By Geralda Miller, Reno Gazette-Journal

The sun is shining, the temperature is climbing and the snow melts on Peavine.

Gardeners are eager to get outside and plant flowers and vegetables.

Don’t forget about herbs, local herbalists and regional plant experts said.

“The high desert is an ideal place to grow herbs,” said Tom Stille, owner of the River School Farm in northwest Reno. “Find a place that is close to your kitchen door that has nice sun. Not only put in kitchen plants, but also, that would be a great place to grow your herbs.”

Lisa Rojas, an herbalist who plans to open an apothecary and massage supply store in Reno in July, said herbs do more than enhance your favorite culinary dishes and are vital for good health.

“I believe herbs are medicine,” she said. “I believe that our medicine is our food. It brings life to our food and into our bodies.”

Botanist Evert Broderick and herbalist Kim Powers recently taught a course at Truckee Meadows Community College called, “Practical Herbology” and have initiated a yearlong certificate of herbal studies program, which begins in the fall.

The couple will be talking about making edible and medicinal herbal landscapes on Saturday at Moana Nursery.

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To the community,

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department took part in the National Take Back Initiative which was hosted by the Drug Enforcement Agency on April 30. This program provided the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of expired, unused and/or unwanted prescription drugs.

A drop off location was established in the Safeway parking lot at 1020 Johnson Blvd. with SLTPD personnel on hand from 9am-1pm.

We are proud to announce the community took advantage of this program and we were able to collect 44.5 pounds of prescription drugs which were subsequently transported to the DEA office in Sacramento for appropriate destruction.

Thank you to the residents of the South Lake Tahoe community for your participation in this program and we hope to see you again next year.

Thank you to Safeway management and staff for allowing us to utilize the parking lot for this worthwhile effort.

Cameron Carmichael, South Lake Tahoe police sergeant

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – Douglas County is tired of waiting for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to update its Regional Plan, so it is revising its master plan to reflect what citizens want – not necessarily what the bi-state regulatory agency dictates.

“Everyone is worried the Regional Plan won’t get updated or it will take too long so we are pushing now for this transect planning,” Brandy McMahon, the county’s senior planner, said.

TRPA officials are saying the plan that was supposed to come out in 2007 will be released late 2012.

Douglas County is making plans for how to improve Stateline. Photo/LTN

Although the county is not proposing any major projects, it does want the community’s input in regards to vision for the future.

At a meeting Thursday night at Kahle Community Center, nine people turned out to give McMahon ideas about what they want to see going forward.

Steve Teshara, who has his hands in all things transportation related in the Lake Tahoe Basin, sees this as “a chance for the county to take some leadership.”

Douglas County reviews its master plan annually and more substantially every fifth year. The original plan was adopted in 1996, with a 10-year update done in 2006.

“With TRPA’s rules, it’s hard to put something together that is economically viable,” Gary Midkiff of Midkiff and Associates said. He pointed to density and height issues.

These are some of the same issues being brought up in South Lake Tahoe in regards to its General Plan update, which is likely to be voted on May 17. South Tahoe also wants to be a leader and not just do what the bi-state regulatory agency says.

Although no one from the League to Save Lake Tahoe was at the May 12 meeting, this advocacy group has threatened the city if it approves a plan that does not comply with the Regional Plan.

“People need to understand when they put money into the League to Save Lake Tahoe, that is not money to save the lake,” Midkiff said. “Their sole function is to block everything.”

He particularly singled out the Sierra Colina project that is proposed to be built in Stateline but has been in litigation for nearly two years because the League has filed a lawsuit.

“If we keep doing nothing, we will have a worse situation than we have, which is hard to imagine,” Midkiff said.

Recently the South Tahoe Alliance of Resorts was formed to create a vision for the Stateline area. This group wants to cooperate with South Lake Tahoe so there is continuity between Ski Run Boulevard on the California side down to the Kahle Road area and up Kingsbury Grade.

This group, along with the master plan, will keep working on what reconfiguring Loop Road around the casinos might entail and how the casino corridor could be more pedestrian friendly.

With the transportation component last revised in 2007, Teshara intimated most of his comments would be transit related.

It was also brought up that the Van Sickle Bi-State Park, that is still proposed to open this summer, is not in the county’s master plan and will need to be added.

Recreation components are part of the plan – like the Stateline-to-Stateline bike trail. It’s still possible the demo site on the South Shore could break ground this summer, though the original May 15 start date is off the books.

McMahon also said the county, which owns the old Kingsbury Grade, is looking at turning that route into a mountain biking area. She also touched on how the Carson Valley Trails Association wants to put in a trail along Foothill Road, and how there will be a trail built from Walley’s Hot Springs to Genoa.

Comments will be accepted until Sept. 1. Send them to bmcmahon@co.doglas.nv.us. More information can be found online.

The next public meeting is May 25 to discuss the Carson Valley and Pinenut planning areas. It is from 9am-5pm at 1602 Esmeralda Ave., Minden.

The goal is to have the Planning Commission review the master plan in October and have commissioners take action in November.

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

Invading mollusks that have overrun Lake Mead have been found in two Northern Nevada reservoirs, Nevada wildlife officials report.

Preliminary tests indicate quagga mussels exist in both Lahontan and Rye Patch reservoirs, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The tests need to be confirmed but represent a worrying development, said Ken Mayer, NDOW’s acting director.

“We intend to keep the public informed about this troubling development and to do whatever we can to stop the spread of this very damaging species,” Mayer said.

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By Paul Kane and Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post

The Senate Ethics Committee on Thursday declared that it has “substantial and credible evidence” that former senator John Ensign broke federal laws in his effort to cover up an extramarital affair he had with a political aide, referring its case to the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission.

In a highly unusual public rebuke, the bipartisan committee presented its case on the Senate floor, announcing it had voted unanimously to release its findings and request the Justice Department re-start a criminal investigation into the Nevada Republican’s actions.

John Ensign

“We have reason to believe Senator Ensign violated laws,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the panel, said during the speeches.

Boxer, reading from a report of the special counsel hired to handle the investigation, said that the evidence against Ensign was “substantial enough to warrant the consideration of expulsion” had he not resigned.

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Bona Fide Books is going to the dogs. Starting May 18 “My Reading Buddy,” a literacy program for elementary school-age students, will accept drop-ins from 3:45-4:45pm every other Wednesday at the publisher’s Meyers’ location.

During each session, four children will enjoy an individual 15-minute reading period with a canine listener and a tutor. Age-appropriate books are provided and there is no charge.

“My Reading Buddy” is a literacy program developed and sponsored by the Lake Tahoe Humane Society and S.P.C.A. designed to provide encouragement in a stress-free reading environment. The program has been popular at the Tahoe Boys & Girls Club and the South Tahoe Public Library for more than three years.

For more information, contact Kim Wyatt at Bona Fide Books, (530) 573.1513, or Liz Maul, Outreach and Education Manager at the Lake Tahoe Humane Society and S.P.C.A., (530) 542.2857.

Bona Fide Books is located at 1069 Magua St., No. 4, in the cul de sac behind the Getaway Café in Meyers.

Suzanne Roberts’ book launch party for “Three Hours to Burn a Body: Poems on Travel” is June 17 at 6:30pm. Also, being celebrated is the opening of the photography show “Faces,” featuring some of her travel photographs from around the world.

The event at Bona Fide Books includes a short poetry reading, book signing, drinks, appetizers, tribal belly dancers, and more.

Bona Fide Books is located in Meyers at 1069 Magua St., No. 4, behind the Getaway Café.

On Jan. 10, 2011, our little brother Douglas Paul Lee passed away in Columbia, Tenn.

Doug was born April 28, 1959, in Gardena, Calif., to Patricia Ruth and Clarke David (Mickey) Lee. He was their seventh child.

He was 51.

He was preceded in death by brothers Terry David Lee and Thomas Earl Lee.

He is survived by a sister Vicki Lee Tait of Elyria, Ohio; brothers T. Michael Lee of South Lake Tahoe, Patrick L. Lee of Hesperia, Calif., and Dennis C. Lee, of Idaho.

Doug grew up in Southern California and in Henryetta, Okla. He later lived in Kansas City, Mo. He quit school in the 10th grade, but was not satisfied with that outcome and at the age of 35 he received his GED in South Lake Tahoe in 1994.

While living in South Lake Tahoe he worked as a cook for Caesars Tahoe. He also played on Caesars softball team, which was one of his favorite times.

Doug was a military veteran as he served in the U.S. Army as a cook in the late-70s stationed among other places in Seoul, South Korea.

Doug was a huge sports fan, loving both baseball (Dodgers) and football (Rams and Kansas City Chiefs). He spent the last 12 years in and near Nashville, where he lived with his life partner Susan who he called, “The love of my life.”

I can attest Doug and his life were a whole lot better and successful with her in his life. Doug’s remains were cremated and when Susan passes their ashes will be interred together.

Doug wasn’t dealt the best cards in his troubled life, but God bless him he made the most of what he had. Doug was a loving, selfless individual who would try and help anyone if he could. He had his problems and he dealt with them, but he was one of the sweetest and most loving people who I have ever known. I miss my little brother more than you can ever imagine.

Until we meet again bro, Happy Trails.

— Dennis C. Lee

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

After Nevada wildlife officials declined to consider a petition that could invalidate the state’s first black bear hunt, critics say they will take their case to court.

A complaint will be filed in District Court in Carson City “as soon as possible,” said Christine Schwamberger, an attorney and member of NoBearHuntNV.org.

The lawsuit will seek a restraining order blocking this year’s hunt, now scheduled to start the third week of August, Schwamberger said.

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By Loretta Kalb, Sacramento Bee

In theory, Placer County and its 2,300 workers already have endured the recession’s toughest budget tests.

In the last three years, county supervisors froze hiring, imposed furloughs, downsized departments and laid off workers.

But this year, county officials say those efforts combined won’t offset the added burden headed their way if the state realigns prisons and mental health services without adequate funding.

Property taxes, the county’s single largest source of discretionary spending for general government operations, have declined 17 percent since 2008, County Executive Tom Miller said. And sales tax revenues are just now starting to show signs of recovery.

Gov. Jerry Brown is seeking a prison realignment – shifting low-level inmates to county jails – as part of a larger plan to close a $15.4 billion state budget deficit.

Counties also would administer juvenile court cases and mental health programs and supervise adult parolees.

Miller figures the county’s cost to carry out realignment would run between $30 million and $60 million yearly.

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