There will be more than 180 positions available on various city councils, school boards, parks, fire, water, and utility districts in Placer County this November.

Citizens who are interested in serving their community and are registered voters are qualified to run for local office but may not know how to go about it.

Placer County Office of Elections will have free candidate workshops throughout Placer County to take the mystery out of running for office.

Prospective candidates and their supporters are encouraged to attend.

The times and locations are:

June 28 at 6pm — Tahoe, Customs House Building,775 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City

July 9 at 6pm — Roseville City Council Chambers, 311 Vernon St., Roseville

July 12 at 6pm — Lincoln, McBean Pavilion, 65 McBean Park Drive, Lincoln

July 21 at 10am — Auburn, FAB Building, 2956 Richardson Drive, Auburn.

Candidate filing for the Nov. 6 election will open July 16 and close Aug. 10. For more information, call (530) 886.5650.

Battles are raging all around for the future of Lake Tahoe. As we are finding out, to preserve the lake’s clarity is to sustain all of those who live, work, and play at this monumental water body.

Although Lake Tahoe is severely threatened, we now hold the key to making a difference. This journey has led me to believe that conservation at Lake Tahoe means far more than just protecting this water’s phenomenal optical qualities; it is something critical to the survival of the human race.

— Dylan Eichenberg, a recent UC Berkeley grad who studied conservation and resources studies, grew up in Tahoma

By Michael Brune and Kathryn Phillips

Are you a native of California? Neither are we. In fact, about one in five Californians were born in a different state. Across the United States, millions of people grow up seeing pictures of California’s stunning redwoods, mountains, deserts and beautiful beaches – and dream of visiting them some day. Some of us are lucky enough to become Californians who can explore these wonders through California’s parks. How long will that remain the case?

This summer, when the Brune family goes camping in Mendocino’s Hendy Woods State Park, we’ll be thankful that this pocket of old-growth California redwoods has earned a reprieve, along with roughly half of the 70 parks originally marked for closure July 1. It’ll be bittersweet, though, because the crisis that faces California’s state parks remains unsolved. Although Hendy Woods will stay open – for now – many parks are virtually certain to close, and those that remain open will continue struggling to operate under severe budget constraints.

Our state parks provide both recreation and a network of amazing ecological diamonds where we can find respite in nature, view wildlife and rejuvenate from the pressures of city living. Last Memorial Day, Californians made 10,000 camping reservations. That’s a lot of s’mores.

Michael Brune is the executive director of the Sierra Club. Kathryn Phillips is director of Sierra Club California.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

BECKWOURTH – Even iceberg lettuce doesn’t like 22-degree weather.

Two days after losing 80 percent of his lettuce, Gary Romano shrugs it off. That’s what a farmer has to do as he accepts Mother Nature as his boss.

“In 15 years, I never got hit like that. So, I’m not much ahead of last year,” Romano tells Lake Tahoe News.

Greenhouses at Sierra Valley Farms help protect produce from the elements. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Last year it took forever for the fields to dry out after the winter that would never end. Last Wednesday it was a freak cold system that turned his greens black.

Even so, Romano was wandering around his farmers’ market on June 15 looking and sounding like a man confident in what the season will bring going forward.

This is his 17th year farming in Plumas County. His family has had the land since 1938. Sierra Valley Farms is the only certified farmers’ market in California that is actually on a farm.

“It’s become like a destination farmers’ market,” Romano says.

He only allows one vendor of each type of product so they can all make money.

“I select the closest farmer with the most diversity,” Romano explains.

It’s like a community between the vendors.

Cody Poole of Longboards Bar and Grill in Graeagle is selling scrumptious, soft melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter cookies. A delicious, you won’t want to share cherry croissant has fruit from K&J Orchards from Winters, which is a couple stalls away.

Kalayada Ammatya boasts of having the best apricots in the world. They must be because until that day this reporter didn’t like apricots and more than one was consumed on the premise.

Out of the 14 markets where K&J sells its fruit, Sierra Valley Farms is No. 3 on that list when it comes to the amount of produce it moves. And one of the markets they go to is the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Meat, fish, beer and wine are also usually available so patrons can leave with enough food for several meals – maybe a week’s worth until they need to return.

A bonus is lunch can be had for free if one shows up at the correct time. This is because each Friday there is a cooking demonstration. Adam Williams with Smile Dog Catering said the beef he was cooking came from a cow that was slaughtered earlier in the day. That’s how fresh this food is.

The greens and warm potato salad he assembled were stellar – if only he would have brought recipes to share.

Tables are scattered about so people can watch the demo and then sample the finished fare.

With it taking some effort to get to Sierra Valley Farms, it’s definitely a place to linger.

It’s a great place for friends to meet. Cathy Churchill and Becky Hardy are neighbors in Clio, but neither knew the other would be at Friday’s market. Besides picking up a bottle of Grant Eddie wine (after sampling a few varietals), they moved onto Alfred Cominotto who imports his cheese from the Netherlands.

“I try to get here as often as I can. I like fresh food and organic food,” Churchill says.

Despite Romano’s bad luck with the weather last week, what is still in the ground on this 65-acre farm makes it look like it would be fun to sit in the dirt and have a feast of greens in the field.

Other edibles are in green houses.

“My specialty is growing winter vegetables in summer,” Romano says.

While he has pounds of lettuce for sale, along with carrots, cucumbers and herbs throughout the season, Romano is not one to sell just the original product.

He turns wasabi into paste, horseradish into mustard and fruits into cocktail mixes.

Romano has several stories to tell about the trials and tribulations of farming. He wants to share his experiences with others. Bona Fide Books of Meyers will be publishing his book in spring 2013.

Until then, the public is welcome to his farmers’ market each Friday as well as to the barn dinners that feature a vegan starter course, then fish, meat and dessert courses. The dinners are served in the old barn, whose slats are just wide enough for owls to come and go.

—–

Notes:

• Sierra Valley Farms is online.

• Farmers’ markets are Fridays through Sept. 21 from 10am-2:30pm.

• Dinners in the Barn are July 14, July 15, Aug. 25, Aug. 26, Sept. 22, Sept. 23. Reservations necessary — (530) 587.8688.

Getting there:

From South Lake Tahoe, get to Truckee going around either side of the lake. Take Highway 89 north toward Sierraville.

In Sierraville, at the Y, go left onto Highway 49.

Turn right on county road A23.

Pass Calpine Road on left.

Continue on until you see the sign for Sierra Valley Farms on the right.

If you hit Highway 70, turn around.

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Nevada State Parks invites the public to enjoy a day of free historical presentations at Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa on June 23.

The outdoor presentations will begin at 10am and end at 4pm. Each presentation is approximately 30 to 45 minutes, with time for questions at the end. Bring lawn chairs, but leave pets at home.

The following is a schedule of the presentations:

• 10am – Cindy Southerland, cemeteries of Carson City and Carson Valley

• 11:30am – Doris Dwyer, Chautauqua presentation of Margaret Breen (Donner Party survivor)

• 1pm – Bob Stewart, Friends of Mark Twain

• 2:30pm – Fred Horlacher, Stevens-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first wagon train into California in 1844.

Members of the Truckee Meadows and Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneers will also be on site demonstrating rope making, Dutch oven cooking, musket firing, pioneer toys, and pioneer tools.

For more information, call (775) 782.2590.

The South Lake Tahoe Rec Center is going to the Reno Roller Kingdom on June 21.

Cost is $25.

Preregister by calling (530) 542.6056.

Bring a sack lunch, socks, water bottle, sunscreen, and tennis shoes for the park. A snack bar is available to purchase smaller items.

For more summer activities from the rec department, click on the calendar.

A South Lake Tahoe teenager was airlifted to a Reno hospital after being hit by a truck while she was riding her bike Monday morning.

The extent of Anna Molina’s injuries is unknown, though officers said her external injuries were severe enough to warrant CalStar being called in to land at Heavenly Mountain Resort – where the 19-year-old was taken via ambulance.

Officers late Monday afternoon were still trying to ascertain if the cyclist and motorist stopped at the intersection of Tamarack and Blackwood avenues. The June 18 collision occurred about 11:45am.

Molina was cycling with her sister west on Tamarack when a Chevy pickup going north on Blackwood at about 20 mph hit her bike.

The name of the 17-year-old driver has not been released. Officers said she would be cited for a misdemeanor violation of driving while unlicensed.

Molina was lodged under the truck until it veered off the side of the road onto rocks, which lifted the weight of the truck off Molina’s body. She was speaking to medical crews when they arrived and before she was taken to Renown Medical Center in Reno.

Neither alcohol nor drugs appear to be a factor, officers said.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

After 25 years, the Tahoe City Lakeside Trail will be completed on June 21. The trail is a parkway, winding through public and private properties to provide the “missing link” in the largest trail network at Lake Tahoe.

The existing 19-mile trail system was missing this key one mile segment through Tahoe City, forcing hundreds of thousands of trail users onto the state highway through the town.

For more information about the North Shore trail system, read this November 2011 Lake Tahoe News article.

On June 21, TCPUD, Jake’s on the Lake, Auerbach Engineering, and Landesign will host an official dedication at 2pm at Jake’s on the Lake, located in the Boatworks Mall.

On June 24, the Lakeside Trail festivities continue with a “Let’s Get Linked” celebration at 1pm. A human link one-mile long with more than 1,000 people will be created and captured through video and aerial photography. A free concert on the beach concludes the weekend.

A shooting Sunday night in South Lake Tahoe that appears to be gang related has left a teenager with serious injuries, though not life-threatening, and the suspect on the loose.

The 19-year-old victim from South Lake Tahoe was taken to Renown Medical Center in Reno after the 11:30pm incident June 17.

South Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler told Lake Tahoe News it’s not known how the two men know each other. He added that other people were in the suspect’s vehicle, but they have not been identified. The shooter is just described as a white male.

South Tahoe officers were at the hospital Monday afternoon interviewing the victim.

The only description on the suspect vehicle is that it was a light colored SUV – but nothing more for police to help track down the shooter.

“The victim was struck with at least one shotgun blast to the back side of his body as he attempted to take cover under a vehicle. Several shotgun pellets struck the victim in the back of his head, among other regions of his body,” South Lake Tahoe police Lt. Brian Williams said in a press release.

The shooting occurred in the 2600 block of Sussex Avenue, an area where the victim often hung out. Williams told Lake Tahoe News officers were not called until about 20 minutes after the shooting even though a house in the area had a window shot out.

Witnesses told officers the suspect got out of his vehicle with a shotgun and approached the victim on foot. The victim ran, but not before being struck by the bird shot.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report

Lake Tahoe Windjammer’s presents the Southern Crossing, the group’s premier race, on June 23.

This approximately 25-mile sailboat race across the southern part of Lake Tahoe is open to all monohulls outfitted with the required safety equipment.

Registration is required.

Go online for the Notice of Race and application.