Sierra-at-Tahoe isn’t closing until April 22.

Throughout the week of April 16-22, Sierra will operate Grandview, Easy Rider and West Bowl Express.

On April 23, Sierra Resort will host its annual Customer Appreciation Day, giving guests one last chance to ski and ride before the 2012 season comes to an end.

Skiers and riders of all ages can purchase a lift ticket for $20 that day. All proceeds raised from the day’s lift ticket sales will be donated to sponsor youth recreation and education including youth baseball, soccer, swimming, and other youth activities. A limited number of lifts will spin from 10am-2pm.

All guests are invited to join John Rice, general manager, and the rest of Sierra Resort’s managing team for the official “last run of the season” from the top of Grandview Express beginning at 2m. Last call at the Sierra Pub will be at 2:45pm., in time for the ending of all winter operations at 3pm.

The High Fives Foundation, Alpine Meadows, VolklSkis and Marker Bindings are putting on Trains 2012 Freestyle Ski & Snowboard Contest on April 14 from 11am-4pm at Alpine Meadows.

Trains affords the opportunity for spectators to witness world-class skiing and snowboarding.

Three teams of 10 (skiers and snowboarders) will be picked by captains to compete for Best Male, Best Female and Best 540 (degree rotation) in the first half of the competition. The event’s namesake Trains will be on display in the second half of the event as the team competition for Best Train ensues with each team of 10 popping off the features in succession.

This is an invitational competition with participation by top athletes including Parker White, Maude Raymond, Nick Goepper, Carson Lehoillier and Chris Logan, to name a few. A total of $5,000 cash will be donated by the winners of Best Male, Best Female, Best 540 (degree rotation) and Best Train to the winners’ charity of choice.

Police are sifting through the remnants of a crude explosive device to determine who may have left it on Tallac Avenue near the Laundromat at Harrison Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.

“At first glance it did not appear to be a highly sophisticated device,” South Tahoe police Lt. Brian Williams told Lake Tahoe News.

He did add that had someone been near the contraption when it went off, the result could have been life threatening.

People at the laundry facility called officers Tuesday about 7am alerting them to the suspicious device. Tahoe Douglas bomb squad used its robot to detonate it.

The object was described as having shotgun shells and other material wrapped in duct tape.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report

Spring is having a hard time sticking around the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Today’s afternoon rains have an 80 percent chance of becoming snow as the evening rolls around, according to the National Weather Service. The white stuff is expected to keep falling through at least Friday night.

Monday was good for paddleboarding, today the wind could be hazardous on Lake Tahoe. Photo/Kathryn Reed

With snow comes a dramatic drop in temperatures as well. Today the high is forecast to be 53 degrees. Friday’s high is slated to be 30 degrees.

As ski resorts extend their seasons, it means more powder days are also in the forecast.

A wind advisory for Lake Tahoe is in effect until 8 tonight, with the largest waves expected on the North Shore — 2 to 4 feet.

— Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Halfway into his three-year contract with South Lake Tahoe, Tony O’Rourke is looking for another job.

He has been out of the office quite a bit in a quest to move on. He says the decision has more to do with his family than it does professional reasons.

Tony O'Rourke

“For the long term I need to find a solution to this personal issue,” O’Rourke, 57, told Lake Tahoe News.

Today and Wednesday he is in Medford interviewing to be city manager of that Southern Oregon town. He is one of four finalists for the job.

O’Rourke started with South Tahoe in August 2010 with a salary of $175,000.

The Medford job pays between $138,000 and $152,000 a year, plus benefits.

O’Rourke has informed the entire South Lake Tahoe City Council about his need to move someplace else. He said a number of cities have approached him about leading their community, but geographically they don’t all meet his family’s needs.

Mayor Claire Fortier said the council would prefer O’Rourke stays, but understands the reasons he wants to move on.

“Tony has been a very, very effective city manager; doing the things we needed done,” Fortier said.

While O’Rourke’s review has been on the closed session agenda since last fall, this council has yet to formally critique him. Fortier said the council individually reviewed him, she gathered their input and that O’Rourke then did a self-analysis. She said the council has been waiting to all be together to go over the review with O’Rourke, which could be at the April 17 meeting. However, by then it might not matter because he could be submitting his resignation letter.

While he is out of town, Nancy Kerry does his job — despite not having the title of assistant city manager — just the responsibility.

By Kathryn Reed

Pigeonholing people is never a good idea – especially chefs. Just because someone works in a pizza place doesn’t mean pies are the only things he knows how to make.

Marc Vaccaro is a bit of a world traveler who likes to cook foods from where he has traveled. Some of these tastes have resulted in pizzas, like Thai Red Curry Chicken pizza and Classic Margarita pizza.

But he has also created a hummus that is inspired from traveling abroad. The recipe below arrived in my inbox without solicitation. I also have not tried it. But it sounds so good that I wanted to share it before I got around to making it – just in case that takes a while.

Then again, maybe I’ll just go to one of his restaurants to try it. It’s on the menu at Rubicon.

Vaccaro has worked as head chef for Rubicon Pizza Co. at Northstar, Fireside Pizza Co. at Squaw Valley, and will have the same title when Base Camp Pizza Co. opens in Heavenly Village.

Hummus, Feta, and Olives

Hummus

3 C chickpeas (precooked)

¾ C light olive oil

¾ T garlic, minced

¼ C lemon juice

½ tsp cumin, powder

¾ tsp paprika, sweet

½ tsp kosher Salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor and puree until smooth. Some chickpeas will contain more moisture than others therefore, if necessary feel free to add a touch more oil or a bit of water to achieve the consistency you are looking for.

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Marinated Kalamata Olives

3 C Kalamata olives in brine

½ bunch oregano, fresh

½ T red chili flakes

1 T garlic, minced

1 C extra virgin olive oil

Remove olives from brine and place in a large mixing bowl.

Strip the leaves from the fresh oregano and add to the bowl, along with half teaspoon of crushed red chili flakes and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.

Add a cup of olive oil and give the ingredients a quick mix.

Pour into a container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Pita Herb Blend

2 T oregano, dry

2 T thyme, dry

½ tsp kosher salt

½ C olive oil

Place all ingredients together in a small bowl and mix well to evenly distribute the ingredients throughout. Be sure to remix the herb blend prior to using as the salt has a tendency to settle on the bottom.

Turn oven temperature to 450 degrees.

While oven is preheating, take the time to assemble your ingredients. If using a feta cheese that comes in a large brick or submerged in a brine, remove from brine and cut into ½ inch cubes and assemble on one side of your serving dish. Take the freshly made hummus and place alongside the Feta, followed by the marinated olives.

When oven is hot, mix the pita herb blend with a spoon, and using a pastry brush apply a thin layer to one side of the pita and place in the oven to cook for roughly 5 minutes or until very lightly brown and slightly crisp. Cut pita into bite sized chips and serve alongside your already made dish of Hummus, Feta, and Olives.

The Eric Nageotte-Lowe Memorial Fundraiser benefiting the Heavenly Freestyle Team is April 14 from 6-10pm at Mo’s Place in South Lake Tahoe.

Everyone is invited to hear live music by the Cash Only Band, buy a raffle ticket, eat, and meet and mingle with Heavenly freestyle team members, alumni, and coaches.

Raffle tickets are $1 each. To make a donation or for more info, contact Lisa at (530) 573.0619.

Eric Nageotte-Lowe was an aspiring freestyle skier with dreams of making the U.S. Ski Team. He died training in New Zealand in 2004.

Percentage-wise the Stateline casinos had a higher tally in gaming revenues compared to the state from February 2011 to February 2012.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the figures this morning. The South Shore win was $15 million, an increase of 10.3 percent. The state revenue was $932 million, or an increase of 5.7 percent year-over-year.

The North Shore was one of the few locations in the state to report a drop in revenue.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report

• Overland Meat’s products are turning up in other places besides the South Lake Tahoe store. The Italian sausage is being used at Lake Tahoe Pizza Company. Lake Tahoe Chocolate Factory is dipping bacon in chocolate.

• Barton Health named Henning Mehrens, general practitioner, and Peter DiGrande, anesthesiologist, as doctors of the year.

• What is South Lake Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe’s Maddie Bowman saying to ESPN? Check this out.

• Volunteers are needed at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center Monday-Friday mornings. Call (530) 542.6093 for information.

• Donations filling a 12-foot trailer and more than $5,000 in cash were provided to Tahoe Youth & Family Services and Christmas Cheer from the Good Neighbor Donation Day.

Portions of 42 off-highway-vehicle routes that cross meadows in the Eldorado National Forest may be closed to motor vehicle travel this recreation season while the U.S. Forest Service completes an environmental analysis.

The potential travel prohibitions are the result of a February court order by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton. The order said the Forest Service failed to comply with the National Forest Management Act in 2008 when it designated “open for public motor vehicle use” portions of 42 routes that cross meadows.

A final court order with further direction to the Forest Service is pending. In the interim, Karlton ordered that the 42 routes are to remain closed to public wheeled motorized use. The final court order will identify specifically where travel will be prohibited until a new environmental decision is made.

The Rubicon Trail is not affected by this court order.

A map and a complete list of the routes affected by the court order is posted on the Eldorado National Forest website. The map will be modified to reflect the final court order once it is received.