Dudley is only 12 weeks old, and he is very sweet.

This dog is very special, as he is deaf, so he will need a very patient owner who is willing to teach him sign language.

He needs to have a well-fenced yard at his new home and needs to be an on leash only due to his disability.

Any family interested in Dudley should do some research about training deaf dogs before coming to meet him.

Dudley is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet. For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

–Susan Baumflek

By Luther Mack

How soon we forget. Those who are complaining about the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority are not remembering the past.

Thirteen years ago, I was the airport chairman during a turbulent time. In 1998, Airport Director Bob White and his management team were plagued by lawsuits, charges of a hostile work environment, poor planning and citizen outrage.

As chairman, I had to make a difficult business decision. A change in leadership was required. But it came at a price. The airport and White parted company through a unanimously approved severance and consulting agreement that cost the airport $322,000.

That was the price the board paid to remove an airport director who had failed.

Today, Reno-Tahoe International Airport is an award-winning airport with terrific air service, great facilities and financial planning that are the envy of the community. But today the airport is criticized for paying less for success than it once paid for failure.

Luther Mack is a businessman and former chairman of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority board.

Read the whole story

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science

Marijuana users sometimes report that pot enhances their desire for sex. But a new review of research on marijuana and sexual health suggests that male smokers could be courting sexual dysfunction.

Research on the topic is contradictory and few studies are high-quality, said study researcher Rany Shamloul, a physician with appointments at the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University in Canada as well as the University of Cairo. But recent research – including the finding that the penis contains receptors for marijuana’s active ingredient – suggests that young men may want to think about long-term effects before rolling a joint, Shamloul told LiveScience.

“It’s a strong message to our younger generations and younger men,” Shamloul said.

Read the whole story

El Dorado County Animal Services fees are going up beginning April 1.

The fee to adopt a small animal (such as a rabbit) remains the same at $15, cat adoption fees go from $75 to $80, and dog adoption fees increase $s0 to $120.

The Board of Supervisors approved the increases in February.

To license an altered dog the fee goes from $15 to $20 for a one-year license and from $35 to $50 for a three-year license.

Fees for kennel licenses were also raised substantially, as well as fines for not having a current dog license.

State law requires all dogs over the age of 4 months have proof of a current rabies vaccination and a county license.

The fee to license an unaltered dog was increased substantially, going from $35 to $100 per year.

Fees for animal kennel licenses, particularly commercial licenses, were also increased.

For additional information about Animal Services, or to see the complete list of fee increases, go online.

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association in collaboration with the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the second cycle of its 2010-11 Community Marketing Grant Program. The deadline to apply is April 11 at 5pm.

The NLTRA awarded nearly $50,000 in grants last fall, and currently has approximately $11,000 available in unclaimed funds left to award to recipients to be used this fiscal year or next.

Those that did not receive grant funding during the first cycle can reapply, but should take note and make any changes to their applications as suggested by the Chamber of Commerce Advisory Committee.

The available funds are also open to new applicants, especially those with events planned for the Placer County/North Lake Tahoe region. The majority of grants awarded will be in the $500 to $2,500 range.

For more information, call Kym Fabel at (530) 581.8764.

By Nancy Oliver Hayden

STATELINE — The room was so quiet one could have heard a pin drop when Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto started talking about the myriad issues in the Silver State.

“The first of many issues in Nevada is the methamphetamine problem,” she said. “Very few people knew it was a problem when I first took office.”

She brought agencies together to address the issue and now the state is moving forward regarding methamphetamine as well as other drug abuse problems.

Catherine Cortez Masto

“The No. 1 problem in Nevada is prescription drug abuse and now there are synthetic or designer drugs. This is a challenge because there are more than 500 formulas for synthetic drugs and we have to investigate each one separately,” she said.

Masto and her office created the Drug Round-up program, where people can bring their unused prescription drugs to designated locations to be incinerated. They also established a Substance Abuse Task Force.

Masto, a strong advocate for women and children, spoke about women in leadership positions and discussed her programs and passions with Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe on March 23 at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

After asking the audience how many knew what an attorney general did and only a few raised their hand, she acknowledged that not many others know either.

“The attorney general is considered the top law official in the state. We are the largest law firm, work closely with law enforcement and district attorneys, and investigate and prosecute criminal cases” she said.

Masto, a native Nevadan, said she ran for Nevada attorney general because she saw so many issues that needed to be addressed at the state level. She took the oath of office in January 2007 for her first term and was sworn in Jan. 3, 2011, for her second term.

Another issue facing the state is domestic violence, which impacts women and children as well as animals. Masto chairs the Domestic Violence Prevention Council.

“Nevada leads the nation in the number of women murdered through domestic violence. My office has put together a Fatality Review Team and we have a prosecutor on staff. There is a need to understand what is means to be a domestic violence victim. It includes a cycle of violence and is a control issue,” she said.

The Attorney Generals Office has established a Prevention Partner program, where employees partner with groups such as Girl Scouts. Called Peace Begins at Home, the girls learn where they can find out more information and where they can go for help. The office is also looking to partner with the Boy Scouts, Board of Cosmetologists and Nurses Association.

One of the issues Masto plans to focus on in the next four years is how juvenile offenders are handled on the state level. She said this is an issue that has never been studied. When she worked as assistant county manager for Clark County she assisted in the creation of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative to build a better legal system for juveniles.

The attorney general is passionate about issues of elder abuse and exploitation of seniors. Because she was so close to her grandparents while growing up, she saw the problems that seniors experience.

“Nevada has a growing senior population and we will continue to work on these issues,” she said.

Missing children in Nevada is a concern for her office. Investigators travel all over the world to locate non-custodial parents. Human trafficking is also a problem as children are forced into prostitution and Nevada doesn’t have programs to address these issues.

“We don’t have a safe place for these young girls to go. We arrest them and put them in jail to keep them safe and then they go back into the same environment. We are trying to get funds to establish a home for them in southern Nevada,” Masto said.

“Also an issue is cyber safety. Kids are on the Internet, it is an extension of their being, and there is no control,” she said. “Young people need to be educated about cyber bullying, sexting and protecting their identity on line. Face Book pages are used by sexual predators to gain their confidence to sexually exploit them.”

A 22-year-old San Jose snowboarder was found dead Sunday at 11:50am in a tree well covered in several inches of snow off a perimeter run at Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department reported that afternoon.

The county Search and Rescue team went searching for the snowboarder Saturday evening and through the night after learning he turned up missing while riding with his brother and friends in the area of the Upper Powderhorn Trail in the West Bowl area of the resort. The popular run is flanked by clusters of trees on the outer reaches of the resort.

At least 60 searchers using snowshoes, skis, snowmobiles and a snow cat to aid in the search. The incident represented one in back-to-back Lake Tahoe region searches of snowboarders in which the other built an igloo to survive overnight near Waterhouse Peak and was found alive.

Accounts considered Walker to be an intermediate snowboarder. A preliminary investigation suggests Walker impacted the tree, but it hasn’t been determined if the impact or the winter weather caused his death. And, the wind chill Monday will bring the temperature down to 16 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

U.S. Ski Team

Joe Discoe (Telluride, CO) bested teammate Jeremy Cota (Carrabassett Valley, ME) Sunday, to win the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championship dual moguls event. Eliza Outtrim (Steamboat Springs, CO) topped the women’s standings beating Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT).

Sunny skies marked the final day of competition at Stratton Mountain. The men’s side saw Cota blast past the competition on his way to the finals. Discoe, scrapped his way to the finals with back-to-back 18-17 wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. However, it was all Discoe in the finals, winning with a convincing 21-14 score. Joining Discoe and Cota on the podium was the consolation final winner Zak Watkins (Telluride, CO).

For Discoe, who was the 2010 U.S. moguls champ, Sunday’s win marked his first dual moguls U.S. title.

“It was a great day. I’m pretty stoked,” said Discoe. “I skied to have fun, and just laid down the run I knew I had.”

The women’s final, between Outtrim and McPhie was a real barnburner, with Outtrim just edging her way past McPhie 18-17 to win the U.S. title. Heidi Kloser (Vail, CO) made her first career podium at U.S. Championships, finishing in third. Sunday’s victory was Outtrim’s first U.S. Championship title.

“I felt unsatisfied that I had not been on the podium yet this season, so I used that to motivate me,” said Outtrim. “It was really cool, because I grew up skiing 20 minutes from here. It felt like skiing on home turf.”

“Everybody did a great job,” said U.S. Freestyle Ski Team Coach Scott Rawles about the 2010-11 season. “I think we are on the right track for good things in the next couple of years.”

World Cup overall and moguls champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) did not start in Sunday’s competition. Kearney ended the season with a total of 10 wins including nine World Cup wins and a U.S. Championship.

With the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships in the record books, the competition season comes to a close. The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team will take a short break with training and summer camps picking back up in late April, early May.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships

Stratton Mountain, VT – March 27, 2011

Dual Moguls

Men

1. Joe Discoe, Telluride, CO

2. Jeremy Cota, Carrabassett Valley, ME

3. Zak Watkins, Telluride, CO

4. Bradley Wilson, Park City, UT

5. Cody Tempel, Missoula, MT

6. Dylan Walczyk, Frisco, CO

7. Sho Kashima, South Lake Tahoe, CA

8. Bryan Zemba, Bridgewater Corners, VT

Women

1. Eliza Outtrim, Steamboat Springs, CO

2. Heather McPhie, Bozeman, MT

3. Heidi Kloser, Vail, CO

4. Alison DiGravio, Farmington,

5. K C Oakley, Park City, UT

6. Kelsey Albert, Newburyport, MA

7. Alyssa Lawson, Boulder

8. Ali Kariotis, Novato, CA

U.S. Ski Team

Cross country World Cup sprint powerhouse Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) added another U.S. Championship to her belt Sunday winning the U.S. SuperTour Finals 30k classic technique race in Sun Valley. It marks Randall’s 16th U.S. Championship.

A hard, fast track coupled with rays of sun shining down on the course made for a perfect day to end the 2011 U.S. Cross Country Championship series. Under bluebird skies, Randall once again proved why she is one of the best topping a packed field of women competitors.

“We lucked out today. The boys had really tough conditions yesterday,” explained Randall. “We’re all pretty psyched to wake up this morning and see clear blue skies and get out on the trails and find really nice hard and fast tracks. The wax stayed pretty consistent.”

Randall looked strong from start, submerging herself in the lead breakaway group. In that group was the University of Utah’s Maria Graefnings, junior phenom CXC Team’s Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN), hometown favorite Morgan Arritola (Fairfield, ID), APU’s Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) and Holly Brooks (Anchorage).

“I was really just trying to focus on my own rhythm and skiing relaxed,” said Randall. “I knew with the altitude the fatigue would set in before you knew it.

With the lead group stacked with talent, the tempo was fierce forcing the skiers to slowly drop off the back leaving Randall and Graefnings to dual it out. Graefnings, who has been dominant on the NCAA circuit this season ending it with winning the NCAA 5k freestyle technique title, stayed close, but did not have enough to best Randall. Finishing with a time of 1:31:27.4, just 9.7 seconds ahead of Graefnings, Randall clinched the U.S. Championship crown and the $1,200 purse.

“Maria Graefnings was skiing with me, I was kind of hoping she’d take the lead on a couple sections but she was content to follow,” explained Randall of the race. “I just kept skiing my own race and then I started to feel cramps coming on and that concerned me a little bit. But I was able to kind of push through it.”

Joining Randall on the podium was Sweden native Graefnings in second and Diggins in third. Arritola crossed the line in fourth to a cheering crowd, while U.S. SuperTour leader Brooks closed out the day in fifth.

Brooks was crowned U.S. Grand Champion, a title that is awarded to the woman with the most cumulative points in the five race U.S. Championship series.

“It’s really fun to come back after being on the World Cup all year and see all the domestic racers and have some fun here in Sun Valley,” said Randall.

The U.S. SuperTour Finals resume Tuesday with the men’s and women’s prologue race and continue through next Saturday, April 2.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

U.S. SuperTour Finals/U.S. Cross Country Championships

Sun Valley, ID – March 27, 2011

30k Classic Technique

1. Kikkan Randall, Anchorage (APUNSC/U.S. Ski Team), 1:31:27.4

2. Maria Graefnings, Sweden (University of Utah), +9.7

3. Jessie Diggins, Afton, MN (CXC Team), +28.1

4. Morgan Arritola, Fairfield, ID (SVSEF/U.S. Ski Team), +42.7

5. Holly Brooks, Anchorage (APUNSC), +2:10.2

6. Kate Fitzgerald, Palmer, AK (APUNSC), +2:57.8

7. Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, WA (APUNSC), +3:42.7

8. Chelsea Holmes, Truckee, CA (Sugar Bowl Academy), +4:54.0

9. Nicole Deyong, Ketchum, ID (SVSEF), +5:43.3

10. Becca Rorabaugh, Fairbanks, AK (APUNSC), +6:39.0

Local author and youth advocate Kim Gayner will be discussing her new young adult book “Reality 101: A Must Have Guide to Life & Life Skills Survival Manual” a the South Lake Tahoe library.

The free event is April 13 at 6:30pm.

The library is at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call (530) 573.3185.