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EDH cityhood advocates aim for the ballot Sel Richard Staff writer
Village Life photo by Sel Richard
Long-haul COVID has caused many struggles in El Dorado Hills resident Rich Downing’s life but he remains optimistic thanks to excellent care he has received at home and in medical offices.
IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL EDH resident fighting through severe COVID-19 complications Sel Richard Staff writer
“W
ithin a couple of hours, I couldn’t breathe and we rushed to the ER,” recounts El Dorado Hills resident Rich Downing. “My chest hurt like crazy. It was like an elephant was sitting on me.” Downing, owner of Window Screen Solutions & More, has been installing screens in the area for 25 years. Formerly from Pleasanton, he and his wife Gina visited close friends for dinner one evening. They were so enamored with El Dorado Hills, they bought a house in the same neighborhood the very next day. An active member of the community, Downing has volunteered at the EDH Chamber of Commerce for 17 years, winning Ambassador of the Year multiple times.
Then, in November 2020, Downing’s life turned upside down. After contracting COVID-19 a week after his wife came down with the virus, his initial symptoms were nothing serious. But within days, he developed what is now known as COVID lung. Downing’s lung nodes had swelled to a degree that it made it impossible for him to cough anything up and clear his lungs. That was the beginning of Downing’s journey into what has become an unusually severe case study for long-haul COVID. “I was taking three breaths for every normal breath,” he said. Hooked up to an IV for hydration and pain, his condition worsened with ulcerations on his tongue. “If I ate anything other than water, my tongue felt like it was on fire and at that time I would ■
The prospect of El Dorado Hills’ incorporation is once again being promoted as several factors spur cityhood advocates into action, including the prospect of Costco and Parker Development’s plans for the defunct golf course. At the January El Dorado Hills Community Services District Board of Directors meeting, resident Lewis Hampton, who recently lost a bid for a CSD board seat to incumbent Michael Martinelli, pre“Let’s not worry sented a comprehensive plea for the CSD to about who at the move forward in what he terms “the road to county level will independence.” oppose our stake on Hampton pressed the board to kickstart the independence ...” process, which he said would give the area — Cityhood proponent a long-term sense of Lewis Hampton community. He called for the CSD to be the lead agency to allocate the funds to put the cityhood issue on an upcoming ballot. “Let’s not worry about who at the county level will oppose our stake on independence, or which developers will collude to maintain the status quo they so much enjoy,” Hampton urged. “Let us forget all that for a moment and think bigger and better about the right thing to do to make El Dorado Hills the best it can be.” Hampton cited the preliminary fiscal analysis completed by the CSD and EDH Chamber of Commerce
See DOWNING, page A4
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See CITYHOOD, page A4
INSIDE NEWS VOL. 30
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ISSUE NO. 2
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GORGEOUS CHATEAU IN EDH
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LOCAL ARTISTS HIGHLIGHTED
This beautiful property in Serrano has plenty of entertaining space inside and out.
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A Cameron Park duo is featured in the upcoming Gallery at 48 Natoma art exhibit.
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