By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

The family of a man killed last summer when he fell from a chair lift at a Lake Tahoe ski resort has sued the resort and groups associated with the zipline adventure ride they say caused the accident.

Defendants named in the suit filed Thursday in El Dorado County Superior Court included Heavenly ski resort, Terra-Nova LLC, Sampson Rope Technologies, the Lamoreaux Group, BCS Motion, Inc., This Side Up and Productions Inc.

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Paul Oakenfold, touted as one of the world’s renowned DJ/producers by various outlets including CNN, Rolling Stone, BPM and Remix, will get the party hopping Memorial Day Weekend at MontBleu casino in Stateline on May 28.

Kenneth Thomas, an Oakenfold prodigy who toured with him during two world tours, and Trevor Simpson are the opening acts.

In 2007 Oakenfold released his Greatest Hits & Remixes through Perfecto/Ultra Records –- a 20-selection strong collection of his seminal recordings. The tracks range from original productions to singles “Starry Eyed Surprise” “Ready Steady Go,” and “Faster Kill Pussycat,” featuring Brittany Murphy.

“Starry Eyed Surprise” reappeared in early 2005 as part of Diet Coke’s ad campaign for their re-launch of the beverage using Splenda.

General admission tickets are $30 plus tax and available by calling MontBleu at 800-BE-LUCKY and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 9pm, and the show starts at 10pm.

Health officials in El Dorado County are seeing an increase in cases of chickenpox in the community and recommend parents ensure their children are fully immunized.

“Two doses of the chickenpox vaccine are recommended for full protection,” Olivia Kasirye, El Dorado County health officer, said in a statement.

Although it isn’t uncommon to see a few cases of chickenpox each year in El Dorado County, two schools have seen a spike in cases in the past two weeks. Sierra Ridge Middle School in Pollock Pines has had 12 reported cases of chickenpox among students and Camino School in Camino has had four reported cases.

Olivia Kasirye

“All of the cases have been mild,” Kasirye said. “However, we know that chickenpox can be spread easily and that the illness can be more serious in some individuals, particularly very young children, pregnant women, and people with immune compromised systems.”

Chickenpox, caused by the varicella virus, is spread by direct contact or through the air by coughing or sneezing. Symptoms include a mild fever and tiredness, followed by a rash that causes blistering skin lesions.

Health officials from the El Dorado County Health Services Department are working closely with the schools that have reported the chickenpox cases, and information has been sent to parents of children attending the schools.

“Any student who has chickenpox or symptoms of chickenpox should stay home or be sent home from school,” Kasirye said.

A system is currently in place in the county for school nurses to routinely report unusual illness patterns among students to the Health Services Department, Public Health Division.

The risk of contracting chickenpox can be greatly reduced through vaccination. Parents are advised to check their child’s vaccination records and ensure their child has received the vaccination.

“Although one dose of chickenpox vaccine is required by the state for admittance to school, recent studies have shown that two doses provide the best possible protection,” Kasirye said.

Most pediatricians offer the chickenpox vaccine as part of a schedule of other childhood vaccinations. The Health Services Department also offers the vaccine for children by appointment. o schedule an appointment, call (530) 621.6100 in Placerville or (530) 573.3155 in South Lake Tahoe.

Additional information about chickenpox can be found at www.edcgov.us/publichealth.

Habitat for Humanity has a nationwide program that is organizing in South Lake Tahoe. “A Brush With Kindness” serves low-income homeowners who struggle to maintain the exterior of their homes.

The program provides exterior painting, minor repairs, and some landscape improvement. Volunteers are needed and invited to an information and sign up meeting May 19 at 6:30pm at Hope Lutheran Church, 930 Julie Lane, South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, e-mail sltahoehabitat@gmail.com or call (530) 541.4654 or click on Habitat.

By Michael Finney, KGO-TV

If you ever have to hire a contractor, you could end up paying twice for the same bill. It’s happening to more and more people.

It’s another sign of the times. The recession seems to be taking its toll even in the most unusual ways.

Images of the devastating Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe are still etched in the minds of Howard and Joann Manning. The fire destroyed their home three years ago, but they’re still living with the consequences today.

“It’s very stressful. We haven’t had a normal life,” Howard said.

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The Tahoe Rim Trail Association is still building new trail. Join the TRTA at 6:30pm on May 19 at REI in Reno for a presentation by the TRTA.

Learn how to become a trail steward. As a volunteer you will learn new skills, meet like-minded people, and give back to your community trail system. No experience is necessary.

Workdays are every Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday (9am-4pm) throughout the spring/summer.  The Rim to Reno Trail System and The Daggett Trail System will be discussed. Check out www.tahoerimtrail.org for more info.

By Randy Moore, Sacramento Bee

The U.S. Forest Service shares the view expressed in The Bee’s editorial, “Protect Sierra water from cattle grazing” (May 1), that water in the high Sierra is a valuable resource that must be diligently managed and protected.

The Forest Service takes water quality very seriously, which is why we are working with California’s State Water Resources Control Board to develop a water quality management plan for national forest lands within California. The plan will establish best-management practices for controlling non-point source pollution like that produced by grazing cattle. We will use these practices to ensure compliance with federal and state water quality statutes and

Randy Moore

regulations.

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Celebrate the start of Lake Tahoe’s trail season by volunteering to build trails, or participate in a family fun hike on June 5 starting at 9am.

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association event will begin at Van Sickle Bi-State Park off Lake Parkway in Stateline.

To participate, register at www.tahoerimtrail.org or contact Amanda at (775) 298.0239 or trails@tahoerimtrail.org.

The day will start with a morning celebration where the TRTA’s 1,000th member of the 165 mile club will be honored. Then trail building begins.

Volunteers of all skill levels, physical abilities, and ages are welcome. No experience is necessary. All volunteers will receive a free lunch sponsored by REI. After an afternoon of trail building, there will be a volunteer party hosted by Explore Tahoe, at the urban trailhead in South Lake Tahoe.

Bring the family for a fun hike at Kahle Park from 10am-noon for kids from ages 6-12.

This is the second trail building season of a multi-year project which will ultimately connect the Tahoe Rim Trail with the Van Sickle State Park, re-route the TRT off of paved roads, and provide stunning views of Lake Tahoe to more people.

By Mel Shields, Sacramento Bee

Celebrity chef Charlie Palmer will host his version of “Top Chef” next weekend at the Grand Sierra Resort, in which he operates three restaurants. Napa’s Backyard is a culinary event celebrating the Sierra’s easy access to wine country.

Charlie Palmer Group chefs will battle it out in several events and contests that will allow guests chances to toast and taste.

The Backyard Brawl, from 6-9 p.m. Friday in the Summit Pavilion, is a tasting matchup to award the best pairing of wine and food. Vintages of 60 Northern California’s wineries will be paired with 20 dishes created by Palmer chefs.

There will be people’s choice and media top pairing awards ($60).

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By Kathryn Reed

Creating a working document with a bit of elasticity is the goal of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. With the current Forest Plan dating to 1988 and its roughly dozen amendments since then, the local Forest Service office is looking to create a new bible of sorts from which to seek guidance.

About 20 people gathered at the Forest Service office in South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday night for two hours to offer their feedback and input. The main topics were:

• Watershed and aquatic habitat;

• Forest health/terrestrial habitat;

• Recreation.

Forest Service personnel listen to the public May 11 in South Lake. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Recreation is always a popular topic because so many people move to Tahoe to play in the 155,000 acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin that the Forest Service manages.

The irony is that as local tourism officials change their mantra from gaming to the outdoors, more stresses will be put on an already overused system. LTBMU is one of the heaviest used forests in the country on a per acre/per capita basis.

What more people will mean to an ecosystem that is already taxed and to an agency that is hard up for money to manage its resources remains to be seen.

Eli Llano, assistant forest supervisor, said the current plan is not entirely outdated and therefore his agency is not starting from scratch. He said that nationally all forests are looking at climate change, aquatic invasive species and incorporating new science into their respective plans. These concerns were not part of the 1988 plan.

The idea behind developing a flexible plan is that when changes need to occur it will be easier to do so instead of going through the formal, more cumbersome amendment process.

In the current plan the emphasis is on expanding recreation opportunities in the basin. The focus going forward is maintenance, especially with a $25 million backlog of projects needing to be done to keep the facilities functioning.

However, not all expansion ideas are off the table. Under consideration is allowing ski resorts to offer more to the public outside the traditional ski months.

The need for separation of user groups is high on the list of the public’s concerns. People want mountain bikers on trails not used by hikers. Moving snowmobilers someplace else is also a common refrain. Promoting the use of the water trail was also talked about.

Much of the plan is integrated and not isolated. For example, watershed and recreation are tied together when authorities look at removing recreation sites from stream environmental zones.

It’s issues like these the Forest Service will wrestle with as the Forest Plan is created.

As the people in attendance Tuesday broke into three groups, Forest Service personnel wrote down the public’s wish lists.

“Relocate trails from meadows” and “make sure recreation doesn’t interfere with biodiversity” and “increase the amount of fuel reduction” and “restore fire to the landscape for fuel reduction, vegetation conditions, ecological health” were some of the comments.

The LTBMU Forest Plan revision has been in the works for years. Initially an environmental impact statement was not going to be done. However, a court ruling in 2008 changed that course of action. The draft EIS is expected to be released this fall, with a 90-day comment period to follow.

The EIS will have the option of doing nothing, a preferred alternative and several other alternatives. The exact number of other alternatives to be studied has not been determined.

USFS officials anticipate another public hearing to air concerns during the comment period. Responses to comments will then be put together, with the final EIS released in summer 2011. People will have 45 days to appeal it. It will be up to the regional forester in Vallejo to sign off on the framework.

Another meeting on the plan will be tonight from 5-7 at the North Lake Tahoe Conference Center in Kings Beach.