By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

If bitter political fighting is tearing your Facebook feed apart at the seams, take heart.

There’s at least one issue that does more to unite than divide voters in the western United States; public lands.

Polling from seven western states shows Democrats, Republicans and independent voters have similar interests when it comes to federally managed public land.

The poll, conducted through the Colorado College State of the Rockies project and led by Democratic and Republican consultants, measured the attitudes of voters in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

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The 40th annual Great Ski Race features a historic course linking Tahoe City to Truckee.

The 30-kilometer cross country ski race is the main fund raising event for the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team, a nonprofit all-volunteer organization.

Team members, along with community supporters, organize event,which continues to be one of the largest Nordic ski races west of the Mississippi.

Race proceeds are used primarily to purchase equipment for the team, and to support winter survival and avalanche education programs sponsored and conducted by the team.

The event is March 5. Go online to register.

Skiers at Heavenly and other resorts may not find any moguls to ski in the next few days. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a winter storm warning from 1am Thursday to 4am Saturday for areas above 6,500 feet.

Snow is expected to start Wednesday night, taper off midday Thursday and then gain intensity that night into Friday.

Travel could be dicey with 4 feet of snow expected over the passes by Tuesday.

It’s going to be a relatively warm system passing through, which is why more rain than snow could arrive at lake level. 

Saturday afternoon should see a break in moisture, with more rain and snow arriving Sunday night.

High wind gusts are also anticipated with these storms. That means visibility will be an issue. It could also mean trees and power lines could fall, making driving hazardous and bringing power outages.

Highway 89 over Emerald Bay is open, but that could change. For current road conditions click on the state icons on the home page of Lake Tahoe News.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Gary Martin, Las Vegas Review-Journal

WASHINGTON — With millions expected to be wagered illegally on the upcoming Super Bowl, Nevada and gaming officials are eagerly awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether states should be allowed to offer legal sports betting.

The Supreme Court delayed a decision on a case brought by New Jersey that challenges a federal law that allows sports wagering only in Nevada and three other states: Delaware, Montana and Oregon.

Nevada has not filed a brief in the case, and Gov. Brian Sandoval said a ruling in favor of New Jersey would help in the fight to reduce illegal gaming and would do little to hurt the Silver State’s position as a global destination for gambling and entertainment.

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By Kathryn Reed

The clock is ticking to have all the agreements in place for the next segment of the Greenway Bike Trail to get built.

The California Tahoe Conservancy would have to give up part of the $4 million is has secured if all parties are not on board by May 1.

The one mile of trail will start at Bijou Meadow, connect to Bijou Community Park, then cross Al Tahoe Boulevard to connect to Lake Tahoe Community College and the community ball field.

Money for this phase comes from:

·      CTC — $1 million

·      LTCC Measure F — $700,000

·      Tahoe Transportation District — $400,000

·      State grant — $1.9 million.

The CTC, Lake Tahoe Community College and city of South Lake Tahoe have negotiated a land swap in the Al Tahoe Boulevard area to make the route a reality. The college and city electeds still need to vote on it. This is expected to happen this month.

Last week the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority board agreed to a memorandum of understanding that would provide money for trail maintenance.

In 2015, 0.42 miles of the Greenway was built between Herbert Avenue and Glenwood Way. The eventual goal is for the trail to go from Meyers to Stateline, with connections to other trails along the way.

The M.S. Dixie makes it way around a partially frozen Emerald Bay. Photo/John Gomez

By Jason Samenow, Washington Post

How do you seriously dent a drought? You blast it with the equivalent of trillions of gallons of water. That’s exactly what happened in California in January.

Twenty feet of snow buried parts of Northern California in just two weeks, with up to 30 feet in some ski areas. For the month, the Sierra Nevada witnessed 120 percent of its annual snowfall.

The January snow output by itself eliminated 37 percent of a five-year (2012-16) snow water deficit, according to University of Colorado-Boulder Center for Water, Earth Science, and Technology.

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By USSA

SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah — Germany’s junior ski racers dominated opening day of the USANA FIS Junior Nordic World Championships at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center on Jan. 30.

Janosch Brugger of Germany came from behind to take Norway’s Petter Stakston at the finish line in the classic sprint. Norway’s Herman Meyer won bronze. In the women’s sprint, Polina Nekrasova of Russia took gold over Germany’s Antonia Froebel in silver and Coletta Rydzek with bronze.

The races were run under clear blue skies, hard packed snow and cold temperatures on the trails used for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

It was a tough loss for Stakston, who was the fastest qualifier and won both his quarterfinal and semifinal heats. Brugger, meanwhile, had to some out of semifinals as a lucky loser to earn his spot in the finals. Stakston had the lead coming into the finish, but Brugger put on a strong push into the finish to take the win.

Nekrasova, who qualified 10th, established herself early as the top athlete in the women’s field. In the opening heat, the Russian won over a strong effort by American Julia Kern by just 0.19. In the semifinals, Nekrasov won over Finland’s Anita Korva, also by 019. And she ran away in the finals for a 3.56 second margin of victory. It was her first individual Junior Worlds medal, going with the bronze she won in the relay event two years ago in Rasnov.

Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.) of Stratton Mountain School was the top American finisher in ninth. Kern finished second, just 0.19 behind Nekrasova, in the quarterfinals. She was skiing a strong semifinal before getting caught up at the bottom of a downhill and crashing. Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee) of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team was 11th. All four U.S. men qualified for the heats, with Bill Harmeyer (S. Burlington, Vt/) of the University of Vermont making semifinals and finishing 12th.

When the elite female cyclists return to Tahoe this May they will pedal the highest summit in race history — 7,740 feet.

Luther and Daggett passes will be part of the route for Day 2, while the inaugural leg will be riding the 72 miles around Lake Tahoe.

The Amgen Breakaway from Heart Disease women’s race is May 11-14. 

Stage 1 starts at Heavenly Mountain Resort, passing through South Lake Tahoe, Emerald Bay, Tahoe City, Incline Village, and back to Heavenly.

The stage will feature two sprints, 5,300 feet of elevation gain and two Queen of the Mountain challenges where riders vie for a separate jersey by completing the climbs in the lowest cumulative time.

The finish for both stages is Ski Run Boulevard via Needle Peak via Wildwood.

Day 2 is 67.1 miles. Racers again start at Heavenly. They will go through Meyers, over Luther Pass, into Hope Valley along the Carson River, around Washoe Reservation, then along Highway 88 before bending west onto Foothill Road, over Kingsbury Grade (an 8-mile climb that gains 2,700 feet) and ending at Heavenly.

The race is sanctioned by Union Cycliste International, denoting the highest level for a non-World Cup event. 

Mount Tallac stands tall above the inversion layer Jan. 30 as seen from Kingsbury Grade. Photo/John Gomez

The inversion layer that has created fog at lake level should be moving on Tuesday.

Pockets of sun and fog were the norm on the South Shore Monday. The fog returned tonight, making driving at lake level a bit sketchy.

As the next storm system heads toward the basin, the inversion layer should lift.

Rain is expected Wednesday and will be here through Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Case Keefer, Las Vegas Sun

It seemed as if everyone in Nevada held a betting position on the Super Bowl last year, when gamblers wagered a record-high $132.5 million on the game.

And that record is expected to fall when the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons as 3-point favorites in Super Bowl 51 on Feb. 5 in Houston. Here’s why you should believe in, and doubt, both teams’ chances to cash in the biggest betting event of the year.

It’s simple — the Patriots are the best team in the NFL. In fairness, the best team doesn’t always, or even often, win the Super Bowl. But the gap between New England and the rest of the league is particularly wide.

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