by n Staff Reportn editor@tahoedailytribune.comn | Feb 25, 2026 | Uncategorized
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. —Local Tahoe author Suzanne Roberts is off to New York City for the Audie Awards ceremony and gala, where her audiobook Animal Bodies: On Death, Desire, and Other Difficulties, performed by Julia Whelan, is a finalist for an Audies Award in the Short Stories/Collection category. The book is joined by other finalists Joan Didion, Ray Bradbury, Alton Brown from Iron Chef, an anthology of today’s best thriller writers, including Frieda McFadden, and a collection of short stories based on Stephen King’s “The Stand.”
Audies is the premier awards program (the Oscars for audiobooks) in the United States recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. Finalists are selected, and from that group of finalists, one winner will be announced in New York City on March 2, 2026.
“I’m honored my book is among such distinguished company,” said Suzanne Roberts. “Julia Whelan did an amazing job narrating my book; she really brought my essays to life. I’m excited to get dressed up and go to the gala—it will be quite a change from my usual messy mountain-girl attire.”
In Animal Bodies, Suzanne Roberts explores the link between death and desire and what it means to accept our own animal natures, the parts we most often hide, deny, or consider only with shame—our taboo desires and our grief. In landscapes as diverse as the Salamanca’s cobbled streets, the Mekong River’s floating markets, Fire Island’s windswept beaches, Nashville’s honky-tonks, and the Sierra Nevada’s snowy slopes, Roberts interrogates her memory and tries to make sense of her own private losses (deaths of people and relationships), as well as more public losses, including a mass shooting in her hometown, environmental devastation in the Amazon rainforest, and wildfire evacuations.
With lyricism, insight, honesty, and dark humor, these essays illuminate the sometimes terrible beauty of what it means to be human, deepening the conversation on death and grief, sexuality, and the shame that comes from surviving the world in a female body with all of its complexities.
According to Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Chronology of Water, “No one travels the depths of place and experience more phenomenally than Suzanne Roberts. In these essays that explore being, beauty, desire, death, and our collective animal journeys on the planet, Animal Bodies gathers our questions about life and brings them to the only place where meaning might emerge: adaptation. This book is a triumph that transcends human and gives us a chance to re-story ourselves into the larger world.”
The audiobook of Animal Bodies was acquired by Audiobrary and performed by Julia Whelan, dubbed “The Meryl Streep of Audiobooks” by bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid and “The Adele of Audiobooks” by The New Yorker. Julia Whelan is an author, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and acclaimed audiobook narrator of over 700 titles and is the recipient of Spotify’s Narrator of the Year Award (the most listened-to narrator globally), winner of the Audie Award for Best Fiction Narrator of 2025, and 2026 inductee of the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She also captured both the winner and runner-up slots in the inaugural audiobook category of the Goodreads Choice Awards.
To learn more about the 2026 finalists visit https://www.audiopub.org/audies-finalists-2026-pr.
by n Staff Reportn editor@tahoedailytribune.comn | Feb 24, 2026 | Uncategorized
ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. – The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District appointed Assistant Chief / Fire Marshal Bryce Cranch as Interim Fire Chief, effective immediately. The appointment was approved by the Fire District Board of Trustees by a unanimous 5–0 vote during a special board meeting held on February 19, 2026.
Chief Cranch’s deep history with Tahoe Douglas Fire began in 2004, where he spent more than two decades working through the ranks as a Firefighter Paramedic, Engineer, Captain, and Battalion Chief before his promotion to Assistant Chief in September 2020. This extensive field experience is supported by a strong academic foundation, as he holds degrees in both Fire Science Technology and Business Administration.
A full-time resident of the district since 2011, Chief Cranch is deeply rooted in the community he serves and possesses firsthand knowledge of the unique local challenges and the remarkable area residents call home. Alongside his wife, Amy, Chief Cranch raised their family within the district, watching their children grow through Zephyr Cove Elementary School and George Whittell High School. Their daughter is a graduate of George Whittell High School, and their son is currently a junior.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Assistant Chief Bryce Cranch as our Interim Fire Chief,” said the Board. “As a long-time resident and veteran of this District, Chief Cranch embodies the heart of our community. He brings more than technical expertise to the role — he brings a deep, personal commitment to the safety of his neighbors and a proven record of collaborative leadership. The Board looks forward to working closely with him to ensure the continued safety and well-being of our community.”
Chief Cranch’s appointment ensures continuity of leadership and a continued focus on service, safety, and community partnership within the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District.
by n Staff Reportn editor@tahoedailytribune.comn | Feb 24, 2026 | Uncategorized
STATELINE, Nev. – The next meeting of the Nevada State Legislative Committee for the Review and Oversight of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Marlette Lake Water System is scheduled to be held this Friday, February 27 at 1 p.m. at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency office in Stateline, Nev.
The committee, comprised of eight state legislators, holds meetings every other year during interim sessions to discuss the work of TRPA, the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, and Nevada state agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
During the February meeting, speakers will provide informational presentations to the committee on forest health and wildfire mitigation, evacuation planning, homeowner’s insurance and wildfire risk, and priorities for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California at Tahoe.
This is the second of six meetings scheduled through August of this year. Other priority topics to be heard this year include transportation, aquatic invasive species, housing, economic development, and more.
Members of the public are welcome to attend in person or online and to provide input in writing or during scheduled public comment times.
Meeting information:
February 27, 2026, beginning at 1 p.m.
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
128 Market St., Stateline, NV 89449
Agenda: February 2026 Meeting Agenda
Committee email: Tahoe@lcb.state.nv.us
