Welcome to The Amador Observer.
What is this site about?
The intent of The Amador Observer is to be a prime source of information and opinion on issues that affect our County’s “quality of life”. It will be part “Newspaper” and part “Blog”.
The focus will be on “smart, balanced growth” and not growth based on the usual developer’s concept of how our area should look and grow.
Ours is a unique, scenic and historical community. We have still retained a small-town atmosphere here which is probably why most of us live in the area. As we all know though, things are changing fast and explosive growth is poised just around the corner to seriously change all of this. What may be the good intentions of some local officials to plan for future growth seems lost in a sea of subdivision and retail proposals with no end. Some of these proposals have dubious motivations. All of this points to the deterioration of what makes this area so unique and such a desirable place to live. We can easily become one of those cities that people leave because they cannot stand it anymore.
Now though, more and more people in our community are seeing what has happened and what can happen to radically alter our rural lifestyle and we are speaking out.
I envision The Amador Observer to help unify our voice.
About the Editor
“The Editor” of this is site is Chris Fragapane. I have lived in Amador County for 21 years and have watched and lamented far too much “growth without a vision”. I am guilty as charged for sitting on the fence too long. I finally became involved with this issue and became a “charter member” of the Amador Citizens for Smart Growth (ACSG) group.
It was the Home Depot project proposed adjacent to the Kennedy Mine in Jackson that became the catalyst for The Amador Observer and my active involvement with growth issues. As much of a flashpoint that this project has become though, it is just one part of the many serious growth issues facing our community.
So here is the disclaimer: I own a business that will compete with Home Depot. So admittedly, of course I do not want them in our County. There are many objective and compelling reasons why they should not be here. However, believe it or not, the “business competition” perspective alone is not the primary reason for my objection to this project. Since this site was started in response to the Home Depot project, of course in its early stages, this is the primary topic. This will evolve as the site branches out and more people contribute to the information available on the site.
I blew the dust off my Journalism Degree when starting this site. My “journalistic goal” is to be fair and open-minded on this site. All opinions will be welcome. As The Editor, one can be sure of where I stand though: balanced, rational and responsible growth with strong consideration toward preserving our rural lifestyle and local businesses. And, if any actions taken by our local officials appears “dubious in nature” then it will be pointed out as such and looked into more fully.
As this site develops, there will be a diverse group of writers and guest contributors.