SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A vaccination called PZP could be a potential solution to stop mother bears teaching their cubs to break into houses, according to the BEAR League. Executive director Ann Bryant says she’s spoken with the Science and Conservation Center (SCC) in Montana, which provides PZP to zoos and organizations that manage wild animal populations.
Last summer, bear #753, also referred to as Hope, was responsible for several entries into properties along with her cub, sometimes called Bounce. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) ordered that she should be killed to prevent further human-bear interactions, one of the many ways that the CDFW manages bear populations.
The BEAR League was vocally opposed to the killing, and the city of South Lake Tahoe decided in December of last year to establish a collaborative response protocol group including the city police department, bear groups, the CDFW, South Tahoe Refuse, homeowners associations and other interested parties.
At the last city council meeting in March, Bryant spoke during public comment and said they had buy-in from the SCC, Oakland Zoo and California Conservation Society to potentially launch a pilot program to use PZP on Hope.
Bryant said that the CDFW and BEAR League agreed that the majority of break-ins were from mother bears with dependent cubs, who then transmit that behavior to their cubs. If they have female cubs, then that negative behavior continues to be transmitted to cubs.
So, by targeting sows who display this unwanted behavior, it would stop them from continuing the cycle of bears learning to forage in human environments. Many other behaviors are also related to raising their cubs, such as seeking shelter in human environments to escape aggressive male bears or seeking out easier foraging sources while pregnant or teaching their cubs—these could potentially be stopped as well.
The SCC works with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and internationally to provide PZP to zoos, providing reproductive management to zoos with animals that should not be breeding in captivity. They also provide the PZP vaccination to manage wild populations of ungulates like deer and horses.
PZP, short for Porcine Zona Pellucida, was developed in 1988. The zona pellucida is a protein that surrounds the egg and receives sperm to fertilize it. By injecting a female animal with PZP, a pig (hence porcine) zona pellucida is introduced into the target animal’s body. This triggers an immune response where the target animal’s immune system will respond, producing antibodies that then attach to their own zona pellucida, preventing their eggs from being fertilized.
The vaccine must be administered annually and has a 90% or greater efficacy with hundreds of different species. It has also been proven to be safe to give to pregnant and lactating animals, shows no debilitating health side effects even with long term use, does not impact social behaviors and cannot pass through the food chain. Even if an animal were to eat another that was treated with PZP, they would not have the immune response triggered by its passage through the digestive system.
“We have found it works amazingly well with bears with 95 to 98% efficacy,” said Kim Frank, executive director of the SCC. “We have seen with bears in zoos that after they’ve been on the vaccine, that if we discontinue the treatment, they return to normal fertility in one to three years.”
Frank continued, “The plan in South Lake Tahoe as I understand it, is that they would not try to decrease the population of black bears, just prevent sows from teaching their cubs to break in.”
Bryant believes that by using bear #753 as a pilot, they could protect her from being killed and could observe the impact that PZP could have in a wild population of bears. “With our background and our network, we have the ability to study this, and it has been shown to be reversible—so there would be no long-term negative effects,” said Bryant. “We are not tampering with the bears’ natural biology, and they will still go into estrus, mate and so on. They would just be unable to conceive cubs if treated with PZP.”
The pilot program with wild bears would be a first for the SCC, as it has previously only been used in bear populations in zoos.
The SCC provides PZP to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its partners in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to manage wild populations of horses and deer throughout the west, including in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. In Nevada and Arizona, NGOs have a memorandum of understanding with their state departments of agriculture, showing that a partnership with state departments is possible.
Frank says that such buy-in from stakeholders is key to making these kinds of programs work. “In all the years I’ve worked on this, I see everyone wants the same end—a healthy ecosystem and healthy animals,” she said. “I want to see openness to potential solutions for problems. And I understand that killing is one solution, but this is something that could work. Why not try it?”
Bryant feels a sense of urgency around the potential pilot program, as the breeding season approaches and bear #753 will leave her cub. She knows that to make this program work, they would need buy-in from the CDFW as well. But she worries that the state department will move too slowly to make it a reality. “We are almost out of time,” said Bryant, who says they have been talking about the potential of such a program since fall of last year.
“If we don’t do anything, what is the point? We keep the status quo of killing bears?” asked Bryant. “Killing bears is not ending the cycle. This has a huge opportunity to resolve the issue, even if it won’t be a quick fix. And if we work together, the world could benefit from the work we do with a wild population.”
Bryant hopes there will be community support for this novel, potential solution. She also hopes there will be support for making South Lake Tahoe a bear-safe or bear sanctuary city, which she clarifies would mean the city would seek out non-lethal solutions for managing bears.
Bears are on the agenda for the upcoming city council meeting on April 21, where police chief Jeff Roberson and sustainability coordinator Sara Letton will report on the collaborative bear process and protocol.
Tahoe Music Alive’s 2026 Concert Series starts April 20Provided/Martha Russell
NORTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Tahoe Music Alive is bringing classical chamber and jazz music to Tahoe’s north shores for another year as they kick off their fourth series of concerts, community outreach and opportunities for cultural connection. From April to September and featuring a variety of genres from Grammy-award winning and internationally-acclaimed artists, the series aims to captivate audiences of all ages spanning from Incline Village, King’s Beach and Olympic Valley to Truckee and Tahoe City.
What began as an experiment of sorts has now become a thriving nonprofit organization, growing organically since June 2023. Prior to its first launch, there were groups of classical musicians who enjoyed playing for each other and wondered whether people in Tahoe would be interested in attending chamber music concerts.
Thanks in part to the digital age and streaming platforms like Tiktok, chamber music has seen a resurgence. So what is chamber music? It’s a form of classical music which takes an intimate approach. Small ensembles of two to 10 players perform, creating a close conversation between instruments including two violins, a viola, and cello for string quartets. Chamber music can also consist of other instruments such as piano and guitar.
“I said, ‘Let’s do a prototype and see if there’s an appetite for it,'” said Martha Russell, President of Tahoe Music Alive. There was, indeed, an appetite as the prototype was wildly successful and people wanted more.
Russell then started programming concerts in spring and fall before the demand for summer concerts grew. “We’ve been listening intensively and responding to a community need, for not only the music, but for opportunities to come together as a community, especially during the off-shoulder seasons when the ski lifts are closed and the boats aren’t out on the lake yet.”
Tahoe Music Alive uses special care when selecting venues for concerts with Russell noting that among their objectives, choosing a place with great acoustics and an intimate feel helps the audience to hear every instrument played, providing crisp sounds and audibility for all.
For first time listeners, Russell encourages attendees to relax and listen for the conversation between instruments and the nonverbal conversation between musicians. “Chamber music is very special in that there is no one person directing. Together, [musicians] establish tempo (how fast they’re going to play). They establish the mood, the feeling, where they’re going to get louder, where they are softer, and the dynamics of the piece,” Russell said. “Eye contact, lift of an eyebrow, bend of an elbow or a shoulder or the way a bow moves.”
The concerts make for an exceptional experience at an extremely reasonable cost as these are some of the most talented chamber and jazz musicians from around the world who come to Tahoe to perform, including Grammy award-winning string quartets like this year’s Attacca Quartet and last year’s Catalyst Quartet.
“We celebrate them,” said Russell. “I think as people in the mountains are having access to music of this quality, the people who perform are aspiring to new levels and the people who listen are learning with new ears, and that’s wonderful.”
In addition to their concerts, Tahoe Music Alive offers community outreach programs such as master classes with advanced musicians, in-school performances, and musical dialogues in intimate settings where musicians discuss career pathways, how they formed their ensembles, opportunities to ask the musicians questions and more.
“We’re making sure that our artists go into classrooms and into other organizations to extend the benefit of their being in Tahoe,” Russell said. “Our goal, not just for the concerts, but for the community, is to optimize exposure and interaction for people who love music, especially those who want to play music.”
Tahoe Music Alive offers community outreach programs such as in-school performancesProvided/Martha Russell
Tahoe Music Alive’s fourth concert series starts with the Attacca Quartet on April 20 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Saint Francis of Assisi in Incline Village, followed by a series launch reception at Alibi Ale Works. They will have outreach opportunities with the Attacca Quartet on April 21 at Lake Tahoe School.
On May 2, California Guitar Trio will be participating in Tahoe Music Alive’s Musical Conversations outreach at Church of the Mountains in Truckee from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. followed by a concert on May 3 at 2 p.m.
They will continue to host concerts and outreach opportunities until September featuring a variety of genres and artists.
As Tahoe Music Alive’s popularity is increasing, they have seen sold-out venues, and a thirst for more. “We’ve had standing room only sometimes,” added Russell. “It’s very gratifying to know that people love it, and they want more.”
To learn more about Tahoe Music Alive or to view their entire lineup of artists, concerts and outreach opportunities, visit https://www.tahoemusicalive.org/events.
I am always inspired by Serrell Smokey, Chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, when he reminds us that “the health of the land is the health of the people.”
This longstanding teaching from the Waší∙šiw (Washoe People) reflects a worldview shaped along the shores of Lake Tahoe. Waší∙šiw are taught from childhood to see the land and waters as living extensions of themselves, entities deserving of respect, care, and autonomy. Chairman Smokey’s predecessor Brian Wallace brought attention to this teaching at the first Tahoe Summit back in 1997. The concept bears repeating and absorbing.
As our connection to Tahoe deepens, we feel it too. The lake and mountains here are part of us. Lake Tahoe is a place of beauty and power where the weather can be soothing or fierce, and if the views don’t take your breath away, a refreshing dip in the lake certainly will. In many ways, the feeling and sensibilities of Earth Day have become our community’s reflection of the waší∙šiw connection to Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe’s Vulnerability
As powerful as Lake Tahoe is, we’ve learned a lot over the decades about its fragility. Creation of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) by Nevada and California in 1969, just before the first celebration of Earth Day, has led to some of the most innovative approaches in the nation for protecting water quality and forest health, preventing aquatic invasive species, and managing growth in a way that benefits the environment, communities, and the economy at the same time.
Although much progress has been made, climate pressures are changing the basin. Winter storms bring more rain, hotter summer days are warming the lake’s surface, and aquatic invasive species further threaten lake clarity and ecosystem balance. Also, wildfires in and around the Lake Tahoe Region are becoming more frequent and intense, and aging infrastructure and changing transportation patterns add strain to our environment and quality of life.
These shifts threaten not only our experience today, but the legacy we leave for future generations. As we celebrate Earth Day, it’s a fitting time to renew your commitment to Tahoe and tune in to the collective work happening to protect it.
Building a Culture of Care
Individual stewardship doesn’t always require grand gestures. More often, it lives in simple, daily habits. Much like taking vitamins or brushing your teeth, caring for Tahoe is most effective when it becomes routine.
During my 30-plus years working with the Tahoe community, a repeated question persists: “I’m only one person—what can I do to help the lake?” The short answer is, quite a bit. From taking transit to becoming a Tahoe Keeper, the list is long. Tahoe Keepers commit to practicing Clean, Drain, and Dry protocols when on the water to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Substituting a walk or bike ride for a car trip adds up if a number of us do it.
For property owners, maintaining defensible space and capturing stormwater runoff with best management practices, or BMPs, can significantly reduce risk to both property and lake clarity.
And wherever you are, properly disposing of trash and pet waste helps reduce your footprint and keeps Tahoe’s natural systems intact.
Stewardship at the Regional Scale
Across the region, “Team Tahoe” organizations have pledged their commitment through the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP). Under the restoration program, Tribal, local, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sector partners collaborate on large-scale restoration projects that address Tahoe’s most pressing environmental challenges. This work must continue for us to strengthen Tahoe’s resilience to past impacts as well as challenges ahead.
Tahoe is a living force, vulnerable to our footprint and responsive to our care. Your individual actions, paired with awareness of public investments, make a tangible difference and help sustain the momentum we’ve been building together. After all, the basin’s health is our health too. Wishing you all a wondrous Earth Day. For a look at the full week of activities TRPA and our partners have planned, visit takecaretahoe.org/earthweek.
Julie Regan is Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – One of the three Democratic candidates for California District 3 (CA-03) attended a candidate forum on Wednesday at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC). Bennett, who the Tribune has interviewed before, fielded questions from students on his vision for supporting students as a representative.
Bennett described himself as a “people first, corporate free” candidate who decided to run for Congress last April. Now, he is in the primary race for the Democratic candidate, who will then run for election this November. Moderator Beck Machin-Ward asked Bennett questions that had been submitted by students for the forum.
Bennett had a strong stance for supporting students, especially with the looming question of financial aid and federal grants. Recently, college graduates who utilized the SAVE Plan under President Biden were made to begin payments on their student loans. At the same time, other grants and programs that support disadvantaged students, such as the TRIO programs, feel at risk with the slashing of the Department of Education.
Bennett expressed an interest in public universities and trade schools becoming tuition free to increase access. He also said he would advocate for students of LTCC who live in Nevada, as they pay an out-of-state tuition despite LTCC being the only nearby community college they can attend. Regarding undocumented students, Bennett also reaffirmed his stance for abolishing ICE and passing humane immigration policies.
In response to questions about the environment and climate change, Bennett said it was one of his most important platform points and referenced the ongoing challenges of Liberty Utilities entering the energy market, which he attributed to NV Energy prioritizing data centers over their existing customers.
He also addressed disinformation and the lack of youth civic engagement, saying that he was interested in increasing political education and building community as a way to increase it. Bennett is the youngest candidate currently running in CA-03.
During the open question portion, students asked Bennett about his stances on protecting transgender Californians from violence, what congressional committees he was interested in joining, gun control and his availability as a candidate—a hot topic for Tahoe residents who felt Rep. Kiley did not attend town halls.
Bennett expressed that he wanted to enshrine LGBTQ+ and women’s rights into the Constitution, paying special attention to transgender people, who he said are often used as a political scapegoat (along with other marginalized groups.)
As a disabled veteran, Bennett said he was interested in joining committees on Foreign Affairs, Military and Veterans’ Affairs. “We need people with moral clarity involved on these and we need more veterans in positions of power, because many representatives claim to care about them and then show that they really don’t.”
Bennett also said he had experience with artillery and weapons, including guns. While he acknowledged that guns routinely cause harm to gun owners and their family, he felt that current gun laws needed to be “common sense” including a public health lens, limits on automatic rifles. “It should be based in safety and not penalizing people through money.”
Lastly, Bennett said he saw a lack of town halls from both Ami Bera (one of his opponents in the Democratic primary) and Kevin Kiley, and said he would commit to regularly meeting with constituents. “I want to spend as little time in DC as possible because I want to spend time with the people I actually represent,” said Bennett.
Bennett lastly gave his support for policies like the Green New Deal and a billionaire tax both federally and in California.
Other candidates were extended an invite to candidate forums, including Heidi Hall, who will appear at LTCC on Wednesday, April 22 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Tahoe Bike Company is now owned by Justine and Marlon Charneau and Laurent DhollandeProvided/Brian Walker
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Tahoe Bike Company, located in the heart of South Lake Tahoe and a popular go-to for all things bike and e-bike related, has taken on new family ownership under locals, Justine and Marlon Charneau and Laurent Dhollande. Plans to carry on Tahoe Bike Company’s values and excellent reputation continue to be a priority as long-time management remains in place while new ideas to enhance the shop are underway.
General Manager, Ed Weber, has been with Tahoe Bike Company for a decade. “This building has a long history,” said Weber who has been present for several ownership changes. “This [job] keeps me out of trouble. It’s a great job, you meet people from all over the planet every day, and it’s nice to interact with and give people a feel of what we do in Tahoe.”
Weber along with David Militante, Operations Manager at Tahoe Bike Company, both plan to continue their dedication to providing knowledge and expertise to visitors and locals while offering full-service repairs on bikes and e-bikes. “Whether you just need a minor tune-up or major repairs, we can do it here,” said Weber.
Ed Weber, pictured, will remain general manager of Tahoe Bike CompanyProvided/Brian Walker
Since the Dhollande-Charneau family has taken over, some updates and additions for the shop are in progress, including an improved online website now offering online bookings, a “hydration station”, tool bench station, and a curated boutique called Lakeview Trading Post, with merchandise, hand-made accessories, and unique gifts from regional artists and small businesses.
Previously offering ski rentals in the winter, the Charneaus and Dhollande decided it was time to transition into something different with hopes of adding more to the shopping experience of the Lakeview Commons area. Although the boutique is still in the works, their goal is to have it fully stocked and running by this summer.
Recently, the shop has become an authorized Aventon dealership, as the popular, high-quality e-bike brand joins Tahoe Bike Company’s selection of brands including BESV, Fuji, and SE Bikes, available for demo, rental or purchase.
“We’ve brought a bunch of new e-bikes in last summer,” said Justine. “They’re super popular and a great way for families of all different levels to get out and go farther than they normally would.”
Their affordable and family-friendly 4-peddle Surrey bikes continue to be an admired way to create great memories while out enjoying Tahoe’s beauty.
Sustainability is priority for new owners, the Dhollande-Charneau family. Methods to provide more sustainable practices include plans for a “hydration station” this summer which will offer free water to refill reusable water bottles, as well as bringing in more quality products that last longer.
Lowering the impact of traffic congestion and air pollution on the community is at the forefront. “Getting people on bikes is just a great way to enjoy Tahoe and get a better sense of the scenery and the landscape,” added Marlon.
As the tried and true aspects of Tahoe Bike Company’s mission stand fast as a shop offering quality services and extensive selections of bike and e-bike rentals, sales, and repairs, the Dhollande-Charneau family plans to maintain community stewardship while blending fresh energy and new ideas for enhanced experiences in and around South Lake Tahoe.
STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters defeated the Rapid City Rush 6-4 to close out the regular season.
In the first period, Rapid City scored the lone goal as captain Ryan Wanger found the back of the net, giving the Rush a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
In the middle frame, the offenses exploded. Jordan Gustafson opened the scoring with his 9th of the year for Tahoe to tie the game at 1. After Rapid City’s Mitchell Smith put the Rush back ahead 2-1, Tahoe would answer with four straight goals from Kaelan Taylor, Aidan De La Gorgendiere, Connor Marritt, and Kevin Wall to make it 5-2 Knight Monsters. Although Wagner would score his second of the game for the Rush, Tahoe still took a 5-3 lead into the third period.
Provided
In the final period of the regular season, Tahoe extended its lead thanks to a crafty goal by Samuel Huo to make it 6-3. After the Rush responded with a power play goal from Brett Davis to make it 6-4, Tahoe goaltender Alex Tracy shut the door on the Rush offense, and Tahoe concluded the regular season with a 6-4 victory against Rapid City.
The Knight Monsters open up round one of the Kelly Cup Playoffs on the road against the Kansas City Mavericks. Game one gets underway on Friday, April 24, with puck drop at 5:05 pm PT. Pregame coverage on the Knight Monsters broadcast network starts at 4:55 pm PT. For more information on upcoming games, visit knightmonstershockey.com.
· It’s the end of an era: the Rec Center is closing. I swam my last laps on the last day the old Rec Center was open. I had been coming to the Rec Center since I rolled into town decades ago, and it’s filled with countless fond memories. From Little League sign-ups to countless hours spent in the pool, this place has been a significant part of my life. I’ve logged many laps there, often reflecting. I watched my daughter learn to swim and compete on the swim team. While I may not be the most graceful swimmer, I’d call myself a “dirtbag swimmer”; I’ve put in my share of laps. Swimming has played a vital role in my life, helping me manage a torn rotator cuff without surgery and providing a quiet space to think. Many ideas were born or refined in the water. This Rec Center has served the community well, and I know everyone has their own stories and memories tied to it. But, like many places on the South Shore, this chapter is closing, and a new one is beginning. I’m ready to turn the page and look forward, excited about the new pool and what it will bring.
· If you haven’t had a chance to watch the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority’s three-part documentary Beyond Awestruck, it’s well worth your time. The series follows a University of California, Irvine research team as they explore the effects of awe inspired by Lake Tahoe, and how those moments influence well-being, deepen social connection, and foster a greater sense of environmental stewardship.
What’s particularly compelling is that it attempts to measure something we’ve all felt but rarely quantify. The cinematography is stunning, complemented by thoughtful reflections from local residents. It’s a powerful and refreshing look at the deeper value of place, and not the traditional highlight reel of things to do, definitely worth checking out.
· For the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to serve as chair of El Dorado County’s SEED Economic Development Committee. It’s been an invaluable experience, one that has given me a clearer understanding of how the County operates and a broader perspective on the dynamics shaping our local economy.
One observation stands out: communities on the East Slope often seem able to move initiatives forward more quickly than those on the West Slope. That contrast raises important questions about process, alignment, and the ability to act with urgency.
At the same time, El Dorado County is entering a period of significant economic change. The Board of Supervisors has faced difficult budget decisions, including major reductions, including the elimination of the El Dorado County Visitors Authority tourism office and funding for Arts and Culture El Dorado, as well as cuts across other areas. These are not isolated decisions; they reflect deeper structural challenges.
Adding to this pressure is a structural decline in the wine industry, which has long been a cornerstone of the County’s rural economy. Shifting consumer preferences, increased competition, and broader market dynamics are creating headwinds for local wineries and growers, raising important questions about long-term viability and diversification.
Too often, the County Supervisors default to “no” on economic initiatives rather than a “how can we make it happen” approach. The reasons vary, ranging from individual perspectives among elected officials to organized opposition within communities. But the cumulative effect is a pattern of inaction. And at some point, a do-nothing approach is simply not sustainable.
While there are diverse views on what economic development should look like, it’s increasingly clear that a more community-centered, pragmatic approach is needed, one that aligns with El Dorado County’s character while still allowing for progress. That will require change, and communities will need to become more comfortable with that reality.
Otherwise, deeper cuts are likely ahead. And when they come, they won’t primarily affect core services like police and fire; they will be felt across much of the County’s budget.
With an election approaching in November, there will inevitably be political consequences. My hope is that this moment leads to broader recognition: that thoughtful, well-managed economic development must become a higher priority if the County is to close future budget gaps and maintain the quality of life residents expect.
It’s a Wrap
For decades, we’ve operated under an assumption of relative stability, predictable markets, steady growth, and institutional continuity. That era feels like it’s fading. Geopolitical tensions, supply chain shifts, and economic fragmentation are creating a more volatile environment. The real question is whether our institutions and our local decision-making are built for stability or adaptable to volatility. We are going to find out…
Carl Ribaudo is a columnist, consultant, speaker, and writer in South Lake Tahoe. You can reach him at carl@smgonline.net.
The Nevada Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash that occurred on Highway 50 on Sunday morning.
Highway 50 is closed in both directions between Highway 28 and Glenbrook Road. This closure is expected for three to four hours, spokesman Sgt. Christopher Brown said at 8:30 a.m.
The collision was reported 4:47 a.m. Sunday.
The Nevada Highway Patrol, a division of the Nevada State Police, responded to the crash involving two vehicles between State Route 28 and Glenbrook Road.
Three other vehicle occupants were transported for treatment with serious injuries.
Previous Story
A fatal collision has closed Highway 50 through Glenbrook Sunday morning.
First reported at 4:47 a.m., the collision resulted in at least two people being transported from the scene, including one by helicopter.
Tahoe Douglas firefighters had to cut at least one person from the wreckage.
This would be the first fatality on Douglas County’s highways in 2026.
A paragliding accident on a steep ridge just north of Kingsbury Grade resulted in a response from two helicopters on Saturday.
“Due to the steep and challenging location a request was made to Washoe County Sheriff for their RAVEN helicopter for hoist capabilities,” East Fork Battalion Chief John Brawley said. “Crews made contact with the patient and began care.”
RAVEN flies over D Hill in Douglas County near Walley’s Hot Springs during the rescue of a fallen paraglider on Saturday morning.Record-Courier
In addition to East Fork, Tahoe Douglas medics, Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies and Douglas County Search and Rescue responded to the incident.
“The patient was hoisted by RAVEN to a landing zone where Battle Born Air 12 assumed care and transported to the trauma center,” Brawley said. “This incident demonstrates the importance of regional partnerships in delivering quality service to the public. Each agency was vital in resolving the incident and getting the patient to care. A big thank you to WCSO, DCSO, DCSAR, and TDFD.”
Previous Story
A search and rescue effort is underway in the Carson Range above Carson Valley that will require Washoe County’s Raven helicopter.
As of 11:45 a.m., a flight app indicates that Raven was flying south.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, East Fork firefighters and Sheriff’s deputies established an incident command at David Walley’s Hot Springs.
From scanner traffic, rescuers had to hike in from 100 Kingsbury Grade, which is almost due west and up the mountain from Walley’s.
The subject of the rescue is being treated by medics.
Raven is expected to use a long line to pluck the subject off the mountain.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The new recreation center has opened to the public of South Lake Tahoe, after over a decade of work and planning. “This is about opening a new chapter for the community itself,” said Mayor Cody Bass.
The entrance of the recreation center and swim complex on the grand opening.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
The Department of Public Works reported on the aging infrastructure of the old recreation center in 2010, and by 2016, Measure P passed, which funded $2.1 million annually towards the renovation and construction of a new recreation and swim complex. The unique site was possible to use through the collaboration of El Dorado County, which agreed to adjust county lines.
Mayor Bass said, “Our community has needed a new hub… and we didn’t just build a gym, we built a sanctuary for wellness.” The new rec center features an aquatics complex with a recreation and multi-use pool, a rock climbing wall, a dance and fitness room, gym, track, batting cages and rooms to rent. It will also host the senior nutrition program.
Bass also recognized the efforts of city council, staff, the Parks and Recreation department, former city manager Joe Irvin and former public works director Anush Nejad.
The recreation center was full of people during its grand opening.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Representatives from JKAE and Roebbelen acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the architectural, design and construction teams.
Jerry Bindel, Parks and Recreation commissioner said, “Today isn’t just about the opening. It’s about completing a vision… that we’ve been working on for over a decade. It’s proof that a strong, vibrant tourist community can directly help our local community.” Bindel is also on the Measure P oversight committee and pledged to continue ensuring the funds were used for the community.
Bindel also spoke about the scholarships programs through the South Lake Tahoe Parks Foundation, which will cover the costs for families interested in using the recreation center. “Ultimately, the success of this place will be measured by how many lives it touches. Take a look around. This belongs to all of us,” said Bindel, to massive applause.
The swim complex with Rufus the Bear in the recreation pool.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
In closing remarks, Parks and Recreation director John Stark said, “Recreation centers are where communities grow stronger,” and thanked not only the teams involved, but the community supporters and their contributions to the rec center.
The rec center rates are listed in resident/non-resident and are as follows:
Day passes: Adults $10/$15, Youth, Senior and Permanent Disability $8/$12, Medical, WIC and Veteran Adult $3, Youth $2.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – After an early season closure on April 5 due less-than-ideal conditions, Heavenly Mountain Resort has decided to give one last hurrah to its guests by reopening its Upper California Trail and Tamarack Return on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 after the recent storm cycle brought in 25 inches of snow for the mountain.
“When we got this storm after we closed, we immediately started brainstorming – ‘What can we do? Can we get something open? Can we take some snow off of other runs and move it to at least one or two runs to be able to get our guests back on snow?'” said Cole Zimmerman, Senior Manager of Communications at Heavenly Mountain Resort. “So that’s what we did. We started working hard.”
The unusual reopening serves as a “thank you” to their guests and pass holders who helped celebrate Heavenly’s 70th season.
Those wishing to purchase lift tickets or day passes can do so online, and if you’re a 2025/26 Epic Pass holder, you can utilize your pass this weekend. Access to the mountain is available via the Heavenly Gondola.
Maya Duhl / Tahoe Daily Tribune
“If you buy a lift ticket this season, you’re able to use the cost of that towards an Epic Pass for next season,” said Zimmerman. In addition to skiing and riding, their mountain coaster, observation deck, and food and beverages will be open to enjoy.
Zimmerman notes that parking at Stateline can be limited so starting at 9:30 a.m. and running every 15 minutes, a free shuttle will transport folks from Heavenly’s California Main Lodge to the Stateline Transit Center. Free shuttle rides from Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe to Kirkwood will also continue.
“It will be another weekend of activities, skiing and riding, gondola sight-seeing, and we’re super stoked to be able to offer it,” Zimmerman added.
ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. – The Douglas County Lake Schools of Zephyr Cove Elementary School (ZCES) and Whittell High School (WHS) are proud to announce the Warrior Way Community Cleanup, a collaborative event bringing together students, staff, and community partners to ensure Tahoe remains clean, beautiful, and thriving. The event will kick off on Tuesday, April 28th, at 2:00 PM, meeting in front of the ZCES campus.
The Warrior Way Community Cleanup is designed to foster environmental stewardship and community pride. Participants can look forward to:
Student-Led Campus Cleanup: Watch our young leaders take the helm in beautifying their learning environment.
Community Recognition & Group Photo: A moment to honor our partners and capture the collective impact of our volunteers.
Family Volunteer Opportunities: Hands-on activities for families to work side-by-side in preserving our local ecosystem.
Community Investment & Support
The Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department will hold a special check presentation during the event. Representatives will present funds to the ZCES Parents Club and Whittell High School (WHS) Boosters Clubs, representing their portion of the revenue from the summer paid parking program.
These vital non-profits are supported by parking proceeds, earned through the hard work of volunteers who manage parking and trash pickup throughout the busy summer season.
Innovative Partnerships & Sustainable Solutions
The cleanup will feature high-tech environmental solutions and highlight local sustainability efforts. ECO-CLEAN Solutions will be on-site with BEBOT, their innovative beach-cleaning robot, demonstrating how technology is being used to protect Tahoe’s delicate shoreline.
To further support local green initiatives, the school will provide information on its community food waste composting program. In partnership with South Tahoe Refuse, this program is free for local families to use. The ZCES Parents Club covers the cost of the food waste bin rental and servicing to ensure the community has a sustainable way to divert waste. Families interested in participating can pick up a compost bucket and instructional materials during the event.
“We believe that by working together, we can make a tangible difference in our community,” said Sean Ryan, principal of ZCES & WHS. “This event isn’t just about picking up litter; it’s about teaching our students the value of service and the importance of protecting the incredible natural beauty of the Tahoe basin.”
In his annual letter to stockholders Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, highlighted several items that worry him. He included inflation, AI, and weak allies, among others. I’m no Jamie Dimon, but this article covers two concerns that are on my radar.
China Invades Taiwan
China believes it owns Taiwan based on history, similar to Russia’s view on Ukraine. An invasion would immediately lead to a global crisis and a bear market for U.S. stocks. Why? Computer chips.
Taiwan manufactures more than 60 percent of all semiconductors and about 90 percent of the most advanced chips (think AI). Without those chips AI development would stall and smartphones and car manufacturing would halt. Chips are even found in household appliances like refrigerators. Nvidia, the largest company on the planet, has about 90 percent of its chips produced in Taiwan.
Our last two presidents understood our vulnerability and created incentives to move chip manufacturing to the U.S. But chip development is complicated and building factories here will take time.
U.S. Debt Crisis
During the 2008 financial crisis the Fed was forced to act quickly to save the economy. One day, the Fed will need to act again but printing money won’t work. That will happen when the U.S. debt is so high that investors will refuse to buy Treasuries until interest are higher.
How crazy high is today’s government debt? Debt as a percentage of GDP is at World War II spending levels even with today’s growing economy. What will happen during the next recession?
The U.S. spends more on interest payments than it does on defense spending. The higher the debt the less is available for social safety net spending. This year, the U.S. will spend $7.45 trillion and run a deficit of $1.85 trillion. Total debt, including each year’s deficit plus interest cost, is $39 trillion.
Every once in a while, an administration tries to lower the deficit by reducing the size of the government (think DOGE). But that is pocket change compared to the biggest drivers of long-term deficits: Social Security and Medicare. No one is willing to touch those. There isn’t much of an appetite to raise tax rates either.
Debt is a rare bipartisan issue. Both Democrats and Republicans add to debt when they are in office. This is an issue that no one is talking about until when the next debt crisis is triggered. When a debt crisis is triggered stocks will suffer. Holding bonds will provide little protection.
David Vomund is an Incline Village-based fee-only money manager. Information is found at www.VomundInvestments.com or by calling 775-832-8555. Clients hold the positions mentioned in this article. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial advisor before purchasing any security.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – California’s average for a gallon of regular gasoline decreased six cents over the past week to $5.86. But that average is still up 34 cents from a month ago, and up $1 from April 16, 2025. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline also dropped seven cents over the past week to $4.09.
“After last week’s announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, the price for a barrel of crude oil has continued to trade below $100,” said AAA Mountain West Group spokesperson Doug Johnson. “However, maritime traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains subdued as regional tensions persist and negotiations continue.”
Gas prices are still high but decreased slightly in the last week. Victoria Mastrocola / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Fuel insights from GasBuddy show that prices are down 6.1 cents from last week’s average of $4.987 in Nevada and 6.4 cents from last week’s average of $5.919 in California.
Local Fuel Prices in the Lake Tahoe Region:
El Dorado County: $5.81
Placer County: $5.75
Douglas County: $4.61
Washoe County: $5.21
Carson City: $4.61
Fuel Prices Around the State:
San Francisco: $6.00
Oakland: $5.92
San Jose: $5.84
Sacramento: $5.76
Fresno: $5.78
Stockton: $5.68
AAA Shares Tips to Help Drivers Save on Gas
Saving on Gas: AAA members can save at the pump by signing up for Shell Fuel Rewards®. Members who register now through April 30 will get 35¢/gallon off their first fill at participating Shell stations, and all AAA Fuel Rewards members will save 10¢/gallon during that time period, which is an additional 5¢/gallon compared to the standard Fuel Rewards discount.
Regular vs. Premium: Pay close attention to the words “recommended” and “required.” If regular gas is recommended for your vehicle, that’s all you need. Choosing premium when your car doesn’t require it will only cost you money and doesn’t improve fuel economy.
Remove unnecessary weight from your vehicle (e.g., trunk, cargo area, etc.) as weight increases the amount of effort it takes to move the vehicle.
Avoid Excessive Idling: When idling, car engines use up to one-half gallons of fuel per hour. Warm engines take about 10 seconds worth of fuel to restart. Shut off your engine when stopped for more than a minute and if it’s safe to do so.
Check Tire Pressure and Align Tires: Maintaining proper tire pressure reduces your tire’s friction with the road. Less friction means less energy is needed to move, resulting in using less gas. Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by 0.6 percent on average.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand increased last week from 8.56 million b/d to 9.08 million. Total domestic gasoline supply dropped from 239.3 million barrels to 232.9 million. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.8 million barrels per day.
Oil Market Dynamics
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI rose 0.01 cent to settle at $91.29 a barrel. The EIA reports crude oil inventories decreased by 0.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 463.8 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 1% above the five-year average for this time of year.
EV Charging
The national average per kilowatt hour of electricity at a public EV charging station stayed the same this past week at 41 cents. In California it’s 46 cents.
State Stats
Gas The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are California ($5.86), Hawaii ($5.65), Washington ($5.38), Oregon ($4.92), Nevada ($4.95), Alaska ($4.64), Arizona ($4.63), Illinois ($4.35), Idaho ($4.33), and Washington, DC ($4.27).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Oklahoma ($3.43), Kansas ($3.50), North Dakota ($3.61), Nebraska ($3.62), Iowa ($3.63), Arkansas ($3.64), Missouri ($3.66), Georgia ($3.66), South Dakota ($3.68), and Minnesota ($3.69).
Electric The nation’s top 10 most expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are West Virginia (53 cents), Hawaii (51 cents), Alaska (50 cents), Louisiana (47 cents), New Hampshire (47 cents), California (46 cents), South Carolina (46 cents), New Jersey (45 cents), Arkansas (44 cents), and Nevada (43 cents).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are Kansas (29 cents), Missouri (32 cents), Utah (32 cents), Nebraska (33 cents), Maryland (33 cents), Iowa (34 cents), South Dakota (35 cents), Vermont (35 cents), New Mexico (36 cents) and Delaware (37 cents).
Drivers can find current gas and electric charging prices along their route using the AAA Mobile App, now available on CarPlay. Find current fuel prices at gasprices.aaa.com.
Finland is slated to move away from the historical state-led monopoly it has had for some time and broaden the online casino options it is offering to residents. This reform should see Finland create a modernized online casino environment, and operators are getting ready to compete for licenses.
The state-run monopoly for online casino gaming is officially coming to an end in Finland. As of 2027, the Finnish online gambling market is set to be opened for licensed operators to offer services to Finnish players as part of a regulated and legally overseen market. The upcoming licensing model is expected to be one in which operators might need to offer competitive free spins no deposit bonuses in Finland in order to best attract the attention of customers, meaning that players are likely to see better deals and more attractive offers from operators, as well as an increase in the level of responsible gambling tools they have access to.
Let’s take a closer look at the current system that Finland’s online gambling market has been operating under, why this system is being reformed and what that reformation is likely to look like.
Currently, A State-Controlled Monopoly
The current online gambling system that Finland uses is a strict government-controlled monopoly system. Like much of Europe in the early days of the internet, a singular government-controlled platform was considered the best choice. In Finland, this was undertaken by Veikkaus Oy, which has held, and currently holds, exclusive rights for the offering of gambling services in the country.
The current system mandates that:
Profits go towards things that benefit the public good, such as sports, culture and healthcare.
Veikkaus has control of all online and land-based gambling.
Operations and regulation are all overseen by the government.
Like many other countries, the main justification for this monopoly system is the reduction of gambling-related harm. However, as has been seen in many other jurisdictions, as habits around gambling have changed, this government-owned monopoly system is simply unable to properly serve the constituents that it is designed to protect.
A large part of the problem with monopoly systems like this one is that they are not competitive enough. If you were to look for the best Finnish online casinos, it is unlikely that the ones owned by the government would stack up against others that are run by offshore operators. This is because offshore operators must innovate and provide a level of service and games that players are drawn to, rather than doing what monopoly systems do, which is stagnate.
The draw of players to offshore platforms and away from regulated systems is known as channelization, and it is one of the biggest reasons for the upcoming reform.
Why is Finland Reforming Now?
As some advocates of reform might ask, why now, why not ten years ago? But not for nothing is it said, ‘better late than never’. As of December 2025, a new Gambling Act was passed by the Finnish government, and reform is on the way. Mounting pressure about the realities of the current market system and channelization seem to have forced the hand of regulators.
The new system aims to do a number of things, such as:
Improve channelization and bring offshore activity back under the protective umbrella of regulation.
Improve the player protections that are offered.
Generate more tax from operators.
The acceptance of the realities of attempting to hold a monopoly in a digital space seems to have been a key lynchpin in the push for this reform. With the introduction of the new regulation and licensing system, Finland will be able to improve the rate of channelization and increase the amount of protection that citizens are afforded when they go to play online.
What Will the 2027 Licensing Model Bring?
Currently, the plan is that from the 1st of July 2027, the multi-licensing system will go fully live, with multiple operators instantly entering the market. The hope is that this new model will have a number of key effects, such as:
Increased Competition Between Operators
With private operators vying for licenses, the competition between operators will be fierce. Not only will they need to compete to show that they can best provide for players, but once the market is live, they must also compete for the attention of players.
Part of the Monopoly Remains
The state-run monopoly operator will not disappear entirely. Veikkaus will keep the rights to lotteries and land-based slot machines. This will allow the state to retain a high degree of control over some areas of the market, and to continue to put profits from these ventures directly to work for the public good.
New Oversight and Regulatory Bodies
To begin, the decisions about licensing are falling to the National Police Board, with an, as yet unnamed, new regulatory authority due to take over sometime in 2026. It has been made clear that operators who acquire licenses will be expected to adhere to rules around the following:
For operators interested in getting into what will likely be a lucrative market, the race is on. It seems possible that either only a limited number of licenses will be offered, or that operators who acquire license confirmation early, in 2026, will be better positioned to take advantage of the market in its nascency, when it opens in 2027. For operators investigating joining this race, the restrictions on marketing and technological compliance readiness that Finland will expect from them are important considerations.
The restrictions Finland is expected to place on marketing are relatively in line with many changes occurring across other European jurisdictions, including the limiting of influencer marketing and other restrictions around when and how advertising can take place. In terms of technological and compliance readiness, there is a suggestion that from 2028, operators will only be able to use software created by specifically licensed software providers.
Despite the complicated nature of being compliant with the new Finnish rules, many international operators are still displaying an eagerness to enter the market in 2027.
Final Thoughts
The landscape for online gambling is forever changing in Finland, and seems to be being brought up to speed with many of the more modern gambling ecosystems around Europe. Finland is clearly seeking to ensure that players who enjoy online gambling in the country are well protected and able to enjoy a healthy and competitive market.
Operators are scrambling to become compliant with the new regulatory environment and to establish good brand presence for the planned 2027 launch of the new licensed online gambling market.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Measures B, E and G will be on the ballot this June in El Dorado County, which generally extend or renew previous measures to continue funding for parks, bike paths, playing fields, the library, as well as ambulance and fire protection. The measures will align with the primary ballots, which will distribute sometime in early May.
Measure B – Library funding
“Shall the measure to renew an existing special tax funding South Lake Tahoe Library services, hours, and operations to avoid reduced hours or closure by levying $25.50 per year per parcel of real property within CSA No. 10 South Lake Tahoe Library Zone of Benefit (Zone F), raising $580,000 annually, subject to annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 3%, for a period of twenty years beginning July 1, 2027 and continuing until June 30, 2048, be adopted?”
This measure renews a special parcel tax that passed with voters in 1995, 2005 and 2014 and does not implement a new tax. The measure start at $25.50 per year per parcel, and only impacts those that are served by the South Lake Tahoe Library, not the entirety of El Dorado County. The tax ends after 20 years, in which case it could be extended or reconsidered. The tax would also increase based on inflation, and at its maximum would represent a $1 increase per year.
Without renewing this tax, county operations would only fund two days of operation for the library. According to Jen Dulyanai, co-chair of the Yes on Measure B committee, the special parcel tax supplies about 75% of the library’s annual budget.
“The South Lake Tahoe Library is not a ‘mandated’ service in El Dorado County, so it is pretty far down the funding priority of the Board of Supervisors,” said Dulyanai. “Now that little money is provided by the state, most California libraries are funded locally by special taxes like Measure B.”
Librarian supervisor Katharine Miller said, “Measure B partially funds our hours of operation, highly qualified library staff and essential resources for our community. This generates the funding that gives you access to thousands of books throughout the state of California, the opportunity to gather together with community members at free library programming and a collaborative workspace with high speed internet.”
Voting yes would generate approximately $580,000 per year to fund the library services. Voting no would not extend the existing parcel tax.
Measure E – Fallen Leaf Lake Fire District
“To fund ambulance and fire protection, shall the measure renewing the Fire Special Tax, originally voter-approved on July 27, 2014, and set annually by the CSD Board, subject to a maximum inflation adjustment of the lesser of 1.5% per year or the U.S. Bureau of Labor’s Consumer Price Index on June 30th of the previous fiscal year, established as: Unimproved 0.5 unit ($330.00); improved 1.0 unit ($660); SSA Sierra Programs LLC (40 units), annual revenue raised of $212,800, be adopted and extended until repealed or replaced?”
This measure would fund advanced life support (written as “ambulance in the measure” and fire protection provided through the Fallen Leaf Lake Fire Department. A version of this measure existed since 2004 as a special assessment, and was changed to a fire special tax in 2014. Two years ago, the cap for the special tax was exceeded and the original measure had a sunset clause that required a revote every four years. This measure would instead extend in perpetuity unless the community put it back on the ballot to review, cancel, change or reduce the rate. In addition, the maximum inflation adjustment would be a rate of 1.5%, and would be considered by the Community Services District board.
Fire Chief Chris Sauer said that the measure only affects Fallen Leaf Lake’s parcels, and the residents already pay the existing annual parcel tax. This also includes the Stanford Sierra Camp, which pays a portion of the tax to fund the emergency services there.
The fire department there has a full-time paramedic who would be funded through this. While Fallen Leaf receives mutual aid from other departments, Sauer said, “It takes extra time to get into Fallen Leaf, and we understand the difference that 20 to 30 minutes can make in an emergency.” Fallen Leaf’s fire department response times are generally within five to eight minutes since they are located within the community.
While the extension in perpetuity would be a concern for other communities, Sauer said that because the community is so small (a little less than 300 residents), it would not be nearly as challenging to get two-thirds support to put the measure back on the ballot.
The funds generated by the special tax could be used for anything relating to fire protection and emergency services through the fire department. This measure has received support historically. Sauer said, “The community at Fallen Leaf has always supported the fire department because they want a department out there.”
Voting yes would continue the existing Fire Special Tax and remove the sunset clause that required it to be voted on every four years. Voting no would lead to significant cuts to the department and the community services they provide to Fallen Leaf Lake.
Measure G – Parks, bike paths, and playing fields
“Shall Community Facilities District No. 2000-1 of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority be authorized to continue financing maintenance, improvements, and services to bicycle trails, community athletic fields, and Tahoe Paradise Park, with the Bicycle Advisory Committee guiding bicycle trail spending, by continuing to levy special taxes for 30 additional years, beginning July 1, 2030, such special tax rate calculated by property use, generating approximately $645,000 per year, increased by 2% annually, all as provided in South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority Resolution No. 2025-01?”
Measure G extends previous funding from Measure S, which was passed by voters in 2000. Measure S previously lasted until 2030 and purported to raise $600,000 per year for the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena’s construction, construction and maintenance of athletic fields on or adjacent to Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC), to the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District (now the Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District) and the maintenance of the park, as well as the maintenance of bike trails. These provisions were amended again by voters through Measure R.
Now, Measure G as proposed by the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities JPA would extend this kind of funding, which is now approximately $645,000 per year. As the JPA proposed, it would also:
Increase maintenance contributions for LTCC community playfields from $50,000 to $90,000
Increase maintenance contributions for Tahoe Paradise Park from $50,000 to $135,000
Provide $90,000 to Lake Tahoe Unified School District for maintenance of their fields
Increase eligibility for bike trails that receive maintenance funds
Increase bike trail maintenance funds from $5,000/mile to $10,000/mile
The JPA would also be advised by the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) on the spending of those funds.
Nick Speal, who serves on the BAC and supports Measure G, spoke to the BAC’s role. “A lot of us are people who ride in our community every day and have on-the-ground experience. We write a recommendation on the prioritization of trails to the JPA twice a year.”
Measure S funds went in large part to the construction of the Ice Arena. Now that the Ice Arena is complete, more of these funds can go to the park, bike trails and playing fields—including filling potholes on the trails and maintaining Paradise Park as an amenity that is open to the public.
These funds have acted as a match for other grant-seeking opportunities, helping to leverage more funding for the parks, bike trails and playing fields.
Speal said there was support for the measure from the Tahoe Chamber and Meyers Community Foundation. “The biggest challenge is reminding people that there is an election—we need a two-thirds majority to pass the measure.”
Measures B, E and G will be on the ballot for the June 2 primary election.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Saturday, April 25, a group called Move for Palestine will be holding a 5k Run/Walk to raise funds for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). It kicks off a move-a-thon in May which will continue to raise funds for the PCRF and pledge miles on Strava.
Bonnie McKnight, the organizer for the event, said her journey to researching Palestine started through reading the book “The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East” by Sandy Tolan, which touches on the impacts of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. “It really planted the first seed of my understanding around this topic,” she said.
“I think Americans are largely unaware of what’s happening in that part of the world—and were, until the October 7 attacks,” said McKnight. “I was horrified by what happened, but as I started to read and understand what was happening, I felt like it was a disproportionate massacre in response.”
McKnight, who was pregnant with her third child at the time, said she started to feel hopeless and distraught as she continued to see trauma and war enacted on people—especially because she said, she felt like she had no power to do anything about it. She and her friends brainstormed the idea of a walk-a-thon last fall, when she also met the Tahoe For Palestine group, who had created a vigil for Palestinian children at the No Kings protest.
From then, McKnight took the reins to organize the Move for Palestine 5K and the move-a-thon. “This first event is small, but our purpose is to create awareness and space for the conversation in a peaceful way. Ultimately, how do we support the liberation of Palestinians?”
She also emphasized that the group was advocating for Palestinians, not Hamas, and is not against Jewish people or antisemitic. “What we are addressing are the actions of the government of Israel against the people of Palestine. And through this genocide continuing, we have also seen a rise in violence against Jewish people, which is also unacceptable.”
The move-a-thon, which takes place through May, has a goal of moving 32.5 miles—the length and width of the Gaza Strip. “The goal for this is to move that length and width and to understand what it means to be physically displaced. Over 90% of Gazans were displaced eight to 10 times to seek refuge and this is a powerful way to help people empathize with the psychological and physical strain of that.”
McKnight said she was inspired by the fact that the strip is close in size to the Tahoe Basin, and while she encourages people to join and pledge their miles here, they can also share the Strava group with their friends and family outside of the region, which can raise awareness for their goal.
“I wanted to do something with my voice and my privilege,” said McKnight. “I have a healthy family, I live in a beautiful place, I’m free to go where I want—I feel like everyone in the world should have peace and freedom, which is why this matters to me. I hope that events like this will be a seed planted in other people’s minds and hearts.”
CARSON CITY, Nev. – On Monday, April 20, Douglas County and Carson City Emergency Management—along with regional emergency response partners—will conduct a Wildfire Evacuation Exercise near Clear Creek Tahoe. To test their emergency notification systems, they will send three separate notifications at noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.
“This is only an exercise. There is no actual wildfire or evacuation order in effect. Please do not take real evacuation actions unless you receive a non-exercise alert,” a Douglas County Facebook post stated.
Notifications will be delivered via voice call, email, and/or text, depending on how a resident’s account is set up.
“We’re running this test to see which residents receive which notifications and to check for any crossover in delivery,” the post continued.
LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. – Even with the recent storm, this winter did not measure up to the winter many hoped for. But what the region lacked in snow, will it save in revenue due to fewer days of plowing?
Less snow doesn’t necessarily mean savings. That is partially due to the fact that snow removal supplies are typically purchased in advance.
“These items cannot be purchased reactively during a storm,” El Dorado County Department of Transportation Fleet Superintendent Nathan Haynes said, “so they are stocked ahead of time to avoid service delays and safety risks.”
Additionally, operations often rely on salaried personnel (who perform other road duties when it is not actively snowing).
Most jurisdictions and agencies, like regional counties, the Nevada Department of Transportation, and Caltrans in the Truckee-Tahoe region, do not have separate funds for snowplowing. Instead, funds for these winter operations come out of a general road maintenance fund.
That means any savings would go towards other maintenance operations such as filling potholes, street sweeping, sealing pavement cracks, and striping, among many others. In contrast to a low-snow year, heavy-snow years often require pulling funding from other areas to cover additional costs.
“Any savings from a low-snow winter in Tahoe are a welcome relief…” Washoe County Communications Manager Bethant Drysdale said. “Those savings remain available to support the backlog of maintenance.”
In California, counties are given an apportionment each year from the state controller, called reimbursable snow removal costs. These funds are often quickly expended and don’t cover the entirety of snow management operations.
For example, in Placer County, for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the county received $1,075,619, but even in this low-snow year, it has already spent about $1.7 million on snow operations before the latest storm.
The City of South Lake Tahoe is one agency that does have a specific snow removal fund. Rather than reallocating the savings elsewhere, Director of Finance Olga Tikhomirova said any unspent money will carry forward to the next fiscal year and will help reduce the amount of General Fund support needed for snow removal in the upcoming budget cycle.
These snow removal costs are just one way snow impacts regional budgets. Beyond these direct costs, winters have a broader and more significant impact on revenues.
“In the Tahoe Basin, we spend a disproportionate share of our road funding because of the severity of winter conditions,” Placer County Deputy Director of Public Works Matt Randall said. “Snow removal is only part of the cost—the long-term damage to roads and equipment continues well after storms end.”
A recent pavement study across Placer County found that pavement conditions worsen above 3,500 feet due to freeze-thaw cycles that accelerate pavement deterioration. The study also shows that if maintenance is deferred, repair costs increase considerably.
Revenue for roads often comes from fuel taxes. Another challenge is maintaining these revenues as cars become more efficient and drivers increasingly choose electric vehicles, making excess road funds even more unlikely.
“So the bottom line is this: there is no “extra” or unused snowplowing money,” Randall said. “Even in lighter winters, the available funding is fully absorbed by current operational needs, ongoing pavement and equipment impacts, and a transportation revenue structure that is expected to become more constrained over time.”
Entering the stadium, I look down on the field and the outfield grass is as green as the color has ever been. The theme from The Natural, Robert Redford’s classic baseball flick of pasts becoming present, reverberates as the players are introduced with a tip of their cap, the boys of summer taking the field for another season in the sun.
With the red, white, and blue bunting lining the outfield fences the scene drips Americana like a hot dog-scented Norman Rockwell. You feel the ghosts of baseball greats — Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente are the two names my mind selects — somehow taking it all in and smiling. The coaches and the umps shake hands at home plate like they’ve been doing for more than 150 years and the
game begins.
In the top of the first inning, the Rainiers’ first batter of the season reaches on an error by second baseman
Tommy Troy; in a game as superstitious as baseball it’s not a good omen for the home team, but Aces left-handed flamethrower Kohl Drake bears down and strikes out the second batter. He’s the game’s “K batter,” and his swing-and-miss, per the PA announcer’s echoing voice, means that all draft beers are half price until inning’s end. Though most folks have just sat down, many quickly stand back up and scurry for the nearest concession stand.
BALL OR STRIKE? A Reno Aces batter making the split-second decision to swing or not to swing. Photo by Jon Grant
Drake proceeds to strike out hotshot shortstop Colt Emerson, and then blows one by former San Francisco Giant Connor Joe to strike out the side. In the bottom of the first, Troy makes up for his error by wrapping a sharp single to right and moves to second on LuJames Groover’s walk.
Then strides to the plate a man made for baseball lore — cleanup hitter Luken Baker, all 6’4” 285lbs of him, first baseman, Texas-born, biceps as big as the Babe’s. But Baker quickly shows he’s not all brawn. On a low-and-slow inside curve, though slightly fooled, he keeps his hands back and deftly drops bat-head onto ball, wristing the red-seamed sphere down the left field line for a standup double that scores Troy.
The Aces 1-0 lead holds until the top of the third. With a runner on first, the left-handed hitting Emerson drives an outside fastball over the left-centerfield fence to give the Rainiers a 2-1 lead, the ball nearly hitting the bullseye on the Tahoe Truckee Lumber Company billboard en route to its resting place on the train tracks beyond the stadium.
The jumbotron reacts with a romping closeup of Steve Carell as Michael Scott from the T.V. show The Office. “Nooooooooo!” he shouts in his adult-toddler schtick. “No! No! No! No! No!”
Laughter cleanses the stadium’s palate, and Drake retires the side. The vibes are good — and the Aces rip three hits in their half of the inning, culminated by A.J. Vukovich’s two-out RBI single scorched to center to square the game at two.
Fast forward to the sixth
Cloud-cover has encroached and the Aces find themselves down 4-2. Vukovich starts off the inning by smashing a double deep into the right-centerfield gap, the stadium coming a-roar with chants of “Vuuuuuuu.” A hit batsman, two walks, and an infield single create a rally that scores two runs to retie the game. With the bases still full of Aces, LuJames Groover — the slick-fielding third baseman who already has two hits on the day — connects on a fastball and delivers a shot over the shortstop’s head.
The base hit drives in two, and the crowd is lit like a birthday cake as the Aces take a 6-4 lead. The sun breaks through the clouds, and it seems like the ghosts of Mantle and Clemente have lined up an easy pathway to victory for the home team.
But no.
Baseball will break your heart. Writer and one-time Major League Baseball commissioner Bartlett Giamatti even said, “It’s designed to break your heart.” And so, out of design or whimsey or simple athletic prowess, those darn Rainiers from tepid Tacoma score three dang runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-6 lead, the clouds returning to dim the sun as sweatshirts are donned and heads shake slowly from side to side.
The home team fails to plate any
runs in their half of the seventh or
the eighth, so we head to the bottom of the ninth with the Aces still
trailing 7-6.
But there’s hope! LuJames leads off the inning with a liner just above a leaping Connor Joe and his outstretched first baseman’s mitt, and Groover is aboard the bag with his fourth hit of the day.
Luken Baker lumbers to the batter’s box and the crowd roars. The big man already has two big hits — and everyone’s hoping he’ll send us home happy with a walk-off homer. But Luken gets down in the count and then watches a hissing fastball streak by on the outside, the ump raising his arm to the sky to indicate that it caught the corner for strike three.
But it’s okay, it’s all good. Vukovich is up next, and the crowd incants its “Vuuuuuuuu” to spur him on. Still, the Rainiers’ closer makes him look foolish and gets two quick strikes. Us fans are on our feet, all manner of rally caps being worn backward and sideways and inside-out in hopes of appeasing the ghosts of Mantle and Clemente into gifting us a groundball with eyes or a little bloop that finds safe haven in that green outfield grass.
But Vukovich chases a curveball in the dirt for strike three, and the Aces are down to their last out.
If we were in Mudville watching the Nine, it would be time for Casey at the Bat. Alas, we’re not in a great American poem from 1888 but rather a real-life game in 2026, so it’s Kristian at the Bat; Kristian Robinson, from Nassau, the Bahaman with number 59 on his back now number one in our hearts. “Let’s go, Kristian! … Come on, Kristian!” He stands tall in the box, bat held strong as he works the count to three balls and a strike.
LuJames leads off first base. Kristian gets a pitch to hit. He swings! He connects! A hard-hit line drive rocketed to right. It’ll get LuJames to third and heck he might even score …
But the game will break your heart. It’s designed to break your heart. The Rainiers’ right fielder charges in on swift feet and extends a long arm, the leather of his glove snagging the sinking liner in its web to record Reno’s 27th and final out.
The stadium exhales a sigh that is a groan, and the game is over.
Us fans pick up our things and head for the exits. But before we leave, we turn, back around to the diamond, to the green of all that outfield grass. It was a beautiful day at the ballpark, and we know it. And Mantle and Clemente nod down from above, and another season of baseball has come back to us, as it has for so long, once more.
On essay days in Craig Rowe’s classroom at Truckee High School, the rules are simple: nothing written at home.
Students open their school-issued Chromebooks, log into Google Docs, and begin typing. Rowe can see who made changes, what they changed, and when. If the document has a timestamp of 11:42 p.m. on a Thursday night, he knows rules were broken.
“Here’s something you don’t hear from a teacher,” Rowe tells his students. “I do not want you to do this for homework.”
Just a few years ago, take-home essays were standard practice in English classes. Now, Rowe — who describes himself as an “old-school English teacher” — has moved much of his writing into the classroom, not because he suddenly believes homework is ineffective, but because of artificial intelligence.
Programs like ChatGPT and Google Gemini can now generate a competent five-paragraph essay in seconds. They can brainstorm topics, build outlines, write introductions, and edit rough drafts. And while school networks may block these tools, most students carry a smartphone or have a personal laptop that can access them without restriction.
In the Tahoe/Truckee schools, as in schools across the country, the question is no longer whether students will use artificial intelligence. The question is how schools can preserve learning in a world where the work students are asked to do can now be done by a machine.
Administration: Guardrails
At the helm of Tahoe Truckee Unified School District’s Technological Services is Ed Hilton. The department’s motto is Where Students Master Technology for Their Future.
“We’ve got to prepare our students for college, career, and life, and technology is one of those things in every career,”Hilton said. “So, ultimately we’re supporting our kids and using those tools that they’ll be expected to use when they move on from Tahoe Truckee.”
One of those specific tools is AI. “After ChatGPT came on the scene in 2023 we decided to test out some tools, especially in Google workspace. We use some productivity tools,” he said. “And I guess what we’re still concerned about is employees using tools that we haven’t vetted. Especially right as things came out, we did a lot of employee training, like to not upload student info so AI is not training on student info.”
Hilton estimates that in their Google and other curriculum tools, “about 1/3 use some sort of AI in the background.”
DISTRACTIONS DISTRACTIONS: Though cell phones are no longer allowed on a student’s person during classtime at many local schools, the constant distraction of the screen — even by school-issued laptops — is noted by both educators and students. Illustrations by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
He was quick to make a distinction on AI: “If you’re talking about up-font AI-use like ChatGPT, it’s just the staff. Students can’t go to ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Only staff have access.”
Each student at TTUSD is given a Chromebook, which is a streamlined laptop running Google Chrome OS, for school use from kindergarten through the senior year of high school. Kids in younger grades leave the laptops at school, older students take them home for homework, the transition happening in middle school. While on their Chromebooks, or while utilizing a school’s Wi-Fi network, up-front AI tools and a variety of websites are blocked.
Yet many students, especially in high school, have their own laptops as well. When not on school Wi-Fi, these computers (not to mention the smart-phone in most middle school and high schoolers’ pockets) have no restrictions on any AI tool or website.
Hilton acknowledged this, and that students utilizing “front end AI” has been problematic.
“As far as academic honesty, teachers are having those conversations,” he said, noting that the district has just finished a draft of its AI policy, which has been in the works since October with input from three public meetings between administrators, staff, and parents, that Hilton believes will be ratified before the end of the school year. “But we are not going to put our head in the sand. AI is definitely part of the students’ future.”
Hilton repeatedly noted that any use of AI in the district has to be “secure” and “safe.” He pushed on the need for transparency and visibility of how students are using it, and averred that there must be guardrails in place that would, essentially, allow students to use some AI tools for schoolwork, but not all of them.
“Any tool should have some sort of scaffolding to students,” he said. “In that, you don’t get the race car right away, we teach you to drive first.”
TTUSD administrators and educators are watching how the test drive goes in another Placer County school. (Though TTUSD spans three counties, the district is under Placer jurisdiction.) Rocklin Unified has, in Hilton’s term, “deployed” more front-end school-wide AI tools, namely Google Gemini, into their curriculum — okayed and even encouraged for classroom and schoolwide use.
“Our students will use AI in their jobs. But it’s come so quickly — the use, the integration and all the different things,” Hilton said. “We want to make sure we are doing it correctly. The question isn’t are we using it or not, but is it beneficial or not? If we come up with educators who say it’s not beneficial, we won’t use it. But putting our head in sand and saying AI doesn’t exist is not valuable either.”
Teachers: Protect the Learning Process
While Rowe assiduously protects students’ writing process from AI, he is also working on ways to implement the newly evolving tech tools.
THING OF THE PAST: Like the disappearance of chalkboards in the 1990s and 2000s, education is seeing pens, paper, and take-home essays become bygone tools as it enters its AI frontier. File image
“What’s the role of AI in classrooms?” he asked rhetorically. “I think there is one. But the balance of where and when to use them is a work in progress with educators, myself included.”
Rowe’s approach depends on his classes, from AP Language and AP Literature courses to his communications class. In the latter, for instance, student presentations are a large part of the curriculum. He not only okays AI-use for aspects of these, but encourages it. “AI tools are really great for research,” he said, noting an example of a student looking into the difference between engineering programs at various colleges, and how just a few years ago the research could “take days” but “now it’s one query.”
He finds a boon in using AI-generated graphics as well. “I feel like for project-based stuff and visuals, AI has some really cool tools. If someone is giving a mini Shark Tank style presentation in my communications class, I encourage them to use AI for their visuals. In the past, students may not have had much for visual aids, and now it’s almost professional level visuals and art.”
While striving to keep ideation and writing a human-powered endeavor, Rowe does see educational benefit from AI’s use on “the back end” of essay-writing. He talks of a student who had a near-final draft of her paper but wasn’t sure if her tone was coming through as intended. The student, Rowe said, “plugged it into AI, into Gemini, and asked if the tone she had intended to use was the tone that came through.” The feedback the student received, per Rowe, was useful.
But as for writing, Rowe is wary of AI taking over too much of the critical thinking and drafting that has always been vital to the creation of an essay.
“I’ve definitely had my days when I’m grading, and I’ll read something that is just so obvious AI, and it’s depressing quite frankly,” Rowe said. “My initial reaction is that, ‘yeah we have to lock ’em down and just handwrite everything.’ And then I calm down and ask myself, “What is our mission?’” He answers his own question with: “It’s not for students to get a good grade in my class but to prepare our young people to be contributors in society.”
Rowe returned to the need for balance, and the importance for discussion. “Everyone is navigating their way through it,” he said. “This is classic where the technology is way out in front of the policies and the teaching methods.”
“The kids,” he concluded, “are adapting to AI really quickly. Much quicker than the educators and the school policies.”
Laurie Cussen, who teaches history and social studies courses at Truckee High, believes in not shortcutting the learning process. “AI is a tool for productivity once you’re out of education [and into the workforce],” she said. “That makes sense, but the learning has to happen before.”
She makes an apt comparison: “My first grader is a perfect example. He is learning arithmetic, addition, and subtraction. We’ve had calculators forever that could do that for him. But it is so much better for his neuropathways for him to do it himself — to learn how to do it himself.”
“We are in neuropathway building,” she said of herself and her fellow teachers. “We need to protect the productive struggle.”
Cussen gave another analogy: As a wrestler becomes a better wrestler through the struggle of wrestling, learners become better learners through the struggle of learning. Though she acknowledges using AI in some of her own lesson planning, she “shies away” from using AI in her classroom “because it is such a convenient shortcut.”
Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
However, she does see a benefit for students to use AI as “a clarifier of concepts,” going as far as instructing her students to use AI at home to make practice quizzes, referring to it as “as a study companion.”
As for class time, Cussen echoed Mr. Rowe’s sentiments. “[AI] can do any assignment we do in class,” she said, lamenting that the school “is seeing a lot of stuff turned in that is purely done by AI.”
“If you want to ensure that the work is purely student generated, all the work has to be done in the classroom. If you let it go home, you know it’s not all student work.”
“I see class time as preserving the productive struggle, not giving students the cognitive offramp,” Cussen continued. “Protect the space of learning in class, then when you go home, use AI.”
The soft skills of communication, collaboration, problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking must remain at the core of curriculum, she said. AI proficiency, on the other hand, she observed, can be coached in shorter time spans, through short-courses or future employees, down the road. “Learning the soft skills in school is vital,” she emphasized.
Students: The Reality
Kate and Maria are juniors in AP courses at Truckee High. They have been in TTUSD schools since their elementary school days, and they say this year has been their most academically rigorous thus far. They both want to go to college, with some big names in education on their lists of desired schools. Both are taking an AP-heavy courseload. To protect their privacy, their names have been changed.
Both agreed that a difference regarding AI in this school year is “the teachers are more on edge about it in general.” The students spoke about the restrictions regarding AI-use on tests and certain assignments when on school Wi-Fi and Chromebooks.
“But for online homework, there are no restrictions like that,” Kate said. Both she and Maria have their own personal laptops. They said teachers sometimes do encourage or even instruct homework assignments to be completed with AI. Other times, students simply opt to use it.
“I do think sometimes it’s beneficial to use Chat GPT or Gemini because it can help answer questions you don’t know,” Maria said. “Let’s say there was a formula in math that I can’t remember, it can help me. It’s nice to have a website like Chat GPT you can trust to explain it to you step by step.”
The students echoed the idea of the AI study companion.
“Chat GPT for me is really useful for studying for tests because some teachers don’t give study guides,” Kate said, saying that she copies and pastes content from her Google Classroom page into one of the programs to have the AI generate, for instance, “flash cards for unit three of [class].”
When asked, in their view, if they had ever overstepped the ethical bounds of AI-use on an assignment, Maria answered, “Honestly, not really.” Both described how passing AP tests to receive the valuable college credits means that the student actually has to learn the material. (One cannot use AI tools on the test, for instance.) The two juniors also spoke to a genuine desire to learn for learning’s sake.
Maria stated that she did not use AI before she started taking AP classes. “I think learning has definitely changed a lot,” she said.
Still, similar to what their teachers and administrators have noticed, Kate and Maria also see some students finding workarounds and overly relying on AI, using it, in some cases, to complete the entirety, or the near-entirety, of an assignment.
“I definitely think kids are getting stupider from using it too much,” Kate said.
But both do not blame their peers for the overuse. “It’s just so accessible to just search up the answer if you don’t have time,” Kate said.
As for writing, the juniors find AI to be a key tool. “Honestly, writing is more like a first draft, not editing,” Kate said. ‘If I feel like I need editing, I’ll run it through Chat GPT.”
She usually writes out “one to two drafts” on her own before (and if) she seeks AI editing.
When a human-written draft is “run through” an AI program for editing, per the detection software turnitin.app, it is more difficult to catch than if the draft was initially generated by AI. Further hindrances to detection arise when an AI-generated first draft is edited by a human, when there is mixed AI-human authorship; or when content is too short to provide sufficient linguistic data, i.e., a paragraph-length piece rather than an essay-length.
Kate and Maria also noted using AI as a writing tutor on their essays for the “little things you can use ChatGPT for, like topic points or information … how do I format it …what facts do I put in … to see if I need a smoother transition on this” … “When I have no idea what to write about” and to “put it in and see how it’s going to grade me.”
When the students were asked if they work harder or less hard when they use an AI program like ChatGPT on their schoolwork, the students said: “Definitely less effort because it gives you the exact answer.”
How to not be tempted to use AI or other digital technology? Get rid of the screen.
“In my history class where there’s lectures, you can ask questions while you go over the information and take notes,” Maria said. “You don’t have any technology out, and you’re totally focused on the teacher and what they’re saying. I think that’s more impactful, the lecture and taking notes with pen and paper. Way more beneficial for sure. A lot of times when I take notes on my computer, I get sidetracked and open different tabs. When it’s pen and paper, I don’t have that excuse.”
EDUCATION FINDS ITSELF entering an AI landscape where the unknowns outweigh the knowns and where protecting the productive struggle of learning has become paramount. File image
Nevada: The Transplant and the Chatbot
In North Lake Tahoe, Incline Village schools fall under the Washoe County School District. I spoke with an early-grade elementary school teacher who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. She moved to the district from a state where, she said, schools were moving away from classroom technology. In Nevada, she found the opposite. “All curriculum is online,” she said of her classes. Even when she reads a book aloud, the students no longer gather around a physical copy with pages that she fans while teaching; the book is displayed on a screen.
She acknowledged that not all studies show classroom technology to improve learning outcomes, but in her new district, its use is expanding rather than shrinking. She broached how her school has “just implemented an app for kids to do their reading homework on instead of them reading books and completing a reading log.”
The app is called Paloma. Per its LinkedIn page, the company “is a venture-backed edtech startup that harnesses AI to unleash parents’ untapped teaching potential.” In short, Paloma’s AI generates personalized books aligned to what it knows about a student’s learning needs and personal/familial interests, and texts the student’s family a daily tutoring lesson plan.
“A few parents have actually complained since they do not want their child on technology,” the teacher said.
When I was unable to reach administrators at Incline High School, I turned to the district’s website, where I found something no other Tahoe/Truckee area school site had: an AI assistant. The chatbot introduces itself in writing: “Hi, I’m Ask your WCSD AI Assistant. How can I help you today?”
I asked it a simple question: Do Incline High students use AI?
The response began: “The Washoe County School District acknowledges that AI is rapidly reshaping education and can be a powerful tool for expanding learning.” The answer went on for several paragraphs, outlining both benefits and drawbacks, and included a statement that the district had established a framework “that ensures AI is used responsibly, ethically, and effectively.”
In my conversations with educators for this article, that was the first time I had heard the word “ensure” used in reference to students’ ethical AI use.
I asked the chatbot another question: How come AI is so good for first graders?
It responded that AI can “enhance learning,” “foster creativity,” and “personalize learning to meet individual needs, even at an early age.”
Then I asked a question more specific to writing: Is editing writing?
The AI responded that “editing is an integral part of the writing process,” and that “writing encompasses the entire process from ideation to the final product.” So, I asked a follow-up: Can AI help students with ideating and editing an essay?
“Yes,” the chatbot responded, stating that students are encouraged to use AI for brainstorming, for planning ideas and organizing thoughts, and in editing drafts.
Reading the responses, I wrote an if/then statement in my notebook. If ideation and editing are integral aspects of writing an essay and students are encouraged to use AI for them, then does that not innately represent cognitive offloading of integral aspects of writing an essay?
Yes, I believe it does.
When I returned a few days later and asked the chatbot the same questions again, its answers were similar, but not identical. The AI, it seemed, had learned — and altered its answers in subtle but noticeable ways.
WHAT WAS BROKEN? While old-school teaching methods were not perfect, a lot of students learned just fine for a long time before AI-infused curriculums and cognitive offloading. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Waldorf: Trees Before Tech
Public schools are by no means the only option for students and parents in Tahoe/Truckee. Truckee alone offers a number of private and charter schools. I reached out to many and heard back from some, learning that each is eitherallowing or encouraging AI in its curriculum to varying degrees.
One curriculum, however, stood out as unique — Tahoe Truckee Waldorf’s, which teaches students on three campuses from preschool through eighth grade.
“We are a tech-free school and community,” said Alexandra Ball, the school’s admissions manager. “You will not find tech in our classrooms. We ask our families to be cognizant of screentime at home as well.”
Waldorf schools have been around for over 100 years, and they are built on principles of a comprehensive and holistic education aimed to grow students’ intellectual, creative, artistic, and practical skills. Standardized testing is typically limited, and teachers are given a relatively wider range of curriculum autonomy. Nature, play, music, and imagination are widely emphasized as integral tools for learning. A motto of Tahoe Truckee Waldorf is “Trees before Tech.”
“We are tech free not because we are anti-technology but because we believe in developing children’s cognitive abilities and critical thinking abilities before they are introduced to it,” Ball continued, noting the value of human interactions and dealing with real-life situations as educational keys in Tahoe Truckee Waldorf’s curriculum. “We believe it gives children a better start in life.”
Ball grew up in Washington State and went to The Seattle Waldorf School through eighth grade. She has lived in the Tahoe/Truckee area for “about a decade” and all three of her children are in the Tahoe Truckee Waldorf schools.
“It has been proven that technology is not great for attention spans and things like that,” she said. “Plus, it is not really showing that it helps children in reading, comprehension, or aptitude. Countries typically rated high in education, like Sweden, are moving away from technology and back to paper and handwriting. We are not doing anything revolutionary, we are just doubling down on what’s [been] proven to work.
“I believe strongly in giving my kids and all children the best way to develop themselves. As a parent, before I send my children out to the world, I hope their whole brain is being used.”
Adoption: Playing Catch-Up
By the time I got to high school, auto shop had been removed from the curriculum. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But as an adult who has spent thousands of hours driving, I truly wish my school had found a way to keep that class, and that I would have been taught about the inter-workings of such a crucial thing that my world would entail.
Perhaps it’s the same with today’s students and AI, the auto shop of yesteryear — a tool students will use constantly in their adult lives, whether schools fully embrace it or not.
By many criteria, AI is the most powerful tool the world has ever seen. In reaction, teachers talk about “protecting the productive struggle.” Administrators talk about guardrails. Students talk about accessibility and pressure and time. What they all agree on is that it’s not going away.
When human beings adopt a technology, we adapt to it. We built roads for our cars. We rearranged our living rooms for our televisions. We reorganized our attention spans for our smartphones. And now it’s AI.
Schools are trying to figure out how to adapt to this powerful newcomer — how to use artificial intelligence without letting it replace the very skills schools exist to teach. The technology is moving quickly. The policies, and the classrooms, are trying to catch up.
On a clear and calm Thursday morning, a group of six meets on a pontoon boat at the Tahoe City Marina for a dive. Though everyone there is a return volunteer, Clean Up the Lake Operations Manager Klemen Robnik reviews the plans, everyone’s tasks, and boat and high-altitude-dive safety. After the safety debrief, volunteer Roman Versch, who serves as the group’s boat captain, navigates the boat to the last marked GPS location in Hurricane Bay where the previous divers left off.
Most of the lake’s litter and debris is never seen by people who recreate here, but it is quietly collected by Clean Up the Lake, a volunteer-based (1,300 strong) nonprofit organization. CUTL is on its second circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe’s 72-mile shoreline — this time at a greater depth.
The lake is still and glassy as volunteer Cole Wagner and Operations Assistant Nick Krozek suit up and plop into the water, followed by Rose Demoret, who serves as the kayaker and primary data collector, trailing after the divers’ bubbles.
“So, each time we go out on a dive, I’m actually running a Strava route, so I’m following as close as I can in the path that the divers take, so that they have that data to analyze and see exactly where they have been,” Demoret said. “The other component to that is sometimes they come across items that can’t be picked up.” In that case, divers mark the heavy or bulky items to return to.
In the sweet spot of about 45 feet below the surface, the divers float slowly through the cold water, scanning the lakebed. At such a depth, nitrox — a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen — allows them to stay under water for longer. Cradled in the silt is a trove of trash the divers gather and aquatic invasive species they document.
NITROX and diver propulsion vehicles allow scuba divers to more efficiently search for debris between 35 and 55 feet deep, a more taxing depth than the 25 feet of the first circumnavigation cleanup. Photos courtesy Clean Up the Lake
This particular day the divers cover 0.37 miles, collecting over 150 pounds of litter including a soggy orange shag rug that looks like it fell off an Austin Powers set. Bulky items like the rug are sent to the surface via an inflated, bright orange heavy lift bag, which Robnik then retrieves and inspects to see what’s attached.
“We usually pull out roughly 500 to 1,000 pounds a month,” Robnik said.
He recalled a full, five-step staircase the crew found in Carnelian Bay, several boat ladders, tarps, chains, and lost anchors.
“It never goes away unless it’s salvaged,” Versch said.
ACCIDENTAL LITTER: Divers pull up all sorts of debris within the 35- to 55-foot range, much of which they believe to have accidentally fallen off boats.
Going the Extra Mile
“Initially I was like, there’s not much at all to do here. Lake Tahoe is so clean and so beautiful,” said CUTL Founder and CEO Colin West. “Under the surface … the problem’s just been perpetuating out of sight and out of mind.”
There are piles upon piles of trash in the lake, according to him. Clean Up the Lake’s 72 Mile Cleanup2 began with a deep-clean pilot-project in 2025 at depths up to 25 feet. The first cleanup successfully collected 25,281 pounds of trash. This year’s haul is anticipated to surpass that amount.
The current project kicked off on the West Shore border of Placer County in December. Because Lake Tahoe is calm and free from recreation traffic in winter, cleanup days are booked through the chilly months, leading to divers in wetsuits coming up shivering.
Clean Up the Lake is now traveling clockwise around the lake, following the contours of the shore and scoping out the 35- to 55-foot-deep swath of lakebed. The dives will continue through summer. As of the Ink’s publication, this second cleanup has completed 23 dive days and three sorting days, removing more than 3,557 pounds of debris.
“Based on those numbers over our mileage,” Programs Manager Jenny Uvira said, “it projected for us to actually collect more trash in 35 to 55 depth range than we did in the original circumnavigation.”
Uvira guessed that the tipping point might happen near the project’s 62-mile mark. West emphasized it’s a projection; the reality has yet to be seen.
DIVE TEAM: Divers Cole Wagner and Nick Krozek and kayaker Rose Demoret make their way to a GPS pin to continue the 72 Mile Deep Clean2. Photo by Megan Ramsey/Moonshine Ink
“The only way we know is once we swim across and clean it up ourselves,” West said.
So, what’s down there? Alpine lakes are barren in regards to plant life, but there is an abundance of litter.
“You can’t see it until it comes up,” Versch explained. “The divers see it underwater. You don’t realize how much trash is really in the lake. And so much more than I ever imagined.”
Clean Up the Lake’s mission is to conserve lakes across the Eastern Sierra.
“I’ve had the pleasure of visiting other areas around the world and I’ve seen what can become of our environment and our underwater environments if we disregard them, if we don’t take action now while we can, to protect them and protect the beautiful, wild, and natural look that it’s been for so long,” West said.
West came up with the idea to start a nonprofit when he traveled to Belize and saw trash-ridden beaches on stretches of unmaintained shoreline.
“And I think Tahoe is one of those few areas that still shows signs of how it’s always been. But unfortunately, you know, the litter, the New Zealand mud snail, the Asian clams, the Eurasian modern milfoil, curly leaf pond weed, goldfish, bass, the invasive [species], the garbage, the algae growth from runoff, and nutrient loading — all these problems are really starting to have a detrimental effect on Lake Tahoe.”
HEAVY LIFT: Klemen Robnik pulls a disintegrating tire from the water after divers sent it up with an inflated lift bag. Photo by Megan Ramsey/Moonshine Ink
The Aftermath of Trash
“I think a lot of people just think we pull trash out of the lake and then throw it out and take it to the dump,” Uvira said, “but it’s so much more than that. We sort our trash into 83 different categories.”
The main categories are plastics, metal, glass, and wood, which contain subcategories such as plastic utensils, plastic fishing gear, and others — within plastics, there are 27 different subcategories. Uvira said sorting the trash helps identify problems in different parts of the lake. Near buoy fields, for instance, divers find items like boat covers and metal bird-deterrents. At the current depth they are focused on, heavier items and lots of beer cans and beverage bottles have settled.
Even though they find so much litter, volunteers and employees of Clean Up the Lake think the lake is becoming cleaner.
“In the past, there was a lot more littering. We do find lots more trash that’s a little bit older. And if we revisit an area after a while, chances are that there’s going to be less trash,” Robnik said about his personal observations in the field. “The environmental consciousness of people has gotten better, and we are noticing a lot more of modern litter is accidental littering.”
But that doesn’t mean the accumulated litter is without its detriments.
“If the litter’s not removed, the thousand-plus tires we’ve removed break down and turn into microplastics, make their way into drinking water,” West said. “I’ve seen tons of wildlife entanglement in our lakes of huge, beautiful trout being caught in fishing lines.”
Uvira commented that though the overall weight of plastic that they collect tends to be lower than that of other materials, the number of fragments and microplastics is high. The more plastic degrades, the smaller the particles become, and the harder they are to remove from the drinking water Tahoe provides.
Elizabeth Everest, the consulting environmental scientist and GIS expert for CUTL, noted that when debris like rubber begins to break down, it introduces toxins into the water.
cole WAGNER, a certified diver and one of the 1,300 volunteers with Clean Up the Lake, drops into the water with a splash before descending with his dive buddy. Photo by Megan Ramsey/Moonshine Ink
“Once items have been removed from the lake, there’s less of an impact moving forward,” she explained. “But obviously, as things break down, those small pieces that can’t be physically removed are going to remain in the lake for a really long time.”
The effect of toxins in the water, changes in the ecosystem caused by aquatic invasive species, and rising temperatures accumulate and worsen without actions from organizations like Clean Up the Lake.
“These cleanups are fixing the mistakes of our past. We’ve got decades and decades of litter that’s stacked up underneath lakes here,” West said. “Fresh water is one of our most crucial resources and is only going to become more important as we have 73-degree stretches [all] month long in March [at] 7,000 feet. Climate change is happening. It’s here. It’s been in Tahoe all month long. So, we need to protect these freshwater resources that we have.”
Clean Up the Lake remains optimistic, dive by dive, pound of trash after pound of trash removed.
“I feel like we are making strides, and we’re going in the right direction,” West said. “And hopefully we can continue to spread this work.”
The team emphasized that the sooner debris is removed, the less it will degrade and impact water quality. You don’t need a scuba tank to pitch in.
“If you see a piece of trash, pick it up,” Demoret said. “It’s really pretty easy to keep a little plastic bag or an extra bag with you to collect a little bit of trash any time that you go out. If everybody does a small impact picking up a couple trash items on the shoreline, then one, they’re not going to end up in the water, and then two, it won’t be on the shoreline for people to see. You don’t have to make a huge effort.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Join Clean Up the Lake on Earth Day, April 22, for a cleanup at the Tahoe City Marina. Find more opportunities for volunteering at cleanupthelake.org/volunteer
In early March, Washoe Tribe members led a ceremony to support Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue volunteers who had been responders at the devastating Feb. 17 Castle Peak avalanche. While details are private, two statements were shared with Moonshine Ink.
Darrel Cruz, Washoe Tribe member, said, “I want to acknowledge the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and thank them for their dedication to the community and for their recent response to the Castle Peak avalanche tragedy.
“We all go back to our roots for the basic spirituality of healing and in times like this, this is what neighbors do for each other.”
~ Darrel Cruz
“Team members who responded to the emergency felt a degree of trauma and grief having to confront what they had to go through that left them with a need to heal. TNSAR reached out to people of the Washoe Tribe to ask for a ceremony to help them heal and replenish their soul through a Washoe sweat ceremony. The Washoe replied and held a special ceremony for the TNSAR team members.
“We all go back to our roots for the basic spirituality of healing and in times like this, this is what neighbors do for each other.”
Troy Corliss, TNSAR volunteer, answered, “Tahoe Nordic SAR thanks the Waší:šiw members for welcoming our request and hosting the sweat lodge ceremony for us. Meeting you and participating in the ceremony helped us to move through a difficult time. We are grateful to you for sharing your customs and guiding us through this ceremony of prayer and healing. May we continue the friendship that you have offered to us.”
Frank LaMarque passed away peacefully on Dec. 16 after a prolonged struggle with respiratory disease.
Born in St. Louis, MO, to Frank and Lillian LaMarque, Frank attended Sumner High School and later the University of Missouri, where he made friendships that have lasted a lifetime.
Courtesy photo
During the Vietnam War, Frank enlisted in the military, serving as a medic in the US Army. While stationed in Germany, Frank met Suzanne and Clarisse Robert, and, at their invitation, came to Lake Tahoe. One look at the lake, and Frank decided he was never leaving.
For the next 56 years, Frank made Tahoe City his home, starting by managing Joe Marillac’s Squaw Valley ski shop. Frank later opened Frank’s Tunes, which later became Jobey’s Records, which he co-owned for many years. He later moved to become a supervisor for Sierra Rainbow Painting for over 25 years, and lastly, as he was approaching retirement, he worked at A Santes Lakeside Fitness.
Frank married Andrea Streepy and fathered a daughter, Aisha Carmel, who tragically died in early adulthood, leaving four grandchildren, for whom Frank acted as guardian until his death.
Before his health betrayed him, Frank’s love for the game of golf would have him on the course in Tahoe City regularly, keeping the greens keepers busy repairing divots. When he finally got a hole-in-one, he became an incurable golfaholic.
But what he did cure was his struggle with alcohol. A recovered alcoholic, Frank threw himself into the AA program with passion and became a model for others on their path to sobriety. In his 35 years sober, he sponsored many people and literally saved many lives.
His huge grin, infectious laugh, and heart of gold will be sorely missed by all the many friends he had in this community and by all that he touched along the way.
A celebration of life is planned for Saturday, May 9, at 2 p.m. at the Tahoe City Golf Course.
When the news turns grim and market volatility increases, it can feel like uncertainty is everywhere. Scroll through the headlines and it makes sense why investors feel uneasy.
A war in Iran and an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine have led to a surge in global energy prices, sparking fears of higher inflation. Evidence suggesting tariffs put on imported goods have been passed through to us, the consumer and small business, putting further upward pressure on inflation.
Recently reported weak job growth may be signaling a slowing economy. Combine all these concerns and we have the makings of 1970’s stagflation: slow growth and high inflation. Truckee, and our region more broadly, are not immune to these global influences.
The recently released Business Listening Tour conducted by the Truckee Chamber ofCommerce reflects these concerns. According to Chamber President and CEO Jessica Penman, chamber members report thinning margins while revenues remain steady. These anecdotal reports likely reflect cost pressures due to tariffs, among other influences.
With stories like these, it is a normal reaction to wonder, “Should I be doing something with my investments right now?”
This reaction stems from the same fight-or-flight instinct that helped our ancestors survive physical danger. When we feel threatened, our natural response is to react quickly. While a market decline is not a physical threat, our brains can respond as if it were. When portfolios fall and uncertainty rises, the urge to act can be strong.
Feeling uneasy during volatile markets is completely normal, but reacting too quickly is where many investors get into trouble. Looking back at the last 100 years, some terrible things have happened: among other events, a depression, a world war, an assassinated president, an oil embargo, a global financial crisis, a pandemic, and yet the market keeps moving upward, although not in a straight line. While every downturn feels unique in the moment, history tells a consistent story — disciplined investors with a thoughtful plan are rewarded for staying the course.
A sound investment strategy does not rely on predicting the terrible thing. Instead, it is built on accepting that terrible things do happen, and that markets will process the information, look forward, and adjust accordingly.
Our reaction to market fluctuations is one of the biggest challenges in investing. The biggest influence on our portfolios is not investment performance; it is investor behavior. We are emotional beings, especially when it comes to our money, and human behavior often works against us during volatile periods. Recognizing how emotions and psychological biases can influence financial decisions is a valuable skill.
One of the most common biases we carry is loss aversion, the tendency to feel the pain of loss more strongly than the satisfaction of gains. Discomfort like this can trigger a strong urge to act, to sell, or to wait until things look better. Unfortunately, these decisions are often made after markets have already declined rather than before. And because markets are forward-looking, by the time “things look better,” a recovery is well underway. This is a sure way to go broke by selling low and buying high.
Two other behavioral traps that frequently appear during volatile markets are herd mentality and recency bias.
Herd mentality occurs when investors act based on the actions of others. If everyone around us seems worried, that anxiety can spread quickly. If others are reacting to the headlines we are also seeing, it makes sense to feel that we should be doing something too. Following the crowd has historically led to poor investment decisions.
Recency bias is the tendency to place weight on recent experiences and assume they will continue indefinitely. The most recent experience influences our perception of risk, and, during downturns, investors may feel things will only get worse. Conversely, during strong rallies, confidence grows and risk-taking increases. Neither is a healthy long-term investment approach.
Two time-tested ideas should guide your investment philosophy. First, markets tend to be remarkably efficient at incorporating available information into prices. Second, diversification matters. Since none of us has a crystal ball and we cannot predict which sectors or countries will outperform next, it makes sense to hold highly diversified investments. If not at least one of your investments is making you mad all the time, you are not diversified.
Investing, in many ways, is about preparation. Living in the mountains, we do not wait until the first snow to think about firewood or snow tires. We prepare ahead of time because we know that winter storms are inevitable.
Markets work the same way. Portfolios should be built not just for sunny days, but for the storms that inevitably appear. And when the storms arrive, as they always do, the investors who prepared ahead of time are usually the ones best positioned to stay calm, stay disciplined, and stay invested.
~ Jessica Abrams and John Manocchio are CFP® professionals with Pacific Crest Wealth Planning serving the Truckee/Tahoe region. Both Jessica and John are passionate about their community and volunteer service. Jessica is an active member of the Rotary Club of Truckee and John is an active member of the Truckee Optimist Club.
Three Ways to Plan a Walkable Meeting Near Tahoe Blue Event Center
When your attendees can move from keynote to cocktails without waiting on a shuttle, everything clicks a little more easily. And when the lake is just down the block, even the space between agenda items starts to feel like part of the experience instead of time lost in transit.
That’s what makes meetings in South Lake Tahoe stand out. Tahoe Blue Event Center gives planners a flexible, state-of-the-art home base for conferences, conventions, sporting events, and large-scale gatherings, all within a walkable entertainment district filled with hotels, restaurants, nightlife, and lake views.
Below are example pairings based on planners’ most frequently requested event needs. The beauty of Tahoe’s ultra-walkable district is that these plans are simply starting points. Hotels, dining, and after-hours experiences can be mixed and matched to create the flow that fits your group best.
Option 1: Closest to the Action
Best for: Tight agendas, limited walking, and schedules that need everything right there.
Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe and Bally’s Lake Tahoe Resort Casino put your attendees just steps from Tahoe Blue Event Center, making them especially convenient for expo-heavy programs, general sessions, and packed agendas where every minute matters. When people can get from their room to the venue in just a couple of minutes, the whole day feels easier.
Perfect pairings include:
Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe: 500+ rooms, about a 2-minute walk from Tahoe Blue Event Center
Bally’s Lake Tahoe Resort Casino: 430 rooms, about a 2-minute walk and shares a parking lot with the event center
Ciera Steak + Chophouse: A AAA Four Diamond Award-winning steakhouse option for a more elevated group dinner
The Oyster Bar: A choice seafood spot inside Golden Nugget that adds variety without sacrificing convenience
Lucky Beaver Bar & Burger: A casual late-night option that’s open 24/7, perfect for your night-owls and early-risers.
Option 2: Dining, Nightlife, and Built-In Energy
Best for: Multi-track meetings, flexible agendas, and groups that want built-in dining and after-hours options.
Maybe you want walkability, but you also want more built into the experience. More breakout flexibility. More dining options. More ways for the evening to keep going once the badges come off.
Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe and Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino make that kind of setup easy. Both are within a short walk of Tahoe Blue Event Center, giving planners room to build an event that feels connected without feeling confined. This is a great approach for meetings with layered agendas, multiple session types, or groups that want after-hours options baked right into the destination.
Perfect pairings include:
Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe: 400 suites, about an 8-minute walk from Tahoe Blue Event Center
Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe: 742 rooms, about a 7-minute walk from Tahoe Blue Event Center
Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe: Perfect for a splashy hosted dinner
Wolf by Vanderpump: A stylish choice for VIP dinners or high-energy evenings
Lake Tahoe AleworX and Noel’s Apothecary: Go-to nightlife spots for post-event socializing without adding transportation to the mix
This option gives attendees options while keeping everyone in the same orbit. It lets your event expand naturally without losing that all-together feel.
Option 3: Lake-Centered Experiences
Best for: Executive gatherings, incentive-style programs, and events that want more of Tahoe built into the experience.
If you want attendees to feel Tahoe in a bigger way, consider staying nearby at The Landing Resort & Spa or Edgewood Tahoe Resort. Both keep Tahoe Blue Event Center close, but position the lake front and center in your overall program.
These properties are a natural fit for executive retreats, incentives, and programs with welcome receptions, VIP moments, or built-in scenic downtime. Edgewood delivers a luxury experience with direct lake access and golf course views, while The Landing offers a boutique, lakeside setting with a quieter, more intimate feel. As the furthest walk on this list, The Landing pairs well with Lake Link, Tahoe’s free on-demand shuttle, for easy transfers.
Perfect pairings include:
Edgewood Tahoe Resort: 154 rooms plus villas, about an 11-minute walk from Tahoe Blue Event Center
The Landing Resort & Spa: 82 rooms, approximately a 15-20 minute walk to Tahoe Blue Event Center. Lake Link recommended for some groups
JWB Prime Steak and Seafood: An upscale option for hosted dinners or executive groups
Lakeside Dining: California-inspired cuisine on the waterfront and on property at The Landing Resort.
Brooks’ Bar & Deck: A relaxed lake-and-golf-course atmosphere with unmistakable Tahoe character
This is where business and backdrop start to blur in the best way. A morning session can lead to a lakeside lunch. A productive day can end with sunset views and a dinner your attendees will actually remember.
A Smarter Way to Plan in South Lake Tahoe
Regardless of what you choose, South Lake Tahoe makes it easier to create meetings that feel connected, attendee-friendly, and distinctly elevated. Tahoe Blue Event Center gives you the anchor. The surrounding hotels, restaurants, and after-hours options help everything else fall into place.
Start your RFP with the Visit Lake Tahoe meetings team and plan a walkable agenda around Tahoe Blue Event Center for your next South Shore event.
