By Scott Smith, AP The number of trees in California’s Sierra Nevada forests killed by drought, a bark beetle epidemic and warmer temperatures has dramatically increased since last year, raising fears they will fuel catastrophic wildfires and endanger people’s lives, officials said Wednesday. Since 2010, an estimated 66 million trees have died in a six-county […]
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By Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle The El Niño-fueled storms that coated the Sierra with nearly normal snow this winter brought blasts of hope to drought-weary California. But after the flurries stopped and the seasons changed, the melt-off from the high country has been swift and disappointingly scant, according to new water supply estimates from […]
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By Kathryn Reed What does the lobby of Lake Tahoe Airport, aka South Lake Tahoe City Hall, say? The answer, according to Councilmembers Wendy David, Austin Sass and Hal Cole, is that it’s shabby and there is so much potential. They voted Tuesday to spend hundreds of thousands dollars to renovate the space and transform […]
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By Scott Smith, AP It could take California four years to recover from the most severe drought on record, even if the next several winters bring above-normal snowfall to the Sierra Nevada, researchers said Tuesday. One winter of El Nino storms that delivered a near-normal snowfall wasn’t enough to make up for the deficit from […]
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A Chico man remains hospitalized three days after being in a fight at a bar in Truckee. Jesse Hill, 39, was found unconscious on the sidewalk in front of the Pastime Club on June 18 at 11:05pm. Truckee police officers said Hill and Bryan Sperlin, 24, of Truckee began arguing earlier in the evening at […]
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By Alexander S. Corey, Las Vegas Review-Journal The U.S. Supreme Court could soon rule in a case involving the legality of President Barack Obama’s 2014 immigration plan to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. The decision could affect thousands of people in Nevada, where 8 percent of the population is undocumented —the highest percentage […]
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Public comments on the draft environmental impact report/environmental impact statement for the Placer County Tahoe Basin Area Plan and Tahoe City Lodge will be taken until Aug. 15. The county’s goal is to spur sustainable redevelopment in Kings Beach and Tahoe City. The environmental document analyzes impacts of the Tahoe Area Plan and the Tahoe City Lodge […]
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By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal If you’re wondering about the relationship between target shooting and wildfire risk you don’t have to rely on speculation or anecdotal reports. The U.S. Forest Service has a thorough scientific study of the question that seemingly provides an answer. And the answer is, yes, firing bullets into dry vegetation can […]
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By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Death-penalty supporters submitted signatures on a ballot measure last month aimed at speeding up executions in California, setting the stage for voters to decide in November whether to retain and overhaul the state’s death penalty or abolish it. Prosecutors, law enforcement groups and victims’-rights advocates turned in 593,000 signatures for […]
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By Don Thompson, AP Counties will get another $270 million for jail construction under the budget approved by California lawmakers this week, even though opponents say the money could be better spent on rehabilitation programs. The state has provided $2.2 billion to build jails since 2007, including $1 billion since California began keeping lower-level offenders […]
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