By Chris Kudialis, Las Vegas Sun

A panel of medical marijuana advocates is calling for more research into how the plant works in treating various diseases and conditions.

“Hundreds of thousands of people medicate every day using marijuana,” Brookings Institution scholar John Hudak said Wednesday during a symposium at UNLV’s Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies auditorium.

More than 165 million Americans live in states where medical marijuana is legally available, Hudak said. But with so little research on marijuana’s potential medical benefits, even doctors are “left in the dark” in assessing which strain of marijuana best suits a patient’s needs.

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By Kathryn Reed

Former El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Meyers has been sentenced to 110 days in jail.

Meyers was arrested on driving under the influence charges twice in five months in 2015. He had earlier pleaded no contest to the first offense and last week pleaded guilty to the second.

Jeremy Meyers

Sentencing on May 25 also included four years of formal probation and having to install an alcohol device in his vehicle.

“We have no comment,” Paul Zappettini told Lake Tahoe News. He has been the attorney representing Meyers through his troubles.

Both arrests came in the middle of work days, with his blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.

Instead of merely stepping away from the job last fall, he forced the board members’ hands by making them pay him $114,821.55 – the equivalent of his salary through June 30, 2016. The five elected board members agreed to also give him $10,930. This is what the value of his medical, dental and life insurance would be for that same time period.

Meyers held the board hostage is how some people described it. Because Meyers was elected and was not accused of committing a felony the board had little recourse.

Ed Manansala, deputy superintendent of educational services for the district since June 2013, was sworn in Jan. 5 as the superintendent of El Dorado County Office of Education.

·       The California Highway Patrol is recruiting senior volunteers and explorers for the South Lake Tahoe office. For more info, call 530.577.1001.

·       The Crown Room at the Crystal Bay Club is removing 16 booth seats and a satellite bar to make it a larger music venue with capacity of 750. The project is scheduled to be complete by June 14.

·       Soroptimist International of Truckee Donner’s Wine and Restaurant Faire is June 4 from 5-7:30pm at the Coyote Moon Golf Course in Truckee. For more info, go online.

·       Truckee Community Theater is putting on “Bye, Bye Birdie” from May 27-June 5. More info is available online.

·       For those traveling this holiday weekend on Highway 50 on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, remember that NDOT will be working on Cave Rock and there are bound to be delays.

With help from a wet winter, law enforcement agencies in Northern Nevada are preparing for a busy boating season at lakes Tahoe, Topaz, Lahontan and others, following several years of drought and tough boating conditions.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office are all launching boats before the Memorial Day weekend to provide for public safety and enforce boating laws.

“We’ve seen challenging conditions over the past few years, but with a healthy winter behind us, we expect a lot more people out on the water,” Chief Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed of the NDOW, the agency responsible for boating across the state, said in a statement.  “With more boaters, we don’t want to see more accidents, so we’re being proactive with our boating safety and enforcement efforts.”

NDOW has officers stationed at all of Nevada’s major waterways, and Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kickoff to boating season.

In addition to NDOW, many other law enforcement agencies will be putting boats on the water before this busy boating season gets underway.

Douglas County is launching a new patrol boat to work enforcement on Lake Tahoe, a lake that saw three fatal accidents last year, all on the California side.

Boaters who were born on or after Jan. 1, 1983, are required to complete a boating course to operate a motorboat of more than 15 horsepower on Lakes Tahoe or Topaz.  As every year, officials also stress life jacket wear as the single greatest step boaters can take to stay safe.

Twenty-two stolen vehicles were recovered on the West Slope of El Dorado County on Tuesday.

Officers confiscated cars, trailers, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, travel trailers, construction equipment, weapons and ammunition from the Somerset property.

Thirty-five officers from El Dorado and Sacramento counties along with the California Highway Patrol were involved with the May 25 seizure.

No suspects are in custody and the investigation is on going.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Anjeanette Damon, Reno Gazette-Journal

Because of a little noticed quirk in a decade-old state law, property tax revenue relied upon by local governments can’t grow along with the economy, a leading tax revenue analyst said Wednesday.

The problem means the state’s largest and most stable tax revenue is not recovering along with the economy, putting continued stress on government services already scrambling to meet the needs of a growing population.

School districts are hit particularly hard because 40 percent of property tax revenue funds schools in Nevada.

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While the pros were sliding on the clay at the French Open, Lake Tahoe kids have been pounding the hard courts at Zephyr Cove Tennis Club.

Deanne Larsell, assistant pro at the club, led more than a dozen kids through a series of drills this week before the rain forced play to stop. The two free clinics that were canceled because of the weather have been rescheduled for June 1. Grades 3-5 will play starting at 3:45pm, while grades 6-8 begin at 4:45pm.

Youngsters are taught the fundamentals of the game, as well as have the opportunity to refine skills they already have.

Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department, and the nonprofit Zephyr Cove Tennis Club Foundation are providing the free lessons.

The Northern California chapter of the U.S. Tennis Association is providing goodies to each participant.

ZCTC will be offering a more in depth youth summer program starting June 6. For more information, go online.

By Kathryn Reed

Crews are working to clean up 4 gallons of diesel that spilled into a Tahoe Keys lagoon in South Lake Tahoe.

The state Office of Emergency Services was contacted May 25 at 4:01pm, and by 5:11pm the spill had been contained. The wind kept it in the lagoon and did not take it out to Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association workers immediately put out booms in the Spinnaker Lagoon, which is between White Sands and Beach drives.

Kirk Wooldridge, general manager of the TKPOA, did not return a phone call. El Dorado County Environmental Management also did not return a call.

Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board employees have been at the site and are working with TKPOA to mop up the mess.

Scott Ferguson with Lahontan told Lake Tahoe News, “We will be in to touch with Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association to get an update from them on what progress they made overnight or if any additional action is planned to get everything cleaned up, and to find out what was the cause.”

According to the OES report, it was TKPOA who made the initial call after someone notified the front office of the homeowners association about the spill.

It is not known who made the initial report, how the exact amount is known or who spilled the fuel.

This was the second spill at Tahoe Keys this spring. CleanHarbor, which was in South Lake Tahoe for multiple days cleaning up the April 11 slick, claimed 30 gallons of oil were skimmed off the surface then. The oil was found on a back channel near the professional buildings on Venice Drive. That investigation is ongoing.

By Associated Press

State officials today said Nevada gambling revenue was down more than 2 percent in April compared with last year.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said Thursday that the state’s casinos won $876 million in April.

Revenue fell in the areas with the most gambling activity. Las Vegas Strip gambling revenue was down almost 2 percent to $491 million last month, and downtown Las Vegas winnings were down 13 percent to $43 million.

Casinos up north fared better. Reno casino revenue was up almost 19 percent to $50 million.

Stateline revenue fell 12 percent to $13 million in April.

The state collected $44 million in tax money based off the winnings, which is down 18 percent from the same time last year.

Creating an outdoor garden room can be accomplished with limited space and budget.
Photo/Gardener’s Supply Company

By Melinda Myers

No matter your budget, space or gardening experience, you can design an outdoor entertainment area for you, your family and friends to enjoy.

Start by gathering ideas from magazines and the Internet for examples of outdoor garden spaces.

Next, select an area that is convenient and suitable for your outdoor entertaining. Define the space using outdoor rugs and furniture or tall planters (gardeners.com) to serve as the walls for your garden room. A bistro set and a couple of chairs makes for an intimate space on a balcony. Those with more room may want to include an outdoor wicker and teak dining set. Fill the planters with ornamental grasses, papyrus, cannas and other flowering plants to create a living screen.

Add a splash of color and flavor to the space by growing herbs and vegetables combined with flowers in these and additional planters in your garden space. Include ingredients for your favorite drinks, appetizers and meals. Your guests will enjoy plucking a few mint leaves for their iced tea or mojito, harvesting fresh greens from a salad garden bar and dressing up the meal with a few pesticide-free edible flowers like nasturtiums, calendula and day lilies.

Busy gardeners and those that travel may want to try self-watering pots. These containers have built-in water reservoirs to provide a constant flow of water to the plants. This means you need to water less often, while still enjoying healthy and productive plants.

Add some height and focal points with topiaries. Purchase a sculpted evergreen or train vines up a twist topiary frame to create a bit of living art. And don’t forget to add some garden art and statuary.

Extend your enjoyment with outdoor lighting. A few votive candles in old punch cups are perfect for intimate gatherings in small spaces. Add a bit more illumination with the help of solar illuminated planters, solar deck lights, post caps, and solar cubes and spheres. No buried electric lines or extension cords needed. Use these lights to lead you down the path to your garden space or brighten the space for an evening of fun.

So get busy creating the garden room of your dreams. Once you get started, you will be looking for more opportunities for that quiet getaway, outdoor kitchen and more ways to enjoy your garden.

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author and columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including “Small Space Gardening and the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook”.