The LegiSchool Project is seeking entries from high school students for the annual photo contest California Through My Eyes.

How do you envision California? Farms or mountains? People or prairies? High rise buildings or wide open spaces? All California high school students are invited to capture an image that represents California. The photo can be of a person, place or thing.

In addition to the photo, students need to include an essay up to 150 words explaining why the photo represents California.

Entries must be postmarked by May 9.

The LegiSchool Project is a civic education collaboration between California State University, Sacramento and the State Legislature, administered by the Center for California Studies.

For more information, including the contest entry form, go online.

By Ilyce Glink, MoneyWatch

Going green may solicit an eye roll these days, but the smart homeowner knows that energy-efficient and green features can mean money in your pocket.

“The energy-efficiency trend is highly driven by money,” said Sandy Gordon, LEED-accredited interior designer at Madison, Wis.-based Sandy Gordon Interiors. “If we can tell our clients they’ll save money, that’s the ticket.”

Energy-efficient or green renovations can actually make a homeowner money by boosting a home’s resale value.

Resources for the Future, a research group that makes environmental policy recommendations, looked at several cities and found that certified green homes could command higher prices than their peers.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Health, water and environmental officials were at the Tahoe Keys Marina today inspecting repairs to the sewage line that failed over the weekend, allowing waste to flow into Lake Tahoe.

Several samples of the water were taken to test for bacteria. Lahontan Regional Water Control Board expects to have those results on Tuesday.

“We took several samples in and around the fuel pump. We did go across the channel by the condo docks to get background samples,” Lauri Kemper with Lahontan told Lake Tahoe News.

Results will dictate what further action Lahontan would take. It could include the need for more testing in the localized area or expanding the testing area, as well as fines. Lahontan may issue fines up to $10,000 per day for sewage flowing into Lake Tahoe or $10/gallon.

Bryan Vyverberg, with El Dorado County Environment Health Department, said the California Office of Emergency Service’s report says up to 15 gallons of sewage spilled from Friday to Saturday night from an overflow tank behind the Fresh Ketch restaurant. It ran onto the walkway near where people eat outside behind the restaurant and then into Lake Tahoe.

Officials from his office were out there today with Lahontan and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to ensure the plumbing fixes that were made May 3 were holding.

Vyverberg said he still needs to speak with the harbormaster to figure out how the plumbing at the building works.

“We need to verify it is not going to continue,” Vyverberg told Lake Tahoe News.

Kemper said marina General Manager Robert Spinnato told Lahontan officials May 5 that flushed plastic bags caused the backup. Kemper is waiting for the plumber’s report to see what they found.

Steve Sweet, senior environmental specialist with Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, was also at the marina today. He was not available for comment.

Updated May 5 1:25pm:

The driver of the vehicle that plunged down an embankment has been identified as Jeffrey Alan Davis, 55, of Zephyr Cove.

The cause of death is blunt force trauma due to a motor vehicle incident.

The incident is still under investigation as to what caused the vehicle to travel through the back of the garage on May 2.

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A resident of Zephyr Heights died Friday morning in a freak accident.

The resident was backing into their garage on Lookout Road when the vehicle went through the back wall. The vehicle plummeted approximately 80 feet down an embankment before coming to rest against a tree. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver’s name is being withheld pending notification of next to kin.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kate Kelland, Reuters

The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is no longer a prediction but is happening right now across the world, United Nations officials said on this week.

Antibiotic resistance has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country, the U.N.’s World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a report. It is now a major threat to public health, of which “the implications will be devastating”.

“The world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill,” said Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s assistant director-general for health security.

In its first global report on antibiotic resistance, with data from 114 countries, the WHO said superbugs able to evade event the hardest-hitting antibiotics – a class of drugs called carbapenems – has now been found in all regions of the world.

Read the whole story

By Mark Glover, Sacramento Bee

California’s long-talked-about “Hydrogen Highway” has received a major commitment to help it take shape.

The Sacramento-based California Energy Commission says it will invest $46.6 million to accelerate the development of public hydrogen fueling stations throughout California to promote a consumer market for zero-emission fuel-cell vehicles, which could be widely available as early as next year.

The money is designated to go to eight manufacturing/engineering applicants through the CEC’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.

The plan calls for 13 new fueling sites in Northern California and 15 in Southern California, all strategically located along major corridors and in regional centers. Northern California jurisdictions cited by the CEC include Palo Alto, Campbell, Hayward, Mill Valley, San Jose, South San Francisco, Oakland, Woodside, San Ramon and Truckee.

Read the whole story

• Buses are available for those who would normally use Kingsbury Grade. The main route between South Shore and Carson Valley is not a through route in May during construction. For more info, go online.

• Ten Washoe County Detention Facility inmates just completed a nationally recognized food service safety course aimed at providing them with skills that will help them find employment after they are released.

• Sarah Hussong-Johnson, South Lake Tahoe deputy public works director, is leaving and Hilary Roverud, community development director, is going to work part time.

• South Lake Tahoe is putting out a call to artists to create a metal sculpture and/or artwork for flag/banners as part of a newly established Champions Plaza at Lakeview Commons area. Go online for more info.

• The South Lake Tahoe Sweaty Yetis, a U10 boys’ soccer team, lost the Coastal Division championship game of the Comstock Shootout in Carson City to the Davis Ninjas, 4-3.

• Check out how Tahoe the bear is doing:

Emergency crews work an accident May 5 in Zephyr Cove. Photo/Susan Wood

Updated 10:38am:

A head-on collision injured four people early Monday morning near Zephyr Cove.

A Suburban struck a Ford Ranger. One person in the Ranger had to be extricated. Two people were flown to Carson-Tahoe Hospital and two were taken by ambulance to Barton Memorial Hospital. Another vehicle was also involved.

Names of the injured and their hometowns have not been released.

The accident occurred at 6:37am May 5.

The two westbound lanes of Highway 50 were blocked for more than an hour while crews attended to victims and cleaned up the mess near the Pine Cone Resort.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Ruth Anne Scudder

Updated May 5 6:15am:

Ruth Anne Scudder has been found safe and is back home.

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South Lake Tahoe resident Ruth Anne Scudder has been missing since April 29.

She was last seen leaving her home on Lakeview Avenue. Scudder has mental issues that may affect her judgment, and she speaks slowly. She frequently uses BlueGo.

Scudder is a white, 5-feet-4,with blonde hair and green eyes, weighing 135 pounds.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call 530.542.6100.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Butch

Butch is a handsome amber-eyed hunk. He is incredibly friendly and affectionate, loves to be petted, and likes to play with interactive toys.

He seems to be tolerant of the other cats at the shelter and could potentially become another cat’s buddy. Butch will benefit from an exercise and food plan prescribed by your vet to help him shed a few pounds.

Butch is neutered, microchipped, tested for heartworm, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online or the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz