• Here is the agenda for the Oct. 28 9am El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting at Lake Tahoe Airport.

• Fodor’s picked Lake Tahoe as one of the top 10 places for a hot air balloon ride.

• The Truckee Town Council will receive an update about Ebola from Tahoe Forest Hospital System officials at the Oct. 28 6pm meeting at the airport.

• This flyer is circulating throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin depicting what people believe TRPA is doing when it comes to development.

• Incorporation: What Could It Mean for Your Business? is the title of a Nov. 19 9-11am workshop by Mann, Urrutia, Nelson CPAs and Associates at the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce office, 169 Highway 50, Stateline. It is free for chamber members, $10 for others. Reserve a spot by emailing emily@tahoechamber.org.

South Lake Tahoe has collected nearly $40,000 this year in two cases of people who were not paying transient occupancy tax money for their vacation rentals.

South Lake Tahoe Police Department, which runs the vacation home rental department for the city, conducts routine audits to ensure TOT is being collected.

A recent audit of a vacation home rental yielded just more than $14,800 in TOT and penalties. The owner denied renting out the vacation home despite evidence to the contrary, according to city officials. When the owner refused to voluntarily comply, a criminal investigation was conducted which showed the owner had been renting out the vacation home since at least 2008.

The owner eventually opted to comply by becoming permitted. Had he not, felony embezzlement of public fund charges could have been pressed.

Earlier this year, another routine audit totaled more than $24,000 in past TOT fees. That owner arranged a payment plan.

Owners who fail to pay TOT as required are stealing from the city, according to Police Chief Brian Uhler. TOT is one of the city’s three main revenue sources.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Sasha Khokha, KQED-TV

California’s severe drought is putting stress on everyone these days: the residents whose wells are running dry; the farmers forced to experiment with growing their produce with much less water; and of course, the thirsty fruits and vegetables themselves.

But preliminary research suggests the dryness isn’t hurting the produce’s nutritional value, and with a few added minerals may even boost it.

That’s the tantalizing concept Tiziana Centofanti has been studying at the U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Parlier, a sprawling campus of experimental farmland about half an hour south of Fresno.

Centofanti is a research scientist affiliated with the Center for Irrigation Technology at Fresno State. One of the questions she’s asking is how fruit trees react to drought, compared to fruit from trees that get plenty of water.

Read the whole story

U.S. Forest Service officials are threatening to shut off access to Taylor Creek on the South Shore if people don’t start behaving better.

“We have had mobs of people rushing the bears trying to get a selfie. People are going off the trails to look for bears,” Lisa Herron, spokeswoman for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, told Lake Tahoe News. “Our visitor center staff had a report of a bear charging someone. We have had people running across the highway because they heard there is a bear.”

Bears like to frequent the South Shore creek this time of year because the salmon are spawning — so it’s a great feeding place for them.

What people are forgetting is that these animals are wild — and that this is not some sort of controlled Disneyland spectacle.

Forest Service officials said human interaction with bears at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center during the Kokanee salmon spawn has reached an unsafe level. Visitors are getting too close to bears to take photos and videos. Not only can someone be hurt, but then the bear would likely have to be put down.

For more information on visiting bear country, go online.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe are collaborating to honor two local women with the Live Your Dream award.

Eligible applicants must be women who provide the primary financial support for their families, and are attending an undergraduate degree program or a vocational skills training program.

This award honors women who have faced a challenge such as poverty, domestic and sexual violence, divorce, the death of a spouse, or other life challenges, and had the courage and determination to turn their lives around.

Each recipient will receive a $2,000 to offset any costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or job skills including tuition, books, childcare and transportation.

Information and application forms are available on both club’s websites: SITS or SISLT. Completed applications are due Nov. 15.

For more info, contact Pam Barrett at zippygirl1@att.net.

By Tim McDonnell, Mother Jones

In the months after Hurricane Sandy, insurance companies spooked by rising seas dropped coastal policies in droves.

That could become an increasingly common story, according to the largest-ever survey of how insurance companies are dealing with climate change, released Wednesday. Global warming is increasing the risk of damage to lives and property from natural disasters beyond what many insurers are willing to shoulder. And most insurance companies aren’t taking adequate steps to change that trend, the survey found. That’s a problem even if you don’t live by the coast: When private insurers back out, the government is left to pick up much of the damage costs; already, the federal flood insurance program is one of the nation’s largest fiscal liabilities.

Ceres, an environmental nonprofit, evaluated the climate risk management policies of 330 large insurance companies operating in the United States. The results are worrying. Only nine companies, 3 percent of the total, earned the highest ranking.

The insurers that scored highly on the survey (including several of the world’s biggest, such as Munich Re, Swiss Re, and Prudential) were those that have adopted a broad range of climate-conscious products and services, such as rate pricing plans that account for potential climate impacts like storms and fires. Some insurers are also investing in high-end climate modeling software to better understand where their risks really are. Others offer environmentally friendly plans like mileage-based car insurance and encourage their customers to rebuild damaged homes using green technologies. And some insurance companies are making significant efforts to monitor and reduce their own carbon footprint.

However, the report finds that one major way insurance companies are adjusting to climate change is by not insuring properties that are threatened by it, said Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, a lead author of the report.

Read the whole story

Harrison Avenue looking north from Modesto Avenue. Photo/Jonathan Moore

Thursday was the first night all the lights were turned on from Tallac Avenue to Los Angeles Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.

The road and landscaping improvements are part of the multi-million dollar Harrison Avenue project. It is jointly funded by the city and property owners in the area. Work is still being done in the area.

Select properties are improving buildings at their expense.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Several South Lake Tahoe businesses were burglarized this week. Police believe the same suspects – who remain at-large – committed the five break-ins.

On Oct. 22 at approximately 11:15pm officers responded to the Kmart Garden Center. Two suspects smashed the front door glass and attempted to steal the cash registers. They took an unknown amount of cash and fled on foot.

Witnesses described the suspects as males wearing grey hooded sweat shirts.

While officers were investigating that burglary, an alarm at nearby Ponderosa Glass on Emerald Bay Road went off at 11:45pm. The suspects smashed the glass in the front door. Two hundred dollars was stolen.

Officers then discovered a business next door owned by Barton Health had its front door kicked in. At this time it is unknown if anything was stolen from that location.

The following morning Enchanted Florists on Emerald Bay Road and Auto Bazaar on Lake Tahoe Boulevard reported their doors had been smashed. An iPhone was stole from Auto Bazaar and a laptop taken from the florist. Both are in the general area of the other burglaries.

Officers suggest businesses get better surveillance systems or turn on the ones in place.

Sgt. Josh Adler told Lake Tahoe News these incidents are not likely related to the smash and grab at Simpson’s Jewelers earlier this year. It is believed the suspects in that case may be the same ones who were apprehended in a Tahoe City crime.

Anyone with information about these cases should call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at 530.542.6100 or Secret Witness at 530.541.6800.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Here are the latest campaign finance statements from the South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates:

Wendy David

Tom Davis

Bruce Grego

Brooke Laine

Matt Palacio

Austin Sass

Angela Swanson.

To the community,

I started this letter three weeks ago, but then decided not to get involved for two reasons. One, Sheriff (Ron) Pierini didn’t need my help, and two, the people of Douglas County are smart enough to see through (Dave) Brady’s negative campaigning. Then, a few days ago, I read a letter to the editor titled, “Ranchos not that safe,” and I felt it necessary to share my knowledge of Sheriff Ron Pierini.

I have spent over 40 years in Nevada law enforcement, and have lived in Minden since 1994 when my wife and I moved here from Carson City. I served with Carson City Sheriff’s Office for eight years, Nevada Division of Investigation 20 years (Tri-Net Narcotics Task Force 2½ years), and with Nevada Legislative Police 14 years.

I had the privilege of working with Sheriff Pierini when he started his law enforcement career with CCSO, and many times since then, and it is no coincidence that I chose to make my home in Douglas County. While with NDI, I was assigned to the major crimes unit. This assignment took me to every county in Nevada, and many other states as well, and I have seen firsthand the operations of almost every Nevada law enforcement agency over the past 30 years.

As a result of this experience, I can tell you that the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is one of the most highly respected law enforcement agencies in the state, due in large part to a dedicated, professional sheriff, and well trained and motivated command staff, supervisors and deputies. That is why 24 years ago I recommended to my son to if he wanted a career in law enforcement he should start with DCSO.

I have also had the privilege of working with Undersheriff Paul Howell while assigned to the TriNet Narcotics Task Force, and it is my opinion that you will not find a man more dedicated to this community than Undersheriff Howell. Sheriff Pierini and Undersheriff Howell have consistently demonstrated that they are fiscally responsible and prudent managers of the agency’s budget.

If the undersheriff and the sheriff say we need a new boat, then I trust we needed a new boat. I fish Lake Tahoe and Topaz several times a year. If I run into trouble, or one of Nevada’s tour boats runs into trouble I want to know we have the state of the art equipment ready to respond to any situation that may arise.

I see Undersheriff Howell’s purchase of a new patrol boat as an example of an agency that is being proactive, and looking out for the safety of the community. As a citizen of Douglas County I want to know that we can count on a rapid response from DCSO, and that that the deputies are working with equipment that is safe, and meets or exceeds the critical challenges of today.

Since 9-11, public safety operating budgets have increased significantly. This may be news to Brady and his supporters, but we do not live in the same world we did 10 or 20 years ago. All law enforcement agencies have had to make drastic changes to meet growing local needs, as well as the possibility of terrorism.

Douglas County has been very fortunate not to experience the same drug and gang problems that Clark County, Washoe County and even Carson City deal with on a regular basis. In his letter to the editor, the gentleman said “an armed robbery in Douglas County is a rarity”. Well, we have Sheriff Pierini and his deputies to thank for that. It shows me that they are doing a good job patrolling our communities. The crime rate in Douglas County is lower than many communities of similar size, and that is no coincidence. The deputies, and sheriff’s office staff has worked hard under Sheriff Perini’s Leadership to see to it that Douglas County is, and will continue to be a safe place to live.

Douglas County does not need change just for the sake of change; we see how well that worked at the national level. We already have one of the most experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated sheriff in the state, why trade down? We have the best man for the job right now and he has a proven record of leadership and success. I am proud of our law enforcement officers in Douglas County. We have a great sheriff, and I want to keep it that way.

Take a close look at the challenger, and compare his leadership and experience against that of our incumbent, Sheriff Piernini, and you will find that there is no comparison.

Robert Milby, lieutenant Nevada Division of Investigations (retired), first sergeant Nevada Army National Guard (retired), chief Nevada Legislative Police (retired)