Canadian gold mining firm bets millions on historic mine




A group of Canada-based investors have paid more than $5 million to acquire 3,350 acres in Bear Valley encompassing the historic Pine Tree and Josephine gold mines. The property is part of the original Rancho Las Mariposas land grant held by Colonel John C. Fremont. Upper Canada Gold Corporation has high hopes to start gold production after completing a round […]

Father arrested for trying to kill family



A Mariposa man is accused of trying to kill his entire family by crashing the car he was driving into a tree just after midnight on March 22. Mariposa County Sheriff Doug Binnewies said 36-year-old Joshua Battles is in custody after he crashed the car in the Midpines area. In the car were Battles and his wife and three young […]

Bear around town creates a stir




A cinnamon-colored bear is visiting town before dawn to snatch scraps from trash cans, residents say. Since mid-March, the local sheriff’s office has received reports from Jones Street, 13th Street, and Stroming Road. Multiple reports have come in from the hospital neighborhood and the vicinity of Highway 49 North. The bear showed up one “early evening” as Syrena Knauf’s husband […]

Deputies bust first gardens of season



Mariposa County Sheriff’s Deputies have taken down the first marijuana gardens of the season. During the first bust, two people were arrested. Three days later, deputies found another garden on Sullivan Road that netted nearly 7,000 plants.According to Mariposa County Sheriff Doug Binnewies, Sergio Magallanes and Spring Lawrence were arrested at a Lookout Mountain Road property on March 19. The […]

PARK & POLITICS

Merced River Plan attracts interest of Congressional reps


The county’s elected representatives in Washington D.C. are watching Yosemite’s Merced River Plan (MRP) as the document speeds towards April 18—the end of its public comment period. Senator Dianne Feinstein knows some Park visitors are uncomfortable with the proposed removal of Yosemite’s ice rink, swimming pools and other amenities, staffer Tom Mentzer said. Feinstein has no immediate plan to intervene […]

GAZETTE will close for Good Friday



The office of the MARIPOSA GAZETTE will be closed on Friday, March 29, in observance of Good Friday. Regular hours will resume on Monday, April 1. There will be no changes in deadlines due to the closure. The staff at the GAZETTE wishes everyone a happy Easter.

MCS program connects local youth with Yosemite



The Yosemite Youth Expedition (YYE) was born in 2010 out of the recognition of the need for Mariposa youth to feel a connection to the national park in their backyard. Balanced Rock, Mountain Crisis Services (MCS), Ethos Youth Center, and Yosemite National Park partnered together to bring Mariposa County youth into Yosemite to experience wilderness, learn to appreciate wild spaces, […]

Sheriff’s Daily Dispatch Log



March 18: •There was a loud party on Highway 49 North. •A bull was in a yard on Merced Falls Road. •Grand theft was reported on Indian Peak Road. •There was a suspicious person on Seventh Street. March 19: •A bear was in the trash at a home on Smith Road. •A mailbox was stolen on Cathedral Spires Road. •Deputies […]

Relay for Life is around the corner



The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Mariposa is just around the corner. Register a team today by logging onto the Relay For Life of Mariposa Web site, relayforlife.org/mariposaca, and click the “sign up” button. This celebration of life brings the Mariposa community together in a unified effort to celebrate the lives of those who have faced cancer, remember […]

Fire tax bill will be delayed



Senator Tom Berryhill (R-Twain Harte), a longtime critic of the fire tax and co-author of several legislative proposals to repeal the tax issued the following statement in response of an investigation that found “errors and inconsistencies” in State Responsibility Area boundaries. “It is time to repeal this unfair tax. Careless errors in the implementation and spending of this tax just […]