By Alison Noon, AP

CARSON CITY — Weighing in on how Nevada should test people for stoned driving, lawmakers advanced a measure on Friday to eliminate urine samples as a viable measure for police to show a driver to be impaired by marijuana.

Under the bipartisan proposal, law enforcement officers would continue using blood tests to prove a person was illegally operating a passenger car, commercial truck or boat while high.

The bill would retain specific legal limits set in 1999 for drivers’ blood content of THC, the psychoactive chemical in pot. Anyone with a blood-THC level at or above 5 nanograms per milliliter is considered too high to drive.

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By Porter Fox, Powder
 
One degree makes the difference between rain and snow falling in the mountains. And one decision is all it takes for a ski industry executive to help save snow for its patrons, board members, investors, and every other creature, plant, and soul living near the mountains. The right decision is to use the influence and resources of the $60-billion snow-sports industry to aggressively push for meaningful state and national climate change legislation.

At this very late stage in the game, large-scale policy change regarding how we create and consume energy is the best, and perhaps only, way to save winter. It is natural that the ski industry—which is already hurting from the effects of warming—take a leadership role in doing that. Awareness campaigns, Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), recycling, and efficiency improvements are commendable, but they will not move the needle. For many executives, touting these initiatives has been a way to say they are doing something, while not doing nearly enough. Snow is melting at a historic rate, and it will only get worse if we continue on a business-as-usual track.

An exec from a trade group told me flatly, “The climate is changing. We are becoming four-season resorts. Skiers will just have to get their mountain bikes out.”

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By Sandra Chereb, Las Vegas Review-Journal

CARSON CITY — There was no opposition Thursday to a bill imposing lodging taxes on short-term rentals arranged through online outfits like Airbnb if such rentals are allowed by local governments.

Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams, D-Las Vegas, said the purpose of Assembly Bill 294 is to bring parity to the transient rental market and recognize the growing share private rentals are having on temporary lodging.

Regulation of private home or room rentals in Nevada is a mixed bag.

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·      Douglas County School District board will have a public hearing on the 2017-18 budget on May 17 at 5pm in Minden.

·      Boat inspections are not being offered at the public Donner Lake boat launch this season. All Truckee inspections will be at the Truckee Airport. Any boats that try to launch without at current sticker will be directed to the inspection station, and may be subject to a citation if they launch without a valid sticker.

·      Lisa Nigon is now marketing director for Homewood Mountain Resort, West Shore Cafe and Homewood High & Dry Marina.

·      Truckee is having a budget workshop May 15 from 2-8pm at the airport.

·      Here are the El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra roadwork schedules from Caltrans for the week.

By Kathryn Reed

That iconic swoosh, those orange boxes the shoes come in and even the company’s name were all a bit haphazard in how they came to be. The Nike brand of today is much different than when the company was just starting.

While Phil Knight knew he wanted to change the running shoe world, his path to being a force to be reckoned with was fraught with financial insecurity, family strife and international struggles.

Knight, the founder of Nike, in 2016 published his memoir “Shoe Dog” (Simon and Schuster).

It’s a book that will appeal to most people, not just athletes or business owners/entrepreneurs.

For me, the Nike brand seems to always have been a part of my life. Like many businesses I’ve never given much thought to how they started. This was a journey that seemed honest in how it was told. Knight acknowledged his short-comings and fears. He was slow embrace the need to advertise, which today seems impossible to believe.

Knight’s drive and determination took a toll on some of his relationships. While he touches on that in the book, it’s more on the periphery.

His vision and the tenacity to stick with his dream are more than admirable. He could have given up. He had an accounting background to fall back on. But he was consumed by this crazy idea.

Surrounded by people who believed him and a growing running community who embraced the changes he brought to the shoe world, Knight persevered. Clearly, it paid off.

Even though the book is 400 pages, in many ways it’s just a snapshot of the company and the man. It ends when Nike went public. And while this made him a millionaire many times over, his charitable contributions are extensive.

This was my book club’s April book. We all gave it high marks for likeability and would eagerly recommend it to others.

By Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
CARSON CITY — It’s crunch time at the Nevada Legislature, with 30 days and counting to a mandatory June 5 adjournment.

Based on legislative history, 75 percent of the work of the 120-day session will be accomplished in the remaining 25 percent of the time available.

Weekends off will become a distant memory.

But a big stumbling block remains in the rush to sine die: The party-line disagreement over funding for Education Savings Accounts.

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The canoe may be damaged beyond repair. Photo/Provided

This winter has taken a toll on Tahoe Outrigger (Kawai’ulu ‘O Tahoe) Canoe Club’s ability to compete.

Snowmageddon 2017 took out Keahi, the club’s only racing canoe. Heavy snow along with a tree falling on the storage shed where the outrigger was stored severely damaged the canoe.

Kawai’ulu ‘O Tahoe is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has been part of the Lake Tahoe community for 17 years. With a shorter season than any other team in the world, the combination of enthusiasm of locals and training at altitude has created a compelling and competitive team. Local teams are consistently top finishers race after race.

Now the group is looking for help to repair — if possible — or replace Keahi. A GoFund Me account has been set up.

For more information about the outrigger group, go online.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s board on Tuesday is being asked to increase the rate of pay for the next principal of South Tahoe High School.

The recommendation is for the rate to increase by 5.2 percent. In year one the rate would be $111,601, going to $134,040 in year eight.

The position would also come with a 3.25 percent increase in the number of duty days.

The May 9 staff report says the reason to do this is to offer “a comparable salary for this region.”

The new hire would get an additional $1,714 for every master’s and/or doctorate degree awarded from an accredited college or university. This is the same for all management personnel.

STHS needs a new principal because Chad Houck gave notice that this would be his last year. He was the lone casualty of the school receiving a probationary accreditation status.

Also on the May 9 school board agenda is an update on the accreditation process.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The width of handlebars is one thing that differentiates women’s and men’s bikes. Photo/Provided

By Susan Wood

One could say Canadian professional rider and Amgen competitor Kirsti Lay has kept pace with the evolution of the bicycle.

That’s because the Montreal cyclist has diversified her lifelong riding habits through the years. Though subtle in geometry and operation, a bicycle’s materials have changed quite a bit in the century-plus it’s been around.

And in her mere 29 years, Lay has made a point of trying out different variations. Her latest version will be featured competitively in the Amgen Breakaway from Heart Disease women’s race slated to start in South Lake Tahoe on May 11-12 and finish in the Sacramento area the following two days.

Kirsti Lay has come along day since her training wheel days. Photo/Provided

“I’m excited. The Tour of California (aka Amgen) is the No. 1 race on the calendar. It’s the biggest race in the United States, especially for women,” Lay told Lake Tahoe News.

This year’s ride for the women is Lay’s third – which holds the distinction of having the highest summit in race history at 7,740 when the 300-plus riders crest Luther Pass. Moreover, climbing Daggett Pass over Kingsbury Grade represents no slouching either.

Lay crashed last year on Stage 2 in Folsom, sustaining a back injury. So, she hopes to make a big showing this year when she slings out of the pack from drafting to lead in the finish.

“It’s so beautiful, but it’s not like you’re really looking. You have to pay attention,” she said of the Tahoe legs, in a remark that resembles what a mountain biker says about the Flume Trail.

“I like that it’s a little bit of everything. You have the altitude, making it a hard race. You can’t really hide. You have to race smart, especially when the lactic acid puts you in the pain cave with its super intensity and you need oxygen. You just have to recover.”

The weight of professional bikes continues to decline. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

That’s when those 22 speeds running off an 11-ring sprocket on two chain rings that racers now traditionally use will help Lay, who is laying down her strategy with her Diamondback provided to her Rally Cycling Team by SRAM, her sponsor.

Not bad for a little girl known for routinely roaming her small-town neighborhood in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Lay has been on one of her many bikes for as long as she can remember, leaving training wheels at age 3. She spent most of her childhood on her “purple” bike – the proverbial 10-speed most serious enthusiasts used up through the 1980s.

She enjoyed being out on her bike so much as an adolescent, her mother had to corral her to get her to the dinner table.

Move over computerized gadgets that occupy today’s youth. This fascination would come later to her as an adult with a power meter on her competitive bike to mark one of the biggest differences in bike technology.

Lay deviated from cycling between the ages of 10 and 24 by taking on speed skating on a track. She got so good at it she earned an Olympic bronze medal for Team Pursuit at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

When a debilitating ankle injury sidelined her speed skating career, she traded in her blades for wheels and elevated her passion for cycling. The Cycling Canada Federation recruited her for track racing, in which she came to excel in the no-holds-barred pursuit of the Velodrome for National Team Track Cycling. Talk about a different type of bicycle – one gear, no brakes.

Kirsti Lay is motivated to do well in this year’s Amgen bike race that starts May 11. Photo/Provided

In the summer, Lay would take to the road, racing competitively for more than three years. With that, she even met her hubby, Mathieu Girous. Roadies in competition run in close-knit circles.

“Cycling ended up being more fun,” she said, comparing it to speed skating. For one thing, competitors don’t have to always turn left. “It was better on my body.”

She also improved her bicycle components along the way.

Racing bikes have evolved quite a bit from her training wheels and steel “purple” bike and the 1970s Norco 10-speed her parents loaned her to take to college.

“I used it because no one would steal it,” Lay joked about its age. Then, there were the snowy spring conditions it had to endure. “It was pretty indestructible.”

Now people have asked to buy the family bike because it’s a collector’s item.

For racing, Lay found herself riding on what would be considered “men’s bikes” – even though those in the industry consider the gender differences slight.

Size makes for the most significant difference between how a man’s versus woman’s bike operates. Men have wider shoulders, so the handlebars tend to be a few centimeters wider. Women have wider hips, so the seats may be a little larger.

“There’s not a lot of difference, but the companies may sell them that way,” she said.

Frame technology has changed the most through the years. Photo/Bob Gregorio

Laying the framework

Her first racing bikes were designed for men, but she admitted to “liking the colors,” she joked. But when she moved to a smaller version of racing, it didn’t feel as bulky.

“I felt like I was driving a school bus,” Lay said. “When you’re fit properly, you know the difference.”

The biggest difference in the evolution of bicycles is the frame, which moved from steel to aluminum to carbon fiber – the latter becoming the choice of many serious cyclists. The latter two materials are lighter, with the carbon variety installed as a single part instead of the steel tubes welded together.

In some cases carbon bikes weigh as much as 10 pounds lighter than even a light steel. Carbon also withstands vibration better than aluminum, as Lay discovered and the experts attest to.

Bike components keep evolving. Photo/Bob Gregorio

Lay’s teammate on the men’s side, Evan Huffman, pointed out how his race training Diamondback bike lets him soar up the hills – a necessity to prepare for the taxing Amgen race. Lake Tahoe enthusiasts may witness the men’s legs of the race in the Sacramento area with the women on the same weekend. The men finish in Pasadena on May 20.

“I feel I can climb anything with this gearing,” Huffman told Lake Tahoe News while out on a ride in Folsom. At 27, the El Dorado Hills resident recalled how his evolution into cycling also aligned with the changes to bike technologies. He likes what he sees now.

He rode seriously as a child, competing in triathlons as early as 10 years old. Moving from aluminum to carbon fiber frames elevated his status in the cycling world.

Evan Huffman embraces the changes in bike components. Photo/Susan Wood

Shifting gears for the next generation

The shifting components may be an area of change to come. The shifters have already moved from the drop tube on the frame to the handlebars. Huffman anticipates the mechanical gear shifting with its full cable to move to more electronic with a short cable where a touch of a button will sense and signal what gear to be in for the terrain. All the manufacturers including Shimano, SRAM and the old European favorite Campagnolo “Campi” are making electronic versions, but some in the industry agree the technology is prone to be temperamental in moisture.

Then, there’s wireless – which would come with no cable of course.

The computer technology would match one of the other monumental changes to the evolution of bicycles aside from the frame and the shifting system.

Racers insist on power meters planted as a small sensor on the bike, much like a heart monitor used at the gym.

“At the elite level, competitive cyclists choose to monitor their power with this valuable training device. You can see how you’re doing from week to week, while mapping out a ride,” said Bob Gregorio, a top-notch racing mechanic who’s an inventory cycling parts specialist for Circuit Global Sports Management in Golden, Colo. “And with GPS expanded, you can measure how much wattage you put into the crank and how hard you’re pushing. Then, you can download and see it later at some point in the day.”

For pedals, Lay and Huffman ride on the lollipop-shaped Speedplays because they’re light, allow for more power with a push and pull action and are easy to get in and out of with their dual sides. Weekend warriors doing triathlons tend to use these pedals similar to ski bindings.

Few differences separate the various bikes at the top level of racing. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

Sprockets, chains, derailleurs, cranks and clips — Gregorio makes it his business to keep up with the latest bike technology. He defines steel bikes as fine for the weekend warrior with their durable yet heavier material, but the material is unheard of now for racers who have graduated from aluminum and titanium to carbon fiber.

Technology exists for disc brakes, but it’s seldom used and not at all in elite racing.

“They’re banned because they’re dangerous. There were too many crashes. Then you have a sharp piece of metal. It could be a thing of the future, but they’ll have to make them safer,” Gregorio told Lake Tahoe News.

Hydraulic brakes have become more common with mountain bikes, but the change for roadies hasn’t been “driven by the marketplace,” Gregorio insisted.

An area of noticeable change with bicycles is simply in the price of them.

As a youngster in the mid-1960s, Gregorio used to visit his local Schwinn shop as he had “already been bitten by the cycling bug.”

“I entered one day to get a part for my coaster brake hub, and there on the wall was hanging a Schwinn Paramount with full Campagnolo Nuovo Record components and silk tubular racing tires,” he said as though seeing a gorgeous girl. “It only weighed 21 pounds. It was the most beautiful bicycle I’d ever seen – a highly functional piece of artwork. But it’s price tag was outlandish to me at the time — $350.”

Now road bikes for the consistent rider can run $1,000 to $7,000. At the pro level, high-end bicycles cost $7,000 to $10,000.

One can see these high-quality machines in action when the women take to Lake Tahoe’s South Shore roads. The Amgen Stage 1 race starts at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s California Base Lodge for the ride around the lake. Stage 2 features the climbs on this 67.1-mile route, running through Meyers, over Luther Pass into Hope Valley along the Carson River around the Washoe Reservation before heading west onto Foothill Road in the Carson Valley and up Kingsbury Grade. The latter represents an 8-mile climb that gains 2,700 feet.

Both stages finish up Ski Run Boulevard to Heavenly. It’s recommended that spectators hoping to vie for position and enjoy the bike expo at Heavenly to get there at least by 10am.

By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee

Dan Walters

Throughout California, local government and school district officials are writing new budgets and confronting rapidly rising costs of pensions.

Many have seen their costs double in the last few years, largely consuming revenue increases that the state’s expanding economy have produced. For instance, a projected $1 billion increase in school districts’ teacher pension costs in 2017-18 will more than equal projected revenue gains.

However, as the old rock song says, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

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