By Megan Michelson, SKI Magazine
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger founded After-School All-Stars, a free after-school program for inner-city kids, in 1990. Last week, he surprised a group of school children on a two-day ski trip at Mammoth Mammoth, California. He took some runs with the kids and offered them some valuable advice (“Make a turn!” and “You can be anything you want to be,” he told them).
Recreation, forest health, fuels reduction, wildlife habitat, watershed restoration and aquatic habitat will be the subject of meetings next month conducted by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the U.S. Forest Service.
The public is encouraged to attend to learn about and comment on the forest plan revision, which is agency’s blue print of sorts for the future.
The first meeting is May 11 at the LTBMU Forest Supervisor’s Office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe. The other is May 13 at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach. Both are from 5-7pm.
Each meeting will begin with an overview of the process and time line for revising the forest plan, after which participants will have the opportunity to talk with staff members regarding alternatives under consideration.
The LTBMU was in the process of revising its forest plan when the 2008 planning rule was enjoined by the U.S. District Court. The 2000 planning rule, under which the LTBMU is now proceeding, requires the Forest Service to develop a draft environmental impact statement that analyzes several alternatives for forest plan revision.
The LTBMU has engaged the public extensively to get input on how the plan should be revised. Despite the changes in process, the public’s comments and suggestions remain relevant and will continue to shape the proposed revised plan and the alternatives.
Approximately 75 percent of the Lake Tahoe Basin is managed by the Forest Service. The LTBMU’s current plan is 20 years old.
More information on LTBMU forest plan revision is available here.
By Kathryn Reed
Change. It’s the one constant for students, parents and educators at the lake schools in Douglas County School District.
More change is in the works. One day there will be only one school – a K-12 on the campus of Whittell High School. This won’t happen for several years, but still, just two years ago there were three schools at Lake Tahoe. Kingsbury Middle School closed at the end of the 2007-08 school year. (Read Lake Tahoe News on May 4 to find out what is going on with that property.)
The school board in April approved the facilities master plan. Further consolidation of the lake schools is in phase three, with phase one having not even started. Creating one school to accommodate the shrinking school population is part of that plan.
In the Carson Valley the two middle schools will be consolidated into one. Which school will remain open has not been determined.
At Lake Tahoe, various scenarios were considered, including having Whittell students transfer to South Tahoe or Douglas high schools. The former was nixed because it is in California. The latter was discarded because of travel time and costs associated with that.
However, DCSD Chief Financial Officer Holly Luna and Lake Tahoe Unified School District Superintendent Jim Tarwater have been discussing having Whittell students take classes at STHS.
“It probably would not be full participation. It would allow them to take classes. We’re looking at our specialty classes they couldn’t offer,” Tarwater said.
Those talks are in the initial stages.
One of the issues with small schools like Whittell is the limited number of electives that can be offered.
Because enrollment at DCSD’s lake schools has declined by 50 percent since the peak in 1994-95 of 942 students, something has to be done in terms of housing the students to make it economically feasible.
Between Whittell and Zephyr Cove Elementary there are 454 students. The district projects a yearly decline at the lake to continue at 5 to 6 percent a year. (Enrollment is dropping by about 2 percent a year in the valley.)
“Over time the number will guide us. If we reach 350, it makes since for a K-12,” Luna said. “We don’t want to delay it so long that we don’t have construction and we don’t want to do it too early.”
Her projections are that in the next three to five years the numbers are likely to indicate it’s time to begin serious K-12 discussions, with the talk about construction in year five.
Ultimately, it will be up to the school board how to proceed. But it was the board that decided last month the K-12 scenario is the one to pursue. It will be a future board that decides when that happens.
Like the consolidation of three schools into two and the four-day school week at Whittell, parents and the community will have ample opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns.
The plan is Zephyr Cove Elementary will close because there is more room at WHS and it has classrooms designed to meet the needs of a high school curriculum – like science labs.
Selling the elementary property is not being talked about. First, because of how the property was deeded to the district from the George Whittell estate and secondly, the district anticipates using the soccer fields.
What will happen to the buildings is a big question with no immediate answer. They will not be used in the K-12 configuration.
The footprint of Whittell is not expected to change much – it’s more internal changes that would be needed to accommodate more students and younger grades.
“We’ve had a legacy of three schools there. It’s hard to see that change,” Luna said.
The first Truckee Rib Fest, slated for Father’s Day (June 20) will be at Citizens Bank Plaza from noon–4pm.
This casual foodie event will provide attendees a chance to sample ribs and side dishes prepared by the best chefs in the area.
Event organizers have lined up a number of caterers and restaurants who will offer their creative variations on ribs, along with a specialty side dish. The event will feature judging by industry professionals for best ribs, best side dish and an award bestowed for best marriage of ribs and side category, along with a People’s Choice award.
Tickets are $20, which will provide three sample plates from the restaurants or caterers of their choice. A sample plate will include a two-rib “teaser” and one 2 ounce side dish. Additional tickets will be available for purchase for those craving more.
A beer garden, bounce house and free entertainment will round out the festivities.
Relay For Life of Truckee will be the event’s first nonprofit beneficiary. This year’s Relay For Life Truckee event is July 17-18.
Tickets may be purchased at: Citizen’s Bank, Sears Hometown Store, Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce and Switchback PR.
For more information or online tickets visit www.truckeeribfest.com; a nominal $2 service fee applies for online ticket sales. Those who order advanced tickets online will receive a complimentary Truckee RibFest beer mug at the event (first come first served). Sponsorship opportunities are also available for businesses and individuals and range from $150-$2,000.
Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra meets every Thursday at 7:30am at the Lake Tahoe Senior Center (3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd.) in South Lake Tahoe.
Come join us for fun, fellowship, lively chat, great speakers and hear about our wonderful projects in this community.
All are invited; breakfast and coffee served.
May 20 Carolyn Treanor about Richard Halliburton.
May 27 Senior Scholarship Breakfast awarding students at South Tahoe and Whittell high schools who are going on to college.
Call (530) 409.2791 for more information.
By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee
Consider it one of those ideas so crazy it might work.
Realtor Susanne Wolter said it took a couple of drinks to come up with the concept, but once she did folks signed on right away.
Six El Dorado County real estate competitors decided, for at least one weekend, to try to work together – even if it means driving their customers to buy someone else’s listing.
When: June 26
Time: Noon-4pm
Tickets:$20 in advance – $25 on tour day. Sold by AAUW members, and at vendors in town before the tour,and at featured homes on tour day.
More info: Contact Kay at kmhende@charter.net
Early on the windy Sunday afternoon of June 24, 2007, what came to be called the Angora Fire erupted near Seneca Pond. When it was over, 254 homes in nearby neighborhoods were destroyed and more than 3,000 acres of forest land burned. The residents never gave up and by this winter a majority of the homes had been rebuilt.
For our 2010 Home Tour, South Lake Tahoe AAUW Branch is featuring seven rebuilt and renovated homes in the North Upper Truckee Road neighborhood. Ranging from cozy to spacious, these homes are filled with carefully thought out details, fine craftsmanship, and environmentally friendly features. Light refreshments will be served in the garden of an eighth home.
Proceeds from the tour benefit camperships and scholarships for local girls and women.
Tickets go on sale June 1 at the following South Shore outlets:
Alpaca Pete’s, 3008 Highway 50, Meyers
Visitor Center, 3066 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe
Curves, 2482 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe
Explore Tahoe, 4114 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe
Or mail ticket orders to:
AAUW Home Tour
c/o Bonnie Driscoll
P.O. Box 18523
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151
By Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee
Comprehensive maps of California’s earthquake faults and geology are now available on the Internet for the first time.
Among other things, the new maps reflect the latest research on earthquake faults.
For example, the Midland Fault crossing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been updated to show that it was active up until 700,000 years ago, whereas previously it was not thought to have been active that recently. Faults beneath Lake Tahoe also have been revised to reflect evidence of more-recent activity.
Although the inaugural Lake Tahoe Restaurant week is more than four months away, restaurants are climbing on board to be part of the Sept. 5-12 event.
The event, which encompass the entire basin and Truckee, has launched its website to keep people informed.
On the website, food aficionados will find a list of participating restaurants, including a click-through to the dining establishment’s site, along with their physical location and contact information for reservations. Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week menus will be posted July 1, as participating chefs are developing entrees that take advantage of the best ingredients from the summer harvest.
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the event on the site. A special blog was created to profile the Lake Tahoe chefs behind the food and their philosophy in delivering the best in mountain cuisine.
For more information about the event, click here.
By Lauren Gustus, Reno Gazette-Journal
Another link in the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway has been completed east of Reno-Sparks.
The latest addition to the bikeway stretches for about two miles through NV Energy’s Tracy Generating Station property and the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center from Waltham Way to the USA Parkway exit along Highway 80.
This section of the bikeway, sandwiched between the highway and the Truckee River, will link approximately nine miles of trail and resulted from a collaborative effort by the bikeway organization, NV Energy and the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRI).