By Brian Duggan, Reno Gazette-Journal

State officials are considering four advertising companies for a $3 million, two-year contract to sell the Nevada as a compelling tourism and cultural destination to the rest of the country.

But unlike eight of the 19 companies that submitted a proposal for the job, the four finalists are not based in Silver State.

Valerie Glenn, the CEO of the Reno-based Glenn Group, said it’s a shame no Nevada companies made the short list for such a large contract, including her company.

“All things being relatively equal, there should be a process in place to use some common sense that would lean toward supporting businesses in Nevada,” Glenn said. “Especially given our economic situation and our governor’s stance on promoting economic development and job creation.”

The finalists were announced in an email sent by the state’s purchasing department on Tuesday.

It occurred after the department concluded its initial scoring process that determines which companies will get to interview for the job that would fall under the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Its director is a cabinet-level officer.

The interviews are expected to start next week. The state Board of Examiners could approve the contract later this summer. The finalists are Aristotle Inc. of Little Rock, Ark.; Daniel J. Edelman Inc. of Los Angeles; Fahlgren Mortine of Columbus, Ohio; and New York City-based Burson-Marsteller — one of the largest public relations firms in the country.

Read the whole story

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and the El Dorado County Office of Education are accepting applications for the 2012-13 El Dorado County Youth Commission.

Applications are due May 30, 2012. Here is an application.

Contact Lisa Boyle at lboyle@edcoe.org or (530) 391.2960.

Cyclists from far and wide are signing up for the May 20 Motherlode Century.

Staged in the foothills of the historic Gold Country, the Motherlode offers three ride options: The Gold Dust (31 miles), The Gold Nugget (67 miles) and the Motherlode (100 miles).

The century bike ride benefits the American River Conservancy and Breathe California Sacramento Emigrant Trail charities. The start/finish and host camp is Earthtrek Expeditions in Lotus on the South Fork of the American River in the Coloma Valley.

Find out more online or contact Rob Swain at motherlodecentury@live.com or (530) 544.8705.

Robert Vido Ghilotti, a longtime resident of the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe, passed away April 29 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla with his family and friends at his side.

Throughout life his positive attitude and enthusiasm were hallmarks of his character and professional football coaching career.

Robert Ghilotti left behind a legacy in football – being a part of some of the most innovative passing games of the time. While most teams were still dedicated to running the football, and only throwing the ball when absolutely necessary, the teams Ghilotti was a part of always featured a dangerous and cutting edge passing game that led to the development of All-American and record setting quarterbacks and receivers. Joe Marvin a football historian, former football coach, and long-time friend of Ghilotti’s said “Bob Ghilotti was way ahead of his time with the passing game, no doubt about it. He was a pioneer in the passing game and he was an outstanding man.”

Robert Ghilotti was born Aug. 6, 1922, in Clovis to Giovanni and Maria Ghilotti from Grosio, Italy. He was the youngest of three brothers. He grew up in Modesto and eventually went on to attend Modesto High School where he was described early on as a “mighty popular fellow and a scholar too.” He was an excellent tight-end and the student body president. He later attended Modesto Junior College where he was an athletic stand-out, lettering in three sports; football, basketball and track. Ghilotti had a deep allegiance and love for our constitution and the United States of America. A veteran of the Second World War, Ghilotti served in the Army (1942-1946) as a medic and sharpshooter; he was honorably discharged in February 1946.

Following the war, he played wide receiver and defensive end for the Stanford Cardinal.He continued to follow his passion: the game of football and became a freshman football coach at Stanford University in 1950. During Ghilotti’s tenure at Stanford as a coach he helped lead Stanford to the 1952 Rose Bowl against the University of Illinois.

After Ghilotti’s successful coaching career at Stanford University, he accepted a coaching position at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he continued to work with the wide receivers from 1959-1961. Ghilotti was highly regarded by the Colorado football staff and faculty for his ability as a coach, as well as his tremendous representation of the school at speaking engagements.

Following the 1961 season Ghilotti made the jump to the professional coaching ranks where he accepted a position with the Dallas Texans of the American Football League. Ghilotti spent the 1963 season with the new Kansas City Chiefs before departing back to the Bay Area and taking a coaching position with the University of California, Berkeley.

Moving to the other sideline of the big game rivalry between Stanford and Cal, Ghilotti spent five seasons coaching the Golden Bears of Cal under head coach Ray Willsey.

He retired from coaching football so that he could focus on spending time with his wife and three daughters while developing a real estate career and managing the Ghilotti family ranch in the Central Valley.

He is preceded in death by his loving wife Viola B. Ghilotti, and his two brothers; Attico E. Ghilotti, and Levio G. Ghilotti. He is survived by his three daughters Mary Lynn G. Toney, Lee Ann Toney, and Joan Ghilotti; as well as four grandsons Robert, Jason, Nicholas, and Patrick; four granddaughters, Elizabeth, Megan, Ariana, and Jessica and one great grandson, Padraig. With many fond memories of friends and family at Lake Tahoe, a memorial will be held on June 2, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at 11:00. The address is as follows: 701 Mount Rose Highway, Incline Village.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be sent to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at the address above. Notes of sympathy can be sent to The Ghilotti Sisters, c/o Robert Toney, 13867 Otis Place, Poway, CA 92064.

A 6-square-mile area owned by the Bureau of Land Management near Gardnerville will have restrictions until Aug. 1, 2014.

Vehicles and woodcutting won’t be allowed in the Ray May burn area while rehab work is preformed.

Signs will be posted saying what areas are open.

Two teen-age boys started the first Aug. 16 by not fully extinguishing their campfire.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 5:

Losing a loved one is never easy.

There is no reason it should be expensive to tell people this sad news.

Obituaries are free on Lake Tahoe News. It doesn’t matter how long the obit is. Photos to accompany the story are free, too.

Just send what you want published to info@LakeTahoeNews.net.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

• Truckee is having a budget workshop May 8 from 4-8pm at the administrative center, 10183 Truckee Airport Road.

• The Reno River Festival is seeking volunteers for its ninth annual event June 15–17. Email info@renoriverfestival.com for information.

• Patty Zwarts, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board’s new executive director, starts May 14.

• Carl Ribaudo of South Lake Tahoe will be writing for MotoSFO, an online guide to motorcycling in Northern California.

• Here is whom the Sacramento Bee is endorsing for El Dorado County supervisor.

By Cheryl Millham

The first babies of the 2012 wildlife season arrived on April 17 when Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care received five mountain cottontail bunnies, which were dug up by a dog.

It is sad to say one of the bunnies did not make it. However, the other four are doing very well.

If you would like to see these little ones, go to our website, click on “photos and videos” and you will see their first feeding.

During the past two years, more and more bunnies – mostly mountain cottontails – have been spotted in the Lake Tahoe Basin. People have told us that they have lived here for 25 years (and longer) and have never seen a rabbit.

Now the bunnies are living under wood piles and decks. At the end of February, we saw some rabbit tracks in the snow in the wildlife compound area, but did not see one until the middle of March. By the end of April, we were seeing the one in our yard on a regular basis, especially in the evening.

Many baby squirrels arrive at LTWC still in the nest that was in a hole in a tree which was cut down. Photos/LTWC

Why am I telling you about the abundance of rabbits? Because in nature when you have prey, you will have predators.

Until their eyes open -- normally at 3 to 4 weeks of age -- baby squirrels must be fed a special formula via a syringe.

Can you guess what animal likes to eat rabbit more than anything else? Bobcats!

Last summer we had numerous sightings of bobcats on the South Shore.

Have they been seen before? Yes. But, we heard of more sightings last year than any other year.

Let me assure you of this fact. Bobcats do not eat dogs and cats. They do not attack people of any size or age. But they do love rabbits.

So, here is another chance to observe wildlife in the wild, co-existing around us and living a normal life. Enjoy them, do not put out any food for them and be happy we can all live together.

Cheryl Millham is executive director of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Careon the outskirts of South Lake Tahoe.

By David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times

If the healthcare reform law is thrown out by theU.S. Supreme Court — as many fear could happen based on the comments of conservative justices — more than 700,000 low-income Californians could lose a once-in-a-lifetime chance to obtain affordable health insurance.

At stake is what’s known as a Basic Health Plan. This is a system provided for by the reform law, fully funded by the federal government, that would extend coverage to people who may not be able to afford conventional insurance policies but don’t qualify for Medi-Cal.

State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, chairman of the Senate health committee, is the author of legislation that would create a Basic Health Plan in California beginning in 2014. It would provide coverage to about 720,000 people for as little as $30 a month.

But that’s only if the reform law remains intact, providing up to $3 billion in federal funds needed annually to make the program a reality.

“If the court throws out the entire law, that’s the nuclear option,” Hernandez told me. “The Basic Health Plan would lose all funding. It’s what I’m afraid of most.”

Critics of the healthcare reform law focus primarily on its requirement that most people buy insurance or face a modest tax penalty, which is the trade-off for a separate requirement that insurers provide coverage to everyone, regardless of medical condition.

These critics seldom acknowledge other aspects of the law aimed at helping insure some of the roughly 50 million people in this country who now lack coverage.

That’s an act of pure selfishness (even though we’d all benefit from having fewer people relying on emergency services for treatment). It’s also a display of heartlessness unbefitting a country that claims to define itself by love-thy-neighbor Judeo-Christian values.

Read the whole story

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the legendary Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, in which a Mexican force of 4,500 men faced 6,000 well-trained French soldiers. The battle lasted four hours and ended in a victory for the Mexican army under Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza. Along with Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16, Cinco de Mayo has become a time to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture.

The number of U.S. residents of Mexican origin, according to the 2010 Census, is 31.8 million. These residents accounted for about three-quarters (63 percent) of the 50.5 million Hispanics and increased 54 percent, growing from 20.6 million in 2000 to 31.8 million in 2010.

Sixty-one percentage of the Mexican-origin population in the United States reside in California (11.4 million) and Texas (8 million) in 2010.