By Fiza Pirani, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If you’re spending hours in the sun this summer, sunscreen is a must. But according to a report, nearly three quarters of all sunscreen products on the market don’t actually work or could potentially cause more harm.

For their 11th annual sunscreen guide, researchers at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group evaluated the UV-ray protections, toxic ingredients and other health hazards in approximately 900 sunscreens, 500 SPF-labeled moisturizers and more than 100 lip products.

The group found 73 percent of the 880 tested sunscreens either contained “worrisome” ingredients or didn’t work as well as advertised.

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By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal

Nevada may not get recreational marijuana sales in July as promised. 

A group of alcohol distributors are demanding that they have exclusive rights to transport marijuana for the first 18 months of the industry. A district court judge in Carson City validated their concerns Tuesday evening, issuing an order that prevents the state from issuing any recreational marijuana distribution licenses before the matter is resolved.

Distribution licenses cost $15,000 under temporary regulations that go into effect with the state’s early start program, expected to debut on July 1. 

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Publisher’s note: The following letter was sent to Caltrans.

​Last year as part of the Hwy. 89 upgrade between South Lake Tahoe Y and Camp Richardson, Caltrans put in a pedestrian beacon in hopes of reducing the backup to the car traffic on Hwy. 89. Moving forward to the first holiday weekend (Memorial Day) the new pedestrian beacon at Camp Rich is now stopping all the cars more now than before it was put in because the Beacon is an “on demand” setting, so whenever a pedestrian pushes the button, it stops the cars.

The cars now have to wait, even though there are no pedestrians walking across. This causes even more cars to be backed up because they have to wait for the cycle to finish. It is worse now than before the beacon was put in.

Caltrans, you need to change this to a longer cycle so that the pedestrians have to wait longer, maybe 2-3 minutes or whatever is good just like the cities or any high car traffic area.

I have never seen the cars backed up as far as they are now. The backup (stop and go) is now well past 15th Street toward the Y, which is 1.5 miles. The traffic is also negatively effected on the eastbound side of Camp Rich.​

Bob Sweatt, South Lake Tahoe

Note: Caltrans says they are looking into the issue.

By Steve Inskeep, 60 Minutes

Fighting wildfires in America cost federal agencies almost $2 billion last year including more than half the budget of the U.S. Forest Service. Wildland fires are growing worse in a time of drought and climate change, and the biggest and most destructive fires can’t be stopped.

They are a force of nature: imagine trying to stop a hurricane. Yet the government has to try, because more than a 100 million Americans now live in — or near — forests and grasslands that can erupt in flames.

Much of the Kern River Valley near Bakeersfield burned in a wildfire that swept across 75 square miles.  It killed two people and destroyed 285 homes. The wildlands that fed this fire are the same wildlands that attracted residents like Fred Roach.

It kept burning despite the efforts of firefighters who spent $22 million trying to stop it.

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There are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 American black bears living in the Sierra Nevada and sharing habitat with the human population. Spring is the time of year when bears emerge from their winter dens in search of food. Bears are attracted to anything edible or scented. 

Once they get access to human food and trash, bears lose their fear of humans and can cause property damage and threaten public safety.  Residents and visitors can help keep our bears wild and reduce potential conflicts between bears and humans by properly storing food and trash.

The following are tips for safe-guarding dwellings against a bear encounter:

·         Purchase, store all trash in, and properly close bear-resistant garbage containers.

·         Freeze strong smelling left overs, such as fish, until trash day to reduce the smell.

·         Wait to put trash out until the morning of collection day.

·         Keep garbage cans clean and deodorize them with bleach or ammonia.

·         Don’t leave trash, groceries, or animal feed in your car.

·         Keep barbecue grills clean and stored in a garage or shed when not in use.

·         Refrain from putting out bird feeders from April through October.

·         Don’t leave any scented non-food products outside or in your car, such as suntan lotion, lip balm, insect repellent, toothpaste, soap or candles.

·         Keep doors and windows closed and locked when the home is unoccupied.

·         Consider installing motion-activated outdoor lights, sprinklers and alarms, as well as electric fencing.

·         Harvest fruit off trees as soon as it is ripe, and promptly collect all fruit that falls.

·         Securely block access to potential hibernation sites, such as crawl spaces under decks and buildings.

·         Vegetable gardens, compost piles, orchards and chickens may attract bears. Use electric fences to keep bears out.

Tips for safe-guarding your campsite against a bear encounter:

·         Never feed wildlife.

·         Always store food (including pet food), drinks, toiletries, coolers, cleaned grills, cleaned dishes, cleaning products, and all other scented items as soon as possible after use in the bear-resistant containers (storage lockers) provided at your campsite.

·         Clean the barbecue grill after each use and store properly.

·         Always place trash in bear-resistant dumpsters in campground or in bear-resistant containers at your campsite and close and lock after each use.

·         Never leave scented items unattended in your campsite, tent, or car.

·         Never leave trash at your campsite.

To report bear conflicts in California, call 916.445.0380; in Nevada call at 775.688.2327.

TEDxUniversityofNevada organizers  sixth annual event will be Jan. 27. The call for speakers is open from June 1-24.

Speakers interested in participating in the event are encouraged to submit proposals to share their “big idea worth spreading.”

TEDxUniversityofNevada 2018 will take place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

TED stands for technology, entertainment and design. While organizers try to incorporate each of these elements into the program, Reno event organizers are especially looking for technology and design-focused talks.

For more info, go online.

On June 4, more than 3,000 bicycling enthusiasts from all over the country will participate in the 26th annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe.

This fun ride, is not a race. It is a fully supported bike tour that promotes the Lake Tahoe Bikeway project, the master plan to construct and inter-connect all the bike lanes around Lake Tahoe, and assist the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition with it’s annual Bike Safe Lake Tahoe, bicycle safety campaign. 

The ride is also the culmination of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s spring Team in Training (TNT) Cycle 100 national fund raising program where 750-plus participants from 35 chapters and branches are participating and expect to raise more than $3 million.

In the past 20 years, TNT has brought 24,360 participants to Lake Tahoe, bringing their total funds raised to $94 million.

Bicyclists have two tour options based on their ability level with all rides starting and finishing from the Hard Rock. The 72-mile route circumnavigates the highways around Lake Tahoe in a clockwise direction and offers more than 4,000 vertical feet of climbing. The 100-mile option has an additional out and back on Highway 89 from Tahoe City to Truckee.

All ride options begin between 6-7:30am.

 The ride has a limited number of spots for late same day registration. For more info, go online. http://www.bikethewest.com/

By Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee

In the Sierra and other California mountain ranges, the big bloom is coming. But unlike the flourish of flowers that opened in March and April at lower elevations, mountain “spring” arrives in summer.

So far, 2017 has been a spectacular wildflower year. As if celebrating the end of California’s epic drought, vast expanses of wildflowers covered swaths of the Central Valley and southland deserts this spring. At higher elevations, more wildflowers are expected to put on their own prolonged show well into August.

First, the snow has to melt.

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·      Live at Lakeview in South Lake Tahoe returns June 22. The free Thursday concerts go through Aug. 31 from 4:30-8:30pm. Go online for the lineup.

·      Truckee is looking for participants for the July 4 parade. More details are online.

·      The dragapella beautyshop quartet Kinsey Sicks will be at The Loft in South Lake Tahoe June 19-23.

·      Tahoe Donner Association was named Firewise Community of the Year by the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County.

·      Douglas County Public Library will provide storytime at Lampe Park on Wednesdays at 10am from June 7 through July 26. Crafts will be included. Storytime will be near the farmers’ market. Children of all ages are welcome. Toddler storytime will continue at the Minden Library on Tuesdays June 6 through July 25 at 10:30am. Felt board stories, songs and musical instruments are included. This is for ages 3 and younger.

The teenager who died Wednesday in a fall near Emerald Bay has been identified as Chloe Conn of Detroit Lakes, Minn.

The 14-year-old fell about 50 feet on May 31 near Vikingsholm.

El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies are not releasing any details about the incident.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report