Tahoe Tactical Team has expanded its business coaching program to include companies and entrepreneurs in Douglas County.

A grant from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development enables Douglas County residents on the South Shore to be eligible for business mentoring and educational events. These services were previously only available to South Lake Tahoe residents via a government-funded grant obtained by the city.

Since November 2010, the program has assisted more than 140 South Lake Tahoe individuals by providing them the training and skills necessary to launch and operate successful enterprises, as well as giving them the insight to realize their idea may not be viable.

For more detailed information about the program call 775.588.1728, ext. 300.

By Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter, Reuters

California is examining new World Health Organization findings to determine whether to add red meat and foods like hot dogs, sausages and bacon to a cancer-alert list, setting the stage for a potential battle with the meat industry over warning labels.

The inclusion of meat and processed meat on the list could reduce consumer demand, hurting major producers and processors like Hormel Foods Corp and JBS USA. It could also open the door wider for litigation against meat companies from consumers diagnosed with certain types of cancer.

California has often been at the forefront of consumer-oriented initiatives, particularly regarding agriculture. It rolled out laws for larger chicken cages and restrictions on antibiotic use for livestock ahead of much of the rest of the country.

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Wampas Cat Cafe in South Lake Tahoe in the 1950s. Photo/Del Laine collection/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

The Wampas Cat Cafe of the 1950s stood where Scusa restaurant stands today, on Highway 50 at Sierra Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Scusa has been one of the more successful eateries in this location. Photo/Bill Kingman

After being the Wampas Cat, there was Poor Pierre’s, then Poor Pedro’s, then a succession of other dining venues including Mexican, Thai, and Hoss Hogg’s.

Diagonally and across the highway in the 1950s was Schmidt’s Bakery. According to long-time local resident Del Laine, a locally-written poem called “The Mighty Wampas Cat” by “Wrongfellow” explains that Schmidt’s Bakery stood “…catty-wampas to the Wampas Cat.”

The Baumann family opened their historic Swiss Chalet Restaurant there in 1957, said to have been one of the two longest-lasting continuous family-owned businesses at Lake Tahoe — nearly 55 years — the unidentified other business apparently being on the North Shore.

Local Debbie Brown owns the Cold Water Brewery. Photo/Bill Kingman

After remodeling in 2013, at the Swiss Chalet Restaurant site now is the Cold Water Brewery and Grill.

— Bill Kingman

Sunrise on Mount Tallac is worth the climb no matter the hour one has to start. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

As the sky was getting light we could see our destination just a few steps away. We had made it in time to meet our goal.

It was the best sunrise I have ever seen.

Sitting atop Mount Tallac at 9,735 as the sun comes over the mountains and shines all her glory onto Lake Tahoe is something to behold. Pictures don’t adequately capture all the hues Mother Nature paints across the sky.

The wispy clouds seemed liked jewels – necklaces and bracelets to accessorize the spectacle that was unfolding before us.

What a birthday gift.

Gilmore Lake from the top of Mount Tallac. Photo/Kathryn Reed

I wanted to do something memorable for my 50th birthday this year – in addition to my gift to myself of a three-day tennis camp last spring with my great friend Carolyn. It was important my actual birthday weekend be Tahoe-centric.

Climbing Mount Tallac under a full moon and being at the peak for sunrise are two things I’ve thought about doing for some time. Why not do both in one hike? My birthday weekend in September happened to be a full moon. Perfect.

I invited a few friends to make the trek with me. Two took me up on the adventure. Darla – who I’ve known since third grade – came up from the Bay Area, and Kele – a friend since we were in our 20s when we worked in Tahoe the first time I lived here – came down from Oregon. We left the house about 1am that Saturday and we were hiking 30 minutes later.

It was a good thing we all had headlamps because the full moon was not of much assistance. The trees were in the way of that natural light. Then it eventually set and we were left in total darkness.

At times we shut off our lights to be dazzled by the Milky Way. This was a show unto itself. Most people only see something like this in a planetarium. It might be the only reason I would ever consider another attempt at backpacking.

Desolation Wilderness lives up to its name. Photo/Kathryn Reed

I don’t take the stars I see for granted from my backyard, but this truly was more magical with zero ambient light.

Big spiders – and several of them – were the main wildlife out at this hour. And for whatever reason they were right on the trail. (They didn’t look like friends of Charlotte’s, but we still let them be.)

To say everything looks different in the dark is stating the obvious. Thank goodness for trail markers, otherwise who knows where we would have ended up. It was only near Gilmore Lake that we were unsure of the route. We figured it out on the second attempt.

We had started at the Glen Alpine Springs trailhead because this is the least steep of the routes. It is, however, the longest at about 12 miles round trip.  We thought it wiser to go the easier route in the dark.

Drinking to the accomplishment and to being 50. Photo/Darla Sadler

The summit, well, it’s one of those special places that can touch one’s soul. For many reasons it was more magical this time. It was so wonderful that there were only four other people up there. (Other times it has been so congested with people yakking on their cell phones that it was hard to know this was wilderness.) They were celebrating a 25th birthday and thought it was cool 50-year-olds were doing the same thing.

And while they briefly made me feel my age, we proved age has a thing on youth. We gave them all of our hand warmers because we had gloves (they weren’t prepared for the cold) and we were the ones with Prosecco to toast the occasion (they didn’t have anything to celebrate with).

It was a toast to Tahoe, friendship, a great 50 years and a future of unknown possibilities.

—–

Getting there:

From South Lake Tahoe take Highway 89 north. Turn left on Fallen Leaf Lake Road. Weave around to where it dead-ends at the trailhead.

Fill out a permit and start hiking.

By Glenn Cook, Las Vegas Review-Journal

The nasty Republican divisions in Washington appear to have nothing on the party’s infighting in Nevada.

The split between fiscally moderate and fiscally conservative Nevada Republicans, exacerbated by this year’s GOP-supported tax increases and an incompetent state party organization that’s incapable of raising money or registering voters, is as wide as ever. But the big story now is the chill between Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval and GOP Attorney General Adam Laxalt — and that amid last week’s exceptionally public rift over Laxalt joining a lawsuit that challenges new federal land-use restrictions across Nevada, the state’s four Republican members of Congress leapt to Laxalt’s side, not Sandoval’s.

Sandoval, long the unquestioned leader of Nevada Republicans, hasn’t been happy with Laxalt since shortly after the attorney general took office in January. In one of his first acts as the state’s top law enforcement officer, Laxalt joined 25 other states in suing to block President Barack Obama’s “executive amnesty” for undocumented immigrants. Sandoval didn’t support the move, and he let Laxalt know as much, saying immigration policy was a federal matter.

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By Herb Scribner, Deseret News

Americans are planning to spend their holiday bonuses on two things this year — family and themselves.

The National Retail Federation’s latest consumer survey found that American holiday shoppers plan on spending about $462.95 on family members this year, which is up from the $458.75 they spent last year.

And Americans plan on spending a lot on themselves. The survey found that 55.8 percent of shoppers will spend an average of $131.59 on themselves — up from $126.37 in 2014, the NRF reported.

In fact, holiday shoppers plan to buy both themselves and their family members nongift items, too, the NRF reported.

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·       The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has lifted fire restrictions. Campfires are allowed with a valid permit in the following areas: Luther Pass, Blackwood Canyon and Watson Lake campgrounds, as well as the Meiss roadless area. For more info, call 530.543.2694.

·      The Festival of Trees and Lights at MontBleu in Stateline is Dec. 2-6.

·      Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce is putting on a guest services workshop on Nov. 18 from 1-5pm at 169 Highway 50, Stateline. Cost is $20 for members, $40 for others. Go online to register.

·      Outside magazine has listed Whitney Peak hotel in Reno as having one of the best hotel gyms in the country – in particular its climbing wall.

·      Mommy and Me Support Group meets Tuesdays from 10am-noon at Barton University, 1077B Fourth St., South Lake Tahoe. For more information, contact Krista Carson at 530.600.1958 or kcarson@bartonhealth.org.

·

By Tracy Rucinski, Reuters

When a bankrupt operating unit of Caesars Entertainment went on the market in October, the package consisted of 38 casinos, including Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys in Stateline. But those watching the sale have focused more on what isn’t being offered.

Potential bidders for CEOC, a casino-operating unit of Caesars Entertainment would be wading into the middle of a costly and complicated bankruptcy, and they note that Caesars has left key assets – including a crucial piece of its big-data customer loyalty program – out of the package.

The offering comes at a time when consumer spending is rising, making regional gaming assets once again desirable.

Analysts and some junior creditors have suggested, however, that Caesars isn’t serious about selling its CEOC operating unit and expressed doubt that the offering will attract any bidders.

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By Toogee Sielsch

Just like Nevada, in the history of Florida no one has ever been killed by a wild black bear.

In Nevada history their have been 26 hunting fatalities over the years, and in Florida between 2000 and 2007 there were 441 hunting fatalities. Yet in both states the agencies tasked with wildlife management and wildlife conservation argued that a bear hunt would decrease the number of human/bear interactions thereby creating a safer environment for humans.

In Nevada prior to getting an OK for a bear hunt state commissioners argued in favor of a bear hunt stating that a hunt might reduce human/bear interactions.

“I’m doing this for the bears,” said panel Vice Chairman Gerald Lent of Reno. “It is better to have them hunted than killed by cars. Gunshots scare bears. Maybe a hunt will take care of some of our problems.”

But NDOW has said that they were wrong to say it would reduce human/bear interactions. They used that mindset first to promote the hunt then they later said, “It’s unfortunate some people said that when it’s not true.”

In short, they used it to sell the hunt, then back pedaled when the hunt was approved.

Richard Corbett, former head of the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission who approved the plan to hunt black bears in Florida, said of critics that, “Those people don’t know what they are talking about. Most of those people have never been in the woods. They think we are talking about teddy bears: ‘Oh Lord, don’t hurt my little teddy bear!’ Well, bears are dangerous.”

But despite Corbett’s suggestion that killing black bears would make humans safer, a later statement form the FWC states that this is not the purpose of the bear hunt, and hunting is not an effective way to reduce human/bear conflicts.

Is it just me or does anyone else see a pattern of those that are in a position of power in wildlife agencies making ridiculous statements to win the approval of their desired goals not as entrusted caretakers of wildlife management, but rather the statements of blood thirsty trophy hunters?

And what are the unintended consequences of these hunts? Driving more bears out of the backwoods environment they inhabit and sending them running straight for the urban environments that border the wildland areas to seek safety from hunters, thereby actually increasing the number of possible human/bear interactions. It seems the majority of wildlife management agencies in this country love to cherry pick the science that backs up using hunting as a management tool even though that science has been disproved time and again over the last twenty years. Isn’t it time to put highly trained wildlife biologists in charge of these agencies instead of most of them being run by blood thirsty trophy hunters?

Toogee Sielsch is a member of and volunteer for the Bear League.

By Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times

Exercise is good for the brain. We know that. But most studies of exercise and brain health have focused on the effects of running, walking or other aerobic activities.

Now a new experiment suggests that light resistance training may also slow the age-related shrinking of some parts of our brains.

Our brains are, of course, dynamic organs, adding and shedding neurons and connections throughout our lifetimes. They remodel and repair themselves constantly, in fact, in response to our lifestyles, including whether and how we exercise.

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