Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are encouraging people to pay closer attention for wildlife on roadways.

Watch Out for Wildlife Week is Sept. 18-24.

The state is using signage, fencing, and undercrossings to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions along roadways, especially in wildlife corridors.

Between now and December, deer and other wildlife are more susceptible than usual to vehicle collisions.

Wildlife experts offer the following tips for motorists:

• Be especially alert when driving in wildlife areas, and reduce speed to react safely.
• Pay particular attention when driving during the morning and evening, as wildlife are most active during these times.
• If you see an animal cross the road, know that others may be following.
• Don’t litter. The odors may entice animals to venture near roadways.

On a stretch of Highway 89 between Truckee and Sierraville, a recently-completed $2.08 million project consists of two new 12-foot by 10-foot wildlife undercrossings, providing a safe path for animals to cross under the roadway. The project also includes four escape ramps and more than 14,000 linear feet of deer fencing on both sides of the highway to help prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Sara Reyes

A woman with ties to South Lake Tahoe has been reported missing to Carson City sheriff’s detectives.

Sara Reyes, 56, has been missing since at least Sept. 10.

Authorities say she is homeless and could be on the South Shore, or in Carson City or Reno.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sal Acosta at 775.283.7855 or sacosta@carson.org, or Capt. Brian Humphrey at 775.283.7850.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee

Red Hawk Casino hit a jackpot of its own Friday, fending off a $30 million court judgment that once threatened its existence.

Nearly six years after a jury said Red Hawk’s tribal owners owed millions to its former business partner, a state appeals court wiped the verdict off the books.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that the ex-partner’s claims weren’t valid because his contract with the tribe was never approved by the federal agency that oversees Indian casinos.

Read the whole story

Publisher’s note: The following comments were sent to the North Tahoe Public Utility District board by Tahoe Vista resident Ellie Waller regarding the North Tahoe Event Center-Laulima lease.

Can the attorney please explain the terms of the out clause and its enforceability? What language in the out clause is ironclad that guarantees the district can walk away from this unsecured deal? And who will actually make the determination of financial feasibility and what criteria will be the benchmark in the determination?

Just say no to the lease terms and re-evaluate this as a community asset and not utilize the skewed survey results that will always be skewed due to the second homeowner population always outweighing the full-timers when it comes to not wanting to pay additional taxes for a center they do not utilize. The survey fell short of being a reality check and did not clearly convey the issues or pose other potential solutions. Reaching out to second homeowners has never been a priority and they are at least 50 percent of the vote.

The LLCs must be vetted and introduced to the public before any decision is made. I understand that more LLCs could be created, but we need to know who these others are now. Be reminded LL means “limited liability,” so what does that really equate to in a security bond if bankruptcy is filed? Can the attorney explain how that might be handled? Due to the uncertainty of who will really be leasing the event center and the possibility it could be Laulima Northstar LLC Nick Donovan that came into existence Aug. 1, 2017, or Laulima Development LLC Dena Grunt June 27, 2017, which occurred after the original negotiations began in 2016 or Alexander Valley or any other out of the basin entity as an LLC. Let Laulima build their own event room as stated they could.

The FAQ answer that the community benefits because we get a renovated center isn’t really true. Laulima LLCs’ (plural) get a multi-million dollar lakefront property they don’t have to finance, build or pay property taxes on, renovation is much less. Can the attorney tell us how much in lease taxes they will pay versus what the event center property taxes are?

The negotiation for whatever hours for the public is not on a prioritized basis. I completely understand the third party must recoup investment on the asset. With that said, I say level it and develop a plan for a new community center and not lease a multi-million dollar asset for third party gain. At this point I’d rather explore demolishing the asset with permission from the state as the tenant could do the same as stated in No. 31. What is the attorney’s interpretation of No. 31?

If it’s such an albatross and deferred maintenance has not been prioritized for years and the PUD doesn’t want to run it anymore, why not level it? It can become an open beautiful view-shed for the locals and tourists alike. A nice park area as deed defined as recreation; could be maintained by the PUD if desired. Lake Tahoe is an Outstanding National Resource Water and does not owe anyone a living. The TC Golf Course and IVGID assets do not produce a positive margin.

A private-public partnership that will benefit the locals can be developed with Placer County and the resort association, much like their MOU with the Tahoe City Golf Course with request of TOT funds that could supplement a smaller tax increase. The tax increase was never really defined and questions like fixing basketball courts obscure.

Also an excellent comment that this will give an unfair advantage to a singular lodging property was made and be reminded this is a North Lake Tahoe asset. Maybe all the lodging properties should get together and propose an alternative where they as well as Placer TOT could come up with some of the costs for deferred maintenance and renovation. The NLTRA could help market it.

The facilitation has gone well and I commend the moderator, but with that said the public record will be skewed as questions have not been answered sufficiently in some cases and dissenting comments were sanitized.

The negotiation from $200K to $50K is not acceptable. Why not $90K for first year as a due diligence at the very least as that is the deficit?

By Jessie Bekker, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada’s economy is getting healthier, according to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau data released Wednesday.

The state’s median household income and poverty level are inching back to pre-recession levels, a five-year trend that mirrors national economic growth.

The median household income was $55,180 in 2016, up from $53,320 in 2015 and $51,000 in 2010, after the 2008 stock market crash.

Read the whole story

Helmets can help, but they are no guarantee a skier won’t sustain a concussion. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

By Kathryn Reed

While football players are getting a ton of ink when it comes to concussions, these head injuries aren’t limited to those on the gridiron.

Skiers and snowboarders – and not just the professionals – are susceptible to concussions. It could be the result of catching an edge and taking a hard fall, or a trick gone wrong in the terrain park.

Car accidents, falling on ice or any surface, or getting hit in the head – they all can result in a concussion.

The good news is doctors are more aware of the symptoms and are taking the issue more seriously than they used to. The bad news is there is no definitive test to determine if someone has a concussion.

A panel of medical experts from Barton Health on Sept. 13 spoke before a group of nearly 80 people at Lake Tahoe Community College about how dangerous a concussion is, the symptoms and what can be done to recover fully from one.

Terry Orr, an orthopedic surgeon with Barton who has worked with the U.S. ski and snowboard teams, rattled off several statistics:

·      Two-thirds of those with a concussion don’t think it’s a serious condition

·      41 percent don’t want to be taken out of play

·      36 percent don’t think they had a concussion.

He said this is why it’s necessary for coaches and parents to know the signs and symptoms of concussions.

Neck pain, double vision, severe headaches, weakness or tingling in arms and legs, seizures and being unconscious are some of the symptoms. A person might stagger after the impact, have a blank look or stare, be disoriented or confused.

Depression, seizures and cognitive impairment can be long-term complications.

Players in the National Football League have proven why concussions need to be taken seriously. The Journal of the American Medical Association this summer revealed that of the 111 brains of deceased players it examined 110 had the degenerative brain disease CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Those involved need to understand that a concussion without proper care can lead to long-term brain damage. That’s why that college scholarship or championship needs to become secondary to the player’s health. A concussed player should never be allowed to return to the field, and instead should be seen by a medical professional.

“We want people to recover,” Jeremy Vandehurst with Barton Health said. “Return to play should be gradual.”

Barton has protocols in place to determine when a player can participate in her sport again. It could take a week, could take longer. It’s up to the individual’s progress.

Primary care doctors are often the ones who first see the concussed patients. There is a list of 22 symptoms they look for. What the initial exam reveals will determine the course of treatment.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Sept. 8, 2017, Los Angeles Times.

California lawmakers are — again — considering a last-minute bill that would let deep-pocketed developers and favored projects cut corners on the state’s landmark environmental law.

State Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, introduced a bill that was pitched as a way to dramatically speed the construction of transit lines and parking lots needed for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. Bradford’s big idea? Exempting the projects from all the studies and public input required by the California Environmental Quality Act. The primary beneficiaries of Senate Bill 789, however, would be the proposed Clippers arena and other projects in Inglewood’s sports and entertainment district.

Bradford’s bill is the latest salvo in the ongoing fight over CEQA, which was enacted more than 40 years ago as a way to inform, protect and empower the public by requiring developers to disclose the environmental effects of their projects and to mitigate any harm they may cause. While CEQA is a vital tool that has made countless projects better since its inception, it is also too easily used to tie up projects with costly and time-consuming lawsuits for reasons that have nothing to do with environmental protection.

Read the whole story

By Peter Holley, Washington Post

Pretend for a moment that you’re walking through your neighborhood and notice a line of people wrapped around the block outside a newly opened restaurant.

Local food bloggers haven’t written about the venue, so you assume the trendy-looking crowd must be the result of contagious, word-of-mouth buzz.

There was a time when that may have been undoubtedly true — when you could trust that a crowd of people was, in fact, a naturally occurring mass of individuals.

But that time may be passing thanks to Surkus, an emerging app that allowed the restaurant to quickly manufacture its ideal crowd and pay the people to stand in place like extras on a movie set. They’ve even been hand-picked by a casting agent of sorts, an algorithmic one that selects each person according to age, location, style and Facebook “likes.”

Read the whole story

Calstar is back in business after being grounded because of radio issues.

“All the radios and navigation equipment have been working fine after the repair by Airbus and we have completed several flights this week without any difficulty,” Bryan Pond with the air ambulance company told Lake Tahoe News.

The Airbus H135/P3 based out of Lake Tahoe Airport was taken out of service in mid-August because the radio frequency was not working properly. This became a safety issue.

CareFlight filled in for the local air ambulance in the interim.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

·      The Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival returns to Homewood Mountain Resort’s North Lodge parking lot on Oct. 1 from 1-5pm. Access is free. Tickets are $20 to enter the beer garden. This includes a souvenir glass and two drink tickets. Advance tickets may be purchased online for $15.

·      Stefan Fellner of Incline Village’s High Altitude Fitness placed third at the USA Climbing Youth National Sport Climbing Competition in the summer. For Team USA he competed in the Youth World Sport Climbing Championship in Austria this month. He finished 16th overall in his division, Male Youth A.

·      The League to Save Lake Tahoe is hosting a free Spooky Stormwater Fall Festival on Oct. 12 from 4-7pm at 3350 Sandy Way, South Lake Tahoe. For questions and to RSVP, email protect@keeptahoeblue.org.

·      UNR will host the Global Climate Change Summit on Sept. 23.

·      Nevada Department of Wildlife will host a waterfowl hunting workshop Sept. 24 in Carson City.