Kevin Robert Rudnicki, 43, of Oakley died in a snowmobiling accident in Alpine County.

Thursday’s single-vehicle accident occurred near Utica Reservoir.

The accident is under investigation.

On April 17 from 5-7pm, bowl in the 2nd annual South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center Bowl-A-Thon.

The SLTWC Bowl-A-Thon raises funds for the local Sexual Assault Response Team.

Adults and children over 12 are invited to participate. No bowling skills are required.

Team registration ends April 9. Create and sign up your team of six bowlers by contacting Sarah Sanchez at (530) 544.2118.

By Maggie Thach, Reno Gazette-Journal

OLYMPIC VALLEY — The past year has been full of ups and downs for Tahoe City’s Scotty Bahrke.

He has had success, but barely missed the cut to make the U.S. ski team for the Vancouver Olympics. Five days before the men’s aerials events, though, he replaced Dylan Ferguson, his best friend who was unable to compete because of complications from a recent appendectomy.

Bahrke finished 23rd in the first round of competition and did not qualify for the finals, but his Olympic experience was everything he could have hoped for.

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Wind may be a problem on the slopes today. Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE — More than 300 people filled the convention center at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on Saturday night in support of Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra.

The service club’s annual Elegant Evening surpassed last year’s attendance, which was just less than 300.

People scour the silent auction tables March 27. Photo/Kathryn Reed

The money raised from the $50 tickets and silent auction items stays in the community. The mission of Soroptimist to help women and children. That’s exactly what this group of women does.

A slide show ran during the night of different events these women help with, including Drug Store Project, which is March 30.

For more information, click here.

TRAILS at the Lake, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting people with disabilities in their quest to find and maintain work which helps them to grow their self-worth and become productive members of our community, is being honored by Coyote Grill on April 1 by receiving 20 percent of the profits from 5-10pm.

This includes everything from Coyote Grill’s famous $1 chili to any of their other menu items.

Coyote Grill is in the Round Hill Center near Safeway.

The Douglas County Public Library in Minden and Zephyr Cove will close at noon on April 9 to salute their volunteers.

Approximately 120 volunteers assist the library on a yearly basis.

The Minden library will re-open at 10am and the Zephyr Cove library at 9am April 10.

For more information, call (775) 782.9841 or click here.

By Kathryn Reed

Rep. Tom McClintock rattled off a slew of statistics about how bad the national debt is going to be in the next five and 10 years – mostly because of government bailouts and the week-old national health care plan.

The Republican whose district office is in Granite Bay, but who got elected to the 4th congressional district without living in it, was at South Tahoe High School on Saturday talking to a largely partisan audience of more than 150 people.

“There is twice as much money out there as there was last year,” McClintock said in his 15-minute opening speech. “The federal government should not bail out people who make bad decisions.”

Rep. Tom McClintock speaks to constituents Saturday. Photos/Kathryn Reed

He received a resounding roar of applause to this. Many of his statements were met favorably by his constituents.

However, “out there” wasn’t exactly defined. Talk to anyone on the South Shore and there is less money out there than a year ago. The state of California has told cities to expect a 20 percent decrease in sales tax this year compared to 2009. Unemployment numbers for South Lake Tahoe are expected to come out Monday, with the figure to hit 18 percent.

“Two-thirds of economic growth depends on consumer spending,” McClintock said.

The congressman didn’t have definitive ideas for where the jobs that bring the cash to fill the wallets so the people have something to spend are going to come from.

“You guys have failed us,” Jesus Herrera, a junior at STHS, said. “I haven’t seen anything from either party that’s creating a more secure future.”

STHS student Jesus Herrera talks as Norman Gonzales holds the microphone.

McClintock did not defend everything his party has done. He said he was against attacking Iraq and added that it should take an act of Congress to go to war.

“There were some very serious mistakes made by the Bush administration. This administration is doubling down on them,” McClintock said.

He said he believes people voted for President Obama not because of his policies, but because they didn’t want John McCain for fear it would be like a third Bush term. McClintock said the country is getting a second Jimmy Carter term.

When Larry Green, Lake Tahoe Unified School District member, brought up the inefficiency of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, McClintock said, “I think No Child Left Behind needs to be repealed.”

Tom McClintock

The congressman believes the difference in education today compared to the 1960s when California had one of the best systems in the country is that teachers were in charge of their classrooms and had more of a say over curriculum.

However, this doesn’t explain why other states with a similar structure, as well has having to work within the federal mandates, do better on test scores.

Many people brought up health care and how the costs have affected their lives, how insurance companies are making decisions for them, and how employer plans leave little choice.

To this McClintock said government destroyed freedom of choice because they give tax credits to employers for health care.

McClintock, like the 11 attorneys general who’ve filed suit against the government, believes the health care plan signed by Obama is unconstitutional. He does not believe the government should force people to have health care.

But the reality is government forces things on people every day. No one has the option to opt out of paying for Social Security or Medicare, though McClintock seems to support that idea.

This pep rally of sorts fired up the believers, who mingled afterward with the congressman and in small clusters. It left others wondering what this man is going to do about everything he doesn’t like and if he is going to stop blaming others for all the ills that consume this country.

Lake Tahoe Community College is one location for several Earth Day events on the South Shore.

The first event is April 9 at 7pm — an environmental film festival. For more details, click film.

On April 17, is an all-day festival at the college. For details, click Earth Day.

By Marek Warszawski, Fresno Bee

The impending sale of Sierra Summit, the winter resort right in Fresno’s backyard, ought to be huge news to area skiers and snowboarders.

Instead, public response has been hushed. Like snow sloughing off an overloaded tree branch in the middle of a forest.

Considering all the complaints I’ve heard about Snow Summit Ski Corp., the resort’s owner since 1981, the muted reaction is curious, although not completely unexpected.

While the Huntington Lake resort has many patrons who appreciate its varied terrain and low-key atmosphere, others like to denigrate the place. Over the years, I’ve heard Sierra Summit called everything from an ugly step-child to a tax write-off from those with the mistaken belief that Sierra Summit sucks out revenues without spending a nickel on upgrades.

You’d think those Negative Neds and Nancys would be dancing in their ski boots now that a small investment group headed by longtime Kirkwood executive Tim Cohee is poised to take over when escrow on the nearly $4 million transaction closes April 30.

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