Archive - News Article
March 29th, 2013
Last Friday’s terrible air quality was due to a huge dust storm that arose in China’s Gobi Desert
Last Friday, the Mammoth Times stated on its website that the poor air that day was due to a prescribed burn near Tom’s Place.
It seemed the logical explanation, since we had just received a press release about the burn that morning.
MMSA now says land trade is on backburner, residents push back
Some June Lake residents are still frustrated over June Mountain Ski Area’s uncertain future and they were not assuaged this past week when they discovered that a proposed land trade had been assigned to a Congressional committee for review—without their knowing.
March 28th
There are no suspects in a possible attempted burglary in Walker that occurred Tuesday, March 19, and the Mono County Sheriff’s department wants local residents to remember to lock their doors and be alert.
The call about the possible burglary came in at about 11:30 a.m., according to a sheriff’s department news release.
“Deputies were dispatched to Walker for the report of two unknown suspects, dressed in dark clothing, who had entered a residence through an unlocked door,” the news release stated.
A 17-year-old Mammoth resident is facing robbery charges after allegedly holding up a pair of 12-year-old skateboarders at a bus stop.
The suspect, whose name was not released by the MLPD, was taken to the Juvenile Detention Facility in Independence following his arrest.
According to a news release distributed by the MLPD, the crime occurred on Saturday, March 23.
The victims were waiting at the stop in front of the Mammoth Lakes Rite Aid when the suspect approached and demanded money and threatened to take their skateboards if they didn’t comply.
March 27th
By
George Shirk, Times Managing Editor
Taxpayers absorb $199 expense
After years of arguing over hundred of thousands of dollars—millions, even—the Mammoth Town Council this past week dealt with a much more manageable expense item of $199.
Joins Inyo County as Deputy CAO
Pam Hennarty, who since 2004 has led the push for affordable housing in Mammoth, announced her resignation as Executive Director of Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc, effective April 12.
Hennarty made the announcement at the March 11 MLH Board of Directors meeting, and iterated her announcement at the Mammoth Town Council meeting on Wednesday, March 20.
Residents prioritize list of projects, library is number one
Crowley Lake has set the bar high for community facilities in the past several years, adding a community center, a community garden, and other facilities.
This week, the community set the bar even higher, asking permission from the county supervisors on a plan for a new library, with other projects to follow in the next 10 years.
Although the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is one of the federal agencies affected by the sequestration, monitoring the Long Valley Caldera’s volcanic activity will continue uninterrupted, according to county officials.
According to Mono County Supervisor Fred Stump, even if an employee has to take a furlough day, the monitoring of the area will continue.
According to Mono County Supervisor Larry Johnston, Mammoth Dog Teams will be in a movie.
Johnston, speaking Tuesday to the county supervisors, gave an update on the Dog Teams saga, noting that owner Jim Ouimet finally had a key to a place he could use on the property after a decade of wrangling over the issue.
“After I talked to him, he sent me a picture of a bunch of his dogs and an overturned dog sled and it looked to me like all the dogs were dead,” he said. “Then he told me it was for a movie shoot.”
Several residents living at the little modular home settlement of McGee Creek (between Mammoth Lakes and Crowley Lake) got a rude awakening this month when the Bishop Bureau of Land Management informed them that they would have to remove all of their “backyard” activities that were illegally on BLM land.
According to the area’s county supervisor, Fred Stump, it was unclear why the residents were being asked at this time to remove evidence of their use of public lands, including in one case, a petting zoo.
Tioga Pass could open as soon as Memorial Day this year, according to county officials.
“We are hearing Memorial Day is a real definite possibility,” said Mono County Supervisor Byng Hunt. He said the low snow year, so far, will make the early opening more likely.
Another change could be that officials plowing the road will start later, but double down on the number of people on the road, thereby taking advantage of the melting snow.
A five percent cut to the federal Department of Agriculture, which oversees all national forests including the local Inyo National Forest, could affect the Inyo Forest, according to county officials.
The cut is due to the sequester enacted under Congress and means visitor safety, employee hiring, snowplowing campgrounds and other services could be affected, officials said Tuesday.
The office of Mono County Assessor has been vacant since mid-last year, when elected assessor Jody Henning resigned, along with her assistant assessor.
On Tuesday, the Mono County Board of Supervisors agreed to begin searching for a new assessor, but at a lower salary than Henning was at. Henning was making about $9,500 a month; the job will now be offered at between $8,500 and $9,000 a month, depending on the candidate’s experience and background.
Broadband service promised to Crowley Lake and Swall Meadows under an agreement with Verizon has been delayed again, according to county officials.
The service, first promised at the end of January as a mitigation for Verizon violating a Scenic Highway law several years ago, was promised to some residents this week, but Mono County IT director Nate Greenberg said Tuesday the service will not be available as initially planned.
March 26th
If you think growing a garden at 8,000 feet elevation is impossible, think again.
If you think you need to start seedlings indoors in April and plant them outside in late June in Mammoth and fence off the yard from deer and bears and it’s all just too much work so you might as well go to Vons, think again.
If you think you need a green thumb to grow your own produce in Mammoth, Crowley Lake, Walker, or Paradise, think again.
