Sonora police arrested a 21-year-old man Tuesday suspected in two separate carjacking incidents at knifepoint.
 

Zakary Howerton, of Sonora, was found hiding under a residence on the 500 block of South Washington Street and allegedly possessing an ID card and ignition key belonging to one of the victims, the Sonora Police Department reported.
   

Michael Knowles will likely be Tuolumne County’s next district attorney.

The county Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to schedule Knowles’ appointment to the position for the board’s next meeting in February.

More people visited Yosemite National Park in 2011 than any time in the past 16 years.

The state’s most popular national park saw nearly 4.1 million visitors last year, an increase of more than 50,000 from 2010, according to Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb.

The fees for Columbia College students will increase this fall to $46 per unit for California residents and $204 per unit for non-residents, according to Yosemite Community College District officials.

In July 2011, the California Legislature approved raising community college fees statewide from $26 per unit to $36 per unit. Another increase was authorized for this year.

Two more prospective candidates started the process to run for Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors last week.

According to the county elections office, Jim O’Neil and Patricia Adams pulled the required papers to run for the soon-to-be-vacant District 5 seat. Current Supervisor Dick Pland announced recently that he will not seek re-election after four terms.

DANNY HAMILTON, 15, of Tuolumne, fills a box with food collected at Saturday’s 4-H Community Dinner and Cake Auction. The boxes of food will be delivered to Meals on Wheels clients. Amy Alonzo Rozak/Union Democrat, copyright 2012

Officials served 900 dinners, according to 4-H Council President Ron Hamilton, of Tuolumne.

Area water resource officials and ski resorts are crossing their fingers for a good dousing as the first rainstorm of the year approaches the Mother Lode.

The region has seen 33 continuous days without precipitation, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Mathews in Sacramento.

The U.S. Forest Service will conduct the Irish Understory Prescribed Burn with ignition planned on Tuesday.

The burn will be about a half-mile to a mile north of White Pines along Summit Level Road.

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office has launched a new website with features intended to expand “community oriented policing.”

The new website features old favorites like news releases and daily logs, while adding more information about the Sheriff’s Office community services and implementing a public notification system that aims to get important information out to the public quickly, said Sgt. Rachelle Whiting, who led the revamp project.