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May 2008 |
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Local News
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Consultant addresses parking and transportation growing pains |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
Advises Town commissions to look outside the box for district planning changes
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Consultant Jason Schrieber suggested more parking incentives in the lower ends of town, such as the Park and Ride on Old Mammoth Road, where land values are not as high as in places like the Village, was a good idea.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/LARA KIRKNER
Both items are tough to nail down and community members expressed frustration at the district planning meeting.
Sustainable transportation
The Mobility Commission, the Planning Commission, and the Tourism and Recreation Commission got together on April 29 for a presentation from Jason Schrieber of Nelson|Nygaard Consulting Associates regarding sustainable transportation in Mammoth Lakes.
Schrieber pointed out items the community has heard before, such as the fact that Hwy 203 is the biggest impediment to the town, and that many of the constricted areas in town should be the most walkable. He did, however, strike a new chord when he explained the town's vehicle abundance as the community providing homes for cars all over Mammoth.
By not charging for parking anywhere the community is “letting their cars sleep in extremely expensive bunkers at this time when some people can't even put roofs on their houses,” Schrieber said.
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Fishing Commission staying on top of the waters |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
The Mono County Board of Supervisors may not have wanted the Mono County Fisheries Commission (MCFC) to spend any of the $22,500 they gave to the commission to use on stocking the waters but that's exactly what the MCFC decided to do. “It wasn't really clear why the Board of Supervisors didn't want us to use the money for fish,” said MCFC head Skip Baker at the Board's April 28 meeting in Lee Vining. “It really doesn't make any sense to do education programs on how to catch fish and the fisheries if we can't buy any fish.”
On the other side of the fence is the proposal presented to the Commission by Dr. Tom Jenkins regarding testing the local waters for calcium levels. “The quagga mussel tends to thrive in environments where there is a high calcium content,” Jenkins said. “Testing the waters up here will give us an idea as to whether or not some of the water in the area will be susceptible to the quagga.” Some of that money may be diverted to Dr. Jenkins' calcium experiment, but the majority will go to purchasing more fish.
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Lodging Association decides on Travelocity over City Concierge |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
Local business makes positive pitch to be Town booking engine, but Association recommends Roaming Gnome
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Jefferson Lanz, owner of City Concierge, a reservation booking engine for Mammoth Lakes, got his chance to present to the Lodging Association last week. MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/LARA KIRKNER
Jefferson Lanz, owner of City Concierge, and the local business that did the prodding, was the only local entity to send in a letter of intent to submit a proposal. Lanz made his presentation to the Lodging Association last week.
Lanz hit all the points of what a smaller, localized company could do for companies in town. He had data and testimonials to prove that local distribution delivers more reservations than national, and stated that he had spoken to Simpleview, the platform that runs the site, about integration. According to representatives at Simpleview, Lanz would be able to integrate his system, but according to Tourism and Recreation Director Danna Stroud it could cost up $12,000 more than if the Town were to go with Travelocity, which is already partnered and integrated with the Simpleview site. The extra cost would most likely be taken from the Tourism and Recreation budget, but could be put onto local lodging agencies to pay, according to Stroud.
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Environmental Health oversees what we eat, drink and breathe |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
New Environmental Health Director Molina jumps into job feet first
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Louis Molina, Mono County's new Environmental Health DirectorPHOTO BY STACEY POWELLS
The better known program under Environmental Health has to do with food. The Environmental Health Department is in charge of any and all inspections that have to do with food. The department inspects the food booths at all the festivals in Mono County as well as doing restaurant inspections three times a year, all of which are unannounced. They also inspect temporary and mobile food facilities and follow up on food borne illnesses. The places that sell mostly packaged foods like the little markets attached to service stations are inspected about once a year. Grocery stores are also expected to have surprise inspections at least three times a year from the Environmental Health Department.
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New concerns linger around airport's flight path |
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 A Horizon Airlines Bombardier Q400 similar to this one could be making regular flights to the Mammoth Airport, pending the results of important decisions being made regarding the facility's future.IMAGE COURTESY HORIZON AIRLINES/ALASKA AIR
That is, however, if items that were to be discussed at last night's Town Council meeting (May 7) gained some forward momentum. It's crunch time for decisions on the runway and the terminal building in order to keep the flight path on track.
Council was expected to make decisions about awarding bids to contractors for repaving the runway and remodeling the terminal building. The CEQA findings for both projects were also expected to be presented last night. According to Airport Commision Chair Pam Murphy, if the Council decided not to award the bids, problems might occur with Horizon Airlines, the company that has signed a letter of intent to bring flights to Mammoth in their Bombardier-made Q400 aircraft, but has yet to sign a contract with the Town and the Mountain.
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