By Kathryn Reed

Every year the South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Department writes checks for about $140,000 to cover its utility bills. That’s about to be cut by 40 percent.

With the approval this month by the City Council to spend $797,461 to retrofit the city’s swim complex that was built in 1975, the city expects to see a savings in the first year.

Lighting at the 55,000-square-foot building will be replaced with high efficiency low wattage electronic ballasts. T8 extended performance fluorescent lamps are also part of the changes.

Installation will take place outside of normal business hours so the work doesn’t disrupt the operation of the swim center.

Another major change is to the boilers and how the system will generate electricity to enable the nearby ice rink to operate off the grid.

A trench will be built this spring to link the pool and ice rink. A driveway separates the two buildings.

The turbine being installed to heat the pool will create electricity. That electricity will then be used to operate the ice rink.

Aircon Energy out of Sacramento was selected to do the work. Seventeen companies were considered. The process started two years ago, with the council selecting Aircon in April 2008.

“The Aircon Energy design includes improved lighting and energy efficiency, building heating systems and air handlers, swimming pool water heating, movements and filtration, also the pools air structure [bubble] blower and air heating exchanger,” Gary Moore, Parks and Rec director, wrote in his Jan. 12 staff report. “The greatest component of the project is the install of a Micro-turbine which will produce the electrical power to run the Ice Arena while capturing 100 percent of the heat for usage. All systems equipment is premium high efficiency in relation to energy savings.”

The city is paying for this through $100,000 from the Rec Department’s capital improvement fund, with the remainder being a 3 percent 15-year loan from the California Energy Commission.

Projections show the energy savings will more than pay for the loan. Moore expects to have a net savings of $1.4 million during the 25-year life of the equipment. Energy savings will be more than $2.26 million in that time or more than $90,000 a year.

“It is a huge savings, but think about the 200 tons of carbon — the pollution — we are eliminating on those two facilities,” Moore told Lake Tahoe News after the council OK’d the expenditure.

The city looked into solar and wind power, but neither would work well at the recreation complex off Rufus Allen Boulevard.

With the pool and ice rink in high demand seven days a week, Moore knows it will take a coordinated effort to make sure patrons are not too inconvenienced as the work commences this summer.

A 3.4 magnitude earthquake hits the Great Basin today at 1am.

The temblor was about 4 miles east of Topaz Lake, which is about 70 miles southeast of Reno.

The shaker was felt in California and Nevada. No reports of damage.

By Kathryn Reed

Some police officers get the worst assignments – having to crawl under houses, being the first one in a building where a potential bad guy is hiding – and then having to always ride in the back seat.

And then when you’re the one who schools always request as the special guest, it can get tiring.

Officer Tony Broadfoot and Duke. Photo/SLTPD

Such are the hazards when you have four legs.

The burden is about to be shared. South Lake Tahoe Police Department expects to have another police dog on the streets in less than six months. This will double the agency’s K-9 unit. Several years ago the department had three dogs working the streets.

The City Council approved the expenditure at its meeting last week. The $12,500 cost – which includes the animal and training for its human officer – is coming from fundraising by the local K-9 association and from asset forfeitures. No general fund money is being spent.

“In regards to criminal activity, (K-9s) are the best sources we have. If you roll up and think a burglar or someone is in a building where it’s supposed to be vacant, it’s very easy to have an animal do the search with an officer because its smell is so acute,” explained Capt. Martin Hewlett, who is also acting police chief. “They are really indispensable in finding people. People are always hiding and running from us and don’t want to be caught.”

Some agencies have dogs just work the streets or just sniff out drugs. In South Lake, the dogs do both, with the majority of the work on the streets.

“SLEDNET (South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team) uses our K-9 because he can search a building or a room for drugs and maybe areas where we wouldn’t think to look or can’t look like in walls,” Hewlett said.

Sgt. Josh Adler will be responsible for training the new dog to search for dope. He said it takes about two months to train the officer and dog to search for drugs.

Officer Tony Broadfoot and Duke, his Belgian malinois, are also called out to schools and youth organizations. K-9 demonstrations are more popular than a uniformed officer talking about the job.

The department hasn’t decided who the other K-9 handler will be. Volunteers within the department will be sought.

The commitment is huge – with the animal being part of the officer’s family.

The animals come trained to work the streets. It’s the officer who needs to be trained to work with the dog.

Police are looking for man who tried to snatch a 10-year-old boy from the Y area of South Lake Tahoe while he was on his bike.

The youngster was riding with two friends about 6pm Friday near Eloise Avenue and Third Street when the suspect drove his truck in front of the boy and tried to block his path.

The victim stopped and immediately began to back up and turn his bicycle around. The suspect got out of his truck and lunged at the boy in an attempt to grab hold of him, according to a press release.

The victim was able to pedal his bicycle away from the suspect, who had unsuccessfully grabbed the back of the boy’s shirt. The suspect returned to his truck and tried to overtake the boy on his bicycle. The victim escaped by riding his bicycle off the roadway and through various alleys and business parking lots, police said.

“We are working on what we have,” Sgt. Josh Adler told Lake Tahoe News Sunday afternoon. He said there is no reason to doubt what the boys are saying.

The victim and his two friends told officers the suspect drove around the area for a few minutes.

The suspect is described as a thin white male adult with a tan complexion, about 5-feet-9 inches tall, medium length brown hair that is spiked in the front, and a trimmed goatee.

He was driving a white full size pickup, late 1990s model, with an extended or crew cab and a black bug shield.

The three boys told police they did not recognize the man.

If anyone has information, contact the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at (530) 542.6100. Reference case No. 1001-1246.

By Kathryn Reed

Time to make a run on the grocery store shelves. It’s that kind of weather forecast.

A series of storms is lined up in the Pacific. They are predicted to hit Lake Tahoe this afternoon.

Snow removal equipment will be put to good use this week. Photo/Kathryn Reed

A winter storm warning has been called for from 4pm Sunday to 4am Tuesday.

Snow levels are expected to reach 5,000 feet on Monday night. Monday night’s storm is likely to have significant winds with it – with ridges hitting 100mph.

Several feet of snow at lake level are in the forecast by the time the week is over.

This means the highways in and out of Tahoe will be closed at different times. That’s why it’s a good idea to stock up on food and candles now because the trucks may take some extra time getting to the basin.

The National Weather Service says, “Travel may become hazardous along Interstate 80 and highways 50 and 89 due to heavy snow and gusty winds Monday and Monday night.”

High temperatures will be in the low 30s most of the coming week, with lows in the high 20s.

Even the Tahoe National Forest issued a warning.

“Travelers and recreationists need to be cautious of rainy, snowy and windy weather all week,” Ann Westling, TNF spokeswoman said in an email. “If heading into the backcountry, check the following website for avalanche conditions: www.sierraavalanchecenter.org.”

South Lake Tahoe officials have sand bags ready. Bring a shovel to either the Rufus Allen Corporation Yard at 1160 Rufus Allen Blvd. or the intersection of David and Ruby lanes to fill a bag.

By Kathryn Reed

It was a universal look of disbelief and bewilderment upon the faces of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board members as they learned $850,000 is likely going to be taken away by the state in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Chief Financial Officer Deb Yates delivered the news about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposals this week.

California is facing a $20 billion deficit. Schools are just one of many entities feeling the belt be squeezed even tighter.

As in past years, what comes out of the Capitol in January may not resemble what the Legislature negotiates and the governor ultimately signs off on. But often times the numbers just get worse and not better.

For the current fiscal year the state reduced what it pays districts for average daily attendance. It was promised to be a one time take-away. Now the governor wants to make it permanent.

It wasn’t so bad this year because federal stimulus dollars backfilled what the state took away. The same scenario will not exist in the next fiscal year.

This is $201 per student for LTUSD.

The governor in his address this month said he would fully fund the statutory cost of living allowance. But he failed to disclose that amount was a negative number – minus 0.38 percent. This is another $24 per student take-away.

The total loss of $225 per student for LTUSD equals $850,000. That is the amount the district will need to trim from its nearly $30 million budget.

With education, though, most of the money that comes in is designated toward specific areas. The discretionary allocations are minuscule.

Schwarzenegger also this month said districts need to cut “central administration costs” and not from classrooms.

“There would be no one left standing in this building,” Yates said Tuesday night of that idea.

Central admin for Lake Tahoe Unified is the superintendent’s office, finance and human resources.

The school board plans to schedule a retreat soon to discuss the budget. They all looked shell shocked Jan. 12 as Yates gave her presentation.

It’s possible the district could reduce its 3 percent reserve. What hasn’t been trimmed from flexible accounts, likely will be.

The governor proposes changing state law so districts could layoff teachers without regard to seniority, not give laid off teacher preference in regards to substitute positions, and changing the March 15 notification to a 60-day period. He also threw out the idea of doing away with classified positions and having districts contract out that work.

“The governor said he was going to protect education and he didn’t,” Superintendent Jim Tarwater told Lake Tahoe News before Tuesday’s meeting. He said the district will be watching what Sacramento does so the district can plan accordingly.

By Sindya N. Bhanoo, New York Times

Ski resorts are not as fun for the environment as they are for skiers. The damage to forested hills caused by the construction of ski slopes is obvious. Trees are cut down, ground is cleared, and the resulting slopes are maintained as the foundation for a yearly carpet of snow.

Some ski slopes, however, are more environmentally friendly than others, according to a new study. Cleared ski runs, where trees and other tall, woody plants are cut down to open skiing pathways, cause less damage to the natural ecosystem than graded ski runs, which are bulldozed, leaving little or no vegetation or shrubs.

Read the whole story

By Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee

Davis got the best grade in the region from the American Lung Association for controlling smoking.

Davis got a grade of B and Sacramento got a C but most cities got a failing grade in the annual State of Tobacco Control Report.

The communities were graded on their ordinances covering smokefree outdoor environments, smoke-free housing and tobacco sales reductions.

Read the whole story

By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee

CalPERS investment deals generated a total of $125.1 million in commissions for the most successful placement agents, the controversial middlemen at the heart of an influence-peddling scandal at the big pension fund.

A fresh disclosure of documents today by CalPERS shows that one-time board president William Crist was among those earning fees as a placement agent. Crist has been paid approximately $800,000 to secure CalPERS investments on behalf of a British investor, Governance for Owners Group LLC, and will continue to be paid through next January.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Slowly, Maria Barrows-Crist is rebuilding her business, Kindertown day care.

With each court appearance, her confidence builds that she will be allowed to stay open indefinitely. Because the state still has not provided El Dorado County Judge Steve Bailey with the documents he has repeatedly requested the onus is now on Barrow-Crist’s attorney, Mike McLaughlin, to do so.

This was the direction of the judge at this week’s conference hearing in South Lake Tahoe.

The state Department of Social Services wants to shut the center down based on 15 citations. Barrows-Crist takes issue with the allegations, as do many parents.

El Dorado County officials and others in the child services industry met with Lake Tahoe News last year. No one would directly speak out why Kindertown should be closed, yet it was clear this was their belief. They all emphasized their goal is what’s best for children. But their words and actions are not in sync so their agenda is not clear.

Barrows-Crist admits she is struggling because families don’t know what to do since she is still embroiled in a legal battle. The state wanted to close her down last year, but outcry from the community and intervention from Bailey prevented that from happening.

“I’ll be on an enrollment campaign next week,” she told Lake Tahoe News.

Her general day care is filling up. She has 20 openings in the state preschool program.

She hit a low of 35 children and is sitting at 67 this week. At one point Kindertown had 120 kids.

Barrows-Crist is worried the money she gets from the state Department of Education will go to El Dorado County’s program because her future is still cloudy.