It was a somber occasion that brought people on the South Shore to the curbside Thursday morning. It was an opportunity to pay tribute to fallen U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter Michael Hallenbeck. Hallenbeck died Aug. 8 after being struck by a tree while fighting the Sierra Fire that was burning outside the boundary line […]
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By Peter J. Blodgett Tens of millions of Americans have hit the road this summer. The all-American road trip has long been a signature adventure, but once upon a time the notion of your own motorized excursion of any length would have seemed impossible. In 1900, Americans were hampered by wretched roads and limited […]
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By Jessie Marchesseau Douglas County Parks and Recreation has no immediate plans for any major changes to the Zephyr Cove disc golf course. This may come as a surprise to those who have heard the rumors swirling through the local disc golf community alleging that Douglas County had accepted a proposal to make significant changes […]
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By Kelsey Ray, High Country News When large wildfires blaze, the public counts on airplanes to put them out. Pilots fly air tankers over mountainous terrain and drop fire retardant — up to nearly 12,000 gallons per trip — onto the dense forests below. The bursts of red slurry bring hope to those whose homes […]
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By Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Tuesday a measure that prohibits secret grand juries to weigh in on cases involving excessive or deadly force by law enforcement, and another affirming the public’s right to take audio or video recordings of police officers. Both measures were part of a spate […]
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By Kathryn Reed It’s time to do something different. That was the overriding message delivered Tuesday night regarding invasive weeds that are taking over of the Tahoe Keys canals in South Lake Tahoe. Twenty-five years of various methods – most notably harvesting – have not solved the problem. The Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association has […]
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By Jim Carlton, Wall Street Journal California’s cash-strapped parks system has a $1.2 billion maintenance backlog. But many of its 279 parks are getting spruced up anyway thanks to a secret weapon: conservation groups that have stepped in to rebuild trails, renovate restrooms and even buy more land. Park Champions, a program run by the […]
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By Laura Parker, National Geographic TWISP, Wash. — The largest fire in state history swept through the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range with explosive force last summer. The Carlton Complex Fire burned more than 250,000 acres, devouring everything in its path at the hypersonic pace of 3.8 acres per second. Until then, the top […]
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Publisher’s note: This is one in a random series of stories about what it’s like to go through the South Tahoe Public Utility District turf buyback program. By Kathryn Reed A spiral herb garden, raised mounds with endless plants and a dry riverbed. Those were not part of my plans when I decided to remove my […]
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By Jeff DeLong, Reno Gazette-Journal There’s El Nino, and then there’s “the blob.” Both are phenomena associated with warm water in the Pacific. Both could have some impact on the weather, including building hopes for a big winter that might help pull the West out of protracted drought. No one really knows. “This is a […]
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