To the community,

“Nobody goes to the library,” said Steve.“Libraries are old-fashioned.”

I have great respect for Steve. He’s a smart guy, devoted to our community.If you agree with Steve, this letter is for you.You, like Steve, will hear me out.

Fact: 1,700 people visit our library in the average week.

Fact: In 2012, 130,868 books were checked out, a 23 percent increase over 2011.

People do use the library.

What is old-fashioned? Surely, not knowledge, nor great stories. Steve must be talking about the actual books, the paper and ink format.

Fact: 62 percent of teens choose traditional books over e-books.

For those and others like them, the library buys best-sellers in paperback and large print.

The remaining 38 percent borrow that best-seller as an Mp3, an audio book, or download it on a checked-out iPad.

Steve buys all the technology he wants. Some like him come to the library to use the free Wi-Fi in this tranquil island at the heart of frenzied, modern life. But the library means much more to others. It means access to the World Wide Web.

Fact: At times, 20 people wait to use one of the nine computers.

Fact: According to a 2013 Pew Research Center poll, 63 percent of Americans aged 16 and older say that the closing of their local public library would have a “major” impact on their community.

Vote yes to pass Measure L. Renew this small tax, an investment in our community, that buys so much for so many.

Bonnie Turnbull, South Lake Tahoe

Money is starting to flow to candidates who are running for office in the June 3 primary.

Candidates had to file their first donation/expense form on March 24. The next one is due May 24. If they receive more than $1,000 they have to fill out a separate form within 24 hours.

All donations of $100 or more must be reported.

Lake Tahoe News took a look at what candidates for District 5 supervisor are collecting and spending.

Angela Swanson

She has raised $2,500, all from family. Swanson has put in $1,000 of her own money, and her husband has contributed $750.

Swanson has spent $1,600 on fundraising services, graphics and meeting space.

Teresa Piper

She has been given $1,450 in cash and $1,842.05 in in-kind services, like signs. The largest single donation was $350 from Larry Hennick of Pollock Pines.

Kevin Brown

He has received $9,185.59 in cash and has spent almost half of it.

Brown received $1,000 from Douglas Veerkamp, a major construction business owner and brother of El Dorado County Supervisor Brian Veerkamp.

His biggest expenses were the filing fee and for a campaign website.

Geri Grego

She has received $3,290 in cash. The largest cash contributor is Daniel Norem ($1,000). He is an executive vice president with Adams & Associates in Reno.

A donation listed as “other” came from A&A Service Inc. in Concord for $2,000.

She has spent $1,000 in radio advertising.

Sue Novasel

She has raised $2,800. The bulk of that – $1,000 – is from her husband’s business partner, Dick Schwarte, and another $1,000 from Laborers Local 185 PAC in Sacramento.

Novasel’s husband, Bob, has loaned the campaign $10,000.

Novasel has spent $2,000 on campaign consulting fees with the Frank Ford Company in Auburn.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Improvements to Eagle Point Campground at Emerald Bay State Park are expected this summer.

Bids on the three projects at the Lake Tahoe campground are being taken until May 13.

The first project is to update the campground so it meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. This includes upgrading existing parking, making paths accessible, and removing and replacing select comfort stations and combination buildings.

Other projects include improving four lift stations, removing existing pump equipment and controllers, extending the potable water treatment building on the south end and installing new equipment, as well making electrical improvements.

All work is estimated to cost up to $2.1 million.

The work should take no more than six months to complete.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Paul Takahashi, Las Vegas Sun

Three years after Nevada adopted the Common Core State Standards, proponents and critics faced off in a 10-hour legislative showdown over whether the new academic benchmarks will help or hurt students in the Silver State.

For months, dozens of concerned citizens and parents have been protesting the Common Core at legislative committee hearings on education, prompting lawmakers to devote one of its meetings to debate the pros and cons of the new standards.

The Common Core, which has been adopted by 44 states nationally, was developed by a panel of academics convened by governors and state school superintendents to replace a hodgepodge of state standards.

The national standards represent one of the most significant changes in American education — one that is transforming textbooks, teacher training and testing.

Read the whole story

By Jeremy Miller

“Maniac” is one of the quirkiest little horror flicks I’ve come across on Netflix. It stars Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder and America Olivo.

Frank (Wood) is a lonely mannequin shop owner with an oversized bag of issues (after all, he owns a mannequin shop). He’s troubled mostly due to the fact that his prostitute mother wasn’t really the best at keeping her occupation under wraps and he creepily watched her work most nights. The result was a pretty campy horror flick villain with an insatiable urge to kidnap and kill women, and shortly after he would scalp them and take the hair home and play dress up with his mannequin girlfriends.

At some point along the way he meets Anna, an up and coming artist who shows an uncomfortable interest in his shop. It becomes the subject of some of her photos. He develops a cliché stalker type crush on her and starts stalking her a little heavier than his ex-girls.

Now don’t be too quick to judge him. He really tries to suppress this urge to scalp chicks and often we’re exposed to inner conflict he has just before he does the dirty. It twists and turns and ends in a pretty insane climax.

What I liked about this one was that it was 99 percent first person. And I have to say, seeing women serial-killed through the killer’s eyes is pretty unique and intense to say the least. There were times I was overly irritated at how cheesy and campy the dialogue became, and just listening to Elijah talk like a total creeper didn’t feel as powerful as seeing him could have been.

The gore was pretty decent. It was well placed and realistic and never too much or too artificial. In fact, I thought there could have been more of it. To be honest, the first time stuff got real I was a little taken back, I didn’t expect it to go that route.

I give it a mediocre rating simply based on the fact that sometimes it was just flat out stupid. Other times it was a successful horror flick that totally creeped me out. Most of the actresses were borderline talentless, but Elijah carried enough weight to keep the film afloat. Overall, it was decent. It was inventive, edgy and new. The script was as close to worthless as a major motion picture’s script can be, but somehow I kept watching. With some more talent and a higher budget, some serious help on the script this thing could have been pretty wicked. I could see it scaring some for sure. I guess being a bit of a horror snob it takes just a bit more than watching murder through Elijah’s baby blues to get me terrified.

South Lake Tahoe resident Jeremy Miller has more movie reviews online.

Approximately $350,000 was generated last year from the purchase of Nevada Lake Tahoe license plates.

The money is being awarded to nine projects.

Projects include:

• Tahoe East Shore Express – a Tahoe Transportation District project – supports f transit services between Incline Village and Sand Harbor State Park to address safety and congestion issues during peak summer months along the Highway 28 corridor.
• Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Plant Control Project – a Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD) project – targets and controls the establishment of aquatic invasive species plants, such as Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed, on Nevada shorelines.
• Pilot Implementation of the Lake Tahoe Nearshore Monitoring Framework for Clarity Metrics – a Desert Research Institute (DRI) project – provides for the establishment of monitoring for several key environmental indicators associated with near shore lake clarity, most of which have not been consistently monitored in the past.

South Lake Tahoe’s Community Cleanup Day is May 31 from 8am to 4pm.

It’s the one day of the year California residents can bring unwanted items to the South Tahoe Refuse Transfer Station at huge discounts. It costs $5 per truckload, there is free document shredding and other great deals. Check out Clean Tahoe’s website for more details as the event approaches.

Clean Tahoe’s grant from Vail Resorts’ Echo Program is underwriting dump day.

By Kathryn Reed

Nearly 34 years after Richard Swanson was murdered, the killer has been convicted.

On April 23, the eight-woman, four-man jury found Andrew Sanford guilty on all counts.

In all likelihood Sanford, 52, will be spending the rest of his life in prison.

Swanson was 16 when he was murdered Aug. 14, 1980, while he worked at the former Shell gas station at the Y in South Lake Tahoe. He was bound with duct tape and left to die of asphyxiation. He had also been beaten.

Sanford lived in town at the time, but left a few days after the murder.

“I think it’s a long, long time in coming to try to get some measure of justice for the family,” El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson told Lake Tahoe News. “For us it happened 34 years ago. For them, it’s like it happened yesterday.”

Ronald and Sharon Swanson, Richard’s parents, were in the Placerville courtroom every day listening to witness after witness describe what they remembered, the details of how their son was murdered, the autopsy and finally the arrest of Sanford.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Sanford was arrested and charged in the Swanson case.

From this killing the local Secret Witness program was formed. The seed money was always to go to the person who helped solve the Swanson murder.

By Teri Mizuhara

In 2013, 32 percent of all wildfires in the Amador-El Dorado Unit of CalFire were caused by residential debris burning, which is up from 23 percent in 2012.

This amounted to a total of 94 fires and 66 acres burned.

Escaped debris burning continues to be one of our leading causes of wildland fires in the region. However, by following some simple precautions, the number of escapes can be significantly reduced.

Please remember that every debris burn escape is a threat to people, property and natural resources. To reduce your risk of causing a wildland fire, review the steps listed below to safely burn your debris piles.

Safety tips for burning:

· Make sure your pile(s) are no larger than 4 feet by 4 feet in size

· Scrape a 10-foot wide ring around each debris pile down to bare dirt

· Have a shovel and water supply (charged hose) close by to use in the event your fire escapes from the pile

· Make sure an adult is in attendance until the pile is completely extinguished

· You can only burn on “permissive burn days” so make sure to call your local Air Quality Management District immediately prior to lighting your pile(s). For Amador County, call 209.223.6246. For El Dorado County, call 530.621.5897 or 866.621.5897. For the Lake Tahoe area of El Dorado County call 530.621.5842 or 888.332.2876. For Alpine County, call 916.445.0745. Placer County (within 12 miles of Auburn), call 530. 889.6868. Placer County: 800.998.2876, Nevada County: 530.274.7928; Yuba County: 530.741.6299; Truckee area: 530.582.1027; Western Sierra County: 530.289.3662.

It is imperative that landowners follow all requirements listed on the burn permit. If a fire escapes their control, they can be issued a citation and be held liable for suppression costs and damages.

Residential burn permits will be required beginning May 1. These permits are issued to the public free of charge, are valid for three years from the date of issuance and allows for the burning of dry vegetation (not household trash) that originates on the landowners property. You can pick up your free residential burn permit at most of the local staffed fire stations.

Don’t forget that the use of burn barrels is no longer legal in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sierra or Yuba counties. The only exception allowing the use of burn barrels is for the residents of the community of Iowa Hill in Placer County.

Teri Mizuhara works for CalFire.

• Live Violence Free is putting on an all-day training about human trafficking on June 20 from 9am-5pm at Inn by the Lake, 3300 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe. For more info, contact Kate Cowan at 530.544.2118, ext. 7627.

• The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board will discuss the Washoe County Tahoe Area Plan on April 24 from 3-6pm.

• In the last fiscal year, Clean Tahoe picked up 583 cubic yards of litter, including 149 mattresses, 269 pieces of furniture, 158 TVs/computer monitors, 38 appliances and refrigerators, and 54 tires.

• MontBleu is planning a complete renovation of all 440 rooms as well as a remodel of the convention area.

• It’s time to sign up for the annual Ta Hoe Nalu standup paddleboard race in Kings Beach. The event is Aug. 15-17. More info is online.