Science author and journalist David Quammen will give a lecture at UNR on Feb. 4  titled Ebola and Beyond: Scary Viruses in a Globalized World.

It will focus on his most recent works about Ebola and AIDS – his books “The Chimp and the River” and “Ebola” – which stem from his acclaimed book about emerging diseases, “Spillover.”

David Quammen

Quammen is a journalist as well as a science, nature and travel writer. He has authored 15 books, five of them fiction.

In his 30-year career as a writer, more than 100 pieces of his short non-fiction have been published in popular magazines such as Harper’s, Outside, Esquire, Atlantic, Powder and Rolling Stone. He also wrote a column called “Natural Acts” for Outside magazine for 15 years. As a contributing writer for National Geographic magazine, he travels often, usually to wild and remote places.

The Quammen lecture begins at  7pm in the Redfield Auditorium in the Davidson Mathematics and Science Center at UNR. Admission is free.

A single-vehicle rollover accident is blocking the eastbound lane of Highway 50 near Strawberry.

No injuries requiring transport to a hospital were reported.

The accident occurred just before 11:50am Jan. 18. The black Jeep Wrangler is on its right side.

California Highway Patrol has no estimate when traffic will be flowing freely again in both directions.

The roads have been slushy and slick, and full of vehicles leaving Tahoe after the holiday weekend.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

MEMPHIS — Get to the back of the bus. I thought the man was kidding, but he kept repeating this mantra. No one had ever told me to do this before. I was not about to budge.

I was getting mad. Mad that someone whose skin color was the same as mine could even think of saying such a thing. Mad at the stupidity of it all, mad that it had ever come to this, mad that everyone is not created equal in the minds of some people.

I looked to my right. The woman next to me was not about to get up and move either, though she had done so countless times before.

Across the aisle was a stone casting of Rosa Parks, the legendary Civil Rights pioneer who helped abolish segregation with her refusal to go to the back of the bus. The bus I had boarded is just one of the many exhibits at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis that brings to life the plight of blacks in the United States.

It was eerie to walk up to the Lorraine Motel. For a moment I felt like it was 1968. A couple of cars from that time are parked out front, just under the balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered. A wreath of flowers adorns the door of the room where he had been staying.

He was in town for a demonstration for striking sanitation workers. James Earl Ray made sure Memphis was King’s last stop on a promising trip through the South to awaken America to the injustice of segregation. His legacy of changing society through peaceful marches and words of enlightenment lives, but so does the prejudice he fought to abolish.

Having the Civil Rights Museum, which opened in 1991, incorporated into the infamous hotel adds a dimension of realism. For those of us who were too young to remember that fateful day and have only read about it, the site gives you a stark dose of reality.

It was time to go inside. To explore the 10,000 square feet of permanent exhibits that begin with black Africans being brought to the United States in barbaric conditions to be sold into slavery.

—–

Note: Since this was written the museum was renovated in 2014.

By Mark Huffman, Jackson Hole Daily

A skier who crashed last week at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort got up and dusted himself off but left behind part of his gear: a loaded handgun.

The skier’s name was not given by resort officials or the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, but the resort said the man was a Wyomingite, though not a Jackson Hole resident. The man was reunited with his weapon when he called to say he had misplaced it.

The on-mountain firearm broke no Wyoming law or resort rules, though it did surprise people.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Sometimes I just need something easy for dinner. But I still want it to taste good. And this time of year I usually want it to be warm, if not hot. Soup is often the answer.

Cream of broccoli soup has a reputation for being unhealthy. Cream soups in general get a bad rap – and rightly so. Still, if you aren’t eating them every week, they are probably no worse than a lot of things in your diet.

It’s also possible not to use the cheese or let everyone put in the amount they like. It will melt quickly, so if you are using it for a presentation factor, be ready to serve it quickly.

The parsley on top is a nice addition when serving to others where presentation matters. A few shakes or turns of the pepper grinder would be pleasing as well.

I blended the ingredients so there was still some texture from the broccoli. This made it seem less creamy as well, as did not having so much cheese.

            Cream of Broccoli Soup

4 C vegetable stock

2+ C broccoli florets, chopped

1 C yellow onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

Salt

Pepper

5 garlic cloves, chopped

1 C half-and-half

4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Flat-leaf parsley leaves, optional

Bring the first seven ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan. Then simmer 10 minutes, making sure the broccoli is tender. Use an emulsion blender or regular blender until smooth. Over reduced heat, stir in half-and-half. Top evenly with cheese and parsley, sprinkle with pepper.

Van Halen

Van Halen is a nice 5-year-old boy who is good with other animals. He’s a cute little mutt. We think he’s possibly a Dachshund-Yorkie-Chihuahua mix.

He’s one of many dogs who have come to Tahoe from Contra Costa County to find new homes.

Van Halen is neutered, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

By Anne Knowles

While signs of climate change may be everywhere around Lake Tahoe in recent years — warmer days and low snowpack, exposed piers and dry trees — the effect on real estate values is hard to see.

But it’s not hard to imagine, based on studies demonstrating the probable impact of global warming on home prices.

While the basin is vulnerable to some of the worst effects such as wildfire and higher temperatures leading to a meltdown in winter tourism, it could also be buoyed by its stronger summer season, its limited inventory of property and its easy accessibility for well-heeled visitors and investors from California.

While piers are desirable to investors, today most at Lake Tahoe don’t have water under them. Photo/Kathryn Reed

“I’m not seeing any pushback from it yet,” said Deb Howard, owner of Deb Howard & Co. and 2014 director of the California Association of Realtors and a member of CAR’s committee on the environment. “But climate change and how we conserve and adapt is on the mind of the real estate industry.”

Currently, the market is still rebounding from the recession. Median home prices in South Lake Tahoe area, for example, have been rising for three years after six years of steady declines. In October 2015, the median sale price for a single family home was $360,000, almost exactly halfway between a recent low of $234,000 in August 2012 and the high of $489,000 in March 2006, according to the South Tahoe Association of Realtors.

In the condo market, new product is hitting the market for the first time in 30 years, including developments at Martis Camp, Tahoe Beach Club and Homewood Mountain Resort, said Sue Lowe, senior vice president and corporate broker for Chase International in Zephyr Cove and Incline Village.

“We’re overwhelmed with calls on Zalanta,” said Lowe. “We already have 18 reservations for 30 units and it’s been on the market for three weeks.”

Zalanta Resort at the Village is the rechristened Chateau at Heavenly Village project, the second phase of which will include 32 condos scheduled for completion next year.

“What drives the market now is people buying second homes,” said Carl Fair, broker-owner of Century 21 at Tahoe Paradise. “Everybody wants to buy rental properties.”

That trend, Fair told Lake Tahoe News, started with Home Away, an online rental site which now owns one-time competitor VRBO, and more recently by Airbnb, another increasingly popular vacation rental site.

In 2015, well over half the homes owned in Douglas, Washoe, Placer and El Dorado counties were second homes, according to a Tahoe Prosperity Center report called Measuring for Prosperity.

But real estate brokers say it’s higher than that.

Zalanta in South Lake Tahoe will be a hotel-condo project with 32 units coming online in 2017. Photo/Kathryn Reed

“It’s more like 70 to 80 percent. In Glenbrook only 10 percent of the homes are primary residences,” Lowe told Lake Tahoe News.

Some brokers think that helps insulate Lake Tahoe.

“I believe that the appeal of the mountains, and in particular, of our gorgeous lake, will only be affected by the economy and not by drought or wildfire,” said Bonnie Gaines, chief operating officer and broker with Buckingham Vacation Rentals. “The wealth of the workers in the Bay Area and now the insurgence to the work force in Reno, can only make Lake Tahoe more desirable as a getaway place for city folks.”

That, of course, remains to be seen in light of climate change.

At the high end, lack of a pier or the ability to use an existing one can reduce the price tag on a home by up to $1 million, said Lowe.

“Lack of precipitation does affect the price because it restricts lakefront homeowners’ piers,” said Lowe. “And I’ve got clients who only want a home with a pier.”

Investors may be less easily deterred, but there are increasing risks under many climate change scenarios. Wildfires, for instance, are increasing throughout the west and the wildfire season is lasting longer.

A recent report by the U.S. Forest Service found that home prices drop about 10 percent after a single, close by wildfire and 23 percent after a second.

Investors may be less risk averse than homeowners who live there, but if fires routinely reduce visitor traffic, property becomes less appealing. Tuolumne County, for example, lost an estimated $300,000 in transient occupancy taxes from the 2013 Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park, according to the SMG Consulting 2015 Tourism Outlook.

In the long term, the biggest impact could come from reduced snowpack. Snow as a percent of total precipitation has declined from 51 percent in 1910 to 36 percent now and could go to 10 percent by the end of the century, according to a UC Davis report, Tahoe: The State of Climate Change.

Ellen Hanak, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California and director of its Water Policy Center, helped write a report for the Federal Reserve on the effect of climate change on housing prices near ski resorts, which looked at Colorado, and north and south Lake Tahoe.

The report found Lake Tahoe was more vulnerable because of its lower elevation with more days above freezing.

“What was key was the share of precipitation falling as rain. Rain is not only bad for winter sports, but it ruins what snow you have,” Hanak told Lake Tahoe News. “If you look at 2050, with average rises in temperature, housing prices will drop from between 30 to 49 percent based on this one issue alone.”

But that also means other things could boost the price, like low inventory or the summer season.

To the community,

We tried to go skiing at Squaw earlier this month, but after two hours into a 30-minute commute we had to turn around. It was Jan. 10, a Sunday and it should have been reasonably busy, but not gridlock. So are traffic jams on off peak weekends the new normal for our area?  Traffic was backed up from Squaw to Truckee. OK, so gas is cheap and we finally have snow, but aren’t we supposed to have snow in the winter?

A Jan. 8 Sierra Sun opinion piece entitled, “We owe an apology to Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada” submitted by TRPA, the Tahoe Fund and others was particularly ironic since TRPA has been central to this issue by promoting new large development projects such as Boulder Bay, and Homewood without any consideration for the harsh reality that we don’t have a comprehensive transportation system, adequate fire evacuation, or necessary infrastructure. The reality is there isn’t any planning or social engineering to manage all the crowds and litter. Ten pounds can’t fit in a 5-pound bag.

Worse yet, TRPA has given a wink of approval to the Martis Valley West/Brockway Campground debacle that plops thousands of people on the ridge at Brockway Summit. Fact: our region is at or over capacity many times throughout the year. The Tahoe Fund is fueled by and has become the PR arm for large developers.  It’s great that they are all so chummy, but where does that leave the public? Small conservation groups are left with having to protect Tahoe from phony traffic studies and bogus environmental analysis.

I’m not saying I want five lanes like the South Shore, but obviously we need transportation solutions, not rhetoric. Token signs saying “Take Care” are a nice idea, but funds should be allocated for enforcement. When you have as many visitors as Tahoe does (I’ve heard 4-plus million/year) there will always be a trash problem. Since Tahoe is close to the large population areas of Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco, shouldn’t we have a maximum number of visitors? Should there be a fee to handle impacts and transportation solutions? Should there be a penalty consequence for littering? Should Lake Tahoe become a national park? Maybe TRPA and the other authors of the article owe those that love and respect Lake Tahoe an apology for failing to plan for the real problems associated with increasing tourism.

TRPA, look to the dangerous development policies you promote and come up with realistic enforcement solutions. For the first time, I’m hearing visitors saying they are “rethinking Tahoe” as a getaway. It’s time to think outside the box before we all get boxed in.

Ann Nichols, president North Tahoe Preservation Alliance

By Susmita Baral, NPR

Bingeing has become many people’s favorite way to consume television. But marathon-viewing doesn’t just change how we watch, it also affects how we eat.

While the culture of the Netflix all-nighter is relatively recent, researchers have been studying the links between TV viewing and mindless eating for years. And the news isn’t good for our waistlines.

“There’s convincing evidence in adults that the more television they watch, the more likely they are to gain weight or become overweight or obese,” says Lilian Cheung, director of health promotion and communication at Harvard School of Public Health and author of Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life.

Read the whole story

By Megan Messerly, Las Vegas Sun

Gov. Brian Sandoval announced today he is reconvening the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee to look into ongoing issues in the gaming industry.

The committee will bring together politicians, stakeholders from the Nevada gaming community and others to discuss issues related to daily fantasy sports, skill-based games, the state’s interactive gaming agreement and other issues.

Members will gather information and make recommendations for possible consideration by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission.

Read the whole story