Jose Rodiguez-Quezada

A Stateline murder case is taking a back seat to the defendant’s immigration case that will be heard in federal court.

Jose Rodriguez-Quezada, 44, is accused of fatally stabbing Kevin Edwards, 56, of Reno in October in a hotel room at the Hard Rock.

A jury on Sept. 25 is scheduled to begin hearing the deportation case of Rodriguez-Quezada, who is considered a transient.

October is likely to be the earliest he would be arraigned on the local charges.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is looking for hard-working, dedicated volunteers who love working outdoors, educating wilderness visitors, performing monitoring or administrative duties and are interested in preserving Desolation Wilderness. 

There will be an informational open house on March 15, 5-7pm and March 17, 9:30-11:30am at the USFS office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe. The open houses will include information about volunteer opportunities, training, minimum requirements and how volunteer help is important to the preservation of Desolation Wilderness. 

Volunteers work closely with Forest Service wilderness staff and can choose from a variety of projects including visitor education, wilderness staff support for office and field projects, back-country trail maintenance, campsite restoration and wilderness character monitoring. Field projects involve hiking in moderate to difficult terrain and require an appropriate level of physical ability. Volunteers should be able to commit to a minimum of seven days for the summer season and must be age 18 or older. Additional information is available online.

Selected candidates will be required to attend a volunteer training workshop May 19-20 in Pollock Pines.

For more information, contact Don Lane at 530.543.2621 or Bob Becker at 530.543.2688.

Updated 11:15am:

By Kathryn Reed

Former El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Steve Bailey faces 11 counts from the state Commission on Judicial Review.

The 22-page document filed this week lays out in detail how on multiple times Bailey allegedly violated the Code of Judicial Ethics. He is charged with “willful misconduct in office, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute.”

Steve Bailey

Bailey officially resigned from office in August 2017. His term did not expire until 2020. The seat has remained vacant since then, with visiting judges picking up some of the workload.

Bailey, who worked in the South Lake Tahoe courthouse during his tenure, could not be reached for comment.

However, after this story was originally published, Corey Uhden, communications director of Bailey’s AG race, issued this statement to Lake Tahoe News, “This is merely an inquiry that the commission dominated by liberal appointees admits is ‘not a finding of judicial misconduct’ because there is no misconduct to find. It’s simply an attempt to disparage a respected former judge and a highly qualified candidate for attorney general. These proceedings will conclude that this is a waste of time and taxpayers’ money.”

Details of the complaint include:

·      On multiple occasions ordering criminal defendants to use an electronics monitoring firm where his son works. This dates to 2009, the first year he was a judge.

·      Giving legal work to a friend who was not on the court-approved list of special masters without disclosing their relationship, or the fact he had received gifts from the man and presided over his wedding.

·      Acceptance of gifts from various individuals and entities. Judges are not ethically allowed to accept any gifts.

·      Failure to declare on state disclosure forms reimbursements from two law schools where he attended judicial education programs.

·      Inappropriate comments to other judges about homosexuality.

·      Using the judicial office to raise funds for his bid to be attorney general.

·      Raising funds for the attorney general race prior to filing a candidate intention statement.

·      Engaging in on-going political activity without taking a leave of absence without pay from his judgeship.

The next step is for Bailey to respond to the charges. The commission will then issue a notice of admonishment, which could be public or private. Bailey could accept the punishment, reject it or ask for a hearing before the commission.

The Commission on Judicial Review “is the independent state agency responsible for investigating complaints of judicial misconduct and judicial incapacity and for disciplining judges.”

Even though Bailey is not on the bench anymore, he is running for attorney general this year. His website for that campaign is still active.

·      Zephyr Cove Library will be hosting local author JoAnn Conner on March 7 at 6pm. She will discuss her books and sign copies of “Heartwood” and “The Mountain.”

·      Tahoe Environmental Science Center’s 13th annual Science Expo will be March 14 from 4-6pm in Incline Village. There will be hands-on science investigations, experiments, and demonstrations for visitors of all ages. This year’s activities focus on health, nutrition, the human body, organisms, ecosystems, food webs, life cycles, inheritance, adaptation, and more. It is free.

·      Liberty Utilities has a planned outage in the Kings Beach area along Brook Avenue on Feb. 23 from 8:30am-4pm to replace overhead wires.

·      Elements: Our Region is an art installation inspired by the natural elements of the Eastern Sierra that is coming to the Truckee Community Recreation Center on March 9. The free opening reception will be that day from 5-7pm. The gallery will open through June.

·      Truckee Donner Public Utility District recently awarded the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District $90,000 in energy efficiency rebates to support school projects.

To the community,

The team members from Heavenly mountain operations snow surfaces work really hard to make skiing at the resort a truly enjoyable experience. On Feb. 12, the Adopt A Day sponsor crew from the snow surfaces operations brought the same dedication to helping the Bread & Broth volunteers provide a tasty meal and fun evening to the grateful dinner guests.

“As part of the Heavenly EpicPromise program, it is an honor to work with Bread & Broth to support and feed the less fortunate members of our community,” said Tyler Lehman, grooming manager. “These programs are such a vital part of the community.”  

Joining Lehman were David Hager, snowmaking manager; Bryan Hickman, senior manager of snow surfaces; and Frank Papandrea, sustainability manager. These four Heavenly team members are seasoned volunteers who have helped at previous Heavenly sponsorship dinners and they were a delight to having helping with the dinner’s setup, serving and cleanup.

B&B would like to thank Heavenly for their $300 sponsorship donation and for encouraging the incredible team members from Heavenly to come to help others in need of assistance and who always giving freely of their time and effort to make a difference in our community.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

By Dan Wolken, USA Today

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Snowboarder Jamie Anderson of Meyers couldn’t eat Thursday morning before her competition in the first big air event in Olympics, so instead she poured a thermos full of hot tea with homemade ghee that she brought with her from the United States.

Anderson’s ghee, however, is not just plain, old clarified butter. It was cooked down at her home in Lake Tahoe with “good love” that includes crystals being placed around the pan while it cooks and “sound therapy,” which she explained as something akin to a humming that reverberates off the metal.

 “You have to bless it, you know?” said the 27-year old, who already had a gold medal at these Games and 2014 in the slopestyle competition. “I love ghee because especially in the morning if I’m not eating food it’s really healthy fats for y our brain and just is delicious.”

Though that may not be every Olympian’s morning routine, it certainly worked for Anderson, who landed a frontside 1080-degree trick on her first jump, eventually launching her to a silver medal behind Austria’s Anna Gasser.

Read the whole story

By Associated Press

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — At least the Americans have the Phoenix Snow Park halfpipe.

Freestyle skier David Wise of Reno successfully defended his gold medal Thursday, breaking through on his final run to give the U.S. its third gold medal in the halfpipe at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Wise wiped out on his first two runs before sneaking past countryman Alex Ferreira on his third with a score of 97.20.

Read the whole story

By Thomas Beaumont, AP

When Ivanka Trump assembled a group of Republican senators at her tony Washington home last fall, the guest list included one particularly notable name. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada had been publicly chided by President Donald Trump months earlier and had, at times, kept the president at arm’s length.

But within weeks of dining with the president’s daughter and adviser, Heller, who is up for re-election this year, was working closely with the White House, writing part of the Republican tax bill.

The tax collaboration was part of steady rapprochement between the swing-state senator and loyalty-loving president. Through a series of White House meetings and phone calls, a round trip on Air Force One, and work on multiple issues with Ivanka Trump, Heller has quietly mended an awkward relationship with the president.

Read the whole story

By Ashley Williams, AccuWeather
 
A recent study has found that virtually all United States-based winter recreation locations could experience shorter ski seasons, exceeding 50 percent by 2050 and 80 percent in 2090 for some downhill skiing destinations.

Researchers examined projected climate change through the 21st century and found that the continued rise in temperatures, which results in more rainfall than snowfall, will likely decrease the duration and extent of the Northern Hemisphere’s natural snowcover.

To conduct the study, researchers used a physically based water and energy balance model that simulated natural snow accumulation at more than 240 U.S. winter recreation spots.

Read the whole story

Tom Rosenberg

By Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee

Tom Rosenberg, whose parents fled Nazi Germany with him in 1938 to America where he helped preserve the American River Parkway and Lake Tahoe, died on Valentine’s Day in Sacramento at age 85.

Rosenberg, who had Alzheimer’s disease, was in hospice care, said Hilary Abramson, his wife of 32 years and a former Bee reporter.

“Everyone who knew him knew his mantra: ‘You need one of three ingredients to be happy: hope, a sense of accomplishment and love,’ ” Abramson said. “He was known as ‘Father of the American River Parkway’ for helping run a bond issue for it and ‘Bingo King’ for the nonprofit bingo games he ran in Sacramento for Capital Public Radio, the Developmental Disabilities Service Organization, the Sacramento Asian Community Center, The Sacramento Children’s Home and others.”

Read the whole story