Slideshows

Print-a-Thon
Beam Security Systems Inc. and Marc Klaas of the nonprofit KlaasKids Foundation did host a free Print-A-Thon in Grass Valley Saturday to fingerprint and photograph children, in the interest of child safety. The event on Saturday at Beam, 422 Henderson St., Grass Valley.

Wildflowers
Wildflowers along the Buttermilk Trial, Bridgeport Cover Bridge, at the Yuba River, on Pleasant Valley Road.

Cutting Room Photos

Daffodil Run
The Daffodil Run in Penn Valley, Sunday morning, April 06, 2008 that started on Penn Valley Drive, Western Gateway Park entrance. People ran in the 10K, 5k, walk, and children races.

Easter Egg Hunts
Easter Egg Hunts at Western Gateway Park, and Hennessy School Field, Grass Valley.

Forest Lake Christian Basketball

Forest Lake Section Title
Forest Lake Christian boys basketball beat Brookside Christian of Stockton 77-58, Friday late afternoon, February 29, 2008, ARCO Arena, Sacramento.

Nevada Union/Del Oro Soccer
Nevada Union beat Del Oro 1-0 in soccer Wednesday afternoon, Sierra College soccer field.

Visiting a Maidu village
A large cedar bark house rises 16 feet from a pit in the ground, a site where ancestors of the Tsi-Akim Maidu lived for thousands of years.

Nevada City Film Festival
Opening night at the annual festival.

Roy Rogers: blues guitarist

Burning Man photo journal
The Burning Man arts festival drew 47,000 participants to Black Rock City, Nev. from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3.

St. Piran Day
St. Piran Day Pastie Olympics, Saturday morning, March 08, 2008, Grass Valley City Hall parking lot.

Storms wreak havoc around Nevada County

The Red Light Ball

5th Anniversary Iraq War

Super Tuesday

Tuesday's Snow

Black bears 101
Among the black bears living in the Lake Tahoe basin, Ann Bryant has a reputation as a formidable - though friendly - opponent. Bryant, executive director of The BEAR League of Lake Tahoe, shares her knowledge of bear behavior.

Lower Colfax Road Fire
With the help of helicptors and air tankers, regional fire departments contained a vegetation fire on Lower Colfax Road Saturday afternoon. A downed power line sparked the blaze.

Marijuana Gardens
Local, state and federal law enforcement agents raided three large marijuana plantations Monday on federal and state land near the South Fork Yuba River — encampments most likely operated by a Mexican drug cartel.

Judith Lowry's art of storytelling
Nevada City artist Judith Lowry incorporates Native American folklore into her modern painting style. Her work has been shown at museums across the country, including the Smithsonian.

Bebout's Log Home
The rooms in Russ and Mary Bebout's log home off Retrac Way in the south county have a western theme throughout. The cozy interior offers 2,400 square feet of living space on two floors, and outside there are 5,200 additional square feet of covered patio to enjoy life in the relaxed lane.

Summer Nights in Nevada City
Summer Nights in Nevada City, Wednesday evening, July 11, 2007, downtown Nevada City with venders, entertainers, and people mostly walking up and down Broad Street, with North Pine, and Commercial Street, with venders.

Western Wild Fires
Wildland fires in California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah are raging as firefighters battle the fire on the ground and with aircraft to knock down blazes that burned homes and caused minor injuries to firefighters.

Empire Mine State Park
One of Nevada County's more beautiful assets, Empire Mine State Park offers gardens, grounds, and historical buildings and mining artifacts.

2007 Nevada City Bicycle Classic
The 47th annual Nevada City Bicycle Classic, a six-event day-long series of races, follows one of the toughest short courses in the western United States.

Taiko families bond with a common beat
Families who practice Taiko say the discipline required by the art, coupled with the time they spend together building drums and practicing, helps them work out tensions and improve communications.

Duggans Road fire
Firefighters battled a roadside fire in the south county Wednesday afternoon on Duggans Road.

Taking America one national park at a time
Forget the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben or the Great Wall. When Richard Wixon visits Denali National Park this summer, he'll have seen all 58 national parks.

Visiting Gaden Shartse
A Grass Valley resident visits Gaden Shartse monastery in India.

Building a green house
Nevada City contractor Paul Casterson built his dream green house with a "zero-carbon" footprint using the latest in green building technology.

Tattoo art: not just for sailors any more
With everyone from high-school atheletes to housewives sporting body art these days, tattos have evolved from the skull-and-crossbones of yesteryear. In Grass Valley, Cory Norris of Classic Tattoo Studio creates Japanese-inspired body art.

Press record, step back and let the music play
Record producer Dana Gumbiner found that the hands-off approach worked best during studio sessions with songwriter Lee Bob Watson. In March, Gumbiner produced Watson's upcoming Grass Roots Record Co. release titled, "Aficionado."

More hot than not, Bikram yoga sizzles
Bikram Yoga in Grass Valley turns up the temperature and turns on practitioners to better health. As one students says about the workout, "I'm more winded doing this than running a 10K."

Young handlers shine at poultry show
Young people show their skills handling poultry breeds such as the black breasted red chicken and the white frizzle Cochin at the Happy Valley Youth Poultry and Rabbit Show on March 17.

Buttermilk Bend in bloom
The Buttermilk Bend trail at Bridgeport's South Yuba River State Park is known as "Nevada County's treasure." Docent Barbara Pixley leads a tour of the wildflowers blooming on the hillsides.

Nevada Union unplugged
Nevada Union "Unplugged" performers Philip DiLeo and Dylan Rodrigue discuss their biggest fears about going on stage in front of their peers. Listen to their music and see photos of the March 3, 2007 show.

Connecting pets to people
Over 100 volunteers work at the Nevada County Animal Shelter, walking and socializing dogs and cats to make them more adoptable. Their efforts, combined with the support of "Sammie's Friends," a fund that pays for the animals' medical care, helped reduce the shelter's euthanasia rate to two percent.

Tibetan monks share their culture
Monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery in south India have been visiting western Nevada County for the past six years. They're back again - visiting schools, teaching their religion, sharing their culture and raising awareness about the political situation in Tibet.

Finding inspiration in the Sierra Buttes
On Sept. 30, 2006, the Grass Valley filmmaker Patty Eacobacci set out for the Sierra Buttes to find an answer to a spiritual crisis. The Grass Valley filmmaker documented what she describes as "a perfect response by a friendly universe" in her seven-minute film, "Proof."

Dream People of the Amazon
An Ecuadorian tribe interpreted their dreams to their political advantage and prevented big oil companies from exploring their corner of the rain forest. Filmmaker Lawrence Lansburgh of Nevada City documented the efforts in his film, "Dream People of the Amazon."

NCFD gets new gear
Through a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Nevada County Fire Department received 20 new air units.

Whatcha gonna drive?
Visitors gawk at NMG cars, electric motorbikes and bullet-shaped, three-wheeled motorcycles at the "Whatcha Gonna Drive?" show sponsored by the Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy of Nevada County on Nov. 19, 2006.

Falcons test a common myth

In the studio with LeeAnn Brook
After a recent trip to France, Nevada City artist LeeAnn Brook worked on a series of paintings titled, "The Color of France." Brook leads a studio tour and talks about her artistic process.

Taiko camp 2006

West Coast Falconry Academy
The birds of prey at the West Coast Falconry Academy might look like rock stars on the perch, but the real show begins when their hoods come off and they take flight. Falconers Jim Tigan and Kate Marden deal with the reality that a bird might not come back once it leaves the glove.

Dinner features local farms

Rescued at sea

Gibson: Big in Japan and just plain big
A Japanese television crew filmed Gibson, a Harlequin Great Dane and the tallest dog on record, during a visit to Grass Valley's Bret Harte Retirement Inn. The film crew followed the celebrity canine for a popular TV-Tokyo show about amazing animals called "Pochi Tama."

Snatam Kaur's Yoga Workshop

A Miner's Story: Jerry Nickels

A 21st century Victorian: powered by the sun

"Little Miss Sunshine" a hit
Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris spent five years reading scripts before they came across "Little Miss Sunshine." It took them another five years to make the movie. Dayton, who grew up in Grass Valley, and Faris spoke to The Union in August before a special screening of the film at the Del Oro Theatre.

Tunneling for gold

"The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)"

WorldFest 2006

The North Star House: From Ruin to Landmark

Nevada City Elects New Mayor

Keeping the gospel tradition alive
For Zenobia Brown, minister of music at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Marysville, singing gospel music is a living testament to her ancestors.

Rough and Ready Secession Days
Rough and Ready celebrated its secession from the Union in traditional style this weekend.

Ariana's Animation
The group of young students who gather in Ariana Cardenas' editing studio have been learning to bring objects to life - one frame at a time. Three young animators talk about the work that goes into making animated films.

Fun at the Fair
Lawn mower racing and motocross freestyling keep the crowds entertained at the Nevada County Fair.

The 10th annual "Great Yuba Cleanup"
Citizen volunteers cleaned up the trails and shores of the South Yuba on Saturday, Sept. 15 for the annual cleanup sponsored by the South Yuba River Citizens League. Volunteers said they picked up approximately 1,700 cigarette butts at the Highway 49 crossing alone.

Ringing in the first day of school
Nevada City Elementary School students look up and watch their principal ring in the first day of school Wednesday morning.

Saturday at the Fair
The quietness of the fairground before the rush of people litter the grounds, and the opening ceremonies of raising the American and California flags at the main gate on Saturday morning.

Alvis Legate
The award-winning play "A Few Good Men" by Aaron Sorkin, being performed at Nevada Theatre, 410 Broad St, Aug. 10 through the 25th (nine performances in all). Alivs LeGate is the producer with his parents and is the leading actor in the play.

Western Nevada County Bridges
Bridges at Purdon Crossing, Edwards Crossing, and Highway 49 Crossing on the South Yuba River, an old wooden bed bridge on Bitney Springs Road, and a view of an old wooden bridge in the Spenceville Recreation Area in western Nevada County.