By Roff Smith, National Geographic

More than a third of all of the food that’s produced on our planet never reaches a table. It’s either spoiled in transit or thrown out by consumers in wealthier countries, who typically buy too much and toss the excess. This works out to roughly 1.3 billion tons of food, worth nearly $1 trillion at retail prices.

Aside from the social, economic, and moral implications of that waste—in a world where an estimated 805 million people go to bed hungry each night—the environmental cost of producing all that food, for nothing, is staggering.

The water wastage alone would be the equivalent of the entire annual flow of the Volga—Europe’s largest river—according to a UN report. The energy that goes into the production, harvesting, transporting, and packaging of that wasted food, meanwhile, generates more than 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind the U.S. and China.

John Mandyck, the chief sustainability officer of United Technologies, a U.S.-based engineering and refrigerated transport firm, says that food waste can be mitigated by improving the “cold chain,” which comprises refrigerated transport and storage facilities. His company hosted the first World Cold Chain Summit in London last November.

Read the whole story

The Food Bank of El Dorado County will be at the American Legion Hall in South Lake Tahoe on Jan. 28 from 10-11am.The Food Bank of El Dorado County will be at the American Legion Hall in South Lake Tahoe on Jan. 28 from 10-11am.

The agency will also distribute emergency supplemental groceries to those who need it in Placerville on Jan. 30 from 10-11am at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall on Placerville Drive.

Income guidelines may be found online.

The Food Bank will provide one allocation of groceries per family.

For more information on how to give or get help, call 530.621.9950 or email info@foodbankedc.org.

By USSA

KREISCHBERG, Austria – Twenty-three-year-old Kyle Smaine (South Lake Tahoe) dominated Kreischberg’s halfpipe competition to earn his first World Championships title Jan. 22.

Smaine led the competition from start to finish, earning the top spot in Wednesday’s qualifiers and putting down an unbeatable first run in Thursday night’s finals that would ultimately earn him the gold.

While Smaine was the obvious winner on the night, silver medalist Joffrey Pollet-Villard of France took home the honor of crowd favorite with huge amplitude and an alley-oop flat 540. Bronze went to Switzerland’s Yannic Lerjen who bumped Broby Leeds (Vail) off the podium on his third and final run.

By USSA

ASPEN, Colo. — There was no lack of drama in the X Games men’s superpipe final on Thursday night in Aspen, Colo., with the defending X Games gold medalist pitted against a reigning Olympic gold medalist and a 15-time X Games champion. The result? Danny Davis (Truckee) won his second straight superpipe gold medal at X Games in Aspen.

Davis, Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov, and Shaun White (Calrsbad) headlined the eight-man finals showdown in Buttermilk’s halfpipe. And this year in Aspen, the halfpipe was primed and athletes were excited about the quality of the venue.

“This is by far my favorite halfpipe of any X Games,” says White. “They did a great job with getting the halfpipe ready.”

Early Thursday evening, a field of 16 snowboarders was paired down to eight during a tense and entertaining superpipe elimination round. Riders used their best score of two runs in the elimination.

Then, under bright lights, with cameras pointed at them, and in front of thousands of screaming fans lining the halfpipe’s walls and cheering from the bullpen at the bottom of the venue, the eight world-class snowboarders put on a clinic during the superpipe final.

Just like last year, Davis displayed a technical approach to halfpipe riding that the X Games judges rewarded with a score of 93.66, enough to solidify his second consecutive gold medal in X Games superpipe. While he put down different tricks and stomped all three of his runs in the finals, Davis still needed his third attempt down the halfpipe to win another gold medal.

“Before I dropped in [on my third run of the finals] I was just thinking that I needed to land a solid one because the first two had their glitches,” said Davis. “I landed three different runs in the finals. It’s hard for me to do the same run just because of boredom.”

The run that earned Davis his hardware included a nose-grab backside 720 to a stylish and vintage Davis switch method, followed immediately by a cab 1080 and a perfect frontside 1080 double cork on his last hit. In addition to winning the gold medal, Davis’s last run also bumped legendary White off the podium. The silver and bronze X Games medals in superpipe were awarded to Japan’s Taku Hiraoka and Podladtchikov, respectively.

“This win was unexpected because I haven’t ridden much halfpipe this season,” said Davis. “But it started to feel like I was getting into a flow towards the end of qualis and then I had a lot of fun.”

By Kathryn Reed

MEYERS – Dysfunction, distrust and plenty of dialogue filled a three-hour meeting of the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District board Thursday night.

Whether or not to allow El Dorado County to have a larger role is one of the major items that still needs to be resolved. The board is contemplating a one-year agreement that would have the county parks staff help streamline some of the administrative duties.

It was reiterated multiple times that the county has no desire to take over the park. But distrust lingers because the first draft of the South Lake Tahoe-El Dorado County Recreation Master Plan stated just the opposite.

Even with the language being removed from the master plan, motives are still being questioned.

TPRID board members, from left: Lorraine Anderson, Judy Clot, Victor Babbitt, Sue Novasel and Peter Nelligan.

This board is responsible for operating the recreation facility that includes Lake Baron. Tahoe Paradise RID was created in 1965. It includes 2,200 residences, 4,400 parcels and is 10 square miles. The park gets its money from renting the facility – mostly for weddings, grants and $50,000 a year from Measure S/R. Steve Dunn, who is the park manager, lives on site; with the free rent being part of his compensation package.

Dysfunction was proved multiple times Jan. 22. Board members admitted they didn’t know which version of a resolution or memorandum of understanding they were supposed to be voting on. Several copies were in front of them. None was dated, so it was unclear which was the most current.

The public also was not privy to what was supposed to be voted on.

It was agreed that the accurate documents would be given to the board and then released to the media for distribution. The board will take the issue up in two weeks.

Not much of the more than 30-item agenda was discussed because the board members were anything but brief in their comments, were argumentative with one another and then allowed the public to join the dialogue.

It took 42 minutes to get through rearranging the agenda and for the first vote of the night – which was who should be the chair.

This was Sue Novasel’s first meeting as a board member. Her colleagues on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors appointed her to it. On a 3-2 vote the TPRID board voted her in as chair for the next year. Members Judy Clot and Lorraine Anderson were the dissenters. They both wanted Clot to be chair. Victor Babbitt is the vice chair, voted in on the same 3-2 vote. Peter Nelligan on a 5-0 vote is secretary-treasurer.

Many park users want dogs to be allowed at Tahoe Paradise. Photos/LTN

The five agreed to meet again in two weeks – Feb. 5 at 6pm at the Lake Valley fire station off Highway 89. The main purpose is to resolve the MOU issue with the county – whether to have one, and if so, what it should include.

Novasel is working on getting training for the board about the Brown Act – California’s opening meeting law, and wants meeting notices posted on the county website – and make it so people can sign up for email alerts about meetings. Some of this, though, may not be possible without the MOU.

The public asked the board in the future to consider allowing dogs in the park on a leash and for the board to be elected. As it stands now, current members vote a new board member in. Elections have been conducted in the past, but the expense has made it cost-prohibitive. It was suggested the MOU contain an item saying the county will pick up the costs of an election.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Jan. 18, 2015, Las Vegas Sun.

After Gov. Brian Sandoval’s State of the State speech last week, some people said he sounded like a moderate Republican, others said he sounded like a conservative Democrat.

We thought he sounded like a classic Nevada governor, the type we have known in years gone by, the type that set aside the partisan rhetoric once an election was over and governed for the good of all Nevadans.

Sandoval on Jan.15 outlined what’s being called an ambitious agenda to bolster education and prepare the state to compete in an increasingly technical world. The price tag looks big — roughly $1 billion in new and extended taxes, with most of it going toward education.

But what makes it ambitious isn’t the size of the taxes or the proposals to improve the schools. The ambition — sadly — comes in trying to persuade the Legislature to sign off on this.

Read the whole story

By Cork Gaines, Business Insider

With 10 days to go before the Super Bowl, there is no favorite to win the big game. But it didn’t start out that way, and that could spell disaster for Las Vegas sportsbooks.

Shortly after the New England Patriots completed their destruction of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game, the 2015 Super Bowl opened with the Seattle Seahawks as 2.5- or 3-point favorites, depending on where you looked.

However, in the first 24 hours of betting, the line fell all the way to a pick ’em (no favorite), a surprisingly big move for a point spread and a rare miss by Las Vegas.

Read the whole story

Immediate treatment of burns is crucial. Cool a burn within seconds after the burn occurs under cool, not cold water for at least 10 to15 minutes.

Cool with water a burn that is red, blistered, white, or charred, and immediately seek emergency medical treatment. Ice should not be used because it can damage the skin.

Butter, ointments, or tooth-paste should not be used because they will seal in the heat and can cause further burn damage to the area.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department

Douglas County’s Countywide Connectivity Plan is the transportation blueprint designed to accomplish many of the projects incorporated in the county’s Master Plan as well as the approved 2011 South Shore Vision and 2013 Valley Vision.

The Board of Commissioners will receive an update on the Countywide Connectivity project Feb. 5 in Minden and Feb. 19 in Stateline.

The team started its work on the initiative last summer when commissioners added an action item to the Strategic Plan to “work in partnership with residents, businesses, public entities and stakeholders to develop multimodal transportation solutions for improved connectivity and economic development.”

It includes road and highway projects such as identifying an alternate truck route to remove the heavy truck traffic of Highway 395 out of Minden and Gardnerville and the loop road project at Stateline. Shared-use paths such as Martin Slough Trail in Minden and Gardnerville, a Ranchos Connectivity path to connect the Gardnerville Ranchos to the new Community and Senior Center, the Pony Express Trail and the Stateline to Stateline Bikeway. Also included in the plan is regional transit, the potential for the return of the V&T railroad and a cross-lake passenger ferry for Lake Tahoe.

For more info, call 775.782.9821.

By Adam Nagourney and Abby Goodnough, New York Times

LOS ANGELES — A measles outbreak that began at Disneyland is spreading across California and beyond, prompting health officials to move aggressively to contain it — including by barring unvaccinated students from going to school in Orange County. The outbreak has increased concerns that a longstanding movement against childhood vaccinations has created a surge in a disease that was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000.

Health officials said 59 cases of measles had been diagnosed in California as of Wednesday, with an additional eight related cases spread through Utah, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Mexico. Among those infected are five workers at Disneyland, where the outbreak was spotted in mid-December; 42 of the 59 California cases have been linked to the Disneyland outbreak.

The cases were a continuation of what health officials said was a worrisome increase in measles in Orange County and other places where parents had resisted the urging of health professionals to inoculate their children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 644 cases of measles from 27 states last year, by far the largest number since 2000.

Before measles vaccines became commonplace in 1963, about three million to four million Americans a year contracted the disease, the agency said, and 400 to 500 died from it.

Read the whole story