·  Valhalla Tahoe’s season begins June 17 with world-renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser performing at 7:30pm in the Boat House. For more info, go online.

·  Social Media 101 is a class offered by Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce on June 9 from 5-7pm. The interactive workshop will discuss the benefits of sites like Facebook and Twitter for business. For more info, go online.

·  Leadership Lake Tahoe applications are due June 12. For more info, go online.

· Jordan the Science Wizard will mix science experiments with comedy to entertain children at the South Lake Tahoe Library on July 10 at 2pm. Super Cool Chemistry will include melting, oozing, smoking, and bubbling experiments. It’s free. The library is at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

· Issues, myths and challenges of implementing Nevada’s medical marijuana program is the topic of a June 3, 5:30pm meeting in Carson City at Lake Tahoe Brewing Co., 302 N. Carson St. For more information or to RSVP, email mike@prismphotographics.com.

By Patrick Gillespie, CNN

Which is better for you: an internship at Goldman Sachs or navigating the chaotic streets of India?

Billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz believes travel will help you more. He’s tired of seeing the same types of resumes and argues that young people should take a gap year before they start their careers or college.

“We interview a lot of kids, and they always want an internship at Goldman Sachs (GS), an internship at McKinsey,” Novogratz, founder of Fortress Investment Group, said Sunday on the weekly show “Wall Street Week.”

His advice: “Go do something different. Get on a motorcycle and travel through India and take photographs. Create a story where you learn something…I’m a big fan of the gap year.”

Before starting on Wall Street, Novogratz served in the military as a helicopter pilot in Alabama. Novogratz, who is worth $1.5 billion, went to Princeton on an ROTC scholarship.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

KINGS BEACH – Encouraging the removal of development from stream environmental zones is the impetus behind a pilot program that will give more value to tourist accommodation units.

For months the Regional Plan Implementation Committee of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has been working on what the pilot program should look like. The members further discussed the project on Wednesday, gave staff direction, but still have not finalized the program.

The TRPA in a quest years ago to control growth made tourist accommodation units (TAU) and commercial floor area (CFA) commodities. This is instead of doing what the rest of the world does – implement zoning regulations and let the free market dictate demand.

What is being proposed is to allow hotels that are removed from a stream zone to have three times its normal TAU value. Those TAUs could then be converted to CFA at a rate of one TAU equaling 454-square-feet of CFA.

The Regional Plan update from 2012 already allows for bonus conversions of TAU in stream zones, but that supply is said to be limited. And the pilot plan has the CFA equation as part of the deal.

There will be a maximum amount of conversions allowed in a limited amount of time. The three-year plan is expected to benefit one project.

The program could benefit South Lake Tahoe and Placer County the most. This is because the city has an excess number of TAUs and Placer is in need of them. The city likes having CFA to incentivize redevelopment like it did with the Ski Run Boulevard-Highway 50 parcel. And having a bank of CFA allowed developers at Heavenly Village to buy the commodity from the city to build an entertainment venue.

Finalizing the pilot program could take a few more months. Staff on May 27 was told to start an initial environmental checklist to review for possible environmental impacts. Once the committee signs off on the program it will ultimately have to be approved by the entire Governing Board.

South Lake Tahoe is launching eComment, a way to collect comments from citizens on agenda items.

It is designed to provide an easy way for people to give input and make participation in public meetings convenient. It is a web-based form that’s tightly integrated with the city’s published agenda. Residents can review agenda item details, indicate their position on an item and provide feedback.

All comments can be consolidated into a report and delivered to elected members prior to the meeting.

To utilize eComment, citizens must log onto the city’s website prior to a meeting, and click on “Agendas and Minutes” on the homepage. To submit a comment, click the eComment link next to an upcoming meeting’s agenda. The eComment feature is available for the June 2 City Council meeting.

Beachy Orr, Lake Tahoe Community College’s longtime biology and anatomy and physiology instructor, will give a talk June 1 titled Got M&M’s?. It will be an interactive talk about how muscles and nerves in the body work together to create contractions and movement.

Orr will also explore how disease and exposure to certain toxins can interfere with natural, healthy human movement. This will be a hands-on demonstration that calls for some audience participation, and K-12 students and their parents are in particular urged to come and join in the fun.

The LTCC Foundation’s Speaker Spotlight Series brings faculty and academic experts from LTCC and other colleges and universities to South Lake Tahoe to share their knowledge and experiences with local students, and to encourage local youth to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology and math.

The 6pm talk is free. It will be in the board room.

By Jeff DeLong, Reno Gazette-Journal

Recent rains have Lake Tahoe lapping at its natural rim and while it may stay there for a time, the lake should soon start dropping again during this year of drought.

Thursday, the lake level was officially measured at just a few hundredths of an inch before its rim but a trickle of water flowed from the lake and toward the Truckee River. Similar conditions have existed since Monday, the first time the lake was so high since dropping below the rim last October.

“It’s basically at the rim,” said Federal Water Master Chad Blanchard. “Right now it’s at its peak that we’ve seen.”

Which is to say, it’s still very low.

Read the whole story

Pioneers in the progressive bluegrass scene, Greensky Bluegrass headlines the inaugural Lake Tahoe Bluegrass Festival on July 11 as part of the BaseJam Summer 2015 Outdoor Concert Series at Lake Tahoe Hard Rock’s outdoor arena.

Fresh off their recent Grammy win for best bluegrass album, the Earls of Leicester have brought bluegrass mainstays Tim O’Brien, Shawn Camp, Johnny Warren, Barry Bales, and  guitar expert Charlie Cushman together to pay tribute to bluegrass pioneers the Foggy Mountain Boys. Go online to see who else is playing.

Doors for the Lake Tahoe Bluegrass Festival open at noon and the first band starts at 12:30pm. General admission tickets are $45 and a limited number of VIP tickets are available for $90, which include access to a special front-of-stage viewing area, private bars and upgraded restrooms. Event organizers are offering special children’s ticket pricing for those 12 and younger for $10. They may be purchased on the day of the show with proof of a full-price adult ticket. All children 6 years and younger are free.

Tickets may be purchased online.

The Hard Rock is teaming with PR Entertainment, which is building and operating the temporary outdoor concert amphitheater that holds up to 7,500 people. The property is transforming its back parking lot into an outdoor arena.

Another bear rehabbed at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care has been immortalized in a book.

“Cinder the Bear” is expected to be released June 3 — the same day the bear will return to the wild.

The bear came to LTWC in August 2014 after having been burned in a wildfire in Washington. In November, the cub was transported to Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center.

Li’l Smokey was the first LTWC cub to be written about in a book.

Lake Tahoe Hard Rock’s impact on the Stateline gaming numbers was evident with revenues jumping 59.91 percent to $14.5 million in April compared to the previous year.

The former Horizon was closed at the end of March 2014. No gaming existed in the building until the end of January when the property reopened as the Hard Rock.

Revenue throughout the state was on the upswing last month, according to figures released May 29 by Nevada Gaming Control Board. Gamblers left $897.9 million at casinos in April, an increase of 5.39 percent from 2014.

North Shore casinos were off by 16.47 percent, to $1.33 million.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

South Tahoe Public Utility District may change how board members are elected.

Up for discussion at the June 4 2pm meeting is whether to change to an at-large system. Since the district’s formation directors have been elected to an office designed by one of five seat numbers.

The board is looking for public input. Emails may be sent to mguttry@stpud.dst.ca.us. The meeting is at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe.