To the community,

The Truckee Tahoe Air Show and Family Festival has come and gone, and it was a great event. The local EAA Chapter 1073 registered Young Eagles on the day of the air show, and gave them free airplane rides the next day.

Several volunteers helped with registration Saturday and then helped with keeping things organized on Sunday when several pilots brought their aircraft out to fly the Young Eagles. The whole team of about 20 volunteers supported doing the flights for 128 very happy kids.

The EAA’s Young Eagles Program introduces young people ages eight through seventeen to aviation by giving them a free airplane ride. Pilots receive no compensation other than the smiles they see on the youths’ faces. EAA pilots have flown over 1.8 million Young Eagles across the nation and in several other nations since the program started in 1992, and our local chapter has flown over 2,500.

Once a youngster becomes a Young Eagle, many opportunities open to them, including a free Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course, EAA Student Membership, scholarships, etc.

Many thanks to all of our volunteer ground crew and our volunteer pilots. Thanks also to the Young Eagles who flew with us and got a taste of the joy of flying over our beautiful area.

Tom Meadows, EAA 1073 Young Eagles coordinator

• Lake Tahoe painter Millicent Meng is the visiting artist at Valhalla on the South Shore through July 22 from 11am-4pm daily. Fifty percent of all sales from this exhibit will be donated to South Tahoe Middle School.

• California has an official state amphibian: the California red-legged frog.

• Truckee is looking for people who are interested in helping to update the town’s Traffic Impact Fee Program. It will be a six- to nine-month process. Click here for an application.

• Forbes has come out with its top ski resorts for 2014. Squaw Valley is No. 5 and Mammoth No. 7.

• Rideshare service Uber is looking to expand into the Lake Tahoe market.

A 6-year-old male black bear was put down Friday by Nevada Department of Wildlife officials becuase it had killed livestock in Genoa.

On April 29, a bear killed four goats inside an enclosure in Genoa. A trap was set and a bear was caught, but it could not be determined if the bear that had been captured had killed the livestock.

Because a positive identification of the offending bear could not be made, the bear in the trap, wearing ear tag Yellow No. 43 was taken to an area about 80 miles south of Gardnerville for release.

The bear first received it identifying ear tag in March 2013 when it was captured near a lambing area in Jacks Valley.

Yellow No. 43 returned to Genoa this past week, punched a hole in the side of a small barn and entered the enclosure, killing two goats, according to NDOW.

This bear was caught in a NDOW trap July 18 and then euthanized.

By Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee

For the 30 or 40 Mexican laborers looking for work, the pitch seemed too good to be true.

They would receive temporary work visas to get into the United States, then be driven to Northern California forests to trim trees at $16.47 an hour.

The jobs would include rent-free accommodations in trailers at the work sites, where they would be protected from the elements and fed during their 40-hour workweeks. They then would be transported back to Mexico after nine months of tree trimming.

The alleged, 2-year-old agreement between the workers in Hidalgo, Mexico, and an Oakley, Idaho, firm called Pure Forest LLP is outlined in federal court documents filed in Sacramento and unsealed Tuesday.

The documents – search warrant affidavits compiled by investigators from the departments of Homeland Security and Labor – reveal a criminal probe unearthing evidence that the men allegedly ended up as virtual prisoners in forests north of Sacramento, where authorities contend they were forced to work seven days a week, sleep in tents on the ground, subsist on rotten food for which they were charged as much as $120 a week, and left to drink tainted water from a nearby creek.

When the workers complained about conditions, foremen for Pure Forest, who were allegedly armed with pistols, “threatened to shoot workers in the head and leave them in the woods if they did not work harder,” according to one affidavit filed in federal court in February and unsealed this week.

Lawyers for the owners of Pure Forest sharply dispute the allegations, saying they are untrue, came from “a few disgruntled former employees” and ballooned into a federal probe in which the company is cooperating.

Authorities have executed search warrants for a residence in Garden Valley in El Dorado County and a Yahoo email account tied to Pure Forest. The documents indicate that investigators are looking into possible violations of federal laws against forced labor, trafficking via fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and fraudulent foreign labor contracting.

At a campsite in El Dorado County, the affidavit says workers recalled that they were working for Owen Wadsworth, who provided little food for them.

“Due to a lack of food, the workers went fishing in a nearby river, but Owen Wadsworth advised them that they could get fined for fishing without a license,” according to the affidavit.

The Wadsworths’ attorneys contend such claims are fantasy.

Read the whole story

Three Incline Village residents are accused of starting the fire this week at La Casona restaurant in Incline.

Ramon Mendoza Valdez, 20, and two juveniles have been arrested on charges related to an arson and graffiti incident that occurred July 16.

Ramon Mendoza Valdez

“After the fire was extinguished, investigators found evidence of arson at the scene,” Washoe County Undersheriff Tim Kuzanek said in a press release. “The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District worked with our patrol division to conduct a joint arson investigation which identified Ramon Valdez as the primary suspect.”

Valdez was arrested on two counts of arson in the first degree, one count of arson in the third degree, along with charges of graffiti and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Night work will begin on Truckee’s Glenshire Drive Bike Lane Phase 2 Project starting on July 20 at 9pm.

Glenshire Drive will be closed between Donner Pass Road and Olympic Boulevard from 9pm-6am Sunday through Friday morning.

Olympic Heights residents will be allowed to access their neighborhood during the closure via the emergency gate (which will remain open overnight) through a signed detour route through the Old Greenwood neighborhood and the Overland Trail interchange with Interstate 80. Glenshire/Devonshire residents are encouraged to use Hirschdale Road.

Initial work will include the installation of erosion control measures, clearing and grubbing, culvert replacement and the potholing of utilities.

For any questions regarding the project contact Todd Landry, 530.582.2906.

Sand Harbor’s boat ramp will close for the season starting July 28.

The low lake level is forcing the closure. This closure will prevent watercraft from being damaged during a launch and protect the end of the launch lanes from damage.

The parking lot will remain open for carry-in boat access only.

All other boaters will be directed to use the Cave Rock boat ramp facility.

A Western Scrub Jay found earlier this month El Dorado Hills has tested positive for West Nile virus.

This is the first confirmed positive result this year in the county. There have been no human cases in 2014.

West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes pick up the virus when they feed on infected birds. The illness is not spread from person-to-person.

Most people infected with West Nile virus show no symptoms. However, some people may experience high fever, severe headache, tiredness and/or a stiff neck which may last several days to several weeks. The most serious cases of West Nile virus infection can lead to encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, which can be fatal.

Report dead birds and tree squirrels to 877.968.2473.

The Clear Creek Fire burning in the Carson Valley is 75 percent contained.

The acreage burned has been reduced to 187.

The fire started the evening of July 16 from lightning. While homes were threatened in the Jacks Valley area, that is no longer the case.

Firefighters expect full containment by Saturday evening.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Nora Krug, Washington Post

One of the most important things a running partner can provide is conversation. Many runners are looking for a kind of coach, to push them to go faster or longer; others want a confidant or a gossip or someone to swap the latest tips from Runner’s World with. But for some, the best running partner is one that says only one thing: woof.

Human and dog have been running for millennia. But is it always a good idea for them to run together? The answer depends on weather, fitness level and, yes, personality — of both species.

Beth Slotman, a 36-year-old health-care contracts researcher in Germantown, says she runs with her dog as much for the dog’s benefit as her own. “I mainly do it because it makes her so happy,” says Slotman, who has taken her pit bull-Lab mix, Abbey, on runs as long as 11 miles. “She knows on Saturday mornings when we get up and I get dressed that it’s a running day, and she dances around with such excitement that it’s hard to say no.”

Read the whole story