Photo of the week

Check out this sky-high sunset! This #PlacerLife photo snapped mid-flight over Lincoln was taken by @julessmackenziee on Instagram. 

Featured story

Help shape future land use through Placer 2050 workshops

The Placer County Community Development Resource Agency is inviting residents to participate in a series of upcoming community workshops to help inform where future jobs, housing and other land uses could be located as part of the Placer 2050 General Plan Update.

The county is looking ahead to 2050 and planning for the needs of future generations while preserving the qualities that make Placer County a desirable place to live, work and visit.

The Placer 2050 General Plan will guide decisions about land use and other issues over the next 20 years, including housing, jobs, transportation, natural resources and wildfire resilience.

Read more

Transit

Placer announces bus route adjustments for new Rapid Link service

The City of Roseville’s new express transit service called Rapid Link launches today. Placer County is making changes to two West Placer bus routes to provide riders with convenient connections to the new service.
Read more + Watch video

Community

Hear stories from our Placer 175th anniversary oral history project

What was it like to work on building the Foresthill Bridge? Or to watch a car drive off it for a Hollywood feature film? Hear these stories and more at our StoryCorps-inspired Placer 175 oral history project.
Listen now + Record an interview

Animals

Adoption event sends 30 pets to new homes; $5 adoptions through Oct.

Saturday's special pet adoption event in Auburn with support from local elected officials sent seven dogs and 23 cats home with their forever families. Miss it? Enjoy $5 adoptions through October to help more pets find homes.
Watch video

Elections

Voting materials for Nov. election soon on their way to eligible voters

Placer County voters should be on the lookout for their voter information guides and vote-by-mail ballot packets for the November 3, 2026 General Election. Use Sign, Scan & Go! to vote at the Elections Office as early as Oct. 5.
Learn more

In other news

Learn more about the SNOW Museum project proposed for Olympic Valley at this virtual meeting, Oct. 7

Save the date: Placer County’s North Lake Tahoe team to host the next Discover & Discuss community event Oct. 15 in Kings Beach

Clean Tahoe and Placer County have partnered to host a free dump day this Saturday in Kings Beach for all eastern Placer residents

Input sought on Caltrans’ proposal to increase speed limit on SR-174

Placer County extends bulk cardboard recycling program in Kings Beach through the winter months

LISTEN: Tahoe staff join KTKE to discuss Discover & Discuss community event Oct. 15 and parking management in North Lake Tahoe

Did you know?

More Placer residents are turning their cooking and baking talents into small businesses, and the surge in food permits shows just how accessible that path has become.

Cottage food permits for home bakers have grown from 222 to 331 over the past three years, an almost 50% increase. Mobile food facility permits (for carts and trucks) have also climbed by 12%. For many aspiring entrepreneurs, cottage and mobile food permits offer the perfect way to build a customer base, refine recipes and see what’s possible — all before investing in a full commercial storefront.

Interested in learning more? Who knows … your idea might be next! Check out our new video that breaks down permit types and how to get started.

175 years of Placer County history

By early 1849, the names North Fork Dry Diggings and Wood’s Dry Diggings were being used for the settlement that would become Auburn. Merchants William Gwynn and H. M. House had established trading posts here, and as the population grew, the citizens elected Samuel W. Holladay to serve as the community’s first official. Known as the Alcalde, Holladay’s responsibilities combined the duties of a mayor, sheriff and justice of the peace.

Holladay later recalled that he began mining June 10, 1849, describing the settlement at the time as consisting of “a few miner’s tents and two stores, under cotton cloth awnings, for supplying the miners with provisions.” (Placer Herald, Oct. 22, 1892).

By August 1849, several residents, including Gwynn, House and Holladay, gathered to discuss the need for a new name—one that would reflect a sense of permanence for the growing community.

According to Holladay, he proposed the name Auburn. Gwynn then recited the opening lines of Oliver Goldsmith’s 1770 poem, “The Deserted Village”:

Sweet Auburn! Loveliest village of the plain,
where health and plenty cheered the laboring swain, 
where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
and parting summer’s lingering blooms delayed.

The group immediately adopted the name by declaration of the alcalde. Holladay later recalled that he traveled throughout the surrounding mines and as far as Sacramento, spreading the word about the newly named community. When he returned approximately 10 days later, the name Auburn had taken hold.

Auburn soon became an important center of government. It was selected as the seat of Sutter County and, following the establishment of Placer County on April 25, 1851, was chosen as its county seat as well.

More than 175 years later, Auburn’s story has grown far beyond its Gold Rush beginnings. The history of Placer County is a continuing story—shaped by the people who came before us, carried forward by those who live here today, and entrusted to those who will follow.

On Oct. 10, 2026, at 1 p.m., a time capsule will be sealed at the historic Auburn Courthouse. It will preserve a glimpse of our community at this moment in time—a story for the future of how far we have come, who we are today and where we are going.

Photo: View of Auburn taken from the courthouse. Circa 1900. Placer County Museums collection.

Explore our new interactive timeline — updated every Thursday with photographs, milestones and the stories of people who built this county. Explore timeline

Advisory committees and commissions

Whether it’s representing your community or sharing your expertise on topics like agriculture or parks, there are always opportunities for you to help advise county leaders on the issues that matter to you most. Recruitment is open now to fill seats on the following committees or commissions, among others. Learn more and apply

Current recruitments include:

• Area 4 Agency on Aging Advisory Council

• Building Board of Appeals

• Cemetery Auburn District

• Cemetery Colfax District

• Cemetery Tahoe District

• Colfax Veterans Memorial Hall Board

• Economic Development Board

• Fish & Game Commission

• First 5 Placer Children & Families Commission

• Flood Control & Water Conservation District Board

• Foresthill Veterans Memorial Hall Board

• Gold Run Cemetery Committee

• Greater Auburn Area Fire Safe Council

• Greater Lincoln Area Fire Safe Council

• Historical Advisory Board

• In Home Support Services Advisory Committee

• Juvenile Justice / Delinquency Prevention

• Library Advisory Board

• Municipal Advisory Council - Donner Summit

• Municipal Advisory Council - Granite Bay

• Municipal Advisory Council - Horseshoe Bar Penryn

• Municipal Advisory Council - Newcastle/Ophir

• Municipal Advisory Council - Olympic Valley

• Municipal Advisory Council - Rural Lincoln

• Municipal Advisory Council - Sheridan

• Municipal Advisory Council - West Placer

• North Auburn/Ophir Fire Safe Council

• Placer County Behavioral Health Advisory Board

• Placer County Child Care Advisory Council

• Placer County Older Adult Advisory Commission

• Placer Sierra Fire Safe Council

• Roseville Veterans Memorial Hall Board

• Solid Waste Local Task Force

• Veterans Advisory Council

• Wastewater Advisory Committee
  
  

Fun things to do this week

Don’t miss the fun coming this next week in...

Roseville: Mahany Park Certified Farmers' Market, Maidu Park Farmers' Market, Roseville Fountains Farmers' Market, Kaiser Riverside Farmers' Market, Kaiser Eureka Farmers' Market, Sutter Roseville Farmers Market

Rocklin: Maker Faire
Lincoln: Farmers’ Market at Fowler Ranch, Kaiser Lincoln Farmers' Market, Fall Craft Fair 

Loomis: Fall Festival at The Flower Farm, Fruit Shed Festival

Auburn: Auburn Old Town Farmer’s Market – Placer Farmers Market, Farmers Market at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital, Pumpkin Patch by Compassion Planet, Old Auburn Cemetery Tour Stories In Stone, Auburn Porchfest – Live Music On Neighborhood Porches, Senior Health Fair

Colfax: Colfax Farmers’ Market, Colfax Skatepark Grand Opening

North Lake Tahoe: Tahoe City Farmer’s Market, Kings Beach Free Dump Day, Country Fridays: Line Dance Night

...and many Placer County Library and Placer County Museum events.

Visit our regional partners to discover more of the fun happening right here in Placer County!

Placer County Visitors' Bureau
North Tahoe Community Alliance
Tahoe City Downtown Association
The Arts Council of Placer County
Placer Valley Tourism
PlacerGROWN
Placer Wine Trail

Upcoming public meetings and events

Olympic Valley Supervisor Forum, Oct. 1, 6 p.m. Information
First  Responders Fire Safety Fair, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. Information
Foresthill Town Hall, Oct. 5 , 7 p.m. Information
Board of Supervisors, Oct. 6, 9 a.m. Information
Placer West Fire Safe Council, Oct. 7, 5:30 p.m. Information
SNOW Museum and Cultural Center virtual community meeting, Oct. 7, 6 p.m. Information

To learn about other Placer County committees and commissions and current opportunities to serve your community click here.

List of active projects throughout Placer County

Projects are listed alphabetically and by Board of Supervisors districts. A hard copy of the list is available at the Placer County Community Development Resource Agency, 3091 County Center Drive in Auburn. 

Active Projects

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