Sinkhole near Zephyr Cove causing traffic issues. Photo/NDOT

Expect lane closures on Highway 50 near Zephyr Cove as Nevada Department of Transportation officials deal with a sinkhole.

The slow lane of westbound Highway 50 near Zephyr Cove Resort is currently closed after an approximately 3-foot hole appeared in the roadway on Aug. 11.

Officials believe it may have been created by erosion of a storm drain.

NDOT is conducting manual and video investigation underneath the roadway. Crews will temporarily fill and repave the hole with roadway base and paving materials with the goal of reopening the lane for weekend travel.

Future lane and/or roadway closures are possible if more extensive repairs are needed.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Nevada Highway Patrol is reminding drivers who use Sand Harbor Beach that stopping in the travel lanes is illegal as well as crossing over double yellow lines to pass other vehicles.

Early mornings, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, there have been several reports along Highway 28 of traffic issues including backups, stopped vehicles waiting to enter Sand Harbor Beach, and other dangerous situations before the park opens. 

Traffic backs up all the way into Incline Village and causes long delays.    

Motorists wanting to bypass the congestion have taken to crossing the double yellow lines and attempt to pass the stopped traffic by going the wrong way in the northbound travel lane.  This is causing many near head-on collisions. 

NHP is making a concerted effort to control the chaos.

By Meghin Delaney Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada is among the first states in the nation to have its new education plan approved by the federal government, the state Department of Education announced Wednesday.

The state plan was a requirement under a new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act. Nevada was one of 16 states to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education for review by an early deadline.

The state got feedback in mid-June and resubmitted the plan with changes later that month.

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By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, Washington Post

WASHINGTON – Scott Pruitt has repeated a particular line again and again since becoming the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The future ain’t what it used to be at the EPA,” he’s fond of saying.

As it turns out, the past may not be what it once was, either.

In an obscure corner of the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building, a debate is under way about how to tell the story of the EPA’s history and mission.

Read the whole story

Crews work to shore up Highway 50 on Aug. 10 after a water main break. Photo/Susan Wood

A water main break in Stateline caused a portion of Highway 50 to wash away on Thursday afternoon.

“Thousands of gallons of water washed away portions of the roadway base gravel and water flowed to lower Olivers,” Eric Guevin with Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District told Lake Tahoe News.

Lakeside Inn was the only business affected, but has water service now.

Kingsbury General Improvement District crews were able to stop the flow fairly quickly. The cause of the break is unknown.

KGID along with Nevada Department of Transportation are patching the road for now. More permanent repairs will be forthcoming. Traffic headed west on the evening of Aug. 10 was backed up quite a ways while crews were working.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Roger Yu, USA Today

Good luck looking for a house to buy. 

The number of residential houses available to buy is at a 20-year low as the appeal of McMansions wanes and a growing reluctance by Baby Boomers to trade up or down from their current homes, according to a report by Realtor.com. 

More than half of its survey respondents, or 59 percent, said they are not planning to sell their houses in the next year. 

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By Chris Kudialis, Las Vegas Sun

When the Nevada Department of Taxation last month released a draft of permanent regulations to govern recreational marijuana starting Jan. 1, one item was noticeably missing for industry officials: Home delivery service.

Home delivery is currently allowed under temporary regulations through the state’s “early start” program, which launched July 1 when recreational sales started and runs until the end of the year.

But when department officials met in late July they eliminated that service in the first and only draft of new regulations because of security concerns.

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By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
New companies and subsidiaries of Caesars Entertainment Corp. got the green light Wednesday from the state gaming regulators to be licensed in Nevada, a key step toward the company’s emergence from bankruptcy protection.

The state Gaming Control Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the registration of several companies and the licensing and suitability of several board officers, executives and key employees.

The recommendation will go to the Nevada Gaming Commission for final approval on Aug. 24.

Caesars is the parent company of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys at Stateline.

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By Kaleb Roedel, KRNV-TV

Following an investigation into the January death of a Squaw Valley ski patroller, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited and fined Squaw Valley Ski Holdings for violating two workplace safety codes, according to documents obtained by News 4-Fox 11.

On Jan. 24, Joe Zuiches, a 42-year-old Squaw Valley ski patroller, was killed during avalanche control activities at the top of Gold Coast Ridge at Squaw Valley Ski Resort.

Six months later, Cal/OSHA has cited Squaw Valley for “failing to correct an identified unsafe working condition by implementing a procedure for protection against the workplace hazards associated with hang cord entanglement during hang cord blasting operations” for a fine of $11,250.

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By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — The state Board of Finance today approved issuing $140 million in bonds to help build a plant at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center that plans to turn garbage into jet and diesel fuel.

Fulcrum Sierra BioFuels will build and run the facility with a total cost estimated at $340 million.

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