By Kyle Roerink, Las Vegas Sun

After facing a firestorm of criticism for racist comments he made publicly, incoming Assembly Speaker Ira Hansen announced that he would not lead the chamber during the upcoming legislative session.

After announcing to his legislative colleagues that he was stepping down, Hansen issued a news release Sunday saying the controversy surrounding him had been an “orchestrated attack.”

“The deliberate character assassination and the politics of personal destruction have totally distorted my views and record,” he said in the release. “Ultimately, this whole attack has very little to do with my views. The powers that be are planning a massive, more than $1 billion, tax increase and I stood in the way as speaker. I have already served two terms as an assemblyman without any of these vicious attacks. It was only when I had risen to leadership that this smear campaign occurred. That is the real reason for this and it is vital the public understands that.”

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Owen and Legend

Legend and Owen are brothers who will be 2-years-old on Dec. 2. We know pit bulls are not for everyone, but these two boys are the kind of dogs who will be great pets for just about anyone who would consider adopting them.

They are energetic and playful with each other, but are also very affectionate with people and quickly calm down to be petted. They have beautiful, huge heads and very sweet dispositions. If adopted together, one adoption fee has been sponsored, but they can go to separate homes.

Legend and Owen are neutered, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated. They are at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

By Kathryn Reed

Upgrading restaurant features, linking to the new bike trail, moving cabins, improving traffic patterns. These are some of the ideas the Washoe tribe has for improving Meeks Bay Resort.

The tribe has operated the West Shore lakefront property under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service since 1999. It expires in 2019. But tribe officials are hoping for an extension.

Tonight the public is being asked to weigh in on what they would like to see at the resort. The resort provides day-use beach access, marina operations, cabins, and RV and tent camping.

Design Workshop is assisting the Washoe with coming up with ideas for what the improvements could look like.

Greg Weyland, business operations manager for the tribe, said they are looking at moving and upgrading the 1920s-era cabins.

“We would like to move them back and have more beach capacity,” Weyland told Lake Tahoe News.

Meeks Bay Resort upgrades are being talked about. Photo/LTN file

The Washoe Indians have had a presence at Lake Tahoe for thousands of years and they want to keep it that way. Some of the possible changes include better telling their story to Meeks Bay guests.

With so many day users, an immediate need is to get rid of the port-a-potties and building more permanent restrooms, Weyland said.

The Wa She Shu Grill could use a walk-in cooler and freezer for added food storage.

“Our restaurant has become more popular. Sales increased quite a bit in this last season,” Weyland said. Being able to sell beer and wine at the restaurant is also a desire of the tribe’s.

In 2016, the bike path that will end at the resort is expected to be built. It is a Tahoe Transportation District-Tahoe City Public Utility District project. The tribe would then like to have bike rentals and a possible bike valet. It’s possible an older building on the premise could be used for this.

“The Forest Service is interested in having a facility that is self-supporting and provides a high quality recreation experience. Improving the visual character of the shoreline and updating water quality best management practices at the marina are of particular importance to the Forest Service,” Cheva Gabor, USFS spokeswoman, told Lake Tahoe News. “We will be working with the tribe on improving the financial sustainability of the resort, while at the same time providing for improved guest services and overall recreation experience.”

After the open house tonight the tribe will take that information as well as data it has from surveys to come up with a proposal to be presented to the Forest Service. Environmental documents will then need to be prepared.

Any improvements will depend of funding availability, and most likely would not start until 2016.

“Funding will come from multiple sources. A majority of the funds will come through the Granger-Thye fee offset program. This program allows the permittee to conduct work and maintenance onsite in lieu of their fee to the government for the special use permit,” Gabor said. “Additionally, money may come from other funding sources, such as through partnerships for water quality funding. We generally cannot compete for funding sources until after environmental documentation (NEPA) is complete.”

——

Notes:

• Open house is Nov. 24 from 5-7pm, U.S. Forest Service office at 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

• Meeks Bay Resort is online.

By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee

When Democrat Jerry Brown succeeded Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor four years ago, some gubernatorial policies changed and some didn’t.

The most prominent of the latter is the state’s cutting-edge efforts at reducing greenhouse gases, which both governors believe cause perilous climate change.

Dan Walters

Whether that’s true remains, in the eyes of many, an unsettled issue, but California has, under those two governors, fully embraced it as scientifically proven, even though California’s contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide is infinitesimal.

During a brief speech to a United Nations conference a few weeks ago, Brown called California “a hopeful example” as it reduces carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and added that he wants new goals “that will be more ambitious, that will require more technology and will also require heightened political will.”

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Oral arguments concerning the lawsuit involving Washoe Meadows State Park will be heard Nov. 25 in the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.

“We continue to fight to protect Washoe Meadows State Park and ensure that the appointed officials who are entrusted with the care of our state parks will act with accountability and transparency and comply with California’s environmental laws,” Lynne Paulson, with Friends of Washoe Meadows State Park, told Lake Tahoe News.

State Parks is appealing a lower court’s decision that said the agency could not move the golf course without a supporting mitigation plan or CEQA findings.

Cyndie Walke with State Parks is out of town and not available for comment.

A second lawsuit relating to the South Shore park is still pending.

At issue is reconfiguring Lake Tahoe Golf Course, changing the boundaries of the state park and the state recreation area, and what the environmental and economic impacts would be. The lawsuit was first filed in 2011.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The large perch tree at Nevada Beach is no more. Photo/Provided

The felling of a large tree at Nevada Beach that was cut down for safety reasons is not sitting well with everyone.

“(There was) a circle of fencing around the tree – no way for it to hurt anyone outside of the fencing,” a South Shore resident told Lake Tahoe News.

But the U.S. Forest Service says the fencing wasn’t to protect people if the tree fell on its own, but instead was for the Tahoe yellow cress.

The Forest Service told Lake Tahoe News the fence was “dilapidated and an eyesore” and the tree was “seriously rotted”.

It was called a perch tree – a dead tree that birds would perch in – such as eagles and osprey. Eventually these types of trees have to come down for safety reasons.

“We cleared this through TRPA, who indicated that they were fine with it, as there are no records of osprey using Nevada Beach,” Cheva Gabor, spokeswoman with the USFS, told Lake Tahoe News.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Chris Mooney, Washington Post

It may be the timeliest — and most troubling — idea in climate science.

Back in 2012, two researchers with a particular interest in the Arctic, Rutgers’ Jennifer Francis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Stephen Vavrus, published a paper called “Evidence linking Arctic amplification to extreme weather in mid-latitudes.” In it, they suggested that the fact that the Arctic is warming so rapidly is leading to an unexpected but profound effect on the weather where the vast majority of us live — a change that, if their theory is correct, may have something to do with the extreme winter weather the U.S. has seen lately.

In their paper, Francis and Vavrus suggested that a rapidly warming Arctic should interfere with the jet stream, the river of air high above us that flows eastward around the northern hemisphere and brings with it our weather. Sometimes, the jet stream flows relatively directly from west to east; but other times, it takes long, wavy loops, as in the image above.

And according to Francis and Vavrus, Arctic warming should make the jet stream more wavy and loopy on average – some have called it “drunk” — with dramatic weather consequences.

Read the whole story

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations in the Van Sickle Park, McKinney Rubicon and Heavenly urban lot areas. 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.

Before prescribed fire operations are conducted, the agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update 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.

Hydromulching 1,200 acres of the King Fire terrain will begin this week in the Eldorado National Forest.

The goal is to protect areas from severe post-fire erosion that may occur with winter storms. The infrastructure at risk includes Eleven Pines Road, which serves as the primary route from Highway 50 to the northern end of the Eldorado National Forest, and the Brush Creek and Slab Creek reservoirs, which are integral to SMUD’s hydroelectric facilities in the Sierra Nevada.

The project should take two weeks to complete, but the actual timeframe will be weather dependent.

Bradco Environmental, a company based in Crestline, will do the work.

Large bales of certified weed free straw, a byproduct of rice grown in California, will be loaded into horizontal grinders which will chop the straw into 4 to 8 inch pieces of mulch prior to aerial application. Two medium sized helicopters will be used to drop the mulch onto slopes ranging from 15 to 60 percent grade, treating approximately 80 acres per day with each helicopter.

The King Fire started Sept. 13 by a suspected arsonist in Pollock Pines. It burned 97,717 acres. Twelve houses were destroyed and 68 outbuildings were lost.

The California Highway Patrol office in Meyers is starting a senior volunteer program.

Participants will:

• Deploy the radar trailer

• Work with local schools

• Direct traffic at special events

• Assist the front desk officer in serving the public

• Answer telephones

• Help with office duties

• Teach driver safety to seniors in the community

• Participate in ride-alongs with CHP officers.

Requirements:

• Be 55 or older

• Undergo a background investigation

• No felony convictions •

Be of good moral character

• Be available to volunteer during office hours

• Be willing to perform various duties as assigned

• Be able to work with minimal supervision.

For more info, call 530.577.1001.