AHWAHNEE — District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler thinks 2020 is going to be “another up year” for eastern Madera County. “The last two or three years have been really good ones for us,” Wheeler said this week from his ranch in Ahwahnee. “Our budget’s been up. Our economy is up. Unemployment is low. We’re among the top ten counties in ...

NORTH FORK – Backers of a plan to build a $15 million biomass plant in North Fork confirmed Tuesday that financing on the project closed escrow in the final hours of 2019 — paving the way for construction to finally begin in April. “We closed just hours before midnight on New Year’s Eve,” said project coordinator Greg Stangl of Phoenix ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES – Congress just agreed to a bipartisan appropriations bill that will help avoid another government shutdown. Attached to the spending bill is the SECURE Act legislation which goes into effect on January 1, 2020, assuming President Trump signs the bill into law (which seems likely). This bill makes comprehensive changes to the laws governing IRAs and other retirement ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — From progress on major new public and commercial projects to prosecution of high-profile criminal cases, 2019 was an eventful year in eastern Madera County. As 2020 dawns, here’s a look back at some of this year’s key stories. North Fork’s new roundabout: After several years of heated debate, Madera County’s first public roundabout was approved by the ...

COARSEGOLD — G’Ma and Pappa’s Motorcycle Apparel shop hosted its 4th annual “Christmas in the Mountains Bicycle Giveaway” on Saturday morning outside the Coarsegold Community Center. At the popular event, nearly 300 area underprivileged children — from toddlers to teenagers — got an early Christmas present — a brand new bike. The children and their parents also enjoyed a free ...

OAKHURST — Local timber sports superstar Nate Hodges is opening a new club in Oakhurst called Yosemite Axe Throwing. “I’m hoping to open this weekend but with the end of the year and holidays approaching, it’s taking longer than I anticipated to bind an insurance policy,” Hodges told SNO this week. The new club, which features nine individual throwing lanes, ...

OAKHURST — A sharp-eyed sheriff’s deputy spoiled two thieves’ gambling spree — and saved the holiday season for one local store. The incident began around 6 p.m. on Saturday when Madera County Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Robertson responded to a call for service at a business in the 40000 block of Highway 49 where the owner had reported the theft of ...

OAKHURST — Bread Head Kitchen opened earlier this year after Nikko Mizuno and her two partners purchased the former Pop’s Family diner, located adjacent to Subway just across Highway 41 from the Visitor Center. The partners, all veterans of the local restaurant scene, renovated the interior and re-branded the restaurant, with an emphasis on being a “fresh food kitchen.” “We’re ...

NORTH FORK — Despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding PG&E’s bankruptcy and its potential impact on North Fork’s proposed new biomass plant, project proponents remain optimistic ground could still be broken as early as next year. Plans and permits are in place and equipment is ready for shipment but financing the complicated deal has yet to be worked out. Adding to the ...

MADERA — The Madera County Board of Supervisors held a rare special meeting Monday to choose a health care services provider for adult and juvenile inmates in county correctional facilities. The special meeting began at 8:30 a.m. at the County Government Center in Madera. (Supervisors will not hold their regular meeting on Tuesday this week because they will be traveling ...