The fifth annual Mom’s Morning Out, which is for women of all ages, is April 30.

Mom’s Morning Out is an event just for women that unites the body and mind. It’s an opportunity to slow down, unwind, and be pampered.

Yoga starts at 8am, with other fitness classes throughout the morning

Most activities – including coffee and brunch – are scheduled from 9am-noon.

Barton Health medical providers will provide wellness lectures.

The free event takes place at Lake Tahoe Community College in the commons area. No RSVP is required.  All attendees must be 12 or older to attend.

Get more information by calling 530.543.5537 or by going online.

By Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal

It’s as easy as ordering a Big Mac.

Thanks to laws designed to attract business, creating a company in Nevada is a quick and simple exercise for anyone able to pay the required fees.

Add a layer of anonymity that hides ownership for limited liability companies, or LLCs, and you have the secret sauce that helped Nevada earn the nickname “Delaware of the West,” a nod to the mid-Atlantic state known for incorporating and creating businesses.

Despite the attention, Nevada has  successfully shrugged off concerns about its system through the years. The massive release of leaked documents known as the “Panama Papers,” however, is casting a global spotlight on the Silver State.

Read the whole story

·       Douglas County is partnering with public health, healthcare agencies and others to produce a Community Health Needs Assessment. The purpose is to develop ways to improve the health of Douglas County residents. The survey will be available until May 6.

·      The Nevada Department of Agriculture has nearly $250,000 available to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through projects that seek to improve the specialty crops industry. More info is online.

·       Caltrans’ goal is to open Sonora Pass to Kennedy Meadows Road in time for the beginning of trout season, April 30.

·      Day of the Young Child is June 4, 10am-2pm 2016 at Lake Tahoe Community College. To register, call 530.541.5848.

·       Tahoe City Public Utility District Parks and Recreation Department has cleared the snow on the Tahoe City paved bike trails from Dollar Hill to Squaw.

Twenty-five former El Dorado County employees are part of the $100,000 club.

This means they are collecting a pension of more than $100,000 a year. It is taxpayer money that provides them with a defined benefit that must be paid before roads or other county services are dealt with.

Two former sheriffs are making more than $200,000 a year in retirement, while the average annual benefit for a retired employee with an office job is $16,141.

The figures were released this week by Joe Harn, auditor-controller for El Dorado County. Here is the CalPERS list by title and compensation amount.

The county’s unfunded obligation to CalPERS is $230,000,000, according to the latest actuarial report available.

“The county government’s unfunded obligation is $1,244 per each county resident. This doesn’t include the unfunded obligations owed by the cities and special districts,” Harn said in a statement. “This obligation will likely grow because the county is funding CalPERS using overly optimistic actuarial assumptions.”

Harn said in 1999 and 2000 supervisors went against his recommendation and instead changed its contract with CalPERS. The changes provided significant increase in retirement benefits to employees and dramatically increased the county’s unfunded obligation to CalPERS, according to Harn.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Intensive planting and low maintenance techniques can increase a garden’s harvest.
Photo/Bonnie Plants

By Melinda Myers

Increase your harvest without increasing the size of your garden or workload. All you need is a bit of intensive planting, along with some low maintenance techniques.

Invest some time upfront to prepare the garden soil. This will save you time throughout the growing season.  Add several inches of organic matter and a slow release fertilizer into the top 8 to 12 inches of soil.  The organic matter improves drainage in clay soils and increases moisture retention in sandy soils. The slow release fertilizer feeds the plants for several months, reducing the number of applications needed.  You’ll have healthier plants that are better able to fend off pests and outcompete the weeds.

Match the plants with the right growing conditions. Tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables that produce fruit need full sun. Leafy crops like lettuce are more tolerant of shade. Check plant tags and seed packets for planting details or download a free gardening app for plant information, maintenance tips, weather reports, and more.

Plant seeds and transplants in blocks with fewer pathways.  Give each plant enough room to grow to its full size. Your rows will be closer together with just enough paths for weeding, watering, and harvesting. You will be growing more plants and pulling fewer weeds with this strategy.

Interplant to further maximize your planting space. Plant short-season vegetables like lettuce and radishes in between properly spaced longer-season vegetables like broccoli and tomatoes. By the time the longer-season plants start filling the space, the shorter season plantings will be ready to harvest. You’ll be pulling radishes or cutting lettuce instead of weeds. Plus, you’ll harvest two crops from one row.

Plant successive crops throughout the growing season. Plant cool weather vegetables like spinach, radishes, and lettuce in spring. Once these are harvested, replace with warm weather vegetables like beans, tomatoes, or cucumbers.  Finish off the season by filling any voids with a fall crop of cool weather vegetables.

Go vertical to save space, reduce disease, and make harvesting easier. Growing vine crops on supports lifts the fruit off the ground and increases the amount of light and airflow the plants receive, reducing the risk of disease. Plus, you’ll do less bending when it’s time to harvest.

Mulch the garden with pine straw/evergreen needles, shredded leaves, or other organic matter.  These materials suppress the weeds, conserve moisture and add organic matter to the soil as they decompose. You’ll have fewer weeds to pull and not have to water as often.

Save time and water with the help of soaker hoses or drip irrigation. These systems apply the water directly to the soil where it is needed. Less water is lost to overspray, evaporation, and runoff.  They also reduce the risk and spread of disease by preventing water from settling on the leaves of the plants.

Try a few or all of these strategies this season for an abundant harvest without a lot of extra work.

Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of gardening experience has written more than 20 gardening books, including “Small Space Gardening” and “Midwest Gardener’s Handbook”. 

In March 2015 no water flowed from Lake Tahoe to the Truckee River. Photo/LTN file

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe hit its rim on April 9.

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Lake Tahoe is finally expected to spill over its natural rim into the Truckee River sometime within the coming days.

When it happens it will be the first time in more than 300 days the lake topped its natural rim, which is at 6,223 feet in elevation.

It will also mark the end of the longest period below the rim since at least 1994, according to records posted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Read the whole story

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Matt Reynolds and Blake Bockius were pushing their bikes through wet snow when they should have been relaxing with a post-ride beverage.

They were making an over-the-snow crossing of the Sierra Nevada crest on fat tire bikes, a trek they planned to complete in 12 to 15 hours.

But their effort to make the first wintertime bike ride over the route deteriorated into a rain-soaked, 22-hour slog.

Read the whole story

Weather permitting, California State Parks, Nevada Division of Forestry and U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations beginning April 11.

On the North Shore, operations may take place in Burton Creek State Park. On the East Shore, operations may take place near Sand Harbor, Spooner Summit and Camp Galilee. On the South Shore, operations may take place near Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road, Panther Lane near South Tahoe High School, off Highway 89 near Spring Creek, and off Santa Claus Drive and West River Parkway near Christmas Valley.

To view a map with project locations and details, go online.

Residual smoke may be seen in locations where operations have taken place over the last several weeks. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Citizen Corps is offering an emergency preparedness and response training academy beginning April 14.

The training is free and trainees are not required to become a Citizen Corps volunteer to participate.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Academy provides residents with the information to help save lives and reduce trauma in the event of an emergency. CERT Academy training includes disaster preparedness, emergency medical techniques, fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, and terrorism awareness education.

The CERT Academy offers six training sessions over two consecutive weekends. Dates are April 14 from 6-9pm, April 15 6-9pm, April 16 9am-4pm, April 21 6-9pm, April 22 6-9pm and April 23 9am-4pm.

All sessions are required to complete the training and receive a certificate. Training takes place at the Regional Public Safety Training Center located at 5190 Spectrum Blvd., Reno.

To sign up, contact Shirlee Rhodes at 775.325.6928 or srhodes@washoecounty.us.

To the community,

On April 2, the Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra received over 350 pieces of luggage, duffle bags, backpacks, and sleeping bags for children and youth in transition.

These youngsters include foster children and transitional aged youth who may be homeless or couch surfers. No longer do they need to carry their limited belongings in garbage bags as they move from place to place. The luggage will be distributed by Tahoe Youth & Family Services, and Sierra Child and Family Services.

Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra thanks T.J. Maxx for the use of the parking lot as the staging site for the collection. We thank those generous community members who have helped youth and children bring a bit of order to their lives by providing much needed luggage.

If you have luggage to donate but missed the event, may bring your suitcases, duffle bags, and backpacks to Sierra Child and Family Services (2580 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe).

Tom Millham,  Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra