By Guy Clifton, Reno Gazette-Journal

Industry leaders told Nevada policy makers the No. 1 challenge the state faces in luring high-tech business to the state is the lack of a trained and educated workforce.

Kevin Whitney of TechAmerica, an advocacy group that represents 1,200 high-tech companies across the country, said an hour-long discussion with state Legislative leaders and the governor’s office focused on issues the state faces in luring such companies to move to the state or expand existing businesses.

“Many of those issues centered around a lack of workforce development and skills acquisitions that our companies require to relocate or expand our operations, here in the state of Nevada,” Whitney said. “Oftentimes what you see is these companies come here to do a project and unfortunately have to import their workforce from other states.”

Capgemeni, a tech firm working on the Nevada Business Portal and with the state department of employment and training, found those challenges firsthand, said company executive Kevin Doyle.

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By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee

El Dorado Animal Services has euthanized 250 birds after uncovering what appeared to be a large, illegal cockfighting operation in Garden Valley, El Dorado County officials said today.

The discovery began Sunday with a traffic stop in Diamond Springs, during which sheriff’s deputies found two roosters with injuries consistent with fighting.

After finding slashing blades in the vehicle, deputies arrested Samuel Cuevas Ayala, 50, of Garden Valley and Rogelio Reyes-Higareda, 39, of Placerville on suspicion of conspiracy and possession of bird fighting equipment and a fighting game cock.

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By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee

CalPERS officials acknowledged that federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into the bribery scandal afflicting the big California pension fund.

In a report to the CalPERS board, senior staff members wrote that “federal prosecutors in California” have sought millions of pages of documents and other information from the pension fund and the Washington lawyer who has been investigating the matter.

The existence of a criminal investigation was reported last spring by the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. The report from the CalPERS staff marks the first public acknowledgment of a criminal probe.

Last spring, then-Attorney General Jerry Brown sued former board member Alfred Villalobos and former CalPERS Chief Executive Fred Buenrostro. The lawsuit said Villalobos bribed Buenrostro and two others at CalPERS in order to steer billions in pension fund investments to his Wall Street clients.

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On March 5 at 7pm, V-Day South Lake Tahoe will present a one-night only benefit reading of Eve Ensler’s award winning play “The Vagina Monologues” at the Loft at the Blue Angel Café.

Last year there were more than 5,400 V-Day benefits around the world raising funds and awareness toward ending violence against women. These events raised more than $4 million through performance of Eve Ensler’s award-winning plays including. South Lake Tahoe has again joined this global movement as part of the V-Day 2011 Campaign.

For the eighth year in a row South Lake Tahoe will present a benefit production. This year is special in that “The Vagina Monologues” are returning after a two-year break, as performances in 2009 and 2010 were readings from “A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer.”

V-Day is a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls.

The V in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.

Admission to the South Tahoe event is $15. Tickets are available at the door and the Family Resource Center on Spruce Avenue. Proceeds will benefit Family Resource Center Mother’s Support Group, South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center Emergency Services, and Tahoe Youth & Family Services Little Latinas Program.

To learn more about V-Day Tahoe call Natalie Yanish at (775) 843.7142 or e-mail natalie@realtordeb.com. To learn more about V-Day and its campaigns visit www.vday.org.

Other related invents include:

• “The Sex Show”, a jeopardy based sex education game show on Feb. 24 at 7pm at The Divided Sky in Meyers, $5 tickets at the door.

• “HONK”, a rally to raise awareness on Feb. 25 from 5-6pm at the Y in South Lake Tahoe.

• The Dress Rehearsal showing of “The Vagina Monologues” March 3 at 7pm at The Divided Sky, $5 tickets at the door.

More white stuff is on the way.

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

By Kathryn Reed

Any break in the weather is not going to last long in the greater Lake Tahoe area. This is because a winter storm warning is in effect from 10 this morning to 4am Saturday.

Tahoe Truckee Unified has canceled classes for Thursday. Schools in Washoe County School District are on a two-hour delay.

The National Weather Service on Thursday morning was forecasting the heaviest snow to arrive Friday night.

Fill up the gas can because the snowblower will get more action in the coming days. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Another 1 to 3 of snow could arrive at lake level, with upward of 4 feet above 7,000 feet.

Already on the South Shore 2 feet have fallen in the city limits of South Lake Tahoe as of Thursday morning.

The winds are not expected to be as intense as they were with the arrival of the last storm.

With a mild January and first half of February, ski resort operators are rejoicing about the white stuff.

Travel in the Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding area will remain sketchy for the next few days as road surfaces are slick. Numerous spinouts were reported by law enforcement on Wednesday. Vehicles – even trucks – were stuck in berms in the middle of Highway 50 in South Tahoe because drivers think four-wheel drive means they can go anywhere.

Click on the state icons on the home page of Lake Tahoe News to know the current road conditions.

By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

Nineteen area hotels, events centers and tourism agencies are pooling marketing resources to bring in corporate meeting planners for free in hopes of landing their business.

Dubbed “Come see. Fly free,” the campaign will provide round-trip transportation, lodging, meals and a customized site inspection to one person per company planning a convention or other business meeting.

“This program will make the very important site-selection process much easier, affordable and comprehensive for meeting planners nationwide,” said John Leinen, vice president of convention sales at the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.

The RSCVA has committed $30,000 to the program, spokesman Ben McDonald said, but he did not divulge the total pool, saying it includes “proprietary” marketing money from co-op members, some of which are private businesses.

But if the outlay for a visit results in a meeting or convention booked, he said, then the host hotel will pay back the co-op, created several years ago, for the costs incurred.

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Tahoe-Reno Co-op Members

Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority

North Lake Tahoe Resort Association

Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa

Circus Circus Reno

Eldorado Hotel-Casino

Grand Sierra Resort and Casino

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe

Harrah’s Reno

Hyatt Lake Tahoe

John Ascuaga’s Nugget

National Bowling Stadium

Peppermill Resort Casino Spa

Reno Ballroom

Reno Events Center

Reno-Sparks Convention Center

Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center

Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

Silver Legacy Resort Casino

The Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation’s Shredtacular Rail Jam event at the American Legion in South Lake Tahoe is Feb. 18 from 4:30-10pm.

Open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages, the Shredtacular will be on a feature built by Rob Giustina of On Course Events. Entry is $20 and includes a raffle ticket for a chance to win tons of prizes.

The Shredtacular Rail Jam is a fundraiser for the Heavenly Snowboard Team’s trip to USASA Nationals in Copper Mountain, Colo., in April. The team expects to send 15 athletes to compete in the national event representing South Lake Tahoe.

Registration will be at the American Legion beginning at 4:30pm and is $20. Practice begins at 5pm. Divisions include male and female, skier and snowboarder, 12 and under, 13 to 17, and 18 and over. There will also be a Money Jam open to all participants for an additional $10; winner takes half the pot.

Pundits have coined the term “she-conomy” to describe the economic gains U.S. women have made in recent years, but they still lag in saving for retirement, according to the sixth annual Retirement Survey from Wells Fargo & Company.

The survey queried middle class women from those in their mid-20s to those who are already retired and in their 60s.

Regardless of marital status, women expressed less confidence in their outlook for retirement and had saved less than men. A majority of women are unsure or unrealistic about what their annual withdrawals should be in retirement and are wary of the stock market as a place for investment gains. The survey found:

• Just 54 percent of women said they are “confident” they will have enough saved to “live the life they want” in retirement, compared to 62 percent of men. Women indicate they are less likely to have a pension (40 percent vs. 48 percent of men) or a 401(k) available to them through their employer among those employed (71 percent vs. 76 percent of men). Women are also less likely to believe Social Security will be available to them (38 percent vs. 42 percent of men) when they retire.

• Although men and women are underfunded for retirement, women have saved less than men – a median of $20,000, compared to $25,000 for men. Women also set their sights lower than men: Whether married or single, when asked how much they thought they would need to support them during retirement, women said they are aiming for a median of $200,000, whereas men predict they will need retirement savings of $400,000.

• Almost 30 percent of women between the ages of 40 and 69 are “not sure or can’t estimate” how much they will need to withdraw from their retirement savings annually while in retirement, and about 32 percent of women in their 40s and 50s estimate they will withdraw 11 percent to 30 percent or greater each year.

• Across all age groups, women are much less likely to characterize themselves as the “primary” financial decision maker than are men (35 percent vs. 55 percent of men). Among married women, 83 percent say they are the joint financial decision maker, whereas 58 percent of married men say they are a joint decision maker.

• Just 27 percent of women have confidence in the stock market as a place for investment gains for their savings, compared to 40 percent of men. If given $5,000 with the instruction that it be “put away for your retirement,”40 percent of all women say they would purchase bank CDs instead of putting the money in the market, compared to 30 percent of men.

Douglas County sheriff’s Deputy Brian Wisneski was sworn in Feb. 14 at the Douglas County office in Minden.

The appointment is a culmination of several months of testing and evaluation consisting of a written examination; physical agility test; oral interview; extensive background investigation; investigative interview; psychological evaluation; polygraph examination, and medical examination.

Wisneski will now undergo a rigorous 12-week jail training program to provide him the knowledge and skills necessary to perform his duties as a custodial officer.

Wisneski is a former Storey County deputy and served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.