By KTVN-TV

Jose Ignacio Roid

Officials say a California Highway Patrol officer who was assigned to the Truckee office was arrested Aug. 15 after turning himself into the Placer County Jail.

Roseville police officers say that on Aug. 11, they were investigating Jose Ignacio Roid, 30, of Roseville who they say had concealed a video camera in the bathroom of a private residence in Roseville and recorded an adult victim.

Roid is a seven-year veteran of the CHP and has been in Truckee since graduating from the academy.

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By Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee

State officials will not force most California water districts to reduce water use this year, even as they caution that the five-year drought persists and note that drought-fueled wildfires continue to wreak havoc.

The State Water Resources Control Board in May asked California’s 411 urban water districts to evaluate how much water they would need in the next three years if drought continued – and whether their supplies would meet that demand. Districts that certified their supplies are adequate do not face mandatory water-use cuts. Those with inadequate supplies must set conservation goals proportional to their anticipated shortfall.

About 85 percent of the state’s water districts told the water board that they believe they have adequate supplies to handle continued drought and should not be subject to state-mandated conservation targets, according to results released Tuesday by the water board.

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By David Helvarg, Sierra

Thirty-three years ago, President Ronald Reagan established the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), stretching 200 miles out from our shores. At 3.4 million square miles, it’s more extensive than our continental landmass.

But unlike our lands, our public seas belong to all of us, and right now they are in trouble. The ocean is at risk from a cascading series of environmental disasters including industrial overfishing, pollution, loss of coastal and offshore habitats, and climate change.

Faced with these threats, it’s hard to fathom why this crisis in our seas has received no attention in the 2016 presidential campaigns. Hillary Clinton has pledged not to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean or off the Atlantic coast but has no position on the Gulf of Mexico, where 17 percent of domestic oil production takes place. By calling the science of climate change a hoax, Donald Trump has made it clear that he’d be unlikely to address climate-linked ocean threats such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, and harmful algae blooms intensified by warming ocean waters—such as we’re now seeing on the coasts of Florida.

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To the community,

Sadly, Placer County Planning Commission approved the huge KSL Squaw Valley project last Thursday by a 4-2 vote. Local Larry Sevison voted to approve.

Not one change was made to the behemoth project — 1,400-plus bedrooms, numerous 96-foot buildings, 18 homes at the base of the Shirley Lake trail, and a 96-foot building containing a water park.

The commissioner that made the motion didn’t make a peep the entire 10-hour hearing … he just made the motion to approve, ignoring scores of environmental impacts. Placer County’s attorney claimed the county could ignore California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ letter requesting a new environmental analysis due to traffic, greenhouse gas and impacts to Lake Tahoe. It was a shameful display.

We were told KSL offered to pay employees to attend and offered them more if they spoke. Teresa Duggan organized the KSL circus.

Next will be the Board of Supervisors. Write Jennifer Montgomery — jmontgomery@placer.ca.gov — and tell her to deny Squaw Valley and Martis Valley West. Our area is at gridlock during high season now; add Squaw Valley, Martis Valley West, Highlands 2, Joerger Ranch, The Railyard, Brockway Campground, Homewood, Boulder Bay, Coldstream … it goes on and on. Our area will be ruined.

By the way, the water park will offer indoor skydiving … really?

Ann Nichols, North Tahoe Preservation Alliance

By Kathryn Reed

Instead of being granted more than $1 million in attorneys’ fees, the court did a 180 and is telling the lawyers who requested that sum that they have to pay more than $2,000 for bring forward the “frivolous” request.

The case involves South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Pines Lodge.

Both sides said they won and wanted the other to pay attorneys fees. Cyrus Sanai, lead attorney representing hotel owner Darren Cobrae, then asked the court for the city to be sanctioned more than $1 million. He more than lost that request when the judge said he was awarding $2,145 in attorneys’ fees to the city.

El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Warren Stracener cited state code that says, “A trial court may order a party, the party’s attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay.”

What the Aug. 15 decision doesn’t say is who is supposed to pay that money – the attorneys of record or Cobrae.

“They have to say what the sanctionable conduct was and who is supposed to pay,” Sanai told Lake Tahoe News.

He has 10 days to respond to the decision.

If an attorney in California is sanctioned $1,000 or more by a judge, this must be reported to the State Bar.

South Lake Tahoe attorney Jacqueline Mittelstadt was first contacted by Cobrae, but then Sanai took over because he had a prior relationship with the hotel owner.

“I will hopefully be getting them to sign a substitution of attorney to get me off the case,” Mittelstadt told Lake Tahoe News. “I’m not lead counsel; I’m local counsel to handle any hearing at which Cyrus was not available.”

City Attorney Tom Watson told Lake Tahoe News, “The outrageous request for attorney’s fees by Jacqueline Mittelstadt and Cyrus Sanai was properly denied by the court. The fact that the defendant and his attorneys were sanctioned over $2,000 in favor of the city by the court speaks for itself.”

Sanai said he is ready to ask for the original agreement to be dismissed and to go to trial. He said the judge has ignored facts presented, and did not take into account how his client was essentially being denied due process and other rights.

The original case was about whether the hotel was complying with city ordinances in terms of health and safe codes as well as other rules. Both sides admit what needed to be fixed has been.

“The city is delighted that this code enforcement lawsuit achieved the owner’s rehabilitation of the Tahoe Pines. The city will continue to challenge landlords who are providing unfit places for our residents to live,” Watson said.

By Kathryn Reed

Mayor Wendy David on Aug. 16 signed the settlement agreement on behalf of South Lake Tahoe. Once City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner does the same, the nearly year-old issue goes away.

JoAnn Conner

Conner in fall 2015 filed a lawsuit against the city – essentially her four colleagues and her employee City Manager Nancy Kerry – because of a censure motion and how she was restricted regarding interacting with staff.

The judge early on said the matter of censure was not something he would rule on.

Going forward Conner will be treated like the other four councilmembers – she may interact with staff, with the city manager copied on all such emails. This is done so council does not start telling staff what to do. It is the council’s job to set policy, not tell people – other than the city manager and city attorney – how to do their job.

Also agreed to is there will be no exchange of money.

The city has spent about $90,000 on the case; Conner has a bill of a little more than $30,000. The taxpayers pay the city’s bill. This year the city has spent about $107,000 in outside legal bills, so the bulk of it is on this one case.

Both sides point fingers at the other regarding why it took so long to settle the case, especially when an agreement was reached in June.

Conner deferred comment to her attorney.

“The city manager refused to sign off on parts that she initialed in mediation, so the agreement had to be modified as a result of that,” attorney Jacqueline Mittelstadt told Lake Tahoe News.

Bill Chisum, who represented the city and Kerry, told Lake Tahoe News, “I would dispute that statement. All parties had issues we worked into the agreement. I would dispute that any one party was refusing to sign.”

Mittelstadt said her client is ready to sign. At that time the two sides intend to issue a joint statement as well as the full settlement agreement.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council today gave glowing reviews to the city manager and city attorney.

Even so, neither will be receiving a raise. City Attorney Tom Watson asked for more vacation time. The council deferred making a decision on that request to the September meeting. Watson gets two weeks vacation, just like all employees with his number of years with the city. After five years, it goes to three weeks.

City Manager Nancy Kerry did not seek any adjustments to her contract or benefits.

“Ms. Kerry was praised for her handling of the budget, her guidance and her leadership,” Mayor Wendy David told Lake Tahoe News after the Aug. 16 closed session discussion. “Mr. Watson was recognized in particular for his litigation successes this year and for basically representing the city well.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Passengers and cargo are increasing at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Photo/LTN file

By Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal

Long Beach pie and Reno revelry crossed paths in the Biggest Little City on Monday as a new JetBlue flight arrived to a band and cheering squad on the tarmac at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Underneath all the fanfare and positive vibes, however, is the latest test for Reno-Sparks — specifically in its efforts to add more flights and maintain its newfound momentum following a severe recession. It is the second major flight addition for JetBlue to Reno following its nonstop service to New York City.

The positive performance of the New York flight was cited as a key reason for the new Long Beach route. Asked about any new routes in the works for Reno, one JetBlue official expressed optimism to the Reno Gazette-Journal about more potential routes, at least in the West.

Parcels in blue are set to be sold by the California Tahoe Conservancy, with two approved for pre-sale and four to be voted on by the board next month. Map/CTC

The California Tahoe Conservancy plans to sell several parcels in South Lake Tahoe.

The board at its September meeting will be asked to approve the pre-sale agreements for the properties located in the Tahoe Valley Area Plan. A letter went out Aug. 15 to people in the vicinity.

“The Conservancy is working closely with the city of South Lake Tahoe and the community at large to maximize walkable, bikeable, and environmentally sustainable areas on and around these parcels,” the letter reads. “Specific goals include helping to implement the Tahoe Valley Area Plan greenbelt, water quality projects, and placement of permanent conservation easements over sensitive areas on these asset lands.”

The state agency based in South Lake Tahoe started the asset lands program as a way to unload developable property and therefore be able help stay solvent.

Two of the parcels are next to the former Factory Stores at the Y that are being redeveloped into the Crossings.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Improvements to the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage make it an even more desirable car. Photos/Larry Weitzman

By Larry Weitzman

With a starting price of less than $13,000, almost anyone can afford a new car, especially one that gets over 40 mpg and comes with a standard powertrain warranty of 10 years and/or 100,000 miles. Considering just that info, the Mitsubishi Mirage is a great deal. And the price has not increased from 2016 to 2017, even with the significant improvements, still a fin below $13K.

Obviously new for 2017 is the front end styling, much sleeker and more modern. It isn’t stodgy looking anymore. Even the co-efficient of drag has been reduced to 0.27. When I first saw the new Mirage, I was impressed with its new design to the point of remarking to a friend as to its newfound good looks.

While its wheelbase is the same, long 96.5 inches, its length grew by an inch to 149 inches, otherwise its dimensions remain the same with a width of 65.6 inches and a height of 59.4 inches. Even its ground clearance is still 6.3 inches. But mechanically the engineers have improved the suspension with changes in spring rates and damping along with a new front stiffener. In the engine bay the Mirage gets new lower friction, roller bearing camshafts (instead of plain bearings) and four more hp and for whoa power, larger front disc brakes and bigger rear drums.

Specifications
Engine 1193 cc DOHC 12 valve inline three cylinder 78 hp @ 6,000
74 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4,000
Transmission
Five speed manual
CVT automatic
Configuration Transverse front engine/front wheel drive
Dimensions
Wheelbase 96.5 inches
Length 149.4 inches
Width 65.6 inches
Height 59.4 inches
Ground Clearance 6.3 inches
Track (f/r) 56.3/56.7 inches
Fuel capacity 9.2 gallons
Passenger volume 86.1 cubic feet
Trunk capacity rear seats up/down 17.2/47.0 cubic feet
Tires 175/55/15
Turning circle 32.1 feet (wall to wall)
Weight (ES CVT) 2,117 pounds
GVWR 3,020 pounds
Performance
0-60 mph 10.28 seconds
50-70 mph 5.68 seconds
50-70 mph uphill (6%) 11.61 seconds
Top speed beyond sanity
Fuel economy EPA rated 37/43/39 mpg city/highway/combined Expect about 41-42 mpg in rural county driving; 45-46 on the highway at legal speeds.

New roller cams improve engine efficiency of the little 1.2L DOHC, 12 valve three-cylinder inline engine by cranking out 78 hp at the same 6,000 rpm (up four hp). Torque which is mostly a function of displacement (A good rule of thumb is a pound of twist per cubic inch of displacement and this mill has 73 cubes.) remains 74 pounds of twist at the same 4,000 rpm.

Transmission options are also the same, a five-speed manual or an efficient CVT, which is optional on the ES or SE models and standard on the top of the line GT. In my GT the CVT was the perfect application.

Performance-wise not much has changed but the tranny now lets the engine revs a little higher in the powerband from my last Mirage test. Zero to 60 mph times have improved marginally by a couple of tenths to 10.28 seconds and 50-70 simulated passes also had their times shortened with a 50-70 mph run taking 5.68 seconds and an uphill run dropped by more than a second to 11.61 seconds. As I reported before this little Mirage would blow the doors off a ’55 Chevy Belair V-8 with a Power-Pak making 180 gross up. So depending on your standards, this little Mirage scoots pretty good.

But beside its low price and diminutive size, the other main reason to acquire a Mirage is fuel economy. EPA rated at 37/43/39 mpg city/highway/combined, real world numbers during my test was about 5-10 percent better averaging 42 mpg overall and 45-46 mpg on a level highway at 70 mph in a two-way run. In a round trip from Placerville to South Lake Tahoe, which includes a 6,000-foot climb over the Sierra the little Mirage averaged 47.6 mpg. The drive included some full throttle passes but speeds were kept a max of 60 mph. On the negative size is the small 9.2-gallon fuel tank, limiting range to about 360 miles while still maintaining some fumes as a reserve. How about a couple of more gallons in the tank?

Suspension is MacPerson struts up front and a semi-independent torsion beam in the rear. Tweaks to spring and shock rates sharpened the handling slightly, but the Mirages have always been nimble. Remember the Mirage only weighs 2,117 pounds which makes it easier to change directions. Steering is quick and the electric power rack has a turning circle curb to curb of 30 feet. Add two feet for the wall-wall number. Tire and wheel fitment are upgraded on the GT to 15 inch alloys and wider and lower profile 175/55X15 tires.

Comfort has not been sacrificed.

Also surprising was the smooth and quiet ride. Because of its relatively long wheelbase the ride is anything but choppy. It is actually supple and compliant. The engine spins a low 2,200 rpm at 70 mph and the cabin is quiet and there is no wind and road noise.

Brakes are strong with a full complement of acronyms (ABS, etc.). Also contained in its suite of safety are active stability control, traction control and no less than seven airbags.

Inside is an upgraded interior. Seats are comfortable in front, but I didn’t check the rear bench. The instrument panel is complete with a tach and speedo plus a trip computer. The vertical stack is also complete with a four speaker stereo and A/C. Even the base model comes standard with full power, steering, brakes mirrors, and windows. Stepping up to the SE ($14,795) adds a rear view camera, Bluetooth and cruise control among a long list of standard features.

For such a small car, inside is quite big. There is 86 cubic feet in the passenger compartment which is only about seven cubes less than your average compact. In addition, when you fold down the rear seats it can swallow 47 cubic feet of cargo which is as big as some mini CUVs. With the rear seats up cargo capacity still exceeds most compacts at 17 cubes.  Surprisingly the Mirages payload is over 900 pounds as its GVWR is 3,020 pounds.

As stated at the beginning, a base Mirage starts at $12,995 plus $835 for the boat from Chonburi, Thailand. This is a true world car. With the GT, which stickers for $16,495 plus the $835 or an all-in price of $17,330, there are no factory options. Even heated seats and the fabulous HID headlights are standard along with the CVT transmissions. I found nothing wanting. This is a surprising good car that is actually shorter than a standard Mini-Cooper by 4 inches.

Larry Weitzman has been into cars since he was 5 years old. At 8 he could recite from memory the hp of every car made in the U.S. He has put in thousands of laps on racetracks all over the Western United States.