The U.S. Marine Corps will be in South Lake Tahoe on a 13-day training mission from July 27-Aug. 8.

The Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 is based out of Camp Pendleton. Squadron 303 trains all future pilots for the Marine Corps Cobra and Huey fleets.

The training will include day and night flights of multiple aircraft between the airports in South Lake Tahoe, Minden and Carson City.

The higher altitudes better prepare the Marines for future missions, such as the recent humanitarian relief efforts in the mountains of Nepal.

The Tahoe Donner 4-Wheelers Club will host the inaugural Sierra 4×4 Trails & Ales at the Alder Creek Adventure Center on July 18 from 1-6pm.

The event includes a show-and-shine of four-wheeling vehicles, games, raffles, a beer tasting, and barbecue dinner. It’s also a chance for those new to four-wheeling to learn more about the sport.

On the following day, those who sign up at online will also go on a trail run. Proceeds from the event benefit the Tahoe Donner Giving Fund. Tahoe Donner created the Tahoe Donner Giving Fund in fall 2014. It is an affiliate program designed to make charitable contributions to benefit the greater Truckee/North Tahoe area.

The Alder Creek Adventure Center is located at 15275 Alder Creek Road, Truckee. For more info, call 530.587.9400.

By Patrick McGreevy and Rong-gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times

California lawmakers approve one of the toughest mandatory vaccination laws in the nation

California lawmakers on Thursday approved one of the toughest mandatory vaccination requirements in the nation, moving to end exemptions from state immunization laws based on religious or other personal beliefs.

The measure, among the most controversial taken up by the Legislature this year, would require more children who enter day care and school to be vaccinated against diseases including measles and whooping cough.

Those with medical conditions such as allergies and immune-system deficiencies, confirmed by a physician, would be excused from immunization. And parents could still decline to vaccinate children who attend private home-based schools or public independent studies off campus.

It is unclear whether Gov. Jerry Brown will sign the measure, which grew out of concern about low vaccination rates in some communities and an outbreak of measles at Disneyland that ultimately infected more than 150 people.

Read the whole story

·       The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency hearings officer will consider an applicant’s request to tear down the structures at Barton Ranch at 2pm June 29. The meeting is at TRPA offices, 128 Market St. in Stateline.

·       The Fields Advisory Committee of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority on July 15 from 5-7pm at Lake Tahoe Unified School District board room, 1021 Al Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

·       Follow this website to track this year’s Pony Express ride.

·       League to Save Lake Tahoe is having an Eyes on the Lake training on July 24 from 10am-1pm in Tahoe City. RSVP online for location and additional information.

·       Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District’s board is meeting June 25 from 6-8pm at the park.

By Adam Liptak, New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Los Angeles ordinance that allowed the police to inspect hotel and motel guest registries without permission from a judge. In a second decision, the courtclarified the standards for excessive force claims against corrections officers from people awaiting trial.

Both cases were decided by 5-to-4 votes, with the court’s more liberal members in the majority.

The case concerning hotel registries is likely to have a broad impact, as dozens of cities allow warrantless searches, which law enforcement officials say help them catch fugitives and fight prostitution and drug dealing.

Read the whole story

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office will be working to increase awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence on the waters of Lake Tahoe this weekend by participating in a national awareness and enforcement campaign called Operation Dry Water.

Operation Dry Water was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. The campaign’s goal is to increase boating safety by reducing drug and alcohol related boating accidents.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is one of hundreds of law enforcement agencies throughout the United States that are expected to participate. Other local agencies include the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Deputies will be looking for signs of impaired boating and talking to boaters about the dangers of operating a motorized vessel under the influence.

U.S. Coast Guard data from past years shows alcohol use as a primary contributing factor to recreational boater deaths nationwide. Alcohol not only impairs a person’s ability to operate a watercraft, it is also known to increase fatigue along with susceptibility to the effects of colder waters such as Lake Tahoe.

The following four tips for responsible boating are from the National Association of Safe Boating Laws Administration and the United States Coast Guard:

• Never boat under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medication. Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boating fatalities.
• Always wear a life jacket while boating. Eighty-five percent of people who drowned in a recreational boating accident were not wearing a life jacket.
• Take a boating safety course. In accidents where the operator’s instruction history was known, 73 percent of fatalities occurred on boat where the operator had not received any boating instruction.
• Get a free vessel check every year. These checks reveal life-threatening problems even on boats owned by safe, responsible boaters.

Lake Tahoe recreational boaters are also advised to check the weather before heading out on the water. Weather conditions may change rapidly on the lake so it important to keep up with the most updated forecasts.

Possession of fireworks of any kind, including firecrackers and sparklers, is illegal in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Campfires or portable charcoal grills are not permitted on National Forest beaches or in the general forest. For those planning to barbecue on the beach, bring portable gas grills instead of charcoal. This will reduce the danger of wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin. A hot ember can travel for miles in the wind and it only takes one small spark to ignite a large wildfire.

The Forest Service anticipates additional fire restrictions will be in place by the holiday weekend. Go online for complete information.

The annual alcohol ban will be in effect at Nevada Beach, Zephyr Cove Resort, and Zephyr Shoals (the former Dreyfus Estate) from 6am-midnight on July 4. Additionally, county and state laws ban the possession or consumption of alcohol on the Truckee River from Tahoe City to Alpine Meadows and Chamber’s Landing Beach on the West Shore from July 1-6.  These areas will be patrolled by law enforcement personnel from the Forest Service, Douglas and Placer counties, the Carson City Sheriff’s Department, and private security staff.

The Nifty Fifty Trolley stops at National Forest beaches along the South and West Shores of Lake Tahoe.  At developed recreation sites, such as Kiva, Tallac Historic Site, Taylor Creek Visitor Center and Echo Lake and Angora Lake resorts, parking is allowed only in designated parking spaces inside the parking lots, not along the roadway.

Day-use fees for the Fourth of July at Pope, Baldwin, and Nevada beaches will be $20 and at Zephyr Cove Beach $25 to cover increased security and facility maintenance costs of the holiday.

For information on rules regarding pets, go online.

Trash and debris left behind after festivities can be harmful and even fatal to wildlife.  It presents a human health hazard, and degrades Lake Tahoe. Trash cans may become full, so plan ahead and pack out all garbage.

By Evangeline Elston

There are so many variables that go into selecting programming for a diverse, summerlong arts festival like the Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival. Because Lake Tahoe attracts a range of summer vacationers, and is also home to diverse age groups and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, Valhalla seeks to serve this diversity by offering arts programming that appeals to everyone.

This summer Valhalla has taken on an ambitious schedule of offerings for the 2015 season with concerts featuring artists from at least seven genres, live dramatic theatre including South Lake Tahoe’s finest actors in “On Golden Pond”, as well as a young adult production of the classic Shakespeare play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and comedy improve that involves the audience and is great for families.  There are also free Sunday concerts on the lawn and art shows in the Viking Gallery throughout the summer.

Valhalla is offering something new in the festival this weekend. Calidanza is a dance company from Sacramento that features traditional and contemporary Mexican folk dancing complete with a live band to play between acts. The decision to include this unique dance production came from a desire among Valhalla staff and board to celebrate Lake Tahoe’s rich Hispanic culture through the arts.

Founded in 2013 by Executive-Artistic Director Steven Valencia (former artistic director of Compañía Mazatlan Bellas Artes 1998-2012) Calidanza represents a new and innovative way to look at traditional Mexican folk and contemporary dance. The company fuses contemporary technique with traditional folk dance to tell compelling stories of the rich cultural traditions of Mexico. The choreographies unearth many unknown stories in Mexico often overlooked – the African presence in Mexico, Day of the Dead celebrations, from elaborate ceremonial danzas to festive town celebrations honoring patron saints, to harvests commemorations and other regional celebrations. Our goal is to honor the diversity of Mexico and pay homage to the uniqueness of its culture and people.

On June 27 the Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival presents Calidanza in two performances.  A matinee at 2pm will be a short, hourlong, family friendly program at a slightly lower cost in hopes people from all backgrounds and means have access to this cultural arts program. In the evening at 7:30 a full-length program is offered as well. Tickets and information are online.

Evangeline Elston is director of the Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival.

While the state brought in more gaming revenue in May compared to 2014, the same cannot be said for the Stateline casinos.

Throughout Nevada casino revenue was just more than $1 billion, a 3.33 percent increase from last year. In Stateline the numbers were down 6.76 percent for a net win of $16.15 million.

Most of the state was in the positive, including Washoe County casinos. Reno boasted gaming revenues of $52.9 million for May, an uptick of 1.53 percent from last year.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Adam Liptak, New York Times

WASHINGTON — In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Constitution guarantees a nationwide right to same-sex marriage.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion in the 5 to 4 decision. He was joined by the court’s four more liberal justices.

The decision, the culmination of decades of litigation and activism, came against the backdrop of fast-moving changes in public opinion, with polls indicating that most Americans now approve of same-sex marriage.

As in earlier civil rights cases, the Supreme Court had moved cautiously and methodically, laying careful judicial groundwork for a transformative decision.

Read the whole story