Mid-Valley Briefs
Sierra Foothills
Bill would repay dredge miners
A bill by state senator and would-be lieutenant governor Sam Aanestad moved ahead in the state Senate on Monday, representing a boost for former suction-dredge miners in the Sierra foothills.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations voted Monday to approve Aanestad's SB 889, which would refund state fees to suction-dredge miners who paid for mining permits made useless last year when the state outlawed such mining.
Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, estimated the state collected about $250,000 last year from miners who subsequently lost their right to mine with suction dredges. The bill now moves to the full state Senate floor.
Sutter-Butte Counties
Levee ballots out next week
Ballots will start reaching Sutter and Butte county mailboxes next week in a vote on funding levee upgrades along the Feather River.
The Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency will send out some 34,200 ballots on May 13, according to spokeswoman Kim Floyd. Mailing originally was announced for May 1.
Voters will decide whether to approve a property assessment that would raise $72.5 million toward a 44-mile levee overhaul on the Feather's west bank, from the Sutter Bypass to the Thermalito Afterbay. State bonds would cover the rest of the plan's estimated $250 million cost.
Voters have 45 days to cast their votes and mail back the ballots, or hand-deliver them at a public forum June 30. The location has not been announced.
Ballots are weighted according to the benefit each property is expected to gain from levee improvements. A simple majority is sufficient to ratify the assessment.
For more information, contact the flood control agency at 870-4425 or www.sutter butteflood.org.
Yuba City
1 nabbed in alcohol sting
Only one of 42 store clerks sold alcohol to a police cadet during the latest "minor decoy operation," according to Yuba City police.
Hena Cheun, 50, was cited at Kenzo Sushi, 1655 Colusa Highway, said Sgt. Brian Baker of the sting conducted last week.
During a corresponding "shoulder tap operation," only three people out of 75 contacted in front of stores bought alcohol for a cadet: Veronica Ortiz, 29, of the 300 block of Del Norte Ave., Yuba City; Ralph Talamantes, 45, of the 400 block of Emerson Avenue; and James Ortiz, 26, of Citrus Heights.
The operations are funded by a grant from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Marysville
Library to host author
Residents can meet Karen Kostlivy, author of "Cyber Writers and the Zebra of Life," Saturday at the Yuba County Library in Marysville.
The book release is from 2 to 3 p.m. at 303 Second St.
The Friends of the Yuba County Library will receive $1 for every book sold during the event.
Bookmarks and posters will be given to all who attend.
Kostlivy, born and raised in Northern California, received a degree in rhetoric and communication from the University of California, Davis.
She lives with her husband, Davis, and youngest son in Yuba City.
Yuba City
Yard sale for Liver Foundation
A yard sale and bake sale is set Saturday in Yuba City to benefit the American Liver Foundation for research.
The sale is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 307 Littlejohn Road, sponsored by Team "Life is Good."
The Yuba-Sutter team, including liver transplant recipient Helen Bozzo, Nikki Bolin, Diane Dorman and Sue Davis, will take part in the San Diego Liver Life Walk 2010 on May 23.
A coffee gift basket to be raffled at the event is on display at Starbucks, Highway 99 and Franklin Road, Yuba City.
To donate items for the sale, or for more information, call Bozzo at 674-3141 or Davis at 751-7237.
Sutter Buttes
Sunset Serenade fundraiser
The 2010 Sunset Serenade, a fundraiser for the Middle Mountain Foundation, is planned Saturday in the Sutter Buttes.
Starting time is 2 p.m. to hike or $4 p.m. for the catered dinner.
The evening also includes hors d'oeuvres, desserts, light classical music and a silent auction, all a the base of North Butte.
More details are available when registering for the event
Tickets are $100 per person. Advance registration is required.
For more information, contact the Middle Mountain Foundation at mmfhikes@yahoo.com or call 671-6116.
