COARSEGOLD – Rivergold Elementary School in Coarsegold will be the first Madera Country school to benefit from the much-anticipated radKIDS® Anti-Bullying Program set to start in February. A rigorous training program for the instructors will take place next week in Madera.

Annual Christmas bird counts last month in Mariposa, Oakhurst and Yosemite yielded fewer birds than last year, yet organizers of the three local events nonetheless judged them successful–and, as always, fun! The counts were part of the National Audubon Society’s 113th Christmas Bird Count, an annual avian census held between Dec. 14, 2012 and Jan. 5, 2013. Begun on Christmas ...

MADERA – A horrific head-on collision near the 22-Mile House on Highway 41, claimed the lives of three young women back in August of 2009. Today, a Madera County jury convicted Justin Eugene Rice of three felony counts of second degree murder, three felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one count of felony driving under the influence causing ...

MADERA COUNTY – The filing of two lawsuits by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians may cost a lot more than lawyer’s fees and court costs. It may mean the loss of upwards of $20 million in payments if and when the North Fork Mono Tribe builds their casino. When the governor signed the compact between the State of California ...

CALIFORNIA – The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) becomes the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), effective Jan. 1. The new name was mandated by Assembly Bill (AB) 2402, which was signed Sept. 25, 2012, by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and is one of numerous provisions passed into law during 2012 that affect the department.

MARIPOSA COUNTY – A single-vehicle accident on Highway 140 near Cedar Lodge has claimed the life of an El Portal man. Juan Hernandez Montalvo, 25, was killed when his 2003 Volkswagon Jetta crashed onto the banks of the Merced River just after midnight on Sunday, Dec. 30, according to the CHP.

SACRAMENTO –Classic car owners can now give their ride the look it had back when it was hot off the showroom floor. Vintage-look plates are being offered by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and the DMV will be taking pre-orders beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

Submitted by Dave Wolin It may not seem like it, but we live in a dangerous area. At any moment, the Long Valley Caldera and Mammoth Mountain could explode, decimating Central California. We’re only 100 miles from the San Andreas fault; a major earthquake could destroy most of Madera County. A fire like the Harlow Fire of 1961 could wipe ...

Every year, Americans make resolutions about how they will tackle some perceived personal short-coming in the new year. We wondered how this tradition came to be, and found some interesting history around the web. We also heard from SNO readers about what they’ll be up to in 2013. The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of ...

OAKHURST – An Oakhurst man escaped serious injury this morning when his car went off Highway 41 and plunged down a steep embankment on Deadwood. Grady Grant, 38, was traveling southbound on Highway 41 about a mile south of Victoria Lane, when he suffered a blackout, according to CHP Officer Doug Corbett.