Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Nov. 6, 2016, Reno Gazette-Journal.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., has started meetings to transfer millions of acres of public land in Nevada from the federal government to the state.

He is coming off an election win and, more importantly, he was Donald Trump’s Nevada campaign manager through controversy and celebration. Now he may have the juice to finally realize his longtime dream of transferring land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management to the state of Nevada.

While this may bring control over the land closer to home, it will also put Nevada taxpayers at risk and decrease options for outdoor enthusiasts.

Read the whole story

Search crews on Sunday recovered the body of a skier who died at Mt. Rose ski resort.

This is the first fatality of the season at a Tahoe area resort.

The name of the victim has not been released pending notification of next to kin.

Two men in their 60s went skiing at the resort on Dec. 10. They were in a closed area. The chutes had not opened and were only accessible by hiking there. One went in and the other called 911 after seeing his buddy get covered by an avalanche.

The victim was found in 10 feet of snow on Dec. 11. 

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Associated Press

More than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the most ever.

The disastrous tally has been pushed to new heights by soaring abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, a class of drugs known as opioids.

Heroin deaths rose 23 percent in one year, to 12,989, slightly higher than the number of gun homicides, according to government data released Thursday.

Deaths from synthetic opioids, including illicit fentanyl, rose 73 percent to 9,580. And prescription painkillers took the highest toll, but posted the smallest increase. Abuse of drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin killed 17,536, an increase of 4 percent.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this. Certainly not in modern times,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees death statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new numbers were part of the agency’s annual tally of deaths and death rates in 2015.

Overall, overdose deaths rose 11 percent last year, to 52,404. By comparison, the number of people who died in car crashes was 37,757, an increase of 12 percent. Gun deaths, including homicides and suicides, totaled 36,252, up 7 percent.

As part of its annual report the CDC also found that rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death rose last year, causing the nation’s life expectancy to go down for the first time in more than 20 years. Drug overdoses were a significant factor, but an unexpected increase in the death rate from heart disease, the nation’s No. 1 killer, was another major reason.

By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal

If Burning Man were not a spiritual event before, it promises to be in 2017.

Burning Man founder Larry Harvey announced the 2017 theme, radical rituals,”for the annual 70,000-person bohemian campout in the Black Rock Desert. Harvey, who worked this year with Burning Man education director Stuart Mangrum, has invented the theme every year since 1995, when the first theme was Good and Evil.

“Burning Man employs ritual, but it is ritual removed from the context of theology. Unhindered by dogma, ritual becomes a vessel that can be filled with direct experience,” Mangrum said in the announcement.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Sierra-at-Tahoe is expanding its footprint.

The ski resort close to Echo Summit is about to have a storefront in South Lake Tahoe. It will be two doors down from Big 5 in what is now called The Crossings shopping center at the Y.

“Hours of operation have not been determined yet. With that being said, the store its likely to operate into the evening to accommodate guests arriving to Tahoe,” Thea Hardy, spokeswoman for the resort, told Lake Tahoe News. “Information, reservations, ticket fulfillment and retail options will be available to them.”

The plan is open before the holidays.

Buying tickets online is the norm now because it’s usually the least expensive option. Going to the store in town means not having to wait in a line to redeem them at the resort.

Today when people call the resort after hours there is no one to take that call. That all changes when the storefront opens.

There will also be a retail component to the space. Mostly it will be outerwear and accessories – not equipment. Hardy, though, stressed the merchandise will not compete with Big 5 in terms of type of apparel available. Plus, there will be a slew of Sierra logo items for sale.

During the non-ski periods resort staff will be talking up Sierra as a wedding venue, and still selling clothing and other stuff.

The Crossings is in the midst of a seven-figure renovation that includes redesigned retail areas, at least one restaurant and a connection to area bike paths.

Rob Wheatley

Rob Wheatley’s love of tennis never wavered, even when he was battling cancer.

Cancer, though, was the one opponent he could not beat. Rob died Nov. 24, 2016, in Indian Wells. He was 67.

Rob split his time between the desert and the mountains. For the past eight summers he was the pro at Zephyr Cove Tennis Club. He was an instructor for more than 40 years.

He had words of advice or a smile for all levels of tennis players at Zephyr Cove. Rob would attend matches to support the club as he enjoyed being a major part of the Zephyr Cove tennis community.

Rob was a constant presence at Zephyr Cove. If he didn’t have a lesson to give, he was tidying up the courts or in the office doing work. He was also integral in helping with the annual Tahoe Tennis Classic each summer.

Rob had a regular group of guys he would play with when he wasn’t doing one of his duties related to being head pro at ZCTC.

He first started playing competitively when he was 13. He attended San Jose State University on a tennis scholarship; graduating with bachelor’s degrees in physical education and psychology.

After graduation, Rob participated in the ATP circuit in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

He was the Southern Cal Sectional and Pacific SW 55 doubles champion, a four-time National USPTA senior doubles champion (40, 45, 50, 55), a four-time National USTA singles semifinalist on grass (35-40), and a lifelong member of the USPTA. 

In 1982 he founded the Desert Tennis Boutique in Palm Desert. Rob had been the head pro at The Reserve in Indian Wells, associate pro at La Quinta Resort, tennis director at Club at Morningside in Rancho Mirage, advisory staff member of Wilson and Fila sports, USPTA member and former vice president of the San Diego Division, and head tennis coach at College of the Desert in Palm Desert.

Robert Thompson Wheatley Jr. was born in Tucson, Ariz., on June 12, 1949.

He is survived by brother Jack Wheatley of San Antonio, Texas; sister Shelley Kosarek-Weir of Richardson, Texas; nieces and nephews Kristen Rosenburg, Meghan Scully, Nicole Stancel, Mac Wheatley, and Ryan Kosarek; and numerous friends.

There will be a celebration of life Jan. 7 at 1pm at Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church, with a reception to follow.

The Tahoe community will honor Rob in the spring when the tennis season resumes at Zephyr Cove.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Lung Association.

Toys for Tots has returned to the South Shore to collect new, unwrapped toys to benefit the less-fortunate families in the community.

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve started the Toys for Tots campaign a century ago to provide new toys to children in need during the holiday season.

Drop off gifts at one of the following locations by Dec. 18:

·       Cardinale Way Toyota

·       South Y Center Raley’s

·       Kmart

·       CVS

·       Fitness Evolution

·       Village Toys

·       Tahoe Toys and Treasures

·       Tahoe Sports LTD

·       Safeway

·       Toy Maniacs.

By Chris Kudialis, Las Vegas Sun

Although passage of Question 2 will make recreational marijuana use legal for people 21 and older in Nevada as of Jan. 1, employees can be fired for testing positive for the drug, state lawmakers said.

Sen. Tick Segerblom says that while he believes the testing practice isn’t always fair, preventing impairment in the workplace is important. Segerblom spearheaded 2013 legislation to establish the state’s framework for medical marijuana dispensaries.

A staunch advocate of Question 2, he cited jobs in construction and others that involve operating motor vehicles and heavy machinery as examples of work in which a positive marijuana test may warrant firing. But he distinguished between smoking on the job and using marijuana days before a potential test — both of which can produce positive results.

Read the whole story

A 32-year-old man died Saturday night after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe.

The name of the victim is being withheld until next of kin are notified. Police say he has ties to South Lake Tahoe and Idaho.

The accident occurred just before 11:30pm Dec. 10 near the Town and Country Center.

Peng Shao, 33, of San Jose was driving west in the right lane when the victim ran in front of him. Shao was going between 35 and 40 mph. He immediately stopped his vehicle to check on the welfare of the pedestrian.

The victim was running north and was not in a crosswalk. There is a crosswalk about 100 yards from the scene of the accident.

The pedestrian was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital where he underwent surgery and died.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

·      Out of the 20 resorts nominated by a panel of pro skiers and snowboarders, USA Today and 10Best readers selected Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows as the best ski resort.

·       Truckee Tavern and Grill will offer Blueprint of the Cocktail classes on Saturdays from Jan. 14 through the end of February. For more information, go online. 

·       Dawes will play at MontBleu in Stateline on Jan. 20 at 8pm. Tickets are $25 and $35.

·       South Lake Tahoe offices will be closed Dec. 23-Jan. 2.

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