By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe’s relationship with marijuana is about to be redefined.

The City Council has scheduled a special workshop for Aug. 29. Medicinal and recreational pot will be on the agenda.

“We need to vet out what we think best management practices are,” City Attorney Tom Watson said. “There are potentially significant impacts.”

The council briefly touched on the subject this month; which is when the workshop idea was agreed upon.

With the state’s voters approving recreational use last fall, it is up to local jurisdictions to decide if they want to allow sales of the drug. State law dictates the use and growing of plants.

A big problem for cities and counties is that the state has not come up with all the parameters for legalization of this product. Edibles is one area that is slow to be resolved. Three state agencies are working on ironing out the details, with a draft likely this fall. Jan. 1 is still the start date for recreational marijuana to be allowed in California.

The council must have an ordinance in place by the end of the year regarding recreational marijuana. It could be an interim ordinance that would ban the sale, with a reconsideration of that ruling down the road.

El Dorado County has not taken a stance yet. Nevada started recreational sales on July 1. Douglas County has said it will not permit the recreational sale of pot. Incline Village may see its first shop on Aug. 4.

California has taken action to align medicinal marijuana regulations with those of recreational.

“I’m a big supporter of medicinal marijuana. It does help,” Councilman Tom Davis said. “I’m not opposed to opening a second one. I do think competition is good.”

The medicinal marijuana ordinance limits those facilities to three. The city is down to one. For another shop to open it must have the council’s approval.

The future of the former Kingsbury Middle School site in Stateline is the topic of a special school board meeting on Monday.

Douglas County School District board members on July 24 at 4:30pm are meeting in Minden to discuss extending escrow.

Cave Rock resident Patrick Taylor wants to turn the 22-plus acre site into affordable housing.

The 2007-08 school year was the last time students were in the building. It’s been vacant ever since.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press

Last winter, the U.S. tourism industry fretted that Trump administration policies might lead to a “Trump slump” in travel.

But those fears may have been premature. International arrivals and travel-related spending are up in 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. There might even be a “Trump bump,” says Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit representing the travel industry.

A few months ago, Dow and others warned that President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and ban on travel from a handful of mostly Muslim countries could send an anti-tourism message.

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By Ben Botkin, Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
 CARSON CITY — Brian Sandoval is having a good year.

Nevada’s Republican governor has seen his national profile grow in prominence, highlighted by his role influencing Sen. Dean Heller on the health care debate, and his new role as chairman of the National Governors Association.

Last month, Sandoval became part of the national conversation on health care when Heller, a Republican, declared he would not support a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

The announcement showed how influential Sandoval can be on a fellow Republican and propelled Nevada’s chief executive onto a bigger stage.

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By Richard N. Velotta Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
Shareholders of two Caesars Entertainment operating companies will gather Tuesday at Caesars Palace for a pair of meetings that are expected to be brief but are critical to the resort giant’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after 2½ years.

Stock owners for Caesars Entertainment Corp. and Caesars Acquisition Co. and their representatives are scheduled to vote on a merger proposal that would make Caesars Acquisition the emerging company.

A Caesars spokesman said he expects the meetings to last less than 30 minutes between them, but the merger approval is a critical step toward the conclusion of the sometimes heated proceedings that began Jan. 15, 2015, when the company went to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago to request the reorganization of its finances.

Caesars is the parent company of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys in Stateline.

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By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
Record gross gaming revenue at casinos operated by the nation’s Indian tribes in 2016 has been an economic success story for tribes but has altered the landscape in Reno and Laughlin, two Nevada destinations most affected by the competition.

But an expert at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute says the success of tribal casinos in California and Arizona may actually help Las Vegas instead of hurt it.

Bo Bernhard, executive director of the institute, said tribal resorts in Northern California and suburban Phoenix have developed into entertainment centers for local residents there to enjoy a night on the town that could inspire future visits to bigger and brighter properties in Las Vegas.

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El Dorado County roads will be benefiting from state money.

The California State Transportation Agency and Caltrans have money through the passage of the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (Senate Bill 1) that was recently passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

Construction will begin this summer on 13 pavement projects across the state. Additionally, Caltrans has expedited the design of an additional 50 projects, which will also begin construction this fiscal year.

Caltrans is expediting more than $285 million in road repairs across California months before the revenue from SB 1 even starts to accrue this fall. The road repair projects will include repairing and resurfacing hundreds of miles of highways to extend the service life of California roads. Caltrans will also improve lane-line visibility and motorist safety with new striping. The new striping will include highly reflective and durable beads, making it easier to see lane demarcations in all weather conditions. In some locations, roads will get completely repaved.

Projects include:

• In El Dorado County: A $2.8 million project to resurface more than three miles of Highway 50 through Placerville. Construction is scheduled to start this year.
• In El Dorado County: A $7.1 million project to resurface 10 miles of Highway 50 between Cedar Grove and Riverton east of Placerville. Work is scheduled to start in 2018.

The light in Camp Richardson has been reactivated. Photo/Bill Kingman

Since the July 4 weekend, the pedestrian-activated crossing lights on Highway 89 at Camp Richardson were covered and deactivated following complaints of traffic delays.

Motorists were confused as the dark signals would start with a single flashing yellow to two alternating flashing red, and then solid red, then dark. This was instead of the familiar green-yellow-red sequence signal.

The existing two-color installation was reactivated this weekend with this added sign: “Proceed on flashing red after stop — yield to peds.”

A pedestrian button activates the signals within about 20 seconds.

— Bill Kingman

Entities involved with the Olson bankruptcy case want the court to deny the appeal to extend the stay and instead want a more immediate ruling.

The bankruptcy judge in May put a 60-day stay on the foreclosure process to give Patty Olson time to decide if she wanted to appeal his decision. She is appealing. But the appeal will not be resolved before the 60 days is up.

A hearing is scheduled for next week.

Those filing paperwork with the court include:

·      Cody Bass, who owns the Tahoe Wellness Cooperative in South Lake Tahoe. He is a player because he believes he has a legitimate contract to buy the building in which his business resides, yet Olson brought him into the bankruptcy case.

·      US Bank is owed money. Attorneys in court filings said, “The principal balance is $640,696.16. Interest accrues at $155.72 per day and totals $79,488.22 as of June 30, 2017. Late charges of $5,930.24 have accrued and fees for appraisals, environmental inspection, force-placed flood insurance, advances to the debtor, and attorney and foreclosure fees total $85,160.24 as of June 30, 2017.”

Olson owns the retail center where the lone medical marijuana facility in the city exists. She also has a house nearby. Only the commercial property is threatened by foreclosure.

She filed for bankruptcy, which stopped the foreclosure process. The problem is the judge said because federal law does not recognize medicinal marijuana the bankruptcy court was not the appropriate venue. That is the decision she is appealing.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal
 
Wildfires are surging across the Western U.S. with more than 4 million acres charred this year.

That’s almost double the rate from last season and more than 40 percent above the five-year average for mid-July. 

While fire is part of healthy forest and rangeland regeneration it can also be dangerous for communities in its path and expensive to fight. Wildfires can spew unhealthy levels of air pollution hundreds of miles and deplete the budgets of federal agencies charged with preserving the land. 

In general, about 80 percent of wildfires are human caused. 

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