By Travis Hoium, Motley Fool

It appears that Caesars Entertainment Corp. is finally heading toward bankruptcy, an ending that has seemed imminent since the company’s IPO in 2012. A judge ruled this week that lawsuits challenging the formation of Caesars Entertainment Operating Company and Caesars Growth Partners could move forward while the CEOC subsidiary is in bankruptcy protection.

In essence, this means that Caesars won’t be able to protect assets in Caesars Growth Partners from debt holders in CEOC, who argue that they have a claim to those assets. That should pull the entire company into bankruptcy proceedings, where shareholders will likely lose everything and debt holders will restructure or split up the company.

Caesars is the parent company of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys in Stateline.

In 2013, Caesars Entertainment and its private equity owners started to position the company for a potential bankruptcy filing, setting up the battle we see today.

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The fire area is outlined in red near the bottom of the map.

Updated 9:25pm:

One lane of Highway 50 reopened Friday, with escorts alternating traffic in each direction. Motorists are being stopped in Meyers and Sly Park Road.

Mandatory evacuations have been lifted. A voluntary evacuation order is in place for Sand Flat campground east to Strawberry.

The fire is east of Whitehall on both sides of the American River.

Updated 3:05pm:

About 90 percent of Kyburz Fire is on the north side of the river burning in steep slopes below Weber Mill Road. The west side of the fire has burned into light fuels from the 2013 Kyburz Fire. PG&E powerlines have been de-energized between Whitehall and Kyburz.

Boats have been cleared off of Ice House Reservoir because they are interfering with helicopter water bucket operations. Camping and shoreline use is still allowed.

Highway 50 may open to controlled traffic later today. For current road information, click on the state icon on the home page of Lake Tahoe News.

About 400 people are fighting the fire.

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The Kyburz Fire burning in the American River canyon has charred 200 acres and is 30 percent contained.

Highway 50 remains closed because the fire is on both sides of the road. Traffic is being stopped at Meyers and Sly Park Road.

Crews have made the most progress on the north side of the fire. More dead fuel is on the south side, which is causing several spot fires.

A tract of summer cabins remains threatened. Evacuations are in place from Whitehall to Sand Flat Campground. Voluntary evacuations are from Sand Flat to Strawberry. The Pollock Pines Community Center is being used as an evacuation center.

The fire started about 2pm July 23, with reports of the cause being that a vehicle’s axle struck the pavement and sent out a spark.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

Lake Tahoe Hard Rock’s pool has been losing 20,000 gallons a day for about a month, but it wasn’t until Thursday that hotel-casino authorities notified officials.

“They noticed an increase use in water in the pool in the last 30 days. They concluded it must be a leak,” JoAnn Kittrell with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection told Lake Tahoe News.

Officials from her agency were at the property July 24 to begin an investigation that first started with mandating the pool be closed until the problem is resolved. Hotel guests are without a pool-spa for an indefinite period. Chaise lounges and cabanas, though, were still on the deck.

Lake Tahoe Hard Rock’s pool is closed until the source of the water is fixed. Photo/LTN

Kittrell said it is too soon to know if the ground water and soil have been contaminated with chlorinated water to the point that remediation needs to be done. Whether the owners face a fine will be determined down the road.

The pool holds 200,000 gallons.

Edgewood Water Company supplies the water to Hard Rock. No one from there returned a call.

“They are going to dechlorinate and remove the water safely and legally,” Kittrell said of the next steps.

There was no evidence Friday night that this had begun. The pool was full as was the hot tub. Both have ropes around them and signs saying they are closed.

“They aren’t sure it is actually a leak, that is what they are investigating,” Jen Eastwood, spokeswoman for the Hard Rock, told Lake Tahoe News.

The front desk is telling callers there is a chemical imbalance in the pool.

“The pool itself is fine. They believe the issue is with the recycled pumping system – the plumbing that recycles the water that keeps it flowing,” Kittrell said. “They have sonar as a way to figure out where the leak is. They hope to do a minimal amount of excavation to reach it. The important thing is to stop any continued leaking into the soil there.”

When the Hard Rock opened in January summer pool parties were one of the things that were touted to set it apart from other Stateline casinos. The pool was installed when the hotel was first developed in the 1960s when it was known as Sahara Tahoe.

By Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle

California was just one Mississippi away from dead last in a new national ranking of the economic well-being of children, an indicator of poverty and financial instability of families.

Despite a reinvigorated economy, millions of California families are still digging out from the 2008 recession, with wages for many failing to keep up with the cost of living, according to the 2015 Kids Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Tuesday.

Across the state, 23 percent of children were living in poverty in 2013, the most recent data available, compared with 18 percent in 2008. In Mississippi, which ranked 50th among the states, 34 percent of children were living in poverty at last count. New Mexico came in just above California, at 48th, in economic well-being of children.

Read the whole story

By Haley Branson-Potts and Rong-gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times

It’s the middle of the summer, but it felt a bit like winter in the Sierra this week as a storm dumped 4 inches of hail on Interstate 80 around Donner Summit.

There was so much pea-sized ice that the California Highway Patrol on Tuesday halted traffic and called out snowplows — known as the “Sierra Snowfighters” — for help.

“It looked just like snow, a blanket of snow across all the lanes,” said Caltrans snowplower John Wheeler. “It was really weird.”

The hail storm was just the latest strange weather to hit the Sierra Nevada, influenced by the weather-changing phenomenon El Niño. For months, climate scientists have said El Niño is likely to bring more rain to Southern California this winter.

But here’s the big question in a state enduring four years of severe drought: How far north will El Niño’s influence roam?

The El Niño hitting the mountains of the north is critical because California’s vast waterworks rely on rain and snow from the Sierra to supply farms and cities. By contrast, much of the rain that falls in Southern California ends up in the ocean.

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Pressure from South Lake Tahoe officials worked in getting Caltrans to stop construction on Highway 88 over the Carson Pass today.

This is the route state highway officials had told people to use to get to and from the South Shore with Highway 50 being closed because of they Kyburz Fire.

The paving project stopped at about 2pm July 24. However, by that time there was already a four-hour delay, according to Caltrans.

“There are an OMG number of cars stacked up with no bathrooms, no knowledge of the delay and no cell service. I’d say I passed 4,000,” South Lake Tahoe resident Duane Wallace told Lake Tahoe News at about 2:10pm.

It was city officials who worked to get Caltrans to stop the project.

City Manager Nancy Kerry said it was everyone working together that got the job stopped. She told Lake Tahoe News it could be devastating for the region if people are not able to easily get to and from the area.

Highway 80 is an option. Work on Highway 89 ended at 10am Friday.

Highway 50 is closed between Meyers and Sly Park Road. It’s possible it will open to one lane metered traffic later today.

Click on the state icon at the top of Lake Tahoe News’ home page for up-to-date information from Caltrans.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

·       Invasive Species Awareness Day at Grover Hot Springs State Park in Markleeville is July 29 from 10am-2pm. The Alpine/Upper Carson Cooperative Weed Management Group is hosting the event. There will be presentations, an introduction to the planned native demonstration garden, a weed pull in the meadow, and lunch. Bring gloves, sturdy shoes and water. For more info and to RSVP, contact Nicole Lutkemuller at awg.nicole@gmail.com or 530.694.2327.

·       Actor-stuntman Chris Gann will be in “The Chosen” and then TNT’s drama series “Agent X”. Gann is originally from Reno and got his start as a professional Jet Ski racer at Lake Tahoe.

·      The South Lake Tahoe Library will host the Fratello Marionettes on July 31. The free show starts at 3pm at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd in South Lake Tahoe.

·       State Sen. Ted Gaines, R-El Dorado, is having a community coffee on Aug. 4 from 10-11am at Wild Cherries Coffee House in Truckee.

·       The inaugural Basque Fry is Aug. 15 from 11am-3pm at Corley Ranch in Gardnerville. A slew of Republicans will be at the event hosted by Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. More info is on this flyer.

Kaitlynn Watson, a senior at South Tahoe High School, participated as the starting libero of the U.S. Westside California 17 and under team in the 11th annual European Global Challenge Volleyball tournament in Pula, Croatia.

The team, made up of players under the age of 17 from California, placed seventh in the challenge tournament. The California squad played several teams from Europe, including the Italian and Croatian national champions between July 8-18.

Kaitlynn Watson of South Lake Tahoe played on a U.S. volleyball in Europe this month. Photo/Provided

The U.S. was also represented by teams from the Midwest, South and a second team from California.

The tournament also featured under 22-year-old teams, including the United States Junior National team and the Mountain West All Star team (including Lyndsey Anderson from UNR).  The U.S. Junior Nationals won the U22 division, defeating the Italian Junior National team 3-2.

“It was an honor to be selected for the team, and then participate against some of the best teams in Europe,” Watson said in a statement. “To be able to represent not only South Tahoe, but the United States, is mind-blowing.”

By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee 

In a setback to California water regulators’ conservation efforts, the state Supreme Court has kept intact a ruling that makes it harder for municipalities to impose tiered pricing to discourage heavy water use.

The state’s high court upheld a closely watched ruling involving the Orange County city of San Juan Capistrano, rejecting pleas from California water regulators. Gov. Jerry Brown, who has ordered a 25 percent cutback in urban water use, had said the ruling represents a potential “straitjacket” for regulators.

In April, the 4th District Court of Appeal struck down a water-pricing system used by San Juan Capistrano that charged customers considerably more per-gallon for heavier water use. The court said the structure violated Proposition 218, a 1996 statewide ballot measure that said municipalities can’t charge fees that exceed the cost of providing a service.

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The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency is offering back-to-school immunizations for children beginning school this fall.

Public health can provide all childhood vaccinations required for school entry, as well as other vaccinations recommended to keep children healthy.

Kindergartners need a total of five DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), four polio, three hepatitis B, two MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and one varicella (chickenpox) shot. Students entering seventh grade need to show proof of the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine before starting school.

Parents who do not have a health care provider or are unable to access their provider and wish to have their child vaccinated through a scheduled appointment at public health may call 530.621.6100 in Placerville or 530.573.3155 in South Lake Tahoe.  Vaccinations are charged at cost for those who have private insurance. Children on Medi-Cal, or who are uninsured, are eligible for low-cost immunization services. A $10 administration fee is charged per shot, though no child on Medi-Cal or who is uninsured will be refused a vaccination due to inability to pay.