Douglas County is trying to figure out how to pay for body cameras for sheriff’s personnel, which in this last legislative session lawmakers mandated.

The state will allow Nevada counties to increase the 911 surcharge from 25 cents to $1. This would equate to about $9/year per cell phone if the increase were implemented. Douglas commissioners are not excited to go that route.

As it is the fee doesn’t pay for the entire emergency dispatch system and would fall well short of the money needed for the cameras.

The current fee brings in about $127,000/year, which leaves a shortfall of $47,000 to operate the 911 system. That difference is supplemented from the General Fund.

Douglas commissioners have allocated $241,200 for the cameras. It needs more than $150,000 on an annual basis to maintain the equipment and fund the program.

The county is exploring ways to pay for the cameras, while at the same time seeking a vendor to provide them.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Brian K. Sullivan, Bloomberg

Texas struggled through its driest year in history in 2011. Four years later was its wettest ever.

The Mississippi River rose to all-time-high flood levels in 2011. In 2012, its second-lowest.

After a five-year drought that made agricultural irrigation a political hot potato, Northern California experienced nearly double the normal rainfall this year, beating the old mark set in 1983.

As the planet warms, a less ballyhooed new normal is emerging in weather extremes. With deluge following dust, the record book is becoming increasingly difficult to rely on for those who study the weather. The seesaw from one record to its opposite also has problematic implications for water management, storm preparedness and even national security.

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By Jamie Wanzek, Moonshine Ink

After stops at Guitarfish Festival, the Lost Sierra Hoedown, Burning Man, and blacksmith conferences in Salt Lake City and Petaluma, a whimsical and swooping four-person sculpture is taking its last waltz in Truckee as the town’s new public art installation.

Currently, the sculpture is nicknamed “the band,” although its official name will be unveiled on a plaque in the coming weeks.

The idea for the sculpture was born when Truckee-based blacksmith shop Mountain Forge was commissioned to build a public art sculpture for a San Francisco’s skyscraper located at 535 Mission St. Boston Properties, the property company responsible for the development, gave Mountain Forge complete poetic license for their design; the only objective was to create something that excited and engaged the public. Anton “Toni” Standteiner, son of company founder Hans Standteiner, felt inspired to pay respect to San Francisco’s musical heritage.

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The inaugural Kirkwood Bikes & Brews event is July 29 at Kirkwood Mountain Resort.

This event will support the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association. 

Bike events starting at 10am., brew festival events from 3-6pm at Kirkwood Village Plaza.

Activities include live music by Lebo and Friends, mountain bike events, unlimited beer sampling, a raffle, rock climbing walls, Euro Bungee trampolines, bouncy house, face painting, balloon twisting, barbecue, KBar drink specials and more.

Gran Fondo mountain bike rides will be organized throughout the day, with coaching sessions based on skill level. Kids also have the opportunity to participate in the youth bike race.

Complimentary buses will be available from MontBleu in Stateline at 1:15pm. The bus will return to the casino at 7:30pm. The shuttle option is available when tickets are purchased online.

By Tony Berendsen

Jules Verne (1828-1905) wrote adventure stories about a trip “From the Earth to the Moon” and a visit to “The Mysterious Island”; only two of his many science fiction adventures. His writings inspired the imagination, spurring interest in adventure and scientific exploration for many of us, including the rocket genius Robert Goddard and astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Verne’s imagination has been surpassed by the science of the 21st century. We know so much more about the world today, and our capabilities of exploring the solar system with robots have yielded hints of other strange worldly places he never imagined.

On Jan. 7, 1610, Galileo wrote of his discovery of moons orbiting Jupiter, and 369 years later the Voyager 1 spacecraft passed by Jupiter imaging its four Galilean moons sending pictures back to Earth. Just as mysterious as the story of an undiscovered island from mind of Verne, scientists discovered future adventure for generations of explorers within the moons of Jupiter.

Galileo spacecraft image of Europa. Photo/NASA

Imagine, a trip to Jupiter, 500 million miles from the sun, a planet so large the entire solar system would fit within its volume and an armada of 69 moons within its gravitational grasp. An adventurous voyage of this magnitude would surely merit space within the pages of one of Verne’s books.

Jupiter’s moons vary wildly in size and description, from regular to irregular. The irregular are 60 plus small satellites less than 160 miles in size orbiting in prograde and retrograde directions up to millions of miles from the planet. The regular are much closer, with two having orbital periods less than a Jovian day, and four as large as our own moon.

Io is the closest of the four largest we call the Galilean moons. It orbits Jupiter every 40 hours, and is a strange place with over 100 active volcanos, a thin atmosphere of sulfur dioxide, and mountains higher than Everest. Io has temperatures varying from 3,000 degrees near volcanos, to minus 202 in frozen fields of sulfur dioxide. An expedition to explore this place would be no less daring than being shot out of a cannon to the moon.

Yet, the most mysterious moon may be Europa. It’s frozen icy crust is almost devoid of craters revealing dynamics renewing its surface by interaction with subsurface liquid water. Yes, water, maybe subterranean lakes and a hidden salty ocean where the wonder of life may exist beyond the bounds of the planet Earth?

NASA is considering a robotic mission to this distant place to fly by and capture water ejected from geysers they have found spouting from Europa’s crust. What would they find within their sample? If life was found it would be as strange as one of Verne’s fantastic tales come to life. Imagine the great burden of scientists on the mission team formulating a message to the public telling them life is not constrained to the Earth alone.

And if we did find life, would humans want to venture to Europa to study the creatures that gave evidence we are not alone? Would we begin a 21st century legacy of Jules Verne with a trip to the mysterious moons of Jupiter?

Tony Berendsen runs Tahoe Star Tours. He may be reached at 775.232.0844 or tony@tahoestartours.com.

By Henry Brean, Las Vegas Review-Journal

More than 1.1 million public comments have poured in so far on the Trump administration’s review and possible rollback of national monuments in Nevada and elsewhere.

Conservationists in the Silver State hope to push that number even higher in the closing days of the comment period.

The Department of Interior will accept public input through Monday as part of its review of 22 national monuments created or expanded by presidential decree since Jan. 1, 1996.

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·      Tahoe Art League’s 11th annual Artist Studio Tour is July 28-30 and Aug. 4-6, 10am-5pm each day. Go online for a tour brochure and locations.

·      Juvenile Service Council is hosting its fourth annual charity golf event on Aug. 28 at the Cold Springs Golf in Placerville. JSC provides funding and volunteer resources in South Lake Tahoe and in Placerville.

·      Tameka Usher is now director of Human Resources for El Dorado County.

·      Rad Moon Rising, a tribute to Credence Clearwater Revival, will put on a free concert at Minden Park on Aug. 25, 6-8pm.

·      Roads in the Tahoma-Rubicon area will be a mess July 11-26 for an El Dorado County Department of Transportation micro surfacing project.

Lake Tahoe Museum in South Lake Tahoe is putting on a history club for youth this summer.

Due to limited class size, reservations are required — 530.541.5458. Reservations are being accepted for the July 15, Aug. 5 and Aug. 19 classes.

The cost is $20 per child per class.

The museum is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11am-3pm until the end of August.

The Kia Niro is part of the crossing crossover market. Photos/Larry Weitzman

By Larry Weitzman

Kia has become a major player in the American auto market. In a little more than 20 years Kia has total U.S. sales exceeding 645,000 cars a year, more than Volkswagen/Audi by 100,000 units. With that in mind, Kia now brings to market its first car designed from the ground up as a hybrid, the Kia Niro.

Kia Niro first caught the Road Beat’s attention when about five months ago it set a Guinness World Record title by driving from New York City to Los Angeles, a total of 3,715 miles on just 48.1 gallons of gas, averaging a remarkable 76.6 mpg or 4.1 tanks of fuel (Niro holds 11.9 gallons).

Will it do that in real life? Sure, if you hyper mileage, but in normal driving 45 mpg might be more the norm from my top of the line Touring model. The model used in the mileage test was a very well-equipped EX, which achieves, according to the EPA numbers, about six more mpg and costs about $4,000 less than my loaded Touring version.

As a crossover, Kia Niro enters perhaps the fastest growing segment of the market. It’s take no chances as looks are very attractive with excellent proportions in its two-box design. The front end uses Kia’s trademark grille and has some mild aggression.

With a length of just 172 inches, Niro is almost a subcompact riding on a long 106-inch wheelbase. It’s wide at 71 inches and stands a reasonable 61 inches tall. Interior volume totals almost 100 cubic feet.

Specifications
Price $22,890 to about $30,545
Engine 1.6L direct injected inline four cylinder 104 hp @ 5,700 rpm
109 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4,000 rpm
Electric Power system
Electric motor 43 hp
125 lb.-ft. of torque
Battery
Capacity 1.56 kWh
Maximum output 42 kW
Combined output 139 hp
195 lb.-ft. of torque
Transmission
Six-speed dual clutch automatic manual
Configuration
Transverse front engine/front wheel drive
Dimensions
Wheelbase 106.3 inches
Length 171.5 inches
Width 71.1 inches
Height 60.8 inches
Track (f/r) 61.2/61.8 inches
Ground clearance 6.3 inches
Fuel capacity 11.9 gallons
Luggage capacity, rear seats up/down 19.4,54.5 cubic feet
Cabin volume 97.1 cubic feet
Steering lock to lock 2.85 turns
Turning circle 34.8 feet
Weight 3,274
GVWR 4,255
Payload 981 pounds
Tires 225/45X18
Performance
0-60 mph 9.22 seconds
50-70 mph 5.14 seconds
50-70mph uphill 9.65 seconds
Top speed Well into triple digits
Fuel economy EPA rated 46/40/43 mpg city/highway combined. Expect 45 mpg in rural, suburban driving and 43 mpg on the highway at legal speeds.

Under his short hood are two powerplants. First a 1.6L direct injected petrol powerplant that produces 104 hp at 5,700 rpm with 109 pounds of twist at 4,000 rpm. Sandwiched between the engine and tranny is a 43 hp electric motor powered by a 1.56 kWh L-I battery packed under the rear seat that can put out 56 hp but because of different rpms the maximum combined output of the combined power system is 139 hp.

Performance is still best in (compact class) with a 0-60 mph time of 9.27 seconds. Passing times from 50-70 mph are 5.14 seconds and 9.64 seconds on level ground and a 6 percent grade, respectively. It actually feels more powerful especially at speeds below 60 mph. Helping in this responsiveness is the six-speed dual clutch automated manual transmission which has a sport mode which allows the driver to totally control shifting or leave it in “D” which is “ECO” mode and let the tranny make all the decisions using a more aggressive shifting algorithm which means up shifting at lower rpms to improve fuel economy.

Fuel economy is EPA rated in the Touring at 46/40/43 mpg city/highway/combined. However, for some unexplained reason the FE, LX and EX models achieve anywhere from about 6 to 9 more mpg according to the EPA. But real-life numbers are about 10 percent better than the EPA numbers for the Touring with a constant 70 mph fuel economy showing 42.8 mpg. In a 267 mile, round trip from Placerville to Reno via highway 50 and 395 the Niro averaged 43.6 mpg and the run from Carson City to Placerville averaged 53.7 mpg. Good fuel economy but not great as there are some conventional compacts that achieve nearly the same fuel economy like the Niro’s sibling, the Elantra Eco. However, while those conventionals exceed the Niro’s highway fuel economy, the Niro scores much better in urban, suburban runs. A bigger fuel capacity would also be welcomed.

Suspension is state of the art four-wheel independent and with the Touring edition you get 18 inch alloys shod with some meaty 225/45 series rubber. When you add to that an electric power steering rack that is a quick 2.85 turns lock to lock and a tight turning circle of just 34.8 feet you have the ingredients of good handling and a quality ride. Niro delivers on both counts.

Body roll is well controlled and grip is tenacious making the Niro quite surprising, secure, safe as well as fun when the road bends. Ride is also compliant and well controlled. In pure electric, which the Niro does often, it becomes super quiet. About the only intrusion to the otherwise serene cabin is some tire noise on coarse roads.

Four-wheel disc brakes (fronts are ventilated) are at the corners with all the safety acronyms. In addition, Niro has regenerative braking which is seamless. When on downgrades, a downshift will accelerate the recharging of the L-I battery pack and can be easily used to control downhill speed.

Inside the touring edition is a perforated leather interior. Seats feel a bit firm at first, but after some time in the saddles, the firmness is replaced by long lasting supportive comfort. As with most hybrids instrumentation is complete sans a tachometer which is replaced by a power meter telling you the efficiency of your operation of the power system. I rather have a tach and watch the graphic of what’s happening in the info pack centered between the speedo/power meter.

The center stack uses a partial touch screen, which I found somewhat difficult to use as opposed to knobs and buttons. In case of an investigation, they would find fingerprints galore.

There is plenty of rear seat legroom and with the seats folded flat there about 55 cubic feet of cargo space and when up there still remains nearly twenty cubic feet of luggage capacity or about the size of a Town Car trunk, but better shaped.

Pricing for the high fuel economy, well-equipped FE starts at just $22,890 plus $895 for the boat from Hwaseong, South Korea to $30, 545 for my loaded tester, a Niro Touring including destination. Another great car from Kia.

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.

Rob Lake is able to keep a woman suspended in air at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – Little girls don’t often dream of being on stage cut in half, or into nine pieces, or having their head on one side of the stage and their body on the other.

This isn’t some macabre scene; it’s magic. Specifically, it’s the illusion of Rob Lake.

He couldn’t do it without Katy Veneris, Diana Osborn, Rosie White and Natalie Osborne.

“This is the first time I’ve worked with a magician. I still have no idea what is going on,” Veneris told Lake Tahoe News.

The audience at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on July 8 seemed to echo Veneris’ sentiment. Instead of a resounding round of applause it was a delayed reaction after most of his acts. People were in disbelief. They were left scratching their heads trying to figure out what just happened. Were their eyes playing tricks?

Rob Lake’s helper appears to be split in two; her head on the table to the left, and body to the right. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Lake watches the audience’s reactions and feeds off of that. Confusion on their faces can be a really good thing in his line of work.

Lake is an illusionist who is able to seemingly dismember people and then put them back together; start on one side of the showroom and end up on another; plus, he seems to have super powers when it comes to knowing things.

Audience participation is huge – and from all ages. (This is a kid friendly show.)

The 34-year-old from Norman, Okla., will be at the Stateline venue through Sept. 4, Thursday-Monday.

It’s not uncommon for Harrah’s to book the showroom with a long-running act. Last summer it was Alex Ramon’s magic show.

“We want to have something family oriented during the summer months for vacationers, in addition to the outdoor concerts at Harveys,” John Packer, with Harrah’s, told Lake Tahoe News.

Rob Lake’s performance is fast paced and engaging. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Lake was 10 when he saw his first magic show. He was hooked. Even though he spent two years in college studying health and exercise science, he knew he had to follow his dream. And so he hit the road.

Sometimes the four semi-trucks and 20-person ensemble are in a town for a night, other times they have the luxury of an extended stay. Lake was in Tahoe last winter as well. He is loving the scenery; and staying in a condo allows him more freedom with his new dog Roger, who has a bit part in the show.

Inspiration for new illusions can strike at any time – watching a movie, from music, even a store display. It’s not unusual for a full act to come to him in the middle of the night; that’s why Lake keeps a notebook next to his bed.

What he has going on at the South Shore Room is remarkable and stunning. The hour-plus show is fast paced, with some dancing from the four women in between sets, a great deal of interaction with the crowd and an incredible energy that flows from Lake to the audience.