Placer County is adapting its rules to make it easier for food truck owners to operate, while ensuring their food products are safely prepared.
“It’s not just greasy food anymore,” said Jim Sweet, co-owner of JJ’s Smoke ‘N’ BBQ out of Loomis. “People are really doing unique items on the menu. Here on our truck, everything is pretty much made from scratch.”
Earlier this month, in an effort to make the required health and safety inspection process easier and more accessible, the environmental health division of Placer’s health and human services department had its first “food truck roundup.” The county invited food trucks to line up for inspection at a parking lot at Sierra College in Rocklin, where they can pass a health checkup and receive their yearly health permit. Previously, a much less efficient practice had the truck owners make individual appointments at county offices in Auburn.
Environmental health staff conduct their inspections, checking to make sure food is stored at proper temperatures, basic sanitation practices are followed and commercial-grade equipment meets standards, among other items. Then, the trucks are permitted for another year.
The county has explored other innovative ways of making the regulatory process more convenient for food truck operators, such as working with neighboring environmental health departments at nearby counties to honor a food truck’s last inspection report without imposing additional fees, so they don’t need go through another full inspection in Placer County. If the initial check of a new food truck’s build and equipment has been approved by a neighboring county, then they are good to go.
Much of Desolation still looks like winter
Lake Aloha is still mostly covered with ice. Photo/Brian Homberger/USFS
The report and photos below are from U.S. Forest Service wilderness ranger scouting expeditions on July 2.
The trail around Upper and Lower Echo Lakes is completely melted out giving relatively snow free access to Tamarak, Ralston and Cagwin lakes.
Around the Lucille and Margery lakes junction, the trail to Lake Aloha is completely covered in snow. Aloha is 90 percent frozen, but breaking up fast from the heat.
GPS and/or map and compass are recommended to find the trail along with proper footwear, clothing and gear. Keep in mind your mobile device may not work in some areas. Develop an emergency plan in case you cannot call for help and always go with a buddy, never alone.
Do not walk on frozen or partially frozen lakes. The snow can be very weak and brittle late in the day.
Heavenly strikes it rich with Silver Rush zipline
Rosemary Manning of South Lake Tahoe on her way across the East Peak Reservoir. Photo/Kathryn Reed
By Kathryn Reed
STATELINE – Hanging on and letting go at the same. Free, yet harnessed in. Remote wilderness, but modern safety features. For a brief moment the world seems to stand still, and yet it’s whirring by at 40 mph.
Welcome to the world of ziplining. While there was a time when this swinging between the trees was a form of transportation, in today’s world it’s all about the adrenaline rush of flying in a relatively controlled manner from one platform to the next.
Heavenly Mountain Resort this month debuted the Silver Rush. And what a rush it is.
Leonardo Aguirre, a 2013 South Tahoe High grad on break from college, belays off a platform. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Progressively the five ziplines get longer, faster and more suspenseful. In all, it’s more than 4,000 feet of soaring, with the last cable being 1,510-feet long.
Before starting off it’s necessary to get geared-up. A harness and helmet are the basic pieces of equipment. Chandler and Magdelynn are constantly checking everyone’s gear. It’s easy for things to loosen up as the day goes on. Redundancy is built into the process. Safety is Heavenly’s No. 1 concern.
Fun and exhilaration are what guests experience. Up to eight people can go on each tour, which includes two guides per trip.
Magdelynn ensures equipment is fastened securely. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Our guides on July 7 added to the wonderful experience. Thorough and serious in their jobs, but fun and encouraging.
We meet near the Tamarack Lodge after taking the gondola up. From there we take the Easy Rider chairlift and walk to the gear shack. After another trek through the woods we come to the first tree with the platform about 20 feet in the air.
The U.S. Forest Service and the company that installed the apparatuses scouted out the location to determine which trees would be best. It’s certified on an annual basis. Guides receive weeks of training.
Coming in for a landing is Leonardo Aguirre. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Holding onto what looks like a toddler-size handlebar, each of us is told to essentially sit – though there is only air to sit on – and cross our legs in front of us. For Rosemary and Leonardo it’s their first time on a zipline. (They are both hooked and ready for more.) Screams of excitement echo through the pines.
By the third zipline the five of us are feeling pretty comfortable. Then you look at the fourth one. It’s so much longer at 1,480 feet. On the other ones it was easy to enjoy the scenery, to look into the Carson Valley. This one, well, it has you realizing just how far off the ground you are and how long you are in the air. There is time to think about how little gear is involved to keep you suspended.
Smiles. Everyone had one as they landed. What an incredible rush.
Getting down requires trusting the guide when she says, “Just lean back.” Photo/Kathryn Reed
Next up it gets worse – in terms of thinking about consequences, and better – in terms of fun factor. Between the platforms is the East Peak Reservoir. This body of water is used during the winter for snowmaking. On Friday its purpose is to be a natural feature to add to the adrenaline searing through our bodies. It works. I don’t want to look straight down, but then I do – just briefly.
Trust in the gear and guides – it’s so necessary.
Beyond the ziplines, the Silver Rush requires climbing two ladders, walking across a swinging rope-wood bridge, a few short jaunts through the woods, and belaying down from two platforms – one more than 40-feet high. These added features – plus the 4-wheel drive ride back to the start – make for an incredibly fun filled three hours.
It’s an impressive amount of ground, um, air, we covered. The drop in elevation is most noticed taking the ride out from East Peak Lodge which is at 8,625 feet. The top of Easy Rider is 9,300 feet.
This isn’t an excursion for everyone. Fear of heights could be a stumbling block. Some upper body strength is needed, especially to pull yourself onto the landing platform.
The sky bridge takes guests to the fourth zipline. Photo/Kathryn Reed
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Notes:
· Different packages are available and prices vary based on age. Details are online.
· Age and weight restrictions apply.
· Reservations are needed for Silver Rush.
Silver Rush zipline
Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Silver Rush zipline is new as of this month. It’s a series of five ziplines on the Nevada side. Video shot by Heavenly for Lake Tahoe News.
Editorial: Important to know how not to start a fire
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the July 7, 2017, Reno Gazette-Journal.
Wildfires have already claimed homes in the Reno-Sparks area. Tens of thousands of acres have burned. And it’s only July.
We can all play a role in minimizing fires going forward. Think about where you can make a difference.
It may seem obvious – don’t start a wildfire – but that’s the thing. We often don’t realize what we should have done differently until it’s too late. Ninety percent of wildfires are caused by humans, the National Park Service reports. If you use a gun, pull a trailer, drive off-road, smoke cigarettes, go camping or live in a rural area, there are actions you can take to minimize fire danger.
Hate crimes in California are increasing, particularly attacks on Muslims and gay men, after nearly a decade of decline, the state attorney general’s office reported.
There were 931 hate-driven incidents reported by local law enforcement agencies in 2016, an 11.2 percent increase over the 2015 total and a 20 percent jump from 2014, according to the state’s annual report on the crimes.
Before that, the statewide tally had dropped every year since 2007. Even with the recent upturn, last year’s report still showed a 34.7 percent decline in hate crimes from the 2007 total of 1,426.
Former Reno resident Greg LeMond is an innovator and businessman who just happened to win the world’s most famous bike race — three times.
LeMond won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989 and 1990 riding carbon fiber bikes, and pioneered the use of the strong, lightweight material in cycling.
His latest venture with Victoria’s Deakin University will develop new ways to dramatically cut the cost of carbon fiber production for a wide range of uses.
The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition has produced a new Tahoe Bike Map, which will be available for free at visitor centers and bike shops.
The paper map, which was designed for the Bike Coalition by Truckee-based SDBX Studios, has been completely overhauled and features the latest Tahoe bike trails.
It depicts Tahoe’s South Shore on one side and the North Shore and Truckee on the other, with community insets to provide detail for neighborhood streets and trails. Here is a link to the map.
Reno dispensaries cash in on first week of pot sales
By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal
The four Reno dispensaries licensed to sell recreational marijuana each raked in “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in the past four days from the state’s first legal recreational marijuana sales, according to Will Adler, executive director of the Sierra Cannabis Coalition.
The Nevada Department of Taxation will not release numbers for state revenue from recreational marijuana sales until late September, according to department spokeswoman Stephanie Klapstein, but industry leaders said sales were on par with expectations for the first week.
Nevada Dispensary Association Executive Director Riana Durrett “very roughly” estimated that Nevada made $1 million from taxes between Saturday and Tuesday, and dispensaries as much as $3 million.
· Emerald Bay State Park needs volunteers to work July 12, 9am-2pm to help restore the historic garden at Vikingsholm. Kids ages 10 and up welcome with a legal guardian. Go online to register.
· Tahoe Mountain Bike Patrol is recruiting for patrollers and running a training session on July 8. Patrollers mainly ride in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park and assist visitors with directions, mechanical problems like flat tires, and first aid. For information on how to get involved, contact Bill Champion at spoonerrangerbc@aol.com.
· Incline Bike Park’s Big Fundraiser Party is July 8 from 4-10pm at Jim Kelly’s Nugget in Crystal Bay.
· When Rebelution played at Harveys in June it wasn’t be the first time the band had been to the South Shore. Five years ago they were at Whiskey Dicks in South Lake Tahoe.
· Peaceful Easy, a tribute band to the Eagles, will play for free July 14 from 6-8pm at Minden Park.
