By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

A former Placer County sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to 150 days in jail and three years probation for having sex with a minor in a case involving a 17-year-old sheriff’s department volunteer.

Kenneth Skogen was sentenced Wednesday in Placer County Superior Court Judge Jeff Penney, who also ordered Skogen to attend counseling. Skogen pleaded guilty Nov. 12 to one felony count of unlawful sex with a minor.

Read the whole story

By Roberto A. Ferdman, Washington Post

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing to release the latest version of the government’s influential dietary guidelines this year, and there could be a major change that accelerates the trend of Americans eating less meat.

The guidelines, which are updated every five years, have traditionally advised Americans about healthy eating choices, eating choices which, until now, have only reflected what the government views as a diet that is healthy for humans. But the panel that advises the government is pushing for the recommendations to reflect what is healthy for the environment, too. Given the huge carbon footprint of meat production, making this change would almost certainly entail lowering the official, government-recommended intake of meat.

Americans, though they are eating less meat than they have in the past, are still fond of steaks, hamburgers, and chicken wings. And the environmental impact of that diet is significant. Carnivores contribute far more to environmental decay than do vegetarians. The livestock industry is responsible for an estimated 15 percent of total global carbon emissions, roughly two-thirds of which is the result of beef production. On a per kilogram basis, the carbon footprint of lamb and beef production is unparalleled.

Read the whole story

The photos here are two views of Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe from the same location, but about 40 years apart as seen from Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in Stateline.

South Shore Lake Tahoe in the 1970s./Lake Tahoe Historical Society

In the photo above, Harrah’s historic triangular marquee is seen bottom center at the entrance to Harrah’s California parking lot which extended to Paul Kennedy’s Tahoe Steakery — the low, flat single-story rectangular building on Highway 50. That parking lot became the site of the Embassy Suites, known today as Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

From the Steakery up to Park Avenue along the mountain side of Highway 50 were motels, hotels, gas station, restaurants, bars, miniature golf, groceries, retail, et cetera, all of which were razed in the 1990s during Re-development.

Today’s view of the same location. Photo/Bill Kingman

Today’s views from Harrah’s to Park Avenue includes the high-end hotel, condominiums, restaurants, movies, professional space, retail and the Heavenly gondola.

On the lake side of Highway 50, a bankrupt project in the first decade of the 2000s devoured multiple motels and retail businesses, leaving an empty 11-plus acre triangular area adjacent to Stateline Avenue which locals sardonically labelled the Ta-hole. After several years of dormancy, the site now has some Highway 50 commercial frontage built by investors in 2014.

— Bill Kingman

Truckee High School Nordic ski team member Grace Bronstone, left, gives skate skiing pointers to Darla Sadler. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

TRUCKEE – Push, glide, glide. Or was it glide, pole, pole, glide, glide?

Without the instruction of Grace Bronstone, we were a little unsure exactly what to do. Still, we kept at it to the point where we were fluid with our maneuvers, albeit a bit unsteady at times.

Skate skiing looks like ballet on snow when done correctly. We were not the models to emulate.

Bronstone, who is a member of the Truckee High School Nordic team, effortlessly slid across the snow at Tahoe Donner Cross Country Center on Jan. 10 during National Trails Day. She and teammates were helping out the rookies – and collecting donations for the team. Her patience with us was wonderful, as was her enthusiasm to teach us something she is clearly proficient at. A combination of grace and power.

Dan Hill with Fischer skis explains how the base pattern affects performance.

When Dan Hill, the Fischer-Swix rep, asked what our goals were for the day, I said, “To ski like Olympians.” Why not set the bar high?

While cross country Olympians tend to be in their 30s, the three of us are past the prime age for beginning such an endeavor. But Hill didn’t give up on us.

After Bronstone imparted her words of wisdom, Hill came to check on us. Darla and I needed to raise our poles up, use more force as we planted them, and engage our core for more oomph.

These poles that already seem super long – they come to our lower lip – are now to be raised in front of us to get that added power. I conjured images of past Olympics, remembering how those men and women seemed to be so aggressive. This isn’t just a sport that engages the leg muscles. I give Hill credit for helping me to achieve my goal in a little way. I was at least envisioning Olympians even though my technique was severely lacking.

Hill said to be an Olympian we would have to excel at classic cross country and skate skiing. We’ll keep working on just being proficient at both.

The groomer could use more snow to move around.

“The goal of Winter Trails Day is to gain more lifetime skiers. For anyone who has been unsure about giving cross country skiing or snowshoeing a try, it’s a great way for participants to come out, ski and snowshoe for free, and get some free tips,” Ashley Quadros with Tahoe Donner told Lake Tahoe News.

Tahoe Donner and REI put on the Truckee event, with representation from the Tahoe Rim Trail, Sierra Avalanche Center and several equipment manufacturers.

While there were snowshoe demos and guided tours along some of the more than 100 kilometers of trails, Darla, Kim and I stuck to classic cross country and skate skis. We left having gained new skills, gathered a ton of information about Nordic ski equipment and an appreciation for the venue. A state-of-the-art center is under construction that should open this winter, which will complement the on-snow experience.

By Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

President Obama’s proposal unveiled Thursday to provide free community college education to all “responsible” students is garnering immense attention. That’s as it should be, although the details still need to be fleshed out and individual states will have to agree to shoulder a share of the costs.

But the proposal fails to address one glaring flaw in the nation’s overall system of public higher education: It should all be free. That’s the way it is in Germany, for instance, where there is a long tradition of low-cost university study. In 2014 the last German state holding out against free university education threw in the towel; now anyone, including foreign students, can study at a German university at public expense.

Free higher education to qualified students was also the rule in California, where the University of California had no tuition for state residents until Gov. Ronald Reagan demanded it in the early 1970s. Once the door was cracked open for tuition charges, it swung wide; a Berkeley or UCLA education was pegged at $12,192 for state residents in 2014-15, plus myriad other fees.

Read the whole story

By USSA

ADELBODEN, Switzerland — It was a warm day at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup in Adelboden, following a night of heavy rain. And even with the race crew working around the clock, the conditions were rough for the giant slalom. Fighting against the bumpy, salted course, Ted Ligety (Park City) took seventh and Tim Jitloff (Reno) 14. Austria’s Marcel Hirscher took the win.

Hirscher of Austria grabbed his sixth victory this season, beating the field by more than a second. The Frenchman Alex Pinturault—with “Je Suis Charlie” written on his helmet — took second and Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway was third.

Although spectators could see many patches of green next to the course, the race did not meet the same fate as the simultaneously scheduled Bad Kleinkirchheim and the spectators turned out in droves. After a fun public bib draw the night before — in which the men entered the stage on a zipline — the men were excited for the race.

With a fifth place first run, Ligety was poised for the podium, but the bumpy conditions slowed him down on second run. Disappointed in the finish, he sits in second in the fight for the overall globe.

Jitloff had a great morning in Adelboden, finishing in 13 after the first run, but had a wild ride second run with plenty of bobbles on the tough snow. The run sat him in 14 place overall, leaving his quest for a top-10 GS finish for another day.

Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City), Mark Engel (Truckee), Kieffer Christianson (Anchorage) and David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) did not qualify for the second run.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks, Nevada Division of Forestry and U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations beginning Jan. 12.

Operations may take place near Tahoe City on Highway 28 between Rocky Ridge and Lake Forest, near Emerald Bay at Eagle Point Campground, the boat camp and behind Vikingsholm, Fallen Leaf Lake, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Kingsbury Grade near Buchanan Road and Lake Village, north of Spooner Summit, and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park near Sand Harbor.

Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size. Agencies coordinate with state and local county air pollution control districts and monitors weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. They wait for favorable conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the basin. Crews also conduct test burns before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed how smoke will travel.

Before conducting prescribed fire operations, agencies may post road signs around affected areas and make email or phone notifications. The Forest Service updates the local fire information line at 530.543.2600, ext. 6. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

By Steve Raabe, Denver Post

Denver-based United Cannabis Corp. is proposing to team with Native American tribes in California to grow and manufacture medical marijuana products.

United Cannabis has signed a consulting and licensing deal with a company that will build up to three cultivation and processing facilities on tribal lands.

FoxBarry Cos. LLC, a firm that helps tribes with economic development projects such as farms and casinos, has pledged $30 million to develop the facilities. FoxBarry, in turn, will have exclusive distribution rights for United Cannabis products in California.

Read the whole story

Horrible Employment Headlines and How to Avoid Them is the topic of an employment law update that will be given Jan. 15 in Truckee.

Co-sponsored by the Truckee Donner and North Lake Tahoe Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with the Sierra Human Resources Association, this seminar includes updated information on new laws for 2015 and how will they impact your business.

The California Legislature has introduced mandatory paid sick leave, new “unfair immigration-related practices,” required training on “abusive conduct/bullying”, reporting of safety issues, arbitration agreements and disclosure requirements related to computerized data breaches, and expanding potential liability for employers who use temporary staffing agencies to mention a few.

Presenters Allegra A. Jones and Lori Ocheltree are attorneys at Duane Morris LLP in San Francisco who practice in the areas of employment law and civil litigation.

Registration and coffee service will begin at 8am. Seating is limited and advance registration is required by going online and then clicking on the online store.

The seminar is at the Truckee Tahoe Airport Community Room, 10356 Truckee Airport Road from 8:30am to noon.

By J.D. Morris, Las Vegas Sun