Archive - 2013 - News Article
April 16th
A claim for damages against Mono County by former Mono County Sheriff’s deputy Jon Madrid was rejected Tuesday by the Mono County Board of Supervisors at the advice of county counsel. Madrid is claiming he was unfairly fired from his job.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area CEO Rusty Gregory confronted persistent rumors that Mammoth Mountain has is going to be sold or has been sold to Vail Resorts with five short words Tuesday.
“We are not for sale,” he said, to a Bridgeport courthouse room full of June Lake residents and the Mono County Board of Supervisors. He said he was talking to a top executive of the company a few weeks ago about something unrelated and perhaps, that was where the rumor was coming from.
April 15th
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
Runners from the Mammoth Track Club and representatives of Mammoth Lakes are apparently safe in Boston, where two bombs killed two and injured dozens more near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15.
The track club’s Josh Cox, a distance runner, sent a tweet saying “I'm safe. Scary.”
Meb Keflezighi, who did not run in the race but was in Boston to promote his foundation, also tweeted that he too was safe.
A very swell time around here this past week, with Karla Souzaand Luis Mendezin town, and if you don’t know who they are, you’re not up to speed on the biggest film stars in Mexico. They starred in the brand new “Nosotros los Nobles,” and were here for a little rest and relaxation. By the way, Souza was big-time in Aspenbefore re-locating to Mexico City, in case you were wondering. …
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
A proposal to change the name of Minaret Boulevard to McCoy Boulevard in honor of the founder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, came to a screeching halt on Monday, April 15.
Just hours before Mammoth Lakes Tourism Chief John Urdi and others were set to meet in order to hammer out details on the proposal, Mammoth Lakes Foundation CEO Evan Russell sent an email on McCoy’s behalf to stop the effort.
The reason, Russell said in the email, is that Dave McCoy himself asked the effort not go further.
March 22 event got international attention
A deluge of white dust that blanketed the Owens and Long Valley region this past Sunday was not from China’s Gobi—unlike the white haze that hit the region three weeks ago Friday.
Both local and federal air pollution measurement instruments traced the thick white haze on March 22 to the Gobi Desert. A dust storm there had also been plaguing the Chinese city of Beijing a few days earlier.
Park has only eight days to plow Tioga Pass before Memorial Day holiday
Threats that the sequester might slow down efforts to open Tioga Pass appear to be true after Yosemite National Park officials acknowledged this week that a $2.4 million cut to the park’s budget includes cuts to snow removal.
April 12th
By
Mike Gervais, Special to the Times
Investigators with the Inyo County District Attorney’s Office arrested two residents Thursday afternoon in connection with alleged embezzlement at Inyo County Health and Human Services’ welfare office.
Health and Human Resources Manager Dawndee Rossy, 46, of Bishop, has been charged with two counts of grand theft, 34 counts of identity theft, two counts of embezzlement, one count of possession of controlled substance, one count of welfare fraud and four counts of criminal conspiracy.
Promises snowmaking, replacement lift for J1
Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory this past week promised big changes at June Mountain Ski Area after it re-opens for the next ski season.
County citizens lob everything from solar energy to algae blooms at supervisors
County residents hit their county supervisors Tuesday with a blizzard of suggestions designed to make the county function better and to bring an ever-increasing number of people into the county.
It was all part of a county-sponsored workshop, and the ideas flew fast and furious.
By
George Shirk- Times Managing Editor
‘We need the Mono Monsters,’ says Hunt
An unusual alliance among the Eastern Sierra Land Trust, Mono County, and Caltrans this past week paved the way toward solving a series of complex issues that has prevented Conway Ranch from building a state-of-the-art fish hatchery.
At a breakthrough meeting of the Mono County Fisheries Commission in June Lake on Monday, April 8, commissioners reached consensus on a proposal whereby the Eastern Sierra Land Trust would oversee environmental protections on a 75-acre parcel of land.
April 9th
Bridgeport building could be first pilot project
It seems a shame, with more than 300 days of sunshine, that Mono County buildings don’t take advantage of solar power more often, according to at least one county supervisor.
That supervisor, Larry Johnston, has been trying to change this over the past two years of his term, bringing solar energy to meetings again and again.
Finally, his efforts may pay off.
Consultants neglect to talk to critical groups, county supervisor says
A controversial report on the county’s emergency medical system was still causing consternation at the Mono County Board of Supervisors dais this week, even though the report is long done.
A breakdown in communication with Town of Mammoth still problematic
Mono County and the Town of Mammoth Lakes have been dancing around each other over the issue of garbage for many years.
On Tuesday, the Mono County Board of Supervisors, for the first time, indicated it might be willing to “take out the trash” alone, if need be—even if it means raising parcel fee rates.
Proposals to limit horseback rides, roadside parking on Tioga Pass Road alarm county
When Yosemite National Park decided to do a new management plan for the Tuolumne River region, Mono County residents took notice.
About 25 percent of the millions of annual visitors to Yosemite National Park arrive there via the Tioga Pass Road, making the road, which begins near Lee Vining, one of the county’s most critical roadways.
