MALIBU, Calif. – The City of South Lake Tahoe will be on the search for a new city manager, after Joe Irvin accepted the position of City Manager for the City of Malibu on Wednesday.
The Malibu council approved an agreement with Irvin during its Wednesday, Dec. 17 meeting. The proposed contract includes an annual salary of $310,000, as well as a monthly incentive of $4,000 per month if he lives within the city limits.
The agreement has a term of four years, which starts March 2, 2026.
Irvin started with South Lake Tahoe in May 2020. The council had just voted to in September 2025 to extend his contract until April 2032. He was making a base salary of about $233,000.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the City of South Lake Tahoe. During my tenure as City Manager, I have worked hard to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the city government. I have also worked to build strong relationships the elected officials, city employees and community members. South Lake Tahoe is a special place and I will always cherish my time spent here,” Irvin told the Tribune.
According to the California State Code, Irvin is required to give South Lake Tahoe a 60-day notice.
After a long dry spell, Tahoe’s holiday forecast is finally showing signs of life for those eager to get back on the mountain. Heavy precipitation expected this weekend could bring high elevation snow, with another storm potentially arriving on Christmas Eve — putting a white Christmas back in play.
According to OpenSnow forecaster Bryan Allegretto, a round of heavy precipitation is forecast to arrive Friday afternoon or evening, bringing rain and high-elevation snow to the Tahoe region. The system is expected to intensify Friday night and continue through the weekend, with temperatures dipping into the 30s at upper elevations and the 40s near base areas from Saturday night through Sunday night.
“The latest model runs show snow levels bouncing between 8,000 and 9,000 feet for most of this storm through Sunday, with the lowest snow levels Saturday morning and the highest on Sunday before falling again Sunday night,” Allegretto said on OpenSnow. “That means back-and-forth rain and snow is possible in that zone near the top of the mountain.”
More significant changes could arrive Monday, as forecasts indicate colder air moving in and a slight southward shift of the atmospheric river. Snow levels could drop to around 7,000 feet on Monday.
With heavy precipitation expected to continue, snowfall could accumulate quickly above the snow line. However, fluctuating snow levels could lead to periods of melting when rain mixes in.
If snow levels dip close to 8,000 feet Saturday and Sunday night, accumulations of 1 to 3 feet of wet snow are possible above 8,000 feet, not accounting for melting. Should snow elevation drop further Monday, several inches to more than a foot of snow could fall above 7,000 feet, explained Allegretto.
However, if the atmospheric river shifts farther north, snow levels may remain above 9,000 feet, limiting snowfall totals and confining accumulation to the highest elevations.
A White Christmas?
Another storm system is forecast to arrive on Christmas Eve and continue through Christmas Day, with some models indicating lingering precipitation into Dec. 26.
Recent model runs have shown the storm’s trough positioned just far enough inland to support a colder system, though confidence remains uncertain, Allegretto said.
“Let’s hope the trend is toward the storm progressing inland and dropping snow levels to the base quickly on Christmas Eve into Christmas Day,” he said. “If we get the colder air, we could see significant snowfall on the mountain to the base.”
From the NHL Outdoors to the Grand Slam of Curling, South Lake Tahoe is no stranger to the world stage, especially when it comes to winter sports. Thanks to a diverse array of indoor and outdoor venues, fully convertible sports arenas, and advanced facilities, you can host any type of competition throughout the year. Nothing compares to the South Shore; find out exactly why below—and start practicing your victory lap.
All-Star Facilities
When it comes to venues, the Tahoe Blue Event Center is your MVP. This state-of-the-art sports complex features an NHL-regulation-sized ice rink, NBA regulation-sized basketball court (that can be converted into a volleyball court), and a multi-purpose arena designed for wrestling, gymnastics, and cheerleading. Basically, if the sport exists, you can probably play it here. The ~27,000 square feet of arena floor space can be configured to accommodate curling, hockey, and figure skating, to name a few. Browse additional specs and capabilities with this handy Tahoe Blue Event Center chart.
Home to an ECHL ice hockey team known as the Knight Monsters, Tahoe Blue Event Center has hosted professional games, concerts, trade shows, conferences, banquets, comedy acts, and various live performances—all with streamlined logistics and top-notch amenities included.
Speaking of logistics, talk about a smooth operator: the center’s multiple locker rooms, exclusive suites, club seats, and spacious back-of-house designated areas are ready for whatever your playbook holds. With seating for around 4,000 fans, modern sightlines, and multiple concourse spaces intended for vendor booths, concessions, and merchandise shops, at least your choice in venues will be a guaranteed win.
Post-Game Experiences
When you’re in South Lake Tahoe, the adrenaline rush continues long after the buzzer sounds. For starters, enjoy the country’s highest concentration of ski resorts within a 100-mile radius. Or come back for another season to take a hike alongside hidden waterfalls, stunning peaks, and lush meadows. You can also roll through our mountain bike trails, with family-friendly paths for starter cyclists to technical climbs for advanced riders. Of course, there are plenty of courses: golf in view of the Sierra Nevada’s granite peaks or along the lake’s shore. South Lake Tahoe’s 300 days of sunshine per year and fresh alpine air will invigorate your athletes’ bodies and minds.
Oh, so you like the nightlife? You like to boogie? We knew you had great taste. Good thing you have full access to 24/7 entertainment. The South Shore holds a trove of craft breweries, lakefront restaurants, casinos, savory steakhouses, vibrant nightclubs, serene beaches, and eclectic shops, all within walking distance of your venue or hotel. How convenient. And while we always keep the South Shore updated, we also contain rich history. Walk in the footsteps of Mark Twain, visit a castle, or dive into our underwater state park to scope out a shipwreck.
South Lake Tahoe has also covered your bases when it comes to top-rated, family-friendly activities. Have your kiddos done enough outdoor adventuring for the day? We get it. The Puzzle Room Tahoe, magic shows at The Loft, all-ages games at multiple arcades, and indoor-mini golf are sure to keep them occupied (and wear them out before bedtime).
You Call the Transportation Shots
This isn’t your average sporting event destination, so we don’t have your average transportation. Lake Link, a free microtransit shuttle system, provides on-demand rides 365 days per year, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). Equipped with bike and ski racks, the shuttles include wheelchair accessibility and supplemental services.
We’re also only a short drive away from Reno-Tahoe International Airport, with a direct airport shuttle, the South Tahoe Airporter, at hand when you need it most. And the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) recently expanded its Route 50 Express Service to offer rides for select Tahoe Blue Event Center events as well as late-night rides on the weekends. This extended service provides convenient, reliable, and free transportation, supporting a variety of events for both locals and visitors alike. Make the most of your time here with scenic tours and bus rentals. The fleet consists of three luxurious, 28-passenger mini-coaches for local, regional, and statewide destinations. Plus, our company is the only one to ever offer tours from Lake Tahoe to San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. You can book bus charters and rentals for all occasions, such as weddings, corporate events, airport transfers, and private tours.
Where Sports are Always in Season
At 6,224 ft. above sea level, everything is elevated in South Lake Tahoe. We keep you at the top of your game 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Nestled amid the continent’s largest alpine lake and the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, it’s easy to see why the South Shore is a highly sought-after event destination. Browse our starting lineup of sports venues and see for yourself.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Do you want your child to learn in English and Spanish? Bijou Community School is now accepting commitment forms for its Two Way Bilingual Immersion TK and kindergarten classes for the 2026-2027 school year.
Bijou Community School brings together English and Spanish speaking students TK through 5th grade in its Two Way Bilingual Immersion program by supporting them to learn to read, write, speak and listen in two languages. The program has three goals: bilingualism and biliteracy, high academic achievement in English and Spanish and sociocultural competency.
The TWBI TK program at Bijou is run 50% in Spanish and 50% in English. The Kindergarten through 5th grade program follows the 90:10 model, meaning that 90% of instruction in Kindergarten is in Spanish and 10% is in English. Each year, the percentage of English increases until in 5th grade 50% of instruction is in English and 50% is in Spanish. Bijou Community School also has an active parent volunteer program that includes classroom volunteering and 16 different volunteer committee opportunities. It has a Boys and Girls Club on site for after-school care.
The Bijou TWBI program admits students through a lottery process. Students who turn 5 by September 1st, 2026 are eligible for Kindergarten next year. Students who turn 4 by September 1, 2026 will be eligible for TK. Interested parents should call Martha Ubias or Julia Cedano at (530) 543-2337 and submit a completed TWBI commitment form to the office in order to participate in the lottery. Please visit Bijou.ltusd.org for more information about our program. Tours are available and commitment forms are due on February 13, 2026.
The Douglas County School District is seeking community involvement in upcoming budget decisions.
A survey, which opened on Monday, seeks to gather valuable input from parents and students in grades 6-12, employees, and community members to guide the districts budgetary decisions.
The survey will remain active until 5 p.m. Dec. 22. Participants are encouraged to share their perspectives on which programs, services, and operational area’s should be prioritized, maintained, or potentially reduced. The feedback collected will play a crucial role in shaping the district’s fiscal strategies, ensuing that resources are aligned with the community’s values and educational priorities.
Superintendent Frankie Alvarado emphasized the importance of community involvement in the budgeting process.
“The budget is more than just numbers”, said Alvarado. “It is a reflection of shared educational goals. By participating in the survey, stakeholders can help the district make informed decisions that maintain transparency, and foster an open, collaborative environment.
The district urges all eligible participants to complete the survey promptly to ensure their voices are heard and considered in the upcoming budgetary decisions. The results will help inform reduction decisions and align resources with the priorities valued most by the community.
STATELINE, Nev. — The Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) announced upcoming service changes to Routes 50 and 55 that will take effect January 4, 2026. These adjustments are designed to improve route efficiency, enhance service reliability, and better coordinate connections for riders throughout the South Shore.
“These service changes reflect our ongoing commitment to providing a transit system that is dependable, well-coordinated, and responsive to the needs of riders throughout the South Shore,” said Jim Marino, Executive Director of the Tahoe Transportation District. “Community feedback has been essential, and we look forward to delivering service enhancements that improve reliability, strengthen connections, and support seamless travel.”
ROUTE 50 UPDATES
Route 50 will operate under revised patterns for both the westbound and eastbound trips. Eastbound service will now terminate at the Kingsbury Transit Center (KTC), with the Stateline Transit Center serving as a key transfer point for riders connecting to/from Route 55. A scheduled layover will occur at KTC.
Westbound service will originate at KTC and will no longer serve the US50/Bigler stop, nor will it serve the Stateline Transit Center (STC). Passengers needing a westbound connection near STC should board at the US 50/Stateline Ave (Caesar’s) stop.
Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) will now be served by Route 50 in both directions. Westbound trips will bypass the Y Transit Center, complete the D Street loop, and then pull into the Y Transit Center for a scheduled layover.
ROUTE 55 UPDATES
Eastbound service for Route 55 will begin at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and end at the Stateline Transit Center (STC), where a layover will take place and riders can transfer to Route 50 eastbound to Kingsbury Transit Center (KTC).
Westbound service will start at the STC and conclude at LTCC, with a scheduled layover at LTCC, where riders can connect to Route 50 to continue westbound to the Y Transit Center.
Note: Route stops between LTCC and STC will not be altered. These adjustments are intended to strengthen service coordination with Route 50 and improve overall system reliability.
Download the Transit app for real-time schedules, route updates, and trip planning or visit www.tahoetransportation.org/transit/.
For details on Tahoe Transportation District and its current projects, visit www.TahoeTransportation.org or call (775) 589-5500.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Kris Terrian, former Major League Baseball and U.S. Ski Team athletic trainer, sports rehabilitation and recovery specialist, has traveled all over the world. From second-assisting orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kyle Swanson, in the operating room at Barton Memorial Hospital to serving professional and collegiate athletes, when it comes to physical health and optimization, Terrian has experienced it all. Now, he’s established his own practice, bringing high-level sports medicine, strength training and individualized rehabilitation to the community.
KT Performance Therapy is accepting new clients nowVictoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Early in his career as a clinical athletic trainer at Barton, Terrian was given the opportunity to work with the U.S. Ski Team as they set out to compete every winter. “I traveled to every country you can name,” said Terrian. “The highest I got was the World Cup, and I was part of the World Cup Championship with [American alpine skiers] Ted Ligety and Mikaela Shiffrin.”
Becoming hooked on an avenue of sports medicine beyond serving clients on the sidelines, Terrian said, “The clinic was the coolest thing ever, seeing surgeries, going over MRIs with the doctor, casting, splints. I was doing everything, as a physician assistant would, and traveling with the ski team, I made huge contacts, just traveling the globe.”
Terrian eventually met his wife in South Lake Tahoe, and not longer after, scored a job with the Boston Red Sox, then the Philadelphia Phillies, and just kept climbing. “I went all the way from the very bottom level of Minor Leagues, all the way to the Major Leagues.”
He and his family bounced around the country, and their past four years were spent in Los Angeles while he served as a personal, private athletic trainer to Markus (Mookie) Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, shortstop and second baseman.
With hopes of returning to Tahoe, Terrian decided after his fourth year in Southern California, that it was time. “We always wanted to come back,” Terrian said. “It’s been our dream, and we’ve been manifesting it since we met.”
With Terrian’s wife being familiar with the North area of Lake Tahoe, he soon learned the demand for enhanced, personalized performance therapy was present.
Terrian’s unique approach to serving his clients surpasses the high-end equipment he has in his strength training room. “The focal point and unique service I offer, in comparison to most, is the recovery and maintenance modalities that include dry needling, cupping, instrument assisted soft-tissue mobilization, compression devices, heat therapy, blood flow restriction, and deep oscillation therapy for lymphatic therapy.”
Performance training area/strength training room inside KT Performance TherapyVictoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Daily Tribune
KT Performance Therapy is a one-stop-shop, and Terrian brings years worth of experience and education to the table as a dual licensed, board certified trainer and specialist, offering a cash-based method of one-on-one services to a variety of people, whether you’re a skier, snowboarder, firefighter, someone who strives to maintain an athletic lifestyle, or you’re looking to prevent or heal injuries.
KT Performance Therapy treatment room is used for optimizing physical function, assessment and moreVictoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Daily Tribune
If you’re interested in a personalized approach to your physical health, where programs are developed based on individual needs, visit ktperformancetherapy.com to book an appointment. If you have questions, call (779) 519-1251 or email kt@ktperformancetherapy.com
KT Performance Therapy is located at 120 Country Club Dr, #30 in Incline Village.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – With higher parking fees and gas prices, not to mention the traffic, driving to Tahoe to ski or snowboard is more expensive than ever. Kaia Colban said she was tired of looking on Facebook and Reddit for carpools, and launched RideShareTahoe as a singular place for people to seek rideshares and carpools.
Colban used to work in the tech world, and while she says technology can sometimes contribute to loneliness, “It doesn’t have to be that way.” She founded the nonprofit ShareVita, which aims to connect people. Their first venture? ShareSkippy, a site where dog owners can connect with other dog lovers, letting “pup pals” take the canines on walks, hikes, adventures or just snuggle up with them for the day.
Skiing was another place where Colban found a big community. “One of my best friends was a guy I met while hitchhiking back home from the chairlift,” she said. “But it was challenging to find one central place to get a ride.”
Colban lives in Oakland and knows that plenty of people in the Bay Area want to come up to the mountains. “It’s a beautiful place in the summer and in the winter, but when we’re always driving up, the toll on the environment is astronomical,” she said. So, carpooling with others makes it cheaper for everyone, gets cars off the road and is better for the environment.
RideShareTahoe was just launched on Saturday and displays upcoming rides, verifies accounts through email and phone numbers, lets you choose if you’re a driver or passenger (or both) and helps filter by day of travel.
“There are things like BlaBlaCar for other countries, which we just don’t really have in the United States,” said Colban. “We’re not trying to be the next BlaBlaCar necessarily, but there’s a niche there we could fill.”
Colban currently works as the safety manager for the team and recognizes that there are always some risks with ridesharing. Still, she wanted to implement features like IP address and phone number tracking, as well as license plate storage that would deter bad actors from using the site.
While right now, the site markets itself to Bay Area skiers and snowboarders, Colban sees the potential of being able to use the site for Tahoe locals to carpool from south shore to north shore and vice versa. “I’d like it to expand to locals, to people you could pick up in cities along the way—people could even use this in the summertime,” said Colban.
Though the snowfall this year has been disappointing, Colban is still excited to come up and ski with friends, saying Tahoe is “like a second home to her.”
“I hope RideShareTahoe will get some cars off the road, help preserve ecosystems for animals and for us and to protect the lake,” said Colban. “All the beautiful fresh air and trees I love when skiing—that environment is something I want to protect.”
LAKE TAHOE, Nev. / Calif. – After an incredibly dry half of December, the basin finally has precipitation in sight, though the forecasted rain has many hoping for colder temperatures.
The slow start to winter has resulted in ski resorts delaying opening dates to an undetermined time, while resorts that have opened are running on limited terrain.
Here’s the latest on resorts as of Tues. Dec. 16:
Open resorts
Heavenly Ski Resort
7 lifts
6 trails (California side only)
KirkwoodMountain Resort
3 lifts
1 trail
NorthstarCalifornia Resort
4 lifts
4 trails
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
3 lifts
6 trails
Palisades Tahoe
2 lifts
1 trails
BorealMountain
2 lifts
3 trails
To be determined
Resorts with opening dates to be determined include:
Diamond Peak Ski Resort
Homewood Mountain Resort
Donner Ski Ranch
Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Resort
Sierra-At-Tahoe Resort
After opening limited terrain in early December, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort recently announced it is now temporarily closed and will reopen as soon as conditions allow.
The storm
According to OpenSnow, the forecast for the Tahoe area calls for rain throughout the week with wet snow above 9,000 feet.
A colder storm may arrive by Christmas Eve and into the last week of December, potentially bringing long-awaited snow.
The Warrior Way Paid Parking Program had another successful summer charging nonresident beachgoers for parking at the location bringing a revenue of $160,201.67.
During the Nov. 20 Douglas County School Board meeting, Community Services Director Brook Adie and Deputy Director Ryan Stanton, presented the board about the program and awarded the district’s cut of its profit earned. School board trustees approved an interlocal contract between Douglas County and the school district for The Warrior Way Paid Parking Program, which begins June 1, 2026, through Oct. 1, 2031.
The Zephyr Cove parent Group/Whittell Boosters had already been volunteering and managing the parking at Warrior Way prior to connecting with the County to create a program that could help the schools at the Lake, the district, and Douglas County.
Adie said the program came before the school board in 2023 from Douglas County Assistant Manager Scott Morgan as an idea to implement a parking program on Warrior Way at Zephyr Cove Park, Zephyr Cove Library, Zephyr Cove Elementary School, and Whittell High School to help offset some of the issues that were happening at the Zephyr Cove resort.
“In 2023 there was significant use at the beach, including a lot of garbage, and we made national news for the issues that were happening at the beach, and we figured we needed to step in and do something,” said Adie.
Adie said the parking program was designed to accomplish several things, especially to enhance user experience at the beach and work toward helping with some of the capacity issues, sanitation, and garbage.
The pilot program in 2024 brought in $153,730.24, which was split between Zephyr Cove Parent Group/ Whittell Boosters with $30,000; Douglas County School District $40,834.18, and Douglas County Community Services with $40,834.17.
This year, the program saw a total of 4,183 cars parked, marking a 20.6 percent increase from 2024.
Douglas County residents took advantage of the parking, increasing by 62.74 percent of resident usage with 984 locals parked at the location.
Despite the increase in parking, volunteer participation from the parent club and boosters from Zephyr Cove Elementary School saw a decline. Total volunteer hours decreased 37.26 percent from the previous year, amounting to 163.75 hours.
The parent group has historically managed parking at Warrior Way, which has served as a significant fundraiser for their activities.
“This longstanding involvement has been crucial in supporting various programs, and the current rate was determined based on the historical revenue generated by these groups,” said Adie.
Financially, the program reported total expensed of $31,454.32 against the total $160,201.67 revenue, resulting in a net profit of $128,747.35.
The distribution of the profit was allocated as follows; $30,000 to the Zephyr Cove Parent Group/ Whittell Booster, and $49,683.05 each to the Douglas County School District and Douglas County Community Services.
STATELINE, Nev. — The Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA) is now accepting registrations for its Hybrid Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course with NOLS Wilderness Medicine, taking place February 16-20, 2026 in Stateline, Nevada. This training is the gold standard for guides, outdoor professionals, and backcountry enthusiasts.
With limited capacity and strong regional interest, the TRTA encourages early registration for those planning to earn or renew their WFR certification. The hybrid format combines online coursework with five days of hands-on instruction, scenario practice, and essential skills for responding to emergencies in remote environments.
“Offering this nationally recognized training here in Tahoe ensures our community has access to the highest level of backcountry preparedness,” said Lindsey Schultz, Executive Director of the TRTA.
Course Details: Dates: February 16–20, 2026 Format: Hybrid (online modules + in-person training) Location: Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Stateline, NV Instructor: NOLS Wilderness Medicine Cost: $1,130–$1,255 (TRTA members receive 10% off) Learn more and register at: tahoerimtrail.org/event/hwfr-feb-2026
In 2018, Leah Wzientek and her husband, Rusty Donlon, opened Gear Hut, a multisport used gear shop, in midtown Reno.
That winter, they took a cross-country ski setup — boots, skis, poles — in for consignment and watched the setup collect dust. The following winter, it still didn’t move.
But then Nevada Nordic, a nonprofit group dedicated to making cross-country skiing on public lands accessible, started grooming free cross-country ski trails in the Mount Rose area. Now, cross-country skis are the most popular item Gear Hut sells, Wzientek said. She estimates they sell more than 120 pairs a season, most within less than 24 hours of being consigned.
“We can’t hold on to them,” she said.
Outdoor recreation is big business. A record 180 million Americans recreated outside last year, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. And while the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis has loosely tracked the industry’s effects on state economies for several years, Nevada has long lacked state-specific data on how hiking, boating, skiing and other outdoor activities are affecting its economy.
An economic analysis released in November by the Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation answers that question, finding that outdoor recreation across Nevada and the Tahoe Basin (including the California side) provided an estimated $24 billion in economic benefits in 2023 and jobs for more than 75,000 people.
The analysis had a broad definition of outdoor recreation, measuring the economic impact of the 159 million annual visits to recreation areas across the state ranging from neighborhood parks to Great Basin National Park, and it substantially dwarfs federal estimates that took a narrower definition and estimate around $8 billion and 58,000 jobs.
It provides the state’s first data-driven picture of the full scope of outdoor recreation, according to division administrator Denise Beronio.
“People come here for a quality of life they might not be able to get somewhere else because of the diverse and vast public lands we have,” Beronio said. “It’s really a pillar for Nevada’s identity.”
The ensuing outdoor recreation “is an economic driver for our state,” Beronio said. “And this shows the data, shows the importance.”
The analysis includes key findings such as the percent of recreation that occurs in rural versus urban communities, tax revenue and division of local versus nonlocal visitors. Using federal data, it also shows outdoor recreation having a larger effect on the state’s gross domestic product than another flagship industry — mining.
It also highlights opportunities for improvement, including workforce development and creating a dedicated funding source for outdoor recreation initiatives in the state.
“Outdoor recreation isn’t a ‘nice-to-have,'” Beronio said. “‘It’s a ‘must-have.'”
Consumer surplus” refers to the value people receive from enjoying Nevada’s outdoor recreational opportunities. “Ripple effects” refer to the secondary impacts from spending on outdoor recreation
A little California bonus …
The statewide analysis paints the sector as more of an economic powerhouse than federal data, which shows the outdoor recreation industry contributed $8.1 billion to Nevada’s gross domestic product in 2023. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) cited the federal numbers earlier this year while questioning some of President Donald Trump’s policies.
But authors of the state-commissioned report say differences in data sources and methods, including the federal bureau’s decision not to include self-employed workers (common in outdoor recreation sectors such as guiding), means the agency paints an incomplete picture of Nevada’s benefits from outdoor recreation.
Mandi Elliott, executive director of the Nevada Outdoor Business Coalition, did not return calls or emails from The Nevada Independent. But in a recent op-ed, she pointed out that Nevada’s numbers are “significant.”
“They reflect real livelihoods: outfitters, guide services, gear shops, lodging, trail maintenance contractors, transportation, food services and countless small businesses across rural and urban Nevada,” she wrote. “Many small business owners say they chose Nevada precisely because of access to public lands.”
Comparing federal data, outdoor recreation substantially surpasses mining’s $5.1 billion to the state’s GDP, although it still trails manufacturing and gaming, according to the analysis.
The numbers also don’t fully align with federal data because they include the financial benefits garnered from outdoor recreation on the California side of Lake Tahoe (which accounts for roughly $1 billion of economic output).
“When you go to the Tahoe Basin, visitors don’t care too much about the state line,” said Johnny Mojica, chief operating officer and recreation economist at Radbridge, the firm that drafted the analysis. “We felt that it would be a more useful tool for the land managers there to have a more holistic look at the whole basin.”
The report also highlighted intangible benefits, which amount to an additional $10 billion for the state, including offsetting more than $2 billion in health costs by getting outside each year and an extra $8.2 billion in what the analysis referred to as “consumer surplus” — the difference between what someone is willing to pay and what they actually spend on a trip. For example, if a person is willing to spend up to $120 for a daylong hiking trip but their actual expenses only amount to $40, they receive $80 in consumer surplus.
These numbers are important for policymakers to consider when making decisions, Mojica said.
“Are people going to be happier, are people going to be better off?” he asked. “That allows us to say, ‘OK, it’s a worthwhile investment.'”
Skiers enjoy early season conditions on Nov. 26, 2025, at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe. (Amy Alonzo/The Nevada Independent)
Moving forward
Although outdoor recreation is growing, the report suggests there is more the state can do to spur further activity.
The creation of the outdoor recreation division in 2019 through legislation was a big step — Nevada is now one of roughly two dozen states that have dedicated outdoor recreation divisions.
Next steps outlined by the report could include creating a dedicated outdoor recreation trust fund and building a structured workforce development pipeline.
In 2019, Nevada lawmakers passed AB331 to develop a grant program “within the limits of available resources” for outdoor education and recreation programs. During the 2025 session, lawmakers expanded that scope through SB21 to create a second bucket for funding infrastructure, although there is no money in that pot yet.
Creating a permanent trust fund similar to those in other states could provide consistent funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs, the report pointed out.
In Texas, revenue from state sales tax on sporting goods is directed to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission where it helps address state park maintenance backlogs and supports park grants. In Missouri, a one-tenth-of-1-percent sales tax generates approximately $90 to 100 million annually for state parks and conservation efforts, helping make all of Missouri’s 92 state parks free to enter.
And having a trained workforce to fill positions at parks and recreation sites would also benefit the state. The division and UNR recently partnered to launch a specialization in sustainable outdoor recreation management and a minor in outdoor adventure and leadership, but the state’s universities don’t currently offer a broader outdoor recreation degree.
The report shows “what resources we need, where we need funding, where we need people,” Beronio said. “This is a bipartisan effort that outdoor recreation is for everybody.”
RENO, Nev. — The Truckee Meadows Firefighter Foundation (TMFF) is deeply saddened by the recent tragedy involving members of our fire family and is accepting donations to support its firefighter family assistance efforts in response to the sudden loss of Battalion Chief Ryan Rizzuto and his wife, Danielle.
“Our hearts are with the Rizzuto children, their loved ones, coworkers, and all those now facing an unimaginable loss,” said TMFF President Alexander Doerr. “It’s times like these that we as a community are called upon to show up for our neighbors, friends, and colleagues in the way we’d hope they would for us. Ryan Rizzuto and his wife dedicated their lives to the fire service and this community — and from the way the community is already showing up, it’s clear they were deeply loved and appreciated.”
The Foundation has confirmed that the Rizzuto children are currently well cared for by close family and are surrounded by a strong network of love, stability, and support. In alignment with its mission, TMFF provides charitable assistance to firefighter families facing sudden loss, including support for children and caregivers, in coordination with family guardians and care teams and in accordance with the Foundation’s charitable guidelines.
Those wishing to contribute may do so through TMFF’s official, verified donation page at TMFirefighterFoundation.org. Donations support the Foundation’s firefighter family assistance efforts and enable TMFF to provide financial and humanitarian aid to families impacted by serious illness, injury, or loss.
On behalf of the entire fire service community, TMFF thanks the public for the overwhelming compassion, generosity, and solidarity shown during this difficult time.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. –The City of South Lake Tahoe Administrative Offices will be closed in observance of holidays on Wednesday, December 24, Thursday, December 25, and Friday, January 1.
In addition, several offices and customer service counters will have modified hours surrounding the holiday period:
TRUCKEE, Calif. — In the winter of 2021–22, a group of skiers, snowboarders and filmmakers in the Truckee – Tahoe region turned their cameras toward a problem affecting their own community: a severe housing crisis that has forced locals, including many who make the mountains their home, to leave.
Their motivation wasn’t just curiosity — it was personal. They wanted to tell the stories of people who, like them, live for the slopes but struggle to find a place to live in Tahoe.
“When the winter started, I knew I wanted to work on a ski-related film project ‘about something,’ but I didn’t yet know what that would be,” said film director Elizabeth Cameron. “Very quickly, housing emerged as the most urgent issue affecting both myself and my peers. It was what everyone was struggling with in real time.”
While ski towns are often viewed as idyllic vacation destinations, their reality is far more complicated. Harsh winters, wildfire risk, limited buildable land, and seasonal demand all contribute to an increasingly severe housing crunch.
The resulting documentary, completed in 2023, Room and Board, examines how the housing crisis in the Truckee – Tahoe region is impacting the local ski and snowboard community. It explores the data and root causes behind the issue, highlights solutions local communities are pursuing, and centers the voices of residents who continue to choose Tahoe for both the lifestyle and the sense of place it offers.
The film traveled widely on the festival circuit, screening in towns and cities across the United States and even reaching a resort town in Australia, where audiences recognized their own housing struggles reflected on screen.
Just a month ago, Room and Board was made available for free on YouTube, expanding its reach and inviting a broader audience into the conversation.
After two years since its original launch, Cameron said the film has helped raise awareness about the housing crisis in ski towns and pointed to progress at the community level, where advocacy and development efforts are beginning to make a difference.
Still, Cameron cautioned that broader challenges remain. How housing is allocated, along with growing wealth inequality, continues to shape who can afford to live in places like Tahoe. The film highlights the choices individuals can make to protect the character of their communities — from deciding who to sell a home to, to advocating for long-term, sustainable housing solutions.
Despite the complexity of the issue, Cameron sees hope. She believes conversations around housing are growing stronger, with more local governments and organizations stepping in and momentum building.
“Right after finishing the film, I felt pretty discouraged. Housing in desirable places like Tahoe is influenced more than anything by wealth inequality,” Cameron said. “I’m not sure how to solve the problem of living in an economic system that has, and continues to create, ever-growing wealth inequality. It’s a complex issue, but there is genuine movement in the right direction.”
She hopes that by making the film widely available, more people will see it and join the conversation around the housing crisis in Lake Tahoe and Truckee.
ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. – After financial difficulties and heightened oversight in Douglas County school district, the district is considering making changes to Zephyr Cove Elementary and George Whittell High School. The schools may be consolidated or students at the lake may be sent down to attend schools in the valley.
On December 3, the district had a special board meeting, where they discussed the 2025 fiscal year and budget reduction ideas. The district is facing ongoing financial problems and has heightened oversight on its finances. Part of the issue, they say, is that much of the locally generated revenue is redistributed to other counties, primarily Clark and Washoe.
That funding structure comes through the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan (PCFP), which Nevada adopted in 2019. One challenge for districts is that some of what used to be local revenues, such as the Local School Support Tax, were redirected into the State Education Fund and distributed through the PCFP, which are now reported as state contributions instead.
During their discussion for budget reductions, they considered reducing staffing as well as the capacity of each school.
The lakeside schools in the district have much higher capacity than the valley schools. While one board member proposed potentially sending kids from the valley up the lake, another argued that in matters of distance, it made more sense to send Lake Tahoe students down to the valley.
In prior years, the county closed Kingsbury Middle School while facing similar challenges.
The district is considering school consolidations, including consolidating Zephyr Cove and George Whittell into a single K-12 school. They may also consider closing one or both of the schools.
Parents of students at Zephyr Cove Elementary or George Whittell High School can attend the December 18 board meeting and provide a comment in person, or they can send a comment to suptoffice@dcsd.k12.nv.us no later than 12:30 p.m. the day of the meeting. The board is expected to make a decision on school closures in February.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID) is pleased to announce key leadership updates in its Finance Department.
Effective December 10, 2025, Noemi Barter was promoted to Director of Finance, succeeding Jessica O’Connell, who will transition to a new role in the Finance department as Management Analyst – Procurement.
Barter, a licensed CPA, joined IVGID in August 2025 as Finance Manager, part of the District’s succession planning. She brings more than 15 years of experience auditing and consulting for local governments, most recently with Baker Tilly, where she supported IVGID’s 2024 fiscal year audit. Barter earned her B.A. from The Ohio State University in 2004 and an M.A. in Accounting from Golden Gate University in 2010.
“I look forward to Noemi continuing the excellent work that Jessica has already begun,” said District General Manager Robert Harrison. “We’re making strong progress in meeting the Department of Taxation’s Fiscal Watch requirements.”
Barter added, “While challenges remain, we’ve made great strides, and I’m eager to build on that momentum.”
The Finance Manager position Barter originally held will not be refilled.
Jessica O’Connell joined IVGID in December 2024 as a Special Projects Analyst and was appointed Finance Director in January 2025. She now assumes the procurement role to help the District prepare for upcoming capital projects.
“The Procurement position has been vacant since 2023,” Harrison said. “As we gear up for large-scale projects, we need someone with Jessica’s financial insight to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.”
O’Connell will lead a full redevelopment of IVGID’s purchasing policies and procedures to ensure effective contract management and regulatory compliance.
STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters were defeated by the Tulsa Oilers to close out a three-game road trip 3-2.
In the first period, it was Knight Monsters enforcer Anthony Collins showing his offensive skills as he buried a pass from Blake Wells to make it 1-0 Tahoe. That was Collins’ first goal of the season, and the assist from Wells was his first career ECHL point.
In the second, the Oilers tied the game at the 5:23 mark thanks to Josh Nelson’s sixth goal of the season. At the 11:59 mark, Konnor Smith buried his third goal of the year to give Tulsa a 2-1 lead. In the final five minutes, Devon Paliani was able to finish a chance in the slot off a pretty pass from Sloan Stanick to tie the game at 2 heading into the third period. With that goal, Paliani became the third Knight Monster this season to reach 10 goals.
In the final 20, it only took the opening two minutes for the Oilers to find the back of the net as the team leader in goals, Easton Armstrong, scored again to put the Oilers back in front 3-2. In the final five minutes, the Knight Monsters took the ice with nearly four minutes to operate on a 5-on-3 power play; however, Tahoe was unable to capitalize as Vyacheslav Buteyets shut the door to give Tulsa a 3-2 win.
The Knight Monsters return home on Wednesday, December 17, to take on the Wichita Thunder at Tahoe Blue Event Center for Country Knight. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm, with pregame coverage on the Knight Monsters broadcast network beginning at 6:50 pm. Ticket packages for the 2025-26 season are now available. For more information, visit www.knightmonstershockey.com
The market marches along driven mostly by investors (I use the term loosely) unfazed by the shutdown, deficits, potentially rising inflation, the confusing roll-out of tariffs, credit exposure, the economic outlook, and sky-high valuations. No matter. It’s a bull market.
Wall Street was recently rattled by excessive AI spending and U.S. Stocks fell five percent. Financial assets of all kinds were toxic…until they weren’t. Call it profit-taking.
Twenty-five years ago the internet was a sea change event. It became a bubble but no one doubted that it was a real development. Some companies made money, many did not.
AI is also a sea change development that will impact companies large and small and ordinary people across the planet. But every day I see foolish investors, like those who chased internet and computer stocks, paying too much for too little (or nothing). Famed hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones likens this bull market to the one that ended with the dot-com collapse in 2000.
Which AI stocks will survive and which won’t is a guessing game. But investors are not paying too much for energy infrastructure companies because the trends are powerful and have long legs. Amazon, Microsoft and Google will spend $2.8 trillion by 2029 building data centers. Those centers will require a massive amount of electricity that will come partly from windmills and solar panels but also from gas-fired plants. A small number of pipeline companies control the transportation, processing and storage of natural gas. Among major companies those are Williams Cos. and Kinder Morgan.
Earnings expectations and ultimately good results are keys to a bull market’s staying power. I pay attention to changes in estimates and specifically target prices. The trend has been encouraging. Companies are raising their guidance and as a group analysts’ targets are rising, too. S&P 500 earnings are expected to grow 14 percent in 2026. That’s why stocks are rising.
This is the time of year we begin to expect rising prices dubbed a Santa Claus rally. Not every year but a rally comes more often than not. There are enough positives for growth and earnings to sustain a repeat as cash leaves lower yielding money market funds. And enough negatives, including tariffs and high valuations, plus concentration in a few stocks, to say otherwise. I am an optimist. I like what I like. Drugs and healthcare stocks especially are looking up. Energy infrastructure as well.
David Vomund is an Incline Village-based fee-only money manager. Information is found at www.VomundInvestments.com or by calling 775-832-8555. Clients hold the positions mentioned in this article. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial advisor before purchasing any security.
Colin West, Founder & CEO of Clean Up The LakePetra Molina / Sierra Sun
TAHOE CITY, Calif. — On Thursday morning, divers stepped into drysuits, freedivers adjusted wetsuits, and kayakers and jet skiers moved into position along Tahoe City’s shoreline as Clean Up The Lake prepared for the first official dives of its newest project.
The Tahoe-based nonprofit, known for its environmental dive team and SCUBA cleanups, completed the lake’s first 72-mile cleanup at depths of 0 to 25 feet in 2021 and 2022. Now, the team is returning to circle the entire shoreline again, this time targeting deeper waters.
“Embarking on this so-called ‘second lap’ of Lake Tahoe used to be something we would joke about ever being needed — yet after almost four years and hundreds of research dives later at these deeper depths, we’ve realized this is exactly what Lake Tahoe is calling for us to do,” said CUTL Founder Colin West.
The new project will extend the team’s work an additional 30 feet beyond the original effort, with divers operating between 35 and 55 feet around the lake. Their priorities include removing as much litter as possible, GPS-marking heavy debris they can’t immediately retrieve, and reporting any historical artifacts, aquatic invasive species or algal blooms to partnering agencies.
“If our projections are correct, this project could result in an additional 17,000 to 29,000 pounds of litter being removed from these deeper zones of Lake Tahoe,” said CUTL’s Programs Manager Jenny Uvira.
Divers collected 15–20 pounds of debris within the first 30 minutes of the first dive.Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
The Deep Clean has been in development for more than three years. CUTL conducted two years of monitoring to test the strategy, completed 60 deep-dive surveys, and ran a pilot research program in partnership with the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA) in 2024–25. Launching the full-scale project marks what the organization calls a major step in understanding and mitigating long-term impacts of submerged litter and plastic degradation in Tahoe.
The deeper dives also require new technology, including diver propulsion vehicles and enriched air nitrox, to safely increase bottom time and efficiency at altitude.
West estimates the project will take two to three years and cost just over half a million dollars. CUTL still needs to secure roughly half of the funding to complete the full circumference.
Funding for the first half of the cleanup comes from partners including the North Tahoe Community Alliance and its TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Program, The Martis Fund, Martis Camp Foundation, Tahoe Mountain Resorts Foundation, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, The Rose Foundation, Tahoe Fund and Tahoe City Marina. However, additional funding will be needed as the team moves into the South Shore and is encouraging donors, corporations and foundations to step forward.
“When I ran a film and television company focused on wine and food, I didn’t think my job was to pick up trash — but it was,” West said. “No matter what position individuals are in life, it is their job to protect our backyard.”
Clean Up The Lake’s dive team and surface support crew are made up entirely of volunteers.Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
CUTL Programs Manager Jenny Uvira supports divers from a jet ski during the first official dive of the 72-mile clean up project.Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
Clean up operations rely heavily on SCUBA volunteers and surface support volunteers.Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
When someone says, “I’d rather be happy,” in response to healthy eating, it implies that healthful food is inherently less pleasurable than ultra-processed foods (UPFs). But the evidence suggests the trade-off is more complicated. UPFs can deliver powerful, immediate reward signals, yet the features that make them feel irresistible can also train the brain to seek them more often, more automatically, and sometimes with less lasting satisfaction.
Wanting vs. Liking
Neuroscience helps clarify why. The brain can separate “wanting” (the motivational pull or craving to obtain something) from “liking” (the pleasure felt during consumption). These processes can come apart: wanting can intensify even when liking does not. In everyday life, wanting is boosted by cues: stress, routines, enticing packaging, and repeated exposure along familiar routes (for example, passing favorite fast-food locations). When those cues activate the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, dopamine can amplify motivation and attention toward the food, making it feel urgent or “worth it” in the moment. But the act of eating may not be deeply enjoyable every time, especially when it is habitual or rushed.
Why UPFs Can Be Hard to “Use Casually”
UPFs are often engineered for rapid, reliable reward: convenient, energy-dense, and easy to consume quickly. Research on addictive-like eating patterns finds that foods most associated with loss-of-control features tend to be highly processed, particularly those combining refined carbohydrates and fats. Tools such as the Yale Food Addiction Scale operationalize substance-use-like features in eating behavior. This does not mean “food addiction” is a formal diagnosis in the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a clinical handbook used to classify mental health conditions). However, it supports a key point: some individuals experience a stronger cue-driven pull with certain UPFs than with minimally processed foods.
Stress and Cognitive Load Makes the Pull Stronger
Hard food moments often occur when cognitive and emotional resources are low. Stress and cognitive fatigue can impair the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the brain region central to planning, impulse control, and long-range decision-making. When the PFC is taxed, immediate rewards can feel louder and more urgent. This is not a character flaw; it is biology interacting with a food environment designed for convenience, intensity, and constant prompting.
The Happiness Factor – Consider Long Term Health
This debate is also about outcomes. In a tightly controlled inpatient randomized trial, participants ate about 500 more calories per day on an ultra-processed diet compared with an unprocessed diet and gained weight over two weeks; participants also reported broadly similar ratings of diet palatability. Prospective cohort data link higher UPF intake with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Over time, these consequences can erode “happiness” by affecting energy, mobility, sleep, mood, and medical burden.
Pleasure Can Recalibrate
The hopeful news is that taste and reward responses can shift. In classic research, long-term sodium reduction changed salt taste responses and preferences. With sweetness, reducing simple sugars can increase perceived sweetness intensity, so smaller amounts taste sweeter, though pleasantness may change more slowly and varies by person. Many people find that as UPFs become less dominant, whole foods become more vivid and satisfying, and cravings become less cue-driven and more choice-driven.
Conclusion
For those seeking a better relationship with food, one that includes pleasure and health, registered dietitians (RDs) can help translate evidence into realistic, sustainable strategies. RD guidance can reduce UPF “pull” while supporting steady patterns that feel grounded rather than restrictive.
About the Author
Patrick Traynor, PhD, MPH, RD, CSOWM, CPT, is a registered dietitian and founder of MNT Scientific, LLC (MNTScientific.com), an insurance-based nutrition practice serving South Lake Tahoe, CA; Minden, NV; and Ashland, OR. He holds the Interdisciplinary Specialist Certification in Obesity and Weight Management (CSOWM) from the Commission on Dietetic Registration. Virtual appointments are available via telehealth. For inquiries or appointments, visit MNTScientific.com, dial (530)429-7363, or email info@mntscientific.com.
We all know Lake Tahoe is famous for its skiing and snowboarding scene. But what if you want to take a break from that and do something else. Or maybe the snow hasn’t come yet? Well, of course, you can still ski on man-made snow and the experience is great. However, there are a ton of things to do in Tahoe during the winter months that don’t need getting on a chairlift.
1. Lake Tahoe Cruise
Tahoe’s blue is best experienced from a boat. Book one of the Tahoe cruises and immerse yourself in the crisp mountain air and the blue water. Seeing the shores from a boat gives you a completely different experience. Your experience will be unique, whether you decide to do a morning cruise or a sunset cruise.
Sightseeing Cruise on Lake Tahoe aboard the M.S. Dixie II.
Some of the most memorable (or maybe not-so-easy-to-remember but definitely fun!) times are had on board a Lake Tahoe boat tour. Check out the M.S. Dixie II, the Tahoe Bleu Wave or the Spirit of Tahoe. Enjoy great food, great drinks and even better people aboard one of these South Lake Tahoe boat tours.
2. Hit the Spa
Pampering the body as well as the soul is almost a rule when it comes to visiting Lake Tahoe. Pick one of the many spa options Lake Tahoe offers and indulge yourself. Besides getting a massage or a facial, pick some goodies from the spa for yourself or for gifts for your loved ones for the holidays.
The Spa at the Landing Tahoe
3. Night Out
When you feel like you need some more action in your life, plan on an evening out. In December, the Heavenly Village is having full three weeks events culminating with a New Year’s concert. So, pack something warm in your bag and head out for a fun evening.
If you missed the party at the Heavenly Village, don’t worry. There’s always something to do in Lake Tahoe in the evening. Check out the casinos if you are into gambling, or go see music. Comedians, musicians, and excitement await you.
Peek Nightclub – Harrahs Lake Tahoe
5. Ice Skating or Sledding
So what if the snow isn’t perfect right now? The entire family can have a blast ice skating or sledding in Lake Tahoe.
Ice skating in the Heavenly Village | Photo by Jamie Kingham
6. Hiking
Tahoe is always a great place to go hiking or snowshoeing. A few popular hikes are in Lake Tahoe that allow for amazing photography. Whether your spirit animal is more Instagram influencer than John Muir, you’ll find your favorite Lake Tahoe hiking trails on the south shore.
Sunrise from Emerald Bay
7. Take the dog to the beach
South Lake Tahoe is a dog-friendly heaven. Why not bring the pooch with you to experience the lake. From gourmet pet stores to dog-friendly hikes and beaches, there’s plenty to explore. Check out this blog post for more details.
8. Just enjoy the Lake
Sit on the beach or at a lakefront restaurant and take it all in. Whether you are into meditation or not, the lake will calm your senses and relieve the stress. Then, you can go home refreshed and ready to enjoy the holidays.
Fire pit at Jimmy’s Restaurant at the Landing Resort Lake Tahoe
Instead of jumping ahead to all things 2026, we at Moonshine Ink decided to revisit some of 2025’s most top-of-mind stories for our region and see what has (or hasn’t) changed.
Below, you’ll read about the latest regarding Tahoe lead cables, North Lake Tahoe incorporation, fire insurance, and the Town of Truckee’s self-reflection.
Almost five years since a lawsuit was first filed to remove two lead-leaking telecommunications cables from Lake Tahoe, the cables are fully and completely gone.
This one deserves some historical context:
Back in November 2020, Moonshine Ink broke the news that two four-inch-thick telecommunications cables existed beneath Lake Tahoe’s surface, actively leaking lead into the water — and that legal action was being taken to do something about it.
CABLE BE GONE: A crew removes the final length of a telecommunications cable buried below the sand and high-water mark at Baldwin Beach in September 2025. Photo by Jesse Patterson/Keep Tahoe Blue
The intervening years have been somewhat of a rollercoaster. The lawsuit, filed in January 2021 by California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, initially resulted in a settlement by cable owner AT&T that fall. The company agreed to remove the cables, though denied they generated pollution.
Obtaining permits lengthened the removal process. Finally, AT&T planned for fall 2023. But a July 2023 Wall Street Journal investigation found the publicly traded corporation had a legacy of lead-clad infrastructure across bodies of water in the U.S., resulting in a freefall of AT&T stock and the company backtracking on removing the Tahoe cables until more lead testing could be done. (We reported on this, too.)
In September 2024, AT&T settled. By the end of that November, 8 miles of cables were pulled out of Lake Tahoe, though a segment remained due to its proximity to a sensitive habitat to the Tahoe yellow cress.
A year after that removal, on Sept. 18, 2025, the final phase was completed. AT&T worked in coordination with the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to pull out the obsolete cable from Rubicon Bay to Baldwin Beach.
“Good weather and calm lake conditions allowed AT&T’s contractor to pull the remaining 100-foot section of cable with minimal impact to Baldwin Beach and Lake Tahoe,” shared USFS Public Affairs Specialist Lisa Herron in a statement. “Forest Service staff were on site throughout the operation, monitoring work to protect habitat for Tahoe yellow cress, a plant found only on Lake Tahoe’s shoreline.”
The League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue) was also involved with the lead-cable removal.
“Taking out these decades-old, unused cables has been a top priority for Keep Tahoe Blue and the community as a whole. We’re proud to have helped make it happen and grateful to everyone who contributed,” said Laura Patten, natural resource director at Keep Tahoe Blue. “Good things happen in Tahoe when unlikely partners come together for a shared purpose.”
It took a little over two months for a grassroots organization called Eastern Placer Future to collect what should end up being enough signatures to advance the idea of a Town of North Lake Tahoe closer to the incorporation finish line.
To commence an official exploration of becoming a new town by Placer County’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), Eastern Placer Future needed to collect 2,188 signatures (or 25%) from certified voters within the proposed town boundary. During the last week of November, a third-party consultant verified the group collected 2,387 between September and mid-November.
This is the first time such an effort has progressed so far, despite multiple efforts dating as far back as 1966.
Steve Teshara, one of the Eastern Placer Future committee members, contributes the current success to waning influence of the Lake Tahoe portion in Placer County. District 5, which includes Tahoe’s North and West shores, is 77% of the county’s land area, but its population is not rising. Western Placer’s is.
PETITION POWER: The grassroots Eastern Placer Future reached its most significant milestone to date after enough signatures were collected to move the possibility of a Town of North Lake Tahoe closer to reality. Pictured here: Joy Doyle, Katie Biggers, Sarah Coolidge, and Kerry Andras. Courtesy photo
“[District 5 Sup.] Cindy [Gustafson]’s probably the last supervisor that will be a resident of this area,” Teshara said. “That’s a central concern that we’re expressing to people, and people are resonating with that … People want to see where does our money really go, what do we get back, and are there some services that we could do better because they would be all coordinated locally? We’ll still have services provided by the county … like health and human service and a court system and things like that. And we may do some work and contracting with the county to start with, but people are really getting the sense that this is an opportunity to put in place local decision-making.”
But there’s a long way to go before anything becomes official.
During the first week of December, an Eastern Placer Future representative delivered the petitions to the LAFCO office in Auburn and then accompanied LAFCO staff to take the petitions to the Placer County elections office, which has 30 days to review.
“[The elections office is] the final arbiter of whether we’ve got the requisite number of signatures … We do expect to qualify for the petition being certified as valid,” Teshara said.
Assuming all systems are go, LAFCO will review an official Eastern Placer Future application (the group is currently raising $25,000 for a downpayment connected to this) and then put out a request for proposal for a comprehensive fiscal analysis. An environmental analysis will be considered separately.
“And then LAFCO looks at all the pieces, and they make a determination based on do they think that the town would be financially sustainable over a period of time, not just for a couple of years,” Teshara said. “They have to make sure that it’s an efficient way to provide government services in our area.
“Once they go through all that, then ultimately it has to go to the county for discussions, and finally some sort of county vote on the revenue neutrality negotiations.”
Eastern Placer Future funded an initial feasibility study for incorporation back in 2023. Based on Placer County costs and revenues for fiscal year 2021/22, Eastern Placer annually generated about $16.4 million in property tax; about $3.2 million in sales tax; $22.7 million in Transient Occupancy Tax; $2.1 million in property sales; and $862,000 from utility and service providers. The comprehensive fiscal analysis through LAFCO will create more accurate numbers based on recent costs and revenues, though Teshara said Eastern Placer Future anticipates there being enough funding to operate the town.
“A main way that LAFCO judges viability is it determines what your general fund revenues are,” he said. “If you have a general fund surplus of a certain percentage, that is a very helpful sign and metric. We anticipate that being the case.”
Should the Town of North Lake Tahoe (or whatever its official name might end up being) incorporate, it must do so without any harm to the county. Also part of the LAFCO process are revenue neutrality negotiations. “The county will pass through to the town the property tax, the sales tax, the other things that would be legally accruable to the town, but the county can’t lose a bunch of money based on this,” Teshara explained.
Assuming LAFCO approval, then board of supervisors’ approval, voters will step in to decide. To pass, it will take a 50%-plus-one ballot vote of registered voters within the proposed boundary. Regarding whether such a vote could happen as soon as November 2026, Teshara said, “All I can say is that we’re pushing as hard as we can to get through the process. Does the process take time? Are timelines stipulated under state law that LAFCO has to abide by? Yes.”
As the target is a moving one, Teshara said the best place for the latest updates is easternplacerfuture.org, which will have information about upcoming meetings, donation needs and milestones, and progress points.
When Moonshine dove deep into fire insurance in September 2023, the mood — and situation — was dire. That year, most insurance giants (Farmers Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual) began limiting coverage in California in reaction to increasing wildfire concerns. As options shrank for homeowners and commercial tenants, many Californians began turning to the FAIR (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort at higher costs. One Truckee resident told the Ink at the time that her premium through the FAIR Plan shot her monthly payment up by 272%, from $1,800 to $6,700.
Looking back at that time from the end of 2025 reveals that such increases were only just beginning. From October 2024 to September 2025, the FAIR Plan acquired 268,379 new dwelling and commercial policyholders. That’s a nearly 200% increase from the October 2022 to September 2023 timeframe.
The FAIR Plan was enacted in the late 1960s to offer insurance to those unable to find coverage through traditional routes. As of September this year, the plan’s total policies in force (or the number of active policies) is 645,987 — a 96% increase since September 2023.
Further, the FAIR Plan’s total exposure following the same timeframes is $696.1 billion (a 52% increase since last September, and 145% increase since 2023). Back in March 2024, FAIR Plan president Victoria Roach said to a state legislative committee, “We are one event away from a large assessment. There’s no other way to say it, because we don’t have the money on hand [to pay every claim] and we have a lot of exposure.” That event, as it turned out, seemed to be the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, which resulted in an estimated $4 billion loss for the FAIR plan. In February, plan policyholders were assessed $1 billion to recoup losses — the first member assessment in 30 years.
On the Nevada side, the 2025 Insurance Market Report put out by the Nevada Division of Insurance noted that “insurers reported that wildfire risk had a direct impact on policy availability in 2023 … This trend has continued into 2024, where certain areas, such as Incline Village and Stateline, have seen wildfire-related policy non-renewals rise significantly.”
BULKING UP: California’s state fire insurance option, known as the FAIR Plan, has seen its policy count skyrocket (by nearly 100% from September 2023 to September 2025). In Nevada, there’s no statewide option, though the legislature recently passed policy to keep insurers from jumping ship like they did in California in 2023. Pictured here, the 2021 Caldor Fire creeps up on a residence. Photo courtesy Cal Fire
There’s no insurer of last resort in the Silver State, but that seems to be the preference. In June 2024, then-Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott Kipper held a town hall in Incline Village to discuss fire insurance for residential and commercial owners/tenants. Kipper said then that he didn’t consider the FAIR Plan a good policy.
“I believe [a FAIR Plan is] great for consumers having access; terrific,” he said. “But these plans generally provide lesser levels of coverage at a more expensive price. So, there’s a tradeoff that we need to ensure we work toward.”
Mike Peyton, a Farmers Insurance agent based in Incline Village who handles insurance in both California and Nevada, added the insurer perspective. “[The FAIR Plan is] a double-sided sword,” he said. “As soon as carriers know there’s a FAIR plan, there’s a larger propensity to pull out. That’s what happened in California; all the carriers said, ‘Welp, they have a FAIR plan so at least the consumer has somewhere to go.’ It kind of backfired.”
In June of this year, the Nevada Legislature passed A.B. 376, which allows insurers, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, to exclude wildfire coverage from homeowners’ policies and offer it either as a standalone product or eliminate it altogether.
On a positive note, this move could dissuade insurers from leaving the state like they have in California. So says Nevada policy analyst Anahit Baghshetsyan, who spoke with KUNR in October about the bill and said, “One policy you could think about would be debundling the home insurance, offering only wildfire insurance, mitigate the costs through that, or limited-time insurance, so maybe people would just seek wildfire insurance only in the summer months.”
Peyton, meanwhile, noted that despite the unambiguous state of fire insurance out West: “I think we’re on the upswing.”
The reasoning behind his optimism, he explained, is that people are better educated about wildfire realities and the sticker shock of rising prices has subsided. “Carriers are raising rates again but you’re not seeing double,” he added. “Now it’s the standard 3% to 7% [increase].”
Dillon Sheedy, assistant wildfire prevention manager and forester with the Truckee Fire Protection District, pointed to an encouraging trend from a fire service perspective: “More homeowners are taking proactive steps to create defensible space and meet the standards insurers now look for,” he wrote in an email. “These practices are achievable for most properties in our area, they make a real difference in wildfire risk, and we are seeing insurers remain willing to cover homes that demonstrate strong, well-documented wildfire mitigation actions that follow these guidelines and regulations.”
Sheedy noted that thanks to Measure T, passed by Truckee voters in 2021 to create a dedicated source of local funding for wildfire prevention, the district has expanded its defensible space and home-hardening inspections and increased fuels reduction and green-waste programs, among other increased home survivability efforts.
He added, “We can’t speak on behalf of insurers, but we do believe that communities demonstrating strong, consistent wildfire mitigation work are the ones best positioned over time … As the statewide insurance landscape continues to evolve, our goal is to ensure that the Truckee area is a model of what a well-prepared and wildfire-resilient mountain community looks like.”
The Town of Truckee’s Transparency? So Far, Improving
It’s been a year of considerable self-reflection for the Town of Truckee. After growing outcry over the town’s land development processes and skepticism around an organizational assessment of the town grew to a boiling point in early 2025, a giant reset button was hit in mid-May.
The hope: That three reports meant to analyze the young town’s function internally and externally could provide common ground for groups at odds to move forward in a more unified fashion.
More than 110 recommendations were shared at a May 13 council meeting for the town to address residents’ desire to preserve Truckee’s natural beauty, staffing burnout, processual issues, and more.
Six months later, the rubber has not only hit the road, it’s put mileage on the odometer.
“There’s 15 or 20 [recommendations] that are done,” said Town Manager Jen Callaway, “and we’ve got a ton that are in process that we’re working on — almost 50 of those. We’re making great strides. I think the most probably notable and exciting [one] from a community’s perspective and the staff’s perspective is we just got authorization to execute a [three-year] contract with Cloudpermit [for no more than $182,246]. That’s the permitting software, and we are on target to be live with that in May [2026] at the start of the building season. Pretty rapid progress on that.”
Other notable recommendations that have seen progress the last quarter of 2025:
• Hiring: Council approved 10 of the assessment’s recommended 20 new full-time positions — six of which were for the Truckee Police Department. Staff is 90% through the recruitment process. A new tracking process, NEOGOV, is being used to streamline the ability to collect applications and advance promising individuals.
“What we approved and recommended with this first budget was reclassification of the lieutenants to the captain,” Callaway said specifically of the PD positions. “That required a classification study. We’ve done that; they’ve been reclassified and hired an administrative sergeant … And then an emergency services coordinator, so a second position in emergency services. That recruitment is underway now.”
Administrative Services Department survey: complete
Town fiscal policy updates: 75% complete. Staff intends to bring draft policies to town council for final approval during December.
Enhance town’s credit card procession and payment capabilities: 50% complete
Specific to the town’s planning division, which was recognized as “the biggest organizational/operational challenge facing the town” by the Baker Tilly organizational analysis, staff has incorporated amendments to help “clean up” the development process, Callaway said. The application has also been simplified.
Further, “Our community development director, especially for larger projects, is having more of an initial conversation about timelines, expectations, and trying to understand that better before we even start,” Callaway said. “In addition to the software and the planning on-call hours, the staff is really working hard to try to understand expectations and see if we can meet those, or if we can’t, we’re really clear about why.”
Ed Vento, president and CEO of the Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe, echoed the sentiment of success. “If you asked me to grade them, I’d give them an A,” he told Moonshine. “I don’t expect perfection; I do expect transparency … The [Cloudpermit] software isn’t going to fix everything, but we expect it to be another tool for staff to use and the public to use toward a better customer service experience.”
CATT members have been able to sit down with engineering and town building staffers to hold discussions on current processes. Vento said he expects the same cooperation and collaboration when meetings with planning staff happen as well.
“Now that both [the town and CATT] have had success, we can approach each other and not think somebody’s up to something,” he continued. “We’ve been able to see each other work. The joke is everyone thinks the town has a conspiracy going. And maybe CATT does too … we both figured out that none of us have the time, the will, and the smarts to work on these conspiracies. We figured out how each other works now and nobody has the time for BS. Is there an issue … with discretion [over design decisions]? Yes, but we’ll address that. We’re taking care of the low-hanging fruit. They’re doing a good job, and I think we are too in communicating.”
It’s no secret that our holiday season in Truckee/Tahoe can be a quintessential winter wonderland. For many, these early winter months are marked with the joy of falling snow, twinkling downtown lights, and our favorite folks gathered around what my mother would call “a rip-roarin’ fire.”
“… IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT SO MANY WINTER CELEBRATIONS CLUSTER AROUND WHAT MAY JUST BE THE MOST MAGICAL TIME OF THE YEAR: THE WINTER SOLSTICE.”
In the weeks before Christmas, trees parade like proud passengers atop family cars, gelt (the foil-wrapped chocolate coins given as gifts and game tokens during Hanukkah) reappears on grocery shelves, and elementary school students huddle around craft tables to make ornaments for downtown displays.
As a child at Truckee Elementary, I distinctly remember these ornament-decorating parties. One year, we transformed sheets of white paper into supersized snowflakes; the next, we marbled the inside of transparent globes with acrylic paint and glitter. And while most of our holiday activities centered around Christmas traditions, our teachers still carved out spaces for others. In kindergarten, we munched on latkes and gelt while playing dreidel. For our winter holiday recital, we sang classic Christmas carols side-by-side with “Kwanzaa is Here.”
While nearly all of my schoolmates celebrated Christmas, and nearly none celebrated Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, power remained in the simple practice of acknowledging multiple holiday traditions. That same strength lies in recognizing that our holidays, despite their differences, share important throughlines such as joy, light, renewal, generosity, and gathering.
And it’s no coincidence that so many winter celebrations cluster around what may just be the most magical time of the year: the winter solstice.
For millennia, humans have marked this season with celebrations around the solstice. It’s unclear when exactly these “holidays” began, but archeological sites around the world showcase human architecture intentionally aligned with the path of solstice sun. Stonehenge, for example, marks both the summer solstice — when the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in the northeast to shine its first rays into the structure’s center — and the winter solstice, when the last moments of sun cast long rays directly through the circle’s heart. And predating Stonehenge by over 6,000 years, Karahan Tepe in Turkey was similarly built to cast solstice sunlight on key statues and structural elements throughout the site. Ancient Rome and Greece greeted the solstice with exuberant parties, and Yule festivities celebrated by Germanic peoples came to shape many of the beloved rituals we now associate with Christmas: decorating evergreen trees, feasting, gift-giving and lighting candles to illuminate this short-sunned season.
It’s possible that the timing of contemporary Christmas was also gleaned from solstice celebrations. Early religious scholars showed little interest in pinpointing the day or season of Christ’s birth, and it wasn’t until 336 C.E. that emperor Constantine declared December 25th as Christmas. Because the date of this newly declared “Christmas” lined up so closely with solstice celebrations such as Yule and Zoroastric celebrations of Mithra — god of the sun, whose birthday had long been celebrated on December 25th — its timing is popularly attributed to an effort of the Church to adapt pre-existing celebrations.
And just as Christmas absorbed and reshaped solstice traditions, Hanukkah also transformed, particularly in the United States America.
While of minor religious importance within Judaism, Hanukkah became culturally amplified in the 19th and early 20th centuries as Jewish-American communities sought to establish and distinguish their celebrations alongside the growing prominence of Christmas. Gift giving, not traditionally a component of Hanukkah festivities, was widely adopted to liven the Jewish holiday in hopes that it could metaphorically (and literally) hold a candle to the cultural phenomenon that American Christmas had become.
Kwanzaa, meanwhile, was founded in 1966 by American activist Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga to acknowledge African American and Pan-African heritage, community, and culture. Its name was derived from the Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits,” inspired by the harvest festivals celebrated across the African continent, many of which are held in December near the southern hemisphere’s summer solstice. In India, Hindu celebrations of the solstice take part in January with regionally distinct names and iterations.
LIT UP: A menorah holds nine candles, one for each night of Hanukkah, plus one helper candle called shamash, used to light the others. File photo
Local indigenous communities including the Wašiw, or Washoe, tribe have tracked astronomical movement since time immemorial, developing keen understandings of how the moon, stars, and planets move across the sky. Features throughout Wašiw land indicate a deep-seated understanding of the winter solstice.
With this context — far from exhaustive, yet reflective of our celebrations’ interconnected histories — we come back to our snow-dusted corner of the world.
“AS THE DAYS BEGIN TO LENGTHEN, WE CAN CARRY THIS LIGHT FORWARD WITH THE SIMPLE TRUTH THAT THERE IS MORE UNITING US THAN SETTING US APART.”
The lampposts in downtown Truckee wear candy cane stripes, and carols drift through the evening air in Incline Village as Jennifer Street comes to life with holiday light shows. True to form, the North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation is getting ready for a Hanukkah après ski, complete with hot chocolate and latkes. Coffee shops are brimming with cider and pumpkin spice. Garlands of oranges and cranberries and popcorn drape over door frames. At home, my menorah waits on the coffee table with anticipatory candles.
On Christmas morning, I’ll sip a Bloody Mary. Your kids may be snacking on Santa’s leftovers – after all, how often do they get to eat cookies for breakfast? And many of us will end our night among our favorite people, wrapped in sweaters beside a rip-roarin’ fire.
Whatever individual celebrations are in store for us, we’ve arrived at this season as one community. Together, we’ll move through these shortened days. Beneath the snow, seeds for next spring’s flowers lie waiting, ready to endure a hardy winter. If we’re lucky, this season will offer each of us moments of joy, connection, and reflection.
Kwanzaa celebrates African American and Pan-African culture. File photo
And, even when the holidays come to an end, this early-winter season remains a rallying cry to bring our community closer still. Each day we will be gifted a touch more light and gain a little more time in the sun. If we allow it, this prodigal light can be its own kind of celebration, a quiet call to action. As the days begin to lengthen, we can carry this light forward with the simple truth that there is more uniting us than setting us apart.
May this returning light remind us that we are at our strongest when we honor the many threads that make the Truckee/Tahoe tapestry whole. As the sun lingers a bit longer each day, we can choose to retain the warmth that makes this season feel special. We can choose to look out for our neighbors, to notice what we share, and to step into a new year connected — to one another and to this place we call home.
FIRE and star observances have long been associated with solstice celebrations. File photo
This early winter, catch one or all of these headliners; and know that through the coldest months, the Crystal Bay Club will host one to two shows a week that’ll warm you up. For a comprehensive lineup, showtimes, and tickets, visit crystalbaycasino.com.
The days are short and the nights are cold. It’s a good thing that North Tahoe’s premier indoor music venue’s lineup is as hot as a ski-wax iron. Here are four headliners not to miss.
PIANO MAN: Andy Frasco is that and so much more. Photo by Ryan Salm.
Andy Frasco & the UN
If you’ve ever been to an Andy Frasco show, you know the fun-filled fiasco-fest that awaits: Andy up on stage behind his piano banging away at the keys like Billy Joel on a bender — his multi-instrument, multi-personality band and he composing a chaos-theory jam fest of jubilant joy and boyish jocularity that would make Janis Joplin smile.
The tunes play on. The Jameson bottle perched on the piano passes from performer to performer as your troubles melt into the past and the party really gets going: Andy Frasco & the UN hit the Crown Room stage at the Crystal Bay Club Casino Feb. 3, making your Tuesday rock like Elton on a Saturday night.
The show will be the band’s 28th amid its 38-show nationwide Growing Pains tour. But the baby fat on this bellicose band, now with 10 studio albums and hundreds of primetime sets slayed at concerts and festivals worldwide, has long since given way to a certain man-strength momentum. And thoughunder one of his vintage Los Angeles Lakers basketball jerseys, Andy’s dadbod and shaggy curls may not inspire the image of Adonis, Frasco’s musical energy is high on sex appeal.
With its latest album (also entitled Growing Pains), the UN builds on such sonic successes as its debut, “Love, You’re Just Too Expensive,” 2016’s “Happy Bastard,” and 2022’s “Wash, Rinse, Repeat.” Their sound blends genres and breaks rules. It’s loud. It’s full of movement. It says, “fuck you” and then invites you in like a warm neighbor. It is piano-led blues meets rockabilly with some rasta reggae and a side of soul. It’s a trumpet dueling a sax. It’s Nashville songwriting and a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” cover. It’s rad and it’s good, it’s rock ’n’ roll like it should.
At a 2024 show in Phoenix, Frasco grabbed the mic and rapped about life before starting the set’s final song, his thoughts turning to his mom who’d recently survived leukemia. “It’s like, death is a real thing,” he said. “And it makes you think, what are we going to do with our life? You know, are we going to marinate in shit or get out there and fucking live it every single day?”
On February 3, 2026, with Andy Frasco & the UN in town, there’s the perfect opportunity to get out there and live it.
Dead Winter Carpenters
If our mountain-town air and pow-turn Zen and lazy lake days had a house band, it just might be the Dead Winter Carpenters. The Truckee/Tahoe locals lead with the fiddle and fight the good fight with all their strings and percussion and core-cutting lyrics. They find musical victory with their mix of Americana-roots rock and forward-thinking bluegrass with a little altitude-twang thrown in. They’ve played the Filmore and High Sierra and a ton of other notable locales, including a late-night Sergeant Pepper’s Set (complete with costume and gravitas) at the since-gone Hangtown Music Festival down in Placerville that lifted the roof right off the barn. If you’ve seen what the Carpenters can do on a Sunday afternoon at Commons Beach, this Jan. 24 is the time to see what they can do when the sun’s gone down and the kids have been put to bed.
DOIN’ IT RIGHT: The Dead Winter Carpenters bring a vibe every time they hit the stage. Courtesy photo.
The Polish Ambassador
Having been at the forefront of the EDM/live music fusion-scene for nearly two decades, this international man of funky mystery is bringing his turntables and jumpsuits to North Tahoe this Jan. 16 and 17 for two nights of partying with purpose. He’ll bring the mojo. He’ll lay the beats. He’ll rap. He’ll rock. He’ll bring goddesses on stage with ethereal and ancient voices and vibe in Venn diagrams of sonic soliloquies. He’ll stir the dancefloor as he unleashes his rhythms. He’ll show you that you can be a rockstar even (or especially) if you live off-grid on a 25-acre homestead in the Sierra foothills as a farmer and carpenter who records in a solar-powered studio surrounded by towering trees and fresh air. These ambassadorial nights look to be filled with freedom and connection, with light feet and easy smiles.
MOVEMENT AND FUN AND FUNK and a jumpsuit; the Polish Ambassador gets the crowd going. Courtesy photo.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Karl Denson has come a long way since playing sax in the band Sexual Chocolate in Eddie Murphy’s forever-classic Coming to America. In fact, he’s created his own universe — which he brings to town Dec. 26 — and it’s not even that tiny.
THE TINY UNIVERSE that makes a big sound, in front of Karl D. Photo by Ian Rawn Photography
Denson infuses audiences with electricity and soul, his audacious and eclectic ensemble band both backing him up and taking the lead as cosmic forces of musical theory big-bang their way into something very real and tangible and profound. Even though I’m not really supposed to say “I” in these articles, I saw him last spring at the Golden Road Gathering, and I don’t think he’s ever been better. Fine wine gets better with age — and since being the first-ever Bonnaroo late-night act, Karl D’s universe just keeps expanding into interstellar territories that light us up and leave us groovin’.
THE MUSICIAN: Karl Denson doing his thing. Photo by Ian Rawn Photography
This season opens with a potent square between Mars in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces, which will be exact on Dec. 14, and will bring the energy of dissolving illusion through fire. This is a transit of vision becoming reality, where your action will be ignited to align with your soul’s deeper truth.
The new moon in Sagittarius on Dec. 19 activates the inner seeker and sets the stage for a profound winter solstice rebirth on Dec. 21, when the sun begins its return. This energy will offer a feeling of hope and optimism for the coming New Year.
January opens under the glow of a nourishing Cancer full moon on Jan. 3, a sacred invitation to root into emotional safety from within and to honor the tenderness of your true needs. With the full moon conjunct Jupiter in Cancer, this lunation amplifies healing, abundance, and the grace that comes from true self-devotion. By Jan. 18, the Capricorn new moon calls for devotion to what is real, long-lasting and legacy-oriented. Then comes a bold exclamation point on Jan. 27, when Mars meets Pluto in Aquarius for a fusion of raw power and radical self-initiation. This transit feels like a threshold moment, where we shed the shadows of the past and step into the electric momentum of the future.
NATURAL MAGIC
For the Sagittarius new moon and winter solstice portal, light a candle at sunset each evening from Dec. 19 to 21. Write a “vision letter” from your future self, dated one year from now, detailing what you now know, what you have already created, and how you are feeling. Read it aloud all three nights, your speech an invocation to be witnessed by the cosmos. Then, on the night of winter solstice, after reading the letter out loud, burn it in a bowl to release control and anchor trust.
For the Mars and Pluto conjunction in Aquarius on Jan. 27, I recommend a power ritual. Make three columns: 1) How I choose to show up, 2) What I no longer tolerate, and 3) How I protect and direct my power. Then stand tall and, as a vow, speak aloud what you wrote. Afterward, place the paper on your altar or in your journal as a living declaration, something you can return to and reinvoke as needed. When you feel its power has fully integrated into your being, you’ll know it’s time to create a new ritual to reflect your next evolution.
Larry just showed up one day. It was spring, and the bird cherry tree outside my shop on the corner of Donner Pass Road and Spring Street had just burst into bloom. There he sat with an old guitar under the tree, playing folk songs I remembered from childhood.
STRUMMIN’ on the guitar and blowing on the harmonica, Larry with his signature hand-cut bangs. Photos by Heather River.
We exchanged smiles. I offered him a chair and told him he should stay a while. His voice was gentle and strong, and he just fit under that tree.
That summer, Larry became the soundtrack to “my end” of the block. But as summer came to a close, without a word, he was gone. The street went quiet, and winter set in.
You can imagine my surprise and delight when, just as the bird cherry started to bloom again, there was Larry, singing gentle, raspy, and sure. I remember embracing. He was surprised that I remembered him.
The third spring, he texted me and told me he was on his way. I had his chair waiting for him.
Most days he wore a plaid shirt buttoned incorrectly like a child. His long grey hair and self-cut bangs peeked out from under a bucket hat. But, honestly, no one noticed Larry’s appearance; they noticed how he made them feel.
Larry serenaded passersby, some stopping to request a favorite song; and when they sang, Larry would hand them the mic and play accompaniment. People came into the shop to exchange $20 dollar bills for tip money and told us how Larry’s music transported them to a special time — their wedding day, a family road trip, their father’s favorite song. The music Larry played was a gift to people, and they told him that every day.
When someone would ask Larry to play their private event, he’d kindly decline, then disappear for a few days. But as long as you showed Larry you didn’t need him, he would come back.
At first, Larry was a fair-weather friend. The minute the weather changed and his old fingers got too cold, he would return to the coast to play on the Santa Monica Pier. But six years into our friendship, Covid set in. The world shifted, contorting into something he was not familiar with, so Larry made the choice to stay in Truckee year-round.
Those winters, I lay awake wondering if the blankets I’d brought him — and the socks, the vest, the hand warmers — were enough to keep him from freezing in his van. If I didn’t see him in the morning, I was certain he’d succumbed to the cold.
Through snowstorms, sidewalk construction, political unrest, snap freezes in August, 100-degree days in September, Larry played outside my shop for 10 years. He was the melody that stitched the days together, and he sang himself into the story of Truckee.
Through the years, Larry and I collected wheat-back pennies together. Larry and I had a communal leather bag, one he’d hand-stitched with tooth floss. I mostly kept track of the bag, but when Larry’s suspicious nature got hold of him, he would ask for the sack back and store it in his van. The pennies inside would ebb and flow; he’d pawn a few of the really old ones to turn a penny into four dollars and buy himself fried chicken from Safeway.
INSPIRATION: Larry invoked awe and wonder from passersby of all ages.
Before his day of singing, Larry spent his mornings buying batteries for his amplifier and going to the thrift store. He was a bowerbird, often bringing my family and my employees presents — necklaces, metal detectors, wagons, children’s musical instruments, you name it. His guitars and harmonicas were all found, the life played out of them, and Larry played the life back into them.
Larry told me, and he would want me to tell you, that he was an angel, that he spoke with God. Larry would want me to tell you that he was a traveling musician with many children, most of whom he’d never had the pleasure of meeting in person. Larry would want you to know that he traveled the world, a poor boy from Kentucky with just his guitar and an unstoppable need to sing.
I want to say that Larry floated through the world the way cherry blossoms float from the tree once the wind has shaken them loose. He landed softly in places, until the winds whispered that it was time to go.
I don’t know why Larry stayed in Truckee so long. Maybe it was the untethered welcome that our small, transient town showed him. What I do know is that he loved it here.
The last day Larry played outside my shop, I could see he was dying. It was a crisp morning in early spring, and his poor body was just done. Still, somehow, his voice and his hands were able to lead the way. When each song stopped, the pain would return, until the pain became too much and he packed up and went home.
In the last year of his life, Larry’s home was a beautiful and messy apartment. He had lived for so many years in his vehicles that the apartment felt like a palace to him. He was proud of it.
The first time I saw it was the day the hospital called and asked if I’d seen Larry. He hadn’t shown up for a doctor’s appointment, and I was his emergency contact.
Relief hit my body when, after I knocked on his door, I heard his gentle voice. “Come in,” he said.
I opened the door and he greeted me with a smile. He was watching cartoons and drinking a Big Gulp his neighbor had brought him. He could barely move.
We spent the day together. I asked him some big questions. “What do you regret?” “Who did you love the most?” ”Why did you always leave?” “Are you afraid to die?”
Larry answered all my questions with his signature, ethereal voice, detailing memories and retelling stories. When I asked him what his favorite song was, he sang it, his voice suddenly unhindered by pain.
Two weeks later, on the day Larry died, he was surrounded by a few of his many children. They flew long distances to say goodbye. I can only imagine the strange feeling of saying hello and goodbye in one short trip.
As he worked to breathe, I told him it was okay to go. I whispered it quietly into his ear. I knew him, he let me know him, and I felt like it was my place.
Larry would want me to tell you he made some mistakes, big ones. He would want you to know he had regrets, and he lived with them. They took up residency in his weathered skin.
What I want to say is Larry was a beautiful songbird, traveling the world and giving voice to the soundtrack of life. People fed him from their porches, watched him with quiet fondness, and listened so intently that, for a moment, everything disappeared except Larry.
A FEATHER IN HIS HAT and mischievous look in his eye; Larry being Larry.
Larry knew he wasn’t going to have another Christmas, and that made him sad. This holiday, there will be a silence outside Bespoke + Atelier, and that makes me sad. On these crisp December mornings, I will wish that Larry was setting up, ready to sing the season into being, ready to greet passersby whose whole day could be shifted by the right song, and whose whole hearts could be transported by a man, his voice, and an old guitar.
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Maybe you love us. Maybe you’ve disagreed with us. But news isn’t meant to please — it’s meant to inform, challenge, illuminate, and hold power to account. And unless you want to see a Tahoe/Truckee future where local reporting dwindles to only coming from corporate media or sensationalist faraway outlets, we ask you to consider supporting Moonshine by opening your hearts (and wallets).
Because without Moonshine, Tahoe/Truckee loses its independent voice. Whether we can keep reporting — and expand to cover more of what matters to you — is up to you.
Maybe a thriving staff of fulltime writers and editors is wishful thinking on my part, but I’ll give you the good news:
We heard you. We listened. And our long-awaited book of Shine Ons — the crème de la crème of 10 years of Tahoe cartoons — is almost here. You can pre-order Potholes & Powder Days now.
Think of it as a gift for you and a gift for us — a way to bring home Moonshine’s humor and heart while supporting the journalism that keeps this community informed.
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Potholes & Powder Days is the cherry on top of coffee table books, and about the perfect size for stocking stuffers. You can get it in time for Christmas. And any time after.
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