By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Late in the recently concluded Nevada legislative session, lawmakers revisited and modified policy from an era of our state’s storied gambling past.

And by all accounts, it’s a positive step for the state and the industry.

In the 1940s and ’50s, gaming flourished in Nevada, thanks, in part, to the gangster element that ran the casinos.
The Gaming Control Act, which included policies designed to drum out the criminal element, was approved by the Nevada Legislature in 1959. One of the key features was a system that enabled the three-member state Gaming Control Board to make recommendations on all aspects of gaming license applicants. The board’s recommendations would go to the five-member Nevada Gaming Commission for final consideration.

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Patrick Wright

KINGS BEACH – The California Tahoe Conservancy for the first time in four years decided to give Executive Director Patrick Wright a performance review.

The board members spent 2½ hours in closed session in the middle of the June 15 meeting to do the review. This was while many CTC staff members mulled about – on the clock – and the public was kept waiting for the rest of the agenda items to be heard.

Board member Larry Sevinson was absent.

The board had asked staff what they thought about their leader, but that information has not been released to the public.

Wright has been a lightning rod in recent years. His interactions with agencies in the Tahoe basin have been criticized by many.

At the end of the closed session it was reported that no action was taken other than for the board to meet with Wright again in six months. What incentives or directives he may have been given to improve have not been disclosed.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal

It’s mid-June, and the Black Rock Desert is still a giant mud puddle. 

Although it’s been a game of wait and see for Burning Man organizers, they are still confident that Burners will be able to come home for their annual end of summer bacchanal.

Burning Man, a massive arts rendezvous, is set for Aug. 27 to Sept. 4 outside of Gerlach, about two hours north of Reno. 

About an inch of water still stands on much of the playa, an alkaline dust flat that 12,000 years ago was Lake Lahontan.

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By Thomas Beaumont, AP

DES MOINES, Iowa — A group of Republican and Democratic governors are echoing President Trump’s criticism of a House GOP health care bill, saying it threatens coverage for the most vulnerable. Instead, they’re asking Senate leaders to work together on an overhaul of Democrat Barack Obama’s health care law.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, seven governors, including three moderate Republicans, argue that “true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion.” The governors implore the leaders to focus on stabilizing the individual insurance markets, give states flexibility and ensure affordable cover.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Friday.

The governors said they oppose the bill the House narrowly passed last month, citing its deep cuts to Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income Americans.

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Ryan Galles’ truck in 2010 went from brown to pink. Photo/LTN file

By Kathryn Reed

Ryan Galles is returning to Davis where he moved from in 2008 to become principal of Sierra House Elementary School.

On Friday he announced his plans to his staff and students.

“He is really the main reason I chose Sierra House. I could tell he loved his school and the students. He was so welcoming,” parent Jen Hart told Lake Tahoe News. “I feel like Sierra House is losing a really special person.”

Her daughter, Scarlett, won’t be affected by the departure because she is a fifth-grader. (The last day of school is Tuesday.)

Galles let his school know that on June 15 the Vacaville Unified School District board voted to hire him as director of Educational Services-Elementary. His wife has also secured a job in the area. They will be moving with their two children back to Davis.

In a letter to parents, Galles said, “It is with a heavy, heavy heart as I make this announcement. It has been my honor to serve as principal of Sierra House Elementary School the past nine years. I will count my time at Sierra House as my best years in education. However, there are exciting new opportunities that lay ahead for both my family and me.”

Galles helped turn SHES into the Mountain Academy, with the focus on outdoor education. This came in many forms – from the growing domes to working with Heavenly Mountain Resort to the swim programs through the city.

Galles has never been one of those stuffy principals who only the really good or really bad kids knew. He was able to balance being a leader and a friend.

One year when the students exceeded expectations on the statewide test score he shaved his hair into a Mohawk – as promised. Another year he kept his promise to allow the students to paint his brown truck pink if they did well.

“Ryan Galles has been a very successful and much loved partner in the continued growth of LTUSD. All of the students, parents and staff of Sierra House and the entire district will miss Ryan and wish him and his family the best,” LTUSD board President Barbara Bannar told Lake Tahoe News.

Now LTUSD will be scrambling to find Galles’ replacement before the start of the school year on Aug. 28. Normal hiring time for a position like this is in March-April-May. It’s possible someone could be an interim principal before it is filled permanently.

By Carolyn Wilke, Sacramento Bee
 
The Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges are pushed down by fractions of an inch each winter by the weight of rain and snow and then rise after melt and runoff, tugging on California’s earthquake faults and triggering small temblors, according to a new study by seismologists at UC Berkeley and Bowling Green State University.

The researchers traced the up-and-down motion of the earth’s crust using nine years of GPS measurements, which stresses the underlying faults by pushing and pulling on them. The study, published Thursday in Science magazine, was able to calculate how much water is stored in the ground and how this weight loss and gain stresses the faults.

When the stresses change, the number of roughly 2.0 magnitude earthquakes grows, the researchers found. California experienced thousands of quakes of that magnitude last year, with most of them going unnoticed by humans.

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By Kathryn Reed

It would be hard to find someone on the South Shore whose life has not been touched by cancer.

Treatment, though, has usually required patients to travel to at least Carson City or Truckee; often farther depending on the type of cancer and one’s financial means.

Barton Health wanted to be a bigger player in helping care for cancer patients, so the oncology department came into being in January. But those desires have been dramatically scaled back. This means people are back to having to leave the basin for most of their cancer care.

“I was disappointed to learn Barton was closing the oncology department. I can still keep the same doctor and go to Truckee or sometimes have a teleconference through Barton,” a South Shore man told Lake Tahoe News. He is no longer in the treatment phase, so it’s easier to travel just for follow-up visits.

The original plan was for Barton to partner with doctors Laurence Heifetz and Thomas Semrad of Sierra Nevada Oncology, which is tied to Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. Patients are still referred to them and can be consulted via telemedicine.

At the same time Barton was working with UC Davis Health to be part of the statewide Cancer Care Network. This is still in place. This allows Barton patients access to virtual tumor boards and clinical trials.

“We assessed Barton oncology after the first four months of operations and recognized additional considerations were needed for the service line to be sustainable. This includes researching the requirements and regulations for expanding our current pharmacy to offer chemotherapy,” Clint Purvance, CEO and president of Barton Health, told Lake Tahoe News. “We are continuing to explore options to expand oncology services in the future, including a focus on developing a comprehensive cancer wellness program supporting patients and their families. The goal is to offer expanded oncology services in the future through a sustainable model.”

Purvance told LTN that economics is not the reason for the change in local oncology services.

“Given the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act and federal program reimbursement, we are paying close attention to the national health care landscape and will assess our programs and resources as appropriate,” he said.

In May, Purvance sent a letter to staff explaining the oncology changes.

For now, patients have access to family nurse practitioner Janet Goodall. She helps coordinate care for local residents who have been diagnosed with cancer. This includes helping schedule telemedicine visits, radiographic tests, lab work, diagnostics, and infusions.

Barton’s cancer wellness program is designed to help patients in non-medical ways through exercise, yoga and nutrition. The Barton Foundation helps fund it.

“Expansion of the program will be phased in over the next year and we are looking at services that include meeting with a navigator to understand the support services available, including financial, transportation, and psychological, to name a few,” Purvance said.

The wellness program is free for oncology patients. Once the Robert Maloff Center of Excellence opens there will be more room for the oncology wellness program.

By Alex Veiga, AP

A diminished supply of available homes is swelling prices in large U.S. metro areas from New York to Miami to Los Angeles, squeezing out would-be buyers and pushing up rents as more people are forced to remain tenants.

The trend is pressuring Americans’ budgets, with about one-third of households spending more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing as of 2015, according to a report being released Friday by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Homeownership rates have stagnated in part because high rents have made it difficult for many prospective buyers to amass a down payment for a house.

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By Roger Yu and Zlati Meyer, USA Today

Amazon said Friday it has agreed to buy Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, a stunning move to boost its growing grocery business.

The Seattle-based online retail giant will pay $42 per share in an all-cash deal. That’s 27% higher than Whole Foods’ Thursday closing stock price of $33.06.

The deal requires approval by Whole Foods’ shareholders and regulators. The companies expect the deal to be completed in the second half of 2017.

A Whole Foods 365 is planned to open in late 2018 in South Lake Tahoe.

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No one was injured June 16 when their car flipped in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Provided

A vehicle with four people inside of it managed to flip on its side at the end of Frontier Court in South Lake Tahoe.

The four were able to self-extricate on Friday afternoon.

No one was injured in the June 16 incident. A tow truck arrived about 5pm.

How the car got on its side isn’t known, but speed and needing to stop before driving off into the forest is a possible scenario, according to authorities.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report