By Lindsey Sine, U.S. Snowboarding

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN — The sun was shining down as local favorite Chaz Guldemond of Reno and Jamie Anderson of South Lake Tahoe put together incredible slopestyle snowboarding runs to win the Paul Mitchell Progression Session during the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain.

The competition, which featured two rails, a “dance floor” and a series of jumps, awarded a $7,500 prize purse to the winner, not to mention ample rations of Paul Mitchell products to style their hair.

The men’s competition was anyone’s game thanks to some on course spills that opened the doors to the field. Spencer Shaw of Stratton Mountain, Vt., led following the first run and held the spot throughout run two until Guldemond swooped in for the win during the last run of the competition.

Shaw whipped out a backside 9 and front 10 to take second and Brett Esser of Silverthorne, Colo., had a cab 10 and a backside 10 in his run for third.

The women’s competition was slightly less suspenseful as Anderson led out of the gate, throwing a back 3 that set her apart from the group of women competitors. Her second run was a killer victory lap, putting together another backside 3 and some huge airs.

Anderson was followed in second by Danielle Adams of Evergreen, Colo., and Jamie Madrid of Fontana for third.

Official results, Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, Mammoth Mountain, Paul Mitchell Progression Session, Slopestyle

Men

1. Chaz Guldemond, Reno, NV, 28.00

2. Spencer Shaw, Stratton Mountain, VT, 26.10

3. Brett Esser, Silverthorne, CO, 24.40

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4. Ryan Hryckiewicz, Morgan, VT, 23.50

5. Christopher Tierney, Bondville, VT, 22.10

6. Wylie Adams, Carbondale, CO, 21.00

7. Ryan Stassel, Anchorage, 24.40

8. Caden Michnal, Kalispell, MT, 19.70

9. Ian Hart, Lexington, MA, 19.50

10. Ben Ferguson, Bend, OR, 19.40

11. Colin Spencer, Lakewood, CO, 18.40

12. Seth Hill, Breckenridge, CO, 18.00

13. Jd Dennis, Bend, OR, 17.00

14. Nicholas Sibayan, Wrightwood, CA, 14.30

15. Nick Julius, Sterling, MA, 13.30

16. Benji Farrow, Mt Holly, VT, 11.90

Women

1. Jamie Anderson, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 28.00

2. Danielle Adams, Evergreen, CO, 17.20

3. Jamie Madrid, Fontana, CA, 15.70

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4. Elin Tortorice, Franconia, NH, 14.60

5. Nirvana Ortanez, La Jolla, CA, 13.80

6. Caty O’Connor, Auburn, CA, 12.40

7. Ty Walker, Stowe, VT, 8.90

Updated March 4 7:09pm.

El Dorado County sheriff’s search and rescue volunteers located the body of the missing person approximately 250 yards north of her residence down a steep embankment.

Darlene Newman died from what appears to be hypothermia, according to authorities.

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El Dorado County Sheriff deputies are searching for a Placerville woman who went missing and is considered to be at risk due to health conditions.

Darlene Marie Newman was last seen March 2 at approximately 9pm at her Placerville residence on Fall Trail Lane. Newman’s vehicle was located approximately 300 yards from her residence on the shoulder of the road and wedged against a rock.

Darlene Newman

It appears she was driving the vehicle down the driveway veered off the road and hit into the rock, according to law enforcement. At this time it is believed Newman walked away from the vehicle and is somewhere in the immediate area.

Sheriff deputies called in Hangtown Hank, a man-trailing bloodhound, to search the area. In addition, search and rescue volunteers are assisting in the search.

Newman is described as a white female, 48, 5-feet-tall, 110 pounds, brown eyes and brown hair.

By Kathryn Reed

In an effort to close a $1.3 million deficit, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on Friday laid out a reorganization plan that eliminates eight positions and reclassifies 12 others.

“Our position is exacerbated by what I call the perfect budget storm,” TRPA Executive Director Joanne Marchetta told Lake Tahoe News.

That storm includes mounting legal bills and cuts in revenue sources.

The bi-state regulatory agency estimates spending about $1 million in outside legal counsel in the next couple years, Marchetta said.

Personnel cuts account for about $721,000 of the anticipated shortfall for fiscal year 2011-12 that begins July 1. The remaining $600,000 will partly come from reducing the impact on the current budget with those employees no longer on the payroll. As the agency works on the next budget, other spending cuts will be addressed.

TRPA’s general fund is about $7.7 million. The bulk of revenue comes from the two states, with California paying two-thirds and Nevada one-third. However, Nevada has not allocated its full share. About 13 percent of the general fund revenue comes from fees.

With building stagnant in the Lake Tahoe Basin, that income is much less than previous years. A downturn in construction is reflected in not needing as many the planners.

The court’s decision to invalidate the shorezone plan has rendered that segment of TRPA almost nonexistent.

Five of the positions being eliminated are effective March 4, with the three others being transitioned out. Gone are three planners, a quality monitoring coordinator, records technician, special projects director, shorezone coordinator and 1.5 positions from the Regional Plan update team.

TRPA is down to 68 employees – 22 less than were on board three years ago.

When it comes to the dozen positions being reclassified, some will be immediate and others will occur over time to ensure the organization functions properly and the needs of the public are adequately addressed.

“What we did was conceptually flattened the management structure and simplified it,” Marchetta said. “I approach this from two points of view and not purely from a cost-cutting side of things. We made sure whatever changes we finally settled on were done with an eye on implementing our strategic plan and strengthening those pillars in the strategic plan.”

Despite the news on March 4, TRPA has not put a freeze on vacant positions. The open finance director and public information officer jobs will be filled.

“This was one of those very difficult situations where TRPA had to act and we had to make choices and all of the choice were hard choices,” Marchetta said. “We made them with the assurance we would be strengthening the organization for the long term so we could operate and meet our mission.”

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Feb. 28, 2011, Sacramento Bee.

Water is California’s most precious resource. Yet in lean years and wet ones, California manages to mismanage this precious resource in spectacular fashion.

That is the take-home message from a monumental report released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California, titled “Managing California Water.” The 482-page report issues both a clarion call and a road map for lawmakers and water interests to move beyond conflict and toward a new era of “reconciliation.”

One clear message of the report is the need to modernize and consolidate the various institutions that govern how water is used. On the state level, decisions about water are now bifurcated between the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board.

The PPIC report, like the Little Hoover Commission before it, recommends that the water resources board be merged with sections of DWR that have nothing to do with running the State Water Project. This new state water department would enforce water rights, administer water quality laws, conduct statewide planning for water, oversee flood management and protect the public trust.

Making this department separate from the State Water Project would address the perception (and the reality) that state water contractors have inordinate influence over state water planning. Under the PPIC proposal, the State Water Project would become an independent public benefit corporation, similar to the Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power transmission.

The PPIC proposal is a good one. In buying and selling electricity and maintaining its infrastructure, the State Water Project would be more nimble and responsive if it didn’t have to deal with the state’s convoluted contracting procedures. Yet the PPIC is smart not to recommend that the state water contractors take complete control of these water works, as some of them would like to do. Contractors could sit on the board of an independent benefit corporation, but other interests would have a seat the table, too.

Read the whole story

Join Marco Molinaro in learning about the field of biophotonics.

Molinaro will present a public lecture about the science of biophotonics from 7-8pm April 13 at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences.

The event will be held in the assembly room 139-141,291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village.

Tickets cost $5 for the general public and no charge for students with valid student identification. Prior to the presentation UC Davis offers a no-host happy hour with

Biophotonics can be defined simply as the study of the interaction of light with biological material – where “light” includes all forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. In biophotonics we generate and harness these photons to image, detect and manipulate biological materials as well as detect and cure disease.

With revolutionary advances in biomedical science, the understanding of the mechanisms of human health and disease has extended into the regime of cellular and molecular structure and function.

Before you plan your next dinner party, office party, wedding, birthday or get together attend Staniford Events Open House on March 13 at 5pm at St. Theresa Church Globin Hall (inside the church), 1041 Lyons Ave., South Lake Tahoe.

For questions or more information, call Carrie Staniford at (530) 318.2995 or email stanifordevents@charter.net.

Join the Tahoe Twins baseball team for a fundraiser at the North Tahoe Event Center on March 19 from 7:30-11:30pm.

The Tahoe Twins and the North Tahoe Public Utility District’s Friends of the Park Fund will benefit with all proceeds going to make improvements at the North Tahoe Regional Park’s Ballfield 5, the home field of the Twins. Raffle tickets will be available for $1 each for six for $5 at the event. A beer garden will also be available.

Remley is a five-member band with a versatile style that mixes classic rock sounds with today’s hot rock grooves.

The Tahoe Twins are a semi-pro baseball team in the National Adult Baseball Association League. The Twins play in North Lake Tahoe and Reno. Their season runs from May-September. Approximately 18 home games will be played at the North Tahoe Regional Park this summer and there is no charge to watch the games. They are the reigning NABA World Series Champions and with a record of 52-18.

For information about the fundraiser, call (530) 546.4212.

By U.S. Ski Team

Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn of Vail secured the 10th Audi FIS Alpine World Cup title of her career Friday by holding off a surging Tina Maze of Slovenia to defend her super combined title.

Maze won the race, yet missed the title by a narrow eight points as Riesch finished third on the day and in the season long super combined standings.

Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley was sixth, Leanne Smith of Conway, N.H., ninth, Laurenne Ross of Klamath Falls, Ore., 19th and Stacey Cook 20th as all U.S. Ski Team starters finished inside the top 20.

Official results, Audi FIS Alpine World Cup,Tarvisio, Italy, Super Combined

1. Tina Maze, Slovenia, 2:13.54

2. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 2:13.72

3. Maria Riesch, Germany, 2:14.09

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6. Julia Mancuso, Squaw Valley, CA, 2:15.41

9. Leanne Smith, Conway, NH, 2:16.42

19. Laurenne Ross, Klamath Falls, OR, 2:17.20

20. Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 2:17.22

Soroptimist of International of South Lake Tahoe’s annual wine tasting at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in Stateline is Nov. 11 at 6pm.

Opening ceremonies for the 30th annual North Shore Winterfest is tonight at 6:30 at Squaw Valley with a torchlight parade, laser show and fireworks.

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