By Rob Nikolewski, Los Angeles Times
 
California’s years-long drought put hydroelectric power flat on its back.

But one of the cleanest and cheapest energy sources may be poised for a comeback as the state has been drenched with rain and its mountains blanketed in snow in recent months.

Energy officials studying the numbers are cautiously optimistic the sector’s output may roar back to levels seen before drought decimated watersheds, streams and reservoirs.

Read the whole story

Mental Health Awareness Month kicks into gear on May 1.

Barton Health is involved with the following events:

• 4th Annual Mental Health Forum
  May 9: 8:30-11:30am
  Student Union at South Tahoe High School
  Join the South Lake Tahoe Community Mental & Behavioral Health Cooperative for updates and conversations about the state of mental health in South Lake Tahoe. Parents, caretakers, educators, coaches, therapists, clinicians, and volunteers are encouraged to attend.
• What is Mental Illness — presentation by Saul Zelan of Barton psychiatry
  May 10, 6-7pm
  Board room at Lake Tahoe Community College
  Learn more about the historical and current understandings of mental health along with how developing coping skills are critical in maintaining a healthy mental state.
• Suicide Support Group hosted by the Suicide Prevention Network
  May 25, 6pm
  2092 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 400, South Lake Tahoe
  Find a safe space and healing support for coping with the shock and grief that accompany the loss of a loved one to suicide. This group meets monthly. New participants are welcome.
• The Connection Between Physical and Mental Health town hall hosted by Tahoe Regional Young Professionals
  May 31, 5:30pm
  Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe
  Learn how stress affects the body and find out non-pharmacological ways to improve mood and decrease stress. Parent
• Leadership Program Series
  May 6, 13, 20, and 27 (every Saturday in May) – 9am-12:30pm
  A Balanced Life, 2100 Eloise Ave., South Lake Tahoe
  A workshop designed to help parents build protective factors for their families using the evidence-informed Strengthening Families approach.

All events are free and open to the public. The 31-day challenge also features individual goals and activities. They range from leaving the cell phone at home on May 21 to practicing forgiveness on May 26.

The challenge’s full schedule can be found online.

·      Birder Jim Woods will share his knowledge of birds and other local wildlife on May 19 from 9:30am-2pm. Dress warmly and be prepared for cool weather. Plan to carpool to birding locations. Cost is $60 for Sorensen’s guests, $95 for others, which includes brunch. For information and reservations, call 800.423.9949.

·      Matt Williams, who graduated from Carson High School in 1983 and played third base for the San Francisco Giants, was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

·      Sugar Pine Foundation is looking for people to help plant seedlings in the Emerald Fire scar on May 13 from 10am-noon. Park at the Emerald Bay Road pullout across from Cascade Road.

·      Stephanie Kurtzman, who grew up in South Lake Tahoe, has been named the Peter Sortino director of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis.

·      Outdoor burning is allowed in the Truckee area. Vegetation is allowed in 4-feet x 4-feet piles attended by someone. A burn permit is required. They are available at any fire station. Go to any fire station to get a free burn permit. For more info, call 530.582.7850.

Beginning May 1, single lane closures will take place on Highway 28 south of Incline Village as the Nevada Department of Transportation launches the second season of shared-use path construction.

Construction will start on the pathway and retaining walls, and roadside water quality and erosion control improvements will be built to help preserve the quality of storm water entering Lake Tahoe.

Beginning May 1 through late fall, daytime single lane closures will take place on Highway 28 from the southern end of Incline Village to three miles south of Sand Harbor State Park. Nighttime single lane closures are planned between Hidden Beach to three miles south of Sand Harbor State Park-. Most of the lane closures will take place Sunday night through Friday at noon, although weekend closures may occur during off-peak season. Anticipate 20 to 30-minute travel delays. 

Short-duration full road closures may periodically take place during off peak season (May through early-June; late-August/early September through Oct. 15). Advance notice will be provided. The Memorial Point roadside parking lot and restroom will be closed for the season for construction staging. Beach and trail access between Lakeshore Boulevard and Sand Harbor State Park may be limited or closed during construction. For safety, travelers are encouraged not to access beaches or trails through the construction zones.

Roadside parking from Ponderosa Ranch Road to approximately three-plus miles south of Sand Harbor State Park will not be allowed during construction. Officials encourage travelers to pay special attention to no parking/tow-away zones throughout the project area as towing will be enforced in no parking zones.

The project = is anticipated to complete as early as the end of 2018, but may extend into 2019.

By Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal

Reno’s bringing out the big guns as it makes its final push to land two major trade shows.

A delegation from the Biggest Little City is set to meet on May 1 with representatives of Emerald Expositions, which operates the Outdoor Retailer and Interbike trade shows.

Getting even just one of the events would be a major coup for Reno.

The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2017 that was held from Jan. 10-12, for example, attracted 1,075 brands and about 20,000 attendees, according to event organizers. Interbike, the largest bicycle trade show in North America, saw an attendance of 22,802 with more than 1,400 brands exhibiting at its 2015 event.

Read the whole story

Sierra Nevada Alliance is organizing a regional March for Climate on April 29. The march in South Lake Tahoe is one of more than 300 happening nationwide and internationally inspired by the historic People’s Climate Mobilization in Washington, D.C.

The march comes on the 100th day of the Trump administration. The purpose is to march in solidarity with communities most affected by the rolling back of hard-won protections for the climate; assaults on air, water and land; and direct attacks on working families, indigenous peoples, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA, women, young people, low-income communities and many more.

Organizers say this mobilization is about bringing solutions to the table and targeting elected leaders, especially at the local and state levels, to take bold action.

Locally, people will meet at 10am at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe and begin marching at 10:30am toward the Earth Day celebration at Bijou Community Park. The march will conclude with a couple of speeches.

Animal Coalition of Tahoe spay-neuter vouchers will be available at the El Dorado County Animal Services Shelter in Meyers beginning May 1.

An application, proof of local residency, and $25 check or money order must be submitted before a voucher that can be used at local veterinarians will be issued. Details are available online or by calling 530.307.3638. Applications are also available at Round Hill Animal Hospital, Alpine Animal Hospital, and Sports LTD.

Animal Coalition of Tahoe is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, founded in 2003, and run entirely by volunteers. ACT’s purpose is to raise funds to assist South Tahoe residents with the cost of spaying/neutering their dogs and cats, with the goal of reducing the number of unwanted pets in local shelters.

ACT also uses 10 percent of all funds raised to purchase much needed items for the Meyers animal shelter. Items including a washer and dryer, a bench for prospective adopters, and fencing for a dog run have been purchased.

ACT operates on donations, and sponsors fundraisers throughout the South Tahoe community to continue these programs. The next fundraiser will be Bowl for ACT on May 10 at Tahoe Bowl. Details available at ACT’s Facebook page or by calling 530.400.4766.

By Henry Brean, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Citing Nevada’s long fight to keep the sage grouse from being listed, Sen. Dean Heller has introduced legislation that would significantly weaken the Endangered Species Act and give states almost unchecked control over how — or whether — certain animals and plants are protected.

The bill would require congressional approval before a species is listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Any listed species would automatically lose protection after five years without another vote of Congress in consultation with the states where the species is found.

Heller and fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky unveiled their Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act on Tuesday.

Conservationists are calling it something else: an all-out attack on the federal protections that saved the bald eagle and other once-threatened animals.

Read the whole story

One person has died in a Pollock Pines house fire.

Firefighters found the body while working to extinguish the flames early Friday morning.

The fire on North Street was reported at approximately 5:30am April 28.

No further details have been released.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

An El Dorado County woman was sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiring to file more than 250 false tax refund claims.

Teresa Marty, 57, of Pollock Pines was the owner of Advanced Financial Services (AFS), a Placerville tax return preparation business. Marty conspired with her office manager, Pamela Harris, and Rebecca Bandera-Marty to file fraudulent federal tax returns claiming more than $60 million in refunds. According to court records, Marty and Harris recruited clients by falsely representing that the clients could legally receive large refunds by filing tax returns using IRS Forms 1099-OID. AFS prepared false Forms 1099-OID that reported the clients’ debts as income and the same amount as income tax withheld, resulting in significant claims for refund to which the clients were not entitled.

The scheme included clients from 26 states and caused the IRS to pay out more than 40 tax refunds, totaling more than $9 million. The IRS listed the use of false Forms 1099-OID on its website as one of the “dirty dozen” tax schemes for the years 2009 through 2014.

In addition to the prison term, Marty was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $9,500,492 in restitution to the IRS.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report