Squaw Valley fireworks
Squaw Valley is putting on free fireworks July 3 at 9:15pm.
Fireworks in Kings Beach
Kings Beach hosts its annual fireworks display July 3.
The free show and deck party celebration at the North Tahoe Event Center begins at 7pm.
Derby Dames bout at home
Tahoe Derby Dames take on the NorCal Roller Girls on July 9 at 5pm.
Gates at Bijou Community Park open at 4pm.
Tickets are $10 at the door. Kids 10 and under free.
Click here for Derby Dames info.
Boat inspections, fees required throughout Nevada
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
Statewide boat inspections to detect aquatic invaders are required and should be under way next year under a plan signed into law Wednesday by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.
More immediate changes — making it unlawful to deliberately introduce invasive species into Nevada’s waters — take effect in July, with violators facing potential fines of between $25,000 and $250,000.
The program approved by Sandoval and the 2011 Legislature is designed to protect the state’s rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs from damaging invaders such as the quagga mussel. The mussels have overrun Lake Mead in Southern Nevada and might be present in Northern Nevada’s Lahontan and Rye Patch reservoirs.
Sandoval dropped earlier objections to a fee charged to boaters to pay for the program, in part because of the degree of danger posed by mussels and other non-native aquatic species, Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert said. The fee is designed to help recover the cost of fighting the problem, Gansert said.
Kings Beach landscaper donates services to spruce up area
By Lenita Powers, Reno Gazette-Journal
Mark Osberg, owner of Estate Landscape in Kings Beach, has fixed up four public gardens around the Lake Tahoe community for free to improve the area’s appearance and raise the spirits of snow-weary residents.
“I saw these areas that looked kind of untidy, and I had the capacity and interest to make the community look better,” said Osberg, who has lived in the Kings Beach area for 28 years.
“In this down economy when everything is a little tight, these gardens add value to those properties and they provide enjoyment to the community as a whole.”
Osberg, who got permission from nearby property owners to do the projects, estimates it cost him a total of $4,000 to put in the gardens and will cost another $4,000 a year to maintain them.
Estate Landscape, his 22-year-old business, planted the gardens in the Kings Beach and Incline Village, using a variety of native plants and flowers that will bloom at different times.
Rumors circulate Squaw, Alpine in merger talks
By Jeremy Benson, ESPN Action Sports
Recently, there has been chatter that Squaw Valley’s new owner, KSL Capital Partners, is attempting to purchase neighboring Alpine Meadows from its owner, JMA Ventures.
The rumors have been circulating mostly on websites like Unofficialsquaw.com and Epicski.com. UnofficialSquaw.com contributor Miles Clark recently posted that a “letter of intent” had even been signed by both parties, signaling the first stages of a transaction that could eventually lead to the creation of a Tahoe mega-resort.
Right now it's rumors Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley will merge. Photo/LTN file
But rumors of a possible Alpine/Squaw merger have been around since Alpine Meadows opened in 1961 and never have the two resorts been able to strike a deal. As a 10-year resident of North Lake Tahoe and a passholder at both resorts, my interest was certainly piqued — Could it really be happening this time or is UnofficialSquaw.com just blowing smoke? — so I decided to investigate.
I started by calling Troy Caldwell, the man in the middle, who owns White Wolf, a 460-acre privately-owned property located between the two resorts (which includes the top of Squaw’s KT-22 chair). His land is the link in an eventual connection of the two resorts. Caldwell has entertained combining the two resorts through his property for decades, saying, “We’ve always kept that door open.” When asked last week what he thought about the rumored ski resort merger Caldwell said, “I’ve heard those rumors a lot this year, and I don’t believe them to be true … If there is something going on, they haven’t involved me.”
Amelia Richmond, Squaw Valley’s PR representative, also denied that a sale was in the works. “The rumors circulating regarding a letter of intent between KSL and JMA regarding the purchase of Alpine Meadows are simply incorrect,” she said. Regarding Squaw’s relationship with Caldwell, Richmond said, “Squaw Valley leases land from Troy Caldwell and we have committed to working together with him as neighbors. Troy is a great guy and good friend of ours.”
Alpine Meadows spokesperson Rachael Woods also confirmed that they are “just rumors.”
Studying tree rings leads to answers about water issues
By Craig Welch, Seattle Times
They looked at the rings of thousands of ancient trees in the mountains above the most important rivers in the West.
What they found may influence how water gets used from Arizona to Canada — and particularly in the Columbia River basin.
Despite odd years like this one, researchers have long reported declines in the mountain snows that power Western rivers. But on Thursday a group of scientists said they now also know this: Those declines are virtually unprecedented throughout most of the last millennium.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of Washington measured tree-ring growth from forests that included 800-year-old trees. They learned that snowpack reductions in the late 20th and early 21st centuries were unlike any other period dating to at least the year 1200, according to new research published in the journal Science.
Tax and business planning workshop
John Urrutia and Chris Mann from Mann, Urrutia, Nelson, CPAs & Associates are hosting an interactive workshop to help business owners review their tax and business planning strategies.
The workshop is June 29 from 10-11:30am at the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, 169 Highway 50, Building D, Stateline.
The two are offering a free one-hour consultation to workshop participants.
Space is limited. Tickets are $5 members and $10 non-members. Prepurchase tickets by calling (775) 588.1728, ext. 303.
Full El Dorado County Grand Jury report out next week
By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee
El Dorado County should make use of private volunteers in evaluating the efficiency of government operations, the 2010-2011 grand jury wrote in sections of its report released Tuesday.
The full report was supposed to be released in tandem with the regular Board of Supervisors meeting, but it was pulled back due to production errors, according to Steve Baker, foreman for the grand jury.
The full report, to be released at the June 21 supervisors’ meeting, will include matters that are “more controversial and more consequential,” Baker said.
He said it would be inappropriate to talk about the sections released Tuesday, as he felt their release was premature.
However, the report’s recommendations included suggestions that the county Chief Administrative Office needs to create a clear statement of operating principles and create review teams to evaluate whether departments are meeting those principles.
Student’s words reveal stark reality of life’s injustices
Tolerance is a subject Joemae Santos is teaching adults.
She is doing it with words – and showing how other people’s words are ones of intolerance.
Joemae Santos
The incoming South Tahoe High School ninth-grader wowed the crowd at Tuesday night’s Lake Tahoe Unified School District board of education meeting with two poems.
These are the same poems that led her to win Lake Tahoe Community College’s poetry slam in April.
Santos was introduced June 14 by English teacher Jillian Raymond. Raymond is one of nine teachers (400-plus were nominated) in California to be named a Teacher for Social Justice.
Santos’ subject matter is adult in nature. The poems sound like they are written by someone much older. But they show the struggles and insight of today’s youth. Not only are the words powerful, but Santos’ delivery makes one want to listen to what else she might have to say.
The first is titled “Queer 101” and the other is “Asia-America”. She read both at the meeting.
— Kathryn Reed