The Union Democrat 02-25-16

Page 1

THEATER: SRTdoes 'My Fair Lady' for 300th production IRBNIWC i N I

QSWMNUOINÃ

M

O WE

MORE IN WEEKENDER:Captain Encouragement hosts comicbook launch; The0's, Dirty River Boys play Friday at Black Oak

1HE MOl HER LODE'S LEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SONORA, CALIFORNIA

Q}

THURSDA Y

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Cityof Sonora

TODAY'S RijLDiRBOAR D

Downtown

merchants

BRIEFING

Academic

DeCathlOn — Sum-

merville, Mountain Oaks win at regional scholastic competition.A2

gatherto

Town hall — Resi-

talk issues

dents voice concerns about Twain Harte burglaries.A3

By ALEX MacLEAN

Vital Stats — Births,

The Union Democrat

marriages and deaths recorded in Tuolumne County.A3

Vacant storefronts, parking, homeless people and plans for the future were among the topics downtown Sonora merchants discussed with city leaders at a town hall meeting Wednesday morning. Councilman George Segarini said he organized the meeting in response to the growing number of vacancies he's observed in the

OPlnlOn —Bozell: The never-ending Obama Valentine. Simon: Impossible to inevitable: Trump must choose veep.A4

historic downtown corridor. The meeting was

HEALTH

Maggie Beck /Union Democrat

Purchase photos online at www.uniondemocrat.corn

A star magnolia blooms in the Sonora area. Despite warm temperatures, spring is not set to begin until March 20.

• LOOK ON THE WHITE SIDE:For brighterteeth, dentist' s office or the less-epxensive alternatives?B1 • DR. OZ:New fixes for stinky armpits.B1 • WHAT DOES YOUR HEART BEAT FOR?: Young artists win heart-healthy coloring contest.B1

See SONORA/ Back Page

What happened to El ¹o? Despite blooming flowers and warm temperatures, minter s not over yet. Almanacs and calendars say the first day of spring is more than three weeks away. By GUY McCARTHY The Union Democrat t

Warm weather is expected to continue this week with sunshine and highs in the 60s and 70s across the Mother Lode, leaving residents looking back on a February heat wave broken only by last week's cold storm systems. With fiowers and trees blooming under azure skies from Columbia to Chinese Camp, some people are asking "Is it spring already?" and "What happened to El ¹no?" Almanac keepers and calendars say the first day of spring this year is supposed to be March 20. Michelle Mead with the National Weather Service in Sacramento says El ¹ino is still going strong out in the Equatorial Pacific, with warm sea surface temperatures expected through March and April. That should mean a return to

SPORTS • HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS:S'ville pulls away late to beat Escalon.C1 • COLUMBIA HOOPS: Claim Jumpers fall to Sierra in first round.C1

NEWS TIPS? PHONE: 770-7153,5884534 NEWS: editorIuniondemocrat.corn FEATUR ES: features@uniondemocrat.cor n SPORTS: sporlsIuniondemocratcom EVENTS ANDWEEKENDER: weekend erluniondemocratcom LETTERS :letersIuniondemocratcom CALAVERA SBUREAU:770-7197 NEWSR OOMFNC5324451 SUBSCR IBERSERVICES: 533-3614

in r i 5i

By JASON COWAN The Union Democrat

Debbie Ponte, who is grieving the death of her daughter, Michelle, said she has had more good days than bad lately. It's been an emotional roller coaster,she said, and certai n thingstrigger aresponse. Campaigning for a s econd term for the Calaveras County Board ofSupervisors could be Ponte one of those things. So, she's decided not to run. About nine months ago, her 22-year-old daughter died unexpectedly at her home in Angels Camp. Ponte's mother had a heart at

4

See PONTE /Back Page

,,.Ca'r::,:..-: ".

"

'

Squirrels may

said.

wet season, El ¹ino or not," Mead said. uWinter isn't over yet. We still

have caused Comcast outage

have March to go."

By JASON COWAN

"It's not uncommon for there to be periods ofdry weather thatlast 10 days to two weeks in the winter

The Union Democrat

Snowpack All that February sunshine at high elevations is taking its toll on Sierra Nevada snowpack, which built up to above historical averages earlier this winter thanks to storms in January, December and November. As of Wednesday, instruments

Calendar........................ •

Cal supervisor Ponte will not seek re-election

' i: i'

before winter is through. Right now in the Central Sierra Nevada, we' re going through a "typical" dry period of the winter season, Mead

A story in the Feb. 23 Union Democrat incorrectly reported the circumstances under which vandalism on a downtown mural was reported to Sonora Police. An employee of Land & Structure Civil Engineers reported the incident about 9:15 a.m. Friday. A second call, made to police just before 1 p.m., was found to be an employee of the business covering up the graffiti around the mural.

.'.jp' "

wetter weather and more storms

CORRECTION

modeled after similar town halls that were regularly held until a couple of years ago. "I thought we should bring that back again," he said. "The information I got from that and just the interchange with other merchants was very interesting." Seated behind a row of desks at the front of the room was a panel that included Segarini, Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority Larry Cope, Councilwoman Connie Williams, City Administrator Tim Miller and Sonora Police Chief Mark Stinson.

InSide

~

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Health & Medicine.......

An ornamental cherry tree blossoms in the Sonora area. February sunshine may give way to weak storms this weekend. showed statewide Sierra Nevada watersheds in Calaveras and Tusnowpack holding 92 percent of olumne counties was holding 93 normal snow water equivalent for percent of normal. the date Feb. 24. The Central Sierra Nevada region that includes See WEATHER/Back Page

.....A2 O b ituaries........ .....CS O pinion............

.....Aa Sports............... ..... B1 lv ......................

:::::::A4

Weather Page C6

Meet Dr. Singhal. An expert in cancer. And kindness.

Officials with Comcast said Wednesday that a service outage impacted 52 business customers in Angels Camp, Arnold, Jamestown, Sonora, Soulsbyville and Tuolumne. Originally, Comcast said Tuesday evening the outage only impacted business customers in Sonora. See OUTAGE / Back Page

Today: High 74, Low 3S Friday:High 74, Low 41 Saturday:High 70, Low 37

®

a

II IIIIIII 51 1 5 3 0 0 10 3

' 6

I

r


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.