Friends of the Library discusses critically acclaimed books at 3pm on the third Wednesday of each month.
Readers meet in the conference room of the South Lake Tahoe library.
For additional information, call Jeanne Benin at (530) 541.1371.
Books that will be discussed:
“Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos, July 18
“Dreams of Joy” by Lisa See, Aug. 15
“Remarkable Creatures” by Tracy Chevalier, Sept. 19
“The God of Animals” by Aryn Kyle, Oct. 1
“The Widower’s Tale” by Julia Glass, Nov. 14
Your favorite poetry selections, Dec. 12
“What is the What” by Dave Eggers, Jan. 16
“Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson, Feb. 20.
Former Placerville mayor resigns from City Council
By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee
Former Placerville Mayor Dave Machado has resigned his seat on the City Council, effective immediately.
Machado has been under a legal cloud since the El Dorado County District Attorney filed felony and misdemeanor charges against him in August, when he was still mayor.
Machado submitted his resignation Tuesday, addressed to City Manager Cleve Morris. It became public Wednesday.
The resignation is not at all related to the charges he faces, Machado said Wednesday by phone.
“The district attorney thinks I’ve done something wrong,” he said, “not the city.”
In his resignation letter, Machado referred to his real estate activities.
Leaders recognize importance of tourism on global economy
By Travel News
World leaders at the G20 summit in Mexico have for the first time recognised the importance of tourism as a driver of jobs, growth and economic recovery.
The Leaders’ Declaration from the annual meeting, this year held in Los Cabos, stated: “We recognise the role of travel and tourism as a vehicle for job creation, economic growth and development, and, while recognising the sovereign right of States to control the entry of foreign nationals, we will work towards developing travel facilitation initiatives in support of job creation, quality work, poverty reduction and global growth.”
Paddleboarding is a growing draw for tourists and locals in Lake Tahoe. Photo/LTN
This is the first time that tourism has been included in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration and is the culmination of long-term efforts by the industry, led by WTTC and UNWTO, to encourage world leaders to see the potential of tourism to create millions of new jobs and billions of dollars of GDP.
According to WTTC the industry directly will contribute $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs to the global economy in 2012.
When the wider economic impacts of the industry are taken into account, tourism is forecast to contribute some $6.5 trillion to the global economy and generate 260 million jobs – or one in 12 of all jobs on the planet.
Research by UNWTO and WTTC, released at the T20 Ministers Meeting last May, showed that the G20 could boost their international tourist numbers by an additional 122 million, generate an extra US$ 206 billion in tourism exports and create over five million additional jobs by 2015 by improving visa processes and entry formalities.
Kilian Jornet, the defending Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run champion and widely considered the world’s best ultrarunner, has dropped out of Saturday’s race from Squaw Valley to Auburn following the death of a close friend in a climbing accident in the Alps.
Jornet had been traversing Mount Blanc with three-time world mountaineering champion Stephane Brosse over the weekend when a ridge collapse claimed Brosse’s life. The two apparently were close to completing “La Grande Traversee,” a speed ascent and descent when the ridge gave way, according to a statement issued by the pair’s sponsor, Team Salomon.
“It was on the last part, just before going downhill, that the ridge they were on collapsed, taking Stephane within its spilling,” the statement read. “Kilian remained helpless whilst waiting for the rescue team.”
Business owners will learn to create apps for wireless devices in a course through Truckee Meadows Community College.
Dan Belhassen, an expert in digital marketing, will conduct the online course, “Creating Cell Phone Apps for Your Business,” through TMCC’s Workforce Development and Continuing Education. The class runs July 2-27 and is part of a three-course curriculum in mobile marketing certification.
The course will teach students how their companies can benefit from the use of mobile applications. Students also will create a mobile app.
Register by calling (775) 829.9010. Cost is $245.
— Northern Nevada Business Weekly
Opinion: Timber reform plan needs tweaking
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the June 17, 2012, Sacramento Bee.
Hammered by a lagging economy and imports of forest products from elsewhere, California’s timber industry is looking for help. It is finding it in the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown, and not just because the governor has been a recipient of campaign funds from Sierra Pacific Industries, the state’s largest single private landowner.
Brown recognizes, as we do, that sawmills and forest products are important to our rural economies, particularly in Northern California.
That doesn’t mean timber companies should get a green light to return to an era of unsustainable logging practices. But last time we checked, California was a major consumer of forest products. If we want wood, we should attempt to grow a reasonable amount of it, under environmental laws that are far more protective than those in other states.
To help the state’s timber industry, the governor has proposed a multi-part plan – much of which has generated little or no controversy. To help pay for timber harvest plan reviews (and possibly speed up the regulatory process) the governor has proposed a new fee on certain wood products sold in California. This fee, which has the support of the timber industry, could generate up to $30 million yearly, relieving pressure on the general fund.
The proposal would also extend the duration of timber harvest plans approved by the state. Currently, these plans are effective for three years, with two one-year extensions. The governor would extend that to five years, with one two-year extension. He’d also make administrative changes and attempt a pilot project to speed up permit processing times.
This winter, when temperatures outside his home in upstate New York were dipping into the single digits, Larry Posselt, a small-business owner and father of three, paid $99,000 in cash for a three-bedroom, three-bath Florida townhouse eight miles from Disney World.
After years of decline, “prices in the area were starting to trend up,” says Posselt. His new vacation home, which sold for $270,000 in 2006, should earn enough rent to pay for itself in less than five years.
While the real estate market as a whole is still weak, realtors in vacation-home hotspots say that many people, like Posselt, can no longer resist the lure of a second-home deal.
“Buyers who were on the fence are going for it,” says Lake Tahoe area agent Brandon Yee.
With rates and prices still low, jumping in can make sense as long as you know the place is one you’ll want to return to year after year and you can collect the amount of rental income you need. Take these steps to make sure.
Some vacation-home markets are on the cusp of recovery, which may not yet be reflected in sales prices. Ask a local realtor to calculate the supply of homes available now and six months ago by dividing the number of listings by the average number sold in the previous 12 months. If that number has shrunk, prices are likely to head up soon, says Ketchum, Idaho, real estate broker Dan Gorham.
Also keep in mind that home prices in vacation destinations often rise and fall alongside their nearby major markets. If the economy is improving in San Francisco, for example, that bodes well for Lake Tahoe.
The North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association and the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sierra Human Resources Association are offering Working the Room: Build Your Elevator Pitch & Networking Skills on June 26, 4-5pm.
The event is at the Village at Squaw Valley, Alpenglow Conference Room, 1750 Village East Road, Olympic Valley. Cost is $10/person.
Attendees will learn how to make the most of networking opportunities to develop business and leads, while increasing their visibility. Participants will have the opportunity to try their new skills afterward at the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association business mixer, 5-7pm, at Squaw Valley.
The workshop will be lead by financial adviser Cynthia L. Houck, who has specialized in helping families and businesses solve immediate financial needs, such as investments, home financing and business loans, as well as plan for long-range goals, such as retirement planning and estate planning since 1996.
To register and for more information about the workshop, call Laura Moriarty at (530) 573.0224.
Lakeview Commons — a place for people of South Lake
By Kathryn Reed
“A facility like this brings people together.”
Standing at the top of Lakeview Commons, looking down on the stage where moments before the site had been officially dedicated, Ray Lacey was a bit melancholy. As a lifelong resident of South Lake Tahoe, the deputy director of the California Tahoe Conservancy is prideful of what his employer and his town have accomplished.
More than 150 people are on hand for the June 20 dedication of Lakeview Commons. Photos/Kathryn Reed
“It’s so personally rewarding to see the South Shore fulfilling its potential,” Lacey told Lake Tahoe News.
On June 20, the $6 million project was introduced to the public in an unveiling of sorts with speeches by political figures and a party afterward.
It was the CTC that paid for the project.
Already it is a gathering place as can be seen by the number of people using it on a daily basis. Even Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe had its meeting at Lakeview earlier that day.
Many of those who were at the August 2010 groundbreaking returned to see their dream go from idea to a sketch to a functioning park on the edge of Lake Tahoe.
One of those people was Manuela King. As vice president of RHAA – the landscape architects for the project – she was all smiles as she listened to accolades bestowed upon her.
After the ceremony she told Lake Tahoe News she is thrilled with the end result. (So happy is she to work in Tahoe, the Bay Area firm just opened an office in Meyers.)
Her only regret is phase two has not been built.
Non-motorized boats are for rent.
Jim Marino, who has shepherded this project through for the city as capital improvement manager, echoed King’s sentiments.
“I want to do phase 2. The plans are done. We just need to seek funding,” Marino said. The cost is $3 million.
That phase would pick up on the north end of the El Dorado Beach site and continue to the Alta Mira Building. A cantilevered walkway is planned to extend over the water.
Marino reflected on the shaky start the project had with Clark and Sullivan challenging the bid and then ultimately being awarded the project.
In the end, it was only praise for project manager Doris Kelly.
“She was phenomenal on the job,” Marino said.
Hundreds of people were associated with the project – many of them were recognized at Wednesday’s celebration.
Former Mayor Kathay Lovell tells the history of the project while state Sen. Ted Gaines, state Natural Resources Secretary John Laird and CTC Executive Director Patrick Wright listen.
After all the speeches, the city welcomed all to lunch at Lakeview Café – the name of the eatery at Lakeview Commons. Music and paddleboarding filled out the afternoon and evening.
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Former South Lake Tahoe Mayor Kathay Lovell speaks June 20 at the dedication of Lakeview Commons:
T.J. Maxx signs lease for South Lake Tahoe store
It’s signed. That would be the lease between T.J. Maxx and the property owners at the Y in South Lake Tahoe.
Now the interior improvements can begin. Those are expected to take three to four months, with the discount retailer able to open in the fall.
This means the store will open in time for the holidays – even though it will be nearly a year after the retain chain originally intended to open.
The manager and assistant manager positions that were posted on the store’s website in May are still online.
No one from the Massachusetts-based company was available for comment Wednesday night.
