Snow damage has the coaster at Heavenly offline this summer. Photo/LTN file

Heavenly Mountain Resort’s coaster is out of commission because Mother Nature did a number on it last winter.

“They were shoveling looking for the coaster like archaeologists. They were probing for the track,” Rachelle Atherton with the resort told Lake Tahoe News. “There was pretty significant damage. It is currently under repair.”

The record snow load was too much for the metal contraption.

There is no definitive date when it will be running again. Maybe Labor Day weekend.

The coaster debuted last summer as part of the multitude of Epic Discovery offerings at the top of the gondola. It’s like a mini roller coaster, but it is mostly close to the ground. It goes through the woods and has views of Lake Tahoe.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

Mark Salmon is back as the coach of the South Tahoe High School girls’ soccer team.

“The district’s coach contracts are renewed each year unless a coach resigns or is dismissed,” Shannon Chandler, secretary with Lake Tahoe Unified School District, told Lake Tahoe News.

Mark Salmon

Salmon has neither resigned nor been dismissed.

Parents and players last school year began filing complaints with the district office regarding Salmon. To this day not everyone believes the allegations were fully vetted.

The school board on July 10 had a special meeting at which some of the parents who are concerned about Salmon being allowed to continue to coach spoke up.

This email from Bob Grant, who is the district’s complaint officer, was sent to the parents of at least one player: “After your presentations at the board meeting last night, the board discussed the girl’s (stet) soccer program and specifically Mr. Salmon’s coaching role at South Tahoe High School. The board voted to allow Mr. Salmon to continue coaching and instituted additional corrective measures to the items in my resolution letter to you hopefully mitigating issues brought by yourselves and other complainants. LTUSD is also instituting measures to monitor and support all coaches, athletes, administrators, and support staff so that we are more immediately responsive to concerns and problems.  We hope that [your daughter] feels that she can be a part of the team next year.”

Board President Barbara Bannar deferred comment to the district office, even though the board took action in closed session. It is the board that hires and fires coaches and sets all district policy.

Rick Angelocci’s daughters Larissa, left, and Sarah meant the world to him. Photo/Provided

By Steve Archer, Loomis News
 
A small town is like a big family is the Loomis town motto.

Rick Angelocci, was, in many ways, the town father. He was Loomis town manager for six years, starting in 2011. He took a leave of absence for health reasons last October.

Angelocci, 64, died at his home July 6 after a two-year fight with cancer. He is survived by his daughters, Larissa and Sarah.

Angelocci was the assistant city manager for South Lake Tahoe before moving to Loomis.

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CVS Pharmacy Inc. must pay $5 million to resolve federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) allegations.

The infractions occurred between April 2011 and April 2013..

Under the settlement reached July 5, CVS acknowledges that its DEA-registered pharmacies were and are required to comply with the CSA, and that nine CVS pharmacies in the Eastern District of California failed to fulfill these recordkeeping obligations in a manner fully consistent with CVS’s responsibilities under the CSA. The settlement and compliance plan cover the 168 CVS pharmacies in this jurisdiction.

The company’s pharmacies in Northern California failed to keep and maintain accurate records of Schedule II, III, IV, and V controlled substances, according to court records.

Drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs are classified into five distinct categories or schedules depending upon the drug’s acceptable medical use and the drug’s abuse or dependency potential.

In addition to the settlement payment, CVS agreed to an administrative compliance plan with the DEA.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Thomas Oide, Sacramento Bee

After a rock climber fell in the Twin Crags area near Tahoe City on Thursday, the California Highway Patrol used a helicopter to help save the man.

The CHP received a call about 11:10am to request help. The victim, a man in his 20s, fell about 20 to 30 feet and sustained serious lower-body injuries, according to a CHP news release.

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Hot vehicles and dry gas are not a good combination. Photo/LTN

Common sense has been missing when it comes to fire safety.

On July 14 a South Lake Tahoe battalion chief had to inform Southwest Gas employees that parking on grass is not a smart idea. The heat from under a car can spark a fire.

The gas company crew was working on equipment along Linear Park.

Smoke fills the Al Tahoe neighborhood on July 15. Photo/SLTFD

On July 15 it was poorly discarded briquettes that made the better part of Kubel Avenue look like a smoker.

The barbecue remnants had been placed near a shed in a yard full of pine needles. That’s not the proper way to dispose of them.

Firefighters were able to get a handle on things before there was a real disaster.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Yvonne Gonzalez, Las Vegas Sun

Candidates for statewide offices are readying for a 2018 election season that’s been brewing for months, with Democrats seeking to secure gains from the 2016 cycle.

With more than a year to go before the general election in 2018, races for the U.S. Senate and governor’s office have already sparked attention. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is widely considered the most vulnerable Republican up for re-election nationally in 2018 and is the only GOP senator in the cycle who represents a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval is term-limited.

Heller has seen some backlash this year for his refusal to back GOP plans to repeal and replace Obamacare, saying efforts need to be made to protect Nevada and other Medicaid expansion states. Heller has held his Senate seat since 2011.

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Placer County is paying two nonprofit organizations to provide housing coordination services to residents who are at risk of becoming homeless or who have already become homeless.

They will provide case management, budgeting and moving help, furnishings, deposits, credit checks, rental preparation classes and more.

“As we make broad efforts to expand affordable housing for Placer County residents, these positions will provide focused, strategic support to people most in need,” said Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery.

Advocates for Mentally Ill Housing Inc. and Volunteers of America Northern California and Northern Nevada Inc. will provide housing coordinator services through at least June 2018 at a total cost of $140,000, of which $91,000 will come from the county General Fund and the rest from federal or state funds. The agreements can be renewed for an additional year.

Both agencies started providing housing coordinator services in October 2016 on a trial basis. In the first six months, two housing coordinators worked with 299 clients, 49 of whom secured permanent housing. Eight moved into transitional housing and 83 received case management services. The coordinators also conducted outreach to landlords, securing new support from seven landlords and supporting existing partnerships with another 20.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Thirty-one retired El Dorado County employees now rake in six figures in CalPERS benefits, with two people making more than $200,000.

These defined benefits are practically bankrupting the county.

This is taxpayer money being paid to people who aren’t doing anything for the county any more.

The county’s unfunded obligation to its retirees is a major problem. In 1999 and 2000, against the recommendation of Auditor-Controller Joe Harn, the Board of Supervisors changed its contract with CalPERS, providing a significant increase in retirement benefits to employees and dramatically increasing the county’s unfunded obligation to CalPERS.

“CalPERS now acknowledges that the $230 million unfunded obligation is grossly understated and will continue to grow because CalPERS continues to ask the county to make its retirement program payments using overly optimistic actuarial assumptions,” Harn said in a statement. “In 2016, CalPERS informed the county that the annual amount due CalPERS will increase approximately $4 million per year for the next three fiscal years. The cumulative negative effect on our budget over the next three fiscal years is $24 million. This will make balancing the county budget and providing critical public safety and road maintenance services very difficult.”

Harn released the numbers this week.

In 2011, only 16 retirees collected benefits in excess of $100,000.

Sixteen of the 31 retirees worked for the sheriff’s department, including two sheriffs. Other retired elected officials netting six figures are an assessor and a surveyor.

Many former county employees also received subsidized health insurance benefits, Harn noted.

Here is the CalPERS retiree list.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Chris Kudialis, Las Vegas Sun

Distributors previously operating in Nevada’s medical marijuana program may soon enter the recreational marijuana market after the Nevada Tax Commission on Thursday approved emergency regulations to reopen distribution licensing.

The Nevada Tax Commission voted to let the Department of Taxation again determine whether limiting licenses for those who transport weed from Nevada cultivation and production facilities to dispensaries only to licensed alcohol distributors — as called on by November’s Ballot Question 2, which legalized recreational use and possession of the plant — would result in a shortage of distributors for the new industry.

If so, it would be able to award licenses to previous medical marijuana distributors.

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