace of the proposal from Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, to overhaul Medicare, and she never let up.

“Voters, who turned out in strikingly large numbers for a special election, said they trusted Ms. Hochul, the county clerk of Erie County, to protect Medicare.”

The rest of the article is here.

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From the current issue of SierraFoodWineArt magazine:

SPRING IS AN IDEAL TIME TO VISIT THE foothill vineyards: The vines are budding, wildflowers are in bloom and the weather is splendid.

The 13th Annual Sierra Vintner’s Wine Trail, on Memorial Day weekend, is the perfect event for a wine country tour for locals and visitors. It is midway between Sacramento and Reno.

The Wine Trail is a self-guided tour of 15 wineries, ranging from Avanguardia to Szabo, nestled in and around historic Grass Valley and Nevada City. You can experience a full weekend of wine tasting, food parings, live music and winery tours—all for less than the price of dinner.

For a weekend getaway, you can enjoy wine tasting, shopping and dining in the historic towns as well: Spend the night at a quaint inn, such as the Broad Street Inn in Nevada City, or the full-service Gold Miner’s Inn/Holiday Inn Express or Grass Valley Courtyard Suites.

“We look forward to this weekend every year, because we meet so many visitors who didn’t know we were this close to Sacramento,” says Jacques Mercier, owner and winemaker at Solune Winegrowers. “It gives visitors a chance to experience how unique each of our wines and tasting rooms are.”

The Sierra Vintners wine country is just a short drive from downtown Sacramento, just off I-80, via Hwy. 49 (Auburn exit) or Hwy. 174 (Colfax exit). It also is an easy trip from Reno, using the same exits off I-80.

To purchase tickets for this event, go to SierraVintners.com. Or for questions, email them at info@SierraVintners.com or call 530- 205-3016.

Sierra Vintners features 15 wineries and 20 tasting rooms in Nevada County, collaborating to promote the emerging wine region.

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The Justice Department emailed this press release earlier:

“SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton sentenced Melvin Rohs, 65, of Nevada City, to 33 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $533,976 in restitution.

On December 14, 2010, Rohs pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, embezzlement or misapplication of bank officer or employee and two counts of making a false statement in connection with a loan application or renewal.

According to court documents, Rohs was a senior loan officer at a regional bank headquartered in Nevada City [Citizens Bank] until he was terminated in May 2009. In December 2008, February 2009, and March 2009, Rohs initiated three unauthorized fund transfers between bank customers totaling over $472,000. Also, according to court documents, in September 2008 and April 2009, Rohs falsified loan documents by making materially false statements concerning the credit worthiness of a bank customer and by making an unauthorized increase to a loan approved by the bank. The loss associated with Roh’s criminal conduct exceeds $2.1 million.

This case is the product of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Camil A. Skipper prosecuted the case.

This law enforcement action is part of the work being done by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.

The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. One component of the FFETF is the national Securities Fraud Working Group, which is tasked with combating investment fraud schemes. For more information on the task force, visit StopFraud.gov.”

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Editor’s note: The new president of Sierra College is coming from a school that is on accreditation warning, as Sierra Foothills Report first reported. At the time, I checked with the education reporter at the Bakersfield Californian, who was not aware of this. To his credit, he now has followed up. Still no word from The Union or Auburn Journal, however. The internet is changing how we communicate. Congratulations to the Bakersfield Californian reporter for a more professional response than the petulant ones from Sierra College Trustee President Aaron Klein on this matter.

“News recently that longtime Taft College president Willy Duncan was leaving in the summer to lead Sierra Community College District near Sacramento sparked this question from a longtime San Francisco Chronicle reporter in that area:

“Why had no one reported accreditation issues with Taft College?

“Frankly, the media, even the (Bakersfield) Californian, had never reported such issues. But here’s the gist of it now:

In 2009, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges issued Taft College a warning after a 10-member team visited the campus. The commission also commended the college in several areas.

The warning, however, meant that the commission had concerns on the college’s ability to meet accreditation standards, and needed to address them or lose its accreditation.

Among the concerns were in the areas of strategic planning and program review. The commission asked Taft to also develop ethics policies and build on efforts to boost student proficiency levels.

Barbara Beno, president of the commission, said the warning, though “mild,” is a sign for colleges to “stop and reverse” certain practices.”

The rest of the article is here.

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Editor’s note: This from the current CABPRO newsletter:

“Ronald Reagan struck a nerve during his 1980 Presidential campaign against Jimmy Carter when he asked Americans: ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’ Today I ask the same question of our CABPRO News readers: ‘ARE YOU?’ Not at all, I think. Look what’s happened here in the Sierra Foothills. Unemployment is at record highs; thousands of businesses have closed leaving vacant storefronts, homes foreclosing by the thousands and local, state and federal governments unable to respond to crumbling infrastructure problems.

“The price of gasoline is rocketing towards $5.00 a gallon with analysts saying be prepared for it to reach $6.00 by summer. We’re in a real mess and the only solution is to create jobs by growing businesses. Real jobs, for example those to be created by the Idaho Maryland Mine when it re-opens, will help this region as gold prices continue to rise to historic levels never seen before. Re-Open the mine! “
–Martin Light

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“After a massive tornado roared through Joplin, Mo., Sunday night, much of the city was left isolated without electricity, telephone service, or Internet connections. Survivors have found it difficult to communicate with loved ones, while frantic relatives trying to call family members in Joplin can’t get through.

“So the city’s newspaper – the Joplin Globe – established a Facebook page to link tornado survivors with their family members and friends. The page encouraged Joplin residents to post a note if they made it through the tornado safely, and it allowed other people to post inquiries about friends and family members they haven’t been able to contact.

“Within hours of the devastating storm — which killed more than 116 people and injured more than a thousand — at least four similar Facebook pages sprang up. A pair of pages created by concerned volunteers each attracted more than 3,000 ‘likes,’ while the Globe’s page recorded more than 5,000. And all of the pages conveyed survivors and loved ones’ desperation.”

The rest of the article is here.

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