By Bobby Caina Calvan, Sacramento Bee Cigarette sales in California plunged to their lowest level in a decade last year as smokers were squeezed by new taxes and restrictions on where they could light up. While tobacco use has been steadily declining, the 8.1 percent sales drop was the largest year-over-year decline since 2000, according […]
Read more
By Liz Benston, Las Vegas Sun Several months ago, the Internal Revenue Service agents who investigate financial crimes in Las Vegas began calling big casinos to set up meetings with their employees. The calls were friendly. In fact, the IRS — battling a bumper crop of white-collar crime — needed the casinos’ help. The feds […]
Read more
With thunderstorms in the forecast for today, it’s possible Truckee could duplicate what it did on Aug. 8, 1989, when 1.21 inches of rain fell. The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a second day of weather warnings for the greater Lake Tahoe area, including Reno and the Eastern Sierra. Expect storm clouds to […]
Read more
A hazardous weather warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for the Eastern Sierra, including the Lake Tahoe and Reno areas. Thunderstorms will develop Saturday afternoon and into the evening, mainly north of Highway 50 and through Mono County. Rainfall rates could meet or exceed 2 inches per hour and therefore localized flash […]
Read more
The Wolf Creek Fire remains at 580 acres today. “Firefighters are making good headway as the fire continues to be managed for resource benefits,” fire spokesman Dave Zaski said. “Firefighters are starting to remove excess portable equipment and evidence of chainsaw use for fire line construction to restore the area to its natural characteristics.” Three […]
Read more
By Brian K. Sullivan, Bloomberg News Scientific evidence that the world is getting warmer is “unmistakable,” according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration drawing on research from 48 countries, including Russia and China. The past decade was the warmest on record and the past 50 years have been getting hotter, the […]
Read more
By Ed Fletcher, Sacramento Bee In El Dorado County, it pays to stick around. The county’s response to a Bee inquiry last week into the compensation of top city and county managers omitted the county administrator’s “longevity pay.” That incentive increased County Administrator Gayle Erbe-Hamlin’s annual salary from the $180,000 base pay reported by The […]
Read more
By Kevin Yamamura and Susan Ferriss, Sacramento Bee In an extraordinary court filing, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked Friday that gay marriages be allowed to resume immediately in California after a federal ruling that the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The Republican governor filed his brief with U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. […]
Read more
By Kathryn Reed More than 200 people continue to fight the Wolf Creek Fire, which is burning about 14 miles south of Markleeville. The fire that was started by lightning had burned 580 acres as of 3:15pm today. The fire had smoldered for several days before firefighters began fighting the blaze on Aug. 3. “We […]
Read more
By Kathryn Reed It looks like a lawsuit regarding redevelopment in South Lake Tahoe has been averted. A flurry of meetings, conversations and correspondence have been going on and exchanged this week between South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County officials. The issue is regarding the expansive redevelopment area the City Council approved earlier this […]
Read more