Valley Springs, CA…(Editor’s Note: ThePineTree.net will be working with The Valley Springs news to provide county legal notices to as wide of an audience as possible. We would like to congratulate the Valley Springs News on being awarded the contract and we are pleased to be able to provide additional exposure for the notices. The courts have yet to grant web only publications as paper’s of record regardless of traffic.) The Valley Springs News is Calaveras County’s newspaper of record beginning Thursday, Sept. 1. That is the day The News becomes the official source for the county’s public notices and legal advertising. These notices alert the public to important governmental activities such as new ordinances under consideration by the Board of Supervisors, upcoming land-use decisions going before the Planning Commission, and whether you’re past due on your property tax payment.

To Publish Legal Notices At The Best Prices & To The Largest Audience Call (209) 772-2234

The News obtained the contract through a competitive bidding process. Two newspapers in the county – The News and the Enterprise – meet the state’s requirements to perform the task and were notified the contract was up for bid. The News was the lone paper to submit a bid by the deadline and the county Board of Supervisors on Aug. 9 awarded the contract to The News on a 4-0 vote.

To use the publisher of the San Andreas paper’s own words, “but ironically, the publisher of the Enterprise (yours truly) somehow missed the legal notice that ran in his own newspaper.”

The Enterprise’s loss is the county’s gain.

“We look forward to this new challenge and expanding our circulation countywide,” said Nick Baptista, editor and publisher of The News. “The newspaper monopoly in Calaveras County is coming to an end.”

To meet the challenge The News will launch a countywide edition with the name “Calaveras County News.” “We anticipate Calaveras County News will be on the streets in all corners of the county by Oct. 5,” Baptista said. “In the meantime, we’re securing spots throughout the county for its distribution.”

The News has also made arrangements with the Calaveras County Library System to provide complementary copies of the newspaper to branches in Angels Camp, Arnold, Copperopolis, Mokelumne Hill, Murphys, San Andreas and West Point.

In addition to being printed in both The Valley Springs News and Calaveras County News, the county’s notices and legal advertising will be posted on two websites for public view.

“We have reached a partnership with ThePineTree.net to have this important public information about the government’s activities not only on our website, but ThePineTree’s as well,” Baptista said. “Through ThePineTree.net alone, the county’s notices and legal advertising will reach at least five times as many people as they do now with the current contractor.”

Furthermore, the county will realize a substantial savings. The bid by The News was 41 percent below what the county has been paying the San Andreas publication to perform the same task for the past five years.

The News is accepting subscriptions for its countywide edition, which will be delivered through the mail. The cost is $26 a year in-county. The office number is 772-2234 and the email address is clerk@valleyspringsnews.com.

The public can also take advantage of publishing legal notices such as Fictitious Business Statements, Summons, Petitions to Administer and Change of Name by calling the same number, or same email. The News also accepts classified and display advertising.