By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee
A federal grand jury in Sacramento (Thursday) indicted a South Lake Tahoe woman for wire fraud in connection with an investment fraud scheme.
According to the indictment, Lori Zoval, 45, was a licensed securities broker with a firm in Folsom and used her position of trust to steal more than $439,000 from a couple for whom she managed investments, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the July 8, 2010, Reno Gazette-Journal.
The reluctance of Hot August Nights officials to talk about the future of the 25-year-old event in the Truckee Meadows with just weeks until this year’s festivities get under way is understandable.
However, the issue no longer is whether the celebration of classic cars and rock ‘n’ roll will stay here even as it expands its horizons to South Lake Tahoe and Long Beach, Calif. It’s about honesty and the nonprofit organization’s relationships with its long-time supporters in the Reno-Sparks area and the hundreds of volunteers who have made the event a success.
A fire reported early this afternoon in the Upper Kingsbury area of Stateline has been contained.
The fire burned about one-tenth of an acre on Genoa Peak Road. This is a dirt road on National Forest land that links Kingsbury Grade and Spooner Summit.
Mark Novak, fire marshal with Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District, did not want to speculate the cause of the fire.
This weekend, Squaw Valley saddles up again for Wild Wild West Weekend with a host of Western-themed events high in the Sierra. Wild Wild West Weekend offers adults and kids the opportunity to channel their inner-cowboys at the High Camp Corral for western-style fun. Pony rides, a petting zoo, authentic western-style BBQs, and two days of live music are all part of the wild weekend July 10-11.
Both days of the Wild Wild West Weekend feature Western-style barbecuesfor lunch and dinner, pony rides, paintball shootouts and a petting zoo taking place all day at the High Camp Corral.
For more information on Wild Wild West Weekend at Squaw Valley, call (5300 583.6985 or visit www.squaw.com.
Variety of acts to take over Tahoe Tallac Site on the South Shore in July during the annual Valhalla Music and Art Festival.
The hot, spicy sounds of New Orleans comes to Valhalla on July 9 with The Bayou Boys performing at the Boathouse Theatre at 7pm. The music will transport the audience to the swamps of the Louisiana bayou with its blend of Zydeco, New Orleans Rhythm and Blues and Cajun.
Keeping it traditional is Ron Bombardier who sings in Cajun French, Creole French and English. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 ages 13-17, and 12 and under $5.
Dream Spirit
Next on the lineup at the Tallac Historic Site is the Folsom Lake College Afro-Cuban Funk Band (ACF) on July 10 at the Boathouse Theatre. The 7:30pm performance will feature the music of West-Africa and Cuba with influences from funk, rhythm and blues, jazz, ska and reggae. The musicians have coalesced around the idea that “going global” is not a phenomenon limited to the economic and geo-political realms. The heart of ACF’s musical performances is improvisation. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids.
On July 12, Ann Thennes returns for the Summer Trans Dance Series with her expression and meditation through dance. It’s a free event and starts at 6pm at the Grand Hall. Thennes works with the elements, energies, rhythms and animals that surround the Tahoe basin and has experience in classical ballet, West African dance and free form dance meditation.
Tahoe Improv Players take the Boathouse Theatre stage on July 13 at 7:30pm. Skits n’ bits are made up on the spot from themes suggested by the audience. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.
For celtic, classical and folk music with some renaissance and pop sprinkled on top, head to Dream Spirit Baroque Band on July 14 at 7:30pm at the Boathouse Theatre. The folk chamber music is easy listening music representing different cultures and eras.
Don’t be afraid to visit Tahoe Mystery Writer Todd Borg who’ll be hanging out at the Twin Cabins from July 16–22 from 10am to 4pm.
For a complete summer festival line up, click here or call (530) 541.4975.
• NBC Sports, the American Century Championship and World Golf Tour, have created a virtual experience that allows gamers to play the back nine at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course through July 31. Click here.
• Want to see some pretty pictures of Lake Tahoe? Click on this link to CNN.
• Ready to take advantage of California travel deals – including Lake Tahoe? Claim your free copy of the Sunset Travel Guide, California Travel Deals 2010 here.
• The Truckee Donner Land Trust acquired more than 4,000 acres north of Truckee in conservation easement from Sierra Pacific Industries.
• The SnowBomb card, which offers deals to Lake Tahoe, went on sale this month.
By Robert Perea, Reno Gazette-Journal
YERINGTON — A regional law enforcement agency that targets gangs in Lyon and Douglas counties, along with Carson City, will be able to continue its work through a newly awarded $270,281 grant.
“Gangs don’t recognize county boundaries, and with this program, our people won’t recognize county boundaries,” Lyon County Sheriff Allen Veil said.
The grant comes from the state Office of Criminal Justice Assistance, which says it was established in 1987 to obtain, administer and distribute U.S. Department of Justice funds to Nevada and local government agencies.
Serving Carson City and Lyon and Douglas counties, the Regional Tri-County Gang Unit originally had been funded in 2009 with $350,000 in federal stimulus money.
To the community,
Support for the Auburn Dam, concern about record spending by the federal government and a desire for more local control highlight the results of a constituent survey conducted by my staff.
This district-wide survey’s results echo what I have heard in 20 town hall meetings and from countless letters, emails and phone calls over the last year and a half. Simply put, many Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country and with excessive government growth.
Tom McClintock
Highlights from the survey include:
70 percent say taxes are too high;
81 percent are opposed to more federal government bailouts;
67 percent believe the government takeover of health care will lead to higher prices and shortages;
16 percent support an energy tax to combat global warming;
85 percent believe illegal immigration is an urgent problem;
77 percent believe the country is on the wrong track.
Full survey results can be read at www.mcclintock.house.gov.
Methodology:
This survey was conducted through U.S. mail, with survey forms being mailed to 147,066 voting constituent households. The survey was mailed on March 10 and responses were accepted through April 23, resulting in 14,124 responses. It is important to note that this survey was not designed to function as a public opinion poll, but rather as an accurate depiction of the policy preferences and concerns of voting constituents in the Fourth Congressional District. As such, methodological measures were not employed to offset word and question ordering effects, nor have results been weighted to reflect regional population or demographic quotas. Nonetheless, received responses were generally in line with the geographic distribution of the district’s population, with a deviation of approximately 5 percent or less.
Rep. Tom McClintock
By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee
Law enforcement typically advises being wary of purported solicitations on their behalf, but the Placer County Sheriff’s Department wants folks to know that a fundraising drive for its Search and Rescue teams is legitimate.
The teams are beginning their annual countywide telemarketing fundraising drive.
Search and Rescue volunteers donate thousands of hours each year to locate lost hikers, skiers and other who may need assistance in the county’s wilderness areas. This year, the volunteers want to purchase equipment for countrywide searches, as well as mobile communications equipment for the Lake Tahoe area.
By Kathryn Reed
Despite granite being the predominate rock in the Lake Tahoe Basin, it’s not the best hard surface to use for grinding nuts into food because it breaks down and erodes.
This is one reason the Washoe Indians are believed to have had more than their share of gallstones, Darrel Cruz said. Cruz is the tribal historic preservation officer for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.
Walking behind Lake Tahoe Community College near Trout Creek is what locals call Indian Rock. It is an Indian grinding rock whose age is unknown. But it’s likely the Washoe were using it into the 1950s before white settlers drove them out.
Darrel Cruz of the Washoe Tribe at the grinding rock behind Lake Tahoe Community College. Photos/Kathryn Reed
The rock is called Lam.
“This is where the women grinded up seeds and food,” Cruz explained. The pounding tool that made the large divots – some 6 inches in diameter and a few inches deep – is a Goommum. The action and end result is what a modern mortar and pestle would produce.
The Bissec was another rock used by the Indians. This was more for grinding and produced the more shallow indentations on the rock. A push-pull action was used.
Women would sit or kneel as they did their work in what was their outdoor kitchen of sorts. Cruz said his grandmother preferred to sit while she worked hour after hour.
This area in the meadow the Washoe call the Mutushahoo Watah. It’s not an exact location, but the general area.
“There would have been a camp site there for a large part of the summer,” Cruz said. “(How long they would stay) all depends on the available resources.”
With this particular spot next to the creek, it would provide fresh water for cooking and a swimming hole for the children. Just like today, bear and coyote would meander through. Snowcapped mountains are in the distance and a forest of trees sets the perimeter.
What’s changed is the surrounding development and occasional horn reverberating from Highway 50.
Indentations in the granite are from the Washoe making food.
This rock in the middle of the meadow is there for anyone to see – and walk on. The Washoe prefer it not be a jungle gym, but they also know that with so much of their past on land they don’t own, it’s impossible to protect all facets of their history.
“We have so many of these places scattered all over,” Cruz said of rocks like this one.
One day Cruz envisions working with the city and college to create signs explaining the history of the area and the rock in particular.
Until then, he hopes people will understand this slab of granite is more than just a rock to the Washoe people.
Students at LTCC and in Lake Tahoe Unified School District have been the beneficiaries of the rock being a teaching tool. To this the Washoe see no conflict or sense of disrespect.
“I think most of the Washoe people hold places like this as still important to them,” Cruz said.