Archive
January 25th, 2011
On the afternoon of Jan. 18, the Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) Team was called out to assist in locating a lost snowboarder at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.
David Joseph, 27, Crystal Heights, was snowboarding by himself and unknowingly crossed the western edge of the ski area boundary and became lost. He was able to contact his father by cell phone. His father then notified Ski Patrol of his son’s predicament. Ski Patrol began searching for him but were unable to find him, as Mr. Joseph reported that he thought he was somewhere inside the ski area boundary.
January 24th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi – Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Despite reports from AT&T that the technical cell service problems were fixed in the Tri-Valley area last week, area county supervisor Hap Hazard said they aren't.
In fact, Chalfant still has no service, at least from the northern border of White Mountain Estates north, he said, although Benton now apparently finally has at least better and more consistent service.
By
Mammoth Times News Staff
The Inyo National Forest has announced a BLM pile burning project along S.R. 89, three miles north of U.S. 395 on Slinkard Valley Road. They will burn 485 slash piles from Jan. 24-31.
Mono County's narcotics enforcement team has had a busy week last week, including the arrest of a Fresno drug dealer with previous ties to Mammoth and the arrest of two local June Lake residents on other charges.
January 21st
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Although the current snowpack on top of Mammoth Pass is at 297 percent of normal for the second week of January, it’s still too early to celebrate.
“If we don’t get any snow, and there’s none forecast, this could be the wettest December on record followed by the driest January,” said state snow surveyor John Dittli.
Despite the snowiest December on record, there’s still reason to keep at hand that snow dance routine most longtime Mammothites know.
So, if things continue as they are forecast, the wettest December might be followed by another record -and not a wanted one.
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
A couple of very high-profile Mammoth players in the Hot Creek lawsuit remained invisible in last month’s $30 million judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and its CEO, Rusty Gregory, were left unscathed – not even mentioned. This is in spite of the fact that at the beginning of the case, in 1997, both MMSA and Gregory himself were caught in some nasty crossfire.
They still are, in a sense.
When the case first was filed, both Gregory and MMSA were named as defendants, along with the Town.
Here's the latest from our groovy little burg.
January 20th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi – Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Problems with AT&T service out in the Tri-Valley area of Mono County have diminished since much of the Tri-Valley area in eastern Mono County found themselves without cell service after switching from Alltel to AT&T late last year, but they have not gone away, according to Chalfant community members, including members of the Benton Paiute tribe, many of whom are still without cell service.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18 at approximately 11:45 p.m., Mono County Sheriff’s Department Deputies stopped a vehicle traveling in an erratic manner, northbound on Hwy 395 in Coleville.
The deputy made contact with the two individuals inside of the vehicle, identified as David Cruz, age 32, and Bernadin Estriplet, age 28, both of June Lake.
Upon contact, the deputy noticed a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and asked both parties to exit the vehicle.
January 17th
January 14th
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
Mammoth’s John Teller was sitting in his hotel room in France, but he may as well have been standing on top of the world.
Teller zoomed to the top of the World Cup standings in Ski Cross last week, winning in St. Johann, Austria in a close but decisive finish. He finished third this week and slipped to third in rankings.
“I’m hoping that this opens the door to the next four years leading up to the Olympics,” Teller said in a Skype interview from L’Alpe d’Huez.
Teller opened his season with a third-place podium finish, also in Austria, which excited just about everybody on the tour
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Mammoth Times Staff Writer
It seems to be something that most people have forgotten.
In all the brouhaha over the airport lawsuit appeal, the Town of Mammoth wasn’t the only town challenging the Bridgeport jury’s finding that the Town is liable for $30 million in damages.
Far from it.
In fact, every city and county in the state of California sided with the Town, as “friends of the court” or “amici curiae.” The appellate judges’ decision is rattling municipal nerves across the state.
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
The new chief of Mammoth’s Chamber of Commerce is smiling, and when was the last time anyone saw that?
Maggie Thompson, general manager of NPG Cable, said the holiday spending spree by visitors to Mammoth exceeded all her expectations, and may signal a larger economic trend.
“It was one of the best years we’ve had in a long, long time,” she said.
“The businesses should be really pleased.”
There were glitches, of course. The copious blizzards during the holiday period caused power outages, clogged roadways and frayed nerves.
A rundown of what's going on around here:
Realtors all over town died a little death earlier this week when the L.A. Times fronted a story about Mammoth and our little legal problem. Headline was “Mammoth Lakes fears financial ruin after legal judgment.” ...
Brian Shibley tells us that the golf tournament held last fall in memory of his daugther Cari raised $3,000 for ICare and $3,000 for Mono County Animal Shelter. ...
What we do best
January 17, 2011
Mammoth Times Editorial
There’s an old coaching expression that goes something along the lines of “Hide your weaknesses; exploit your strengths.”
In the wake of the loss of the $30 million Hot Creek lawsuit appeal, Mammoth would be wise to follow that advice.
We’re really good at recreation.
We’ve known that all along, but during the late 90s and early 2000s, we let other things (development, primarily) crowd into the discussion, and we weren’t very good at it.
But now we have our focus back.