Chris Gilbert

For its last meeting of 2024, Tuesday night, the Grass Valley City Council was also re-organized, including a new member. Bob Branstrom vacated his seat, after his election defeat to Joe Bonomolo. But he said a lot was accomplished for the city during his one four-year term and he'll continue to be involved with the various issues at future meetings. He also took the time, in his final comments, to congratulate his replacement, Joe Bonomolo. He said Bonomolo will help improve diversity on the Council…

This year's assessment roll for Nevada County has what's described as a “reasonable” increase from the previous year. It's 27-billion dollars, reflecting the total gross value of locally assessed real, business, and personal property, as of January first. It's the first such report released by Rolf Kleinhans, who was elected in 2022. He says a four-point-69-percent increase is fairly decent, given the state of the economy…

A two-year-old boy is stable and recovering, following a suspected fentanyl overdose at a home in the Grass Valley area. And one arrest has been made. Nevada County Sheriff's Lieutenant Jason Clinkinbeard says the child was found unresponsive and was not breathing at the residence, which is on Rough and Ready Highway. But Narcan, an opioid reversal medication, was administered several times to revive him…

Nevada County's plan for building resilience from disasters, such as wildfires, expired recently. But the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan has now been renewed for another five years, as part of a FEMA requirement. County Supervisors adopted the update at last week's meeting. Office of Emergency Services program manager, Paul Cummings, told the Board it culminated an 18-month process involving numerous local planning partners, key stakeholders, and the community. OES also partnered with nine steering committee organizations. It's a requirement of the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000…

Just in time for holiday season recreationists, the snowpack is off to what's described as a “fantastic start” by a Department of Water Resources climatologist. For the Northern Sierra, it's 208-percent of normal. State Climatologist Mike Anderson says it's showing features of the predicted La Nina pattern. There's usually a 50-50 chance that there's a significant impact on Northern California…

An update on the Bear River Library. It's re-opening on Saturday, four days after it had to be closed, after a plumbing issue that occurred in another part of the building it shares with several other tenants on Combie Road. That caused the ceiling to leak. But County Librarian Nick Wilczek said there was otherwise very little damage. The exact cause has not been disclosed. The building is not owned by the county but by a private individual or group. The Library opened last February, after moving from a smaller location at the high school.

An estimated 17-hundred elementary school-age children walked through downtown Grass Valley Friday morning, with canned food, for the 140th Donation Day Parade. And this was the fourth year for Grass Valley Charter School Principal Luke Duchene, whose students were at the front of the line at the starting point, at Neal and Church Streets…

Although wildfires are still rare during the winter, the colder weather, plus holiday decorations, can mean an increase in home fires. Nevada City Fire Department Division Chief, Sam Goodspeede says candles tend to be used more this time of year and are one of the major sources of a blaze…

A major home fire occurred in the south county over the past weekend. That was Saturday afternoon, on Ocelot Drive, off Wolf Creek Road. But Nevada County Consolidated Fire Battalian Chief, Bill Nunnink, says crews managed to contain the damage. Even though the two-story home was located a significant distance away from a fire station, he says they got there in about ten minutes…

Just before Christmas, the California Highway Patrol will have a Maximum Enforcement Period, although this one is lasting only 18 hours. It won't be in place during some of the worst weather today, beginning at six this evening and last until midnight Christmas night, according to Officer Justin Reed, with the Grass Valley office…