The Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation will have its annual signature fundraiser — Fall Food Fest — on Oct. 26 from 6:30-10pm at Harveys in Stateline.

This community event will feature food by local restaurants, beer, wine, tequila, and vodka tasting, silent and live auctions, and live music.

The money from this fundraiser is used to fund more than $50,000 in grants that are given to Lake Tahoe Unified School Districts schools during the school year. All schools have benefited from these grants.

Tickets are available at LTUSD schools and the district office for $40. At the door tickets are $45.

A kayaking excursion on Lake Tahoe ended with one person being treated for hypothermia at Barton Memorial Hospital.

“A male subject was lying on top of the overturned kayak and he appeared to be in medical distress and almost lifeless,” the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department’s Oct. 10 press release reads. The incident occurred Oct. 4.

That person has been released from the hospital.

Another kayaker was unable to paddle to the shore near the Tahoe Tallac Site, while the third person was found safe at Whiskey Cove.

There was a lake wind advisory for that day. When the patrol boat set out it encountered 2 to 4 foot swells.

Names, ages and hometowns of the three were not released.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Carl Lygren, KOLO-TV

It’s a sign Nevada’s film incentive program will be successful; a local casting agency is holding auditions this week for a film that’s set to be shot in Reno and Lake Tahoe in the coming weeks.

The production will take place entirely within the state of Nevada. Even though film incentives don’t become law until next year, producers tell us they’re building a framework now, so they can hit the ground running in January.

Lake Tahoe’s tranquil waters, disrupted by a carnivorous beast.

“It’s a thriller movie; it’s being directed by a local director, Jerry Duggan,” said Jeffrey Spilman, a producer with Reno Tahoe Studios.

“Shark Movie,” as it is currently being called, is set to begin filming next Monday in Northern Nevada.

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By Ron Nixon, New York Times

WASHINGTON — The government shutdown is endangering what America eats, food safety experts said this week, as all inspections of domestic food except meat and poultry have halted and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recalled furloughed workers to handle a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of people in

Offices are dark across the federal agencies charged with making sure that the fruit, vegetables, dairy products and a vast array of other domestically produced food are safe to consume. Inspectors, administrative staff, lab technicians, communications specialists and other support staff members have been sent home while lawmakers wrangle over government spending.

“This is a self-inflicted wound that is putting people’s health at risk,” said Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., a longtime food safety advocate.

Because the shutdown comes on top of earlier budget cuts to the agencies, she said, “you’re creating the potential for a real public health crisis.”

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By Kathryn Reed

South Tahoe High School math instructor Paul Kushner returned to the classroom Thursday after being off for five days while the district investigated what websites he had been looking at while at school and on the district’s computer.

“Appropriate disciplinary action was taken,” Jim Tarwater, Lake Tahoe Unified School district superintendent, told Lake Tahoe News. Because it is a personnel issue Tarwater could not divulge what the discipline was or why Kushner was disciplined.

Paul Kushner

A student earlier this month reported to high school officials that Kushner was looking at inappropriate, non-educational websites.

A filter on district computers prevents anyone from accessing pornographic websites. Even Facebook cannot be accessed from district computers. However, that still leaves plenty of websites that have half-naked women.

Lake Tahoe News was sent a video of Kushner perusing questionable websites of women in bras. A video expert told LTN it would take a seasoned professional to have altered the video. This person’s opinion is the video was authentic. Earlier a photo had been sent to LTN that was believed to have been altered.

School district personnel must sign a document that acknowledges they understand what is an appropriate use of school equipment and what is not.

Tarwater said violation of the user’s guide could result in termination. Kushner’s actions did not warrant such action.

Bonds on the 10-year-old South Lake Tahoe parking garage are going to be refinanced.

While the interest rate will be lower, the payment date will be extended another 10 years from the original 30-year end date. However, financial experts have told the city it’s possible the debt could be paid off in 20 years. And a decade ago the city was also told this concrete structure would be a money-maker.

The paperwork is such that the garage would not be able to be refinanced in the next 10 years.

South Lake Tahoe’s parking garage has been problematic since Day 1. Photo/LTN

The interest rate is estimated to be about 6.3 percent. The goal is to have the transaction done by December before the next payment is due on the current bonds.

The City Council at its meeting last week unanimously agreed to this deal.

The original bond in 2002 was for $9 million.

The garage takes in about $650,000 in revenue. But the operating expenses and debt payment are close to $750,000. The $100,000 shortfall was been double that in past years before management changes were made.

The South Tahoe Joint Powers Parking Authority owns the garage. The council acts as that entity’s board of directors.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Anjeanette Damon and Andrew Doughman, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval said Wednesday Nevada is in danger of “catastrophic” consequences if the federal government shutdown persists until the end of the month.

Most state agencies are able to continue federal programs until the end of the month, Sandoval was told in a mini-cabinet meeting today. But the cash-strapped state is already beginning to rack up a significant bill keeping essential programs running without the guarantee of the federal government reimbursing the costs.

“Particularly at the end of the month, I think that’s really when we are going to start to see … some catastrophic issues going on for the state,” Sandoval said.

“Time is short. We have hundreds of thousands of Nevadans facing real consequences. The first of the month is right around the corner.”

Most immediately, 362,000 food stamp recipients will see their benefits halt on Nov. 1 and the 500 state employees who administer that program will face potential furloughs if the shutdown is not resolved. About 74,000 women, infants and children would also stop seeing food benefits.

To continue both programs without federal money would cost the state $50 million a month.

“We don’t have it,” Sandoval said, of the state’s $6.1 billion biennial budget. “We can’t afford it.”

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• SnowGlobe has released its lineup for the Dec. 29-31 South Lake Tahoe music festival. Tickets are also on sale.

• Douglas County is working on a program called Open for Business. The goal is to evaluate how the county is communicating with the business community, including existing businesses and businesses looking to relocate. Here is a link to the survey.

• Brett Hunn, a 10-year Northern Nevada gaming veteran, has been hired as marketing director at MontBleu in Stateline.

• This video compares fire conditions between Colorado and the Sierra Nevada.

• Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood together are hiring 2,300 winter employees. Job fairs will take place at the Red Cliffs Lodge for Kirkwood on Oct. 12 from 9am-2pm, at the Heavenly California Main Lodge for Heavenly and Kirkwood on Oct. 19 from 9am- 2pm and at the Northstar Village on Oct. 26 from 9am–2pm.

I would like to encourage everyone buying costumes for Halloween to check the labels and make sure they are made of flame retardant materials.

Materials made of 100 percent polyester are best suited for Halloween costumes. These costume materials may be purchased at most local fabric stores. The use of commercial flame retardant sprays is not recommended.

Avoid Halloween costumes that are loose or baggy to prevent fabric from coming in contact with any open flames.

Children should carry flashlights or use battery operated lights. Jack-o-lanterns that have an open flame device should be placed off the ground so that long or full costumes and young trick-or-treaters’ hands cannot come in contact with the flames.

The use of masks which obstruct vision should be avoided. Costumes should incorporate reflective tape in their design so children can be easily seen at night.

Trick or treat while it’s still light outside, and stay in your neighborhood, visiting only the homes you know. Finally, always check your children’s candy before allowing them to eat any of it.

Have a fun and safe Halloween.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department

By Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times

American adults lag well behind their counterparts in most other developed countries in the mathematical and technical skills needed for a modern workplace, according to a study released Tuesday.

The study, perhaps the most detailed of its kind, shows that the well-documented pattern of several other countries surging past the United States in students’ test scores and young people’s college graduation rates corresponds to a skills gap, extending far beyond school. In the United States, young adults in particular fare poorly compared with their international competitors of the same ages — not just in math and technology, but also in literacy.

More surprisingly, even middle-aged Americans — who, on paper, are among the best-educated people of their generation anywhere in the world — are barely better than middle of the pack in skills.

Arne Duncan, the education secretary, released a statement saying that the findings “show our education system hasn’t done enough to help Americans compete — or position our country to lead — in a global economy that demands increasingly higher skills.”

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