Sample the Sierra attendees for the first time will be able to vote for their favorite booth.

The booth with the most votes will be awarded the Best Tasting Experience of 2014.

The farm-to-fork festival is Aug. 31 at Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe from noon-4pm. The event pairs regional growers and producers with chefs and restaurants and wineries, distilleries and breweries.

Tickets are $30 until July 31, $40 in August. They are available online.

Ta-Hoe Nalu is the longest running and largest SUP race event in the United States.

This family friendly event features distance and beginner races, a live concert, sand castle building contests, and more than $10,000 in cash and prizes. It is Aug. 15-17 in Kings Beach.

Attendees may participate in workshops, dine at the full-service food and beverage court and be part of Saturday’s opening ceremonies featuring Polynesian dancers from Halau Hula ‘O Leilani at 7:30am.

Registration opens at 2pm Aug. 15 and racing begins at 8:30am the next day. Sunday’s five-mile race kicks off at 9am and the weekend wraps up at 4pm with closing ceremonies.

By Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times

Most of California’s major reservoirs are now less than half-full — or at what officials call a “seriously low” level — but that’s still nowhere near the historic lows set in 1977, the state’s driest year on record.

The latest report released Wednesday by the California Department of Water Resources shows 10 of the state’s 12 major reservoirs below 50 percent of their total capacity, with some nearing just 20 percent.

“They are not historical levels, but they are seriously low,” department spokesman Ted Thomas said.

But when all 12 of the major reservoirs are combined, the average is at 60 percent, Thomas said. That’s puts the state in a far better position than it was 37 years ago, when a crippling drought brought the statewide reservoir average down to 41 percent.

As of Wednesday, the largest federal reservoir in California at Lake Shasta was only at 36 percent capacity, which is 4.5 million acre-feet of water, he added.

Read the whole story

Engine trouble forced a small plane to try to land on Pyramid Highway on Saturday morning.

It struck a moving truck. The two occupants of the truck were not injured. The two people in the plane sustained cuts from broken glass, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol

Part of the highway was closed after the 9am July 26 accident.

The plane was headed to South Dakota from Stead Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are on scene.— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Comstock History Center will feature 22 artists at the One Is Silver, the Other Is Gold: Celebrating 25 Years of Nevada Folklife Apprenticeships exhibit.

Each recognized master is encouraged to work with one or more dedicated apprentices so their traditional art forms and personal contributions endure.

The artists come from a range of tribal, ethnic, cultural, and occupational groups found throughout Nevada. They include artists from among the indigenous Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe peoples and ranchers, miners, loggers, and railroad workers. They also include more recent immigrants from all parts of North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The exhibit is Aug. 1-Sept. 28 at the Comstock History Center, 20 N. E St.,Virginia City. It is open Thursday-Sunday, 11am-4pm. It is free.

“Tahoe Ghost Boat” is the 12th and latest installment of the Owen McKenna mystery series.

Lake Tahoe author Todd Borg is releasing the book this summer.

It is about a 15-year-old girl named Gertie O’Leary. She has a messy bird’s nest of red hair, a serious softball pitch, and a dream to be a movie director. She also has a $2 million price on her head.

When Gertie is kidnapped as part of an extortion plot, Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna gets involved. But McKenna finds himself up against his toughest opponent yet, a killer the FBI calls Mikhailo The Monster.

Here is Borg’s signing schedule for “Tahoe Ghost Boat:

• July 26, 3pm  Signing at Geared for Games, Boatworks Mall, Tahoe City
• July 30, 6:30pm Talk and signing at the South Lake Tahoe Library, Rufus Allen Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe
• July 31, 5-7 pm Signing at Truckee Thursdays downtown Truckee at The Bookshelf tent
• Aug. 1, 6:30pm Talk and signing at Shelby’s Bookshoppe, 1663 Lucerne St., Minden
• Aug. 3, 8:30am Signing at the Red Hut on Ski Run Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe
• Aug. 9, 8:30am Signing at the Red Hut, 4385 S. Carson St., Carson City
• Aug. 10, 8:30am Signing at the Red Hut, 3480 Lakeside, No. 1, Reno
• Sept. 6-7 Mountain View Art & Wine Festival, Mountain View
• Sept. 27-28 Candy Dance Festival, Genoa
• Oct. 15, 4:30-6:30pm Signing at the Minden Library, Minden.
• Oct. 18, 3pm Talk and signing at the El Dorado Arts Council’s gallery space at the Fausel House, 772 Pacific St., Placerville.

Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort in South Lake Tahoe admitted it dumped thousands of gallons of pool water inappropriately.

The hotel reported the month-old incident to Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board.

“Nothing got to the lake. [It] entered a city storm drain and then to the ground. They have since developed a pool draining plan and trained staff,” Lauri Kemper with Lahontan told Lake Tahoe News.

South Lake Tahoe ordinances prohibit this type of water from being discharged into storm drains.

The proper way for hotels to get rid of pool or hot tub water is to direct it to the sewer system or use it on landscaping, according to Kemper.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Kathryn Reed

Tahoe Keys Marina staff illegally removed vegetation to create a dirt parking lot close to the water.

“It’s fairly significant. Eleven thousand square feet is the size of an entire lot,” Julie Regan, spokeswoman for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, told Lake Tahoe News. “It’s a serious matter and we will want to look into it thoroughly.”

TRPA issued a cease and desist order July 25. If would be up to the Governing Board if punitive action would be taken.

Tahoe Keys Marina turned vegetated state land into a dirt parking lot. Photo/Kathryn Reed

The grading occurred July 24. TRPA, South Lake Tahoe and California Tahoe Conservancy started investigating Friday. The Conservancy owns the land that was dug up.

“We cannot change what has happened. We have to decide how best to move forward … if it’s only remediation or if it’s something compensatory,” Ray Lacey, CTC deputy director, told Lake Tahoe News.

State officials were at the marina at 10am Friday giving people until 5pm to remove their vehicles from the illegal dirt parking area.

The marina is accused of violating two state Penal Code sections. One was trespassing by taking down a fence to get heavy equipment in to do the work; the other is unauthorized removal of plants and soil.

This is an area where the Conservancy spent significant money to restore the site.

The marina owns the paved area. The Conservancy owns the dirt area. A fence separates the two.

The vegetation that was removed is next to the South Lake Tahoe launch ramp.

It’s also against TRPA code to park on dirt. The fine sediment is an issue when it comes to erosion, and in particular for reaching Lake Tahoe and degrading its clarity.

No one from the marina returned calls, and their attorney was not available for comment.

Marina officials, including their attorney, had met with Conservancy staff July 24 about using the 1-acre lot the Conservancy owns off Venice Drive for parking for this weekend’s wooden boat show. This is a lot the two entities have long agreed to could be used for boat storage. Parking for the show was not a problem, the Conservancy said.

Lacey said Robert Spinnato, marina manager, apologized for digging where they didn’t have permission. And the marina, according to Lacey, agreed to keep people from parking on the dirt.

South Lake Tahoe sent police and building inspectors to the site on July 25.

“It’s a violation of TRPA code and they have been noticed. They also violated the city’s grading ordinance,” City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News. “The police department is interviewing and may file a complaint for improper removal of vegetation.”

A bit of irony is that one day the disturbed land, including the Conservancy section up to the cul de sac area of Venice Drive, is slated to be paved. The Conservancy board in December 2013 OK’d 60,000 square feet for additional parking that would be used for people accessing Cove East and for the marina. Marina attorney Bob Henderson had earlier told Lake Tahoe News that would not happen this building season.

Even so, all the permitting still needs to be secured before any new parking lot in the basin is ever created.

Lacey said a meeting has been set up for Monday between Conservancy staff and marina officials.

To the community,

At four o’clock, as the dinner guests lined up for Bread & Broth’s meal on July 14, the three sponsor crew members from Wyndham Vacation Ownership had already spent the last hour packing 65 “giveaway bags” with fruits, vegetables, can goods and bread and were now preparing to serve over 95 guests for the next hour and half.

Then at 5:30, the sponsor crew spent the next half hour cleaning tables and stacking chairs and table before their sponsorship evening ended.

Bread & Broth would like to thank the dedication and commitment of the hardworking crew from Wyndham Vacation Ownership and the financial donation of $250 from the largest international vacation ownership company.

“We feel fortunate being a part of a global company that encourages the employees to be involved in the local community, “ said Sue Harley, recruiter for Wyndham Vacation Ownership. Joining Harley in assisting the B&B volunteers were Brian Bourdage, trainer, and Joan Ferro, sales administrative manager.

“Bread & Broth puts on a phenomenal meal and we are grateful to share the experience. We look forward to coming back,” added Harley.

B&B appreciates and thanks Wyndham Vacation Ownership and its employees for their commitment to the South Shore community and we look forward to working with them to feed the less fortunate at the their next “Adopt A Day of Nourishment” sponsorship on Sept. 15.

For more B&B information, go online or find us on Facebook.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

By Kathryn Reed

Rum is one of Sue’s favorite spirits. It has something to do with all those fruity drinks that can be made with it. But I have to be in the mood for a sweet drink.

To compromise, she created the concoction below. I’m a native of Florida, so that’s how she came up with the drink.

I would have thought with the ingredients involved it would have been sweet. I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t. It was also a good sipping drink – as in, neither of us wanted to guzzle it and immediately have another. That can be a problem with sweet drinks, especially on a warm Tahoe summer day.

Sweet vermouth isn’t something we have had in the house before, so I’ll be interested to see what else she uses it for.

Florida Girl

2 ounces white rum

¾ ounce fresh lime juice

½ ounce sweet vermouth

½ ounce sweet crème de cacao

½ tsp grenadine

2 ounces club soda

1 lime wheel for garnish

Mix the ingredients in a cocktail shaker; fill shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with lime.