Yosemite Photos, Video and News

Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Weather

Yosemite Valley
Today: Sunny, with a high near 73. West wind 9 to 12 mph increasing to
between 17 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 40. North northeast wind between 6
and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Light wind becoming southwest between
11 and 14 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43. Southwest wind 8 to 14
mph becoming east. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Southeast wind 9 to 15 mph becoming
southwest. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

El Portal
Today: Sunny, with a high near 78. West wind between 6 and 16 mph, with
gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 44. North northwest wind 7 to 14 mph
becoming east northeast. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 83. East wind at 10 mph becoming west
southwest.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Southwest wind around 9
mph becoming east.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 83. East southeast wind 9 to 13 mph
becoming south southwest.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45.

Wawona
Today: Sunny, with a high near 75. West wind between 7 and 16 mph, with
gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. North northeast wind between 6
and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 80. Northeast wind at 10 mph becoming
southwest.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43. Southwest wind around
10 mph becoming east.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 80. East wind 8 to 13 mph becoming south
southwest.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

Happening Today (see Community News below for other events happening today)
Barry Hance Memorial Award Ceremony
Please join us in celebrating the legacy of Barry Hance and the
presentation of the award to our 2009 recipient.
When: Today, June 16, 2010
Where: Valley Visitor Center Auditorium
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm
A hamburger luncheon will be served to celebrate our newest awardee. (C.
Mattiuzzi - 6/15/10)
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Training opportunity: Today the Divisions of Resources Management & Science
and Interpretation & Education will host a training for interpreters taught
by several resource experts. Sessions will be held from 8:30 - 11 am and 1
- 4:30 pm at the Garden Terrace. The break mid-day will allow for NPS staff
to attend the Barry Hance ceremony. Anyone in the park community is
welcome to attend. (N. Nicholas - 6/14/10)
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Wawona Wood Yard Burn Pile: Yosemite’s Fire Management Staff in conjunction
with the Wawona Road crew is planning to burn the Wawona wood yard pile
over the next few days. The community's fire prevention property clearance
efforts have produced a large accumulation of vegetation material that has
been moved to the wood yard for burning. A favorable weather window exits
to facilitate smoke dispersal and minimize smoke impacts to the area. A
burn permit has been obtained from Mariposa County and the pile will be
burned on permissive burn days. The pile will be monitored and patrolled
by fire engine and personnel with assistance from Roads personnel and
equipment as needed. (G. Wuchner - 6/15/10)

Construction Update:
**For all road construction information and updates, visit the park's
website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/roadwork.htm (M. Ortiz -
6/9/10)

Wawona Road Rehabilitation (June 1 - November 2010)

*Today's locations of work: Today, the contractor will be installing
concrete curb in the 5 mile section that runs north from about a mile
north of the Wawona Campground. Tomorrow, there will not be any curb
installation.

**Tonight's locations of work: Tonight, they will be doing
superelevation corrections around curves from about a mile north of
the Wawona Campground to the Glacier Point Road intersection
(Chinquapin), as well as installing underdrain in the 3 mile section
that begins at the South Entrance.

**Please use caution when driving along the Wawona Road - there are
numerous unpaved surfaces.

For daily traffic control updates, call the park information line at (209)
372-0200 (then press 1, and 1 again). (M. Ortiz - 6/15/10)
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Glacier Point Road Rehabilitation (**continuing through June 18, 2010)
The 30-minute delays on the Glacier Point Road will continue through June
18, 2010, while the contractor completes his remaining punchlist items.

Crews will be working at multiple locations along the Glacier Point Road as
well as on the Wawona Road at the Chinquapin Intersection with up to
30-minute delays Monday morning 6:00 am through Friday night at 4:30 pm.
(M. Ortiz - 6/15/10)
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Tioga Road Pavement Borings(June 7 - July 1, 2010) [Weather and conditions
permitting]
Beginning Monday, June 7 crews began pavement borings on the Tioga Road
between Crane Flat and Tuolumne Campground with up to 15-minute traffic
delays, Monday through Friday with no weekend delays. This work is being
conducted in preparation for a future rehabilitation project.
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Barite Mine Work in El Portal (May 25 - July 4, 2010)
Contractors are beginning to work on mitigating hazards at the Barite Mine
in El Portal. The prime contractor is Sygnos, and Arizona Mine Reclamation
is a sub-contractor. Rancheria Flat residents may see contractor vehicles
parked at the top of the housing area, near the water tank; contractors
have been asked to drive carefully in the housing areas. This Recovery
Act-funded project is expected to be complete by July 4. If you have any
questions or concerns, please contact Joe Meyer at 379-1185.
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Integrated Utility Master Plan [IUMP] (ongoing)
Mozingo is continuing work at the new Ahwahnee Hotel sewer lift station.
Mozingo is also removing old abandoned utilities in the Lower River area.
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Wawona Tunnel (ongoing)
Candelaria Construction is continuing work on the fire alarm systems and
fans in the Wawona Tunnel.
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Tecoya Housing (ongoing)
Allison Sierra is working on the installation of new water, power and sewer
systems in the Lower Tecoya area. (M. Ortiz - 6/14/10)

Park and Partner News
Ever wanted to know how much energy Yosemite uses? Thanks to Energy
Engineer Tech, Pookie Mansker, now you can know. The link below has
information about our energy consumption for 2009.
http://sharepoint.yose.nps.gov/sustain/Lists/Energy%20Management%20Data%20%202009/AllItems.aspx
(D. Miyako - 6/15/10)
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Yosemite Volunteer Program June 2010 Newsletter is now posted!
Check out the bimonthly Volunteer Program Newsletter to learn the latest in
the world of volunteering, including important policy and form updates.
The latest issue includes information on:
New Temporary VIP office staff
Welcoming Your Volunteers
Yosemite Fund Grants due July 6
New! Volunteer Award Program being considered
Group Project Progress
Recognition Event in July
2010 Recognition Items
Last Minute Recruitment
The Form Forum
New forms and policies now under “field review”
Training Opportunities
The newsletters (and archived issues) can be found at: SharePoint:
http://sharepoint.yose.nps.gov/brm/vip/default.aspx or on the network:
U:\Valley Commons\Volunteer Program or
via email by request to yose_volunteers@nps.gov (H. Boothe - 6/15/10)

Acting Designations
Jay Shields will be the acting Mather District Ranger from 6/15 through
6/26. He can be reached at the Crane Flat Subdistrict Office, 379-1926.
(K. Killian - 6/15/10)
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Charles Cuvelier will be Acting Deputy Superintendent June 14-18, 2010. He
can be reached at 372-0286. (R. Soden - 6/11/10)
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Historical Architect Sueann Brown (379-1222) will be acting Branch Chief
for History, Architecture & Landscapes June 7 - June 18, 2010. (D. Humphrey
- 6/3/10)
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Until further notice, Brenna Lissoway (379-1283) will be the Acting Park
Archivist . If you have need to access the Archives, or have archive
related questions, you can also try calling at 379-1281 or 379-1104. (J.
Bayless - 6/3/10)
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Until further notice, Lorene Schafer (379-1873) will be the Acting Chief
for Contracting and Procurement . If you have contracting related
questions and don't already have a point of contact, please call Helli
Tucker at 379-1368. Please continue to route purchase request (PR)
packages to Lorene for Acquisition Approval in IDEAS.
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Until further notice, Ed Dunlavey will be the acting Operations Branch
Chief and Deputy Chief Ranger.
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Until further notice, Cindy Whitten will be the acting Human Resources
Officer - 209/379-1878.

Employee News
Submitting a Yosemite Fund/Conservancy proposal? Attend one of these
workshops to learn how to write an effective proposal!
(The Yosemite Fund and Yosemite Association have merged to form Yosemite
Conservancy.)
What: Proposal-Writing Tutorial

When: Thursday June 17th at 9 am, or
Tuesday, June 29th at 3:30 pm

Where: El Portal Large Breakroom

Why: Learn about what projects typically appeal to the organization, how to
write an effective proposal, how to avoid common pitfalls, what the Project
Review Committee is looking for, and more!

Every branch that is planning on submitting proposals should plan on having
at least one employee attend. Contact me with any questions. (J.
Treutelaar - 6/15/10)

Community News
6TH STREET CINEMA is located upstairs in the historic Old Masonic Lodge
(under historic renovation) on 6th Street in downtown Mariposa. Use the
path alongside the scaffolding on the side of the building to enter.
Entrance is $7 per film for non-members; non-member students pay $5.
Monthly membership is $12 allowing film entry for $3 each. Special
performances and broadcasts have alternate pricing structures. Recorded
Information: 209 966-1333. Staff: 209 742-6666. Visit our website:
http://www.sixthstreetcinema.org or e-mail us: sixthstreetcinema@sti.net

THIS WEEK: June 18-19 (Friday - Saturday) 7:30 P.M.: YOUTH IN REVOLT.
Two socially inept young men set out to get off of the geek list before
they attend college orientation. Starring Michael Cera who has appeared
in movies such as Juno, and Arrested Development. Directed by Greg
Mottola. (Rated R: 90 minutes).

UPCOMING FILMS: Monty Python's comic oratorio: "Not the Messiah," June
25 & 26 (T. Arfsten - 6/16/10)
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Carpool opportunity: If you are interested in carpooling anywhere between
Chukchansi Casino and Midpines Monday through Friday, and work hours 730 am
to 4pm, please contact Brenna at 559-676-7739. (B. Eagle - 6/16/10)
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FOR RENT: 3 BR/2 BA home built in 2003 on paved county road. Wood stove,
ceiling fans, attached garage. Patios front and rear. $1250./mo. Available
in August. Call property manager, 209 966 4472. (S. Sims - 6/16/10)
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FOR RENT: Beautifully remodeled 2 bedroom 2 bath manufactured home on 25
acres with views of the Clark Range, located off Colorado Road near
Chappel Vineyard. $900/month plus utilities. Please contact Tom Ronay
(209) 769-5065. (C. Ronay - 6/15/10)
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FOR RENT: Studio apartment in town (Mariposa). Freshly painted; quiet
neighborhood; private. No pets; nonsmoking; one individual. $500/month.
Call 966-6726; ask for Mark or Frank. (Y. Radanovich - 6/15/10)
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FOR RENT: Rent a three bedroom home on Highway 140 in Midpines right across
the street from the Yosemite Bug and YARTS stop. Historic home comes with a
two-car garage and spacious yard. Pets okay. Rent is $1,300 per month plus
utilities. Available June 15. Please call (209) 769-8648 for more
information. (M. Hansen - 6/15/10)