Recovery

We welcome President Obama to Lake Tahoe, which is admired for its great depth and clarity and beautiful alpine surroundings. As Tahoe’s public water agencies, we are hard at work on a water infrastructure initiative to enhance critical preparedness needs and hazard mitigation in the wildland-urban interface against the threat of catastrophic wildfire.

Wine is a major industry in this part of the country but with the ongoing drought how can production become more sustainable? UC Davis has created a new center to develop these technologies in order to address this issue. Learn how this industry can change while tasting and learning about what they are producing.

The Science of Wine will be discussed at the UC Davis TERC Center on August 24, starting with 5:30 p.m. no-host cocktails and the talk from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

A San Francisco woman died on the South Fork of the American River near Kyburz while rafting on Saturday, July 9.

Elaine Yi Mau, 32, was camping at the China Flat Campground with friends when they took rafts into the nearby river. At 4:09 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office was told of a rafting accident involving Mau. She had been on a raft with someone who fell off, and when he surfaced, Mau was gone.

Even though the winter of 2016 brought a strong El Nino, it wasn't enough to recover from the previous years' dismal snowpacks.

In a report released by a team of researchers led by UCLA, the snow water equivalent (SWE) seen in 2015, when added to the previous three years of drought, was the worst seen in 1,200 years.

Since the SWE in the Sierra snowpack directly affects the state, the scientists also said that, even if the Sierra has average snowpacks, it will take
California until at least 2019 to recover.

Headlines, both regionally and nationally are full of the message: Opioid addiction is sweeping the country and its out of control. With the death of musical artist Prince of an opioid overdose, the stigma of the addiction to strong prescription pain pills has been erased. It isn't a poor person's problem, it isn't an unemployed person's problem, it isn't a metropolitan problem. It is a problem in South Lake Tahoe, Reno, the west and the whole country.

At the 2016 Amgen Tour of California, the biggest and most prestigious pro cycling race in America, the young development team Axeon Hagens Berman is making a name for itself and its riders – and three of them share a look at what's for breakfast on the road.

The 144 pro cyclists (18 teams) in the 8-day race aim to consume the same amount of calories they burn on the bike, which at Amgen, depending on the length and toughness of the day, can be anywhere between 4,000 to a whopping 8,000 calories!

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will look at the new Master Fee schedule during the March 14 meeting, something they do annually. The proposed fees and charges for 2015-16 show no change for users of the recreation center or campground, a $2 to $3 increase in daily golf course fees, a $5 to $15 increase in golf course passes.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) will “make a real difference for families and communities” struggling with drug addiction, U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio said Saturday. He spoke about the bill, which has bipartisan support, in a weekly Republican address.

“This epidemic does not discriminate,” Senator Portman said. “Zip codes don’t matter. It’s affecting our cities, suburban areas, and rural counties. Young or old, rich, middle class or poor, black, white, Hispanic or Asian. The grip of addiction affects all of us.”

Two musicians who performed in South Lake Tahoe over the years have died.

Glenn Frey, the guitarist and sometime singer for the legendary 1970s band The Eagles, died Monday at age 67. The Eagles last performed in South Lake Tahoe during a two-day concert at Harvey's Outdoor Arena in 2014.

According to news reports, Frey had surgery for intestinal problems in November.

The band has the following message on their website:

Two good news stories out of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows today.

First, they are now offering a season pass to all active duty military in exchange for a $25 donation to the “Military to the Mountains” program, a partnership between Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, High Fives Foundation, Achieve Tahoe (formerly Disabled Sports USA Far West) and Adaptive Training Foundation.

With an increase in the number of bicycle thefts and other property crimes in South Lake Tahoe, a new high tech device to help the fight on crime is now being introduced by the police department.

The new technology is called Anti-Theft Dots. This DNA for property crime will assist the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) in their efforts to combat theft in the community. Property crime is the number one crime statistic in the nation according to the Department of Justice.

July 25, 2015 will always be known as the day Jacob "Jake" Callanan saved a life.

The 24-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was working at Ski Run Marina as a boat deck hand when he responded to a woman screaming from the lake. He waded out, found a submerged woman and carried her to shore.

Author Mojie Crigler will be reading from her new book, Get Me Through Tomorrow: A Sister's Memoir of Brain Injury and Revival, tonight at Bona Fide Books in Meyers at 7 p.m.

Every time we offer support and understanding to a family or friend that is caring for a loved one living with mental illness we give them hope. Recovery is absolutely possible! Education is a core component of recovery. Through an array of free NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) education and support programs for individuals, family members, providers and the general public we are improving lives right here in our community.

Visit www.NAMI.org to learn more.

• 1 in 5 adults in America experience a mental illness.

Location

El Dorado County Senior Legal Services, a program of the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, is hosting a series of legal seminars in South Lake Tahoe for seniors during September and October, 2015. The seminar series, entitled "Planning for the Future," provides information about financial and health planning. Individuals may attend the series or just one class. Reservations are not required. Each seminar session is free, although donations are accepted. The seminar sessions will be held as follows:

Those of us living in the Sierra Nevada are well aware of the drought and of the growing threat of wildfires caused by dry conditions. Due to the threat of catastrophic wildfires in the West, three major players at the government level have called for reforms in the way the federal government funds wildfire suppression efforts.

- Many children go undiagnosed and unidentified; they are penalized for inappropriate behavior though symptomatic.
- 42% of diagnosed students graduate with a high school diploma.
- 48% of diagnosed students drop out of school.
- 50% will serve jail time after leaving school; 20% serve sentences prior to leaving school.
- Currently 12 % of children in America under the age of 18 have a diagnosable
mental illness.
- Among the US population, mental illness impacts 1 in 4 individuals.
- 50% of adult cases of mental illness had signs and symptoms by age 14.

As South Lake Tahoe prepares to host Stages 1 & 2 of the AMGEN Tour of California Women's Race on May 8-9, people are working throughout the community, preparing for all of the events surrounding the world class cycling event.

There is a VIP reception and team presentation at Riva Grill on Thursday, May 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Let’s transform South Lake Tahoe into one of the healthiest places for our children…a place where mental health issues are quickly identified and treated…a place where parents and caregivers are well-educated in recognizing the early warning signs. Let’s give the next generation the best chance possible at thriving.

In March we participated in the Mental Health Forum sponsored by Barton and the South Tahoe Unified School District. We were impressed by the passion presented by the many school-teachers, Barton ER doctors, and others that care deeply about Mental Wellness.

Last summer's flash floods in Douglas County caused $927,205 in damage, far below the federal minimum of $3,753,710 needed in order to receive federal assistance.

While Douglas County Emergency Management had requested that due to the close timing of these events (July 20, July 30, Aug. 6 and Aug. 11) the state consider combining all damage under one event, FEMA regulations do not allow for combining damage costs of multiple events.

The El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society presents Before and After the Flames: Fire, Forest and Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada, a talk by Dr. Hugh D. Safford, Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region (including California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands) and Dr. Becky Estes, ecologist with the the US Forest Service, Tuesday, January 27th, 7pm at the Planning Commission Meeting Room, Building C of the County Office Buildings, 2850 Fairlane Court in Placerville. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Laurence:

This fall, while under your supervision, approximately 16% of the Eldorado National Forest burned due to the King Fire. You are entrusted to protect and maintain the health of this critical forest/watershed. Given the extreme drought and high fire risk conditions we experienced this summer, what fire restrictions, ranger alerts, precautionary measures, were in place the week of Sept 07, 2014? Arson yes, but could we have been more alert?

On August 26, 2014, South Lake Tahoe resident Matthew Marhefka was in a serious dirt bike accident and suffered a broken neck which resulted in his being paralyzed from the neck down.

He recently had neck surgery and the results were successful. His spine is now stable but due to the severe spinal cord injury he remains paralyzed from the neck down. According to family friends, the doctors have hope that he could possibly regain feeling and or movement to his hands and arms.

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.