By Steven Church, BloombergBusiness

Caesars Entertainment Corp. is at a $2 billion impasse with creditors it hopes will help keep it from sliding into bankruptcy alongside its operating unit, two people familiar with the negotiations said.

The casino company and a committee of junior bondholders haven’t had substantive talks since last month, said the people, who requested anonymity because the negotiations are private. The bondholders are asking for about $2 billion more than Caesars has offered, according to a report by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Philip Brendel and Julia Winters.

Caesars Entertainment is the parent company of Harrah’ Lake Tahoe and Harveys.

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Chemicals may be one way to rid Lake Tahoe of milfoil. Photo/LTN file

The federal government has OK’d the potential use of aquatic pesticides at Lake Tahoe.

The decision affects the entire Lahontan Regional Water Board jurisdiction, which is a large swath of California running from the north to south.

The Lahontan board of directors in December 2011 had sought the amendment to the Basin Plan so these chemicals could be used in isolated instances. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision does not automatically give the green light to any and all applications, but instead the ruling approved Lahontan’s processes. The regional board will approve any use on a case-by-case situation.

“The amendment included specific criteria and requirements for individuals to meet to be considered for an exemption,” Lauri Kemper, Lahontan assistant executive officer, told Lake Tahoe News.

Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association wants to apply chemicals in the lagoons to rid the waterways of invasive weeds.  Without this month’s EPA decision, those plans could never have happened. The South Lake Tahoe homeowners group will still have to apply for a permit with Lahontan.

Exemptions are also likely to be granted to vector control to rid areas of mosquitoes. While these applications already occur, they have historically violated Lahontan’s rules.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Crossing at Tahoe Valley is designed to be a destination at the Y in South Lake Tahoe.

By Kathryn Reed

By this time next year the outdated Factory Stores at the Y in South Lake Tahoe is expected to have been converted into the modern Crossing at Tahoe Valley.

Sutter Capital Group based in Sacramento in January expected to infuse $1 million into the parcel at the corner of highways 50 and 89. Now the project is a multi-million dollar undertaking, though an exact dollar figure is not being disclosed.

“We need to reposition the center for a more active lifestyle,” Burke Fathy, general manager of the ownership group, told Lake Tahoe News.

It will still be a retail center – with the option for current tenants to stay – with the addition of two restaurants and a 10,000-square-foot storefront that will be built to suit whoever moves in. The latter will be at the end of the building where Mikasa was, opposite where Big 5 is.

This additional commercial floor area and coverage will come from taking out about 4,000 square feet where the two wings meet.

This is a proposed new building that will be built to the tenant’s specifications.

The goal is to get a mix of tenants. With less than half the center now rented, there is plenty of room for other businesses.

A Sacramento general contractor has been hired. Fathy said local subcontractors would be part of the mix. The permitting process will take place this fall-winter, with ground anticipated to be broken starting in May.

The area being opened up is designed to welcome people who are on the path behind the center, be it on foot or bike. A gathering spot will be developed with seating and fire pits that will be shared by the eateries. Fathy has met with some local establishments, but no decision has been made as to what dining entities will move in.

This area will also tie into the greenway the city is creating through the Tahoe Valley Area Plan that was adopted earlier this year.

(It was at the city’s urging the owners incorporate Tahoe Valley into the center’s name, while “crossing” came from the intersection of the two highways.)

At the Sept. 17 California Tahoe Conservancy board meeting there was talk of connecting 3.5 acres belonging to the state to this project. The land sits between Tahoe Valley Pharmacy and the Factory Stores.

CTC has been talking to the city, and the city to Sutter Capital Group.

“We are confident we can come up with a design that combines open space with other amenities,” CTC Executive Director Patrick Wright told his board. “It is more preferable than vacant land.”

Fathy at first said he would not comment on the CTC parcel, then added, “It is not happening at this time. We are just concerned with what we’ve got.”

The entire façade will be overhauled so it is eye-catching, Fathy said. This will be done by using wood, Corten (rusted steel) and stone. The flow of the center will be improved.

“It will be a significant rebirth of the center,” he said. “We want it to be a community entity.”

Updated 8:23pm:

A man who reportedly assaulted a woman last week has contacted an attorney who in turn is working with South Lake Tahoe police to arrange a surrender of his client.

“As this case is still under investigation and no culpability has yet been established to the point of developing probable cause to make an arrest, we are not releasing the identity of this person,” the department said in a statement.

—–

A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in South Lake Tahoe is being sought by police.

The victim reported having been sexually assaulted early in the morning of Aug. 28 at a residence in the city.

The photo is from a convenience store video system near the Y close to the time of the assault.

The suspect and victim had met only hours prior, so the victim could not positively identify the suspect. The suspect may go by Ben or Benjamin. He is a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, he is estimated to be about 6-feet-1-inch tall and 180 pounds. He has reddish hair and blue eyes. At the time of the assault he had shoulder length hair and a beard.

Officers said they delayed release of the information because they believed they had a suspect identified. That person has since been cleared.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at 530.542.6100.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

South Tahoe Refuse customers are divided when it comes to whether they would like to stick with the blue bag recycling program or have a garbage can dedicated to such goods.

The garbage company that services the South Shore of Lake Tahoe on both sides of the state line asked customer to answer a 14-question survey to get their take on a variety of issues.

“What I glean from this is the blue bags are being utilized,” Nancy McDermid said. She is Douglas County’s representative to the Waste Management JPA. (South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County are the other members of the JPA.)

Jeanne Lear with STR at this week’s JPA meeting at Lake Tahoe Airport went over the 116 survey responses. The average customer who responded has been a STR customer for 19 years, with the longest being 52 years. Forty-seven percent were from South Lake Tahoe, 31 percent from El Dorado County and 22 percent from Douglas County.

Seventy-percent use the blue bag.

When it came to wanting to keep that bag or go to a tote, the results were 40 percent for each. The other 20 percent is not sure. The majority – 65 percent – is not willing to pay another dollar for a dedicated recycling can.

Just more than one-quarter of the respondents are using some type of bear proof device.

Fifty percent believe there is no problem in their neighborhood with animals getting in garbage, while 43 percent say there is an issue. Lear said it’s possible people don’t know about problems because STR or Clean Tahoe employees have cleaned up the mess before they would have had an opportunity to see it.

The majority (79 percent) believes when there is a customer who lets an animal get into the trash a metal animal resistant container should be mandatory.

STR was surprised to learn about two-thirds of the survey takers don’t use the recycling buyback center. Lear said this in part has to do with Nevada residents not being able to use it in full because the bottle bill exists in California and not the Silver State.

The JPA will be able to use the information going forward if it wants to make changes to the recycling program or animal containers.

      In other action:

·      The JPA board is still deciding if a loan program will be created so customers could buy bear boxes without putting out the cash all at once. Details will be brought forward at the next meeting, which is anticipated to be in January.

A short pursuit early Thursday morning ended with the arrest of a Portola man on domestic violence charges.

Officers were called to the 12000 block of Greenwood Drive in Truckee about 3am Sept. 24 because of a dispute between a man and woman in the middle of the road.

A chase early Sept. 24 in Truckee ended when the truck hit a tree. Photo/Provided

Officers said David Johnson, 52, drove away from them with a woman hanging onto to the rear of the vehicle. Officers relocated the vehicle on Highway 89 headed north, with the female inside the vehicle. Johnson lost control of the truck on Alder Creek Road at Carpenter Valley Road, where he hit a tree, officers said.

The woman climbed out and ran a short distance before being apprehended.

The duo displayed the symptoms of being under the influence of an illegal stimulant drug, officers said, adding that drug paraphernalia was located in the vehicle.

Johnson was arrested on charges of felony evading, felony DUI causing injury, felony assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor domestic violence. The woman, who is not being identified because she has not been arrested, sustained injuries in the collision and was transported to Renown Medical Center in Reno with non-life threatening injuries.

Officers said she will likely be charged with felony domestic violence and being under the influence of a controlled substance when she is released. She is believed to be from Sacramento.

The exact circumstances of the domestic violence are still under investigation.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The two people found dead in a Truckee hotel room have been identified as a couple from Hollister.

Police do not believe foul play was involved, but the cause of death has not been determined. Authorities are waiting for toxicology reports, which could take 10 weeks.

The bodies of Linda Marsh, 63, and Anthony Marsh, 46, were discovered Sept. 16 at Richard’s Motel on Donner Pass Road near Donner Lake.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Amy Quinton, Capital Public Radio

The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station won’t let forest ecologist Malcolm North talk about the study he authored in the journal Science.

The agency even unsuccesfully requested that Science editors hold the article or remove North’s name and affiliation from the peer-reviewed study.

The paper “Reform Forest Fire Management” says suppressing every fire in overgrown forests is not only expensive but dangerous and ill-advised.

Strong words perhaps, but UC Berkeley Fire Scientist Scott Stephens, who co-authored the paper, says they are not controversial.

“I read the paper many times,” says Stephens. “I just didn’t see something jump, like this would be something that would really cause great problems.”

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South Lake Tahoe firefighters were busy with two fires on Wednesday.

The first was a stove fire on Eloise Avenue on the night of Sept. 23. A neighbor alerted emergency personnel about the smoke. Firefighters said a resident had fallen asleep with food left cooking. Damage was minor and there were no injuries.

Close to 11pm crews were called out to a fire off Keller Drive near Pine Hill Road. It was about 400 feet off from the road.

Firefighters were able to keep it to an area of about 50 feet by 50 feet.

The cause is under investigation.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

KINGS BEACH – Is it a campground or is it a resort? Is it enhancing or hurting existing recreation? Is it a precursor for future development on the ridge? Is it precedent setting? Will it add to already heavy traffic on the North Shore?

These are just a few of the many questions the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board will have to answer as the proposed Brockway Campground makes its way through the planning, permitting and approval process.

On Wednesday the proponents, Mountainside Partners (formerly East West Partners), spelled out plans to turn an undeveloped parcel off Fibreboard Freeway into a 550-site campground that would include tent camping, RVs and ecoshelters.

More than 200 people turned out for the nearly 2½-hour presentation. All of the 27 individuals who spoke were against the project.

The Sept. 23 unveiling gave the Governing Board an opportunity to learn about the controversial project without an action required. The application was submitted in July. An environmental impact report and environmental impact statement will be required.

Proponents were a bit contradictory in describing the terrain – at first saying how it is a disturbed site because of all the logging that has gone on there in the past (the land is owned by Sierra Pacific Industries), but then invoking how going forward it will be treated like a national park, with a bit of reverence.

Angela Lin with Square One said light from the campground would not be visible from North Shore towns. Many in attendance did not agree with that conclusion.

Attorney Lew Feldman touted the recreation benefits. The audience said a massive campground would negatively impact the current hiking and mountain biking by putting development in the middle of the forest.

In addition to the camping, there will be a swimming pool, lodge for dining and other structures.

Traffic concerns were repeated by many. Fibreboard Freeway, which is a misnomer because it is really a pothole filled U.S. Forest Service road, is off Highway 267 near Northstar. People wonder what the campground would do to already congested roads, as well as what the air quality impacts would be.

When TRPA votes on the project five of the California representatives will have to say yes for it to pass.

Detractors are already lining up.

“This is really blurring the definition between a campground and a resort,” Hal Cole, who represents South Lake Tahoe on the TRPA board, said. “This is not where I want a campground. This is hard to swallow on a lot of levels.” (He is a contractor by trade.)

Clem Shute, California governor appointee to the board, is weary of the former proposal of 112 residences for this site being “suspended” instead of “abandoned.” He called it suspicious and that it was like a threat to have it still lurking out there.

Shute and others pointed out how the Regional Plan says development should occur near urban areas or town centers, and that campgrounds per plan area statements should be near infrastructure. This proposal does not conform to those existing criteria.