SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – It’s another year of keeping Tahoe red, white and blue with the annual Fourth of July parade, celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s nationhood. During the parade, Dina Ramaha-Pino officially announced her campaign for city council with a float.
Howie’s Morning Rush host Howie Nave and South Lake Tahoe Fire’s public information officer Sallie Ross served as the emcees of the parade, and the South Lake Tahoe Daughters of the American Revolution served as the grand marshals of the parade. Nave and Ross gave an acapella rendition of the national anthem from their post at Lakeview Avenue.
Local mainstays of the parade such as the American Legion Post 795 and their post commander Tom Milham, the Boys and Girls Club of America and the many firefighting entities of Lake Tahoe were joined by businesses and community groups, to raucous cheers and applause.
The parade lasted just about an hour, with colorful floats like a recreation of George Washington crossing the Delaware, Lake Tahoe Community College’s bus and coyote mascot, and a tongue-in-cheek “Conspiracy Theorists Unite” caravan decked out with aliens and mermaids, wrapped in aluminum foil.
While the parade was smaller than previous years, the theme of Celebrating 250 Years was in full display, with many people wishing America a happy birthday.
Current city council members made an appearance on a float as well. With three seats up for election this coming November, Dina Ramaha-Pino’s float officially launched her campaign alongside her “Dance for Democracy” float.
The winners for the best commercial, nonprofit and youth entries, classic auto and anything goes categories will be announced on the city’s Facebook page.
The “Conspiracy Theorists” had a tongue-in-cheek float of cars covered in aluminum foil. Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
The Tahoe Transportation District’s trolley was one sight to see during the Independence Day parade. Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
A float for Revive IV with a stuffed bear getting an IV treatment. Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Dina Ramaha-Pino announced her campaign for city council during the parade. Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
The Boys and Girls Club float. Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
City council members wave from the float at the July 4th parade. Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – After the festivities of Independence Day, Clean Up The Lake and Station House Inn announced their partnership through the Stay With Purpose program. The fund raised over $30,000 for the organization to continue their work.
“Clean Up The Lake has a real tangible impact pulling out trash from the lake,” said Mitchell Murray, CEO of PlayPark Hospitality, which owns Station House Inn. “We think they do a really great job and are excited to support them in preserving the lake we all love.”
Clean Up The Lake’s volunteers picked up trash on the streets after July 4 celebrations.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
The Stay With Purpose program came about as part of founder Daniel Ramsey’s interest in giving back to communities through MOD Movement. Station House Inn piloted the program last year, raising about $1,000.
This year, they renewed the program again with a larger output. The program now earmarks $4 per every guest stay to give to nonprofits and organizations throughout the Tahoe region. The first funds went to the Boys and Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe, totaling about $10,000.
For Clean Up The Lake, Stay With Purpose raised $30,144 for Clean Up The Lake. The hope for the program is to partner with a different organization each quarter.
Station House Inn’s “Stay With Purpose” program funded Clean Up The Lake with over $30,000.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
“This money will allow us to continue making the difference we really want to,” said Colin West, CEO of Clean Up The Lake. “We’re really excited to help them launch this off, especially for one of the busiest times of the year.”
West spoke to the cleanup volunteers, including the dive team who would be cleaning up just south of the fireworks barge near Nevada Beach. “You can see there’s a post-party trash scene out there. But we think this is an opportunity to turn the tide and show that through the Stay With Purpose program, tourists aren’t just a problem, they can be part of the solution.”
Volunteers on the street took 40-gallon trash bags to pick up beer cans, lost flip-flops, wrappers and cigarette butts, while the dive team headed out to their site (with a caution to not handle any fireworks in the lake that still contained explosives.)
“I traveled a lot, going to places like Bali and Thailand which have a lot of trash,” said West. “Tahoe on the surface might not seem like that, but literally and figuratively, we also are dealing with these issues.”
“It’s important to have that preservation and education, especially for our youth and the future who will be taking care of this place when we’re old and decrepit,” said West with a laugh. “Most importantly, I believe Tahoe still can be saved.”
Clean Up The Lake volunteer divers head out to the site near the fireworks launch to pick up trash.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
The man who burglarized the offices of Hell’s Kitchen as part of what a prosecutor described as a 2021 theft spree is facing sentencing on new charges.
Johnathan Adam Towne, 37, admitted to charges of residential burglary and grand larceny of a motor vehicle on Tuesday in Douglas County District Court.
Johnathan Adam TowneProvided
According to court documents, Towne entered a Caesars Republic hotel room on Jan. 4, where he located the keys to a 2016 Lexus, which he stole. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
He has already admitted two counts of misdemeanor theft in Tahoe Township Justice Court and is scheduled to be sentenced there on July 14.
Towne is also subject to a fugitive warrant out of El Dorado County.
Convicted of the April 17, 2021, burglary at the former Harvey’s, now known as Caesars Republic, Towne received to two suspended 19-48-month sentences.
“When I’m high on drugs, I don’t think,” he told the judge at his Nov. 3, 2021, sentencing hearing. “I hate the things I do when I’m high.”
• A South Lake Tahoe man who admitted committing a Feb. 16 theft at a Stateline casino received a suspended 2-5-year prison sentence for burglary of a business.
Adam Vincent Paul Campagna, 37, also has a burglary warrant out of El Dorado County.
Campagna stole what the victim claimed were $5,000 in tools, but that figure was challenged by attorney Max Stovall. Tuesday was the date for a hearing to define what restitution Campagna would owe. However, prosecutor Ric Casper said he’d contacted the victim for more information and hadn’t received any.
Under Nevada law, the restitution amount must be determined at sentencing.
Campagna told Young that his car had broken down, so he took the tools in what Stovall described as poor impulse control.
“He did clearly steal tools someone’s livelihood depended on,” Casper said in asking for three years in prison.
Young gave him a longer underlying sentence. His probation will last two years.
Once he’s done with whatever happens in El Dorado County he will have to do an inpatient treatment program.
• A trial was vacated in the case of a man who admitted swapping bar codes in order to obtain a $269.99 LEGO Icons PAC-MAN Arcade Retro Game Building Set from the Target for $39.99.
Aaron Vince Agosta, 46, will remain in custody until his Aug. 18 sentencing where he faces up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The theft occurred March 30, 2024, and Agosta was scheduled for a Nov. 6, 2025, jury trial, but a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear at an August 2025 hearing. Agosta was booked in Douglas County Jail on June 21. He is also subject to a warrant out of Washoe County.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Healthcare in the Tahoe Basin, like many rural areas, can be challenging to navigate. With only a few hospitals in the area and a major move for Barton Hospital slated for the future, Tribune journalist Eli Ramos will be reporting on two articles through a grant from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
Barton Hospital’s move and insurance
In 2024, California’s 2030 seismic regulations were part of what prompted Barton Hospital to consider a move to Nevada. While Barton’s healthcare already spans both sides of the state line, the campuses on the California side are not seismically retrofitted as the building was constructed in 1963 (and expanded in 1992.)
Other reasons for expansion include expanding facilities, the limited space at current facilities and the growing healthcare needs of the community.
The project included the consideration of a sub-healthcare district in Douglas County, Nevada. The new site for the hospital would be where Lakeside Inn and Casino previously stood. While the move has come with its concerns around the location and its height, the Tribune is currently interested in reporting on the impacts the move could have on Medicaid and Medi-Cal patients.
Previously, Barton has said that 90% of plans used by residents have a border provision that allows patients in California to receive care in Nevada, for example. But for those who use Medicaid or Medi-Cal, it may cause more issues, especially for outpatient care across state lines.
In November 2025, Barton paused their environmental impact statement, citing their partnership with Cleveland Clinic and updates to the hospital programming. Since then, the project has not provided any major updates on their webpages or additional information on the dual-campus project.
The Tribune is interested in hearing from people who use Medicaid or Medi-Cal to cover services at Barton Hospital, if they have had difficulty with receiving care because of their insurance and if they have received any information/understanding of how to deal with insurance exemptions.
LGBTQ+ healthcare
In rural communities, healthcare can be sparse—and even moreso for communities that need or want care that recognizes their identities and the different health risks that come with those identities.
LGBTQ+ healthcare outcomes are typically worse than those for cisgender and straight individuals, as they often have less access to healthcare providers who understand their needs and how to address them. It can be challenging to find resources around mental and behavioral health, gender-affirming care or even a provider who understands the medications that can prevent both getting and transmitting HIV.
In a recent Community Engagement and Behavioral Health Report sponsored by the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, LGBTQ+ residents reported higher incidences of poor mental health days, a need for mental health providers and higher rates of substance abuse.
Some people are also seeking healthcare outside of the Tahoe-Truckee area to find LGBTQ+ responsive healthcare. Telehealth options may feel more suited to addressing their needs, or they may drive long distances to find providers that are LGBTQ+ friendly – heading to Sacramento, Reno or even as far as San Francisco or Los Angeles.
The Tribune is interested in hearing from LGBTQ+ people in the Tahoe Basin who are pursuing healthcare that is responsive to their identities, especially those who feel they must leave the Tahoe-Truckee area to find healthcare and those seeking gender-affirming care.
The Carson Valley Ukelele Club was serenading visitors to the first Tahoe Douglas Fire & Family Day on June 27 at Kahle Community Center in Stateline.
“We are trying to spread awareness about wildfire safety and things people can do to prepare for wildfire and bring families together,” said University of Nevada Extension Living With Fire Manager Megan Kay as children were getting their faces painted.
The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District hosted the event.
Kay said one of the Extension’s key goals is to promote Firewise USA.
While there are 100 Firewise communities around the Tahoe Basin, and a few in Carson Valley, there isn’t one at Stateline.
“We’re really hoping to spread the word,” she said. “These events sometimes are not as family focused as they could be. We want to reach those folks with children, young homeowners and we designed an event where hopefully people will want to bring their families.”
Representing the Washoe Tribe were Environmental Specialist Kyle Tabor-Cooper and Environmental Manager Eliza Fitzgerald at the event promoting the Good Neighbor agreements they have with the Forest Service and other agencies.
“Kyle, and other folks with our department and with the Washoe Preparedness Resource Department, have been working with the Forest Service on this good neighbor agreement to help with boots on the ground with fuels reduction and conifer removal,” FitzGerald said. “We’re just trying to pick up a lot of those land management pieces from the Forest Service.”
Not all fires are bad. Some are part of Native American culture.
“We’ll be out there with the fires and the youngsters and challenging them,” he said. “We come out and there are still embers. Maybe don’t bring the drip torches out, and let’s just see if we can start it the way your ancestors did in the morning.”
Douglas County Emergency Manager Kara Easton was touting the Reverse 911 system and the Citizens Emergency Response Team.
“Our big push is to get folks signed up for Reverse 911. That’s the best and easiest way to get emergency information from us. If anyone is interested in volunteering for CERT, we’ll take folks from up at the Lake and in the Valley because we want to help everyone,” Easton said.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The City of South Lake Tahoe invites community members to a special event on Tuesday, July 7, at the Recreation & Aquatics Center, where celebrity athletes will help honor the memory of former Major League Baseball pitcher Tim Wakefield.
Held during the American Century Championship Tournament, July 8-12 at Edgewood Tahoe, the event will celebrate Wakefield’s lasting impact on the South Lake Tahoe community.
Following his passing at age 57 in 2023, tournament organizers asked to contribute to a local community initiative relative to Tim’s stature as a former Major League Baseball player and as a good man. With the South Lake Tahoe Recreation and Aquatic Center under construction and seeking funding, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority leaders suggested it would be an appropriate and connective community recipient for the tournament’s consideration.
Discussion ensued about a baseball related theme with the donations supporting the resulting pitching machine and batting cages to promote and reinforce the sport among area youth. NBC Sports and American Century Investments have contributed $50,000 the past three years toward that end.
As part of the event, celebrity athletes including former Boston Red Sox teammates Kevin Millar and Derek Lowe, will share memories of Tim Wakefield and spend time with community members at the batting cages. Attendees will be invited to use the batting cages free of charge and will also have the opportunity to watch celebrity athletes in action.
The City is also extending a special invitation to participants and families from local youth baseball and softball programs, including Junior Giants, Little League, and High Sierra Softball, to join in this community celebration and tribute.
This special event offers an opportunity for the community to come together to honor Tim Wakefield’s memory, celebrate his legacy, and enjoy an evening centered on recreation, youth sports, and community connection
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. — On July 5, 446 local and visiting volunteers gave up three hours of their holiday weekends to show love for Lake Tahoe by participating in the 13th Annual Keep Tahoe Red, White & Blue Cleanup hosted by Keep Tahoe Blue in partnership with more than a dozen organizations and businesses. Participants equipped with reusable bags, clipboards to tally data, and grabbers fanned out across six beach sites around the Lake, stretching from Kings Beach to Kiva Beach, as part of Tahoe’s largest annual cleanup event.
“We feel like it’s our lake too,” said volunteers Roberta and Russ, Southern California residents who have visited Tahoe each summer for 40 years. “This event is a great way to help.”
Hundreds of volunteers came to clean Tahoe’s beaches on July 5. Provided / Keep Tahoe Blue
Lake Tahoe draws large crowds over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Numerous organizations — including Keep Tahoe Blue, the USDA Forest Service, and Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Council, to name a few — have provided tips and encouragement for beachgoers to be good stewards as they celebrate, so Tahoe stays healthy and beautiful. When people see volunteers actively taking care of Tahoe, it is a living, breathing example of the central stewardship message: everyone who enjoys this special place has a role to play in protecting it.
“I was walking down the beach, and a young couple stopped and asked what I was looking for,” recalls Lisa, a volunteer from Sparks, Nevada who grew up in Incline Village. “I said that we’re all with Keep Tahoe Blue cleaning up the beach. They both nodded and looked at each other, and I could see them realize, ‘we should be doing that too’.”
By noon today, 446 Keep Tahoe Red, White & Blue volunteers removed 1,330 pounds of litter from the beaches and surrounding parking lots, trails, and streets at six separate sites — less litter than average for the annual July 5 event.
For others, their cleanups started after yesterday’s festivities or very early this morning. Community groups, individuals, and staff from beach concessionaires and land managers — like Zephyr Cove Resort, Aramark Destinations, and California State Parks — did their own litter removal work, as did other environmental organizations like Clean Up The Lake. That outpouring of effort illustrates that the movement to care for Lake Tahoe is growing.
“We’re incredibly grateful that so many people are doing their part to protect Lake Tahoe,” said Marilee Movius, Keep Tahoe Blue’s sustainable recreation manager. “When we leave the beach better than we found it, we keep this place swimmable, hikeable, and enjoyable for future generations.”
Since 2013, Keep Tahoe Blue has conducted cleanup events like this one, where volunteers collect not just litter, but also data on what types of trash they find, where, and how much. By analyzing the data, Keep Tahoe Blue identifies trends and then pushes for solutions that stop litter at the source. Past successes include bans on single-use plastic water bottles and Styrofoam, the deployment of beach-cleaning robots, and a beach management initiative called the Tahoe Blue Beach program. As part of the program, bold new stewardship signage was installed at six beaches this year. It’s part of the collaborative effort between Keep Tahoe Blue, land managers, and businesses to make responsible, Lake-friendly recreation the easy and obvious choice for everyone who comes to the shore.
Keep Tahoe Blue is aligned with and taking action to implement the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan in collaboration with over 20 regional organizations. The award-winning plan, developed with the participation of over 3,000 residents, visitors, and businesses, establishes a shared vision for the region’s outdoor recreation and tourism and encourages everyone to help take care of Tahoe’s cherished communities and environment. Visit www.stewardshiptahoe.org to learn more and read the plan.
Though the Lake Tahoe region has rates higher than the state average, residents are addressing a shortage of services
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Every year, about 2 million people come to the outdoor paradise of Lake Tahoe, which offers snowy ski slopes in the winter and sunny lakeside activities in the summer. At more than 6,000ft in elevation, the alpine community centers on the stunningly blue lake, which spans the California-Nevada border and is often called “the jewel of the Sierra”.
But beneath this idyllic scenery lies something known as the “paradise paradox”. As in many US resort areas, the suicide rates in the Tahoe region, including the city of Truckee, are far higher than the state average – and these communities don’t have enough resources to deal with the issue.
Since 2022, there have been nearly 40 confirmed suicide deaths in Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and four lakeside counties, an area with a combined population of about 73,000, according to an analysis by the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Nearly one-quarter of these involved firearms. This puts the suicide rate at nearly double that of California’s 10.1 per 100,000 people.
“Tahoe is a place that presents itself as somewhere you want to be,” said Nathan Wheeler, a certified trainer at Soul Shop, a faith-based suicide-prevention program. “But beautiful places sometimes shadow these problems – a transient community, an economy that exists outside its residents, affordability issues. These kinds of things breed desperation and a lack of hope.”
In response, a growing network of residents, advocates and local health professionals have come together in recent years to try to bring more resources to the area. “Someone has to notice and start to care,” said Amy Machin-Ward, a South Lake Tahoe resident who helped form a local suicide-prevention group.
The paradise paradox
Experts say there are many factors behind the paradise paradox, including a lack of healthcare access in rural areas, and geographic isolation, which can lead to social isolation.
On the south shore of the lake, which is considered more urban and has a larger population, there are far fewer mental health providers than in the rest of the state: 153 per 100,000 people, according to a 2024 community health report from Barton Health, the only hospital in South Lake Tahoe. That’s 170 fewer than California’s 323.7 per 100,000.
Meanwhile, Tahoe’s north shore, which is more affluent and less densely populated, has a similar suicide rate as the rest of the state, according to a 2025 Tahoe Forest Health System report. But even across these disparities, both the north and south shore reported that up to 10% of adults, most of them low-income, were unable to access mental health services in the past year.
In addition to a lack of mental health care, the area has been without an official suicide-prevention network for more than three years, after funding for the existing one ended.
Debbie Posnien, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Network in Minden, Nevada, says that area residents often make a 40-minute drive to attend her organization’s support groups. This shows that there’s a clear need for local services, she says.
“Those clients tell me they don’t have anyone at the lake to talk to,” she said. “They have issues with their insurance, places are booked up. And the community is so small there, they worry about being able to talk without being judged.”
Jody Wright, executive director of Nevada-based organization Tahoe Family Solutions, which offers low- to no-cost mental health programs, has had a similar experience. “Sixty-five per cent of our patients are from California,” she said. “The mental health crisis doesn’t stop at a border.”
The nature of work in resort towns can also play a role in high suicide rates. Residents rely on the tourism and ski industries, which means seasonal employment, higher safety risks and a high cost of living – all of which contribute to a less stable and more stressful way of life.
In addition, many resort towns have a reputation for a party culture and heavy drinking and substance use, which “can oftentimes mask or worsen underlying mental health conditions”, said Shannon Decker, founder of the program Zero Proof, For You, which aims to open conversations about drinking culture in the Tahoe region.
Firearms access
One factor sets Tahoe apart from other California resort areas: its proximity to Nevada, where gun laws are much less restrictive. Compared with California, gun purchases in Nevada are cheaper and don’t require state permits, licenses for open carry or firearm registration, though they do require background checks. Unlike California, there is no wait time after purchasing firearms to bring them home.
Douglas county, one of the five counties that extend into the Lake Tahoe basin, was one of four rural counties in Nevada that voted for second amendment sanctuaries in response to background checks for private sales. Sheriffs in at least seven Nevada counties said they wouldn’t enforce stricter background screening laws.
As long as the firearms are still legal in California, it’s an easy choice to purchase them across the border.
Research has shown that access to firearmsincreasesthe riskof suicide, not because the firearm increases thoughts of suicide, but because it provides access to a more lethal method. According to a landmark study, handgun owners had a rate of suicide much higher than people who did not own guns – three times as high among male handgun owners and seven times as high for female gun owners.
Community solutions
Things are starting to change. In 2013, the Truckee community rallied to form a suicide-prevention coalition after five young men died by suicide.
The Tahoe Truckee Suicide Prevention Coalition, which serves the north shore and brings together the county government, local non-profits, school districts, the police department and hospitals, now provides resources for prevention, and support for those who have lost people to suicide. It also occasionally provides services to the south shore, which does not have such an organization.
“There’s so much fear and stigma. In most ski communities, they do not have that level of mental health literacy to be able to talk about suicide,” said Decker, who helped create the coalition with Machin-Ward. “And the antidote is communication and support.”
Other efforts are happening on the slopes. Kari Brandt, president of the Sierra Nevada Resiliency Team, which provides support and resources to ski employees, said that about eight years ago, the ski industry finally started addressing stress and mental health. One way they’re doing this is through resiliency teams made up of ski workers trained in peer support, stress injury frameworks and trauma identification. They can listen to and understand the challenges people in ski areas face, then connect them to the right resources or offer coping strategies for dealing with high-stress incidents.
“Suicidal ideation can happen as a result of overwhelming stress,” said Brandt. “We don’t have to shame that, but we can put these tools of prevention in place if it does happen.”
Brandt has helped to create these types of teams at several ski areas throughout the Sierra Nevada region, and by next year hopes to have every ski area be a part of the network.
Last year, the Sierra Nevada Resiliency Team held its first free, in-person regional training for people from 10 ski regions, and offered information about suicide prevention, incident support and peer support.
“It will always take grit to work in the ski industry, so being able to talk with someone who understands what you’re going through is pretty key,” said Brandt.
Other groups are tackling suicides by addressing firearm safety and access.
A suicide-prevention program in Washoe, Nevada, which borders Lake Tahoe, has put together firearm education and safety programs, which allow for temporary and voluntary surrender of firearms to trusted storage partners. “Whether you’re giving it to a retailer or to a trusted family member, we all become part of a secure storage network that helps prevent suicide,” said Joe Dibble, one of the co-founders of Washoe Suicide Prevention Alliance.
Cynthia Tate, another co-founder of Washoe Suicide Prevention Alliance, said this strategy is about putting time between suicidal thoughts and action. “Creating time and distance between a person in crisis and access to lethal means can save lives,” she said. “About 90% of people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide later.”
For others, suicide prevention is deeply intertwined with other systemic injustices, such as racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia and homophobia – and the ways they affect mental health.
“It’s not the individual that’s the problem. There are barriers to accessing care, and life is much harder without privilege,” said Angie Reagan, founder of the community groups Access Tahoe and Peace Love Tahoe, which advocate for mental health, connection and inclusivity. “Anybody can struggle, but it is a lot harder when you don’t have that privilege.”
“Tahoe is the most beautiful place in the world,” Reagan went on. “It was my dream to live here. But it’s also a beautiful little bubble, a place for escapism and people sometimes don’t want to talk about these hard issues.
“What we really need is consistent education, awareness and training.” Local government and healthcare systems, she added, “need to step up and offer something to the community. They need to try.”
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirmed the northermost detection of the invasive golden mussel in late June. The animals were found around the Port of West Sacramento, marking their journey up the golden state—and dangerously close to Lake Tahoe.
Despite the delicious sounding name, the golden mussel or Limnoperno fortunei is no treasure. The bivalves originate from China but were accidentally introduced to the Americas and were first detected in North America in 2024.
Like the quagga and zebra mussels, other aquatic invasive species, the freshwater mussel can severely threaten native biodiversity, water quality and destroy water infrastructure. They form dense colonies and can encrust rocks, pipes, boats and piers.
However, unlike the other invasive mussels, the golden mussel can tolerate a broader ranges of salinity and temperatures.
Their detection in Sacramento is the northernmost since the discovery of the golden mussel in the Port of Stockton in 2024. The CDFW believes that they are now from a source population within the vicinity of the Port of West Sacramento.
In the San Joaquin River Delta, the mussel has already colonized key pipes, pumps and gates, driving up infrastructure costs. Stockton city leaders recently declared an emergency when the mussels clogged a drinking water pump station, and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom announced $6 million of state funding would be going to support maintenance and prevention.
Golden mussels and other aquatic invasive species are on the docket for state legislators, who will be considering AB1772. The bill will help identify funding sources, create a database to inform water managers on contamination and establish a statewide standard for vessel decontamination.
A decision is likely to be made by August—but Lake Tahoe’s already been seeing boaters on the water, especially with the early spring and warm temperatures.
Golden mussels are similar to the quagga and zebra mussels, but can tolerate a wider range of habitats.Provided / TRPA
With the tourist season in full swing, Lake Tahoe’s waterways are some of the most popular to visit—and could be sincerely threatened if the golden mussel were to enter. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has helped intercept boats with golden mussels attached, once in May of last year and twice in June.
TRPA’s public information officer Jeff Cowen told the Tribune, “The report of golden mussels being found in West Sacramento isn’t completely unexpected, as the species was first discovered in a connected waterway. Seeing them closer to Tahoe is concerning, but the watercraft inspection program protocols developed in 2025 are designed to reduce the risk of any new aquatic species being introduced.”
Like many waterways, Tahoe utilizes the Clean, Drain, Dry program which asks those on the water to inspect their watercraft, kayak, life vests, paddles and anything touched the water every time it is removed from a water body.
Tahoe also has mandatory inspections and decontaminations for motorized watercraft, and inspectors maintain a list of infested waterways to interview boaters on as part of their assessment.
Cowen said, “We work with scientists and partners through the Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinating Committee to regularly evaluate the program and apply new information so that it maximizes protection for Lake Tahoe and the waters of the region, while ensuring everyone can enjoy all that Tahoe offers.”
Visit TahoeBoatInspections.com for inspection information, appointments, and to learn how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Program staff can be reached by email to AIS@TRPA.gov, or by calling (888) 824-6267.
You can help the CDFW monitor the state’s waters for golden mussel by reporting organisms suspected to be golden mussel to CDFW’s Invasive Species Program. Include the specific location of the observation, at least one clear close-up photograph of the organism and your contact information.
There’s a moment, usually just after sunrise, when Lake Tahoe seems to hold its breath. The water settles into stillness and turns to glass, and the basin finds a quiet peace that is becoming increasingly rare to find in the world these days. For those of us fortunate to call a place like Lake Tahoe home, the lake is more than an amenity. It’s our anchor.
Here in Lake Tahoe, that feeling guides the very heart of our new consumer brand, Lake Tahoe Travel. In a collaboration uniting Travel North Tahoe Nevada, North Tahoe Community Alliance, and the 12 towns along North Lake Tahoe, this new branding is more than a new name. It’s an embodiment of a feeling that we all experience here. The purpose is twofold: to protect the spirit of Lake Tahoe while sustaining the local economy that keeps its heartbeat strong.
Like the mighty Sugar Pine, our new brand is rooted in our local communities, with sustainability and stewardship at the center. It speaks to the kind of visitor who, just like us, understands that Tahoe is a force of nature – powerful, wild, and meant to be experienced with respect. We are calling for the travelers seeking thrill and peaceful escape with intention, many of whom already have a deep connection to the lake and return because something here calls them back. These are the visitors who lace up their hiking boots with purpose, who honor the “pack it in, pack it out” ethos, and who value all the rich experiences Tahoe has to offer.
With Lake Tahoe Travel, we’re continuing to embrace what we’ve always believed – that adventure, wildness, and peace aren’t just what draws people here; they’re what’s worth protecting. Now more than ever, we understand the environmental pressures the lake faces and the delicate balance required to welcome visitors while safeguarding our fragile ecosystem.
At the same time, equally fragile is the tourism ecosystem that drives our community, and we need to be honest about the realities we’re quickly facing. Visitor tax revenues generated from overnight stays support our mission of keeping Tahoe how we know it. Yet, the demand on room tax revenues continues to grow, outpacing current needs and placing increasing pressure on the sources that sustain our quality of life. Like many destination communities, we experience both the blessings and vulnerabilities of a tourism-dependent economy. North Lake Tahoe has lived through both sides of that reality, and as visitation patterns evolve, the strain on limited room tax revenues underscores the need for a thoughtful, sustainable path forward.
That is precisely why our revamped brand matters. Responsible and sustainable tourism are not just trends; for us, they are necessities. We welcome all who come to experience and enjoy Lake Tahoe and invite them into a shared commitment to protect it, strengthening our economy while protecting the environment that makes it possible.
To the residents, business owners, workers, and partners who shape the Lake Tahoe experience: this brand is built with you in mind, and not just for visitors. It’s our promise to protect the place we love, to support our economy, and to preserve the wild and untamed magic of Tahoe for generations to come. The lake is our anchor, and together we will keep it steady.
Lake Forest Beaches, including Skylandia and Bristlecone, will be closed after 4 p.m. tonight.
The closures are due to large groups of teens, many from outside the area, gathering at the beaches. The crowds have led to underage drinking, widespread littering, and significant traffic impacts in surrounding neighborhoods. Over the past two nights, deputies have spent several hours clearing the area and managing the crowds
Please do not come to the area tonight. The beaches will be closed, and anyone attempting to access them will be turned away.
Russell was born on April 13, 1951, in El Paso, Texas, to Del Roy Taylor and Maureen McGurt. As a teenager, he moved to South Lake Tahoe, where he graduated from South Tahoe High School and spent the majority of his life.
At the age of 18, Russell proudly served his country during the Vietnam War as a medic, primarily stationed in the Philippines. His military service sparked a lifelong fascination with aviation. He especially enjoyed attending the Reno Air Races, where he loved watching the Blue Angels and exploring exhibits featuring military aircraft, jets, and historic airplanes.
At the age of 20, Russell and Ann Alvarez welcomed their son, Ezra Sean Alvarez, who remained one of his greatest sources of pride and joy throughout his life.
Russell spent much of his career in the Lake Tahoe gaming industry. He began working at the Nevada Lodge on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and built a long and successful career in gaming, ultimately spending many years at Bally’s Lake Tahoe. He took great pride in his work and formed deep friendships with his coworkers and management at Bally’s Lake Tahoe. As a highly respected high-limit dealer, Russell was known for being exceptionally smooth at the tables—one of the highest compliments a dealer can receive.
Russell is survived by his son, Ezra Sean Alvarez (Sean); his brothers, Layne, Jesse (Claudia), Mark, and Daniel; his sister, RuthAnn; his nieces, Coral (Chris) and Sarah (Craig); his great-nephew, Cusson; his stepmother, Joyce; his beloved girlfriend, Linda Cambon; and Ann Alvarez, the mother of his son, Ezra. He is also survived by many other relatives and friends whose lives were touched by his humor, friendship, kindness, and adventurous spirit.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Maureen McGurt; his father, Del Roy Taylor; and his brothers, David Allan Taylor, Sean Del Roy Taylor, and James Del Roy Taylor.
Perhaps more than anything, Russell loved sunsets. No matter where he was, he always tried to catch the sunset each day. He found peace, beauty, and gratitude in those quiet moments as the sun dipped below the horizon.
So, the next time you watch a sunset, please take a moment to say a prayer, share a memory, or simply think of Russell—a man whose life was filled with adventure, laughter, friendship, and love. Like the sunsets he cherished so deeply, his warmth and light will continue to shine in the hearts of all who knew him.
Anyone who knew Betty Barsamian — her many talents, eye for detail, and depth of caring for the people she loved — knew that she was special. A creative spirit with a gift for inspired design, Betty passed away on May 11, 2026, near her home in Walnut Creek, California.
Betty’s skills as a graphic designer were unsurpassed, whether working with her own clients or through leading graphic design offices, in advertising, or with newspapers. She started her career in San Francisco, spending a formative time at the Office of Michael Manwaring, a firm that helped define the groundbreaking San Francisco design movement of the 1980s.
She settled in South Lake Tahoe for more than 30 years, where she left a pronounced mark on the community, playing a central role in campaigns and design projects and collaborating with local leaders, state and regional agencies, businesses, and media to help define how the region
was represented. She was the art director and production manager at the Tahoe Daily Tribune, and, as a freelance graphic designer in the region, she worked with clients from the chamber of commerce, to the utility and school districts, to area resorts and winemakers.
Betty was born in Berkeley and grew up in El Cerrito, California, the daughter of the late Pete and Anne Barsamian and one of four siblings. She was deeply connected to her Armenian heritage, making a formative trip to Armenia as a teenager and staying active for many years at St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church in Oakland. She shared wonderful hours of Armenian cooking and baking with her mother, and she loved passing those skills on to family and friends.
She attended the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to San Jose State University to pursue her passion for design. She earned her B.S. there in graphic design, laying the foundation for her career.
Betty married and moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1985, and five years later had her son, Tyler Venema. She was a devoted mother, delighting in Tyler’s interests and progress as he grew. When he completed college in Florida and settled in Boulder, Colorado, Betty moved there too, enjoying several happy years in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
She returned to the Bay Area in 2022 after her cancer diagnosis. She continued to connect with Tyler daily, collaborating by phone on the New York Times spelling bee and cheering on their favorite tennis players and sports teams.
Those who love her will remember her beaming smile, her fashion sense, her regimen of long- distant walking, the 1,000+ origami cranes she created, her humor in the hardest times, and her precision and thoughtfulness in everything she undertook. They will also remember how much she cared for each of them.
Betty is survived by her son Tyler Venema; her siblings Gayle Barsamian, Paul Barsamian (Denise), and Peter Barsamian (Pat); her nieces Laila and Ali Barsamian and Delaney Hyson (Michael); her grandnephew Enzo Hyson; and her former husband Dan Venema.
Gifts in Betty’s memory may be made to a charity of your choice.
You have likely heard the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In the investment world, we use the term diversification when we talk about spreading those proverbial eggs out into different baskets. Diversification is a method of reducing a portfolio’s level of risk while seeking to maintain the expected returns of your investments.
While most investors are familiar with the concept of diversification, the “D” word can mean different things to different people. Investors can diversify across sectors, countries, asset classes, and many other factors. In this article, I am going to focus on another method.
Morningstar, an industry leader in investment research and portfolio design, has popularized a tool called the “equity style box.” This tool shows what types of companies are held inside a mutual fund or ETF. It breaks down companies according to two fundamental properties: size and investment style. Imagine a tic-tac-toe board, with company size running from top to bottom and investment style running from left to right.
Publicly listed companies will generally fall into one of three size categories: large-cap, mid-cap, or small-cap. As the names suggest, large-cap companies tend to be the biggest, with valuations of $10 billion or more. Mid-caps are usually valued between $2 billion to $10 billion, while small-caps can be anything from $300 million to $2 billion (those are rough numbers, as different experts may use slightly different values to define those spaces).
Companies are also classified as “value”, “growth”, or “blend.” Value companies are stocks that appear relatively inexpensive compared to their current profits. Growth companies are stocks that investors expect to grow profits rapidly in the future, so investors are often willing to pay a higher price for them today. Blend companies might share qualities of value and growth companies.
Put this all together and you can see that there are “large-cap growth” companies, “large-cap blend” companies, and “large-cap value” companies. The same goes for mid-cap and small-cap. In total, then, we can see that there are nine equity style boxes.
Putting this into practice, Vanguard’s S&P 500 index, VOO, currently holds 81% large-cap, 18% mid-cap, and 1% small-cap. While the fund is diversified across 500 companies, it is not well-diversified under the lens of the equity style box. The Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, is even less diversified, with 89% of its holdings in large-cap and only 9% in value at the time of writing. While each of these funds is more diversified than a few single stocks, an investor can certainly diversify further and reduce risk without giving up expected returns.
While broad diversification does not require that all of the parts of the equity style box are represented equally, it makes sense to have investments in each area. Remember that the main point of diversification is to prevent your entire portfolio from suffering badly when a particular part of the market drops. A fund like the QQQ, while a high-quality fund, does not represent strong portfolio diversification. I would suggest that investors holding QQQ also hold other funds that represent mid-cap, small-cap, and value areas.
It is not unusual to see long periods of overperformance in one style box while other boxes lag. Nevertheless, historical evidence shows that most investors struggle to predict those future outcomes, which can negatively impact results. For a typical investor, a well-diversified portfolio will provide resilience and higher levels of predictability in your investment outcomes.
Use those equity style boxes as one tool to help you build your portfolio. Don’t forget to research other diversification areas as well, including the ones mentioned earlier (different countries, etc.)
However you choose to diversify your portfolio, invest smartly and invest well!
Larry Sidney is a Zephyr Cove-based Investment Advisor Representative. Information is found at https://palisadeinvestments.com/ or by calling 775-299-4600 x702. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Clients may hold positions mentioned in this article. Past Performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial advisor before purchasing any security.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Pet Network Humane Society announced sponsored adoptions this July, made possible through the incredible generosity of Bev & Doug Keil, longtime supporters of Pet Network. All adoption fees for animals are waived for the entire month, ensuring that deserving shelter pets find loving homes just in time for summer.
This heartwarming promotion doesn’t stop at simply finding homes—every dog and cat adopted will come equipped with a Fi GPS collar, offering pet parents peace of mind and an extra layer of protection for their new companions.
“Summer can be a tough time for animals in shelters,” said Sybile O’Neill, Marketing and Development Manager at Pet Network Humane Society. “Thanks to Bev & Doug, we’re lowering barriers to adoption and giving pets a chance to thrive in a loving home during a historically low adoption season.”
Summer is the perfect time to expand your family with a loyal companion or cuddly new friend. With waived fees and added perks there’s never been a better opportunity to adopt.
Event Details:
● What: Bev & Doug Keil – No adoption fees for any animal in July
● Where: Pet Network Humane Society, Incline Village, NV
● When: July 1 – July 31, 2026
● Includes Off-site adoption Event: July 8th,2026 – 11 am to 2 pm at the National Automobile Museum
● More to come!
How to Adopt:
Visit Pet Network Humane Society during regular business hours or view available pets online at www.petnetwork.org.
Lake Tahoe is known for its towering peaks, outrageous skiing, gorgeous backpacking trails, and, of course, its glacial blue waters. 300,000 people, on average, visit Tahoe during the peak summer months, looking for some of the best areas the lake can provide for swimming, sunbathing, kayaking and paddleboarding. Here’s a list of some of Lake Tahoe’s best finds for beaches – where they are, how to get to them and the characteristics that make them the perfect fit for what you may be looking for. Oh yeah, and we can’t forget about our furry friends! This list includes beaches where your pup can also soak in some Tahoe summer fun in the sun. Beach parking lots fill up quickly, so arrive early!
SOUTH SHORE BEACHES
Baldwin Beach
Among the most popular beaches on the South Shore, Baldwin Beach’s soft, sandy shores and stunning views make it a well-sought-after Tahoe beach destination. Launching a kayak or paddleboard here is not uncommon, especially if your sights are set on Emerald Bay. From Baldwin Beach to the mouth of Emerald Bay is a roughly 2-mile paddle. Kayak rentals are available on site. Hiking trails are also located nearby such as the Rainbow Trail and Lam Watah Nature Trail.
Terrain: fine to medium grain sand
Accessible by: Bike Path. Vehicle – daily fee.
Dogs: Not allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities, picnic tables
Location: Baldwin Beach Rd, Highway 89 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Kiva Beach
When you go to Kiva Beach, it’s a dog’s world, and we’re all just living in it. This is the dog beach of the South Shore. Located on the edge of a marsh zone at the mouth of Taylor Creek, this beach offers a smaller, more intimate beach setting. The views of Mt. Tallac are utterly breathtaking, making you want to pinch yourself just to ensure you’re not dreaming. Perfect walking beach as it’s only 200 meters long. Disclaimer: If your dog doesn’t play nicely with others, this beach is not recommended.
Terrain: soft, fine-grained sand
Accessible by: Bike path. Vehicle – Free parking lot located near the Tallac Historic Site and Taylor Creek Visitor Center
Dogs: Allowed and encouraged. Please adhere to leash laws
Amenities: Porta-potty
Location: Heritage Way to Tallac Rd, Highway 89 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Thomas F. Regan Memorial City Beach
Picnics, yoga, strumming a guitar – these are just some of the activities you’ll find folks enjoying at Thomas F. Regan Memorial City Beach, commonly known as Regan Beach. Located in the heart of South Lake Tahoe and about half a mile from Lakeview Commons, this park offers beach access on either side of a large, grassy area and playground. This is another popular kayak and paddleboard launching spot due to its location being nearly the midpoint between the east and west sides of the South Shore. This beach is considered one of the more tranquil areas of Southern Lake Tahoe. A sloping grassy hill leading to the water makes it a fun time to play fetch with your furry friend, too.
Regan Beach’s shallow waters make for a great spot to launch a paddleboard or kayak. Victoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Magazine
Terrain: rocky shoreline, small patches of soft, fine-grained sand
Accessible by: Bike path. Vehicle – Free parking lot
Dogs: Allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities, volleyball court, playground and picnic area
Location: 3199 Sacramento Ave in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Ski Run Marina and Beach
The one-stop shop for dining, art, boating, and swimming, the Ski Run Marina and Beach is a tourist hotspot. Located near Hilton Vacation Club Lake Tahoe and the Postmarc Hotel and Spa, it allows visitors a quick walk to the lake to take in the views. Riva Grill sits poised and ready to offer fresh drinks and food while enjoying the scenery. The beachfront itself is not very big, and in the summer, it fills up very fast. Tahoe Sports powerboats and jet ski rentals, along with Tahoe Cruises including the “Safari Rose” and “Tahoe Spirit,” operate out of this location, so if you’re in the mood to take to the waters, this is a great place to climb aboard a vessel and get out there.
Terrain: Fine to medium grain sand
Accessible by: Bike path. Vehicle – paid parking; The first hour is free, fees increase per additional hour
Dogs: Allowed
Amenities: Water sports and rentals, waterfront dining, boutique shopping, cruises
Location: 900 Ski Run Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
EAST SHORE BEACHES
Nevada Beach
Among Tahoe’s larger beaches, Nevada Beach has 0.7 miles of stunning views on Lake Tahoe’s southeast side. Located on National Forest land, it provides clean shores lined with Jeffrey pines. It’s a popular RV and tent camping spot due to its picturesque setting and relaxing atmosphere. The beach offers a Day Use pavilion along with kayak and paddleboard rentals.
Terrain: course, reddish-tan granitic sand
Accessible by: Bike path from Kahle Drive. Vehicle – paid parking; fee per vehicle at Nevada Beach Campground. Free available parallel parking along Elk’s Point Rd.
Dogs: Prohibited on most of the beach, but allowed in designated picnic areas and on a small portion of the west side
Zephyr Cove Resort Beach has a mile-long shoreline, offering guests an amazing view of Mt. Tallac while facing the west shore. If you’re in the mood for some beach volleyball, their free courts are a great place to serve it up. Home to some amazing east shore dining, this place makes for a great all-day experience, whether that’s on a daytime or dinner cruise on the M.S. Dixie II paddlewheeler, or drinking a refreshing cocktail at Sunset Bar & Grille. Kayaks and paddleboard rentals are available here.
Terrain: Fine, soft sand with occasional rocky patches near the shoreline
Accessible by: Vehicle – Daily parking fees range from weekdays to weekends. Fees raised for holidays.
Dogs: Not allowed
Amenities: general store/giftshop, beach chair and umbrella rentals, volleyball courts, parasailing, kayak and paddleboard rentals, bathroom facilities
Location: 760 U.S. Hwy 50 in Zephyr Cove, Nev.
Logan Shoals Vistas
If you’re up for a hike, this is the perfect place for you. Although it’s not a traditional beach in the sense of having sandy shores, Logan Shoals Vistas have giant lakeside boulders that make for great sunbathing and sunset picnic outings. From the pullout down to the water is a short 0.2-mile hike downhill. This is a prime swimming spot, so if you’ve got a good pair of goggles, jump off the boulders into the clear waters of Lake Tahoe for a great opportunity to observe aquatic life.
Terrain: steep dirt path leading to rocks and boulders
Accessible by: Vehicle – pullout parking on lakeside of Hwy 50, situated south of Glenbrook and North of Zephyr Cove
Dogs: Allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities
Location: 1500 U.S. Hwy 50 in Zephyr Cove, Nev.
Skunk Harbor
Another beach to hike to, but not all great things come easy! Skunk Harbor is a gem you don’t want to miss on the east shore. Located in a remote spot about 2 miles downhill from the parking pullout, it’s a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of peak summer crowds. This place truly is one of the most picturesque coves in Tahoe with its turquoise blue water and scattered rock features. The shores provide ample sunlight and a piece of history in the form of an abandoned stone cabin built in the 1920s.
Skunk Harbor offers beautiful views and rich history to explore. Victoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Magazine
Terrain: soft, fine-grained sand
Accessible by: Hike-in – park vehicle at one of two pullouts along SR- 28.
Dogs: Allowed
Amenities: none
Location: SR-28, 2.4 miles northeast of Spooner Summit Snow Play
WEST SHORE BEACHES
Meek’s Bay Beach
Meek’s Bay Beach sits on a wide, curved shoreline and offers plenty of sun in the summertime. It’s popular for its easy access, white sand, extremely clear water, and the beautiful views only west shore can offer. The area is ancestral land to the Washoe Tribe who operate the Meek’s Bay Resort and Campground. It makes for a great place to camp, horseback ride, and take in its rich history. The Wa She Shu Grille provides great-tasting, beachside food.
Meek’s Bay is a great beach to relax and swim during the heat of the summer months. Maya Duhl/Tahoe Magazine
Terrain: soft, bright white sand
Accessible by: Vehicle – parking at Meek’s Bay resort for a fee, limited parking on Hwy 89
Dogs: Not allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities, kayak and paddleboard rentals, dining, general store, picnic tables
Location: 7901 Emerald Bay Rd in Tahoma, Calif.
Lester Beach and Callawee Cove at D.L. Bliss State Park
D.L Bliss State Park is home to the famous Rubicon Wall and Rubicon Point, which overlooks some of the deepest waters in Lake Tahoe. Named after railroad tycoon and pioneering lumberman, Duane Leroy Bliss, the park offers sought-after camping, hiking, and astonishingly clear water views. A popular boating and scuba diving destination, Lester Beach occupies the north end while the south portion, Callewee Cove, makes for a great snorkeling spot. After undergoing massive infrastructure upgrades, the park is set to be fully open and operational starting May 21, 2026.
Boat traffic is common near Lester Beach. Victoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Magazine
Location: Lester Beach Rd in D.L. Bliss State Park
Vikingsholm/Emerald Bay Beach
Historic Emerald Bay has been a cherished jewel of Lake Tahoe, named by settlers since the 1860s. It’s home to the Emerald Bay Underwater State Park where divers have been observing artifacts resting in its depths since the park’s inception in 1994. Accessible only by hike or boat, the beach offers a remote get-away with a view overlooking Fannette Island and the turquoise waters of the glacier-carved inlet.
Terrain: coarse sand and gravel
Accessible by: Boat. Hike via the Rubicon Trail; trail is steep and not recommended for those with health issues.
Location: 9691 Emerald Bay Rd in Emerald Bay State Park
Tahoe City Commons Beach
Beautiful Tahoe City is known for its charming shopping centers and quaint small-town feel. Summer music concerts, sunset strolls, or noon sunbathing on the sand, Commons Beach has it all and rests on more than four acres. It’s the perfect place for all ages, offering a playground, a 65-seat amphitheater, a group BBQ area, and picnic tables. Tahoe City Kayak & Paddleboard offers guided tours, kayak and paddleboard rentals right on the beach. From May to October, folks can enjoy the Tahoe City Farmers Market.
The soft grass at Commons Beach makes for an ideal picnic setting. Maya Duhl/Tahoe Magazine
Terrain: A mix of grass, course sand and in-water cobbles
Accessible by: Bike path. Vehicle – free parking lot on Commons Beach Rd and on-street parking
Dogs: Not allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities, playground, guided tours, paddleboard and kayak rentals, group bbq station, amphitheater
Location: 400 North Lake Blvd in Tahoe City, Calif.
NORTH SHORE BEACHES
North Tahoe Beach
North Tahoe Beach offers a bustling and lively summer beach destination. A serene park sits at the top of the tree-lined shore, offering picnic tables where people can hang out and enjoy a yummy treat from one of the many food establishments within walking distance. North Tahoe Beach provides beach volleyball courts, a horseshoe pit and pavilion, making it a great place to spend your day.
Terrain: soft, fine-grain sand
Accessible by: Vehicle – free parking located on site
Dogs: Not allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities, volleyball courts, group area for rent, picnic tables
Location: SR-28 at Hwy 267 in Kings Beach, Calif.
Moon Dunes Beach
Among the smaller beaches, this little beauty is not visible from the road. Just past some quaking aspen trees and up a sandy path, you’ll find some of Tahoe’s most glassy waters. Popular among the younger crowds, it’s a great place to relax, sunbathe, or play some frisbee.
It’s just a short walk from North Lake Blvd to Moon Dunes Beach. Victoria Mastrocola/Tahoe Magazine
Terrain: soft, very fine-grained sand
Accessible by: Vehicle – free parallel parking along North Lake Blvd
Dogs: Not allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities
Location: 7530 North Lake Blvd in Tahoe Vista, Calif.
Hidden Beach
Tucked away on the northeast corner of the lake is Hidden Beach. Located one mile south of Incline Village, it’s a diamond in the rough of navigating where to park to get to it. Once you find a spot and make your trek down, it’s one the prettiest beaches in Tahoe by far. Depending on the lake’s water levels, sometimes there isn’t much of a sandy shoreline, but you can still find a nice, mighty boulder to lay upon. The turquoise, alpine waters are a sight for sore eyes, making it a beautiful place to paddle in on a kayak or paddleboard.
Terrain: boulder-lined shores with soft, fine-grained sand attainable depending on lake levels
Accessible by: Vehicle – paid parking lot available at Tahoe East Shore Trail, free limited parking along Hwy 28.
Dogs: Allowed
Amenities: Restroom facilities near trailhead
Location: Hwy 28 along East Shore Trail in Washoe Valley, Nev.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of Tahoe Magazine.
Millions of Americans will spend some time in 2026 commemorating 250 years of United States history. The U.S. turns 250 in July 2026, and the summer figures to be an especially celebratory time across the 50 states.
As Americans engage with their nation’s history, they might be compelled to learn more about their personal history as well. Genealogy has become a popular pastime in the twenty-first century, and the National Archives offers these tips to anyone looking to do some digging into their personal history as they celebrate 250 years of the United States.
Start with yourself. The National Archives recommends starting with the person you know best: yourself. Your own personal details can serve as a starting point as you work toward more unknown facets of your family history. After you note all of your own details, learn and document all you can about your parents and then do the same in relation to your grandparents.
Emphasize four vital components. The National Archive notes that names, dates, places, and relationships are the tools of the family researcher. That’s because these nuggets of information have long been used to identify people in public records.
Peruse any existing family archives. Many families have kept their own archives over the years, even if that record-keeping was not widely known within a family. A relative might have kept various types of documents that help to paint a picture of your genealogy. Ask around in the family to see if anyone has kept records, which might include:
Newspaper clippings
Birth and death certificates
Military certificates
Marriage licenses
Letters
Diaries
Photographs/photo books
Scrapbooks
Let others know. Inform family members near and far that you’re working on a genealogy project. A relative might have beaten you to it, and that person could have lots of valuable information and documents to share. Others might be able to point you toward a relative who has become the unofficial family historian. In addition, cousins and aunts and uncles might have records from their own immediate families, which can help you as you conduct your own research.
Access government records. The U.S. federal census dates all the way back to 1790, which makes it a potentially excellent source of information for your project. State and county archives also can be wonderful resources that keep records of births, deaths, marriages, and other notable events that can help people trace their family histories. Even local libraries might have records of your family, especially if your family has been settled in the same area for a significant amount of time.
American history might be the focal point in the United States in 2026. But that renewed emphasis on history also makes 2026 a great time to study your own family’s part in helping the nation make it to its 250th birthday.
As I inched my way up a 70-foot wall, with no belayer beneath me, there was a moment when the only things that existed were me, the rock and the cool morning air. The only sound was the soft squeak of rubber against slabby granite and the rhythmic zip of my progress-capture device, a sound somewhere between a zipper and someone strumming the teeth of a comb.
For the longest time, mankind has operated under the assumption that you need a climbing partner if you want to rope climb. But climbers, being the resourceful people they are (and occasionally obsessive), invented top-rope soloing for those with mismatched schedules, for those who simply don’t feel like interacting with another human being, and of course, for those comfortable with a bit of added risk.
I might fall into every one of those categories perfectly.
But how did I get here? We’ll rewind a bit.
Every now and then, I’ll get a text from someone I’ve met somewhere asking if I’m around while they’re passing through Tahoe. Naturally, as any completely reasonable person would do, I rearrange my entire weekend to go climbing with them.
So when my good friend Elvis Ortiz texted me saying he’d be climbing at the Emeralds Saturday morning, I was in. Elvis isn’t just an incredibly strong climber, he’s also one of the community leaders behind People’s Climbing Crew and Escalemos, two Bay Area BIPOC climbing groups dedicated to making the outdoors more welcoming and accessible. He’s an outdoor programming and education lead, but more than anything, he’s one of those people who genuinely cares about building community in climbing and helping others get outside. So, shoutout to Elvis, the People’s Climbing Crew and Escalemos for the work they’re doing.
Petra Molina (left) and Elvis Ortiz (right) simul rappelling at the emeralds Saturday morning. Provided / Elvis Ortiz
I, on the other hand, firmly support a little crag gatekeeping.
Just kidding, if you ask me directly for crag recommendations, I’ll always help. I just don’t want to accidentally saturate a spot by advertising it in a newspaper. So I won’t tell you exactly where we were. What I will say is that it was beautiful. I’ve only climbed at the Emeralds a handful of times, but every visit reminds me why it’s one of the Tahoe–Truckee area’s gems
We climbed a few routes together before Elvis walked me through his own top rope solo system. And just like that, an entirely new world of climbing opened up.
When I climbed up, I felt how freeing it was to move entirely on my own.
Top rope soling basically means you’re attached to a rope the entire time, but you don’t have a belayer. I’m not a climbing instructor, so I’m intentionally not explaining how it works. Top-rope soloing comes with additional risks and should only be learned from qualified instructors.
In many ways, learning to top-rope solo simply gave me the ability to combine two of my favorite things: being alone and climbing. After a turbulent period in my life, I realized that solitude in the outdoors was one of the few places where my mind finally grew quiet.
There is actually research suggesting that spending time in nature can lead to what’s called a “small self.” Basically, the vastness of the natural world can shrink the sense of personal importance, softening everyday anxieties and ego boundaries, and fostering a feeling of being part of something much larger and more connected than the individual self.
I don’t know if that’s exactly what happens to me. I just know that every time I’m alone in the mountains, or wandering through the desert, or sitting underneath a boulder waiting for my skin to stop hurting, I suddenly remember to breathe.
The anxiety gets a little quieter. The world gets bigger. And for a while, I get to be wonderfully, beautifully small.
Anyway, this was one of those weekends I’ll remember for a long time. I’m excited to see where this new chapter of climbing takes me.
Petra Molina top-rope soloing in the Emeralds Saturday morning. Provided / Elvis Ortiz
At just two years old and around 35 pounds, Indie is the perfect size for just about any adventure. This sweet girl has a curious spirit and loves exploring the world one sniff at a time. Whether she’s checking out a new trail, investigating an interesting scent, or simply taking in everything happening around her, Indie approaches life with quiet confidence and wonder.
Like many thoughtful dogs, Indie appreciates a little time to settle into new surroundings. But once she feels comfortable, her easygoing and relaxed personality truly shines. She enjoys checking in with her people as she explores and is happiest when she has someone by her side to share life’s little adventures.
Indie is this week’s Pet of the Week. Provided / HSTT
Indie would make a wonderful companion for someone who enjoys a slower pace and appreciates a dog with a gentle, independent nature. She’s the kind of friend who’s just as happy exploring the outdoors as she is relaxing after a day of adventure.
If you’re looking for a loyal companion with a kind heart, curious mind, and calm spirit, Indie may be the perfect match for you. Come meet her, you just might find your newest adventure buddy waiting at the shelter!
If you are interested in meeting Indie or learning more about her, please get in touch with one of HSTT’s Adoption Specialists, 530-587-5948 or adoptions@hstt.org. She is spayed, vaccinated, and up to date on her vaccines. To view more adoptable pets or to learn more about the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, visit www.hstt.org.
The sun is setting on Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge as the community has known it for almost four decades. The longtime operator of the restaurant, T S Restaurants, is stepping aside in the fall to make way for a new operator — chef and restaurateur Mark Estee of Local Food Group.
T S Restaurants, which currently operates 13 destination restaurants in Hawaii and California, has run both the Sunnyside restaurant and hotel since 1987. T S CEO Jackie Reed said the decision was a mutual one made with the property owner, Tahoe Sunnyside Partners.
“It was a very difficult decision, but it felt time to return Sunnyside to a more local operator,” she said, “to do what was best for Sunnyside for the future.”
Estee has opened numerous restaurants in Tahoe and Reno, including Burger Me! and Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats (though he is no longer involved with either). Before that, he served as the executive chef at Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe’s Lone Eagle Grille. His group currently owns four restaurants in Reno — seven if you count Great Basin Brewery’s four locations.
Although Reed noted it’s been a difficult few years for the restaurant industry, she said the decision to part ways with Sunnyside was not a financial one. Mike Dumke, managing partner of Tahoe Sunnyside Partners, said the same thing.
“It’s been a great relationship with T S for 39 years, almost more like a partnership than a landlord relationship,” he said. “We both mutually came to the conclusion that it may be better to have them transition out and have a more local operator get involved in the property.”
Dumke said Estee plans on putting a fresh spin on the menu but will retain the theme of American fare as well as seafood and great burgers and adding some smoked items.
The new partnership also marks the beginning of significant investments across the property. Sunnyside will shut down Oct. 5 for renovations with plans to re-open April 1, 2027. The Local Food Group will remodel the restaurant, which includes an expansion of the kitchen and private dining spaces, while the ownership group plans on refreshing the 23 hotel rooms with new paint, carpet, and furniture, but no new construction. Tahoe Sunnyside Partners, which also owns Sunnyside Watersports & Marina, will manage the lodge going forward.
T S’s presence in Tahoe City began in 1978 with Jake’s on the Lake, then Sunnyside nine years later. Jake’s sold to a T S founder’s brother, Chris Thibaut, in 2005. Despite T S leaving Tahoe in the fall, Sunnyside will retain its storied name.
“It’s an emotional and bittersweet time for us,” said Reed, who noted T S is focusing on the Summer Send-Off celebration, with plans still in the works. “Not a lot of restaurants can say they operated for 39 years.”
The latest environmental controversy in Tahoe isn’t a development project, a wildfire, or a fight over lake clarity.
It’s a weed killer.
A proposal to use glyphosate in portions of the Caldor Fire burn scar has triggered mounting concern among residents and environmental advocates, opening a broader conversation about the herbicide’s health risks, ecological impacts, and growing presence throughout the region.
It all started with nonprofit news outlet Mother Jones’ yearlong investigation into the expanding use of herbicides in California forests. Released in May, the article dove deep into the worlds of wildfire management and recovery, industrial pesticide production, and complex federal bureaucracy. Among other projects, the article highlighted Forest Service plans to use herbicide as a vegetation management tool in the burn scar of the 2021 Caldor wildfire.
PULSING INTO WATERSHEDS: The most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate, poses a great risk of ecological devastation, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
The final environmental assessment and decision notice for the Caldor Fire Restoration Project — to be spearheaded by the Forest Service’s Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) — was released in March of this year. The project will thin tree stands in and around the burn area, remove damaged trees, and reforest burned areas, all within an approximately 11,700-acre project footprint.
Part of that preparation and reforestation is slated to include potential herbicide treatment. In the environmental assessment, LTBMU notes that “herbicides may be used to aid site preparation before tree planting and to manage competing vegetation after planting when manual treatments are ineffective or expected to be insufficient.”
At the top of the list of intended herbicides? Glyphosate.
Public reaction to the Caldor Restoration Project
The Mother Jones investigation analyzed more than 5 million California pesticide-use records, finding that approximately 266,000 pounds of glyphosate were applied in California forests in 2023 — nearly five times the amount used two decades earlier. The article characterized forest applications as the fastest-growing use of glyphosate in the state.
Public opposition to the use of the chemical in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin has quickly mounted, and pressure is on for local agencies.
In response to public outcry around the use of glyphosate in the Caldor Fire Restoration Project, a change.org petition began to circulate. It quickly garnered well over 22,000 signatures by the time this article was written, with public comments and support pouring in from across the country. Conspicuously absent from the body of this petition, however, are any concrete demands to address the titular demand, “Stop glyphosate spraying in the Tahoe Basin.”
This missing piece may be a reflection of the confusing decision-making associated with this project — in this particular instance, it seems few people know exactly how to effect change within our local bureaucracy.
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REFORESTATION: A recently planted Jeffrey pine seedling grows at the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort in California during a project in the Caldor Fire burn scar in May. Personnel from Silhouette Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Great Basin Institute planted red fir, Jeffrey pine and western white pine. Photo by Andrew Avitt/U.S. Forest Service
REVEGETATION WITH A PURPOSE: While vegetation will naturally reappear in the burn scar, the Forest Service plans to use mechanical and chemical treatments to ensure sufficient conifer growth. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
PULSING INTO WATERSHEDS: The most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate, poses a great risk of ecological devastation, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Frustrated, concerned, and confused, the public has swarmed to social media and rallied at Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) governance meetings to demand regulatory change. But that’s just not how it works, Jeff Cowen, public information officer at TRPA explained to me. At least, not anymore.
To understand the decision-making process behind environmental projects like this one, one must go back to the start. In 1969, TRPA was formed to help manage the two states, five counties, and three national forests that all wanted decision-making power over Lake Tahoe. Soon after, LTBMU was formed to consolidate national forest management in the region.
“It’s … been a partnership from the start,” Cowen said of the relationship between TRPA and LTBMU. But with 79% of land in the Basin owned and managed by the Forest Service, there are limitations on TRPA’s influence.
Those limitations have shifted over time, perhaps the most notable of which came as a result of the 2007 Angora wildfire. Inefficiencies, silos, and redundant regulatory procedures, Cowen explained, were identified as sticking points in the fire’s cause and magnitude. To address these hindrances, about 20 agencies came together to streamline environmental decision-making in the Basin.
Among the outcomes of this streamlining was an expanded memorandum of understanding between TRPA and LTBMU. For major projects like the Caldor Fire Restoration Project, TRPA is no longer a permitting authority, but instead an advisor to the decision-making process.
Cowen emphasized the efficacy of this decision, sharing that he feels that a “regulatory framework is really ineffective and not needed,” between the two agencies. “Because the Forest Service has very similar goals … they basically get to the point where they’re just adopting [our] goals and implementing them through their own plans.”
Together, the agencies have treated 80,000 acres across the Basin for wildfire prevention in the past two decades. But he also acknowledged there are “big, federal, overarching principles and direction that they also have to follow.”
As of late, these overarching principles seem somewhat murky.
How we got here: A noxious government love affair
In February of this year, the Trump administration made a sweeping move with the issuance of an Executive Order unambiguously named “Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorous and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides.”
This explicit prioritization of glyphosate production and use by the executive branch is a conveniently-timed declaration of support for the lawsuit-ridden Bayer company — and it’s no mystery as to why, Nathan Donley from the Center for Biological Diversity explained.
Our government has and continues to validate the use of glyphosate and other pesticides — despite the widely documented risks — because of the immense lobbying power of agricultural and agrochemical industries, Donley said. And it is far from isolated to the Trump administration.
“It’s been an absolute full court press from Bayer on all levels of government,” he explained. “Not just the executive and legislative branches. I mean, Clarence Thomas was a former Monsanto employee.”
And he’s not the only agrichemical-employee-turned-political-appointee. As of President Trump’s first year in office, all four of the top positions in the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention — the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Assistant Administrator, Deputy Assistant Administrator for New Chemicals, and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticides — have been filled by former executives or lobbyists of chemical and agricultural companies. The EPA and most other pesticide regulatory agencies continue to assert that glyphosate does not pose a health risk when used according to its label.
As Donley said, “the tendrils run deep … in the levels of influence that this company, Bayer, has in our government.”
Just how deep they run on initiatives like the Caldor Fire Restoration Project remains somewhat opaque. In the project’s environmental assessment, the herbicide use is identified as a way to expedite reforestation and “achieve silvicultural objectives.” These objectives? Conifer stands.
The assessment names three target species that, if not for herbicide use, could otherwise outcompete reforested conifers: western whitethorn, greenleaf manzanita, and ceanothus, or California lilac.
These native, fire-adapted species are known as pioneer species, meaning they are often the first to appear after wildfire events. Their fast-growing roots help to stabilize fire-impacted soil and prevent excess erosion, while also providing species-specific benefits like returning nutrients to damaged soils and quickly regenerating important habitat for pollinators and other species.
But while targeted elimination of native species may raise eyebrows, the Forest Service has an explanation. They are “not taking a wholesale targeting approach to these shrub species,” but instead targeting them only in the immediate vicinity of conifer seedlings. This will help ensure the area includes enough established trees to prevent full conversion to a montane chaparral environment, which could otherwise ignite easier and burn faster in future fire seasons.
Still, there is time before glyphosate use is slated to begin in the Basin.
“No herbicide application is planned for 2026 or 2027,” the Forest Service’s Region 5 media team stated. “Reforestation is an activity that will occur after initial entry (such as mechanical or hand treatments to remove overhead hazards and perhaps prescribed burning or mastication as site preparation) and occurs later in the project implementation timeline.”
Of the 11,700 acres of Forest Service land included within the project area, herbicide treatment is only proposed on a portion of the 2,400 to 3,600 acres where reforestation efforts will take place.
It’s a common pesticide. What’s the big deal?
Well, ain’t that the $11 billion question.
Health and environmental concerns associated with glyphosate use and exposure have been bubbling up for over a decade.
And despite being the most widely used herbicide globally, glyphosate wasn’t originally poised to become a pesticide at all. The chemical was first developed as a boiler and pipe cleaner agent. It wasn’t until 1974 that Monsanto, an American agrochemical and biotechnology company, discovered its efficacy as a herbicide. Monsanto quickly patented the discovery and sold glyphosate as the active ingredient in its crown-jewel herbicide product — Roundup.
GREENS-KEEPING: Golf courses are among the many landscapes where glyphosate is commonly used for vegetation management. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
For over 25 years, Roundup products filled shelves at hardware and home garden stores, farming co-ops, and major industrial retailers as the sole glyphosate-based product. Touting its unique success as a versatile weed-killer, products were marketed and sold in a variety of forms, from ready-to-use herbicides for home gardens to commercial-grade concentrates designed for agricultural, industrial, and heavy-duty landscaping use. The substance was applied with everything from handheld bottles to backpack devices to large-scale aerial sprayers.
In 2000, Monsanto’s patent for exclusive use of the chemical expired in the United States. Other manufacturers began to flood the market, introducing their own glyphosate-based herbicides. Public use skyrocketed and, for the better part of two decades, glyphosate products flew off shelves.
Then in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), published a scientific evaluation of the carcinogenicity of several market herbicides, glyphosate among them. As a result, glyphosate was designated as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Months later, the first lawsuit to allege Monsanto’s Roundup products were causing cancer proceeded to trial in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a groundskeeper for Benicia Unified School District argued Roundup had caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The case, Johnson v. Monsanto, became the first of approximately 125,000 similar claims filed by 2020, with the California court ultimately ruling in Mr. Johnson’s favor. The jury awarded the plaintiff $289 million in compensatory and punitive damages, an amount that was later reduced by the judge to $78 million and then $21 million.
At the same time, proponents of glyphosate products began to vehemently defend both its safety and usage.
One such advocate named Patrick Moore, a former environmentalist turned TED-talking-climate-change-skeptic, even went so far as to claim Roundup was safe to drink. Moore was featured on air in a CBC News segment on the 2015 WHO findings, where he stated that “you can drink a whole quart of [Roundup], it won’t hurt you.” However, when offered a glass of the chemical by his interviewer, Moore declined to substantiate his claim in real-time, repeatedly saying “No, I’m not stupid.”
In 2017, a multi-district litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California consolidated the surge of federal lawsuits against Monsanto for its Roundup products. The litigation revealed a body of evidence that the leading study cited to defend Roundup’s safety for human exposure — Safety Evaluation and Risk Assessment of the Herbicide Roundup and Its Active Ingredient, Glyphosate, for Humans, published in 2000 by Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology — was in large part shaped and steered by Monsanto employees. The suit exposed email exchanges between Monsanto employees offering congratulations to one another for their “hard work” on the study and hopes that it would become “the reference on Roundup and glyphosate safety.”
Ultimately, the journal retracted the study, citing significant ethical concerns. But the damage was done, and the study still ranks among the top references justifying glyphosate use and claims to its safety.
In 2018, Monsanto was acquired by Bayer, a German pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical company. Bayer continued to sell Roundup but quickly discontinued the use of the Monsanto brand name, which was becoming increasingly tied to unfavorable litigation.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California found Monsanto liable for another case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. in 2019, initially awarding Mr. Hardeman $80 million in damages — a total subsequently reduced to $20 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision in 2021, finding that the EPA’s approval of a pesticide label does not immunize a manufacturer from being held liable. This case ultimately became the first (and at this point, only) federal decision on the issue.
Despite Bayer phasing out glyphosate as an active ingredient in its residential Roundup products in 2023, it remains present in commercial and agricultural formulas. Lawsuits have continued to arise, with substantial damages and fees awarded to plaintiffs whose exposure to Roundup resulted in non-Hodgkin, follicular, T-cell, or other forms of lymphoma.
As of the time this article is being written, Bayer has paid over $11 billion in settlements for Roundup-related lawsuits and proposed a nation-wide class action settlement that would cap current and future claim payouts at $7.25 billion, to be used for declining payments for up to 21 years. The class action is heavily opposed by plaintiffs and environmental and public health organizations who have described it as a liability “shield.” A decision from the federal Supreme Court on its constitutionality is expected later in June. If approved, it will become one of the largest legal fee awards to date.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE: The 2021 Caldor Fire burned 221,835 acres across El Dorado, Alpine, and Amador counties. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Public health and environmental impact
Cancer is far from the only public health risk posed by glyphosate use and exposure.
Studies have found potential ties between glyphosate exposure and various medical conditions such as liver disease and reproductive disorders including PCOS, endometriosis, and disruptions to fertility. What’s more, a growing body of research is finding that glyphosate exposure may be a trigger for various gastrointestinal diseases and conditions, including celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
But despite these alarming associations, it remains unclear how much exposure is required to pose a real health risk to humans. In the vast majority of legal cases, affected plaintiffs are groundkeepers, farmers, or dedicated recreational gardeners — folks routinely subjected to highly concentrated forms of glyphosate.
In all likelihood, the exposure any individual may experience as a direct result of a relatively remote use such as the Caldor Fire Restoration Project would not cause substantial human harm. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, the half-life (time needed for a chemical to reduce to half of its initial amount) of glyphosate is particularly variable, landing somewhere between 2 and 197 days in soil, and between “a few days” and 91 days in water.
The chance of human exposure narrows further upon consideration of where the Caldor Fire Reforestation Project’s proposed herbicide treatment areas lie. In an email, the Forest Service’s Region 5 media team noted that “for the Caldor Fire Restoration Project, herbicide use is proposed only on a subset of the area proposed for reforestation, where other reforestation site preparation methods will not work. For example, manual removal equipment is not permitted in project areas with steep slopes, locations far from existing roads, [or] sensitive soils.”
But the questionable human health impacts of this project are not the sole consideration in this instance. An even greater risk is the ecological devastation that glyphosate wreaks on habitats, plants, and wildlife.
Donley at the Center for Biological Diversity noted that so long as glyphosate is present, it poses an environmental risk. This is particularly true after any precipitation, where stormwater runoff “goes into the nearby river, lake, or stream of that watershed and contaminates it with high pulses of pesticide.”
Donley emphasized that most animals do rely on these waters, whether they are woodland animals seeking drinking water, wetland species like migratory birds, or aquatic animals that then have no choice but to suffer through 24/7 exposure to contaminated water. While this can be lethal, he added, there are other effects as well. “It can lead to chronic harms like reduced reproductive capability or developmental defects, so it can affect subsequent generations and ultimately lead to population decline or even collapse for certain species,” he explained.
The Environmental Protection Agency found that glyphosate use was likely causing harm to 1,676 of the approximately 1,700 plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Where the Caldor Fire Restoration Project is concerned, LTBMU will be taking some precautions to prevent this catastrophic runoff. “Herbicide applications will not take place within six hours of predicted rainfall that has a high probability of producing measurable runoff, or as requested by the Forest Service aquatics biologist,” the Forest Service shared via email. Additionally, the project will use backpack sprayers or other low-volume methods, as opposed to aquatic or aerial application, which produces greater concern for pollinator species.
But slip-ups or insufficient margins of time between application and precipitation could be catastrophic for some species that call the Tahoe area home.
In 2021, the federal Environmental Protection Agency found that glyphosate use was likely causing harm to 1,676 of the approximately 1,700 plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Impacted species include the Sierra Nevada red fox, California spotted owl, and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, all of which are listed in the federal Endangered Species Act and live in our area.
Hitting close to home
While proposed glyphosate use in the Caldor burn scar has created quite a stir for the public, it appears as though our community remains blissfully unaware that glyphosate made its debut in the Truckee/Tahoe area long ago.
According to its most recent annual data, California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) ranked glyphosate the sixth most used pesticide in the state in 2023. Of herbicides (plant-specific pesticides) used statewide, glyphosate ranked number one both by pounds applied and total acres treated – 10.7 million and 4.8 million, respectively. About 270,000 pounds alone were used to spray California’s forest land, a figure that has been steadily increasing each year.
Agriculture remains a top use, with glyphosate the pesticide of choice for a variety of crops, from cotton to nuts to citrus and even — put down your glass of pinot here — wine grapes. Neighborhood gardens also pose a risk; DPR data excludes residential use, but despite Bayer’s 2023 phaseout of glyphosate from its residential products, the compound remains the active ingredient in competitor products. Nationwide, the EPA estimates residential and non-crop glyphosate use at several million pounds per year.
While glyphosate is most closely associated with agriculture, it is also widely used in non-agricultural settings, including rights-of-way corridors, landscape maintenance, parks, athletic facilities, golf courses, utility infrastructure, and other managed public spaces.
Individual county reporting provides insight into current uses regionally. El Dorado County, which encompasses the Eastern side of Folsom to the California-Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe, applied over 9,500 pounds of glyphosate in 2023 for forest and timberland applications, and just over 6,000 along rights of way areas like roads, highway corridors, sidewalks, and curb areas. Placer County, on the other hand, reported over 9,000 pounds used for rights of way areas, just over 4,600 pounds for forest and timberland areas, and just under 4,000 pounds for landscape maintenance. Nevada County clocked in with significantly lower rates, atjust over 2,000 pounds used for rights of way areas and a similar amount for landscape maintenance topping the list in 2023.
These numbers encompass more than public agency use. Private landowners are also obligated to report use to DPR, and glyphosate has become industry-standard for a number of vegetative fixtures. For example, on its website, NV Energy notes herbicide use as a mechanism for vegetation management under its power lines.
A recent follow-up article from Mother Jones opened with investigative journalist Nate Halverson standing in the middle of a run at Sierra-at-Tahoe that “clearly had been doused in glyphosate,” pointing to the area being “devoid of spring flowers; the bushes leafless, brittle, and dead by all appearances.” Sure enough, Halverson had found that the “Forest Service posted maps online showing it had sprayed glyphosate around and within Sierra-at-Tahoe in spring 2025.” This spraying was a part of a separate Caldor Fire Restoration Project, managed by El Dorado Resource Conservation District and taking place outside of the Basin, with a much larger footprint approved for herbicide use.
Patrick Lacey, public relations manager at Palisades Tahoe, said the resort does not use any chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides for vegetation management. Instead, he explained, its vegetation management crews use the mechanical removal of smaller trees and bushes to focus on “reducing ladder fuels on the forest floor and skier safety; the combination works synergistically.”
Since 2015, more than 125,000 legal claims have been filed alleging that exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, contributed to the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bayer has paid over $11 billion in settlements thus far. File photo
Marc McMullen, the golf course superintendent at Northstar California Resort, told me he does use glyphosate as well as fungicide to manage vegetation on the Northstar course. While total use during the season is relatively low, McMullen emphasized that the compound used is a harsh enough product that it is not available off the shelf and requires a pesticide applicator license through both the state and county.
University extension publications and turf-management literature routinely identify golf courses as a significant use category for the herbicide for vegetation management, cart-path edging, weed control, and renovation projects.
Moonshine Ink reached out to other land managers of community spaces, but many did not respond to the inquiries.
While debate continues over where and when glyphosate should be used, its presence in the modern landscape is difficult to avoid entirely. That reality raises a practical question for residents: What steps, if any, can individuals and communities take to reduce exposure?
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot
Options range from personal choices to participating in public discussions.
First and foremost, eating food grown using organic practices whenever possible is one of the leading ways to reduce glyphosate exposure and mitigate its harms to human health, researchers say.
A 2020 study published in Environmental Research found that diet is a main source of glyphosate exposure for humans. What’s more, researchers found glyphosate levels in children prior to making the switch to organic foods were approximately five times higher than adult levels. The good news? Transitioning to organic food had a near-immediate impact on the amount of glyphosate in subjects’ systems, reducing levels by over
70 percent.
Water, too, can be a potential source of glyphosate exposure. In the Basin, where most household drinking water comes from surface waters, regional water purveyors regularly test for pesticides. Sarah Vidra, the Executive Director at Tahoe Water Suppliers Association, confirmed that “pesticides are … monitored as part of the Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOC) program.” Currently, she added, “the Association is not aware of any pesticide detections exceeding drinking water standards in Lake Tahoe source water supplies.” Vidra confirmed the SOC testing TWSA uses detects glyphosate.
Truckee tap water is substantially more removed from potential contamination, as the Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD) sources all water from deep underground aquifers. “The average age of our drinking water predates many modern chemicals,” Alex Spychalsky, TDPUD Communications Program Manager, explained via email. “For example, the rain we saw fall in our region last week won’t reach our aquifer for decades.”
But Donley said there’s more to be done than relying on water purveyors. “Regardless of how clean you think your water is, everyone should have a good water filter in their house,” he advised. “Because I don’t care how clean you think your water is, it’s not.”
MAKING THE ROUNDS: Glyphosate wasn’t originally poised to become a pesticide at all. The chemical was first developed as a boiler and pipe cleaner agent. In 1974 Monsanto discovered its efficacy as a herbicide and quickly patented the discovery and sold glyphosate as the active ingredient in its crown-jewel herbicide product — Roundup. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
While limiting glyphosate exposure in private spaces like kitchens, yards, and gardens can help mitigate risk, navigating more public areas that are outside of one’s control can be more complex. A simple rule of thumb, Donley suggested, is don’t play — and don’t let your loved ones play — where dandelions don’t grow. Weeds and other landscaping imperfections are natural. Allow them to be a sign of safe, glyphosate-free spaces.
Locally, questions about herbicide use may be addressed through existing regulatory and planning processes. As for the standards by which TRPA advises projects, those can be changed, though Cowen noted that “the path to what action [TRPA] can take is a relatively long one.” While it typically responds to emerging issues through scientific review, Cowen suggested the level of public interest surrounding glyphosate may warrant further examination. In the case of herbicide use in the Tahoe Basin, he said, “public concern is probably enough for us to start looking at it.”
Whether glyphosate is ultimately used as part of the LTBMU Caldor Fire Restoration Project remains to be seen. What is already clear is that the proposal has sparked a broader conversation about forest management, wildfire recovery, herbicide use, public health, and environmental stewardship — one that is likely to continue well beyond the boundaries of the burn scar itself.
For decades, Truckee Fire Protection District has provided fire and emergency medical services to some of the region’s most affluent neighborhoods. According to the district, however, it has never received the full share of property tax revenue that should be tied to those responsibilities.
Now, after years of unsuccessful negotiations, Truckee Fire has taken Placer County to court, arguing that a decades-old property tax allocation error has deprived the district of roughly $40 million since the mid-1970s. The lawsuit could reshape how millions of dollars in property taxes are distributed among local agencies, drawing 10 other districts into the dispute.
Property tax collection for select special districts across Truckee/North Tahoe play a significant role in revenue streams. Some, like Truckee Sanitary District and Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, rely on property taxes for more than 60% of their operating revenue.
This is common in California: Revenue from the 1% property tax is the foundation for most jurisdictions, from counties and cities down to schools and special districts.
Which means if there’s a piece of the highly precious property pie tax missing, it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Nearly 75% of the Truckee Fire Protection District’s 2025/26 revenue comes from taxes, or $14.1 million of its total $19.8 million budget. That number, alleges the district, should be $4 million more.
The district officially brought a case before the Sacramento Superior Court in February 2025 to right a “historic wrong,” according to court documentation.
Placer County, through outside counsel, has so far called into question the legal validity of the entire case, disputing each of the four causes of action submitted by Truckee Fire that make up its argument. Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell ruled against the county’s claims as recently as May 14.
As of press deadline, the ball is in Placer’s court: it has until July 6 to file a formal response to Truckee Fire’s demand for court action and a legal ruling.
Because of the active litigation, both entities provided brief statements to Moonshine Ink:
“Truckee Fire looks forward to having our day in court and to an expeditious, fair, and complete resolution to this matter,” Chief Kevin McKechnie said.
“The county disputes the claims brought by the district and will defend its position in the litigation,” shared Steven Wilson-Maggard, public information officer.
How did we get here?
The red tape that’s causing so much back and forth stems from California’s Proposition 13, passed back in 1978.
This ruling put a 1% tax rate cap of a property’s assessed value and limited yearly assessment increases to 2%. (Prior to ’78, the state’s average property tax rate was 2.67%.) Further, property reassessments bringing up a property to current market value can only take place when there’s a change in ownership or new construction.
Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8), enacted in 1979, determined how that 1% tax was divided up among local governments. County auditors were required to base this distribution on the average property tax revenue received by local governments in the few years preceding Prop 13.
The crux for Truckee Fire is that a few years prior to Prop 13, the district began providing fire protection and medical services to a piece of land known then as the Woolverton Property and known now as Zone 7, annexed into the district in 1974.
CAUGHT IN RED TAPE: Select neighborhoods in Martis Valley are classified as a No Pay Tax Rate Area (TRA), which means Truckee Fire Protection District provides service with no property tax revenue in return. The group of homes in question amounts to 1,600 structures across 2,189 parcels. Graphic by Lauren Shearer/Moonshine Ink and courtesy Google Maps
Zone 7 currently comprises Martis Camp, Schaffer’s Mill, part of Lahontan off Snowshoe Thompson Circle; a portion of Sierra Meadows off Pine Cone and Ponderosa drives, and Golden Pine Road; as well as a section of Ponderosa Palisades on Silver Fir Drive west of Thelin Drive.
The Woolverton agreement limited taxation to the value of improvements (or development), not the underlying land, and allowed property owner Bertha Joerger Woolverton “to continue to live on her property unburdened by taxes but to support the District’s services as she sold her land for development,” as stated in Truckee Fire’s complaint.
In board meetings, Placer County supervisors have called this deal of taxing Zone 7 at a reduced rate as a mistake made by Truckee Fire, leading to the district receiving only partial property tax from that area during three critical years before Prop 13. That taxation level was locked into place in 1978 — and has stayed that way through today.
During the 2024/25 tax year, across the TRAs in Zone 7, Truckee Fire received between 0.60% and 0.75% in AB 8 property tax allocation. A nearby TRA shows Truckee Fire receiving 11.58% of the distribution.
There have been some negotiations in the intervening years. Truckee Fire formally requested its share of AB 8 funding in 1997, 2011, 2018, and 2023. In 1997, Placer’s Auditor Controller Jayne Goulding sent a letter to Truckee Fire stating the revenues had been corrected, but that change never took place.
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IN 1973, Truckee Fire received a letter from Bertha Woolverton requesting annexation into the district for land known today as Martis Valley. Documents courtesy Truckee Fire Protection District
IN 1973, Truckee Fire received a letter from Bertha Woolverton requesting annexation into the district for land known today as Martis Valley. Documents courtesy Truckee Fire Protection District
In 2019, the county allocated the district funding from an adjacent bucket: Placer County executed a voluntary tax share agreement allowing Truckee Fire to receive a portion of fire control fee collected from Zone 7 property taxes, amounting to about $300,000 annually. Truckee Fire considers this agreement irrelevant to the larger situation, according to court documentation.
In June 2024, the Placer County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation about the fire control fund and whether to continue with a subsequent funding method or not.
Placer County Supervisor Jim Holmes pointed out in June 2024 that Truckee Fire could have corrected the issue in part during the county’s 2003 general plan update but did not do so: “This sets a precedent … This takes money out of our general fund to supplement a district that failed to take action when the opportunity was there for them.”
The item was not up for action, and ended with unclear steps for the future. Eight months later, Truckee Fire filed its case.
What specifically is being asked for?
Truckee Fire’s legal reasons for suing Placer fall into two camps: three focus on the failure of property tax allocation (as described previously), while the fourth focuses on the county’s failure to comply with the Placer County General Plan and Martis Valley Community Plan.
This second camp claims the county approved real estate developments such as Martis Valley, Schaffer’s Mill, and part of Lahontan neighborhoods in Zone 7 without funding fire service in conjunction.
In early 2024, Truckee Fire alleges in the complaint, the district stated on an early building permit for a townhome development in Schaffer’s Mill that as the serving fire protection district, it would “withhold approval of a Certificate of Occupancy until it received adequate funding to provide fire services to the development.” The district also requested that the county restrict further development in Martis Valley until the funding issues at hand could be rectified.
On March 26 of that year, Placer amended its county code to allow fire-protection district approval to come from either Truckee Fire, Placer County Fire, or Cal Fire.
Over a year later, the Placer County Planning Commission modified the Schaffer’s Mill Conditional Use Permit language to allow either Truckee Fire or Placer County Fire’s signature for plan approvals.
Placer demurred to the district’s complaint on all causes of action. A demurrer essentially means that even if, in this case, Truckee Fire’s claims are true, they do not warrant a lawsuit. Judge Rockwell overruled two of the three demurrers, while sustaining the third demurrer on the fourth cause of action, but allowed the district time to amend its legal stance.
Truckee Fire did so, submitting an amended complaint — to which Placer demurred once again on the fourth cause of action. The judge overruled this demurrer in mid-May, leading to the current wait for Placer County’s response, due by July 6.
From there, the case will likely enter a discovery phase, during which both sides will exchange information, evidence, and witness interviews.
Among its requests for ruling, Truckee Fire hopes for legal mandates to the county to allocate and pay the district its AB 8 share of Zone 7 property tax revenue; a permanent injunction from denying Truckee Fire its AB 8 share; and a declaration that Placer’s decision to approve development in the Martis Valley area without general plan compliance violates the law.
TRUCKEE FIRE’S Station 96, serving the Martis Valley 24 hours a day, seven days a week since 2000. Courtesy photo
What other districts are involved (and whose side are they on)?
If Truckee Fire is allotted any amount of AB 8, which is a limited pot of money, other entities receiving property tax from Zone 7 will take a hit.
When it first filed its complaint, Truckee Fire did not include other taxing entities involved in Zone 7 who could be impacted. Placer called this out in a demurrer, requiring an amended complaint to include the following as real parties in interest:
Truckee Tahoe Airport District, Placer County Resource Conservation District, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Sierra Community College District, Placer County Office of Education, Placer County Water Agency, Tahoe Forest Hospital District, Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency, Tahoe City Public Utility District, and Truckee Sanitary District. All 10 are listed as parties on the side of Placer County.
Of the parties, the airport district, Tahoe City PUD, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Placer County Office of Education, and Truckee Sanitary District have filed joinders at some point, formally aligning themselves with Placer’s arguments. For the latest set of demurrers, the school district and office of education did not file joinders while the remaining three did.
Why other parties of interest didn’t file a joinder can be for many reasons, including being able to benefit from a decision without the cost or exposure; different interests than defendant’s strategies; and taking a wait-and-see approach.
“While the core of this dispute is between the fire district and the county, the legal remedy sought, a reapportionment of ad valorem property taxes, carries an outsized potential impact on a broad coalition of local public agencies that provide essential services to our community,” TTAD General Manager Robb Etnyre wrote in an email. “Because property tax revenue is a ‘zero-sum’ system under California law, any significant shift in these percentages means the funding must be drawn from the existing shares of other local entities.”
In its 2026 budget, TTAD anticipates receiving about $10 million in property tax revenue — about 55% of its revenue for the year.
Etnyre added that the airport district’s participation in the case, as well as the other parties with interest, “is intended to ensure that the pursuit of fire protection funding does not inadvertently destabilize the budgets of our schools, our hospital, or our regional infrastructure.”
Truckee Fire has said in public statements about the case, “Placer County would prefer we ask taxpayers districtwide to approve a new property tax so that the district can have sufficient funds to fund services in Lahontan, Martis Camp and Schaffer’s Mill … Placer County has already collected substantial tax revenue, they just need to allocate it.”
In the current court case, the district is requesting its AB 8 share from the date of the final court order forward. Meanwhile, it is also asking for historical records of what it received from 1975 to 1978, which would play a role in determining the full amount Truckee Fire might have collected since the mid-1970s.
Sherry McConkey is widely known in Tahoe/Truckee as the wife of the late, famed skier and ski-BASE athlete Shane McConkey, as founder of the Shane McConkey Foundation, and a popular yoga teacher. But the story of how Sherry became such an active part of the Tahoe community started on the other side of the world.
Born to a South African mother and Persian father, Sherry entered the world under complicated circumstances. Her mother, who was a model, gave birth in an adoption home in Ireland because in the 1960s, it would have been complicated to have a mixed-race child in South Africa. When Sherry was born with blonde hair and blue eyes, her mother was able to bring her back to South Africa and raise her there.
After spending her first years in Iran, Sherry grew up near the coastal city of Durban in South Africa. By age 21, she was ready to see more of the world.
“When I was 21, I decided to travel the world and find my birth father,” Sherry said.
With South African currency stretching only so far abroad, she found herself working, traveling, and working again as she made her way across Europe.
“I had some insanely amazing adventures, great and bad, beautiful and crazy,” Sherry said. “Three years of a very innocent, naive young South African traveling the world.”
Along the way, she saw snow for the first time while visiting Switzerland and immediately fell in love with the mountains. Eventually, her search for her father led her to North America.
But shortly before she planned to meet him, everything changed.
“As I was about to come to the States to meet my dad, he left without telling me,” Sherry said. “Basically, I was like, ‘Screw you. I’m done looking. I’m done trying.’”
Without a destination in mind, Sherry followed recommendations from friends and found herself driving to Tahoe.
“I found it miraculous,” she said. “As I drove up the West Shore and the harvest moon was coming out of the lake, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this place is amazing.’”
What was supposed to be a single winter stay has now turned into 36 years.
Tahoe became even more meaningful after she met professional skier Shane McConkey. Together they built a life and raised their daughter, Ayla. When Shane died in a ski-BASE accident in Italy in 2009, Sherry considered leaving the region.
GURU: Sherry McConkey is a popular yoga teacher at Palisades Yoga. She is pictured here at her retreat in Nicaragua. Photos courtesy Sherry McConkey
“When Shane died, the community just wrapped their arms around Ayla and me,” she said. “It was like a family around me. I was like, ‘How am I ever going to leave this?’”
The years that followed were marked by loss throughout the community. Many longtime locals remember the early 2000s as a period of repeated tragedies.
“I got to a point where I was like, ‘How much more can I take?’” Sherry said. “But when I looked at other places to go, I would realize I couldn’t leave my Tahoe family.”
Instead, she stayed and poured her energy into giving back.
In the years following Shane’s death, Sherry helped establish the Shane McConkey Foundation. What began as a way to support environmental causes the couple cared about grew into programs that are now nationwide. Since its founding in 2011, the nonprofit has donated one million dollars to environmental causes, kids health and wellness, and projects that impact the Tahoe/Truckee region.
PMS: Sherry McConkey (in red) with her daughter, Ayla, at the Pain McShlonkey, an annual snowblade contest put on by her foundation, the Shane McConkey Foundation.
“When I first started the foundation, I think I was still in shock,” Sherry said. “We didn’t quite know what to do.”
One of its most successful projects grew from a student environmental initiative led by a teacher at Donner Trail Elementary partaking in the Shane McConkey Eco Challenge. Today, the foundation’s Don’t Drop the Top program operates lid collection sites throughout the region that have diverted 8,200 pounds of plastic from local landfills.
“The kids partaking in the Eco Challenges are mind-blowing and so amazing,” Sherry said. “It gives me hope for the future.”
LOVE: Sherry McConkey and her daughter, Ayla, who is now 20.
For Sherry, the foundation reflects the same philosophy that defined Shane’s life: maximizing enjoyment in life.
“The foundation, in a nutshell, is a combination of fun and not taking life so seriously, but then intense and taking life really seriously,” she said. “A good balance.”
After decades in Tahoe, that balance continues to guide her. The woman who once crossed continents searching for connection ultimately found it in a mountain town that became family.
“My hope for Tahoe is to become the most environmentally conscious town in the world,” Sherry said. “It’s breathtakingly beautiful, and you only have one life. Live it.”
It’s midnight in the middle of nowhere on the Trans-Siberian Railway but sleep is far from mind. Russian train-riders are gathered in the bar car, laughing and dancing around the ragtag string band that’s swigging vodka and making up funny songs on the spot.
The bandmembers are a bunch of Americans, in-country for the 2018 World Cup, and rather than geopolitical hostilities there’s a warmth of human connection forged around global sport and the universal language of music.
TRAIN JAM: Jeremiah Kent (middle) and Martin Cavada (foreground) playing tunes and giving smiles at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Photo by Ryan Salm
“We ended up being the house band on the Trans-Siberian for a week,” guitarist Ryan Salm remembered. “It was before the war [in Ukraine]. We ended up befriending generals and regular people, just singing songs and staying up all night.”
Salm is a founding member of the Home Team String Band, the Tahoe/Truckee-based group that’s traveled to the last four World Cups — bringing an open-armed vibe of music, good times, and cross-cultural connection as they celebrate the unifying power of soccer’s biggest stage.
THE HOME TEAM’S BUS, painted by Ben Williams of Truckee, does not have a nickname yet, but members of the band are pretty sure it will by the time the World Cup is over. Photos courtesy Paul Raymore
This year’s World Cup will be played in North and Central America from June 11 to July 19, with the bulk of the matches taking place in the United States.
“We’ve been welcomed wherever we’ve gone,” said Dan Hurley, the group’s unofficial musical coordinator who, along with Salm, also plays in the Tahoe-based band The Inappropriators. “I’m most looking forward to hosting, and to giving back to the world what they’ve given for us. We are going to show a welcoming spirit.”
To do so, the band bought an old Bluebird school bus and undertook a group-effort, custom build-out, readying their “Schoolie” to be a traveling home, fan-zone (with two TVs and a projector screen), music venue, and cultural welcome center. They’ll make and hand out grilled cheese sandwiches and throw parties, aiming to be a gathering place where people from all over the world can hang out before, during, or after the games and have a good time.
TRANSFORMATION: Members of the Home Team String Band talk it over during a bus-buildout session.
“We’ll play a bunch of songs and hope to get people to join our band along the way,” Salm added.
Folks may join the band forever, for a day, an hour, or even just one song. After all, impromptu additions to the group are what created the Home Team in the first place. The band is now 12-plus humans strong, but it all started back in 2010 with three Tahoe locals who just wanted to go the World Cup in South Africa.
Salm arrived on the continent before the event began and traveled overland from Ethiopia (guitar and harmonica in tow) to South Africa. He knew Paul Raymore and Hurley independently, and they all made plans to meet up before the matches began.
TRANSPORTATION: When the Home Team String Band found themselves in a dry country for the 2022 World Cup, they traded beer for bikes and cycled to the games in Qatar. Photo by Ryan Salm
Prior to linking up with them, Salm was checking out of a bungalow in Malawi just as another guy with a guitar was checking in. He was from L.A., and Salm told him he lived in Tahoe. The guy’s first question was, “Have you been to High Sierra Music Festival?”
Salm smiled. “I go every year,” he said. The connection was instant and the two made sure they’d reconnect in South Africa — and boom, Jeremiah Kent was added to the roster.
Similar serendipity ensued at the USA vs. England game in Rustenberg when an American approached the group and it was discovered they had a mutual friend in Tahoe. He introduced himself as Pete Blanchard and they all hung out that night. “We had an empty spot in our car,” Salm said, “and the next day Pete was part of the crew.”
They met Tahoe-ite Trevor Husted at the USA vs. Algeria knockout match and the group of travel-seeking, soccer-loving musicians started writing funny songs about their World Cup experiences. The bond was tight, and the Home Team String Band was born.
THE HOME TEAM STRING BAND celebrates euphorically at a World Cup match. Photo courtesy Paul Raymore
Everyone has a nickname. Someone who joined eight years ago will always be New Guy (Dane Halter). Added in 2014 were Hulké (Martin Cavada), Hylando (Rylan Cordova), and Maximus (Kurt Beckering). Then there’s Godfather (Paul Raymore), Captain Jebbers (Kent), and Handsome (Hurley), among others.
The nicknames are written on the back of the bandmate’s personal Sweatsedo — a sweet, custom-made velour track suit — in the local language of whatever country they are in. Sometimes the names get lost in translation. In Russia, for example, Trevor Husted’s “T-Bone” read as “T-Steak.”
Eight years later, Husted is still T-Steak.
Blanchard earned his original nickname, Granada (Spanish for grenade), due to his proclivity for explosive late-night antics, but on the Trans-Siberian he turned sweet. On a short stop, he ran out and bought flowers for the Russian bartendress. She received them well and started calling him Pupsik — a term of endearment either romantic or maternal meaning something akin to “cutie.” The boys couldn’t resist that one either, and his nickname forever changed to Pupsik.
There’s an origin story, of course, for the nicknames. In 2010, the original crew was driving on a dirt road in Lesotho, the small, mountainous nation landlocked by South Africa, when a couple of locals boys threw a small rock at the vehicle. “Stop the car!” boomed Salm’s voice. In a flash he was running into the African plains after the half-laughing, half-screaming perpetrators.
The team was beyond impressed by Salm’s speed. Right then and there he became “Cheetah” — and the naming began.
The young-adult sons of Raymore and Halter, Ethan and Nathan respectively, will hop on the bus for their first Home Team action this World Cup. “They’re good kids but they haven’t done much yet,” Hurley said. “They’ll be known collectively as JV until they prove themselves worthy of joining the varsity and earning a nickname.”
Not your typical band
The group’s gigs aren’t pre-booked shows in concert halls, rather impromptu busking-type sessions played in crowded subways, outside stadiums, and on bustling city streets.
“My favorite thing about it is that most of our material is written in the moment,” Hurley said, noting that the chord progressions are made up on the spot and the lyrics freestyled. “You write a song about a new person you’re hanging out with or the score of the game, a funny time at the bar or the street scene in Brazil we’re looking at.”
Many of their stream of consciousness songs, in a nod to true art, only ever exist once. Some, however, are played again and refined over time to become part of the band’s growing catalogue.
“We want people coming into it to feel welcome. It’s about the fun, the merriment, the global soccer-sports-music brotherhood that we’ve all come to know and love so much.”
~ Dan Hurley, unofficial musical director of The Home Team String Band, on the 2026 World Cup
And while they’ll mix in some covers — “California Dreaming,” “Hotel California,” and “Born in the U.S.A” are oft-requested when overseas — there’s never anything like a planned-out set list, which appeals to Hurley’s artistic sensibilities. “It’s total musical freedom,” he said.
In addition to the soccer and the music, adventure is a big part of the Home Team’s overall gameplan. On their World Cup-focused trips, they’ve hiked in national parks in Africa, explored the Amazon in Brazil, and embarked on multi-day, self-guided paddleboard trips around Russia’s Lake Baikal (the largest freshwater lake in the world and Tahoe’s sister lake), and the Arabian Sea, including in the Strait of Hormuz.
When Beckering joined the band for the 2014 Cup in Brazil, he brought along his banjo. The circular part of the instrument was white. One day he drew black markings on it to make it look like a soccer ball, and The Soccer Ball Banjo came to be.
“If there was a symbol of our band, that would be it,” Raymore declared.
The band was hitting their stride, but four years later the unthinkable happened: The U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. “It was shocking,” Salm said. “We didn’t know what to do.”
After some debate, the performers decided the show must go on — a decision that led to perhaps the band’s greatest moment, those days and nights of song and merriment as the house band on the clickety tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar in Nov. and Dec. ’21 to avoid the region’s stifling summer heat, featured another changeup: The vodka-swigging, beer-crushing Home Teamers found themselves in a dry country. So, they traded booze for bikes and began cycling to the games, oftentimes two matches a day, and from place to place with their instruments and antics. “A lot of people over there hadn’t seen anything like us,” Salm said.
So, what do these 2026 home games mean for the Home Team String Band?
“We want people coming into it to feel welcome,” said Hurley, who recently wrote a song called “Host the World,” which can be found on YouTube. “It’s about the fun, the merriment, the global soccer-sports-music brotherhood that we’ve all come to know and love so much.”
MAKING NEW FRIENDS is a key part of the Home Team String Band’s World Cup experiences. Ryan Salm at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Tahoe kickoff party takes place on June 12 at Alibi Ale Works in Truckee to watch Team USA’s opening game against Paraguay. The match starts at 6 p.m., with the pre-party starting at 4 p.m. The bus will be on site for tours and photos, and the boys will play tunes. All ages are welcome and bringing instruments is encouraged. “We’d love to see the biggest street band we can make in downtown Truckee,” Raymore said.
After that game, the Home Team will put the bus in gear and start attending matches in person. First, it’s down to San Francisco where Levi’s Stadium hosts Qatar vs. Switzerland on the 13th and Austria vs. Jordan on the 16th. Then it’s up to Seattle for Team USA’s highly anticipated June 19th match against Australia.
But the true destination is the journey — being on the bus and spreading the vibe like some version of the Merry Pranksters with a Pelé predilection and well-tuned instruments.
“We’ll stop anywhere from a town square to a dive bar or a trailer park,” Salm said. “It doesn’t need to be a million people. We’re not an arena band, it’s about intimate.”
From Seattle, the Home Team dips north of the border to catch New Zealand vs. Egypt on the summer solstice in Vancouver. Then the bus will turn around and meander south to get to L.A. in time for Team USA’s final group match June 25 at Sofi Stadium against Türkiye.
After group play the teams with the best records will advance to the knockout stages, the details of those matches being unknown until the completion of the first round. “We don’t have any idea yet where we’ll go,” Salm said, the band perhaps leaning into its ability to play things by ear. “We’ll try to follow the USA if we can.”
The Beautiful Game
Estimates are that 5.8 billion people, roughly 75% of the world population, will view the 2026 World Cup in some form — making it the most watched sporting event in human history.
Soccer, like music, is truly a global language. While there have been historical instances of violence breaking out between different fanbases, the majority of the sport’s power lies in unification.
“We may be enemies on the pitch, but before and after let’s put the differences behind us and hang out,” Salm said.
Not every minute of the band’s travels, however, has been filled with kumbaya. In Qatar, the boys were on a bus before the USA vs. Iran game. The bus was pretty much all Iranians. Some back-and-forth jarring started up that quickly turned heated, the fans at each other’s throats. “For a minute, you thought there was going to be a brawl,” Salm relayed. “But then we came together, like ‘hey, we’re all just human beings here.’”
The two countries are now at war.
There was a similar time on the Trans-Siberian Railway. “We met this guy who looked like a giant ogre, and we were all kind of intimidated,” Hurley recalled. But that mean-looking Russian played the guitar. And the guys bought him some beers. “By the end of the night he was kissing us on the forehead,” Hurley continued.
The Home Team is about getting past stereotypes, about breaking down barriers of preconceived notions of this country or that culture.
“Our adventures are a good chance to be face-to-face with people you don’t think you’ll get along with,” Hurley said. “Then you watch some soccer together and play some tunes and see what happens next.”
Mark Twain wrote that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” It seems like the Home Team String Band has picked up on what the author was putting down. Over the past 16 years, the group has set out across the globe to take in four World Cups, creating innumerable moments of beautiful connection between humans of different cultures.
They have always been visitors in a foreign land, yet wherever they have gone the Americans have been welcomed. This summer, they play host — ambassadors of our nation, doing what they can for international relations and having a good time doing it — one goal, one song, one new member of the Home Team at a time.
A Moonshine reader recently mailed us a letter, asking if we could figure out why Tahoe Forest Products (TFP), the relatively new sawmill facility in Carson City just off Highway 50, wasn’t producing. “They’re well stocked with Caldor Fire trees but no sawdust,” he wrote. “I’ve heard rumors, but what are the facts?
Indeed, the facility opened on Dec. 18, 2023, to quite a bit of fanfare — local publications, as well as Bloomberg, reported on just how critical Tahoe Forest Products would be in supporting healthy forests, fire recovery efforts, the local economy, and more.
But our reader is right. Two and a half years later, and TFP is sitting silent. I reached out to Kevin Leary, CEO of Hallador Investments, which is the primary investor in the facility, to understand the latest. ~ AH
There were rumors in late 2025 that the facility was closing and/or reporting bankruptcy. A Carson Now article reported that wasn’t the case, and that the facility was in the process of “retooling and upgrading” operations and machinery. Is that still the status, and how far along are those updates? Will the facility operate at full capacity soon?
Kevin Leary, CEO of Hallador: TFP did pause production in mid-2025 and it remains paused. The sawmill facility was originally designed using the lowest-possible cost machinery, meaning old and heavily used, which was a mistake. Too many breakdowns and too slow a production pace meant the initial facility was not financially sustainable. We also paused construction of the planer mill (which will sit to the north of the sawmill building, closer to Highway 50), to avoid making the same mistake twice. We expect to commence upgrades in June, and to be in production a year from now. More modern improvements will enable the facility to operate sustainably.
“Too many breakdowns and too slow a production pace meant the initial facility was not financially sustainable.”
~ Kevin Leary, Hallador Investments CEO
How is the facility funded, and are there concerns for ongoing financial support?
The company is funded by local private investors who care deeply about our region’s forest health, water quality, recreation, and cost of living (including home insurance costs), and who want to support the local economy. TFP will continue to have the support of the owners as long as the prospect of sustainable operations remains.
How is TFP working to address complaints by neighbors, including noise and bright lights?
Several of our neighbors have direct communication access to on-site management at TFP. In the past, we have worked with neighbors to address specific concerns, including repositioning lights and replacing diesel generators with fixed power. We engaged a local landscaping company to install several hundred thousand dollars [worth] of trees and plants along Bucks Way to the south and west.
We should add that occasionally complaints are directed at us that are not of TFP’s making. There are other tenants on the same parcel, and we have received complaints (e.g. dust) that are outside of our lease area or control. In other cases, loud nighttime noises or truck lights might be attributed to TFP but have nothing to do with the mill.
BACKLOG: Logs currently filling the Tahoe Forest Products facility outside Carson City are primarily from local fuels reduction treatments over the past few years, though a few remain from the 2021 Caldor Fire. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Is the facility feeling impacts from national changes to the U.S. Forest Service, which is undergoing massive restructuring?
TFP tries to maintain close relationships with the USFS at both the local and national levels. In our view, the goal of the changes underway is to move decision-making to the local level and empower local leadership, accountability, and action. There are layers of hierarchy and bureaucracy that probably should go away, like there are in any organization that has been around over a century. (If the readers want an analogy, they can listen to Jon Stewart interview Ezra Klein, co-author of Abundance, on the rollout of rural broadband, administered by a different federal agency. [Editor’s note: Listen to Why We Can’t Have Nice Things with Ezra Klein on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart wherever you listen to podcasts.])
Locally, we have seen some disruptions, and certainly some over-extended and tired USFS friends picking up more responsibilities. But our hope and expectation are that the changes result in a localized, commonsense approach to forest management. To that end, the USFS recently awarded our partner, the Washoe Tribe, a 20-year Master Stewardship Agreement to empower the tribe and partners to take on a larger role in planning and implementing forest health treatments.
Are trees from the 2021 Caldor Fire still on site?
Yes, but very few. The logs received in the past two years are from fuels reduction treatments (i.e., green trees, not burned or salvaged) in the Tahoe Basin and surrounding national forests (Inyo, Humboldt Toiyabe, Eldorado, Tahoe) plus a smaller number from neighborhood and HOA fuels reduction projects.
The latest environmental controversy in Tahoe isn’t a development project, a wildfire, or a fight over lake clarity.
