C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
– E S T. 18 51
– Weekend Edition – VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 94 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
Making their way home ■ Newly
discovered descendants of first Japanese colony visit Wakamatsu Farm
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wo special visitors toured historical Wakamatsu Farm, site of the first Japanese Colony in North America, this summer. Andrea Lashley and her son Jayson Lashley are newly discovered fifth- and sixthgeneration descendants of Wakamatsu colonist Kuninosuke Masumizu. Also known as “Kuni,” Masumizu was among the first 22 Japanese immigrants in America, who arrived at the farm in June of 1869. The group from Aizu Wakamatsu sought a new life during the turbulent transition between Japan’s Edo
Photo by Melissa Lobach
■ See VISIT, page A8
Andrea Lashley and Jayson Lashley hold up photos of their ancestor Masumizu during a visit to Wakamatsu Farm north of Placerville.
Photo by Dawn Hodson
After 23 years serving on the EID Board of Directors, George Osborne is ready to move on. He plans to travel and stay involved in the community.
Builders on the hook for increased EID fees Dawn Hodson
Mountain Democrat correspondent Despite objections from builders, at the El Dorado Irrigation District Board of Directors unanimously approved an increase in fees to hook up to the water agency. This Sept. 23 action followed last month’s presentation by project manager Sanjay Gaur, whose firm Water Resources Economics was hired to conduct a study of EID’s facility connection charges fees in conjunction with EID staff. This month Gaur was back to recommend the board adopt the study findings. FCCs are one-time connection fees paid by new water, wastewater and/or recycled water customers. FCCs are also assessed to existing
George Osborne ready for his second retirement Dawn Hodson
Mountain Democrat correspondent
customers requiring increased system capacity. The revenue from this charge is used to finance the development of growth-related or capacityrelated water, wastewater and recycled water facilities. According to Gaur, the purpose of FCCs is to “equitably recover capital costs incurred to provide system capacity to new users” and “ensure that existing users are not unfairly burdened by costs incurred to accommodate new users (i.e., ‘growth pays for growth’.)” There to object to the updated fees were representatives from Lennar Homes of California and the North State Building Industry Association. They argued that raising FCC rates
After serving 23 years on the El Dorado Irrigation District Board of Directors, George Osborne will step down at the end of this year and head out for new adventures. The longest-serving member of the current EID board, Osborne, 81, was first elected to fill the remainder of an unexpired term in 2001 and then re-elected to five full terms. Never shy of taking a lead role, Osborne served as EID board vice president in 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2019 and as president in 2002, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2017 and 2020. A man who spent his entire life in public service, Osborne worked for 41 years with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as a career firefighter. Growing up in
■ See FEES, page A9
■ See OSBORNE, page A9
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