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Pictured: “Tuff” guy: Councilmember Michael Raimondo then (left) in his ‘80s metal band “Tuff,” and today, banging his head in Suite Z every other Wednesday night./

Michael Raimondo: The First 180 days

When he was elected to Mammoth Lakes’ Town Council this past summer, the Town’s newest lawmaker, Michael Raimondo, was the second of two candidates (Jo Bacon was the other) for two open seats in the Town Council race that wasn’t. Raimondo was made Councilmember via appointment, when the Town opted to forego spending money on what was essentially a non-election.

After six months, how does Raimondo think he’s doing? “It hasn’t been boring,” he replied. “I ended up getting thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire, with the bankruptcy and the settlement and everything that was going on. We’re made some progress, though.”

Raimondo stands by his decisions to date, and is especially proud of the tough, challenging decisions, including his lone dissenting vote on the settlement agreement with Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition. “It’s over. I’m supportive of the Council today and the idea of growing ourselves out of this,” Raimondo stated. “I still believe in the way I voted. I’m not against a settlement. I just thought this settlement wasn’t the best one for the community. We could have done better, but it’s about moving forward.”

As to his seat on the dais, Raimondo is quick to point out that he didn’t run because no one else wanted the seat. “No one wants to run in a time of need, but when I filed initially I was running against Jo Bacon and Skip Harvey,” he explained. “Soon after I entered the race Skip withdrew, understandably. We’ll see what happens next election.”[Harvey opted not to run for health reasons and finished out the remainder of his term. He later passed away from cancer.

Thinking inside the box

Now that he’s settled into his Council seat and has a firm grasp of the Town’s obstacles and challenges, Raimondo is starting to turn his attention to some agenda items of his own. One of those involves Mammoth’s sidewalks and local trails. He’s impressed with the work that’s been done in terms of outer connectivity to the town’s outlying trails system, but thinks the time has come to shift more of the focus toward inner-connectivity.

“I want to finish the box that runs from Minaret to Meridian, to Old Mammoth Road and up to the Village via Main Street,” he proposed. “And I’d like to work on sidewalks and crossings near Whiskey Creek and 80|50. With the traffic that goes by there, someone could get killed or really injured, and I don’t want to wait for that to happen for it to become a priority.”

“I’m not reinventing the wheel,” he insists. “This has been championed before and it’s been discussed before. We keep saying we want to be a ‘feet first’ community, which is spelled out in part of the General Plan, but we need to finish the pieces. Council needs to take more leadership.”

And that means not just summer season trails, but also winter ones as well. “We spent $13 million to build a phenomenal summer and fall trails system, and six months of the year it’s covered in snow. Why?” he asked rhetorically. Raimondo particularly want to explore how to fund clearing snow from the Lake Mary Bike Path, which would allow more foot traffic for locals and guests to Tamarack and the Lakes Basin area, a popular snowshoe and cross-country ski destination. He also thinks it would improve access to residences along the way, which currently require some form of public or private transportation.

There are, he acknowledged, things to consider, such as avalanche dangers on parts of the route. “But the bottom line is it’s a great amenity that’s underutilized,” he summed up. “Meanwhile, we could be working on it, doing studies, put our heads together.”

He’s also looking forward to the next steps in the redevelopment of Main Street. “We can’t sit and wait … and wait for development to return; we need to make things happen,” he opined.

Raimondo is a realist in that he knows all this costs money. “Sure, it’s how to pay for it. We should look at grants and other potential sources of funding. R & U should be considered as options. There are definitions for mobility and recreation and this fits them. It just needs to be a priority of execution, not just discussion.

Speaking of summer, call them sidewalks or trails, either way Raimondo cited the series of outdoor concerts and events that have patrons walking in the street. “They should be on a designated path,” he said. “More bikes mean less car traffic, which means less accidents.”

Parking in the North Village, he said, is another problem that needs both short- and long-term work on a permanent structure. “We need it, no doubt. “Perhaps we could utilize the community center property and relocate the tennis courts?” he posited. “It’s been 10 years since we put up the Village and there’s no solution in place. I’m all in favor of air service, but people drive here and will continue to drive here, no matter how many flights we have. You can’t have a town with 60,000 people and no parking.”

In his book “Wait: The Art and Science of Delay,” Frank Partnoy talks about the Bing Nursery School experiments conducted at Stanford University, where researchers presented four-year olds with a single marshmallow and gave them a choice. They could either eat the marshmallow right away, or, if they did not eat it and could wait fifteen minutes, they would receive a second marshmallow.

According to Partnoy, when tested later in life, those who were able to delay gratification performed better on standardized tests, were less prone to impulsive behavior, had higher self-esteem, coped better with stress, were more physically fit – in short, they were more likely to become emotionally well-adjusted adults.

As Partnoy explains in his introduction, “The essence of my case is this: given the fast pace of modern life, most of us tend to react too quickly … in most situations we should take more time than we do. The longer we can wait, the better. And once we have a sense of how long a decision should take, we generally should delay the moment of decision until the last possible instant. If we have an hour, we should wait fifty-nine minutes before responding. If we have a year, we should wait 364 days.”

I’ve pondered this idea for a bit, because it doesn’t necessarily appear correct on the surface – at least when it comes to politics. Waiting has not led to better outcomes when it comes to debt-ceiling debates and fiscal cliffs … it’s only kicked problems further down the road.

On a local level, waiting didn’t lead to a better outcome regarding the Town’s airport litigation judgment. We waited four years and spent millions of dollars to ultimately achieve the same outcome we could’ve had four years earlier – without the attorneys.

However, Partnoy differentiates between waiting and procrastination.

When it comes to procrastination, Partnoy talks about discount rates.

To explain, he described the work of Economist Richard Thaler, who asked people a series of questions about money, and gave them choices as to whether they wanted a certain sum now, or a higher sum at a later date.

The example given regarded a debt of $100. Would you pay it now, or pay $115 a year from now? If you feel $100 today is the equivalent of $115 a year from now, you would have a discount rate of 15%.

Of course, that rate fluctuates depending upon the time horizon.

Partnoy: “If we are offered the choice of $50 today or $100 in a month, we might prefer to receive the $50 today. But if we are offered the choice of $50 in a year or $100 thirteen months from now, we almost certainly will choose to receive $100 thirteen months from now. The wait is a month in both instances, but our assessment of now is very different from our assessment of twelve months from now .. our preferences are not time-consistent.”

According to Partnoy, the Psychiatrist George Ainslie observed that humans use very high discount rates in the short term, meaning that when we want something today, we really want it and we don’t think much about future costs.

Think of that cute puppy at the shelter, or that cute ice rink behind the library …

It won’t surprise you to learn that researchers found people with higher discount rates are generally less successful.

And I would posit that we live in a high discount age in a high discount town.

I say this because we are so … weather dependent. Even one bad snow year can bring your typical small business owner in Mammoth Lakes to his knees. So there is quite logically a tremendous emphasis on the present. You never know when the spigot will run dry.

Meanwhile, you’ve got a corporately-owned Mountain which is under tremendous pressure to produce immediate returns for its investors.

And politicians? Their time horizon is an election cycle. Legacies are not built upon long-range planning. Outside of Eisenhower, I can’t think of a single politician who’s ever gotten credit for an investment in roads. You can’t really carve a name in asphalt.

We’re all incentivized to overemphasize the now. After all, you can blow out a knee at any time …

Which all serves as prelude to the latest news regarding the proposed BID (Business Improvement District).

Word has it that MMSA CEO Rusty Gregory, dissatisfied by efforts to expand the scope (businesses included) of the BID while concomitantly reducing the proposed retail tax rate to 1% (from 1.5%), has suggested that the BID now be split into two parts. One part focused on lodging/restaurant/retail, and a second part focused on a lift ticket/ski school tax.

Because the Mountain would be the only member of a lift ticket/ski school targeted BID, the Mountain would also have full discretion as to how that money is spent (Gregory reportedly suggests it be spent on commercial air service and transportation).

Critics point out, however, that the Mountain would also have full discretion as to how long it might choose to perpetuate the tax upon itself.

Critics also say the whole concept behind the BID was to raise money for marketing, and if the BID is split in two, a huge chunk of the revenue projected to be raised (a 2% lift ticket tax is projected to raise between $1.5 and $1.8 million annually) would now be earmarked for non-marketing items.

… Although we can debate whether a commercial air subsidy would be a marketing item or a resort investment.

The South Shore report 

Given the airport litigation judgment and the squeeze it’s placed upon the Town’s financial resources, many local business owners support the BID as a way to let prospective visitors know Mammoth is still in business. That the bankruptcy hasn’t shuttered the town, or otherwise built a dome over the town to prevent snow from falling on Mammoth Mountain.

So yes, when in doubt, the answer appears to be “throw money at the problem.”

Question is, does the creation of a TBID bring us up to the level of our peers? Does chasing after our competitors in this fashion actually differentiate us?

I recently read a consultant’s report prepared for South Lake Tahoe, which has experienced a massive decline in room and sales tax revenue in recent years. Cited as a major contributing factor has been the establishment of Indian Gaming Casinos in California, which have eroded South Lake’s gaming industry.

“In the South Shore market,” reads the report by SMG, “gaming revenues have declined significantly from a high of $338 million in 2004 to $209 million in 2011.”

SMG attributes some of South Shore’s decline to a loss of a critical marketing advantage:

“Historically, South Shore has enjoyed  a competitive advantage with the availability of promotional dollars with the advent of Tourism Business Improvement Districts (TBID) as a funding mechanism. That advantage has been significantly eroded as many of South Shore’s competitor destinations have multi-million dollar promotional budgets.”

The report doesn’t suggest spending even more marketing dollars as an offset. It does suggest a redesign of its core downtown area, along with new and improved amenities. In short, investment in infrastructure to improve the general product.

Mammoth’s proposed BID has been pushed in reaction to the litigation judgment. I’m not sure anyone’s terribly certain how much money it would raise, or how that money would actually be spent. On billboards? On a PR firm? To spend it all on marketing without consideration of an equal or greater investment in infrastructure seems like an exercise in marshmallow eating.

If it were up to Frank Partnoy, he’d advise us to slow the hell down and think it through more thoroughly.

He’d tell us to wait.

The Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission held a special workshop Tuesday evening to reintroduce the town’s ongoing Main Street redevelopment plan process and associated zoning code update.

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area CEO Rusty Gregory and Chadmar Group President Chuck Lande introduced the first real concept for Main Street in 2009. As envisioned at the time by architects Hart-Howerton, it included a makeover of Main and a pitch for a gondola that would link Main Street with the Village at Mammoth and MMSA’s Main Lodge.

Associate Planner Jessica Morris led the discussion, which covered zoning, transit and general development concepts, with the long-term goal of making sure those concepts work in both the physical and financial “real world.” On hand were consultants from Dyett & Bhatia, who spoke on zoning, and Winter & Company, who addressed Main Street planning.

In the zone

Speaking on zoning, Martha Miller with Dyett & Bhatia said there are three main approaches: Euclidean, which is use-based, i.e. residential as opposed to commercial; Performance, which lets the public decide what it wants to achieve; and Physical Form, or how does building relate to the public forum. “Zoning is basically being a good neighbor, but form is important,” Miller posited.

She said that upon review of Mammoth’s rather dated zoning code, items such as setbacks, build-to line standard, height regulations and public gathering area regulations all need refining. Standards, she suggested, should be “clear, measureable and implementable, as properties come up for development.” Miller also recommended consolidating certain items, such as grouping entrance standards for various buildings all in one place instead of in several different subsections.

In terms of street retail and public access uses, Miller stated that tiered setbacks are hard to achieve, and she appeared to be no fan of the “standard, tiered wedding cake design.” She further asserted that 40-foot setbacks for parking limit site development potential, and that primary and secondary retail streets might need separate build-to standards, instead of a one-fits-all blanket code.

The Main event 

Switching to the Main Street plan, Winter & Company President Nore Winter cited ideas successfully employed by other communities, such as relocating buildings in front and parking in the rear with room for active areas. Given that Main Street has frontage roads on both sides, those types of ideas will have to be a bit different, but the point is that thinking outside the box can yield positive results. “This is not a name change, not a ‘save as’ opportunity,” he said.

“Buildings frame space and should act as transitions to the residential areas behind them,” he opined, describing Main Street as the “edge” with other uses behind it. A good urban project, he theorized, has no “backside area,” but is rather a “coordinated complex.”

Winter addressed the issue of structured parking, referring to it not as a land use, but as a support to other land uses. He explained that Boulder, Colo., set up a “parking special district” to help the city issue bonds. Parking structures could have facades that tie in to the rest of the block. “Variations in building mass can help determine the rhythm and scale,” he noted. “You can do that without being phony or like Disneyland.”

Based on experiences with a similar project in downtown Truckee, Calif., Winter said the concept could still work with both property owners who are not interested in redevelopment and those who have parking in front and want to keep it that way. “It doesn’t mean the concept won’t work, it just has to be flexible enough. It’s not a slam dunk, but the town has good bone structure.”

The private sector, he thinks, will do a “huge amount,” but the public sector will need to set up a framework as a complement. That could, he forecast, include a mix of assessment programs, business improvement districts and civic project grants. The town, he added, should also be prepared to scale back and set priorities. “The current vision plan you simply can’t afford,” he stated. Snow management is step one, Winter concluded, and nothing will happen until that is worked out.

During public comment, property owner Gerry McCarty said he thinks the Town has an “underlying reputation to address,” describing a perception that property developers were all making millions, all the while taking and never giving which he takes issue with. “Developers offered to provide amenities, and always got a negative response from the Town,” he said. He also thinks development has been lopsided, favoring “one condo after another” with few adequate hotels.

Camille Miller, current owner of the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building at 3163 Main Street, said she’s been trying to open a business (Mammoth Fun Shop) and redevelop the building, and sees a systemic problem that calls for too many “public needs” on a small parcel owner. Miller read off a laundry list of items she’s been charged with having, such as Americans With Disabilities access, sprinklers, parking, dumpsters and two restrooms in a building with a mere 1,500 square feet of commercial space.

Miller suggested the litany of regulations amounts to “obsoleting” [sic]our parcels. “There needs to be a balance struck with existing parcel sizes. We could have outdoor service areas and small parks instead of more parking spaces, which just takes up usable space and isn’t reasonable.”

Miller said there should be a way to link neighboring business together and create a “no business is an island” attitude.

Commission Chair Rhonda Duggan said she sees potential for “many master plans within this district.” Referring to an idea Winter mentioned earlier likening parts of Main Street to sausage links, she favors a phased approach, as opposed to the decidedly discontinuous “slice and dice” fashion in which Main Street has been hacked together. Commissioner Colin Fernie said that an important step in his view is finding the “catalyst” business or part of Main Street that serve as an epicenter.

Final Planning Commission work on zoning is anticipated by June 2013. A public meeting with Dyett & Bhatia is being scheduled for sometime in April, agenda and date still TBD. As to the plan itself, Winter & Company will meet with the public in a series of workshops April 2-4, to look at their suggested concepts, alternatives and phasing timeline. Nore said he would like to have a final draft plan by December 2013, and a final Main Street Implementation Plan ready for adoption consideration by December 2014.

Pictured: The Robert McCabe photograph which hangs behind the bar at Jimmy’s Taverna/

When you walk into Jimmy’s Taverna, the newest restaurant at Sierra Nevada Resort on Old Mammoth Road which opened over the Christmas holiday, the first thing you may notice as you walk in is the arresting, back-lit photograph mounted behind the bar.

Two men sit in the foreground, talking, while a cargo ship looms large behind them, just departed, seemingly drowning out whatever conversation they’re having.

Every time I go to Jimmy’s, I can’t help but sit there and invent a different conversation.

Like everything at Jimmy’s, there is a history and intent behind the photograph. It is not random.

The photographer, Robert McCabe, is well known. According to Sierra Nevada Resort owner Jim Demetriades, McCabe’s work has appeared in the Louvre as well as at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

McCabe visited Greece in the early ‘50s, traveling the country via tramp steamer.

Demetriades became acquainted with McCabe through his father, and McCabe was an early investor in Demetriades’s software company.

In turn, McCabe introduced Demetriades to another early investor, the legendary Peter Lynch.

The driving idea behind Jimmy’s is that of old Greece. The crusted marble floor in the main dining room represents the outside of a Greek taverna; the yellow fixtures in the string lights represent the sun, and the blue stone at the bar is meant to evoke a seaside setting.

“We want to give people all these different vibes while they’re up in the mountains,” he said.

Executive Chef Kerry Mechler, who oversees Jimmy’s (as well as the property’s other restaurants, Rafters and the Red Lantern), said, “We knew this was coming [Jimmy’s] long before construction commenced, so we did early reconnaissance at several Greek restaurants in California and Las Vegas … we ran Greek dining specials at Rafters for more than a year, as we continued to develop the menu … a lot of it has been trial-and-error. It took us a little longer to develop the menu because it’s a different taste for a lot of us, but opening the restaurant has also been easier in a sense because we learned lessons opening the previous two.”

Jimmy’s chef Dympna Roman started as a pastry chef at Rafters. When she was planning her honeymoon last year, Demetriades suggested that she honeymoon in Greece – on his dime – to gain firsthand knowledge.

General Manager Jack Carter said the goal all along has been to create a relaxed, fun, friendly environment. “Nothing’s overcomplicated. Jimmy’s is about quality ingredients cooked well.”

A unique element that sets Jimmy’s apart is the cocktail selection. Demetriades has brought in Noah Ellis (who used to work out of Red Medicine in Beverly Hills and has worked closely with Michael Mina opening bars in all his restaurants) to develop a boutique cocktail selection featuring liquors no one else in town carries.

Jim’s Top Five 

1. Saganaki (Appetizer): Pan fried Kefalograviera, Lemon & Oregano. Translation: It’s a baked cheese flamed with ouzo and served on a super-hot platter

2. Wood Grilled Whole Fish (Main Course), served with rice pilaf, rapini, grilled lemon and extra virgin olive oil. Jim’s favorite: The Sea Bream.

3. Wood Grilled Vegetables (Appetizer), particularly the thinly sliced fried eggplant and zucchini.

4. Lamb Shank (Main Course), slow braised, with orzo pasta, grilled heirloom carrots and Myzitbra cheese.

5. Galaktoboureko (Dessert): Vanilla Bean custard with a Filo crust and Rose sweet spoon.

(Photo: Susan Morning)

D395

At Tuesday’s Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting, Praxis CEO Michael Ort gave an update in the Digital 395 project that his company is overseeing.

Digital 395 is the infrastructure project expected to bring more broadband to the Eastern Sierra.

Ort reported that of the more than 600 miles of conduit that needs to be laid, 223 miles has been installed. Of the 84 project segments, 20 have been completed. Plus 135 miles of cable has been installed.

“You’ve got a lot of rock here,” Ort commented of the time-consuming drilling that the project workers have experienced.

When asked if thought he would make the July deadline this year, Ort said, “It’s going to be a close one, but I’m confident we’ll get the work done by the deadline.”

The deadline is tied to the project’s grant funding that was awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the California Advanced Services Fund.

Treasury Oversight Committee

The Mono County Board of Supervisors is considering appointing a Treasury Oversight Committee, which would oversee investment policy at the County.

“They wouldn’t make the policy, they would just oversee it,” explained Rose Glazier, County Assistant Director of Finance, Treasurer/Tax Collector.

The Board, while receptive to the idea felt the conversation was premature.

“We need to get a CFO in place first and then review this,” said Board Chair Byng Hunt.

Supervisor Larry Johnston, who had asked for the discussion to be brought to the table, reminded the Board that he had questioned former Finance Director Brian Muir about the efficacy of Muir being the only person overseeing the County’s budget of $60 million-$70 million. “This needs to be done sooner rather than later for public transparency,” Johnston added on Tuesday. He conceded, however, to wait to make a decision until a new Finance Director or CFO was brought on board.

Heading to Vermont

After a lengthy discussion about the merits of the peer resort tour being planned by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, the Mono County Board of Supervisors approved (4-1, with Supervisor Tim Fesko voting no) to allow Supervisor Larry Johnston as well as one staff member from the Economic Development Department to go on the trip on the County’s dime. Supervisor Tim Alpers will also be attending the trip, but he will pay for the trip out of his own pocket.

The Board decided to pay the entire amount of the trip for both Johnston and the staff member in order to avoid any conflict of interest with MMSA.

“We could run into gift limitation issues if MMSA picks up the entire bill,” said County Counsel Marshall Rudolph. The gift limitation applies to staff as well.

The purpose of the trip is to study other resorts to come up with redevelopment ideas for June Mountain.

With the approval, Hunt warned that the supervisors and staff attending should not “get carried away with the perspective of the Mountain. Look at how things can help the County. The Mountain wants buy in for what it wants to do but that may not be the best for the County.

“Until MMSA divest and we have competition between the two mountains, nothing is going to change,” he added.

By Allen Best

Some brewers have it, others don’t

CANMORE, Alberta – Grizzly Paw Brewing Co. opened its doors in Canmore in 1996 with such sudsy brews as Grump Bear, a honey wheat, and Rutting Elk Red. Since then it has expanded several times, and now is moving into bigger quarters yet, somewhat larger than what is commonly thought of as a microbrewery, says the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

Niall Fraser, the founder, says microbrews hit the spot with 10 percent of Canadians and 19 percent of all beer sold in the United States. “The world is different now than when there were just a few big breweries,” he says.

But brewing is still brewing, an art as much as a science. “It’s kind of like chefs,” he tells the Outlook. “There are a lot of chefs out there, but only a few real chefs. There’s an art to it and you have to learn it.”

Editor’s Note: Mammoth Brewing Co. “has it.” Visit their tasting room at 94 Berner Street to see for yourself!

Idaho brewer gets big-name help

McCALL, Idaho – Salmon River Brewery, which is located in the Idaho mountain town of McCall, is on a roll. It is more than tripling its brewing, to 3,500 kegs a year, and hopes to expand more into Boise and also to Ketchum and Twin Falls.

The reason for this success, reports the Idaho Statesman, is the investment of a fellow named Adolphus Busch IV, of the famous St. Louis family that brought us Budweiser and other suds. Busch came across one of Salmon’s products, Udaho Gold, at lunch one day. “It caught my attention,” he told the Statesman. “I had it a few more times and pretty much thought it was the best beer I’d had in a long, long time.”

So he went to the brewery on one of his rafting trips to Idaho and decided to introduce himself. He now owns 49 percent of the brewery, providing money necessary for the expansion.

The Statesman notes that traditional beer sales have been flat during recent years, but craft beers have grown.

Silver mining to resume

OURAY, Colo. – The long-predicted return of hard-rock mining appears to be moving forward in Colorado. The Telluride Watch reports that 76 people have been at work just a few miles away, as the crow flies, in Yankee Boy Basin, above the town of Ouray. There efforts are underway to reopen the Revenue-Virginius Mine.

The operator, Star Mine Operations, now has a permit from state regulators. Workers have stabilized tunnels in the 125-year-old workings, working shifts around the clock. Mining of silver could begin by summer, and owners hope for a decade’s worth of production, they tell The Watch.

Telluride drinks decarbonized juice

TELLURIDE, Colo. – Bit by bit, town officials in Telluride are plugging away at decarbonizing their electrical supply. The latest stride comes with purchase of 215 panels in a community solar farm in the sunny Paradox Valley, 80 miles to the west, in the canyon country near the Utah border.

The town spent $187,000 for the panels, which will produce about $45 worth of electricity each per year. Mountain Village, the municipality adjoining Telluride, has also purchased panels in the array, notes the Telluride Daily Planet.

Telluride and Mountain Village in 2009 called on their communities to do what’s necessary so that 100 percent of the communities’ electricity will come from renewable sources by 2020.

Gleanings from Aspen: fortunes, small fortunes

ASPEN, Colo. – Gleanings of the Aspen Daily News this week provide two compelling testimonies that Aspen just ain’t like anywhere else.

Consider a local court case in which an heir to one of the continent’s great fortunes sought free legal counsel. The 25-year-old named Cargill says his mother and her boyfriend are blocking his rightful access to a $250 million inheritance.

And then in the public schools, a $100,000 flight simulator has been ordered. Private donors are paying for this and other instruction that will allow students at the school to have access to ground school instruction. Still to be raised is money for an aircraft.

Jackson explores house-sharing 

JACKSON, Wyo. – Does being elderly necessarily need to be a black and white thing. Either you’re in your own home, and then to some institution, usually a nursing home?

A project called Jackson Hole Elders aims for a more comfortable transition. “The standard model is that you’re in an institution with long hallways and there’s a structure for caring for people,” Sandy Shuptrine tells the Jackson Hole News&Guide.

But with a model being examined in Jackson, a house would be shared by 10 to 12 people, each with private bedrooms and bathrooms. But the kitchen, dining and living rooms are all shared space.

For each five to six residents, a caregiver would be available for cooking and supervising. A registered nurse would also be present for most of the day and on call at night.

The model has been pioneered in other parts of Wyoming, including Sheridan. There, four such homes have been built.

Shuptrine tells the Jackson Hole News&Guide that most of the people working on the project are at an age “where we have parents who need loving, personalized care.” But while parents want to stay in their own homes, at some point, friends and family are being called on to become full-time caretakers.

Discount pioneer raises rates

BOISE, Idaho – Bogus Basin, the ski area that introduced the idea of discounted season passes, is finally raising its rates. Since 1997, the cost has stood at $199. But next year the passes will cost $229.

“We need a little extra to pay the bills,” said Alan Moore, the general manager of Bogus Basin. “Everything has gone up, from diesel fuel to seasonal labor to operation of the high-speed quads, since the $199 pass was introduced.”

Recruit China 

PARK CITY, Utah – Smile, as there’s opportunity ahead for ski towns. That seemed to be the take-away message from a presentation by Andrew Busch, who does a CNBC show called “Money in Motion” and recently spoke to a business group in Park City.

As reported by The Park Record, Busch advised his audience to think of the big picture, including international markets. Japan’s stock market is hyperventilating, and China is starting to spend money.

“China is a perfect example. The growth of the middle class there is so enormous, so rapid, and those people want to travel. For Park City, the wealthy in China are already interested in coming here. When I look at businesses, this is a strategy that is often completely undeveloped. If it were me, I would be trying to find travel agencies in China, overseas partners that could help navigate tourists to this town.”

He also said that the United States will slowly grow jobs, but that the European debt crisis is still going to play a significant role in the global market.

Among his listeners, reports The Record, was City Councilman Andy Beerman, who also owns a local hostelry. He said he was encouraged by what he heard, noting that while Park City taps the wealthy, that still requires discretionary income. “Park City, even though we are insulated to some extent, is still tied to the national economy,” he observed.

Rent high, wages low 

BANFF, Alberta – In examining the housing needs for the next 10 years in Banff, consulting firm Housing Strategies has found that Banff is indeed an expensive place to rent a one-bedroom apartment. The cost last year ran $1,051 on average, higher than Jasper’s $1,003 or Canmore’s $934. But Whistler trumps them all at $1,168.

Of course, that’s a small cost if you make lots of money. But the fastest-growing employment sectors are – hold your breath here – in the service arena. The average wages for jobs in food and beverages, housecleaning and those sorts of things average from $10.80 to $13.87 an hour.

Most Mammoth businesses happy about ski season to date

How did Mammoth Lakes start the new year? Was business flat in January, or was it flying high? Turns out, the answer depends on who you talk to and what line of work they’re in.

Starting in the air, Mammoth Lakes Tourism Director John Urdi told The Sheet that as to our “pace” versus last year, January was strong.

“But what is also key to note is that MOST markets have exceeded END of February 2012 numbers by a big margin, and that’s just as of the Feb. 5 report, and we still have weeks to book.”

December 2012 load factors from LAX were up only a full point over December 2011 (67.9% versus 66.9%), not terribly surprising since Christmas visitation in 2011 was still very good.

San Francisco, Orange County and San Diego improved more, with San Francisco and Orange County up 6% each, and San Diego up almost 12% this past December.

The drop in early 2012 was illustrative of the bad snow year, with LAX falling off more than 21%, compared to a decline of only 6.5% this year. Meanwhile, flights from the other airports actually improved their passenger totals this January, even over increases observed in the previous month … Orange County: 36.7% to 48.7%, San Diego 48% to 55% and San Francisco 52% to 56%.

Retail & Dining 

Slocum’s owner Cindy Avena was effusive about this January. “A GREAT January … way up over last January, and better than December which also beat last year. Even with the Christmas holiday falling later, December was still better than last. We just celebrated our 30th anniversary and are still going strong!”

As one might expect, ski and snowboard gear and rentals have fared well this winter. “We continue to see strong business with percentage increases bigger than December and far better than last year,” reported Tom Cage, owner of Kittredge Sports and P3.

“We are not at record levels, but had very strong sales, rental and repair numbers, even without 60% off sales and big ugly banners. Of course, as my competitors all understand, this is what happens when you sell quality product at the MSRP, offer expert repair work and service your rental customer with new high quality rentals and demos.”

Mammoth Outdoor Sports and Value Sports owner Phil Hertzog said simply, “December was a very good month with January just behind.”

At least one startup business, Bleu Handcrafted Foods, had cause to be optimistic. “This was the first January for me, but it was definitely busier than forecasted,” Bleu owner Brandon Broccia said.

A few other retailers, particularly those not in the snow sports industry, said they were generally disappointed by the month, suggesting that last year’s lack of snow actually drove shopping higher, and pointed to lower sales than last year at this time.

One storeowner said December was off 34% and January came in even worse at 43% off compared to the same period in 2011-2012. “My assumption is that the snow was amazing and the weather was flawless,” they said.

Lodging

In terms of lodging, January was a mixed bag. Mammoth Creek Inn Manager Michael Edelshtain noted that things were better than last year, though “there’s always room for improvement.”

Across town at The Westin Monache Resort, however, the month was stellar. According to Director of Sales and Marketing Theresa Broccia, the month was, “The best January we have had in our history.”

Sources also indicate that several properties have their budgeted numbers on the books for the YEAR right now and say the rest of the bookings will be gravy.

As far as Transient Occupancy Tax figures, Urdi went on to say that, while TOT data isn’t yet available from the Town, he’s “confident” that January will be very strong for TOT.

Pictured: Nancy at summer pasture in Krygyzstan, circa 2011, flanked by former exchange student Bakai Osmoev, who lived with the Walters’ and studied at Mammoth High School about a dozen years ago, and Bakai’s father Urmat./

Nancy Peterson Walter, a Mammoth resident for nearly twenty years, whose history in the area extended for more than fifty, died earlier this month after a brief bout with leukemia. She was 77.

She died with her husband of 55 years, John, holding one hand and her daughter Sandra holding the other.

John described her this week as “a mentor and mother to young and old all over the world. She would deny it but I think she secretly wanted to emulate Margaret Mead. She was a teacher supreme, defender of women’s rights, strong supporter of equal rights and social justice for all but particularly for minorities and the disadvantaged, and an explorer of world cultures, forming a global family unfettered by geographical boundaries.”

As John noted, calls poured in from all over the world at the news of Nancy’s passing, from the Krygyzstani exchange students the Walters took into their Mammoth home over the past few decades, to the students in rural China (Urumchi) where Nancy and John lived for a year while Nancy taught at the local university.

Nancy was a Depression-era baby, born December 3, 1935 in Rockford, Illinois. Of modest means, the family, immediate and extended, lived in an apartment above a bar. One of the highlights of Nancy’s childhood occurred at age ten when Aunt Bonnie got married. This meant that Nancy would finally get her own bed.

Mostly, however, her childhood was one of hardship. Her father spent extensive time in a TB sanatarium before dying when she was aged ten. Her younger sister died of meningitis when she was 12.

In her middle school years, according to her husband, Nancy became enamored with ancient Egypt and decided that she wanted to become an anthropologist. A bold dream for a girl who had never been outside of the midwest, from a family that had never had someone attend college.

But sure enough, that’s exactly what she did. Nancy was a force of nature. And various medical ailments throughout her life never derailed her. Nancy proudly referred to herself as “The Bionic Woman,” ultimately armed with two new knees, two new hips and one new shoulder. She was a TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) nightmare. As John laughed, “She just automatically went to line B at the airport.”

She moved to California in 1956 to complete her undergraduate education at what is now Cal-State Northridge. She received her Bachelor’s in 1962, her Masters from Northridge in 1970, and her PhD from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986.

More from John on Nancy’s arrival in California:

“She lived in Granada Hills, renting a house with three other single women. She bought an old Renault 4cv that was so basic the windows didn’t roll down. When she went for her driver’s test she took the window out completely so she could demonstrate hand turn signals. Of course, it rained that day. When the 6’4”, 250 lb. examiner looked at the little front seat and the missing window, he said, ‘Why don’t you get a real car, lady.’ She borrowed one and passed with flying colors … ”

John and Nancy met at a party in December 1956. They were married in August 1957. They adopted two children soon thereafter, Jon (now 52) and Sandra (now 49).

Jon works as an RN in central Washington. Sandra is a social worker and lives in Santa Cruz. Nancy is also survived by two grandchildren, Kristin (23) and Shaun (17).

Nancy’s love affair with the Eastern Sierra began in graduate school. She wrote her Masters thesis on Projectile Points of the Owens Valley, and her PhD dissertation was on the Land Exchange Act of 1937 and the creation of the Indian Reservations at Bishop, Big Pine and Lone Pine. Her research was greatly aided by the wisdom and cooperation of Tribal elders, who gave her keen insight into Tribal life in the first half of the 20th century.

The Walters’ permanent residence was in Northridge until the 1994 earthquake leveled their house. Nancy and John then decided to move to Mammoth for a year, and like so many others, they never left. Their home at 240 Mammoth Knolls Drive is full of artifacts and photographs collected on their many world travels.

In some respects, their future travel was foreshadowed by their time in Northridge, when the Walters both joined the Foreign Affairs Council and hosted “home visits” for a variety of dignitaries, from a Vietnamese Supreme Court Justice to an Italian Airport Designer.

“We’d pick ‘em up at the airport in our old VW bus just to give them a true American experience,” laughed John.

The old VW bus wasn’t used just for dignitaries either. John recalled one time where he and Nancy picked up some children in Watts and brought them back to the San Fernando Valley for a night of suburban trick-or-treating.

Their world travel began in earnest after John retired from Rockwell International in 1987. “She was the traveling diplomat,” he recalled. “I went along as the cook.”

Theirs was a wonderful marriage, and John certainly appreciated and enjoyed being along for the adventure, sharing a life with a person so loving, so passionate, so ambitious.

John will host a celebration of life for his late wife on March 25 at 240 Mammoth Knolls Drive from 3-5 p.m. “It’ll be a typical Walter potluck,” he said. “Bring memories and a dish to share.”

Questions still surround Manson Family hangout

The haunting face of Charles Manson is a tough thing to shake from your memory, even if you’ve only seen it over a television screen. The thought that there may be murders he orchestrated back in his heyday that are unaccounted for is something even harder to digest.

In 2008, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department and the National Park Service authorized a dig at the Barker Ranch, the hangout where the Manson Family reportedly went following the Tate-LaBianca murder spree of 1969.

The dig was authorized following the request of scientists and now-retired Mammoth Lake Police Sergeant Paul Dostie, whose dog, a black Labrador named Buster, is trained to search for human remains. Buster had alerted on several spots at Barker Ranch, leaving Dostie and others to believe there were human remains buried there. At the time of the dig in May 2008, the government agencies only authorized digging to depths of 3-4 feet. Nothing was found, but the questions on many people’s lips since that time has been, “Did they dig deep enough?” and “Wouldn’t someone like Charlie Manson know how deep a body has to be buried?”

Fast forward to 2013.

Debra Tate, sister of the murdered Sharon Tate, has alerted the media about the existence of tapes recorded by attorney Bill Boyd back when members of the Manson Family were being rounded up and charged for the Tate-LaBianca murders. Boyd represented Manson Family member and convicted murdered Charles “Tex” Watson who confessed to the murder of Sharon Tate.

According to an interview with author Tom O’Neill, of which The Sheet has obtained a transcript, Boyd said, “But he [Watson] was — I was impressed — he was extremely candid and he told me about a bunch of other people Manson had killed …”

Boyd clearly stated, however, that Watson did not implicate himself whatsoever in these murders. They were murders that Manson had committed or orchestrated, but Watson was not involved.

Boyd died in 2009, but the tapes remain. There are reportedly 20 hours of tapes. Currently, however, the tapes are tied up in bankruptcy court in Texas. When Boyd passed away, his son was unable to keep the law firm afloat and the firm ended up in bankruptcy. The tapes, being property of the firm, are being held up in this process.

Debra Tate told The Sheet in an interview this week that she had told the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office of the tapes in the spring of 2012.

“The DA did elicit interest from detectives in the LAPD [Los Angeles Police Department] and they were trying to get the tapes from bankruptcy court,” Debra said.

The LAPD subpoenaed the tapes and a bankruptcy judge in Texas declared that there was no reason not to give the tapes to the LAPD.

“They were going to get the tapes,” Debra said. “And then a federal judge put an injunction on LAPD until he looked at the tapes and reviewed the legalities.”

One of those legalities is attorney/client privilege. Plus, Watson is reportedly claiming a fifth amendment violation if the tapes are released.

“He’s saying he would be incriminated if the tapes were released,” Dostie explained.

As for the attorney/client privilege claim, both Debra Tate and Dostie said Watson gave this privilege up years ago to sell a book about his escapades with the Manson Family.

“About 14 hours of the tapes were used in the book,” Dostie said.

“You can’t release attorney/client privilege and then take it back, which is what Watson wants to do by invoking the fifth,” Debra added.

Debra recently decided to release the knowledge of the tapes to the media because she was tired of waiting on the legal system.

“The LA City Attorney should have filed a suit against the federal court [after the federal judge stepped in], but they didn’t do anything for three months,” she said. “Apparently they were looking for a bankruptcy attorney but they didn’t need one when the highest bankruptcy court in Texas had already deemed the release of the tapes OK.”

Debra closely watches what is happening with the members of the Manson Family still sitting in prison and attends each member’s parole hearings. She feels the release of the tapes would be useful in the implication of those Family members who may not have been involved in her sister’s murder, but could have participated in other murders. The tapes would also be useful in keeping those behind bars right where they are.

One Manson Family member has been released from prison and a second may be on his way out as well.

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was released in 2009. Today, the release of Bruce Davis, a Manson Family member, lies within Governor Jerry Brown’s hands after the State’s Board of Parole Hearings approved Davis’s release.

According to abclocal.go.com, “A judge sentenced Davis, now 70, to life in prison in 1972 for his role in the murders of two men. He was not involved in the infamous Sharon Tate murders.

“After serving more than 40 years in prison, the parole board is recommending that Brown approve Davis’ parole. The governor has 30 days to make a decision [which will be up at the end of February]. His options are to affirm, decline, modify or decline to review, which would allow the parole to take effect, an official said.”

“These people [Manson Family members] are still communicating and bonded together,” Debra said. “They are all still connected to Charlie. It will be business as usual with each individual that is released.”

Debra said that she sits approximately six feet from the Manson Family inmates each time they come up for parole.

“Their personas have not changed,” she said. “They still show complete sociopathic tendencies. “

“Those tapes could change the climate [regarding parole],” she concluded.

Not first time tapes have surfaced

This isn’t the first time the knowledge of the Watson tapes have been brought to the attention of authorities.

Besides the use of the tapes for Watson’s aforementioned book and Debra’s alert to the authorities last year, Dostie talked about and quoted from the transcript from O’Neill’s interview with Boyd where the tapes are thoroughly discussed, during a presentation to the Inyo Sheriff’s Department and the Death Valley National Park Service in 2011. Dostie made the presentation in an effort to be allowed to dig deeper at the Barker Ranch.

Dostie also contacted Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office about his concerns of bodies buried at the Barker Ranch. Feinstein responded by sending him a letter her office had received from Death Valley National Park following his presentation. In the letter, the Park, under the direction of then-Superintendent Sarah Craighead, stated that after listening to Dostie’s presentation and reviewing additional materials he provided they “found no compelling reasons to re-open the investigation.”

The Park Service was assigned to investigate Craighead, who has since been relocated to serve as Superintendent of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Other than that, nothing else has been done.

“Assigning the Park Service to investigate would be like assigning Frank Nitti to investigate Al Capone,” Dostie said.

Buster’s been busy

After five years Dostie still believes there are bodies at the Barker Ranch. Why? He and Buster have been traveling the world for the last five years collecting data to prove it.

“We’ve gone around the world and have soil samples from human decomposition sites [that Buster has alerted on],” Dostie said. One of these sites is the mass grave containing more than 40 Marines on Tarawa, which The Sheet wrote about in May 2011 (Casualties of War).

Other sites include soil taken from directly below the remains of murder victims Lynsie Ekelund and Kathryn Barrett.

Dostie also has soil samples from Barker Ranch. All soil analysis was done with a Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer, according to Dostie. When put into a chart and compared side by side, the chemistry in the soil of the known gravesites is the same as the chemistry of the soil taken from Barker Ranch.

“Scientifically there is no other explanation than multiple human burials at Barker Ranch,” Dostie said. “They didn’t dig deep enough.”

(Photo: Susan Morning)

Pictured: Grow room set-ups such as this one are at the core of a medical marijuana legal tangle./

During its regular meeting Wednesday, the Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission took up the issue of whether medical marijuana grows are an appropriate use within commercial zoning designations.

Mammoth’s Medical Marijuana code permits growing in Industrial zoned parts of town. Previous determinations concluded that growing plants is similar to and no more detrimental than other uses in an industrial zone. Beyond that, growing is not allowed outside of a private residence, and in that form only up to a certain amount is permitted.

Changing the zoning would mean dispensaries could grow on-site if they wished, but only if they are legally and physically connected to a permitted dispensary. A separate use permit would be required, but the growing would also fall within MLPD oversight.

According to Town Associate Planner Jen Daugherty, marijuana nurseries don’t function the same as traditional nurseries, and come with issues including security, odor and humidity control.

In his presentation to the Commission, attorney Matthew Girardi, representing Mammoth Lakes Wellness, referenced a Feb. 29, 2012, unanimous, three-judge Court of Appeal decision in Santa Ana requiring dispensaries togrow the marijuana they sell, a requirement that the medical pot industry argues would force many of them out of business. Girardi said that in light of that decision, he recommended his clients comply with the 9th Circuit Court.

That decision is being appealed to the California Supreme Court, and Girardi said he expects the court to hand down findings sometime this year. Girardi further added that currently there is no prohibition of on site cultivation, but if the Supreme Court overruled the decision, it would only remove the mandate that cultivation be done only on premises. Growing at the dispensary, rather than at a random location, makes for more streamlined enforcement, according to Girardi. Mammoth Lakes Wellness owner Robert Calvert also suggested it would provide him greater quality control over the product he’s selling.

Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Dan Watson largely agreed with Girardi’s assessment, adding the courts will be looking at several cases, and opining that the entire medical marijuana situation in California is in “a state of flux.”

Indeed, the 9th Circuit has also ruled that cities may not enact zoning restrictions that effectively ban all marijuana dispensaries. Several cities have opted to place bans on dispensaries, but the court found that collided with the state’s medical marijuana laws.

He voiced only minor concerns in areas of adequate security. He explained that after his own inspections, MLW and the soon-to-be reopened Green Mammoth both have solid security, and wants only to ensure that the dispensaries have similar security in nurseries next door. Daugherty added that in-residence cultivation requirements would be unaffected by any zoning code change.

Mammoth Fire Marshal Thom Heller said the Fire District would issue permits for any growing operations, provided applicable Fire Code conditions are met, including those associated with moisture accumulation and mold, exterior ventilation, and carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide monitoring.

Vice Chair Mickey Brown said the Commission has carefully vetted the permitting process, and thinks having a nursery is a logical extension of dispensary operation. The Commission voted unanimously to amend the zoning code.

(Photo: ourweed.com)