The Lake Tahoe Humane Society has a completely new board, with the three who had been at the helm during the alleged embezzlement scheme by the former executive director having all resigned.

In their place are: Michael Dalton, president; Sandra DeLeon, vice president of governance and compliance; Chantale Hansen, vice president of operations; Mariel Berei, secretary; and Elizabeth Naylor, treasurer.

Per the bylaws, it was the former members who picked their successors.

The phrase the new board has embraced is — Restart, Rebuild, Restore, and Re-engage.

In a press release, Dalton said, “Unfortunately we were welcomed by a significant amount of debt that we will need to reduce through changes that we will need to make. The intended outcome of the new plan is to re-engage the community, through transparency clear and regular communications, new operating principles, checks and balances, and reducing the operating overhead, while increasing services to the Lake Tahoe community that have been compromised by the actions of the past executive director.”

Questions, recommendations, or concerns may be sent to feedback@laketahoehumanesociety.org.

Anyone wanting to be added to the volunteer list should download the form from the website and send it to: volunteer@laketahoehumanesociety.org.

There are no longer regular office hours.

Food pick up will be available on Fridays from 9am-noon.

·      The annual seasonal dog closure at the Upper Truckee Marsh on the South Shore is from May 1-July 31.

·      Placer County this season will spend $2.5 million for various West Shore road improvements.

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

·      Barton Health offers an eight-class cessation program from the American Lung Association. The classes are on Wednesdays, May 16-June 27, plus June 8, from 6:30-8:30pm. Cost is $30. Register online, then click “Freedom from Smoking” and then “sign up online.”

·      Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Bridgeport Ranger District closed for the season April 30.

To the community,

The week of April 22 was Pay it Forward week. To honor this concept of making a difference in another person’s life, Bread & Broth’s Adopt A Day of Nourishment meal on April 23 was sponsored by John McDougall’s Pay it Forward grant and members of Unity at the Lake Church.  

The Pay it Forward concept is all about people giving to someone else and making a positive difference.

The funding grant came from the Pay it Forward Lake Tahoe Community Fund held at the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation and it has been funding an annual Adopt A Day for the past three years. Hosting a Monday meal dinner is a truly wonderful way to remind ourselves of the power of giving and being there to experience how a hot, nutritious meal can brighten the day for folks in need.

In addition to John McDougall, Unity at the Lake Church members Michael and Ileene Lipkin, Al Miller and Darya Vost joined the B&B volunteer welcoming, serving and seeing to the needs of the dinner guest who arrived at St. Theresa Grace Hall.  

“We are so happy to assist the wonderful people at Bread & Broth,” said McDougall.  “The service provided to our community is so important to so many.”  

B&B would like to thank McDougall and Unity at the Lake church members for their giving spirit and their commitment to helping others.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

Stateline casino revenue took a dive in March, with revenues down 12.84 percent compared to 2017. Revenues came in at $14.57 million.

Statewide the numbers were better. The gaming win was up 3.3 percent to $1.024 billion. This is the third straight month Nevada casinos have posted a win of more than $1 billion.

Even with March’s numbers, Stateline casinos are up 2.1 percent for the fiscal year.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Tahoe Star Tours will resume its summer stargazing schedule at the Dark Skies Cosmoarium at Northstar June 14-Sept. 1, Thursday through Saturday evenings.

A cosmic concert and meteor shower viewing event is also scheduled on Aug. 12.

Every Tahoe Star Tours event includes a laser tour of the night sky and the opportunity to view constellations through high-powered, professional telescopes.

Tony Berendsen, owner of Tahoe Star Tours, is the host.

Cost is $40 for adults, and $20 for children ages 12 and under. Tours begin at 8:15pm and conclude at 10:30pm. Event details and ticket information for all tours taking place at Northstar are online.

By Kathryn Reed

It was the summer of 1942 and life for those of Japanese descent living in the United States had been upended when they were sent to internment camps. A few pleasures, though, were possible – with baseball being one of them.

Jay Feldman weaves a tale of history, love and the American pastime into an easy to read novel. “Suitcase Sefton and the American Dream” (Triumph Books, 2006) doesn’t gloss over the hardship of living in the camps, but it also doesn’t delve too deep as to make this a downer.

While this is a work of fiction, it didn’t surprise me a guy not from the West Coast didn’t know about the camps. He got an education and some readers might as well.

As for the baseball element, well, even non-fans are bound to find some aspects interesting – like the color barrier and icons like Joe DiMaggio leaving the ball club to enlist in the military.

Mac “Suitcase” Sefton is a scout for the New York Yankees. A freak accident cut his playing days short, but he was able to stay in the game looking for prospects. In many ways it was a lonely existence being on the road, going from one small town to the next looking for boys who might one day make it to the Major Leagues.

It was a glimpse into a segment of baseball during an era I really knew nothing about. It was a simpler time then. Guys would sign for $100 and then see how they did in spring training.

Feldman does a good job of moving the story line along, even if at times it’s rather simplistic and a bit predictable. It was a book I actually looked forward to reading each night.

—–

Notes:

• The next Lake Tahoe News Book Club read will be “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of Nuclear War Planner” by Daniel Ellsberg.
• “Suitcase Sefton” questions: Was Suitcase’s character believable? Did the book minimize the internment camps or bring awareness to them? How in your life has sports been a bridge between people?

By Kathryn Reed

“If they don’t trust you, they’ll keep asking for public records. There is nothing you can do but produce those records.”

Those are the words of attorney Leah Castella of Burke, Williams and Sorensen, the outside law firm the city of South Lake Tahoe uses. Castella was at the special City Council meeting on April 30 to give the electeds and senior staff an update on ethics training, the Brown Act and state Public Records Act. The training is mandatory every two years.

A message delivered to the South Lake Tahoe City Council on April 30 by counsel. Photo/LTN

This training is even more relevant in this era when Councilwoman Brooke Laine has made accusations of Brown Act violations occurring and when Lake Tahoe News has not been able to obtain public records.

This is an email sent April 13 to Lake Tahoe News by City Clerk Suzie Alessi, “This email is in response to your public records request (below) dated April 4, 2018. Please be advised that due to the voluminous nature of your request and the process of obtaining and reviewing relevant records, the records which are subject to disclosure will be provided to you within two weeks. We will endeavor to provide the records sooner if possible. (Gov. Code § 6253(c).)”

Normally the requests are due 10 days after being submitted.

Those two weeks, which were in addition to the initial two weeks, have come and gone without another email from Alessi.

Alessi was sitting in on the ethics/public records training when Castella said public records are a constitutional right – as in it’s the right of the seeker to be provided them. Castella also said the institution not providing them would be liable for the attorney fees incurred by the person or entity seeking the records.

Lake Tahoe News was seeking text messages of certain electeds and staff, with Alessi being one of the people whose texts are being requested.

This request came after LTN earlier this year sought phone records. That request was denied, though the denial came months after the request. These are the phone records that Alessi provided. Essentially it a blank piece of paper.

Transparency it is not.

Interim City Attorney Nira Doherty emailed LTN citing the following information as authority for not disclosing the phone records: “Rogers v. Superior Court, 19 Cal.App.4th 469 (1993) Court of Appeal denied reporter’s petition for writ of mandate on the grounds that the telephone numbers of calls placed by city councilmembers were covered by the deliberative process privilege and not subject to disclosure under CPRA request.” 

What is interesting about the public records regarding the texts being delayed is that another request, a lengthier one, was submitted after Lake Tahoe News’ by some “friends” group.

However, it was not until April 16 that council members were sent an email to bring their city issued phones to the next day’s meeting. This comes after the deadline to respond to LTN’s request and after Alessi sent the email to LTN saying the text messages would be delayed.

An additional interesting piece to all of this is that Councilman Austin Sass claimed that on April 6 his cell phone, tablet and backpack were stolen from his vehicle that was parked outside St. Theresa Church where his wife works. As of April 30 they had not been recovered.

It seems peculiar the devices go missing after data from them had been sought by Lake Tahoe News.

The electronic devices are city owned. While Sass might not want certain communications revealed and thought he could prevent that from happening if he were to no longer be in possession of them, those devices can be automatically backed up. The city’s IT department can retrieve the information without the device and without the user knowing.

Another thing the attorney told the group is that using a personal device for public work is not a great idea because that information can also be subject to public review.

By Scott Sonner, AP
 
RENO — U.S. land managers are proposing offering $1,000 to anyone willing to adopt wild horses gathered from public lands to alleviate a backlog of mustangs in government corals and shrink what they say are badly overpopulated herds across the West.

Overwhelmed by what it characterizes as a $1 billion problem, the Bureau of Land Management proposed the novel approach to Congress on Thursday and also made requests to sterilize, euthanize or sell for slaughter tens of thousands of animals.

Read the whole story

Lake Tahoe Community College and Brandman University are hosting free information sessions this week about a four-year degree option coming to the South Lake Tahoe campus this fall.

The two-year community college and the private nonprofit university will offer a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, leading to a multiple subject teaching credential. This bachelor’s degree, which can be earned entirely on LTCC’s South Shore campus in the Lisa Maloff University Center, will start Sept. 4.

California is in the midst of a teacher crisis, with thousands of K-12 teaching positions left unfilled. The state has an annual shortage of 40,000 fewer teaching credentials being issued than is required to meet its K-12 teaching needs. Locally, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District has hired nearly 80 teachers in the past five years to keep up with the demand.

There will be information sessions about the program in LTCC’s Student Center on May 1 from noon-1pm and 5-6:30pm, and May 2 from 5:30-7pm. Information is also available by calling 916.789.6901, or email Amy Crown at acrown@brandman.edu or Barbara Bartels at bartels@brandman.edu.

Updated May 3:

Environmental documents have been released for the controversial gondola that would link Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts.

The draft environmental impact statement/draft environmental impact report was prepared by the U.S. Forest Service and Placer County in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act, respectively.

Three action alternatives plus a no-action alternative are part of the analysis.

The project would include 37 towers in undeveloped area. What alarms many people is how close the site is to Granite Chief Wilderness Area, as well as the 5 Lakes trail.

“Our job now is to study this assessment to better answer the fundamental question: does the gondola make sense for North Tahoe or is it just another example of KSL and Alterra’s attempt to turn Squaw Valley into a Vegas-style amusement park?” Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch, said in a press release.

The document is available online.  The 45-day comment period started April 27.

Casey Blann, senior vice president of mountain operations at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows.

“The release of the DEIR/DEIS represents a significant step closer to realizing the decades old dream of connecting Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. We support the comprehensive review process and the hard work of the agencies involved. On behalf of over 6,800 Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows skiers and snowboarders who have signed petitions in support, we eagerly await the agencies’ final decision for the California Express Gondola. This base-to-base connection will enhance the ski and snowboard experience with the least possible impact on the environment,” said Casey Blann, senior vice president of mountain operations at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, said in a statement. “There has been tremendous support and anticipation for this connection, and we encourage our guests and community to remain engaged in the public review process as it moves forward.”

The proposed base-to-base gondola project would connect Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, include two mid-stations, multiple towers along the alignment, and eight Gazex avalanche mitigation exploders to be installed within the Alpine Meadows Ski Area boundary.

There will be two public meetings to gather comments. The first will be an open house on May 22 from 3-7pm at the USFS Truckee Ranger District office on Stockrest Springs Road, the second will be before the Placer County Planning Commission on May 24 at 10am at the North Tahoe Events Center in Kings Beach.