By Russ Choma, Mother Jones

In June, a video popped up on YouTube featuring a frenetic, shaggy-bearded pitchman in a chartreuse blazer. “Max Power here to tell you about an amazing new presidential candidate: Bailout Bush! If you love bailouts, you’re going to love Bailout Bush!” He touted Jeb Bush’s work for Lehman Brothers before the investment bank tanked in 2008 and his backing of the Wall Street bailout initiated by his brother’s administration. The 75-second clip concludes with him soaking in a bathtub full of cash, as a voice-over intones: “This offer guarantees a presidential candidate [who] cannot win a single primary state, let alone the general election!”

The bizarre but memorable video was bankrolled by America’s Liberty, a super-PAC supporting Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. It was just a taste of what’s coming in the 2016 race, when memes, GIFs, and other social-media catnip will blanket the internet. As the race heats up, every device you own, from your laptop to your Apple Watch, will become a delivery vehicle for all manner of political messaging. And you may never know which billionaire players or dark-money groups are targeting you—or how they’re tracking you.

The amount of spending on digital advertising is expected to nearly double in this election cycle compared with 2012. Online spots cost a fraction of traditional TV or print ads, and political operatives are giddy over the new-and-improved ways to cheaply and creatively bombard voters with their messages.

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Health officials in El Dorado County are reminding residents and visitors that chipmunks, squirrels and other wild rodents can carry plague, and that a few simple precautions can prevent the spread of the disease.

The California Department of Public Health routinely monitors rodent populations for plague activity in California and closely coordinates with county health officials. So far this year, no rodents in El Dorado County have tested positive for plague. However, last year one rodent tested positive for the disease and three tested positive in 2013 in El Dorado County. The four positive rodents were all located in the Tahoe area. There were no reports of illness to people.

A campground in Yosemite was temporarily closed this month when visitors were diagnosed with plague.

Plague is an infectious bacterial disease spread by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. People can get infected through close contact with infected animals or the bite of an infected flea. Plague can be prevented by avoiding contact with rodents and areas where fleas are noted, and by keeping pets away from rodent burrows.

Symptoms of plague usually occur within two weeks of exposure to an infected animal or flea, and include fever, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes. Plague can be effectively treated with antibiotics if detected early.

Tips to prevent plague include:

• Do not feed squirrels, chipmunks or other wild rodents.
• Never touch sick, injured or dead rodents.
• Do not camp, sleep or rest near animal burrows or areas where dead rodents are observed.
• Look for and heed posted warning signs.
• Wear long pants tucked into boot tops and spray insect repellent containing DEET on socks and pant cuffs to reduce exposure to fleas.
• Leave pets home if possible; otherwise keep pets on a leash. Do not allow pets to approach sick or dead rodents or explore rodent burrows. Protect pets with flea control products.
• Cats can pose a higher risk of plague transmission to humans when they have contact with infected rodents. Keep cats away from rodents. Consult a veterinarian if your cat becomes sick after being in contact with rodents.

Gene Abshier talks transportation. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

If money weren’t an issue, there would likely be a bridge over Emerald Bay today.

Caltrans spent decades studying the idea. It started with the desire by people to have an all-weather route on the West Shore. This is because for about 3½ months a year Highway 89 was closed because of snow.

It was in 1913 that a road was built on that side of the lake. It was 22 miles. At that time it took two days to drive from South Lake Tahoe to Tahoe City, according to Gene Abshier, an engineer in the Marysville Caltrans office for 36 years. Today he is a resident of South Lake Tahoe. Last week he gave a talk about the history of roads in Lake Tahoe.

Improvements to the roads continued until World War II when funding for these types of projects ceased.

It was after the war that California created the freeway and expressway systems. The state was divided in half, with the northern end getting 40 percent of the funding. A caveat was that Caltrans had to spend a minimum of $4 million in each county each year.

This is how in 1965 Highway 50 was widened from 22-foot lanes to 40 foot from Lake Tahoe Airport to 15th Street. It took about seven months to construct.

The 1955 Christmas Eve rockslide closed Highway 89 until the following November. That scar on the mountainside remains today.

In 1956 engineers came up with the idea of a suspension bridge more than 1,800 feet long as well as snow sheds more than 2,000 feet long that would go under the slide.

Each year that passed more alternatives were created until 28 were on the table. Seven included crossing Emerald Bay, snow sheds, viaducts, and three alignments through D.L. Bliss State Park were some of the ideas. Land owners, residents and others were nowhere near agreement on what the best route would be.

Abshier told his boss there was no way they could send Sacramento that many choices. He still has a copy of the report – which was whittled down to eight alternatives – that went to higher ups. It’s more than an inch thick. This was pre-computers. Engineers wrote things and those in the typing pool took over from there.

“It was the thickest and most complex report out of our office,” Abshier said. This was 1969.

With the importance of the document and the level of interest in it, extra copies were ordered – 200 total.

Abshier said 160 ended up in storage. Most of those were sent to a landfill.

There was no money for such an ambitious project. Times were also changing as people started to care more about the environment.

By Meg James, Los Angeles Times

VH1 Classic, with music videos from the 1980s and ’90s and movies like “The Breakfast Club,” was designed as a nostalgic stop for channel surfers.

Viacom Inc. launched the channel 15 years ago during the last big boom in cable programming. Back then consumers were hauling home high-definition big screens, and cable and satellite TV operators were eager to offer cutting-edge lineups with hundreds of channels.

Media companies laid claim to the channel space. Viacom figured it could milk its valuable MTV and Nickelodeon brands by creating offshoot channels such as Nicktoons, MTV Hits, MTV Jams and others. VH1 Classic was a hot ticket, featuring footage from old Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones concerts and documentaries on the Beatles.

But the world has changed.

American TV viewers receive an average 194 channels, and most people watch only about 17 — a number that has not budged despite the proliferation of networks, according to measurement firm Nielsen.

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Influential women from around the Tahoe-Truckee-Reno region are coming together to cultivate self-reliance, creativity, and collaboration to catalyze change.

This full-day event on Oct. 2 is designed to provide people with the tools and inspiration to create vibrant and resilient communities on a personal, local and global level.

Women as Change Makers: Building Community from the Ground Up will focus on:

• Leveraging the assets and strengths of individuals and community.
• Creating partnerships and coalitions to initiate and scale change locally and globally.
• Embracing change by learning to adapt and thrive in a complex world.
• Engaging with some of the region’s most successful female community builders.

The keynote speaker will be Rayona Sharpnack, founder and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Leadership.

Confirmed panelists include:

Susie Sutphin, Tahoe Food Hub
Jana Vanderhaar, Verdant Connections
Amber Sallaberry, Great Basin Coop
Crissy Klenk, Reno Maker Faire
Emily Hargraves, Backcountry Babes
Melissa Siig, Tahoe Art House & Cinema
Paul Bancroft, Tahoe Safe Alliance
Ed Gurowtiz, Gender Leadership Group
Rebecca Bryson, Lake Tahoe Sustainablity Collaborative
Kim Wyatt, Bona Fide Books
Mayumi Elegado, Moonshine Ink
Kathryn Reed, Lake Tahoe News.

The event is from 8:30am-6pm at the North Lake Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

For more information or to sign up, go online.

Ralph

Ralph is a 3-year-old chocolate Lab mix. He’s a happy playful boy who loves to play fetch and swim. Ralph has a short tail due to an injury.

Ralph is neutered, microchipped, tested for FIV, 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 Ananya Bhattacharya, CNNMoney

How pervasive is bias against women in the workplace? Well, it’s literally in the air.

That’s one takeaway from a new study by two European researchers.

Most modern offices use climate control systems based on the metabolic rate of an average 40-year-old man who weighs 155 pounds.

That may have described a typical worker in the 1960s, when this standard was first adopted, but does not anymore.

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Scott Harlan found this meteorite at Misfit Flats. Photo/Provided

By Scott Harlan, Salinas Californian

My interest in geology probably started with my father who was a petroleum geologist. We would go to gem and mineral shows together and look at all of the spectacular specimens.

There is a sense of discovery when you find something that no man has ever seen before.

Then in 2013, there was a fireball over Lake Tahoe that possibly could have resulted in meteorites on the ground. My brother in law, Richard Medalen, and I went up to look, but the hike was going to be difficult and it started raining the day we planned to search.

So, we decided to head to the nearest dry lake bed, which was Misfit Flats in Nevada.

We searched for a few hours and brought home a few rocks that could possibly be meteorites. Almost all meteorites have metallic iron and nickel inside, so the most definitive test for a novice is to cut the stone, polish the cut surface, and look for silver colored metal.

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Kyle Swanson, an orthopedic surgeon with Tahoe Orthopedics & Sport Medicine in Carson City and Lake Tahoe, will be honored at the 5th annual Aviation Roundup at Minden-Tahoe Airport.

The Army veteran served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan where he performed surgeries on soldiers and Afghan civilians.

Kyle Swanson

Swanson, along with four orthopedic physicians at Tahoe Orthopedics & Sport Medicine, including his father, Keith Swanson, Steve Bannar, Robert Rupp, and Daniel Roberts, have served as orthopedic physicians in the military.

Keith Swanson will provide medical coverage at the Aug. 22-23 Aviation Roundup alongside physician assistant Damian Garza who recently joined the medical group after retiring from the Air Force after 20 years.

Veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia and Afghanistan will be recognized alongside Swanson during a ceremony at Sunday’s event.

For more information about the air show or to purchase tickets, go online.

By Bryce Sanders, San Francisco Business Times

Successful people often enlist the services of a financial advisor. Some seek minimal advice, others collaborate, and some outsource the process.

If an investor makes his or her own decisions and desires minimal advice, paying a financial planner by the hour and walking away with a roadmap is an attractive option.

If you are busy and want both a plan and its recommendations implemented by the advisor, you might ask: “Who does my advisor work for?”

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