A South Lake Tahoe police vehicle was hit Thursday afternoon at the Y.
The officer, whose name has not been released, was going through the intersection with lights and sires on when a vehicle towing a boat broadsided the cop car.
Lt. Brian Williams told Lake Tahoe News no one required medical care at the scene.
The California Highway Patrol is assisting with the investigation.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
Sprinkle or Shower? Efficient Irrigation is the subject of an Aug. 5 talk at Lake Tahoe Community College’s demonstration garden.
This 5:30pm talk will focus on setting up and maintaining an irrigation system for most efficient use.
Green Thumb is a series of talks and demonstrations on gardening in Tahoe, presented by the Lake Tahoe Master Gardeners. All lectures are free and open to the public.
The Placer County Sheriff Office’s search and rescue teams have started their annual telemarketing fundraising drive throughout the county, beginning in Lake Tahoe.
This year, search and rescue is hoping to purchase mobile communications equipment for the Lake Tahoe area. Search and rescue volunteers donate thousands of hours each year to locate lost hikers, skiers and anyone else who may need assistance in Placer County’s thousands of acres of wilderness.
Telephone solicitors will be calling Placer County residents to ask for donations. Anyone wishing to make a donation will be sent a pre-addressed envelope. Callers will not ask for credit card information. Donations should only be sent to the following addresses: P.O. Box 4150, Auburn, CA 95604 or P.O. Box 1710, Tahoe City, CA 96145.
During recent fundraising efforts, another company calling themselves “Search and Rescue Charities” led some donors to believe that they were donating to Placer County. This is not the case and anyone interested in donating to the local search and rescue efforts needs to make sure they are giving to “Placer County Search and Rescue.”
For further information, Katrina Kane at (530) 889.7846.
By Elizabeth Campbell, Bloomberg
U.S. beef production is plunging to a 21-year low after surging feed costs spurred ranchers to cut herds, signaling record prices for consumers and higher costs for buyers from McDonald’s Corp. to Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
Production in the U.S. will decline 4.9 percent to 10.93 million metric tons in 2014, retreating for a fourth year, the government says. The herd on July 1 was the smallest for that date since at least 1973, according to the average of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The most-active cattle futures will rise 6.1 percent to $1.33 a pound next year, a level last seen in February, the median of nine forecasts shows.
McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant chain, probably will pay 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent more for beef this year, according to Jack Russo, a St. Louis-based analyst at Edward Jones & Co.
Global meat prices rose 2.1 percent in June, the most in nine months, while the overall cost of food dropped 0.9 percent to the lowest since February, United Nations data show.
Ranchers still haven’t recovered from last year’s drought that sent grain costs to a record and spurred them to slaughter more cattle. While feed costs are now slumping as U.S. farms prepare to reap the biggest corn crop ever, it takes more than two years to raise enough animals to expand supply. Retail ground-beef prices in June were up 13 percent from a year earlier and near a record set in January.
“The drought has really affected the cow herd,” said Tucker Hughes, a 65-year-old rancher in Stanford, Mont., who predicted the number of animals he retains for breeding may drop as much as 20 percent over the next two years. “Some people had to downsize their herds. When you get these droughts, you have to reduce your numbers.”
The Fall Festival and Chili Cook Off in South Lake Tahoe is Sept. 14 from 10am to 4pm.
The event is free. It will include door prizes, vendors, food, games, giveaways, and authors signing books.
Buy a bowl and vote for your favorite Tahoe chili.
The festival is at the South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office is looking for people to participate in the Citizens Law Enforcement Academy.
The 17-week academy begins Aug. 27.
Each week participants learn about a different aspect of the department.
Classes are Tuesdays from 6-9pm in Placerville.
Applications are available online.
On Aug. 4, TOCCATA — Tahoe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus — will continue its 21-concert Summer MusicFest with the annual presentation of NorthStar Chamber Players.
The two concert series opens at Squaw Valley Chapel (444 Squaw Peak Road in Olympic Valley) at 5pm. The chamber music series features Toni Healy on flute, Amy Heald on oboe, Darrell Moore-clarinet, Ben Benson-bassoon and Bruce Kanzelmayer on French horn. Works to be performed include the “Three Short Pieces” by Jacques Ibert and “Three Shanties” by Malcolm Arnold. Pianist Donna Axton joins the group for Francis Poulenc’s “Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano”.
Mezzo soprano Liudmila Mullin joins the group for selections by J.S. Bach with piano and solo wind instruments.
The concert will be repeated Aug. 6 at 7pm in the Steinway Gallery in Reno located at 500 East Moana Lane.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors at all concerts, $5 for students younger than 23 with a valid student ID, and youth 18 and under enter at no charge for admission.
For information, call (775) 267.1720.
By Mike TeSelle, KCRA-TV
Why did Donna Lass disappear?
Was the then-25-year-old nurse killed?
Is she the 12th victim of Northern California’s infamous Zodiac Killer?
“We don’t know. … Of course it captures one’s imagination, because it’s such an intriguing case,” said Lt. Brian Williams with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.
On Sept. 6, 1970, Williams said Lass signed a worker’s log inside the old Sahara casino (now the Horizon) about 1:50am.
Shortly after that, Lass was never seen — nor heard from — again, Williams said.
Six months after her disappearance, Williams said Lass’ case took a turn that, to this day, is still generating new tips, leads and theories of what happened to her.
“The Zodiac sent a postcard to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. It suggested a Lake Tahoe location for his 12th victim,” Williams said. “Donna Lass would’ve been his 12th victim.”
The postcard contained phrases and symbols similar to Zodiac mailings.
One phrase read “Peek through the pines.” Another was written upside down: “Around in the snow.”
In 2007, acting on a tip related to the Zodiac killings, South Lake Tahoe police participated in a dig of a possible burial site near Lake Tahoe, but found nothing.
To this day, even though one investigator said his hunch is that Lass’ disappearance is not linked to the Zodiac, Williams said the department still can’t rule out that possibility.
“Stranger things have happened, as we have seen with the Jaycee Lee Dugard case. We will never give up hope in solving this case for Lass’ family,” Williams said.
Aug. 4 from 10am-4pm is the annual open house at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.
This is the one opportunity of the year the public is allowed to pass beyond the fenced area to see the cages and animals that are in rehabilitation.
Retail wear is available to buy.
LTWC is at 1485 Cherry Hills Circle off of Elks Club Drive on the South Shore of El Dorado County.
A meeting on Aug. 6 will focus on community impacts of September’s Ironman Lake Tahoe.
The 5:30pm meeting will be at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.
The sold-out triathlon is Sept. 22. More than 2,500 athletes will be competing.
Race director Keats McConigal, assistant director Todd Jackson and course director David Reid will be attending the meeting. The three will go over traffic concerns, race impacts, and the economic benefit the race will have on the area. Following the presentation there will be time for audience questions.
The course runs throughout most of North Lake Tahoe. It starts at Kings Beach State Recreation Area and cyclists will pedal through Truckee and over Brockway Summit before the event ends at Squaw Valley.