Free e-waste recycling at South Tahoe Middle School on Aug. 13-14 from 9am-3pm.

By Reno Gazette-Journal

The Bain Street Fire on Gieger Grade near Toll Road is about 40 percent contained this evening and full containment is expected by Tuesday, according to fire officials.

The blaze scorched about 600 acres in steep terrain Sunday afternoon, and fire officials expected containment of the fire on Tuesday.

Fire officials said that about 40 percent containment of the Bain Street Fire was reached Sunday evening.

Onlookers were being asked to stay out of the area and the Nevada State Patrol closed the unimproved area of Toll Road, near the fire, to keep onlookers out.

Officials also asked motorists who had to travel on roads near the fire to use extra caution because fire crews and apparatus are working in the area.

Fire investigators have determined the fire was human caused and are in the process of questioning witnesses and suspects.

“From the onset of the fire, conditions were extreme; all of the elements that make for a difficult fire attack were in place,” Reno Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Spencer said Sunday. “Crews (Saturday night) did a great job of protecting structures from the fast moving and erratic fire. We made large strides with constructing hand and dozer lines which complimented a highly effective air attack.”

No structures have been lost and no injuries have been reported.

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By David Hegle, Reno Gazette-Journal

The National Championship Air Races and Air Show is joining the ranks of volcanoes, whales and space travel with a large-format IMAX documentary film about the event, slated for release in February.

Pretend Entertainment producers Raul Leckie and Christian Fry labored a half dozen years to share this local spectacle.

“The first time I went I was aware that this was just such a unique event,” Fry said. “This is a story that really needs to be brought to a broader audience.”

Fry, a recreational pilot, knew racers who flew every September in the Air Races at the Reno Stead Airport.

He was familiar with the event and the area thanks to family ties — his grandfather, Dick Graves, owned the Nugget in Sparks before John Ascuaga.

After attending in 2003, his connections helped him get to know the Reno Air Racing Association, which runs the Air Races.

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By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

In a lake that’s arguably one of the most unique in the world, it’s a special place in its own right.

Anaho Island, located off the east shore of Pyramid Lake, is a volcanic formation studded with odd-shaped tufa deposits.

It’s one of the few American white pelican nesting colonies in North America. This year, thanks to plentiful water and lots of fish for food, four times the number of pelican chicks were produced than were last year.

A desert island in a desert lake, it teems with life — both feathered and scaled.

“This island is really amazing,” said Donna Withers, a refuge specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Withers, who spends her time on the island studying pelicans and other inhabitants, said this year was an important one for Anaho.

That’s because like other places, Anaho benefited substantially from a big winter that left a huge mountain snowpack, swelling the region’s rivers and streams and raising the levels of lakes and reservoirs.

One result was a huge spawning run for Pyramid Lake’s cui-ui fish, a primary food source for pelicans. A big year for cui-ui translates to a big nesting year for pelicans.

After only about 500 pelican chicks were produced during nesting season last year, roughly 8,000 adult pelicans converged on the island this spring and summer, producing about 2,000 juveniles, Withers said. The adults hung around in large numbers, producing and protecting their young because of the presence of plentiful food.

“With the amazing cui-ui run we had, that success will translate to the pelicans,” said Beverly Harry, environmental manager for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

“It’s an amazing relationship,” Harry said. “The pelicans have always been here. This is their home.”

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The Tahoe Symphony Orchestra (Toccata) continues 2011 Big Blue Summer MusicFest with a series that celebrates Baroque Masters. The program includes works by G.P. Teleman, Handel, Vivaldi, and features J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 140 – “Wachet Auf” featuring the Toccata Chorus and vocal soloists.

Concerts are:

Aug. 13 at 7:30pm at St. Patricks Episcopal Church in Incline Village

Aug. 14 at 3pm at St. Theresa Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe

Aug. 16 at 7:30pm at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno

Aug. 21 at 4pm at Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno.

Tickets are $25 adults, $20 seniors, (62 and up), and $5 students. Preferred seating is $35. Children under 12 enter free with a paying adult. Tickets can be purchased in advance by credit card online or at the door by cash or check.

For more information, call (775) 313.9697.

A gas station, convenience store and car wash could break ground this fall at the Y in South Lake Tahoe at the site of the old Shell station.

Raley’s, which leases the land from the Salvo Trust, has all the paperwork before South Lake Tahoe officials and has asked for an expedited review before the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

If it all comes together, a foundation could be put in this fall before dirt can no longer be moved.

The city is in the design review stage, with it expected to be before the planning commission in September.

— Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

ZEPHYR COVE – As captivating as Lake Tahoe is, it’s the people watching at the beach that can be more enthralling. And all those toys to play with in the sand and on the water. Kids have it good today.

Round Hill Pines Beach is a bit different than some of the other popular sandy destinations on the South Shore because it’s not all about the party scene and the best body.

Man's best friend is well taken care of -- a free ride and zipped into a life vest. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Families dominate the landscape on this particular Sunday. One dad is teaching his son how to pump a water gun, another is on a standup paddleboard taking his child for a cruise among the moored boats, while other parents are helping to build sand castles.

This is not to say adult activities are not taking place. The Rum Bar is right on the beach, offering up a slew of cocktails that make you want to sing a Jimmy Buffet tune. Food is served a few steps away in a permanent structure.

For those who didn’t bring their water toys, ones are available for rent. Personal watercraft is available and people are in the air parasailing.

Tour boats dock here, too – like Harrah’s Tahoe Star and the Bleu Wave.

A game of beach volleyball is being played, while others toss a football.

In 2009 this is where then Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., hosted that year’s environmental summit. Much of the talk that year was about the fuels reduction project on this swath of land owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

Expect beach weather to continue as the calendar moves into August, even though there is a slight chance for afternoon thunderstorms today. Highs will continue to be in the 80s.

Getting there:

From South Lake Tahoe go east on Highway 50. Go past Elks Point Road. Turn left at the sign for Round Hill Pines Beach. Note there is no left turn lane and it’s a precarious blind spot.

Cost is $8 per vehicle.

More information is online.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

South Shore Relay for Life is Aug. 13 from 11am-11pm at Kahle Community Park.

The schedule:

11am – Opening Ceremony

11:30 – Survivor/Caregivers Celebration Lap

noon – Music, games and fund-raising begins, silent auction, water balloon toss and wet T-shirt pass

1pm – Kickball tournament

2pm – Island lap/Hula Hoop contest

3pm – Survivor Lunch/BBQ, $10 donation from non-survivors

4pm – TBA

5pm – TBA

6pm – TBA

7pm – Dog Walk Lap (only time pets can be at park), $10 donation

8pm – S’mores at the Pavilion, closing of silent auction

9pm – Super Hero Lap

10pm – Luminaria Ceremony,Silent lap with main lights out

11pm – Closing Ceremony.

Feel free to set up tents and stay the night. Clean up at 8-9am with coffee and pastries.

For more information, contact Michelle Hale with the American Cancer Society at (775) 828.2203.

• This is Caltrans’ Sierra roadwork schedule for the next week. Here is the Tahoe roadwork schedule.

• Anesthesiologist Pat Baghdikian joined the ranks of the Barton teadership Team as co-manager of the surgery department with registered nurse Shelly Stalter.

• Ginny Sutter-Bremson Memorial Golf Tournament, a benefit for the Lake Tahoe Humane Society and S.P.C.A., is Sept. 11. Deadline to enter is Aug. 5. Contact Chuck Bremson, chuck@gldmtn.com, (530) 308.5760 for info and to register.

• The National Physique Committee sanctioned amateur bodybuilding, figure, bikini and fitness championship the Tahoe Show on Aug. 27 at MontBleu in Stateline will be hosted by Ton Jones of Spike TV’s “Auction Hunters”.

By David Siders, Sacramento Bee

Tired of presidential candidates treating California like an ATM, raising vast sums of money here but spending it in states where campaigns cost less and matter more, state officials four years ago agreed to hold the 2008 primary in February.

The early date, they hoped, might focus more attention on the Golden State. “Now California is important again in presidential nominating politics,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said at the time.

But more than 20 other states moved their primaries up, too, and California, if not the afterthought it was in previous elections, was marginalized yet again.

Now, Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign legislation moving next year’s presidential primary back to June, consolidating it with the statewide primary election.

“We’ve learned that shifting a date doesn’t matter,” said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. “Only if we had a more competitive balance between the two parties, then I think we would play a larger role … Then they simply wouldn’t drop in, parachute in to get money, and leave.”

Assembly Bill 80, by Assemblyman Paul Fong, D-Cupertino, to shift the primary election to June, moved through the Legislature with bipartisan support, though some Republicans said they voted for it reluctantly only because of the cost savings involved.

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