Michael Flashner and Miguel Padilla stipe Highway 50. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Caltrans workers began to stripe part of Highway 50 near the Y in South Lake Tahoe on Friday. Traffic backed up a bit because lanes were shutdown.

The guys doing the work said everything should be wrapped today “barring any problems.”

A South Lake Tahoe bear looks for dinner. Photo/Janice Eastburn

Bears in Lake Tahoe are common — after all, these black bears (though many are brown and cinnamon in color) were here long before the region was developed. The problem is with open dumpsters like these because then the bears get used to eating human food.

One bruin has been roaming around the Taylor Creek area in recent weeks. It’s easy pickings for the bruins right now as the kokanee salmon are spawning. This is behavior that is natural and normal.

These bears at Bijou Woods Apartments in South Lake Tahoe were photographed by Janice Eastburn on Oct. 15 about 4:45pm.

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Thursday was the deadline for the U.S. Olympic Committee to pick a city to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. No submission was entered.

This means 2022 is the soonest the Tahoe-Reno area could host the Games. Regional organizers are saying they are likely to continue their quest to bring the Games to the area.

2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the Games being at Squaw Valley.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office

Now that the heat has subsided, many people are riding bicycles to work and back. This is the time of year when daylight hours diminish leaving riders to commute often in the dark. With safety in mind, Nevada Revised Statutes dictate cyclists and motorists are to abide by the same laws when traveling the streets, and here are a few other safety tips for all residents of Washoe County.

Cyclists are reminded if you are riding at night, please wear reflective gear and use a headlight to the front and red blinking light to the rear of your bicycle. This equipment is readily available at most sporting goods or bicycle stores and will significantly increase your safety on the roads. Riding with traffic on wide, less traveled streets, using signals when turning and avoiding the use of cell phones or headphones when riding help boost safety on the streets as well.

Motorists are reminded to please be cognizant of cyclists on the roads and give them ample room when passing. Many vehicle versus bicycle collisions occur at intersections and can be avoided by motorists taking the time to slow and pay attention when turning. Every vehicle has “blind spots” so remember there could be a cyclist or pedestrian nearby even if you don’t see them.

By taking the time to purchase and use reflective gear, and with a little patience and attentiveness we can avoid vehicle versus bicycle collisions and all enjoy a safe fall season.

By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee

Phillip Garrido’s attorney has filed a broad request for information on what type of evidence has been gathered against her client, who is charged with abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991, when she was 11.

Public defender Susan Gellman filed her six-page request in El Dorado Superior Court asking for an array of information, including a list of prosecution witnesses to be called at trial and whether any have convictions for felonies or moral turpitude.

She also is requesting witness statements, photos, police officer notes and records of samples of hair, blood, urine or tissue taken during the investigation.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Before crashing into a delivery van on Emerald Bay Road, a motorcyclist was clocked at more than 100mph and seen doing a wheelie on Tahoe Keys Boulevard at a speed of 80mph.

Mark Habel of the Carson Valley was booked into the El Dorado County jail in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday afternoon after being treated at Barton Memorial Hospital for leg pain.

“He was on the shoulder, splitting lanes, going down the center turn lane, running stop signs,” South Lake Tahoe police Officer Tony Broadfoot said. “He obviously had no regard for his safety, the construction workers, pedestrians or others.”

Douglas County sheriff’s deputies first witnessed Habel allegedly driving more than twice the speed limit on Highway 50 near Zephyr Cove. They called their California colleagues at 2:11pm to be on the alert for the Honda sport bike.

South Lake Tahoe police officers located the suspect near Ski Run Boulevard. With traffic getting congested and lane closures near the Y, the suspect zipped in and out of traffic, while the police cars weren’t able to maneuver as easily.

Broadfoot said it would not have mattered if a motorcycle officer had been on duty Thursday.

“We are not going to endanger anyone further by duplicating his actions,” Broadfoot said. “A big car with lights and sirens can warn the public that he is coming.”

The motorcyclist turned onto Tahoe Keys Boulevard. Apparently he was unaware he could get out another way because he turned around.

South Lake officers spotted him again near Venice Boulevard.

He turned onto Highway 50 toward the Y, and then headed toward Camp Richardson on Highway 89 (Emerald Bay Road).

El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies joined the pursuit then.

The chase ended when Habel plowed into the delivery van just beyond Brothers bar.

A driver not involved in the collision, but who slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting the suspect, was taken to Barton complaining of neck pain.

Habel was arrested on suspicion of reckless evasion, evasion causing injury, driving without a license and reckless driving.

By Kathryn Reed

“I attended the hearing (Thursday) because I was there the day it opened and I wanted to be supportive of its continued existence,” Dave Kurtzman said.

He and a couple dozen parents filled the courtroom of El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Steven Bailey Thursday at 4pm, about two hours after the hearing was scheduled. After less than an hour of testimony from both sides, Kindertown owner Maria Barrows-Crist was granted a 20-day stay.

The decision brought a resounding round of applause — not something often heard in a courtroom.

It was a state of elation at Kindertown as the news spread and parents picked up their kids.

“We’re so happy,” Stephanie Yuzbick said as she loaded her 3-year-old and 18-month-old into the car. Yuzbick was at Thursday’s hearing, where tears of joy flowed.

The stay means Barrows-Crist’s attorney, who she had hired the day before, has until Nov. 4 to review all the documentation that led to the state Department of Social Services to want to close the 36-year-old day care-preschool.

It will also be his job to prove the state’s punishment was not in line with the charges. Those charges include drug use by Barrows-Crist’s daughter, who no longer works at the center; taking kids off the hill without permission during the 2007 Angora Fire; allowing a well-known dance studio owner to teach a class without being fingerprinted.

South Lake Tahoe City Attorney Patrick Enright wrote a letter on behalf of the City Council in support of keeping Kindertown open. Assemblyman Ted Gaines and state Sen. Dave Cox’s office have also been involved.

At the El Dorado County level, Barrows-Crist said Supervisor Norma Santiago never returned calls and that she spoke to her assistant once.

“As far as Norma returning calls, I talked to Maria on all calls she made; in great, great detail. Each time, Norma was in session and asked me to handle the calls,” Judi Harkins, Santiago’s assistant, wrote in an email. “I worked very hard behind the scenes to follow all leads to help Maria.”

Regardless, Barrows-Crist knew one thing she had to do was change legal counsel. Not believing the attorney she had was doing enough to keep the doors open, Barrows-Crist on Wednesday hired Mike McLaughlin with Feldman Shaw LLP in Zephyr Cove to represent her.

The state argued via telephone that keeping Kindertown open would hurt the community. McLaughlin argued that displacing families is more of a threat.

“She tried to make me look like the monster from hell,” Barrows-Crist said of the state’s attorney after the hearing was over.

The threat of closure already meant more than half of the 130 kids Kindertown cared for went elsewhere and half of the 20 employees had to be laid off.

“One thing that interested me is the representative of the state said parents seemed to have no problem placing their kids elsewhere as the state had not received any letters stating otherwise,” Kurtzman said. “I found this curious as the state person seemed to think parents just ‘park’ their kids while, in fact, parents make deliberate decisions regarding the education and care of their children and moving them can be difficult and sometimes traumatic. The state representative seemed somewhat insensitive to the desires and needs of the parents. The arguments seemed very clinical to me.”

Kurtzman credits his former wife, Judy, not himself, for starting Kindertown on July 1, 1973, with about 10 students. The Kurtzmans had moved to South Lake Tahoe seven months earlier; opening Aspen Realty the same year.

Barrows-Crist is the third owner of the center.

Kurtzman said, “(Kindertown) has become a Tahoe institution, with, per Crist, 6,000 past and present students.”

It’s well documented multiple generations have been cared for at Kindertown.

Forest fires sweep through numerous regions of California each year. After the embers have died and the smoke fades away, Forest Service archaeologists, who are also involved with fire suppression, are sent in to conduct surveys to record new prehistoric and historic sites, and to assess damage to previously recorded sites.

U.S. Forest Service archaeaologist Nolan Smith will give a PowerPoint presentation of his role as a fire line archaeologist and will discuss some of the surveys he has conducted after fires swept through the Forest Hill Divide region of the Tahoe National Forest. He will share equipment used during the surveys and examples of artifacts pulled from the ashes.

This free program will take place on Oct. 17 at 1pm at the Bernhard Museum Winery. The Bernhard Museum is located at 291 Auburn-Folsom Road in Auburn.

Please call (530) 889-6500 to make your reservation or for more information.

Ghosts and goblins invade North Lake Tahoe as towns and villages pull out all the stops for scary and merry events.

Tahoe City is getting spooky Oct. 16 with the Rocky Horror Dance Party & Costume Contest on the Marina Green at the Boatworks Mall starting at 9pm with movie showing, dancing and costume contest.

Tahoe City’s Harvest Festival is in full swing and features the Rideout Community Center Pumpkin Patch Oct. 17 from 10am-2pm, with bounce house, dessert walk, hay and pony rides, silly games and pumpkin patch.

Incline Village kicks off all things scary with the 2nd Annual Monster Dash Oct. 17 at 11am with a 5K fun run that starts in the Upper Village Center. Halloween costumes are encouraged for all runners, walkers and spectators.

The 30th Annual Pumpkin Patch returns to the Incline Village Elementary School that same day with clowns, bake sale, bounce house and pony rides.

The first Historic Haunted Tour of Truckee is Oct. 21. Guests go on a guided walking tour to learn about the Old West, shootouts and the city’s haunted history. The tour is for adults only and starts with a glass of wine, live music and a silent auction of treats. Childcare is provided by the KidZone Museum in Truckee with “Professor Higginbody’s Halloween Night Out.” Cost is $10 per child for parents attending the tour and includes gooey pizza and oozy science activities for children 2 years and older. Guided tour tickets are $25/per person.

The Hyatt Regency in Incline Village hosts its first Pumpkin Carving Contest Oct. 24 from 4-6pm for ages 6 to 12, with prizes awarded to the best jack o’ lantern creators.

Spending the witching hours at the Village at Squaw Valley, where travelers can guess the weight of The Giant Pumpkin anytime from Oct. 24-31 from 10am-10pm, with prizes for the closest guess. There’s also a Great Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt during that week, and trick-or-treating with merchants on Halloween.

The Tahoe Maritime Museum on the West Shore gets into the Halloween spirit Oct. 29 with Family Night Out starting at 5pm, with children’s activities and family-friendly movie. Guests of all sizes are encouraged to wear costumes.

Tahoe City merchants are staying open late so children can trick-or-treat down “main street” Oct. 31 from 4-6pm.

Soroptimist International of  Tahoe Sierra

Kelly Parker, site manager for CASA of Lake Tahoe, and volunteer Adell Lim spoke to the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra on Thursday morning about the important role their national nonprofit organization plays in our community.

Lim spoke passionately about a case she had been involved with for five years and the successful outcome of her connection to the girl and two siblings who had been through an extremely difficult family situation in South Lake Tahoe.

A CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) puts in many hours of training and subsequent days of volunteer work to be advocates for children in the court system who are there either through deliquency or family issues beyond their control.

SITS, whose mission is to strengthen and enhance the lives of women and youth in the community, believe this program is worthy of their fundraising efforts and has donated $800 to CASA. Parker said these funds will definitely help to give their clients those added programs that they would not have otherwise been able to experience.

Wendy David, the recent site manage for CASA and SITS member, said, “It is so important for these children to know that there is someone in their corner and ready to answer a phone call at all hours.”

Laurie Brazil, a member of SITS, acknowledged the vital role Lim and other volunteers play in the lives of youth in this town and how fortunate this community is to have such selfless people dedicated to this mission.

For more information about CASA or becoming a volunteer, call (530) 544-6754.