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3867 Dividend Dr., #A, Shingle Springs
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– E S T. 18 51
– Midweek Edition – VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 103 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2024
Tobacco shops concerns light up leaders ■ Placerville working to put limits on
tobacco retail Odin Rasco Senior staff writer
During its Oct. 22 meeting, the Placerville City Council started the first steps of a process that will set a cap on how many businesses can sell tobacco in the city, mirroring a similar decision made the same day by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. County and city officials have introduced ordinances which will create a licensing system for tobacco retailers and set a limit on how many may operate in the area, in response to what they saw as a glut of tobacco shops springing up in the region and a litany of issues associated with their operations, including California laws being skirted or disregarded and concerns regarding youth access to prohibited products. City staff worked with El Dorado County Public Health to develop the ordinance which was introduced but not yet passed by the council last week; ordinances require a first reading to be done prior to any votes. The Public Health Law Center, a group dedicated to collaborating with tribal authorities and other local governments to draft law promoting citizen health, was also consulted while drafting the ordinance, meaning the proposed city rule is “state of the art, in terms of legality and how it’s structured,” according to Placerville Director of ■ See LIMITS, page A9
■ County packing in changes to
Mountain Democrat photos by Odin Rasco
Girl Scout Troop 321 proudly poses with their 1st place ribbon, awarded for making the best fictional character scarecrow depicting Disney’s Maleficent. The El Dorado Hills Community Services District Trunk-or-Treat and Scarecrow Contest event was a big hit this year, with a sizable turnout and a wide range of creatively designed trunks, costumes and scarecrows.
Spooky scarecrows and terrific trunks
tobacco retail regulations Eric Jaramishian Senior staff writer
Staff have finished proposing changes to El Dorado County’s tobacco retail land use regulations and codes, which went into first readings Oct. 22 at the Board of Supervisors meeting. If approved on Nov. 5, the next board meeting, the regulation changes will prohibit any new proposed tobacco retailers within 1,500 feet from sensitive areas, including schools. It will also prohibit retailers from selling flavored-tobacco products (already a state law) as well as single-use and non-FDA authorized e-cigs. The ordinance change will establish minimum product pricing and packaging size and will require on-site tobacco product sales and stop pharmacies from selling tobacco MAIL LABEL products. Additionally, the changes will put a limit on the number of licensed tobacco retailers based on population size; one to 2,500 residents is being proposed. The proposed additions to the county’s ordinance code relating to tobacco retailers are the county’s latest actions to address concerns in the ■ See CHANGES, page A9
The Buckeye Education Foundation wowed trick-or-treaters with its stellar space theme trunk, complete with spaceships, planets and a batch of astronauts handing out candy.
Andrew Breakey, left, and Samantha Anderson took second place in the best-decorated trunk contest for their Jurassic Park theme.
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Girl Scout Troop 2158 took first place in the traditional scarecrow category of the EDHCSD’s competition.
GOING SOLAR? 1515 5.000%3.61 5.30% YEAR3.250 YEAR 3.250 3.61 Let us Quote Your Project! HOME HOME LOAN LOAN Fixed RateFixed Rate
Annual Percentage Annual Percentage Rate Rate
• ReÀ• nance Purchase ReÀnance PLACERVILLE Purchase PLACERVILLE 4040 ElRoad Dorado• 622-1492 Road • 622-1492 • 4040 El •Dorado
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