Skiing at various North Shore resorts could benefit the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Excellence in Education Foundation.
Tickets purchased in advance online or at Tahoe Dave’s ski shops at a discounted are valid at Homewood, Northstar, Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows and Tahoe Donner.
Most tickets may be used throughout the season, non-holiday.
For more info, call 530.550.7984.
By Colton Lochhead, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Nevada’s cannabis industry wants to be tested.
Hoping to avoid the pitfalls seen in other states that have legalized marijuana, several in Nevada’s marijuana industry want the state’s stringent testing of medical marijuana products to be carried over to the recreational market. Doing so is essential to protecting the consumers, they say, as well as the industry.
Nevada requires medical marijuana products be tested by independent laboratories for pesticides, microbial bacteria, mycotoxins and heavy metals, as well as for the level of THC potency, on a regular basis. That type of regulatory barrier is seen in only a handful of the 28 states with legal forms of marijuana. Some of those states, like Arizona, Michigan and Rhode Island, have no testing requirements for medical marijuana.
El Dorado County received approximately $200,000 from CalFire to help low income senior citizens remove dying trees that endanger their residence.
Specifics about the program will come in February when the county receives the money. The dollar amount is the maximum the county could have gotten from the state agency.
Another $868,840 was obtained by the county from various organizations like fire safe councils, utility districts, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to remove dead and dying trees, and perform fuel treatments.
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors in March proclaimed a local state of emergency due to pervasive tree mortality. The county has about 512,000 dead trees, of those 200,000 are in the Eldorado National Forest.
A grizzly finds its salmon dinner in Alaska’s Denali National Park. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright
By Jim Yuskavitch, Sierra
It’s been nearly 50 years since one of the last grizzly bears in Washington State’s wild North Cascades was shot and killed. It’s been even longer, more than 90 years, since the last known grizzly vanished from California, where the great bear’s image is still emblazoned prominently on the state flag.
But they may be poised for a comeback. There are plans in the works to reintroduce grizzlies into the North Cascades ecosystem, initiated by the federal government in the early 1990s. Also, conservationists have proposed doing the same in the remote regions of the southern Sierra Nevada, which could also open the door for grizzly reintroductions into other parts of their historical range beyond their current Northern Rockies stronghold.
Grizzly bear populations began dropping in the West in the mid-1850s, mostly from hunting. By 1920, they were gone from 95 percent of their historical range. Grizzlies were deemed extinct in California by 1924.
Men and women of various ages and types are needed for Lake Tahoe Community College’s winter quarter production of the comedy “Love/Sick” by John Cariani.
Auditions are Jan. 10 at 7pm in LTCC’s Duke Theatre. Performances of “Love/Sick” take place March 17-26.
This is a collection of nine short plays. Set on a Friday night in an “alternate suburban reality,” the play explores the pain and joy that comes with being in love.
Auditions will consist of readings from the play. Scripts are available on reserve at the front desk in LTCC’s Roberta Mason Library, which will reopen from the college’s holiday break on Jan. 3. Audition information and character breakdowns may be found online.
Statistics from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office’s recent Joining Forces click it or ticket traffic safety campaign indicate that drivers are buckling up, but many are speeding and driving while distracted by their cell phones.
Of the 360 citations issued during this three-week campaign, five were for seat belt violation. However, 151 citations were issued for speeding and 93 for cellphone use.
Deputies initiated 275 traffic stops during enforcement period. Although a driver may be stopped for one violation, several other violations may be observed during the subsequent investigation making it possible that a driver may be issued citations for numerous violations.
The total number of violations cited and warnings issued by the sheriff’s office during this event was 360:
A 32-year-old Reno man remains in custody this morning on pimping and other charges.
Bail for Francisco Nieves has been set at $345,000.
He was in arrested in South Lake Tahoe on Dec. 19 after the 23-year-old victim reported the crime to Carson City sheriff’s deputies. She told investigators the incident occurred at a South Lake Tahoe motel.
Officers are looking for more victims. If anyone has more information, they should contact the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at 530.542.6100.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
By Kathryn Reed
Two board members of the California Tahoe Conservancy have refused to resign even though they have been asked to do so.
And now the state agency’s attorney is backpedaling when it comes to what exactly he wants them to do. Tom Davis and Sue Novasel, who represent South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County, respectively, on the CTC board aren’t going quietly.
“They recommended that I immediately resign. I have not resigned,” Novasel told Lake Tahoe News.
Earlier this month she received a phone call from Executive Director Patrick Wright and a staff attorney telling her she suddenly had a conflict by being on the board and an elected official.
Davis received the same news, only in person the week before the December board meeting.
“We had some strong words. I was pissed off,” Davis told Lake Tahoe News.
Now the Conservancy is changing its message, at least with the media. On Dec. 19 staff attorney Mike Steeves told LTN, “The AG’s Office is not requesting any action nor is this agency. We are not asking for board members to resign or for board members to be removed.”
He said he has no written correspondence from the Attorney General’s Office. Neither the city nor the county have anything in writing from the AG either.
When Lake Tahoe News contacted the AG’s Office, the response was, “We represent the Conservancy so you should reach out to them directly.” When told the CTC said to contact the AG, the AG folks replied, “The Conservancy is our client, and we’ll continue to direct inquiries their way.”
Another player in all of this is the state Natural Resources Agency. While CTC is an independent board, it operates under this larger state organization.
The CTC was created in 1984. In that time the makeup of the board has included: one member appointed by the South Lake Tahoe City Council, one member appointed by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, one member appointed by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, the secretary of the Resources Agency or his or her designee, one member appointed from the general public by the Senate Committee on Rules, one member appointed from the general public by the Speaker of the Assembly, and the director of Finance or the director’s designee. The U.S. Forest Service member does not have a vote. Most of these 30-plus years the three local jurisdictions have had an elected councilmember or supervisor on the CTC board.
Today, Placer has Larry Sevison, who is not an elected official. However, Sevison has been a Placer County supervisor and was instrumental in the creation of the Conservancy.
“I don’t think I’m in a position that I can comment right now because there is so much in transition. I would be happy to let you know when we get clear definition of where we are headed. Right now there is no clear direction,” Sevison told Lake Tahoe News. “Obviously there is so much disagreement going on between the city and the Conservancy and the county and the Conservancy.”
That last statement by the CTC board chairman is what is rankling elected and staff officials within South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County. They believe the potential ousting of Davis is retribution by Wright et al because the city has been critical of the CTC and the executive director in particular. Novasel is essentially collateral damage.
“It is certainly interesting that when the executive director is called into question as to his activities for which the board should or can hold him accountable, there is then a question if those very board members can sit as board members,” South Lake Tahoe City Attorney Tom Watson told Lake Tahoe News.
The city and Conservancy’s rift started with the potential development project involving the Knights Inn. The Conservancy was going to provide funding for the land acquisition and subsequent water quality project. Then they backed out when the commodities became an issue. It is through the acquisition and then selling of commodities as well as the Asset Lands Management Program that the Conservancy continues to stay solvent because it is no longer receiving large sums of cash from the state.
Wright has been behind this change in the direction of the CTC, which helps to ensure this Nevada resident has gainful employment by the taxpayers of California.
Councilman Davis has been a recent vocal critic of Wright. This fall he asked for the board to do a performance review of the executive director. He was last evaluated in 2013.
At the board meeting this month there was much discussion about Wright’s future eval. The board only meets quarterly and because Wright won’t be at the March meeting the review won’t take place until June. (Novasel was not at this meeting because of a family emergency.)
“There was a movement to silence me and they dug deep,” Davis said.
The depth he refers to is the Conservancy coming up with this potential conflict after 30 years. It was CTC staff who contacted the AG.
“Two precipitating events led to the Office of the Attorney General reviewing potential conflict of interest issues for California Tahoe Conservancy board members. First, at the Conservancy’s September board meeting, a board member (Novasel) raised concerns regarding potential conflicts associated with voting on a Prop. 1 grant award to that board member’s jurisdiction,” Nancy Vogel, spokeswoman with the Natural Resources Agency, told Lake Tahoe News. “Second, the Conservancy was made aware in October that the city of South Tahoe may sue the Conservancy over the City’s Prop. 1 grant application for the Bijou Park Creek Watershed and SEZ Restoration Project. The Conservancy coordinated with the Office of the Attorney General on issues associated with any future board meeting closed sessions regarding this potential litigation and whether the appointed city of South Lake Tahoe board member (Davis) should attend these closed sessions.
“Based on these events, attorneys from the Office of the Attorney General conveyed information to the Conservancy regarding the applicability of conflict of interest laws to the Conservancy board members, and this information was passed on to individual board members.”
It is not unusual for elected officials to have conflicts of interest and then have to recuse themselves from specific agenda items. Davis didn’t stay for the CTC closed session item involving the city.
According to Vogel, “The Conservancy has not recommended any specific remedy to the individual board members, nor is the Conservancy contemplating any action to remove individual board members. Furthermore, the Conservancy is reviewing legislative options to remedy these potential conflicts.”
No one from any state agency has been able to explain why state lawmakers need to become involved and why recusal is not sufficient to avoid conflicts.
The city and county are operating as though their elected reps may be banished from the board because that is what the Conservancy has told them is the course of action it plans to take.
“We don’t agree with their position and we do believe the best person to represent the CTC is the supervisorial board member,” El Dorado County CAO Don Ashton told Lake Tahoe News.
The city and county both make appointments to various boards, including the CTC, in January. Both intend to have closed session discussions about the CTC.
The city already knows who it would put on the board if an elected official can’t be on it – former Councilman Hal Cole.
“I would be willing to,” Cole told Lake Tahoe News. “I think there should be a bigger challenge to the overall idea. To have a board dealing with the public’s money not have any elected officials does not seem healthy.”
Watson with the city thinks it would be interesting if the county had one of its attorneys on the CTC board.
“Maybe legal counsel reviewing procedures under which the CTC is acting might be appropriate,” Watson said.
By Pete Bissonette
How many friends do you have?
If your doctor isn’t asking now, they may start soon.
According to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, your social circles are as important to your health as diet and exercise.
Researchers evaluated data from four U.S. population surveys from adolescence into old age spanning three dimensions of social relationships: social integration, social support, and social strain. They then compared the social relationships to blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, and systematic inflammation—four key markers for mortality risk.
The team’s results, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, not only back up past research directly linking social circles to longer life in old age, they also show a healthful impact during early and middle adulthood.
For example, the study shows that social isolation in young adulthood increases inflammation risk as much as physical inactivity.
In old age, the researchers say social isolation is more damaging than diabetes in controlling hypertension.
In middle adulthood, the strength of social connections—not the size of the social network—was a greater factor to health. Contrary to younger and older adults, the quality of social relationships matters over quantity, explains sociology professor Kathleen Mullan Harris.
“Based on these findings, it should be as important to encourage adolescents and young adults to build social relationships and social skills for interacting with others as it is to eat healthy and be physically active,” Harris says in the study.
Having the charisma to attract a large social circle doesn’t always come naturally. To embody the attractive mannerisms and cool and reserved energy of a magnetic personality, try this exercise from our Instantaneous Personal Magnetism Paraliminal at your next holiday gathering:
Think of a person with strong magnetic qualities. The person could be any man or woman you know or have seen on TV or in the movies, or perhaps an imagined person. Consider what characteristics of this person you would most like to emulate and instill as a habit.
Next, enter a heightened awareness of yourself, focusing especially on the relaxed stillness of your facial and body muscles.
Now imagine yourself and the role model you selected in front of you. Notice posture, clothing, walking, talking, and the qualities of voice and physical movements. Notice the dynamic magnetic qualities of the role model and your own detracting behaviors. Imagine shoring up the leakages of your energy by establishing new habits of living that foster the magnetic qualities.
When the image of you is right, affirm it as a choice and step into it.
Fully experience through all your senses the new characteristics you have selected. Project yourself into a near future situation in which you rehearse how well you demonstrate the qualities you have gained.
Do this exercise any time you’re about to enter a social situation. Although a dramatic change may be short-lived at first, your body and mind will get the message, and your magnetic personality will blossom in time.
Pete Bissonette has been the president of Learning Strategies for more than 30 years. The company develops, publishes, and supports programs to help people maximize their potential through personal learning courses and live events.
By Blair Anthony Robertson, Sacramento Bee
The surge in popularity of fermented foods in recent years – eating them, creating them at home, exploring different cultures and cuisines – is based largely on the idea that this stuff can be really good for you.
In today’s filtered, purified, sanitized, antibacterial world, you might think avoiding bacteria of any kind is a good thing. Turns out, plenty of bacteria, invisible to the naked eye, are plastered all over our food and working on our behalf.
Yes, that food you forgot was in the back of your fridge is fermenting, but not in a good way. Healthy fermentation requires a lot of care and control, but it’s very doable.