Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Oct. 1, 2013, Washington Post.

Americans’ respect for their Congress has, sad to say, diminished in recent years. But citizens still expect a minimal level of competence and responsibility: Pay the bills and try not to embarrass us in front of the world.

By those minimal standards, this Congress is failing. More specifically, the Republican leaders of the House of Representatives are failing. They should fulfill their basic duties to the American people or make way for legislators who will.

Congress should fulfill its basic duties or make way for legislators who will.

We don’t come to that view as rabid partisans. On many of the issues stalemating Washington, we find plenty of blame to go around. We’ve criticized President Obama’s reluctance to pursue entitlement reform. The last time the country reached the debt ceiling, we urged both sides to compromise on revenue and spending in the interest of long-term fiscal soundness.

This time, fiscal responsibility isn’t even a topic. Instead, Republicans have shut much of the government in what they had to know was a doomed effort to derail the Affordable Care Act. That law, in case you’ve forgotten in the torrent of propaganda, is hardly revolutionary. It is an effort to extend health insurance to some of the 40 million or so people in this country who have none. It acts through the existing private-insurance market. Republicans tried to block its passage and failed; they hoped to have it declared unconstitutional and failed; and they did their best to toss Obama out of the White House after one term in order to strangle it in its cradle, and they failed again.

Read the whole story

By Ed Komenda, Las Vegas Sun

Caesars Entertainment Corp. has sold 10.3 million shares of its common stock to a Swiss banking firm for $200 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Credit Suisee Securities purchased the stock for $19.40 per share.

Tuesday’s sale follows the heels of the gaming giant’s Sept. 25 move to offer common stock to generate cash to pay down a mortgage loan.

Caesars is the parent company of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys in Stateline.

Read the whole story

AT&T resumed utility relocation work Oct. 2 along the north side of Highway 28 between Bear and Fox streets in Kings Beach.

Lane closures in this area can be anticipated. This road work should continue, weather permitting, through the next several weeks.

For more information on the project, go online.

• Barton Auxiliary will receive Barton Foundation’s Spirit of Philanthropy award at the gala Dec. 7 – which is part of the Festival of Trees and Lights.

• The magic show “Illusion Fusion” at Horizon in Stateline is offering those with a Lake Tahoe ID a ticket for $10 through Oct. 14.

• Huffington Post lists the best resort hot tubs with a view and Ridge Tahoe is one of them.

• Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a construction management contract for a portion of the larger Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project for Highway 28.

• October is when Nevada allows studded snow tires on roads.

By Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News

Thousand of visitors were turned away Tuesday from national parks across California as the federal government shutdown took effect.

But for parks lovers and tourist businesses hoping for a bailout from Sacramento to keep iconic sites open, the answer was no. California Gov. Jerry Brown, whose state is home to 26 national park units, from Yosemite to Death Valley to Point Reyes National Seashore, said no state money will be offered to keep the gates open.

Not only are there a lot of parks, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, but California’s budget is finally balanced after years of multi-billion-dollar deficits, and can’t afford the expense.

“Also, if the state were to take that action, there is no guarantee that it would be reimbursed,” Palmer said.

On Monday, the governor of South Dakota, Republican Dennis Daugaard, sent a letter to the director of the National Park Service offering state funding and employees to help keep open Mount Rushmore, the state’s top tourist attraction. Arizona’s governor used state money in 1995 in an arrangement with national parks leaders to keep Grand Canyon National Park open during the last federal shutdown. Arizona’s current Gov. Jan Brewer said Monday her cabinet considered the idea but the state won’t bail out the Grand Canyon this time.

Read the whole story

The Nevada Division of Forestry will be conducting prescribed burns at Tunnel Creek in the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park backcountry during October and November, weather permitting.

Tunnel Creek Road from Highway 28 to Tunnel Creek Station may be closed. Signs will be posted throughout the area when burns are being conducted.

Nearly 75 acres will be treated in 12 treatment units.

The burns are part of ongoing fuels treatment and forest restoration efforts being conducted by the Nevada Tahoe Resource Team in the Lake Tahoe area. The goal of the project is to create a healthier forest and to make the area more resistant to catastrophic wildfire.

Weather patterns will be monitored for smoke management prior to and during burns.

For more information, call (775) 684.2500.

Jose Natividad Baron Vazquez, 24, of Placerville died Monday when his pickup careened down a steep embankment on Interstate 80, overturning as it hit boulders.

Passenger Joel Pelayo Rios, 22, of Placerville was able to crawl to the highway where motorists saw him and then called for help. Rios sustained major injuries.

The accident was near Soda Springs on Sept. 30.

The California Highway Patrol says alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Case Keefer, Las Vegas Sun

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the talk of Major League Baseball during a win streak that saw them victorious in 26 of their first 30 contests after the All-Star Game.

Las Vegas oddsmakers turned into the ones who needed a break as it felt like 26 out of every 30 people to enter the sports book wagered on the Dodgers to win the World Series.

“There are some people who have them at pretty decent odds,” conceded Chris Bennett, assistant manager and overseer of baseball odds at the LVH Superbook. “But even when we lowered their odds drastically when it became clear they were going to win their division, people were still firing away, which was a little surprising to me. I don’t think it’s a good bet now.”

No matter, the action on Los Angeles continues to pour in. With baseball’s postseason officially under way the Dodgers are alone as World Series favorites at 3-to-1.

Read the whole story

Members of El Dorado County’s largest union are expected to vote on a contract proposal on Oct. 3 and Oct. 7.

The deal Local 1 reached with county officials calls for a 5 percent raise effective the first full pay period after the Board of Supervisors ratifies the agreement. This would occur sometime in October assuming the union votes for the contract.

The agreement also calls for 5 percent pay increases on July 1, 2014, and another 5 percent on July 1, 2015.

The county will conduct a study to see how employee salaries compare to their peers.

The county had wanted employees to pay 4 percent more to fund their retirement, but that has been taken off the negotiation table.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Mexican consul is coming to the South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center on Oct. 5.

The goal is to help Mexican citizens get Mexican IDs and passports.

The session is from 8am-4pm.

It is necessary to make an appointment by calling 877.639.4825.

For more information, contact the Family Resource Center at (530) 542.0740.