By Suzy Strutner, Huffington Post

For some travelers, relaxing while on vacation seems like the last thing they should do. Trips are best spent exploring, culture-seeking and absorbing every single second, right?

Not quite.

Travel can indeed teach lessons that alter the course of your life. But it also serves as a time to decompress, unplug and get to know your true self, the one that exists after all the pressures and problems of daily life are stripped away. Quality rest is a critical part of this self-discovery experience.

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By Brad Branan, Sacramento Bee

Squaw Valley CEO Andy Wirth knows how to stay calm under pressure.

Since coming to Squaw in 2010 to lead the resort in its “next phase of growth,” Wirth made the decision to buy Alpine Meadows, the ski resort just south of Squaw. He introduced a plan to link the resorts with a gondola next to the federally protected Granite Chief Wilderness. Wirth’s plans for Squaw Valley include a substantial increase in residential and overnight housing, new bars and restaurants and a 108-feet-tall, 90,000-square-foot “mountain adventure center.”

Costs are difficult to estimate because the project will be built over 25 years by developers who will buy rights to the land from Squaw, Wirth said. Squaw Valley’s goal is to bring more skiers to the mountain, not make money from real estate, he added.

More than 300 people and several agencies commented on an environmental review of the project, and most were critical, said Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch, a nonprofit that has been a leading critic of Wirth and the project. The Placer County Board of Supervisors will eventually be asked to sign off on the project.

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El Dorado County does not have a permanent solution for the road-resurfacing debacle on the West Shore.

County staff and Supervisor Sue Novasel last week met with more than 60 frustrated residents of the Tahoma area about the crumbling roads. The chip seal work done last fall on 21 miles of roads didn’t seal.

The material is sticky and is being spread by vehicles into neighborhoods. It’s also getting into the fur of animals and inadvertently being transported into homes.

Officials still don’t know why the project failed . That is in large part why a solution has not been found.

Earlier this year the county said slurry seal would fix the problem. That is now off the table. Without a solution, there is no time line to fix the problem.

While the roads continue to deteriorate, the county will have sweepers out more often to pick up the debris as well as sanders to cover the sticky oil.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Incline Village to Sand Harbor Bikeway will be talked abut April 26.

Reps from the Nevada Department of Transportation will talk about the Federal Lands Access Program and its four phases, including the Phase 1 bikeway/shared-use path. This path is part of the larger Stateline-to-Stateline trail.

Officials will be able to answer questions and talk about the 2016-18 building schedule.

The open house will be from 4-7pm, with a presentation at 5:30pm. This will be at the Chateau at Incline Village, 955 Fairway Blvd.

Novelist and short story writer Daniel Chacón will be at Lake Tahoe Community College on May 13 at 7pm.

Chacón will read selections from his works, answer audience questions about the writing process, and sign copies of his books, which will be available for sale.

Daniel Chacón

This free event will be in the college library.

Chacón is the author of “Hotel Juárez: Stories, Rooms, and Loops” (2013), which won the 2014 Pen Oakland Award for Literary Excellence and the Tejas NACCS Award for Best Book of Fiction for 2013. His collection of short stories, “Unending Rooms”, won the 2008 Hudson Prize. He also has a novel, “And the Shadows Took Him”, and another collection of stories called “Chicano Chicanery”. His fiction has appeared in the anthologies “Latino Boom; Latino Sudden Fiction;” “Lengua Fresca: Latinos Writing on the Edge;” “Caliente: The Best Erotic Writing in Latin American Fiction;” and “Best of the West 2009: New Stories from the West Side of the Missouri.”

By Megan Michelson, Powder

In terms of snow, this winter brought the best of times and the worst of times, depending on which coast you’re talking about.

On the West Coast, a much-welcomed El Niño delivered ample snowfall to help ski resorts in California and Nevada recover from the last four years of lackluster winters and drought conditions. Those storms also brought a boost to the economy, with skier visits and ticket sales up and money trickling down to local businesses like hotels and restaurants.

Snowfall data for California hit about average for this season—with resorts like Squaw Valley scoring the most in the Tahoe area with 463 inches, just above the resort’s annual average of 450 inches (last year, by comparison, Squaw got just 223 inches). Mammoth Mountain collected 342 inches of snow, just below their 400-inch average, while Heavenly got 341 inches for the season, hovering around their 360-inch average.

Most snow science experts say that while this year’s average snowpack in the Sierra will certainly help California’s water shortage, it’s not enough to end the drought.

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·      South Lake Tahoe is conducting a survey about snow removal on bike paths.

·       On May 2 from 1-2:30pm, El Dorado County’s ad hoc Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee will meet for the first time. The meeting will be at 330 Fair Lane, Building A, Placerville.

·       El Dorado Irrigation District’s board is keeping drought restrictions in place for now.

·      The Bicycle Advisory Committee of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority will meet May 4 from 9-11am in the Downstairs Conference Room at Lake Tahoe Airport.

·      El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on April 19 unanimously approved the Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s Safe Routes to School Master Plan.

Reno tied for 11th-most polluted city in the nation for short-term particle pollution in a study done by the American Lung Association.

Compared to the 2015 State of the Air report, Reno has seen an increase in short-term particle pollution. That report covered 2011-13, while the 2016 report is for 2012-14. The 2016 report also found year-round particle pollution levels significantly higher than the previous report.

Many of these spikes in Reno were directly linked to wildfires.

Researchers said increased heat, changes in weather patterns, drought and wildfires are all related to climate change, which has contributed to the extraordinarily high numbers of days with unhealthy particle pollution in some cities, including Reno.

“The 2016 State of the Air report finds unhealthful levels of ozone in Reno, putting our local citizens at risk for premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks and cardiovascular harm. And, since we have such high levels of year-round particle pollution, our citizens face increased risk for lung cancer,” Frankie Vigil, executive director of the American Lung Association in Reno, said in a statement. “Across the nation, the report found continued improvement in air quality, but more than half of the people in the United States live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution.”

The report focuses on ozone pollution and particle pollution. The report analyzes particle pollution through average annual particle pollution levels and short-term spikes in particle pollution.

“Particle pollution is made of soot or tiny particles that come from coal-fired power plants, diesel emissions, wildfires and wood-burning devices. These particles are so small that they can lodge deep in the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and can even be lethal,” said Vigil. “Year-round particle pollution levels have dropped thanks to the cleanup of coal-fired power plants and the retirement of old, dirty diesel engines.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Slow Food Lake Tahoe along with former board member and Truckee River Sanctuary owner Polly Triplat will present a Backyard Chicken Raising Workshop from 10am-noon on May 14.

Attendees will be taught what it takes to start enjoying fresh eggs from their own chickens, whether its legal to have hens, and what it takes to keep them safe from predators.

In addition, the workshop will cover basic coop design, feeding, handling and selection of cold hardy breeds.

The talk will be a the Truckee River Sanctuary where there is a flock.

Slow Food Lake Tahoe’s mission is to connect the community to the enjoyment of good, clean and fair food by inspiring a self-reliant food culture. For more info, go online.

By Kathryn Reed

The brouhaha created at the April 5 South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting regarding televising public comments about non-agenda items was quelled this week when the electeds unanimously agreed to keep the camera rolling.

While legally the council has no obligation to televise any portion of its meeting, filming has occurred since 1998. The meetings are now available online – live and after the meeting – and on the cable public access channel. Audio recordings are also available, as are the minutes.

The abrupt stoppage of the airing of non-agenda item comments created a flurry of emails to the council and staff. There was outrage over it not being discussed or voted on by the entire council.

The original decision came about because some members of the public are slanderous with their comments. It’s also an opportunity for people to get on a soapbox about an issue or cause.

Between the city manager, city attorney and city clerk the electeds got a refresher April 19 about the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. What was drilled into them is that they can shut down abusive language and content. The right to speak is one thing, while the actual words are another.

“There is no safe harbor for slander,” City Attorney Tom Watson said.

With that, he cautioned that if someone were to make a slanderous statement, the city could be held liable by broadcasting it.

That is in large part why previous councils from June 2003 to February 2011 did not air comments about items not on the agenda. A resident went off on his ex-employer at a meeting that was broadcast and the business owner was livid with the city.

The current council, though, believes the public’s right to hear what others are saying outweighs the threat of recrimination.

Per the Brown Act the council could never take away these non-agenda item comments entirely, only the airing of them. Creators of the Brown Act saw the need for the public to be able to have interaction with electeds without having to go through staff, which is why the comment period is mandatory for all legislative bodies in the state.

Watson also talked about how the council may respond to these comments in a limited manner, especially if it means to correct misinformation. There just can’t be lengthy dialog pertaining to non-agenda items otherwise that would be a Brown Act violation.

Bill Crawford, who was on the council for two terms, reminded the mayor that she has the power of the gavel, and if things really get out of hand the sergeant at arms – aka police chief – has the authority to remove someone from the podium and/or room.

Resident Ed Mosur said he wants to retain his right to criticize staff and not be told what he can or cannot say.

A change in policy going forward is people will have four minutes to make comments about non-agenda items instead of three.