Park City is now the largest ski resort in the United States. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Planning a trip to Lake Tahoe is not as easy as going to Park City, Utah, or Vail, Colo.

There are more than a dozen downhill ski resorts in the greater Lake Tahoe area that are geographically spread out, so the visitor better do her homework. In Park City there are now two resorts; there were three until Park City and Canyons became one. Vail has Vail, though Beaver Creek is just down the road.

There are plenty of similarities and differences to distinguish these three areas.

A big difference is that for Lake Tahoe summer is the busiest season. The other two barely register with non-skiers.

A major similarity is the presence of Vail Resorts. The Broomfield, Colo.-based company owns Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Tahoe area, Vail and Beaver Creek in Colorado (among others), and Park City in Utah.

Lake Tahoe News spent a week in January exploring Park City. We met with city officials, toured 2002 Olympic venues, stayed at three hotels to get a feel for lodging options, wandered through downtown, ate and drank at a variety of establishments, and skied those famous Wasatch mountains. Every Sunday in February we will be bringing you stories about our experience in Park City.

From there we hope it might spark some debate about where we go as a region and as smaller locales around the lake. By no means are we saying we want Tahoe to be Park City or Vail, but it is pretty clear Lake Tahoe has an identity issue outside of being able to point to that big body of water. Change is inevitable. Are we going to be active participants or let others make the change for us?

Enjoy the series.

            — Kathryn Reed, Lake Tahoe News publisher

By USSA

EONGSEON, South Korea  – Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) nailed the podium in the first test event for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, taking third at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Jeongseon.

On a beautiful sunny day in South Korea, the men got a chance to race the manicured PyeongChang downhill course. While there wasn’t much natural snow, the manmade surface held up for the 54 racers. Nyman stomped a fast run on the short track that heralded his gliding specialty, but Attacking Viking Kjetil Jansrud of Norway snuck ahead of him to take first with Dominik Paris of Italy on Jansrud’s heels in second.

“The snow was very responsive. It’s very similar to Beaver Creek and Lake Louise – dry, grippy,” said Nyman after his podium finish. “It’s a joy to ski.”

Rounding out the Americans in the points, new father Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) finished 16th, with Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley) 18th and Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley) 22nd. Ganong, a pre-race favorite, landed hard off of the second jump and his left knee, which has a bone bruise, did not react well. Just out of the top 30, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley) was 32nd, Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) 34th and Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) 42nd. Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) fell, but got up and finished the Olympic downhill course to take 52nd.

By Chris Kamrani, Salt Lake Tribune

Maddie Bowman saved her best for last.

The American freeskiing halfpipe star and Westminster College student nailed her third and final run in Friday’s Visa U.S. Grand Prix ski halfpipe final at Park City, earning a 89.80 to top Japan’s Ayana Onozuka.

Bowman watched as Onozuka’s first run of 88.80 set the pace for the rest of the afternoon, but as the final competitor the 22-year-old from Meyers, again utilized her newly learned switch-900 trick to lead her to victory.

Just a week ago in Aspen, Colo., the trick helped Bowman win her fourth-straight X Games gold medal in women’s halfpipe. The reigning Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe, Bowman underwent knee surgery last February and only recently returned to competition.

Read the whole story

By Tami Luhby, CNN

The once-strong middle class no longer dominates America.

Middle class Americans now comprise less than half, or 49.9 percent, of the nation’s population, down from 61 percent in 1971, according to a Pew Research Center report. For Pew, middle class Americans live in households earning between two-thirds to two times the nation’s median income. In 2014, that ranged from $41,900 to $125,600 for a three-person household.

For decades, the middle class had been the core of the country. A healthy middle class kept America strong, experts and politicians said.

But more recently, these residents have struggled under stagnating wages and soaring costs. Presidential candidates on both sides of the political aisle are campaigning on ways to bolster the nation’s middle class and increase opportunities to climb the economic ladder.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

After months of threatening to sue the city of South Lake Tahoe, the parents of the man who was fatally shot by a police officer have done so.

Attorney Alan Laskin filed the wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Sacramento. His office closes at 3pm on Fridays, so he was not available for comment.

Kris Jackson

A single bullet fired by Officer Josh Klinge killed Kris Jackson, 22, of Sacramento. Jackson was not armed. Officers were called to the Tahoe Hacienda Motel on Lake Tahoe Boulevard at 2:40am June 15, 2015, because of reports of a woman who was screaming and crying.

Klinge remains on paid administrative leave.

El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office is in charge of the investigation. The report was expected months ago.

The lawsuit contends the city does not properly train its officers, therefore the killing was wrongful.

City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News, “The city makes no comment on any pending litigation.”

By Kathryn Reed

Lake Tahoe Hard Rock owners are selling half of their interest in the Stateline property to an organization out of Las Vegas.

Representatives were before the Gaming Control Board this week regarding money issues, which comes days after having another lawsuit filed against the troubled Stateline casino.

Brothers David and Jon Park are struggling to make Lake Tahoe Hard Rock a viable entity. Photo/Denise Haerr

Tentative approval was given to Neva One, the parent company of the local Hard Rock, for a waiver on the escrow account and to enter an agreement with Paragon HRLT to manage the property. The final decision is expected Feb. 18 when the Gaming Commission meets in Las Vegas.

Neva One was formed by brothers Jon and David Park with the sole purpose of being the parent company of the Lake Tahoe Hard Rock. Park Heritage is Neva One’s parent company. After a $60 million renovation, the old Horizon hotel-casino reopened Jan. 28, 2015, as the Hard Rock. There have only been troubles since then.

The escrow item pertains to the Parks selling 50 percent of the Hard Rock to an affiliate of Paragon. The exact name of the affiliate was never stated at the Feb. 3 meeting. A Gaming Control Board official told Lake Tahoe News the entity has been licensed before.

Only percentages were discussed, not dollar amounts at the hearing.

The Gaming Control Board requires escrow accounts when there is a transfer of interest and the board or commission has not yet acted. Neva One was granted a waiver for this because of the board’s familiarity with the new partner.

During Wednesday’s discussion, which lasted about 30 minutes, it was noted that Park Heritage has infused more cash to keep the hotel-casino afloat. The exact amount was not stated. The money from Paragon will assist with paying down the debt and resolving outstanding litigation issues.

The pool is has not had water since last summer. Photo/LTN

It was also brought up at the hearing that the leak in the 200,000-gallon pool must be resolved because that water would be used by Tahoe Douglas firefighters if there were a fire. Without the water, permits could be revoked and the hotel-casino shutdown.

A condition of approval was made at the Feb. 3 meeting stating Neva One and Paragon HRLT must have a management agreement in place within 10 days.

The change in management comes in the wake of Warner Hospitality having been fired last year by the brothers. The Parks have since filed a lawsuit against Warner.

Neither brother returned a call, nor did Jim Roets who with Rick Stevens were tasked with bringing stability to the property after Warner was shown the door.

The latest lawsuit filed against the Park brothers is from Tahoe Specialty Flooring & Window Design of Tahoe City. The lawsuit filed in Douglas County District Court in Minden, where Neva One is based out of, alleges the flooring company is owed more than $68,000. Owner Coreen Serrano was not available for comment.

Still to be resolved is the $6.4 million lawsuit filed by SMC Contracting against the hotel-casino owners for failure to pay for most of the overruns associated with construction costs for the remodel. Savage & Sons, which did the plumbing at the property, has filed a lawsuit trying to recover $820,000 from Neva One.

Tahoe Mountain Milers Running Club is hosting the Fresh Tracks 5K Snowshoe Walk and Race on Feb. 28.

The event starts at 10am at Camp Richardson Resort.

The beneficiaries are Girls On The Run-Sierra and Metastatic Breast Cancer in honor of club member Renee Gorevin.

Preregister by Feb. 13 for $20, which includes a winter beanie, snowshoe rental, post-race refreshments, and continued day use of groomed Camp Richardson trails. Cost on the day of race is $30.

The U.S Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations beginning Feb. 8.

Operations may take place near the Logan Shoals Vista Point and Camp Galilee on the East Shore of Lake Tahoe.  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.

Before conducting prescribed fire operations, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line at 530.543.2816.

By Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal

Nevada doubled down on diversification as the state awarded more than $620,000 dollars for workforce training that targets key industries, including jobs for Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory.

The Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology announced the second round of its challenge grants on Thursday, awarding six recipients a total of $626,206 for workforce training in industries geared toward science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

It’s a concept that’s also known as STEM, which is sometimes expanded as STEAM by including a focus in the arts as well. Nevada STEM industries include advanced manufacturing, energy, information technology, cyber security and agriculture. The jobs require less time for training than a four-year degree but their average wage of $50,000 is about 50 percent higher than other jobs with comparable education requirements, according to the Office of Science, Innovation and Technology.

Read the whole story

Tahoe Regional Young Professionals is hosting a civic engagement workshop on Feb. 17 from 6-7pm at the Lake Tahoe Community College board room.

Topics include getting involved in the community and making your voice heard. This workshop will cover the basics of civic engagement, political landscape at Lake Tahoe, local elections, upcoming projects in the community, and how individuals may be heard.

For those who can’t make the workshop, it will be streamed live by Tahoe Production House.

This workshop is free for TRYP members and $5 for non-members.