Placer County Board of Supervisors wants to know what qualities the public wants the next county executive officer to have.
An online survey is available until March 16. Or people may print the survey and mail it Ralph Andersen & Associates, 5800 Stanford Ranch Road, Ste. 410, Rocklin, CA 95765.
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
A black bear caught in a trap that generated significant controversy in Incline Village will be released back to the wild Friday in a manner experts hope to make as unpleasant as possible.
The decision to spare the captured bruin came in part because wildlife officials aren’t sure if it’s the same problem-causing bear that prompted them to set the trap in the first place.
“There’s enough doubt as to whether this is really the offending bear,” said Chris Healy, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “This bear will not be euthanized.”
Game wardens set the trap last Saturday after a bear – believed to be a female because two yearling bears were reported in the same area – tore into the side of a house and entered some cars in search of food, Healy said. Such aggressive behavior could justify killing the bear as a threat to public safety under state policy, Healy said.
But the trap quickly generated its own problems associated with people who consider Nevada’s approach to dealing with nuisance bears to be overly lethal. Over the weekend, someone illegally tampered with the trap by spraying it with cleaning fluids to keep bears away. Residents of the homes where the bear went on its food raids were subjected to threatening phone calls.
The trap was cleaned up and baited again. On Wednesday night, a bear got caught.
Experts examining the tranquilized animal Thursday were in for a shock. It wasn’t a female but a three-year-old, 250-pound male.
To the community,
Last night was trash night. My dog was up all night barking at the bears.
This morning when I went out to get the paper my trash was all over the place. After the trash pick up, almost all of the trash was gone.
We do have the best trash pick up crew I have ever seen. Thanks fellows.
David Dewitt, South Lake Tahoe
By Guy Clifton, Reno Gazette-Journal
Bill Raggio, a legend in Nevada politics for more than half a century, has died.
Raggio, the longest-serving senator in state history, was 85, and died Thursday of a respiratory illness while on vacation in Sydney, Australia. His wife, Dale, was at his side.
“With the death of Sen. Bill Raggio, one of the great lights in the world of Nevada politics has gone out,” said Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Bill Raggio
A Reno native, Raggio served 18 years with the Washoe County District Attorney’s office, including three terms as the district attorney, where he earned a reputation as a hard-nosed prosecutor.
He was elected to the state senate in 1972 and served there until resigning for health reasons in 2010. In those 38 years, he forged a reputation as a master of the legislative process, a tough negotiator and a champion for education and Northern Nevada interests.
He took heavy criticism in 2010 for backing U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., over Republican Sharron Angle in their U.S. Senate race, but Raggio said he was doing what he thought was in the best interest of Nevada.
“He always fought for Nevada and his invaluable contributions and service to our state will live on,” Reid said in a statement on Friday.
Raggio was unapologetic and said in a 2010 interview that criticism is part of the life of an elected official.
“You show me someone who doesn’t have detractors, and I’ll show you someone who hasn’t done a damn thing in their lives,” Raggio said.
Raggio did plenty.
A second-generation Reno native, William J. Raggio grew up on Surprise Valley Road (now Valley Road) in Reno. His mother was a bookkeeper, his father a bank teller.
To the community,
Whether friend or foe, I urge everyone to read Frank Kafka’s latest psychodrama like it’s “Poland’s Affair”. The plotline is much like Kafka’s “Trial”. A man is accused of a crime, but he cannot find anyone who will tell him what is the crime. Thus, he cannot answer any charge brought against him. He is defenseless. So the tale is a horror story. A mind game wherein the accused for weeks and months must wait for someone to tell him what is his crime, his fate.
The story takes place in a small alpine town. Some call it paradise, but for the accused it has become hell.
Bill Crawford
The citizens are powerless because the local powers that be have sealed their lips. The town manager isn’t talking, nor is the police chief. In the story there is a rumor that the national police are playing in this game of terror. They are silent.
In this horror story the reader is left hanging because it ends without a resolution. The reader must guess as to the fate of the accused. By the way, Kafka died in 1924, so he wrote “Poland’s Affair” from his grave to remind us that his voice is still alive and loud and clear. Some voices are immortal. There is such a thing as state of terrorism.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
By Mandy Kendall
Do you get a “kick out of caffeine” or do you need to “kick the caffeine”?
I’ve always loved the smell of freshly ground coffee, but hated the taste of it. So I’d never quite understood the “kick” people talk about getting out of coffee until I recently discovered cafe mocha (coffee mixed with chocolate) and now I get it.
Mandy Kendall
However, now I’m wondering if I’ll end up like a lot of people I know who say they can’t function in the morning without a cup of coffee, or some kind of caffeine or need caffeine during the day for a pick-me-up.
We often hear that if we consume too much caffeine, we could become addicted and could find ourselves at risk of associated health problems. A research review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that caffeine can cause short-term increases in blood pressure and advised that people with high blood should limit their caffeine intake.
Conversely, other studies have shown some benefits to moderate consumption of caffeine rich foods like coffee, tea and dark chocolate, indicating that they can help lower heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer due to their disease fighting antioxidant properties.
So how much should we have? Caffeine in excess of 500mg, which is about the amount found in four cups of coffee, has been shown to cause irritability, insomnia, muscle tremors and an irregular heartbeat among other harmful side effects.
The generally recommended limits are 300-400mg per day for adults (the equivalent of three 6 ounce cups of coffee, four cups of tea or six cans of soda). Pregnant women and people with high blood pressure are advised to limit their intake to 150- 00mg per day and children should not consume any more than 50mg per day (one can of soda).
Caffeine for weight loss? Although coffee has no calories and could therefore be considered a weight loss aid, research has not confirmed this. In fact, a high intake of caffeine can lead to increased production of cortisol, the stress hormone, which has been linked to weight gain as well as stress.
Which type of caffeine is best? If you’re going to have caffeine, try to choose the natural source found in tea and coffee. The often-dangerous levels of caffeine found in sodas and energy drinks, mixed with high levels of sugar and other ingredients, can possibly interact with prescription drugs and antibiotics decreasing their efficacy as well as leading to other harmful side effects.
Remember there is more caffeine in a cup of brewed coffee than an espresso (which is down to the type of coffee used and how it is made) and just so you know how much caffeine you might be consuming here are some caffeine measurements from the Mayo Clinic:
Dunkin’ Doughnuts regular coffee (16 oz.) 206 mg
Starbucks double espresso (2 oz.) 150 mg
Starbucks Frappuccino (average) (9.5 oz) 115 mg
Starbucks vanilla latte (grande) (16 oz) 150 mg
Einstein Bros. regular coffee (16 oz) 300 mg
Starbucks brewed coffee (grande) (16 oz) 320 mg
Starbucks Tazo Chai Tea Latte (16 oz) 100 mg
Snapple regular and diet versions * (16 oz) 42 mg
Coca Cola regular or diet * (12 oz) 54 mg
7-Up regular or diet * (12 oz) 0 mg
Red Bull * (8.3 oz) 80 mg
*Just remember that although these drinks have a lower amount of caffeine in them, they will have lots of other ingredients that are not so good for you.
I’m choosing to enjoy my café mocha, just maybe not everyday.
Until next time!
Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email at healthconnective@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook, or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.
When you see an emergency vehicle coming from behind or toward you with its red lights and siren sounding, give the right-of-way to that ambulance, fire truck, or police car by pulling over to the right side of the road and stopping.
Even if you are in the center turn lane, it’s the law that you yield to the right side of the street without blocking the intersection.
Once the vehicles have passed, it is then safe to resume your normal travel path.
The fire department thanks you for your cooperation in our efforts to respond to emergency calls safely.
— Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department
By Blair Anthony Robertson, Sacramento Bee
Joshua Lurie-Terrell and his wife, Jineui Hong, often buy their meat in bulk. So do some of their friends and neighbors.
A caravan to the local big-box superstore? Hardly.
Part of a growing movement nationwide, they’re doing their shopping the old-fashioned way, albeit with some newfangled twists sending out emails to friends, pooling their money, logging onto an area farm’s website to size up the product and then placing the order.
They’ve had success going this route with Jenny Cavaliere, a college-educated, first-generation farmer who owns and operates High Sierra Beef, a 63-acre farm in Oregon House, about 65 miles north of Sacramento.
“She’s very honest and upfront about the prices,” said Lurie-Terrell, who lives in midtown Sacramento. “I really like the idea of buying totally organic, grass-fed beef and getting it in exactly the cut that I want at a fair price.” He said it pencils out to $7 or $8 a pound.
Folks like Lurie-Terrell and his circle of friends are going this route, pooling money to buy large quantities of locally sourced meat.
Their motivations are varied. Folks want to buy locally. They demand high quality. They seek a personal connection with the farmers and they want to know the animals are treated humanely. They also see the environmental ramifications: Small, ethically minded farms tend to pollute less than massive corporate entities, and animals raised and sold locally have fewer miles on them.
“It was like this in communities 100 years ago. I truly believe that people want a connection. They’re realizing that the larger, corporate food systems are not the total solution,” said Cavaliere, whose farm is considered minuscule by factory-farm standards. California’s largest beef producer, Harris Ranch, for instance, has thousands of acres and manages a herd of about 100,000 cattle.
What’s new is the convenience of it all. With a phone call or an online transaction, the meat is butchered, packaged and made ready for pick-up or delivery. A simple Internet search reveals whose beef is grass-fed, which farms are organic. Some farms routinely update prices and product availability on their websites.
Cavaliere said that at least two distinct groups are leading this meat-buying movement: young and middle-aged adults who are knowledgeable about quality food and the politics of corporate farming, and parents seeking healthier, more natural meat for their children.
By Kathryn Reed
Catching five species of trout in a day is an incredible experience for an angler. Just ask Victor Babbitt.
Babbitt, who owns Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters in South Lake Tahoe, was at the Feb. 21 open house where people could learn about the proposal to turn 32 miles of the Upper Truckee River and its tributaries into a federally recognized wild and scenic area.
“I don’t think there is a negative side,” Babbitt told Lake Tahoe News. “When my kids are my age I want them to have a place to go to for sure.”
Organizations want this area of the Lake Tahoe Basin classifed as wild and scenic.
Trout Unlimited and California Trout hosted two open houses this week to inform the public about their desire to seek Wild and Scenic River Designation for the Upper Truckee River through Meiss Meadows. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service recommended this in a 1990 management plan and subsequent 1999 report.
But it takes an act of Congress to get the designation. That is what the groups are seeking.
It’s the Lahontan cutthroat trout that makes this area so special. They are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. And this area of the Lake Tahoe Basin in one of the few places to find them.
Catch and release is the rule with a single-fly barbless lure. And then fishing is only allowed in the summer months.
Trout Unlimited and CalTrout at a minimum want 7.3 miles of the Upper Truckee River to receive the federal designation. But they believe expanding that to 32 miles to include the area around Round, Dardanelles, Showers, and Meiss lakes, and other creeks in the watershed would be better for the fish and ecosystem.
The designation usually means a quarter mile area on either side of the waterway is protected as well.
Jenny Hatch with CalTrout said, “It’s really about keeping it the way it is.”
Hatch said the desire for the larger area is because the fish population is growing and this will ensure what her group considers proper management of the natural resources.
While the Forest Service basically manages the area today as though the designation is in place, without it, the federal agency can change its protocol.
Dave Lass with Trout Unlimited said the cost to create a management plan if the designation goes through was estimated to be less than $50,000 in 1999 when the last Forest Service report came out.
He believes groups like his and others could work with the Forest Service to create a public-private partnership so dollars are not diverted from local resources.
Lass foresees meadow restoration, removing conifer encroachment, improving mountain bike trails, and putting in signage as projects that could occur.
“It’s not building roads or more trails. You will still have to sweat to get in there,” Lass told Lake Tahoe News.
At the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on March 9 in Stateline a short film about the subject will be aired.
It’s definitely possible this area, which is most easily accessed off Luther Pass, could see more visitors. Right now the number of visitors is not limited in terms of day hikers, fishermen or backpackers.
The designation could also open commercial guide service to the area. This is something Babbitt did in this location about a dozen years ago, but has been unable to get a permit from the Forest Service since then.
No one from the Forest Service filtered into the Feb. 21 open house while Lake Tahoe News was there. The second meeting was Feb. 22 in Markleeville.
While support from supervisors in Alpine and El Dorado counties is not necessary to go forward, officials with the conservation groups recognize it would help their cause to have it. No date has been set when those boards will discuss the issue again. October was the last time the county officials discussed the designation at a public meeting.
Hatch said she would like the issue to be part of the annual environmental summit in August, including tours of the area.
The goal of the trout groups is to have the designation in two years.
For more information or to make a comment, email dlass@tu.org.
By Reno Gazette-Journal
NV Energy on Tuesday reported a net loss of $25.2 million in the fourth quarter, pegged to its Southern Nevada operations, compared with a $14.2 million profit a year earlier.
The Las Vegas-based utility, which provides electricity to Northern Nevada and natural gas to Reno-Sparks, said that for the full year, it earned $163.4 million in net income, a 28 percent decline over 2010.
Officials cited costs of its new Harry Allen power plant in Southern Nevada, as well as accounting adjustments and power plant outages for the income decline in the October-December period.
“Cost control will remain a top priority for our company this year as we transition to a period of reduced regulatory risk,” NV Energy CEO Michael Yackira said in a statement.
The utility said its 12-month net income was due in part to NV Energy’s sale of its California operations in the Lake Tahoe region, effective in January 2011, and $7.6 million in pre-tax gains on a May 2010 asset sale.