Local News

The Solid Waste staff requested that the days of operation for the Solid Waste Department be changed to allow them to have one weekend day free to spend time with family and attend church.Would you support this facility being open Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Sunday? Let the County …

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 – 2:10 p.m. – Tumbling debris from the Dog Rock Fire continues to land on El Portal Road, prompting the continued closure of the Highway 140 corridor into Yosemite, Park officials said today. Meanwhile, firefighting efforts had eased the threat on the Park enclave of Foresta, …

Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 – 4:55 p.m. – Yosemite’s Arch Rock entrance is scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, Park officials said today. Electric power will likely be restored to Yosemite Valley by midnight tonight, officials added.

Monday, Oct. 13, 2014 – 4:15 p.m. – The board of supervisors on Tuesday will decide whether it will move forward with a proposed $400,000 payment to the Yosemite/Mariposa County Tourism Bureau. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at 5100 Bullion Street. The amount, tentatively set during budget hearings this …

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 – 10:35 a.m. – Yosemite’s Dog Rock Fire was fully contained this morning, a Park fire report said. The fire had consumed a total of 311 acres, spokesman Mike Wilson said. Also, a preliminary report has cleared CAL FIRE’s airtanker fleet for operations following the Oct. …

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 – 11:05 a.m. – The CAL FIRE aircraft that crashed while attacking the Dog Rock Fire on Oct may have truck a tree witch cause the aircraft to loose control and colide with the mountain.

By Erik Skindrud GAZETTE EDITOR The last transient occupancy tax, or TOT, increase was embraced by 64 percent of county voters back in 1996. Also called bed tax, TOT is added to overnight room charges. Perhaps because it weighs on tourists’ wallets, the tax enjoyed a hearty margin of support …

Pilot Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt, 62, of San Jose, perished when his Grumman S-2T airtanker crashed near El Portal on Oct. 7.

By Carol Reiter GAZETTE CORRESPONDENT As the two candidates for Mariposa County Supervisor for District 3 come down to the final weeks before the election, Marshall Long has raised more than twice as much in campaign funding as Kris Casto. read more

By Erik Skindrud GAZETTE EDITOR The Mariposa County Fire Safe Council is on a roll, this week receiving its fifth fire-prevention grant from the region’s PG&E utility in recent months. The award, in excess of $89,000, will be put to work next week to create a Hunters Valley Fuel Break …

By Erik Skindrud GAZETTE EDITOR For a new business, ice cream is a pretty safe bet, Morgan Beesley said last week. “We’ve done our research,” the home-grown Mariposan said. “People eat ice cream all year long. Ice cream shops have always done well—even during the Depression.” read more