Archive
February 11th, 2011
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
Mammoth welcomed back a couple of its in-the-news athletes on Sunday, giving locals a chance to meet and ski with ski cross mega-star Johnny Teller and slopestyle skier Kaya Turski.
Hundreds of people jammed the Main Lodge sun deck for autographs, handshakes and high-fives, and if there were passers-by or out-of-towners who wondered what the fuss was about, here’s why:
Teller, coming off an X-Games gold medal and a couple of World Cup podiums, was just back from the FIS World Championships in Utah, where he placed fifth but won the so-called “small finals” in his event.
Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra (DSES) and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area hosted the fifth annual winter Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project.
Thirty-five wounded marines, soldiers and veterans, their family members and military staff enjoyed five days of recreation catered by DSES.
Participants joined DSES from hospitals and rehabilitation centers at San Diego and Arizona and Hawaii.
Veterans joined the program from as far away as Washington and Virginia.
February 9th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi – Mammoth Times Staff Writer
The relatively recent discovery of geothermal energy literally right below the Shady Rest Park area has only complicated an already very complicated issue in Mammoth – how best to utilize one of the town's visitors and locals favorite locations that is already highly popular with snowmobilers, cross country skiers, dog-walkers and more.
The bottom line is that the Shady Rest area is literally in danger of being loved to death, with locals and visitors alike piling into the area to cross-country ski, snowmobile, walk dogs, hike, mountain bike, walk, snowshoe, skate ski.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi – Mammoth Times Staff Writer
The Mammoth daycare provider arrested in October for sexually abusing at least four children in his care, Lupe Almaguer, will not face a judge again until March 8, after his sentencing was continued at his attorney's request yesterday.
Judge Stan Eller granted the request, according to an investigator for the Mono County Deputy Attorney's office, Wade McCammond.
The sentencing was originally set for next week, Feb. 15, at 1:30 p.m., in Bridgeport.
"Mr. Almaguer is expected to be present for the pronouncement of sentence," McCammond said.
February 8th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi – Mammoth Times Staff Writer
The body of an Elk Grove man that was discovered by a National Forest Service employee on patrol at Mt Morrison Cemetery Saturday was likely a suicide, according to the Mono County Sheriff's Department.
According to the sheriff's department, the details go like this.
February 4th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Even as Mammoth’s town council moved to approve an agreement to subsidize some air service flights this week, county supervisors had three words to say:
“Not so fast.”
At a Tuesday discussion centered around Mammoth Mountain’s request that the county help subsidize air service, splitting it three ways with the town government and the Mountain, it was clear the supervisors aren’t ready to go there, not yet and perhaps, not at all.
Herre's the latest in gossip, news and idle speculations from our cozy little burg.
Hot rumor around town is that by 2012 we’ll have a state-of-the-art 10- to 12-lane bowling alley, with restaurant and lounge and three upstairs bays for simulated golf. How hot is the rumor? Scalding. ..
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Why the S.F. flight matters: John Eastman was at the airport this past week, catching a flight to L.A., when he ran into a passel of New Jersey club skiers who always wanted to try Mammoth. One connection to SFO, then the non-stopper to Newark. ...
Melissa Margulies is going to the Super Bowl. Not to watch, but to play.
She’s a rookie star on the Los Angeles Temptation football team.
L.A. plays the Philadelphia Passion during half time. The teams are part of the Lingerie Football League.
Margulies, who grew up in Mammoth and ran track at MHS, as well as USC, always wanted to play pro baseball. She’s not far off, as both safety and running back for the Temptation.
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
Police Chief Dan Watson didn’t get exactly what he wanted from the Town Council Wednesday evening, but at least he got something.
That’s more than he got in his first two tries before the council, on Dec. 15 and Jan. 19, when the chief tried to figure out a way to add some muscle to his force.
On both those occasions, the council turned him down flat.
But on Wednesday, after yet another proposal from Watson, the council approved filling the MLPD’s open lieutenant position from within and adding a sergeant.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Mammoth Times Staff Writer
While much of the rest of the country got walloped by a massive winter storm this week, the Sierra remained stuck in a stubborn dry pattern that shows no signs of breaking anytime soon.
Even the groundhog in Punxsutawney didn’t see his shadow meaning, if groundhogs can be believed, that winter will end soon.
But the huge snows that hit the Sierra back in December were enough to, so far at least, protect the state of California, which gets 30 percent of its water from the Sierra Nevada mountains.
How do we know?
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
Members of the Recreation Commission began to wrap their heads around implementing the town’s recreation vision on Wednesday afternoon.
The commission met with Carl Ribaldo and Austin McInerney of the Strategic Marketing Group, along with facilitator, former Tourism and Recreation director Danna Stroud.
The consulting group walked the commission through the steps and guidelines that would make the so-called “RecStrats” document a viable recreation road map by August.
Kaya Turski won the silver medal Thursday in slopestyle at the FIS freestyle skiing world championships in Utah.
Turski scored 41.70 points in the final as she navigated the obstacle course of rails, jumps and other features. Athletes are judged on their tricks in the terrain park.
“I’m very happy, I landed my run and I skied how I wanted to ski,” Turski, the X Games gold medallist, said in a news release.
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
There’s this thing about Patrolmen’s.
It a little gem of a black diamond groomer run that parallels Chair 2/Stump Alley Express, and it’s so tucked away that not many skiers find it, even on a crowded day.
The reason the cognoscenti like it so much is that they can make of it what they want. Ski it one way, and it’s more of an advanced intermediate than black.
Ski it another way and there’s freestyle and tree skiing to be had.
But the real pull on Patrolmen’s is that a skier can generate some ungodly speed as the run bends its way onto a wide approach to Chair 2.
Gee, let’s have another committee
February 5, 2011
This is how government and bureaucracies work:
At Wednesday’s town council meeting, the members considered a proposal that they create a new committee, this one called “The Town Council and Planning Commission Liaison Committee.”
Planning Commission Chair Tony Barrett and Vice Chair Jay Deinken put it before the council.
They argued that the creation of such a committee “can ensure the effective and efficient completion of the Fiscal Year 2010-11 Budget Work Program.”