OAKHURST – A revered monk from Bangalore, India, will give an evening talk on universally important topics that may resonate with many in the mountain area, and offer those present some insight into the Buddhist perspective on life. Theravada monk Ven. Sugatananda will visit the Positive Living Center (PLC) on Tuesday, Feb. 24 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. He’ll speak ...

OAKHURST – Local arts-for-kids nonprofit mainstay Vision Academy of the Arts invites the community to attend its most important fundraiser of the year. A Grand Night for the Arts is set for Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Sierra Senior Center, from 6 – 9 p.m. The evening of entertainment, art and conviviality features potential scholarship applicants and recipients who will ...

MADERA COUNTY – Those who drive Highway 41 in and out of the foothills have something to cheer about, as long-anticipated plans to add a passing lane north of Highway 145 near the 22 Mile House are scheduled to get underway later this year. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will construct a passing lane in the northbound and southbound ...

MADERA COUNTY – Emadco Disposal Service has announced they plan to implement residential curbside recycling for customers beginning this summer. Ashley Smith is Recycling Operations Manager for the Oakhurst-based company, and explains the new curbside recycling program will be available at existing pick-up locations every other week starting July 1, 2015.

OAKHURST – Oakhurst resident and community liaison Rima Runtzel has launched a new company which combines her affinity for social media and love of networking to benefit independent business owners in the local area. Local Social, a social media marketing agency, launched in December 2014 and announced its first partnership with Oakhurst Feed & Pet Supply this month.

OAKHURST – Wanted! Team Captains, committee members, sponsors and survivors for Relay For Life 2015. The date is set for Saturday, May 16 starting at 9 a.m., and the event will be held again at Yosemite High School. The theme voted on this year by the local Committee is “Give Cancer the Boot!”

COARSEGOLD – You never know how far a little kindness will go. It started with a simple post on Mountain Swap and turned into something bigger than anyone could have imagined. Not long before dark on Wednesday, Jan. 21, business owners down at Coarsegold Village were shocked and saddened to find a badly injured dog tucked into a planter that ...

COARSEGOLD – Since his family purchased the once-popular Broken Bit earlier this month, Tanner Tweed has been on the move, making plans for the immediate future of the property, while making discoveries about its past. The public has been instrumental, helping to fill in the blanks on local lore.

COARSEGOLD – Gabby the Miner is a silent wooden sentry kneeling at the entrance to the Broken Bit, holding his precious nugget to the sky and keeping an eye on Highway 41 traffic. He’s seen the once-promising business nestled on the property flourish under the guidance of previous owners, and Gabby has seen it fail with seemingly insurmountable building requirements ...

CLOVIS – In the process of achieving what he once called a dream, Fresno State graduate Antonio Cabrera was recently selected as the new Forest Engineer for the Sierra National Forest. Antonio is a civil engineer who has been with the Sierra National Forest since 2009. Originally from Mexico, Antonio worked as a farm laborer in Reedley from 1990 to ...