Marine 24 is a custom-built vessel from Lake Assault Boats in Wisconsin. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – High winds and waves like the ocean couldn’t budge the vessel. It was on a type of auto pilot. The boat rocked to the waves, but otherwise didn’t move.

Mother Nature on Monday helped demonstrate some of the sophisticated technology aboard Marine 24, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District’s boat that was christened just off shore of Edgewood Tahoe.

“Skyhook technology is like an anchor. It holds the boat in position,” explained Fire Marshal Eric Guevin. 

This allows a firefighter to leave the helm and help with suppression, or rescuing boaters, or some other task.

It has touch point GPS, as well as sonar and radar that are state-of-the-art. Navigation routes can be programmed. The cabin is heated, which is ideal considering the boat will be available 24/7, 365 days. Plus, if someone is rescued, it means providing them a warm place out of the elements.

Special heaters for the bilge and motors will keep them from freezing.

It is powered by two outboard engines. There is also a 365 horsepower marine motor.

“It’s only job is to pump water,” Guevin told Lake Tahoe News.

The 36-foot-long boat was built to handle the variable weather conditions Tahoe can encounter. Even the seats have suspension in them, which is designed to save the crews’ backs.

It will be docked at Zephyr Cove Marina, practically across the street from the fire station.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Chief Scott Baker and Fire Marshal Eric Guevin at the Nov. 14 christening of Marine 24. Photo/Kathryn Reed

There is no other boat like this on Lake Tahoe. Fire flow, or how much water can be pumped per minute, is what sets this boat apart. It can deliver a minimum of 1,500 gallons per minute. It was shooting 1,800 on Monday. State fire codes set the standards.

Lakefront residents or business may pay a fee for a pipe that firefighters would use to connect to the new vessel and pump water. Water can also be pumped into water tenders.

With many of the roads leading to the lake on the Nevada side being narrow, it can be difficult to get the appropriate firefighting apparatus to the structure even when there isn’t snow. This is why the boat is so necessary.

The boat can also be used if the forest near the shore were ablaze.

Fallen Leaf Lake has a similar boat from the same manufacturer. South Lake Tahoe is having a boat built, and North Tahoe Fire is talking about getting one.

Tahoe Douglas’ old boat is still around, but isn’t expected to get much action. It has an inflatable hull, doesn’t have fire flow beyond 300 gallons, and is cramped. However, in the last two years it has been put into service 17 times.

In large part the nearly $500,000 new vessel was funded by donations from Lisa Maloff, and Bob and Nackey Scagliotti.

By Wayne Parry, AP

Some gambling technology companies expect the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize sports betting and are jockeying for position in the new industry months before a decision is even rendered.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Atlantic City shines some light on the scramble. NYX Gaming Group Ltd., a company based on the British island of Guernsey, is suing London-based William Hill PLC over Las Vegas-based Scientific Games Corp.’s proposed acquisition of NYX.

William Hill owns stock in NYX and is threatening to use its voting shares to block the acquisition unless it receives certain assurances from Scientific Games about what the newly merged company will and won’t be able to do.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

A quest to put cannabis on the June ballot stems from the ongoing legal battle between South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Wellness Cooperative owner Cody Bass.

“The ballot measure spells it out in very small words; it is a legal business and has property rights like any other business,” James Anthony, the attorney who crafted the ballot measure petition and represents Bass, told Lake Tahoe News.

The measure would ask city voters to permit medical cannabis storefronts. Today, South Lake Tahoe’s ordinance allows only the one dispensary, and then has myriad strings attached.

Essentially what Anthony submitted to the city was its own ordinance with certain passages struck out, along with some new verbiage. “No vested rights” was eliminated, and inserted is the wording, “Licensed medical marijuana dispensaries that have obtained a medical marijuana dispensary permit under this article are ‘grandfathered’ for all legal purposes and possess a vested right in the operation for which they have been permitted.”

It goes on to talk about cultivation, where the facility could be located, delivery of said medicine, and owner transfer rights.

The proposal is essentially an end-around to the legal quagmire between the city and Bass, and would give Bass more leverage if he were convicted on the criminal charges he faces because the initiative would allow him to transfer ownership.

Anthony said this proposal has nothing to do with criminal issues the medicinal pot shop owner runs. Bass’ arraignment, which is being handled by a different attorney, was set for last week. It was pushed back until January to give the defense time to review discovery.

The city attorney this week is expected to issue a title and summary for the initiative. Proponents have 180 days after it is issued to get signatures from 10 percent of the registered voters in the city based on the last General Election, so just more than 1,100 people. Those will then be verified by the county elections officials. Other paperwork is required as well.

The city contends Bass is operating without a valid permit because he does not have the landlord’s signature. TWC’s position is that the long-term lease where it states he is operating a medical cannabis facility is proof of permission by the landlord.

The dispute has been in the legal system for more than a year. Before El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Steve Bailey retired in August both sides could have let him rule, but the city said no.

Anthony sent a letter to the City Council on Nov. 7 regarding Tahoe Wellness Cooperative’s permit. He went over Bailey’s statements and his perception of former City Attorney Tom Watson and current attorney Nira Doherty’s actions.

On Aug. 18, Bailey said, “It’s patently unreasonable in the court’s mind that this lease doesn’t fit all of the requirements that the city needs to determine a valid consent by the landlord.”

All councilmembers were asked by Lake Tahoe News to comment on the letter. Only Councilwoman Wendy David responded, saying it would be inappropriate to comment.

Doherty told LTN, “The City Attorney’s Office does not plan to respond to the letter sent from James Anthony. Judge Bailey asked both parties if they would waive the statutorily prescribed timelines for filing objections and the City determined it would not waive timelines. Because Judge Bailey was retiring before the timelines had run, a new judge was assigned to the lawsuit.”

Both sides, though, say they are willing to talk about a settlement. Depending on that outcome, Anthony said the ballot measure might not be needed.

If the measure qualifies for the ballot, the city will then do a study to determine any financial ramifications.

The city also has its hands full with recreational marijuana.

The City Council is being proactive on this topic. While the voters of California a year ago approved pot to be used for reasons beyond medical needs, it isn’t until this January that it becomes legal to do so. However, every city and county can make its own rules.

Because the state has been slow in devising laws to make recreational pot work, most jurisdictions are delaying sales and other aspects of the law. At the Dec. 12 council meeting the electeds are expected to enact a moratorium on pot sales, at least on an interim basis.

At the same time Councilmembers Brooke Laine and Tom Davis, who were appointed to head up a cannabis subcommittee, are going forward with that process. The subcommittee includes 15 community members who will meet about a half dozen times in the next few months. The outcome should be a set of recommendations that will provide a framework for the development of cannabis regulations for South Lake Tahoe.

This subcommittee, unlike the vacation home rental one, intends to work more in the open by putting updates on the city’s website. This way there is more transparency and members aren’t working in a silo of secrecy.

By Meghin Delaney, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada may soon join a handful of states that require students to pass four credits of math to graduate high school, a move critics say would limit student choice.

“I really strongly disagree that four years of math are required for students to be college and career ready,” Jesse Welsh, an assistant superintendent in the Clark County School District, testified at a state education workshop last month. “This is coming from a former math teacher.”

The state is planning to revamp graduation requirements for students in the class of 2022, who will be high school freshman in the fall of 2018.

Read the whole story

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District will dedicate and launch its fire boat on Nov. 13 at 3pm at the Edgewood Tahoe clubhouse.

After opening remarks, firefighters will demonstrate the boat’s capabilities on Lake Tahoe.

This custom builtboat is similar to those found in large bay areas with a large pump that can provide fire flow. It was designed to enhance TDFPD’s capabilities to respond to a wide range of emergencies, including firefighting and on-the-water rescue operations.

By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal

A 10.4 percent improvement in gaming revenue at Caesars Palace helped Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment endure a third-quarter loss, company officials reported this month.

Earnings were affected by $472 million in restructuring costs as the company’s operating unit emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 6.

The company, which includes Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys, reported a loss of $468 million, $3.14 a share, on revenue of $986 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company reported a loss of $643 million, $4.38 a share, on revenue of $986 million.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

People still don’t understand the concept of picking up after themselves. Annual statistics from Clean Tahoe underscore this notion.

This organization that has been around for nearly 20 years operates in South Lake Tahoe and on the South Shore of El Dorado County. Today it is a nonprofit.

In the last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, there were 173 illegal dump incidents in the city that Clean Tahoe dealt with.

“That number has increased every year since 2013,” Catherine Cecchi, executive director of Clean Tahoe, told the City Council last week. Between 15 and 20 new dump locations sprout up each year.

Abandoned, destroyed sleds are the newest item Clean Tahoe has been dealing with. Photo/Clean Tahoe

People have other options to get rid of their crap. Annually, in June, Clean Tahoe partners with South Tahoe Refuse to offer the $5 dump day. A record was set in 2017 with 556,000 pounds of waste collected.

Clean Tahoe, for a fee, will also pick people’s unwanted items up and dispose of them properly. Seniors and disabled residents can get a reduced fee or have it waived. The person still has to pay the garbage company’s fee.

Of the 436 animal in trash incidents in the city last year, 51 were at a vacation rental. Code enforcement is notified of all tourist issues. For locals, they are referred to code enforcement on the second infraction. Multi-family residential units are the most challenging with the shared dumpsters.

Cecchi said the number of bear-trash encounters in the county have been decreasing because that jurisdiction has stricter rules when it comes to mandating bear boxes.

“We have far fewer repeat incidents in the county than the city,” Cecchi said.

She added that the Be Bear Aware campaign and STR’s loan program for bear boxes are proactive approaches to the problem, which also help to educate homeowners.

One of the more challenging tasks is cleaning up after homeless camps. This is done after the people have left and police say it’s safe to go in. There were 28 camps last year; a figure that keeps going up.

In total, Clean Tahoe picked up 484 cubic yards of litter in the last year.

Clean Tahoe operates on a $234,000 annual budget. Two-thirds of the money is collected from residents via their STR bill. That fee has not been raised since 1999. Cecchi said talks are under way to up it, but a dollar amount has not been disclosed.

By James Doubek, NPR

Women around the country have been speaking out in what seems like a deluge of sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against men in positions of power.

The floodgates opened with a New York Times story about sexual harassment accusations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has since been accused of raping multiple women and is now being investigated by multiple police agencies.

A national conversation has begun about sexual harassment. But there are times when some people disagree about what that phrase means.

Read the whole story

By Sage Sauerbrey, Moonshine Ink

From timber to tourism, Tahoe/Truckee has always had a mono-economy. Other industries can and have thrived — construction had a heyday following the Olympics, and the last decade has marked the success of more than a handful of local technology businesses and start-ups, but in spite of opportunities for growth in other sectors this area is actually more dependent on tourism than it was 10 years ago.

When the recession hit in 2008, tourism accounted for 42 percent of the regional economy in the Tahoe Basin, but by 2015 that ratio had grown to 62 percent, according to data compiled by the Tahoe Prosperity Center. The center’s CEO, Heidi Hill Drum, said that these numbers likely run parallel to data describing Truckee as well.

Diversity is the word of the day. Not only is there a pronounced industrial imbalance regionally, but that imbalance favors a volatile and fluctuating market. Data compiled in the 2016 Regional Housing Study shows that the number of local jobs in the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food service sectors plummeted from 8,078 in January 2014 (peak season) to 4,709 in May 2014 (shoulder season).

Read the whole story

Placer County is ready to reinvent the Tahoe City firehouse properties near Commons Beach.

The county is looking for a mixed-use development firm or other interested parties to enter a long-term lease and redevelopment the properties.

The county-owned Tahoe City firehouse properties include three buildings: the former North Tahoe Fire Station 51, Tahoe Community Center building and the former visitor center building.

Through a series of community workshops earlier this year, county staff and stakeholders developed a list of guiding principles to be used as the basis for the development of any project. Some of these principles include: creating a new space for bringing people together; providing economic return to the community and county; improving water quality and scenic conditions; being financially sustainable and providing flexible space allowing a variety of uses depending on time of year or day.