Free Republic

The bear stories that have emerged from Tahoe since the fall have defied logic. Until last week, that is. At Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, some students unaccustomed to bears have made it a game on campus to "spank" the animals with a pat on the butt, another game to "pet" one. One student resorted to feeding a bear an apple after deciding it was a bad idea to spank him, according to a November report in the student newspaper. In one case, a bear social- ized to humans opened the window...

A few weeks ago my family and I went to Lake Tahoe for a little snow skiing. We had a great time, except for some obvious "grade deflation" that occurred with the ski slopes. I skied some intermediate slopes and fell many times, indicating that the slopes were probably really expert skiers. Either that, or the laughably improbable alternative that I am not in as good shape as I was only a few years ago, when I could ski down expert slopes without any problems. But during the trip, we drove across the state border from California to Nevada and...

Just checked the aviation wx for S. Lake Tahoe Airport and right now (7:10PM PDSAT), it's snowing with visibility 2 1/2 miles, temp: 33F. I live in SOCAL but I've been to Tahoe before this time of the year previously on a number of occasions, and I don't remember it being this cold or snowing. Is this unusual?

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - You can expect to see some changes to the Lubbock Police Department's fleet. LPD is buying 50 new SUV or Sport Utility Vehicles to replace aging police cars. Police have traditionally used a Ford Crown Victoria as their most common vehicle. However, Mayor Tom Martin says the Crown Victoria is no longer an option. Internet reports indicate that Ford will stop production of that particular model in 2011. "I did talk with the police administrators and it's not going to be as much as we thought," said Councilman Floyd Price, Lubbock City Council. Councilman Floyd Price...

Two Navy helicopters from North Island Naval Air Station were damaged, and their pilots are now grounded, after some bizarre flying over Lake Tahoe last week. A Navy spokesman confirmed Thursday that a video posted on YouTube is genuine footage of two MH-60 Romeo helicopters from North Island’s Helicopter Maritime Strike 41 squadron. The video shows the $33 million helicopters flying low over the lake. One seems to lose control, spinning and crashing into the water. The pilot then regains control and pulls the craft back into the air. The Navy wouldn’t identify the pilots or say whether the...

Can a court turn private property into public property by arbitrary order, without a penny paid to the landowners?

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — As the nation awaits President Barack Obama’s selection of a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, word of a presidential appointment closer to home has reached the south shore of Lake Tahoe. Josh Reid, one of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s three sons, has been chosen to fill the presidential appointee’s seat on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Governing Board. Reid, 37, is a resident of Henderson, Nev., and is a partner in the Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck law firm. He works in the firm’s Las Vegas-based natural resources group focusing on environmental, energy, and land...

Cheyenne, Dakota and Tahoe One of the top-rated Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs is Dakota, an American Pit Bull Terrier. Dakota is owned by Kris Crawford, who has 2 other pit bulls that are also certified SAR dogs! Dakota is so good at what she does, NASA handpicked Kris and Dakota to assist in the recovery of the Astronauts after the tragic 2003 shuttle disaster. Kris and Dakota were also involved in the Laci Peterson investigation. Kris and her team have been involved in many cases and have made national news on several occasions. Cheyenne, Dakota and Tahoe are also...

Additional evidence of wolverine found in the Tahoe National ForestSide view of a wolverine photographed in California's Tahoe National Forest by a remote-controlled camera. A wolverine was first photographed on the national forest on Feb. 28, 2008, the first scientific confirmation of the animal's presence in California since the 1920s. Credit: US Forest Service and Oregon State University During ongoing investigations by an Oregon State University graduate student, the Forest Service, and California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), two additional wolverine photographs were captured this past week. A variety of hair, track and scat samples were also sent for...

Steps to prevent catastrophic wildfires in the Lake Tahoe basin, one of the country's most treasured natural wonders, have been hampered for years by bureaucratic infighting among agencies that often work at cross purposes, according to thousands of pages of documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The failure of the agencies to adequately protect the basin was brought to light last June when the Angora Fire ripped through a thickly forested ravine and destroyed 254 homes near South Lake Tahoe. Since then, blame has fallen on the overlapping agencies that have environmental and regulatory oversight of the Tahoe basin. A...

The Chevy Tahoe Hybrid is as provocative and political a vehicle as you'll see this year. Why, it's practically a polemic. And those are just the "P's." By way of a fantastic exertion of technology and human capital -- which I hereby honor and praise even as I question them as misallocated -- GM has managed to give one of its behemoth SUVs marginally better fuel economy. Here are the relevant data points: The two-mode hybrid Tahoe returns an EPA estimated fuel economy of 21 miles per gallon in the city, 22 mpg highway; the 4x4 version gets an even...

The Sierra ski season is under way, but skiers and snowboarders aren't finding much snow on the slopes. Thanksgiving weekend is traditionally when ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe region fire up the chairlifts. But warm November temperatures in the mountains have meant that the sparse snow found so far has been made by the resorts themselves. Even then, most of the runs that are open are short and low on the hills. Last winter was unusually dry in the Sierra Nevada. Snowmelt from the mountains provides much of California's fresh water supply. Tahoe resorts say most slopes should be...

Group considers food drops to draw bears away from developed areas at Lake Tahoe By Associated Press Article Launched: 09/02/2007 03:25:15 PM PDT TRUCKEE - A sharp increase in bear-human conflicts this summer is prompting a bear advocacy group to consider backcountry food drops for the animals at Lake Tahoe. Ann Bryant, executive director of the Lake Tahoe-based BEAR League, said her group is seeking permission from the California Department of Fish and Game to use food to lure bears away from developed areas. A lack of precipitation has led to a shortage of natural food, forcing bruins into towns...

Charles Barkley planned to take 100 Lake Tahoe-area firefighters out to dinner Saturday night after touring the devastation of a nearby wildfire that destroyed 254 homes last month. Barkley, the former 11-time NBA star, is playing in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course through Sunday in neighboring Stateline, Nev. He toured the fire with officials for NBC Sports, which is televising the tournament that runs through Sunday and is running public service announcements with a Web site for contributions to a fire relief fund. "This is unbelievable," Barkley said while viewing the charred remains of...

The recent loss of more than 200 homes in the Angora fire near Lake Tahoe was another ugly reminder that California hasn't gotten its act together on forest policy. As San Diego County residents know painfully well from fall 2003, when the Cedar and Paradise fires destroyed more than 2,400 homes, much of the state is at risk. But long before 2003, fire experts had zeroed in on the especially destructive possibilities of a wildfire in the Tahoe basin, where thousands of homes are built in forests that are vastly thicker than they were in the days when there were...

As Tahoe burned, John Singlaub felt the heat. Since the catastrophic fire ignited Sunday, Singlaub has fielded angry questions and endured verbal abuse from Lake Tahoe residents furious with his employer, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The agency -- known as TRPA -- wields unusual power in the Tahoe basin. Created in 1969 to protect the Tahoe ecosystem, it has jurisdiction over the Nevada and California sides of the lake. It controls all planning decisions big and small -- from whether to allow a new high-rise resort in South Lake Tahoe to whether an individual homeowner can add a new...

South Lake Tahoe -- Along with wind shifts, floating embers and evacuation orders, homeowners and firefighters in the Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe must deal with another unpredictable factor -- the gawkers. Onlookers drawn by the spectacle of the fire and firefighters' dramatic efforts have at times fought with Tahoe residents and blocked traffic in attempts to wander close to fire zones. Fire authorities say they often have to deal with such lookie-loos, and they warn that people need to stay away from fire areas. "They're the disaster tourists," said Rex Norman, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. "They're...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Residents awoke to smoke-free sky Friday as officials announced they had turned the corner in fighting a wildfire that destroyed 254 buildings and threatened thousands more in this resort community. After a second straight day of mild winds allowed firefighters to surround the blaze, U.S. Forest Service commanders said they planned to reduce their force by one-fourth and allow residents to inspect the wreckage for the first time. "Firefighters came in this morning and felt even more comfortable about the approaching containment of this fire," incident commander Rich Hawkins said. "I'm feeling pretty good about...

Calm chokes Tahoe blaze Lack of winds helps crews regain initiative By John Simerman, MEDIANEWS STAFF Article Last Updated: 06/28/2007 03:35:33 AM PDT SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — The famously crisp blue skies above this mountain lake retreat made a strong if tentative return Wednesday as still air confounded dire wind warnings and helped fire crews cinch a grip on the 3,100-acre Angora fire. The blaze, which a day earlier had jumped containment lines, raged up against homes and forced frantic evacuations from several neighborhoods, never threatened those lines Wednesday. Forecasts had predicted northeast winds above 30 mph, drawing anxious words from...

Resurgent Tahoe fire ignites chaos, panicBy John Simerman, MEDIANEWS STAFF Article Last Updated: 06/27/2007 04:27:24 AM PDTSOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Firefighters battling the northernmost edge of the Angora fire ravaging the South Lake Tahoe area lost control of a back burn Tuesday afternoon, which jumped over Highway 89 and forced evacuations of several neighborhoods. The Tahoe Basin's worst fire in a century bolted northeast into a subdivision about sixmiles southwest of the Stateline casinos, within a mile of the lake itself, sparking evacuations of a popular village and an enclave of pricey, waterfront homes. The marching flames ignited a scene of...