Caltrans is alerting motorists to be prepared for winter driving conditions as an intense cold storm is forecast for the Northern California area.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for a weather system expected to arrive mid-day Wednesday and continue through Friday morning. Snow level could be as low as 3,000 feet as the cold storm moves into the Sierra.

Lake Tahoe Basin locations are expecting significant snow accumulations.

This storm will result in winter driving conditions throughout the area, including areas of localized flooding. Strong winds are also forecast, creating low visibility from white-out conditions in the higher elevations.

Chain controls on Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, on Highway 50 over Echo Summit and on other Sierra mountain roadways should be anticipated Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning.

·      Phish will be at Harveys on July 17-18, 6:30pm. They are general admission shows with unassigned bleacher seating available.

·      Residents in the Tahoe Keys area of South Lake Tahoe along Catalina Street will be without power on Jan. 24 from 9am-4pm while Liberty Utilities replaces a transformer.

·      El Dorado County Supervisor Brian Veerkamp is having a town hall meeting Jan. 31 from 6:30-8pm in the Board of Supervisors room in Placerville.

·      Sierra Senior Services 17th annual Spaghetti Dinner Bingo is Jan. 27 from 5-9pm in Truckee. For more info, go online.

·      Tahoe Cross Country is having a fish taco fundraiser at Sunnyside in Tahoe City on Jan. 31, 5-8pm.

By Jeremy P. Jacobs, E&E News

MONTECITO — Experts analyzing the catastrophic mudslide that claimed 20 lives here say there’s no doubt it will happen again.

The big question: Will the state and local governments act to reduce the risks created by development in mudslide-prone areas?

“California tries to lead by policy, but unfortunately, we make advancements by crisis. That is our history,” said Susan Lien Longville, chairwoman of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. “Every time there is a major flood event, we have task forces and we do studies.”

Longville knows. She was part of a task force convened by the state Legislature following a 2003 mudslide that killed 16 people in San Bernardino. The task force drew up recommendations and a “model ordinance” that offered guidelines and requirements for development.

No county or city has adopted it.

Read the whole story

El Dorado County sheriff’s officials believe a man died after falling into an untreated raw water conduit between Jenkinson Lake and EID’s water treatment plant in Pollock Pines.

Deputies responded to the area on Jan. 22 at 6pm and were unable to locate the missing person.

El Dorado Irrigation District personnel began to reduce the flows to the plant while emergency responders continued their search for Tory Robert Mayes of Pollock Pines. His body was recovered Tuesday afternoon.

After an extensive search of the EID conduit line by the sheriff’s patrol and dive teams, EID, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department and El Dorado County Fire Department, medical personnel determined that because of the length of exposure, water temperature, and circumstances surrounding the incident, rescue operations have transitioned into a recovery mission. Next of kin has been notified.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

My Hometown Heroes is accepting scholarship applications for the fall 2018 semester.

Applicants must be a young adult survivor of cancer between the ages of 17 and 39, reside in the United States, and be enrolled, or plan to enroll, with a community college, university or trade school.

Every year there are over 70,000 young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 years old who are diagnosed with cancer. Between the years 2016 and 2020, the cumulative student debt among this college bound population will be more than $5 billion.

Since 2011 the organization has awarded 56 scholarships to young adult cancer survivors from across the country with the goal of awarding $1 million in scholarships by 2020. 

The My Hometown Heroes scholarship application process will be open through Feb. 15 and candidates will be notified in June.

To apply, donate or find more information, go online.

The core members of Cascada de Flores have been re-imagining Mexican tradition for years.

After falling for Mexican music as a young woman, Arwen Lawrence toured with Grammy-winning mariachi heavyweights Los Camperos de Nati Cano, an apprenticeship that honed her skills and deepened her love for Mexico’s musical language. With them, she recorded and performed in venues such as the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara and Lincoln Center in New York.

Jorge Liceaga grew up in Mexico City, buying his first guitar with the money he’d earned shining shoes. Self-taught, he was later mentored by local legend Leonardo Salas, a transplant from Yucatan, who taught Liceaga to play with that Yucatecan swing. He followed his sister and found himself among local masters of artistic communication: The flamencos of Gitanerías. From them he received a raw and complicated education, which contributed to his special sensitivity as accompanist.

The pair founded Cascada de Flores in 1999.

Tahoe Arts Project is bringing Cascada de Flores to Lake Tahoe Community College’s Duke Theater on Feb. 2 at 7pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. Adults are $10 and children (through high school) $5.

Cascada de Flores will be performing in the South Shore schools the week of Jan. 29.

By Kathryn Reed

South Tahoe Refuse is fed up with having to pick up after dozens of residents whose trash is everywhere but in a proper container.

Jeff Tillman, president of the South Lake Tahoe-based company, said consistently his crews have to deal with between 75 and 100 cleanups each of the five days they provide service on the South Shore.

“I’m tired of playing patty cake with them. It’s time to hit them hard,” Tillman told the South Lake Tahoe Basin Waste Management Authority board last week.

His crews are directed to pick up whatever garbage isn’t in a can. This takes time, and time is money.

Tillman admitted it’s possible some people don’t even know their trash has been strewn about – mostly likely by animals, with ravens being one of the biggest culprits. But he also knows that based on the repeat offenders “some of these people don’t care.”

STR changed its policy a few years ago to start trash collection at 7am. This was to stop people from putting out garbage the night before, which gave animals more opportunity to feast and make a mess. While this has helped, it has not solved all the problems.

Tillman was hoping the board would take on the enforcement arm if his company supplied evidence. His crews have cameras to document the problem, with each occurrence being date stamped.

South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and Douglas County are the member agencies of the waste management authority.

At the Jan. 19 meeting the board agreed to have STR come back with a proposed fee to assess violators, and for each member agency to devise a fee and appeal process. There are ordinances on the books now that can be used through code enforcement to tackle some of the issues. This additional fee for STR’s efforts would go beyond that.

Tillman made it abundantly clear that he is not looking for another revenue source, but for the problem to go away and if doesn’t, then for the violators to held accountable.

The board said it wants to be part of the solution, and respective staff said they’ll work to make it happen.

There was talk of mandatory bear boxes for repeat offenders.

Here are samples of trash problems provided by Clean Tahoe, which also is tasked with litter issues.

By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal

They came. They saw. They were rejected.

MGM Growth Properties’ offer to buy a Caesars Entertainment real estate investment trust spinoff that serves as a landlord to 20 properties, including Caesars Palace, has been unanimously rebuffed by the board of Vici Properties.

Vici CEO Edward Pitoniak said in a statement last week that his board believes shareholders would have superior value in not taking the MGP offer of $19.50 a share, which is worth an estimated $5.85 billion.

Read the whole story

Updated 10:25am:

A multi-hour standoff on Monday night ended without South Lake Tahoe officers able to apprehend the suspect. However, officers this morning were back at the same residence near the Y with the belief the man was there.

On Jan. 23 at about 7:30am the victim came home to find Brandon Bannowski asleep in her bed. Officers responded and a foot pursuit ensued. 

Bannowski fled to the state streets by hopping fences and running through backyards. He was eventually apprehended by officers and K-9 behind O’Reilly auto parts. Bannowski was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and booked into jail on charges of domestic battery causing traumatic injury, violating a restraining order, brandishing a weapon, and resisting arrest.  

Officers said on Monday Bannowski violated a restraining order by entering the home of his ex-girlfriend, threatened her with a baseball bat and choked her. 

The victim is safe, according to officers.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Nic Abelow

No matter what your level of investment experience or sophistication, you may benefit from developing a relationship with a financial advisor. Why? Because a qualified financial advisor is trained to analyze your personal situation and design a program to help you address your unique financial goals and objectives.

Nic Abelow

What’s in a name?

Financial advisors (also called financial planners or financial consultants) can earn certifications or designations by completing accredited courses of study. Listed below are some frequently sought designations.

·       Chartered financial consultant (ChFC) — This program focuses intensively on areas such as estate, retirement and insurance planning. It is similar to the CFP designation (see below).

·       Certified financial planner — Generally CFP is a much sought after designation for those who wish to offer financial planning advice. This designation is awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.

·       Chartered life underwriter (CLU) — This designation represents an advanced certification in life insurance and estate planning. The CLU is widely considered to be the insurance industry’s most respected designation.

·       Retirement income certified professional (RICP) — This program focuses on training professionals to help clients turn accumulated assets into retirement income.

·       Master of science in sinancial Services (MSFS) — This program focuses on planning strategies for affluent clients.

·       Accredited estate planner (AEP) — This designation is conferred by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils upon certain types of credentialed professionals (e.g., CPAs, attorneys, and others) who meet stringent education and/or experience requirements in the area of estate planning.

In addition to any potential salary they may earn, financial advisors are usually compensated in one of three ways.

1. Fee only — Charge a fee for their time and services, but sell nothing.

2. Commission only — Charge a commission on the sale of investment products such as mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or insurance products.

3. Hybrid — Charge both a planning fee and commission on transactions.

Although all three methods of compensating financial advisors are used, some people prefer to simply pay a financial advisor for services provided, in much the same way you would pay an accountant or a lawyer for advice.

Do your due diligence

Knowing what to expect from a financial advisor can help put you at ease and set the foundation for a long and trusting relationship. Here are interview-style questions to ask in an introductory meeting or phone call.

·       What is your educational background?

·       What (if anything) did you do before becoming a financial advisor?

·       Do you offer specific or general recommendations?

·       Will you help to implement these recommendations?

·       Do you offer financial advice on noninvestment issues, such as estate law or accounting?

·       If so, at what point would you bring in someone else to help?

·       How do you keep in touch with your clients?

·       Do you initiate annual reviews, or should I?

Getting started

At your first official meeting, you and your advisor will identify your financial needs and goals. Although it sounds simple, this can be harder than you think. Your advisor will be able to ask you the right questions to help you to determine what your goals are, just in case you aren’t sure yourself.

To prepare for your first meeting, call your advisor and ask what specific documents and information you should bring. These may include essential documents such as wills, copies of insurance policies, pension information and investment account statements. In addition, you should be prepared to answer or at least discuss the following questions:

·       Retirement — When do you plan to retire? In what style do you expect to retire? Do you have any retirement savings?

·       Income and savings — What is your current income and rate of savings? Do you anticipate a change in jobs, leaving a job to stay home with children, or starting your own business?

·       College — Do you have plans to fund or help fund your children’s education?

·       Disasters — Are you prepared for the unexpected? If you lost your job, had a serious accident, or contracted a serious illness, would you be prepared financially?

·       Estate planning — Do you have a will? Have you considered the tax implications?

Nic Abelow is a certified financial planner and LPL financial advisor with Abelow, Pratt & Associates Financial Advisors and Wealth Management in Lake Tahoe.