Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition meeting, 128 Market St., Ste. 3E, Design Workshop Conference Room, Stateline.

Boy Scout Troops 468 and 594 recruitment night, Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, 2733 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Tahoe, for California and Nevada boys in at least sixth grade. (775) 588.¬3121

Tahoe Hemp Company Zephyr Cove Disc Golf Tournament. Call Rick Krantz at (530) 544.HEMP.

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District anniversary barbecue celebrating 50 years serving the public, Station 11 on Tanager Street, Incline.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office open house at its Incline Village substation, 625 Mount Rose Highway at the intersection of the Mount Rose Highway and Highway 28.

July is usually one of the best months for gaming revenue at the Stateline casinos because all of the celebrities in town are dropping big bucks at that tables after a day on the links at the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament. Not so this year.

The South Shore casinos came in with the largest decline in gaming revenue for Nevada casinos, with a drop of 33 percent.

Statewide, casinos reported a drop of 12. 4 percent in gross revenue or gaming win compared to July 2008, according to the Gaming Control Board. The gross was $872 million in July, while a year ago it was $997 million.

The board reported today that this is the 19th straight month Nevada casinos have reported a drop.

Indian casinos in California are grabbing gamblers before they reach Tahoe or Reno.

North Shore’s revenue fell 19 percent in July and Reno casinos were down 21 percent.

By Kathryn Reed

After 45 minutes of back and forth testimony from opposing counsel, the judge didn’t decide if Johnny Poland should be given back his badge to resume work as a South Lake Tahoe police officer.

The city is fighting his reinstatement, which counters the recommendation a three-person panel made nearly a year ago. A former South Lake Tahoe police chief, former mayor and independent arbitrator were on the panel.

Poland, a 10-year veteran of the force when he was terminated in June 2007, is accused of inappropriate behavior during the Nov. 20, 2006, lockdown at South Tahoe High School.

He appealed the decision. The panel ruled in his favor. The city is contesting that ruling. The city has spent close to $100,000 fighting the case.

It is up to El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Steven Bailey to make the final decision. At the court session Sept. 9 he did not indicate when he would rule.

Cynthia O’Neill with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore represented the city in court. One of her biggest arguments is that Poland is a dishonest cop.

“Officer Poland created a false impression a gun was not found,” O’Neill said. She further stated, “Mr. Poland violated the most basic of police duties. He did not collect evidence. He did not tell his supervisor.”

O’Neill’s reference is to the non-operating BB gun that was found in a student’s vehicle that day. Poland did not confiscate it, nor did he immediately tell anyone about it.

She tried to make a case that Poland is a liar and therefore the Brady ruling would come into play.

Brady v. Maryland in part says, “Police officers who lie are often called ‘Brady cops’, because of the Brady ruling, prosecutors are required to notify defendants and their attorneys whenever a law enforcement official involved in their case has a sustained record for knowingly lying in an official capacity.”

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department recently had a personnel case where the Brady ruling was cited. The theory is that a cop is no good on the street if their testimony is no good in the courtroom.

Even though O’Neill said the county’s district attorney is on the city’s side, Poland’s attorney Steven Welty pounced on that assertion by saying the DA has not been privy to the details of the case and therefore his opinion is warrantless.

Welty said the cases O’Neill cited were irrelevant to the Poland case because they had to do with “bold faced lies” by an officer.

“Officer Poland doesn’t come close to those cases,” Welty said.

Judge Bailey had the most questions for O’Neill — asking pointedly why the arbitration panel’s ruling was not appropriate. She kept repeating that Poland is a dishonest cop.

A ruling could come any day or weeks from now.

By Kathryn Reed

RENO — If it weren’t for the long-sleeve shirt, I would have sworn I was in Arizona.

Something about minor league baseball and spring training makes going to the ballpark an entirely different experience than the Bigs.

It’s not just the caliber of play.

Walking around the Reno Aces stadium for the first time I keep having deja vu like it was March in the desert, the atmosphere relaxed, the crowd more jovial, grass in the outfield filled with fans. Here I was on a warm summer night with just a few weeks to go in the Pacific Coast League. (Season ended the first week of September. The 2010 season starts in April.)

The Aces — in their inaugural season in Reno as a Triple A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks — are a fun team to watch. Of course a couple two-run homers and a 17-6 win helped create a festive mood.

Like most new ballparks these days, a few structural nuances make it unique. Picnic tables in the left field area are reserved this particular night for the Carson Tahoe Healthcare Employee Association. It’s a good vantage point to catch the action.

More tables are by the grass area in right field.

Railroad tracks parallel part of the outfield fence.

In the largest sky box on the left field side, employees of AAA Nevada are flitting in and out of the enclosure. Theirs are cushy seats (literally) on the outside where most of the gang is gathered.

Standard hard plastic is reserved for those seated below.

Still, walking around the stadium (three laps equal one mile according to the St. Mary’s medical sign) I couldn’t find a bad view.

Friday nights end with fireworks — as though there hadn’t been enough with all the runs scored on this particular night.

The Angora Fire Lookout served the Tahoe basin’s fire surveillance needs for many years until it was replaced in the late 1970s by improvements in aerial and satellite technology.

The first lookout was built in 1924 and was one of many standard lookout designs conceived by forester Coert DuBois in 1914 to be used by the Forest Service nationwide.

This structure was later converted into a small residence for the individuals in charge of the lookout. In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the current lookout alongside the original and a third structure was built in the 1940s that served as the garage. All three buildings are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now the U.S. Forest Service needs volunteers to revitalize the lookout complex on Angora Ridge near South Lake Tahoe in order to preserve part of Tahoe’s fire observation history.

Groups or individuals who can spend a day or two this month helping paint and refurbish these historic buildings are being sought.

For information, contact Tara McCarthy at (530) 543.2766 or tmccarthy@fs.fed.us.

Charbay Tequila Blanco will make its presence known at the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival.

The Sept. 12 tasting at the Village at Northstar will feature Marko Karakasevic, a 13th generation distiller and an integral part of the creative force behind the Charbay Artisan Winery and Distillery in St. Helena. Karakasevic will share his family’s authentic agave tequila, which he produced at a distillery in Aransas, Jalisco.

Tequila can only be produced in Mexico.

Karakasevic and his father, Miles, are the first American distillers to hand-distill 100 percent Blue Agave Tequila Blanco in Mexico.

Karakasevic says tequila is a complicated spirit, taking seven to 10 years for an agave to mature before they are then harvested, baked, pressed, fermented, distilled, then distilled again.

The tasting, which starts at 5:45pm, will be paired with appetizers created by Chef Jason Gronlund, former executive chef and culinary director for Tabasco Brand Hot Sauces. Tickets cost $65 and include a signed 750ml bottle of Charbay Tequila Blanco.

For more information about the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival or to purchase tickets, call 888.229.2193 or go to www.tahoefoodandwine.com. The festival runs Sept. 11-13 and includes tastings, seminars, demonstrations and activities at the Village at Northstar in Truckee and locations throughout North Lake Tahoe.