By Ben Steverman, Bloomberg

Nancy Harvey has a goal. “I’d like to retire before dying,” she said.

Harvey, 55, has almost nothing saved for retirement. She’s a child-care provider in Oakland, and there isn’t much left over at the end of the month. “It’s not a lucrative field,” she said.

She was looking forward to a new way to save, courtesy of her home state’s government. The California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program would create state-sponsored individual retirement accounts. Employers would be required to offer their own retirement plans or sign workers up for the voluntary IRAs. Four other states—Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, and Connecticut—are launching similar programs, also designed to make it easier to save on the job through payroll deductions.

Now, lawmakers in Washington are threatening to end the states’ auto-IRA programs before they start, setting up another likely confrontation between the Trump administration and Democrat-run state governments such as California’s.

Read the whole story

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners have declared a state of emergency in preparation for the potential of flooding associated with spring runoff and for stormy conditions such as this weekend. The declaration has been submitted to the state and will allow regional partners to expedite mitigation efforts as well as speed up the delivery of resources required to more effectively respond to an emergency.

The county has concentrated the majority of its efforts in debris removal, road side drainage restoration, road repairs, culvert and bridge repair and cleaning, and snow removal, all related to the two prior flood events. 

Douglas County is requesting that the state:

·        Assist with expediting any and all permitting required for mitigation work in or near the Carson River, including permits issued by the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, State Lands, or the Army Corps of Engineers.

·        Directly assist with river bank stabilization and debris removal on the Carson River. This is particularly  true in areas where river bank failure or breaches have impacted Aspen Mobile Home Park in Gardnerville, and have forced the closure of US 395 in northern Douglas County during both 2017 flood events.

·        Directly assist with river debris, sand, gravel bar, and sediment removal on the Carson River in areas where significant deposition occurred during the 2017 flood events.

·        Directly encourage Nevada State Lands and the Army Corp of Engineers to engage in active measures within their jurisdiction of the Carson River and/or to work in concert with the Carson Valley Conservation District and agricultural interest along the river.

·        Directly assist with vegetation removal impeding flows through the bypass underflow north of the 395 bridges in northern Douglas County.

·        To assist specifically in identifying and providing bank stabilization and repair in areas which allow flood waters to escape the prescribed waterway resulting in the closure of US 395 in northern Douglas County.

·        To assist in evaluating potential snow melt originating in the Hope Valley area and feeding the West Fork of the Carson River.

·        To assist with public awareness and information to help people prepare for and respond to flood events.

·        To assist our local agricultural community in any way possible to facilitate their efforts to repair diversion structures and other such structures ahead of irrigation season.

·        To assist and support both short and long term mitigation planning and projects.

·        To coordinate all efforts with our Federal partners to the highest degree.

Sacramento under water, circa 1862. | Photo/California Historical Society

By Mark McLaughlin, Tahoe Weekly

There’s been a lot of talk about weather records being broken this winter, but it was only January’s epic snowfall totals that have made it into the record books so far. In January 2017, the Central Sierra Snow Lab near Donner Pass and many Tahoe Sierra resorts set new monthly snowfall tallies ranging from 20 to 25 feet.

But the current seasonal snowfall total of about 42 feet at the CSSL means we still have a long way to go to reach Top 10 status at Donner Pass, let alone exceed the 68 feet that fell in 1938. We are, however, closing in on the wettest year in the precipitation category, currently holding at third place behind 1982 and 1995, the first- and second-ranked water years since 1871. Remember, precipitation is rain and the water content of snow combined.

There have been plenty of weather-related issues across the West this winter, but even if this year manages to exceed the all-time precipitation record of 112 inches measured in 1982, it won’t compare to 1861-62, the most devastating winter in California history. The predominant weather characteristic in 1862 was also an onslaught of powerful atmospheric rivers, but significantly more intense. The mega-flood that they caused took thousands of lives and destroyed 25 percent of the state’s economy. The devastation forced California into bankruptcy.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

What would David Foster Wallace have to say about the state of tennis today? What nuances would he bring to life? How would he dissect icons Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, who are still the pillars of men’s tennis, who just last weekend battled it out in the final at the Miami Open?

We’ll never know. Wallace took his own life in 2008 at the age of 46.

I just finished reading Wallace’s “On Tennis: Five Essays” (2014 Hatchett Book Group). You don’t have to be a tennis player to appreciate these five works.

Wallace’s writing is delightfully descriptive, bringing the reader into the sport and beyond in ways that reading the sports pages seldom is able to do. He is a bit wonky, as well as insightful. His words are playful and purposeful.

Having played junior tennis at a fairly high level, Wallace isn’t some interloper. He understands the mental and physical fortitude needed to play this sport. And, yet, he is humbled as well as he let’s loose in “Federer Both Flesh and Not.”

It’s that love of the game that allows him to create stories almost out of nothing and turn them into masterfully written works of art.

In “How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart” he delves into how our sports heroes are mortal and how that can be a disappointing revelation.

These essays could all stand on their own – and have been previously published. Together, though, they are an in depth walk through the world of tennis.

Anyone who likes tennis will devour these essays. Anyone who likes sport will relate on some level. Anyone who appreciates fantastic writing will undoubtedly enjoy this collection.

Updated 4:56pm:

Kingsbury Grade will remain closed indefinitely between Daggett Summit and Foothill Road.

The highway was expected to be closed temporarily on Friday as NDOT and contractor Q&D Construction removed loose trees and earth from a roadside slope to help reduce rock and mud fall onto the highway.

What they found is the slope had slid approximately 1 foot within the past 24 hours, posing the threat of bringing mud, rock and debris across the highway.

While that slope was repaired, additional boulders approximately 4 feet in diameter began falling from other areas onto the highway.

Residential and commercial access on the Tahoe side of Kingsbury Grade remains available via Highway 50.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Placer County is offering same-day building permit services every Tuesday in the Tahoe City office as a way to speed up the process for what is expected to be a busy spring-summer to deal with winter storm damage.

The Tahoe office can help with permits for repairs, decks, patio covers, signs, pools, minor interior alterations, reroofs, electrical repair, HVAC change-outs, solar panel installation, window and door change-outs and other minor building, electrical, mechanical or plumbing permits.

The office is at 775 North Lake Blvd. or go online.

Tahoe Beach Retreat in South Lake Tahoe will be going to the dogs with the help of Animal Coalition of Tahoe.

On April 11 from 4-8pm there will be a special party in honor of National Pet Day.

TBR will have all kinds of activities taking place in The Tavern: the Heavenly and Sierra-at-Tahoe avalanche dogs will make an appearance, pet psychic Terri Jay will provide mini readings on pets and people ($20 for 10 minutes), and artist Will Eichelberger will be displaying his animal art.

Plus, there will be a best dressed dog contest. Entries are $5, with proceeds going to ACT. 

If you bring your dog, you’ll receive 25 percent off your tab in The Tavern.

By Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times
 
Startlingly green hills, surging rivers and the snow-wrapped Sierra Nevada had already signaled what Gov. Jerry Brown made official on Friday: The long California drought is over.

“This drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner,” Brown said in a statement. “Conservation must remain a way of life.”

The five-year drought won’t just be remembered for its stubborn severity. It produced a historic groundwater use law and the first-ever statewide restrictions on urban water consumption

Read the whole story

Two people were arrested April 6 in Truckee in connection with a vehicle that had been stolen in March in Reno.

The owner of the stolen vehicle called the police about 4:45pm Thursday saying he saw his vehicle in Truckee. Officers responded near the Rite Aid store where they found the vehicle parked and unoccupied. Two people returned to the vehicle and were taken into custody without incident.

Both suspects claimed to be from the Bay Area, however officers are still trying to confirm their identities. The names provided, Shmid Osibin, 43, and Lindsey Turner, 40, were arrested on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and conspiracy. Osibin also faces charges of  possessing drug paraphernalia.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A 60-year-old man was in critical condition after being struck by an alleged drunken driver early this morning in Incline Village.

The pedestrian was on Tanager Street near Oriole Way at about 2:45am April 7 when a vehicle driven by Bradley Perry, 33, of Incline hit him, according to deputies with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

Perry was arrested on charges of driving under the influence resulting in substantial bodily harm.

The victim, whose hometown is unknown, was taken to Renown Medical Center in Reno.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report