• The TRTA is looking for a volunteer(s) who could be an office greeter this summer. If you have a morning or afternoon to spare, email shannons@tahoerimtrail.org.

• Alex Elsaesser has shut down his restaurant at the Black Bear Inn in South Lake Tahoe.

• Barton Foundation’s 18th annual June 29 golf tournament and fundraiser at Genoa Lakes raised more than $15,000 for the foundation’s Community Health Endowment.

• Summertime Tunes in the Vineyard at Lava Cap Winery is July 28 from 3-7pm. Cost is $5 per person. For more information, call (530) 621.0175.

• At the Meyers Roundtable meeting on July 25 at 6pm at Lake Valley Fire Department meeting room the California State Parks will be sharing information and requesting input regarding Washoe Meadows State Park.

• Tahoe Derby Dames has a doubleheader at Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe on July 21. Click on the flyer for details.

By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval says he knows there will be some concern with the state awarding a $3 million contract to an out-of-state firm to increase tourism in Nevada.

But he says the 19 companies, 11 of them from outside Nevada, were graded fairly in selecting Burson-Marsteller of New York City to promote the marketing campaign for Nevada’s museums, art offerings and Native American experiences.

The selection committee did “a great job” in unanimously choosing the company that has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, he said.

State Purchasing Director Greg Smith and Claudia Vecchio of the state Commission on Tourism briefed the state Board of Examiners that approved the proposed contract.

Smith said Burson-Marsteller will have to come into the state “and learn about it.” The company will bring some fresh eyes in promoting Nevada, said Smith. And the state will be working with the branch offices of the company in California.

The selection process was almost like the Miss America contest, said Smith.

The tourism commission ended its contracts with private firms in 2009 because of the budget crunch, and the selection of this company will help draw visitors to Nevada, said Smith and Vecchio.

Read the whole story

To the community,

Golden Bear Events would like to thank the community of South Lake Tahoe for the success of the inaugural communitywide 4th of July Parade and Celebration. Parade participants and vendors came from primarily Meyers, Stateline, and South Lake Tahoe.

Several new businesses, like The Oven, the Yum Truck, and Lake Tahoe Custom Cycles were happy to be a part of something as new as they.

Golden Bear Events always arranges free giveaways for the kids with stickers and tattoos. Robert Humason, owner of our local McDonald’s, gave out free gift certificates, while A Hand at Home offered a make-a-hat activity.

Honeybee Ice Cream truck sold their favorites while the Cash Only Band played all the way down the highway and then for a few hours for the adults at the Recreation Complex and Senior Center sites.

A few vendors that had never done anything like this, notably Essex Hair and Nail Salon, Noon Soroptimist Fighting Chance Car and Les Schwab Tires enjoyed the event and parade.

Repeat participants included South Tahoe Refuse, the Beachcomber Inn, Affordable Construction, Decorative Overlays, Jamba Juice, and Lake Tahoe Holidays, who had fun decorating and dressing up in the spirit of the day. Out of town vendors who came for the cool camping, saw the ads and joined in with Native Vibes and All About Signs 2.

The American Legion Post No. 795 came out in full glory with vintage cars and a dozen or more veterans to ride “point.” Veterans traveled several hours to renew their connections to our town and joined in the VFW Post No. 2627 cars. The American Legion Auxiliary, incredible supporters of our veterans and events that honor them, had three cars in the parade. Active, but off-duty, military came in a privately owned vintage Army truck. Families of our fallen heroes were honored with the families of Spec. Garrett Fant and Sgt. Timothy Smith in the parade. All the fallen were honored at the celebration. The Patriot Guard came to show their support as well.

Brooke Laine and the South Tahoe Alumni Association stepped up with vintage cars to carry the veterans, including a World War II veteran and a POW survivor.

Mayor Claire Fortier, Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis, Councilman Hal Cole, Councilman Bruce Grego, and Councilwoman Angela Swanson joined county Supervisor Norma Santiago in this event. Their combined presence was noted and appreciated by several, who commented it was good to see these representatives support a community event in this manner.

Spectators from as far away as Missouri called to find out details and were excited to see we were doing a parade this year. All along the route, children were waving flags, families were shouting “thank you for doing this” and some of the older ones in the crowd appeared to be fighting back tears. Locals joined us to cheer, participate, and come to the celebration.

Our sponsors stepped up to help this dream become a reality. The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce did extra email blasts and helped with the insurance. The city of South Lake Tahoe helped with advertising and made the signs for the cars carrying the veterans. The SLT Fire Department and Police Department delighted the kids while making this a safe and efficient event. The STAR volunteers helped with site and crowd control, as well as signage. K-Tahoe radio ran ads the week before the event to heighten interest.

A parade is a lot of work, and special thanks go out to Mr. Bob Albertazzi and Sgt. Shannon Laney, who helped advise on best practices to make the event safe. Stan Sherer with the Recreation Department helped with the site for the celebration, Nancy Kerry and Tracy Franklin helped coordinate the efforts of the city’s sponsorship, and Tracy recorded the event in pictures. Marilyn and Kow at Caltrans were very easy to work with as we waded through the paperwork and requirements to be on Highway 50. Krista at EDC Environmental Health is a pleasure to work with to make sure our food vendors comply with safe practices to protect the public. Every media outlet around the Lake gave us press: Tahoe Daily Tribune, Tahoe Business Monitor, Southtahoenow.com, the Mountain News, Lake Tahoe News, K-Tahoe and KRLT radio, RSN TV, and the City Council TV. The Substitute Personnel office was a convenient drop off location, answered questions and received applications for the event. Theresa Brown Bookkeeping volunteered at the information booth for Golden Bear Events.

We are very touched by the display of support and the level of participation. In addition to the personal thanks individuals and groups gave us at the event, Golden Bear Events has received a number of supportive emails, blog posts, and phone calls asking if we would please do this again.

Thank you, South Lake Tahoe.

We will produce this event again next 4th of July.

JoAnn Conner, Golden Bear Events

By Huffington Post

Pregnant women are typically told to avoid caffeine. One cup of coffee per day is okay, multiple studies have found, but generally it’s in the same category as cocktails and soft cheese — bad for baby’s development. However, researchers in Amsterdam recently concluded that there is no link between caffeine intake during pregnancy and a child’s behavior later in life; they say a cup of Joe might wire mom for the day, but it won’t cause her child to become hyperactive.

Participants in the study (3,400 mothers) were asked how much coffee they consumed during pregnancy. When their children turned 5 or 6, the same women filled out questionnaires about their kids’ behavioral health -– teachers completed an identical survey. The authors concluded that mothers who drank caffeine during pregnancy did not put their kids at risk for “hyperactivity/inattention problems, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, peer relationship problems, overall problem behavior, or suboptimal prosocial behavior.”

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – Being a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball means a lot of days off from work. And like a lot of people with free time and money, golf fills in those hours.

Some of the former starting pitchers playing in this week’s American Century Championship golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe say their prowess on the greens has something to do with being the best athletes on the diamond. A couple said it in jest, while Rick Rhoden didn’t have a hint of sarcasm when he voiced that opinion.

Rick Rhoden is the only former starting pitcher to win Tahoe's celebrity golf tournament.

Rhoden has room to brag about his ability in both sports. In his 16 years as a Major League pitcher he won 151 games, had a 3.59 ERA, was an All Star twice, and played in two World Series.

Since retiring in 1989, he has won the ACC tourney eight times, the last being in 2009. He has qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, and has three top 10 finishes in the Champions Tour.

“It’s pretty much the same motion with transferring your weight,” Rhoden told Lake Tahoe News of the similarities of pitching and golfing.

While David Wells is one of 22 pitchers to throw a perfect game, his golf abilities don’t match. He says it’s the Atlanta Braves pitchers who give his profession a good reputation for what can be done on the links.

David Wells

During Tuesday’s practice round his tee shot on hole 8 didn’t even go 200 yards. He picked up the ball and moved it to closer to where the others in the foursome were making their second shot.

The only similarity between the two sports is “that you get pissed,” Wells said. He added that golf was more likely to benefit hitters than pitchers.

On the other side of the Stateline golf course Greg Maddux was proving former Braves pitchers know what to do with a little white ball. But he said there are no similarities between the sports.

Former Braves pitcher Greg Maddux benefited from having a putting green at Turner Field. Photos/Kathryn Reed

“Golf is way harder,” Maddux said while signing autographs as he sat in his cart at the start of hole 15.

Fellow Braves teammate John Smoltz is also in the field at ACC.

Stories abound about how Maddux, Smoltz and Tom Glavine not only competed on the mound against opposing teams, but among themselves when it came time for golf.

According to Golf Digest, “When Atlanta won the 1995 World Series, they convinced then-team president Stan Kasten to install a putting green inside Turner Stadium after the Braves moved there in ’97. The artificial-turf green covered 360 square feet, included four holes and was surrounded by a floor-to-ceiling, panoramic mural of Augusta National.” (A restaurant has since replaced it.)

Bret Saberhagen

What Bret Saberhagen says is similar between being a starting pitcher and playing golf is the mental game. But the three-time All Star and two-time Cy Young winner also said having time allows his brethren to fine-tune their golf game.

For Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, it was all that time off between starts that allowed him to feel comfortable with a club in his hand.

“A relief pitcher couldn’t golf all day and do what I did,” Gossage told Lake Tahoe News. “I didn’t get to start the ninth with a three-run lead and no one on.”

Goose Gossage said his pitching schedule helped his golf game.

He also didn’t work every day and got paid more.

The other starting pitcher playing in this year’s celebrity golf tournament is Mark Mulder.

—-

Notes:

• The first round of the three-day tournament begins today.

• Go online to find out the pairings.

• First tee time July 20 is 9:10am.

• This 23rd annual event has a purse of $600,000.

• Corporate partnerships for the tournament have been secured through 2015.

Publisher’s note: The following letter was sent to the South Lake Tahoe City Council and Lake Tahoe News on July 19 in advance of the July 20 10am Tahoe Transportation District meeting at the TRPA office in Stateline.

Dear Mayor (Claire) Fortier and Council Members:

I am writing to you to offer a few thoughts regarding how city government can further increase confidence in the community in regard to the “Loop Road” and still continue to pursue options that create a more transportation and pedestrian-friendly area in and around Heavenly Village. Those of us who oppose the existing TTD road alignment and massive destruction of private property support the City Council’s existing policy opposing the TTD road alignment and the use of eminent domain.

In addition, I wanted to share with you all information contained in the city’s adopted General Plan that precludes city government from allowing or approving the construction of the TTD project in its present configuration.

Dave Jinkens

The city’s existing General Plan, adopted in May 2011**, contains the following language regarding relocation of Highway 50:

Existing City General Plan Transportation and Circulation Element Language

Policy TC‐1.7: Highway 50 Relocation Project

“The city shall coordinate efforts with Caltrans and the Tahoe Transportation District to relocate Highway 50 to south of Heavenly Village in the Stateline Community Plan area. This will allow for reduced numbers of travel lanes on Highway 50 between Pioneer Trail and Stateline, creation of a dedicated transit lane, and enhancement of bicycle and pedestrian amenities.”

Comment on the current language

The goal of the policy has been expressed recently and publicly to create a more transportation and pedestrian-friendly area between at Heavenly Village and the proposed convention center/hotel/commercial project and to encourage use of public transportation. The existing policy does not propose a specific street alignment but speaks to the subject in general. General plan policies are intentionally general and seldom speak to a specific project in detail but rather to goals and objectives of a particular issue. The present language in the General Plan could be clarified to explain that the present General Plan policy does not contemplate massive destruction of private property and displacement of hundreds of low income and minority residents. Even if the existing language could be somehow interpreted by an overly imaginative mind to allow for the proposed specific road alignment (which it does not) it would still be inconsistent with other parts of the city’s General Plan as noted below. Clarifying the existing General Plan Transportation and Circulation Element language would help to avoid misunderstanding and promote public confidence in city government policies.

Proposed new language to clarify the city’s General Plan Transportation and Circulation Element:

“The city shall coordinate efforts with Caltrans and the Tahoe Transportation District (as may be needed) to develop programs and improvements that create a more transit and pedestrian-friendly venue in and around the existing Heavenly Village and proposed conference center/hotel/commercial area. Proposals for rerouting of traffic and creating pedestrian bridge linkages should be evaluated and examined in this regard. Any proposed actions or projects in this area must be consistent with the City’s adopted Housing Element and be financially feasible.”

As you know, the city’s General Plan may be amended by the City Council by resolution or by initiative of the electors of the city.

Existing TTD Loop Road alignment is inconsistent with the city’s adopted General Plan.

In addition to the numerous and substantive reasons why the proposed alignment of the Loop Road is bad public policy, the City Council and the Tahoe Transportation District need to consider the following. The proposed TTD Specific Loop Road alignment is inconsistent with the City’s General Plan Housing Element. It discourages and destroys affordable and workforce housing in the area and diminishes the supply of such housing. The City Council and Planning Commission cannot make a finding of consistency of the proposed TTD Loop Road alignment with the city’s General Plan (that it is required to do under state law) for the construction of such a project because it violates at a minimum the following adopted policies in the City’s Housing Element (HE).

HE-1

To provide housing opportunities for South Lake Tahoe residents of all economic level

HE- 2

To encourage construction and maintenance of affordable and/or workforce housing in South Lake Tahoe.

HE-3

To preserve and enhance the existing supply of housing.

HE-5

To provide decent housing and quality living environment for all South Lake Tahoe residents regardless of age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status,

ancestry, national origin, disability, or economic level.

HE-7

To provide for a variety of housing types, sizes, price ranges, and densities compatible with the existing character and integrity of residential neighborhoods.”

Conclusion

All of us in opposition to the TTD Loop Road alignment want to be in a position to support measures that promote the use of public transportation, pedestrian facilities and bicycle use in the area in and around Heavenly Village. We look forward to working with all parties to achieve these objectives when evaluating possible new road and/or pedestrian bridge and bicycle route options.

Sincerely,

Dave Jinkens, South Lake Tahoe

El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini has created a new position and assigned a full time deputy to patrol the Rubicon Trail 40 hours every week during the OHV season.

In the past, most of the staffing for the Rubicon Trail was on overtime, and was limited by grant funds. This position is also from a grant. Its from California State Parks which also has rangers patrolling the trail.

D’Agostini and Supervisor Jack Sweeney worked closely to secure other sources of funding such as the Infrastructure Mitigation Fund provided by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. When finalized, the fund will provide for continued seasonal patrol staffing of two deputies and the maintenance of their equipment.

Deputy Tim Peterson was recently assigned to the OHV Unit for the summer season, which runs from May through September. He has been busy so far with more than 400 citizen contacts and assisting more than 200 people. Peterson spends his entire work week patrolling the trail and maintaining his vehicle.

The primary concerns of law enforcement are safety related. The majority of injuries and accidents on the trail are alcohol related.

The South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge will be hosting a fundraiser for Tahoe Arts Project on July 25 from 5-8pm at 961 Eloise Ave. in South Lake Tahoe.

This outdoor event features Trey Stone Band and will include a silent auction and raffle.

Burgers, hot dogs, sodas, baked goods, popcorn and ice cream cones will all be available for sale. There will also be a cash bar.

Admission is $10, and kids with and adult are free. This is a family friendly event.

Tahoe Arts Project is a nonprofit organization that brings professional performing arts into the schools and community of South Lake Tahoe. All proceeds from this event benefit Tahoe Arts Project.

For more information, call (530) 542.3632.

The Lake Tahoe conservation community is having a free question and answer session to inform the public about the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Regional Plan update.

The Q&A session will be July 24 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Kings Beach Events Center, 8318 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach.

“Find out what the TRPA is not telling you about the Regional Plan update” is how organizers are describing the event.

Three days after a bicyclist was seriously injured in South Lake Tahoe, officers are still not releasing the name, hometown or age of the victim.

As of early Thursday night, they didn’t know the current condition of the man who had to be air lifted to Renown Medical Center in Reno.

The cyclist was traveling east on Highway 50 on the side of the road near Safeway in heavy traffic on July 16 at 2:55pm. As he was crossing Johnson Boulevard, a vehicle turning left onto the boulevard nearly hit him.

“The bicyclist slammed on his brakes in an attempt to avoid the truck. He crashed and hit his head hard. He had a serious head wound,” police Lt. David Stevenson told Lake Tahoe News.

The cyclist and truck never collided, Stevenson said.

The accident is still under investigation.

A second accident involving a cyclist occurred that day, too, according to a remark Police Chief Brian Uhler made to the City Council on July 17. However, neither Uhler nor Stevenson could provide Lake Tahoe News with any information.

 — Kathryn Reed