• Park Tahoe in Stateline (aka the former Horizon) plans to have movie theaters. What’s not known, according to the PR firm handling the property, is who the operator will be.

• for the June 28-29 Race the Lake of the Sky paddleboard contest in South Lake Tahoe.

• Climate Reality Project launched this video featuring Squaw Valley native and freeskier Michelle Parker and fellow I Am Pro Snow ambassadors and freeskier Mark Abma and adventurer Doug Stoup.

• A total lunar eclipse will be visible in the early hours of April 15.

• This website will tell you how K-12 and community college districts are spending taxpayer funded Proposition 30 dollars.

Every Wednesday during the month of May, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science will lead morning bird walks at the Village Green in Incline Village.

It will be a leisurely stroll to see and hear the numerous bird species that are returning or migrating through Tahoe this spring. Leaders will identify songs, calls, and field marks of birds while walking through different habitats: riparian areas, across streams, and through pine forests.

These free bird walks are open to birders of all experience levels.

Meet at 7:30am at the Aspen Grove parking lot (960 Lakeshore Blvd.) at the Village Green, Incline Village. Bring binoculars.

For more information, contact Robin Jones at robin@tinsweb.org or 775.298.0066.

By Kathryn Reed

The California Department of Finance in its last audit of the California Tahoe Conservancy’s license plate program questioned the amount of money being used for administrative expenses.

“Because it does not separately account for direct or indirect salaries and operating expenditure, we are unable to determine compliance with the administrative cap,” the report says.

Out of four categories the Conservancy was compliant in two, not compliant in one and undetermined in one.

The undetermined is limiting administrative costs, marketing or other promotional activities related to the license plates to 25 percent of expenses.

In the report following the above graphic it says, “The total expenditure amounts included in the annual report to DMV are not supported by the Conservancy’s accounting records. … We recommend the Conservancy review and reconcile internal databases with accounting records to ensure accurate amounts are reported to DMV.”

CTC issues a specialty plate in California and Nevada. Vehicle owners pay an extra fee when registering a vehicle. That money is then put in the CTC’s account. Much of what is collected is used for recreation uses like bike trails.

The issue CTC is not compliant with is Vehicle Code 5060(h)(1) – preparing and submitting an annual accounting report to the Finance Department by June 30. The report is to include an accounting of all revenues and expenditures associated with the special interest license plate program.

“It was just an accounting issue. The folks in Sacramento like as many different accounts as possible to track our expenses and revenues,” CTC Executive Director Patrick Wright told Lake Tahoe News. “We get audited very frequently on all sorts of different things.”

The purpose of this audit was to make sure money from the plates was being used appropriately.

Wright said the audit findings were not serious.

“They want to make sure all of our money is spent the right way,” Wright said. And he said it is.

By Jeff Meston

Hot, dry drought conditions can create greater fire hazards than usual, and many people are unaware of just how easily a major wildfire can ignite. The city of South Lake Tahoe Fire Department wants you to stay safe, this summer, and offers these fire safety tips.

• Avoid outdoor burning, such as campfires, or any other open flame. Even grilling is not advised when extremely dry drought conditions exist.

Jeff Meston

• Dispose of cigarettes and other smoking materials into fire safe containers. Tossing smoldering cigarettes onto the ground should be avoided.

• Properly store flammable materials such as gasoline, alcohol, paint, lighter, and matches. These materials may reach their critical points during hot weather and can possibly result to fire.

• Be extremely careful when using and fueling chain saws, lawn mowers, weed eaters and other lawn care equipment. High heat conditions make ignition of the fuel vapors more likely. Find shade if possible and allow the machinery to cool if it has been running. Also avoid welding in dangerously dry conditions, as the sparks can easily ignite the dry vegetation around you.

• Be careful where you park your vehicles. The hot underside of a car or truck filled with gasoline parked over dead grass or leaves is an explosion waiting to happen. Be sure to park on concrete or solid dirt or gravel, especially during hot and dry drought conditions. Do not park where vegetation touches the vehicle.

• When traveling, be sure that vehicle, tires, and other moving parts (especially metal) are in excellent working order. Chains or other recreational trailer equipment must not drag or dangle from the truck, as these can become hot or create sparks causing not just one but multiple wildfires along your route. Look behind you as you’re driving to make sure all is well. It’s always a good idea to carry a fire extinguisher along on you trip.

• At home, create a “fire safety zone” around your house and other buildings. Fire moves more quickly up steep hills, so extend that zone in the event your hone is on a steep slope. Keep your entire landscape mowed, raked, and free of dead limbs.

• Before dangerous times arrive, take time to make sure there are fire extinguishers mounted in critical areas of the home, outbuildings, and all vehicles.

• Clear all needles and leaves from roofs, eaves and rain gutters, Trim branches 6 feet from the ground, Landscape with fire resistant/drought tolerant plants, that require little water.

Jeff Meston is fire chief of South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

Truckee River Watershed Council is providing lunch for people who attend the April 23 weed warrior workshop.

The River-Friendly Landscaping/Weed Warriors Lunch & Learn is from noon-1:30pm and the Weed Warriors Weed Identification Workshop is from 1:30-3:30pm.

The event is at Cedar House Sport Hotel, 10918 Brockway Road, Truckee.

This is intended for BMP contractors and landscape professionals serving the Truckee area. Information will focus on implementation of river-friendly landscaping measures.

CATT members will be placed on a list of area contractors that is provided to river-friendly landscaping participants.

For more information or to register, contact Jeannette Halderman at jhalderman@truckeeriverwc.org or 530.550.8760.

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — The high-stakes battle over labeling foods with genetically engineered ingredients is back.

Less than two years after California voters narrowly turned down a labeling ballot measure, the state Senate is grappling with the issue. The 2012 campaign cost the food industry $46 million to fight, five times more than the amount spent by the measure’s proponents.

By a 5-2 vote last week, the Health Committee approved Senate Bill 1381, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would require labeling of genetically engineered bulk and packaged foods beginning in 2016. The legislation goes to the Rules Committee and perhaps the Agriculture Committee, where it could face trouble.

The proposal defines genetic engineering as the manipulation of genes in a laboratory to make them resistant to certain pesticides or diseases.

Read the whole story

By Dan Waldschmidt

Great people throughout history often fail, quite miserably, before finally reaching their goals.

Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime; Winston Churchill lost every public election until becoming prime minister at age 62; Henry Ford went bankrupt five times; Albert Einstein was a terrible student and was expelled from school; Sigmund Freud was booed from a stage.

Ideas, brilliance, genius – they all mean nothing without the guts, passion and tenacity necessary to make your dream a reality. But often, people fall back on excuses and give up on trying to reach their goals.

Most of us have dreams, and many of us have big ones, but few of us actually see them through.

Here are six tricks for jumping off the excuse train and forge the path to your goals.

• Avoid the need to blame others for anything. Mean, small-minded people know that they suck. That’s why they are so cranky and eager to point out others’ mistakes. They hope that by causing others to feel inadequate, everyone will forget about how woefully off the mark their own performance is. Don’t blame anyone, for any reason, ever. It’s a bad habit.

• Stop working on things that just don’t matter. Not everything needs to be done in place of sleep. If you work for a boss, then you owe them solid time. You can’t cut that out. You can, however, cut out television time, meetings and anything else that gets in the way of achieving your goals. Replace entertainment with activity toward your goal.

• Refuse to let yourself wallow in self-doubt. You’re alive to succeed. Stop comparing your current problems to your last 18 failures. They are not the same. You are not the same. Here’s something to remember: Your entire life has been a training ground for you to capture your destiny right now. Why would you doubt that? Stop whining. Go conquer.

• Ask yourself, “What can I do better next time?” And then do it next time. If you spend a decade or two earnestly trying to be better, that’s exactly what will happen. The next best thing to doing something amazing is not doing something stupid. So learn from your mistakes and use the lessons to dominate.

• Proactively take time to do things that fuel your passion. Exercise is a great example. Living in the moment requires you to live at peak performance. A huge part of mental fitness is physical fitness. A sparring or running partner is a great way to refresh physical competition. Physical activity accelerates mental motivation.

• Apologize to yourself and those around you for having a bad attitude. Do this once or twice and you’ll snap out of your funk pretty fast. When you start genuinely apologizing for being a bad influence on those around you, you learn to stop whining and start winning.

Dan Waldschmidt is the author of “Edgy Conversations: How Ordinary People Achieve Outrageous Success”.

Holy mackinaw, Gene St. Denis reeled in this 29 pound, 11 ounce fish on March 28 from Lake Tahoe. It was 43-inches long. Photo/Provided

By Kathryn Reed

“The thing I love about going out fishing is you never know when you are going to get the big one.”

Those are the words of Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Fishing Charters in South Lake Tahoe who for the past 15 years held the record for the biggest two-fish catch at 44.8 pounds.

On March 28 he broke his own record when he reeled in two mackinaw – one weighed in at 29 pounds, 11 ounces and the other at 18 pounds, 15 ounces for a total of 48 pounds, 10 ounces.

He was on the lake by himself that day. After nearly landing a much bigger one, but having it break the line near the boat, St. Denis almost gave up. He was sure that one was in the 35-pound class. When it got loose he told Lake Tahoe News he was “devastated.”

St. Denis was using large 10-inch lures called monster sticks on the Nevada side of the lake between Cave Rock and Edgewood.

“It was just a remarkable day. These fish are 40- to 60-years-old,” he said. “The clear water in Tahoe makes it tough for them to make a mistake.”

St. Denis reeled in a 21-pounder on April 2.

He said the nutrients from the recent runoff are probably what are causing the fish to bite.

“These lake trout are phenomenal game fish,” St. Denis said.

They also make for some good eating, he added. He said they have two to three times the omega 3 that king salmon have and they are cleaner than arctic shark.

• The 27th annual Booster Club Golf Tournament is May 3-4 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. All proceeds benefit the students of South Tahoe and Whittell high schools. The price is $125 per player and includes lunch. For more information, contact Kevin Kjer at 775.588.6354 or kjkjer@aol.com.

• Tickets for the Sept. 6-7 Trails and Vistas art hikes go on sale online April 22.

• On April 4, Dutch Bros. Coffee is giving away free drinks from 5am-11pm at its 1231 S. Carson St. location in Carson City to celebrate the grand reopening.

• Nevada County, including Truckee, is asking people to take a survey about coordinated transit.

• Truckee Police Department is having a recognition event of officers on April 8 at 4:30pm in council chambers.

By Kara Fox, Moonshine Ink

A slew of small businesses on the North Shore have recently been targeted by a disabled attorney, claiming they are not in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Scott Johnson, who is known around the state and locally for filing these types of lawsuits, has sued at least 45 businesses from Kings Beach to Tahoma since November.

He made the rounds on the South Shore a few years ago.

Johnson, who was hit by a drunken driver in 1981 that left him a quadriplegic, sends letters to businesses stating they are noncompliant with the federal law that requires a minimum level of access in all public places. His most recent accusations against local businesses have been that handicapped spaces are not properly marked, the ramps to the businesses are too steep, and/or the door handles are not push/pull handles, among other complaints. He is asking anywhere from $22,000 to $25,000 per lawsuit.

Johnson is no stranger to the Tahoe/Truckee area, having filed numerous lawsuits against small businesses locally a few years ago, even putting Donner Lake Kitchen in Truckee out of business in 2011. He has filed more than 2,000 federal lawsuits in the California Eastern District Court in Sacramento since 2004.

Read the whole story