Tahoe Rim Trail Association needs volunteers to help with trail maintenance.

According the the TRTA, “Trees are throwing themselves across the Tahoe Rim Trail, whitethorn branches are attacking unsuspecting ankles, mud puddles and giant toe stubbing rocks are conspiring to move into prime locations in the middle of the trail, and water particles are in cahoots to steal soil from the trail and dump it in the lake.”

Crews will be out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout the summer to take back the trail.

To register, go online.

South Lake Tahoe is seeking comments for the Tahoe Valley Area Plan’s notice of preparation for the environmental documents.

The city and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency will prepare an environmental impact report and and environmental impact statement for the Tahoe Valley Area Plan.

More info is available online.

Public scoping meetings are:

• June 11 at 9:30am: TRPA Advisory Planning Commission, TRPA office in Stateline.
• June 19 at 6pm: Public workshop and scoping meeting, Lake Tahoe Airport.
• June 25 at 9:30am: TRPA Governing Board, Stateline.
• July 1 at 9am: South Lake Tahoe City Council, Lake Tahoe Airport.
• July 10 at 3pm: South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission, Lake Tahoe Airport.

By Mark Miller, Reuters

Once upon a time, bingo was the biggest game in town at the local senior center. But you’re far more likely to find today’s seniors manning a slot machine at the local casino – and some have become gambling addicts.

Problem gambling among older people is on the rise. Seniors have time and money on their hands, and the proliferation of casinos in most regions of the country has made gambling more convenient.

“What we are seeing is that seniors are the backbone of the modern casino industry,” says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), a nonprofit organization that advocates for programs and services to help problem gamblers and their families. “The marketing and promotion to seniors is light-years from what it was.”

Experts say gray gambling addiction will become more prevalent as the baby boomers age.

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By Jack Daly

If you’re the CEO of a company, the realization that much of what you do can be copied by your competitors may be distressing.

Sure your competition copy what they can, but there are two things they can’t: your people and your culture.

I specialize in corporate coaching and sales, the latter of which really counts on the talent and sustained motivation of the sales force. Even your best salesperson needs that extra shot from time to time, and the best way to ensure a driven team is to create a culture that fosters the results you want.

Some companies are outpacing their competition because of their culture, including Southwest Airlines, Zappos and the Virgin Group.

Here are some tips:

· Start new hires on a Friday – and with a big welcome. Many managers think new employees should start on Monday – the day when their new co-workers are facing a long to-do list for the week. Consider starting them on Friday, when the office is a bit looser. Also – how about throwing the new hire a welcoming party? Many offices hold going away parties for departing employees, but it makes more sense to put this enthusiasm toward the person with whom you’re making a commitment, rather than the person who’s no longer working for you.

· Recognize accomplishments by putting it in writing – handwriting. Typing emails and instant messaging is clearly much more convenient, which is why an employee who deserves special attention will recognize the extra effort behind a hand-written note. A letter has that personal touch; the receiver knows that the manager or CEO has taken some time and effort to create a special communication just for him or her.

· Provide lunch – for free. One of my clients started with just 10 employees, and each day one would bring in lunch for everyone. As the company grew to several hundred employees, the CEO found that free lunches were so beneficial, the company now hires a caterer to maintain the boost in culture it provides. While many may cringe at the expense, employee appreciation outweighs the cost. And it keeps people engaged within the office, rather than having employees leave for lunch.

· Flatten the privilege structure. It’s not a good idea to create anything resembling a class system, including special parking for upper management. I was the No.1 salesmen at one company, but I always preferred to park with the others. I’d come in at 5am and noticed that those with reserved parking arrived significantly later than those who parked in unreserved spots. Parking should be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Upper management shouldn’t feel too entitled or privileged above other employees.

Jack Daly is the author of “Hyper Sales Growth” and is an expert in sales and sales management.

• Chris Croft has been hired as executive director of Tahoe Youth & Family Services. Meet him at an open house June 12 from noon-2pm at 1021 Fremont Ave., South Lake Tahoe.

• June 22-28 is National Mosquito Control Awareness Week.

• Chad Houck is expected to be hired as South Tahoe High School’s principal at the June 10 6pm Lake Tahoe Unified School District meeting.

• Magician Brian Scott will be putting on a free performance July 11 at 2pm at the South Lake Tahoe Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

• Here is the El Dorado-Tahoe roadwork schedules from Caltrans for the week.

By Wayne Parry, AP

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey is bolstering its legal arguments as it tries to get the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its effort to overturn a ban on legalized sports betting in all but four states.

In a filing submitted Tuesday, the state says the federal law needs to be reviewed immediately.

Theodore Olson, who won the Bush v. Gore election case in 2000, says the ban impermissibly restricts states’ rights. He also says the high court needs to consider the way the law treats states differently.

The law restricts sports betting to states that met a 1991 deadline to pass laws approving it: Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon. At the time, New Jersey was given the chance to become the fifth state but failed to act during a prescribed window.

Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, along with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, all support the ban, saying it upholds the integrity of the games in the public’s mind.

In his filing, Olson wrote that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act needs to be reviewed by the court immediately. He noted that sports betting was overwhelmingly favored in a non-binding referendum put before New Jersey voters.

“New Jersey’s citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of sports wagering, and their representatives seek to respond, through the enactment of positive law,” Olson wrote.

No federal law directly prohibits individuals from betting on sports, the state argues. Rather, the law makes it illegal for a “governmental entity” to license or authorize sports wagering activity. New Jersey argues that Congress has no authority to regulate the approval or disapproval of activities expressed by individual states.

The state has been trying to overturn the federal law banning sports betting in the other 46 states since 2009, when a state lawmaker sued the federal government over the ban. Most recently, Gov. Chris Christie decided in 2012 to try to overturn the ban, knowing it would be an uphill fight.

New Jersey wants legalized sports betting as a way to generate new revenue and customers for its struggling casinos and horse racing tracks, as well as to garner taxes from money now flowing to illegal betting operations.

The Supreme Court could indicate this month whether or not it will hear the case.

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times

About 1 in 8 American children will experience some form of maltreatment serious enough to be confirmed by government authorities, new research shows.

Slightly more than 2 percent of kids are victimized during their first year of life, 5.8 percent are mistreated before their fifth birthday, and 12.5 percent experience some form of abuse or neglect before they turn 18, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

“Confirmed child maltreatment is common, on the scale of other major public health concerns that affect child health and well-being,” the study authors wrote.

The estimates are based on data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child Files, which identified nearly 5.7 million children who suffered documented cases of neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse between 2004 and 2011. (The true count of victims is believed to be much higher, since most cases never make it to government officials.)

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Weather permitting, U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews expect to conduct prescribed fire operations north of Zephyr Cove in the Skyland area on June 10.

Operations are expected to take place on the east side of Highway 50 and will last through the day.

Forest Service staff will post road signs around the areas affected by the prescribed fire, send email notifications, and update the local fire information line at 530.543.2600, ext. 6. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

By Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee

Turnout in Tuesday’s primary election is expected to approach just a quarter of registered voters, comfortably eclipsing a 6-year-old record for voter apathy in California.

Election officials are still processing mail-in ballots, but preliminary counts show fewer than 4.5 million voters participated – 25 percent of the 17.7 million who are registered and just 18.5 percent of the 24.1 million who are eligible.

Experts principally blamed the lack of participation on the dearth of citizen ballot initiatives and what most consider a humdrum challenge to incumbent Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.

“There is, quite frankly, very little sizzle,” said David McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University.

Still, McCuan believes the state’s turnout may have hit bottom.

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The temperatures are rising fast and so are the numbers of “dog in hot vehicle” calls received by Washoe County Regional Animal Services.

With temperatures expected to rise into the 90s this weekend outside the Tahoe basin, Animal Services is reminding pet owners that leaving a pet in an enclosed and unattended vehicle with the windows just a few inches down, even for a short time, can be deadly.

It takes only a few minutes on a warm day for animals to succumb to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

When it gets to the point where an animal’s well-being is threatened, Animal Control Officers will take the necessary steps, as obligated by the law, to save an endangered animal by removing it from the vehicle. Even if they have to break a window, to do it.

The public is encouraged to report distressed animals locked in hot cars immediately by calling 775.322.3647.