Think Pink — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Have you had your mammogram?

By Jon Cassidy, Orange County Register

A month after Jaycee Dugard resurfaced and her alleged captors were arrested in her 1991 abduction, a spokeswoman for California’s inspector general says the office will investigate the state’s parole system “so that nothing like this happens again.”

Phillip Garrido, who has been charged with kidnapping Dugard outside her South Lake Tahoe home when she was 11, was monitored by five or six parole agents during the 10 years he was under California’s control as a convicted rapist, said Laura Hill, spokeswoman for Inspector General David Shaw. He previously was under federal parole supervision for eight years.

Authorities say Garrido hid Dugard the whole time in his backyard, where she stayed in a squalid encampment of tents and sheds at the Antioch home.

Read the whole story

Grass roots groups from around the world are planning the International Day of Climate Action this October. In response to this movement, the Environment Team of the Parasol Community Collaboration is planning to sponsor a local public event in Kings Beach on Oct. 18.

The goal of the Day of Climate Action is to mobilize citizens around the world to make their voices heard regarding the need for tough action on climate change. The event is timed to send a clear message to world leaders before they convene to finalize the new United Nations Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen this December.

The rationale for the event is described on the website, 350.org. The site explains that the target for the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the earth’s atmosphere should be set at 350 parts per million. The present level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 389 parts per million (ppm).

The proposed target of 350 was suggested by prominent NASA scientist, James Hansen, in his December 2008 article, “Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim?” In the abstract for this scientific article, he states, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 389 ppm to at most 350 ppm, but likely less than that.”

Heather Segale, of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, stated that the event in Kings Beach on Oct. 18, “Will be an opportunity to learn more about climate change and to make a statement to world leaders about the need to act quickly to prevent severe human and environmental consequences.”

Organizers plan to photograph participants holding a banner with a statement of local support for tougher atmospheric standards. The photograph will be taken following the close of the Sierra Nevada Alliance Annual Conference (http://www.sierranevadaalliance.org/conference) at the North Tahoe Event Center. Participants are asked to gather at 2pm, at the event center.

This is a chance for residents of Lake Tahoe to show their support for an equitable global climate treaty that lowers carbon dioxide below 350 parts per million. Similar photos from hundreds of demonstrations worldwide will be published prior to the Copenhagen Conference.

To join the organizers, contact Jill Falman at (775) 881.7566 or jcfalman@ucdavis.edu. To organize an event in your community and to learn more, visit www.350.org.

Seven weeks and one day — that’s when Heavenly anticipates riders will be schussing through the white stuff to begin the 2009-10 ski season.

Snow fell on Mount Rose, the top of Kingsbury Grade and at Kirkwood Tuesday night. More is forecast for this weekend.

Resorts willing to predict opening dates this far out are:

Heavenly Mountain Resort: Nov. 20

Northstar-at-Tahoe: Nov. 21

Squaw Valley: Nov. 21

Alpine Meadows: Dec. 5

Diamond Peak: Dec. 10

U.S. Forest Service cabins in Tahoe are family treasures.

By Kathryn Reed

In the early 1900s, Congress allowed the U.S. Forest Service to lease cabins in an attempt to get more people to use the National Forests which were then in their infancy.

And use them they did.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the USFS oversees 594 Recreation Residence Special Use Permits — which includes Echo Lakes. In California, 6,000 permits have been issued, with 15,000 cabins permitted throughout the country.

“All of the cabins are authorized for use throughout the year. Under the terms and conditions of the permit, it is prohibited to use the cabin as a primary residence,” said Lori Allessio, special uses permit administrator in the basin.

Del Laine’s cabin in El Dorado County has been in her family since her parents acquired it in 1934. She spends about five months a year at the 1,000-square-foot dwelling that has two bedrooms, one bath, a little kitchen and small living area.

“Originally the cabins were identified as summer residences and were used that way,” Laine said. “Leases are renewable every 20 years. In the past we had year-to-year permits. The 99-year leases never really existed.”

When her folks bought the cabin (the Forest Service owns the land), about a dozen cabins existed. Now, 18 of the 24 lots around her have cabins. About a half dozen are used in the winter. At one time winter use was prohibited because no road existed.

Neighbors then and now are a community unto themselves. Women and children would spend summer at the cabins. Men, mostly from the Bay Area, came on weekends.

“First of all, I simply like the touchstone of history, as well as I like the space. The space that I enjoy with neighbors,” Laine said of the cabin, which she can’t foresee ever not belonging to her family. “I have a lot of privacy and I like the quiet.”

Leases may be passed to family and cabins may be sold. The original cabin near Laine is on the sixth generation. Hers is being enjoyed by the fourth generation.

Changes to cabins are allowed, though like everything in the basin, the restrictions have gotten more cumbersome through the years.

“Cabins are prohibited to expand in footprint. Exceptions are provided for accessibility needs,” Allessio said. “Policy requires the cabins to be maintained to blend in with the forest environment and “like in kind” materials are required. Most maintenance projects approved by the Forest Service also require permits from the county building department. These projects include roof, deck and window replacements.”

Outhouses were the norm. Now most cabins have sewer lines. Lahontan Water Quality Control Board made exceptions to all sewage being hauled out of the basin when installing a sewer line posed even more environmental problems, according to Allessio.

Sewage holding tanks at Echo Summit are routinely pumped or people can haul the waste out. Two tracts near Truckee, which are outside the basin, have septic tanks.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is minimally involved with the cabins. Erosion concerns — aka best management practices — come under TRPA’s microscope.

“We have expressed concerns with the Forest Service about gray water discharge from cabins. A lot of improvements have been made over the years,” said Julie Regan, TRPA spokeswoman.

Cabin owners pay the government 5 percent of the appraised value of the lot as rent. According to Allessio, the lot is appraised as though it is vacant. The county or appropriate entity assesses the value of the cabin for tax collection purposes.

Recreation residence tracts within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit:

Echo Lakes area

Channel Tract — 19 cabins

Hemlock Tract — 28 cabins

Island Tract — 1 cabin

North Shore Tract — 14 cabins

South Shore Tract — 41 cabins

Mermaid Cove Tract — 18 cabins

Fallen Leaf Lake area

Fallen Leaf Lake Tract — 42 cabins

Alpine Falls Tract — 9 cabins

Fallen Leaf Lodge Tract — 22 cabins

Stanford Tract — 10 cabins

Lily Lake Tract — 10 cabins

Fish Hatchery Tract — 3 cabins

Fallen Leaf Park Tract — 1 cabin

Echo Summit area

Echo Road Tract — 42 cabins

Echo Summit Tract — 44 cabins

Angora Lakes area

Lower Angora tract — 12 cabins

Spring Creek area

Spring Creek Tract — 137 cabins

Meyers area

Rainbow Tract — 51 cabins

Upper Truckee Tract — 18 cabins

Bridge Tract — 20 cabins

Emerald Bay area

Emerald Bay Tract — 22 cabins

Tahoe City area

Twin Crags Tract — 14 cabins

Fir Crags Tract — 16 cabins

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the HALO breast test is discounted to $50 until Oct. 30. The regular price is $75.

Tahoe Women’s Care is among the few OB/GYN practices in the region to offer the new HALO breast test which collects breast fluid to be tested. There are no others in Northern Nevada and the closest in California is San Diego.

Designed to detect abnormal cells, a HALO test may identify precancerous breast diseases up to eight years earlier than a lesion might be found by a mammogram.

Breast cancers typically originate in the ductal system. A woman with atypical cells has a four to five times greater risk of developing breast cancer than women who do not produce fluid.

The HALO test does not replace mammography or self-exam, but identifies high-risk women. About half of all women won’t secrete fluid, which puts them in the lowest risk category. For those who do and have abnormal cells, Tahoe Women’s Care will monitor them closely and counsel them on lifestyle changes, and may recommend imaging options such as an MRI, ultrasound or diagnostic mammogram, or discuss minor surgical or pharmaceutical options.

A HALO breast test is not covered by insurance however some or all of the resulting lab tests may be covered by insurance.

Tahoe Women’s Care sees patients on Fourth Street in South Lake Tahoe and on Mica Drive in Carson City.

To make your appointment, call Tahoe Women’s Care at (530) 544.8333 or (775) 267.6700 or visit www.bartonhealth.org/HALO.

REI’s introduction to hiking Oct. 3, 9:30 a.m. at Wright’s Lake in Desolation Wilderness off Highway 50. Discover hidden local trails and learn about the gear, techniques and skills needed to hike more efficiently. Cost: $35 for REI members, $55 for nonmembers. Registration required at (775) 828.9090.

Tahoe Yard & Garden Expo at South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center, 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd., S. Lake Tahoe. Free seeds, plant sale, advice about best management practices, and garden tour.

More info at (530) 542.4546, ext. 315.

Kirkwood Jammin’ XVII

Don’t miss out on The Wood’s annual spring break party. Pondskimming, slopestyle events, rail jams, skier/boarder x, and more are sure to make this a three-day weekend you’ll never forget.

www.kirkwood.com

North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, www.kirkwood.com