By Seth Stevenson, Slate

You might wonder sometimes, perhaps after an especially inane quarterly job review, what it would be like not to have a boss. Or, after that same job review, not to be a boss. What if we were all workplace equals, with everyone possessing the same privileges and the same authority?

The truth is, there are all sorts of drawbacks to employing managers. (Note to my editor: Not you! You’re perfect! Never change!) More layers of management means paying more workers, and generally at higher salaries. It means introducing inefficiency, as each decision gets slowly passed up the chain for approval. In a hierarchical organization, decisions get made at the top of that chain by the people with the least connection to the facts on the ground. Meanwhile, the folks at the bottom, in the heart of the action, feel no agency over their work. In short: mo’ bosses, mo’ problems. So why not get rid of the management structure altogether?

A few workplaces have done exactly that. The California-based Morning Star Co. — the world’s largest tomato processor — has no titles, no promotions, and yes, no managers. As detailed in a 2011 case study by management guru Gary Hamel in the Harvard Business Review, Morning Star relies mainly on contract-style agreements between its workers. These agreements are called Colleague Letters of Understanding (CLOUs, pronounced “clues”), and each one is renegotiated annually. There are about 3,000 total CLOUs in effect at any given time, connecting workers in a web of shared responsibilities and expectations.

If you need an expensive new piece of manufacturing equipment to fulfill your CLOU, you go ahead and buy it without needing permission. If you need an additional worker to make good on your division’s promised output, you go ahead and hire her. This doesn’t mean you’re operating in a vacuum: You are still expected to consult widely with your colleagues to get their input before making any major moves. At the end of the year, each unit must defend its performance to its peers. And compensation is determined by a panel of co-workers that will carefully assess your worth to the firm.

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By Elle Metz, Outside

You’re lying in bed, and you suddenly start worrying. It could be about anything. Or nothing. Maybe it’s just a sinking feeling in your chest, with no thoughts at all—until that old, familiar darkness descends, beckoning the doubts back in again. Then your heart rate quickens as your mind whirs with worst-case scenarios. Tightness creeps into your neck and shoulders, but you’re too busy worrying to notice.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. While stressing doesn’t necessarily make you diagnosable, it does mean you’re anxious, probably tired, and possibly less likely to be at your physical best. In addition, we often don’t realize the extent to which everyday stress can compromise performance.

Even if you don’t recognize its physical manifestations, your anxiety is burning up energy stores and motivation levels you could be using to train. When your brain detects and responds to a threat, it leads to the release of adrenaline, says psychologist Richard Zinbarg, who heads up Northwestern University’s Anxiety Lab. In the short term, this gives the body a boost of strength and energy. But when it persists, it leaves the body drained. While the exact impact varies from person to person and is difficult to quantify, the effect is major.

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The Tony Award-winning musical “Man of La Mancha” will be at the Duke Theater at Lake Tahoe Community College from June 13-22.

“Man of La Mancha” is based on Miguel de Cervantes’ epic novel “Don Quixote”. The musical contains a play-within-a-play, set in Spain at the end of the 16th century. It tells the tale of the mad knight, Don Quixote de La Mancha, and is performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. Joined by his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, Don Quixote sets out on a noble journey to battle evil, right all wrongs, and win the heart of the Lady Dulcinea.

To help celebrate LTCC’s 40th anniversary and to recognize the theater department, a reception will follow the June 15 matinee performance.

Performances are June 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 at 8pm, and June 15 and 22 at 2pm.

Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors, groups of eight or more, students with a valid student ID and children under 13. Tickets may be purchased in advance at LTCC’s Bookstore Monday-Thursday. The box office will be open one hour prior to all performances.

This show contains some mature content and may not be suitable for children under 13.

For more information, call 530.541.4660, ext. 207.

South Lake Tahoe police officers on Tuesday chased down a suspect who reportedly was breaking into a residence on Bonanza Avenue.

Officers said the suspect was carrying bags of stolen items from the residence. Officers chased him through yards and over a fence to the meadow near D Street and Highway 50, where he allegedly attempted to pull a gun from his waistband.

“The suspect lost control of his gun, a semiautomatic pistol with a high capacity magazine loaded with 9mm ammunition, and was apprehended without any shots fired,” cops said in a press release.

An officer, whose name has not been released, was hurt in the scuffle. The extent of injuries is not being released either. The officer was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital.

The identity of the suspect was not immediately know because officers said he provided false information upon his arrest. The suspect was arrested of charges of illegal possession of a firearm, armed burglary and robbery.

The house being robbed had an illegal marijuana grow, according to officers.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

• There will be a free fishing derby at Sawmill Pond on the South Shore for kids 14 and younger on June 7 from 8am-noon.

• Ray Bonneville with special guests Lance Canales and the Flood will play at the Boathouse Theater at the Tallac Historic Site on June 25 at 7:30pm. For ticket info, go online.

• Sierra Sotheby’s set a record with the $2.465 million sale of a 2,835-square-foot townhome in Glenbrook. The previous high sale price for an off-lake townhome was set in July 2005 for a 1,900-square-foot Glenbrook residence that sold for $2.1 million. This sale represents the first off-lake condo sold on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe for more $2.4 million.

• “Heavenly” the bear has found a home at the Wildlife Conservation Center’ in Scottsdale.

• The 11th annual Day in Paradise at Tahoe Paradise Park is June 21 from 8am-7pm. For more info, call 530.541.4700.

By Diane Cardwellmay, New York Times

WOBURN, Mass. — Ever since government regulations began phasing out the traditional light bulb in 2012, the once-simple visit to the lighting aisle has become an exercise in navigating a dizzying array of choices and terminologies, especially for new kinds of compact fluorescents and LEDs.

Now, those choices are about to become even more complicated. Two start-up companies are poised to begin selling bulbs that use entirely different technologies — one borrowed from heavy industry and the other from old-fashioned televisions — but meet the new energy standards.

Whether they can capture customers who remain stubbornly wedded to incandescent light is anybody’s guess. But that both have come this far is an indication of how unsettled the consumer lighting market remains, despite years of promotion for the new energy-saving options.

“It’s going to be a really long putt to try to replace the incandescent,” said Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “People hate change of any kind. We make light sources today that are better than incandescent by any metric at delivering the benefits you’re expecting from lighting. But it’s different.”

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Fire restrictions are now in effect within the Tahoe National Forest.

This means:

• No open fires, campfires or charcoal fires are allowed outside of designated areas even with a valid California campfire permit, except within the oven at Wheeler Sheep Camp. Lanterns and portable stoves using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel are allowed with a valid California campfire permit.
• No possessing or using any kind of fireworks or other pyrotechnic device, including explosives.
• No smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or designated recreation site.
• Internal combustion engines are restricted to National Forest system roads, routes, trails, and areas as identified on the Tahoe National Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (including the Prosser Pits Developed Off-Highway Vehicle Area). Motorized cross-country travel between roads, routes, trails, and areas is prohibited.

Questions about fire restrictions, call 530.265.4531.

Truckee voters say yes to recreation. Photo/Lesia Witkowsky

Truckee residents unquestionably want more trails.

Measure R won with 74.99 percent of the votes or 1,367 votes. Voting no were 456 people or 25.01 percent of the voters.

The decision means Truckee’s sales tax will grow by one-quarter cent to 8.375 percent. Nevada County’s sales tax is 7.625 percent, while the state average is 8.38 percent. It will be in effect for 10 years.

Officials estimate $10 million will be collected in that time. The bulk of it — $8 million – will be spent on new bike/walking trails, while the remainder will be dedicated for maintenance.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Susan Wood and Kathryn Reed

While some longtime El Dorado County officeholders faced opposition for the first time in years, they all retained their seats.

The challenges had a lot more to do with political sparring on the West Slope and less about how well the incumbents were doing their job.

It was a slow start to voting at the Lake Tahoe Community College precinct. Photo/Lesia Witkowsky

The heads of the four offices that were challenged were not leading departments that received unfavorable reviews by employees in a recent county survey.

Retaining their seats are: Auditor-Controller Joe Harn, District Attorney Vern Pierson, Recorder-Clerk Bill Schultz and Treasurer C.L. Raffety.

“I’ve lived in the county for 40 years. I’ve been doing a pretty good job for 20 years. I’m not surprised I got re-elected,” Harn told Lake Tahoe News.

Schultz found himself in the position of working election night and being on the ballot.

“You know, I do everything the same each time. I don’t touch anything,” he said shortly after posting the first wave of results about 8pm when 70.24 percent of mostly absentees had been counted.

Absentee ballots are a notable distinction of county voter behavior year after year. Of the 106,944 registered voters in El Dorado, 72,251 cast their ballots by mail. The whopping 67.56 percent of registered voters can help some call or predict election results before all the precincts report in.

Schultz and staff have worked to increase the trend with new ideas and funding to support that effort. El Dorado County not only received a $1 million grant to fund a special website for military personnel to plug in their votes overseas. Now 13 other California counties are doing the same.

“We’ve heard nothing but good things about it,” the registrar said.

Call it tradition that El Dorado County voters may boast a better turnout than the dismal one predicted up and down California in this primary election – with some estimates as low as 25 percent.

“We’re doing a little better, and I hope it stays that way. We’re usually ahead of the pack on that. I was hoping for 40 percent, but I think I way overestimated,” Schultz said.

By Kathryn Reed

Sue Novasel and Kevin Brown, as the top two vote getters for El Dorado County District 5 supervisor, will be squaring off in November.

They never relinquished their lead as numbers started coming in just after 8pm June 3.

With all precincts reporting, Novasel garnered 27.46 percent of the vote (1,135 votes), Brown 19.06 percent (788), Angela Swanson 17.83 percent (737), Kenny Curtzwiler 17.68 percent (731), Gerri Grego 12.07 percent (499), and Teresa Piper 5.68 percent (235).

Either Kevin Brown or Sue Novasel will be the next District 5 supervisor.

Certification of the vote usually takes about a month so provisional ballots can be counted, which means the numbers are unofficial at this point and could change.

Norma Santiago was termed out, thus creating the opening.

“I want to say how honored I am to have our community’s support. I will continue to work hard during this campaign for District V and I promise to be a strong voice for all of our communities throughout the district,” Novasel told Lake Tahoe News.

She and her husband were out until after midnight picking up campaign signs.

Brown said Novasel was one of the two people he thought he might be facing five months from now.

One thing he is alarmed about is the low voter turnout in this particular race compared to other races in the county. Getting people to the polls, he said, will be a big goal in November.

“We did knock on doors. We made phone calls, but the money was scarce with six running for the spot,” Brown told Lake Tahoe News.

This seat is no longer a Tahoe-only district. It now stretches to Pollock Pines, where Brown resides.

Novasel is a longtime Meyers resident.

One thing they have in common is both are school board members.

What remains to be seen is if Swanson will run for City Council to retain her seat on that body. Swanson said she would only speak through her campaign manager, but provided no contact information for him.

There will also be a runoff for the District 4 supervisorial seat. Howard Penn finished with 1,737 votes or 21.87 percent, while Michael Ranalli tallied 1,708 votes for 21.5 percent.