Greg Bergner talks about the importance in diet in relation to health. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

It was a new take on “you are what you eat.” Eat healthy food and you will be healthy, don’t do that and you are bound to suffer from myriad maladies.

This was the message Greg Bergner delivered March 8 to an overflowing crowd at Lake Tahoe Community College. Bergner is the director of lifestyle and wellness for Barton’s Center for Orthopedics & Wellness.

“Our bodies have a remarkable capacity to heal themselves even after we screw them up,” Bergner said.

That means it’s not too late to change your habits.

He explained how the top seven causes of death in the United States account for more than 80 percent of the deaths. Six of them are medical related. They are:

·      No. 1 – heart disease

·      No. 2 – cancer

·      No. 3 – COPD (lung disease)

·      Nos. 4-6 – accidents, stroke, Alzheimer’s

·      No. 7 – Type 2 diabetes.

Bergner said the only way to reverse heart disease is through a whole food plant based diet.

The difference between plant based and veganism is the latter is more of a lifestyle based on animal rights. Whole food would not allow something like olive oil because it’s processed, nor are French fries acceptable.

Bergner spoke of studies starting in the 1990s that illustrated how diet impacts a person’s health, most notably heart disease.

Studies are continually being done, with one from 2014 from the World Health Organization saying processed meats are a carcinogen. Bergner said it’s not a fact the U.S. government is paying much attention to.

The Mediterranean diet also shows dramatic health benefits. It allows for fish, other meats, olive oil and wine. The portions of meat are small, which could be problematic for some people.

Bergner acknowledged not everyone is going to embrace a plant based diet. But he added – we all have choices. Start with eliminating processed meats, he said.

At the end of the talk he showed a video from Canada of an older gentleman and the outcome based on choices. In one scenario he had made poor choices and was basically an invalid, the other made smarter decisions and was living an active life. The question was – What will your last 10 years be like?

The food one consumes will likely be a driving force in answering that question.

By Joe Mathews

If California’s train deniers are right—that no one ever rides trains here, that Californians prefer to drive or fly, and that high-speed rail is a boondoggle that won’t attract riders—then how do you explain my wife’s public humiliation?

Recently, our family was on Amtrak from San Diego to L.A., when an announcement came over the sound system: “Mrs. Mathews, we have two of your children here in the café car. Mrs. Mathews, you should never let your children walk unaccompanied on an Amtrak train.”

Joe Mathews

Mrs. Mathews, upset at the scolding, looked for someone to blame: me.

Her accusation was based on an overly limited reading of the facts. True, I had been nominally in charge of our two older children when they went to the café car. But she missed the larger context, which absolves me and debunks the idea that Californians are train-phobic.

The Pacific Surfliner that day was mobbed, with every seat taken and passengers standing in the aisles and stairwells. So when I took those two hungry boys in the direction of the café car, the crowds were so thick I couldn’t squeeze through. The boys, now 9 and 7, are very skinny and insisted on continuing on, despite my pleas, beginning a memorable adventure.

Our story may be singular, but the situation is not. Crammed Amtrak trains are commonplace in California. California is now home to three of the busiest intercity train lines outside the Northeast Corridor of the United States. The Pacific Surfliner has 3 million riders annually on trains from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, America’s second busiest passenger rail corridor.

Two others are in the top 10: Capitol Corridor, from San Jose to Sacramento, has 1.6 million yearly riders, and the San Joaquins, serving Central Valley cities that train deniers claim have no taste for rail, tops 1.1 million annually.

All told, Amtrak carries 12 million riders in California each year. Amtrak would like to accommodate more of us, but service is limited by the lack of tracks and the fact that Amtrak must share tracks with commuter rail and freight. Amtrak even publishes guidance on its website on how to avoid the crowds. Among the advice for the Pacific Surfliner: avoid riding on Fridays and Sundays, when trains are especially crowded.

While train deniers have dominated the public conversation about rail’s future in California, the sardine-like state of Amtrak California suggests that high-speed rail would be popular.  

Studies in other countries suggest that high-speed rail draws people away from cars and planes, and inspires people to take trips they otherwise wouldn’t. And why not? Riding trains in California offers unsurpassed beauty. Over the holidays, I was on a Pacific Surfliner along the Santa Barbara coast just as the sun set over the Channel Islands. Even the off-shore oil platforms looked beautiful.

Amtrak is far from perfect; the inside of the cars could be cleaner, the trains are slow, the Wi-Fi unsteady, and then there are those crowds. But that argues for more rail, not less.

After her public shaming, Mrs. Mathews ordered me to retrieve her two older children from the café car. But I couldn’t physically break through the crowds of passengers standing in the aisles and stairwells. I couldn’t even reach a conductor until I started climbing on top of armrests and over seats to reach a business class car, where people pay extra to guarantee a seat.

A conductor there tried to clear a path through the crowds, too, but they were too thick. So he radioed to the café car that we would wait until the next stop, where I could get off the train and then re-board directly into the café car. (My children communicated over the radio that I shouldn’t hurry—they were having a great time.)

I asked the conductor how often the train was this crowded; he said this was standard for evening trains on weekends. And on late summer weekends when horses race at Del Mar, things are even more jammed, he said.

The next station was only 10 minutes away, but the train stopped because we were near a stretch of single track, and we waited for two trains to pass. It was a half-hour before we got to the station and I could get to the boys, who I found covered in chocolate chip cookie crumbs. From there, with a conductor’s assistance, we got back off the train again and sprinted up to re-board at the car where my wife and their little brother were. It took us five minutes to navigate the 40 feet to their seats.

Don’t let the train deniers win. More train service—including high-speed rail—can’t get here fast enough.

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

By Abby Ellin, New York Times

The question came at check-in: Did I want to forgo housekeeping for the two days I was staying at the Flamingo in Las Vegas in exchange for a $10 a day food and beverage credit?

Huh?

The clerk repeated himself. Some guests, he explained, didn’t want to be bothered during their stay — hangovers and all that. So last summer the Flamingo, along with nearly all of its sister properties in Vegas (it is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment), decided to give people the chance to decline having their rooms cleaned in exchange for a voucher.

Read the whole story

By Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register

California’s cannabis czar issued a cease and desist order to Weedmaps, directing the Irvine internet company that maps marijuana dispensaries to immediately stop promoting businesses that don’t have state licenses.

“You are aiding and abetting in violation of state cannabis laws,” states the letter from Lori Ajax, chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control.

If the company doesn’t immediately drop advertisements for unlicensed businesses, Ajax said Weedmaps could face criminal and civil penalties, including civil fines for each illegal ad.

Read the whole story

A South Tahoe Middle School student is in custody after allegedly making threats that he would be bringing a gun to Friday night’s dance.

The 12-year-old sent text messages to other students who in turn reported it to school staff, who then called the police on March 9.

“He said he was going to bring a gun. He referenced Columbine in some of his texts and said ‘if you don’t want to die, don’t come to this school dance’,” Lt. Shannon Laney told Lake Tahoe News.

What provoked the child is not known.

Officers located the youth at his home. The house was searched and no firearms were located.

The youth was booked into the El Dorado County Juvenile Treatment Center on criminal threats, which is a felony. 

The Friday night dance is going on as scheduled.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District sent out an email to parents letting them know about the situation. In part it said, “The tistrict wants to assure all parents that there is no threat to the safety of students on campus or at tonight’s special event. The threat has been thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and school administration and has been determined to be without merit. Further, the student who made the threat is not permitted on school property at this time.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Tickets are now on sale for the 3rd annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival hosted by Mountain Area Preservation on April 20 at the Community Arts Center in Truckee.

The festival will show 13 inspiring and adventurous films, including feature films “SHIFT” and “Follow Through.”

Films this year were based on a couple of themes, diversity and empowerment in the outdoors, and protecting our lands. Films cover diverse environmental and adventure topics from ultra running to mountain biking, as well as conservation films highlighting local salmon migration to public land protection.

In addition to the films, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival will have a raffle, food sales by Nourish and a bar with beer, wine and non alcoholic beverages. The Wild & Scenic After Party is being hosted at at Alibi Ale Works Truckee with live music by Mojo Green, 21 and up + $10 cover, festival attendees will get $1 off beers.

Tickets start at $20, and are available online or in person at Tahoe Mountain Sports in Truckee. Tahoe Mountain Sports is the only place to purchase the Mountain Pass Ticket for $25, which includes general admission seating, a Klean Kanteen pint glass, and two drink tickets (a $40 value). Mountain Pass tickets are limited.

For more information on the festival, contact Alexis@mapf.org or 530.582.6751.

As part of the third annual Military to the Mountains program, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows will welcome 22 injured military veterans to stay and ski March 11-17.

The Military to the Mountains program was created by the High Fives Foundation and is a collective effort between High Fives Foundation, Adaptive Training Foundation, Reno, Achieve Tahoe and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows.  
 
The Military to the Mountain program is organized by the High Fives Foundation whose mission is to provide resources and inspiration to outdoor sports athletes who suffer life-altering injuries. Private contributions, corporate sponsors and funds raised through the sale of the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows active military pass (raised $174,000 in 2017) make the program financial possible.
 
Prior to arriving to the slopes, 22 injured veterans participate in nine-week program hosted by High Fives Foundation and Adaptive Training Foundation, with the goal of readying their bodies for adaptive skiing lessons. Fifteen athletes train at the Dallas-based Adaptive Training Foundation, founded and operated by retired NFL linebacker, David Vobora. The mission of the Adaptive Training Foundation is to empower the human athlete, restore hope through movement, and redefine the limits of individuals with disabilities. Their role in this effort is to train military veterans who have been severely injured to be physically ready for adaptive skiing lessons. The remaining seven athletes split their nine-week training regimen between the city of Reno, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department and High Fives Foundation, with the same goal of readying their bodies for adaptive skiing lessons.
 
Following the nine-week training, High Fives and Adaptive Training Foundation bring the 15 Texas athletes to Reno on flights hosted by American Airlines to meet up with the seven local athletes. All 22 athletes will then stay in the Village at Squaw Valley and ski at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows with Achieve Tahoe adaptive ski instructors.
 

Detectives would like to question this couple. Photo/Provided

Douglas County Secret Witness is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the suspects involved in a stolen vehicle recovered at a Stateline casino. 

On Feb. 20, a stolen vehicle was recovered at MontBleu. A male and female were seen near the vehicle and possibly drove the vehicle to MontBleu.

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged Secret Witness at 775.782.7463 to remain anonymous.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Stephen Magagnini and Anita Chabria, Sacramento Bee

In the case of the United States versus California, who will win?

The fight over how undocumented immigrants in California are treated is now a matter for federal courts to decide after the Trump administration this week sued the state to invalidate a trio of “sanctuary” laws.

The state argues it can’t be forced to act as a federal immigration enforcer and that its laws are necessary to protect its estimated 2.6 million undocumented residents, maintain community trust and shield its economy.

Read the whole story

Clean Tahoe and the city of South Lake Tahoe are partnering for the third annual Spring Cleanup Day on May 12 from 9am to noon. 

Cleanup captains are needed for the 14 neighborhoods.

Here are the areas:

·         Stateline-lake side

·         Stateline mountain side

·         Bijou

·         Rufus Allen/Old Bijou

·         Al Tahoe

·         Lower Ski Run

·         Upper Ski Run

·         Gardner Mountain

·         Tahoe Keys

·         Tahoe Island

·         Sierra Tract

·         Springwood/Silver Dollar

·         The Y

·         Eloise/James

Participants should meet at Lakeview Commons at 9am. There will be a free lunch at noon at Bijou Community Park.

To be a captain or for more info, email either tsheldon@cityofslt.us or catherine@clean-tahoe.org.