By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

With a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated El Dorado County set to expire at the end of October, the county Planning Commission has called for an ordinance to allow and regulate the facilities.

The commission at its Aug. 22 meeting objected to a proposed ordinance amendment, initiated by the Board of Supervisors, that would ban all medical marijuana distribution facilities.

“After about four hours of listening and discussion, it was the commission’s directive to allow the existing collectives that are in place today,” said commission Chairman Dave Pratt. “In a second motion, we asked the board to give us a shot at coming up with rules for collectives.”

Pratt suggested it is time for the county to start viewing medical marijuana dispensaries as tax-paying enterprises that can provide jobs and contribute to the local economy.

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Young actors are needed for the “Best Christmas Pageant Ever”.

The production is a joint project between the Tahoe Tallac Association and Barton Health Festival of Tree and Lights.

Auditions for the primary roles (9 years and older) will be at the Duke Theatre at Lake Tahoe Community College on Sept. 13 at 6pm. Some acting and stage experience is needed for lead roles. Auditions for secondary roles (8 years and younger) will be at the college theater on Sept. 14 at 3pm.

Rehearsals will be on Fridays this month, increasing to two or three days a week in October and November.

The production will be during the Festival of Trees and Lights at MontBleu in Stateline on Dec. 5 Dec. 6 and Dec. 8.

For more info, contact Ginger Nicolay-Davis at ginger@mysouthlaketahoehome.com or (530) 318.6686.

Join aficionados of art and ink at Bona Fide HQ on Sept. 16 from 6-8pm for the first informal gathering of the Print Club.

Participants will explore techniques on three types of printers: an antique book press, an etching press, and a small portable hand press.

There is a $10 supply fee or bring your own.

Bona Fide is located at 1069 Magua St., No. 4, Meyers. It is behind the Getaway Cafe.

• LPA Architects, the firm that has designed the new buildings in Lake Tahoe Unified, this fall will be presented with an AIA Award for South Tahoe High’s TADA facility.

• Cub Scouts Pack 592 is looking for members in grades K-5. There is a meeting Sept. 10 at 7pm at Grace Hall at St. Theresa Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe. For more info, call (530) 318.5945.

• The Landing Resort and Spa opens in South Lake Tahoe on Nov. 22.

• The third public meeting to explore a possible ban on single-use plastic carry out bags in Truckee is scheduled for Sept. 11 from 5:30-7pm in the East Wing Conference Room at the Town Hall.

• Here is the Sierra roadwork schedule for this week from Sierra.

By Kathryn Reed

Not even a grandma’s embrace is strong enough to save a child when the vehicle she is traveling in is involved in an accident.

Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for ages 1-12. Two children in the United States die each day as a passenger in a vehicle, and 325 are injured. Those numbers could be cut in half if child seats were used, and used properly. These facts are from the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on 2010 figures, the latest available.

It’s possible 3-year-old Caroline Maxfield of Colorado would be alive today had she been in a car seat. She died July 30 in a vehicle accident near Cave Rock.

This is one of three vehicles involved in an accident in July where a toddler died. Photo/Provided

Three other children were asleep in the back of the Suburban that was involved in that three-vehicle collision. They survived.

The toddler was on the lap of her grandma with a seatbelt going across both of them. Not really being strapped in, this scenario is more like putting a child in a slingshot, according to officials.

“Sometimes people overlook safety and it has tragic results. That is what happened here,” Eric Guevin with Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District told Lake Tahoe News.

Science and engineering go into the design of car seats. A minimum safety standard must be adhered to in order for a manufacturer to be able to sell the seats.

But even when people use the seats, about 60 percent of the time they are not installed correctly, according to Guevin.

The July fatality has Tahoe Douglas on a campaign to educate parents about the importance of restraining their children in a vehicle – and doing so properly. Tahoe Douglas Fire is the only agency on the South Shore that does care seat safety inspections.

“Car seats are specially designed to transport the frailest of our passengers,” Guevin said. “The five-point harness … shoulders, hips and in between legs … is the same as a racing harness. Pilots use it because of G force. It spreads the crash forces over a wider area.”

Chris Lucas is one of the firefighters certified in car seat safety. He has spoken at Barton Health classes to tell expectant parents all about the seats. More firefighters are going to a training at the end of the month.

Each state has different requirements, with weight and height the main criteria.

The angle of the seat is important to prevent neck injuries. Making sure the seat doesn’t move much is also important.

“Statistics show there is still a lot of misuse. And it’s totally avoidable,” Guevin said.

To contact Tahoe Douglas about a child car safety seat inspection, call (775) 588.3591.

Dandelion

Dandelion is a 2- or 3-year-old Australian terrier, a breed known for its intelligence and easygoing personality.

He is energetic and fun and he loves people (including kids) and other dogs. Confident cats are OK too. His wiry fur is non-shedding, and he’s got a special underbite to keep you laughing. Dandy weighs about 10 pounds.

Dandelion is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online to  see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

— Karen Kuentz

Publisher’s note: This letter was sent Aug. 22 to the California Senate president pro tem and speaker of the California Assembly.

Dear Senator Steinberg and Speaker Perez:

The undersigned are California appointees to the Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). We have been appointed by either the governor or the Legislature or are local government representatives. We write to express our support for SB630 and, in doing so, we speak for ourselves and not TRPA which has remained neutral on all legislation in either state involving the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Compact.

There are two principal reasons why we support SB630. First, the bill maintains the bi-state Compact and specifies that the two states will cooperate in implementing the new Regional Plan update adopted by TRPA on Dec. 12, 2012. The second reason is that passage of this bill will facilitate renewed joint efforts by the two states to help TRPA achieve the environmental thresholds as required by the Compact. Below we elaborate on the importance of these two components of SB630.

Prior to the adoption of the RPU there had been years of controversy and turmoil about what an updated regional plan should do. After direction from state and congressional leaders at the 2011 Lake Tahoe Summit, TRPA began an in depth review of possible provisions which would be included in the regional plan. A special committee of the Governing Board was assigned the responsibility for developing these provisions and bringing its recommendations to the full board. After at least 15 hearings, the committee completed its work but there were dissents on numerous key environmental planning issues. The two states stepped in and convened a bi-state consultation process, which was co-led by former Assemblyman and current Natural Resources Secretary John Laird. This stakeholder-driven process resulted in compromises which garnered the support of the vast majority of business, environmental, educational, scientific, and local governmental interests. For example, these compromises limited the levels of development; and, encouraged removal of development from sensitive environmental areas. These changes to the proposed RPU caused major environmental interests to change from opposition to support for the plan. We believe that the RPU is a balanced plan which will facilitate environmental improvement and threshold attainment at Lake Tahoe.

Despite all the efforts made to find common ground, the Sierra Club has been outspoken in its opposition to the RPU, pursuing litigation to have the plan overturned in Federal court and, now, opposing SB630. Unfortunately, the Sierra Club’s statements about the RPU are inaccurate. We will detail some of them here: The club has stated in effect that the new Regional Plan will urbanize Lake Tahoe to the detriment of the lake’s clarity and air quality. This is not the case. In fact, under the RPU there will be no new tourist accommodation units allocated. New hotels or motels will have to acquire matching existing units from sensitive lands, restore the site where they are located and transfer the units to the new location. The two new Resort Recreation Districts, the subject of much controversy and which are either located in already developed urban areas or adjacent to such areas, can have no development except by transfer and retirement of existing development. There are 600 bonus units available over a 20-year period for residential use, but these bonus units are largely intended for affordable housing so workers can live closer to the job, thereby reducing traffic and air pollution. The club has stated that there are 3,200 new residential units allowed under the plan. Six hundred of these are the bonus units just mentioned and 2,600 are units allowed on lots that were subdivided before the 1987 plan and where the owners have property rights. These are not new units created by the RPU. The club is correct in pointing to a new allocation for commercial use but most observers, including business interests, believe this will never be used. There is a significant surplus of existing allowable commercial use in the old plan that was not used.

The Sierra Club also alleges that high densities within existing urbanized town centers are going to lead to excessive development. Those provisions of the RPU, driven by environmentally significant California law (e.g., AB32 and SB375), call for concentrated development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any additional densities within town centers will be tempered by the transfer of development provisions, discussed above. The RPU is a balanced approach to environmental improvement through proper location of new development and redevelopment of outdated development. In fact, old existing development is causing most of the lake’s clarity problems.

Our second reason for supporting SB630 is to bring a stop to the prospect of ending the bi-state Compact. Earlier this year, Nevada enacted legislation reaffirming the bi-state Compact. It is now California’s turn to live up to our side of the bargain. The two states reached an agreement in May which renews the two states’ commitment to work together to do what’s best for the environment and economy of Lake Tahoe. Included

in this agreement and reflected in SB630 are two modest proposed amendments to the Compact that Congress will have to enact. The Sierra Club has argued that these changes will lead to severe environmental degradation in the basin. This is incorrect. One of the amendments would require weighing economic factors in decisions made by TRPA. The bi-state Compact already requires TRPA to maintain the social and economic health of the Tahoe Basin. There is no way this recitation of existing policy leads to environmental degradation. The other amendment puts the burden of proof on the party who challenges a decision of TRPA. This, like the other amendment, is nothing more than a re-statement of existing law. Petitioners in lawsuits challenging government agency decisions have the burden of proving that the government agency made a mistake. It has always been that way and this amendment simply expresses that legal requirement in the bi-state Compact.

In summary, we believe that SB630 is key to preserving the bi-state Compact and the national focus on the protection of Lake Tahoe. We urge you and your colleagues to adopt SB630 so this bill, which reflects the agreement between the two states, can be presented to the governor for his signature.

Sincerely,

Casey Beyer, E. Clement Shute Jr., Elizabeth Carmel, Larry Sevison, Hal Cole, William Yeates and Norma Santiago

Master the art of the business dinner with helpful tips and tastes.

The goal of the evening is to learn how to make a professional impression while doing business over a meal.

Must be 21 to attend to the Sept. 25 5:30-6:30pm event.

The event is free to Tahoe Regional Young Professionals and $10 for others.

The event is at Après Wine Company, 3668 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite G, South Lake Tahoe.

By Andrea Chang and Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

Like many grocery shoppers, Michele Ricketts dreads long checkout lines.

But lately, she’s been breezing by the cash register at her neighborhood Ralphs even with the usual crowds at the store.

“In the last month, I have noticed it was faster,” said Ricketts, 27, an actress from the Miracle Mile. “I thought I was dreaming.”

She wasn’t. To shave precious minutes off wait times, Ralphs has been installing technology to measure foot traffic in nearly all of its supermarkets.

Known as QueVision, the system uses hidden infrared cameras with body heat trackers to figure out how many customers are shopping at any given time. Managers use that information to redeploy workers to the cash registers when things get busy.

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The last chance to see the Tahoe Improv Players this season is Oct. 4.

The group is putting on a benefit performance for Unity at the Lake.

The event start at 7:30pm.

Unity is at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe. (Across from the city recreation center).

To purchase a $10 ticket, call (530) 544.2266.