By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

Aaron Friesen

A man accused of armed robbery of a Camino business was taken into custody Thursday following a search that included area school campuses.

A man brandishing a gun robbed the Wine Country Station off Highway 50 in Camino about 5:30am, according to an El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office news release.

A witness outside the store saw the man leaving the area in a vehicle and was able to provide information to deputies responding to the robbery report. That information led them to a vehicle that had crashed at the intersection of Broadway and Smith Flat Road, just east of Placerville.

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More powder days are in Heavenly’s near future — as well as at all Tahoe resorts. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

While snow is in the forecast for Friday, the National Weather Service in Reno is calling this weekend’s storm “potent”.

A lake wind advisory has been issued for March 11 from 9am-6pm.

A winter storm watch has been issued for the basin from March 12 at 4pm through March 14 at 11am. A foot of white stuff could fall at lake level and a couple feet above 7,000 feet. Wind gusts could reach 45 mph at lower elevations and 100 mph on ridges.

Overnight lows for the next few days are expected to hover around freezing in South Lake Tahoe, while highs will gradually be declining from 48 on Friday to 37 on Monday.

The next completely sunny day isn’t expected until next Wednesday.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Megan Messerly, Las Vegas Sun

Amid the fervor of caucus season — the day that Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders visited union workers on a picket line outside of Sunrise Hospital, the day that they addressed Nevada issues at a town hall in front of a national audience on television, and two days before the Nevada Democratic caucuses — the minimum wage ballot initiative was quietly withdrawn.

The initiative, first put forward in November, would have gradually raised the minimum wage in Nevada to $13 an hour by 2024 from its current level, $8.25. The group backing the initiative, the Committee to Raise the Minimum Wage, would have needed to gather more than 55,000 signatures of registered voters by June 21 to get it on the ballot.

But a couple of weeks before the caucuses, the initiative’s supporters decided to withdraw the petition, said Laura Martin, associate director for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, known as PLAN, one of the main advocates of the initiative.

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St. Patrick’s Day has become one of the nation’s deadliest holidays.

From 2010 to 2014, almost three-fourths of the drunk-driving fatalities during this holiday period involved drivers who had blood alcohol levels well above the 0.08 limit, with 266 drunk-driving fatalities total nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

To help lower deaths and injuries, South Lake Tahoe police officers will be deploying extra officers on overtime targeting problem areas with high numbers of DUI collisions and DUI arrests. These DUI patrols along with routine nightly patrols will be looking for the tell-tale signs of impaired driving to include weaving and crossing the center line. Officers will also conducting a DUI checkpoint on March 17 from 7pm to 2am.

Walking while intoxicated can also be deadly, as lack of attention could put a person at risk of getting hit by a vehicle.

Tips to be safe:

• Designate a sober, reliable driver to get you home safely. Find the name of a taxi company (or two), and keep their numbers in your phone, or download the California Office of Traffic Safety DDVIP (Designated Driver VIP) mobile app. Or order a sober ride from Uber, Lyft or Curb.
• Before you take your first sip of green beer, leave your keys at home or give them to a friend. Ensure your designated driver has committed to a sober evening. If you’re the designated driver, do not drink.

This enforcement campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The next special DUI campaign is set for Cinco de Mayo.

By Ryan Sabalow, Sacramento Bee

Joy is the word that comes to mind as Margot Bach describes how it feels to look out her sliding-glass door and watch the songbirds fluttering into her yard to eat the seed she puts out for them.

“I love to see them around,” said Bach, 69. She had just finished filling the cylindrical feeder on the small concrete patio that pretty much fills the backyard of her Pocket-area home. A variety of songbirds twittered in the nearby trees.

“I love the sound they bring. I love the nests that they build.”

Yet Bach’s seeming act of kindness – a ritual shared by the estimated 50 million Americans who feed birds around their homes – has become something of a controversial practice in California in recent weeks. Last month, state wildlife officials said that feeding birds is “highly discouraged” following a disease outbreak that killed an estimated 1,000 songbirds statewide.

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How-to-City: A Property Owner’s Guide to South Lake Tahoe and TRPA is the topic of a March 16 talk.

It will be an overview of new and improved processes in city and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency code that help homeowners make changes to their homes and properties. City and TRPA staff will talk about recent changes to streamline permitting, changes to the vacation home rental ordinance, the application process, and how area plans and a new look at development regulations are simplifying the process for homeowners.

The free talk will be in Creekside Room at Lake Tahoe Community College from noon-1:30pm.

Lake Tahoe Community College the Hollywood murder mystery “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” on March 11-20.

It is a fast-paced and funny who-done-it play about the creative team responsible for a recent Broadway flop, in which three chorus girls were murdered by the mysterious “Stage Door Slasher.” They assemble for a backer’s audition of their new show at the Westchester estate of a wealthy “angel.” The house contains sliding panels, secret passageways, and a German maid who is apparently four different people—all of which figure diabolically into the mayhem that follows when the infamous “Slasher” returns to strike again—and again. As the composer, lyricist, actors and director prepare their performance, and a blizzard cuts off all escape, bodies start to drop in plain sight, knives spring out of nowhere, masked figures drag victims behind swiveling bookcases, and accusing fingers point in all directions.

LTCC’s cast brings familiar and new faces to the Duke Theatre stage. Frank Riley is the bumbling detective intent on finding the “Slasher;” Carolin Hansa is the owner of the mansion who is obsessed with espionage; Chris Taylor is the artsy director with a bad habit of name-dropping every celebrity he has supposedly worked with; Fritz Schlottman is the flamboyant and slightly neurotic composer; Pam Taylor is the high-strung lyricist who always has a drink in her hand, if not the entire bottle; Diana Evans plays the overly-dramatic producer; Jered Stowell is a seriously struggling comedian and Samantha Bender is the spunky chorus girl who brings out the best in him; Elliott Smart is the Irish Tenor with a questionable dialect; and Ashley Wallick is the maid who ends up murdered…or does she?

Performances of “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” are March 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 7:30pm, with matinees on March 13 and 20 at 2pm. High school and college students with a valid student I.D. card can see the show for free on March 17. Simply present a valid student ID at the Duke Theatre box office for as long as tickets are available. Free tickets for this performance are not available in advance.

Tickets are $10 general admission, and $5 for seniors, groups of eight or more, and students with a valid student ID. Tickets may be purchased in advance at LTCC’s Bookstore Monday through Thursday. The box office will be open for ticket sales one hour before all performances.

By Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review-Journal

CARSON CITY — Voting rights advocates said Monday they have sent a pre-litigation notice letter to Nevada officials, warning that the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles is failing to meet its federally mandated voter registration obligations.

Attorneys representing Mi Familia Vota Education Fund and Nevada resident Eleanor Newell sent the letter to Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and Terri L. Albertson, director of the DMV.

The attorneys are threatening litigation if the state does not comply with the law.

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·      Barton Auxiliary is hosting a blood drive April 29 from noon-5pm at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. Bring a photo ID, eat well and drink fluids.

·      TRYP will host a professional development workshop titled The Importance of Professional Marketing Materials on March 21 from 6-7pm at Lake Tahoe School, 995 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village. The workshop is free for members, $5 for non-members.

·      Highly celebrated young Davidson Fellow Laureate, Ray Ushikubo performs with the Reno Philharmonic during the Classix Five concert March 20 and March 22 at the Pioneer Center for Performing Arts in Reno. Also featured is the Youth Symphony Orchestra. Tickets are available online.

·      Kids & Horses Therapeutic Riding Center in Minden has hired physical therapist Erin Vaillancourt and occupational therapist Amy Schelert. The center works with individuals of all ages facing range of challenges including paralysis, multiple sclerosis, autism, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, learning disabilities, and stroke.

·       The Lakeview Loft above Dart Liquor in Stateline is closing mid-month and being renovated to be a restaurant called Sonney’s BBQ at Stateline.

Crowds like this at Heavenly on March 8 are helping Vail Resorts’ bottom line. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

By Joshua Jamerson, Dow Jones Newswires

Vail Resorts Inc. reported better-than-expected revenue and profit in its latest quarter and boosted its quarterly dividend, as the ski-resort operator benefited from more visitors and steeper prices.

The results came amid a rebound at its three Tahoe properties, solid growth at its Colorado operations and double-digit growth at its Park City resort. The quarter through January is typically Vail’s strongest reporting period of the year. Vail also announced improvements to its resorts at Breckenridge and Vail Mountain.

Vail’s board approved a 30 percent increase in the company’s quarter dividend to 81 cents a share, up from 62.25 cents a share. The raised dividend is payable to shareholders of record as March 29.

The Broomfield-based company acquired Park City Mountain Resort in Utah in 2014, giving it the biggest ski resort in the U.S. Additionally, Vail bought a resort in Australia in June, which should help bolster its results during its typical off-season periods.

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