The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe is hosting its 22nd annual golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe on Oct. 12.

The event annually raises more than $40,000 to support the work of the club, which assists more than 600 local kids throughout the year.

For $225, golfers receive a round of golf, gourmet buffet breakfast, beverages throughout the day, $10,000 hole in one and closest to the pin competitions on all four par 3s, dinner, raffle prizes, a silent auction and a grand prize drawing.

For non-golfers or folks whose schedule is tight but who want to come join the fun and support local youth programs, an exclusive post-round dinner ticket is available for $25.

For more information or to register,  go online or call 530.542.0838.

South Lake Tahoe’s 50th anniversary parade route has changed so it will end at the new bike park at Bijou Community Park.

The Sept. 19 10am parade will begin at the Y and end at the park.

The city has received more than 85 entries and expects more than 300 walkers in the parade.

The following activities are planned:

• 10am               Parade starts at the Y
• 11:30am          Parade ends at Bijou Community Park
• 12:30pm         Ribbon cutting for bike park
• 1pm                 Bijou bike course open to public
• 1:30pm           Bike rodeo for kids
• 2-3pm             Jump Jam on slopestyle line with world-class athletes
• 3:30pm           BMX race starts
• All day             4th annual Deep Blue Derby Tournament hosted by the Sierra Regional Roller Derby.

By Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee 

State and local officials have preached for months that California’s historic drought could be “the new normal,” the precursor to more frequent years-long episodes of hotter temperatures, less rainfall and lower Sierra snowpack.

Californians across the state have responded en masse to the call for lifestyle changes, curtailing water use, particularly when it comes to watering their lawns.

And some have responded in a manner more concerning to government officials: They canceled their flood insurance.

The number of federal flood insurance policies active in California has fallen by 30,000, or 12 percent, since the drought began in 2012, according to data from the National Flood Insurance Program.

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A Zephyr Cove cabin is uninhabitable after fire gutted it Sept. 4. Photo/Ross Rittiman

By Kathryn Reed

A cabin along the Old Lincoln Highway in Zephyr Cove was totally destroyed by fire Friday night.

One occupant, who was visiting from out of town, was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital with minor burns from having tried to extinguish the blaze. That person has since been discharged.

The cause of the 11pm Sept. 4 blaze is under investigation. However, Tahoe Douglas Fire Marshal Eric Guevin said people had started a fire in the fireplace, were taking their suitcases to a room and then noticed a glow coming from the other room.

They called for help right away, but the older structure burned rapidly.

“Someone opened the door and it fed a lot of air,” Guevin told Lake Tahoe News.

“We want people to get out of the home and stay safe. They attempted to put the fire out with a garden hose and other pots and pans of water. It grew too quickly.”

Guevin said he encourages people to have a fire extinguisher nearby – and for people to know how to use it. Firefighters checked on the smoke detectors in the neighboring cabin, found they were not working and replaced them.

There is another cabin on the property that was not damaged that the group will be able to use for the weekend.

The Apple Maps vehicle has been on the South Shore this summer recording area streets. Photo/LTN

·       Carl Ribaudo, president of Strategic Marketing Group in South Lake Tahoe, will speak at the 2015 eTourism Summit in San Francisco on using data analytics to make the case for tourism funding.

·       The permanent 35-foot rock climbing wall at Heavenly Mountain Resort is now open south of Tamarack Lodge. It has 15 defined climbing routes varying in difficulty, with an automatic belay system on each route. Resort officials have not decided if it will be open during the ski season.

·       The Sun and Sand motel in Kings Beach is slated for demolition. Developers want to build 10 condos on the site.

·       Parishioners of Incline Village churches are offering an additional $6,500 reward for the arrest and successful prosecution of a suspect or suspects in the ongoing vandalism of churches in Incline Village. The reward will be added to the $5,000 offered by the FBI and $1,000 offered by Secret Witness bringing the new total to $12,500.

Local artist Christie Marie Elder shares her creative process and use of luminescent watercolors to achieve unique effects in her paintings during the Tahoe Art League’s monthly meeting on Sept. 9.

Elder will first demonstrate how she makes greeting cards, and will progress on to her method of
developing a painting’s composition using research photos and sketches to develop her final drawing
to be used in her watercolor painting process. Elder often uses luminescent watercolors including
shimmer, duo chrome and interference colors in her paintings, and will demonstrate how these may
be used to achieve both subtle and dramatic effects.

Paintings by Elder will be displayed, showing the various effects in realistic, stylized and tribal
watercolor art styles that can be achieved through use of luminescent paints and the various
techniques in their application.

The free talk begins at 6pm at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center, 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

By Brian Uhler

Community outreach: During the month of August, we concluded our Coffee with a Cop program. Members of the public expressed support for the program, but several asked for us to do the same thing at the Starbucks located at the Y to help give locals who frequent this location a chance to participate.

This said, our plan is to do another session for a month during the winter at the Y. When we have specific dates and times, we will forward this information.

Brian Uhler

Crime:  Last month we reported on a rise in property crime. Most jurisdictions in California are having a similar spike in property crime and many law enforcement leaders believe the combination of “realignment” and Proposition 47 is the cause of this increase. Both of these political events resulted in many property crime offenders being removed from the penitentiary and released to local jails or placed on probation. In the case of proposition 47, the immediate consequence of jail was replaced with many such offenders getting a citation.

Our response:  This community issue is being addressed by the police in the following ways:

• In the coming months, you will be provided opportunities to learn about and obtain “anti-theft dots.” This program will help mark items which might be stolen with a special sticker and microscopic “dot” which police officers will be able to read in the field. The unique number associated with the dots will help us determine if property is stolen and return it to its rightful owner.
• The police department has acquired and will acquire additional GPS trackers. These trackers can be hidden on items which we leave in places where thefts may be occurring. Say for example we hide a tracker on an expensive bicycle which is left unattended somewhere. When the bike moves, it will trigger the GPS signal. Our dispatchers will immediately track the GPS signal and direct responding officers to the unknowing crook.

Message to thieves: The bike or other item you might be getting ready to steal could be a police “bait” operation — don’t steal.

Brian Uhler is chief of police in South Lake Tahoe.

The invasive mullein weed is scattered about the Upper Truckee Marsh. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Long stalks lay lifeless on the ground; others are being carted away to be disposed off-site.

Mullein looks pretty, with stalks that can grow to 10 feet, and yellow flowers blooming every other year.

The problem is mullein is a weed – and an invasive one.

“They take resources away from plants that are indigenous,” Sarah Werick, land steward with the California Tahoe Conservancy, told Lake Tahoe News.

She was out at the Upper Truckee Marsh last month leading a crew that was removing the weed.

Where the plant is in its lifecycle determines how the agency handles it. What are left behind are portions of the plant that don’t have seeds. Just a little moisture and the mullein will reproduce. That is why the sections with seeds are removed from the area.

Mullein is scattered about this more than 400-acre section of the South Shore. Werick said the plant could take over a location – another reason to get rid of it.

Mullein can be allergenic, so some of the crewmembers have donned surgical masks to keep from inhaling anything that might make them ill.

As part of Werick’s job, she is always keeping an eye out for invasive plants.

“When we see a growth spurt, we come out and do a big weed removal,” she explained.

Also being removed on this particular day were thistles that are not native to the basin. However, there is indigenous thistle that remains untouched.

It takes a trained eye to know what is “good” vs. what is “bad,” which is why Werick discourages the public from pulling plants.

By Roberto A. Ferdman, Washington Post

The good news is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is poised to make the Nutrition Facts label on many packaged foods significantly more honest. The bad news is that this well-intentioned fix could seriously backfire.

As part of a label overhaul, which the FDA announced last year, the agency is planning to update the serving sizes to better reflect the amount of food people actually consume. The proposed tweak, which is almost through its months-long comment period and is expected to begin to take effect next year, would affect packaged foods for which serving sizes are seen as too low (just under 20 percent of all packaged foods), including popular items like ice cream, potato chips and soda.

The thinking behind the portion adjustment is fairly simple. It’s meant to correct for the fact that recent studies show that Americans tend to eat a good deal more in one sitting than is indicated on current labels — which were last adjusted  20 years ago, based on data from a survey conducted from 1977 to 1988.  Changing the serving size for  ice cream, for example — from the current half cup to a more realistic full cup — means the amount of calories, fat and sugar per serving will double. And that would theoretically convince people to eat less ice cream.

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By Sharon Song, KRON-TV

California is aiming to improve transparency and government accountability as high profile clashes between law enforcement and the public have recently dominated the headlines and sparked a national dialogue on police practices.

The California Department of Justice is rolling out a state-run website designed to provide data on law enforcement’s interactions with the public. University of California at Berkeley professors are contributing to the site.

Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office on Wednesday announced the website which it called a “first-of-its-kind” criminal justice initiative.

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