By Kathryn Reed

El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel is allowed to engage her constituents in discussions about any topic. The same is not true when it comes to staff or other board members. And some items she won’t be allowed to vote on.

At the urging of county counsel she asked the Fair Political Practices Commission to rule on potential conflicts of interest. The FPPC made its decision in late June. Most electeds at the local level recuse themselves from time to time on issues. This is because they are not allowed to vote on a matter that could financially benefit them.

Sue Novasel

With Novasel, her two big issues – that are known today – are the inability to vote on the Meyers Area Plan and the proposed courthouse in Placerville. The former is because she has property in the plan area, the latter is because her husband through his company has given a loan to the property owner.

What the FPPC said is Novasel may discuss these issues with the public and media, but not with staff or other supervisors. The limit on staff-board interaction is so she is not influencing them in their work and decision making. She is allowed to receive all material that is available to the public.

“County counsel still advises me to be careful when discussing things with the public to avoid even the perception of influencing,” Novasel told Lake Tahoe News. “I can listen so when the plan goes through in whatever form I could help with specific projects that the community wants. I will be part of helping in any way.”

She wants to set up town hall meetings and/or coffees to hear what the residents of Meyers want.

“There are structural and design standards; what do we want for our roadways; if people want the bug station moved, I want to help. There are a lot of things in that plan,” Novasel said.

Once the plan is adopted, Novasel wants to be an integral part of moving it forward.

The supervisors will be having their annual Tahoe meeting on Aug. 31 starting at 9am at Lake Tahoe Airport. The Meyers Area Plan is anticipated to be one of the topics.

Novasel recognizes the frustrations constituents have with her not being able to vote on the Meyers plan, but it’s the law. She pointed out, though, that everyone in the county is represented by five electeds – not just one. And then each vote carries the same weight.

Her inability to vote on the Meyers plan will also carry over to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board. However, the county has an alternate for that board.

As for the courthouse, the 88,000-square-foot facility is slated to be built on land owned by El Dorado County adjacent to the existing county jail just off Forni Road in Placerville as well as on an adjoining 5.2 acres owned by John Briggs, father of former El Dorado County Supervisor Ron Briggs, grandfather of ex-Placerville Planning Commissioner Brian Briggs and father-in-law of Superior Court Judge Steve Bailey.

Novasel & Schwarte Investments Inc. has loaned money to the Briggs Family Trust. This is the company her husband is a part owner and principal of. The supervisor has never worked for the company, but because she financially benefits from the company there is a conflict of interest that prevents her from voting on the courthouse issue. Since her election last November, she has had to recuse herself once.

While the company is incorporated in Nevada, it has filed the paperwork to exist in California as a foreign corporation. This keeps everything legal. The main office is in Meyers, with a branch in Zephyr Cove. Kelly Krolicki, step-daughter of Dick Schwarte, is part of this company. She is married to Brian Krolicki, former lieutenant governor of Nevada. All of the vetting of this financial company has been done multiple times because of Brian Krolicki’s various political offices.

Children entering kindergarten in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District in August need to be registered at their local school.

To be eligible for enrollment a child must be 5 on or before Sept. 1, 2015. Children born Sept. 2-30 or in October or November and will be 5 on or before Dec. 1, 2015, qualify for transitional kindergarten.

California law requires:

·      Child’s birth certificate.

·      Proof of immunization, which includes the Varicella (Chicken Pox), Hepatitis B and for most children, the last booster shot. Children will not be enrolled in school without presenting an up-to-date immunization record.

·      A health examination upon entry to school.

·      Oral health examination upon entry to school. Dental examinations that have occurred in the last 12 months meet this requirement.

·      Proof of California residency.

Starting Aug. 10, call the appropriate to school to register.

•   Bijou Community School               530.543.2337
•   Sierra House  Elementary              530.543.2327
•   Tahoe Valley Elementary              530.543.2350
•  South Tahoe Middle School        530.541.6404.

South Tahoe High School registration will be Aug. 18-20 from 9am-noon.

School starts Aug. 31.

Lake Tahoe Water Trail maps are good for all types of human powered vessels.
Photo/©Corey Rich/Aurora Photos

The Lake Tahoe Water Trail is a 72-mile water route along the shoreline segmented into seven day trips, including more than 50 public launch and landing sites or “trailheads,” paddle route itineraries, and navigation tools to help paddlers have a safe and fun adventure.

Waterfront attractions, historic sites, bird watching sanctuaries, picnics on the beach and lakeside restaurants are along the trail.

Water trail maps include paddle routes to match ability levels, paddle shops, water safety and aquatic invasive species prevention tips.

Seven Day Trip Maps include details about parking, on-site facilities and amenities, as well as public beach access to nearby hiking trails, restaurants, shopping, historic sites, lodging and campgrounds.  The Day Trip Maps are free to download from the Water Trail website.

The waterproof and tear resistant four-color map includes underwater and land topography, latitude/longitude coordinates, GPS waypoints, and a detailed listing of shoreline services and points of interest for Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake to help boaters navigate our water world. The Map & Guide can be ordered online or found at Lake Tahoe locations and paddle shops listed on the Water Trail website.

BloodSource will have a blood drive in South Lake Tahoe on July 31.

The new location will be at the South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Center at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. Walk-ins are welcome.

BloodSource will donate a pound of pet food to the Lake Tahoe Humane Society for every pint of blood donated.

Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be 17 years old (16 year olds need a signed BloodSource parental consent form) and be generally healthy. There is no upper age limit for blood donations. Donors must bring a photo ID and should drink plenty of fluids before donating.

The event is from noon-5pm.

For more information, call 800.995.4420, ext. 60039.

Sugar Bowl Resort kicks off its summer Lake Mary Cabin Dinner Series on July 19.

Sugar Bowl and chef Alan Davis will host 12 dinners throughout the summer.

Dinner dates and nonprofit partners are:

July 19: Truckee Donner Land Trust

July 25: Excellence in Education

July 26: Donner Summit Historical Society

July 31: Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

Aug. 2: Truckee Tahoe Aim High

August 7: Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue

Aug. 9: Truckee Trails Foundation

Aug. 16: Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

Aug. 23: Donner Summit Area Association

Aug. 30: Sugar Bowl Academy

Sept. 6: Donner Summit Business Group

Sept. 13: Sierra Avalanche Center.

Dinners run from 5:30-9pm each evening and are open to the public. To make reservations, call 530.426.7002.

By Trevon Milliard, Reno Gazette-Journal

Last school year was anything but normal for Washoe County students.

From elementary to high school, every state-required standardized test was replaced with a new one designed to demand more of students, including the exit exams required to graduate in Nevada.

High school students were also forced, for the first time, to take an additional test — the ACT college-entrance exam. Students who don’t participate won’t graduate.

All these new tests will return this fall and affect even more of Nevada’s 450,000 students. But the state has some big kinks to work out. Almost every standardized test stumbled in its 2014-15 rollout, with some exams falling flat on their faces.

For the first time, students took to the computer for the annual tests given to every Nevada student from third through eighth grade. They were supposed to be “smart” tests, adjusting the difficulty of the next question based on students’ previous answers.

Read the whole story

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work this week at Angora Creek near South Lake Tahoe.

Crews will construct 700 feet of stream channel to replace the existing Angora Creek channel, which was rerouted and straightened in the early 1900s to accommodate livestock grazing. Seneca Pond, constructed in 1964 when the area was under private ownership, will be returned to a wetland. The project is designed to minimize stream erosion, improve native bird, fish and amphibian habitat and enhance stream bank vegetation, such as willow, alder, sedge grasses and wildflowers.

The Forest Service will use heavy equipment to reshape the pond into a meadow and dig the new channel. For safety, the public should stay away from heavy equipment working in the area.

Work is expected to be complete by the beginning of September.

For more information, contact Craig Oehrli or Stephanie Heller at 530.543.2600.

By J.D. Morris, Las Vegas Sun

Change is coming to Nevada sports books.

At the state level, lawmakers recently approved a bill that allows groups of people to place wagers as a single entity.

Meanwhile, the industry is preparing for an even bigger transformation at the national level: the spread of legal sports betting throughout the country.

Senate Bill 443, passed by the Legislature this spring and signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval in June, permits business entities to place wagers at sports books. The idea is business partners can come together and marshal their resources to place bets for the benefit of the group.

Read the whole story

Small changes to the 2016 Elantra GT made a big difference. Photos/Larry Weitzman

By Larry Weitzman

While not much has changed mechanically with the 2016 Elantra GT, with most every technical specification remaining the same, sometimes just small changes can make huge differences. In this case, besides the improvements in next-gen NAV and Blue Link connectively, the most notable is the new GT front end and it is a doozy. Most mid-cycle updates are usually ho-hum, but Hyundai is using its interpretation of the Fluidic Sculpture front ends now incorporated on the Genesis and the much improved Sonata, is making the new GT one of the best looking sporty hatchbacks in its class.

Eleantra GT is now the high styled, aggressive car it was suppose to be. Add the new 17-inch alloys and you have a sporty sedan/hatchback that can snap some heads. It looks much more expensive than its under $20 grand price of admission.

Specification
Price $19,560 to $25,500 all in
Engine 2.0L DOHC, 16 valve inline four 173 hp @ 6,500 rpm
154 lb-ft of torque @ 4,700 rpm
Transmission
Six speed Automatic
Six speed manual
Chassis layout
Front transverse engine, front wheel drive
Dimensions
Length 169.3 inches
Wheelbase 104.3 inches
Width 70.1 inches
Height 57.9 inches
Track (f/r) 61.0/61.5 inches
Ground clearance 5.5 inches
Weight 3,053 pounds
Fuel capacity 13.2 gallons
Cargo capacity (rear seats down/up) 51.0/23.0 cubic feet
Passenger volume 96.1 cubic feet
Steering lock to lock 2.78 turns
Turning circle 34.8 feet
Co-efficient of drag 0.30
Performance
0-60 mph 7.61 seconds
50-70 mph 4.25 seconds
50-70 uphill 6.85 seconds
Fuel economy EPA rated 24/33/27 mpg city/highway/combined. Expect 36.1 mpg on the highway and 29 mpg in rural country driving.

Sizewise the GT remains a small compact with a length of just 169 inches on a comparatively long 104-inch wheelbase and 70-inch width. It stands 58-inches tall, although it looks lower. While almost every dimension is average for a compact, length is 10 inches shorter than average and that is a good thing for two reasons, first it makes it easier to park and maneuver and second, cleaver design gives it an interior volume larger than most midsize cars, allowing the cargo capacity of some small SUVs with 51-cubic-feet of cargo capacity with the spacious second row seats folded flat.

Also making the GT is its more powerful 2.0L inline high tech four cylinder engine (DOHC, 16 valves) that is direct injected. Direct injection offers two benefits. With its higher compression ratio (11.5:1) it gives you significantly more horsepower and fuel economy all on regular gas. Hyundai which sells itself on value and price demonstrates its high value content by offering this expensive system of direct injection.

Relative to performance, this 2 liter, four cylinder engine cranks out 173 hp at 6,500 and a peak torque of 154 pounds at 4,700 rpm meaning at 4,700 rpm the hp output is a strong 138 hp. It drives the front wheels via a six speed auto cog swapper with a manual mode for those who like to shift themselves. Gear changes are quite expedient. A six-speed manual is also available. I have driven them both and go with the auto as you will see.

Acceleration times for the auto GT were 0-60 mph in 7.61 seconds, 50-70 mph in 4.25 seconds and an uphill simulated pass requiring 6.85 seconds. Compared to the manual the auto GT is actually quicker in the passes and virtually identical in 0-60 mph runs with the manual recording 7.57, 4.55 and 7.43 seconds for the same series of tests. It demonstrates how efficient the new automatics are and their quicker shifts. The Auto also overcomes a negligible weight penalty of 53 pounds.

Fuel economy for the automatic version according to the EPA should suffer by about a mpg and it does. EPA posts numbers of 24/33/27 mpg city/highway/combined whereas the manual version shows numbers of 24/34/28 mpg. Reality shows the GT returning 29 mpg overall, with 36 mpg on the highway at 70 mph. During a 150 mile trip to South Lake Tahoe and back the GT averaged 35.6 mpg, which is excellent especially considering the trip from Rescue to SLT up the long hill averaged 28.7 mpg. The manual returned about one more mpg over the auto, not significant.

Handling is very good. Suspension is compact car standard MacPherson Struts (with higher spring rates) up front and a semi independent stiffer torsion beam out back. Coils are at all four corners along with Sachs gas filled shocks and stab bars at each end. Steering is a very quick (2.78 turns lock to lock) adjustable (effort levels of comfort, normal and sport) electric powered rack. It’s all alleged to be sports tuned. It is credible when pushed hard in the corners with benign, predictable handling, but there is a little too much body roll when above seven-tenths in the twisties. Overall handling could be described as smart.

Standard alloys are 17X7 inches shod with wide 215/45 rubber which help matters in the changing directions department. There is way too much handling power for Aunt Tildie on the way to Sunday tea, so take it easy.

But going to Sunday tea with Aunt Tildie certainly will not upset her tummy as the ride quality is about perfect, soft enough not to jar her teeth loose, but firm enough to prevent any chance of car sickness. Hyundai has done a nice job in balance. A buddy of mine who rides a Ducati and drives an Alfa (we call him Rico) remarked about the perfect balance of ride and handling. It is also very quiet, with the engine spinning an inaudible 2,500 rpm at 70 mph with no wind, tire or road noise. When you add in the high level of performance and sporty, predictable handling, this becomes an incredible value starting at under $20 large and there is more to talk about.

The ride is smooth.

Braking is excellent stopping from 40 mph in 41 feet with binders consisting of four-wheel discs (front ventilated) and all the braking and stability acronyms. Seven airbags are also standard.

Inside are optional leather seats which are sublime and heating is standard along with cruise, full power, remote entry and more. The instrument binnacle is about perfect as is the entire layout. Rear seating is roomy for two but will work for three. Quality soft touch trim is everywhere. The overall package is enjoyable to drive any way you slice it, never mind liked to be seen in.

Pricing starts at just below $20 large, my tester was loaded with the Style package, which adds about 10 useful items for $1,975, and the Tech package at $3,950, which adds leather, Nav, giant sunroof and more. I could live without the sunroof, but the point is that with everything optional with the $825 for the boat from Ulsan, Korea the total is a not bad $26,675. In today’s market with lesser equipped Priuses costing $10K more, it becomes a bargain.

Larry Weitzman has been into cars since he was 5 years old. At 8 he could recite from memory the hp of every car made in the U.S. He has put in thousands of laps on racetracks all over the Western United States.

By Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times

Cities and counties will no longer be able to impose fines on residents for unsightly brown lawns while the state is in a drought, under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The measure, by Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-Rialto, prohibits local governments from issuing fines for violations of “lawn maintenance” ordinances when the governor has declared a state of emergency due to drought conditions.

Brown has said she’s aware of a number of cities that have levied fines or issued warnings to residents who allowed their lawns to go brown.

Read the whole story