By Ski Area Management magazine

WASHINGTON — The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously recommended passage of the Ski Area Recreation Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011, which would amend the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to explicitly allow a much wider array of winter and summer activities within resort permit areas.

The 1986 law explicitly allows only alpine and Nordic skiing. Snowboarding and mountain biking, while widely approved on Forest Service land, are not mentioned in the existing law. The Forest Service has frequently allowed these activities because they use the same facilities—lifts and trails—as alpine and Nordic skiing, and thus require little or no additional development.

Read the whole story

Updated July 20 1:05pm.

By Kathryn Reed

Two people died in a three-car accident Tuesday on Highway 28 four miles south of Sand Harbor.

The highway reopened about 8:30pm after being closed for five hours.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Edgell said Miguel Perez, 24, of Gardnerville was heading south when his green Ford F350 drifted across the center line and struck the left rear of a commercial truck’s trailer.

Seeing the truck coming, the Taurus behind the commercial truck pulled to the shoulder, according to Edgell. But then Perez’s truck hit the Taurus head-on.

“It was so hard it pushed it back and off the roadway,” Edgell said of the Taurus being struck.

Killed in the accident were the driver Michael Rapanaro, 57, of New York and front passenger Charles Farlow, 59, of Reno

Two female passengers in the back of the Taurus sustained serious injuries. They were taken by ambulance to Incline Village and then CareFlight flew them to Renown Medical Center in Reno. Edgell said Lori Brown, 57, of Reno was in critical condition. Rhonda Farlow, 57, of Reno was not as critically injured.

Perez refused medical treatment. Passengers Abel Najar of Gardnerville, Miguel Perez Jr. and Alexis Perez, all of Gardnerville, were taken by ambulance to a Reno hospital.

Commercial truck driver Mark Thorpe, 54, of Yerington was not injured.

Perez has not been charged with any crimes while the investigation continues. Edgell said alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the accident.

Any witnesses are asked to call Trooper Eric Gallagher at (775) 687.0400.

By Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Figure skating is beauty and grace and elegance in a sequin dress.

Hockey pucks.

“It’s a lot tougher than people realize,” Barbara Johnson said of her daughter, Jaclyn Johnson. “She always likes to say it’s the extreme sport that nobody recognizes as extreme.”

Jaclyn, a 22-year-old University of Nevada student, has got the body to prove it: Both patellar ligaments are detached, victims of multiple impacts with the ice; one hip ligament is torn; she’s had at least five sprained ankles; she’s got a little scar on her chin from a meeting with the ice (“No stitches, though; I butterflied it closed.”); and one of her front teeth needed a root canal from another inadvertent kiss with the ice.

“We don’t get any pads,” a chuckling Jaclyn said Tuesday before one of her sessions at Framework Personal Training, where she works mostly on injury prevention and recovery with owner Paul Fischer.

Reaching one of the highest levels in U.S. Figure Skating has taken its toll on Jaclyn, who grew up in Washoe Valley and graduated from Damonte Ranch High. But the physical part pales in comparison to the other major hurdle in her pursuit, travel.

“It’s a huge challenge,” said Jaclyn, who leaves today to compete in the U.S. Collegiate Championships, Friday and Saturday at Sun Valley, Idaho. “I don’t have any free time. I’m pretty much always in the car.”

That would be the 1995 BMW that knows what it’s like to be Jaclyn. It has 200,000 miles on it, has been totaled and repaired, has a cracked windshield, and has a front bumper that is partially held together with duct tape.

It’s amazing, really, that Jaclyn has reached the level she has, Junior Lady, in U.S. Figure Skating. It’s the seventh of eight levels. Only Senior Lady, where Olympians are culled, is higher.

Read the whole story

An event to raise money to find a missing South Lake Tahoe woman is scheduled for July 24 fro 5-8pm at Classic Cue, 1961 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Tahoe.

On July 1, Marie Hanson left with her neighbors to go to the annual Rainbow Gathering near Stevenson, Wash. The last tim she was seen at the gathering was July 6 or July 7. Her neighbors lost track of her and returned to Tahoe without her, bringing her camping gear, her wallet, phone and medicines home with them.

Hanson is still missing. She is a loving wife, mother and grandmother, who is active in her church and community.

A website has been set up to help get the word out.

The money raised from the event will go to hiring a private investigator.

By Anne Gonzales, Sacramento Bee

Case Van Steyn, a Galt dairyman, has two sons. One works with him on the dairy farm started by his father in 1956, while the other found a job off the farm. These days, Van Steyn wonders if he should even keep one son working with him.

“I’m not sure I should counsel him to stay on the farm,” he said. “This has been a very, very volatile marketplace, it’s very unpredictable and we’re facing serious challenges. It’s kind of like we’re waiting to see the last man standing. If enough dairies go broke, prices will come up high enough to cover our costs of production.”

Milk is touted as a healthy food that promotes strong bones, but the California dairy industry itself has been weakened by the recession, ethanol subsidies and high feed prices. Like a calf with wobbly legs, dairy farming is struggling to rise above tough times with lean profit margins.

In three years, the state lost 250 independent dairies, many of them family-operated for generations.

The winter may bring more hardship to dairy operators, as they buy up feed to nurture their herds, and heat and drought in the south could dry up crops and drive up feed prices.

The price farmers are paid for their milk is up from last year, but production costs have escalated, too, negating some of the gains, Van Steyn said.

Read the whole story

The Village at Squaw Valley will pair cold beers with hot music at the 10th Annual Brews, Jazz and Funk Fest to support the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe.

Some of the most recognized jazz and funk legends will perform under the peaks of Squaw Valley Aug. 13-14 from 2-8pm in The Village at Squaw Valley.

Festival-goers can listen to continuous live music on two stages while sampling beers from more than 20 breweries including Big Sky, Deschutes, Eel River, Feather Falls, Fossil Fuels, Franziskaner, Full Sail, Gordon Biersch, Great Basin, Lagunitas, Lockdown, Mad River, Mammoth, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Spaten, Stone, Sudwerks, and Trumer. Beers are $4 each. A $5 entry donation to the festival is requested. All proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe.

The festival is open to all ages with well behaved dogs welcome on leashes.

Kids can enjoy activities such as an 18-hole miniature golf course, sky jump bungee trampoline or ride the scenic aerial Cable Car to play paintball, swim, roller skate and hike at High Camp. For activity pricing, check out Squaw’s website.

For more information, go online or call (530) 452.4000.

Lake Tahoe News will mail a T-shirt to every subscriber who sends in a check of $40 or more.

Like all businesses, it takes money to distribute a quality product. LTN makes money from advertisers and our loyal subscribers. Without you, there would be no Lake Tahoe News.

For each check received, in addition to the T-shirt, you will be added to our special NEWS list. People on this list will qualify for special benefits like the recent ticket give-away to the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament.

This is what's on the back of the shirts.

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. To receive the daily email, which lists what has been posted in the last 24 hours, enter your email address at the bottom right of the home page.

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

Thank you in advance.

Publisher’s note: This is reprinted with permission from the November 1975 Lake Tahoe Historical Society newsletter.

Approximately 90 people viewed the September 24 showing of the documentary Washo. The hour-long film was made by Veronika Pataky who spent many years in Carson Valley, Jack’s Valley and Dresslerville making friends with the Wahoe tribe before producing the film in 1968.

Among the ancient rituals portrayed was the Pine Nut Dance which heralded the annual harvest of the pinion pine nuts which has been the staple food of the Washoes for thousands of years. In this ceremony the Washoes dance the shuffling type of round dance which has served the tribe in all ritual and ceremonial occasions, and pray to the Great Spirit to make certain they have not offended and to insure a bountiful harvest.

Men and women are shown separately enjoying a betting game played with sticks and bones – a sort of Washoe “Button, Button, Who has the Button?”

The coming-of-age ceremony for a girl entering womanhood was also shown. During a 4-day fasting period the girl may only drink water and perform various feats of endurance culminated by a great feast and receipt of gifts. Most interesting was the preparation of acorn biscuits with heated stones on the riverbank below Dresslerville, sharply contrasting with the pies and frosted cakes brought to the feast by friends and neighbors who then ate from paper plates.

Today the world of the older Washoes is much the same as always; they speak their ancient tongue, they enjoy the beauty and strength of the traditional rituals; they listen to the sounds of nature and observe the passing of the seasons. But the world of the younger generation is that of the space age as they become more and more assimilated into modern life.

By Tony O’Rourke

Mr. (Steve) Kubby recently wrote about a complaint he filed with the grand jury, which he has a right to do.

However, misrepresenting the facts is harmful to the community and creates confusion. The following facts can be supported with documentation upon request:

Tony O'Rourke

• Prior to the city’s incorporation in 1965, “rural road standards” existed throughout the community. In 1965, the city inherited the rural roadway network from the county. The current City Council’s proposed initiative to invest $20 million over the next five years to improve and fix the city’s road infrastructure is a significant and important step in the right direction. The city has published several articles about its efforts to set aside funding to improve the roads.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kubby continues to ignore this fact.

• In 2003, the City conducted an audit of the Redevelopment Agency’s financial performance to complete the redevelopment projects in the Stateline area. Following this comprehensive audit, the City Council authorized a loan in the amount of $7 million to the Redevelopment Agency for costs and revenue shortages related to the redevelopment project. The Redevelopment Agency continues to repay $500,000 each year for this loan, which covers principal and interest. Over half of the loan amount has been repaid to date. Each year, Redevelopment Agency proceeds also support the city’s general gund for services rendered by the city on behalf of the Redevelopment Agency. The city provided all of the background documentation regarding this issue to Mr. Kubby upon his request and reviewed many documents with him about this issue.

Two separate grand juries looked in this issue and recommend the city adopt financial policies to more efficiently recover their costs for redevelopment projects. The city adopted those polices in 2005. Now let’s move onto more pertinent and immediate challenges, like financial sustainability and infrastructure investment rather than beating this matter to death.

• Mr. Randy Lane’s Chateau project is not funded by the city. The city’s interest is the same as everyone’s, which is a desire to see a project completed at the site. Neither Mayor Hal Cole, nor any city councilmembers, are responsible for the collapse of the project or the economy. The project continues to attract interested investors and will require the collaboration of all parties to see a project come to fruition at the site. The City Council supports completion of a project.

• The city has increased its efforts to keep the public informed about the cost of roads, the progress of projects and all aspects of the city. Visit the city’s website and sign up to receive news and information.

Tony O’Rourke is city manager of South Lake Tahoe.