By Rob Davis, Oregonian

The U.S. Forest Service’s chief backed off proposed restrictions on photography in wilderness areas Thursday after facing sweeping protests from lawmakers, First Amendment advocates and media outlets across the country.

“The U.S. Forest Service remains committed to the First Amendment,” the agency’s chief, Tom Tidwell, said in a statement. “To be clear, provisions in the draft directive do not apply to news gathering or activities.”

The USFS is looking at revising rules for filming/photographing wilderness areas like Desolation. Photo/LTN file

Tidwell’s statement said he was attempting to “clarify the agency’s intentions” and would not require a permit for news-gathering or recreational photographs in wilderness areas.

Tidwell didn’t explain why others in his agency told the Oregonian the opposite just two days earlier.

On Tuesday, Liz Close, the agency’s acting wilderness director, said the Forest Service would permit reporting in wilderness depending on its subject matter, with exceptions for breaking news. “If you were engaged on reporting that was in support of wilderness characteristics, that would be permitted,” Close said.

She acknowledged that reporters shooting videos, even on iPhones, would need special permits.

The agency’s news release Thursday said the maximum $1,500 permit fees were “erroneous, and refers to a different proposed directive.”

Read the whole story

—

LTN notes:

• To comment on the proposal, go online. The deadline is Dec. 3.
• The number of film requests the local USFS office gets was not immediately available.
• Here is a statement from the National Press Photographers Association.

By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee

Firefighters may have finally gotten the upper hand on the massive King Fire, but its legacy continues as the state wrestles with how to pay millions in firefighting costs incurred in what is being called one of the worst fire years in recent history.

On Monday, state Department of Finance officials notified lawmakers that the $209 million set aside in the budget for emergency firefighting already has been exhausted, and that officials are transferring another $70 million from a special account into the emergency fund because of fires in numerous counties.

Read the whole story

To the community,

The following are the emails that were between the Tahoe Chamber and Kenny Curtzwiler. Please note the dates these occurred as they are prior to the statement put out by the chamber explaining the selection process. Call it what you want as to what the reason was for excluding one candidate from District Five on their original statement of transparency, but I was not scored in their process.

How could the CEC possibly “miss” the scoring on a selection process they initiated? The chamber has since posted our scores, but they do not hold any validity on what was a flawed process to begin with.

Kenny Curtzwiler

I am asking the chamber and have asked them to not correct this as noted in the emails. I urge the community to call B Gorman and Craig Woodward to explain their reasoning behind this and not rely on one sided false press statements.

I chose not to answer the questions as several others have done as well, but I fully expected to be contacted by the CEC as put out by their statement stating that we would be contacted regardless of answering the questions or not. If they had contacted, me they might have been surprised by my answers as I have stated in other questioners that are public record.

Email exchange:

From: K&K Services
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 6:43 PM

To: B Gorman
Subject: RE: message

B, any reason why District V was not included on the pdf? Thanks, Kenny.

—-

From: B Gorman
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2014 3:11 PM
To: K&K Services
Subject: RE: message

Hi Kenny

Just got home from a great motorcycle ride and checked the website. I think it just got missed when the committee gave info to staff this week as they did district 5 stuff at their last meeting.

I will ask staff to check in with committee on Monday to get the numbers and load onto site. I am speaking at a meeting Monday so won’t get to office until late in day so likely won’t go up till Tuesday. Thanks for letting me know. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, b

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note™, an AT&T LTE smartphone

—-

From: B Gorman
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 10:00 PM
To: K&K Services
Subject: RE: message

Hi Kenny

My apologies for not getting back with you today. I ended up in a half-day session this morning with elected officials from Sac and then a half day planning session with a new business all afternoon and thus I am still trying to catch up tonight. I did speak with Craig today and I was wrong when I responded to you the other day. The CEC apparently did not score you when they scored Sue. So at this juncture we can leave things as they are or I can ask them each to submit a score sheet for you and then do the same formula as for the others and post both of your scores. I am happy to oblige whichever way you prefer.

Take care, “B”

—-

From: K&K Services
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 10:13 PM
To: ‘B Gorman’
Subject: RE: message

It would be better for you correct the information that was put out in the press release where the chamber stated that each candidate was scored. Thanks, Kenny.

Kenny Curtzwiler, El Dorado County supervisor candidate

Heavy precipitation during the weekend allowed firefighters to nearly contain the Cascade Fire burning close to Snow Lake in Desolation Wilderness.

The 20-acre fire is 90 percent contained as of Sept. 29. It started in the late afternoon Sept. 24

Crews will begin repairing damage from fire suppression activities.

Bayview Trailhead and Campground and Taylor Creek Sno-Park on Highway 89 are open.

The fire was human caused, but is still under investigation.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Associated Press

RENO — Nevada ranks last in the nation for flu vaccination rates, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study for the 2013-14 flu season that has Nevada 50th on the list, behind Florida and Wyoming, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

South Dakota placed first nationwide for flu vaccination, followed by Rhode Island.

The CDC said the national vaccination rate improved to its highest level since 2010, with 46.2 percent of the population being immunized.

The rate among Nevadans 6 months and older was 46.2 percent compared to South Dakota’s nation-leading 57.4 percent.

The numbers got worse when focused on just adults. Nevada’s flu vaccination rate for adults age 18 and older was 32.3 percent. That’s nearly 10 percentage points below the national average.

By Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee

In what could portend a monumental shift in public higher education in California, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday that will allow up to 15 community colleges to launch bachelor’s degrees programs in vocational fields.

While 21 other states offer community college baccalaureates, California’s colleges have traditionally been the domain of transfer students and career technical education, granting two-year associate degrees, as established more than fifty years ago in the Master Plan for Higher Education. Senate Bill 850 will allow colleges to experiment with four-year degrees. The pilot program is set to begin no later than the 2017-18 academic year and end in 2024.

In recent years, advocates have argued that growing industry demand for more educated workers in fields such as dental hygiene and automotive technology could be met by expanding existing programs at community colleges.

Read the whole story

The High Fives Foundation – Winter Empowerment program is helping two area winter action sports athletes transition to adaptive sports. The nonprofit board awarded a grant to Steven Jacobo of Gardnerville for $2,100 and Jeff Andrews of Truckee for $4,250.

In February 2013 Jacobo, a Gardnerville native, was snowboarding at Sierra-at-Tahoe when he hit an unfamiliar jump that threw him out of control off of a 25-foot drop off. He landed directly on his back, resulting in a burst fracture of his T9 and T10 vertebrae spinal cord injury.

Andrews, a resident of Truckee, was snowboarding at Sugar Bowl Resort in March 2014 when he over shot a jump in the terrain park. The resulting crash burst fractured his C-5 vertebrae into his spinal cord at the C-5/C-7 level.

This is where the High Fives Foundation comes in. Since the foundation’s inception in January 2009, the Winter Empowerment program service has assisted 61 athletes from 18 states in nine funding categories which include: living expenses, insurance, travel, health, healing network, adaptive equipment, winter equipment, programs and stoke (positive energy, outlook and attitude).

Since his 2013 injury, Jacobo has been working tirelessly in the gym to ensure that his life post-injury is the easiest that it can be. Along with spending countless hours on his fitness, he has been searching for an adaptive action-sport where he can experience the positive thrills found from snowboarding. In July, after discovering the sport of “chairskating,” Jacobo received a board-approved grant for $2,100 from the High Fives Foundation to be used toward the purchase of a Box Wheelchairs WCMX freestyle chair.

The August grant  awarded to Andrews will be used for six months of spinal cord injury specific personal training at the Sacramento SCI-Fit facility.

• South Lake Tahoe Fire Department is having an open house Oct. 11 from 10am-2pm at each of the three fire stations.

• At the annual Barton Foundation cocktail contest MontBleu’s bartender Ken Newbold won the people’s choice award for his Holidaze concoction – made of smoked Tahoe Blue Vodka, infused hops, and homemade cranberry juice. Holidaze will be the featured cocktail at the Barton Gala in December. Erick Martinez from Riva Grill received the most tips and was named most congenial bartender.

• Carson City Chamber of Commerce is offering a trade mission to China departing April 7. Reservations must be made prior to Oct. 10. For more info, call 775.882.1565.

• The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded $150,000 to the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center to create an interactive public exhibit at the Tahoe Science Center located in Incline Village.

• Popa Chubby will be performing at the Crystal Bay Club Casino in Crystal Bay on Oct. 2.

The King Fire scorched trees on both sides of Highway 50 near Fresh Pond. Photo/LTN

Crews overnight were able to hold the King Fire to 97,099 acres and 89 percent containment. The active fire continues to burn within the containment area.

More than 4,000 people are still fighting the fire burning east of Pollock Pines. But each day more crews are sent home, which is also reducing the number of apparatuses in the forest. Work is being done on the Eldorado and Tahoe national forests to repair any damage caused by equipment.

Several houses are still threatened, but evacuations have been lifted. Roads, though, are not all open in the burn area. Trail access is off-limits in the area as well.

Since the alleged arson fire started Sept. 13 there have been six injuries, 12 houses destroyed and 68 other structures lost.

The forecast is for warming weather in the region and blue skies in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Cozy

Cozy is a 2-year-old gray Tiger medium hair cat who was left behind when her owners moved.

She came to the shelter with kittens, but now that they have all been adopted. She is ready to find her own home. She is a big cuddler. Cozy’s adoption fee has been sponsored.

Cozy is spayed, microchipped, tested for FIV, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz