By Kathryn Reed

Jessie Jorgensen is running all around the soccer field by Lake Tahoe Community College. She does this weekly.

Right after the New Year’s weekend SnowGlobe music festival the toddler enjoyed finding trinkets like piercings and necklaces. Now it’s mostly leftover confetti that she scampers over.

Jessie and her dad, Pete Jorgensen, come out to the community ball fields so the little one can run around. They live on the other side of Al Tahoe Boulevard.

The elder Jorgensen on Sunday points to how the sides of the field are a brighter shade of green than the playing area. After nearly a decade of wear-and-tear, this would be expected. But Jorgensen and others say SnowGlobe substantially added to the fading of the artificial turf.

Bob Aaron, another South Lake Tahoe resident, calls the damage done to the fields by SnowGlobe as “unrepairable” and wants to know who is going to pay for it.

South Lake Tahoe, which owns the field, acknowledges confetti is still embedded in the turf.

“The confetti was the worst. That was an ill-conceived idea,” Stan Sherer, community services director, told Lake Tahoe News. He added that the promoters were told not to use confetti, but did so anyway.

Aaron told Lake Tahoe News the field is riddled with cigarette butts and burns.

On April 22, Lake Tahoe News saw one butt in the field – though not every inch was scoured.

Sherer, who was inspecting the field Monday, said he sees adult soccer players smoking on the field and sidelines all the time.

“The biggest problem from SnowGlobe was the gum,” Sherer said.

A few globs are visible, as are remnants from stickers that got stuck to the artificial grass.

Sherer said a substance would be applied to those spots by hand. Inmates from the nearby jail will be working on the field – so it’s free labor for the city.

The other foreign object Lake Tahoe News found was what looked like a round battery.

The city’s belief is the music festival did not do irreparable harm, nor did it affect the playability of the field. Already the infill has been screened and reraked. It’s time to play ball, according to Sherer.

This field is used nearly every day or night when snow is not covering it.

“The field is aging. It already exceeded its life expectancy,” Sherer said. “The only thing that helps is that it is shaded so much. The UV breaks down that field. And it’s more pronounced at altitude.”

Remnants of stickers are still stuck in the artificial turf at the community ball fields.

The colored specs are confetti from SnowGlobe. Photos/Kathryn Reed

What looks like a camera battery is on the field. The black is part of the field.

A truck driver was killed Monday afternoon after he tried to stop on Mount Rose Highway using the runaway truck ramp.

The name of the victim has not been released.

According to the Nevada Highway Patrol, at 2:48pm, the 18-wheeler pulling a trailer transporting composite decking materials traveling westbound on the two-lane highway toward Lake Tahoe.

For reasons still being investigated, the unidentified male driver utilized the truck ramp in an effort to stop his vehicle. The truck and trailer stopped near the termination point of the ramp; however, the entire load of building materials shifted forward, crushing the entire cab and killing the driver.

No other vehicles were involved.

By Chris Smith, Press Democrat

Jaycee Lee Dugard’s mother will be in Santa Rosa on Tuesday to address a public observance on the rights of crime victims.

We can be sure that as folks listen to Terry Probyn recall her daughter’s abduction and 18 years of imprisonment and torment, they’ll be thinking also of a more recent victim of breathtaking violence — slain Petaluma teacher and mother Kim Conover.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch said she’s hoping Tuesday’s National Crime Victims’ Rights program at the new Family Justice Center on north Mendocino Avenue will focus energy and attention on how to protect others from becoming victims of such crimes.

Probyn will speak about noon. Earlier, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes” march from the Board of Supervisors’ chambers to the Family Justice Center.

Probyn’s daughter, Jaycee, was 11 when she was abducted from South Lake Tahoe in 1991. She was held until her rescue in 2009 from Phillip and Nancy Garrido, who are serving sentences that could — and should — keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.

By Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau

CARSON CITY — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval announced today that the state has reached an agreement with online retailing giant Amazon to begin collecting Nevada sales tax on purchases.

The agreement also calls for the state and the Fortune 500 company to work together for immediate enactment of federal legislation that will address the needs of states, retailers and consumers by creating a simplified and equitable framework for sales tax collection.

Sandoval said he will continue to push Congress to act on legislation that will allow states to collect revenues that are already due.

“The only way to completely resolve this issue is for Congress to enact legislation that, within a simplified nationwide framework, grants states the right to require collection by all sellers,” Sandoval said. “We thank Amazon for creating jobs and investment in Nevada and are very grateful the company is working with us on a federal solution.”

Amazon subsidiaries employ thousands of Nevadans in the Reno and Las Vegas areas.

“Amazon appreciates Gov. Sandoval’s focus on Nevada jobs and his efforts to encourage congress to resolve the sales tax issue this year,” said Paul Misener, Amazon vice president of Global Public Policy. “We strongly support federal legislation permitting interstate sales tax collection because it is the only way to level the playing field for all sellers, the only way for Nevada to obtain all the sales tax revenue that is already owed, and the only way to fully protect states’ rights.”

According to the agreement between the Nevada Department of Taxation and Amazon, the company will voluntarily begin to collect and remit Nevada sales tax beginning Jan. 1, 2014, or as of the effective date of federal legislation, whichever is earlier. Amazon will collect the sales and use tax in the same manner as traditional brick and mortar retailers, relieving Nevadans from having to self-report use taxes from these sales to the state.

By Maria Mircheva

As you may know, sugar pines and other white pines are plagued by a nonnative invasive pathogen. White pine blister rust kills about 90 percent of sugar pines it infects. Scientists and restoration managers have agreed that the only effective restoration strategy is to identify seed trees resistant to the rust and plant their progeny.

That is exactly what the Sugar Pine Foundation does and you can help too. Last fall, a volunteer described planting sugar pines as “creating life in our neck of the woods”.

For all of you that have been inspired by the recent release of Dr. Seuss “The Lorax,” this will be the perfect opportunity to turn that inspiration into action and do you part in bringing back the Sugar Pines. The Sugar Pine Foundation has 4,000 young sugar pines to plant in Tahoe this spring.

On the South Shore, there will be two community plantings. The first one is April 28 at Bijou Community Park. There will be a morning group starting at 11:30 and an afternoon group about 2. The second planting is May 5 at 10am in Glenbrook.

May 5 is also Climate Impact Day, so the planting will be a part of Connect the Dots campaign. You can also buy a sugar pine to plant in your yard at one of the SPF events or on our website.

There will be another planting May 12 from 10am-1pm at Waddle Ranch in Truckee. Meet at the Truckee Airport parking lot. Bring a 4WD vehicle or ride in the airport van to the planting site.

The SPF’s spring planting blitz begins in late April goes into mid-May. During this time of the year, the soil is naturally moistened from snowmelt and conditions are ideal for giving young seedlings a good start. However, this year our snowpack is below average, which means it will be harder for the seedlings to survive.

If you can’t make it to a planting, maybe you can volunteer as a caregiver to one of the restoration sites and bring the trees some much needed water in the dry summer months.

The goal of the SPF is to help save Tahoe’s glorious sugar pines by planting blister rust-resistant seedlings throughout the Tahoe area.

We like to involve local students and community members in our restoration work and teach them about forest health. We aim to inspire them to become forest stewards.

This spring, 20 Lake Tahoe Community College and 50 Sierra Nevada College students will be planting with the Sugar Pine Foundation as well.

Since 2008, the foundation has planted more than 700 acres with more than 42,000 sugar pines and other native trees to maintain Tahoe’s legacy of beautiful, healthy forests. We need your help to reach our goal of planting 50,000 sugar pines in five years!

For more information, call me at (650) 814.9565 or email admin@sugarpinefoundation.org.

Maria Mircheva is executive director of the Sugar Pine Foundation.

By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

A man fatally shot Saturday night near Union Valley Reservoir in El Dorado County has been identified by the county Sheriff’s Office as Randall Gene Center, 25 of Colfax.

Sheriff’s officials said Monday that circumstances leading up to the shooting are under investigation.

The Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 8:10pm. Saturday from a camper in the Union Valley Reservoir area who reported that an individual had been shot. Officials said the location of the shooting was in an undeveloped, remote shoreline area with no road access and could be reached only by boat.

Sheriff’s Department personnel responded to the area along with county fire and U.S. Forest Service units. When they arrived, they found the individuals involved in the incident, one of whom was dead.

By Northern Nevada Business Weekly

A membership-based, all-you-fly airline hopes to add service to the Lake Tahoe market next year.

Surf Air, headquartered at Santa Monica, is signing up members for its first routes, which will link Palo Alto, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

But expansion into the Lake Tahoe market is one of the company’s priorities, says Wade Eyerly, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who is Surf Air’s chief executive officer, says the carrier hopes to tap a market of Bay Area residents who want to avoid the hassles of driving to second homes at Lake Tahoe.

The company expects to add Lake Tahoe service by early 2013. It expects to launch its first service in California this summer, although it still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Eyerly, who founded the company with his brother, David, a licensed commercial airline pilot, says Surf Air executives haven’t decided which airport in the Lake Tahoe area the company might use. Possibilities include the airports at South Lake Tahoe and Truckee.

Read the whole story

Imagine sipping a big, bold El Dorado County wine, perfectly paired with fare from the region’s best chefs, prepared with fresh seasonal produce grown within a 100 miles from where you stand. This is what Sample the Sierra is all about.

Now in its third year, this farm-to-fork festival celebrates food, wine, and art in the Sierra Nevada.

The event is Sept. 2 from 1-5pm on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, including ticket prices, call (775) 588.1728, ext. 303 or email Emily@TahoeChamber.org.

The Douglas County Public Library in Minden is bringing back Nevada outdoor author Mike White on May 15 from 4:30-6:30pm.

The award-winning author will give a presentation of some of the best Nevada hikes as featured in his books “50 Classic Hikes in Nevada” and “Backpacking Nevada”. Spanning the entire state of Nevada, the presentation is designed to inspire and inform lovers of the outdoors about a spectrum of trails, from a half-hour stroll to an all-day jaunt. He will be available to sign books after the presentation.

The Douglas County Public Library is located at 1625 Library Lane in Minden. For more information, call (775) 782.9841.

The North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association has teamed up with state Sen. Ted Gaines, Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery and the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce to host an ADA Compliance Workshop on, April 30, 6-8pm at the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, 11570 Donner Pass Road in Truckee.

The purpose of the workshop is to educate businesses about state laws and Americans with Disabilities Act, and present guidelines to avoid lawsuits for non-compliance. This event is free and open to the public.

It will include panelists CEO and General Counsel David Peters of Lawyers Against Lawsuit Abuse and Julie Griffiths of the California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.