MADERA — Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) officials reported 36 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The latest cases, which include those confirmed both Thursday and today, bring the countywide total to 893.As of 4 p.m. Friday, MCDPH was reporting a total of 430 currently active cases — and 455 recoveries.Twelve people with coronavirus are currently hospitalized and ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — Superintendents of two area school districts both confirmed on Thursday that their schools are on track to open for the 2020-21 school year on August 13. “Schools will reopen one way or another,” said Bass Lake Joint Elementary School District Superintendent Randy Seals.Unfortunately, because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, there are still major questions about ...

MADERA — Madera supervisors held their first regular meeting of the County’s new 2020-21 fiscal year this week — and it was a busy session.The start of a new business year means the County must renew various departmental agreements with outside contractors. So Tuesday’s lengthy list of agenda items involved the auditor’s office, behavioral health sciences, community and economic development, ...

SACRAMENTO — Madera County was one of six California counties added to the state’s watch list Monday due to a spike in new coronavirus cases. According to local health officials, Madera County landed on the list because daily confirmed case numbers have been on the increase for three straight days — and the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 ...

OAKHURST – The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the National Park Service to make adjustments to how park visitors access Yosemite this summer. But there’s a silver lining: Park visitors are reporting more intimate, leisurely –and safe — experiences. Each day 1,700 day-use park passes are available via online reservation. While the situation is not ideal when passes sell out, local ...

MADERA — The Madera County Board of Supervisors held a brief, 30-minute “special meeting” Tuesday, tying up some loose ends on the last day of the County’s fiscal year.The board’s main orders of business involved approving an annual $100 road maintenance levy on Bass Lake property owners and authorizing a letter to state lawmakers opposing SB 474, which seeks to ...

MADERA COUNTY — A 27-year-old developmentally disabled Madera man died in an apparent drowning accident Thursday afternoon at Hensley Lake.The Madera County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victim as Carl Jefferson.“We received the call at 4:31 p.m. of a caregiver reporting a dependent adult missing near Hensley Lake,” said Deputy Sarah Jackson, MCSO public information officer. “We immediately sent deputies ...

MARIPOSA — A John C. Fremont Healthcare District clinical staff member with patient contact has tested positive for COVID-19 — the first case of a hospital worker testing positive. “This individual is not one of the eight staff members that were potentially exposed from the two positive cases identified at the District earlier in the week,” said a release issued ...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Park officials are reversing course two weeks after reopening and now say they will hold off on allowing visitor use of half a dozen popular park campgrounds until at least August 1.The decision comes after a spike in new coronavirus cases across the state since the Memorial Day weekend. Late Tuesday evening, park officials issued this ...

MADERA — At this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Madera County Library officials announced that their application for a grant from the California State Library’s “Bringing the Library to You Mobile Library Grant” program has been awarded $206,000. Library officials plan to use the grant award to purchase a new vehicle that will be customized to function as a mobile ...