By Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times
 
Starting Tuesday, visitors will have to call up a new website to book a tour at Hearst Castle, a vintage cottage at Crystal Cove in Laguna Beach, or a campsite at Half Moon Bay. And each day brings an expanded booking window too for those who like to plan ahead.

California State Parks is rolling out a new reservation system called ReserveCalifornia, which promises to be more user-friendly than the current ReserveAmerica system.

The new website only applies to California parks; ReserveAmerica still handles reservations for campgrounds and activities in other states. And Recreation.gov is the primary booking website for many national parks.

Read the whole story

By Colton Lochhead, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Opponents of recreational marijuana say Nevada will be hit with “very serious unintended consequences” if the state does not tighten its regulations of the legal cannabis market.

Kevin Sabet, president of the national anti-pot group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, hammered Nevada for what he called weak restrictions on marijuana edibles and concentrates, a lax tracking system and advertising rules that will increase the risks to public health.

Nevada officials noted that SAM opposed the ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana and argued that Sabet’s criticisms reflect “a limited understanding of the law and how some of the regulatory provisions came to be.”

Read the whole story

By Andrea Thompson, Climate Central

The West is ablaze as the summer wildfire season has gotten off to an intense start. More than 37,000 fires have burned more than 5.2 million acres nationally since the beginning of the year, with 47 large fires burning across nine states as of Friday.

The relatively early activity is quickly becoming the norm, with rising temperatures making the fire season longer than it used to be. The warming fueled by greenhouse gases is also helping to create more and larger fires as it dries out more vegetation that acts as fuel for fires.

This new fire situation means that western states need to be begin to rethink how they prepare for and combat fires, as well as how fire-prone land is developed.

Read the whole story

It’s a done deal — Intrawest, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, and Mammoth Resorts are all under the same ownership.

In early April, Aspen Skiing and Denver private equity firm KSL Capital Partners announced they were partnering on a $1.5 billion deal for Intrawest Resort Holdings’ six ski areas. Two days later the new Aspen Skiing Co.-KSL Capital Partners alliance said it was buying Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain.

The new conglomerate will be operating Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Snow Summit, Bear Mountain and June Mountain in California; Steamboat Ski & Resort and Winter Park Resort in Colorado; Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Ontario; Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec; Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont; and Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia.

The company also owns developable real estates and Canadian Mountain Holidays, the world’s leading heli-ski operator.

With the completion of the transaction come personnel changes.

KSL’s Bryan Traficanti became interim chief executive officer. Thomas Marano, Intrawest’s CEO, resigned his position; Rusty Gregory, Mammoth Resort’s Chairman and CEO, is an investor in the new company and will serve on the board, and become senior strategic advisor to the new company; and Andy Wirth, president and CEO of SVSH, will become president and COO of SVSH; David Perry, previously vice president and COO of Aspen Skiing Company, was named the newly integrated company’s president and COO; Intrawest’s Sky Foulkes, previously president of Winter Park Resort and COO of Intrawest, transitioned to focusing full time on Winter Park Resort as its president and COO; and Mark Brownlie will be president and COO of Mammoth Resorts.

For the full 2017-18 winter season, the new company will continue to honor the existing pass products that are currently on sale. The new company expects to launch a new name and brand prior to this ski season.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Gabriel Armenta

A transient who is a registered sex offender was arrested at the Placerville Library for allegedly exposing himself to patrons.

Gabriel Armenta, 42, is accused of exposing himself to a woman and her 18-month-old daughter.

The incident occurred the morning of July 27. Officers said Armenta had been convicted of indecent exposure in the past.

Bail was set at $285,000. The indecent exposure with a prior is a felony offense.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Aug. 1 marks the second consecutive day the South Lake Tahoe Bank of the West branch has been closed for unspecified reasons.

According to the Tahoe City branch, the South Lake office will reopen on Wednesday. It was closed for “environmental reasons,” according to Tahoe City. The woman said she could not say anything else.

A sign went up on the South Shore door sometime July 31 saying an emergency forced the closure. But it’s not known if the public should be worried.

With that said, El Dorado County, which handles public health and environmental health issues, said it has nothing to do with the closure. The South Lake Tahoe police and fire departments are also not aware of any activity to force the closure.

The phone at the South Shore office doesn’t let callers leave a message. The Tahoe City branch said to call the 800 number. A person in North Dakota was reached who had no idea what was going on.

The ATM and night drop are still available.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

One of the great things about this recipe is that it can be served hot or cold, as a main dish or a side.

I made this as an entrée. However, the next day I had some of it cold, so then it was more like a pasta salad. And like so many dishes, the flavors were more pronounced on Day 2.

It’s also possible to change up the vegetable combination to your favorites or whatever you have on hand.

Grilling isn’t essential, but there is something about that flavor that is hard to replicate. The other options would be to roast or sauté the veggies.

Most any pasta works, but I always find something like corkscrew (rotini), fusilli or penne work best for a salad and when there isn’t a heavy sauce.

Pasta with Grilled Vegetables

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 red pepper

2 medium tomatoes

4 ounces mushrooms

1 pound pasta

Vinaigrette

1/3 C olive oil

3 T balsamic vinegar

2 T veganaise or mayonnaise

1/2 T Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper

Cook pasta according to directions.

Cut vegetables into bite size pieces. Place in bowl.

Mix vinaigrette ingredients together. Toss mixture onto vegetables. Cook in grill basket over medium-high heat. (The length of time will depend on the vegetables; they could be done in 10 minutes.) If any marinade is leftover, save it.

Drain pasta. Add veggie mixture and remaining marinade. Toss and serve.

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal
 
A Tahoe-area wildlife activist is suing Nevada officials he says falsely accused him of domestic terrorism.

The activist, Mark E. Smith, is suing the Nevada Department of Wildlife and several of its employees he says, “maliciously continue to make,” misrepresentations.

Smith’s lawsuit targets wildlife biologist Carl Lackey, game division administrator Brian Wakeling and deputy director Jack Robb.

Read the whole story

A special pair of dogs came to Pet Network Humane Society in Incline Village last month.

Honey and Buddy were confiscated from a severe home environment. Honey, a 14-year-old Dachshund blinded due to neglect, requires constant guidance. Luckily, she has Buddy, a 4-year-old German shepherd/Pyrenees mix, who has taken on the role as her service dog.

The dogs came from Lassen County Animal Shelter in Susanville. They have requested the two dogs be adopted together.

The two are inseparable, as Buddy guides Honey, shows her where food is located, and introduces her to strangers. He even pushes Honey’s bed toward her, and makes sure she is always within his view.

Although Honey recently had a mammary tumor removed and is blind, she is in good health. She is very sweet and wags her tail when you call her name. She listens well, and staff guide her by stomping their feet. Buddy is also very sweet, and loves to go on walks and play fetch. He is the most joyful when he is with his Honey.

If you can give Honey and Buddy a fresh start, call Pet Network at 775.832.4404 or visit them at 401 Village Blvd., Incline Village.

·      Karin Holmes will be the interim principal at Sierra House Elementary School starting this school year. Taking her spot as assistant principal at South Tahoe Middle School will be Alana Cayabyab (also on an interim basis.) She teaches second grade in the two-way immersion program at Bijou Community School. The changes are because Ryan Galles left earlier this summer. It is difficult to find school administrators in the summer.

·      Here is the Sierra roadwork schedule from Caltrans for this week.

·      Caltrans has restriped the Highway 28 crosswalks in Kings Beach, including one location that has not been striped for some time — at Secline Street.

·      The Sugar Pine Foundation has partnered with Vail Resorts to plant Western white pines at Northstar on Aug. 6 from 10am to 1pm. Meet at the lower parking area, Castle Peak lot at 10 am. Bring water, sunscreen and a snack. Wear closed toed shoes and long pants. Planting supplies and seedlings will be provided.

·      The 22nd annual Lake Tahoe Marathon is Oct. 13-15. The weekend features multiple marathons with choices of 5K or 10k, half marathon, 18-milers, 144 milers around the lake or a four-day, 288 mile run. There’s a children’s run, plus swim and kayak competitions, and dozens of competitions to choose from. For more info, go online.