By Cathie Anderson, Sacramento Bee

Expectant parents Amy and Craig Davies made a lifestyle choice four years ago, and it gave birth to a small-but-growing Truckee business called Rescued Wine.

The couple are not vintners. They make and wholesale candles.

The Davies’ company name points to the fact that they collect wine bottles discarded by Tahoe-area casinos, restaurants and other businesses and repurpose them as candleholders. They cut the bottles in half and fill the bottoms with a wick and soy wax. Rescued Wine isn’t their first foray into candles.

Craig Davies founded Tahoe Candle 14 years ago, when he was still single. He made sales at festivals, craft fairs and other events, and his inventory grew until it overran first his kitchen and then his garage. He eventually leased space for his production in midtown Truckee and opened a retail shop downtown.

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By Associated Press

NEW YORK — Caesars Entertainment Corp., which is in the midst of trying to cut its debt, disclosed Monday that it received a default notice from one of its banks. But the casino operator said the notice was “meritless.”

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Caesars said that it received a default notice Friday from UMB Bank related to its senior secured notes. The default notice was for its operating unit Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., which said it “does not believe that a default or an event of default has occurred.”

UMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, Las Vegas-based Caesars said it was in discussions with its creditors in order to lower its $24.2 billion of debt. The company has been trying to restructure its finances.

The company owns the Caesars, Harrah’s, and Horseshoe brands.

There will be a meeting Dec. 9 at 6pm about the proposed development in Martis Valley.

Representatives of the Sierra Club, Friends of the West Shore and North Tahoe Preservation Alliance will provide information about why they believe the Martis Valley West plan is not a good idea.

The project is being proposed by East-West Partners to develop housing above Northstar ski resort. Part of the project is in the basin, part is outside.

The meeting will be at the Truckee Tahoe Airport.

For more info, call 775.742.1548.

By Christopher Solomon, New York Times

For a long time I just didn’t “get” cross country skiing. Shuffling through the woods while dangling a scratchy wool scarf? Too stuffy, too twee, too boring — a sport better left to old Norwegians and young honeymooners. I’m not ready to stride across a Currier & Ives print, I scoffed.

Then a friend introduced me to skate skiing, “classic” Nordic’s zippy younger brother.

If traditional Nordic skiing is a walk in the woods, then skate skiing — which was born only in the 1970s — is more like trail running. It’s swooping. It’s fast. It’s graceful. It’s even a bit sexy, something its buttoned-up older brother has never been accused of.

No wonder that more runners and cyclists have discovered the discipline as a great winter counterpart. Purchase of skate skis has been on a slow, steady rise in recent years, accounting for 16 percent of cross country skis bought in 2012-13.

There’s just one problem with skate skiing: It’s hard.

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By David Goldman, CNNMoney

For most of us, wine remains a big mystery.

Making a selection at a wine store is a daunting task that usually comes down to just two decisions: red or white and what price you’re willing to pay. Then you just choose the wine with the prettiest label.

A new app called Next Glass aims to make buying wine much easier — and a whole lot more scientific.

Next Glass works like this: When you first download the app, you are asked to rate a few wines that you like. Then, at a wine store, you scan a wine bottle’s label. You’ll instantly get a score out of 100. The higher the score, the more likely you’ll enjoy that wine.

And if wine’s not your thing, don’t fret: Next Glass also rates beer.

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South Lake Tahoe is trying to get rid of the 33 kiosks it purchased for the parking program that no longer exists.

Three of the apparatuses will go to the local K-9 association. The organization plans to put them by the dog agility course in Bijou Community Park as a way to solicit donations. They will not be parking meters per se.

Tahoe Transportation District has expressed interest in possibly obtaining 20 of the kiosks. Those negotiations are on-going.

“A number of ideas have been looked at in addressing parking at Sand Harbor because the entrance booth at the entrance where the entrance fee is paid now can stack up traffic onto the highway. Parking kiosks can be used as an alternative to the booth, and is one idea for alleviating the traffic stacking,” Carl Hasty, executive director of TTD, told Lake Tahoe News.

The kiosks are no longer needed by the city because voters in June decided the program should go away.

South Lake Tahoe may keep a few as backups for the ones on Bellamy Court and Transit Way that were not affected by the ballot measure.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

• Lake Tahoe Community College art instructor Phyllis Shafer on Dec. 3 at 5pm in Room F-101 will put on a slide show and talk, and share new artwork from her sabbatical in Italy.

• There will be a fundraiser for Marty Chartraw on Dec. 1 at 6pm at the American Legion Hall in South Lake Tahoe. In a Nov. 8 car accident she broken her back, neck, leg and collar bone. Donations may be made online.

• Here are this week’s roadwork schedules from Caltrans for El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra.

• Cardinale Way is inviting any member of the community who is in need of a Thanksgiving dinner to join them at the American Legion Post 795, at 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd., on Nov. 27 from 10am-noon. Cardinale Way employees are combining forces with the Blue Angel Cafe and KRLT to give back to the community. There is no charge for the meal.

• Sugar Bowl Resort has pushed back its Nov. 26 opening day because of conditions. A new date has not been set.

By Scott Smith, AP

When it comes to controlling California’s flashy Las Vegas-style casinos, the stakes are enormous for tribes who own the gambling operations that collectively generate billions of dollars a year to sustain Native Americans up and down the state.

With this backdrop, several tribes in the past two years have fallen into nasty, sometimes violent, power struggles pitting factions and families against one another.

The most recent case, involving the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians near Yosemite National Park, climaxed in an armed raid on Oct. 9 by one faction that caused gamblers to flee, leaving their chips on the table.

The National Indian Gaming Commission, which regulates Indian casinos, and a federal judge shut down the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino, citing safety concerns. Charges have been filed against 15 men — two tribal council members, the tribal police chief and a hired security team that included a former sheriff’s deputy and onetime Marine, and a former Navy Seal.

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In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, a sign is shown at the main entrance to the shuttered Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino in Coarsegold, Calif. Federal officials closed the casino in October citing safety reasons when an armed faction of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians launched a raid, attempting to take control of the casino. Experts say historical factors and a recent influx of money, which provides income, jobs, housing and benefits to many tribal members, has helped spark internal friction among tribes.
In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, a sign is shown at the main entrance to the shuttered Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino in Coarsegold, Calif. Federal officials closed the casino in October citing safety reasons when an armed faction of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians launched a raid, attempting to take control of the casino. Experts say historical factors and a recent influx of money, which provides income, jobs, housing and benefits to many tribal members, has helped spark internal friction among tribes. | Scott Smith AP Photo

The casino remains closed — with estimated losses in the millions each week — because rivals have yet to diffuse what U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence O’Neill of Fresno called an “explosive keg” of emotions.

“It’s a classic struggle over money and tribal rights and control for what everybody recognizes is a very lucrative enterprise,” said Denise Runge, a gambling industry researcher at Helena College University of Montana.

Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulation Act in 1988, setting the stage for sovereign Native American governments to open full-blown casinos.

Indian casinos generated $28 billion last year from 449 casino operations in 28 states, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission.

About 65 Indian casinos in California took in one-quarter of those earnings at nearly $7 billion. California outperformed the Las Vegas Strip, which drew $6.5 billion last year, says a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Center for Gaming Research report.

Experts say this influx of money, which provides, jobs, housing and benefits to many tribal members, has helped spark friction.

“All of a sudden, you’ve got a government with a lot of responsibility and a lot of clout that didn’t develop over decades like a lot of our other government institutions,” said Phil Hogen, former chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Simmering tensions erupted last month at Chukchansi when a security team led by former tribal leader Tex McDonald stormed the casino. They were armed with firearms and stun guns and detained security officers.

Madera County Sheriff’s deputies intervened. Prosecutors filed charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault against the men. Most have been arrested or have surrendered. McDonald is in jail with bail set at $2.4 million. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Chukchansi’s financial losses are unclear because Indian casinos are not required to disclose earnings.

But its 1,800 slot machines could generate over $130 million annually, not including table games, hotel stays, food and drink sales, estimated Cheryl Schmit, director of Stand Up for California, which pushes for gambling laws to be properly followed.

Chukchansi’s turmoil isn’t unique. Sheriff’s deputies earlier this year headed off a standoff among armed and masked members of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians and their hired security forces. The confrontation at the Rolling Hills Casino, north of Sacramento, emerged in a struggle for control of the business and the tribe’s assets, including a $3 million jet, 162 ounces of gold and $3,300 monthly payments to adult tribal members. One faction accused the other of launching a cyberattack.

In Oroville last year, a group at the Berry Creek Rancheria protesting their disenrollment barricaded themselves inside tribal headquarters next to the Gold Country Casino & Hotel. An 11-hour standoff ended when sheriff’s deputies threw in a grenade and arrested 20 people.

Both Northern California casinos remained opened.

Tribal clashes are rooted in history, Schmit said. The U.S. government broke its promises to give Indians land, she said, and sanctioned tribal groups with members who were not affiliated. Schmit said the government sowed the seeds of conflict and hasn’t helped resolve modern disputes.

“Certainly, tribes in California have suffered generational trauma for it,” Schmit said.

O’Neill, citing concern for the casino’s out-of-work employees, expressed exasperation with the leadership vacuum of the Chukchansi tribe, the Indian Gaming Commission and his court, which has limited jurisdiction over tribal affairs.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Gaming Commission did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Tribal affairs attorney Gabriel Galanda said some lawyers are exploiting casinos to run up fees.

“It’s all by design, lawyers and lobbyists taking advantage of a void of law and order in Indian country,” said Galanda, who represented an ousted faction of the Paskenta tribe. “This is happening in too many places, too frequently. I guarantee you that Chukchansi is not the last of them.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4064162.html#storylink=cpy

A 21-year-old South Lake Tahoe woman was killed early Monday morning in a single-car accident on Pioneer Trail near April Drive.

She was a passenger in the front seat of a four-door sedan. The 20-year-old female driver from South Lake Tahoe and 25-year-old male passenger from Sacramento were flown to Renown Medical Center in Reno with serious injuries. Names of those involved are not being released pending notification of next to kin.

“It looks like they were going at a very high rate of speed,” South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler told Lake Tahoe News. “You can see several hundred feet of skid marks before the crash into the retaining wall.”

The vehicle was heading west, away from the casinos.

The 4:30am Nov. 24 accident closed Pioneer Trail for several hours. It is open now.

It is not known if alcohol was a factor. Uhler said long skid marks don’t occur in frosty or icy conditions.

“It is extremely sad that some family will be grief-stricken this holiday,” Uhler. “It’s a reminder for everyone to be extremely careful when driving and use a designated driver.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Tina Bruess and Rebecca Phillipsen

At Barton Hospice, we help people with advanced illness live more comfortably and meet the end of life with confidence, grace and dignity. Our clinicians and staff give a voice and provide knowledge about what a person and family needs to know as the person approaches the final chapter of life, with a focus on quality of living and relationships.

Here are some myths and facts unraveled about Hospice care:

Myth: Hospice is only for cancer patients.
Fact: Hospice is available to all terminally ill individuals and their families, regardless of diagnosis.

Myth: Hospice means giving up hope.
Fact: Hospice does not mean “giving up hope,” but can help people and their families revise what they hope for. Hospice focuses on maximizing the quality of life based on individual choices, so that the person may live as fully as possible for as long as possible.

Myth: Hospice is only for elderly individuals.
Fact: Hospice care is for individuals of all ages facing a life-threatening illness.

Myth: Hospice care is only provided by special nurses.
Fact: Barton Hospice care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of professionals – physicians, nurses, home health aides, rehabilitation staff, a medical social worker, a spiritual advisor, bereavement counselors, and volunteers.

Myth: Hospice accelerates the dying process.
Fact: Hospice does nothing to hasten or postpone death. It is simply a service to make patients more comfortable at the end of life. If the patient begins to show signs of recovery, they can be discharged from hospice and resume their daily life. Choosing hospice care is not a death sentence.

Myth: Hospice services end when the patient dies.
Fact: Barton Hospice provides that patient’s family bereavement support for 13 months following the patient’s death. This support includes individual counseling, group grief support sessions, as well as our specialized support for children – Camp Sunrise. Barton Hospice also hosts a memorial ceremony annually honoring loved ones lost at Light up a Life. This year’s Light up a Life will be Dec. 3 from 6-7pm at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

For more information about Barton Hospice, go online or call 530.543.5581. Barton Hospice will be the recipient of all proceeds from the sixth annual Barton Health Festival of Trees and Lights, Dec. 3-7 at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

Tina Bruess is Hospice services coordinator for Barton Home Health & Hospice and Rebecca Phillipsen is a medical social worker for Barton Home Health & Hospice.