May 18: Mono County Weekly
Inyo County received a variance to move ahead in reopening last week; Governor Newsom announced new standards for variance; Mono County will attest to move forward with reopening this week.
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Mono County News and Updates: May 18
Inyo County received a variance to move ahead in reopening last week; Governor Newsom announced new standards for variance; Mono County will attest to move forward with reopening this week.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced updated guidelines for reopening in a press conference today, and said that roughly 53 out of 58 counties would likely qualify. Mono County did not previously qualify for the variance, but plans to attest now that the state updated the qualifications.
“We are empowering our local heath directors and county officials that understand their local communities better than any of us,” Gov. Newsom said. “At the same time, we need to hold all of ourselves to account for transparency and accountability in terms of implementation of these rules and regulations.”
Last week Inyo County received the variance allowing the county to start reopening more businesses moving further into stage two. A total of 24 counties have already self-attested and been approved by the California Department of Public Health, meaning they can reopen retail stores for shopping and restaurants for dining.
The new standards for moving forward in stage two are based primarily on stabilized hospitalization rates and preparedness, which includes testing and tracing.
Counties must show no more than 5% increase in hospitalization rates, or 20 people over a seven-day period; and counties must report no more than 25 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents within 14 days of attestation. The previous rate was one case per 10,000 residents.
Last week when Mono County reported six new cases of the coronavirus and eight within the two-week period, it was five times higher than the state standard per capita rate, and then another positive case was reported in Mammoth yesterday. As of Monday, May 18 there are now 34 positive cases in Mono County with eight positive cases in the last 14-day period.
The Mono County Board of Supervisors scheduled a special meeting for tomorrow, Tuesday, may 19 at 3 p.m. to discuss attestation.
Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. —Henry Anatole Grunwald
Outdoor and Recreation Updates
Mono County has moved forward with seasonal road openings as normal. Winter gates are now open on Rock Creek and Lundy roads. Highway 120 is open in Mono County to the national park entrance. Highway 89 over Monitor Pass is also open.
Last week the Inyo National Forest and BLM Bishop Field Office announced new, stricter fire restrictions due to drought conditions. Campfires outside of designated campgrounds are prohibited. The Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest previously issued the same restrictions. Campfires are allowed in developed campgrounds, but developed campgrounds are currently closed.
The Inyo National Forest extended its developed recreation site closures through June 30. Visitor centers, campgrounds, picnic areas, day use areas and facilities including restrooms, water and trash services will remain closed. This does not close trails, trailheads, and general forest areas, which remain open for public use.
According to District Ranger Phillip DeSenze, if the forest can open developed sites sooner, it will. Seasonal summer staff have been hired and will undergo a 14-day quarantine, which is slowing down the process of reopening developed sites. Concessionaires have now been allowed into campgrounds to start reopening maintenance work.
Fishing season opened in Alpine County last week. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had postponed trout opener in the counties that requested it due to fears of tourism during the pandemic. Inyo and Mono Counties are still closed until the delay expires on May 31, but supervisors Stacy Corless and John Peters are working with Inyo county to collaboratively get the season opened a little sooner in the Eastern Sierra.
Wilderness permits have been cancelled through the end of May and the forest will continue to reassess the situation every two weeks. It is unclear what the summer plans are for Mt. Whitney and Devil's Postpile National Monument at this time.
Eastern Sierra Transit Authority is seeking public comment on the proposed Red’s Meadow Shuttle cancelation and other route changes. It is unclear what the alternative is, but according to Supervisor Jennifer Krietz, access to the valley will be managed by the Inyo National Forest based on limited infrastructure.
Note to the readers
The coronavirus has brought unprecedented hardships to our community and the world. When the state first declared a public health emergency, like many of you, I found myself unemployed and looking for information that I could not find, so I started reporting online here.
The pandemic has brought layoffs and furloughs to news rooms across the country and freelance journalists are out of work too. Reliable and trustworthy news is as important as ever before, but I also need paying work.
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I've had a lot of crappy jobs, but one of my favorites was working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. What I loved about it was, you got paid for what you caught. — Jon Krakauer
This week in Mono County
Tuesday, May 19: Mono County Board of Supervisors Special Meeting at 3 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20: Virtual Community Coffee hosted by Mammoth Lakes Tourism and Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Includes free coffee.
Thursday, May 21: Mono County Board of Supervisors Special Meeting at 9 a.m.
Thursday, May 14: Ongoing community meetings are scheduled weekly on Thursdays in English at 5:30 p.m., and in Spanish at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.
Ongoing: If you need someone to talk to, Mono County Behavioral Health counselors are available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (760) 924-1740
Ongoing: If you haven’t already, it’s time to complete the 2020 Census.
Recommended Reading
What We Know About Your Chances of Catching the Virus Outdoors by Michael Levenson, Tara Parker-Pope and James Gorman for the The New York Times
Western states lead the way in vote-by-mail elections by Anna V. Smith for High Country News
Should You Adopt a Dog or A Grizzly Bear? by Brendan Leonard for Outside
Our kinship with Earth must be maintained; otherwise, we will find ourselves trapped in the center of our own paved-over souls with no way out. — Terry Tempest Williams
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Monica Prelle is a Mammoth Lakes-based journalist currently reporting on COVID-19.