A fire inside a house on Grizzly Mountain Drive in Meyers was able to be extinguished quickly on Sunday morning.

Lake Valley firefighters were called out because neighbors saw smoke on Aug. 20. When they arrived at the residence the two occupants were putting out the fire.

They had had a fire in the fireplace on Saturday night. Overnight items close to the fireplace caught on fire.

“If you are going to start using fireplaces in the evenings, make sure they are cleaned out and you don’t put material in front of them,” firefighter Perry Quinn told Lake Tahoe News.  

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Seth Borenstein, AP

The sun is about to spill some of its secrets, maybe even reveal a few hidden truths of the cosmos. And you can get in on the act next week if you are in the right place for the best solar eclipse in the U.S. in nearly a century.

Astronomers are going full blast to pry even more science from the mysterious ball of gas that’s vital to Earth. They’ll look from the ground, using telescopes, cameras, binoculars and whatever else works. They’ll look from the International Space Station and a fleet of 11 satellites in space. And in between, they’ll fly three planes and launch more than 70 high-altitude balloons.

But it’s not just the professionals or students. NASA has a list of various experiments everyday people can do.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Plenty of people would say cantaloupe is perfect just as it is. I don’t disagree.

However, that did not stop me from trying something besides cutting it in wedges or tossing cubes into a fruit salad.

I’ve had barbecued peaches before, but this was a first for cantaloupe. The warmth of it reminded me of when I lived in the Central Valley and colleagues would bring cantaloupe in fresh from the fields. It was warm – naturally – from the sun. Oh, my, that was the sweetest, best most mouth-watering cantaloupe I’ve ever had.

I’m not saying cooking cantaloupe is the same. It just triggered a wonderful memory I had forgotten.

I remember my dad having vanilla ice cream with cantaloupe. I just shook my head. Not so anymore

There are lots of choices here – just barbecue the cantaloupe, barbecue with the sauce, blueberries are totally optional, as is the ice cream.

Barbecued Cantaloupe

1 cantaloupe, cut into wedges

¼ C butter

½ C honey

1/3 C mint, chopped

Oil

Blueberries, optional

Vanilla ice cream, optional

Melt butter, honey and mint over low heat.

Brush grill lightly with oil, heat to medium-low. Baste cantaloupe slices with sauce and then place on grill. Turn when there are char marks. It doesn’t take very long.

Serve by itself or with ice cream and/or blueberries. Drizzle remaining sauce onto individual servings.

By Ken Ritter, AP

Prison officials in Nevada drew immediate criticism Friday for proposing an untried three-drug combination for the scheduled Nov. 14 lethal injection of a twice-convicted murderer who says he wants his execution sentence carried out.

The state has supplies of the sedative diazepam, the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl and the muscle paralytic cisatracurium it proposes to use to carry out the execution of 46-year-old Scott Raymond Dozier, Nevada Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Keast said.

Prison administrators didn’t immediately respond to questions.

Read the whole story

By Catherine Ho, San Francisco Chronicle

Covered California, the health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act, will take the unprecedented step of offering insurance companies financial incentives, and guardrails, to encourage them to continue selling health plans through its program.

The agency’s board on Thursday approved a proposal to allow insurers to raise premiums more than normal between 2019 and 2021 if they lose more money than expected in 2018 due to federal policy changes, such as a lack of federal enforcement of the health law’s individual mandate. This will allow insurers, in future years, to recoup losses they may see in 2018.

The move by Covered California is an aggressive tactic that has not been attempted by other states, said health policy experts. It signals that state officials are willing to take bold steps to ensure the exchange remains viable.

Read the whole story

·      Youngsters will have a new place to spend Halloween. Trick and Retreat – it’s the Beach Retreat’s answer to going door-to-door in neighborhoods. Instead kids will go room-to-room on Oct. 31 from 6-8pm at the South Lake Tahoe hotel to get candy. These will be specially designated and decorated rooms, not occupied guest rooms.

·      Michael Franti & Spearhead will be at MontBleu in Stateline on Sept. 15 at 8pm.

·      Mike Domino from Surprise, Ariz., on Aug. 17 hit a hole-in-one on the second hole at Bijou Municipal Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe.

·      North Tahoe Public Utility District is having meetings Aug. 23 and Sept. 7, both 5:30-7:30pm, regarding the draft final lease agreement with Laulima Kings Beach Event Center to operate and manage the North Tahoe Event Center.

·      Here are the El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra roadwork schedules from Caltrans for the week.

The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq is like saving the best for last. Photos/Larry Weitzman

By Larry Weitzman

It’s ironic that the new Ioniq is a late entry into what I now call a conventional hybrid. And while it may be late to the party, it might be, no it is, the best of the lot.

It claims to be the most economical hybrid ever. Even though only in certain drives could I achieve those lofty mpg numbers, it is certainly the best-looking car ever designed as a hybrid. And Ioniq will soon offer itself as a pure EV and a pull-in hybrid (PHEV).

Ioniq is a great looking vehicle in its own right, with an aggressive front end, a sweeping roof and window line, sizable fender flares and strong hips ending is a higher, slight kamm tail. A single character line flows from the rear disappearing into the massive front fender flares. Its wide stance accentuates its muscle at 72 inches on a compact body of just 176 inches on a long 106-inch wheelbase. It stands 56-inches tall. Co-efficient of drag is an incredibly low 0.24.

For such a small car, the Ioniq, even with its 1.5 kWh L-I polymer battery stuffed under the rear seat, has the interior volume of a large car at nearly 123 cubic feet with 26.5 cubes under the roomy hatchback with the rear seats up. It’s not just a great looking design, its clever as well.

Open the driver’s door and the first thing that catches your attention is the flat-bottom racing style steering wheel. Nice. I like it already. Please don’t get the idea Ioniq is a race car, but it will finish last in most races to the gas station. Under hood combined power systems, a 1.6L, direct injected Atkinson cycle inline four that makes just 104 hp at 5,700 rpm but it has an electric kicker, a 43 hp and 125 pounds of twist electric motor but because of limitations regarding rpm and battery output, the combined motive force directed to the six speed DCT automated manual driving the front wheels is 139 hp.

Specifications
Price
Loaded Limited $31,460
Powertrain
16 valve, DOHC direct injected inline four 104 hp @ 5,700rpm
109 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4,000 rpm
Electric motor 43 hp
125 lb.-ft.
Combined system hp 139 hp
Battery 1.56 kWh L-I polymer
Transmission
Six speed dual clutch automated manual
Configuration
Transverse mounted front engine/front wheel drive
Dimensions
Wheelbase 106.3 inches
Length 176.0 inches
Width 71.7 inches
Height 56.9 inches
Wheels 17X7 inch alloys
Tires 225/45X17
Passenger volume 96.2 cubic feet
Trunk volume 26.5 cubic feet
Weight 3,172 pounds
Fuel capacity 11.9 gallons
Co-efficient of drag 0.24
Performance
0-60 mph 8.91 seconds
50-70 mph 4.56 seconds
50-70 mph uphill 8.60 seconds
Top speed Well into triple digits
Fuel economy EPA rated 55/54/55 city/highway/combined Expect 50-55 mpg in rural country driving and 55 mpg on the highway at legal speeds.

Performance is good for a hybrid, handily besting a Prius by a second or two in all categories. Zero-60 mph came up in an average of 8.91 seconds, while passing times from 50-70 mph averaged 4.56 seconds on level ground expanding to 8.60 seconds up a 6-7 percent grade. The tranny is very responsive and overall this is a snappy car. Even running pure electric, you can feel the push on your back side. Impressive. And this is the first hybrid with a tach which appears when in Sport mode and manual shifting. It turns just 2,100 rpm at 70 mph but in Sport manual mode it will not run pure electric which it seemed to do all the time in automatic. Many times, Ioniq would cruise at 70 plus mph while cruising down the highway in pure electric.

Fuel economy as rated by EPA standards is 55/54/55 city highway/combined mpg. My highway mileage averaged 54.7 mpg or right at the EPA numbers, but overall fuel economy averaged somewhere between 46 mpg and 58 mpg depending on the type of driving which for me was fairly aggressive as the Ioniq begs to be driven hard. It is responsive. My round trip to Carson City averaged 51 mpg with the run from Carson City to Placerville (4,700 feet to 7.382 feet at Echo Summit and back to 1,800 feet) averaged an amazing 61.5 mpg. I would expect most drivers to achieve 50 mpg or better or about what a Prius returns.

How does this Ioniq drive? One word answer is fun! Not only does it scoot right along with plenty of vigor, it corners like a sports sedan. It flat out handles and it will certainly outperform 98 percent of drivers. Suspension is fully independent, steering is quick and in my Limited version standard 17 x 7 inch alloys were shod with some serious 225/45 rubber. With a curb weight of under 3,200 pounds it can tango in the twisties. Steering is nicely weighted with good feedback and a crisp turn-in. I flat out enjoyed Ioniq and that’s again ironic as it surprised the hell out of me time and time again in its smooth transitions and flat attitude. It certainly delivers everything its fabulous looks inspire.              

Of course, Ioniq is church mouse quiet, even the tires. However, you pay a small price for the handling as the ride is not cushy soft but more on the firm side. My kind of ride actually. Almost perfect especially considering the paragraph above. There is no wind noise.

Safety doesn’t take a back seat in Ioniq. All the acronyms are present, as are a plethora of airbags, rear view camera, blind stop, lane change assist and HID headlights which are fabulous and are adaptive on low beam, meaning they follow the steering wheel when turning. The $3,000 Ultimate package also adds automatic emergency braking, lane departure and smart cruise which would sense cars in other lanes in the curves and put the brakes on requiring a canceling and resetting the cruise. A minor annoyance. I am not sure I would opt for the package. I can live without auto braking and a few of the other items.

Inside is a beautiful, quality and purposeful interior. In the Limited leather and most everything else is standard. Seats are on the firm side, but offer good support and comfort, especially for the long haul. Power on the driver’s is standard with a two-position memory. Rear seat legroom is copious.

Instrumentation is very complete including the first tach ever in a hybrid. Yeah for Hyundai. I reckon they recognize the sporty nature of this gas sipper. The trip computer is also easy to use and complete. I drove 450 miles and still have an easy quarter tank of gas and it only holds 11.9 gallons. If the gauge were accurate and perfectly linear, that would be about 50 mpg. Most midsize and above motorcycles can’t do that.

Pricing is so good, this is a car you buy for its quality, looks and features and not because it’s a hybrid. Figure the hybrid part is a free lunch from an already delicious menu. Sticker on this top of the line Limited is $27,500 and the boat ride from Ulsan, South Korea, adds an obligatory $835. If you opt for the Ultimate as in my tester adds another three grand. Now here’s the rub, there is a charge of $125 for the fancy floor mats making the total for my ride $31,460. This car is a good deal, hybrid or not and perhaps that’s the beauty of it. It’s like Diet Coke, you drink it for the taste of it.

Larry Weitzman has been into cars since he was 5 years old. At 8 he could recite from memory the hp of every car made in the U.S. He has put in thousands of laps on racetracks all over the Western United States.

By Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Go ahead, flip on that light switch Monday in the middle of the first total solar eclipse to come close to Nevada in 38 years.

Walk outside and check out the rare phenomenon of darkness during the day if you like.

The grid will be just fine. Even with 72 percent of the sun blocked in Southern Nevada for a brief period of time. And even with a dependence on solar energy that didn’t exist in 1979 during the last total eclipse in the contiguous United States.

At NV Energy, a lot of preparation has gone into analyzing the effects of the eclipse, which is expected to first make its presence felt on the grid at a few minutes past 9am, peak at about 10:20amand be gone by noon.

Read the whole story

USFS ranger Gustavo Nava leads the Smith family to what looks like the edge of the resort. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

A tree is not just a tree. And those sounds; they mean something.

Gustavo Nava walks a little way before he starts an impromptu quiz about how to identify the various trees that line the trail. The three key differences – bark, needles and cones. Key phrases like “gentle Jeffrey” for the Jeffrey pine and “prickly ponderosa” for that varietal are offered as reminders.

Elevation plays a huge factor in what will grow where. White bark pines are prevalent here, not so much at lake level. They like it the 8,000- to 9,000-foot level. These trees are unusual in that they grow together so their trunks are a cluster.

Flora and fauna, and a little history about the Indians dominate the walk.

Nava is one of the U.S. Forest Service rangers who leads these free hikes at Heavenly Mountain Resort. This is the second year the Forest Service has offered these excursions from the top of the gondola.

“The goal is to connect the public more with the land,” Jaclyn Tain with the Forest Service told Lake Tahoe News. “It offers them something where they get more in depth knowledge about the land they are enjoying.”

On this particular Friday a mom and her three daughters are learning from Nava. They spend their summers in Carnelian Bay, with the rest of the year in Turlock. This was an opportunity to see a part of the lake they are less familiar with.

“They like guided hikes because they don’t trust their mother,” Kim Smith told Lake Tahoe News. Her daughters – ages 13, 10 and 6 – didn’t disagree. Besides not having to rely on her map reading skills, Smith said it’s a chance for them to “learn more and explore more about our back yard.”

Ski runs without snow seem to flow into the Carson Valley. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Snow was a factor this year for the ranger program. The normal route is to take the Tamarack lift and hike from there to Sky Express. The alternate is to hike to the top of Olympic chair – elevation 9,470 feet.

Nava stops again. Everyone listens. It’s a Clark’s nutcracker. Some see it through the branches. Others trust that it must be there because they hear its song.

Each excursion is different. What wildlife will be out can change day to day, what flowers are sprouting leads to other information being dispersed, then there are always questions by the participants.

Even on days when there is no hike the Forest Service has a presence on the mountain. Six days a week employees hand out maps and answer questions. After all, this is Forest Service land that the resort is operating on.

—–

Notes:

·      Hikes are Fridays and Saturdays at 11am and 1pm.

·      They start at the top of the gondola. Meet near the Tamarack Lodge. (Must pay to ride the gondola.)

·      They last about one hour and are about 2 miles.

·      They will go through Sept. 2.

·      Bring water.

·      Wear closed toe shoes.

By Dan Walters, CalMatters

With all the recent hoopla about California’s record-low unemployment rate and the heady prospect of its becoming No. 5 in global economic rankings, it is easy to lose sight of another salient fact: It is the nation’s most poverty-stricken state.

So says the U.S. Census Bureau in its “supplemental measure” of poverty that is a far more accurate than the traditional measure because it takes into account not only income, but living costs.

Dan Walt

By the measure, just over 20 percent of Californians are living in poverty. The Public Policy Institute of California has devised its own measure, similar to the Census Bureau’s, that not only validates the 20 percent figure, but tells us that another 20 percent of Californians are in “near-poverty,” which means they struggle to pay for food, shelter and other necessities of life.

Another indicator of California’s impoverishment is that more than a third of its 39 million residents are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state-federal program of medical care for the poor. And that doesn’t count a few million more who cannot legally obtain Medi-Cal coverage because they are undocumented immigrants.

Finally, 60 percent of California’s 6 million K-12 students are either “English-learners” or come from poor families, thus qualifying their schools for additional state support aimed at improving their academic achievements.

Two new reports not only underscore California’s economic stratification, but point to its underlying factors.

One comes from the Tax Foundation and delves into the sharp differences in cost-of-living by comparing what $100 buys in each state.

It would have $115 in relative purchasing power in Mississippi, which has the nation’s lowest overall living costs, but just $84 in Hawaii, which has the highest. California, unfortunately, is much closer to Hawaii than to Mississippi at $88, the 47th highest.

Our soaring housing costs are one factor. It’s not unusual for a low-income family to pay more than 50 percent of its income for housing, if it can find it. California has very high automotive fuel prices and utility rates, which weigh heavily on the state’s poor, particularly the so-called “working poor” who don’t qualify for many public benefits.

The second new report comes from Wallet Hub, a personal economics website, which tapped a variety of data, such as high school graduation rates and college degree holders, to determine the education levels of the nation’s 150 largest metropolitan areas.

Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, is No. 1 and university communities are generally bunched near the top, but the San Jose area, the seat of California’s high-tech industry, is No. 3 and the San Francisco-Oakland region is No. 8.

Other California metropolitan areas string out below, but the most startling revelation is that the bottom 10 – the nation’s least educated communities – include five from California, Salinas (144), Fresno (145), Modesto (146), Bakersfield (147) and Visalia-Porterville (148).

If one takes the Wallet Hub rankings for California and places them next to a chart of personal incomes in the state’s 58 counties, there is a strong correlation. The higher their education rankings, the higher their incomes, and vice versa.

Direct efforts to relieve poverty via raising minimum wages, providing an earned income tax credit and expanding other public benefits certainly have marginal effects. But the latest reports indicate that in the long run, holding down costs for housing and other living costs, making education more available and effective, and encouraging private investment in more and better jobs are vital if California is to escape the ignominy of having the nation’s highest level of poverty.