Next month’s Amgen bike race is going to impact motorists in Tahoe.

California Highway Patrol and marshals will supervise and manage rolling stops of approximately 20 minutes at all intersections and street crossings. That includes 10 minutes prior to the procession arriving and the amount of time it takes for the racers to pass a given point. 

On May 11 when the women ride around the lake starting from Heavenly motorists can expect Highway 28 from Spooner Summit to Stateline to be closed beginning at approximately 1pm. This will cause backed up traffic toward Carson City until it reopens at about 1:25pm. 

For travelers planning to go from Carson City to Incline Village or North Lake Tahoe during the afternoon of May 11, consider taking Mt. Rose Highway.

Approximate times:

11:30am: Leaders arrive at Rubicon

11:42am: Leaders enter Tahoma    

12:04am: Leaders turn right onto Highway 28 in Tahoe City

12:17pm: Leaders enter Carnelian Bay

12:27pm: Leaders enter Kings Beach

12:31pm: Leaders cross into Nevada

1:10pm: Leaders arrive at Spooner Summit

1:25pm: Highway 28 reopens to through traffic to Incline Village .       

Kids Adventure Games will return to Squaw Valley, June 23-25.

This for kids 6-14. Teams of two kids will navigate an adventure course that features biking, trekking, rope swings, mud pits, cargo nets, a giant Slip ‘N Slide and other obstacles. Competitors will strengthen physical and emotional bonds through a series of challenges centered on building grit and resilience among the natural terrain of the mountain.

Registration is under way online. Last year’s race sellout.

Racers also have an opportunity to participate in skills clinics prior to the races to practice and perfect skills including teamwork, biking, climbing and more. Costs are $150 for a team of two prior to May 15 and $180 until the race sells out. Skills clinics are optional and cost $60 per participant.

The competition is part of a nine-race series at ski resorts across the country.

Lake Tahoe Community College men’s soccer team will play an exhibition game against the Reno 1868 FC professional soccer team under the lights at home on April 25 starting at 7pm.

There is no cost to attend.

The Reno 1868 FC team is a new Division II professional team that is affiliated with the professional Major League Soccer team San Jose Earthquakes. Professional scouts will be in attendance to watch the Reno team play to do call-ups to the Earthquakes.

“This is a great opportunity for them to see our campus, facilities, and the player talent we have at LTCC,” coach Nick Arbalaez said in a press release.

This will be the first professional soccer team to play in Tahoe. Reno 1868 FC players will sign autographs following the game.

Reno 1868 FC will return to LTCC on Aug. 22 at 7pm to kick off LTCC’s 2017 soccer season.

By Ken Belson, New York Times

 Los Angeles Rams guard Jamon Brown (68) competed against Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Howard Jones in an arm wrestling event at the MGM Hotel and Casino on the Vegas Strip in April. Credit Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal
When N.F.L. owners voted overwhelmingly last month to move the Raiders to Las Vegas, some of them went out of their way to say the city was no longer the corrupting influence they believed it once was and now very capable of supporting a franchise.

The Dallas Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, a prime backer of the move, said the city most closely associated with gambling “is not your father’s Las Vegas.” Even the NFL’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, who continues to oppose legalized sports gambling, admitted that Las Vegas was “not the same city it was 10 or 20 years ago.”

But the decision to leave Oakland and embrace Las Vegas presents conflicts for a league that has long stood vehemently against gambling.

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By Brad Branan, Sacramento Bee
 
The Meat Grinder rapid on the South Fork of the American River looks like a cauldron of bubbling soup, its contents rising and falling, splashing and swirling along its one-third of a mile stretch.

For intrepid whitewater enthusiasts, the rapids on the American’s South Fork should bring plenty of fun this summer. For the uninitiated, this season’s high-river flows could bring great risk.

River use has increased in wetter years on the South Fork of the American River. In 2011, a relatively wet year that preceded five dry years, almost 80,000 people used the South Fork, according to statistics collected by El Dorado County.

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If conditions are favorable, North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, California State Parks, California Tahoe Conservancy, and U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations on April 24. Operations may take place near Meeks Bay, Tahoe City, Kings Beach, Incline Village, Glenbrook, Round Hill, Lower Kingsbury Grade, South Lake Tahoe, and Meyers.

Weather permitting, operations may continue over the next several weeks. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email
to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size and environmental conditions. Agencies coordinate with state and local county air pollution control districts and monitor weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. They wait for favorable conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the basin. Crews also conduct test burns before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed and how smoke will travel. Smoke sensitive individuals are encouraged to reduce their exposure by staying indoors if they are in a smoke affected area.

By Kyler Crouse

Don’t have time to exercise? According to recent research, a four-minute workout might be better than 30 minutes on the treadmill. Sounds almost too good to be true, but according to fitness researchers, it’s not.

Regular exercise improves your physical and mental health. Unfortunately, many adults do not make time for their weekly 150 minutes of moderate or intense activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

Kyler Crouse

In a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, researchers compared the fitness benefits of different workout strategies. Twenty-two women were assigned to one of three groups. Group A did 30 minutes of treadmill running at 85 percent of their maximum heart rate. Group B participants completed eight, 20-second rounds of a single exercise (burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, or squat thrusts) with 10 seconds of rest between rounds. The control group, Group C, did not do any exercise.

The groups completed their workout routines four times a week for a month. Before and after their training, the researchers measured the three groups’ aerobic fitness levels and attitudes about exercise.

Following the monthlong study, both active groups saw an increase in their aerobic fitness levels by the same amount, 7 to 8 percent. However, only group B, the group with the short bodyweight workout, saw an increase in muscle endurance, ranging from 40 to 207 percent. In other words, Group B not only improved physical endurance, but significantly improved muscle endurance as well.

On top of that, Group B participants had a better attitude about the bodyweight workout. They expressed more interest in continuing the training program than their treadmill counterparts.

This study points out the value of quick workouts and total body movement. Total body movement should be the foundation for any fitness program, whether it is for losing weight, improving fitness, or gaining strength. This is why Tahoe Fit has added 30 minute fitness classes at lunch. These fun and effective workouts are great for people with busy schedules and taught by certified fitness professionals.

Kyler Crouse is a fitness instructor for Tahoe Fit by Barton Health.

With late spring and early summer being the peak time for wildlife to bear their young, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife  is issuing this reminder: If you find a seemingly abandoned young wild animal, leave it alone.

Even though it may be hard to resist picking up a young wild animal that appears to be abandoned, intervention may cause more harm than good. Young animals that are removed from their natural environment typically do not survive. Those that do may not develop wilderness survival skills, making them unsuitable for release back into their natural habitat.

“It is a common mistake to believe a young animal has been abandoned when it is found alone, even if the mother has not been observed in the area for a long period of time,” Nicole Carion, CDFW’s statewide wildlife rehabilitation coordinator, said in a statement “Chances are the mother is off seeking food, or she could be nearby, waiting for you to leave.”

This behavior is common across many species. For example, adult female deer often stash their fawns in tall grass or brush for many hours while they are out foraging for food. A female mountain lion may spend as much as 50 percent of her time away from her kittens.

If a young animal is in distress, or you are unsure, contact a wildlife rehabilitation facility.

It is important to note that wild animals – even young ones – can cause serious injury with their sharp claws, hooves and teeth, especially when injured and scared. They may also carry ticks, fleas and lice, and can transmit diseases to humans, including rabies and tularemia.

By Tony Berendsen

For those lucky star gazers willing who rise up early in the morning over the next few weeks there is a celestial treat awaiting. Four comets, all just below naked eye visibility, will be sprinkled across the dawn sky. One short period comet, two long period comets, and one that may never come back again.

Comets originate from areas of our solar system. Some, like the short period comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, fall into close orbit around the sun from the Kuiper Belt (a zone of icy objects beyond Neptune: Pluto is a member) and have orbits near the plane of the solar system. Comet 41/P orbits every 5½ years.

Comets also originate from the Oort Cloud; a spherical zone of icy objects in orbit around the Sun. Those comets travel great distances from their home thousands of AU (distance from the Earth to the sun) away, falling into the inner solar system from all directions. For example, Comet C/2017 E4 entered almost perpendicular to the plane of the solar system in between the orbit of the Earth and Venus and will loop around the top of the Sun to exit between the orbit of the Earth and Mars never to return again.

Comet PanStarrs C/2015ER61 can be seen in the early morning. Photo/Gerald Rhemman

All the comets mentioned in this article are dimmer than 6 magnitude so you will need a binocular or telescope to view them. So what should you look for and where?

Comets such as these look like fuzzy stars through the eyepiece of binoculars. And depending on the size of the telescope can look like a fuzzy star, or a fuzzy star with an elongation (tail). But imaged through a telescope with a camera these comets can become spectacular sights.

Prepare for comet hunting by doing some research on the web about the comets, where they will be, how bright they will be, and load up a star gazing app like SkyPortal to take with you to find your way around the stars.

Here is a list of the comets:

·       COMET 41P/TUTTLE–GIACOBINI–KRESÁK

·       COMET LOVEJOY (C/2017 E4)

·       COMET JOHNSON (C/2015 V20)

·       COMET PANSTARRS (C/2015 ER61).

To see the comets, grab your binoculars or telescope and head out on a clear crisp morning (without a moon, away from direct light sources). Mornings can be very cold, and even colder just before the sun comes up, so dress warm and wear heavy shoes and thick socks. I suggest getting started about 3am.

The image accompanying this article of Comet PanStarrs is a superb example of the detail a camera/telescope combination can capture. Gerald Rhemman took the image through a 12 Astrograph (ASA 12” F3.6) from Farm Tivoli, Namibia SW-Africa. He was born in Vienna and has been sky-shooting since 1989 under the clear skies of the Austrian Alps, Canary Islands, and deserts of Nambia.

So, whether you are hunting comets with binoculars, telescope or camera there is a real treat awaiting in the early morning sky. I know, I was out last week looking at them with my telescope and was amazed.

Tony Berendsen runs Tahoe Star Tours. He may be reached at 775.232.0844 or tony@tahoestartours.com.

By Associated Press

BOSTON — The daily fantasy sports industry sharply contracted since the online games offered by companies like FanDuel and DraftKings sparked court and legislative battles across the United States last year.

More than two-thirds of companies that existed this time last year have shuttered, changed focus or joined with competitors, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, the industry’s lobbying arm.

Among the most prominent examples is the proposed merger between the industry’s two largest companies — Boston’s DraftKings and New York’s FanDuel. That deal, which was announced late last year, is currently being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission.

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