Lake Tahoe Unified School District will not be in session March 25 because of the severity of the storm.

By Lisa Lien-Mager, Association of California Water Agencies

A new paper by the Legislative Analyst’s office says assessing a fee on water at the retail level would be the most feasible option for funding the public benefits of water investments.

In a March 22 report prepared for the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, the LAO said placing an assessment at the water retailer level makes sense from a practical standpoint.

“We find that an assessment levied on water retailers and administered by the state Board of Equalization is the most feasible funding option for a public-benefit-type charge in California,” the eight-page report says. “It is relatively easy for water retailers to provide the data necessary to impose assessments tied to the use of water.”

The report identifies five broad categories of “public-purpose water activities” currently supported by the state’s General Fund or by general obligation bonds. The categories include: planning and management of the statewide water system; broadening access to necessary water services; ecosystem improvements; management of water-related risks and major public emergencies; and water system changes that improve recreation opportunities.

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By Elizabeth Karam, U.S. Ski Team

STRATTON MOUNTAIN, Vt. -– Defending U.S. champion Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) and Dylan Ferguson (Amesbury, MA) earned the titles of U.S. aerials champion after their wins Thursday at the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships at Stratton Mountain.

On a freshly built course under partially sunny skies, the first day of competition at Stratton Mountain went smoothly.

“Nationals is always a fun event and I am really proud to be national champion again,” said Cook. “I am really happy with the progress I am making and to have the results reflect that is amazing.”

Ferguson topped the men’s podium, followed by Scotty Bahrke (Tahoe City) in second and Michael Rossi (Califon, NJ) third. The women’s top three featured Cook in first, with Ashley Caldwell (Charleston, SC) second and Alexa Devereaux (Park City) third.

Cook secured her third U.S. champion title going all out with the only back-full double-full in the women’s competition. Caldwell had the highest single jump score of the night of 83.79 with a huge back full-full.

For the men, both Ferguson and Bahrke, regular competitors on the World Cup circuit, executed the same jump package, with Ferguson earning slightly higher marks on his landing. This was Ferguson’s first national title. He was runner up at the U.S. Championships last year at Squaw Valley. Rossi had a standout performance that showcased his consistency on the NorAm circuit this year. The medal is Rossi’s first in the U.S. Championships in three tries.

Official results, Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships Stratton Mountain, Vt., Aerials

Men

1. Dylan Ferguson, Amesbury, MA, 194.65

2. Scotty Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 183.46

3. Michael Rossi, Califon, NJ, 172.06

4. Mac Bohonnon, Madison, CT, 158.07

5. Nevin Brown, Streetsboro, OH, 157.44

6. Eric Loughran, Pelham, NH, 150.44

7. Alex Bowen, Springville, NY, 143.55

8. Hans Gardner, Orchard Park, NY, 133.64

9. Devon Savino, Canton, CT, 109.86

10. Travis O’Connor, Oxford, NH, 104.65

11. Joseph Kardamis, Chardon, OH, 103.09

12. Jack Boyczuk, Holland, NY, 102.52

13. Alec Carignan, Pelham, NH, 66.69

14. Jonathon Lillis, Pittsford, NY, DNS

Women

1. Emily Cook, Belmont, MA, 140.78

2. Ashley Caldwell, Charleston, SC, 128.01

3. Alexa Devereaux, Park City, UT, 125.50

4. Allison Lee, Manchester, CT, 121.21

5. Kiley McKinnon, Madison, CT, 104.64

6. Jeanee Crane-Mauzy, Waterville Valley, NH, 85.69

In the interest of safety for presenters and the traveling audience Explore Tahoe has canceled the program for Thursday night.

The Regional Wildland Fire Exercise scheduled for March 25 has been canceled because of the weather.

Caltrans is blasting on Highway 50 at Echo Summit. Highway 89 remains closed around Emerald Bay. Travel restrictions are in effect for most of the roads in, out and around the Lake Tahoe Basin. Interstate 80 was closed at the state line because of a big-rig accident.

Caltrans clears the Y in South Tahoe on March 24. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Snow has been coming down in a horizontal pattern since about noon in South Lake Tahoe, with accumulations in a two-hour period of about 3 inches.

Sierra-at-Tahoe has closed for the day. Mt. Rose never opened.

Placer County has activated its Emergency Operations Center.

In Gardnerville Thursday morning sustained winds were clocked at 25 mph, with a gust of 61 mph.

According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning is in effect until 11am Friday.

Reporting at noon March 24 the NWS has the following snow totals for the previous 24 hours:

• Heavenly — 14 inches
• Alpine Meadows — 19 inches
• Kirkwood — 24 inches.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times

Although the effect of the tsunami was minuscule in California compared with Japan, the scattered damage is providing a rare opportunity to study how the waves work and to help officials better prepare for what could be a far more destructive seismic event along the state’s coast.

Teams of scientists combed the California coast all last week, comparing damage from port to port and harbor to harbor. The result will be a set of recommendations that could give better indications of which areas are most at risk and how to mitigate damage.

“This will be our best data set of response in California from a far-afield tsunami yet,” said Jose Borrero, a tsunami researcher with the consulting firm ASR Limited who traveled the length of the California coast.

The state has already published inundation maps that show which areas are believed to be at risk of flooding in various tsunami scenarios, but the new data will allow for a more detailed understanding.

The California Emergency Management Agency estimates that surges induced by the earthquake in Japan caused $44 million in damage to coastal California, with Crescent City and Santa Cruz being hardest hit. In Crescent City, one man died when he was swept out to sea while attempting to photograph the waves, and much of the town’s harbor was destroyed, crippling the local fishing industry.

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Cycling enthusiasts can kick off the Amgen Tour of California in style during the Start at the Top – Lake Tahoe Legends Ride May 14.

The Legends Ride allows participants to ride the Stage 1 course and pedal elbow to elbow with cycling legends and dignitaries, including Bobby Julich, Sky ProCycling Race Coach and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist; and John Howard, who rode on the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympic teams, set the world 24-hour cycling distance record of 593 miles and finished second in the Race Across America (1982), which he co-founded. Other legends include Max Jones, Mike Neel, David Brink and Roland Della Santa.

The Legends Ride is produced by TGFT Productions and Bike the West and is fully supported with rest stops, technical support, first aid and support and gear assistance.

Options include a 72-mile roadway route around Lake Tahoe and a 35-mile ride that transfers participants from South Shore to North Lake Tahoe via the Tahoe Queen paddle-wheeler to cycle around East Shore and finish in Stateline. A sightseeing boat cruise is available for non-cyclists.

The event is open to the first 1,000 cyclists who sign-up online by April 30. Registration is $125/person for the 72-mile ride, and $140/person for the Boat Cruise plus 35-mile option, which is expected to sell-out.

The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe is celebrating its 20th anniversary on April 27 with guest speakers and special observations to honor club supporters from the past 20 years.

The BGCLT opened its doors in 1991 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing youth development programs for the community of South Lake Tahoe. In 1993, the club became a chartered member of the official Boys and Girls Club of America while offering programs for students in grades K-12.

BGCLT promotes the social, educational, health, leadership and character development of children in the area and has been a place for 15,000 kids to learn and grow during the past 20 years.

The 20th anniversary event begins at 5pm at the old Al Tahoe Elementary School in South Lake Tahoe, 1100 Lyons Ave.

By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

The eyes.

To an impressionable college intern dispatched to the then-MGM Grand Reno to pursue an Elizabeth Taylor sighting one February night in 1979, it was her eyes that made a first — and lasting — impression.

Elizabeth Taylor died March 23.

That, and a cast with a splint on the 46-year-old actress’s left wrist that glared against her cardinal-red evening pantsuit.

I got within 5 or 6 feet of her before the bodyguards closed in. It was really nothing, I was told, just a fall on ice, somewhere in New York, they thought.

Thirty-two years later, news of Elizabeth Taylor’s death Wednesday at age 79 evoked memories of that encounter at the MGM, now the Grand Sierra Resort, when the diva strolled down the plush corridor lined with photographs of MGM legends, including herself.

Taylor had been to the area before for the 1951 movie “A Place in the Sun” filmed on location at Lake Tahoe and nearby Cascade and Echo lakes.

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Mt. Rose is closed for the day. People in Squaw Valley are Tweeting it’s whiteout conditions.

Wind is likely to affect operations at resorts throughout the greater Lake Tahoe area.

Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Ted Parkhill

The Tahoe Grizzlie Squirts are headed to the California State Hockey Championships.

Tahoe Grizzlies Ice Hockey club is creating quite the stir among Northern California’s top teams. On March 19-20 the Northern California playoffs commenced with the top four teams of the regular season competing for the title of NorCal champion. The Tahoe Grizzlies Squirts (ages 9-10) did not disappoint, and proved to all who were in attendance that grit and perseverance can, and will, take down the elite youth hockey organizations of Northern California.

The young Grizzlies are a team with tremendous skill and cohesion, but more important, a group that has demonstrated over and over that determination and the ability to try harder when the chips are down is what makes champions, and this mantra would again serve the team well. With preliminary round wins over the Roseville Capital Thunder and the Santa Clara Blackhawks, the Grizzlies battled their way into the championship final to play the San Jose Jr. Sharks.

In the championship game the Grizzlies took the early lead on a goal by Lucas Demsar of South Lake Tahoe. But the Jr. Sharks quickly countered.

Forward Zach Dill of South Lake Tahoe scored late in the first period to put the Grizzlies up 2-1, but again the Jr. Sharks countered to tie the game 2-2.

With 4 seconds to go in the second period, forward Mickey Sullivan of South Lake Tahoe broke away and beat the Jr. Shark’s goaltender with a hard shot to the high corner sending the Grizzlies into the third period on top 3-2. That lead, however, would quickly fade as the Jr. Sharks not only tied the game, but went ahead 4-3.

The stellar play of the Grizzlies defense Max Mueller, Leah Marino, Nathan Moffat, and Axel Sorensen, and the amazing goaltending of Nick Ilvento, all of South Lake Tahoe, and the relentless back checking of Wesley Steinkopff of Tahoe City and Nick Cruz of Incline Village and Tucker Cannon and Jaxon Kennedy, also of South Lake Tahoe, held the Jr. Sharks to just a one goal lead through intense pressure low in the Grizzlies zone.

Down but not out, the Grizzlies coaching staff pulled the goaltender with 53 seconds left in the game, and placed an extra forward on the ice. This strategy flustered the Jr. Sharks, and pressure by Grizzlies’ forward Cameron Johnson of South Lake Tahoe produced a critical turnover. Mickey Sullivan took advantage of the turnover, scooped up the loose puck, broke in on the Jr. Sharks goaltender to tie the game with 20 seconds left to force sudden death overtime.

The Grizzlies, now given a second chance at the title, were absolutely recharged. With 10:47 remaining in the first overtime, Tahoe won a critical face off in the Jr. Sharks zone, pressed the puck back to winger Kevin Lehmann of South Lake Tahoe who resisted the onslaught of two Sharks attackers. Lehmann then completed his pass to open defenseman Axel Sorensen. Sorensen, high in the zone, moved right, took two strides, and drilled a shot through several players beating the Jr. Sharks goaltender.

In the blink of an eye, the Grizzlies became the NorCal Champions and absolute pandemonium ensued as the players, fans, and coaches erupted into celebration. In doing so, the Grizzlies became the first ice hockey team in Tahoe’s history to win the North Division.

The championship win places the Grizzlies as the No. 1 ranked seed for the California State Championships to be in San Jose the weekend of April 8-10 where the Grizzlies will face the tough SoCal teams, No. 2 ranked Bakersfield Dragons, No. 3 ranked Valencia Express, and compete again against the No. 4 ranked San Jose Jr. Sharks.

The Grizzlies are coached by Head Coach Stephen Rooney and assistant coaches Jim Marino, Bailey Johnson and Scott Vogelgesang.

The Tahoe Grizzlies Pee Wees (ages 11-12) also competed in the NorCal playoffs over the past weekend. They tied their first game on Saturday 2-2 against the San Jose Jr. Shark Pee Wees. Later in the afternoon they lost to the Vacaville Jets. Getting into the final championship game was all up to the result in the Sunday morning game against the Fresno Falcons. Unfortunately, the Pee Wee Grizzlies lost 6-2 in a hard fought battle and their season was over.

Ted Parkhill works for the South Tahoe Amateur Hockey Association.