South Lake Tahoe’s Easter egg hunt in 1948. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

Longtime local resident Dave Wakeman remembers attending this 1948 Easter Egg Hunt at age 6. The Bijou Park Club on Highway 50 sponsored the annual egg hunts and other community events when the local population numbered only in the hundreds.

The building fell victim to the rampant construction of motels and attractions preceding the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley.

Dave Wakeman recalls several small vacation cottages along a stream between the Bijou Park Club and Tahoe Meadows. Evidence of that stream bed is still visible behind the tree at far right. Photo/Bill Kingman

The Bijou Park Club stood approximately where McDonald’s is today.

— Bill Kingman

A variety of daffodils stand tall on the first day of spring. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

VOLCANO – Life and death all in a matter of weeks. Mother Nature can be cruel that way.

While the blooms of Daffodil Hill had clearly passed their peak on the first full day of spring, by March 21 the iconic outpost in Amador County was closed for the season.

It has been a tough few years for the McLaughlin family. Between drought and inopportune rains, the flowers have struggled to last for long. They are a seasonal bulb that can decorate a landscape for several weeks, assuming the weather cooperates. In good years Daffodil Hill is open from mid-March to mid-April, seven days a week.

Paths wonder between the fields of daffodils. Photo/Kathryn Reed

This 540-acre ranch has been in the same family since 1887. Seven of those acres are full of daffodils. Each fall family members and friends plant more bulbs, with 11 varieties put in the ground in 2015: Arkle, Barrett Browning, Bravoure, Delibes, Flaconet, Green Eyed, Ice Follies, King Alfred, Love Call, Ringtone and Yellow River.

According to the American Daffodil Society, “Depending on which botanist you talk to, there are between 40 and 200 different daffodil species, subspecies or varieties of species and over 25,000 registered cultivars (named hybrids) divided among the 13 divisions of the official classification system.”

Different species are planted each fall. Photo/Kathryn Reed

One thing that makes Daffodil Hill so special is that the family – now in its sixth generation – does all this work for the public to enjoy for free. There is no cost to walk the grounds, marvel at all the species. It doesn’t even cost to park. Donations and the sale of souvenirs pay for the 8,000 to 16,000 bulbs that are planted each year.

Kim Grady, a fifth generation family member, said it was her grandparents’ and parents’ desire to have this little hill be open for all to see – to never charge. Donations dictate how many bulbs are planted each fall. Family members pay attention to what has bloomed well and spots that need filling in to help determine which varietals to buy.

Old farm equipment and some of the original buildings are scattered about. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Daffodils were already on the property when Arthur and Lizzie McLaughlin bought the land from Dutchman Pete Denzer. They continued to operate it as a way station for people traveling over the Carson Pass. When she died in 1935 family members planted daffodils in her memory. Each year the tradition continued.

Now it is also a tradition for many to make the trek to Daffodil Hill. Some days 4,000 people will walk the grounds to see these yellow, white and orange flowers.

Plan to visit Daffodil Hill in 2017. Photo/Kathryn Reed

—–

Notes:

·       Telephone: 209.296.7048.

·       Address: 18310 Rams Horn Grade, Volcano.

By John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal

John L. Smith

The water crisis in Flint, Mich., has gone national with blanket media coverage. The problem is as plain as the brown muck that’s been flowing from kitchen faucets.

President Obama and a long slate of lesser political figures have sounded the alarm and weighed in on the subject with promises to devote expertise and resources to resolve the health threat. And, in the meantime, there will be plenty of bottled water for folks who call Flint home.

Although you won’t find nearly the degree of political hand-wringing and media analysis, there’s no shortage of environmental crises in Nevada.

Read the whole story

By Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee

The voice on the telephone recording could have been that of a stockbroker in a bull market. Instead, it was the head of a firm that collects signatures for proposed initiatives scrambling to qualify for California’s November ballot.

Carl Towe’s call-in service provides updates on the unprecedented and rapidly rising cost for signatures on more than one dozen measures in circulation. A 25-year veteran of the business, Towe ended a recent message with a cheery instruction to petitioners: “Make the hay while the sun shines.”

This year, the light is blinding. As campaigns rush to beat their qualification deadlines, political veterans say the value of each name on the petitions voters sign, combined with the number of petitions on the street, is unprecedented.

Signatures for Gov. Jerry Brown’s parole initiative are $5 apiece. For a measure to raise the tobacco tax, $4. For recreational marijuana legalization, $2. Petitions in a typical year may start at $1 and work their way up based on how they are producing.

Read the whole story

Weather permitting, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, Nevada Division of Forestry, California State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations March 28.

On the North and West shores, operations may take place in Burton Creek and Sugar Pine Point state parks. On the East Shore, operations may take place near Sand Harbor, Spooner Summit, Camp Galilee and Kingsbury Grade near Edgewood Drive. 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.

El Dorado County is increasing fees for the public – some of which have remained the same price for more than 20 years.

The decision came on a split vote this week with Supervisors Brian Veerkamp, Ron Mikulaco and Sue Novasel in favor of the measure and Supervisors Shiva Frentzen and Michael Ranalli in the minority.

The Community Development Agency puts a price on more than 450 items. Building permits, cemetery fees, environmental management, time spent with a planner – those are just some of the areas affected. New fees were also added – ones related to technology upgrades and General Plan implementation.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By John Myers and Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times

Lawmakers and labor unions have struck a tentative deal to raise the statewide minimum wage to $10.50 an hour next year and then gradually to $15, averting a costly political campaign this fall and possibly putting California at the forefront of a national movement.

The deal was confirmed Saturday afternoon by sources close to the negotiations who would speak only on condition of anonymity until Gov. Jerry Brown makes a formal announcement as early as Monday.

The minimum wage compromise ends a long debate between the Democratic governor and some of the state’s most powerful labor unions. For Brown, it’s political pragmatism; numerous statewide polls have suggested voters would approve a minimum wage proposal — perhaps even a more sweeping version — if given the chance.

Read the whole story

Incline Business Network is conducting a forum next week about potential impacts to Incline Village from a medical marijuana dispensary that is about to open.

Dispensaries are new to Nevada, while neighboring California has had them for several year. The one in Incline – NuLeaf – is slated to open this spring on Tahoe Boulevard.

Taking part in the discussion will be Sean Luse and Sabrina Fendrick from NuLeaf, Washoe County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Clark, state Sen. Tick Segerblom, and Susanna Kintz and Heidi Mitchel from the business community.

The forum will be March 31 from 6-8pm at the Hyatt in Incline. RSVP to InclineBusinessNetwork@gmail.com.

South Lake Tahoe has more than 250 youth that are in transition due to life circumstances.  These include foster children, transitional age youth who may be homeless and couch surfers. They are without permanent homes.

They frequently carry their limited belonging from place to place in plastic garbage bags.

To help these youth bring some order to their lives, the Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra is staging a pack back and luggage drive on April 2 from 10am-2pm at the TJ Maxx parking lot in South Lake Tahoe.

Club members are seeking donations of new or gently used backpacks, duffle bags, and suitcases. The backpacks and luggage will be given to local agencies working with children and youth. Usable camping equipment will also be collected.

Representatives from the various agencies will be on hand to answer questions.

By Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times

The El Niño-fueled storms that have swept through Northern California in recent weeks have swelled some of the state’s largest reservoirs to encouraging levels even as the state’s drought persists.

One of the biggest beneficiaries has been Lake Shasta, a keystone reservoir of the Central Valley project, which serves California growers.

To make room in Shasta for water from last weekend’s storms, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation ramped up releases from 5,000 cubic feet per second to 20,000 cubic feet per second on March 18. It was the first time since 2011 that the bureau released water into the upper Sacramento River at such a rapid rate, said spokesman Shane Hunt.

Read the whole story