Stateline casinos were in sync October with state gaming numbers – both losers compared to the previous year.
Local revenue was down 3 percent compared to 2014.
Nevada casinos brought in more than $887.5 million, which was down 2.85 percent from a year ago.
North Shore casinos were up 2.85 percent.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
By Jen Skerritt, BloombergBusiness
The U.S. and Canada have for decades fought over the lumber trade. Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is about to be initiated into the knotty world of timber relations, specifically regarding glossy magazine paper.
Four Canadian companies — Catalyst Paper Corp., J.D. Irving Ltd., Port Hawkesbury Paper LP, Resolute Forest Products Inc. — say they plan to fight a U.S. decision in July to impose import tariffs of as much as 20 percent on specialty paper, which is also used in newspaper inserts.
The dispute comes amid a rise in the number of trade cases launched by U.S. manufacturers on everything from steel to paper as the greenback has surged. Countries hit with duties include Australia, Portugal and Indonesia.
An El Dorado County woman woke up in bed about 1:15am Saturday to find a man pointing a handgun a her. He demanded money and pot.
“When the gunman found the marijuana, he had the female go into the living room where she was bound by the gunman and a male accomplice. While tied up, the victim noticed a third male in her house,” sheriff’s deputies said in a press release.
The home invasion robbery occurred in the 3000 block of Winter Creek Road in Mount Aukum.
The victim was able to get loose to call her husband after the suspects left.
The suspects are described as:
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
· If you missed “60 Minutes” on Nov. 29, check out this link to see what JT Holmes of Squaw Valley is up to now.
· The two shows to be performed in summer 2016 as part of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor are “The Comedy of Errors” and “Forever Plaid”.
· Tahoe Cross Country is celebrating the start of the season with a party at Jake’s on the Lake in Tahoe City on Dec. 6 from 5:30-7:30pm. Cost is $25 for adults, $10 for kids.
· The free Tuba Christmas Concert is Dec. 5 at 3pm at the Wilbur D. May Museum, Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, 1595 N. Sierra St., Reno.
By Ryan Sabalow, Sacramento Bee
RICHVALE — At 5am on a recent Tuesday in Northern California’s rice country, headlamps and pickup lights illuminated a flurry of movement off a turnout along a rural Butte County highway.
A half dozen men tugged on camouflage chest waders, coats and caps, and loaded shotguns and equipment onto waiting ATVs. Around them, a couple of Labrador retrievers bounded around the group with excitement.
Greg Galli, the owner of River Valley Outfitters, directed the flow, readying his clients for a windy morning of duck and goose hunting. Galli would lead the men into rice fields that have been flooded post-harvest, in part to serve as resting ground for the mass migration of birds making their annual winter trek south along the Pacific Flyway. Galli, who leases hunting blinds from Sacramento Valley farmers, has had a busy fall.
“Our day-shoot blinds are doing triple what they normally do,” Galli said, “because most people don’t have water in their duck clubs.”
Largely lost in the statewide discussion about fallowed crops, depleted reservoirs and brown lawns, is the impact of California’s drought on hunting. The succession of four dry years has dried up many of the natural marshes and rice fields used by the estimated 55,000 people who hunt waterfowl in California. While the number of duck hunters has stayed relatively steady overall in recent years, some of the state’s larger refuges have seen a marked decline in hunter usage.
As land available to hunters shrinks, there’s more at stake than increased competition for access to remaining wetlands. State officials point to implications for the state’s rural economy – and ultimately for waterfowl.
By Richard Solbrig
Winter has arrived in the Tahoe basin with very welcome early snow events and freezing night time temperatures, allowing snowmaking operations to commence to help open ski resorts early. Given California’s drought and the district’s request for continued water conservation, one may wonder about the wisdom of using water for snowmaking.
While we are in a drought and are under state mandates to conserve water, we are not currently experiencing a water shortage in our service area. One of the challenges the district currently faces is balancing the needs of our community and our compliance with California regulations. We are under a mandate to reduce water consumption by 20 percent, and we are required to enforce restrictions on landscape water use and certain commercial applications. There is no specific restriction in the regulations regarding the use of water for snowmaking.
District staff and the board of directors believe that we must take a prudent approach to conservation and attempt to minimize any negative financial impacts on our customers. The district has had extensive water conservation measures in place for more than 10 years. When considering additional restrictions to help meet our conservation target, it was decided to focus on landscape water use and waste. The restrictions were designed to allow our customers to maintain their existing landscapes, and their investment in them, while reducing overall water use and meeting state mandates.
Our community needs ski resorts and snow to continue to attract visitors because we have a tourism-based economy. Heavenly Mountain Resort is one of the largest employers in our community and provides abundant recreation opportunities for our visitors as well as our residents. By restricting the amount of water available to Heavenly for snowmaking, we could negatively impact our local economy and our community.
It should also be noted that Heavenly pays the same commercial rate for water as all of our other commercial customers. However, we have an agreement with Heavenly that allows us to immediately cease to provide them with water for snowmaking in the event that the district declares a water shortage emergency, such as during a fire event.
The sole source of the district’s water supply is groundwater. We monitor the water depths in our wells regularly to ensure an adequate, stable water supply. In the event that our wells begin to show significant impacts from the drought, the district will implement additional conservation measures to protect our water supply, which could include restricting snow making.
Richard Solbrig is executive director of South Tahoe Public Utility District.
By Howie Nave
The best thing for both “Rocky” fans and those who’ve been under a rock for 40 years having never seen a “Rocky” film, naming this movie “Creed” was the best move ever because it stands alone on its own. But we all know ultimately it’s a “Rocky VII” flick and outside of the first one the best in the franchise since Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) took on the menacing Clubber Lang (Mr. T) in “Rocky III.”
What director J.J. Abrams did to the rebooting of the ailing “Star Trek” franchise in 2009, 29-year-old writer/director Ryan Coogler has done the same here with “Creed.” What a rush it must have been having someone like Coogler, not only taking on the monumental task of directing a classic franchise, but as a kid being a true fan of the “Rocky” franchise. Coogler wasn’t even born when the first “Rocky” was released back in 1976.
“Creed” is the first in the “Rocky” franchise that Stallone didn’t write and the first where Stallone is cast more as a supporting role. But make no mistake about it he’s the thread that has carried us through this journey from the beginning. What a journey, too, as we now find Rocky running a restaurant named Adrian’s, after his late wife and we’re reminded of those around him that we all saw in the previous movies who are now gone. Life seems to be a waiting game now, as Rocky knows all the glory years of love and triumph are long gone and the last thing he wants to do is resurrect the past.
At the same time in a parallel story we’re introduced to actor Michael B. Jordan (who Coogler directed in “Fruitvale Station”) as Adonis Johnson (who goes by Donny), the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), Rocky’s first opponent and the man who would jump start his boxing career giving him a shot at the title and eventually wind up being his best friend. After Apollo dies (in the very lame “Rocky IV”), Adonis ends up in foster care with a huge chip on his shoulder and who is known for causing fights. The young Creed is taken in by Apollo’s widow (Phylicia Rashad) and raised in more comfortable surroundings. But comfort doesn’t seem to mellow Adonis whose been spending his evenings driving south of the border to box in seedy venues.
And, yes, you can almost predict what’s going to happen now and how long before Rocky meets the son of his late best friend, Apollo Creed. There’s much more than that trust me, but you know it is inevitable.
The similarities between “Creed” and the first “Rocky” are very apparent, but make no mistake about it, this is director Ryan Coogler’s movie and brings out first class performances from the relatively new Jordon and veteran Stallone. The supporting cast is also top notch from Donny’s girlfriend, Bianca (Tessa Thompson) to “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (played by real-life UK boxing champ Tony “The Bomber” Bellew). Some of the scenes are amazing; particularly one in the first fight scene showing this one long, uninterrupted shot. The film’s score by Ludwig Goransson is excellent, but I got shivers hearing Bill Conti’s iconic Rocky theme and seeing Rocky on those Philadelphia steps one more time (and you will too).
“Rocky” received 10 Academy Award nominations in nine categories winning three for best picture, best director and best film editing. I think “Creed” is going to receive a few, and wouldn’t that be the coolest taking an Oscar home after 40 years?
“Creed” clocks in at 2 hours, 12 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.
Howie Nave is host/emcee/manager of The Improv at Harveys. You can hear him Monday-Friday 6 to 10am on KRLT FM-93.9.
Lake Tahoe Community College’s men’s soccer team is heading to the state’s final four after beating Feather River in overtime on Saturday.
The California Community College Athletic Association semifinals take place Dec. 4 at De Anza College in Cupertino. Northern California’s No. 5 seeded Coyotes will face Southern California’s No. 6 seed Oxnard College, at 10am.
If the Coyotes beat Oxnard on Friday, they will advance to the state finals on Dec. 6 at 1:30pm at De Anza.
By Joe Jackson, Outside
Hand warmers—those small, usually disposable packets that provide on-demand heat—come in five main varieties, including some that run on charcoal and lighter fuel. The three most commons types you’ll see on the slopes are either air-activated, use a supersaturated solution, or are battery-powered.
All three can last anywhere from one to 10 hours. That’s a pretty broad range, and we wanted to find out which of these five popular hand warmers was the warmest and most useful for playing in the mountains.
It’s so cold in Tahoe icicles aren’t even melting. Photo/LTN
By Kathryn Reed
Furnaces may be in overdrive and woodpiles dwindling because of the cold in Lake Tahoe, but no records are being set.
The low Sunday in South Lake Tahoe was 0 degrees. The record for Nov. 29 is minus 9 set in 2010. On Nov. 28 the low was minus 1, while the record from 1972 is minus 2.
In Tahoe City, Sunday’s low of 6 missed tying the record by two degrees. That 4-degree record was set on Nov. 29, 1975. The Nov. 28 low was 7; the record of 5 was established in 1975.
“Last week we had that cold storm go through and it just lingered around for a few days. We haven’t been able to warm up because partly the snow cover and lack of wind, and no warm air mass,” meteorologist Mark Deutschendorf with the National Weather Service in Reno told Lake Tahoe News.
While the forecast is far from a heat wave, Monday’s overnight low in South Lake is expected to be 19 degrees. Daytime highs will be in the 40s, with Wednesday reaching the 50s before the next storm blows in on Thursday.
Deutschendorf called it a “quick shot of winter”, with typical December temps returning for the weekend.
The late Thursday-early Friday system is expected to drop 2 to 4 inches of snow at lake level, with 6-12 inches at higher elevations.