Douglas County school board members briefly discussed at this month’s meeting whether the asking price of Kingsbury Middle School should be changed.

No – was the answer. The $4 million asking price for the shuttered Stateline school remains. The school was closed because of declining enrollment.

Lisa Noonan, superintendent of Douglas County School District, told Lake Tahoe News that two groups are seriously interested in purchasing the property, which includes all of the former school buildings. Until a formal offer is submitted, the names of the groups are not being made public.

“We must take the higher offer as long as it meets all the requirements,” Noonan said.

However, oral bids also must be considered. That means there could be a bidding war, so to speak, at the public meeting. Any oral bid must be 5 percent higher than the highest qualified bid.

The sale of the property will be back on the school board agenda Jan. 14. The board will be at Zephyr Cove Library at 3:30pm.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee

There’s no half way with Bruce Dern. It’s why he’s worked consistently in show business for 55 years.

Dern said he passed on his strategy to Will Forte one day on set of their acclaimed new film “Nebraska”. Forte, who plays Dern’s character’s son, was battling an illness and struggling to get through the day’s shoot. He turned to his resilient co-star, 34 years his senior, for coping advice.

“I told him, ‘You want to give it all on every play,’” Dern said. “‘You are here 24-7 for all of us. If I let down, or you let down, or any of us lets down, the movie suffers.’”

This approach extends to interviews as well. Reached by telephone in Los Angeles, Dern doesn’t follow the question, answer, silence-in-between template of modern interviews. When he was coming up, stars engaged with the press.

Dern, 77, won the best-actor prize at May’s Cannes Film Festival for his “Nebraska” performance, and he’s on the short list for a lead-actor Academy Award nomination. He’s glad to talk about his career resurgence, but he also asks questions, and tailors some responses for The Bee’s local audience.

For nearly 25 years, Dern flew from Los Angeles to his second home on Fallen Leaf Lake so he could bet on sports, he said. Often, his flight would be diverted to Sacramento from Reno, and he would drive up Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe.

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Deadlines are approaching to get mail to people serving in the armed forced overseas.

The general deadlines for Christmas delivery of APO/FPO and overseas military mail are:

Dec. 3 -– Priority mail and first-class letters destined for APO 093.

Dec. 10 — Priority mail and first-class letters to all other APO/FPO/AA/AE destinations.

Dec. 17 — Priority mail express to all APO/FPO/AA/AE destinations (not available for APO 093).

The Postal Service offers a $2 per box discount on its largest flat-rate box for mail destined to APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office, Diplomatic Post Office) destinations worldwide. The cost is $14.85 and features the “if it fits, it ships” one-price feature.

The Postal Service also offers a free Military Mail Care Kit that can be sent to your home. The kit contains priority mail flat rate boxes, tape, address labels, and customs forms. To order the kit, call 800.610.8734.

By Kathryn Reed

The U.S. Forest Service is looking at solidifying policy for the 122 ski resorts in the country that are on federal land when it comes to allowing people to access the mountain without paying to go uphill.

Walking, hiking, and skiing uphill (usually done with skins) are activities that are gaining in popularity. Many times people want to access backcountry terrain. Other times people just want to play for free.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in uphill skier traffic over the past few seasons, so with safety in mind we recently launched a new uphill use policy,” Jeff Monson, spokesman for Sugar Bowl ski resort, told Lake Tahoe News. “While we won’t be charging a fee, we do expect all uphill skiers to adhere to these rules, respecting the fact that there’s nearly constant work being conducted out on the mountain. By obtaining our new uphill season pass, signing the waiver and ultimately familiarizing themselves with the rules and regulations of uphill use, skiers are more educated on the hazards involved, and the level safety is improved as a result.”

While Squaw doesn’t allow access except via a lift, one reason people like the choice is to avoid lift lines. Photo/LTN file

Heavenly Mountain resort doesn’t allow people to be on the mountain when chairlifts are spinning unless they have a lift ticket.

“We have no plans to charge for uphill access to Heavenly. As a company, we have instituted policies to ensure the safety of our guests who choose to access the mountain under their own will,” Sally Gunter, with Heavenly, told Lake Tahoe News. Here is the resort’s policy.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows do not permit any uphill travel during winter operations except via the lifts.

Lake Tahoe Basin Forest Service officials said the intention of the national directive is to strike a balance between the resorts and those who want to use the resort without taking a chairlift.

Proposed changes “would preclude authorization of an entrance fee at ski areas, and would allow authorization of fees for facilities and services the holders provide, such as lifts, parking lots, and slopes and trails that have been cleared, graded, groomed or covered with manmade snow. Additionally, this paragraph would encourage authorized officers to ensure that some portions of the permit area remain open to the public without charge, so that the holder’s charges do not constitute de facto entrance fees.”

Comments on the policy are being taken until Dec. 2. It’s part of revising the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act. Clarifications are being made to the 2011 legislation. More information is available online.

In part wording is being changed “to clarify that ski area permit holders may be allowed to charge fees for use of improvements and services in which they have made capital investments, such as ski trails or other facilities they constructed, groom, or otherwise maintain, and to clarify that ski area permit holders may not be allowed to charge for use of non-motorized or motorized trails that are constructed and maintained by the Forest Service.”

While Sierra-at-Tahoe intends to follow whatever rules come from Washington, the South Shore resort does not promote uphill skiing.

“We do not encourage uphill skiing and recommend that guests who want to uphill ski, safely explore other areas of the Tahoe basin,” Steven Hemphill, Sierra’s spokesman, told Lake Tahoe News.

To the community,

Like the paid parking foes who received a “rejection” of their initiative earlier this week, our medical marijuana voter initiative was also rejected. That makes two separate citizen groups that the South Lake Tahoe city attorney has denied their First Amendment rights and twice that he has flaunted the law to exercise authority he doesn’t have.

The city attorney claims, “It is the duty of the city attorney to review the text for compliance with California law. If the text is proper and appropriate following that review, the city attorney should provide a ballot title and summary, allowing the circulations of petitions.”

Steve Kubby

That is not what the law says. Here is the actual law that pertains: “Section 9203 (a) Any person who is interested in any proposed measure shall file a copy of the proposed measure with the elections official with a request that a ballot title and summary be prepared. This request shall be accompanied by the address of the person proposing the measure. The elections official shall immediately transmit a copy of the proposed measure to the city attorney. Within 15 days after the proposed measure is filed, the city attorney shall provide and return to the city elections official a ballot title for and summary of the proposed measure. The ballot title may differ from any other title of the proposed measure and shall express in 500 words or less the purpose of the proposed measure. In providing the ballot title, the city attorney shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language that the ballot title shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.”

Please note that “any proposed measure” may be submitted and the city attorney must issue a ballot title and summary. The word “shall” means “mandatory” as it relates to issuing the ballot title and summary.

I publicly challenge the city attorney to provide a legal basis for his authority to reject a voter initiative, because the language of the Section 9203 (a) of the California Election Code is clear enough and he does not have any authority to decide what petitions qualify for the ballot. Furthermore, by rejecting our initiative the city attorney has directly violated one of the key warnings of Section 9203 (a), by creating an argument of “rejection” which creates extreme prejudice against our proposed measure.

Worse still, the city attorney is directly obstructing our First Amendment right to petition our government, under color of law. Such obstruction can only serve to create the appearance of a city government at war with the community, determined to block opposition through unlawful means.

So far, not one word from any City Council members to speak out against this outrageous and unprecedented attack on the right of the people to seek redress through the initiative process. Indeed, to the citizens who seek redress on the issue of paid parking, as well as those who seek a sane medical marijuana policy, these illegal actions by the city attorney and the silence of the City Council calls into question the judgment and character of those who are supposed to serve us.

Steve Kubby, South Lake Tahoe

To the community,

Saint Joseph Community Land Trust gives thanks to the Knights of Columbus Council 10611 for hosting its annual membership appreciation night with a delicious spaghetti dinner in Grace Hall at St. Theresa Church.

More than 80 members and supporters came out on a snowy night to celebrate 11 years of service to communities around Lake Tahoe. Thank you also to Interstate Realty Management, and Annette and Al Luna managers of Sierra Garden Apartments, for donating a turkey and pies for our raffle. Sierra Garden Apartments is one of the affordable properties owned by Saint Joseph CLT.

We also appreciate Father Ben Deleon for allowing the use of Grace Hall; Mike Bradford with Lakeside Inn for donating a free dinner for two at one of their restaurants; South Tahoe Standup Paddle for donating a paddle boarding certificate for two; and numerous volunteers who assisted with set-up, decorations and clean-up.

At the dinner, board President Lyn Barnett announced Saint Joseph’s new capital campaign for the acquisition, rehabilitation and rental or sale of a one or two bedroom home to a qualifying household. Saint Joseph Community Land Trust has set a fundraising goal of $250,000 from local sources for this project.

Saint Joseph Community Land Trust is a democratically-controlled nonprofit organization founded in 2O02 to address affordable housing and life skills training needs for residents in the Lake Tahoe Basin. For more information on Saint Joseph Community Land Trust, please visit our website.

Charlotte Rosburg, Saint Joseph Community Land Trust

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — Big issues in the workplace — wages, overtime, time off, working conditions — are also major topics in the state Legislature. And this year, lawmakers delivered some tangible changes that will be felt in the pocketbook.

At the top of the list, of course, is an increase in the minimum wage that swept through Democrat-dominated Sacramento, despite opposition from powerful business interests. But workers didn’t get all of their agenda passed into law.

“We were able to improve upon existing protections as well as support workers in a number of new ways, including increasing the minimum wage,” said Steve Smith, a spokesman for the California Labor Federation. “If you look at this year, compared to over the past decade, it would be hard to argue that there’s been a better year for worker legislation.”

Many of the latest changes, Smith said, might seem incremental. But all are important, he explained, because “the cumulative effect is to make it harder for employers to violate the rights of workers, which is a good thing.”

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By USSA

BEAVER CREEK — The 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships women’s downhill successfully hosted its first World Cup Friday to open the Nature Valley Raptor World Cup week. Veteran Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain) earned the top spot for the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 19th on a course that has been heralded by the entire AudI FIS Alpine World Cup field.

Cook finished 2.23 seconds behind the Soelden winner Lara Gut of Switzerland, who put down a smooth and aggressive line early in the race to take the victory.

“Itt’s pretty bumpy and just is a hard course to figure out, especially when it changes day to day. It’s just hard to get a grip on it and I struggled a little bit on executing my plan. That happens on new courses,” Cook said.

Saturday the U.S. women’s speed team takes the Raptor race speed venue again for a World Cup super G.

Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley) finished 20th, with Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) 22nd.

Rookie Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) started her first World Cup race Friday, finishing 44th. Leanne Smith (N. Conway, N.H.) had a podium run going before hooking an edge above the finish jump, forcing her to pull off course.

On Dec. 22 from 10:30am-noon Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center is hosting a snowshoe tour.

Guides will teach people about snowshoeing while exploring the trails at Tahoe Donner. Information about local fauna and flora will be given.

The cost is $30 for tour only or $59 for trail pass, rental and tour.

Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center is 15275 Alder Creek Road, Truckee.

For more info, call (530) 587.9494.

By Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times

It’s the morning after Thanksgiving and you’re still in your flannel pajamas. You creep into the kitchen and open the fridge to find what’s left of last night’s turkey. It’s too tempting not to tear off a couple pieces of the leg meat to eat cold before the rest of the family comes down to attack and grab their share to put in sandwiches, pot pies and omelets.

The thought of Thanksgiving leftovers is reason enough to roast a turkey twice the size needed to feed your dinner party. And the possibilities for what to do with that leftover meat are endless.

If you’re looking for sandwich ideas, Deputy Food Editor Betty Hallock has some suggestions. She asked three Los Angeles chefs how they would reinvent the turkey sandwich. Ricardo Zarate of Mo-Chica and Picca came up with a recipe for a roasted turkey sandwich with fried sweet potatoes, jalapeno-cilantro aioli. It comes piled high with avocado on a buttery brioche bun.

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