Nearly one year after Derek “Zippy” Penaranda was beaten at Mo’s Place, three people have been accused of killing him.

Penaranda, who was from Ripon, was on the South Shore in May 2012 to celebrate his 30th birthday. He got in a fight at the South Lake Tahoe bar. He never recovered from the injuries he sustained. He died in October.

“Since the emergency room at Barton, I knew Zip wouldn’t be coming home,” Wayne Penaranda told Lake Tahoe News last fall.

Derek “Zippy” Penaranda and Katie Musselwhite had hoped to one day marry. Photo/Provided

He was cautious at the time with what he wanted to release to the media regarding his son’s death and the criminal investigation. Since Day 1 he said he had been working with El Dorado County Deputy District Attorney Joe Alexander.

Penaranda was not available to speak of the proceedings that occurred this week.

The grand jury indictments leveled against the accused – Rodolfo Hernandez, 44, Sean Canilao, 48, and Ruben Lizzaragga (age unknown) – have been sealed by El Dorado County Superior Court Judge James Wagoner. These three worked as bouncers at the bar.

Hernandez was in custody on involuntary manslaughter charges with bail set at $50,000. However, there is an immigration hold on him. Arrest warrants are out for the other two.

For now the case is being heard in Placerville, though it could be moved to South Lake Tahoe. That may be decided on May 3.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — A drive to ban most stores from handing out single-use plastic bags got an important boost Monday when the California Grocers Association announced its support for a bill.

The measure by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, would prohibit the bags in grocery stores and pharmacies beginning on Jan. 1, 2015. Shoppers would be urged to bring their own reusable cloth or plastic bags or would have the option of paying the actual cost of a paper bag, estimated at 10 cents or less.

Convenience and liquor stores would face the same requirements on Jan. 1, 2016.

An initial hearing on SB405 in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee is set for Wednesday.

The proposal, if it becomes law, would supersede roughly 70 local plastic bag ordinances, such as those in Los Angeles County and the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and West Hollywood.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council this year said it preferred to keep plastic bags, despite a growing trend do the opposite.

“It is time for a statewide single-use plastic bag ban in California,” Padilla said at a Capitol news conference.

Ron Fong, president of the California Grocers Association, said his 400 members back Padilla’s bill because it provides “consistency and predictability for consumers.” Complying with dozens of slightly different city and county laws is complicated and expensive, he said.

Single-use bags are a form of “urban tumbleweed” that fouls creek beds, parks and beaches and is harmful to wildlife and marine animals, environmentalists contend. The bags also are difficult to recycle, with less than 5 percent being repurposed, they said.

“They blow off the face of landfills and out of transfer stations,” said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. “This is a problem product and the best solution is to phase them out.”

Plastic bag manufacturers counter that their products are made of 100 percent recyclable material that is regularly reused by consumers. Light-weight plastic bags take up less room than paper bags in landfills and account for only 2 percent of all litter, said a fact sheet from a trade group called the American Progressive Bag Alliance.

Padilla’s proposal is not the only one dealing with single-use plastic bags this legislative session. A rival one by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would put a 5-cent tax on all single-use plastic and paper shopping bags.

By Kathryn Reed

Instead of El Dorado County taking over office space, they repurposed the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center building to the point where the original occupants no longer feel welcome.

Tuesday’s South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting was full of people in support of returning the building in the middle of town to be just a senior center as was the agreement between the two government bodies when documents were first signed in the 1970s.

They got what they wanted. The council unanimously agreed to tell the county it has until June 30 to find another place for its people or the locks will be changed July 1.

City Attorney Patrick Enright said the agreement in place is not valid because it was never signed by the mayor or any council member, and there was never a meeting before the council to discuss the potential changes.

The signatures on the agreement allowing mental health into the senior center are Enright’s, City Clerk Suzie Alessi and former City Manager Tony O’Rourke.

The county owns the land. The building was constructed by the city. The city pays the county for use of the land.

An amended agreement dated Dec. 12, 1972, for what is known as the 56 acres, said the city had until the end of 1976 to build the senior center.

In 1981 the nonprofit Tahoe Basin Senior Citizens Center was founded. This was so the seniors could essentially govern themselves, raise money and make improvements. More than $200,000 in improvements has been made since then.

The facility had been operating exclusively as a senior center. That changed last year with the county in its quest to consolidate offices told the city it would be moving mental health and veterans services into the senior center.

The county hasn’t even reimbursed the city for its share of the utilities from last year.

The American Legion has offered to let the vets have office space when needed. According to Councilwoman JoAnn Conner, who is a member of the veterans auxiliary, the offer has fallen on deaf ears with the county.

No one from the county was at the April 16 meeting, but city staff has been working with county staff and elected officials to come to a resolution. The city says the talk all sounds good, but nothing changes.

And while the seniors knew changes were coming based on meetings that were conducted last year, the outcomes were not all anticipated.

Rooms are off limits, making exercise time be rescheduled to the recreation center. But for this age group to walk in snow and on ice is not the ideal option.

Even more disturbing to the 19 people who spoke on Tuesday is not feeling safe at the center.

Vagrants are now sleeping outside the building. Mental health clients are smoking cigarettes and pot in the bathroom. Kitchen privileges are not what they were. Equipment and furniture belonging to the seniors are missing.

Across the parking lot is the Lake Tahoe Museum, which has been vandalized since mental health patients showed up.

And while it was stressed by many that the intent is not to come down on mental health clients, it’s about the need to segregate these two distinct populations. It’s also about keeping the senior center just that – a center for seniors. For many, this is their one place to socialize, to get a hot meal, to be among their peers.

In other action:

• The council is having a special closed session on April 22 and possibly April 23 to interview up to five candidates for city attorney. There is no local candidate. It’s expected to be a few weeks before the new person is named. Enright’s last day is May 31.

• A two-year agreement with On Course Events will be entered into for the South Lake Tahoe company to operate the Thursday night summer concerts known as Live at Lakeview. There is, however, some disagreement as to who owns that name. Rob Giustina, owner of the company, told Lake Tahoe News he has the rights.

• The council revised the lease with Tahoe Sports Entertainment so alcohol sales are no longer part of the gross sales.

By Kathryn Reed

Three businesses that are delivering medicinal marijuana in South Lake Tahoe may be violating the city’s laws.

City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News she found out about the illegal operations on Monday.

“If it turns out they are operating a dispensary, they will be shut down,” Kerry said.

A man answering the Truckee number for Hip Joynt said his boss has been in South Tahoe since late last summer and in Truckee for a couple months before that. He, however, deferred all comments to his boss, who has not returned a call.

The woman answering the South Tahoe telephone for Hip Joynt said, “I’m not sure my boss is ready to be in the newspaper.” (The main number is out of the East Bay, as are most of the cities the company delivers to.)

The company’s website says, “We provide prompt, professional, discreet delivery of clinically tested cannabis and gourmet edibles throughout California, in strict compliance with state law.”

South Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler told Lake Tahoe News, “Transportation (of medicinal marijuana) is not covered in any provision of the law – state or federal.”

Pony Express, a company that tried to establish itself in South Lake Tahoe as a medical pot delivery service, was busted a little more than a year ago. The two defendants pleaded guilty to felony charges.

Uhler said he also recently became aware of the latest delivery services operating in town. He will be working with South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team to reel these ones in, too.

An Internet search of these types of services comes up with a handful on the South Shore and in the Truckee area.

A call to High Tides Medical Delivery went unanswered with no ability to leave a message. That business, according to its Yelp page, operates seven days a week from 9am-noon in South Lake Tahoe.

Chef Jenn’s Delivery Service has been operating in South Lake Tahoe since November. Jenn, who lives in town but would not give her last name, said she spoke with Kerry briefly on April 16.

“I don’t think I’m violating the law,” Jenn told Lake Tahoe News. “If there is a law I’m not following, please someone tell me so I can fix the problem. I’m more than willing to cooperate. I’ve never been a person who wants to break the law. I don’t want to cause problems.”

She deliveries the medicine to people who have medicinal marijuana cards. Some are shut-ins, some want privacy. It’s all by donation.

Jenn said 10 percent of what is collected is returned to the community. Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care has received a donation and the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe is next.

“I have real jobs. This is not how I make my money,” Jenn said.

In her kitchen she makes some of the edibles.

This, though, is in direct violation of the city’s medical marijuana ordinance. No one is supposed to be producing edible products in their homes.

Kerry said more time is needed to find out what the businesses are doing exactly and how they may or may not be complying with local, state and federal laws.

By Ted Parkhill

The Tahoe Grizzlies Bantam hockey team won the state championship on Sunday.

The 13- to 15-year-olds entered the April 14 event as the underdogs. But that didn’t slow them down.

The boys, who are part of the South Tahoe Amateur Hockey Association, win the California State title at Sharks Ice in San Jose. It is the first state title ever won by a team from Lake Tahoe. Only once before had a team from Tahoe even made it to the state final.

The South Lake Tahoe Grizzlies are state champions. Photo/HockeyShots Photography

The championship banner will be displayed in the South Lake Tahoe arena.

“These boys came through when it really mattered in the championship game. They were down two players in the second period and the boys stuck to our game plan. They stepped up their tempo and took it to our opponent for the victory,” Head Coach Ken Wood said. “Like we have done all season through injuries, suspensions and a short bench [hockey -speak for not too many players] this Tahoe Grizzlies team played as a team and we won as a team.”

Indeed, there was a variety of talent on the team. But every player knew that to win, every player was important.

The state championships began April 12 when the Grizzlies faced the San Diego Jr. Gulls. The Grizzlies were ready and quickly discovered they could compete at the state level. They handily won the game 7-1. The Gulls were surprised by the Grizzlies incredible speed and offensive onslaught.

Later that day they faced their Northern California nemesis, the Fresno Junior Monsters. The Jr. Monsters had beaten the Grizzlies in the Northern California playoffs only two weeks before. Friday night was a hard fought game and Fresno finished just ahead, 3-2.

With this win Fresno qualified to play in the final championship game. It also meant the Grizzlies had to win on Saturday to make it to the final. Saturday night they faced the California Heat from Los Angeles.

It was a battle and the Heat were hungry. They wanted to win. But the Grizzlies did too. They went back and forth with the scoring and there were tied 3-3 in the middle of the third period. With only 2½ minutes left the Grizzlies scored to take the lead. The Grizzlies won the game 4-3.

They would face the Jr. Monsters in the championship game.

On Sunday both teams knew there was a state title at stake. Both teams came out hitting. The Jr. Monsters scored first. But the Grizzlies quickly tied it up.

There were some big hits early in the game and one of the Grizzlies was given a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for a big hit. The Jr. Monsters capitalized on the power play and scored four minutes into the major penalty. The Grizzlies responded with a power play goal of their own to once again tie it up, 2-2.

The Grizzlies scored again to take the lead in the middle of the second.

Then one of the Fresno players hit one of the Grizzlies from behind and in the head. The Grizzly player was knocked unconscious. There was no penalty called on the play. However, the game was delayed for about 30 minutes.

The Grizzlies were now determined to win for themselves, their ejected teammate and the one on his way to the hospital. When play resumed with one minute left in the second period the Grizzlies were on the attack. The scored with one second left in the second period!. The Grizzlies were ahead now 4-2.

The Jr. Monsters did not give up. But at this point the Grizzlies were on a tear. In the third period they scored two unanswered goals and ended up winning 6-2.

These boys came from almost not having a team at all and not being able to play to banding together to form a championship team. It was an incredible effort.

Back in August STAHA tried assembling a Bantam age hockey team. Early on it became clear there might not be enough players to enter a team in NorCal travel hockey. Parents started recruiting. They ended up with boys coming from Carson City, Reno, Incline Village, Stockton, Valley Springs, Roseville and Rocklin.

—

Tahoe Grizzlies 2012-13 Bantam Roster:

Spencer Olson, Carson City

Alexander Low, Stockton

Jakob DeGregory, South Lake Tahoe

Edward Parkhill, Incline Village

Reiss Jensen, Reno

Janez Demsar, South Lake Tahoe

Colby Boucher, Sparks

John Moffat, South Lake Tahoe

Adam Contreras, Valley Springs

John Gist, Rocklin

Joseph Cookson, Stockton

Braydon Thompson, Roseville

Reed Leqeurica, Carson City

Travis Wood, South Lake Tahoe

Ted Parkhill works for  STAHA.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – After less than two years on the job, Kathy Hardy is about to retire as forest supervisor of the Eldorado National Forest.

While the 605,000-acre forest does not include parts of the Lake Tahoe Basin, it once did. When the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit was created, the Eldorado lost the Lake Valley portion of its jurisdiction.

Years ago Hardy worked for LTBMU. And at that time she was a member of Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe. She returned last week as a guest speaker to the group during a lunch at Harveys.

Kathy Hardy will be retiring this spring from the Eldorado National Forest. Photo/Provided

Ecological restoration is one of the main focuses of her job. This includes dealing with timber stands and various issues that affect rivers and streams.

When the Forest Service was created, trees were thought of as a crop. That’s why it falls under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Eldorado includes four rivers, parts of two wilderness areas (Desolation is one), 888 lakes-ponds-reservoirs, 57 campgrounds, 700 miles of non-motorized trails, and 2,600 miles of roads. “Which is too many,” Hardy said of the roads.

There are 155 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands in the country.

“They are managed for multiple uses. There is a lot of conflict with each other,” Hardy said.

While recreation is often what people in Tahoe think of when being part of the forest, playing outdoors can have impacts on other goals of the Forest Service. This is because the resources of the forest also need protection – whether it’s the plants or animals.

Ensuring the watersheds provide a continuous flow of clean water is another mandate of the Forest Service.

Fire has long been an issue within the Forest Service, with policy changing throughout the years. Now it’s about managing the forest so the threat of a devastating fire is lessened. More recently letting some fires burn as they would do naturally is being allowed because research shows this is better for the ecosystem.

Of the 360 employees in the Eldorado about two-thirds are permanent employees, with the other third seasonal summer workers. Half of the workers are firefighters. They are deployed throughout the country as needed.

When Hardy started with the U.S. Forest Service in 1981 there were not many women. While she is the first woman to lead the Eldorado, of the 18 National Forests in California, 10 have a woman at the helm.

While budget cuts continue to impact Forest Service operations, she said the department anticipated sequestration by implementing 6 percent budget cuts at the start of the year.

But she also said she doesn’t know how the cutbacks will completely be absorbed. It’s possible some campgrounds won’t open.

This summer Hardy plans to spend more of her time playing outdoors with her husband, Bruce Ungari, who has already retired. Camping, skiing, rafting and fishing are some of their favorite activities. A tip she told Soroptimist – check out the Big Meadows campground near Georgetown.

“It’s just beautiful,” Hardy said, and her favorite in the Eldorado.

Smoke rises April 15 after bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Photos/Les Wright

Four South Lake Tahoe residents who were in Boston for the country’s oldest marathon escaped the bombings unharmed.

Two bombs were heard going off near the finish line of the April 15 event just before noon Pacific time. Three people are confirmed dead and 144 injured.

“We were between both bombs which were 100 yards or less apart. We are back at our flat watching it on TV,” Les Wright of South Lake Tahoe said in an email to Lake Tahoe News. Wright puts on the Lake Tahoe Marathon and often travels to other races to promote his September event.

He is in Boston with his wife, Buffy, and their friend Kristin Blocher.

“We had just got through the massive crowd on the sidewalk where one of the bombs went off. I fear what the death toll will be. Earlier we were in the bleachers exactly across from the finish line first bomb in the bleachers. We had gone back to our apartment after the winners crossed and were just getting back to the finish line to see Kristin finish at around 4 hours. The bombs went off at 2:51 Boston time,” Wright said. “Kristin was running to the finish line between the two bombs. We are three very lucky people.”

Shandi Ashmore of South Lake Tahoe was also running the marathon. LTN has been notified that she was not harmed.

The race has 27,000 participants and can have nearly twice as many spectators.

The hotline for help locate friends and family is (617) 635.4500.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

—-

The finish line before the chaos.

The following is from the Reno Gazette-Journal:

After hearing two explosions, Frank Kight dove to the ground and mass chaos ensued.

“I heard that first explosion and my first thought was that maybe it was a festivity or cannon,” Kight, a retired Dilworth Middle School counselor from Sparks who was near the Boston Marathon finish line Monday when two explosions killed at least three and injured more than 100, said.

“When it went off I ducked and it was followed by another explosion — and at that point people were screaming. I dove to the ground and saw people screaming… It was mass chaos,” Kight said.

Shrapnel left a gash in Kight’s right calf and caught his pants on fire. His ex-wife was also taken to the hospital, where she remained after surgery to inspect a leg wound. They were in Boston to watch their daughter, Amy Blomquist, run the marathon. Blomquist was one of 33 Reno-Sparks-area runners in this year’s Boston Marathon.

There was no word on the motive or who may have carried out the attack, and police said they had no suspects in custody.

A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course.

The White House issued a statement Monday saying the government “will increase security around the United States as necessary,” and Reno-Tahoe International Airport spokesman Brian Kulpin said airport personnel were on a “heightened state of vigilance.”

—

People scramble for cover after two explosions go off at the Boston Marathon.

The following is from the Boston Globe:

At a news conference Monday evening, Richard DesLauriers, head of the Boston office of the FBI, said the FBI was taking the lead in the probe of the blasts. “It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation,” he said.

Blood and broken glass covered sidewalks in the area after the blasts occurred at about 2:50pm.

“It was just immediately [evident] there were injuries, right in the middle of the spectator crowds,” said boston.com sports producer Steve Silva, who was on the scene to cover the race, normally a spectacle that is a magnet for elite athletes and determined runners from across the world.

“There was blood everywhere; there were victims being carried out on stretchers. I saw someone lose their leg. People are crying. People are confused,” Silva, who captured one of the explosions on video, said moments after the blasts.

Peter Fagenholz, a trauma surgeon, told reporters “several” people had to have limbs amputated. Doctors said those injured had metal debris embedded in their bodies, but they didn’t think that the metal was shrapnel that was built into the bombs.

“We will turn every rock over to find the people who were responsible for this,” Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said.

No suspects have been arrested, Davis said, though police were questioning many people.

Just before 8pm, a “person of interest” was being questioned at Brigham and Women’s in connection with the bombing, according to an official briefed on the investigation. The individual was hurt in the explosion, the official said. But Davis said at a mid-evening news conference attended by DesLauriers, Gov. Deval Patrick, and other officials, that “there is no suspect at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as has been widely reported.”

Neither Davis nor DesLauriers would discuss any specifics of the case.

Davis had initially said there had been a third explosion at the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester. But he downplayed those comments at an afternoon news conference, suggesting that the incident might not have been an explosion and might have been a fire.

That was no ordinary bald eagle soaring near the Carson Pass on Sunday.

Four months ago he couldn’t do that. But thanks to the volunteers and experts at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care the animal was nursed back to health and on Sunday released back into the wild.

The bird came to the South Shore animal rehab facility in December with a damaged right wing.

A bald eagle on April 14 is released back into the wild. Photo/John Adamsky

“The bird could not hold the wing in the proper position and could not fly. After X-rays were taken, it was determined that there were no broken bones, so, it just needed time,” said Tom Millham, who with his wife Cheryl, run the facility.

Before the eagle was allowed to soar on its own the center’s volunteers began exercising it two weeks ago.

On April 14 with about 70 people watching, LTWC volunteer Pete Van Arnum released the animal at the overlook near Red Lake.

On Sunday, it just kept flying. No one ever saw it land in a tree.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Publisher’s note: This is one of a few stories about construction planned for the Lake Tahoe Basin this summer. On April 16, the South Lake Tahoe City Council will be discussing this summer’s construction plans. The meeting at Lake Tahoe Airport starts at 9am.

By Kathryn Reed

Bike trails in Tahoe are so bad that some routes that were designed for road bikes, now necessitate the use of a mountain bike or are not rideable even when snow is gone in most places.

That is about to change in some locations of the South Shore.

The bridges over Trout Creek and Upper Truckee River will be overhauled this summer. The decking will be replaced with a hardwood material similar to what is on the 15th Street bridge.

The bike trail behind Meek’s in South Lake Tahoe will be resurfaced this summer. Photo/LTN file

The city received a $475,000 grant from the state and the recreation joint powers authority allocated $100,000 to be used to repave the trail behind Meeks Lumber in South Lake Tahoe.

“We will be pulverizing the existing bike trail, regrading and paving over,” Jim Marino, capital improvements project manager for the city, told Lake Tahoe News. “It’s a very efficient way to replace the system.”

The affected area goes west from Los Angeles Avenue at Harrison Avenue to the intersection of Third and James streets.

“We want to raise it so it’s not so wet,” Marino said.

Part of this trail is often covered with water well into the spring because of how the trail dips and in some parts parallels a marsh area. Plus, some businesses along the route push their snow onto the trail.

Cyclists and walkers heavily use this plot of asphalt. It keeps people off Highway 50 and in doing so provides a linear east-west link between much of the city limits.

The trail will not be widened to meet current new trail standards. Permitting and coverage issues precluded doing that. What will be done falls into maintenance replacement.

Another low-lying trail that needs substantive work is behind McDonald’s at the Y.

“We are going to have to look at ways to raise it and put a culvert under it. A lot of time in the year it is not useable,” Marino said.

The segment of trail only gets touched this summer if funding is found or other projects come in under bid.

The Bicycle Coalition is looking at installing wayfinding signs for the various trails so people will be able figure out how the trail systems connect, Marino said.

In 2014, the El Dorado to Ski Run trail will be built. This will be paid for from state and federal sources.

“Right now we are 98 percent funded,” Marino said. “We do have to acquire land. We will do that this summer.”

This will be a class one trail on the lake side of Highway 50 going from the Alta Mira Building to Ski Run Boulevard. That building will eventually be the eastern terminus for the Lakeview Commons project. (California Tahoe Conservancy is planning to buy the structure-land to return it to open space-recreation.)

When the Linear Park project begins this summer it will also include repaving of that entire trail.

Jeremy Jones of Truckee takes his cause to the White House. Photo/Protect Our Winters

Warning that “winter is in trouble,” 75 Olympic medalists and other winter sports athletes – including White House “Champion of Change” awardee and pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones of Truckee – sent a letter to President Obama urging him to take action on climate and clean energy.

Jones was in Washington on April 11 with other 11 Champions of Change to be honored as “ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.” Obama created the Champions of Change program as part of his Winning the Future initiative.

Jones was being recognized Thursday for his contribution to raising awareness about the impact of climate change on the winter sports industry by creating Protect Our Winters, a foundation established in 2007 to unite and mobilize the global winter sports community against climate change.

“This nomination is an absolute honor for me and the work we’re doing at POW. But it’s now my responsibility to take this recognition and help secure a place in the climate discussions in Washington. The letter that’s been enthusiastically signed by so many amazing athletes is a strong showing of solidarity from the leaders in snow sports on climate action, so together, we have to keep that momentum going,” Jones said in a statement.

The letter to the president references a December 2012 report published by Protect Our Winters and the Natural Resources Defense Council highlighting the economic impact of inconsistent winters on the U.S. snow sports community and tourism-dependent states.

The athletes’ letter calls on Obama to follow through on the promise he made in the State of the Union address to fight climate change.

“Mr. President, it’s time to force our transition to clean energy, and we need your leadership,” the letter states. “…on behalf of 23 million of us who love winter and depend on it for our economic livelihoods, please take the action on climate change you have promised.”

Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley and Hannah Teter of South Lake Tahoe were among those who signed the letter.

“Without a doubt, winter is in trouble,” the letter states. “… at risk are the economies of tourist-dependent states where winter tourism generates $12.2 billion in revenue annually, supports 212,000 jobs and $7 billion in salaries. Those are the jobs and businesses owned by our friends and families, generators of billions in federal and state income.”

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report