A little snow doesn’t stop people in Lake Tahoe from doing what they want.

Swimmers were found at the South Lake Tahoe city pool this morning – even though the bubble has not been put on yet.

Snow will continue throughout today, with a 50 percent chance of the white stuff falling on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. Tonight’s low is expected to be 29 degrees in South Lake Tahoe.

Lifeguard Tiff at the South Lake Tahoe city pool on Oct. 5 with water exercisers Gina and Linda. Photo/Cindy Beberg

The high in South Tahoe will be 38 on Thursday and in the high 50s by the weekend. Plus, the sun will return by Friday. Truckee is expected to be warmer on Saturday and Sunday – reaching the mid-60s.

The snow started on the North Shore late last night, while it was hard rain most of the night on the South Shore. Even though the white stuff is sticking to lawns at lake level, not enough has accumulated to shovel.

The drive into Carson City this morning from the South Shore was sketchy at best, but reports are the sun is shining in Nevada’s state capital.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews are scheduled to begin prescribed fire operations near Meyers, on the south side of the intersection of Pioneer Trail and Highway 50, today.

The project area is approximately 60 acres. Prescribed fire operations will also continue in the Angora Fire area near Tahoe Mountain and Forest Mountain Roads.

In addition, operations are scheduled to begin in the Bayview area near Emerald Bay on approximately 50 acres.

All of these operations may continue through the week, weather permitting.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from these prescribed fire project areas and smoke may be visible on Highway 50 in Meyers, and Highway 89 near Emerald Bay, as well as near the Angora Fire area.

This and other prescribed fire projects are designed to reduce wildfire risks to communities and critical resources.

State and local fire management agencies may also be conducting prescribed fire work during this period.

The Employee Communication Committee at South Tahoe Public Utility District is sponsoring a candidate forum for the candidates for the board of directors on Oct. 12 from 7-8:30pm.

The forum will be at the board meeting room located at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

The public is invited to attend.

Publisher’s note: A corporate official with Real Mex on Oct. 5 told Lake Tahoe News all restaurants are slated to remain open, including the Chevys in South Lake Tahoe.

By Jacqueline Palank, Wall Street Journal

Real Mex Restaurants Inc., the operator of Chevys Fresh Mex and other Mexican restaurants, Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection and said it plans to sell its assets after failing to strike a deal to restructure its debt obligations.

The casual-dining restaurant chain operates or franchises nearly 200 restaurants, mostly in California. In addition to Chevys, its brands include Acapulco and El Torito restaurants. It employs about 11,000 full- and part-time of workers.

Real Mex pinned its financial woes on the economic downturn that gripped the U.S. starting in 2008. As fewer consumers dined out, the restaurant chain’s revenue took a hit. Annual revenue fell to $478 million last year from $500 million in 2009 and $553 million in 2008.

The company’s struggles are familiar to many restaurant chains, from Sbarro Inc. to Perkins & Marie Callender’s Inc., that have endured a similar squeeze and filed for bankruptcy protection this year.

The Cypress, Calif., company said in court papers that its bankruptcy filing comes after months of talks with its lenders over a possible comprehensive debt-restructuring plan—talks that ultimately weren’t successful and placed the company at risk of default.

The company determined the most cost-effective way to preserve value and maintain uninterrupted business operations was to seek protection from creditors and pursue a sale of its assets, said Real Mex Chief Financial Officer Richard P. Dutkiewicz in a court filing.

Real Mex reported assets and debts each in the range of $100 million to $500 million in its bankruptcy petition, which it filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

Read the whole story

By Martha Bellisle, Reno Gazette-Journal

The mentally ill man who opened fire at a Carson City IHOP restaurant, killing four and then himself, shot 60 rounds from a Norinco Mak 90 assault weapon that had been purchased by a private party in California more than five years ago, officials said today.

The Mak 90, a Chinese-made modified version of the Russian-made AK-47, had been altered to function as an automatic weapon, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong in a statement released early today. The details on the weapon followed a monthlong investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“The alteration was described by ATF as professionally gunsmithed by an unknown person,” Furlong said in the statement. “The possession of this weapon in its manufactured state (semi-automatic) is not prohibited by Nevada State Law.”

Eduardo Sencion walked into the IHOP on the morning of Sept. 6 and fired apparently randomly at customers, killing three Nevada National Guardsmen and a South Lake Tahoe woman. He had a history of mental illness – his family said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia — and had been taken into custody by the South Lake Tahoe police in 2000 under California’s involuntary commitment law.

Read the whole story

Are you shoveling today?

Send a picture of yourself with the white stuff to info@LakeTahoeNews.net — and feel free to write something about this fall tradition in Lake Tahoe.

South Lake Tahoe eight months ago. Photo/LTN file

Include your full name, mailing address and T-shirt size. The first 10 people seen shoveling will be sent a Lake Tahoe News T-shirt.

The other way to get a T-shirt is for subscribers to send in a check of $40. In addition to the T-shirt, you will be added to our special NEWS list. People on this list are qualified for special benefits like ticket give-aways.

(Subscribe by putting your email address in at the bottom right of the home page. Then you will receive the morning digest.)

Send checks to Lake Tahoe News, P.O. Box 13406, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151 or pay via credit card through PayPal on the website at the bottom right of the home page.

Please include your email address so we can ensure you are subscribed to receive the daily digest.

Please don’t forget to include your mailing address and shirt size – S, M, L, XL or 2X.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

• Tahoe Best Friends is hosting a Dog Howl’oween Party and Parade on Oct. 29 at 2:30pm at 2197 Ruth Ave. (off Third Street) in South Lake Tahoe. Dogs and humans should come in costume.

• Brad Wilson is general manager of Diamond Peak.

• The Family Resource Center is taking orders for its tamale fundraiser. Call (530) 542.0740 by Oct. 10 at noon for information and to put in an order.

• Svadhyaya Yoga Studio in Zephyr Cove is offering free (donations accepted) Akido self-defense class on Oct. 21 from 5:30-6:30pm. Call (775) 588.8607 for more information.

• Mount Tallac High is having a Community Open House on Oct. 12 from 8:30-11am for community members and families to visit the school and see learning in action.

By Sid Loomis

Last month I was proud to be apart of the 30-mile dive with the Undersea Voyager Project. I was stationed on my dad’s boat as a primary support diver.

As a primary support diver I was the one who would jump in the water at anytime if Scott Cassell, the diver, needed any help. I had to get in the water when Scott needed help to take his fins off, get a GoPro camera that had used all the battery, when his tow sled broke and when he needed to change from his rebreather to his double set of scuba tanks.

Sid Loomis and Scott Cassell

One of the things that most people don’t understand is that when you are making documentaries it’s definitely not as glamorous as the camera makes it look. On this mission the saying “if it can go wrong, it will go wrong” was just not a saying it became reality.

The mission was for Cassell to dive underwater the whole way from Catalina Island to San Pedro using a dive bell to help change out his tanks, but due to equipment malfunctions he had to surface and lose the world record.

But this mission was not about the record it was about the sharks. My dad was telling me that when he grew up that there were thousands of blue sharks everywhere.

Cassell was underwater for 11 hours and he saw no sharks at all. That is just amazing. What Cassell did for the sharks was the most inspiring thing I’ve ever seen a single human do. He faced black outs, low blood sugar and fatigue. Yet he still got back in for the sharks and finished the dive.

He is one the strongest people I have ever met. This was a wonderful experience for me and I cannot wait for our next mission.

Sid Loomis is a junior at South Tahoe High School.

By Michael Martinez, Reno Gazette-Journal

Sometimes, you look different. Sometimes, you have a different name. Sometimes, you have a condition that sets you apart. You’re just different, and people treat you like you are.

They tease you, they try to isolate you, they ignore you and they try to turn others against you.

They try to make themselves feel better by making you feel worse.

They are bullies, and you are being bullied.

It is a growing problem among our nation’s youth that hurts when it happens and can linger beyond the early years.

Read the whole story

By Kelly Shanahan

“You have breast cancer.” More than 260,000 American women heard those words in 2010, and nearly 40,000 of them did not survive the year. But a diagnosis of breast cancer does not have to be a death sentence.

Although the odds of developing breast cancer have increased from 1 in 20 in 1960 to 1 in 8 today, the number of women diagnosed has declined in the last decade. The decline in new cases is attributed to early detection, advanced treatments and a decrease in advanced treatments and a decrease in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy.

Kelly Shanahan

Many women are confused about the role of early detection and aren’t sure if they should do breast self-exams or when they should get a mammogram. This uncertainty was fueled by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, whose 2009 statement advised women to forego self-exams, wait until age 50 to start getting mammograms, and then get them only every two years thereafter.

The federal recommendations came down to money: starting mammograms at age 40 costs the government more. Fewer women in their 40s have breast cancer, but those who do have more aggressive cancers and higher survival rates when diagnosed early.

Fortunately, Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, ensured that Medicare and other government programs would continue to pay for annual mammograms starting at age 40, and the decision on when and how often to have a mammogram would be left up to each woman and her doctor.

Many women still do not get regular mammograms, both because of the cost and their own fears – of pain from the procedure, of radiation exposure and of a possible cancer diagnosis.

The compression associated with mammograms is uncomfortable, but it only lasts a minute. Radiation is minimal with digital mammography. A digital mammogram machine uses compression and X-rays, and the image is captured to a computer as a digital file.

Barton Health offers low-cost mammograms to women who qualify. See your doctor, discuss your risks and get your mammogram …I t may just save your life.

Kelly Shanahan is a gynecologist and founder of Emerald Bay Center for Women’s Health. She has been practicing in Lake Tahoe and Minden for 17 years and is one of 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.