Archive - Jan 18, 2013 - News Article
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
Although flu activity is still comparatively low in California and Mono County, new information shows the flu is on the move, according to Dr. Rick Johnson, the county’s public health officer.
Search is on for new finance director
An interim county administrator is the most likely choice after Mono County Administrator Jim Arkens leaves Feb. 3, according to county supervisor Byng Hunt.
“We will probably find a skilled, experienced, retired former county administrator as an interim administrator, which will give us the time to find the right person for the job,” he said.
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
Projections indicate recovery in full swing
Practically everyone in Mammoth has sensed that the town is on the way back from a disastrous ski season last year, but now the actual numbers are starting to show it.
For example, the projected visitor occupancy for the upcoming King Holiday weekend (Jan. 18-20) was 77 percent of capacity as of Thursday, Jan. 17.
On the same weekend last year, occupancy was a dreary 30 percent, the result of a snow season that hardly existed at all until late in the spring season.
Mono County’s new drug dog can identify residual smells left behind by illegal drugs
A powerful new weapon against illegal drugs has been added to Mono County’s law enforcement teams—a four-year-old Belgian Malinois dog named Tara.
Tara’s nose is so powerful, she can pick up the odor of a pound of marijuana or the lingering scent of cocaine residue left on the steering wheel of a car, according to the sheriff’s department.
The Mammoth Lakes Rotary Club announced that world-renowned artist and entertainer Yve Evans will perform at its Rotary Winterfest on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Canyon Lodge.
Yve has been a regular at the Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee and will showcase her talents in honor of Mammoth Lakes Rotary Club “Service Above Self” honorees Ken and Flossie Coulter.
Weekend full of activities, including a Triple Threat Triathlon
In spite of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area’s CEO Rusty Gregory closing the June Lake Mountain Ski area for the 2012-13 season, the June Lake community rallied to put various events together to celebrate other amenities the community offers.
The AARP Tax-Aide Foundation, partnered with the Mammoth Lakes Library is offering free tax help, preparation, and e-filing. The program assists low and middle-income taxpayers. The volunteer counselors are trained and certified through the IRS/AARP training program each year and are qualified to assist with most all of the tax issues you face.
This service is being provided in the Mammoth Lakes Library on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 5 p.m. throughout tax season, from Feb. 4 through April 15. Spanish speaking volunteers are available.
Rock Creek Road is scheduled for some major rehabilitation and redesign work in the next few years, including a four-foot-wide bike climbing lane, according to Mono County officials. The project will likely start sometime in either 2014 or 2015, it will be mostly funded by the federal government and it will take two summer seasons to complete, according to the county. Pullouts and interpretive signs are also planned for the project.
The Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite National Park hit 22 degrees below zero last Friday, Jan. 11, a record for the park, according to a Jan. 17 article by the Los Angeles Times. Rangers also recorded a low of 17 degrees below zero on Jan. 10, and 21 degrees below zero on Jan. 12.
Yosemite National Park announced the release of two Wild and Scenic River Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statements; one for the Merced River (MRP) and one for the Tuolumne River (TRP) for public review and comment.
The public comment period for the MRP is open now through Thursday, April 18. The public comment period for the TRP is open now through Monday, March 18.
Mono County supervisors will continue to meet in Mammoth Lakes one Tuesday out of their regular three meetings every month. The policy to meet once a month in Mammoth—which has most of the county’s population—has been in place for several years, after decades of meetings only in Bridgeport, which is the county seat.
In an effort to provide additional parking for Village patrons this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the town will temporarily remove parking restrictions on Hillside Drive and Berner Street, town officials said. From Jan. 17-21, the existing “no parking” signs will be covered or bagged, with new signs placed allowing two-hour parking from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Mammoth’s Kate Wilson wins; Taylor Sanders second
There might not have been a lot of reason to it, but there sure was a lot of rhyme when eight competitors in the Mono County “Poetry Out Loud” contest took to the Edison Theatre stage on Jan. 5.
The students, representing Coleville, Lee Vining, and Mammoth high schools, presented two poems each.
According to the rules, they memorized the poems from the selection of published poems eligible for this year’s contest.
Public comment period extends to Jan. 30
Residents now have more time to weigh in on what could be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Mono County’s history.
A brand new geothermal plant that will generate as much power as all three existing Ormat Technologies power plants east of Mammoth Lake is in the works. Last week, the Bishop Bureau of Land Management (BLM) extended the time to comment on the project to Jan. 30.
