COUNTY – Two wildfires, Willow Fire in Madera County and Cabin Fire in Tulare County, have prompted local air officials to issue a health cautionary statement for smoke impacts throughout the eight-county air basin: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and the Valley portion of Kern counties. As any local resident can attest, currently smoke impacts are concentrated ...

EARTH – You know that phrase, “once in a blue moon,” that people say when something comes around infrequently? Well, do whatever it is you’ve been putting off, because that blue moon — the second full moon in a single month — is happening on Friday, July  31 at 3:44 a.m. PST. That’s basically tonight, or tomorrow morning, depending on ...

OAKHURST – The Oakhurst Community College Center will be participating in a State Center Community College District-wide Extreme Registration event: it’s a one-stop-shop to assist students in completing registration for the Fall 2015 semester. All new and returning students are encouraged to take advantage of the services offered at this special event. This year the Extreme Registration event will take ...

AHWAHNEE – Juniors and beginners can learn to golf for free at Sierra Meadows in the next month, as organizers plan to host a series golf clinics so locals and visitors can get a taste of what’s great about the sport. The two-hour workshops will be offered to the public at no charge by local golf pros Mike Best and Roger Lyon. The sessions ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – The local chapter affiliate of Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) team is up and running and participated in their first disasters beginning on June 18, during the Sky Fire in Oakhurst and the Corrine Fire in North Fork, aiding the evacuees in two shelter locations in Oakhurst. The Calvin Crest camp counselors came out with only ...

YOSEMITE – A small school house tucked away in the big outdoors offers nearly unlimited possibilities, with an emphasis on environmental science, art, project-based and multiage learning, and flexibility. Yosemite Wawona Charter School serves grades K-8 and is now open for enrollment to students in Madera and Mariposa Counties. School starts August 17. “There are many reasons families looking for ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – Residents and visitors may soon see stormy skies, as a hazardous weather outlook and flash flood warning has been issued for the higher elevations of the southern Sierra Nevada, with the prospect of isolated thunderstorms continuing late Monday night and possibly through Tuesday. The National Weather Service reports from Hanford that moisture from tropical storm Dolores in ...

AHWAHNEE – Alli Patterson is many things to many people. She’s a loving daughter, a protective sister, and a good friend. Alli is a student, a photographer, a writer, and an activist. If there’s one thing Alli knows how to do — and actually, there are lots — it’s express herself. “I express myself through everything I do: music, photography, ...

AHWAHNEE – The For Sale sign has come down at Sierra Meadows Golf Course and Country Club, as the entire place is officially under new ownership. The 142-acre property was purchased from former owner Robert Bard by business partners Charlie Sheldon and Reid Spice. “Charlie and I have been friends and business partners for over 15 years,” says Reid. “We ...

AHWAHNEE – Firefighters responded to reports of a column of smoke rising in the area of Miami Mountain Lookout just before 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. The fire burned just west of Highway 49, north of Ahwahnee off Miami Mountain Road. First engine at scene reported the fire about 1/2 to 3/4 acre. Air tankers and helicopters were quickly over ...