News

Tioga Pass Road opens Saturday, free park entrance day Tuesday

June 15, 2011

The Tioga Road will open for the season on Saturday, June 18 at 8:00 a.m. for all vehicle traffic. The Tioga Road, bounded on both sides by State Highway 120, is the popular east-west crossing of the Sierra Nevada.

Vault toilets are available in several locations along the road.

There are several no-stopping zones along the road, which are clearly marked with road signs.

Mammoth Hospital brings in surgeon specializing in breast disease

June 15, 2011

Mammoth Hospital has announced the arrival of new General Surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Deck, specializing in breast disease and breast surgeries.

Dr. Deck comes to Mammoth Hospital from Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif., and currently sees more than 200 breast cancer patients annually. He will offer his expertise in the area of mastectomy, lumpectomy and breast reconstruction to those patients diagnosed with all types of breast disease.

Latest wind farm proposal angers Benton residents

June 13, 2011

A possible wind farm near Benton has some area residents up in arms, especially nearby property owners.
The proposed project is still at the preliminary stage, with only a few test towers (six) planned and with full approval by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) still not certain.

But with the potential for many more of the 200-foot-tall wind towers coming on line (should the test towers show good results) some residents are none too pleased with the whole idea.

Tioga Pass to open within next few weeks

June 10, 2011

Despite rumors, unseasonable spring storms, more untimely cold temperatures and triple the normal amount of snow for this date, the road over Tioga Pass is still scheduled to open by the end of June.

“I can say with reasonable certainty that the pass will open within the next few weeks,” said Yosemite National Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman on Wednesday.

“We’re this close,:” said Mono County’s interim public works director, Jeff Walters. “We’re this close, but we’re not there yet.”

Road work in Yosemite will mean some delays

June 10, 2011

Yosemite National Park will begin work on several park roads, beginning
next Monday, June 13. The majority of the work will occur in the El
Portal area, including Old El Portal, Rancheria, El Portal Trailer Court,
the El Portal office areas, and the El Portal Road. Work will also include
the Hodgdon Meadow area, residential and administrative roads, as well as
the main entrance road to Foresta.

The general scope of the project includes applying a seal coat over many of
the existing asphalt roads, either a chipseal or microseal. Additional

Buster, the big black Lab, helps to bring home missing Marines

June 7, 2011

You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but retired Mammoth Lakes Police Department officer Paul Dostie’s big, rambunctious Lab, Buster, has become something of an international sensation recently.

Trained as a cadaver dog by Dostie, Buster is one of the few dogs in the world who can not only detect recent human graves, but he can also detect very old graves. This ability is a product of Dostie’s driving passion to bring murderers to justice and peace to victims’ families, even if it’s been decades since the murder was committed.

Town Council gets tough on TOT enforcement

June 6, 2011

Imagine a Mammoth deep in debt and unable to collect its fair share of the Transient Occupancy Tax.

People don’t actually have to imagine that much.

It’s the reality.

But on Wednesday night, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council took action, approving a measure that would modify the town’s current TOT ordinance and maybe – maybe – put some teeth in it.

The town can’t do it alone, however, so it teamed up with the Mammoth Lakes Lodging Association, which offered its volunteer assistance in helping identify scofflaws.

But that doesn’t mean the town is powerless.

Deena is in a New York frame of mind

June 3, 2011

Deena is back.

One hundred days after giving birth (by Caesarian section, no less), Mammoth’s star marathoner is back on the roads, training for the June 11 New York Mini 10K.

“I feel great,” she said after a brisk run Thursday under the coaching of Mammoth Track Club’s Terrence Mahon.

“I’m surprised, actually,” she said. “But I know I’m just starting to come back.”

The stakes are big for Kastor, 38, who won a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

What's up, Up Here? News and gossip for May 27-June 2

May 27, 2011

It’s almost as big as Opening Day on Mammoth Mountain: Rock Creek Resort Pie in the Sky returns this weekend. Kathy Johnson puts in her vote for Cheddar Pear, but she might be too busy with her mega garage sale to get there. ...

Deena Kastor is prepping for the New York Mini 10K on June 11. It’ll be her first race since her pregnancy. Yes, little Piper is going, too, on her first airplane trip. Andrew Kastor rides along for fatherly support. For Deena, all roads lead to London 2012 and she ain’t kidding. ...