Alpenglow Sports has partnered with Patagonia and Sweetgrass Productions to present “Jumbo Wild,” a documentary film highlighting the 24-year fight over the future of British Columbia’s iconic Jumbo Valley. The film documents the tension between the protection of wilderness and the backcountry experience and the ever-increasing development interests in wild places, specifically the proposed 1,500-acre Jumbo Glacier Resort in British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains.

The geography, recreation opportunities and physical nature of the rugged and remote Jumbo Valley lie at the heart of the debate. Located at the headwaters of the Columbia River, Jumbo Creek cascades out of deep snowpack, past crumbling glacial ice, wildflowers and grizzly tracks. The Jumbo Valley has long been revered for its beauty, and to the Ktunaxa Nation, it is known as the home of the grizzly bear spirit. Part of an important international wildlife corridor, the Jumbo Valley is one of only two areas in North America where grizzly bears can freely roam between Canada and the United States.

In 1991, Oberto Oberti, an Italian-born Vancouver architect, and Grant Costello, a former Canadian ski coach, had a grand idea: They proposed building a ski resort with 20 chairlifts and a village in the remote Jumbo Valley, located five hours west of Calgary.

For decades, First Nations, conservationists, backcountry skiers and snowboarders have fought the proposed large-scale ski resort deep in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia. After 24 years of opposition, the fight still rages on. Twenty-four years since it’s inception, Jumbo Glacier Resorts has yet to build a single lift tower. However, their dream, despite turning in to one of the most contentious development issues in the mountain world, has not died.

The film documents all sides of a divisive issue bringing the passionate local fight to protect the Jumbo Valley to life, in film, for the first time.

Patagonia ambassador and former U.S. Ski Team member Max Hammer will host the evening. The screening will take place at 7pm Oct. 20 at Tahoe City’s Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased online.

By Peter Urban, Las Vegas Review-Journal 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dean Heller introduced legislation last month that could be a boon to Nevada tourism.

In what is being billed as a “jolt” for travel-related jobs, the Nevada Republican wants to streamline the visa application system for foreign tourists seeking to visit Nevada and other tourist destinations.

The Jobs Originated Through Launching Travel should help the United States recover its shrinking share of the global travel market — potentially adding up to $100 billion to the economy and creating nearly 700,000 jobs over the next decade, he said.

Read the whole story

Sweetie

Sweetie is a 6-year-old beautiful smoke longhair cat. She is scared at the shelter, but she warms up quickly and loves to sit in laps and purr. She doesn’t mind other well behaved pets, and likes to be brushed. Sweetie is an indoor cat.

Adoption fees for all of the adult cats and two of the dogs at the shelter have been sponsored by a very kind person, so all of these pets are now free to the right home.

Sweetie is spayed, microchipped, tested for FIV, and vaccinated. She 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.

— Karen Kuentz

By Kathryn Reed

A lagoon that looks more like a mudflat became a wealth of scientific discovery for Tahoe Valley Elementary School students.

“I learned how to keep water clean,” third-grader Sabrieo Parker said. She also learned that certain weeds could be bad for native fish.

Students throughout Lake Tahoe Unified School District spent last week and will spend part of this week getting out of the classroom to learn about their environment.

“The biggest message was when you have invasive species it hurts native species,” Adilene Negrete with the U.S. Forest Service said.

This is true of plants and animals.

Adilene Negrete with the USFS teaches students about aquatic invasive species. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Savannah Rudroff with the League to Save Lake Tahoe was imparting information about plants in the area – primarily Eurasian milfoil and curlyleaf pondweed – that are not native.

A magnifying glass allowed the students to see the plants in greater detail. Then they got to color them – a step in reinforcing what they look like, with the idea they will be able to identify them outside the classroom experience.

Besides learning about specific fish and plants, the youngsters also broadened their vocabulary – learning what native, non-native and invasive mean.

Instruction is geared toward the appropriate grade level, with K-5 part of the outdoor classroom.

Also helping educate kids, though not necessarily each day, are representatives from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, South Tahoe Public Utility District, Lake Tahoe Humane Society, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, Sugar Pine Foundation and community volunteers.

Each outing was as close as possible to the actual school site. This was designed to allow teachers to go to the location to further the learning experience.

For TVES kids it mean walking outside the back gate to the area near the Tahoe Keys lagoon.

This is the fourth year Beth Quandt, science outreach coordinator for the district, has put together this program.

“All the activities get kids to see what is going on in their environment,” Quandt told Lake Tahoe News.

Each lesson is age appropriate, with the curriculum growing from one level to the next.

To the community,

Thank you to the “bought and paid for” Mountain Democrat — they receive significant income from the advertising Red Hawk Casino purchases from the paper, God knows you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you — for bringing us the front page propaganda on the wonderful, exciting and all around beneficial gun range and motocross track. What better way to show that you are a “good neighbor” than for our Indian neighbors to select two significantly intrusive activities that negatively impact the value and enjoyment of the surrounding residential property by the surrounding owners.

The “tribe” decided to place a 29-lane outdoor gun range on property located next to residences and a short distance from two schools and a church because the “community” wanted it soooooo much. I have lived here almost three decades and have never heard one person indicate that we need a 29 lane or any other public or semi-public gun range in Shingle Springs. After protests from local neighbors and community organizations, the “tribe” indicated that they would scale down the 29-lane gun range to a five-lane gun range. Thank God we will only have five guns going off at once next to residences.

So, what better way to show the community that our Indian neighbors understand that we all moved here to have a rural lifestyle than to reduce the gun range to five lanes and add a motocross track. That certainly will not disturb the neighbors. The opening day of the motocross track looked like a race day at Prairie City Off Road Park, trucks and motorcycles everywhere;  people parked along Shingle Springs Drive, (no shoulders), trucks parked in private driveways, significant dust drifting across Highway 50 creating a hazard for everyone traveling east or west, but, not to worry. What the “tribe” wants to do is much more important than neighborhood disruption or public safety; after all, the community has been begging for a gun range and a motocross track. I am sure most of you, the past 20 or 30 years, have sat in the kitchens of your rural homes, each and every Sunday and asked each other, “why don’t we have a gun range and motocross track right next to residential property in Shingle Springs?” Seems natural, doesn’t it?

But the above may only be a diversion. While the community was fighting the gun range and motocross track, the “tribe” has been quietly developing and going forward with plans for a 12-pump fueling station, car wash, two fast food restaurants, hotel and other major commercial development at Shingle Springs Drive on the south-west parcel bordering Highway 50. Why is this a problem? 1) It is bordered by residential properties, 2) the “tribe” will pay no taxes to the county and have taken property off the tax rolls, 3) The “tribe” has applied for a liquor license, (nothing better than the mix of guns and alcohol right across the street from each other), 4) Gas tanks near two schools and a church, 5) Underground gas tanks in an area dominated by parcels with wells, 6) The impact on local tax paying businesses and the resultant reduction of money to the county and reduction of employment opportunities at those local businesses, 7) The significant disruption of the rural lifestyle we all sought in moving to El Dorado County and Shingle Springs, 8) The “tribe” is exempt from state court lawsuits brought by citizens for negligent actions that cause injury to patrons. (Yes, you can sue them in federal court, good luck finding an attorney to bring the action) and oh, yes, I almost forgot, 9) Right in the midst of one of the worst droughts we have seen in our lifetimes, and especially for all of you who are conserving water and letting the lawns you paid your hard earned money for die, EID is about to approve a 12-inch diameter water line along Shingle Springs Drive for the benefit of the Indians’ planned commercial development. They apparently have enough water for the above identified commercial purposes, but not for you.

One more thought, have you wondered why the San Stino project people, now the “Mill Creek” project people, have been so quiet? Here is an answer for you. The San Stino/Mill Creek 1,150 housing project also needs a water line along Shingle Springs Drive. San Stino/Mill Creek will be able to piggy-back on to the Indians’ commercial use infrastructure and “presto-chango” — water for 1,150 homes.

The activities I am identifying are and will take place on land that was not part of the original 160-acre Rancheria. It is taking place on property that was “off-Rancheria” land, previously privately owned by non-Indians and subsequently acquired by the “tribe” by representing to the United States Secretary of the Interior, that none of the off-Rancheria property would be used for commercial purposes. Why is this significant to you? The “tribe” can buy off – Rancheria property anywhere they so desire and then do whatever they desire regardless of the county zoning. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is nothing but a rubber stamp robot, so do not count on the BIA to use common sense or reason or regulate the type of activities tribes decide to do on land they acquire in your neighborhood.

Some have postulated that the “tribe” is engaged in a “land grab”, purposefully taking actions to devalue the surrounding properties so they can pick up parcels cheap for further extended commercial development. Your residential neighborhood can have the same thing happen to it. This is a communitywide concern. The fact that this may not be happening in your back yard right at this time is not a reason to ignore what is going on. The time to act is now. Contact the Board of Supervisors, state representatives, the governor and your federal representatives. Let them know what is happening to our rural neighborhoods and that you do not support this out of control development.

Maureen Sample, Shingle Springs

By CBS News

Player safety has football’s spotlight, from the NFL to Pop Warner football for little kids.

While the focus has been on concussions and discouraging helmet-to-helmet hits, tackling is often lower on the body, from the shoulders to the knees — and that opens up a different, potentially fatal worry.

Brian and Kathy Haugen, who lost their 15-year-old son Taylor seven years ago from a hit on the football field, are educating coaches, parents and players about those abdominal risks.

As receiver Taylor reached for a pass in 2008, two tacklers hit him, one from the front, another from the back. He staggered off the Florida field.

Read the whole story

A Truckee resident is behind bars after allegedly burglarizing his former employer.

On Oct. 2 at 4:51pm officers responded to the Fast Lane Gas Station because an ex-employee reportedly entered the store after the business was closed and stole numerous cases of cigarettes and lottery tickets.

The suspect was identified through surveillance video.

The suspect’s vehicle was located Oct. 3 in the Glenshire subdivision. Officers initiated a high risk stop when the suspect left, believing he was armed. Three occupants in the vehicle were detained. No weapons were found.

The driver and burglary suspect, Anthony Criswell, 42, was arrested without incident. He was charged with burglary and possession of methamphetamine.

Passenger Mariesa Yeoman,25, was arrested for allegedly being under the influence of a controlled substance. The second passenger was released at the scene.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times

In the wake of national public anger over killings by police in New York, Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere, landmark California legislation to protect minorities from racial profiling and excessive force won Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature Saturday.

At the same time, the governor issued a blunt warning against the proliferation of laws criminalizing behavior as he rejected a trio of proposals intended to bar the misuse of unmanned drones.

In a forceful veto message, Brown said lawmakers were unnecessarily complicating California’s criminal code, which he said had grown to more than 5,000 provisions “covering every conceivable form of human misbehavior.”

Read the whole story

By Beth Harris, AP

Nancy Bea Hefley, whose organ has provided the musical backdrop to the action on the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 28 years, said Friday she will retire at season’s end.

Hefley announced her decision before the three-time NL West champions hosted San Diego in their final regular-season series. The 79-year-old organist has been playing at Dodger Stadium since taking over from Helen Dell in 1988. She has become as much a fan favorite as Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully and retired manager Tom Lasorda, who was at the helm when the Dodgers won their last World Series title in 1988, her first season.

She was honored on the field, receiving a Dodgers jersey and a bouquet of flowers from retired Dodgers pitching great Orel Hershiser, who starred on the ’88 team. Manager Don Mattingly chatted with Hefley, who was surrounded by 15 family members.

“I told Mattingly, ‘I came in with a World Series and I want to go out with one,’” she said, smiling.

She commutes to each homestand from her home in Silver Springs, near Dayton, while renting a second home locally. She is accompanied by her husband, Bill, whom she met while playing the organ at church.

“I have had a wonderful time playing for the Dodgers and their fans,” she said. “My husband and I felt that this was the right time to settle down in our home in Silver Springs and eliminate all the travel. The Dodgers have told me I can come back and make guest appearances and I greatly appreciate this gesture. I hope to get back to Dodger Stadium on occasion.”

Hefley doesn’t plan her songs, instead taking cues from what’s happening on the field during games. During Hershiser’s stellar 1988 season, which included the NL Cy Young Award and World Series MVP honors, Hefley played “Master of the House” from “Les Miserables” for him.

While playing mostly traditional songs, she has stayed current with her own Twitter and Facebook accounts. However, Hefley’s playing time has been diminished in recent years in favor of hip hop and rock music curated by an in-house DJ and stadium hosts. In June she posted on her Facebook page that she no longer “fit in” and would not return next year. That created a buzz on social media and the team suddenly offered her a lifetime contract.

Hefley said Friday that this was the first season she finally felt it was time to leave her organ which is located in the stadium press box. She said she’s happy with her decision and looking forward to spending time at home.

Hefley, who grew up in Los Angeles, began playing the piano at age 4, and at 13 she talked her teacher into showing her the basics of the organ. She has played at county fairs and shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.

In the mid-’80s, Hefley filled in for a friend as the organist at a California Angels game. When Dell retired as Dodgers organist after the 1987 season, Hefley auditioned at an exhibition game and got the job.

In August, Scully said he expects 2016 to be his last season calling games for the team that he’s been with for a record 66 years. He turns 88 in November. Lasorda, who is 88, serves as special adviser to team chairman Mark Walter.

·       The Nevada Department of Transportation is soliciting feedback on Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility plans for Nevada roadways and transportation infrastructure. The public and other stakeholders are invited to review the plan and provide feedback through Oct. 31 by going online.

·      Snow has closed Sonora Pass.

·      Alder Creek Adventure Center will serve as the base area for Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Area in the winter months and Tahoe Donner Equestrian Center and Tahoe Donner Bikeworks in the spring and summer months.

·      Don and Sam Blough, owners of Sam’s Place in Zephyr Cove, have closed the business because the property owners would not renew the lease.

·       The Nevada State Prison is the latest addition to the National Register of Historic Places, with its listing by the National Park Service.