Ken Rollston

Kenneth Carl Rollston died on Jan. 3, 2017, while on a trip to Monterey. He was 72.

Rollston was born on Nov. 14, 1944, in Burbank to Henry and Irene Rollston. Ken graduated from James Monroe High School in North Hills, Calif., in 1962. In 1966 he received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, where he played varsity baseball, and he earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1969. He was admitted to the bar in California in 1970, and he began practicing law in the Tahoe basin in 1974.

Ken was the original staff attorney for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and served as counsel on various matters for the city of South Lake Tahoe and South Tahoe Public Utility District. He represented many Tahoe businesses including Tahoe Seasons Resort, Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association, Alpine Rentals, and Tamarack Rentals. Ken was on the Lake Tahoe Community College district board for 25 years and served as its president four times. He was instrumental in bringing the Court Appointed Special Advocates program for children to the South Lake Tahoe court system, and he supported youth sports for many years as a baseball coach from Little League up to Senior Babe Ruth.

Ken had many passions, but he especially loved fly fishing, from streams in Big Sky and Kodiak Island to the saltwater flats of Los Roques and Christmas Island. He was a world traveler, an inveterate golfer, a wine connoisseur, and a Dodgers fan since childhood. In recent years, he became a fearsome fantasy football player.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Carpenter Rollston; sisters Joanne, Garol, Lynne, and Marci; sons Jim and Brian and their wives Keri and Viktoria; Nancy’s sons Christopher and Erik and their wives Yvonne and Andrea; and six grandchildren on whom he doted — Ryland, Kaj, Zane, Miranda, Griffin and Maggie.

A celebration of Ken’s life will be in the spring. The family asks that donations in his memory be sent to the Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation.

Genesis G80 V-8 is shines all other vehicles in its class. Photos/Larry Weitzman

By Larry Weitzman

I have been testing cars for nearly 20 years and about 1,000 different makes and models, from every manufacturer (except for the Yugo). In testing I consider all factors from looks to performance, handling, ride, fuel economy, interior design and comfort, room, overall size, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness), safety, utility, quality, reliability, reputation and price. In considering the new (Hyundai) Genesis G80 V-8, with all the factors mentioned above (remember some factors carry more weight than others), it is simply the best car I have ever encountered.

Here’s why? Two years ago, when I tested the V-6 version of the new Genesis G80, it had become a world-class automobile, being “one of the best cars the Road Beat has ever tested and when you consider its relatively low price, it may be the best.” Now with the V-8 engine it may be one of the best changes to the best car ever tested when price is a factor and for 99.9 percent of consumers, it always is. So the claim “simply the best” fits.

Genesis G80 is about 6 inches longer and 2 inches wider than your average midsize, but its wheelbase is a huge 8 inches longer. By the numbers it is 196 inches long by 74 inches wide by 58 inches tall on a long 118-inch wheelbase. Fluidic Sculpture is its design philosophy and it works. It is a beautifully proportioned automobile with a strong front and rear end dynamics in its lines to make it interesting. It is a great looking ride.

The difference between the 3.8L V-6 Genesis G80 and 5.0 L G80 V-8 is the engine and levels of standard equipment, although the base Genesis G80 is incredibly well equipped. And even the engines are not much different, both sharing the same bore and stroke, meaning that except for the V angle (V-6s are 60-degree Vs and most V-8s are 90-degree Vs because of engine balance issues), the V-8 is the V-6 with two more cylinders. Smart. The data for the V-6 is listed in the specification box, but the V-8 punches out a whopping 420 hp at 6,000 rpm and 383 pounds of twist at 5,000 rpm. It also makes muted, wonderful V-8 burbles when strong in the throttle, otherwise it is one of the smoothest and quietest engines I have ever driven behind. That is about 109 more hp and 90 more pounds of twist than the V-6.

Specs and Techs
Price $41,000 to about $55,660
Engines
3.8L DOHC 24 valve V-6 311 hp@ 6,000rpm
293 lb.-ft. of torque @ 5,000 rpm
5.0L DOHC 32 valve V-8 420 hp @ 6,000 rpm
383 lb.-ft. of torque @ 5,000 rpm
Transmission
Eight speed automatic
Configuration
Longitudinal front engine/Rear Wheel Drive/All Wheel Drive (V-6 only)
Dimensions
Wheelbase 118.5 inches
Length 196.5 inches
Width 74.4 inches
Height 58.3 inches
Track (f/r) 64.1/65.3 inches
Ground clearance 5.3 inches
Weight (RWD/AWD/5.0L) 4,138/4,295/4,541 pounds
Trunk capacity 15.3 cubic feet
Fuel Capacity 20.3 gallons
Steering lock to lock 2.55 turns
Turning circle 36.2 feet
Wheels (3.8/5.0) 18X8/19X8.5f; 19X9r inches
Tires (3.8/5.0) 245/45X18/245/40X19f; 275/35X19r
Cabin volume 107.7 cubic feet
Coefficient of drag 0.26
Performance
0-60 mph 4.92 seconds
50-70 mph level 2.44 seconds, uphill 2.99 seconds
Top speed will be mined blowing
Fuel economy EPA rated at 15/23/18 mpg combined. Expect 21-22 mpg in suburban/rural driving. 31 mpg on a level highway at 70 mph.

While the V-6 was world class quick with 0-60 mph times of 5.89 seconds and 50-70 mph times of 2.97 and 3.86 seconds, respectively, The V-8 Genesis has simply shredded those numbers with a 0-60 mph of 4.92 seconds and passing times of just 2.44 seconds and the same run up a 6-7 percent grade only slowing to 2.99 times. Those are the times of a World Class super sedan. If you need to go to the moon or into Earth orbit, this is your vehicle as it has “escape velocity” type acceleration. If you need some exhilaration in your life, this G80 V-8 will provide it. If it doesn’t, I would check to make sure you haven’t assumed room temperature. Also, the pre-flight check list should include checking your head restraint.

Now mind you, I have tested quicker super sedans, BMW M cars, AMG Mercedes, but these are cars costing tens of thousands of dollars more with minuscule better performance (maybe half a second better). Once you cross the 5 second barrier, not much else matters. And the Genesis does it smoother.

Fuel economy is another small issue, but here is where the EPA numbers didn’t jive with the real world. EPA rates the G80 V-8 at 15/23/18 mpg. Overall the G80 averaged anywhere from about 20-24 mpg and when driven reasonably in rural driving it should return 22 mpg. At a constant 70 mph on a level highway during a two-way run the G80 V-8 averaged 30.8 mpg. Interestingly the V-6 only averaged 32 mpg in the exact same run. The engine spins a low 1,750 rpm at 70 mph. In a roundtrip from Placerville to Carson City which includes climbing over the Sierra, the G80 averaged 26.5 mpg. This is astounding fuel economy especially considering that the G80 V-8 weighs in at a 400-pound weight penalty at 4,500 pounds (over the V-6). The fuel economy penalty is at most about 2 mpg.

Handling is another strong point of Genesis. It has all the creds, with a wide track of 64 and 65 inches front and rear, respectively. Steering, while lacking in some feel (as most electric power racks) is nicely weighted and very quick at 2.55 turns lock to lock and a 36-foot turning radius. Huge 19 inch wheels are wide and staggered at 8.5inches wide in front and nine inches wide in the rear shod with 245/40 and 275/35 rubber front and rear. State of the art suspension keeps the attitude flat and it simply goes where you point it even when driven aggressively. You can even feel it rotate in hard cornering. This is one confident automobile and a real pleasure when the road bends.

Ride quality is also the best. It is a bank vault structurally and going over severe bumps you can feel a dull thud but the rest of the vehicle is almost unmoved. One of the best rides ever. And is this G80 smooth and quiet? You can take that to the bank. Engine, wind and road noise are nonexistent. It is simply one of the most pleasurable automobile experiences ever. It you gotta’ go, it would be hard to beat a Genesis.

Of course, safety is always an issue and the Genesis G80 Ultimate that I tested had everything standard. Lane departure warning, check; lane keep assist, check; automatic braking system, check; blind spot and cross traffic, check; in other words, it has it all, about every acronym and then some. And if that isn’t enough, it has huge four-wheel disc brakes with the front ventilated rotors measuring over 14 inches. They are powerful. The headlights mimic the sun.

Inside is a spacious large car interior of 123 cubic feet when the trunk is included. Seats are done in soft leather, beautifully styled and sublimely comfortable with powered seat side bolsters that add to their comfort and cornering ability. With its long wheelbase, rear seating is fabulous. The front line of the Sacramento Kings could fit easily with the legroom it provides.

All materials are not just first quality, but as good as it gets. Everything you touch oozes quality. The instrument panel has all the requisite gauges, trip computer and ancillary information. The center stack is about perfect in design and ease of use both for the HVAC system and beautiful sounding sound system. NAV and such all use the big 9-inch color screen that could be read by Mr. Magoo. But the voice inside the NAV system is not Jim Backus.

Sure, this is not your average $30,000 midsize. The sticker shows a price of $54,550 plus my tester had two port installed options, a first aid kit for $45 and mud guards at $115. Delivery from Ulsan, Korea, is $950 so the total MSRP is $55,660. A base V-6 hits the showroom at about $41K and is a phenomenal value, the best in the industry. Anyone you would ask would tell you that 0-60 mph in 5.89 seconds is certainly quick enough. But there is something about this V-8 as it has an ethereal feel to it. It is about $10,000 to $20,000 less than any competition and I just don’t see the extra value in spending more money on anything else. A Lexus LS 460 which I think the G80 V-8 competes easily with and perhaps exceeds the LS is at least $17K more dollars. Not only would I take the G80 V-8 over the LS in a heartbeat, I would consider it the ultimate ride when you consider all the factors mentioned near the beginning of this Road Beat. Coincidentally, the exact name of this Genesis happens to be the Genesis G80 RWD 5.0 Ultimate. If you take a test ride, bring your checkbook, you will need it.

Larry Weitzman has been into cars since he was 5 years old. At 8 he could recite from memory the hp of every car made in the U.S. He has put in thousands of laps on racetracks all over the Western United States.

To celebrate the 185th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s birthday, the Douglas County Public Library will be having an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. 

Tea and cookies will be served with Alice and the Mad Hatter at the Minden Library on Jan. 21 from 3-4:30pm.

Children ages 4-10 are invited. 

The Minden Library is located at 1625 Library Lane. For more info, call 775.782.9841. 

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Is there something about snowstorms that makes us want to eat French toast and sit on the toilet?

With every predicted blizzard, there’s a mad dash to load up on milk, bread, eggs and toilet paper. But why those particular items?

Sure, there are some variations, including booze, snack foods and even ice cream. Yet these items are the first to disappear from store shelves when the dreaded s-word is mentioned.

Read the whole story

Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s Level UP Workshop series will be the third Wednesday of the every month throughout 2017. The workshop series will kick off with the Human Resource Employment Law Workshop on Jan. 18 from noon-1:30pm.

This ongoing chamber workshop series brings the latest business resources and hot topics to the South Shore business community. Each workshop will be facilitated by experts on variety of topics including human resources, marketing, social media, doing business with the city, sales strategies, and more. The Level UP Workshops are designed to provide participants with the tools necessary to solve work-related issues, as well as gain hands-on experience to further their expertise. 

Workshop facilitators for the first event will be Heather Satin, founder and CEO of Satin Legal INC., and Cameron Bordner, attorney at MOBO Law.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their  lunch to the chamber conference room located at 169 Highway 50, Stateline.

The cost for each Level UP Workshop is $10 for members and $20 for others. 

Sierra Nevada College is accepting applications before the start of spring semester for bachelor’s degree-completion programs on the Lake Tahoe Community College campus in education, psychology and global business management.

The program is a partnership between Incline Village-based SNC and LTCC.

Tuition for SNC Tahoe students at LTCC is discounted ($382 per credit hour) and students may qualify for further financial aid based on individual eligibility. In addition to a focus on affordability, SNC and LTCC have worked hard to ensure easy transfer of credits for students, regardless of whether they have already completed their associate’s degree, or are planning to co-enroll while finishing lower-division requirements.

Spring will be the second semester for the program, the first where education and psychology degree majors are being offered. The inaugural cohort of SNC students on the LTCC campus started in fall on a global business management track and will start the second semester soon.

Classes for SNC programs at LTCC start as early as Jan. 17, with different modules offered throughout spring.

For more information, contact Kendra Wong atKWong@SierraNevada.edu.

Peanut

Peanut is a 9-month-old mystery puppy. We see Pug, maybe terrier, maybe miniature Schnauzer. But whatever his background, he’s a very cute puppy who gets along well with other dogs, cats, and kids.

Peanut is one of eight dogs at the shelter, including several other small young dogs, looking for new homes. Many of the dogs were brought to Tahoe by one of the shelter’s partners, which transfers dogs from crowded shelters to ours in the hopes of improving their chances of finding homes quickly.

Peanut is neutered, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

By John Meyer, Denver Post

VAIL— When a teen-aged Richard Steadman answered the phone one fateful weekend morning in 1955 at his family’s home in Sherman, Texas, the voice at the other end of the line was that of Paul “Bear” Bryant, calling with a scholarship offer to play football for him at Texas A&M. Steadman planned on going to Harvard until Bryant called with what he thought a better offer.

Bryant would go to win 323 games, including six national titles at Alabama. Steadman would go on to revolutionize orthopedics and sports medicine. Six decades later Steadman still tells the story of Bryant’s recruiting pitch with a sense of awe.

Today the walls at the Steadman Clinic in Vail are lined with framed jerseys of athletes Steadman got back on the field including NFL stars Dan Marino and Bruce Smith and hockey legend Mario Lemieux. He fixed tennis great Martina Navratilova and pop singer Rod Stewart.

In the early days of his orthopedic practice in South Lake Tahoe, Steadman had an intuition that putting a reconstructed knee in a cast for eight weeks was the wrong thing to do, even though it was the common practice.

Read the whole story

By Ann Patchett, New York Times

The pilgrims have been coming to Nashville for as long as the Grand Ole Opry has been on the radio. They come for Fan Fair and Taylor Swift concerts or just to walk down Lower Broad in cowboy boots. Parents visit their children in college. Conventioneers deplane by the thousands. Nashville is a hip city now, with a food scene, an art scene and two poorly performing professional sports teams.

With all the reasons to travel to Nashville, one might be surprised to learn that some people come just to see a small independent bookstore. It’s true. The Book Faithful journey to Music City because they still like their novels printed on paper. They come because they’ve heard about the shop dogs, or because someone told them years ago that bookstores were moving onto the endangered species list and they wanted to see one that was thriving in its natural habitat: in a strip mall, behind Fox’s Donut Den, beside Sherwin-Williams Paint Store. Some come in hopes of seeing a favorite author read, or catching a glimpse of the author who co-owns the store.

That would be me.

Karen Hayes and I opened Parnassus Books in November 2011. This summer, when Pickles and Ice Cream Maternity went out of business, we took down the adjoining wall and doubled our space. Business is good, which, by bookstore standards, means we spring for employee health insurance and pay the rent.

Karen and I are vocal supporters of the Shop Local movement, while at the same time benefiting from the Destination Bookstore travelers.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

A quiet man who never wanted much attention, but whose family has left a rich history at Fallen Leaf Lake has died.

Bill Craven died Dec. 28, 2016. He was 88.

Bill Craven’s impact on Fallen Leaf Lake will be long-lasting. Photo/LTN file

His grandfather, William W. Price, started Camp Agassiz for boys in 1895, which led to the resort at Fallen Leaf Lake. It started as a tent camp. Price and his wife, Bertha, had Fallen Leaf Lodge up and running in 1909. They also operated the Housekeeping Camp.

To start with there was no indoor refrigeration; the ice house was located near what is now Stanford Sierra Camp. Supplies were bought at the Celio’s in Meyers because there was no commercial development at the Y in South Lake Tahoe then.

Born in 1928, Mr. Craven, spent his childhood summers at the lodge. In those days it was possible to take the train from San Francisco to the Tahoe Tavern and the S.S. Tahoe steamer to Camp Richardson. Most of the time, though, the trip was made by car.

In the mid-1940s, Mr. Craven met his future wife, Barbara Granger, at Fallen Leaf. Their families had neighboring cabins. She was 18 and he was 16. The couple managed the lodge from 1972 to 1985. They were among a handful of people who lived at Fallen Leaf Lake year round. Mrs. Craven continues to live there.

Mr. Craven’s mother, Harriet Price Craven, and her sister Francis Price Street ran the lodge before he took it over.

The 20-acre lodge site was sold to the Stanford Alumni Association in 1951, which was appropriate since his grandfather graduated from Stanford. That is where Stanford Sierra Camp now exists. The families operated the adjacent 78-acre parcel as a camp and cabin rentals until the 1980s.

In the forward for Janet Beales Kaidantzis’ book “Fallen Leaf: A Lake and its People 1850-1950” Mr. Craven wrote, “Fallen Leaf Lake’s happiest years occurred during the one-hundred-year period of this book. For most of that time, the Lake was unknown and sparsely populated. It took great effort to get here; those who made the trip were hardy types who appreciated nature and simple living.”

Mr. Craven attended UNR, where he graduated in 1951 with a degree in mining engineering. He worked as a mining engineer in Ione until he took over the lodge.

Mr. Craven served as the president of the Lake Tahoe Historical Society. His mother had been a founding member of the organization.

In October 2010 he gave a talk at the South Lake Tahoe Library that was videotaped. Per his instructions, the Historical Society could not release copies of it until after his death. Mostly he talks about others and not his contributions to the South Shore.

He got his driver’s license when he was 13. During World War II he drove a truck for Sierra Tahoe Market which was dealing in the black market for meat.

At the talk he admitted that when gaming came to the Stateline as a 15-year-old he was playing penny slots.

Mr. Craven was saddened to see regulations put in place that essentially curtailed the building of old-style Tahoe cabins, but instead favored McMansions.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara; a son and daughter; and several grandchildren.

Per his request there were no services. Donations may be made to the UNR Foundation, Mackay School of Mining, PO Box 162, Reno, NV  89557.