·      Blue Angel Café in South Lake Tahoe is having winemaker dinner featuring Boeger on May 11 at 6pm. Details are online.

·      Tahoe Rim Trail Association is having a workday on the Flume Trail on June 15 from 9am-5pm. Register online.

·      Suko Yama Sushi will open this summer on the east end of the Village at Squaw Valley. Vanessa and Richard Fielder also operate Tahoe City Sushi.

·      The Truckee Ranger District this spring plans to burn 300 acres of understory approximately one-mile south of Stampede Reservoir near Russel Valley. 

·      Curbside yard waste collection is available to Incline Village and Crystal Bay residential customers now through July 21 and then again Oct. 2-27 at no additional cost. For more info, go online.

South Lake Tahoe is accepting applications for the South Tahoe Action Team.

The classes will be May 10, May 17 and May 24 from 5:30pm to approximately 7:30pm. There is a “practical” session tentatively scheduled for June 3.

Curriculum will include nine hours of instruction taught by members of the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

STAT team members will be expected to commit their time and will be called upon in times of natural disaster, large scale emergencies and times of need in the South Lake Tahoe area. STAT team members to be well versed in our command structure, emergency first aid, lifting/moving techniques, use of extinguishers, flood safety and building collapse.

If interested, contact Capt. Kim George at 530.542.6161 or kgeorge@cityofslt.us.

By Todd Prince, Las Vegas Review-Journal

International Game Technology may have sold its online gaming business Double Down Interactive at just the right time.

Social casino players are shying away from apps like Double Down that offer a wide range of games in favor of single-genre apps, according to a report this week by SuperData Research, a provider of market data for the digital games industry.

The Las Vegas-based slot manufacturer sold Double Down — which gives gamers the opportunity to play slots, video poker, blackjack, roulette, bingo and poker — for $825 million last month to a South Korea-based company. Double Down’s revenue declined in 2016.

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Labor Day weekend is going to be rocking at Harveys with two popular and very different acts – Linkin Park and Eric Church.

Linkin Park will play Sept. 1, with Church performing Sept. 2-3.

Linkin Park formed in 2006 in Southern California. Each album has been an evolution, with the latest – “One More Light” –  to be released May 19. It is described as being more human and more avant-garde.

Opening that night will be Machine Gun Kelly. He is set to release his third studio album on May 12.

Church, to date, is the only country act in the lineup for the Summer Concert Series. Nashville thought the artists oversaturated the market a bit last year to the point audiences were not robust. So, the pendulum is swinging in the other direction – fewer country artists will be on the road this summer.

Church’s “Mr. Misunderstood” won album of the year last year at the Country Music Awards.

Other concerts at the Stateline venue include: Paul Simon (June 25), Rebelution (June 30), Sammy Hagar (July 2), Train (July 9), Lenny Kravitz (July 14), Third Eye Blind (July 16), Jack Johnson (July 28-29), Slightly Stoopid (Aug. 4), and The Who (Aug. 16).

While it’s not common to see skunks in the Lake Tahoe Basin, they are here.

A dog recently got sprayed in the Cathedral Road area of the South Shore.

“We do have skunks in the basin, but the main population is on the Western Slope,” Carla Hass, spokeswoman for El Dorado County, told Lake Tahoe News. “We haven’t received rabies reports or other issues in the last 17 years. We’d simply remind people to obey the leash laws as they help keep dogs from interacting with wildlife, which in turn keep dogs from having to be quarantined.”

Tom Millham, co-owner of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, said one of the great things about skunks is they help reduce the mice population.

“If you have mice under your house and a skunk moves in, no more mice,” Millham told Lake Tahoe News. “Once the skunk has taken care of all the mice there, it will move on to another location and look for a meal there.”

He said there isn’t much dog owners can do if they don’t have their pets leashed. The dog is going to get sprayed if it comes near a skunk. And the smell – it lingers and is hard to get rid of.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Animal Coalition of Tahoe fundraiser at Tahoe Bowl in South Lake Tahoe on May 10 will raise money for the nonprofit’s spay-neuter program.

Team bowling, dinner and drinks will be from 6-9pm. A portion of the proceeds will benefit ACT’s spay-neuter program and the El Dorado County Animal Shelter. Teams consist of four to eight players. The fee of $20 includes three hours of bowling, shoe rental, and one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets are just $1 each. Teams must sign up by May 9 by calling 530.400.4766 or email info@tahoeanimals.org for more details.

Animal Coalition of Tahoe is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that raises funds to help local residents spay and neuter their dogs and cats in an effort to reduce the population of unwanted pets. Plus the group donates 10 percent of all funds raised to the animal shelter in Meyers.

Karma

Karma is a beautiful and affectionate 2-year-old cattle dog mix. She is about 40 pounds and would prefer to be an only pet.

Karma loves to go for walks and have her tummy scratched. Karma is one of eight dogs available at the shelter right now. They range from a small Yorkie mix to a beautiful German shepherd dog, and include a sweet pit bull, a Skye terrier mix, and a husky. Quite the variety!

Karma is spayed, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet. For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online or call the animal shelter; vouchers are available there also. Bring $25 and a copy of a photo ID and a local utility bill.

— Karen Kuentz

Jasper was killed by a Washoe County sheriff’s deputy who thought he had loaded a rubber bullet. Photo/Provided

To the community,

Over the last few years I’ve been a strong and open critic of Nevada Department of Wildlife’s bear management program, and of those individuals that oversee that program. I feel those criticisms were highly justified, but that is not the theme of this letter. As a matter of fact, it’s the complete opposite.

On May 6 in Incline Village a very unfortunate indecent occurred that severely wounded and ultimately took the life of a matriarch of the Tahoe basin bear community, known to many as Jasper. This event could have been easily avoided by a better understanding of wildlife by both residents, and official entities that may be put in the unfamiliar position of having to deal with wildlife situations.

The actual point of my letter is to offer a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Peregrine Wolff, NDOW Director Tony Wasley, and all those at NDOW who went above and beyond to try and keep Jasper alive.

Toogee Sielsch, South Lake Tahoe

By Kathryn Reed

TAHOE CITY – Placer County is making substantive changes to the contract it has with the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. Something is broken, but county officials aren’t saying exactly what is wrong.

Change – Placer County plans to rescind NLTRA’s power when it comes to capital improvement projects and transportation. NLTRA wants to keep negotiating. The county says the changes will save $300,000 a year; money that can be spent in the Tahoe region. NLTRA disagrees about that dollar figure. The county wants to create a 15-member committee, which the NLTRA and chamber would be part, to make recommendations for how to spend the money going forward. The plan would be for member groups to appoint people, not the county.

Control – Placer County and the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association want it. The county believes it can give a bigger voice to county residents. NLTRA believes more control in Auburn, the county seat, can never be a good thing for those in the eastern part of the county. The county believes with the increased role it has had with transportation and the goal of creating a more regional system, that it is better for it to be in the driver’s seat. NLTRA believes it is more innovative and thinks outside of government constraints.

Access to the public – Placer County wants more. NLTRA wants to be that conduit. The county doesn’t want a middleman. The NLTRA board is elected by NLTRA/North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce members. Members do not need to live in the county. NLTRA believes it has the ear of the business community, and says it listens to non-members. The county wants to hear from more than businesses, as well as non-member businesses.

“We want to communicate directly with the community, not just a microcosm,” said Jennifer Merchant, deputy CEO for Placer County.

“I believe the resort association is better equipped to engage the community in these projects,” said Adam Wilson, NLTRA board president.

History – The relationship has been in place for about 20 years, and started when the county had about zero presence at the lake. In that time all but one project the NLTRA recommended to the Board of Supervisors has been approved. Each year the two entities renew the contract to carry out work in the Tourism Master Plan. The county tells NLTRA what its budget is based on revenues it has collected. The money comes from hotel taxes. Elsewhere in the unincorporated areas of Placer County the transient occupancy tax rate is 8 percent. In 1996 it was increased to 10 percent for the North Lake Tahoe area. That extra 2 percent is to be spent on tourist services in the Tahoe area. In that time about $37 million in TOT money has been spent in Tahoe on nearly 100 projects, with about another $265 million able to be leveraged.

Many people are suspicious of the county, especially when the electeds have been backing projects like Squaw Valley, Fanny Bridge-Highway 89 realignment and Martis Valley West that were opposed by hundreds of local residents. At the same time, the county – elected and staff – is there to make the tough decisions, ideally without personal, political or financial gain, and putting emotions aside. In theory they make decisions for the greater good.

It was the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce that called for the meeting last week for both sides to air facts and opinions, and for the public to ask questions and make comments. About 50 people filled the room at Granlibakken.

One question was: Does the county feel there have been problems with how the things have been run?

“In some cases, yes,” Merchant said. She added, “I don’t want to be in a position to bash the organization.”

Some in the audience are worried about transparency or the lack of it, especially if the county has more control. NLTRA questions why it wasn’t given any warning, especially since it has been in an 18-month process studying how to be more efficient and looking at ways to make improvements. County reps were part of this process since they have a seat on the board. The resort association didn’t know the changes were coming until it received the 2017-18 contract on March 31.

A contract needs to be finalized by June 1 so it can be on the June 13 Board of Supervisors agenda.

To give a broader voice to constituents, the county has scheduled meetings about the changes:

·      May 8, 5-8pm, North Tahoe Event Center, Kings Beach

·      May 11, 4-6pm, Placer County Administrative Center, Tahoe City

·      May 12, 8am-noon, Squaw Valley Public Service District, Olympic Valley.

By Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post

The Environmental Protection Agency has sidelined a website aimed at teaching schoolchildren about climate change, a public watchdog group has determined, as part of the agency’s efforts to align online content with the new administration’s values.

When the EPA announced on April 28 that its site was “undergoing changes that reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt,” it pointed to a snapshot of the website as it looked on Jan. 19, the day before Trump took office.

While it made it clear that this snapshot would not be updated, the idea was to allow the public to see what was being changed under the new administration.

But “A Student’s Guide to Global Climate Change,” a popular site that used to occupy a prominent place on the agency’s main website, is not accessible from either the snapshot or by navigating the agency’s home page, according to the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, a group that has been tracking what changes the new administration has been making to public science and environmental sites.

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