Chef

• Former Placerville resident Timothy Hollingsworth was named a “rising star chef” in the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards. He is a chef de cuisine at the French Laundry in Yountville.

• Tahoe Youth & Family Services is offering substance abuse treatment services to adults of all ages in the Gardnerville office. For more information, call (775) 782.4202.

• Apparently people can’t afford to put on the Ritz. The Lake Las Vegas Ritz-Carlton has closed after seven years.

• Zephyr Cove marina is open for boat rentals.

By Kathryn Reed

Dale Rise is ready for a jury of his peers to decide if he is guilty of one misdemeanor and two felony charges stemming from his September altercation with three South Lake Tahoe police officers at his residence.

The South Tahoe Public Utility District board president was back in court Monday. Another court hearing is slated for July, with the trial set to begin in September.

Dale Rise

One thing Rise’s attorney Bill Cole is seeking is for El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury to not hear the case. That decision has not been made.

Part of Rise’s defense is invoking the Fourth Amendment, which states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Rise said he never willingly stepped out of his house.

He told Lake Tahoe News the District Attorney’s Office wanted him to accept a plea bargain.

“I’m not pleading guilty to something I did not do,” Rise said.

Assistant District Attorney Hans Uthe was not available for comment.

It was Rise’s 24-year-old daughter who called 911 eight months ago. She was living with her parents at the time. No domestic violence charges were ever filed.

Rise said when the three officers had him they pressed a Taser against his stomach. It was at that time, he said, that he grabbed the wires or probes out of his stomach.

Part of his defense is the recent court ruling stating Tasers are not to be used for punishment. Nor were the devices ever intended to be used directly on a person, but instead by an officer standing a couple feet away.

By Kathryn Reed

A familiar face has been hired to replace Susan Middleton, who after 24 years is retiring this summer as vice president of Academic Affairs and Student Services at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Tom Greene was once a counselor at the South Lake Tahoe two-year institution. He is currently associate vice president of Enrollment and Student Services at Sacramento City College.

Tom Greene

LTCC’s board, with Molly Blann absent, voted 4-0 Tuesday night to hire Greene. Ironically, Greene doesn’t know if he will be reporting to President Paul Killpatrick. Killpatrick was gone May 11 to interview for a job out of state. It was Middleton who sat in the president’s seat this particular night.

Greene did not attend the meeting.

Not only is Greene familiar with the campus, but also he is intimately knowledgeable about the faculty. He and English instructor Suzanne Roberts are engaged to be married this summer. An exact start date has not been set. He will be making more than $100,000.

Middleton will leave later in the summer, with the hopes of being able to train Greene before turning in her keys.

“The first thing I want to do is enjoy Tahoe,” Middleton said of her plans for retirement.

She started at LTCC as a counselor with the college when it was based out of a hotel on Highway 50. She was promoted to dean of Student Services. With Lori Gaskin leaving her post a year ago, the job of Student Services and Academic Affairs was blended into one position – the one Middleton has had this school year.

Moving to the campus off Al Tahoe Boulevard, watching it grow, seeing ideas become a reality like the Spanish Institute and the fire academy are the memories she will take with her.

It’s listening to students return to campus to praise their education at LTCC and talk about what they are doing now that Middleton will miss.

“I will miss the people without a doubt and the students,” Middleton said. “It will be hard to adjust to.”

Board members had praise for Middleton and her successor.

In closed session Tuesday the board deliberated over two finalists.

“He is a jewel,” board President Kerry David said of Greene after the meeting. “We are most fortunate to get him.”

Before Greene’s first stint at LTCC he was a TRIO counselor at Vermillion Community College in Ely, Minn. He left LTCC in 2003 to earn his doctorate from the University of Texas, Austin. He also has a master’s in education with an emphasis in counseling and a bachelor’s in finance.

He was the special assistant to the president at Valencia Community College in Orlando before taking the job in Sacramento. In Sacramento, he oversees a staff of more than 200 with an operational budget in excess of $10 million.

“The board and the committee believe he was the No. 1 candidate,” David said. Ten people were interviewed for the job.

Publisher’s note: The following editorial is from the May 8, 2010, Sacramento Bee.

When El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Neves announced last summer he would not seek a third term, it opened the floodgates for the largest crop of candidates in at least three decades.

Of the six current and retired lawmen on the June 8 ballot, three have broken from the pack by dint of their qualifications and vision for the job. And of that top tier, Placerville Police Chief George Nielsen offers the strongest combination of administrative and on-the-street skills, and of local knowledge and an outsider’s perspective.

Nielsen moved up through the ranks for 21 years before becoming Placerville’s chief six years ago, and crime has dropped significantly on his watch. While it is a relatively small department with a $4.2 million annual budget and 21 sworn officers, that forced Nielsen to be hands-on with financial and personnel matters. He has also widened his imprint by pushing a “National Night Out” anti-crime event countywide and by serving on boards with social services leaders who can be his partners in tackling youth and drug-related crime. At 47, he can be an effective,

George Nielsen

innovative sheriff for years to come.

Read the whole story

By Lenita Powers, Reno Gazette-Journal

The purchase announced Tuesday of thousands of acres around Independence Lake by The Nature Conservancy will protect a critical source of water for Reno and Sparks in times of drought, a member of organization said.

The Nature Conservancy’s $15 million purchase of 2,325 acres of forest land in the Sierra Nevada from NV Energy also will preserve one of the only two lakes in the world with indigenous populations of the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, said Chris Fichtel, Independence Lake project manger for The Nature Conservancy.

“It’s a beautiful lake and, obviously, this will prevent development that could negatively affect water quality and could impact the native fish that live in the lake and the public’s ability to enjoy the property,” he said.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

A gaping hole in the window of the fiscal services department remains four days after a burglar broke into the Lake Tahoe Community College office.

“They pilfered through her drawers,” Sue Niehoff, vice president of Business Services, said of the person who broke into her assistant’s office. “They didn’t get anything of value.”

A couple memory sticks were taken. It’s possible identity theft could have been the motive. Minutes of meetings were on the sticks – nothing that isn’t public information.

Little or no cash is stored in these offices, despite the name of the department.

Someone from the alarm company responded to the call. The alarm was reset by 3:58am.

Carson Valley Arts Council hosts an evening of performances by youth on May 15 from 7-9pm at the Copeland Cultural Arts Center Purple Cow ArtBar in Minden.

The monthly event at CVAC and organized by Theatre of Arts Discipline (TOAD), invites young people ages 5-18 to perform prepared pieces in whatever genre they choose – from poetry and monologue recitation to singing and dancing.

Kris Garrett, Artistic Director of TOAD, called the event an “open mic night for kids,” at which youth can share and embrace each others talents. It is free to perform and free to be in the audience, with open sign-ups and as many performers included as time allows.

For additional information, visit www.cvartscouncil.com/cvacevents or call (775) 781.0150.

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.

By Mark Anderson, Sacramento Business Journal

Ritz-Carlton Highlands Lake Tahoe reopened for the spring and summer season Monday.

The resort closed for its conversion from winter to spring a little over a week ago.

The closure was said to be routine, but because the resort just opened Dec. 9, no routine was established.

Ritz-Carlton at Northstar-at-Tahoe reopened May 10, though it still has major financial issues. Photo/Kathryn Reed

The spring closure followed Bank of America hitting the owners of the resort with a notice of default at the end of March.

Read the whole story

Stevie Nicks, the legendary American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced more than 40 Top 50 hits and has sold nearly 120 million albums, is set to hit the stage for the first time ever at Harveys Outdoor Arena in Lake Tahoe on Aug. 6 at 8pm.

Tickets for the Stateline show go on sale May 22 at 10am.

Stevie Nicks will play Tahoe in August.

The voice and songwriting talent of Nicks, as a solo artist and as a member of Fleetwood Mac, is truly the stuff of legend. Indisputably, one of the most successful female artists in rock history, she is noteworthy for an extraordinary career that includes multiple Grammy awards, numerous Gold and Platinum awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

After joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975, Nicks and her band released an eponymous collection of recordings that went straight to No. 1. The follow-up album, Rumours (1977), became a record-setting hit. It spent more than 31 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200; and earned the group a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. Nicks’ song “Dreams,” inspired by the group’s dissolving relationships, was the band’s first No. 1 single.

In between releasing albums with Fleetwood Mac, Nicks recorded her first solo album in 1981, Bella Donna, which went on to sell over 5 million copies. Stevie continued on at a prodigious rate, recording 1982’s Mirage with Fleetwood Mac and her second solo effort, The Wild Heart, in 1983. Throughout the next decade, she continued to tour and turn out independent records as well as albums with Fleetwood Mac, including the solo effort, The Other Side of the Mirror (1989), Behind the Mask with Fleetwood Mac (1990), and a solo compilation, Timespace (1991).

In 1997, Fleetwood Mac reunited and released The Dance. The related tour earned them $36 million. Nicks also put out a boxed set dubbed Enchanted, and added two songs to the soundtrack for Practical Magic (1998). That same year, Fleetwood Mac was given one of the greatest honors in the world of rock: induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her last solo album of original material, Trouble in Shangri-La, earned her a Grammy nomination and she just performed over 80 dates in 2009 with Fleetwood Mac. Last year she also released an amazing live DVD & CD compilation entitled, Live In Chicago.

Tickets are $49.50, $89.50, $159.50 plus applicable service charges.

Tickets available at all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.apeconcerts.com and www.ticketmaster.com.