By Michele Simon, Al Jazeera America

The organic and natural food industry is booming. Last year, sales of organic products topped $39 billion.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that most natural food companies steer clear of political battles that can have a significant effect on their business model.

The conventional food industry has had a decades-long head start in D.C. — and knows far too well how to play the game. The Grocery Manufacturers Association was formed more than a century ago, and in recent years has been leading the (largely successful) opposition to the labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients — a key issue for the organic foods sector.

Read the whole story

By Katie Hafner, New York Times

Late one afternoon this summer, Laura J. Esserman, a breast cancer surgeon at UC San Francisco, sat in a darkened room scrutinizing a breast MR.I. With a clutch of other clinicians at her side, she quickly homed in on a spot smaller than a pencil eraser.

She heard the words “six-millimeter mass.” Her response was swift:

“No.”

Meaning no biopsy.

Most doctors, including the radiologist seated next to her, would have said yes. But Esserman, who has dedicated much of her professional life to trying to get the medical establishment to think differently about breast cancer, foresaw only unnecessary anxiety for the patient, who had had several biopsies in the past — all benign.

Esserman, 58, is one of the most vocal proponents of the idea that breast cancer screening brings with it overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Her philosophy is controversial, to say the least. For decades, the specter of women dying for lack of intervention has made aggressive treatment a given.

Read the whole story

By Joe Rodriguez, San Jose Mercury News

A pension reform coalition that includes former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed unveiled a pair of statewide ballot measures Monday to rein in retirement benefits for government employees.

The coalition, spearheaded by Reed and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, wrote two propositions to improve its chances of winning a long-running battle with state Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose office is in charge of writing the titles and summaries of statewide ballot measures. The campaign plans to place only one measure on the November 2016 ballot after seeing how the attorney general summarizes them.

The coalition claims the Attorney General’s Office penned unfair summaries of previous measures it proposed because Harris, a Democrat, enjoys the political support of labor unions. Harris’ office denies this allegation.

Read the whole story

A South Lake Tahoe woman who accused a man of sexual assault has admitted she lied about the accusations.

The woman reported having been sexually assaulted early in the morning of Aug. 28 at a residence in the city just hours after having met the man.

The man in question voluntarily went to the police station after learning he had been singled out.

“As a result of that interview and subsequent follow up, the allegations made by the victim were unfounded. No criminal charges will be filed in this case. The victim has been refereed to support services,” South Lake Tahoe police officers said in a statement.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Passport to Dining, North Tahoe’s flavorful fundraiser, features tastings from up to 35 restaurants, caterers, breweries, wineries and distilleries as well as a raffle and silent auction.

The Nov. 12 event is a fundraiser for North Tahoe Business Association. It is from 6-9pm at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

A portion of Passport to Dining’s proceeds will be donated to Tahoe Public Art, a program dedicated to enhancing and preserving the natural beauty and history of North Lake Tahoe through visual arts that promote environmental stewardship and cultural unity. Tahoe Public Art is a collaborative effort of North Tahoe Business Association, North Tahoe Arts and Tahoe City Downtown Association.

Passport to Dining advanced tickets are available online for $40. Day of event tickets are available for $50 online or at the door  starting at 6pm. For more information or to purchase tickets with cash or check, call 530.546.9000.

·       Here is the El Dorado-Tahoe roadwork schedule for this week from Caltrans.

·       Sierra Valley Electric has moved to 128 Market St., Suite 2B, Stateline.

·       Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County is opening a branch in South Lake Tahoe at Tahoe Mountain Lab.

·       Fire restrictions in the Tahoe National Forest have been lifted.

·      The Truckee council last month approved the Trails & Bikeways Master Plan. The plan creates a vision for future trails in Truckee. To access the plan, go online.

By Michelle Rindels, AP

CARSON CITY — Nevada has tentatively agreed to pay $400,000 to the city and county of San Francisco to settle allegations that the state wrongfully and intentionally bused psychiatric patients to the city and declined to pay the costs connected with their care.

The deal, if approved by the Nevada Board of Examiners and a similar board in San Francisco, is expected to end an expensive legal battle that has lasted more than two years. Nevada officials budgeted more than $1.9 million to fight the lawsuit through the summer; a final tally of the costs wasn’t immediately available.

“The settlement will bring an amicable resolution to this matter,” Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said in a statement. “The settlement will also validate the patient management best practices and procedures which Nevada has had in place for two years.”

Officials from the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the agreement, which would cover the city’s attorney’s fees.

San Francisco sued Nevada in September 2013, after the Sacramento Bee published accounts of patients who were apparently discharged from Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas, given bus tickets to cities in California and directed to seek further care there.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued, saying that 24 people with no prior connection to his city had been bused there over a five-year period, and 20 needed medical care shortly after they arrived.

“What the defendants have been doing for years is horribly wrong on two levels,” Herrera said in a statement when he filed suit. “It cruelly victimizes a defenseless population, and punishes jurisdictions for providing health and human services that others won’t provide.”

In the months immediately after the newspaper’s investigation, Nevada health officials said policies were strengthened to ensure a patient has support at their destination, several employees were fired, and more than $30 million was added to the budget to fund mental health services.

Sandoval said he expects Nevada and San Francisco to agree on new procedures for transferring psychiatric patients.

“We look forward to working with California to ensure all patient transfers to and from both states are managed using these best practices and adhering to conditions detailed in the agreement,” the governor said.

The settlement is expected to come up for a vote at a Nevada Board of Examiners meeting on Oct. 13.

To the community,

Thanks to the support of 38 local businesses-organizations, dozens of local vendors and hundreds of weekly attendees, On Course Events produced over 20 community events this summer, including three brand new event series.

None of these events would be possible without the support we have from our local community. The best part is we’re able to recycle that support right back into the community and the local nonprofit organizations that support it. That’s true Tahoe support.

The Live at Lakeview Summer Music Series, On Course Events’ most popular series, raised the
most money for our community. The popular Live at Lakeview Beer Garden raised approximately $3,800 for the South Tahoe BMX Association. The Live at Lakeview Bike Valet services hosted over 1,200 bikes this summer, raising over $1,000 in donations for nonprofits including Lake Tahoe Humane Society, Sugar Pine Foundation, Tahoe Youth & Family Services, and more.

New events in Meyers this summer, including the 10th Tee Summer Music Series and Tahoe
Paradise Music in the Park created brand new opportunities for community fundraising. The Bike
Valet services offered at the 10th Tee Summer Music Series raised over $200 for the Lake Tahoe
Humane Society. The Sierra-at-Tahoe Education Foundation also benefited from the new
concerts, raising over $700 at the Tahoe Paradise Music in the Park Series.

On Course Events has a lot in store for the upcoming season and plans to continue with its
summer lineup in 2016. Connect with On Course Events on Facebook and Instagram to stay
updated on upcoming events.

Leslie Schultz, On Course Events

Dana Tucker, Alison Green and Greta Hambsch assemble meals for students in need. Photo/Provided

Bread & Broth is seeking volunteers for its new program, Bread & Broth 4 Kids.

Volunteers are needed for one Thursday a month. However, the work is being done every Thursday.

Volunteers meet from 3:30-5pm at St. Theresa Grace Hall, 1041 Lyons Ave. in South Lake Tahoe to assemble bags containing seven meals, which provide nutritious food over the weekend for 100 students facing food-insecurity in South Lake Tahoe.

To volunteer or for more info, contact Christy at 310.413.6816 or slocumsrus@msn.com.

Sorensen’s Resort in Hope Valley is now tapping into South Tahoe Public Utility District’s sewer pipeline in Alpine County.

This was a requirement of the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board because the resort’s onsite system had reached capacity.

The wastewater is treated through a subsurface percolation system. It will then be pumped into South Tahoe PUD’s line to be carried down into the Indian Reservoir area. The effluent must meet the same standards STPUD has for wastewater it treats in the basin.

“Sorensen’s will continue to have to demonstrate compliance through monthly testing of their effluent. If they fail, they would have to return to their onsite system until they again pass three tests in a row,” Richard Solbrig, STPUD general manager, told Lake Tahoe News.

Alpine County owns a small portion of the export system capacity. Sorensen’s has requested to exercise that part of the agreement, which Alpine must approve.

“Note that the local water quality in the West Fork of the Carson River was being protected by Sorensen’s discharging treated water from their (wastewater treatment plant) to their onsite percolation area, even if it didn’t meet all of the requirements that the district’s plant does, because it was much cleaner than the septic tank effluent from their pre-WWTP system,” Solbrig explained.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report