Jury selection began in South Lake Tahoe last week in the trial of a Placerville man accused of killing another man during what authorities believe was a dispute over belongings behind the Kmart store on Missouri Flat Road in Placerville. The El Dorado County District AttorneyÕs Office has accused Kenneth Sharonoff, 42, of murder in [...]

Special to the Democrat The Logtown Fire Safe Council conducted a tour of its recently completed fuels reduction project recently. The project consists of approximately 250 acres of roadside clearance, shaded fuel breaks and perimeter fuel reduction zones created to protect the residents of the Logtown community and surrounding areas from the consequences of a [...]

Federal and local elected officials will be on hand to discuss the ins and outs of Cap and Trade and AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which is an effort to reduce greenhouse gasses. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Union Mine High School Gymnasium, 6530 Koki Lane in El [...]

The Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento-Alpine Unit of Cal Fire (the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) is reminding everyone that we are moving into a period of increased risk of wildfires. Although there has been an unusually wet and extended spring, temperatures will be increasing and humidities will be decreasing, drying out the lighter vegetation such [...]

Democrat staff writer Suspected child molester Fritz Alfred Erhardt appeared in court Friday, another step in the case that might or might not make it to trial. ÒWe are trying to determine if the case can be resolved before going to trial,Ó said El Dorado County deputy district attorney Lisette Suder. Erhardt, 59, was arrested [...]

El Dorado County Supervisor Ron Briggs announces endorsements from The California Cattlemen; El Dorado County Board of Realtors; Gun Owners of California; and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Briggs said, ÒRealtors are our neighbors and are hardworking professionals who understand and appreciate our rural environment.Ó He added, ÒThe time is now in preserving grazing lands [...]

Democrat staff writer Richard Patrick Morgan, 18, of Shingle Springs, has been appointed to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. A 2009 graduate of Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs, Morgan prepared to pass the stringent military entrance requirements by attending Northwestern Preparatory School in Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains. [...]