Guy McCarthy

The California red-legged frog, wiped out in Yosemite National Park for decades, has made a significant comeback in the past 10 years thanks to coordinated human interventions and restoration efforts, according to state and federal Fish and Wildlife agencies and the National Park Service.

Burn permits will be suspended for outdoor, open residential burning below 3,500 feet in state-responsibility areas of Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, and eastern portions of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, effective at 8 a.m. Monday.

Deadlines for exhibitors and their entries at the 2026 Mother Lode Fair, scheduled July 2-5 at Mother Lode Fairgrounds off Stockton Road in Sonora, are approaching this week and next week.

Reports of potential threats at two Tuolumne County schools over the past week, including an anonymous tip Friday at Sonora High School and earlier incidents tied to Soulsbyville Elementary, were determined not to be credible following investigations by law enforcement and school officials, authorities said.

Organizers of a two-hour Zoom event this Thursday, focused on coordinating and creating Central Sierra bioeconomy jobs and opportunities in land, energy, agriculture, and forestry, are seeking entrepreneurs, educators, industry leaders, and nonprofits based in Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne counties to take part in the online conference.

Vehicle damage to a vulnerable high-altitude meadow, around 8,000 feet in elevation, was discovered last week and prompted the Forest Service to reclose a section of Herring Creek Road until May 31.

Cooler, wetter conditions that began Tuesday were expected to bring enough snow to the high Central Sierra from Tuesday night through Friday that Caltrans and the National Park Service have temporarily closed Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4, Sonora Pass on Highway 108, and Tioga Pass on Highway 120.

Advocates for military veterans, survivors of deceased veterans, and community members gathered at numerous locations in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties Monday to honor service members who have lost their lives, including casualties of the ongoing U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

I got up before 4 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, to check how cold it was at Tioga Pass. It was 50 degrees in downtown Sonora and below freezing at the highest paved mountain pass in the state.

A mother from Colorado who is also an award-winning speaker and best-selling author spoke plainly to Sonora Elementary School students on Wednesday, May 20, about the dangers of today's high-potency THC products — marijuana, vapes, edibles, and dabs — and addiction, adolescent brain development, and mental illness.