When word got out that former President Bill Clinton was going to play a round of golf at Edgewood Tahoe, he made other plays.

He and his entourage of Secret Service agents headed off the hill to Genoa Lakes Golf Club on July 12.

Clinton flew into Lake Tahoe Airport on July 11 as guests of the owners of the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament. He will be giving a talk tonight at Harveys at an invitation only event.

American Century Investments and NBC Sports own the celebrity golf event that is played at Edgewood Tahoe.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Teresa Wiltz, Stateline.org

They are the nation’s invisible homeless population, undercounted for years, hiding out in cars and abandoned buildings, in motels and on couches, often trading sex for a place to sleep. And now, for a complex variety of reasons, the number of youth – teens and young adults – living on the street appears to be growing.

San Diego saw a 39 percent jump in homeless youth over the past year. In Atlanta, the number of homeless youth in 2016 was estimated to be nearly triple that of previous years. After a concerted effort to count homeless young people, Seattle’s King County saw its numbers jump more than 700 percent between 2016 and 2017. And the number of homeless, unaccompanied public school students increased one-fifth between 2012 and 2015.

Young homeless people are at risk for a host of troubles with long-lasting impact, including substance abuse, mental health problems and physical abuse, as well as sexual exploitation. Many get caught up in the criminal justice system. Up to 40 percent of homeless youth are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

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Steep terrain is making fighting the Farad Fire difficult. Photo/USFS

The Farad Fire that started on July 10 near the California-Nevada border remains at 670 acres and 20 percent containment. However, there has been a decrease in fire activity.

Eight aircraft including helicopters and air tankers played a significant role in limiting the fire’s spread by
dropping thousands of gallons of water and retardant, according to authorities. Smoke and fire can still be seen from Interstate 80.

Eastbound traffic on I-80 is open, while westbound is down to one lane.

Liberty Utilities has a generator working to keep power on in the area.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

May marked the 24th consecutive month Reno-Tahoe International Airport has had year-of-year increase in passenger.

The airport, which is the gateway to Lake Tahoe, served 317,935 passengers in May, an increase of 10.1 percent compared to 2016.

In the first five months of this year, the airport has served 1,544,554 passengers, an increase of 10 percent from a year ago.

Eight airlines fly out of Reno. In May, they provided 1,738 departures to 21 nonstop destinations (23 nonstop destinations if seasonal flights are included). Seat capacity increased 14.5 percent and flights increased 10.7 percent compared to May 2016.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Associated Press

Nevada homeowners facing financial difficulties can once again take advantage of a foreclosure prevention lifeline offered by the state.

The foreclosure mediation program allows homeowners to sit down with lenders and discuss alternatives to foreclosure. But interested Nevada residents will have to act quickly in order to qualify for the program.

A measure signed into law earlier this year closed a gap of several months during which homeowners had few options to help them save their house.

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By Kathryn Reed

Because the rules on the books have never been fully enforced, it’s impossible to know if they are even effective. So it goes with vacation home rentals in South Lake Tahoe.

Another three-hour discussion about the issue took place at the July 11 City Council meeting. At the end of the day the electeds decided to talk some more.

The VHR subcommittee of the mayor and mayor pro tem is being resurrected. They will meet with stakeholders and bring back ideas to the full council.

Items to be considered include:

·      Limiting the number of VHRs. If this is agreed to, then they must create the parameters for doing so.

·      How many citations a rental may be served before it threatens the owner’s right to have a permit.

·      Whether owners should be cited when renters are the problem.

·      Whether an owner occupied rental should come under the same VHR regulations; and whether that is even legal.

·      Possibly mandating renters have to get the key from someone in person.

·      Having uniform language for regulations that all guests in the city sign.

The workshop came on the heels of the $77,000 socio-economic study that was released this spring. Hardly anyone brought up that document.

What people care about is what’s happening in their neighborhoods, what the city might do to curtail VHRs, and the impacts – good and bad – those decisions would have.

City staff is backing the idea of limiting the number of VHRs. This decision will ultimately be up to the council. There is not consensus for the status quo (unlimited VHRs anywhere) or a limit of some kind.

What wasn’t explained is how a cap would solve any of the problems. Noise, parking and trash remain the top three complaints.

Twenty-six members of the public spoke at Tuesday’s meeting. Beliefs and feelings were all over the board – from wanting to ban VHRs from residential areas, to keeping things as they are. One person broached the idea of taking the issue to the voters.

Enforcement was the common theme throughout the afternoon.

It’s not like this should be news to anyone who has been following the topic. Enforcement, or lack thereof, has been the overriding issue for years.

Those in the industry believe the rules are OK as they are written today. They, too, want guests to obey the law and for officers to hold people accountable. This, ideally, would show those being bothered by short-term renters that someone cares and is doing something about it. It would perhaps mean less of a black-eye for an industry that seems to have a tarnished image.

Since June 30 the city has been posting citations on its website. As of Monday morning there were 74 incidents.

Police Chief Brian Uhler said he wants to do away with warnings and go straight to citations.

About 14 percent of South Lake Tahoe homeowners have a VHR permit.

The economic impact of VHRs is undeniable, and was driven home in the study. This is a big business. The city relies on the transient occupancy tax, homeowners are making bank, the people in the industry (rental companies, maids, handymen and the like) rely on them for paychecks, and then there are all the companies that benefit from these people spending money at their establishments.

The Farad Fire burns near Verdi. Photo/Liberty Utilities

Updated 9:39pm

The fire near the California-Nevada state line has burned 670 acres and is 20 percent contained.

Liberty Utilities installed an emergency generator Tuesday night. It was supplying temporary power to the 40 Floriston customers who have been without power.

Eight power poles have burned in the fire.

The fire is burning on the west side of Interstate 80 about 12 miles from Truckee.

The interstate is open.

The fire started July 10 at 1pm.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A helicopter is not longer able to fly after crashing July 11. Photo/CHP

Two people sustained minor injuries Tuesday when the helicopter they were in crashed on Donner Summit.

Six people were in the chopper that was operated by PG&E. According to the FAA, the aircraft hit a tree while trying to land near Kidd Lake along Interstate 80 in Kingvale on July 11.

The team was inspecting its hydroelectric facilities.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Farad Fire in Northern California started July 10 near the state line. Photo/USFS

By Kevin Fagan and Filipa Ioannou, San Francisco Chronicle

After a hot weekend that saw wind-fanned wildfires lurch out of control and gobble up thousands of acres of trees and dozens of homes from Santa Barbara to Butte County, Monday’s respite in the weather was just that — a respite.

California is now far ahead of last year’s pace for forest and grassland fires, and conditions are ripe for it to stay nasty all summer long, said CalFire Chief Ken Pimlott.

Much of Northern Nevada is burning as well.

Last year’s downpours may have ended the five-year drought and eased its tinder-dry conditions a bit, but the heavy grasses sprouted by the rain now present frightening fuel, he said. So which condition is worse — drought or heavy new brush?

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By Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow, Sacramento Bee

When it comes to California and climate change, the predictions are staggering: coastal airports besieged by floodwaters, entire beaches disappearing as sea levels rise.

Another disturbing scenario is brewing inland, in the sleepy backwaters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It’s a threat to the Delta’s ecosystem that could swallow up a significant portion of California’s water supply.

Scientists from government and academia say rising sea levels caused by climate change will bring more salt water into the Delta, the hub of California’s water-delivery network. As a result, millions of gallons of fresh water will have to be flushed through the Delta, and out into the ocean, to keep salinity from inundating the massive pumping stations near Tracy. That will leave less water available for San Joaquin Valley farmers and the 19 million Southern Californians and Bay Area residents who depend on Delta water – eventually as much as 475,000 acre-feet of water each year, enough to fill Folsom Lake halfway, according to one study by the Public Policy Institute of California.

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