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 ...

After chasing fall colors at higher elevations on the eastern side of the Sierra, I was curious how those fall colors were shaping up in Yosemite Valley. So, I hopped in the car and took a little drive. Where: Yosemite National Park Difficulty: Easy Elevation Range: 3,996′ – 4,184′ Date: October 30, 2018 Maps: El Capitan and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir ...

We were on the hunt for fall colors on the eastern side of the Sierra. We discovered gold, yellow and a few reds along the way but white puffy clouds and reflective lakes kind of stole the show. I was ok with that! The fall color show on the eastern side of the Sierra was winding down and I wanted ...

They call this hike the Twenty Lakes Basin Hike and my dog Sally and I visited 13 of them on this day. And yes, I am counting every little tarn and separate little inlet as lakes but there are even more that you could cover in this hike if you tried and if you do the hike in early spring, ...

YOSEMITE – Though the firefight has ended on the nearly 97,000-acre Ferguson Fire and only a few smokes remain throughout the interior, the work of repair and restoration continues. On a recent trip to Yosemite West, I was escorted by Anne Grandy, retired from the Bass Lake Ranger District and now serving as a PIO on the South Central Sierra ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — Our local EMC SPCA says they are in desperate need of new foster people to take care of some very special canines and felines. For anyone who has been thinking about ways in which to help, this is a great way to give volunteering with pets a try. “Recently, we’ve had to turn away both cats and ...