By Lake Tahoe News

Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have been found in two locations in Douglas County.

Douglas County Mosquito Abatement District was notified Aug. 14 about the results from traps set July 31 in the Westwood area of the Carson Valley as well as the traps set Aug. 2 west of Highway 88 and north of Centerville Lane.

DCMAD completed a ground fogging the night of Aug. 3 and on Aug. 4 did a morning aerial adulticide application of 550 acres to the west and north of Westwood. Another evening fogging was done Aug. 9. Based on the test results, DCMAD plans to conduct a fogging the evening of Aug. 16 and also a morning aerial adulticide application.

At the second location DCMAD completed ground fogging the evening of Aug. 2, the morning of Aug. 4, along with a morning aerial application of 80 acres south of Centerville Lane, and a ground fogging again the night of Aug. 10. Another ground fogging is set for morning of Aug. 16 and a morning aerial application on Aug. 17.

According to DCMAD, most effective way to avoid West Nile virus disease is to prevent mosquito bites. DCMAD advises people to take the following precautions throughout the summer months:

·      Use insect repellents when outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection.

·      When weather permits, wear long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under clothing.

·      Take extra care during peak mosquito biting hours. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing from dusk to dawn or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.

·      Mosquito-proof your home. Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes outside. Use your air conditioning, if you have it. Empty standing water from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires, and birdbaths on a regular basis.

By Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal

Last winter’s record-setting snow is set to pay dividends for Reno’s airport this coming season.

Several airlines will be offering additional service to Reno-Tahoe International Airport during ski season, with some extra flights being extended as late as April. Five carriers will be offering the additional flights, which include routes in the West, Midwest and South.

The extra flights bring up the number of total seats available for the winter season to its highest level in more than 10 years. This is also the earliest that the airport has seen these many additional seasonal flights announced for the winter season, said Brian Kulpin, spokesman for Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

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The public on Aug. 21 will have the opportunity to meet the two finalists for the assistant county manager position in Douglas County.

The gathering will be from 5-7pm in  the ballroom in the Carson Valley Inn. The public is encouraged to come and meet the candidates during this event.

The two are Philip Ritger, Genoa town manager, and Bradley Hurley, information technology officer for the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center located at Bridgeport. Both are residents of Douglas County.

The California Tahoe Conservancy will look different at its September meeting.

This is because the Legislature this summer changed state law to allow elected officials to serve on this state board.

On Aug. 15 the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and South Lake Tahoe City Council voted separately to appoint reps from their respective entities to the CTC board.

The county put Supervisor Sue Novasel back to the board; the council chose Councilwoman Brooke Laine.

Laine had been on the CTC board during her first term. She will be on the CTC board until January when the council makes its usual annual appointments.

The issue came to a head last year when the old law was discovered, which then led Novasel and Councilman Tom Davis to resign and their respective colleagues to appoint non-electeds to the CTC board.

Placer County has chosen to have a non-elected representative for a number of years.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Five member districts collect wastewater that flows to TTSA through the Truckee River interceptor along Highway 89. Photo/Provided

By Meghan Herbst, Moonshine Ink

Board meetings at the Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency are usually sparsely attended and over in 30 minutes. In June, employees and concerned citizens piled into the modest board room at TTSA, and the monthly meeting turned into a two-hour standoff.

The players: The TTSA board of directors, under the leadership of 28-year president of the board Oz Butterfield, supported by General Manager LaRue Griffin; and the majority of employees who have been attempting, since February, to gain formal recognition from the board that they are now a union-represented workplace. Employees say they have followed the letter of the law when it comes to representation — the majority of workers included in the bargaining unit voted by authorization card in February to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Chapter 1245.

As North Tahoe’s only wastewater treatment plant, TTSA provides a crucial service to the public — filtering and processing sewage and keeping the Truckee River watershed free from related pollutants. But this key public agency is facing serious internal unrest, stemming from what employees say has become a culture of secrecy and harassment, rife with mismanagement and favoritism that poses a threat to TTSA’s level of service to the community.

The CHP helicopter brought the women to a field in Strawberry on Aug. 13. Photo/Provided

Two people had to be rescued from Desolation Wilderness on Sunday after they got stuck on the ledge of a steep cliff.

El Dorado County search and rescue team members were called to help Lisa Tran and Sarah Pollo, both from the Sacramento area, who were stranded near Lake Sylvia. This is at an elevation of about 8,700 feet. According to the rescue team, the women could not get down or up.

Because of the location and distance into the wilderness the California Highway Patrol used a helicopter to retrieve the duo. Search and rescue volunteers with the assistance of the helicopter team used long ropes to lower both hikers to safety. The rescue took more than four hours.

There were no injuries from the Aug. 13 afternoon rescue.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Joanne Marchetta

For 20 years, every August we’ve paused to reflect on our collective commitment to Lake Tahoe’s restoration at the Lake Tahoe Summit. This year, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., hosting the event, the issue of climate change will be front and center. Climate change poses incredible challenges for Tahoe, affecting not only the health of its famously cold, clear waters, but the health of its expansive forests and what is to become of our $5 billion outdoor recreation-based economy.

The 2016 State of the Lake Report by UC Davis highlights how climate change is already impacting Tahoe. Drought and warmer temperatures are changing precipitation patterns that contribute to tree mortality in Tahoe’s forests. Scientists are studying how these same warming trends are affecting the lake’s ecological conditions and may be threatening the long-term health of Tahoe’s environment.

Joann Marchetta

TRPA and dozens of partners are working together to meet the challenges of climate change and ensure that Tahoe’s environment and communities are resilient and sustainable.

Over the last two decades, an unparalleled partnership has been continuously investing in the Lake Tahoe Environment Improvement Program. We have halted the long-running declines in lake clarity; thinned overgrown forests to reduce wildfire risk; restored wetlands, streams, and wildlife habitat; and improved roads and communities to reduce stormwater pollution. But responding to climate change means we must continue.

Five years of severe drought have stressed Tahoe’s forests. While tree mortality at Tahoe is far less severe than in other parts of the Sierra Nevada, we are taking every step now possible to improve long-term forest health and resiliency and prepare our communities for wildfire.

In the 10 years since the devastating Angora Fire in 2007, Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team partners have thinned 50,000 acres of forest to reduce hazardous fuels, helped thousands of homeowners create defensible space, and worked tirelessly to educate people about the importance of wildfire prevention and preparedness.

All 117,000 acres of wildland urban interface in the Tahoe basin—the most dangerous areas where forests and communities meet—will have been treated over the next decade. That work now needs to extend to the larger forest setting. Through the Lake Tahoe West Partnership, we are planning landscape-scale projects to thin overstocked forests, improve water quality, and enhance recreation access throughout 59,000 acres of Lake Tahoe’s West Shore, an area extending from Emerald Bay to Squaw Valley—a model we can apply to other parts of the Tahoe basin.

TRPA and transportation partners are continuing to build a system of alternatives to the private automobile. We are building bike and pedestrian trails around the lake and doubling down on increased transit service, particularly to popular recreation sites, to reduce traffic congestion, make it easier for people to travel without driving, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With a plug-in electric vehicle readiness plan, we are also working to enhance charging infrastructure and make the Tahoe-Truckee region a leader in the deployment of zero-emission electric vehicles.

TRPA and its research partners are working to understand the potential impacts of climate change at Tahoe and make certain the region’s environmental conservation and restoration programs are as effective as possible. Sustainability and resiliency to climate change are top of mind in TRPA’s planning initiatives, from shoreline planning to transportation, forest health, water quality, the fight against aquatic invasive species, and community revitalization.

Partners are taking major steps toward sustainability. The city of South Lake Tahoe has committed to getting all its electricity from renewable sources by 2032. Vail Resorts, which runs Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood, has committed to securing all its electricity from renewable sources and eliminating landfill waste from its resorts by 2030.

Responsibility for this work must not be someone else’s problem. Please play your part in working toward sustainability solutions. From walking or biking instead of driving a car to recycling, small actions taken on a large scale make a world of difference. If you’d like to learn more about how you can help fight climate change at Tahoe, TRPA’s award-winning Sustainability Action Plan identifies many steps individuals and organizations can take.

Climate change poses unprecedented challenges. But we have a history of partnering together to meet challenges for the health of Tahoe’s environment and communities. By continuing to work together as responsible environmental stewards, we can make certain that future generations will be able to enjoy the treasured lake, forests, and mountains we all are working hard to conserve and restore.

Joanne Marchetta is executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

To the community,

The Tahoe-Douglas Rotary Club is partnering with Bread & Broth by hosting five Adopt A Day of Nourishment sponsorships over the next 10 months.   

“The Tahoe-Douglas Club is happy to support Bread & Broth’s wonderful program and looks forward to a strong relationship with B&B and its fantastic volunteers,” commented Ashley Colvin, Rotary’s acting president.  

Hosting the Monday Meal dinners, which serve the less fortunate of our community, aligns with the club’s mission to serve others by working side-by-side with the community on local service projects.

On Aug. 7, the Rotary Club hosted its first AAD. Volunteering along with Colvin at the dinner were fellow Rotarians Chris Croft, Matt Grime, Greg Felton and Paul Thibodeau.  In addition to serving the community, the Rotary Club encourages their members to “focus on fun and fellowship in all we do”.  True to form, these five volunteers enjoyed their time welcoming and serving the 85 dinner guests who came for a tasty and filling meal at St. Theresa Grace Hall.

B&B is very thankful for the support that the Tahoe-Douglas Rotary Club is providing to our organization. Partnerships through the AAD program provide both monetary and volunteer support which guarantees our Monday Meal dinners will continue to be provided to help ease hunger for our food insecure community members. B&B is looking forward to the Rotary’s next AAD sponsorship in October.

To partner with B&B as a donor or sponsor, contact me at 530.542.2876 or carolsgerard@aol.com.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

The on ramp from southbound Highway 89 to eastbound Interstate 80, as well as the off ramp from Interstate 80 to central Truckee will be closed Aug. 15 from 7am-5pm for maintenance work.

Caltrans maintenance crews will be repairing areas of the ramp’s shoulders that sustained damage during the past winter’s storms. Preventing further erosion of the ramp’s pavement and shoulders will help mitigate further damage anticipated from future winter storms.

Caltrans reminds motorists to use caution in and near work zones. Weather or unexpected events may delay or prolong the work.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE — The South Shore is hoping nine months from now elite cyclists will be racing again on local roads.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board has given staff direction to try to bring the men’s and women’s Amgen bike events back to town.

The event will be May 10-19, but the route has not been picked. Cities wanting to host a leg are putting their bid packages together now, with an announcement expected in October.

It cost LTVA about $270,000 this year to host two stages for the women. This was more than what was budgeted mostly because additional signs were needed because of all the twists and turns the route took in the Carson Valley. Law enforcement and publicity came in a little above budget as well.

While most events LTVA is involved in are about putting heads into beds, not so with the bike race.

“It is really about the media value and the message that we are a cycling destination,” Executive Director Carol Chaplin told her board last week.

Most of the 5.7 million impressions about the Tour of California being in Tahoe were via social media. The value is worth $1.6 million, which doubled last year’s figure.

Climbing Kingsbury Grade in May made for one of the most difficult legs of the Amgen bike race. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

This event has a good international draw, which is perfect for LTVA which is continually trying to expand that market.

While the women’s event is not televised live, portions of it are woven into the men’s coverage.

The men have a bigger draw in terms of spectators and TV audience. This is in part why LTVA would like another stab at the men. They were here in 2011 for the aborted race (snow was the problem) and finished a leg in 2016. The women have been here the last three years.

LTVA board member Pat Ronan suggested the tourism bureau hire a helicopter to record the race. That might add another $25,000 to the budget. A vote on that idea would come after Tahoe is awarded a leg of the race.

The agency had looked into getting drone coverage, but it is illegal to fly over people.

Bryan Davis, the board member who represents Edgewood Companies, talked about how at the celebrity golf tournament they flew drones to the side and not directly above people. This could be a future option as well. LTVA would then have that footage to use in various marketing endeavors, or just reach an interested cycling community. Contracts with the event’s sponsors would play a role in what is allowed as well.

The idea would be to capture strategic locations that show off what the region has to offer in terms of beauty (Emerald Bay, Sand Harbor, Cave Rock) and intensity for riders (Spooner Summit, Kingsbury Grade, Luther Pass).

With Reno just being awarded the Interbike trade show starting in 2018, local tourism gurus believe this will be a complement to Tahoe’s hosting elite cycling events like Amgen and establishing the region as a cycling destination.