June Towill Brown will unveil her new Series of Three bronze sculpture collection entitled “Gentle Giants” at a free public showing and live sculpting event at the Pacific Crest Gallery July 24-25 in South Lake Tahoe.

Well-known for her hallmark series work, Brown’s most recent collection was created to honor the mystical and magical Gypsy stallion horses and includes the limited edition sculptures entitled “Gypsy Dancer, Gypsy Spirit and Gypsy Fire.”

During this weekend event, Brown of J.T. Brown Sculptures will be will be sculpting her next Series of Three that will portray Gypsy mares with their foals. Pacific Crest Gallery is located at 1001 Heavenly Village Way, Ste. 21.

For more information, call (530) 541.2523.

This past month, Brown attended the Women Artists of the West 40th Annual Celebration where Brown’s sculpture “Gypsy Fire” was chosen as a Finalist during the event’s Juried Show at the legendary Olaf Wieghorst Museum in El Cajon.

The Limited Edition bronze was displayed during this six-week thematic event honoring some of the west finest women artists. In December of 2008, Brown was juried into Women Artists of the West from among many accomplished women artists in the United States.

JT Brown Sculptures is based in Incline Village. For complete information, visit www.jtbrownsculptures.com or call (775) 831.1313.

By Kathryn Reed

Long before the white man called Lake Tahoe home, Washoe Indians lived here in spring and summer, while calling Gardnerville home as the temperatures dropped.

Some tribal members were born on the shores of Lake Tahoe 85 years ago. Today, many Washoe live at the lake and in the valley year-round.

Now in its 20th year, the Washoe people celebrate their culture at Valhalla near Camp Richardson with a type of living history. The event showcases tribal living, the past and the present.

Wa She Shu It De is free from 10am-5pm, July 24-25. It will include basket making, traditional singing, dancers, drums, flutists, food and games.

“The festival is to educate the general public that indigenous people are still here,” said Wanda Bachelor of the Washoe Tribe. “The Washoe Tribe is still strong. We have been around for thousands of years. We are trying to preserve and protect who we are.”

At the festival, pictures should only be taken if permission is granted by the tribal member.

For a complete summer festival line up, click here or call (530) 541.4975.

Publisher’s note: This letter was read to the California Tahoe Conservancy board on July 15 by the writer. Lake Tahoe News asked for a copy from the writer, which arrived this week and is printed below.

Dear Tahoe Conservancy,

My name is Amber. I was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe and am currently a full-time resident. I am writing because I am very, very concerned about the integrity and professionalism of the Meyers fire protection district.

I have been witnessing it firsthand in the Apache neighborhood. I see harvesting of very big healthy trees going on. Little spindly unhealthy trees are being left, along with big road-like cuts causing erosion through places our wildlife once found refuge. Now it is covered with huge piles of slash, which is more of a fire danger. Some of the trees are left with unhealthy scars and breakage.

My understanding of fire thinning is the cutting of small, dead, or diseased trees, removing the dead underbranches, and the removal of dried underbrush, pine needles and pinecones. This is not what is going on. Honestly, I smell greed as I see logging trucks pulling out with big healthy trees. I am very worried corruption is tainting the need and importance of the Conservancy and Forest Service.

Regulation and respect have gone out the window. I have heard sawing for long periods of time with huge crashes indicating large trees, followed by hooting and hollering by the men. This is very offensive and very, very unprofessional. This morning [July 15] in my neighbor’s yard – who is currently out of town – there is a huge long stump left along with a big mess. This tree was on private property and of no apparent fie danger. This butchering and unskilled cutting can lead to more diseased trees in the future when insects begin to make these unsightly stumps their home, creating an even bigger fire danger.

I have spoken with many of the neighbors and they, too, are very concerned. We feel helpless and this is why we are turning to you for help. There are not very many old trees left in the Tahoe basin. We lost so many during the fire … it is a deep shame to now cut so many more in the disguise of fire fear when it’s obvious someone is benefitting from the lumber.

Tahoe is a place where residents and tourists from all over the world come to enjoy the serenity and purity of our forests and lakes. Please do something to help protect our old trees before it’s too late. Thinning is not harvesting big trees for profit. Please send out trained foresters to assess and regulate the situation, ones who are respectful of the health of the forest, wildlife, and residents. Not these untrained disrespectful loggers. There is terrible harm being done to our forest. We again are turning to you for help as people of Tahoe, along with the trees, and wildlife who can’t speak out or protect themselves.

Thank you for you time and attention.

Sincerely,

Amber LaPointe, Meyers

By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg, Sacramento Bee

Barbara Chaccour’s teenage daughter needed a dermatologist, so Chaccour picked one from a glossy magazine ad.

Months later, the Sacramento businesswoman was shocked to learn that her daughter’s doctor had been convicted and fined for using research drugs instead of Botox, and that his medical license was on probation.

“If I’m going to a doctor, I want to know he has a clean record,” she said. From now on, “I definitely would be more careful.”

Read the whole story

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is seeking comment on a proposal to use a combination of manual and chemical treatments to control, contain, and/or eradicate Terrestrial Non-native Invasive Plant Species throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

The LTBMU has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in order to evaluate the treatment of known infestations found in 493 locations around the basin. The alternatives include chemical treatment for up to 100 infested acres annually and as many acres as feasible for mechanical, manual, or thermal treatments over the next 10 years.

Non-native invasive plant species reduce the amount and quality of fish and wildlife habitat, increase erosion, and impair recreational access. Invasive plants can spread rapidly, especially where there are soil-disturbing activities, because their populations are not controlled by plant-eating wildlife, pathogens and competitors present in their native habitat.

A detailed description of the project including the EA and map is available for review at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe and online at http://fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/InvasivePlantTreatment. Written, facsimile, hand-delivered, oral, and electronic comments concerning this action will be accepted until mid-August.

For further information, contact Cheryl Beyer at (530) 543.2842 or by email cbeyer@fs.fed.us.

By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee

Rarely does a humble county road become a legend.

That, however, is the status of the El Dorado County route known as the Rubicon Trail.

Though it is more a collection of granite obstacles than a road as that word is generally understood, the Rubicon is a mecca for those who drive off-highway vehicles.

“We get people from all over the world,” said Vickie Sanders, who coordinates Rubicon programs for the county.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

An opportunity to buy the largest remaining parcel of private property along the Upper Truckee River may cause planners to change gears when it comes to the Meyers to Stateline bike path.

The approximately 212 acres known at the Johnson Meadow (in the ranching world a parcel is named after the previous owner not the current one) could be acquired by the California Tahoe Conservancy. It wasn’t until just recently that the landowner indicated a willingness to sell.

“There’s no agreed upon price. We’ve just started talking,” Bruce Eisner, with the CTC, said. But he said it would be in the millions.

Bill Mosher talks about his family's land. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Bill Mosher, whose family owns the land by the river east of the Lake Tahoe Airport to about Grocery Outlet, has fond memories of his family running cattle on the land for decades.

Standing along the river by the airport, Mosher points to the undeveloped land on the other side. Those 125 acres known as the Lyons Ranch East were sold to the Conservancy in spring 2008 for $6.2 million. The Lyons owned it in the 1800s. The Barton-Ledbetter-Mosher clan had it for more than 100 years.

Now the Mosher family is in negotiations with the CTC to sell another stretch of land. Finding the money puts a big asterisk on the reality of an acquisition ever occurring. Still, if the deal is consummated, it may mean altering the Conservancy’s plans for the 9.6-mile South Tahoe Greenway bike trail.

The much talked about path that at one time had been slated to break ground this summer, originally called for going through the Mosher property that is now being negotiated. This route would bring the trail closer to Highway 50.

In 2006, though, the Moshers would not consider selling.

That sent CTC officials back to the drawing board to scope out a different route. That route has the trail close to Pioneer Trail. The administrative draft Environmental Impact Report for the project has the Pioneer linkage in it.

“The potential for public acquisition on this property brings forward a lot of questions for phase three,” Sue Rae Irelan, who has led the charge on the project, told the CTC board last week.

In order to move forward with the project, the Conservancy wants to build phases one and two while the land issue involving phase three gets worked out.

The first two phases are the eastern portion of the trail, with the latter being the Meyers section.

It will be a Class I trail, meaning the path is separated from vehicles and will accommodate various uses. In most places it will be 10-feet wide, with a grade no steeper than 5 percent. This allows access for wheelchairs and easy passing by cyclists or hikers of people pushing strollers.

Snow removal in the winter is not likely. The trail could be used by cross country skiers or snowshoers.

Irelan said the plan is to have environmental documents ready for public review in early 2011. Construction could begin in 2012. Each phase is likely to take more than one building season.

Hyatt Regency in Incline Village is having is inaugural Wine on the Water festival Aug. 29 from 1-5pm.

Featuring 20 wineries and a dozen local restaurants, the event will include exclusive tastings of some of the region’s best food and wine, live music, and a noteworthy silent auction. Set against a backdrop on the Cottage Green beside Hyatt’s private beach, 100 percent of all proceeds generated from ticket sales and silent auction sales will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe.

Tickets are $65 per person in advance, $75 at the door.

For tickets or more information, call (775) 886.6889 or go to www.loneeaglegrille.com.

Fair Play Wine and Poker Run is Aug. 14 from 11am to 5:30pm.

Sample wines from five Fair Play wineries, then end the day enjoying dinner on the Grand Deck at Chateau Routon. Each winery you visit will present you with an envelope containing a playing card. At the end of the day, you will have at least five cards to create your hand. Prizes will be given for various hands.

Tickets are $89.50 plus tax. Call (530) 620.5818 for reservations.

A basic life support CPR/AED class is being offered Oct. 11 from 5:30–9pm.

Cost is $50 for this one evening class. Fee includes manual.

This course is geared for the general public and covers 30:2 CPR for adults, children and infants AED use resuscitation masks.

How to help someone choking. Upon successful completion, receive a two-year certificate.

The instructor is Duane DeClerck. Call him at (530) 906.8171 for more details or set up a class geared for dental & health professionals.

Sign up early to guarantee that the class will run.

Register at the South Lake Tahoe Parks & Recreation Complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

For more info, call (530) 542.6056 or check www.recreationintahoe.com.