Placer is the new Orange County? - Jeff Pelline Blog, OC Weekly
Today Placer County is more emblematic—or symptomatic, to be precise—of the state of American conservatism than Orange County.

Ted Gaines op-ed: Eliminate Government Waste – Start with the Waste Board - Lincoln News Messenger
With the voters taking taxes off the table, Sacramento must be willing to look at other options to solve our budget problems. This means making the tough but necessary budget decisions to avert bankruptcy, eliminate the deficit and ensure this never happens again.

6 officials among election non-voters - Auburn Journal
The result showed six officials — Lincoln Councilman Kent Nakata, Loomis Councilwoman Rhonda Morillas, Rocklin Councilman Brett Storey, Colfax Councilman Josh Alpine, County Assessor Kristen Spears and Loomis Treasurer Roger Carroll — had not cast votes on Measures A through F during the last election.

Losses of factory jobs in California blamed on regulation - LA Times
The state Assembly Committee on Jobs, the Economy and Economic Development plans to hold a hearing June 30 on the departure of manufacturing jobs. In April, Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Marysville) brought 13 legislators to Nevada to talk to business owners who had been lured there from California.

City cuts nine employees - Auburn Journal
The cuts include two police officers.

Staff cuts, concessions could balance Grass Valley budget - The Union of Grass Valley
Grass Valley could balance its budget for the upcoming 2009-10 fiscal year with more staff cuts and concessions from city worker unions.

Schools face more money woes - Roseville Press Tribune
Imagine deciding how much your family can afford to spend this month without having a clear picture of your income. Sound crazy? That’s just what local school districts are doing as they finalize budgets for the 2009-2010 school year.

Feds give Auburn $1.3 million for buses - Auburn Journal
Placer County will receive the money from the Federal Recovery Act to go to-ward new public buses. The grant would replace 25-foot buses for Auburn specifically, and two 45-foot commuter buses for Placer County Commuter Express Service.

Former Placer court exec under pay probe leaves new job - Sac Bee
The former top administrator for Placer Superior Court – who left his job after a state audit found he received $470,000 in apparently unauthorized compensation from July 2001 through March 2009 – is out of another job.

$1 million endowment keeps Sierra College adult classes alive - Placer Herald and Sac Bee
The courses are offerings through the school’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute that provides lifelong learning opportunities to adults. And thanks to a $1 million endowment recently received from the Bernard Osher Foundation, the program will continue in perpetuity.

Fireworks, community programs reduced from Roseville budget - Roseville Press Tribune and Sac Bee
Roseville residents will begin to see a “new normal” as the city council passed its 2009-10 balanced budget at Wednesday’s meeting.

New plan adds 961 acres to Hidden Falls Regional Park - Lincoln News Messenger
A sanctuary of blue oak and meandering trails between Auburn and Lincoln, Hidden Falls Regional Park is poised to get bigger and even better.

Wet weather in Sierra eases human-bear conflicts - Truckee Sierra Sun
Wet weather in June has spurred a bumper crop of berries and other vegetation favored by bears, leading to a decrease in bear interactions with humans in the Sierra.

Activists bucking proposed deer hunt - Loomis News
Loomis resident Georgia Kern encountered Placer County’s surging deer population head on — with the front of her Subaru.

Bobcat spotted in Penryn - Loomis News
Liisa and Jim Chandler have nicknamed the new visitor to their Penryn home “B.C.” That’s short for bobcat.