The old garage came down Aug. 6 Photo/Dave Kurtzman

By Bill Kingman

A South Lake Tahoe icon was razed today.

The old Springmeyer garage. Photo/Bill Kingman

The landmark Highway 50 frontage from Izzy’s Burger Spa up to Lake Tahoe Glass is owned by Marjorie Johnson Springmeyer of Tahoe’s pioneer Johnson family.

The old cabin is being relocated. Photo/Dave Kurtzman

The brick-and-frame building was taken down Aug. 6. It will be replaced by an Auto Zone store.

Longtime local Dave Wakeman remembers that the late-Melvin “Buzz” Springmeyer, a World War II fighter pilot, operated his garage and International trucks dealership there from the late 1940s into the 1970s.

Springmeyer and bride, Marjorie, lived in the quaint cottage directly behind it. It was cut in two, but put back together and hauled off-site.

At the right end of the garage was Springmeyer’s service station with two gasoline pumps. This was before Highway 50 was widened in 1957.

More recently, the vacant area between the garage and today’s Lake Tahoe Glass became a self-service Fill-’em Fast gas station operated in the 1970s by Boyett & Son.

A former local business, Harrison Radiator Works, had no building but instead operated on wheels. It regularly parked between Buzz’s garage and the little cottage in back.

A Bay Area man missing since 2010 may have been spotted in South Lake Tahoe this summer.

Jackson Miller

A resident called the South Lake Tahoe Police Department to report having seen a missing person poster displaying Jackson Miller’s picture. The caller reported having seen Jackson Miller in South Lake Tahoe on a number of  occasions and as recently as mid-July. Although the caller seemed confident, the report currently remains unconfirmed.

Miller, 22, is a  voluntarily missing adult from Cupertino. Miller was reported missing by his family four years ago. Soon after he went missing, Miller’s car was found in the parking lot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The vehicle contained Miller’s wallet and cell phone. The Golden Gate Bridge Authority confirmed that no one jumped from the bridge the night Miller’s car was parked there. Video surveillance cameras revealed Miller leaving his vehicle and walking out of the parking area.

At the time of his disappearance, Miller was reported to have been anxious and depressed due to medication withdrawal.

Miller is 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He may have facial hair at this time.

If anyone is able to confirm Miller’s location, call 530.542.6100 or Lake Tahoe Secret Witness at 530.541.6800.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A Tahoe City restaurant was closed for a few hours today when a fire started in a light socket.

The fire was reported at 1:23pm Aug. 6 at Rosie’s Cafe.

The building was evacuated. There were no injuries.

The restaurant expects to reopen later today.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will begin post-Angora Fire restoration work on Angora Creek this week.

The project is designed to enhance approximately two miles of stream by placing downed logs to prevent future channel erosion. This should improve aquatic habitat for fish and amphibians.

Hand crews will do the work using dead and downed logs from the adjacent forest to replace logs that were lost next to the creek during the fire. Chain saw work will occur where needed. No live trees will be cut.

Work is expected to be finished by the end of September.

By Katherine Shaver, Washington Post

Federally mandated low-flow toilets, shower heads and faucets are taking a financial toll on the nation’s water utilities, leaving customers to make up the shortfall with higher water rates and new fees that have left many paying more for less.

Utility officials say they understand that charging more for water because demand has dropped might seem to violate a basic premise of Economics 101. But utilities that generally charge by the number of gallons used are beginning to feel the financial pinch of 20 years of environmentally friendly fixtures and appliances, as older bathrooms and kitchens have been remodeled, utility experts say.

Federal laws aimed at conserving water limit toilets that once needed up to seven gallons per flush to 1.6 gallons. Shower heads that spewed up to eight gallons per minute are being replaced with sprays of about 2.5 gallons.

Read the whole story

The 29th annual Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival at Northstar is Sept. 5-7.

It is three full days of cooking seminars and demonstrations, culinary competitions, wine tastings and food-themed experiences in the village and on the mountain, as well as in the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe.

The Culinary Competition & Grand Tasting is Sept. 7. Other highlights include the Farm to Tahoe Dinner at Zephyr Lodge, Gourmet Marketplace Vendor Fair, Village Wine and Brew Walk, Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook Off, and 16th Annual Charbay Party. Additional events throughout the three-day event include Pedals & Pinots bike tour and tasting, Beer & Artisan Cheese Pairing and Winemaker for a Day seminars, Petra Winery Luncheon, and Take a Hike guided hike and trailside tasting.

For more info, go online.

• Pediatrician Jonathan Halem will be at Barton Pediatrics and family medicine doctor Nichole DeLaPlante will start at Barton Family Medicine this month. Monika Mehrens will return to her hometown as a hospitalist, and North Shore native Alison Ganong will join Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in September.
• Lou Ferrigno Jr. will host the Aug. 23 Tahoe Show at MontBleu.
• Kim George with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department it looking to see if there is interest in the community for a child and Infant CPR class. She may be reached at 530.307.9596.
• Truckee Town Council will have a public hearing on the Coldstream Specific Plan project on Aug. 25 at 6pm in council chambers.
• John Reuter, researcher and longtime associate director of Tahoe Environmental Research Center, is retiring. He started studying Lake Tahoe in 1978. Zach Hymanson has been hired to take his place.

By Heidi Knapp Rinella, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Louisiana has its Cajun and Creole cuisines, Pennsylvania its iconic Philly cheesesteaks. Nevada?

Yeah, we got nothin’.

It’s not for lack of trying. The state’s population hub of Las Vegas has taken its place among the best restaurant cities in the country, maybe even the world. But, asked to name a local cuisine or signature dish, experts are at a collective loss.

“We never really had a traditional cuisine,” said Carlos Buscaglia, chef partner of Due Forni, who’s been cooking in Las Vegas for more than 20 years.

The reasons seem to be almost as numerous as the types of food in the valley, but much weight is given to the city’s melting-pot nature.

“Las Vegas is a place people moved to,” said Michael Green, an associate professor of history at UNLV.

Buscaglia said he thinks that because the city attracts tourists from all over the world, and because the casino industry — which leaves a huge footprint on everything — tried to cater to the various cultures, nothing ever rose above the rest.

And most of the people who move here tend to take comfort from their roots.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Lake Tahoe Airport will not have commercial service – at least for the indefinite future.

That was the unanimous decision of the South Lake Tahoe City Council on Aug. 5.

Michael Hotaling, the consultant putting the airport master plan together, essentially gave the council an ultimatum – commercial or general aviation airport? This is so his people can be more focused in their approach as they put together the document.

South Lake Tahoe has not had commercial air service since 2000.

Planes of all sizes use Lake Tahoe Airport. Photo/LTN file

Hotaling made a case for how difficult it would be for this airport to attract commercial service again. The industry isn’t what it was. Airlines have been consolidated. They are all about having planes at least 85 percent full because it isn’t until they are at 75 percent capacity that they make a profit.

He pointed out that an airport like Mammoth could attract commercial service because of a $2 million annual subsidy, as well as Los Angeles International Airport being several hours away.

Lake Tahoe is an hour from the Reno airport. And as Pat Ronan, owner of Lakeshore Lodge and Spa, said, when Interstate 580 in Nevada extends farther into Carson City, it will cut another 10 minutes off the drive between Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Driving less than hour is a psychological threshold, he implied.

Three people spoke at Tuesday’s council meeting in regards to the airport. All favor the focus being on general aviation.

But this does not mean big planes won’t fly into the airport. The airport still has FAA clearance for large planes like a 737 to land. It could also mean a Gulf Stream V landing.

Planes of significant size are a regular sight during the American Century Championship golf tournament.

And these days it’s not unusual for people to have fractional ownership of sizeable aircraft. And the GA designation does not stop commuter flights.

Keeping the 139 certificate from the FAA will allow flexibility for the airport. While it costs the city $75,000 a year to comply with the 139 regulations, it potentially pays for itself because there are pilots who won’t land without that designation. And with it, it could be easier for the airport to contemplate commercial service in the future.

But Hotaling explained how the narrowness of the runways could present a future conundrum if the city were to try to attract commercial service. There isn’t the width needed per FAA standards. And to create it would potentially be an environmental nightmare.

An issue raised at many meetings about the airport is whether it is a financial burden or benefit. Hotaling recommended the city do an economic study to find the answer. The council agreed to do just that.

 In other action:

• Several people spoke about the inadequacies of the city when it comes to enforcing various codes. Vacation rentals were the primary target of angst. It was agreed that at a future meeting the enforcement aspect of vacation rentals would be addressed.
• On Aug. 12 at 5:30pm city staff and recreation commissioners will be at Regan Beach gathering input from people about what they would like to see improved at the beachfront.

To the community,

The Zephyr Cove Tennis Club Foundation thanks all of the individuals and businesses that helped make the 31st annual Tahoe Tennis Classic a success.

We formed the foundation in January 2014. The foundation received official 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS in July. And two months before that, we were awarded a five-year contract from Douglas County to run the six tennis courts in Zephyr Cove Park.

During this short time, we have worked with the county to improve the facility. But we aren’t done. And as with all facilities, we always will have maintenance issues that go beyond substantive changes.

That is why we are on a fund-raising kick – to keep this public asset a treasure and ensure that Zephyr Cove is the best place to play tennis at Lake Tahoe.
At the Aug. 2 players’ dinner, we had a raffle of items worth more than $7,500. All of the money raised will go towards improving the programs and facilities at Zephyr Cove Tennis Club.

We thank the following people and businesses for their generosity in supporting the foundation for the raffle:

Businesses
A Massage at Tahoe, AAA Carson City, Adele’s Restaurant & Lounge All Sports Fitness & Personal Training with Andy Veris, Angel Touch Salon & Spa, Anytime Fitness in Zephyr Cove, Atlantis Casino & Resort, Bleu Wave Cruises, Cavender’s, Carson Valley Inn, Ernie’s Coffee Shop, Genasci & Steigers DDS, Getaway Café, H20 Home Cleaning Products, Hair and Nail Studio with Dawn Stackpole, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Heavenly Sports SSV, Heavenly Village Cinema, John Ascuaga’s Nugget, Lake Tahoe Cruises, Lake Tahoe Golf Course, Lake Tahoe News, Lake Tahoe Yoga, Little Philly Cheesesteaks, Luigi’s Tahoe Pizzeria, Minden Food Company, Mirabelle French Cuisine, MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, Mt. Rose Ski Resort, On the Rocks, One World Healing Massage, Park Place AMPM, Pedego Electric Bikes, Pine Cone Resort, Sorensen’s Resort, South Tahoe SUP, Sprouts Natural Foods Café, Tahoe Best Friends, Tahoe City Golf Club, Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters, Tahoe Mountain Soap Company, Tahoe Outdoor Living Nursery, Tep’s Villa Roma, The Angler’s Edge, The Improv at Harveys, The Ridge Tahoe and Weidinger Public Relations.

Individuals
Carol & Carl Bergren, Barbara Cooper, Mike Espinoza, Tina Fobel, Dorothy Fugitt, Susan Glasson, Sheryl & Hersh Herschmann, Melissa & Jess Jester, Judy McClennan, Danny O’Looney, Sandy Paul, Holly Rittiman, Lorraine Segala, Judy & Mark Spellman, Adam Turner and Rob Wunderlich.

For more info about the Club or Foundation, go online.

Carolyn Wright, Zephyr Cove Tennis Club Foundation president