12125 Folsom Blvd. Rancho Cordova
Mon - Fri 10am – 6pm Sat 10am – 6pm • Sun 11am – 6pm
916-351-0227
www.naturwood.com
VILLAGE CAMERON PARK
life
■ WHY ARE YOU WAITING? Go see “Waiting ™ for Godot” at The Stage at Burke Junction. ■ INSIDE, B4
SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF EL DORADO HILLS AND CAMERON PARK
VOL. 32 ■ ISSUE NO. 9 ■ MAY 7, 2025
PITCH PERFECT
Courtesy photos
Cameron Park athlete James Stowe will find out later this month if he has been selected to be on U.S. Water Polo’s Men’s National Team for his age group.
Photo by Sel Richard
El Dorado Hills resident Leslie Silva and her best pal Mushu Poo head to Sacramento later this month to throw out the first pitch at the Bark in the Park game.
Stowe makes a splash Resident’s tail-wagging tunes land her on the River Cats mound
Julie Samrick Village Life correspondent
T
hirteen-year-old Cameron Park resident James Stowe is making strides in the water polo world even before high school. The Pleasant Grove Middle School eighth grader was one of 75 participants selected to take part in a National Team Selection Training Camp as part of USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Pipeline, which took place April 25-27 in Los Angeles. “My favorite part of the camp was the scrimmages at the end in which my team got second place,” James shared. He will find out later in May whether he made the cut as one of 24 players selected to be on U.S. Water Polo’s
Sel Richard Village Life correspondent
“I
James Stowe looks for an open shot or an open teammate in the pool. He plays for the Gold Country Water Polo Club. Men’s National Team for his age group, which would allow James to compete in the Pan American Games to take place later this summer in Brazil.
James has been swimming for the Sierra Sharks Swim Team since he was 5 years old, and he has been playing ■ See STOWE, page A8
Traffic fee snafu prompts revision Noel Stack Editor The major update to El Dorado County’s Traffic Impact Fees approved in December 2024 after more than 18 months of work will get another overhaul after a computation error was discovered, county officials have confirmed. The El Dorado Count Board of Supervisors approved the new fee schedule at its Dec. 3, 2024, meeting, during which many public speakers asked for a delay as they didn’t have enough time to review all the information released with the agenda item. Over protest, supervisors voted 3-1 in favor of the major update and the new schedule went into effect Feb. 1; however, the following month, county Department of Transportation staff discovered the error. “Recently, while reviewing the latest building permit date and during preparation of the
annual update to the TIF program. DOT staff identified a discrepancy between the permit data and the baseline growth analysis prepared by the county’s consultants for the major update,” DOT Director Rafael Martinez wrote in a memo to county supervisors. The error resulted in a lower housing baseline being used in the update’s nexus study, which is used to calculate the fees. “This had an effect on the number of housing units available in the El Dorado Hills Community Region and resulted in the nexus study allocating a larger number of additional housing units to adjacent community regions further up the hill,” Martinez explains in his letter. “Staff believes that, had this error not occurred, the nexus study would have likely concluded that more capacity exists in El Dorado Hills than what was the major update considered in its subsequent analyses.
’m very nervous and excited,” said local veterinarian Leslie Silva, thrilled to be throwing the first pitch at the upcoming May 18 Sacramento River Cats game. “What started out as a fun way to learn the guitar and writing songs about dogs has evolved into a very proud moment for me.” Her musical journey began a mere eight years ago while traveling in Africa when she was moved by a fellow veterinarian who had taken up the violin late in life. Silva came home, bought a ukulele and enrolled in group lessons, quickly progressing to private lessons and expanding into guitar. When
encouraged to try songwriting, Silva wasn’t sure what to write about. “I like to river raft and I hike. But nothing.” As a joke, she wrote about her dog. “Mushu Taco Tortellini” is a song about the food her Japanese Chin likes to eat. “It just worked. I’m not a deeply emotive person so love seems out of the question. But a dog I could write about all day.” After that came “Big Booty Bubba,” a song about her boyfriend’s dog. Soon she was taking pictures of dogs during her travels. “I was in baggage claim and there was this dog in a bag that was majestic,” Silva said. “Her name was Fifi and I wrote ‘Fifi Falafel’ about a dog traveling the world.” ■ See SILVA, page A8
EDHCSD board moves forward with cityhood Noel Stack Editor After nearly two months of meetings at which residents shared ardent opinions both in favor of and against cityhood, the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Board of Directors has opted to take on lead agency status for incorporation, partner with the El Dorado Hills Citizens for Cityhood and pursue financial and environmental studies to determine if the city of El Dorado Hills is a viable option. The 4-0 vote came after more than three hours of discussion at a special May 1 meeting. Among decisions made were the adoption
■ See FEES, page A8
■ See CITYHOOD, page A8
INSIDE NEWS VOL. 32 ■ ISSUE NO. 9 FOR GUARANTEED WEEKLY DELIVERY, SUBSCRIBE BY CALLING 530 3445000
■ HOME FULL OF CHARM & STYLE
■ THE SOUND OF MUSIC IS LOUD
Nestled in a quiet Serrano neighborhood, this El Dorado Hills home is an exceptional find.
The foothill region rocks with great music events for the entire family.
■ VILLAGE HOMES, B1
■ INSIDE, B2
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