If doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity, then three of our current council members are making us believe they are insane. Past councils made repeated attempts to manage the runaway train of vacation rentals in residentially zoned neighborhoods.
Their efforts failed to satisfy the people living in neighborhoods, so residents took this issue to the voters in 2018. Measure T passed, and after a three-year phase-out period, the neighborhoods returned to their intended use as places for people to live or own a second home. It was a reminder of what neighborhoods should be like. There were those who refused to obey the law and continued to short term rent. For some, cheating is just part of the game.
Since Measure T was overturned last March, the majority of the council voted to not appeal the decision and instead passed an ordinance to bring back vacation rentals to our neighborhoods. In June 2025, the Tahoe Neighborhoods Group (TNG) filed an appeal to represent the 3,517 voters who passed Measure T. On December 31, 2025, the pro-VHR investor group that sued the city over Measure T, filed a ‘Motion to Dismiss’ the TNG’s appeal.
On February 11, the court formally denied that request. To add to the drama, on January 13 (in closed session and never reported out to the public) three members of the city council (David Jenkins, Keith Roberts and newly appointed Heather Horgan) directed the city attorney to prepare an opposition against the appeal by the TNG. The City’s opposition was filed in the ‘Court of Appeal’ on February 6 and is how the TNG learned of the closed session decision to secretly go against the majority of the voters.
Over the last ten months council meetings have seen countless hours spent saying the same things about VHRs that were said a decade ago. It is like watching reruns of the council meetings from 2015. The voters have already decided this issue and having three council members working behind the scenes to undermine that vote is the definition of insanity.
Jerry Goodman South Lake Tahoe
President’s Day: A Day to Reflect on the Last Year
In the past I have been proud to be an American on President’s Day. President’s Day not only reflected my love for my country and its constitution but also to be able to reflect on our democracy and the freedom it affords Americans. Unfortunately, that is not true this year.
Under our current president the constitution and democracy is being undermined. Think about what has happened in the last 12 months: • The Justice Department has been politicized • Congress has been made impotent • The East Wing of the People’s house has been torn down • The Kennedy Cultural Center has been renamed • The pardon powers of the President have been abused. Insurrectionists were released from jail, some who were convicted of felonies. A former Honduran president convicted of importing cocaine and firearms were pardoned • 75,000 are now being held in detention camps of which only 56% have been convicted of any crimes • ICE has a blank check to do what they want • Journalists arrested and media outlets controlled • Environmental laws are being decimated • Public lands are not being protected • Americans are being killed in the streets for exercising their civic rights • Venezuelans in fishing boats are being shot out of the seas with no evidence of wrong doings while in international waters • Economic decline of the country due to tariffs causing massive inflation • Reduction in Forest Service personnel • Reduction in vaccination requirements • Restricting voting rights • Support of Russia, undermining Ukraine • Profiting from the Presidency through cryptocurrency and business dealings • Restricting voting rights • Lack of funding for public radio • Bungled response to the Epstein files • Elimination of USAID • Thousands of lies.
Wake up America! It is time to take our country back! It will start by voting in a Congress in November that will stand up to our current President and start to reverse the actions of the last year. Please vote in June and November!
LAKE TAHOE BASIN, Calif./Nev. – From high-speed downhill runs to technical slalom turns and gravity-defying snowboard tricks, Truckee – Tahoe athletes delivered strong performances across disciplines at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Here’s a look at how local competitors fared on the world’s biggest winter sports stage.
Alpine Skiing
Olympic Valley skier Bryce Bennett competed in the men’s downhill, one of alpine skiing’s fastest events. Known for long courses and high speeds, downhill races often stretch beyond a minute and a half with wide gate spacing that allows athletes to reach top velocity. Bennett finished 13th with a time of 1:53.45, just 1.84 seconds off the podium.
In the women’s giant slalom, Team USA Nina O’Brien placed 20th, clocking a combined time of 2:15.31, 1.81 seconds behind the leader in the technical two-run event.
Keely Cashman took on the women’s Super-G, finishing 15th in 1:25.61, 2.20 seconds back. Super-G, also known as super-giant slalom, is the second fastest event in Alpine skiing and one of the most recent. The race follows a course lined with pairs of poles. Skiers are disqualified if they miss even a single pole during the descent. Super-giant slalom has much wider turns and is therefore skied at higher speeds.
AJ (Amelia) Hurt raced in the women’s slalom, placing 19th with a combined time of 1:42.43 (+3.33). Slalom features the shortest course and quickest turns in alpine skiing, demanding sharp reflexes and technical accuracy.
Lila Lapanja, Incline Village based athlete, represented Slovenia in the same event. She placed 36th with a combined time of 1:47.78 (+8.68), rounding out a competitive field in one of alpine skiing’s most exacting races.
Cashman and Hurt later teamed up in the women’s team combined event at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Cashman handled the downhill leg, while Hurt raced the slalom portion. The duo finished 21st overall with a time of 1:39.91, 3.32 seconds behind the leaders.
Snowboarding
Alessandro Barbieri finished 10th in the men’s halfpipe with a best score of 75, narrowly missing the finals in a stacked field.
On the women’s side, Hahna Norman competed in both big air and slopestyle. She placed 28th in big air with a total score of 93.50 and 25th in slopestyle with a top score of 41.70.
In snowboard cross, Hanna Percy advanced to the 1/8 finals, finishing third in her heat.
Nordic and Freestyle Skiing
In cross-country skiing, JC Schoonmaker raced in the men’s sprint classic semifinals, placing fourth in his heat with a time of 3:43.16, just 2.16 seconds behind the leader.
Abby Winterberger represented Tahoe in women’s freeski halfpipe, finishing 15th with a best score of 72.50.
LIVIGNO, Italy – Born and raised in Truckee, Calif., freestyle skier Abby Winterberger completed two trick loaded halfpipe runs at the Livigno Snow Park in her Olympic debut in the halfpipe qualification on Thurs., Feb. 19.
Before laying down those two runs, broadcasters hooked her up to a microphone during practice, where she vocalized and visualized her sequence, “Chill, extend, whee, crush, land…”
That’s exactly what she did on her first competition run after dropping in and launching into the air—the “whee”—spinning for about 1.5 rotations with a grab.
Her next trick launched her into two spins to land facing backwards, which set her up for a switch trick. She ended her run with more spins in a flashy alley-oop rodeo, gaining heights of close to eight feet throughout the run.
This first go landed her a score of 72.25 and put her in 12th position. Competitors get to keep the best score of two runs in their aim to qualify among the top 12 in order to move on to finals.
By the second run, Winterberger needed better than 74.75 to make the top 12. However, making that position meant the paradox of moving onto the finals at the expense of knocking out her teammate, Kate Gray, qualifying position.
Abby Winterberger at the Olympic halfpipe qualifications on Thursday, Feb. 19. Gastromaniac celebrates 1 year of serving up authentic Italian food
Despite a small miscue on the landing after her first trick, she improved on her initial score with her second run, but the 72.50 still wasn’t enough to move her onto the finals for a shot at a medal.
Overall, Winterberger placed 15th.
Though she doesn’t move to the next round, her future looks bright. At just 15 years old, she will still be a teenager for the next Olympics.
Her appearance not only makes her the youngest member on Team USA at the Milano Cortina Olympics, but the youngest U.S. Olympian since figure skater Tara Lipinski in 1998, who was also 15.
In addition to being the youngest, Winterberger is the only club-level freeski athlete to qualify directly to the Olympic Winter Games, bypassing the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Rookie and Pro Team pathways.
Abby Winterberger’s fans at the Olympic halfpipe qualifications on Thursday, Feb. 19. Soup for you! Ladles by the Lake opens in South Lake Tahoe
Her family and friends watched in support with posters and cutouts along with the Truckee-Tahoe community cheering her on at watch parties, including at the Auld Dubliner in the Palisades Tahoe Village.
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Carnelian Bay’s AJ Hurt wrapped up her second Olympics in the slalom competition on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
The 25-year-old skier from Team Palisades Tahoe placed 19th in her 3rd and final event of the games.
She had joined teammate and best friend, Keely Cashman in the combined team event on Feb. 10, placing 15th.
On Feb. 15, her giant slalom competition didn’t go as planned after her arm hooked on a gate and diverted her off course.
She rose from the disappointment to execute two clean runs in the slalom competition on a course that presented close to half the field with DNFs (did not finish), including teammate and Tahoe athlete Nina O’Brien.
Teammate Mikaela Shiffrin took gold and Paula Moltzan placed 8th.
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