Veterans in the South Lake Tahoe will be able to get a veterans ID card on Aug. 6.

Participating businesses offer discounts when the card is shown.

Veterans must present a picture ID, DD214 or honorable discharge certificate, and appropriate documents if name change applies to qualify for the card.

Cards will be given out between 9am-4pm at the American Legion Hall, 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

For more info, call 530.573.7955, ext. 5892.

By Richard Chang, Sacramento Bee

Supervisors in fiscally conservative Placer County took the unusual step last week of asking voters to more than double their salaries and provide access to county health and retirement benefits.

The five-member Board of Supervisors voted unanimously for the November ballot proposal, pointing to data showing that their compensation falls well below their regional peers after a 1992 voter initiative capped their compensation.

Currently, supervisors receive $30,000 annually and no benefits. If voters pass the proposed county charter amendment, salaries would rise to an estimated $71,755 in January 2015, based on the average supervisor wages in neighboring counties.

The latest push to raise supervisor salaries comes after the county Charter review committee recommended in January that supervisors receive a pay hike. Two previous bids failed, first in 1998 to pay $35,000 annually and again in 2008 to pay $48,000. Nearly 75 percent of voters rejected the latter proposal, according to the Placer County Elections Office.

Read the whole story

By Katherine Hobson, NPR

When a runner’s heart stops during a marathon, it gets a lot of press – even though it’s actually a pretty rare event. A more common killer among runners, and a condition that needs more prevention efforts, is heat stroke, according to a study by Israeli researchers.

During a 2011 running race, physicians at a Tel Aviv hospital noticed there were far more heat stroke victims admitted than cardiac patients. They wondered if this was an anomaly, and analyzed local races from March 2007 to November 2013, encompassing 137,580 runners.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo takes a water break during the 2014 World Cup soccer match between Portugal and the U.S. in Manaus, Brazil, on June 22.

Across those races, there were two serious cardiac events, neither of which was fatal or life threatening. But there were 21 serious heat stroke cases, including two fatalities and 12 that were life threatening.

There’s a continuum of heat illnesses, ranging from milder heat cramps all the way to heat stroke, which is defined as a fever above 104 degrees and symptoms including dry, hot skin, rapid breathing and unconsciousness. When the body gets that hot, the kidneys, brain and other organs can fail.

Read the whole story

By Mike Stobbe, AP

NEW YORK — The weather kills at least 2,000 Americans each year and nearly two-thirds of the deaths are from the cold, according to a government report.

That may surprise some people, the researchers acknowledged. Hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves “get more publicity, for some reason, than cold-related deaths,” said Deborah Ingram, one of the report’s authors.

The report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed U.S. deaths attributed to the cold, the heat, storms, floods and lightning. It used national death certificate information for five years.

The report found:

• Of the 10,649 deaths attributed to the weather, about 63 percent were tied to exposure to the cold or hypothermia. Those who more often fall victim to the cold include the homeless, alcoholics, those who take part in wilderness activities and winter sports, and fragile people already fighting illnesses who live in under-heated homes.
• About 31 percent of the deaths were caused by heat, heat stroke or sun stroke. The remaining 6 percent were blamed on storms, floods or lightning.
• More than two-thirds of weather-related deaths were men and boys, and men were twice as likely as women to die from storms, floods or lightning strikes. And people 65 and older had much higher death rates than younger people, perhaps because it’s harder for them to endure temperature extremes, the researchers said.
• The highest heat-related death rates were in cities and very rural areas; the most isolated areas also had the highest rates related to the cold and to storms, floods and lightning. Low-income counties had higher weather-related death rates than high-income counties. That could be due to people in poor rural or urban places lacking heating, air conditioning or help during blizzards or heat waves, the researchers said.
• For blacks, the heat-related death rate was about 2.5 times higher than the rate for whites, and about twice as high as the Hispanic rate. Blacks also died at a higher rate from the cold. That finding may be tied to higher concentrations of low-income blacks in large cities or very rural areas. Also, blacks might be more vulnerable to weather extremes because they have more heart disease and other chronic health problems. Whites, however, died at twice the rate of blacks from floods, storms and lightning strikes.

To the community,

The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe is extremely grateful of the services that are being donated by John’s Cleaners.

Once a week we have the opportunity to drop off our shirts that the kids wear daily and they wash and clean them for us. This is a very important service because we want the kids to feel comfortable and clean with the shirts we provide them.

The members of the club who are in kindergarten, first-, and second-grade wear blue shirts and members who are in third-, fourth, and fifth-grade wear the gold shirts. Right now we have enough shirts so the kids do not wear the same shirts every day. The shirts are rotated with clean one’s daily.

We use the shirts not only to identify the different age groups, but also for safety to keep our members separate from the other people from the community that use the playground and fields located at our 1100 Lyons Ave. site.

We are so thankful that John’s Cleaners is providing this service so we can keep our members safe and fresh in their shirts.

Kelly Garrity, Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe

The inaugural Tahoe Craft BeerFest  is Aug. 9 at MontBleu in Stateline.

More than 45 brew will be on tap, plus barbecue, live music, games, and competitions. Among the brewers featured will be Stone IPA Brewing, Drakes Brewing and Nikasi Brewing. Lake Tahoe area beer makers include St. James Brasserie, High Sierra Brewing and Great Basin Brewing.

Admission is $25, which includes a tasting glass and unlimited tasting from 1-7pm, plus access to games, competitions, and live music on stage from local favorites Cool Black Kettle and The Connor Band. Tickets are available at the MontBleu Box Office.

The El Dorado County Senior Nutrition Program is looking for volunteers to deliver meals weekdays from 10:30am-noon to homebound seniors in the South Lake Tahoe area.

For many homebound seniors, the daily personal contact is as vital as the meal.

Volunteers who are not available for a weekly commitment may serve as back-up drivers.

Mileage reimbursement is available.

For more information, call 530.573.3130.

Kenny Curtzwiler and Sue Novasel are running for El Dorado County supervisor, District 5. Photo/LTN

By Kathryn Reed

MEYERS – A contrast in styles is the overwhelming difference between the two El Dorado County District 5 supervisor candidates.

Kenny Curtzwiler is animated and passionate. He talks about how he goes to all the events in town, how people come to him with their problems and how he will get things done.

Sue Novasel is more reserved and thoughtful in her approach. She talks about building consensus, needing to count to three and being a team player.

On July 29 they spoke to an audience of about 50 people at the California Conservation Corps offices about county issues and why they should be the next supervisor to represent Tahoe in Placerville.

Members of Tahoe Regional Young Professionals started the questioning before the public questions were asked. The first was: What would your top three priorities be as supervisor?

“The top three are basically the same for me. It’s community involvement,” Curtzwiler said. “The community is what makes it a community.”

Novasel said her priorities are economic vitality, fire safety and public safety, which include mental health.

When it comes to the Meyers Area Plan, Novasel said, “It still needs some tweaking.” But she did not elaborate. The questioning panel did not ask a follow up question.

Curtzwiler said he likes the Meyers plan.

“I read the entire Catalyst project. It’s good, but it’s too big for the community,” Curtzwiler said. “There is another project out there if the community knew about it, they would like it.”

He didn’t elaborate and the questioning panel didn’t press him further.

They were asked how they are involved in the community.

“I attend almost every single community event,” Curtzwiler said. He said through his business he donates time and resources to various causes.

Curtzwiler also said he is involved with Christmas Cheer.

Novasel was more specific with her involvement – Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, 12 years on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board, Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation, Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce board (one of the event sponsors).

Curtzwiler was asked to clarify something he had written about the morality of breaking a contract. He said it was about Heavenly Mountain Resort not paying its fair share of taxes to South Lake Tahoe; that he believes the contract should be broken by the city.

Novasel countered, saying, “You have a moral obligation when you have a contract. If something needs to be changed, you do so through legal channels. You work with your board.”

When a member of the public asked about county’s Charter review committee, neither candidate had a firm grasp of what it is or why they should care about it.

When it comes to infrastructure, Novasel wants to see roads and broadband. She believes recreation is the “lifeblood” of the area.

Curtzwiler doesn’t believe it’s the county’s job to provide Internet. He also believes recreation should be No. 1.

Curtzwiler said he is not asking for people’s vote, but instead for their vote of confidence and accountability. He wants to be the first person people call when they need something.

Novasel said she is asking for people’s vote. She plans to listen more than talk, and she said she will build consensus.

The election is Nov. 4.

Former backcountry ranger Cheryl Surface will lead a tour of the Spooner backcountry. on Aug. 8 from 9am-4pm.

She will tell stories about Red House, Hobart Reservoir, Marlette Lake, the Flume trail and the Marlette Water System.

Space limited to 12 because participants will be driven to the historic sites. Sign up early by calling 775.749.5980.

Bring lunch, water, a light jacket and camera. Comfortable shoes are recommended. Adults only and no pets.

Spooner Lake is located near the intersection of highways 28 and 50.

A $15 park donation is suggested to assist future programs.

Updated July 30 8:40pm

A 19-year-old visiting Lake Tahoe nearly drowned July 30 at Sand Harbor.

He was swimming on the south side of the boat ramp  with a friend for about 10 minutes when he started having problems. A friend yelled for help. People pulled the victim off the floor of the lake and brought him to shore on a flotation device.

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection personnel began reviving him. CareFlight flew him to Renown Medical Center in Reno where he was listed in critical condition.

The name of the man has not been released. Authorities are only saying he did not reside in Nevada.

“People underestimate Lake Tahoe can be very dangerous,” Washoe County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Clark told Lake Tahoe News. “Lake Tahoe is really cold. I think often times people get in and underestimate the temperature of the water. Their body temperature drops and they can cramp.”

On Monday a 42-year-old Southern California man swimming at Diver’s Cove at Sand Harbor drowned.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report