·      El Dorado County’s annual budget hearing has been rescheduled to the regular meeting of Sept. 19. It should begin at 9am in Placerville.

·      Tahoe’s only Labor Day weekend fireworks show will be at Gar Woods Pier & Grill on Sept. 3 at 8:30pm.

·      Incline Village Championship Course is the site of the glow golf putt-putt event, a glow in the dark chipping contest, and shootout on the driving range on Sept. 3 from 7:30-10:30pm. More info is online.

·      The unveiling of Champions Plaza at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe will be Sept. 29 at 2pm.

·      The ninth annual Great Sierra River Cleanup in conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup Day is Sept. 16 from 9am-noon. Join hundreds of volunteers in cleaning up the Lake Tahoe region. Bring water, gloves and friends. Refreshments provided. RSVP online.

Nearly 1,000 acres of sage brush has burned near Topaz. Photo/BLM

Updated 9:15pm:

Douglas County’s senior center in Minden has been set up as an evacuation site for residents of Topaz, Holbrook and Spring Valley who are affected by the Slinkard Fire burning south of Topaz Lake.

The 3,000-acre brush fire started Aug. 29 from a lightning strike. There is zero containment on Wednesday evening.

“The fire crossed Hwy 89 and moved east toward Topaz with the afternoon down canyon winds. Fire crews continue to put in dozer line along the eastern edge of Topaz and numerous engines are in place for structure protection. This evening’s winds were not as strong as predicted and this is assisting fire crews in their efforts,” authorities said.

Highway 395 is closed at the state line. Highway 89 is closed between highways 395 and 4. Highway 208 at Highway 395 is also closed.

High winds are affecting firefighting efforts.

Liberty Energy poles and wires are being destroyed. The companies says to “expect imminent power outage in the Coleville/Walker/Topaz area. Customers should plan for extended outage as access is restricted until fire is contained.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

A Lake Valley fire captain is lucky to be alive after falling out of a moving truck going at least 25 mph.

The firefighter was released from the hospital Aug. 30, but it is not known when he will be back to work.

The incident happened Aug. 27 on Highway 50 in the Camp Sacramento area. The captain had to be airlifted from the accident site.

“They went to a vehicle accident and were on their way back. They were going about 25 to 30 mph around a sweeping turn. The door flew open and out he went,” Fire Chief Tim Alameda told Lake Tahoe News.

An internal investigation is going on with the help of CalFire. The state is also involved.

“CalOSHA has been notified of this incident and is currently investigating. This is all the information available at this time,” Jeanne-Mairie Duval with CalOSHA told Lake Tahoe News.

The state agency has six months to issue any citations. Until findings are made the case is confidential.

The captain, whose name has not been released, was a passenger in the fire engine. It is the law that everyone in a fire vehicle must be wearing a seat belt. Clearly, this was not the case on Sunday. It is a serious violation not to do so. What kind of discipline the captain might face will be determined after the investigation is finished.

It is normal for buzzers to go off when the belt is not on, just like in a passenger vehicle. It is not known if those were tampered with or if the other two people in the fire truck knew the seat belt was not being worn.

Lake Valley is governed by a board of directors. Those elected officials were not formally made aware of this incident.

Nevada students are invited to showcase their artistic talents and promote radon awareness by entering the 2018 Nevada Radon Poster Contest. The contest ends Oct. 31.

The contest is open to all children ages 9 to 14 enrolled in public, private, territorial, tribal, Department of Defense and home schools. Children can also enter through a sponsoring group, such as art, computer, library, reading, science, scouting, youth or 4-H clubs.

Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that comes from the decay of uranium. It accumulates in homes and can cause lung cancer. This type of lung cancer risk is preventable, and the only way to know if a home has elevated levels is to test for it.

Cash prizes for the top three entries are $75 for first place, $60 for second and $45 for third. The top three entries are also awarded cash prizes for their teachers or sponsoring organization’s representative toward classroom supplies. The first-place entry also goes on to compete in the National Radon Poster Contest.

Posters in this year’s poster contest should convey one of these messages: 1) What is radon? 2) Where does radon come from? 3) How does radon get into our homes? 4) Radon can cause lung cancer, and 5) Test your home for radon. Posters will be judged on content accuracy, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. They can be created with crayon, markers, paint, collage, pencil, photographs or computer graphics.

There is no fee to enter, but each child is limited to one entry. Entries must be received at 4955 Energy Way, Reno, NV 89502 by Oct. 31.

Contact Nadia Noel, radon education coordinator for Cooperative Extension, at 775.336.0252 or noeln@unce.unr.edu for more information on the contest.

Douglas County is hosting a citizens’ round table on Sept. 19 to discuss an overview of county projects and activities contained in the strategic plan and give citizens an opportunity to learn more about specific projects.

It will be from 5:30-7pm at the TRE Community Center in the valley. 

County staff will engage citizens in an activity to help plan for next year’s budget priorities. Results of the session will be shared with the Board of Commissioners at a November meeting. 

The Strategic Plan is a dynamic document that serves as a road map for how staff will implement the county’s vision, mission and objectives. It was approved on June 1. It is available .

The county will host another round table in the spring.

A Google Earth satellite image of Jeff Davis Peak in Alpine County.

By Mike Moffitt, San Francisco Chronicle

Jefferson Davis never set foot in California or Nevada, but two peaks — one in each state — bear the name of the president of the Confederacy.

One, the third-highest mountain in Nevada at 12,771 feet high, towers over Great Basin National Park. The other, 444 miles to the west, is a little known and rarely climbed volcanic plug near Lake Tahoe in Alpine County.

The latter’s rugged, near-vertical slopes seem out of place with the surrounding terrain. They look like they belong in Arizona’s Monument Valley.

Read the whole story

Tahoe Prosperity Center is putting on the inaugural Tahoe Economic Summit this fall, with the theme being Building Community through the Sharing Economy.

The goal is to improve Tahoe’s regional economy. The summit will provide opportunities for attendees to learn about the shared economy, and specifically how it impacts housing, entrepreneurship, workforce and jobs.

The event is Oct. 30 from 9am-4pm at the Hyatt in Incline Village.

Tickets start at $75.

For more info, go online.

Stateline’s gaming revenue dropped 14.76 percent in July, while statewide the numbers dropped 1.73 percent compared to 2016.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday said the state numbers went from $1,015,558,545 to $997,972,643.

Table games and sports books are being blamed for the drop. Slot volume increased.

North Shore casinos posted a 3.65 percent gain.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By California Department of Fish and Wildlife

California agencies combating the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels remind boaters to remain cautious over Labor Day weekend.

Quagga and zebra mussels are invasive freshwater mussels native to Eurasia. They multiply quickly, encrust watercraft and infrastructure, alter water quality and the aquatic food web and ultimately impact native and sport fish communities. These mussels spread from one body of water to another by attaching to watercraft, equipment and nearly anything that has been in an infested waterbody.

Microscopic juveniles, invisible to the naked eye, are spread from infested waterbodies in water entrapped in boat engines, bilges, live-wells and buckets. Quagga mussels have infested 33 waterways in Southern California and zebra mussels have infested two waterways in San Benito County.

To prevent the spread of these mussels and other aquatic invasive species, people launching vessels at any body of water are subject to watercraft inspections and are strongly encouraged to clean, drain and dry their motorized and non-motorized boats, including personal watercraft, and any equipment that contacts the water before and after recreating.

It has been a great year to enjoy our lakes and rivers, and boaters are instrumental in protecting California’s waters. As the season winds down, boaters should continue to clean, drain, and dry their watercraft after every outing to protect these cherished destinations for the future.

Take the following steps both before traveling to and before leaving a waterbody to prevent spreading invasive mussels, improve your inspection experience and safeguard California waterways:

Clean — inspect exposed surfaces and remove all plants and organisms,
Drain — all water, including water contained in lower outboard units, live-wells and bait buckets, and
Dry — allow the watercraft to thoroughly dry between launches. Watercraft should be kept dry for at least five days in warm weather and up to 30 days in cool weather.

Travelers are also advised to be prepared for inspections at California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Border Protection Stations. Over the past nine years, more than 1 million watercraft entering California have been inspected at the Border Protection Stations. Inspections, which can also be conducted by CDFW and California State Parks, include a check of boats and personal watercraft, as well as trailers and all onboard items. Contaminated vessels and equipment are subject to decontamination, rejection, quarantine or impoundment.

Quagga and zebra mussels can attach to and damage virtually any submerged surface. They can:

• Ruin a boat engine by blocking the cooling system and causing it to overheat
• Jam a boat’s steering equipment, putting occupants and others at risk
• Require frequent scraping and repainting of boat hulls
• Colonize all underwater substrates such as boat ramps, docks, lines and other underwater surfaces, causing them to require constant cleaning
• Impose large expenses to owners.

By Kathryn Reed

Recreational marijuana won’t be for sale in South Lake Tahoe on Jan. 1, but it might be by next fall.

The City Council is taking a slow, deliberate approach to implementing Proposition 64, the 2016 statewide initiative legalizing recreational pot. Jurisdictions don’t have to allow sales.

The city must allow the personal use (though it can be banned in public and at private businesses), the growing of six plants for personal use, and transportation. All of that becomes law Jan. 1.

On Aug. 29 the council heard 35 people voice their opinions about local sales of recreational pot during a nearly four-hour meeting that started at 5pm. Most were in favor of allowing pot shops in town.

This was a much different meeting than last December when the city trotted out a cadre of people who were totally against recreational marijuana and didn’t allow for another point-of-view to be heard.

More than 57 percent of the voters said yes to Proposition 64. In El Dorado County the initiative barely failed with 50.07 percent saying no. However, 65.26 percent of the voters in South Lake Tahoe said yes to recreational marijuana. In district five of El Dorado County, which encompasses the entire South Shore west to parts of Pollock Pines, 62.4 percent approved the measure.

On Tuesday night, only people from the Drug Free Coalition and NAMI believed there should be a total moratorium. They echoed much of what Police Chief Brian Uhler said in his presentation – this isn’t what the town needs, it’s a gateway drug, it’s horrible for kids, and that there are already enough drugs in town without adding a legal source.

They and others had buttons that said “Not Here Now!”

Those who spoke in favor of recreational marijuana shops agreed with the naysayers in that children must be protected. The state law prohibits the sale to those younger than 21 – just like alcohol.

Rules for how close an establishment can be near a school or day care center are outlined by the state. The minimum is 600 feet. The city could make it more rigid.

Education was urged – mostly for kids.

Ultimately the council agreed to impose a temporary moratorium on recreational pot shops. This is because the state doesn’t have all of its rules in place. At the same time, if the city doesn’t have any regulations on the books by 2018, it’s possible the state could permit businesses in the city limits. That’s why there is a need to take action, even if it’s temporary.

The emergency measure will require a four-fifths vote by the council. This will likely be on the November agenda. It will be good for 45 days. It may be extended once for 10 months and 15 days.

Based on all the regulatory procedures, the city will have about four months to come up with an ordinance.

There are more than 20 types of licenses per state law that the city could allow – ranging from cultivation to sales to edibles. The city will have to determine what it wants to allow and then the rules surrounding them.

Because the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency governs land use in the Tahoe basin, it’s likely that board will have a say. This is because amendments to the city’s area and community plans will be required.

Councilman Jason Collin had several questions pertaining to whether TRPA would allow the changes since it is a federal organization and the U.S. government deems marijuana illegal. A precedent, though, may have already been set with the pot shop that opened earlier this month in Incline Village – which is in the basin.

The city is allowed to put an excise tax on recreational marijuana sales. However, the voters would have to agree to this. If the city goes this route, it is likely to be November 2018 when that vote would be cast. The city could write the ordinance saying without the tax there would be no recreational pot sales in town.

Where that money would go could also be a component of the ordinance. Uhler is an advocate of using those dollars to resurrect the South Tahoe El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team. Education could also be a beneficiary.

The council at its Sept. 5 meeting will discuss further creating a subcommittee of the council to work with the community to devise an ordinance. Where the shops can be located, the number of retail outlets, criteria for ownership, taxes, allowable advertising, distance from schools and other issues need to be worked out.

It was pointed out by speakers that even if the city bans the sale of pot permanently, it doesn’t mean people won’t be using. People can bring it in from elsewhere. Plus, the medicinal marijuana outlet plans to keep operating.

For now, the city’s neighbors are saying no to recreational pot.

Douglas County has already said it will not allow recreational marijuana sales.

El Dorado County CAO Don Ashton told Lake Tahoe News, “The county has not taken a position at this time. The board has established an ad hoc committee (of supervisors Sue Novasel and Mike Ranalli) to work on this issue. We are on schedule to have a decision by the full board prior to the end of the year.” (Novasel attended a portion of Tuesday’s council meeting.)

DeDe Cordell with Placer County told Lake Tahoe News, “The board’s actions thus far have been to ban all commercial activities, regardless of recreational or medical.”