By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s minimum wage will remain the same for the coming year.

Although President Obama has called for an increase in the federal minimum to $10.10 an hour, Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he would oppose such an increase because it would mean a loss of jobs.

Nevada’s minimum is $7.25 an hour — the same as the current federal minimum — for those offered health insurance by their employers. For those without health insurance, the minimum wage is $8.25 an hour.

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The lineup for Harveys Outdoor Concert Series continues to grow.

Added this week are Sammy Hagar and Friends on Aug. 16 and Rascal Flatts with guest Sheryl Crow on Aug. 24.

Both shows go on sale on April 18.

Harveys officials say more shows are still to be booked.

Other shows include:

• Sara McLachlan — June 24 8pm; $39.50-$89.50
• Carrie Underwood — July 18 8pm; $89.50-$175.50
• Zac Brown Band — July 20 6:30pm; $59.50-$135.50
• Journey/Steve Miller Band — July 30 6:30pm; $59.50-$199.50
• Lady Gaga — Aug. 2 7pm; $89.50-$225
• Boston/The Doobie Brothers — Aug. 3 6:30pm; $49.50-$125.50
• Bruno Mars — Aug. 14 7:30pm; $69.50-$135.50
• Eagles — Aug. 29-30 7:30pm; $99.50-$255.50.

By Jeremy Miller

I was pretty apprehensive about this one, but found myself somewhat pleasantly surprised by “Divergent”. Starring one of my favorite up and comers, Shailene Woodley, as the lead, I had enough reason to get to the theater and check it out.

Also starring we have Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney and Miles Teller. Tris (Woodley) is a young member of society in futuristic Chicago that is divided into factions based on virtues. The youth of this “perfect” society hit an age at which they decide which faction they will spend the rest of their life serving and once they decide there’s no going back.

There is a test they take that “helps” them decide which faction they best fit. While taking her test Tris discovers that she’s a divergent: someone who doesn’t fit into any of the factions and if found out she’d be cast out or even worse, destroyed. She is forced to keep it a secret and on decision day decides against the faction of her parents and goes off on her own.

From there she’s put through a gauntlet of rigorous training and initiation into her new faction. While doing so, she starts to uncover a plot to destroy any divergent and take control of all the factions that would turn the perfect society upside down. Along the way she finds comradery and self-conflict, and some serious counter effort from her peers and instructors.

I liked a lot of things about this flick. I must admit I actually loved the premise: A sci-fi coming of age flick that takes place in the future with hormones flying all over the place. It makes for a good time. I liked the characters and the twists and turns were fun and only somewhat predictable.

The special effects were mediocre at best, but not so bad that they drew away from the realism of it all.

Along the way Tris develops a thick and often awkward crush on her trainer, Four (James) that’s both difficult and fun to watch. His mysterious demeanor and alpha bad-ass persona kept me involved and wanting to know more, but sometimes was outweighed by an overly cheesy script.

That brings me to my dislikes. The script was at some points unbearable. I was honestly conflicted at times. There were moments that I was really into it and cheering these guys along, and other times I could barely keep my eyes forward and watch the train wreck. The love scenes were pretty awful, about as out of sync as two boots in a dryer really.

But, like I said, overall I was entertained. It definitely sets up for a sequel and somehow I feel if they got some more seasoned sci-fi writers on the thing it could really be something awesome. For the first go around, they did a good enough job to keep me in my seat from start to finish so I guess that counts for something. Overall, it’s really nothing special, but it’s a fun movie and if you go in with expectations of the cliché PG-13 campy romance battered sci-fi epic, then you’ll get what you paid for and leave satisfied.

South Lake Tahoe resident Jeremy Miller has more movie reviews online.

Truckee is taking comments on the initial study/mitigated negative declaration for the Trout Creek Trail project. The Trout Creek Trail is proposed to connect Northwoods Boulevard near Coyote Moon Golf Course to downtown Truckee at Bridge Street just north of Highway 80.

The proposed trail is a 10-foot-wide paved Class 1 trail along the future alignment of the third Tahoe Donner connector and along portions of Trout Creek. It is approximately 7,900-feet long.

While future trail sections within Tahoe Donner are described in the Town’s Trails and Bikeways Master Plan, this is the only section being considered at this time.

Comments must be submitted by April 22 to Jessica Thompson, associate engineer, at jthompson@townoftruckee.com.

Proposed project sites are outlined in red.

By Kathryn Reed

Placer County and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency are putting together the notice of preparation to develop a segment of the Martis Valley and adjacent land in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

From there the environmental documents will be prepared.

Even though the Truckee Land Trust saved thousands of acres in the area, members are now behind East West Partners plans to develop a significant chunk of land and are not concerned with the 112 acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin that would be developed.

Some conservation groups are calling developing this Tahoe acreage precedent setting because there are currently no timeshare-condo developments on a ridge on the North Shore.

The project area is located between Truckee and the North Shore on both sides of Highway 267. Most of it is not under the purview of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. All but a small part is in Placer County; the other is in Nevada County.

The proposed project consists of a specific plan, TRPA area plan and various entitlements and approvals associated with approval of these plans.

The public has until April 28 to comment on the proposal.

The proposed project would shift 760 units and 6.6 acres of commercial from the allowed development of 1,360 units and 6.6 acres of commercial on the East Parcel to the West Parcel. In the process 600 units would be retired.

The West Parcel is approximately 1,192 acres next to Northstar ski resort. The area plan would apply to the 112.8 acres of the West Parcel that are located within TRPA’s jurisdiction and would designate this land resort recreation.

In the West Parcel 775 acres would be rezoned from timberland production to residential and neighborhood commercial. This would allow for 760 residential units and 6.6 acres of commercial. The remaining 417 acres on the West Parcel would remain forest.

The 670 acres of the East Parcel currently zoned for development would be designated forest. A conservation easement would be placed over the entire 6,376 acres, or it would be sold fee simple to conservation groups. Approximately 216 acres of the 6,376-acre East Parcel are located within Nevada County.

Build-out is expected to take 25 years.

An intersection on Highway 267 would be created to accommodate future development.

Hiking and biking trails are also part of the plans.

—

Other info:

• Comments may be emailed to cdraecs@placer.ca.gov.

• More info is available online.

• Scoping meeting on April 16 at 1pm, Cedar House Sport Hotel, 10918 Brockway Road, Truckee.

• Scoping meeting on April 16 at 5:30pm, North Tahoe Event Center, Kings Beach.

• TRPA Advisory Planning Commission, April 9 9:30am, 128 Market St., Stateline.

• TRPA Governing Board, April 24, 9:30am, 128 Market St., Stateline.

To the community,

Thank you to the many agencies, service clubs, public organizations, and volunteers who helped with the 11th annual Drug Store Project event on April 1 at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Drug Store Project teaches consequences of drug use. Photo/JCV Photography

Our 300 sixth-grade students had the assistance of 220 volunteers to send a clear message that they are valued. Teaching our youth about the dangers of drugs; marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, over-the-counter as well as prescriptive medications, gets more challenging each year as states provide new legislation and products such as e-cigarettes are packaged to entice minors.

The 50-plus groups that provided for this program strongly believe that a difference can be made for our kids. Collectively we believe that if youth are provided knowledge about what effects drugs have on the body, the mind, family and social life, productivity, and overall positive life experiences, that many more will choose not to experiment and not to participate in drug use. If we can collectively put off the “age of onset” experimentation, then we can see a difference for our youth. Less drug use means less demand. Less demand is less costly in lives and in all facets of economics.

I’d like to extend my gratitude to the following entities: Barton Health, Barton Health Foundation, California Conservation Corps, California Department of Health Care Services, California Highway Patrol, Calstar, Diamond Valley School, Douglas County Search and Rescue, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Drug Free Community Grant, El Dorado Community Foundation, El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, El Dorado County Mental Health, El Dorado County Probation, El Dorado County Public Defenders Office, El Dorado County Public Health, El Dorado County Search and Rescue-Tahoe Team, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, EDSO Sherriff’s Team of Active Retirees, El Dorado County Superior Court, JCV Photography, Joint Task Force Domestic Support-CD, Harrah’s Harveys Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s HEROS Program, Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe, Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe Sunrisers, Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra, Lake Tahoe Community College, Lake Tahoe Resort, Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, Lake Valley Firefighters Association, McFarlane Mortuary, Narconon of Northern Nevada, Optimist Club of Lake Tahoe, Partnership of Community Resources, Pro Leisure, Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe, Sierra Community Church, Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, SLTPD-Explorers, SLTPD-K9, South Lake Tahoe Police Officers Association, South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, South Tahoe High School, STMS Junior S Club, STMS Club Live, St. Theresa School, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, Tahoe-Douglas Rotary Club, Tahoe Turning Point, Tahoe Youth & Family Services, Zephyr Cove Elementary, and community volunteers.

Thank you for your time and your effort.

Gratefully,

Lisa Huard, Drug Store Project coordinator

Between now and April 20, Nevada Highway Patrol troopers will be cracking down on distracted drivers throughout the state.

Any use of a handheld electronic device — cell phone, mp3 player, GPS device, etc. — while driving is illegal and offenders will be pulled over and cited.

Nevada’s ban on handheld devices while driving went into effect Jan. 1, 2012, and two years into the law, law enforcement continues to spot and cite offenders every day.

Officers say the likelihood of crashes dramatically rise when your actions require a combination of visual, manual and cognitive attention.

By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe’s sex offender ordinance is being challenged by a group that is filing complaints and lawsuits throughout the state.

Janice Bellucci, president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws, believes the city’s ordinance violates state and federal laws.

“The underlying court case just came out in January and is still out on appeal,” South Lake Tahoe City Attorney Tom Watson told Lake Tahoe News. “The fact is the decision they are relying is from the court of appeals and is being appealed to the Supreme Court and there is no decision from the Supreme Court yet.”

As of April 2, Watson had not seen the actual lawsuit, but said he was made aware a complaint had been filed. He will likely bring the issue before the City Council in closed session at the April 15 meeting.

South Lake Tahoe’s ordinance prohibits registered sex offenders from residing or being within 300 feet of a slew of public and private locations including schools, parks, bus stops and swimming pools.

“The sex offender ordinance adopted by the city of South Lake Tahoe violates both the federal and state constitutions,” Bellucci said in a statement. “The South Lake Tahoe ordinance is based upon two myths: (1) that registered citizens have a high rate of re-offense and (2) that strangers commit most sexual assaults.”

El Dorado County in January altered its ordinance following a legal challenge.

By Jackie Calmes, New York Times

AURORA, Colo. — As the weather warms, Lizeth Chacon is anticipating a new season of registering Latino voters — yet dreading experiences like one late last year, when she came upon a skate park full of older teenagers.

“I thought, ‘The perfect age! They’re turning 18,’” said Chacon, just 26 herself, born in Mexico and now the lead organizer at Rights for All People, a local immigrant organizing group. But among the roughly 50 people she approached in this increasingly diverse city east of Denver, “not a single person” was interested in her pitch, including those already old enough to vote: “They were like, ‘Why? Why would I bother to vote?’”

Across the country, immigrant-rights advocates report mounting disillusionment with both parties among Latinos, enough to threaten recent gains in voting participation that have reshaped politics to Democrats’ advantage nationally, and in states like Colorado with significant Latino populations. High hopes — kindled by President Obama’s elections and stoked in June by Senate passage of the most significant overhaul of immigration law in a generation, with a path to citizenship for about 11 million people here unlawfully — have been all but dashed.

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Property and sales tax collections are better than projected in South Lake Tahoe, while hotel taxes are holding steady.

“We are hitting our budget. We are feeling confident as we go into summer,” Debbie McIntyre, financial services manager, told the City Council on Tuesday.

McIntyre presented the midyear budget to the electeds, which included making some adjustments.

Income and expenses have gone up since the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. But revenues are the larger number, so there is some wriggle room.

Revenues are up by $739,161 over projections. Property taxes are up $200,000, sales tax $300,000, $98,000 from raising the fee residents pay for 911, and $104,835 from rental properties.

The extra will be spent on repairs at the ice rink that are not covered by rent; June election; two dispatchers; a public works inspector; maintenance worker; permit center technician, Linear Park water, sewer and electricity; technology upgrades; two police vehicles; and roads.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report