Tahoe National Forest, along with the Truckee Trails Foundation and the Truckee Donner Land Trust, are hosting a Hole in the Ground Trail volunteer weekend.

The Aug. 9-10 weekend marks the third year volunteers have helped maintain the Hole in the Ground Trail, a mountain biking trail on Donner Summit. Participants will work under direction from U.S. Forest Service and local trail crew leaders.

All volunteers should bring sturdy shoes, sunscreen, water, and long pants for a full day (or two) of trail work. Lunch will be provided. The volunteer days both begin at the Interstate 80 Pacific Crest Trailhead (Boreal/Castle Valley exit) at 8:30am and last until 2pm. All volunteers must preregister be emailing allison@truckeetrails.org.

• This month’s Oscar de la Renta fashion show fundraiser for the League to Save Lake Tahoe is sold out.
• Take a look at the fall Tommy Hilfiger collection ad campaign. It was all photographed in Lake Tahoe.
• Dorinda’s Chocolates has opened in the village at Squaw Valley.
• Nevada Department of Wildlife dealt with 20 black bears in the month of May, which is more than usual.
• Here are the El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra roadwork schedules for Caltrans for this week.

By Michael Doyle, McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, now has a law to his name.

It’s pretty modest. But when President Obama recently signed a McClintock bill transferring federal land to an Indian tribe in California’s El Dorado County, it was a milestone of sorts.

The one-page bill transferring 40.8 acres to the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians marked McClintock’s reaching the White House finish line. More often, the 58-year-old conservative is a voice in opposition, decrying a government gone bad. It’s a distinctive approach, strictly principled and at times, some say, uncompromising.

“I think you’ll find colleagues that like me, and colleagues that don’t like me,” McClintock said in an interview, “but they’ll always know where I stand.”

Presently in his sixth year in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing a sprawling and mountainous district that spans 10 California counties, McClintock does sometimes stand apart. He belongs to the House majority. He’s also a natural dissenter, shaped by years in the legislative minority.

The resulting tension is between governance and ideals, between deal-making and holding firm. It’s a balancing act, for which McClintock gets both praise and criticism.

“There’s no question that he’s a conservative,” said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. “And when he gets engaged and really tackles an issue, there’s no one better than him. I think he’s a good member.”

Critics, including some within his own party, counter that McClintock sticks to his guns to the detriment of legislating.

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While no opening date has been announced for the shops at the Chateau in South Lake Tahoe, more businesses are making tenant improvements.

Lights can be seen at the retail center along Highway 50 near the state line. Mannequins and clothing racks are in some of the storefronts.

The city’s building division has received the following interior tenant improvement applications for building permits:

Night club – Mc P’s.

Unit C – Specialty clothing store.

Units D and E – Powder House. D will be a retail souvenir store and will be a retail sock store.

Units J and K – Powder House. J will be cowboy specialty clothing, and K will be ski rental and clothing.

Hoteliers are reportedly expressing interest in further developing the site, but officials connected with the project are not talking.

The permit is for two hotels to be built on the 11-plus acres.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

Cooking and cocktails are usually separate things. Not so with this drink.

While it takes more effort than the usual libation, it was well worth it. The final product was delicious.

The only problem was stopping at one. Sue made them on a work night, so we limited our intake.

I’m looking forward to more soon. That is the nice thing about this recipe – the ingredients will last a few days in the fridge.

I would have thought adding sugar to the naturally sweet peaches would have been overkill. Not so. The bourbon and lime juice temper the sweetness.

This is still a sweet drink, but not outrageously so. The real problem is the alcohol is subtle enough that on a warm day I could see it would be too easy to throw a few of these back and not realize what I did until it’s too late.

Shake Your Peaches (makes 8 drinks)

2½ C water

2/3 C sugar

3 peeled peaches, chopped

1¼ C bourbon

1 C fresh lime juice

Combine water, sugar and peaches in saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir as needed.

Place pan in bowl of ice water. Once at room temperature, puree in blender. Add bourbon and lime juice. Mix well. Chill until cold.

Serve over ice.

Walley’s in1875. Photo/Nevada Historical Society

Walley’s Hot Springs in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman

In 1862, David and Harriet Walley established Walley’s Hot Springs, a spa with 11 baths, a ballroom, and gardens, on what is today’s Foothill Road in Genoa.

These two photos, 1875 and 2014, were taken from the same viewpoint. The tall white building in the old photo served as a hotel until it burned-down in 1935.

Today’s main building is slightly shifted from the original hotel site. The adjacent stone building (at left) was built in 1890 atop the principal hot spring and distributes hot water to the tubs and pools.

— Bill Kingman

9/11 Memorial pools are on the footprint of the Twin Towers. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

NEW YORK – Voices overlap. Memories of Sept. 11, 2001, echo through the chamber. The chaos, the uncertainty, the fear, the loss.

“Regardless of where you were, you were there at that moment,” says one person.

The 9/11 Memorial Museum that opened in May is a collection of stories from that day going forward of the carnage, the rescue, the rebuilding – and of those responsible for the destruction.

Hearing what people experienced is so much more powerful than just reading the volumes of material provided.

Visual reminders of that day are everywhere. Steel tridents salvaged from the facade of the North Tower loom overhead as visitors descend into the museum.

The first overlook is almost like being at a construction site. In the center is the Last Column. This was the final steel beam removed from Ground Zero after the nine months of excavation ended. It weighs 58 tons and is 36-feet tall. Then there is the slurry wall.

It wasn’t just buildings that collapsed that September morning, but thousands of lives were lost and even more were changed forever. The museum, most of which is 70 feet below ground, will be a lasting testament to this country’s ability to overcome such a tragedy.

In hushed tones masses of people are wandering through the multilevel museum. At times it is overwhelming – the words, the images, the artifacts. Graphic details are not spared.

The shell of Ladder Company 3’s truck shows that first responders had no idea they were entering their tomb as they ascended the stairs of the North Tower. All 11 died when the tower collapsed.

Video shows people jumping from the burning towers. Quotes are on a wall.

“You felt compelled to watch out of respect to them. They were ending their life without a choice and to turn away from them would have been wrong.”

Louisa Griffith-Jones, Lower Manhattan resident

The personal items can give visitors goose bumps. They make the human carnage real, whether it’s items from a wallet, shoes or glasses.

Then there are the handmade postings of people missing. Most died. And some of those remains are behind a wall within the museum.

A room with walls of photos of those who died is chilling. It’s possible to find out more about them so they aren’t just a name or face.

The 9/11 Memorial, which is outside, opened on the 10-year anniversary of the attack. The two pools, each with 30-foot waterfalls, are on the footprint of the Twin Towers.

Etched into the side are the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died, as well as those killed in the 1993 World Trade Center attack. One says, “Rahma Salie and her unborn child.” Roses have been left next to names.

Nearby is the Survivor Tree. It was salvaged from the ruins, a testament to how resilient New York is.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

By Ruth Reichl, New York Times

Every year, antibiotic-resistant infections kill at least 23,000 Americans and make another two million sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s why a recent ruling by the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals is so appalling.

It allows the federal Food and Drug Administration to leave an antibiotic used in animal feed on the market even if the agency openly states that the drug’s use is not safe and increases the risk of antibiotic resistance in people. This means that the dangerous misuse of antibiotics in industrial livestock and poultry can continue unabated.

For years industrial meat and poultry producers have fed healthy animals antibiotics to fatten them up fast. The antibiotics also prevent disease in what are often overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. This practice breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten us all.

The F.D.A. has issued a toothless voluntary guidance document for the industry, which requires no action to reduce antibiotic use and will therefore do little to nothing to stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

Why should we be concerned? Because the superbugs bred on industrial farms can easily travel to us in our food — as in the recent antibiotic-resistant salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chicken that has sickened over 600 people. The superbugs also get into our water and our soil. Some of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria can cause life-threatening infections.

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El Dorado County faces numerous potential disaster risks. On Aug. 19 from 2-4pm at the Greenwood Center, El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency – Animal Services and Public Health Preparedness and Response staff will conduct a presentation to help community members prepare themselves, their families and pets to respond when disasters happen.

The Greenwood Center is located at 4401 Highway 193 in Greenwood.

The presentation is free.

For more information, call 530.621.6251.

In response to an especially busy kitten season, El Dorado County Animal Services, in partnership with People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County, is offering a limited time reduction on the price of kittens.

All kittens at the South Lake Tahoe and Placerville shelters are available for adoption for half-price — $40.

The adoption fee covers the cost of the kitten’s first shots, spay or neuter, a microchip and vet exam. Each spring and summer, Animal Services’ shelters experience an influx of kittens and are nearing capacity with more kittens arriving daily.

Animal Services is also looking for loving homes to provide temporary foster homes for many of the kittens over the next several weeks. Fostering the kittens in a home environment helps to socialize them and they are more adoptable when they come back to the shelter, officials said..

For more information, call 530.621.7631.