Paramedics tend to a motorcyclist who was crashed Aug. 3 on Spooner Summit. Photo/Janill Gilbert

A motorcyclist was airlifted to Renown Medical Center in Reno Monday night after crashing on Highway 50.

The rider, whose name has not been released, was headed up Spooner Summit from Lake Tahoe when the crash occurred about 5:38pm Aug. 3.

The rider was first put in an ambulance for treatment, but then was taken by Calstar to Reno with moderate injuries, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

It was slow going on the highway while emergency personnel tended to the victim. The road was completely shutdown for a bit while the helicopter landed.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal

Burning Man is right around the corner, yet Burning Man organizers and Bureau of Land Management officials have been mum about the progress of the permit which allows the event to take place.

The two entities are working out their differences, which became the center of controversy in late June when the Reno Gazette-Journal obtained documents that detailed some of the unprecedented requests made by BLM. BLM federal director Neil Kornze called the requests, which would cost Burning Man more than $1 million, “lavish” and “outlandish” and asked the Nevada state office to revise portions.

The BLM wanted 24-hour access to ice cream, flushing toilets, and washers and dryers for its upper-level personnel during the Burning Man event in order for the San Francisco-based nonprofit to acquire its more than $4 million permit for the Aug. 30 to Sept. 7 pop-up arts utopia in the Black Rock Desert. The permit is the largest special recreation permit in the country and allows 68,000 people to attend.

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By Gary Richards, San Jose Mercury News

Gas prices may soon begin falling to levels not seen since the Great Recession in 2008 to under $2.50 a gallon in California and — gasp! — to below two bucks nationwide.

That would be a pleasant shock on the West Coast, coming just two weeks after rising nearly 75 cents overnight in Southern California to $4.30 a gallon.

If refineries continue producing at full capacity, the switch over to winter-blend gas in the fall/winter months, which is cheaper to produce and lower in demand prices may drop.

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By Kathryn Reed

A Central Valley man with an arrest record that encompasses several pages was arrested last week in Incline Village for allegedly shooting at a vehicle in Meyers.

Ignacio Arizaga, 35, turned himself in to Washoe County sheriff’s deputies on July 30 saying he thought he killed someone.

Ignacio Arizaga

Multiple rounds were fired at a Toyota Prius about 11:18pm Thursday. According to the California Highway Patrol, at least one bullet went through the driver’s door and hit the driver’s seat. The driver was not hurt.

Because the description of the vehicle was vague it was difficult to locate the suspect.

“There were some other circumstances regarding the suspect that made him think he needed to shoot this person, but everything was completely random. He didn’t know who he was shooting at,” CHP Officer Ruth Loehr told Lake Tahoe News. But she would not elaborate what those circumstances were.

Arizaga remained in custody Monday in Washoe County jail on more than $80,000 bail. He is charged with four counts of a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance and trafficking drugs.

“He will probably be here a while based on the charges,” Washoe County sheriff’s Deputy Jeff McCaskill told Lake Tahoe News.

Once Nevada is done with him, Arizaga will likely be extradited to California where he could face attempted murder and assault charges.

The six Douglas County sheriff’s deputies involved in a fatal shooting last week have at least six years of experience with the department.

It still has not been released how many bullets struck Mark Perkins, 48, of Gardnerville. He died at the scene. The number of deputies who discharged their weapon also has not been released.

The deputies, who remain on paid administrative leave, are:

·       Sgt. Dan Coverley — 18 years experience

·       Sgt. Dave Stanley — 13 years

·       Investigator Jon Storke — 13 years

·       Deputy Jeff Johnsen — 10 years

·       Deputy Matt Saylo — 9 years

·       Deputy Justin Williams — 6 years.

The shooting occurred July 30 when deputies were called to Perkins residence because he was allegedly armed with several weapons, was threatening his wife, and made statements about wanting to kill a neighbor and officers.

According to the department, Perkins pointed two weapons at multiple officers.

Carson City Sheriff’s Office is conducting the criminal investigation of the officer involved shooting.

The last officer involved shooting with DCSO was in December 2011.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Victoria Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle

Two-thirds of Californians who were uninsured before the Affordable Care Act went into effect now have health coverage, according to a study released Thursday.

The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation has followed more than 1,100 Californians who lacked health insurance as of September 2013 through the first two coverage enrollment periods, the latest of which ended in February.

The foundation found that 68 percent of previously uninsured Californians now have coverage, up from 58 percent after the first enrollment period ended in spring 2014. About a third of the previously uninsured are now covered through the state’s Medi-Cal program for the poor, while just 12 percent bought coverage through Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange.

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By J.D. Morris, Las Vegas Sun

More than six months after a major division of Caesars Entertainment Corp. filed for bankruptcy, it’s still unclear exactly how the company will emerge on the other side.

Caesars wants a Chicago bankruptcy court to approve a restructuring plan that could shed around $10 billion in debt from the division, but lawsuits from some of the company’s creditors continue to complicate things. One recent court decision in particular threatens to create big problems for the entire casino company.

If Caesars’ plan is successful, the division that filed for bankruptcy will be reorganized under a real estate investment trust setup that will split it into two parts: one that owns casinos and another that manages them. That setup would have Caesars follow in the footsteps of other casino companies — including Penn National Gaming, the company buying the Tropicana — that have made similar moves toward real estate investment trusts.

Harrah’s Reno, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Harveys Lake Tahoe, Caesars Atlantic City and Bally’s Atlantic City were among the properties included in the bankruptcy filing in January.

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Areas of the Tahoe National Forest that were closed last week due to the Lowell Fire have been reopened.

With the Lowell Fire approaching full containment, an emergency closure order for selected land, roads and trails on the Tahoe National Forest related to the Lowell Fire was rescinded today.

The lands that were subject to the closure are on the south side of the Yuba River Ranger District just north of the Lowell Fire area.

However, forest visitors should be aware of equipment and vehicles in the area engaged in fire and rehabilitation activities.

By Sudhin Thanawala, AP

SAN FRANCISCO — CVS Health Corp. deliberately overcharged some pharmacy customers for generic drugs by submitting claims to their insurance companies at inflated prices, according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in San Francisco.

The suit says those inflated prices led to higher co-pays for customers that exceeded what they would have paid for the drugs if they had no insurance and participated in a CVS discount program.

“We’ve seen people who pay $20 for a 30-day supply as their copayments on a drug that was $11.99 for a 90-day supply had they been in the (discount program),” said Kristen Broz, an attorney with Hausfeld, the firm that filed the suit.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status, a court order prohibiting CVS from engaging in the behavior, and unspecified damages.

Broz estimated that hundreds of thousands of people may have been affected since 2008.

CVS Health spokesman Michael DeAngelis said the Rhode Island-based company had not been served with the lawsuit, so it couldn’t comment on it. He said co-pays are determined by a patient’s prescription coverage plan and added that a similar suit in Massachusetts was dismissed.

At issue in the lawsuit is CVS’s “Health Savings Pass” program, which offers discounts to customers who do not have insurance or choose not to use insurance on hundreds of generic prescription drugs, including generic versions of the antibiotic Penicillin and the antidepressant Prozac, according to the suit.

Instead of presenting insurance companies with that discounted price, CVS reported the higher price that a normal retail customer not in the Health Savings Pass would pay, the lawsuit alleges.

Customers were then charged co-pays according to those higher prices.

“Not only was the HSP program a means by which CVS could maintain and increase its market share by fending off discounted prices from its competitors, but importantly, CVS also intended that the HSP program would serve as a mechanism to hide CVS’s true usual and customary prices from third-party payors,” the lawsuit says.

El Dorado County Mental Health has opened a transitional housing unit in South Lake Tahoe to better meet local mental health needs.

The transitional housing site (also known as a T-house) provides a supportive living environment and services for mental health clients who need help transitioning to stable, independent living.

Up to six people at a time may live at the T-house, which provides a supportive community environment, mental health professionals and services, such as wellness groups, medication management and classes in basic life-skills such as cooking, cleaning, and managing other household responsibilities. Residents are also encouraged to explore college classes and volunteer opportunities and are assisted with job searches once they are stable.

The program is funded through state Mental Health Services Act.

Potential residents of the T-house are pre-screened by mental health staff and must meet eligibility requirements before moving in. People must also agree to live drug-free. Most residents will likely stay six to 12 months.

For more info, all 530.573.7970.