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Friday, December 11, 2020
mtdemocrat.com
Volume 169 • Issue 144
Dorado Hea
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on Page a8
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Proud Boys toy drop-off riles community Thomas Frey Staff writer A video showing the Hangtown Proud Boys donating toys at Saturday’s Toys for Tots drive in downtown Placerville and then posing for a group photo next to a Placerville police car while holding up a hand gesture purportedly connected to the white power movement went viral after it was posted to social media. Some in the community were alarmed the Proud Boys, a group listed as an “unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism” by the Anti-Defamation League, might be connected to the local Toys for Tots organization or the Placerville Police Department and others were concerned the group was even in
Placerville at all. But the Hangtown Proud Boys members say they aren’t racist and to them the hand gesture means “everything is OK.” “To us it just means OK. It has nothing to do with white supremacy,” said Patrick, president of the Hangtown Proud Boys, who asked his last name not to be used. “We are just a patriotic group of men that are like-minded,” he said. “We are a drinking club and that is about it. We are not a gang. We are not a political organization at all either. We have members of every race. We have gay members. The only thing is you have to be born a male,” he explained. Patrick said about four years ago
Photo courtesy of Mandi Rodriguez
See Proud boys, page A6
A group who calls themselves the Hangtown Proud Boys poses for a photo after dropping off toys at the Toys for Tots toy drive at the Bell Tower in Placerville Saturday.
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FAIR Plan rates to rise
Regional Stay Home Orders
Insurers see $350 million in claims since Sept. 1 n
EL DORADO COUNTY COVID-19 CASES The following data was reported by El Dorado County Public Health Dec. 9.
Dawn Hodson Staff writer Rural Californians using the California FAIR Plan will soon experience a sharp increase in their homeowners’ insurance due to rising wildfire claims in the state. On Monday Anneliese Jivan, president of the California FAIR Plan Association, said rates will increase Jan. 1 an average of 15.6% for rural clients to cover the costs of heightened risk of wildfire. Those living in urban areas aren’t expected to see as much of an increase, if any, because of the lower risk of wildfire. The California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, is comprised of all insurers authorized to transact basic property insurance in California. Coverage is available to all California property owners. Many rural clients were forced to turn to the FAIR Plan after the 2018 disastrous fire in Paradise, dubbed the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and burned close to 19,000 structures. Following the fire it was not unusual for rural customers to have their homeowners’ insurance canceled or nonrenewed. Some 235,250 policies were discontinued in 2019, a 31% increase from 2018, according to the California Department of Insurance, while FAIR Plan policies increased statewide by 36% from the end of 2018 to the end of 2019, with most of the growth in insurance company non-renewals and FAIR Plan writing in areas with higher wildfire risk. This year was even also devastating when it came to wildfires with Cal Fire reported five of the six largest wildfires in California’s history occurring this year with the August Complex alone burning more than 1 million acres and more than 4 million acres burning overall up and down the state. Those wildfires cost the FAIR Plan insurers $350 million in claims since Sept. 1. Over the past two years the state has prohibited mainstream carriers from canceling coverage in areas that burned. That move allowed hundreds of thousands of homeowners to keep their policies. But there is no indication if
• 173 new cases found since Dec. 8
Statewide metrics 34.0 New COVID-19 cases per day per 100K 8.4% Positivity rate (7-day average) 11.6% ICU availability
• 24 patients hospitalized, 13 in ICU • No new deaths (8 deaths have been reported since March 20)
New cases by area: Cameron Park/ Shingle Springs/ Rescue (22)
Diamond Springs/ El Dorado (5)
El Dorado Hills (37)
Greater Placerville (34)
Lake Tahoe (51)
North County (5)
Pollock Pines/ Camino/ Kyburz (3)
60 30 0 Mountain Democrat graphic by Krysten Kellum and Ronda Robison
SHUT DOWN AGAIN! EDC’s first vaccine shipment to be sent Dec. 15 n
Dawn Hodson Staff writer El Dorado County was put under the state’s strictest shutdown order beginning Thursday at 11:59 p.m. due to the greater Sacramento region, of which the county is a part, reaching the point where the number of ICU units has fallen below 15% available capacity. New restrictions require all restaurants to close outdoor dining; take-out is allowed. All barbershops, hair salons and nail salons have to shut down. Retail outlets are be required to limit customers to 20% capacity at
a time. Residents are be asked to remain at home except to go to essential jobs or to do basic chores. Public gatherings are prohibited. Restrictions remain in effect for a minimum of three weeks. “Over the last several weeks in our county there has been a rise in positive COVID-19 cases, hospital and ICU case admissions and the need to activate the hospitals’ surge plans to accommodate these patients,” states a press release from county officials. “Our hospitals have begun using overflow areas and utilizing additional respiratory, ICU and emergency room staff, including those from the National Guard, to meet the needs of our communities.” County officials reported 173 new cases Wednesday. Fiftyone of those new cases are in
the Lake Tahoe region, 37 are from El Dorado Hills, 34 in Placerville, 22 in Cameron Park/ Shingle Springs/Rescue, 5 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 5 in north county, 3 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz and 16 cases are waiting for address confirmation. Active cases are at 1,436 and there have been eight virus-related deaths in the county since the onset of the pandemic in March. The number of hospitalizations continues to rise with Barton Memorial Hospital and Marshall Hospital reporting 24 COVID-19 patients between them, including 13 in intensive care units. The greater Sacramento area is the third of five California regions to fall under the new shutdown orders, issued two weeks ago by n
See shut down, page A3
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