A Year as Board Chair: An Insider Look

The year of 2020 was a truly challenging year to be Chair of the Board.  In good years, the role of Chair is to keep the County priorities moving while staying on budget, be ready to respond to emergencies and speak for the County as a whole. Ide...

Personal Responsibility and Care for Our Community Will Lead the Way

It did not have to be this way. I never thought I would be sharing a moment of silence for over 30 Nevada County Residents the week before Christmas. The impacts are almost beyond comprehension, but we must recognize the gravity of where we are now. When ...

Jones Fire Hits Us Hard – Rebuilding the Independence Trail

This past August, the Jones Fire, ignited by dry lightning in the South Yuba River canyon, burned 705 acres and destroyed 21 structures. Independence Trail and its beautiful wooden bridges were destroyed in the fire. The community has been quick to put en...

Public Safety on our Beloved South Yuba River Corridor

The Yuba River is a beloved destination for both locals and out-of-towners, especially during summer months. The number of visitors to the river is growing each year and was particularly high this past summer due to COVID-related closures.  The w...

A Year of Success Addressing Homelessness & Housing

Project Homekey

On July 16, 2020, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) created a program called “Homekey,” and allotted a total of $600 million for eligible public entities to purchase and rehabilitate ho...

Revisiting History: Supporting Federal Recognition for the Nisenan Tribe of Nevada City Rancheria

At the December 15th Board of Supervisors meeting, the BOS unanimously voted to support the restoration of Federal recognition of the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe. I have worked on moving this forward with Shelly Covert since I started on the Board...

Innovation is Key: Expanding Rural Broadband

Broadband will continue to be a high priority for the County, since I brought it to the Board in 2017 and we made it a high priority in the following years. Recently, the County allocated over 30% of its Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) monies to support eco...