Updated 2:26pm:

A 61-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was accidentally run over by a neighbor early Tuesday morning.

James Gregory Greenwood was pronounced dead at the scene. He lived with his 90-year-old father on 13th Street.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death. It’s possible he had died prior to the vehicle backing over him.

The driver was leaving his 13th Street home just after 5am March 13 to pick something up at the store. He thought he was going over a snow berm. When he returned he realized the bump was his neighbor, and then he called police.

School buses were rerouted to avoid the scene, which is near the entrance to Mt. Tallac and South Tahoe high schools.

Officers said there is nothing suspicious about the accident.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Alex Brown, Sierra

I’m climbing the western flank of Mt. Washington, a jutting outpost of volcanic rock in the Oregon Cascades, when I hear the all-too-familiar thrum of helicopter blades. Nearly four months into my through-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, I’ve come to associate the sound with bad news. In Southern California, rotors had garbled the loudspeaker-blared instructions of the rescue team hovering over our camp, dispatched to pick up a hiker suffering from altitude sickness. More than 1,000 trail miles later, just shy of the Oregon border, I’d spent days watching choppers go back and forth overhead, refilling on water to fight the blazes that were filling the valleys below with hazy smoke.

This time, the helicopter buzzes close, past the skeletal burned-out trees I’m hiking through, and hovers over a slope east of the trail. I hear it just behind the trees as I finish my climb, but it’s gone by the time I top the ridge and follow the trail to the right. There, in the spot vacated by the chopper, I see tendrils of smoke rising from the trees, just 100 or so yards off the trail. My hiking buddies and I gawk at the sight, scarcely believing the fire is so close. We quickly hike on, not saying much. A couple miles later, we cross paths with a fire crew, 15 or more strong, hiking toward the blaze as we make tracks in the opposite direction.

“Last year was the most challenging year we’ve had in terms of dealing with closures on the PCT,” said Beth Boyst, who for the last 11 years has been the trail’s chief administrator with the U.S. Forest Service (the PCT passes through all different designations of federal and state land, but USFS holds the lead oversight role).

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The Nevada Board of Museums and History this week gave final approval to list two Carson Valley properties on the state Register of Historic  Places.

The Wilhelm and William Lampe Ranch and the Louis and Elmer Stodieck Ranch reflect the tradition of agriculture and ranching in Carson Valley, and the strong connection the valley has had  to German immigration since the mid-1800s.

The Lampe Ranch was first established by Lorens Christensen in 1872, but was eventually acquired by Wilhelm and Maria Lampe, newly arrived German immigrants who began growing hay and raising cattle on the ranch in 1887. Wilhelm Lampe’s son William continued to operate the ranch until 1965, expanding the operation to 300 acres. It also became one of the only ranches in Carson Valley to have its own functioning creamery, as most area ranchers used the cooperative facility in Minden, constructed by the Dangberg family. After 1965, the Lampe family sold most of the land associated with the ranch for development which now comprises most of southern and eastern Gardnerville. The ranch complex, including the main house, barn, creamery, and remaining farmland, are currently operated as the Jacobs Family Berry Farm.

The Louis and Elmer Stodieck Ranch was initially homesteaded by Peter Lightle in 1860. The ranch passed through several owners before Louis (or Ludwig) Stodieck acquired the ranch in 1904 and constructed a new complex. Louis Stodieck was one of the three sons of Frederick Stodieck Sr., all of whom established abutting ranches on lands south of Minden and Gardnerville, with Louis’ being the farthest west off present-day Waterloo Lane. Marrying Helene Frieda Bartels in 1904, the couple built up the ranch into a sizable hay and cattle operation that remained in the Stodieck family until 2014 when it was sold to the P&K Ranch LLC, which continues to operate it for hay production. The ranch is also protected under a conservation easement program intended to preserve agricultural land in Carson Valley.

Alterra Mountain Company, parent firm of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, plans to spend more than half a billion dollars over the next five years, with $130 million in improvements for winter 2018-19.

However, no money has been allocated for the Tahoe resorts for next season.

At Mammoth, Canyon Lodge sees 60 percent of the resort’s. It will receive what is being called an “innovative redesign” over the next two years, positioning it to become the “day lodge of the future.”
 
A summer adventure sport offering will be available for fall 2018 at the main lodge at Mammoth Mountain,  including the longest top to bottom zipline tour in North America, plus a via ferrata rock climbing experience suspended on the mountain face, and junior ropes courses.                  
 
Alterra is comprised of: Steamboat and Winter Park Resort in Colorado; Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain and Big Bear Mountain Resort in California; Stratton in Vermont; Snowshoe in West Virginia; Tremblant in Quebec, Blue Mountain in Ontario; Deer Valley in Utah; and CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures in British Columbia.

Publisher’s note: This is the first of two stories about the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe’s fire safety is lacking. That’s what the fire chief says.

“The city had set a goal of a response for 90 percent of all calls in four minutes or less. We meet that goal about 20 percent of the time. It is a really, really terrible number,” Fire Chief Jeff Meston told Lake Tahoe News.

It’s a staffing and money issue. In 2014, the city closed station No. 2 near South Tahoe Middle School. Ambulances are still there, but no firefighters.

When Meston took over as chief in fall 2013 the department had been reorganized so it had shift commanders instead of battalion chiefs. This was something the rank and file members lobbied for, and in turn they got better raises.

Meston saw that this command structure wasn’t working and urged the return of battalion chiefs, as most fire departments have. Station two had to close to make the budget work with the personnel changes.

“Guess where the fire activity is and where response time is the longest?” Meston said, with the Al Tahoe area by station No. 2 being the answer. “That was a conscious decision that occurred that the council didn’t have much to say about. I believe the elected officials are the ones who should determine fire (budgets).”

Ultimately it is the council that approves the budget, so the responsibility does stop there. It is also the city manager’s job to balance the needs of the various departments based on the revenues available.

No department ever gets everything it wants.

Meston, who is now acting city manager, has a chance to bring his concerns to the council’s attention in a more direct manner. On the April 3 agenda the mid-year budget is expected to be up for discussion.

When there are excess revenues they often get reallocated at this meeting. Staff, with heavy influence by the city manager, makes recommendations, with the council being the ones with the final say.

“The reality is when you compare us to every other like city in the state of California, we are second from the bottom in terms of general fund budget,” Meston said. “Usually a city spends half of its budget on police and fire. Ours is under 50 percent.”

The current fiscal year’s General Fund budget is $38.8 million, with fire getting 15 percent of that, and police 24 percent.

When it comes to what the budget allocates to personnel, 64 percent of the General Fund goes to salaries and benefits for all employees. Of the $24.73 million, police top out at 35 percent of that figure with $8,714,744 and fire is second at 22 percent with $5,403,998.

Those numbers are before contract negotiations are even settled. It’s possible any “extra” money that is talked about next month will be spent on raises for workers. Talks have been going on for months, with a resolution having been expected earlier this year, but then the city manager debacle ensued and changes were made to who was negotiating on the city’s behalf.

By Joe Mathews

Is California becoming another Taiwan?

Taiwan is an independent nation—in its ambitions, its economy, its democracy. But many countries refuse to recognize it as a separate nation, deferring to mainland China, which claims Taiwan as a possession and responds with threats whenever Taiwan goes its own way.

Joe Mathews

California shares some aspects of this conundrum. Our state has the ambitions, economy, and democracy of a leading nation. But it remains very much a part of the United States, which responds with threats whenever California goes its own way.

Yes, Californians fervently hope that our current conflict with the American government is temporary. But the hard truth is that California’s differences with America predate President Trump, and so our status as a halfway country will likely outlast him.

I spent last week in Taiwan, and the major lesson I learned is how exhausting it is being a smaller country in the shadow of a larger power. The challenges there resemble those of California, and of younger siblings everywhere. When you must constantly defend yourself against a bullying big brother, how do you develop into a success, much less a global model?

Of course, comparisons only go so far. While Californians suffer verbal and legal attacks from the federal government, the Chinese government threatens to attack Taiwan militarily, seizing the island nation by force if it becomes too independent.

Still, Taiwan and California have much in common. Both are overachievers. California has the world’s sixth largest economy, though with just 40 million citizens, it ranks 35th by population. Taiwan has the world’s 22nd largest economy, with just 23 million people, making it 55th most populous worldwide.

Even in an era of rising nationalism, both Taiwan and California remain stubbornly internationalist, committed to free trade and immigration. Despite struggling to forge diplomatic relations, Taiwan stays close to other China neighbors—especially Japan—for self-defense. California, in a similar spirit, works with other states in legal defense against the federal government, and makes alliances with other countries to address climate change.

Both Taiwan and California see themselves as defenders of democratic values that are at odds with the increasingly authoritarian governments of their national big brothers. Taiwan and California each have independence movements—two former Taiwan presidents are campaigning for an independence referendum, and multiple ballot initiatives seek California independence.

Both movements pose the same question: how much must we suffer from Beijing or Washington before enough is enough?

There are many Taiwanese answers. The mainstream response is, stay the course. “We don’t want to be in conflict with China,” Taiwanese premier Lai Ching-te says. “But we won’t bend to pressure either.”        

But I also heard more robust answers.

First, be opportunistic in building solidarity. Whenever the Chinese issue threats, use them to develop a shared identity. Taiwan has been adept at this. A generation ago, most Taiwanese told pollsters they saw themselves as Chinese. Now, after decades of Chinese bullying, most Taiwanese see themselves as primarily Taiwanese.

Second, never miss an opportunity to expand your autonomy when the larger power leaves an opening. Consider President Trump’s recent threat to remove federal immigration enforcement from California. Our state’s political leaders mostly disregarded the comments as Trumpian nonsense. Perhaps, they should have taken his statements as an offer—and accepted it, declaring the state would happily take control of immigration enforcement.

Finally, success is the best revenge. Conflict is competition, so you must be friendlier, more democratic—and more attractive than the larger power menacing you. The most interesting conversations I heard were about whether Taiwan should respond to China’s militaristic behavior by declaring itself officially a neutral country, like Switzerland, unwilling to participate in wars outside its boundaries. Such a stance might make it harder for China to attack, and win Taiwan more international support. (Just imagine California, by ballot initiative, declaring that it would no longer support America’s endless wars.)

It’s possible to take the California-Taiwan comparison too far. “The mainland has missiles pointed at us,” one Taiwanese journalist reminded me. “Does American have missiles pointed at you in California?”

No. But I took heart that Taiwan and California are pursuing strategies based on a similar faith: that a smaller country, through the power of its own example, can change a larger place.

California’s history of defining the American future demonstrates the wisdom of this approach. Taiwan’s economic revival—which inspired China to open itself to foreign investment—also proves the point.

In Taichung’s Literature Museum, I encountered one of the most magnificent trees you’ll see outside Sequoia National Park. It’s a banyan that has grown so different roots and trunks, that it now appears to be many trees.

“In this way,” said a guide, “a tree becomes a forest.”

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.

·      The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on March 13 are expected to vote whether to add Barton Health to the Cal-Tahoe board of directors, which oversees the ambulance service on the South Shore.

·      The Diamond Peak Uphill/Downhill Dash is being expanded into a full weekend of fun, March 30-April 1. Race to the top of the mountain using whatever human-powered method you prefer: skins, snowshoes, running shoes, etc. Then ski, snowboard, snowshoe, or run back down to the finish line. For those of a less competitive nature, a recreational course will be available.

·      The 13th annual Tahoe Symphony Orchestra Winter Fest starts March 25. For details, go online.

·      Lake Tahoe Historical Society’s fireside chat speaker is Jan Loverin who will talk about A Brief History of Underwear. The event is March 13 at 7pm at the lodge at Camp Richardson. It is free for members, $3 for others.

·      Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s board of education on March 13 is expected to approve a 1 percent raise for all district employees retroactive to July 1, 2017.

By Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News

California’s water conservation habits, refined and improved over five years of drought, are quickly evaporating.

For the seventh time in the last eight months, the amount of water saved by urban Californians has declined, according to new data from the State Water Resources Control Board. In other words, lawn sprinklers are back on, showers are getting longer and overall, California’s water use, after five years of conserving, is now back to where it was before the drought began.

“You don’t want to jump to a conclusion and say the sky is falling, everybody has forgotten how to conserve,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the water board. “But having been through what we’ve been through, we obviously want people to stay aware and redouble our efforts.”

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Patrick K. Walsh

A Tahoe Vista man was arrested Saturday on charges of battery on police officer, drug possession and trafficking.

The incident started March 10 at 10:45pm when a Washoe County sheriff’s deputy initiated a traffic stop on Tahoe Boulevard near Winding Way in Incline Village.

“The passenger of the vehicle provided the deputy with a fictitious name and took a folding knife from his pocket against instructions from the deputy. The suspect placed the knife on the hood of a patrol vehicle then, as deputies attempted to handcuff him, the suspect fled,” deputies said.

After a short pursuit, the suspect got into an altercation with several deputies.

Patrick K. Walsh, 34, was transported to a hospital in Reno for treatment, then taken to the Washoe County Detention Facility.

Two deputies were also taken to a Reno hospital where they were treated and released.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

It always amazes me – in a bad way – how few restaurants have a vegetarian sandwich. Even more rare is a hot veggie sandwich.

Usually I think of sandwiches more as summer food. But every now and then I have a hankering for one.

A food processor would work best to pulsate the beans. I used a blender and that was overkill. I would recommend using a pastry device or even a fork to mash the beans instead of the blender. This way they will be a better texture and hold up in the sandwich.

If you don’t want to roast the peppers, the ones in a jar would suffice – and really would speed up the process.

A spicy cheese would be good with this.

This made four sandwiches. I reheated one the next day and it tasted even better.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

1 large red bell pepper

2 T fresh lime juice

1 tsp oregano

1 T olive oil

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp cayenne

1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans, drained

Cooking spray

1 large zucchini, cut in half and then length wise

1 small red onion, cut into slices

Bread for 4 sandwiches

¼ tsp kosher salt

½ C cheese, shredded

Preheat broiler.

Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise, place skin sides up on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 11 minutes or until blackened. Wrap in foil. Let stand 5 minutes; peel. Cut into strips.

Place lime juice, oregano, oil, cumin, pepper, saltcayenne, and beans in food processor.

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Arrange zucchini and onion slices on pan; grill 5 minutes on each side.

Coat each half of bread with cooking spray. Spread black bean mixture over half of bread; top with zucchini, onion, and bell pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Place sandwich on grill pan. Grill 3 minutes on each side or until cheese melts.