By Sara Rathod, Mother Jones

Spring is upon us, which means the weather is finally nice enough to sit outside and munch on a grilled burger slathered with ketchup. Or, if you prefer, a crispy salad topped with strawberries and walnuts. Either way, chances are that at least a few of the ingredients in your meal were grown in California—the country’s cornucopia.

The Golden State cultivates more than a third of all vegetables and two-thirds of all fruits and nuts sold domestically. California is also home to the largest number of farmers markets and, according to the most recent USDA Organic Survey, the highest number of 100 percent organic farms of any state.

But many of the people growing and picking this food would view a fresh spring picnic as a rare luxury. A high percentage of farmworkers in California’s agricultural counties struggle with hunger and diet-related health problems, according to a new report by the policy research group California Institute for Rural Studies.

Nearly half of the workers interviewed in Yolo Count have trouble putting dinner on the table, a rate nearly three times higher than national and state averages.

Read the whole story

South Lake Tahoe Police Department’s annual awards ceremony is May 26 at 3pm at the department.

The employees and volunteers receiving recognition include:

• Jill and Gerry Carter – Citizen Award of Merit
• ESO Dan Brown – Distinguished Service
• Lead ESO Amy Poole – Distinguished Service
• Dispatcher Melissa Dube– Distinguished service
• Officer Mark Hounsell – Distinguished Service
• Officer Chris Webber – MADD Award
• Dispatcher Linda Clark – Fire Department Dispatcher of the Year.

The public is invited to attend.

“Frivolous” is how El Dorado County Auditor Joe Harn described a lawsuit filed by a political consultant.

Joe Harn

A Sacramento County judge essentially agreed when he ordered Dan Dellinger to pay Harn’s attorney fees ($14,392.42) as well as the county’s ($30,681.53). Dellinger had filed the lawsuit in May 2015.

Harn and Dellinger have been squabbling for years. The latest incident stems from Dellinger believing he had a right to money from the Pioneer Fire District. The district hired Dellinger as a consultant. This was all part of grand jury investigation.

However, at no time has the district asked the auditor to pay Dellinger any more money. Dellinger was seeking $12,000.

Harn told Lake Tahoe News the lawsuit was “political retribution.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Ben Guarino, Washington Post

Plants pervade almost every part of human life — not only do we eat them and wear them, we use plants for fuel, medicine, building materials, poisons and intoxicants.

To limit the world’s plants to those that meet a human need, however, would be doing the leafy kingdom a disservice. In fact, according to a report from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in the United Kingdom, only a slice of plant life is “useful” to humans. In what Kew is calling the first comprehensive assessment of plant life —  the first annual “State of the World’s Plants” — researchers determined that some 30,000 plant species had a documented use.

As many as one in five plants may be at risk of extinction, the scientists say, due to invasive species, disease and changing landscapes.

Read the whole story

There will be a candidates forum May 16 for those running for office in Douglas County.

The non-partisan Good Governance Group of Douglas County is hosting the event from 6-9pm at the Carson Valley Inn, 1627 Highway 395, Minden.

The program will include a formal Q&A for county commissioners candidates, and an opportunity for other candidates to introduce themselves and state the reasons they are seeking elected office.

Jerry Evans of KKFT- 99.1 FM will moderate the forum.

Doors will open at 6pm to give candidates and voters an hour to mingle. From 7-7:30pm, candidates for the school district and other countywide offices will introduce themselves and state why they are seeking office.

All five commission candidates will then respond to several Good Governance Group questions.

South Lake Tahoe Friends of the Library is putting on two programs this month centered on science and Lake Tahoe.

Bonnie Turnbull will give a climate change talk entitled Our Climate is Unhealthy — But We Have the Power to Heal It on May 21 at 1pm. This talk is focused on what is going on locally with climate change and what can be done.

On 31 at 2pm author Michael J. Makley will discuss of his scholarly book “Saving Lake Tahoe”. It chronicles the ongoing battles amongst scientists, citizens, lawyers, governments, environmentalists, tycoons and entrepreneurs over how best to serve and utilize Lake Tahoe. Annoyed at TRPA? Read this book to understand the backstory of this bi-state regulatory agency.

Both talks are free. The library is at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work on the South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project this week.

Mechanical whole tree removal will take place off Fallen Leaf Road near Fallen Leaf Campground over the next several months and the area will be closed for public safety. This project calls for thinning of trees and brush on approximately 10,000 acres of national forest.

Mechanical whole tree removal involves cutting the entire tree and moving it to the landing area to remove the limbs and cut it into sections.  This type of mechanical operation requires closure of the area during operations due to the hazards posed by heavy equipment and falling trees.  The Forest Service will issue a forest order closing the project area (units 1 and 148) to pedestrians from 7am-6pm from approximately May 15 through Aug. 15.

Overall benefits to forests in treated areas include reducing fuel for wildfires and providing the remaining trees with less competition for resources such as water, sunlight and nutrients, which allow the trees to grow larger and become more resistant to drought, insects and disease.

For more info, go online.

By Matt Stevens and Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown issued a sweeping executive order Monday that permanently prohibits certain forms of water waste and makes monthly water-use reporting an ongoing requirement.

The order comes as some urban water suppliers have suggested the drought is over and called for the state’s drought rules to be weakened or eliminated. Brown’s order, though, rebuffs the notion that California can ever fully escape from drought.

“Californians stepped up during this drought and saved more water than ever before,” Brown said in a statement. “But now we know that drought is becoming a regular occurrence and water conservation must be a part of our everyday life.”

Read the whole story

Amgen Tour of California women’s race viewing party will be at the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority office in Stateline on May 19 from 1-2pm.

The cyclists are expected to pass by the Nevada Visitor Center at approximately1:45pm that Thursday.

Local author Andrew M. Homan will be autographing and selling his book “Life in the Slipstream – the Legend of Bobby Walthour Sr.”

Fore more info, go online.

There will also be a Strider bike race after the women’s race starts. It will be at 1pm, check-in at 12:30pm. It is open to ages 2-5. Open to Ages 2-5. Register online.

Nancy Kerry

·      South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry on May 14 will be the keynote speaker at the San Diego State University School of Public Affairs dinner for distinguished graduates where she will be receiving the outstanding alumni award.

·      The Squaw Valley Municipal Advisory Council will discuss the Village at Squaw Valley Specific Plan project on May 14 at 3pm at Plumpjack Squaw Valley Inn, Mountain Room, in Olympic Valley.

·       The U.S. Forest Service, Truckee Ranger District, is planning to burn 40-80 acres of understory vegetation near Russel Valley/Stampede Reservoir on May 10-11.

·       There will be detours on Highway 50 on the West Slope on May 17-18 while El Dorado County does roadwork.

·       Maciej Stebel is the newest deputy for Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.