C a l i f o r n i a ’ s O l d e s t N e w s pa p e r – E s t. 18 51
Volume 169 • Issue 136 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Monday, November 23, 2020
EDC among 41 counties hit with curfew n Sheriff will not enforce
overnight lockdown Thomas Frey Staff writer
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health on Thursday issued a curfew order for all residents living in purple tier counties. The curfew went into effect Nov. 21, asking people to refrain from nonessential activities between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. through Dec. 21. Forty-one counties seeing increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were sent to the purple, most restrictive tier of the state’s color-coded reopening guideline last week; the curfew order was the next step in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. In El Dorado County there have been 511 cases reported out of 5,531 tests returned since Nov.
1. In the first week of November the county was averaging about 14 positive cases per day but that number has since jumped with an average of just over 40 cases reported each day last week. Statewide the case rate has increased about 50% since the first week of November, according to the Governor’s Office. As of Thursday eight El Dorado County residents were being treated for coronavirus in hospitals, with four in the ICU. Four county residents have died of COVID-19, according to county data, one in July, one in August and two in September. “This limited stay at home order is designed to reduce opportunities for disease transmission,” said a news release issued by the office of Gov. Newsom. Officials say activities between the hours of the curfew are often more social than essential, which leads to “reduced likelihood for adherence to safety measures like wearing a face covering and maintaining physical distance.” “The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen
“We are sounding the alarm.” — Gavin Newsom, governor of California since the start of this pandemic and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are sounding the alarm,” said Newsom. Not long after the governor announced the curfew the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office released a statement saying its officers would not be enforcing the order. “The Sheriff ’s Office will not prevent Thanksgiving activities, maximum occupancies or mask wearing mandates at social gatherings within the county,” said sheriff ’s officials. Calls received by the Sheriff ’s Office about enforcement of anything related to coronavirus orders will be referred to the El Dorado County Department of Public Health at (530) 621-6100. n
See Curfew, page 12
Placerville joins county in move for PG&E option Thomas Frey Staff writer The Placerville City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution and joint powers agreement to continue the process for the city of Placerville to join Pioneer Community Energy for Community Choice Aggregation. This decision means city residents and businesses are closer to having the option to opt-out of PG&E and join Pioneer Community Energy beginning Jan. 1, 2022, as long as the Pioneer Joint Powers Authority agrees to allow membership to Placerville and El Dorado County. The Pioneer Joint Powers Authority includes members from Placer County, Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Loomis and Rocklin who have already joined Pioneer n
See PG&E, page 6
Mountain Democrat photo by Krysten Kellum
Seeking shelter from the rain, two people sleep beneath an overhang outside of a business in Discovery Plaza in Placerville early one morning last week. Some but not all of El Dorado County’s homeless population will have a place to go when the coldest of winter days hit.
Help homeless for the
Courtesy graphic
Coronavirus complicates county’s 5-year plan
The aquisition of a parcel of land off Old Depot Road near Missouri Flat Road in Placerville will allow an arterial to connect Missouri Flat with Highway 49.
Parcel pick-up allows parkway work to proceed Dawn Hodson Staff writer
Editor’s note: The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 10 took a look at what’s being done to help the county’s homeless population. In this two-part series, part one will describe what the county has and continues to do in the area; part two will cover what several nonprofit organizations are doing to assist the homeless.
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The Diamond Springs Parkway project moved a step forward last week when the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved buying a parcel of land owned by the El Dorado County Industrial Development Corporation. Because the property is a portion of a larger parcel that was never properly deeded after its division and sale in the 1960s and 1970s, the county is using eminent domain to acquire clear title and will pay $1,000. The next step in the project, Phase 1B, will consist of constructing a four-lane minor arterial from a new Missouri Flat Road intersection south of Golden Center n
Dawn Hodson Staff writer
See DS Parkway, page 12
he topic of homelessness and affordable housing took center stage at an El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this month as county staff and those in the nonprofit sector gave an update on what they are doing, with many of their efforts dovetailing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency Director Don Semon began the presentation noting a lot of work has been done in the county and prior to the pandemic the county had prepared a fiveyear strategic plan to address homelessness. Once COVID-19 hit a community action team was formed made up of members of the Sheriff ’s Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), Marshall Medical Center healthcare staff and volunteers. Vice President of Population Health for Marshall Medical Center Dr. Martin Entwistle, who is part
of that team, described a three-phase plan the group came up with. The first phase included active outreach, education and support to keep homeless folks in place in encampments. Phase two implemented Project RoomKey, which placed high-risk, vulnerable individuals in motels. Approximately 250 homeless individuals were screened out of 650, according to Entwistle, with those most at-risk getting a key to their own motel room. In South Lake Tahoe 22 motel rooms were set aside for this purpose and 26 in Pollock Pines. The 2019 federally mandated point-in-time count, conducted every two years, estimated the number of homeless people in El Dorado County to be 613. Phase three involves creating a contingency plan and identifying alternate care sites should the coronavirus spread in El Dorado County and a large number of people need to be sheltered, including seniors and families in addition to some homeless individuals. Entwistle noted the case management and navigation services that are part of the Project RoomKey program came with expectations eventually those housed in motels would move out of encampments and into permanent housing. Services include healthcare and social services such as getting IDs, social security, health insurance n
See homeless, page 12
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