To the community,

The good news is that President Obama is to speak at the Tahoe Summit on Aug. 31. The bad news is that
it is to be at Harveys outdoor stage and a band is to perform at the same event – a band named The Killers.

This is entirely unacceptable.

I ask others to join me in calling on Sen. Harry Reid, who is responsible for this scheduling, to either cancel the band’s performance or select another venue. As much as I would like to hear the president in person, I will not attend the event in these circumstances.

Jerome Evans, South Lake Tahoe

By Denise Roland, Wall Street Journal

Scientists on opposite sides of the globe appear to be getting closer to harnessing one of red wine’s most elusive health-giving ingredients and putting it into a pill.

The ingredient, resveratrol, has been touted for years for its ostensible powers to prolong life and protect against a range of ailments including heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies pointing to those benefits have been performed in laboratories on yeast, worms, fruit flies and mice, among other organisms.

Testing those benefits in humans has proved more complex. Resveratrol occurs naturally in red wine at such low concentrations, and in combination with so many other substances, that studying its health benefits among wine drinkers isn’t practical. And purified resveratrol is broken down in the liver so quickly that it must be given at very high concentrations to prove effective.

Read the whole story

By Marcella Corona, Reno Gazette-Journal

A Truckee woman faces a DUI and child endangerment-related charges following a rollover crash that involved a total of five passengers on Mount Rose Highway Sunday night.

Nevada Highway Patrol troopers responded at 10:24pm Aug. 7 to a report of a crash on Mount Rose Highway near Timberline Drive. At least one child was in the vehicle, according to Trooper Duncan Dauber.

Dalia Rios faces several charges including driving under the influence, child abuse or neglect and failure to drive on the right side of the road. She was also charged with a child restraint violation.

Read the whole story

By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal

The Burning Man organization has purchased a chunk of residential property in Gerlach, a town just a few miles away from the annual Burning Man site.

Black Rock City, LLC, a subsidiary of the arts nonprofit based in San Francisco, bought seven parcels of adjacent land for $169,993 on July 28 from Giovanni “Bruno” Selmi, according to Washoe County records. Selmi is a local Gerlach celebrity who owns Gerlach’s only diner (with an attached bar), gambling hall and motel.

The parcels — which make up a full town block — do not include Selmi’s business properties, which are primarily run by his adult children since he is now in his 90s.

Read the whole story

Eagle Falls Trailhead parking lot will be closed from 7pm to 6am Aug8-12  to accommodate construction on Highway 89 as part of Caltrans’ stormwater pollution prevention efforts.

The $13 million Emerald Bay water quality improvement project includes constructing new drainage facilities which will capture stormwater runoff and filter out dirt, oil and litter before it gets to the lake. The project will also repave a four-mile section of the highway from Cascade Road to just north of the Eagle Falls viaduct over Emerald Bay.

Completion is expected in summer 2017.

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette Journal

A Nevada Department of Wildlife biologist shot and killed a bear near Stateline about two weeks after it broke into an occupied home and made several other break-in attempts.

The bear, a 2-year-old female, too young to bear cubs, known as Blue 54, was shot on July 28 following an encounter in which she lashed out at a homeowner, department spokesman Chris Healy said.

It was the final human conflict for a bear that had escalated displays of dangerous behavior in the prior weeks, Healy said.

Read the whole story

Truckee’s $9.2 million aquatic center is scheduled to open Labor Day weekend.

The 26,000-square-foot facility includes a 10-lane, 25-yard pool and a warm-water (90 degrees) pool that is designed for senior fitness, rehab and a place for kids to hang out.

The kids’ feature of the warm pool is that it has two slides.

It also has two lanes for lap swimming.

The center plans to offer traditional swim programs, along with diving and water polo.

There are indoor and outdoor areas for parties or be places to just hang out.

The Truckee-Donner Recreation & Park District is in charge of the swim center. It is located next to the Truckee Community Recreation Center at 8924 Donner Pass Road.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Steve Hale will become Stephen T. Mather, first director of the National Park Service, in a Chautauqua performance in Minden on Aug. 10.

Mather distinguished himself as a consummate salesman, including the iconic 20 Mule Team Borax brand, which helped him amass a fortune by the early 20th century. After visiting the new western national parks and meeting John Muir, Mather went on to mold the vision of the National Park Service and was honored by being appointed its first director in 1916.

Tickets are $5 for adults, free for 16 and younger. Tickets are available in Gardnerville at Battle Born Wine, in Minden at 88 Cups & More, or online.

The event starts at 6:30pm at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park. This is an outdoor event, and visitors should bring chairs. Dogs are not permitted.

John Bajuk

John Michael Bajuk died May 7, 2016, from pneumonia after a five-week struggle. He was 53.

He was born in 1963 at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. After traveling for 14 years with his naval officer father, the family returned to California.

John graduated from Carmel High School and then moved to South Lake Tahoe. He attended Lake Tahoe Community College and worked in the family restaurant, Lil’ Cowboy for 10 years. He also worked at the High Sierra Casino (now Hard Rock) as a security officer, followed by three years at Office Depot.

John then moved to Alameda where, until his death, he worked in security on the USS Hornet Museum.

He is survived by his mother, Lynne Bajuk of South Lake Tahoe; sisters, Laura Bajuk (Doug Debs) of Palo Alto and Beth Bajuk of Alameda.

The family thanks the tireless staff of Summit Hospital who worked to save John.

By Kathryn Reed

Vail Resorts has expanded its ski resort portfolio to include Whistler Blackcomb in Canada.

The Colorado-based company is buying the Vancouver resort for $1.1 billion.

Whistler, with 8,171 acres, is the largest ski resort in North America. Coming in a close second is the Vail owned Park City-Canyons merged resorts with 7,300 acres.

“Whistler Blackcomb is one of the most iconic mountain resorts in the world with an incredible history, passionate employees and a strong community. With our combined experience and expertise, together we will build upon the guest experience at Whistler Blackcomb while preserving the unique brand and character of the resort as an iconic Canadian destination for guests around the world. We are delighted to add such a renowned resort to Vail Resorts and look forward to expanding our relationships in the Sea-to-Sky community, British Columbia and Canada,” Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts, said in a statement.

Whistler was the site of the downhill ski events for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games based in Vancouver.

Vail, which owns Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar in the Tahoe area, has been on a mission to diversify and expand its ski resort holdings.

Vail Resorts on Aug. 8 announced its purchase of Whistler Blackcomb ski resort in Canada. Photo/LTN file

With this purchase, it means a local competitor just got pushed out of the Canadian market.

KSL Capital Partners, the owners of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, bought nearly one-quarter of Whistler Blackcomb in 2012 for nearly $116 million from Intrawest.

Most of Whistler was owned by Whistler Blackcomb Holdings and Nippon Cable.

Dave Brownlie, Whistler Blackcomb’s chief executive officer, will remain at the resort as the chief operating officer for Vail.

“As the No. 1 ranked and most visited resort in North America, Whistler Blackcomb has enjoyed tremendous success by delivering an exceptional mountain experience for our passionate and loyal guests — both locally and from around the world.  That’s going to continue as we work with our new colleagues at Vail Resorts as well as our employees, local businesses, community and government stakeholders to make Whistler Blackcomb better than ever,” Brownlie said in a statement. Partnering with the geographically diversified Vail Resorts and extending its successful Epic Pass products to Whistler Blackcomb are customer-focused ways of securing the long-term future of our resort, our industry and our community.”