Three Kings Beach men are in custody following what the shooter says was an accident.

A 19-year-old man from Sacramento, whose name has not been released, was shot in the face about 1:55pm May 28 in the 8600 block of North Lake Boulevard in Kings Beach. He was driven to a local hospital by a friend before being airlifted to Renown Medical Center in Reno. His condition is unknown.

Arrested were: Brandon Lamont Fuller, 19, of Kings Beach on charges of negligent discharge of a firearm, an enhancement for great bodily injury, and conspiracy; Aydan Ryker Hamilton, 19, of Kings Beach on charges of evidence tampering and conspiracy; and Kyle Andrew Faulkner, 22, of Kings Beach for evidence tampering and conspiracy.

Officers said Fuller cooperated with detectives and stating the shooting was accidental. Two firearms were confiscated.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A Truckee man is in custody accused of cruelty to elders with great bodily injury and second degree murder in the death of his mother.

Nellie Mulligan, 88, was found deceased the evening of May 27 in the apartment she shared with her son on Martis Valley Road in Truckee. An autopsy is pending.

David Jenkins, 61, was taken into custody.

“Ms. Mulligan’s physical state and living conditions were poor and suggested that there had been some level of neglect. There was no obvious cause of death and the level of neglect was suspected to be a factor,” Truckee police officers said in a press release.

Anyone with information is asked to call 530.550.2334. Please refer all press inquiries to Captain Rob Leftwich.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Lake Tahoe was a bit of a ghost town in April and it was even worse in the casinos.

Stateline’s casino revenues dropped 42.3 percent last month compared to 2013. This was the largest drop in the state.

The state Gaming Control Board today said revenues throughout the state fell less than 1 percent (0.27 percent) to $852 million, compared to $854.3 million in 2013. State numbers have fallen three out of the first four months of the year.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

Whether the South Shore has fireworks after this summer remains to be seen. But what is known is the public beaches will be cleaned.

After a lawsuit was filed last year by a Marla Bay couple in regards to the debris that washed ashore following the July 4 and Labor Day shows and the potential degradation of Lake Tahoe’s water, Adopt-a-Beach-Tahoe was created.

It won’t be just about tending to the beaches after the fireworks. It’s a seasonlong program that launches today with a party at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course from 5-6pm.

South Lake Tahoe, Douglas County, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, League to Save Lake Tahoe, and U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit are spearheading the cleanup days that will run June 15-Sept. 15. The goal is to get service clubs, companies and individuals to sponsor a day – which means being responsible for regularly cleaning up one of the public beaches on the South Shore. Or it could be a group of friends taking the lead; or random volunteers showing up to help.

“It’s up to the community to make this idea work,” South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News.

After all, people said they would do anything to ensure the beaches are clean and the fireworks continue.

This was after the 30-plus year tradition was threatened. Part of the lawsuit settlement  is that better cleanup needs to occur – which includes being more prompt.

While the LTVA has had a cleanup protocol in place, it either didn’t work well enough last year, the winds were unique or non-commercial grade debris found its way onto beaches – mostly in Nevada that are downwind from the show that has been traditionally been shot off from a barge that is anchored in South Lake Tahoe waters.

“Joe and I think the beach cleanup is a super idea. It offers the opportunity for civic groups and individuals to give back to the community in a very meaningful way. It should result in cleaner beaches that will benefit tourism and our locals all year long,” Joan Truxler told Lake Tahoe News.

The Truxlers filed the lawsuit that was settled earlier this year.

As a result of the lawsuit, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District will be issuing a permit for the fireworks. This also means they will be shot off in Nevada now, not California.

“As we navigate the requirements of the TDFD permit, which is somewhat based upon the settlement agreement, we are hitting brick walls with the clean up (regarding) access to USFS and private beaches, etc,” Carol Chaplin, LTVA executive director, told Lake Tahoe News. “Suffice it to say that we are looking at the exposure going forward, and whether or not the LTVA will sponsor fireworks in the future is uncertain. We are, as we speak, looking for alternative ways to be supportive and yet not be in that lead role. The important thing is that the events continue, not who gets credit for them.”

There is nothing stopping someone else from filing another lawsuit against the LTVA or any other fireworks that occur within the Lake Tahoe Basin.

—–

Notes:

• Beach cleanup kits are being put together by the LTVA. Supplies will include buckets and trash grabber tools, which will be available at Lake Tahoe Visitor Center in California (3066 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe) and Nevada (169 Highway 50, Stateline). Debris will be recorded by League officials who will share them with various agencies so people know what is being left on shore or washing up. For more info about volunteering, call 530.544.5050, ext. 223.

A Washoe County sheriff’s boat sank Monday while moored at the Hyatt in Incline Village.

It is not known why the rescue vessel took on water. It is too soon to know if it can be salvaged. It was towed to Reno on May 27.

Marine 9 is a 24-foot boat. It is one of three boats the department has.

No one was on the boat at the time.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The California Transportation Commission has allocated $1.3 billion in transportation funding, including $541 million to implement California’s “fix it first” strategy for preserving and maintaining California’s 50,000 lane miles of highways.

Here are some significant projects that will help preserve and maintain California’s existing infrastructure assets:

· Rumble strip safety upgrades: $1.98 million was allocated to place ground-in rumble strips at 17 locations in Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties to reduce vehicles running off the road and centerline collisions.

· El Dorado County Class I bike path: $250,000 was allocated to Placerville for a Class I bike path from Forni Road/Lower Main Street to Ray Lawyer Drive

· Nevada County bridge painting: $2.1 million was allocated to paint two bridges on Interstate 80 over the Truckee River near Floriston.

Among the $541 million allocated, $10 million comes from the remaining Proposition 1B funds, the bond that voters approved in 2006. Proposition 1B authorized $4.5 billion to improve performance on the state highway system and California leveraged another $4.6 billion in federal, state and local funds while recapturing cost savings during construction.

By Paul Farhi, Washington Post

This is a short news article about how news articles are becoming shorter.

The world’s largest independent news organization, the Associated Press, for one, has told its journalists to cut the fat — and keep their stories between 300 and 500 words, a length in which this story (301 words) would easily fit.

That’s 500 words, max, on just about every one of the 2,000 or so stories AP journalists report each day, from ballgames to bomb blasts to the latest political skulduggery.

Read the whole story

A Zephyr Cove couple’s trailer is destroyed after flipping on Highway 395 as they headed home Memorial Day. Photo/Provided

A Zephyr Cove couple was not injured Memorial Day when the trailer they were towing overturned on Highway 35 near Parr Boulevard in Reno.

James Nunnally was driving and his wife, Carolyn, was a passenger. When Nevada Highway Patrol troopers arrived the Nunnallys were helping pick up debris that covered both lanes of the highway.

The accident occurred at 12:48pm May 26. The highway was closed for a few hours as debris from the two-axle travel trailer was cleared.

“The preliminary crash investigation details indicate the right rear tire and wheel of the green GMC Yukon XL separated from the vehicle, which contributed to the driver losing control of his SUV,” troopers said in a statement. “The trailer swayed or fish-tailed for a short distance before rolling over into the center median area, while the SUV remained upright during the incident.”

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Amber Phillips, Las Vegas Sun

In Congress, the smoke-filled, back-room deal trading is gone. So is the more benign equivalent, the earmark.

Nevada’s delegation is split about whether that’s a good thing and one bill that passed Congress this week shows why.

Nevada lawmakers managed to get a major $280 million flood management project for the Reno and Sparks area authorized as one of 34 projects in a water infrastructure bill Congress approved this week.

The process took a lot more work in today’s post-earmark era, where members of Congress can no longer quietly slip pet projects into legislation without consulting anyone. Nevada’s share of the water bill, for example, took a decade of lobbying from the most powerful person in the Senate, Nevada’s Harry Reid.

Read the whole story

The old Tveten property is not getting an overhaul despite all the equipment on the lot in Meyers.

Don Garcia Excavating and Paving has leased the rundown site for three years as it does work for Caltrans on area highways.

“The contractor has to provide traffic management, sweeping and stormwater management plans to TRPA and Lahontan, and depending on the site location there may be other environmental studies required before it’s approved for use,” Steve Nelson with Caltrans told Lake Tahoe News.

This particular property has been a bone of contention for years. It used to be a gas station. Now the remaining structure is often covered in graffiti. El Dorado County has long wanted to get new owners for the property or at least for the owners to make it less of an eyesore.

County officials deferred comment to Caltrans regarding the current use.

J.E. Tveten Corporation, Sarbjit Singh Kang, and the estate of Joe Erik Tveten were fined $250,000 in 1999 by the Lahontan Water Quality Control Board for failure to cleanup and abate petroleum contamination in ground waters.

A 1997 leak from the old Beacon station was eventually cleaned up by the state. Two wells used by South Tahoe Public Utility District became contaminated and were shutdown.

Some Meyers residents question how the staging contract got approval from all the necessary agencies because it is considered part of the view corridor per Tahoe Regional Planning Agency regulations.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report