Schoolchildren across Nevada will be traveling to school by foot and bicycle on April 28 as part of the first Nevada Moves Day.

The statewide event was proclaimed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, with walking and bicycling to school events planned across Nevada.

More than 32 schools will participate in Nevada Moves Day in seven counties across Nevada. Nevada Moves Day events will take place in Douglas County, Washoe County, Clark County, Carson City, Lincoln County and Nye County.

“Physical activity at an early age, such as walking or bicycling to school, helps reduce heart disease, diabetes and other obesity-related diseases,” NDOT State Safe Routes to School Coordinator Rebecca Kapuler said in press release. “Plus, walking or biking to school can help reduce the up to 25 percent of morning rush hour traffic that involves children being dropped off at school.”

Other benefits of Nevada Moves Day include teaching safe walking and bicycling skills to children, discussing concerns for the environment, reducing traffic-related congestion and air pollution near schools, and connecting families, schools and community leaders.

By Steve Green, Las Vegas Sun

Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. today reported a first quarter loss on lower revenue as the recession continued to reduce spending at its big Las Vegas Strip resorts.

The company said it lost $195.6 million vs. a loss in the year-ago first quarter of $132.7 million as revenue fell 2.9 percent to $2.188 billion.

“Revenue fell due primarily to the continuing impact of the recession on customers’ discretionary spending and reduced aggregate demand, which continued to pressure average daily room rates,” Harrah’s said in today’s earnings report.

Read the whole story

Lakeland Village in South Lake Tahoe is having a summer job fair April 29 from 1–4pm.

The event will be in the Sugarpine Room located at 3535 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

Applications may be picked up in advance at the front desk, which is open 24 hours. Interviews will be conducted on site. The positions we are hiring for are:

Reservations Agent

Front Desk Agent

Beach Snack Bar Server

Kids Activities Supervisor

Unit Cleaners

Kids Activities Leaders

Housekeepers

Lakeland Village in South Lake Tahoe is having a summer job fair April 22 from 1–4pm.

The event will be in the Sugarpine Room located at 3535 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

Applications may be picked up in advance at the front desk, which is open 24 hours. Interviews will be conducted on site. The positions we are hiring for are:

Reservations Agent

Front Desk Agent

Beach Snack Bar Server

Kids Activities Supervisor

Unit Cleaners

Kids Activities Leaders

Housekeepers

Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation’s annual Celebration of Education is May 20 at the grand Construction, Arts and Transportation Academy at South Tahoe High School. The public is invited.

The reception will begin at 5:30pm in honor of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District retirees, plus preview tours of the new building.

Food will be served by the culinary arts students of STHS.

Entertainment will include the Blue Ribbon Choir from STHS and the Tahoe Belles from STMS, both conducted by Paul Kushner, plus other musicians from the district’s bands and orchestras. There also will be a student art exhibit.

Tickets are $25 and must be purchased by May 12. They are available online.

The fedora bandit is moving north. He hit the Bank of the West in Gridley in Butte County on Monday afternoon.

The man who wears a fedora, sometimes a fake beard and sometimes brandishes a weapon has stolen cash twice at the Bank of the West in Grass Valley on Dec. 22 and March 31, from South Lake Tahoe on Feb. 18, Kings Beach on March 8 and Carson City on April 12.

• After seven years, Steve Teshara has called it quits as head of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.

Steve Teshara

• Tahoe Arts League is in search of an executive director. Click here for more info.

• Nevada artist Reiko Hervin’s latest painting “Celestial Iris” is one of 10 finalists in International Artist magazine’s April/May issue. Visit her website to read the article.

• Former South Lake Tahoe City Manager Dave Childs will be the keynote speaker at the Pacific Island Executive Management Symposium this fall in his role as president-elect of the International City/County Management Association.

Updated April 27 1:04pm.

By Kathryn Reed

Summer, the other season Lake Tahoe has besides winter, is 55 days away, according to the calendar.

That must mean winter is still here. To confirm that fact, the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory from 5pm today through 9am Wednesday for elevations above 7,000 feet. Expect snow and blowing snow during those 16 hours as the winds pick up.

Driving may be interesting on mountain roads later today. Photo/Kathryn Reed

A wind advisory in affect for Lake Tahoe and many roads in the basin as well as Highway 395. The Weather Service says Highway 89 could be the most precarious today, with cross winds making travel dicey.

High winds Monday night into Tuesday morning kept many residents in the region awake. Trees are down in several areas, including one into a house on Washington Avenue near Third Street in South Lake Tahoe.

Wind has also taken out power lines in several locations. Lights have been flickering on and off for hours in the basin. Expect much of the same for the rest of Tuesday.

About 20 customers were without power from 3-9am today in the Cascade Lake area on the South Shore when a tree went into a line. Pockets of the Al Tahoe and Heavenly neighborhoods are without power still at 1pm.

A small outage also is being reported in Truckee.

Fay Anderson, spokeswoman with NV Energy, said the more significant outages have been in Reno and valley areas.

Keep candles and flashlights on hand in case the power goes out completely.

Reno-Tahoe International Airport is reporting delays.

First the rain will come, followed by snow later this afternoon. Forecasters say the heaviest snow will be between 5 and 10 tonight.

Expect to shovel 2-5 inches below 7,000 feet and 5-10 inches above that elevation.

Chain controls are predicted, as well as slick roads.

Don’t put away the shovel because snow is in the forecast for the rest of the week.

The sun is expected to return for the weekend, when highs will be in the 40s on Saturday and 50s on Sunday. Until then, expect highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s.

Eneliko Smith, one of the partners in opening the The Block hotel in South Lake Tahoe, pleaded no contest to one count of felony theft in El Dorado County Superior Court for not paying the hotel tax to the city.

The investigation began in March 2008 when the police department received multiple disturbance calls related to the snowboarder oriented hotel near Stateline and reports from the city Finance Department that The Block was not paying TOT as required. Officer Mark Hounsell led the investigation and coordinated with various city departments and the District Attorney’s Office.

By December 2008 The Block and Cedar Lodge were closed.

Smith had opened the hotels a few years earlier with professional snowboarder Marco Frank Montoya. The Block in its brief heyday was featured in a reality television show on the G4 network.

Part of Smith’s plea agreement is he will be on felony probation for three years and must make full restitution to the city. After the first year of probation if he abides by the terms and makes full restitution to the city, the charge may be reduced to a misdemeanor theft, according to documents signed Friday.

A restitution hearing is scheduled for June 8 to determine the amount to be paid to South Lake Tahoe. The total amount being requested by the city including embezzled TOT taxes, late fees and interest is estimated to be about $200,000.

Despite his troubled past with The Block and Cedar Lodge, both of which are in decay, Smith wants to be a player in other resort towns. Click here for that story.

Updated April 27 8:23am.

By Kathryn Reed

If Lake Tahoe Community College President Paul Killpatrick has his way, he won’t complete his three-year contract that expires in summer 2011.

Killpatrick is one of four finalists for the president’s job at Green River Community College in Auburn, Wash.

Paul Killpatrick

A decision on that job is not expected until early May. Finalists will be interviewed the first week of May.

Killpatrick told Lake Tahoe News on Tuesday morning that when the Green River job came open he jumped at the chance to apply because he and his wife would like to return to the Northwest where they’ve lived for 30 years, and their children and grandchildren live.

“It’s no reflection of (LTCC) or the community,” Killpatrick said of his desire to move on. “It’s been a positive experience.”

Killpatrick called board President Kerry David to tell him about the possibility of his leaving South Lake Tahoe’s two-year institution.

“I know Paul has not felt as though he has been a proper fit. He is from the Northwest and has roots there,” David said. “It’s not an easy transition to follow in the shadow of long tenured leaders.”

Killpatrick is the third president the college has had since opening more than 30 years ago.

Killpatrick has been criticized by some for not being a better fund-raiser since arriving here in summer 2008. David, who is also on the college’s foundation board, said Killpatrick has planted seeds and that in this economy raising money is near impossible.

David anticipates the board will release Killpatrick from the contract when he gets another job.

Asked if he thought Killpatrick would be able to continue to his job at LTCC when everyone knows he is interviewing, David said yes. He also said the board is not likely to ask him to leave before he secures another position.

“In our economic situation we are not in a position to afford to try to make that happen sooner rather than later,” David said.

Killpatrick said if he does not get the job he is a finalist for or one of the others he’s applied for, he will continue to do the job in Tahoe, with possible mid-year budget cuts still something that will have to be tackled.

David credits Killpatrick with working in difficult financial times that have involved cutbacks at the college as the state continuously wrestles with deficits.

“While we have had to undergo cuts, he has participated in leading us through those troubled waters,” David said.

The board’s first order of business it hire a vice president of Academic Affairs and Student Services. Two finalists will be interviewed Friday. A decision should be made in early May.