Howdy Editor,

The City of Bishop’s plan to evict our Chamber of Commerce from its iconic A-frame at 690 N. Main St. by October 30, 2025, threatens our tourism economy—Mule Days, visitor services, and local businesses could take a big hit. The city claims the A-frame’s unsafe, which might be true, but that doesn’t change that Tawni Thomson emailed me, “I recently offered Chamber funds to repair the A-frame, but Deston Dishion and Jose Garcia refused, saying it’s ‘not up for discussion.’” Why not donate the A-frame to the Chamber for self-funded repairs, especially since builders I’ve consulted say it’s fixable? I have reached out to the city with a Public Records Act request for an engineering report, but have not been sent one so far.

I reached out to Mayor Karen Kong, she told me, “We get various requests from local residents for a recreation center at the park, and that is the only parcel where such a structure could go,” believing the city owns it. My Inyo County GIS and Assessor’s Map show it’s LADWP-owned. My grandma’s talks with LADWP confirmed 23 years remain on their lease, but the city hasn’t shared a copy. Why no public debate? If the true goal is to tear it down to replace it with a Recreation Center, why was there no public comment before evicting the chamber? After further discussion with Tawni. She warned, “Relocation costs will force cuts to fish stocking and Climbing Ranger programs,” impacting anglers and climbers. If you enjoy fishing, climbing, Mule Days, or local shops, you should be upset with this decision. I may start a petition for transparency. Join me at the July 28 Council meeting to save our A-frame and demand the truth!

Sincerely,

Tyler Beadle


Bishop, CA (City Limits) https://sierrawave.net/letter-to-the-editor-from-tyler-beadle-on-behalf-of-the-destruction-of-the-a-frame-chamber-of-commerce-building/