With the Hite Cove area trails closed, where could we go to check out the Merced River Canyon poppies and other colorful wildflowers? We found a nice trail with lots of yellow poppies and color combinations of all kinds represented by other wildflowers. We also discovered that the wildflowers are running a little later than they were in previous years ...

Written by David Novell – Orangie stuffed the shopping list into his back pocket, not particularly thrilled with the idea of doing the grocery shopping for his household, which of course was not much of a household, consisting of only him and his dad nowadays. But still, it wasn’t all that much fun having just a few bucks to get ...

COARSEGOLD — Like many of our children growing up in the mountains, Hannah Lewis loves her dog. He’s a blue-nosed brindle pit the family named Kenpo, after the Japanese martial arts. It’s no wonder they’re mutually devoted — she’s had Kenpo since he was six weeks old; he is seven years old now. Hannah’s almost 16. She likes music, and ...

AHWAHNEE – Madera County is giving 75 acres in Awhawnee to the Eastern Madera County SPCA to help the organization complete its new, no-kill animal shelter. On Tuesday, the board of supervisors OK’d the donation of 75.33 acres of “surplus” county land to EMC SPCA. The organization’s president said the donation will allow the nonprofit to secure additional funding for ...

A dusting of new snow was the perfect backdrop for our hike to see gigantic Sequoias. Some of our hike was with snowshoes and some of it was without. That is the way it goes with springtime snow. Where: Yosemite National Park, Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Distance: About 10 Miles but you can go shorter or farther Difficulty: Moderate ...

MADERA – Brittany Dyer has been Madera County District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler’s Chief of Staff since Feb. 2014, and is now moving on to serve as California State Director for American Forests. American Forests is a 143-year-old national non-profit based out of Washington D.C. They have completed natural resource projects including reforestation for many years in California but due ...

CALIFORNIA — Here are a handful of the hundreds of laws that go into effect on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019: FAMILIES Employment: lactation accommodation AB 1976 Requires employers to make private space available for women who are breastfeeding at work, other than a bathroom. The law previously required space other than a toilet stall. FOOD Food facilities: single-use plastic straws AB ...

With so many special events and activities taking place over the next few weeks, we thought it would be helpful to compile a timely list of all the entertainment-related and community-oriented holiday happenings in the mountain area between now and December 25. If we missed anything, let us know and we’ll gladly add it to the Big Local List of ...

NORTH FORK – There were tears of joy in the Paradise area last weekend when five families who have lost everything in the Camp Fire were blessed with temporary homes as they work to rebuild their lives. North Fork residents Diane and Vince Mercado have made it their mission to see that as many families as possible have a roof ...

Philip Steven Girmant – February 14, 1935 – November 7, 2018 Philip Steven Girmant was born in Rochester, NY, on Valentine’s Day in 1935, to Anthony Josephus Girmantas and Marie Imogene Rossiter. His father, Tony, was born in Lithuania and came to New York as a small boy. In the 1930s, Tony served in the U.S. Army. Philip’s mother was ...