By Monica Showalter, Investors Business Daily
COALINGA — Would France rip out its storied vineyards? Would Juan Valdez scorch Colombia’s coffee crop? Sri Lanka its black pepper harvest? China its tea?
With global markets won by nations specializing in doing what they do best, and with regional reputations important enough to drive some nations to protectionism, it’s almost unthinkable.
But then there’s California.
To the community,
On May 1, 2010, our small Leadership Lake Tahoe group organized a Community Graffiti Clean Up Day we hoped would foster a sense of community by bringing citizens and businesses together to collectively make a difference in the appearance of our town, as well as discourage criminal behavior in our community. Our clean-up day resulted in the coverage of graffiti in 65 locations around South Lake Tahoe. We could not have done it without the help of our volunteers and business partners.
We would like to thank our 63 volunteers who showed up to paint the town. We’d also like to thank our sponsors for supplies, paint, professional advice and media coverage. Our sponsors included: South Tahoe Refuse, Sherwin Williams, Dick’s Fuller O’Brien Paints, Kelly Moore Paints, Scotty’s Hardware, Meeks Lumber & Hardware, Relia Pro Painters, Pinetree Printing, Harrah’s and Harveys, Zephyr Cove Resort, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Boys & Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, local finish craftsman Anthony Piscitelli, KTHO, KRLT, RSN, Tahoe Daily Tribune and Lake Tahoe News.
We would also like to thank the Tahoe Chamber for offering the enriching Leadership Lake Tahoe program. We thank our employers for allowing us to participate in the 10 month program.
Sincerely,
Heather Henry, Heavenly Mountain Resort
Kelly Lancellotti, Harrah’s and Harveys
Shannon Norrgard, South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Steve Sweet, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Lindsay Townsend, Zephyr Cove Resort
To the community,
Now that the snow has melted, it is a good time to take a walk around your house, and look for any damage that icicles may have caused. Be sure to check the gas meter and any other utility lines that may have been damaged. It’s time to begin cleaning up any loose debris on your roof, gutters, and around your property, such as pine needles, pine cones, and dead vegetation.
Be sure to properly store any snow removal equipment properly, and get your chimney and your furnace cleaned.
The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department wants to thank you for making your property fire safe.
Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department
By Randy Moore, Sacramento Bee
The U.S. Forest Service shares the view expressed in The Bee’s editorial, “Protect Sierra water from cattle grazing” (May 1), that water in the high Sierra is a valuable resource that must be diligently managed and protected.
The Forest Service takes water quality very seriously, which is why we are working with California’s State Water Resources Control Board to develop a water quality management plan for national forest lands within California. The plan will establish best-management practices for controlling non-point source pollution like that produced by grazing cattle. We will use these practices to ensure compliance with federal and state water quality statutes and
Randy Moore
regulations.
Publisher’s note: The following editorial is from the May 8, 2010, Sacramento Bee.
When El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Neves announced last summer he would not seek a third term, it opened the floodgates for the largest crop of candidates in at least three decades.
Of the six current and retired lawmen on the June 8 ballot, three have broken from the pack by dint of their qualifications and vision for the job. And of that top tier, Placerville Police Chief George Nielsen offers the strongest combination of administrative and on-the-street skills, and of local knowledge and an outsider’s perspective.
Nielsen moved up through the ranks for 21 years before becoming Placerville’s chief six years ago, and crime has dropped significantly on his watch. While it is a relatively small department with a $4.2 million annual budget and 21 sworn officers, that forced Nielsen to be hands-on with financial and personnel matters. He has also widened his imprint by pushing a “National Night Out” anti-crime event countywide and by serving on boards with social services leaders who can be his partners in tackling youth and drug-related crime. At 47, he can be an effective,
George Nielsen
innovative sheriff for years to come.
To the community,
The city of South Lake Tahoe/South Tahoe Redevelopment Agency will be required on May 10, 2010, to turn over $2,070,160 to the El Dorado County auditor, a required payment resulting from the state’s decision to raid $2.05 billion in local redevelopment funds as part of the 2009-10 state budget.
Instead of this locally generated tax dollars going to fund local job creation, economic growth, and community improvements, this money will now be siphoned off to help pay the bills of a State government deeply in debt with spending out of control.
This payment will be made in accordance with a ruling by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly last week which instructed local redevelopment agencies to abide by the provisions of ABX4-26 passed last year as part of the state budget. The bill allows the State of California to take $2.05 billion in redevelopment funding to use for state obligations.
The California Redevelopment Association (CRA) is appealing the Superior Court ruling to the state Court of Appeals in what will likely be a long and difficult appeal process.
Taking these funds that are generated in South Lake Tahoe at this time is tragic and irresponsible on the part of state government. These locally generated tax dollars are needed to address pressing economic development, business assistance and infrastructure needs of the city of South Lake Tahoe during this slower economic time. This decision to take local taxpayers dollars cannot stand and must be fought in the courts by all cities whose leaders pride themselves in self government and local control. The City Council in South Lake Tahoe is on record opposing this confiscation of local funds.
California Redevelopment Association (CRA) Executive Director John Shirey vowed to fight the Superior Court ruling: “We strongly disagree with Judge Connelly’s ruling which effectively says the Legislature has unlimited discretion to redirect local redevelopment funds to any purpose it wishes. Under that logic any state program could be called redevelopment. The Legislature needs to deal with its budget problems by making hard decisions using its own limited resources — not by taking away local government funds…
“Despite this ruling we continue to believe taking local redevelopment funds and using them to fund State obligations is unconstitutional. We have a strong case and feel confident the lower court ruling will be overturned by the Court of Appeal,” said Shirey.
Dave Jinkens, South Lake Tahoe city manager
To the community,
Please clear all combustible vegetation at least 30 feet from around your house. Install a fire safe roof, and clean the pine needles from the roof and eaves. Trim tree limbs back 10 feet from your chimney and remove any branches hanging over the house. Stack woodpiles at least 30 feet from buildings and remove any vegetation and com-bustible material from beneath your deck.
If you have any questions concerning defensible space, please call us at (530) 542.6160.
Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department
By Doug Krikorian, Long Beach Press-Telegram
It was surprising to me awhile back when Dr. Robert Maxson, who had retired as president of Long Beach State after a successful 12-year incumbency, decided to resurrect his academic career by accepting a similar position at a tiny private institution next to Lake Tahoe called Sierra Nevada College.
Of course, I was informed he was offered considerable money-it was speculated by some it was twice as much as he earned in Long Beach-and such an enticement is difficult to resist for a healthy fellow with uncommon resourcefulness not exactly accustomed to doing nothing more every day than hiking, fishing, reading and clipping coupons.
I mean, it was Maxson’s intention to live happily ever after with wife Sylvia in their 4,400-square foot shoreline home on Fidalgo in the San Juan Islands-and enjoy the intermittent company of his children and grandchildren.
But an old friend, Dr. Barry Munitz, a one-time chancellor of the California state college system who had become the board of trustees chairman at Sierra Nevada College, coaxed Maxson to return to the campus.
To the community,
Every year the fire department responds to many fires that could have been prevented by using just a little common sense.
One such occurrence is leaving roof heat tape turned on after all the snow has melted from your roof. The heat tape under a heavy accumulation of pine needles will eventually ignite the needles and possible cause a roof fire that could extend into your home.
So please, remember to turn off your heat tape and clear the pine needles from your roof and chimney as soon as the snow melts this spring.
Have a safe and fun Tahoe spring.
Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the May 1 Sacramento Bee.
Sometimes you wonder if the U.S. Forest Service knows who its employers are.
One of those moments came Sunday, with Tom Knudson’s report on how cattle poop has contaminated alpine creeks and lakes in portions of the Sierra Nevada where the U.S. Forest Service allows livestock grazing.
The report noted testing of Sierra waterways by Robert Derlet, a former director of the UC Davis Medical Center. Through methodical testing that the Forest Service won’t do itself, Derlet found worrisome levels of E. coli in lakes and creeks where grazing is allowed. By contrast, lakes in national parks where no cattle are around were relatively pristine, with no sign of E. coli.