By Ken Sofer, Slate Despite the arrival of increased rain and snow from El Niño this winter, California enters the fifth straight year of its worst drought in 1,200 years. The drought has been especially acute in the state’s Central Valley, which ranges from extreme to exceptional drought. With its fertile soil, moderate climate, […]
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Publisher’s note: This is one in a series of stories about the National Park Service, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016. All articles may be found via the Home Page, select Special Projects, then National Park Service 100th. By Kathryn Reed MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL, S.D. – I’ve never lived in South Dakota, but […]
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By Sally Ho, AP Nevada gambling regulators have approved a new platform that will allow bets in a fantasy sports model. The Nevada Gaming Commission voted Thursday to give a gambling license to Henderson-based US Fantasy. The newly developed sports system essentially blends sports betting with elements of traditional fantasy sports contests. US Fantasy and […]
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By Scott Smith, AP California’s drought and a bark beetle epidemic have caused the largest die-off of Sierra Nevada forests in modern history, raising fears that trees could come crashing down on people or fuel deadly wildfires that could wipe out mountain communities. Officials who are cutting down and stacking the most dangerous trees in […]
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By Kathryn Reed Heavenly Mountain Resort is becoming a year-round economic driver. With the opening of Epic Discovery this month, the South Shore resort is redefining itself – at least when it comes to summer activities. For years the Broomfield-Colo.-based firm wanted to diversify, but U.S. Forest Service regulations prevented that from happening. The feds […]
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By Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal Calling it one of the deadliest epidemics affecting Nevada and the United States, Gov. Brian Sandoval said everything is on the table for addressing the state’s prescription painkiller problem. “At least one person in Nevada dies every day from an opioid overdose,” Sandoval said. “We can and we must do […]
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By Ben Botkin, Las Vegas Review-Journal Republicans are taking the lessons they learned from the past three presidential elections and putting them to use in Nevada and elsewhere in 2016. It’s led to an added emphasis on a boots-on-the-ground approach in the Silver State and much less reliance on phone banks to reach and recruit […]
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TRPA board approves facility By Kathryn Reed STATELINE — Hockey before education. That is ultimately what made the difference for the Tahoe Hockey Academy in Meyers to move forward. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on June 22 voted unanimously to allow a 16.4-acre parcel at the bottom of Old Meyers Grade to be […]
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By Scott Smith, AP The number of trees in California’s Sierra Nevada forests killed by drought, a bark beetle epidemic and warmer temperatures has dramatically increased since last year, raising fears they will fuel catastrophic wildfires and endanger people’s lives, officials said Wednesday. Since 2010, an estimated 66 million trees have died in a six-county […]
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By Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle The El Niño-fueled storms that coated the Sierra with nearly normal snow this winter brought blasts of hope to drought-weary California. But after the flurries stopped and the seasons changed, the melt-off from the high country has been swift and disappointingly scant, according to new water supply estimates from […]
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