By Sonseeahray Tonsall, Fox-40

El Dorado County deputies are not identifying either of the women targeted as they left the 36 Handles pub early Wednesday morning but family members tell us their loved one, Khrista Ibarolle, is the woman who was killed as a night out spun into tragedy.

Khrista Ibarolle

Connecting with people was a passion for Ibarolle, one she shared in a video about her passion for gems. Ibarolle had lived on the South Shore.

No one could know that just a few years later, walking out of the 36 Handles pub would connect her with Anderson Swift, the Oakland man El Dorado County Sheriff’s deputies say shot her to death after demanding car keys and money from her and a friend.

That friend was able to escape.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

More than $1 million is about to be infused into the Y in South Lake Tahoe.

Sutter Capital Group based in Sacramento last month bought the Factory Stores at the Y.

But don’t expect discount stores to fill the empty spaces. Owners want to revamp this prime piece of real estate that has 51,811-square-feet of leasable space.

“Factory stores are outdated for that location,” Burke Fathy, general manager of the ownership group, told Lake Tahoe News.

The vision is for a mixed-use retail center that will include a restaurant that would be family friendly.

“Our business plan is to renovate, reposition, rebrand the property, to reinvigorate it and stabilize the assets,” Fathy said.

With 33,000 cars passing by the property each day, the location is one of the main things that attracted the real estate management firm.

The owners also want to capitalize on the area plan that is in the works for this section of town. A greenway is planned for behind the center where a revamped bike path exists.

Fathy said it’s possible to knock out the vacant section of the building where the L connects so people using the greenway would have access to the center. Then that square footage may be relocated elsewhere on the property.

Owners hope the more than $1 million worth of improvements will begin this summer.

Fathy would not divulge what the sale price was. For several years Wells Fargo Bank has owned the center because former owners Shannon Casteel and Nancy Irmer defaulted in 2012. At that time the sisters owed more than $8 million.

In 2004, they bought the center from their brother, Gary Casteel. He still runs Heavenly Village.

Fathy wouldn’t say if the few remaining stores will have a future in the revitalized center, but added, that they’ve managed to survive this long, so they might thrive going forward. (Izod and Van Heusen closed in December.)

When Big 5 opened in spring 2013 the company signed a five-year lease with an option for 20.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Jan. 3, 2015, Sacramento Bee.

Parminder Singh Shergill offered his life in service to his adopted country. As an infantryman in Iraq during the Gulf War, the India-born veteran served on the front lines.

By the time he got home to Lodi, he was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress and mental illness. And by the time, almost a year ago, that two Lodi police officers pumped 14 bullets into the 43-year-old man in a raving standoff mere steps from his mother’s doorstep, his delusional run-ins with the authorities included 10 calls, mostly from his relatives, asking for help during his psychotic breaks.

His death is a tragedy, and far too familiar to the families of people who suffer from serious mental illness. It’s a tragedy, too, for the experienced police officers who killed him, and who, despite being cleared this week of criminal conduct, surely will be haunted forever by what they did.

And what makes it especially awful is that it’s a kind of tragedy we could prevent, if we wanted. A report released last year by the Treatment Advocacy Center and National Sheriffs’ Association estimates that half of the people fatally shot by law enforcement officers in the U.S. suffer from mental illness.

A smaller survey, done by the Sacramento Bee in August, found that of 30 fatal police shootings since 2012 in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties, seven listed the victim’s mental illness as a contributing factor.

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By Jennifer Oldham, BloombergBusiness

Pot’s not green.

The $3.5 billion U.S. cannabis market is emerging as one of the nation’s most power-hungry industries, with the 24-hour demands of thousands of indoor growing sites taxing aging electricity grids and unraveling hard-earned gains in energy conservation.

Without design standards or efficient equipment, the facilities in the 23 states where marijuana is legal are responsible for greenhouse-gas emissions almost equal to those of every car, home and business in New Hampshire. While reams of regulations cover everything from tracking individual plants to package labeling to advertising, they lack requirements to reduce energy waste.

Some operations have blown out transformers, resulting in fires. Others rely on pollution-belching diesel generators to avoid hooking into the grid. And demand could intensify in 2017 if advocates succeed in legalizing the drug for recreational use in several states, including California and Nevada. State regulators are grappling with how to address the growth, said Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner Pam Witmer.

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The Woodwind II at Zephyr Cove on Jan. 6 after being pulled from the rocks. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

The Woodwind II will no longer ply the waters of Lake Tahoe.

The severe windstorm on Dec. 11 dislodged the catamaran from its mooring at Zephyr Cove. For days it rested upon the rocks near the South Shore marina. Now it is in the parking lot at Cave Rock boat launch.

Tahoe Cruises, which operates this vessel and the Safari Rose, did not return phone calls.

According to the company’s website, the tour boat would carry up to 50 people between April 15-Oct. 15.

The low water level of Lake Tahoe and lack of dredging at marinas where it could be repaired meant the boat had to be extracted from the lake via a tow truck on Jan. 7.

Because the custom-built boat doesn’t fit on a trailer it will have to be destroyed and hauled away. The boat is 55-feet-long and 40-feet-wide.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A vehicle swerving through Meyers on Wednesday afternoon took some time to pull over.

“The driver was so intoxicated he didn’t know he had to pull over,” CHP Officer Jeff Gartner told Lake Tahoe News.

The suspect’s blood alcohol content level was not released.

Jay Welch, who is in his late 50s and lives in Minden, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence.

Another driver had called to alert law enforcement of the impaired driver. Gartner said CHP officers found the vehicle near the bug station in Meyers on Jan. 7 about 3:55pm, weaving toward the side, then back to the travel lane. But he wasn’t pulling over.

Not knowing if a pursuit would take place, other agencies got involved. The suspect was finally stopped on Highway 50 near Sawmill Road.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News

After two months in a row of declining conservation, Californians are doing better at saving water, but they remain far short of a goal set by Gov. Jerry Brown last January.

Statewide, residents cut water use by 9.8 percent in November, compared with November 2013, according to new state figures released Tuesday. That’s an improvement from October, when the reduction was only 6.8 percent. And it compares with the 11.5 percent savings in August, and 10.2 percent in September .

Last January, in declaring a drought emergency, the governor asked Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 20 percent.

Many parts of the state are at or near that goal now.

Read the whole story

With the contract for Live at Lakeview summer concerts having expired, South Lake Tahoe is looking for someone to produce a weekly event at Lakeview Commons.

“OnCourse Events contract expired at the end of last summer to produce Live at Lakeview. Being a government agency, we cannot provide preferential treatment to any one business and must release it as a request for proposal,” Tracy Franklin, spokeswoman for the city, told Lake Tahoe News.

Ideas need to be submitted by noon Feb. 6. More info is available online.

For questions, email tshannon@cityofslt.us

Washoe Lake State Park has two ranger-led hikes scheduled in January.

Deadman’s Creek guided hike is a one-mile roundtrip hike to the gazebo at the top of Deadman’s Creek. Dress warmly and bring a hat, coat, gloves and good walking shoes for this moderately easy hike. Rangers will talk about the park and cover a brief history of the Washoe Valley.

This hike is Jan. 11 at 1pm. Meet at the overflow parking lot; after entering the park, turn left, and it is the first parking lot on the right

The Dune Trek and Beach Stroll is Jan. 25 at 1pm.

This hike is approximately two miles and is moderately easy. Dress warmly, bring a hat, coat, water, gloves and a camera. Participants should wear good walking/hiking shoes, as the trail will be sandy or snow-covered in some areas. Rangers will be pointing out a variety of plants and wildlife.

Meet at the equestrian parking area; after entering the park, turn right, pass the campground, and it is the gravel parking lot next to the pavilion

These hikes are free, however, there is an entrance fee of $7 per vehicle. Nevada residents receive a $2 discount.

Washoe Lake State Park is 18 miles south of Reno and five miles north of Carson City. Take the Eastlake Boulevard exit off Highway 395 and park entrances are on the west side of Eastlake Boulevard. Contact 775.867.4319 or washoelake@hdiss.net for more information about theses event.

• Northstar will open this winter’s first halfpipe to skiers and riders Jan. 9. It is located on Pipeline trail and accessible via Vista Express.

• Tahoe Parents Nursery School is having a kindergarten roundup Jan. 26 from 6-8pm at Sierra House Elementary School where principals from all LTUSD elementary schools will make presentations.

• Raley’s customers, employees and community partners’ annual holiday bag campaign surpassed its goal by nearly 50 percent, raising 2.9 million pounds of food in Northern California and Northern Nevada.

• Narrow Gate Vineyards in Placerville on Jan. 18 is having a Comfort Food and Wine in the Cellar event from noon-4pm. For more info, go online.

• Brett Williams, Adam Wilson and Brendan Madigan have been elected to the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association board.