It came as a surprise this week that Magna Corporation announced it has plans to sell the property it acquired in Dixon. Plans had been made to build a horse racing facility here however the citizens voted last April (2007) to deny the race track and the vote caused a difference of opinion in the city, dividing friends and neighbors on both sides of the decision, city leaders had placed a one year moratorium on making any new attempts at working out an agreement to allow the facility to be built.

Magna's Vice President has stepped down from his position and the company has announced a second quarter $23 million loss, their decision to sell was based loosely upon the fact that licensing for the racing dates that MEC would want would be difficult to obtain today in California.

Home Depot is still on the agenda in front of the city council along with where Pepper the domestic sheep should sleep, remains in the air and will be reviewed again by the Dixon city council. Pepper has gained world notoriety when neighbors decided they had enough of Pepper living in the backyard of his owners and not out in a field like some ordinary sheep, they complained of odors from Pepper AND the bleach his owners used to clean his area. Dixon has a long history of being a sheep town and sheep ranches have been in this area for over a century and this is probably why Dixon city ordinance does allow for not more than four sheep per residence in the city.

 Home Depot proposes to build on an area next to the long time restaurant, Cattlemen's in Dixon. A neighbor is leading a campaign to keep Home Depot out of her backyard, stating nuisance and noise.

Our own Dixon-ite citizens Dawn Perez and John Hickey (Dawn is formerly of a local title company in Dixon and Vacaville) have opened a bed and breakfast in Monterey called the Jabberwock Inn, a 3 story Craftsman style building and one of only two B & Bs in Monterey itself. Many local Realtors and other people who know Dawn are eager to make their first visit to see their new adventure!

Barbara Adams can be contacted at BarbaraAdams AT Kappels.com