Former South Lake Tahoe fire captain Mark Wyant is going to prison for 10 years for transportation of child pornography.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty in December to the one count and on March 3 was sentenced.

Mark Wygant

A plea deal brought the original six charges involving sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of minors down to the one charge.

From early 2011 to early 2012, Wygant surreptitiously filmed a child on numerous occasions using a hidden cellphone and hidden “spy cameras” that he had purchased for that purpose, according to court records. He then transported those videos and photos from a location in Butte County to South Lake Tahoe. Wygant lived in Chico with his family and worked in Tahoe.

A flash drive was found in an unassigned locker at a city fire station containing more than 5,000 images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and more than 50 video files depicting child pornography, according to court records.

Wygant has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 29, 2015. He resigned from the fire department the next month.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times
 
Texts and emails sent by public employees on their personal devices or accounts are a matter of public record if they deal with official business, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a unanimous decision hailed by open-government advocates.

But the court provided only general guidance on where the line would be drawn, posing a challenge for cities and counties forced to balance employees’ privacy against the public’s right to know. 

The court said that communications sent on personal cell phones and computers must be disclosed to the public if they “relate in some substantive way to the conduct of the public’s business.”

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·      Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe will be open until May 29.

·      Now is the time for individuals and organizations that would like to partner with the Sugar Pine Foundation for an event this year to schedule it; call Maria at 650.814.9565.

·      Washoe County sheriff’s employees will participate in the Polar Plunge on March 18 in Zephyr Cove.

·      The Spinners will be at the Carson Valley Inn on July 8.

·      El Dorado County Supervisor Michael Ranalli is hosting a community meeting to discuss traffic as well as bicycle and pedestrian safety improvement opportunities and limitations. It will be March 9, 6:30-8:30pm at the Cool Community Hall.

Tahoe Art League is hosting a free presentation titled A Blending of Philosophy, Art and Science at Lake Tahoe Community College’s Aspen Room on March 8 at 7pm.

The founders of Journey Around Happy Inc. are friends who liked to go on walkabouts together. Chris Hill, a fine art painter, sculptor and “imaginer” for Disney, and Brent von Twistern, a hydrographer working for the U.S. Navy, seemingly had nothing in common but fun. However, during their adventures a common interest was discovered and a philosophical insight led the journeys.

Von Twistern will lead a talk that will give a general background into the philosophy that guides their work, a view of the creative process they developed, a look specifically at the Lake Tahoe subscapes and the story how the art and science have been used and disseminated through the Lake Tahoe community.

The state and feds are expected to pick up the bulk of the $14.3 million in storm damage that El Dorado County has sustained this winter.

Both sides of the county have been hit hard, with some roads – like Elks Club – still not completely drivable. The county has identified 22 emergency projects.

The bulk of the damage is on the West Slope, with $2.9 million needed to repair the Cosumnes River Mine Road bridge the most expensive.

Because the Board of Supervisors and Gov. Jerry Brown have declared a state of emergency there is money available from the state Office of Emergency Services and FEMA. After reimbursements the county’s bill should be closer to $800,000.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

SnowGlobe has gone from a noise nuisance to a visual eye-sore.

Remnants from the three-day musical festival in December are beginning to make a section of Al Tahoe Boulevard look blighted. And it’s bound to just look worse as the snow melts.

City officials and the promoter are saying the snow after the conclusion of the last show on Dec. 31 prevented vendors from picking up their stuff.

“We are working with our South Lake Tahoe based production team daily, monitoring for changes in the snowpack that will allow us a window of opportunity to safely continue our load-out as planned,” Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe promoter, told Lake Tahoe News. “It’s hard to know exactly when that will be — but as soon as that day arrives, we’ll be on it.”

SnowGlobe items, including the structures in the back, remain more than two months after the event. Photo/LTN

According the promoter, the stage was down Jan. 2 and the shipping containers were removed approximately one month ago.

May is likely when everything will be removed. That is what the city has previously said.

In the meantime, residents get to look at what’s been left behind from this city-sanctioned rave. The chain link fence that was put up to keep people out is falling. In places it looks like dangerous twisted metal.

Just inside the grounds, which are not completely fenced off, is a pallet of bottled water. Empty wood pallets are stacked nearby. Machinery and portable buildings are also inside the event space.

Then there are the orange cones that had been put near the school district’s bus barn and the entrance to the jail for those walking to the venue. They are starting to show as the snow melts. It’s obvious some of have been chewed up by snow removal equipment.

Donnelly placed responsibility for leaving behind a mess on one of the vendors.

“The modular offices are property of United and I’ve been told they aren’t able to transport them in inclement weather due to CHP regulations. The vast majority of the issues are attributed to one vendor’s inability to get to the site on the scheduled load out days, remove their assets without damaging them and finally transporting them,” Donnelly said.

The fence for SnowGlobe is a pile of metal in many places. Photo/LTN

This is a brand new field that taxpayers paid for with the assumption it would be used for sports. So far, it’s only use has been for the music festival.

The sod won’t go in until the garbage beneath the snow that SnowGlobers left behind is picked up. Then the local residents will finally get to use what it is theirs.

The city said no environmental hazards are expected from what is sitting on the field.

“The contract states that the applicant must return to the site following all snow melt to ensure complete clean up. We have a $25,000 deposit from the producer to ensure this is complete,” City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the March 1, 2017, Las Vegas Sun.

Nevadans spoke loud and clear about legalizing the adult use of recreational marijuana, approving a November ballot measure on the issue by nearly 100,000 votes.

Now, the state’s leaders must take every reasonable action to carry out the results of the vote, including opposing any effort by federal officials to inhibit the will of Nevada and other states to loosen laws on pot.

In the aftermath of last week’s announcement by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that the feds would be stepping up enforcement of federal laws banning the sale and use of recreational marijuana, there’s been a great deal of uncertainty about how Nevada would be affected.

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Nine people had items stolen from their vehicle in South Lake Tahoe between Feb 20-25.

Six of the reports were in the Tahoe Island area. The majority of the vehicles were unlocked, according to officer.

Two vehicles were reported stolen Feb. 24. A 2010 Silver Nissan Altima was stolen overnight from the 1100 block of Herbert Avenue. The vehicle has since been recovered. A 2009 Silver Subaru WRX, Nevada license plate 746LLW, was stolen from the 800 block of Michael Drive. The vehicle has a dent on the driver side front bumper as well as mounts for a roof rack.

Prevention tips from SLTPD:

• Install a vehicle alarm or mechanical lock for the steering wheel or ignition.

• Lock the doors and leave the windows rolled up.

• Activate any alarms or anti-theft devices.

• Keep valuables out of sight and/or remove them from the vehicle. Expensive items in full view invite theft even if the vehicle is locked.

• Do not leave money, checkbooks, or credit cards in the vehicle at any time.

Suspicious activity should be reported to 530.542.6100.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Ben Botkin, Las Vegas Review-Journal

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s fiber optic network may get another tool for expansion.

Lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 53, which would authorize the Nevada Department of Transportation and telecommunications companies to work together to grow the state’s fiber optic network in a way that benefits both the public and private sectors.

The bill, sponsored by Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, was heard Tuesday in the Senate Transportation Committee. No immediate action was taken.

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“Never Complain, Never Give up” by Todd Offenbacher is a stand-up comedy presentation about skiing and climbing first descents and ascents around the world. From the Arctic Circle and Antarctica skiing to big wall climbing in Pakistan, China, Peru, and Yosemite.

The March 19 event will be upstairs at Blue Angel Cafe in South Lake Tahoe.

There are a limited number of tickets. Go online; they are $25. All the money goes to the Sierra Avalanche Center.

Doors open at 6:30pm, show at 7pm, raffle at 8pm.