By Justin Bachman, Bloomberg

America’s airports are where long lines, crowds, and the TSA combine to make life miserable. But once the metal detectors, explosives-sniffers, and pat-downs are behind you, suddenly all is transformed into boutiques, bars, and restaurants.

Why not gyms, too?

The airport terminal has long been lucrative commercial real estate, thanks to a captive audience. For those who have hours to wait, there’s not much else to do except shop, drink, and eat. So two graduate business students at the University of Oregon started wondering whether an airport gym could thrive in such a setting. After researching the airport and fitness industries, Cynthia Sandall and Ty Manegold concluded that the only obstacle is mainly cost—not because air travelers consider it ridiculous. Thus, a business model was born.

Its name is Roam Fitness, which opened its first airport location in January at Baltimore Washington International, with a goal of adding two airports this year.

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The non-native white satin moth is causing medium to heavy defoliation in the North Canyon and Marlette Lake areas at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.

Nevada Division of Forestry has recently mapped approximately 200 acres of defoliation in this area. Sightings in the Carson Valley, Spooner Summit, USA Parkway area and Paradise Valley have also been confirmed.

White satin moth

The white satin moth (Leucoma salicis) is a non-native defoliator of aspen, cottonwoods, willows and other deciduous species and is native to Europe and Asia.

It was first introduced into North America in British Columbia in 1920. It is currently distributed from BC to Northern California, and has been present in Nevada since the 1980s. Moths overwinter as larvae, and hibernate on trunks or branches in silken coverings, which are very hard to see because they are covered by bark, mosses and other debris. They emerge from May to early June and feed on the new young leaves. Feeding continues through July as the larvae grow until they are approximately 3.5-4.5 cm long caterpillars. This stage is the most often seen and the caterpillar is grayish brown with a dark head and back. Unique markings for identification include a row of large oblong white to pale-yellow patches down the back. The caterpillars spin cocoons and emerge as adult moths from late July through August. The white adult moth is 2-4 cm long and has no markings on the wings.

Damage done by the white satin moth larvae is directly related to their population size. Defoliated trees can produce new leaves the same season and will have a ragged appearance. However, continued, repeated defoliation can weaken trees, causing long term damage and tree death.

Current damage is medium to severe with damage ranging from 40 to 70 percent canopy loss. The most significant areas of defoliation known are on the east side of Marlette Lake at the campground and in aspen stands immediately south of the lake in north canyon. Other damage has not been estimated but will be monitored for the remainder of the summer season.

The Nevada Division of Forestry will also investigate the possibility of a control program in the future to minimize damage to the aspen forest.

NDF is requesting if the public has observed the white satin moth or the damage caused by this insect to call Gene Phillips at 775.849.2500, ext 241.

By Nicole Raz, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada is the third-hardest state in which to find full-time work, behind New Mexico and Alaska, according a report by the news and opinion website 24/7 Wall St.

The state had an 11.9 percent underemployment rate, compared to the national rate of 9.5 percent, during the 12-month period analyzed through the first quarter of this year, according to the report released Tuesday.

The underemployment rate is a combination of workers who are highly skilled but working in low-paying or low-skill jobs, along with part-time workers who would prefer to be working full time.

Nevada officials chimed in with several notes of caution on the report.

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The Placer County Sheriff Office’s search and rescue teams have started their annual telemarketing fundraising drive throughout the county.

Money is being raised to purchase mobile communications equipment for the Lake Tahoe area. Search and rescue volunteers donate thousands of hours each year to locate lost hikers, skiers and anyone else who may need assistance in Placer County’s thousands of acres of wilderness.

Telephone solicitors will be calling Placer County residents to ask for donations. Anyone wishing to make a donation will be sent a pre-addressed envelope. Callers will not ask for credit card information. Donations should only be sent to the following addresses: PO Box 4150, Auburn, CA 95604 or PO Box 1710, Tahoe City, CA 96145.

During past fundraising efforts, another company calling themselves “Search and Rescue Charities” led some donors to believe that they were donating to Placer County. This is not the case and anyone interested in donating to the local search and rescue efforts needs to make sure they are giving to “Placer County Search and Rescue.”

For further information, call Katrina Kane at 530.889.7846.

The Tahoe Activist Artists’ exhibit We the People: Tahoe Artists Visualize a World of Conversation and Connection will be Sept. 9, 4-8pm at the Tahoe Mountain Lab in South Lake Tahoe.

Art, live music, film, hands-on activities for kids and artist presentations will be part of the free event. Food and beverages will be available, and a silent auction will take place.

The Tahoe Activist Artists is a community of multidisciplinary artists who formed in response to the current social and political climate to explore a more compassionate world. More than a dozen creators will show paintings, photographs, letterpress, video and illustrations detailing each artist’s response to recent events. Artists presenting their work include Shelley Zentner, Anthony Capaiuolo, Ana Valdez, Daphne Osell, Michele McLean, Tahoe Letterpress and singer-songwriter Addison Liming.

A panel of artists will discuss their process at a moderated talk at 6:30pm. A video collaboration between Zentner and Capaiuolo, “Art & Science in an Age of Unreason,” will be screened during the event. The silent auction will begin at 7pm; in addition to featuring the work on display, a painting by artist Phyllis Shafer will be auctioned with proceeds going to local organizations.

In partnership with ­­­­the High Vibe Society, A March for a Compassionate World will begin at the corner of Highway 50 and Third Street in South Lake Tahoe on Sept. 9 at 3pm and end at the exhibit. The public is invited to participate.

For more info, go online.

Pope Beach and the Camp Richardson bike trail will be impacted by a tree thinning project.

The U.S. Forest Service will be thinning of trees to reduce excess vegetation that can feed wildfires, provide defensible space to neighboring communities and improve forest health.  

Work is expected to continue through mid-October.

It is expected that the Forest Service will temporarily close the bike path. The temporary closure is anticipated to last for approximately two weeks. Signs will be posted.

Hazards may be present even when operations have ceased for the day.    

In addition to temporary disruption to recreational areas, other short-term impacts from forest thinning projects include changes to the appearance of forests. Treated areas look disturbed at first, but recover visually within a few years.

This forest thinning is part of the South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project, which aims to treat approximately 10,000 acres on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe over the next few years. 

By Rennie Svirnovskiy, Sacramento Bee
 
Dave Roberts has seen plenty of calamitous fires, and the lingering thought after they’re extinguished always is, “If we’d only been there sooner.”

The El Dorado Hills fire chief knows well that for every minute a structure fire burns, it doubles in size, putting both civilians and his firefighters at risk. He also knows there has to be a way to cut response times.

That’s why he and the California State Sheriffs’ Association have joined with California telecommunications companies and chambers of commerce to back legislation aimed at providing a more robust system of cellular telephone service. Senate Bill 649 would make it easier and cheaper for the companies to place small transmitters in cities and counties. More cells, they argue, will improve service and add critical redundancy to phone systems in areas affected by wildfires or other natural disasters.

But as the bill breezes through the Legislature with few dissenting votes, hundreds of city and county governments are pushing back.

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·      Douglas County is accepting applications for funding of the Community Development Block Grant program. For more information, contact Lucille Rao 775.782.9012.

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

·      At Sand Harbor on Aug. 7 will be the Out of This World Concert featuring familiar theme music from “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and more performed by the Reno Phil as part of its Bravo On The Beach summer concert series. Gates open at 5:30pm, performance at 7:30pm. Go online for tickets.

·      Over The Edge Tahoe, a local family owned bike shop in its third year on Tamarack Avenue in South Lake Tahoe, is adding a coffee bar.

·      The 16th annual Brews, Jazz and Funk Fest returns to the Village at Squaw Valley on Aug. 12-13. All proceeds from the event benefit the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

By Isha Salian, Reno Gazette-Journal
 
The State Bar of California moved forward last week with a proposal to lower the passing score of the bar exam by three points — a change that could increase the rate of passing by about eight percentage points.

The State Bar made the proposal open for a public comment period until Aug. 25, with the goal of finalizing a recommendation in September.

Just 43 percent of test-takers passed the July 2016 California bar exam, fewer than any other state and the lowest figure for California in more than three decades.

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Three years ago, South Lake Tahoe lost a young and vibrant woman to suicide, Emily Ann Alessi.

Suicide Prevention Network aims to prevent suicide by offering education and awareness in all surrounding counties. On average, about 44,000 people in the United States take their own lives.

Sept. 10 will be the inaugural awareness walk in South Lake Tahoe. This day is also World Suicide Prevention Day.

Register online. Cost is $20, which includes a T-shirt and barbecue ticket.

For more info, email alisa@spnawareness.org.