By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee

In the strongest possible terms, Nancy Garrido’s attorney is arguing against release of grand jury transcripts involving the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard, saying they contain such “evil” that his client could never get a fair trial if they are made public.

Stephen Tapson, arguing against an effort by The Bee and other media organizations to force release of documents that have been sealed in the case, filed papers in El Dorado Superior Court saying he and Nancy Garrido oppose the release of any sealed documents.

The issue is scheduled to be argued in a court hearing in Placerville on Thursday, and Tapson left no doubts in his court declaration that the case against Nancy and Phillip Garrido could be severely damaged by release of transcripts from a grand jury session held in secret in September.

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Dear Publisher,

The public comment period for the Upper Truckee River Restoration/Golf Course Reconfiguration Project has been extended to Nov. 15. Please visit washoemeadowscommunity.org for a community perspective on the issue. I am opposed to Alternative 2, which is being “pushed” as the preferred alternative by the State Parks, TRPA and other involved agencies.

I will hereby describe my opposition to Alternative 2. Please stand in the middle of Washoe Meadow, which is the site of the proposed nine holes of the expanded golf course. Slowly circle around, in order to take in the 360-degree view. Now, please close your eyes and stand in silence for three minutes. You may be astonished by the profundity of what you just experienced. The variation of wildlife sounds, the magnificence of this special spot.

Washoe Meadow was deemed a state park in 1984 in a matter of “highest priority”. The properties and reasons for that designation have not diminished. In fact, since the 2007 Angora Fire, it is even more precious to wildlife and human visitor alike.

There are alternatives for restoring the Upper Truckee River, without expanding the footprint of the golf course, and moving nine holes into this unique and sensitive area.

I ask the State Parks and coordinating agencies to think with intelligence, as stewards of our precious environment, and with a respect for community input. Let’s wait for the new environmental impact report, and perhaps together we can then create a viable new alternative.

Please.

Sincerely,

Hillary Dembroff, South Lake Tahoe

OK Go at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on Jan. 8 at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $29.50. Must be 21. General admission seating.

For more South Shore Room information, show times, ticket prices and reservations, call 800.786.8208.

M.C. Hammer at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on Jan. 7 at 8pm.

Tickets are $40.

For more South Shore Room information, show times, ticket prices and reservations, call 800.786.8208.

Nathan Owens Motown After Dark at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in Stateline.

Tickets are $25.

For more South Shore Room information, show times, ticket prices and reservations, call 800.786.8208.

Manny Pacquiao & Band Live will be at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on Nov. 16 at 7:30pm.

Tickest are $25 and $50.

For more South Shore Room information, show times, ticket prices and reservations, call 800.786.8208.

Jenny Alustiza, a 2008 graduate of the Lake Tahoe Community College Fire Academy, has been hired on with the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District after graduating from their academy last month.

Alustiza had to go through the Tahoe Douglas Fire Academy to obtain the Nevada certifications the college doesn’t offer. She is the first woman to graduate from that academy. She will also be the only female firefighter for the department, though not the only one ever hired.

Jenny Alustiza practices ventilation training during the Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy. Photo/Leona Allen

“I am so proud of Jenny and her accomplishment. This is our first full-time hire from Tahoe Douglas – a collaborating academy agency – and Jenny represents the strength of our program very well,” said Leona Allen, with the LTCC academy.

— Kathryn Reed

El Dorado County has added two community flu shot clinics in South Lake Tahoe.

The vaccine will be offered free of charge to children age 6 months through 18 years of age, and Medicare Part B will be billed for people age 65 and older. There is an administration fee of $15 for people age 19 through 64, but no one will be turned away due to inability to pay. The flu shot and nasal flu mist will be available. Flu mist is recommended for healthy people ages 2 to 49.

Upcoming Community Flu Shot clinics in Tahoe include:

* Nov. 17 from 9am-noon at the Senior Center located at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe.

* Dec. 1 from 9am-noon at the Senior Center located at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe.

In addition to the seasonal flu vaccine, the whooping cough booster vaccine (Tdap) for adolescents and adults, as well as the pneumococcal vaccine will be available at the clinics. Tdap vaccine (which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) will be a required vaccine for school children in grades seven and up beginning next July.

For questions about the flu clinics in Tahoe, call (530) 573.3155.

People who are severely allergic to eggs or egg products, and infants younger than 6 months of age should not get the flu vaccine. Individuals should check with their healthcare provider if they are unsure whether they should receive influenza or other vaccines.

Nineteen area organizations will share $102,377 at this month’s Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board meeting from Livestrong through the American Century Championship golf tournament.

For the fifth consecutive year the official tournament charity at the celebrity tourney was Livestrong, the foundation established by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong to inspire and empower people affected by the disease. The first $15,000 was distributed earlier to Barton Memorial Hospital for mammogram screening and the Cancer League.

The $87,377 balance will be distributed to 17 other organizations. Receiving $10,000 each are Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation, South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center, Boys & Girls Club Teen Enterprise program, and Tahoe Youth & Family Services.

Recipients of $4,000 to $5,000 include Christmas Cheer, Back Door Pantry, Douglas County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue, Bringing Arts to School, Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center, and Tahoe Arts Project.

Accepting contributions of $2,500 to $4,000 are Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe, South Tahoe High School Performing Arts Booster Association, Whittell Boosters Club, Kahle Community Center, South Lake Tahoe Police Activities League, and Zephyr Cove Elementary School PTC.

By Steve Kubby

Although I was an early and loyal supporter of Control & Tax Cannabis 2010, which qualified for the California ballot as Prop. 19, I continued to forecast defeat for the initiative, based upon polling numbers.

Despite plenty of theories on why polling was wrong or didn’t matter, it mattered. The fact is that Prop. 19 never polled high enough to indicate a clear shot at victory. Of course, whenever I pointed out the polling problems, I was roundly criticized for being “negative”. Hopefully, if and when we get another shot at doing an initiative, polling will be given more weight than this time around.

One huge strike against Prop. 19 was attempting to pass a marijuana initiative during a mid-term election, when we already knew the demographics are much better for us during a presidential election. Everyone wanted to wait until 2012, especially the funders. Launching this year was foolhardy and premature, but the Prop. 19 crew held to their belief that hordes of young people would flood the election and save the day. Unfortunately, that cargo cult mentality failed to yield any significant results at the ballot box.

Another problem with Prop. 19 is that it was too conservative with too many weasel words. We expunged all the weasel words from Prop. 215, California’s historic medical marijuana initiative, and I wish the same had been done before Prop. 19 qualified for the ballot.

One of the worst and most damaging aspects of the Control & Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative was that it almost seemed like certain sections had been written by the cops. Pandering to law enforcement , as it clearly did, was not any help in getting votes and seriously damaged support by our own side. The history of marijuana initiatives has repeatedly shown that boldly worded initiatives like Prop. 215, do better than watered-down initiatives like 19.

I also question the wisdom of taxing marijuana. Yes, I know, lots of folks think it will make us safer to pay taxes, but I’ve yet to see that to be the case. We didn’t need taxes to sell voters on supporting Prop. 215, why do we need it now? Frankly, any taxation of cannabis will invite the same fishing expeditions that the police already conduct based upon plant numbers. I certainly hope the next initiative will focus on real legalization and not peddling a watered down version of decriminalization with a sin tax, like we saw with Prop. 19.

One of the first things we did with the Prop. 215 campaign was appoint a full time coordinator for activists. I personally nominated Chris Conrad and Mike Norris for the job. However, when I suggested the same to Lee, he dismissed the idea. I told him at the time he was making a mistake, but Rich didn’t see it that way. That one error was indeed a very serious mistake, because it led to the formation of a No on 19 group of activists who caused as much harm as the narcs and regular foes of legalization.

Despite the problems, Richard Lee and his crew still deserve a big round of applause for a brilliant campaign that caught the attention of the whole world. The entire Prop. 19 crew can be proud of their historic and valuable effort.

Steve Kubby of South Lake Tahoe helped write Proposition 215.