Archive - Feb 22, 2013 - News Article
By
Lyra Pierotti/For the Times
The Sierra has been abuzz with concern over the recreational and economic implications of the proposed Tuolumne River and Merced River Plans.
On Saturday, Feb. 23, Yosemite National Park employees Kathleen Morse and Mike Yochim will be in Mammoth to provide information on the two proposed plans. They said they would open the floor for questions.
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
Snowmos win big in new Forest Service plan
The Forest Service this past week unveiled an ambitious plan for a new staging area for motorized vehicles at the popular Shady Rest Staging Area.
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
Lakers owner built Rafters, Sierra Nevada Lodge
‘Cadillac’ program needs serious trimming, supes say
With Mono County gasping for financial relief, the Board of Supervisors this past week took aim at what one supervisor called the county’s “Cadillac” paramedic program.
The board on Tuesday, Feb. 19, acted to trim costs of the $5 million program—the second most expensive program for the county.
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
‘I feel like I’ve been mugged,’ property owner says
Mammoth’s tax enforcers, charged with turning up the heat on violators of the town’s transient occupancy tax laws, thought they had a big fish on the line.
The Town Council on Wednesday night, Feb. 20, came down on the side of the fish, though, letting Kevin and Carolynn Cozen off the hook for what started out as a $98,100 bill for back taxes and penalties.
It’s not every day, even in a ski town, that you find a stark nekid womanwandering around the Westin lobbyin the wee hours, and it’s not often that Mono County Dispatchgets a call re: said woman, and it’s not every day that the self-same woman returns with the T-shirt someone gave her for protection against the cold temps and/or prying eyes. …
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
‘Boat Race’ goes to Treat
Everyone agreed the new snow on Mammoth Mountain was nice, and strong winds made for some nice wind buff.
But it wasn’t so nice for the Village Championships on Tuesday, Feb. 19, which had to cancel its first-ever Super G off Chair 14 to Reds Lake.
The next VC race is Tuesday, Feb. 26. It is a dual GS, with each run counting as a race.
Property taxes lag behind state
Sluggish property tax revenues will make budgets tight for yet another year in Mono County, according to county officials.
While the rest of the state is beginning the slow climb out of the recession, Mono County is lagging in terms of property tax revenues, mostly due to some of the rural areas of the county where property prices have yet to bottom out.
The Town of Mammoth Lakes awards $23,400 annually to youth sporting organizations that are in need of additional funding to supplement organized, nonprofit, youth sporting programs operating in and around Mammoth Lakes.
Applications will be available on Friday, March 1, 2013 at the Town of Mammoth Lakes Recreation Department Office located in the Minaret Village Mall, above Giovanni’s or on www.mammothrecreation.com.
Parking requirements in the downtown regions of Bridgeport, Lee Vining, and June Lake appear to be stifling new businesses, according to Brent Calloway, Mono County Community Development Analyst.
Current regulations require too much parking, Calloway said at the Board of Supervisors meeting Feb. 19.
Informal local sources have informed him that people aren’t opening new businesses because they do not want to have to deal with the parking issue.
Aspiring bakers, canners and other cooks can now sell their wares without breaking the bank or without a complicated tangle of paperwork, after the state relaxed prepared some rules.
In response, the Mono County supervisors on Tuesday, Feb. 19, agreed to keep fees low or non-existent.
The rough and not always ready road to Mammoth Yosemite Airport could see some major repair work in the next few years after new Census 2010 population numbers triggered a different classification for some roads.
The new classification allows roads used by a community with more than 5,000 people—in this case Mammoth Lakes—to access federal funds for roads that are heavily used by the community, even if the roads are not within the community.
