Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association is planning to stabilize the south side of the homeowners’ pier with a combination of sheet pile wall, boulders and clean sand.  

“The revetment will prevent further erosion of the shoreline from lake waves when the lake level is high,” Doug Smith with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board told Lake Tahoe News.

This state agency must approve this project in South Lake Tahoe.

The sheet pile and boulder placement is expected to be a one-time installation.

“The clean sand wedge in front of the wall and boulder revetment is ‘dynamic’ because it is expected to change shape as it absorbs the incoming wave energy, thus reducing the erosion potential. If the lake remains at high levels, the dynamic sand wedge may need to be replenished, but that is not expected for several years, maybe 10 years or so,” Smith said.

Any time sand needs to brought in, a permit from Lahontan is required. 

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Lake Tahoe News

Lake Tahoe Community College has set up a pantry of nonperishable foods and hygiene products for students in need.

“It’s meant to address the very real problem of community college students struggling with learning due to hunger. There’s all kinds of evidence that shows that when college students don’t have their basic needs met like food, shelter, stable living environment, child care, they struggle in their studies and are much more prone to fail and drop out,” LTCC spokeswoman Diane Lewis told Lake Tahoe News. “About 73 percent of community college students are nontraditional, meaning that they fit one of these six criteria: they’re part time rather than full, they’re employed full time while in college, they’re financially independent, they have dependents to provide for, they’re a single parent, or they don’t have a high school diploma or a combination of these. That is a high percentage of vulnerability, and insufficient nutrition is often a consequence.”

The college hopes to get a refrigerator so perishable goods could be available as well.

Students may receive two bags of food twice a month.

Criteria to receive the bags include:

·      Being a registered LTCC student, either full time or part time.

·      Either eligible for the Board of Governors fee waiver, or able to demonstrate financial need through a pay stub or other income verification.

“We aren’t aware that the need is growing – only that hunger and food insecurity are a constant and very real issue on any community college campus, nationwide. We have found that many of our students are unaware of resources available in town for nutrition,” Lewis said. “The food pantry is meant to serve mostly in emergency situations when students need immediate help and don’t know where else to turn for it. In addition to food and supplies, the pantry will also provide information about local resources that students can tap into.”

The pantry will be stocked through a mix of grant money, donations from community partners, and donations from LTCC staff, faculty, and students. To donate, contact Laura Salinas at 530.541.4660, ext. 549 or lrsalinas@ltcc.edu

By Brianna Calix, Fresno Bee

Heat waves, droughts and floods are climate trends that will force California farmers to change some practices — including what they grow — to continue producing yields that historically have fed people nationwide, a new study by the University of California says.

Researchers reviewed 89 studies on California climate trends and impacts on the state’s diverse agriculture industry to predict how the industry must adjust through the end of the 21st century.

“Understanding climate change and how it is impacting agriculture can help us develop relevant adaptation strategies and enhance agricultural resilience to climate risks,” said Tapan Pathak, the lead author on the paper, which was published on Agronomy.

Read the whole story

By Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee

Several local school districts and the University of California system received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the National Rifle Association between 2010 and 2016.

The money, in the form of grants from the NRA Foundation, thrusts what were once largely non-controversial gun- and hunting-safety programs and extracurricular shooting clubs into a bitter national debate about accepting money from the polarizing firearms advocacy group.

The NRA gave about $1 million in cash and non-cash grants to school organizations and private shooting clubs in the Sacramento region between 2010 and 2016, according to a Sacramento Bee review of data obtained by the Associated Press.

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By Becky Bohrer, AP

Taking a cue from the fight over immigration, some states that have legalized marijuana are considering providing so-called sanctuary status for licensed pot businesses, hoping to protect the fledgling industry from a shift in federal enforcement policy.

Just hours after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Jan. 4 that federal prosecutors would be free to crack down on marijuana operations as they see fit, Jesse Arreguin, the mayor in Berkeley, summoned city councilman Ben Bartlett to his office with a novel idea.

Berkeley was already the first city in the nation to formally declare itself a sanctuary city on immigration, barring city officials from cooperating with federal authorities. Why not do the same thing with marijuana? Last month, it did.

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By Michael Scott Davidson, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Former state Sen. Mark Manendo sexually harassed more than a dozen women over his years in the Nevada Legislature, leading to his resignation. The transgressions were documented in a $67,000 taxpayer-funded investigation, but the public can’t see the report.

Former Henderson Police Chief Patrick Moers retired with full severance benefits after a law firm hired by the city found he repeatedly sexually harassed at least one employee. The city has declared that report, paid for by city taxpayers, confidential and unavailable for public scrutiny.

Time and time again the Las Vegas Review-Journal has sought public records, asked questions and demanded openness from local and state government workers whose salaries are paid with taxpayer dollars.

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Power lines are down across the road on Glenshire Drive in Truckee.

Glenshire Drive is closed between Somerset Drive and Wellington Way. Truckee police and fire are on scene.

People are asked to avoid the area on Saturday night.

Those in the area may experience power outages. Liberty Energy is aware and is responding.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Jessie Bekker, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Opioid-related deaths in Nevada have decreased slightly since 2010, but the number of fatal heroin overdoses has nearly tripled since then, according to state data presented Thursday.

But that pattern appears to be changing as well, as heroin-related deaths remained unchanged between 2015 and 2016 while deaths from synthetic opioids, including the super-potent painkiller fentanyl, rose by 56 percent.

“I think the data is definitely evidence that there’s a shift,” Kyra Morgan, chief biostatistician of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday in a presentation to roughly 45 state and local officials gathered in Reno and Las Vegas.

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Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the appointment of four members and confirmation of nine proposed appointees to the new Capital Projects Advisory Committee – a 13-member group representing broad economic and geographic interests throughout eastern Placer County.

The committee, co-chaired by the county and North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, will evaluate project proposals based on how well they advance key priorities outlined in the county’s Tourism Master Plan for the region, and will make recommendations to supervisors on which projects should receive funding.

The board approved the appointment of:

● Danielle Grindle, Squaw Valley resident and Squaw Valley Public Service District employee, representing Squaw Valley on the county general committee seat;
● Mike Staudenmayer, Northstar Community Service District general manager, representing Northstar on the county general committee seat;
● David Hansen, Community Foundation board member and business owner, representing Tahoe City and West Shore on the at-large committee seat (housing, social service, arts and culture) and
● Rick Stephens, Truckee Tahoe Airport District board member, representing Martis Valley and North Lake Tahoe on the at-large committee seat (housing, social service, arts and culture).

The board also confirmed the appointment of:

● Dave Wilderotter, business owner, representing North Lake Tahoe on the business association committee seat;
● Krista Voosen, business owner, representing Donner Summit on the business association committee seat;
● Sarah Coolidge, North Tahoe Public Utility District board member, representing Kings Beach and Tahoe Vista on the special districts committee seat;
● John Wilcox, Squaw Valley resident and former Squaw Valley Public Service District board member, representing Squaw Valley on the special districts committee seat;
● Alex Mourelatos, business owner, representing Tahoe Vista on the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association committee seat;
● Ron Parson, business owner, representing West Shore on the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association committee seat;
● Jaime Wright, Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association executive director, representing eastern Placer County on the transportation committee seat;
● Drew Conly, Resort at Squaw Creek hotel manager, representing Squaw Valley on the lodging committee seat and
● Greg Dallas, Sugar Bowl chief executive officer, representing Donner Summit on the ski resorts committee chair.

Grant funding for the projects is drawn from lodging tax revenue, and is intended to help accomplish the goals of the Tourism Master Plan.

By Ezra David Romero, Capital Public Radio

Frank Gehrke trudges through snow and ice, as he’s done for nearly four decades in the Sierra Nevada. He’s one of many state workers who takes monthly snow surveys, in the same spots, to figure out how much water is in the snowpack. And this old-fashioned way of measuring the snowpack is quite laborsome.

The data from surveys and a system of around 150 sensors informs local and state officials how much water is stored in the Sierra. But there’s a flaw: Measurements can be up to 40 percent off.

In dry, warm years like 2018, snow sensors often don’t work because they’re covered in thick layers of ice as snow melts and freezes.

That’s why Gehrke is stoked about a new way to measure the snowpack from the sky.

Read the whole story