James Matlean, 23, of Gardnerville is being held without bail in the murder of Benjamin Oxley.
Oxley was found shot dead in his home in Minden on Feb. 21, 2008.
Matlean is in Douglas County Jail in Minden.
Anyone with with information about the case should contact Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jon Storke at (775) 782.9909.
By Kathryn Reed
Life at Kindertown Day Care was briefly out of whack this morning when what sounded like an explosion in the attic forced the evacuation and fire personnel to scour the area.
Brad Piazzo, division chief with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, said everything looked fine when they arrived.
“We couldn’t tell quite what happened,” Piazzo said. “We secured the heater and then cleared.”
Nixon’s Heating and Plumbing came out as well to see what might have been the cause. The hot water heater had been disconnected Tuesday in anticipation of a new being installed, but that is not believed to have been the cause of the noise.
Kindertown owner Maria Barrows-Crist said the she heard an explosion that literally shock her and caused the lights to flicker.
The center was evacuated briefly, but everything is back to normal now.
By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun
CARSON CITY – After two consecutive months of gains, the gambling win at casinos on the Las Vegas Strip fell slightly in April, but baccarat play and roulette registered strong increases.
The state Gaming Control Board reported today the 41 casinos on the Strip won $437.2 million, off 0.93 percent compared to April 2009 when the win dropped by 15.8 percent.
Statewide, the 329 casinos won $810.4 million, down 5.7 percent from a year ago. It was the second-lowest month in the past year. Only October 2009, with an $800.4 million win, was lower.
April is traditionally a “soft month,” says Frank Streshley, chief of tax and licensing for the board. Casinos don’t schedule a lot of events around Easter, he said. But it was “softer than expected,” he added.
By Mark Harden, Denver Business Journal
More skier visits and higher ticket prices helped lift profits for Vail Resorts Inc. in its latest quarter.
The Broomfield-based ski resort and lodgings operator and real estate company (NYSE: MTN) reported results Wednesday for the quarter ending April 30, which it regards as its fiscal third quarter.
Skier visits were up at Heavenly Mountain Resort this winter. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Net income attributable to the company for the quarter was $72.8 million, or $1.98 cents a share, up 18.1 percent from $61.6 million, or $1.68 cents a share, a year earlier. Those earnings topped analysts’ expectations of $1.83 a share, Thomson Reuters reported.
By Kathryn Reed
Taxes, if voters think it’s a good idea, will go down next year for most businesses in South Lake Tahoe.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to put on the Nov. 2 ballot the proposal to reduce the business license fee by 10 percent and raise the cap to $10,000. This means 3,417 businesses will see their annual fee go down and 50 are expected to pay more.
Because it’s a tax issue the people must vote on it. It will take 50 percent plus one vote to be approved.
Equitability is the reason the council wants to do this. As is stands, some small and large businesses are paying about the same with the cap at $3,000. That threshold is below what many cities charge.
Plus, a 10 percent cut could be significant for businesses that are barely paying rent, let alone annual bills. Business licenses are due every summer and are based on the gross income of a business. The rates cannot increase more than 3 percent a year based on the Consumer Price Index. That is a current criteria and one that will remain in the ballot language.
Councilman Bill Crawford said when he was on the board the first time there was a push to do much the same thing but the council never brought it to voters. That was back when the city had four times as many car dealerships. They were rather vocal opponents to raising the cap.
The city expects to collect an additional $101,593 per year with the scenario that will be before voters.
It will most likely cost between $12,000 and $17,000 for the city to place it on the ballot.
Meyers resident Kenny Curtzwiler was the only person to speak during the public comment period. He brought up the issue of Heavenly Mountain Resort not paying taxes on its lift tickets from the gondola or scenic rides.
It’s a service and not a product is why sales tax is not collected. The city doesn’t have an amusement tax, which those sales could fall under.
Still, the council seemed a bit baffled as to why the resort doesn’t have a business license to operate the gondola.
The city’s Redevelopment Agency and Heavenly have an agreement dating to before construction started at Heavenly Village in the mid-1990s that prohibits the city from assessing certain fees or taxes on lift tickets until the city’s Redevelopment Agency pays off its $112 million debt it incurred to build Heavenly Village, where the gondola terminal is. That debt is scheduled to be repaid in 2039.
Heavenly does have a business license for the California Lodge as well as its separate retail shops in town. Why the Saddle Road operation has a business license is unknown because it is in El Dorado County and not in the city limits. The maintenance yard is in the lower lot, which is in the city limits.
“When they report revenue we have no way to know where it comes from,” said Christi Bozes, South Lake Tahoe accounting technician. This means a business like Heavenly with more than one outlet can combine the revenues into one pot so ticket sales at one location are not isolated. So, even though the gondola does not have a business license, this does not mean Heavenly is not paying its share of taxes from revenue generated at that location.
Heavenly spokesman Russ Pecoraro was not in his office when reached after 5pm Tuesday and therefore didn’t have all the facts at his finger tips.
Pecoraro and city councilmembers said more details about Heavenly and what it pays to the city will be forthcoming this week.
In other action the council:
• Listened to a presentation by Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority Executive Director Carol Chaplin about the Amgen Tour of California starting in South Lake Tahoe in 2011. The council unanimously supports the effort to make this a reality.
• Approved the Ski Run BID to carry on for another year. It was a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Bill Crawford explaining how a May 25 meeting between him and the BID board resolved most of the issues that precluded him from voting yes last month. Councilman Hal Cole no longer owns property in the area so he could vote.
• The taxi ordinance is going to be reworked by staff based on comments from three people in the industry who basically said the same thing at previous meetings. Those remarks were not incorporated into the final document. This will cost the city, aka taxpayers, staff time as well as a couple hundred dollars to post the necessary documents to notify people about the next hearing.
Publisher’s note: Updated 9am June 9 with link to Alpine County.
By Kathryn Reed and Susan Wood
It will be John D’Agostini and Craig Therkildsen vying to be sheriff of El Dorado County in November.
Voters cast ballots at Lake Tahoe Airport on June 8. Photo/Kathryn Reed
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, it was D’Agostini with 9,277 votes or 25.26 percent and Therkildsen with 8,479 votes or 23.09 percent.
To avoid a runoff one of the six candidates would have had to receive 50 percent, plus one vote in Tuesday’s primary.
With glitches at two of the Lake Tahoe precincts, votes had to be recounted. All the ballots were reported about 1am.
D’Agostini, a district attorney investigator in Amador County who lives in Mount Aukum, told Lake Tahoe News he believes what put him over the top is voters wanting to “get away from business as usual.”
However, the man he will face in five months is a captain in the sheriff’s department. This clearly indicates a large percentage of voters are comfortable with someone from within.
Therkildsen has spent his entire career in the county, with the first year at the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and 27 with the sheriff’s department, nearly five of those in South Lake.
“I think experience in the community and experience in the department (is the difference),” Therkildsen said.
Both candidates said the outpouring of support humbled them. The next closest opponent is Bob Luca with 7,111 votes, 19.36 percent.
In other contested races in El Dorado County, Karl Weiland beat Michael Gordon for assessor, 65.42 percent to 34.11 percent.
Keith Brooks will retain his judgeship. He surpassed challenger Robert Huckaby 75.74 percent to 23.85 percent.
Ron Briggs had an easy time retaining his supervisorial seat over the three challengers, collecting 55.47 percent of the vote.
In Placer County, incumbent Rocky Rockholm (42 percent) was unseated by challenger Jack Duran (58 percent).
Placer County Auditor-Controller Katherine Martinis will retain her job over Casey Tanner with a vote count of 62 percent to 38 percent.
Nevada had plenty of interesting races in its primary, too. The numbers represent 100 percent of the precincts reporting.
A recognizable name in the Incline Village General Improvement District race – Dennis Oliver – trailed all contestants. He is the spokesman for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
A familiar face to Lake Tahoe won the Republican contest for Assembly District 39. Kelly Kite, a former Douglas County commissioner known for his no-nonsense style of governing, raked in 32.77 percent of the vote over his challenger with 2,922 votes. This seat includes an area that spans from the East Shore of Lake Tahoe to Topaz Lake, including Douglas, Carson and Washoe counties.
If elected, the Minden resident pledges to keep Tahoe in mind as he gets down to business and moves up to the next hierarchy of government.
“Both the North and South shores of Lake Tahoe are very important to the entire state,” Kite told Lake Tahoe News, while relaxing at home late Tuesday night after sending family members home.
The seat is open because James Settelmeyer is looking to be the state senator in the Capital District. He won the Republican primary with 83.73 percent.
Stateline resident Brian Krolicki had 72 percent of the vote in a quest to retain his seat as lieutenant governor. He will face Democrat Jessica Sferrazza, who collected 43.13 percent of the vote.
Rep. Dean Heller, with 83.7 percent of the vote, faces Nancy Price who squeaked by her Democratic opponent with 45.36 percent of the votes.
In the Nevada governor’s race, Republican Brian Sandoval stunned incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons by doubling the percentage of votes the much-troubled leader of the Silver State secured – 55.53 percent, 27.2 percent.
On the Democratic side, Rory Reid pulled 70.07 percent of the vote heading into the November general election.
Keeping government in the family, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid captured an easy victory over his Democratic opponent with 75.32 percent of the vote.
Reid will head into the November midterms with a highly contested contest with Republican challenger Sharron Angle, who edged out challenger Sue Lowden in the primary election with 40.09 percent of the vote.
For more results for the following areas click below:
• Nevada
By Rob Hotakainen, Sacramento Bee
Former businesswoman Carly Fiorina won the Republican Senate nomination Tuesday night, setting up a November matchup with Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard (HP), had 58 percent of the vote, with 12 percent of precincts reporting as of 9 p.m. Former Rep. Tom Campbell was second, with 23 percent, and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore was third, with 17 percent.
By Susan Ferriss, Sacramento Bee
Disgruntled California voters have blown up their election system by approving Proposition 14, which tosses out the current political party-based primary system in all but presidential races.
The measure was far ahead in returns, with about 60 percent of votes in favor and 40 against with more than 20 percent of precincts reported.
Backed strongly by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Proposition 14 called for a new “open” primary, in which all candidates for an office – except those in presidential primaries – appear on a ballot given to voters regardless of party registration.
By Las Vegas Sun
Gov. Jim Gibbons has been thrown out of office after a tumultuous term that was marred by a bitter divorce and allegations of infidelities.
The first-term Republican lost the GOP primary Tuesday to former federal judge Brian Sandoval. Rory Reid won the Democratic primary.
Brian Sandoval
The early returns showed Sandoval with 56.5 percent of the vote; Gibbons with 26.4 percent and Mike Montandon with 12.3 percent. Sandoval accepted the Republican nomination and spoke to reporters in Reno.
By Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee
A traffic lane on Interstate 80 near Donner Lake will be closed today to allow crews to dig out dirt contaminated by diesel fuel.
The fast lane on eastbound I-80 near Donner Lake is scheduled to be closed today from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. where a tank on a big rig flipped over and ripped open on May 26.
If necessary, the work could continue through Thursday.