By Kathryn Reed

Boats already aren’t able to get in and of Lake Tahoe marinas and with only a little runoff expected to come down from higher elevations in the next couple months, the situation is only going to get worse as summer rolls into fall.

The Tahoe Queen paddle-wheeler can no longer get in and out of its home port at Ski Run Marina.

“There are plans to dredge if the drought continues. It is being done directly by Aramark,” Mansoor Alyeshmerni, owner of Ski Run Marina, told Lake Tahoe News.

Steve Pascal had to remove his boat this winter from the Tahoe Keys Marina because he can’t get out to the lake. Photo/Provided

Aramark’s habit of not returning calls continues. No permit has been sought by Aramark to dredge, according to Lahontan officials.

Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board has permitted a maintenance dredging project that has already started at the North Tahoe Marina.

“I’ve heard from a representative of Tahoe City Marina they may wish to dredge this summer. We are talking about maintenance dredging. That is to dredge to the area that has previously been dredged,” Alan Miller with Lahontan told Lake Tahoe News.

The agency is also in the process of permitting a maintenance dredging operation for Tahoe City Public Utility District.

Miller said now is the typical time to dredge so marinas avoid the busy summer season when boats want access. It takes about 30 to 60 days to get a permit.

“They can (dredge) anytime unless there’s a habitat issue,” Miller said.

Steve Pascal had to remove his 56-foot-long boat last month from the Tahoe Keys Marina because he could no longer get out of the channel into the lake. He hasn’t been able to do so since September.

The lake level was at 6,225 feet then. The natural rim of Lake Tahoe is 6,223 feet. The water level is about 1 foot above that now.

“My boat draws 4.5 feet and I was unable to get out. The water level in the channel now is about 3 feet,” Pascal told Lake Tahoe News. “The majority of boats in Lake Tahoe need more than 3 feet underneath them to get out of the channel.”

He said the Keys is the only marina that can house his vessel and is the only one where he can remove it. Francesca, named after his grandmother, is now in San Diego.

What irks Pascal is that part of his slip fee was a surcharge for dredging maintenance. He’s had large boats at the marina since 1993. In those 21 years he said he’s spent $240,000 on slip fees, maintenance dredging fee, and water quality fees.

Pascal said he’s talked to Robert Spinnato, general manger of the marina, about dredging, but nothing ever happened.

Spinnato did not return multiple phone calls.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Feb. 23, 2014, Sacramento Bee.

California State Parks has been under new leadership for more than a year, after the “hidden funds” scandal shredded its public standing.

Parks Forward, a commission established by the Legislature to make recommendations for an overhaul, will come out with a report in April.

With so much turmoil and turnover in the agency in the last few years, the question now is how long it will take to rebuild the department so that we have a California state parks system focused on public enjoyment and preservation of the state’s natural resources and history. Parks Forward already has pointed out that, even under new leadership, many financial problems remain. Financial information still is difficult to obtain, is not consistent across divisions and doesn’t match with the governor’s budget. Budget gimmickry continues, such as holding positions vacant and using the money to fund operations.

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By Lauren Caselli, NPR

An ACL tear is an athlete’s worst nightmare. One of the knee’s main stabilizers, the ACL keeps you upright when you plant and pivot. Reconstructive surgery and months of recovery often follow ACL tears.

Yet a study suggests that surgery isn’t required for almost 25 percent of first-time, skiing-induced ACL injuries.

The reason might have something to do with skiing, says Steven B. Singleton, M.D., FACS, founding partner of the Steadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas. Because many recreational skiers injure themselves at lower speeds, the force of the energy transfer through the knee often leads only to partial ACL tears, which can sometimes heal on their own. Beyond the force of impact, the fixed position of the ankle and foot within the ski boot might help minimize tears, says the study’s co-author, Dr. Demetris Delos.

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Alpenglow Sports’ fifth installment of the 2013-14 Winter Film Series is with world-famous female rock climber and North Face athlete Emily Harrington.

On March 13 at 7pm Harrington will share her tale Big Wall Climbing in Morocco at Squaw Valley’s Olympic Village Lodge.

Harrington is a professional rock climber and adventurer who has been a prominent and leading figure in the climbing community since she was a teenager. She is perhaps best known for her five-time National Championships, two-time North American Championships, and numerous podiums in World Cups.

However, her true passion lies with outdoor climbing and exploring the mountains. She’s excelled at nearly every aspect of the incredibly specialized disciplines of climbing. She’s reached the most elite levels in the gymnastic and physical discipline of sport climbing, free climbed 2500 foot big walls in remote corners of the world, won ice climbing competitions, and summited the world’s tallest peaks in the Himalaya (including Mount Everest in 2012).

While Harrington is known for climbing some of the hardest rock routes in the world and winning sport climbing competitions, she’s always been driven to reach for the next great challenge. Last year, after her successful summit of Mt. Everest, Harrington was off to Morocco’s harsh Atlas Mountains to take on a legendary, 3,000-foot big wall – all part of her quest for endless adventure. On Thursday, 3.13 Harrington will share her story with the Tahoe community.

The show is free. The show begins at 7pm.

For more info, call (530) 583.6917.

By Betsy McKay and Valerie Bauerlein, Wall Street Journal

The overuse of antibiotics in U.S. hospitals is putting patients at risk and helping to fuel the creation of deadly superbugs, according to a government report released Tuesday.

Prescribing practices vary widely, with doctors in some hospitals providing three times as many antibiotics for patients as physicians in other facilities treating similar types of patients, concluded the report, produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC analyzed prescribing practices at 323 hospitals in 2010 and 11,282 patients at 183 hospitals in 2011. About 36 percent of patients studied were given the powerful antibiotic vancomycin without testing or for too long, the report found.

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By Latoya Dennis, NPR

What’s in a name? It’s an age-old question Juliet once asked Romeo in Shakespeare’s famed play.

Today, it’s a serious question between the U.S. and the European Union, which has said it wants U.S. food makers to stop using European names.

But depending on what food you’re talking about, a name could be a lot, says Kyle Cherek, the producer and host of a TV show called Wisconsin Foodie. Cherek argues that certain products are so unique that only one country or region should be allowed to lay claim. So, for example, he says only onions from Vidalia, Ga., should be called American Vidalia, and Lambic beer absolutely has to come from a specific valley in Belgium.

But not everything fits into that category. Take, for instance, cheddar cheese — which is big business in Wisconsin.

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By Mike TeSelel, KCRA-TV

Five days after being rescued by Lake Tahoe’s Wildlife Care center, a great horned owl is still unable to fly and unable to use its legs.

“We’re not sure why,” said Tom Millham of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. “We have a thought it could have been a poisoning.”

Millham said he has seen similar symptoms in other birds in the past. Based on those cases, he suspects this owl may have eaten a rat or mouse that had ingested rat poison.

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Unity at the Lake will celebrate the spring equinox March 21 celebration with the film “10 Questions for the Dalai Lama”.

From 6-7pm is kirtan, a call and response chanting accompanied by walking labyrinth meditation. The film starts at 7:15pm.

This documentary blends an interview with the Dalai Lama with a look back at the spiritual leader’s history and an exploration of the small city of Dharamsala where he was exiled more than 50 years ago.

Donations are accepted.

Unity at the Lake is located at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

By USSA

ARE, Sweden — Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail) finished 15th Thursday to lead the U.S. Ski Team in the first of two Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom races in Are.

Austrian Anna Fenninger took the win for her second straight World Cup giant slalom victory, moving her firmly into the chase for overall and giant slalom titles. Fenninger now trails Germany Maria Hoefl-Riesch by a 67 points in the overall chase and Swede Jessica Lindell-Vikarby by 54 points in giant slalom.

A second giant slalom will be staged Friday under the lights in Are with a slalom closing the three race series on Saturday.

Shiffrin finished 13th in the opening run after sliding low on a right boot turn that forced her to ski uphill to stay on course. She skied cleanly in the final, but wasn’t able to make up ground in the soft snow conditions.

Sochi super combined bronze medalist Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley) was 28th and fellow Olympian Megan McJames (Park City) did not qualify for the second run.

By Monte Morin, Los Angeles Times

Apparently casinos are good for losing more than just cash.

A study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that adding slot machines to California casinos was linked to a modest reduction in obesity rates for Native American children. Specifically, researchers found that for every one-armed bandit added per child, there was a corresponding 0.19 percent reduction in obesity risk.

Study authors based their conclusions on an examination of 117 California school districts that encompass tribal lands.

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