State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, is making another run at making it mandatory skiers and boarders younger than 18 would be required to wear helmets.

His bill, SB105, passed the state Senate on Monday 32-6. The Assembly will now hear the measure.

If it takes effect, the penalty would be $25.

Because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a companion bill before leaving office, the helmet law that had been approved last year did not become law.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

China is huge – and not just in size and population.

Since 2004, Nevada has been capitalizing on the desire of Chinese nationals to travel to the United States. And this month, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was in China to discuss trade and human rights issues. Robert Young was just appointed Nevada’s trade representative in northern China. His job is to work with the Nevada Commission on Economic Development to entice Chinese companies to build operations in Nevada and invest cash in the Silver State.

Nevada would like to lure these Chinese tourists from Tiananmen Square outside the Forbidden City to the Silver State. Photos/Kathryn Reed

The U.S. Commercial Service, a trade promotion arm of the International Trade Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce, says in 2007, China was the 16th largest international market for the United States, with 397,405 Chinese visitors to the U.S. That number is expected to reach 579,000 this year. Chinese people spent a record $2.56 billion in the States four years ago, with average expenditures of more than $6,000 per person.

“Close to 90 percent of the Chinese nationals who visit the United States at some point visit Nevada,” Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki told Lake Tahoe News.

Besides being second in charge of the Silver State, Krolicki heads the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

“Chinese tourists tend to stay longer, enjoy more hospitality, and produce more sales tax than any other visitor from the globe,” Krolicki said.

Nevada was the first state to open a tourism office on the mainland of China – which was in Beijing in 2004. The Shanghai office opened last summer.

With 1.4 billion people, China is a market Nevada wants to lure to the state. Gaming is one of the big draws, with most of the visitors having Las Vegas as their primary destination. The U.N. World Travel Organization says China is the fastest growing travel market in the world.

“We have a very vigorous campaign to get tourists to rural Nevada,” Krolicki said.

NCOT brings groups in to see the state. Suggested tours include trips to Lake Tahoe, Reno, Elko – to ski, experience the wilderness, and tap into to the Old West cowboy mystique.

When in Vegas, it’s not just the tables the Chinese people visit.

“The Caesars, MGMS and Wynns of the world produce more sales tax than gaming. The Chinese are attending shows, eating at some of the finest restaurants, purchase goods at some of the finest shopping facilities in the world,” Krolicki said.

Beijing and other cities are full to high-end stores.

It’s not that the Chinese can’t get these things at home. Macau, in the southern part of the country, is well known for its gaming enterprises – of which Steve Wynn has tapped into. High-end stores abound throughout the country. Food is excellent – and much less expensive than restaurants in the U.S.

Still, like any traveler, they want to explore the rest of the world. One problem that remains is getting a visa to come to the United States. One woman living in Beijing told Lake Tahoe News when she looked into getting a visa it was going to take months just to get an appointment to begin the process.

Krolicki said when the NCOT offices book travel for people to come to Nevada a deal on the books between the governments allows the processing of paperwork to be sped up.

But he also admitted the young, single woman isn’t who Nevada is marketing to.

“The number of millionaires that have the ability to travel who are Chinese nationals is extraordinary. That is the market that is comprising this outbound tourism profile,” Krolicki said.

Renewable energy may be a goal, but like Las Vegas, China likes its water shows like this one in Xi'an.

The lieutenant governor was also involved with about a half dozen other states in creating a memorandum of understanding for China to invest in the United States – especially when it comes to renewable energy like wind turbines.

“All of these little pieces add up to some very satisfying successes. The relationship works both ways,” Krolicki said.

Reid’s office, according to the Las Vegas Sun, said his group would do “site visits of American investments and clean energy projects in Chengdu, Beijing and Xi’an.” These are the same three cities Lake Tahoe News visited this spring. With the abundance of pollution from coal in Xi’an, clean energy was not obviously visible under the gray skies. Locals said the air is worse in winter.

In a quest to find Lake Tahoe Community College’s next president, the selection committee has narrowed the field to four people with experience with California community colleges.

They are:

• Cheryl Babler, vice president of instruction at Coastline Community College.

• William W. Cochran, vice president of academic affairs at Shasta College.

• Kindred I. Murillo, vice chancellor of administrative services at Contra Costa Community College District.

• Dale Paul Parnell Jr., vice president of academic affairs at Rio Hondo College.

Open forums for the finalists are scheduled for May 11-12. The forums are open to LTCC faculty, staff and the community at large. There will be opportunities for feedback and evaluations of the candidates at the forums.

The two-year institution in South Lake Tahoe has been led by a controversial interim president his academic year. Paul Killpatrick left after not fulfilling his three-year contract. Guy Lease and Jim Duke were presidents for the bulk of the college’s 30-plus year existence.

The presidential search is on tonight’s closed session. The college board meeting starts at 5:45pm April 26.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

Even though Caltrans will break ground today on a $40 million project to improve water quality, the pipes that carry runoff into Lake Tahoe will continue to muck up the scenic corridor to keep it looking more like a Third World beach community than a world-class destination.

Billions of dollars have been spent and are slated to be spent on lake clarity. But that measurement has everything to do with what a dinner plate of sorts looks like and nothing to do with the near shore, which is where people swim and what they look at from a pier.

Untreated water flows directly into Lake Tahoe. All photos are from April 17, 2011, in South Tahoe. Photos/Kathryn Reed

About a half dozen pipes from El Dorado Beach to Ski Run Marina bring untreated water into Lake Tahoe. All carry the oils and gunk from Highway 50, along with sediment from the mountain side of the road that runs through South Lake Tahoe. Some of that water carries fertilizer from Bijou Golf Course to the lake.

This is always the best time of year to see what flows into Tahoe because of the snowmelt. The high-mark for runoff is not likely to be reached until late May or early June, so the flow of water will continue at a good clip for at least another month.

Garbage is strewn about at some of these outflows. The outflow near Lakeshore Lodge and Spa is clogged because it is a grate. The water is a rusty orange-brown color. It flows east, discoloring the water all the way to Ski Run Marina. It goes out into the lake well past the end point of the pier at Lakeland Village.

Although the much-heralded Trout Creek to Ski Run Boulevard highway improvement project will help prevent some of the less desirable nutrients from reaching the lake, it won’t solve the entire problem.

Part of the issue is Caltrans does not own the pipes so the state agency is not replacing them. So, even if cleaner water flows from some of them, those unsightly discharge pipes will remain.

No official could tell Lake Tahoe News who owns all of the pipes, but the city of South Lake Tahoe is responsible for most.

Another issue is not all of the pipes carrying untreated water are part of the Highway 50 project.

“The outfall at Lakeview Commons is not getting any treatment at lake level. That is in the second phase of the project, of which there is no funding for,” said Jim Marino, capital improvement project manager for South Lake Tahoe. “Caltrans is providing all the pre-treatment facilities on the highway to clean up the water.”

(The contractor started mobilizing at Lakeview Commons near El Dorado Beach last week and expects to start work May 2 on phase one.)

“The Alta Mira (outflow) is a little unclear. There is some talk by the California Tahoe Conservancy to purchase those properties to expand Lakeview Commons and in that case that outfall,” Marino explained. “But right now it’s only getting pre-treatment on the highway so it should be cleaner, but the ugly look will probably stay.”

This area is at the east end of the pedestrian area where from the highway the lake is no longer visible.

Bijou project

There isn’t anything Lakeshore Lodge or Lakeland Village can do about the nasty water coming out of the pipe by the Bijou Center. General managers of both properties told Lake Tahoe News the Bijou erosion control project can’t start soon enough.

They will have to wait until 2013 – or later.

“That is a landmark project the city is undertaking. That will be a pump and treatment system,” Marino explained. “It will take the mucky stormwater out of the Bijou neighborhood and pump it back into the meadow and allow the meadow to discharge and cleanse it out. It’s a complex project.”

With 95 percent of the funding in place, the city hopes to start on it in two years.

Pat Ronan, who runs Lakeshore Lodge and Spa, said his guests will comment on the unsightly pipe, but his employees explain what it is and that it’s runoff starting at Heavenly Mountain Resort that winds up on the edge of his beach.

Although Jerry Bindel at Lakeland Village collects, treats and monitors the runoff from his property’s parking lots, he can’t stop the trail of orange water from flowing in front of his complex this time of year from the Bijou pipe.

Two pipes from his property carry water to the lake, though they are buried under the sand. Both are visible from the shore.

“The ones coming from our beach don’t (bother guests). We have some pretty strict guidelines on property to make sure nothing gets into the lake from our property,” Bindel said.

Permitting agencies

Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency issued permits for the multi-year highway project that will bring improvements to both sides of Highway 50.

“The water, hopefully, coming out of them will be a lot cleaner, but it will still be an eyesore. I understand they look ugly,” Bud Amorfini, engineering geologist with Lahontan, said of the culverts.

Although detention basins are the optimal choice for treating stormwater runoff, that is not possible with the highway so close to the lake. That is why sand vaults and Delaware sand filters will be used.

But the goal, Amorfini said, is all the water in that section of the highway will be treated in some manner before it reaches Lake Tahoe. That will be a marked difference from what goes on today and has been allowed to happen for years.

With the Total Maximum Daily Load requirements passed last week by the state water board – which the Environmental Protection Agency must still sign-off on – this highway project will allow Caltrans to receive credit for reducing the amount of sediment reaching the lake.

This road project also qualifies as an Environmental Improvement Project under the oversight of TRPA.

“Highway 50 Trout Creek to Ski Run is an example of an area that needed full treatment, but which also needed roadwork, landscaping, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, so it naturally took a long time to plan and fund,” Jeff Cowen, TRPA spokesman, said. “The NEAT (Natural Environment As Treatment) plan lays out Caltrans projects to infiltrate all stormwater from its roads in the basin. They are accountable to that plan.”

Caltrans spokeswoman Deanna Shoopman said crews are bringing in equipment, putting up fencing and doing other staging work this week. Work that would interfere with traffic will not begin until after May 15 – when the first stage of the Amgen Tour de California bike race on the South Shore is over.

Improvements coming

The project begins on the west side of the city near the Trout Creek bridge by Meeks Lumber and goes to Ski Run Boulevard.

With it being a water quality project, much of the work is happening under the road surface where the drainage – and treatment – of runoff will occur.

Sidewalks, 6-foot shoulders (aka bike lanes), and new signals are part of the plans. Lighting will occur on the mountain (south) side of the highway. Landscaping on both sides will be provided. Walkways will adhere to American with Disabilities Act regulations.

This project has been in the works for more than a decade.

The plan is to time as much of the Lakeview Commons work into Caltrans’ schedule so the same areas of town are not torn up more than once.

Although the end product will be visually and environmentally better, it won’t be without inconveniences.

This is the preliminary schedule, though Caltrans may change things or have updates at today’s 1pm groundbreaking ceremony at Campground by the Lake:

• April 25: Contractor began mobilization.

• April 25 to May 13: Contractor will set up BMPs for TRPA permit and pre-grade inspection.

• May 1 to Oct. 15: Utilities will relocate infrastructure.

• May 17: Contractor begins phase 1.

• Phase 1: 2011 construction season — Trout Creek to Ski Run westbound (lake side) curb, gutter, and streetscape.

• Phase 2: 2012 construction season — Ski Run to Trout Creek eastbound (mountain side) curb, gutter, and streetscape.

• Phase 3 – 2013 construction season — full limits both directions – grind, pave and stripe.

Expect lane closures for the three years of work. The contractor will be working day and night until July 1. From July 1 to Labor Day, contractor will work nights, with limited daytime work.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

People who want to comment on the proposed booster station on Grizzly Mountain Road now have until April 28 to do so.

South Tahoe Public Utility District has been working with neighbors in the area on a redesign of the building to better satisfy their desires while still providing the necessary configuration for the South Shore district to pump water.

Here is the latest design.

While neighbors are expressing gratitude toward STPUD’s willingness to make changes, as of April 25 they were still waiting for information on “some new possible sites where this booster station could go”.

The South Tahoe PUD is expected to vote on the project May 5, with it going before the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency hearing officer review on May 19.

— Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

What may have been the most significant discussion at last week’s South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting was about a $1,000 bill.

The lengthy discussion on the consent agenda item about a snowblower at Lake Tahoe Airport and the consultant working on the specs signaled a shift in how these five do business. Rubber-stamping what staff brings to them didn’t happen. Making the person prove they worked the hours is new. Chastising staff in public for having the work done without a contract approved by the council is new.

“I’m very troubled by this,” Councilwoman Angela Swanson said. “I don’t want to see this happen again from any of our departments.”

What happened is Airport Director Sherry Miller brought forward a $20,000 bill from Reinard Brandley for engineering and consulting assistance in the purchase of an airport snowblower. This is twice the amount it was originally expected to be.

The city’s portion is $1,000, with the Federal Aviation Administration picking up 95 percent. But it is all taxpayer money.

In the discussions April 19 it was brought up that the Brandley, who has been associated with the airport before the city incorporated in 1965, had to re-do the specs for the bid. The city is being billed for his mistakes.

Councilman Tom Davis was adamant he isn’t going to agree to pay this bill until he sees an accounting of the work done and hours associated with it.

The blower is expected to arrive this summer, so delaying payment to the consultant is not delaying the item being built.

Miller explained a consultant was needed because the airport via FAA regulations has unique requirements. The $507,000 blower is being built just for the South Lake Tahoe airport.

It’s likely the contract with the consultant will be before the council again at the May 3 meeting.

By Anne Knowles

Lake Tahoe News sat down with Assemblyman Kelly Kite, R-Minden, to discuss the issues facing the 2011 Legislature. Kite represents Douglas County and portions of Carson City and Washoe County. He is a retired businessman who served on the Douglas County Commission from 1997 to 2008. Kite sits on three Assembly committees: Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining; Judiciary; and Commerce and Labor. This is his first legislative session. He can be reached in his Assembly office by email at kkite@asm.state.nv.us or by phone at (775) 684.8843.

Lake Tahoe News: You’ve co-sponsored a bill with Sen. James Settelmeyer, Senate Bill 271, to remove Nevada from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Why did you sponsor the bill?

Assemblyman Kelly Kite: I had several requests from businesspeople as well as residents. I was on the county commission for Douglas County for 12 years and there were many things that would have been beneficial to the lake that were road blocked by the two-thirds vote that California has. I think we can get a lot more done through a smaller, more responsible local coverage. My intent is not to do away with the TRPA or destroy the TRPA, but to make it more responsible to Nevada citizens.

Kelly Kite

Q: How do you respond to critics of the bill that the time and money required for Nevada to set up its own mechanism for replacing the TRPA could slow development at the lake and cost the state more in the end?

A: Our goal there is not to reinvent the wheel. We want to take the same organization and set up, but make it more centralized to Nevada’s issues and, again, not to destroy the TRPA, but to make it more accessible and open to Nevada residents.

Q: How do Nevada’s issues differ from California’s?

A: For many years we wanted to help with fuel loading and it was blocked until we had a fire. There were a lot of projects, including NDOT’s (Nevada Department of Transportation), that would have helped run-off into the lake and helped lake clarity, but those were blocked and drug out for years with millions of dollars of extra expense. Those types of projects could have gone forward.

Q: You’ve also sponsored a number of bills dealing with firearms. What are you trying to accomplish with all of this legislation and where does it stand?

A: Protect our Second Amendment rights. That’s the best answer I can give you. Most of (the bills) have survived. To the best of my knowledge, most of them have or will pass through the Assembly floor and go to the Senate, and vice versa.

Q: Where do you stand on Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget, in particular his proposed cuts to the state’s education budget and his vow to not raise taxes?

A: I support him all the way.

Q: So, you are opposed to looking at the mining industry for additional revenue or, say, a services tax?

A: I’m not averse to looking at anything. I’m going in with an open mind, but as it stands right now I am 100 percent behind Gov. Sandoval’s budget and his tax policies.

Q: What do you think the state needs to do to revitalize its economy?

A: Stabilize. And stabilization means a lot of things. But in order to get new businesses to come here, one of the things that scares businesses the most is uncertainty. Businesses will deal with a lot of things, but one thing they do not like is not knowing what’s ahead of them. Until we can get a stabilized tax structure, get our education stabilized, which is important, we’re not going to see a lot of new businesses. And I think the most important part of economic growth comes back to one word: stabilization.

Q: What do you mean by stabilize the education the system?

A: There are two different schools of thought. We keep throwing more money at it, getting the same results, or reform and stabilization, and by stabilization I mean, they’re talking about cutting $1.2 billion out of education, but they knew a year ago that that was stimulus money that was one-time only money. They did not look ahead to see the conditions that were coming when that money was not there. To the best of my knowledge, we’ve only cut education once or twice in the last 20 years, every year has been an increase in funding and I don’t think we’re seeing the results that we need from it.

Q: The economy is an almost all-consuming issue this session, but are there other issues you consider to be vital as well?

A: Redistricting is going to be huge. Right now, my district covers all of Douglas County and every grain of sand in the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe is in my district. I don’t know whether that will be my district next time or not. I’m pretty sure the South Shore will be; Incline Village and Crystal Bay, I don’t know. We’ve got to make sure that Douglas County and the lake portion is not split up into different districts. I think they need and deserve representation and Lake Tahoe issues are Lake Tahoe issues, whether it’s Washoe County or Douglas County. And I think it’s imperative that they have contiguous representation.

Q: How do you influence such a thing when you are not on the committee that deals with redistricting?

A: It’ll come down to a vote. Both sides of the houses will present theirs. The governor will present his, and, to be honest with you, I think the judge will do the decision-making. Shouldn’t be that way, but I believe that’s how it will turn out.

Q: This is your first session. What have you learned so far?

A: I’ve learned a lot. As 12 years as county commissioner, I was familiar with the way things work, I was here for a lot testifying and lobbying, if you will, for the citizens of Douglas County. There is frustration the first 60 days, seems like we do nothing, the last 60 days, it’s all crammed into there. I think it could be run smoother. I have my own ideas about that, but being a freshman in the minority party, so far you’re the only one to listen to me about this.

Q: Are you concerned that things that have previously been the responsibility of the state will be put on to the counties and towns?

A: Absolutely. It worries me a lot. Probably it concerns me more after working in county government for 12 years, being responsible for a county budget and all the things that counties do. Kicking the can down the road to the counties is not solving any problems. We need to solve our own problems without passing them on to someone else. I’ve talked with leaders in county government and there are some issues they feel that they can handle better and cheaper than the state can, but there are some that they are just not equipped to handle. What Washoe and Clark counties can handle, the rural counties cannot.

Q: Finally, what is the best way for your constituents to be heard?

A: Email us, directly in. Go to the state’s website, pick the bill that they’re interested in, make their comments and send those directly to the people who are involved. The shotgun-blast emails are not nearly as effective.

By John Rebchook, Denver Post

A Nevada-based investment group has purchased DRI, a Denver-based disaster restoration firm that late last year received a shout-out from Dr. Phil.

The price that Jenmar Investment Group, LLC of Lake Tahoe paid for DRI was not disclosed. DRI has completed more than $60 million in re-construction and restorations during the past 25 years.

“Jenmar could not be more pleased by the acquisition of DRI,” Jenmar spokesman Phillip Knowles, said in a statement released this week. “DRI is poised in the marketplace with the best infrastructure and technical expertise to become the dominant company in the Mountain West market. They make a great addition to the Jenmar portfolio.”

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Groundwater in the Angora burn area is so high it is creating impassable roads.

El Dorado County public works crews don’t anticipate being able to fix the crumbling roads until mid-June at the earliest. They must wait for the water to subside to be able to dig.

Mule Deer Drive in El Dorado County is a wet, crumbling mess. Photo/Kathryn Reed

“The ground is saturated 4 to 5 feet in there,” said Tom Celio, deputy director of maintenance and operations for the county’s transportation department. He was able to stick a shovel handle down 4 feet in the middle of Mule Deer Drive. “We will have to put in a drain system to carry the groundwater into the corner and tie it into a culvert.”

He is speaking of the mess on Mule Deer that has made the road impossible to drive on in one section. The good part is the decaying asphalt and flowing water are between driveways so residents can come and go. It’s just that no one can drive the length of the road because of the decay.

Celio said other roads in the burn area are bad, but not to the extent of Mule Deer.

He blames the unusual wetness to the lack of trees in the area since the 2007 fire. This means no roots to absorb the water. He also points to the abundance of snow this winter.

“The whole hillside is leaking water. There are places where it’s like boiling out of the ground,” Celio said.

He said things could get worse before they get better because as the sun comes out it pulls the water to the surface. But he also said once the snow is gone, the ground dries quickly.

“I wouldn’t call this routine. We have significant more pavement damage due to the saturated base than we have had in recent times. It’s probably been 15 or 20 years since we’ve had this much saturation,” Celio said.

By Kathryn Reed

An industrial facility in a neighborhood on the outskirts of South Lake Tahoe has brought cries of concern from people that are being heard by utility district officials.

A last-minute meeting was convened Wednesday night and another one is set for Saturday at 10am at the project site. Residents in the Grizzly Mountain area off North Upper Truckee Road will be able to meet with South Tahoe Public Utility District board members and staff about the booster pump station that is planned for the area.

The proposed booster station on Grizzly Mountain Road may look like this one on Apache Drive. Photo/Provided

At the April 21 public hearing on the issue, one neighbor spoke out against it, while others sat in the audience.

Concerns for many of the residents who have spoken with Lake Tahoe News are how the process works, why this location was selected and what the structure will look like.

What irks people is the district was looking at the property last fall, and closed escrow in January after the board approved the $146,000 purchase at the Jan. 6 meeting. What neighbors want to know is why they weren’t informed about STPUD’s plans before the land was bought. Many have said it seems meaningless to ask for input now.

John Thiel, principal engineer, acknowledged at Thursday’s board meeting he could have done a better job getting the message out – and will next time.

Lynne Paulson, who lives about 400 feet from the proposed site, didn’t get noticed about the 30-day comment period because STPUD only sent letters to residents within 300 feet.

(The comment period was supposed to end today, but has been extended to April 25. Comments are being taken on the project – even though the land has been purchased for this use without public input.)

Paulson read the following into the record, “ … the purchase of the land prior to project review and approval combined with the planned contracting for the pipeline to this location has resulted in the impression that the booster station project is being steam rolled over us. This doesn’t provide the transparency and accountability needed for open government processes.”

She intends to submit a more detailed letter in the next three days.

For Russell Paul, who lives directly across from the project site, his voice is filled with frustration.

This is the view from Russell Paul's residence -- the lot where the booster station would go. Photo/Kathryn Reed

“I just feel they operate under this cloud of the good for all and move forward with projects. You can question their moves, but you can’t be part of the process. There is no process,” Paul told Lake Tahoe News.

He questions whether the lot below him is part stream environmental zone, which would preclude it from being built on.

Thiel, at the meeting, said only a small portion in the back is designated SEZ. He said this view lot has 3,584 feet of allowable coverage, so something much grander could have been built there.

Concessions have been made since the neighbors started making calls to STPUD in the last week or two. Thiel said the building will be smaller. The design will look more like a residence than what was originally planned. Initially, the district wanted it to look much like the booster station on Apache Drive in Meyers.

While residents initially could not understand why the station was being put in when it didn’t affect their neighborhood directly, the district has explained the need to have better water flow when the next wildfire strikes the South Shore.

Elevation is one criterion for where it goes. Tying into certain service areas is another.

The staff report explains, “The project consists of the construction of a new booster pump station to improve the primary water service to approximately 3,000 existing homes in the Flagpole and Twin Peaks water zones. The project increases water reliability to the Flagpole and Twin Peaks water zones by providing a second source of water to the area currently served by only one pipeline form the Arrowhead water zone (located in Meyers).”

Thiel explained to the board the redundancy is needed in case the first booster station is taken out in a fire.

The board is expected to vote on the matter in May.

At the end of the hearing on Thursday, STPUD board President Dale Rise said, “We will try to get through this. We will satisfy the public, but the public as a whole – the 10,000 water customers. We will try to mitigate this and make you happy.”

Click on information to read more about the project. Funding for the more than $1 million project comes from matching funds for a Fire Protection Partnership Funding/USFS Forest Health Fund grant.