What's Up, Up Here? News and gossip for Aug. 5-11

August 6, 2011

“Fireball,” the iconoclastic checker at Vons, showed up the other day with a hairnet over his shaved pate. Didn’t slow him down a whit…

Our own Shaylyn Riley and boyfriend Scott Smith came in second in the first heat of the co-ed canoe race last Saturday at the Firemen’s BBQ Yeah!…

Mammoth Forest Service Ranger Station’s Mule Man, Michael Morse, has been helping out on the massive Lion Fire over on the west side of the Sierra for the past few weeks, packing in fire supplies to the many crews working there on the sturdy, strong backs of his mules. It’s a new use for mules that Morse has perfected and it’s getting the attention of firefighters across the nation. Way to go Mule Man...

It’s getting harder and harder to have a picnic under a Lodgepole pine these days, if you haven’t noticed. Why? Check out all those sticky, pitchy pine cone scales constantly dropping down on your head, a result of the all those winter-worried squirrels storing up food and fat for the coming winter...

Mono County Board of Supervisors Chair Hap Hazard closed Tuesday’s board meeting in honor of long time South County resident and beloved friend of many locals, Sally DePerro, who died recently...

We heard rumors of a good show put on by KMMT radio host Stacey Powells recently. Seems the topic was “What kind of world are we leaving behind for our children?”  and it was quite the conversation, hosted by Hap Hazard and Rusty Gregory, no less. Rep. Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto) called in too...

The Bear Whisperer says that when Rasta and her two cubs were wandering around Lake Mary last week, he counted 70 people watching, cameras drawn, shooting away. One of them was councilman Rick Wood, paddling about…

Hearty congrats to Juan Prieto, who got a five-year recognition award from the Town Council the other night for his fine work in our parks. Well deserved, we say …

It’s a heck of a way to celebrate Birthday No. 60, but Police Chief Dan Watson did it! He was in full uniform, at the Town Council meeting, which dragged on until 10:30. …

Last week we mentioned that John Urdi, the tourism skipper, was to play doubles in a tennis exhibition Down South. He and his partner lost, to Martina Hingis and a nine-year-old. …

In the Lawsuit Judgment, soon to be on our doorsteps, the town is paying $7,000 a day in interest alone. …

In his presentation on economic stimulus measures to the Town Council on Wednesday night, councilman Matt Lehman presented as model cities the towns of Beaumont (Riverside County) and Lancaster. Remember when our “peer resorts” were places like Aspen, Vail and Park City? …

There’s going to be a big push by the cops on DUI this weekend, with various checkpoints. Might be a coincidence that it’s the weekend of Bluesapalooza, but Chief Watson assures us that “I can guarantee you that it will not be at Main and Minaret. … Whew.

A bear got into Danna Stroud’s kitchen the other week, but this wasn’t any ordinary bear. It was a bear that was tagged, and identified as a Yosemite bear. That’s a heck of a long walk to get into Danna’s kitchen! The Bear Whisperer says he’s a “loaner bear from the park.” …

This is a hoot: the U.S. Rowing team will be here in October, practicing on Crowley Lake. …

Look for Mammoth to be featured on the Bay Area segments of NBC’s “The Today Show,” starting soon. …
The last time the Hispanic Advisory Committee met, it was a big success. There’s going to be another one on Oct. 18. …

The Oakland Museum of California is (finally) doing right by John Muir in its exquisite exhibit “A Walk in the Wild” in the Great Hall. The exhibition is subtitled “Continuing John Muir’s Journey,” and we can get on board with that, because that’s what we do up here, every day and every night. …

The “Rock & Bowl Bowling Center”? Turns out there won’t be a shovel in the ground until next April, says developer Dan O’Connell…

Heads up this weekend on Minaret Road. It’ll be closed for the Bluesapalooza weekend, but there is lots of public transit available, and we’re going to have a blast. It’s Bluesapalooza No. 16, by the way, and wow does the time fly by, or what?…

And just for the heck of it: Shaun White recently failed to renew his contract with Red Bull.  Red Bull sponsored White for four years, and his contract with Red Bull was valued over $1 million annually.  The end of the partnership was on amicable terms, reportedly.

Don’t forget to hit the High Trail out of Agnew Meadows asap. Best flower show in years out there right now.