Four operators of a medical marijuana collective raided by Tuolumne County authorities last May claimed a small victory in Tuolumne County Superior Court on Wednesday.

Presiding Judge Eric L. DuTemple decided to wait for evidence presented at trial before ruling on whether the four defendants could argue they were immune from charges of selling marijuana under state laws regulating the substance for medicinal purposes.

 Though it may not surprise many Mother Lode residents, a new state survey has found that the Sierra Nevada snowpack is well below normal for this time of year.

California water managers say snow levels are just 37 percent of normal. The California Department of Water Resources’ Feb. 1 snow survey found the amount recorded statewide is 23 percent of what’s typically measured on April 1, when the snowmelt begins.

A decline in property tax revenues is projected to cause a $278,214 operating budget shortfall at the end of the fiscal year in June for the Calaveras County Water District.

Property values continued to slide this year and associated reassessments will mean the district’s revenues from that source are expected to come in $500,697 below the budgeted $2.25 million figure for 2011-12, according to CCWD Director of Support Services Lynn Gentry, who gave a midyear budget summary presentation at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Parents of Calaveras High School students walked a mile in their students’ shoes during the school’s first annual Bring Your Parent to School Day on Friday.

Parents could attend the first part of each class period with their students, then go to workshops on topics including college preparation, career planning and drug use prevention. The event started as a way to familiarize parents with their students’ experiences, but ended up creating memories too.

 Tuolumne Utilities District has spent $39 million over the past five years to build a variety of projects, including five water storage tanks.

Those tanks are built under contract with professional welding companies, while some infrastructure elements are built by TUD employees.

A story Monday contained information that was unclear.

Burglars twice in a single week have struck a Sonora area business that rents out light construction equipment.

Sonora Rentals and Sales, at 13613 Bergel Road, was burglarized on Jan. 22 and again sometime between Jan. 28 and Jan 29. In the first break-in alone, thieves made off with about 13 pieces of equipment valued at more than $40,000 combined, according to owner Dennis Overholtzer.

A new set of rules for parking and alleys in Tuolumne township will continue to work its way toward final approval over the next two weeks.

A number of Tuolumne County planning commissions will review proposed changes to the county’s Ordinance Code that would redefine downtown parking policies and set new standards for alleyways, according to multiple meeting agendas.

The Sonora Area Foundation will release a Tuolumne County Community Indicators Profile later this year, after a three-year hiatus, the charitable organization’s Executive Director Ed Wyllie said Monday.

The organization in 2005 and 2008 released a similar Tuolumne County Indicator Profile that outlined demographic information for the county including birth and death rates, population, literacy rates, childcare availability, abuse rates, health-care access, causes of death, suicide rates, air and water quality.

Presiding judges from a majority of the state’s superior courts, including Tuolumne County, oppose a bill passed Monday in the state Assembly they say would diminish the participation of smaller courts in funding decisions.

Supporters of AB 1208, generally comprised of judges from courts in medium to large counties, argue that the current ability for the state’s 28-member Judicial Council to divert money intended for trial court operations hurts the budget-strapped institutions.

Sonora High students walk in front of a row of school buses taking students home after school on Tuesday. Amy Alonzo Rozak/Union Democrat, copyright 2012

School busing services will not get state funding next year if the proposal passes, causing concern among rural schools that they will have to pay for transportation with already diminishing school district funds.