Santa’s Candy Cane Lane is coming to the Horizon in Stateline for three days of holiday activities geared toward children.

The festivities are Dec. 11 3-7pm, and Dec 12-13 noon-6pm in the convention center of the hotel-casino.

Mrs. Claus will help each child write a message to Santa. The Horizon has checked with the North Pole and has been assured Santa will be writing letters back. Santa will haul his letters home each night at 7:15, 6:15 and 6:15, on the respective nights.

Hot cocoa, candy canes and games are free. Holiday movies will be shown.

For $5 kids (and presumably adults, too) can get a framed picture of themselves with Santa. It costs $1 to make ornaments, $2 to decorate cookies and $10 to build a gingerbread house.

A holiday crafts fair will be going on at the same time. Carolers will be strolling, music playing.

By Sam Stanton and Denny Walsh, Sacramento Bee

The Bee sued the state corrections department today along with two other news media, seeking to force the release of documents outlining how parole agents supervised accused kidnapper Phillip Garrido over the course of 10 years during which he allegedly held Jaycee Lee Dugard as his prisoner.

The suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court this afternoon, is the latest effort by the newspaper to gain access to the documents, which corrections officials have refused to release since August.

Phillip Garrido

KCRA-TV (Channel 3) and the San Francisco Chronicle joined the Bee in the suit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Inspector General’s office.

Read the whole story

Crosby and Danny Kaye. Well, this new stage version (it played on Broadway for the first time just last year) has been updated with some absolutely wonderful chorus numbers while keeping the old favorites.

Under the direction of Nanette Niven is a star-studded cast with seniors Christopher Yarrow, Nick Kushner, Catie Kushner, Chelsea Wightman, Will Caglia, and Emily Dixon in the leading roles. A bevy of talented actors, singers and dancers make up the musical chorus with choreography by Marcia Sarosik and vocal instruction by Bob Grant.

A full orchestra, under the direction of STHS music instructor Casson Scowcroft includes students and professionals.

Showtime is 7pm Dec. 10-12 and 2pm Dec. 13.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors, free for Super ASB.

Tickets are available at the door or from the STHS ASB Office (530) 541.4111, ext. 285 between 10am-3pm.

The U.S. Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is providing a second opportunity for the public to comment on the Spooner Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project. The comment period is open though Dec. 17.

The Spooner project is located on the eastern side of the Lake Tahoe Basin along both sides of portions of highways 50 and 28 between Logan House Creek-Lincoln Park to the south and Sand Harbor State Recreation Area to the north. This project is in portions of Washoe County, Douglas County and Carson County.

The goal of the project is to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire to communities and resources, while also providing conditions for improving forest health. When completed, the Spooner project will return forest conditions to those closer to natural tree densities and types found prior to settlement, when the forests were dependent on occasional low intensity fire. These conditions will allow fire professionals to re-introduce fire for ecosystem restoration and, in the event of wildfire, reduce the intensity to permit safer and more effective fire suppression.

This second comment period addresses changes made to the project description. Mechanical treatments originally proposed within the wildland-urban interface portion of the Lincoln Creek Roadless Area have been changed to hand thinning and pile burning treatments. Another change added project features to reduce the possibility of erosion in the project area. Lastly, the comment period also recognizes recent changes to the National Environmental Policy Act and qppeal processes. These changes are included in the Spooner Project Cover Letter, posted on the LTBMU website along with project details. Full information about how to provide comment is also included on the website. Visit: http://fs.usda.gov/ltbmu and follow the Forest Service Offers Second Public Comment Opportunity for Spooner Fuels Project link on the homepage.

If you have questions about the project, contact Duncan Leao, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif. 96150, or call (530) 543.2660 Monday through Friday, 8am to 4:30pm.

AIDS isn’t a subject that is discussed much these days. It will be on Saturday at 10am and Monday at 6pm when Maxine Alper of the Sierra Foothills AIDS Foundation is the guest on KTHO AM-590/FM-96.1.

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

Snow showers and plummeting temperatures are expected in the Reno-Tahoe area Saturday as a major shift in the weather pattern takes shape for next week.

A second, significant snow-producer is possible Monday, while a warmer storm packing plenty of subtropical moisture is expected later in the week.“It’s definitely a change.

“We haven’t had warm and wet like that yet,” said Shane Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno.

Read the whole story

Choices, choices, choices — that’s what it’s about today and Saturday with Kirkwood opening today, and Sierra and Alpine on Saturday. To know what the conditions are like throughout Lake Tahoe, click on the ski report that is brought to Lake Tahoe News by Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Kathryn Reed

Jurors in the Ulysses Roberson murder trial retired midday Thursday and are expected to resume deliberations Monday.

The 12-member panel had a little drama this week when juror Katie Ross was dismissed without reason given. Replacing her is Chris Cefalu. Six alternate jurors have been part of the process since the trial started in early October.

El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury is presiding.

Closing arguments wrapped up Tuesday morning, with the jury getting the case that afternoon. Jurors can set their own schedule for deliberations, thus the reason for having today off.

Roberson is accused of killing his 4-year-old son at a house in the Tahoe Keys in South Lake Tahoe in late 1985 or early 1986. Alexander Olive’s body has never been found.

Throughout the trial Roberson has been draped in Muslim garb, with a skull cap and flowing robe-like garment. He faces two enhancements to the murder charge — that the crime was racially motivated and one of torture.

The boy’s mother, Judy Olive, is white. She has been in court most days and was one of the nearly 60 witnesses to take the stand.

If convicted, Roberson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sierra Resort will kick off the 2009-2010 winter season this coming Dec. 5. Sierra Resort was recently ranked as a top 10 Resort in the 2010 TransWorld SNOWboarding Readers Guide.

Easy Rider Express and Rock Garden chairlifts will open to the public at 9am, accessing three beginner trails – Broadway, Lower Sleighride and Echo. There will be five terrain park features on Broadway including new and improved boxes and a corrugated pipe for jibbing.

“We definitely have early season conditions on the mountain,” John Rice, general manager, said in a press release. “But we know our skiers and riders are hungry to get those first couple of runs in and take a few laps through the Broadway terrain park. This weekend is just a teaser for things to come this winter.”

Early season lift tickets are available for $35 for adults, $25 for young adults, $15 for children and seniors 70+, and $35 for seniors 65-69. Sierra Resort will offer beginner group and private lessons, daycare, ski and snowboard rentals and dining in Mama’s Kitchen and the Sierra Pub & Deli. Sierra Mountain Sports will also be open for those who want to start their holiday shopping – or their holiday wish lists.

New this season, Sierra Resort has taken a direct shot at the price barrier to learning a new sport in a tough economy with a $35 beginner package that includes a limited access lift ticket, rental equipment and a 2½ hour lesson. Friends and families can now spend an entire day on the slopes, learning a new sport, for less than the cost of going out to dinner and a movie together. The $35 Learn to Ski/Snowboard package is valid for adults age 13+, Sunday through Friday, non-holiday and excluding restricted dates. It is available in limited quantities and only online at SierraAtTahoe.com.

For the latest snow and weather updates, please go to www.SierraAtTahoe.com or call the Snow Phone at (530) 659.7475.

Brian Wallace of the Washoe tribe was recognized by Ecotrust as one of the West’s most innovative indigenous leaders for his efforts to improve conditions in his community.

The recipients were selected by a panel of tribal leaders. The winners’ efforts span the areas of youth advocacy, education, renewable energy, cultural restoration and scholarship.

The Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award has quietly become one of the preeminent programs honoring and supporting tribal, First Nation, and Alaska Native leaders in the West. Tribes and First Nations are more than an ethnic or minority demographic; they are nations and representative governments, major land owners, committed co-managers in natural resources, and they are major drivers of local and regional economies, according to a press release.

The awards — $45,000 total — were given out Dec. 3. Jim Manion, received $25,000, and the four finalists each received $5,000.

A press release said, “Brian Wallace is honored for his tireless efforts to protect, restore, and strengthen Washoe ancestral homelands, community programs, youth programs, and tribal culture. The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California was removed from the heart of its homeland — the Lake Tahoe basin — during the 19th century gold rush, but it withstood extinction and continues to build strength. Wallace contributed by serving four four-year terms as tribal chairman, all while working to protect cultural and environmental resources at home and abroad through true innovation and a unique type of leadership. In 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell nominated Wallace to serve on the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Peoples, and he has served in multiple leadership capacities associated with the environment, social services, child welfare, and cultural resource protection.”

Other finalists include Janeen Comenote, Allen Pinkham Sr. and Patricia L. Whitefoot.