By Jeremy Miller

Welcome to one of Robert Redford’s most powerful performances. “All is Lost” is the story of a man out at sea trying to recover after his boat collides with a shipping container.

From the get-go it’s real that “our man” (Redford) is a seasoned sailor and instantaneously his skills are put to the test. As he sails solo on the Indian Ocean he awakens to the sound of water drifting into his boat. He discovers his radio and navigational equipment is damaged beyond repair and goes to work patching up his ship. Unfortunately the misplaced shipping container was hardly the antagonist compared to the storm he was drifting toward.

The storm hits and his power as a captain really kicks into gear. He quickly handles each of the several massive and extremely daunting misfortunes endured by a storm this size. Left battered and broken, he’s got nothing but a sextant and charts of the Indian Ocean to go by. From here he battles every minute not just as a mariner trying to seek rescue, but also as a man trying to survive.

The film is incredibly powerful, intense and incredibly believable. Welcome to one of Robert Redford’s most captivating performances. He delivers all of five lines the entire film, and somehow captures the essence of desperation, loneliness and defeat better than any type casted actor I’ve seen in years. The real power of the film lies in the fact that unlike many of the stranded at sea films in the past, this one constantly delivers hope.

Our man keeps you fired up as he conquers every challenge that you’re positive will call the picture wrap on our lead character. Murphy’s Law had an adversary that was maybe unexpected, especially given his age and everything he had thrown at him. I’ve got to hand it to writer/director J.C. Chandler (“Margin Call)” who captured it all beautifully. The picture he painted was absolutely perfect. The contrast of environments was a character in itself.

Our man is stuck on a 30-foot ship, leaving nothing up to the imagination. Pan up and you’re on one of the biggest sets in the world giving you the complete opposite. It’s unsettling to see someone in this guy’s shoes and the entire time you’re really taking mental note to hop on Amazon and pick up a survival guide for the open sea so it never happens to you.

Last thing I would like to mention is the special effects. I was absolutely blown away. I recall trying to figure it all out for a split second, but was quickly brought back to believing that it was all just completely real. That’s a good sign. All in all, I thought it was a magnificent film. However, the one thing that irked me was the speed of the ending. To wrap up a story like this it takes time, and the end felt rushed. That’s one small flaw in a “sea” of perfections so I highly recommend it.

South Lake Tahoe resident Jeremy Miller has more movie reviews online.

By Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times

WEST SACRAMENTO — When the glass-sheathed headquarters of the California teachers’ pension fund opened five years ago, it was supposed to help anchor developments along the blighted riverfront on the capital’s outskirts.

But as Jack Ehnes, the fund’s chief executive, looked out from a top-floor conference room on a recent afternoon, he could see patches of empty land where nothing had been built.

Construction plans, he said, took a huge blow from the recession.

The same could be said of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, or CalSTRS, which Ehnes has run for more than a decade. Today, the pension fund is one of the biggest financial problems in a state with more than its share of money woes.

Read the whole story

Measure L on the June 3 ballot will ask voters on the California side of the South Shore if they want to continue funding the local county library.

There is already an assessment on property taxes. This would continue the $20 annual fee for another 12 years starting in 2015-16 so there is no interruption in services. An inflation adjustment not to exceed 3 percent is also part of the measure.

The money the county supplies to the library does not cover all of its costs.

On top of this tax the Friends of the Library is a nonprofit that raises money to put on special programs at the South Lake Tahoe facility.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

• Squaw Valley’s recently renovated Olympic Museum at High Camp is open.

• Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce raised $3,500 for Bread & Broth and Christmas Cheer in January.

• North Tahoe Public Utility District employees took home top honors in three categories at the annual California Water Environment Association – Sierra Section awards dinner this month. Chris Avery received Collection Person of the Year; David Berry, Electrical / Instrumentation Person of the Year; and Michael Thornton, Mechanical Technician of the Year.

• Porters Sports Lake Tahoe is closing its last store. When the goods are gone, the Truckee store will close.

• Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team’s March 2 Great Ski Race has been canceled.

By Laurel Rosenhall, Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to spend roughly $687 million to alleviate the impacts of California’s drought, including efforts to clean and recycle water, improve conservation, capture rain, and give emergency food and housing assistance to farmworkers who will be out of work because their fields are fallow.

“The best way to make our communities more resilient to drought is to invest in projects that get the most out of every drop of water,” said Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, who joined the governor and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez in announcing the plan at the state’s Office of Emergency Services at Mather Field.

Money for the proposal would largely come from water and flood-prevention bonds voters approved in 2006, which means lawmakers don’t have to wait for the annual budget process to approve spending the money. Steinberg and Pérez said they thought the legislation could go through in the next couple of weeks.

Read the whole story

 to solicit comments on group camping fees and entrances fees for photographers with commercial photography permits.

The Northern Nevada meeting is from 3-5pm at Division Headquarters, 901 S. Stewart St;, Carson City, 5th floor, Parks conference room. The Southern Nevada meeting si from 5-7pm at 4747 Vegas Drive, Las Vegas, conference room.

A copy of the materials relating to the proposal may be obtained at the workshops or by calling (775) 684.2770.

Mike Brooks, speaker, consultant and founder of Mission30, will be the guest speaker at the March 12 North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association “Connect for Lunch” event.

Brooks brings a perspective to executives who aren’t sure how to respond to the fundamental and ongoing economic, technological, political and societal changes that will affect your business going forward. The goal is to walk away from lunch having a better understanding on how to build your business today for success tomorrow.

The talk will be at Nine 41 Eatery & Bar in Incline Village from noon-1pm.

The cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members. It includes lunch. For more information or to RSVP to attend, contact Ginger@GoTahoeNorth.com or call (530) 581.8764.

Fallen Leaf Lake voters will be asked on June 3 to vote on a special fire tax.

The small South Shore enclave is not generating enough money to support its volunteer fire department.

The tax would not exceed $660 per unit each year. However, the amount would rise based on inflation.

The annual appropriations limit would be extended for four years.

It will be called Measure A.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Chris Mooney, Slate

In the past few years, the science of Internet trollology has made some strides. Last year, for instance, we learned that by hurling insults and inciting discord in online comment sections, so-called Internet trolls (who are frequently anonymous) have a polarizing effect on audiences, leading to politicization, rather than deeper understanding of scientific topics.

That’s bad, but it’s nothing compared with what a new psychology paper has to say about the personalities of trolls themselves. The research, conducted by Erin Buckels of the University of Manitoba and two colleagues, sought to directly investigate whether people who engage in trolling are characterized by personality traits that fall in the so-called Dark Tetrad: Machiavellianism (willingness to manipulate and deceive others), narcissism (egotism and self-obsession), psychopathy (the lack of remorse and empathy), and sadism (pleasure in the suffering of others).

It is hard to underplay the results: The study found correlations, sometimes quite significant, between these traits and trolling behavior. What’s more, it also found a relationship between all Dark Tetrad traits (except for narcissism) and the overall time that an individual spent, per day, commenting on the Internet.

Read the whole story

AJ  will climb over the obstacle, but not run through the tube. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

When Bijou Community Park was formed in 1992 all the potential future amenities could not be imagined.

A disc golf has been added. The dog park came in 2008. A roller derby league uses it as its home rink. The most recent addition was a dog agility course last year. However, only one long tube structure is there now.

It’s a well-used park – especially now that parking is allowed in the winter.

On Monday, people were at the dog park, others were using the playground structures, several people were tossing discs, and even more were walking. The meadow is an ideal spot for walking. It’s wide-open, flat and has stunning views of iconic peaks like Freel and Jobs Sister. And tire marks prove it’s also popular with mountain bikers.

But more than 20 years since the park opened the city of South Lake Tahoe still does not have a policy in place for deciding how the park can be used. But that soon could change.

The city’s parks and recreation commissioners are working on a policy so entities that want to add to the park will have an easy process to do so. The commission brought a policy to the council this month that council members said needed some tweaking.

Disc golf at Bijou is popular year-round.

The council, though, is in a bit of a quandary because it doesn’t want to create policy that would conflict with the recreation master plan that is in the works with El Dorado and Douglas counties.

Council members JoAnn Conner and Angela Swanson were tasked with helping the commission iron out wrinkles. It’s possible the topic will be before the council again in March.

As the commission has been looking at creating policy it discovered the master plan for the park is so old it does not exist in an electronic version.

But there is urgency for creating a policy because people have ideas they want approved.

TAMBA and the South Lake Tahoe BMX Association have been in talks with South Lake Tahoe officials about building a 4-acre bike park in Bijou Community Park since 2011.

Lake Tahoe Sustainability Collaborative wants to turn a 30-foot-by-80-foot plot of land in the park into a community food garden.

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Park amenities:

• Golf course

• Disc golf

• Basketball court

• Fenced dog park; separated areas for small and large dogs

• Fitness course

• Historic railroad exhibit

• Open meadow for walking

• Skateboard park

• Two covered gazebos with barbecue pits

• Volleyball courts.