sheetthe News, Views & Culture of the Eastern Sierra Larissa French was all smiles at the Husky Club’s “Fun with Police and Wheels BBQ” this past Tuesday. Saturday, June 22, 2019 FREE Vol. 17, No. 25 TIOGA PASS ROAD WILL ALLOW OPEN THE DOOR, LIMITED ACCESS STARTING JUNE 21 AND LET TIOGA INN Press Release Will Mono County ring bell for new hotel development? osemite National Park Flat Junction and at Tioga for all backpackers to be aware By Gorman announced Thursday Pass. of the timing that the road is he Mono County Planning Robertson then asked a series Ythere will be limited Visitors are encouraged to open and closed and to plan Commission met Thurs- of questions about the hous- access to Tioga Road (Highway plan their trips over Tioga their trip logistics accordingly. Tday to discuss a massive ing. She was concerned that 120 East) for visitors interested Road in advance and to Any backpacker who misses- new development proposed at there was no stipulation for rent in crossing the Sierra. prepare for the restricted ac- the road open period will need the junction of Highways 395 control on the units. Through- Tioga Road will be open to cess and no access to visitor to be prepared to spend an and 120. out the plan the 150 new units all vehicles, including bicycles, services. The road will remain additional night in the wilder- The Tioga Inn would include are referred to as “workforce from 10-11 a.m. and from 3-4 closed outside of these times ness. All wilderness regula- a 120-room hotel with banquet housing units,” not “affordable p.m. No parking will be al- to allow for continued road- tions will remain in effect. hall, retail space and coffee housing units,” and she said that lowed on Tioga Road and day work and snow clearing. All motorists should drive shop; a 100-seat restaurant and she wanted to make sure that use recreation is not permit- Cyclists traveling over Tioga with caution and be aware of lounge; and 100 units of work- these units are affordable for the ted. There is no visitor parking Road will need to be prepared possible hazards in the road- force housing (150 rooms) with community that rents them. available at either end of the to cross over the full length of way, including rocks, debris, a daycare. Domaille said that he cur- road closure. Tioga Road during daylight and water. Tioga Road may be It has been proposed by the rently houses employees of the There are no visitor services hours. Tioga Road is closed to impacted by incoming storm owner of the Mobil Mart, Den- Mobil and their rents are deter- available along Tioga Road. overnight camping. activity, including snow and nis Domaille. mined based on what they are The Tuolumne Meadows Visi- Backpackers planning trips icy driving conditions, over the Such a development may paid and what they can afford. tor Center, Wilderness Center, in the High Sierra will be able next several weeks. Tioga Road also trigger some measures to “I need employees. Employ- and the Tuolumne Meadows to be dropped off and picked may temporarily close due to support it, for example, a stop ees, in theory, need a job and a Campground remain closed. up at trailheads along Tioga weather and unsafe driving light at the intersection of 395 place to live … I am not going to Opening dates for the 2019 Road. All backpackers will conditions at any time. and 120, a bike/pedestrian path make the rents so high that the between the hotel and neigh- units stay empty.” season have not been deter- need to pick up their wilder- For updated 24-hour road boring Lee Vining, and a deer Domaille said that he houses mined. ness permits in advance and and weather conditions for passage under 395. an employee currently who pays Restroom facilities will be have a bear canister in hand. Yosemite National Park, please The development is currently no rent simply because he is so available 5 miles east of Crane It is strongly recommended call 209-372-0200. in the public review period. valuable to Domaille. The public has 60 days from Robertson then asked if there THE LEE VINING LOBBY June 14 to August 13 to submit will be criteria for who can live comments on the current plans, in these units since there are too which can be found on the many for Tioga Inn employees Mono County website. to fill them all. The planning commission Domaille said that anyone meeting Thursday was purely living in this housing must be informational. The commission- employed in Mono County. ers had a chance to ask ques- “This is not for backpackers to tions about the plans submitted use as a base camp for the sum- by the developer. mer,” he said. Commissioner Patricia Rob- This led Commissioner Scott ertson opened up the question- Bush to ask what will happen ing. She asked, why build a day- to a resident who loses his job. care and how will the daycare Domaille said that there are no be managed? terms in this document for that Domaille said that he has a event. lot of young couples working The plan proposes that the for him, and especially a lot of property be broken up into four young hispanic families, who he separate parcels with the inten- said often have more children, tion that each could be sold so a daycare is necessary. He individually. Commissioner said it would hopefully be run Roberta Lagomarsini suggested by local mothers and that it that Domaille was likely plan- would be licensed. He also said ning to sell the hotel to a larger Lee Vining H.S. students attended the Citizens Climate Lobby conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. that it would be open to the company like Best Western From the Capitol steps, top row, left to right: Ben Trefry, Caelen McQuilkin, Sophia McKee, Eva Francaviglia. Bot- greater Lee Vining community, that could manage it more ef- tom left to right: Sabrina Cisneros, Fiona Godoy, Andrea Santillan, Ellery McQuilkin. See Trefry’s story p. 13 not only his residents. ficiently. Soulstice ‘Scopes The Grow JLB = 5 Trail of Hope Mill v. Wilson p. 18/ p. 2/ p. 10/ p. 8/ p. 6/ 2 I www.thesheetnews.com THE SHEET I Saturday, June 22, 2019 the Ted Carleton ....... Jack of all Lunches 760.937.4613 / [email protected] “THEBelow right are theGROW” marijuana plants being grown behind Mammoth Nursery, in plain view. June Simpkins...Jack of everything else We told Nursery owner Jenny Bouwman that we’d been alerted to the plants, and 760.937.3967 / [email protected] that they are in violation of Town Ordinance 18-02, which states that outdoor cultiva- sheet Tim Gorman ...................Writer tion of cannabis is illegal within town limits. In effect, she told us to pound sand. News, Views & Culture of the Eastern Sierra [email protected] But it got us sand-pounders to thinking. The reason the Town’s so rudderless right Melissa Maddux ............. now, and never mind Paul, is that we can’t seem to find any common ground on our Writer “Si enim yogurt tibi fundo fructus vel [email protected] various ideas. commotior?” So what if we combine them all? Charles James -Stephen Baldwin .............Contributor Forget The Parcel. Too many hero-ball playing bureaucrats to make that happen. 760.614.0546 Forget the MUF. Too In-Tents. And rest in peace, Billy Buck. How about The Grow? Housed inside a 25-acre translucent tent at Shady Rest Par- Clouds McCloud ..........Ass-trologer cel. And we’ll grow marijuana there. Which we’ll sell, and become the wealthiest and most notorious ski town in America. JACK LUNCH Spike Todd ...........Beverage Consultant And we’ll place cots next to the rows and have the Town’s pizzerias deliver on an PUBLISHER hourly basis, so we’ll fix the housing problem while we’re at it, and boost small busi- ness. P.O. Box 8088 But as I get rolling on this idea, Gorman informs me that it’s been done before. I’ll Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 let him take the keyboard from here. For a subscription to The Sheet contact Lunch 760.924.0048/[email protected] Stephen Baldwin and Pauly Shore did it in the 1995 movie Bio-Dome. at his above e-mail address, or call the office. The plot: Shore and Baldwin accidentally enter a giant dome while looking for a An adjudicated paper of general circula- Issues are mailed out bi-weekly. Cost is $75/ place to pee and get sealed into a closed-door, dome experiment with five environ- tion. ©2019 The Sheet, all rights reserved. year. mental scientists for one year. They proceed to eat all the food too quickly, get pizza delivered to the dome, destory various experiments and grow “Purple Sticky Punch.” Shore and Baldwin do a better job during the movie of explaining the plant’s ben- efits than we ever could. Shore: “I know what you’re thinking, ‘Illegal! Illegal!’ But the value of Purple Sticky Punch goes way beyond just toking it. Ain’t that right, Professor Johnson?” Baldwin: “That’s correct, Professor Macintosh. Purple Sticky Punch, or hemp, is an excellent source of paper. It makes a fine rope. It can even make a contaminant- free fuel. But the greatest value to us Bio-Domers is its rapid rate of photosynthesis, which means more oxygen for everyone.” Speaking of bio-domes ..