More people are expressing interest in the South Lake Tahoe City Council race.

Joy Curry, Steve Kubby, Adrian Gooch, Elizabeth Hallen and Doug Cichowicz have taken out papers.

They join Tom Davis, Angela Swanson, Georg May and Claire Fortier.

None of them has turned in their papers.

Documents must be turned in by Aug. 6. If an incumbent does not run, that deadline is extended to Aug. 11.

Councilman Jerry Birdwell hasn’t made his decision public. Councilmembers Kathay Lovell and Bill Crawford are not seeking another term.

The lone candidate to qualify for the Nov. 2 election is David Olivio, who is running for treasurer.

People  entering the old Meyers Landfill site are being cited. The fine is $175.

This area off Pioneer Trail in El Dorado County was closed to the public earlier this summer so a cap could be put on the toxic site.

“We issued a citation on July 26 at noon to a nearby resident [Hekpa Drive] for violating the closure. They entered the area on bikes, and were approached by one of our staff who pointed out to them that they just passed about seven closure signs and asked them to turn around and leave the area,” U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Cheva Heck said. “One rode on, the second turned around. Our staffer called our law enforcement, who responded, caught up with the one who had turned back and issued a citation. ”

The area is closed from Garbage Dump Road to Saxon Creek through the end of the year. The main landfill site and the surrounding area will remain closed for a few years to allow vegetation to re-establish.

“We are asking that people respect the closure. We don’t want to write tickets, but we will, in the interest of safety and allowing the cap construction to proceed smoothly,” Heck said.

For more information on the Meyers Landfill site, including a map of the closure, the Record of Decision and the Remedial Design, click here.

— Compiled by Kathryn Reed

After learning a distant cousin whom he’d never met had been convicted of murder and then meeting Ray Krone on Death Row, Jim Rix began investigating the case. Rix’s diligence eventually led to his cousin’s freedom.

It wasn’t easy. It took 10 years, two trials and an eye-opening odyssey through the criminal justice system that led Rix to conclude that the only way to get his cousin out of prison was to find the real Snaggletooth Killer.

The legal adventure has been put to words in the book “Jingle Jangle: The Perfect Crime Turned Inside Out”.

Rix will be at the Carson City Costco July 31-Aug. 1 from noon-4pm signing his book.

By Reno Gazette-Journal

The 1,369-acre Constantia Complex of fires is 100 percent contained, authorities said this morning.

The fire northwest of Reno and about 5 miles south of Doyle, Calif., started Saturday night, now has a line all the way around it with vegetation removed to prevent its spread.

Even though the fire is not burning, crews will continue to work on the lines cut by hand and with bulldozers and using firebreaks to make sure the flames do not spread.

Read the whole story

Click here for info on the Southern California fires.

On Aug. 21 from 10am to 3pm the South Lake Tahoe Branch Library will be having a book sale to support the Friends of the Library Free Children’s Programs. Many hardcover and paperback books will be available at deep discounts.

DVDs, VHS and books on tape will also be available.

The South Lake Tahoe Branch Library is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10am to 8pm, and Thursday through Saturday 10am to 5pm. For more information on library services, call (530) 573.3185 during regular business hours.

Who: South Lake Tahoe Friends of the Library

What: Booksale

When: Aug. 21s, 10am-3pm,

Where: South Lake Tahoe Branch Library

Conference Room (1000 Rufus Allen Blvd

Telephone: (530) 573.3185

By JJ Hensley, Arizona Republic

Sgt. John Rodriguez cut an imposing figure when he was introduced at the Republican committee meeting in the winter of 2008.

The decorated Marine and aspiring precinct committeeman came to the event in his green service uniform with some of the military branch’s highest honors clearly visible, including the Navy Cross.

John Rodriguez

That was the first thing that caught Dan Ryan’s eye.

“My first reaction was, this guy’s a stud,” Ryan said. “Then I looked a little more and thought, something’s going on here. I’m very, very sensitive about the Navy Cross. I happen to have written one of the citations for the Marine who was killed right next to me in 1967 in Vietnam in a firefight.”

Ryan’s hunch led the former FBI agent to do some digging of his own and ultimately put him in touch with investigators at the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Read the whole story

By Susan Voyles, Reno Gazette-Journal

With the first comprehensive area regional bicycle and pedestrian plan kicking into gear, residents are wanted to help identify the top bike lane projects in the Reno-Sparks area to be built over the next 20 years.

At Thursday’s Sparks Hometowne Farmer’s Market, residents can draw lines on maps to show the projects they favor for the plan.

Residents also will be asked to fill out written comment cards, so support of the various projects can be tallied.

The projects are expected to range from finding critical missing links of bike lanes for bike commuters, as well as re-striping projects that can be done when streets are repaved or rebuilt.

For example, new bike lanes have been built on Victorian Avenue, from Pyramid Way to McCarran Boulevard in Sparks, said Katy Cole, an engineer with Fehr & Peers, which was awarded a $250,000 contract to prepare the master bike/pedestrian plan.

But she said there remains a big hurdle in finding a safe way to get bicyclists across McCarran and over to the Sparks Marina.

Read the whole story

Las Vegas real estate executive Donna Ruthe has resigned as a member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board to be on the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners starting next month. She will take the seat of Rene West, who resigned from the board effective Aug. 15.

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons appointed Robin Reedy to the TRPA. Reedy presently serves as the governor’s chief of staff and is a resident of Douglas County.

Todd Borg, Lake Tahoe’s award winning mystery writer, is on the book signing circuit.

His latest thriller – “Tahoe Heat” – will be in bookstores starting in August.

The series of books follow the exploits of Detective Owen McKenna. No need to read them in order to know what is going on. For people who know Tahoe, many places mentioned in the books will be familiar.

For more information about Borg and his books, click here.

Here is Borg’s book signing schedule:

South Lake Tahoe

July 30 4-7pm: Signing at Artifacts, 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (in the Raley’s Village Center near Stateline) (530) 543.0728

Aug. 4 6pm: Talk and signing at the South Lake Tahoe/El Dorado Public Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd. (530) 573.3185 (Signing at 6pm, talk at 7pm)

Aug. 5 5-7pm: Signing at Lake Tahoe Master Framing, 3440 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (530) 541.8438

Aug. 14 9-11am: Signing at The Red Hut on Ski Run Boulevard.

Tahoe City

Aug. 7 3-5pm: Signing at Bookshelf at the Boatworks Mall. (530) 581.1900

Reno

July 31 11am: Talk and signing at Sundance Bookstore, 1155 W. Fourth St. (775) 786.1188

Aug. 1, 11am: Signing at Borders, Reno, 4995 S. Virginia St. (775) 448.9999

Carson Valley

Aug. 1, 3p: Talk and signing at Eddy Street Books, 1225 Eddy St., Gardnerville. (775) 782.5484

Aug. 7, 11am-1pm: Signing at Borders Carson City, 911 Topsy Lane. (775) 267.0755

Sacramento

Aug. 21 3:30pm: Signing at Book Lovers Bookstore, Madison and Manzanita streets. (916) 332.3133

Placerville

Aug. 14 3pm: Talk and signing at El Dorado Arts Council, 459 Main St. (530) 295.3496

Grass Valley

Aug. 21 11am: Talk and signing, at The Book Seller Bookstore, 107 Mill St. (530) 272.2131

• Living History Day at Sugar Pine Point State Park on the West Shore is July 31 from 10am-4pm, with Ehrman Mansion open house, historical speakers, vintage car display, artists in residence and live music.

•  Kelly Ridge housing area in South Lake Tahoe has made the cover of Tax Credit Advisor magazine. Disabled advocate David Kelly, who the complex is named after, said, “It’s like receiving an Academy Award.”

• On Aug. 4 at 10am will be a groundbreaking ceremony for Lakeview Commons at El Dorado Beach in South Lake Tahoe.

• The Incline Village Tennis Center hosts a professional exhibition match July 31 at 11am between Jan-Michael Gambill (formerly No. 14 in the world) and Robert Kendrick (currently No. 153 in the world). Cost is $5/adults and kids are free.

• Vic Payne’s bronze sculpture “Where Eagles Dare” will be unveiled in its permanent home at Ski Run Marina in South Lake Tahoe on Aug. 25 at 5pm.

• A plaque honoring Scott Rogers, a South Lake Tahoe employee and avid sportsman who died earlier year, will soon be put at the city’s Park and Recreation complex.

• Do It Center in South Lake Tahoe expects to open in August.

• The Tahoe Art League Artist Studio Tour is July 30-Aug. 1 and Aug. 6-8 from 10am-5pm at 13 locations throughout the South Shore. For tour maps, call (530) 541.5458. The event is free.