By Associated Press

Authorities have arrested a man they say flew a drone over a Northern California wildfire and grounded firefighting aircraft.

Fifty-seven-year-old Eric Wamser of Foresthill in Placer County was arrested Friday on suspicion of interfering with firefighting operations.

It’s not clear whether he has a lawyer.

State fire spokesman Daniel Berlant says Wamser allegedly flew a drone over the Trailhead Fire on June 28 near the American River. The 5,600-acre blaze forced hundreds of people from homes in Placer and El Dorado counties.

Berlant says authorities tracked down Wamser after he posted video from the drone on social media.

Berlant says there have been dozens of similar drone incursions in fire areas over the past two years but Wamser is the first person arrested by state fire investigators.

Bradley Deboer

A Truckee man was arrested Thursday night on felony driving under the influence charges.

A bike patrol officer said he saw a pickup driven by Bradley Deboer, 65, turn left across a pedestrian filled sidewalk and park on the railroad track at 7:15pm July 14.

Officers said Deboer was too intoxicated to safely operate a vehicle. He was arrested for felony DUI without incident, based on several convictions for the same offense within the past 10 years.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Mike Higdon, Reno Gazette-Journal

The first new behavioral health hospital in almost 30 years will open next year.

Reno Behavioral Healthcare Hospital broke ground near Target in the Meadowood area of Reno. The 80,000 square-foot mental health hospital and addiction rehabilitation center will operate 120 inpatient beds and outpatient services for children, teens, adults and seniors in Northern Nevada and the California border communities. CEO Steve Shell anticipates it will open late spring 2017.

“There is a shortage of services in general, particular residential services, for substance abuse,” said Cody Phinney, administrator at the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services in the Division of Public and Behavioral Health. “So to have those facilities, and West Hills also has that, is immensely helpful because there’s not enough capacity even if someone can pay out of pocket.”

Read the whole story

Kimberly Gillespie

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office just put out a notice that a Pollock Pines woman has been missing for a week.

Kimberly Gillespie, 42, was last seen July 8, possibly walking in a rural area east of Pollock Pines.

She is deaf and has other disabilities that affect her memory and mobility. She white, 5-feet-inches, approximately 140 pounds, brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Anyone with information regarding her location or condition, is asked to call Detective Simon Brown at 530.642.4717.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

·       The 10th Ta-Hoe NALU Stand Up Paddle Festival in Kings Beach is Aug. 12-14. For more info, go online.

·       Truckee River Winery is having a full moon bocce ball event July 20 from 7-9pm. For more info, call 530.587.4626.

·       Donner Lake Triathlon is July 23-24. For more info, go online.

·       Xterra Lake Tahoe, an off-road triathlon, out of Incline Village is Aug. 20. For more info, go online.

·       Truckee is conducting a survey seeking input on the type of access desired by all users at Donner Lake.

With several major proposed projects in the North Lake Tahoe area still moving through the review process, the Placer County Board of Supervisors moved the quarterly Tahoe meeting in July to Sept. 13.

The board will meet July 26 in Auburn.

The Martis Valley West Specific Plan Project will be on the September agenda. That meeting will be at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

The Village at Squaw Valley project is scheduled for consideration by the Placer County Planning Commission Aug. 11 in a morning meeting in eastern Placer County, with the exact location still to be determined.

That evening, the North Tahoe Regional Advisory Council will have its regularly scheduled monthly meeting at 6pm at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

By Greg Moran, San Diego Union Tribune

Guidelines issued by California gambling regulators for how card rooms in the state can conduct some high-stakes card games don’t satisfy Indian gaming officials, who say the new rules still allow card rooms to illegally have Las Vegas-style games.

The June 30 guidelines issued by the Bureau of Gambling Control, a division of the Attorney General’s Office, were aimed at quelling a simmering dispute between tribal casinos, card rooms and state regulators. But it didn’t.

Two trade associations representing the card room industry said they were concerned the new rules would cut into their business. And tribal casinos, who under the state constitution have the exclusive right to conduct Las Vegas style gambling, said the new guidelines solve nothing.

Read the whole story

By Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle

A fifth year of disappointing snow in the Sierra is part of a much larger predicament of record-low snow across the Northern Hemisphere, a setback that scientists identified Wednesday as another reminder of the alarming pace of human-caused global warming.

A panel of climate experts organized by SEARCH, or the Study of Environmental Arctic Change, met in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to the historic melt-off of snow and ice during the first six months of 2016 — and the resulting problems.

“We lost the snow earlier than anytime on record, and it wasn’t just in one part of the snow-covered universe,” said Dave Robinson, New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University, noting that as much as 30 percent of the land in the Northern Hemisphere is typically white. “This is the lowest spring snow extent on record.”

Read the whole story

El Dorado County Teen Court is looking for students in grades 8 to 12 to participate in the juvenile justice system.

Training will be conducted on Aug. 17 from 6-8pm in El Dorado County Superior Court, 495 Main St. in Placerville. Students should arrive no later than 5:30pm and dress in courtroom attire. Preregistration is not required.

After completing this training, teens will serve as court personnel for real cases in which a minor has committed an offense, admitted to that offense and chosen to be judged by his or her peers.

Teen Court hearings are September through May on scheduled Wednesday nights.

Attorneys are also needed to mentor the students. For information, contact Jorge Orozco at 530.573.7964.

For families without a health care provider, El Dorado County Public Health is offering low-cost back-to-school immunizations.

Public health can provide all childhood vaccinations required for school entry, as well as other vaccinations recommended to keep children healthy.

Call 530.573.3155 for an appointment.

Vaccinations are charged at cost for those who have private insurance. Children on Medi-Cal, or who are uninsured, are eligible for low-cost immunization services; a $10 administration fee is charged per shot, though no child will be refused a vaccination due to inability to pay.

For dates and locations of free walk-in vaccination clinics, go online.

Schools and child care facilities must verify each child’s immunization record to ensure all required shots are completed before entry to child care, kindergarten and seventh grade. Students must receive all vaccines according to age and grade requirements.