SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. The 4th Annual OMNI Tahoe Yoga Festival returns to Valhalla Tahoe August 2–4, bringing together internationally respected yoga teachers, live music, embodied practices, and a vibrant community gathering to the shores of Lake Tahoe. The festival stands as the Tahoe region’s premier yoga and wellness celebration.
World-Renowned Teachers Join 2026 Lineup
The 2026 lineup features internationally respected teachers and leading voices in the wellness community, including Janet Stone, Faith Hunter, Yogi Bryan, Jungle Johanna, Cristi Christensen, and many more. Expect a thoughtfully curated mix of practices and modalities—strong, soulful, and accessible, supporting both seasoned practitioners and first-timers.
“This festival is about connection, presence, and creating experiences that genuinely bring people together,” says Jess Broyles, founder of OMNI and the OMNI Tahoe Yoga Festival. “We want people to leave feeling more grounded, more inspired, and more connected to themselves and the community around them.”
The full festival atmosphere across the Valhalla grounds is yours to practice, pause, and connect in one beautiful setting. Guests will move between spaces like the Grand Hall, Pier and Boathouse for classes, workshops immersions and panel discussions, all within the Valhalla venue footprint.
A vibrant village brings it all together with local food, handcrafted goods, wellness brands, and a curated artisan market, with camping nearby offering the opportunity to stay grounded and fully rooted in the rhythm of the festival.
Sunset Soundwaves Expands the Festival Experience
On Monday, August 3, Sunset Soundwaves brings festival attendees together for an evening of live music, movement, and community on the Valhalla lawn, featuring performances from Evan Hatfield, Tone Ranger, and Swayló beneath the Tahoe sunset.
Tickets and Event Information
Festival passes and a limited number of concert-only tickets are available now. 3-Day Full Fest passes include complimentary access to Sunset Soundwaves. A festival shuttle will operate daily, exclusively between the Station House Inn / Stateline and Valhalla. Shuttle passes are sold separately and available through the event page.
Discounted hotel accommodations for festival attendees are available.
For festival passes, lodging information, shuttle passes, and lineup details, please visit: www.omnitahoe.com/tahoe-yoga-festival, Follow @tahoe_yoga_festival on Instagram for festival updates, teacher spotlights and class schedule announcements.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) announced the successful continuation of the “Learn to Swim” program, a vital community partnership with the City of South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Department. The return of this collaboration provides essential water safety and swim instruction to every third-grade student in the district.
The program, which resumed in early 2025 following a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, offers four days of professional instruction at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center. Under the current 2026 schedule, students from schools including Tahoe Valley, Meyers, Sierra House, and Bijou Community School participate in specialized 45-minute sessions designed to promote lifelong water safety.
“This program is a wonderful and fun experience for our kids, and it truly could save their lives one day,” said Alissa Zertuche, CTE Specialist and Program Coordinator at LTUSD. “We are incredibly grateful for the City’s dedication to making this happen for our students again”.
The partnership with the city and LTUSD continues. Provided
This water safety foundation is vital for student participation in outdoor field trips from 3rd grade to 12th grade, including excursions on the M.S. Dixie, to river locations, and to various lakefront spots.
The partnership relies on seamless logistical coordination between the two entities. LTUSD provides transportation for all classes with funding from the California Tahoe Conservancy, while the City of South Lake Tahoe provides the facility, certified lifeguards, and swim coaches. The program has even expanded to include a weekly educational trip to the local library on Wednesdays, and LTUSD extends a special thank you to the South Lake Tahoe Public Library staff for welcoming the students and enriching their experience.
“LTUSD would like to specifically thank the South Lake Tahoe City Council, City Manager Joseph Irvin, City Attorney Heather Stroud, and Recreation Manager Kelley Edwards for their tireless work in formalizing the program agreements and ensuring a safe, educational environment for our youth,” a LTUSD press release stated.
Teens have always found creative ways to connect. But their newest “friend” might surprise you. A recent survey found nearly three out of four U.S. teens have used an AI chatbot. Many say these virtual friends are someone they can talk to about anything.
While these bots might seem harmless, they may blur the line between healthy coping and risky dependence.
A New Way to Connect
AI companions such as ChatGPT and Snapchat’s My AI are designed to chat like real people. Teens use them to vent about their day or find comfort when lonely. For some, chatbots feel easier to talk to than friends or family because they don’t judge or interrupt.
Having a bot that’s always there might seem reassuring, but it can make it harder for teens to build social skills. And while chatbots might seem empathetic, they aren’t mental health professionals — they can miss warning signs when a teen is struggling.
The Emotional Gray Area
AI chatbots can seem supportive, but it’s still an algorithm at work. Teens are still learning to handle complex emotions. If a chatbot becomes their go-to source for comfort, it can interfere with their developmental growth and ability to form authentic human connections, whether they’re in class, at home, or with their peers.
Chatbots can also give unsafe advice. Because they try to agree with users, they can create dangerous situations. Teens might see disturbing content, face bullying, or be influenced during vulnerable moments in ways that lead to self-harm or worse.
Keep the Conversation Real
Instead of banning AI platforms, stay curious. Ask what your teen enjoys about using an AI companion. Talk about the limits of digital “friendship” and encourage offline connections — joining a club, playing sports, volunteering, or spending time with family (off screens).
If your teen seems withdrawn or relies on AI for emotional support, talk with their pediatrician or a mental health professional. If your child ever expresses suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988.
Rhonda Sneeringer, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician providing care through Barton Health. If you or a loved one need support, local resources are available. Ask your care provider for a referral to speak with a behavioral health specialist or find a list of area resources at BartonHealth.org.
A gray wolf left the forests of Northern California in early February and traveled east into Nevada— a landscape where wolves have not established packs in more than a century.
The wolf, a young male disperser from California’s Harvey Pack, was detected moving through the Truckee area before crossing into Nevada’s Carson Range between Mount Rose and Mount Houghton. Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife tracked the animal using a GPS collar, part of ongoing monitoring as the species expands across the state. His short trip into Nevada appeared on the agency’s recently launched public wolf location mapping system, which provides delayed and generalized updates intended to balance wolf recovery with livestock and community concerns.
Within two days of entering the Silver State, the wolf had reversed course and returned to California.
Brief movements like this can carry scientific weight. As gray wolf populations expand in California and the broader region, some researchers say Nevada may be entering the earliest stages of the recovery story. Even limited detections can help scientists and wildlife managers understand how wolves may use Nevada landscapes in the future. But for now, whether Nevada will remain a place where wolves pass through — or a place they eventually stay — remains an open question.
The California wolf comeback
Gray wolves remain federally protected under the Endangered Species Act across much of the United States, though their status and management vary by region as federal officials reevaluate long-term conservation strategies. Their gradual return to areas of their historic range has been closely watched by scientists, wildlife managers and rural communities alike.
Wolves began naturally recolonizing California in 2011, when a radio-collared wolf known as OR-7 crossed from Oregon, becoming the first confirmed wolf in the state in nearly 90 years. Since then, 12 confirmed packs have established across California. One of them, the Harvey Pack in Lassen and Shasta counties in Northern California, has produced multiple litters of pups since it was first documented in 2023.
As these packs grow, young wolves are expected to disperse from their natal territories in search of food, space, and mates. Nevada, long outside the modern range of wolves, now sits along the edge of that expanding frontier.
The Nevada wolf’s brief appearance likely represents dispersal, a normal process in which animals leave established packs to explore new territory, according to Mauriel Rodriguez Curras, a postdoctoral researcher with the California Wolf Project at UC Berkeley.
“Dispersal is the movement of individuals from a population into unoccupied areas where they try to establish some sort of persistent or viable population,” said Curras.
Recent wolf activity and confirmed movements near the Nevada–California border. The purple star marks a GPS-collared wolf documented in Nevada in February 2026, while the blue star shows a 2023 camera-trap detection in northwestern Nevada. Red hatched circles indicate generalized wolf activity zones, and the green polygon shows the approximate territory of the Diamond Pack — the closest established pack to the area. Map created by Alanna Garcia and adapted from California Department of Fish and Wildlife maps. Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Most dispersing wolves are young animals, usually between one and two years old. On average, wolves disperse over distances of about 100 kilometers, though some wolves travel further as they explore unfamiliar landscapes, Curras said.
A camera trap image captured in northwestern Nevada in February 2023 provided one of the first modern wolf detections in the state, a finding described in a 2025 study published in Ecology and Evolution by Sean Sultaire, now affiliated with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and formerly a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montana.
As sightings slowly accumulate, the question is shifting from whether wolves will reach Nevada to what happens if they stay.
Could wolves establish in Nevada?
For a dispersing wolf to remain in Nevada, the biggest ecological question may be whether the landscape can support enough prey. Wolves primarily hunt large ungulates such as deer and elk, though they are opportunistic predators capable of adapting to available food sources, including cattle. The key uncertainty, said Sultaire, is whether Nevada provides enough prey biomass to support wolves long term.
“Is there a prey base there?” Sultaire said. Based on mule deer numbers alone, available prey biomass appears “well below” what is typically seen in areas where wolves have successfully established populations.
That relative lack of prey could make it difficult for wolves to establish resident packs, but Nevada’s feral horse population could be a potentially important prey source if wolves are able to use them regularly, Sultaire added. Studies from Europe, Canada, and the southwestern United States suggest that wolves can prey on free-ranging horses, particularly in areas where other prey is scarce, though such behavior appears to be relatively uncommon in North America.
Preliminary habitat analysis from the California Wolf Project suggests Nevada may contain pockets of suitable wolf habitat, particularly in higher-elevation mountain ranges where temperatures are cooler and tree cover is more abundant, Curras said.
“If they can find an area where they can generally avoid people, avoid conflict, and find a reliable source of food, they should establish pretty well,” Curras said.
Still, predicting where wolves ultimately establish remains difficult. According to Curras, habitat alone rarely determines where wolves persist — human tolerance and management decisions often play an equally important role.
At present, habitat models cannot fully account for human behavior. “One of the biggest components we are missing is how important human social factors and governance are,” Curras said, noting that tolerance for wolves can vary widely across landscapes and influence whether populations ultimately persist.
Across the West, wolf recovery has brought both management challenges and social debate. In neighboring states, expanding wolf populations have led to conflicts over livestock losses and how large predators fit into working landscapes.
Recent reporting in the Reno Gazette-Journal documented livestock depredation incidents tied to expanding wolf populations in California, including confirmed attacks on cattle in Northern California that triggered compensation payments to ranchers. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed multiple incidents in recent years, fueling ongoing debate over predator management. In Oregon, the Oregon Department of Agriculture administers a similar program that compensates ranchers for wolf-related losses and supports nonlethal deterrence efforts.
In some cases, conflicts have escalated further: In California’s Sierra Valley, wildlife officials euthanized members of a small pack after repeated livestock depredation incidents, drawing national attention and debate over how wolves should be managed as they return to the region.
In Nevada, where public lands dominate and livestock grazing remains widespread, how communities respond could play a major role in determining whether wolves remain occasional visitors or become part of the state’s wildlife community.
Will wolves come to stay?
Whether wolves ultimately establish in Nevada remains uncertain. Nevada currently has no established wolf populations, said Ashley Zeme, a public information officer with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, adding that the agency continues to monitor wildlife populations and regional movements.
This kind of uncertainty is typical in the early stages of wolf recolonization, when researchers are still trying to understand how dispersing animals might use new landscapes, Sultaire explained.
“I think that it is going to be more of a corridor-dispersal type situation,” Sultaire said, suggesting wolves are more likely to pass through Nevada as they explore new territory than settle there long-term. Still, he said he would not be surprised if a pack established temporarily if conditions proved suitable.
For scientists studying carnivore recovery, these early movements offer a preview of ecological changes that could reshape predator-prey dynamics in the region.
Monitoring tools such as GPS collars, camera traps and delayed public location updates — already used by California wildlife officials — could eventually play a similar role in Nevada if dispersing wolves appear more frequently.
The detection, Sultaire said, provided an early signal that wolves dispersing from California could continue moving into the state, even if Nevada ultimately proves to be lower-quality habitat.
“We don’t think we detected the only wolf that has been coming through,” Sultaire said, noting that detecting rare movements across large landscapes remains challenging.
For now, the young wolf that crossed the Sierra Nevada was only a visitor. His journey may be an early sign that Nevada is no longer outside the story of wolf recovery in the West.
“It’s always cool to see carnivores restored to areas of their former range, even if it’s in low densities,” Sultaire said. “They could certainly provide some kind of ecological function there.”
If you are waiting for prices to come down, don’t hold your breath: The Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) released their projection on May 15th that headline consumer price inflation in the United States will hit 6.0% in the second quarter. At the time of their last survey three months ago, the same group was predicting a 2.7% headline consumer inflation rate for Q2 2026. Things appear to be changing rapidly.
Experts are expecting the combination of tariffs and high oil prices to raise our inflation back to levels not seen since early 2023. There’s even talk at the Federal Reserve that they are unlikely to cut interest rates in 2026, and they may actually need to raise them.
In some ways inflation is similar to a tax, reducing what our dollars can buy for us. As inflation rises, we feel that reduced buying ability more acutely. For investors and other savers, the amount of pain that inflation causes is likely to be linked to how their money is being managed.
The most common place that people hold extra money is the bank. While banks are certainly a low-risk place to hold your dollars, they are also a place where your money is almost guaranteed to lose value relative to inflation. Even when inflation is running low at 2%, it can be hard to find banks that are paying even half that much in interest. Bankrate reports that the average savings account in the U.S. is currently paying a 0.61% APY interest rate. Nerdwallet reports an even lower number—0.38% for a regular savings account and 0.57% for a money market.
With a current inflation rate over 3% and projections that it could go much higher, money sitting in bank accounts is very likely losing purchasing power over time. If you’re keeping money in the bank to cover a few months’ worth of expenses, you shouldn’t be concerned with that calculus. Cash reserves are generally appropriate for covering short-term needs. However, if you have a good chunk of money that you don’t expect to spend in the short-term, you should consider better ways to match or beat inflation.
Over time, diversified bond portfolios will often produce returns that outpace inflation. Keeping in mind that gains on investments are likely to be taxed, it is nevertheless feasible to outpace inflation by investing in bonds. It may not be the path to riches, but it sure beats losing purchasing power!
Over the longer run, a well-diversified stock portfolio tends to easily beat inflation, allowing the investor to increase purchasing power over time. Over the past 100 years, the S&P 500 Index has yielded an average total annual return of over 10%. During that same period, the average rate of inflation was about 3.3%, although it fluctuated quite a bit.
Doing the math, if your great-grandfather invested $1,000 into the S&P 500 in 1926 and reinvested the dividends, your family would have a portfolio worth nearly $14 million dollars today—or, adjusted for inflation, over $800,000.
Some people holding cash would argue that they can’t afford to risk being in the stock market. For those of you with long-term investment horizons—say, 10 years or more–I would ask you: can you afford NOT to be invested in the stock market?
Inflation is one of the realities of life. How we manage our money goes a long way towards determining how inflation impacts each of us. For those fortunate enough to have cash on the sideline, don’t let inflation eat up your savings. Use a well-balanced investment portfolio to beat inflation and grow your wealth.
How ever you choose to deal with inflation, invest smartly and invest well!
Larry Sidney is a Zephyr Cove-based Investment Advisor Representative. Information is found at https://palisadeinvestments.com/ or by calling 775-299-4600 x702. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Clients may hold positions mentioned in this article. Past Performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial advisor before purchasing any security.
Today, social platforms reward posts provoking intense, unexpected reactions. But that doesn’t mean it’s harmless when it comes to our dogs.
For example, a popular TikTok pet challenge, #BarkAtYourDog, encourages dog parents to get very close to their dog’s face and bark loudly while recording their reaction. While on the surface, this may seem funny, perhaps even harmless, it’s not from your dog’s viewpoint.
“High-intensity reactions drive engagement,” said Darren Beale, CEO of Years. “But what’s being rewarded here is (the dog’s) fear. That creates a cycle where people push further for a bigger response, without understanding the impact on the dog.”
Never Encourage Reactive K9 Behavior
Your dog’s behavior is a natural form of communication; it should never be about performing for the sake of entertainment. Why? Barking at your dog can cause them unwanted:
Stress.
Anxiety.
Confusion.
Fear, and
Even be seen as a threat by some dogs.
The best interactions with our incredible dogs focus on building a bond of mutual trust and respect through a calm, consistent manner, always nurturing trust and security. Unpredictable interactions can trigger reactive K9 behaviors that lead to unwanted defensive reactions, including fear, defensive aggression, and ultimately, even a bite.
In addition, ignoring your dog’s subtle, quieter warning signs can make the situation worse.
Beware the Quiet Warning Signals
Before a dog engages in reactive behavior, they quietly signal their discomfort with a situation by:
Turning their heads away.
Showing the whites of their eyes (aka the “whale eye”).
Or avoiding eye contact altogether.
Licking their lips.
Yawning.
Freezing or lowering their body.
Always Put Your Dog First
Always consider how your actions may negatively affect:
1. The bond with your dog. 2. Your dog’s trust, and 3. The risk of reactive behaviors in a dog who trusts you with his life!
(Source: TinyUrl.com/NeverBarkAtYourDog)
Breaking the trust between you and your dog is not an overnight fix. When your dog’s feelings of dependability and safety are damaged, nothing short of consistency, patience, calmness, and time will ultimately repair their trust and confidence.
It is possible over time, with consistent patience, calm actions, handling, and space, all supported with lots of positive reinforcement. But, a word of caution, each dog will go at its own pace to restore that bond of trust and respect over months, not days.
So don’t risk damaging the trust you have with your dog just for some virtual laughs and likes. Think about someone who betrayed your trust. Are you eager or quick to trust them again?
Always put your dog first, and never force them to do things they don’t want to do or that make them uncomfortable.
CitroTech is built on tri-potassium citrate — a highly soluble form of potassiumProvided/Steve Conboy
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – As numerous 2026 wildfire season outlooks foresee a daunting and highly active fire season on the horizon, a new Wildfire Pro Shop is opening in Incline Village to provide affordable and environmentally-friendly wildfire defense.
Steve Conboy is the founder of Mighty Fire Breaker and the inventor of CitroTech, a plant-safe, EPA Safer Choice-certified fire retardant. His background as a mold expert, and former 45-year building and lumber professional led him to discovering a chemical reaction using tri-potassium citrate, a highly soluble form of potassium.
“You ate it today,” said Conboy. The ingredient can be found in a number of foods including jams, icecream, plant-based dairy products and sports drinks. “What’s interesting about it is when you spray it on the fuels – pine needles, dry grass, manzanita, lumber, paper, fabric, you can’t ignite it with a 3500 degree [Fahrenheit] torch.”
Along with his discovery of tri-potassium citrate as a flame retardant, he learned the chemistry dissolves quickly and travels through the root zone of trees, allowing them to manage water efficiently which diminishes drought stress and wilting. It also keeps roots active, making it easier for them to pull water from the soil.
Roughly 450,000 acres were burned last season in Nevada alone, with California seeing upwards of 500,000 acres scorched across the state. With insurance companies restricting coverage in wildfire areas, could CitroTech be an affordable answer to proactive wildfire defense in Lake Tahoe?
Supported by a national Technical Evaluation Report (TER), Conboy began treating wood with CitroTech, and now creates Class A lumber.
“I can spray the bones of a building before the builder puts in the windows and mechanical, and make the entire house Class A,” said Conboy. “When you do that, and you pre-plumb the house during construction out to the roof for a wildfire defense system, we begin to get the attention of the underwriters that we’ve added an airbag to the house in risk reduction.”
As an airbag is an added safety feature on a car, this could be an added safety feature on a home, allowing homeowners the chance to get reduced costs in insurance premiums.
Now with 47 patents and a cost-effective program to defend wood-framed, high-density housing projects, Conboy wants to bring this sustainable and affordable practice to the basin.
“This is what we need to do in Tahoe,” said Conboy. “If I were going to Tahoe to buy a house in cash, $5 million, $10 million, I’m not really worried about the insurance. When I’m getting a mortgage, and I can’t get enough insurance to cover the mortgage, I can’t close the escrow – and we’re going to do something about it.”
After extensive testing, CitroTech passed the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) extended test with a Class A rating and is the only fire retardant on the EPA Safer Choice list. The product is also UL GREENGUARD Gold certified. Notably, and at the forefront of Conboy’s mission, CitroTech is nontoxic to aquatic life and the environment.
“We don’t want all these toxic chemicals around that lake! We love that lake,” Conboy added.
As the first of several Wildfire Pro Shops is scheduled to open on June 1 in Incline Village, Conboy is partnering with NorCal Lumber Company and RJ Daily Construction to support new construction with Class A lumber and community-focused wildfire mitigation services.
The shop will not only sell spray equipment and CitroTech products, including tanks, backpack sprayers, rigs, and ember-defense mulch, it will also be providing hands-on expertise to teach and support affordable wildfire defense and risk reduction. A portion of every sale at the Wildfire Pro Shop will be donated to plant trees. Support of the pro shop aims to ensure the use of non-toxic chemicals backed by full SDS disclosure around lakes and streams.
“Safety and affordability is my goal,” Conboy said. “People living in these high-wildfire risk regions are worried they’re going to lose their homes, so what can we do to try and defend it affordably? That’s what it’s all about.”
Tuesday, May 26, the Wildfire Pro Shop will be hosting a Wildfire Event at 5 p.m. at the Chateau, and will be demonstrating a 2000-gallon tanker truck full of CitroTech and a lumber truck of Class A lumber trusses. Throughout the event, Conboy will be providing people with information and answering any questions.
To learn more about the new Wildfire Pro Shop or CitroTech, visit wildfireproshop.com
The Wildfire Pro Shop is located at 889 Tahoe Blvd., Unit 1, in Incline Village, Nev.
A demonstration showed two trees – the one sprayed with CitroTech did not ignite while the other, not treated, lit up in flamesProvided/Wildfire Pro Shop
MEYERS, Calif. – On May 23, 2026, at approximately 5:04 p.m., a 2010 Honda Fit driven by an unidentified male, made an unsafe turning movement from westbound US 50 into the eastbound lanes of US 50. The Fit subsequently collided with a 2024 Chevy Tahoe. The collision occurred on US 50 at Sierra At Tahoe Road.
The driver of the Chevy Tahoe was transported to Barton Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries.
IMG_4992
The driver of the Honda Fit was pronounced deceased at the scene by Lake Valley Fire.
Sgt Henderson arrived on scene at approximately 6 p.m. and assumed incident command. Officer M. Renk ID 21208 is the handling Officer.
Alcohol, drugs and speed are not believed to be factors at this time.
SPOONER LAKE, Nev. – Work on the Marlette Lake Dam rehabilitation project resumed this month. During the 2026 construction season, trail closures will be in effect from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Trails will be open on the weekends, but scheduling is subject to change without notice depending on construction needs.
During construction hours, 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, Lakeview, Franktown Creek, and Pipeline Roads will be closed to the public. All trails within the Spooner Lake and Backcountry State Park boundaries are also closed during construction hours. While construction is underway Monday through Friday, the Tahoe Rim Trail and Capital to Tahoe Trail will remain open.
Visitors are reminded that using closed trails and entering construction zones is strictly prohibited, and law enforcement will be patrolling the area. Access for emergency personnel will remain open throughout the project.
The Marlette Lake Dam is a critical component of the Marlette Lake Water System, which supplies water to Storey County and Carson City. The Dam was constructed in 1873 and raised in 1959. Seepage within the dam was first identified during an inspection in 2017 by the Nevada Division of Water Resources, and it was determined that this seepage could eventually lead to a catastrophic failure. The Marlette Lake Dam Rehabilitation is funded by the FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund and will improve the overall safety of the 150-year-old earthen embankment dam and ensure the longevity of the water resource. Environmental and cultural resource surveys were completed in the four-year planning span of the project in coordination with FEMA. The project is planned to end in October 2026.
CARSON CITY, Nev. – Just in time for the start of Lake Tahoe’s 2026 golf season, industry expert Eric Romero has been named general manager of Clear Creek Tahoe, home of Nevada’s top-rated private golf course.
“We’re thrilled to have Eric leading our team,” said Matt Taylor, principal of Clear Creek Partners, the owner and operator of the club. “His experience serving on the management teams at some of the top private clubs in North America speaks for itself. However, it’s his creativity, his passion, and his ability to connect with members and staff that has me most excited for our club. Clear Creek Tahoe has a wonderful, welcoming culture. It’s an incredibly fun place to be. Eric is going to help us take that to an even higher level. Our members are going to love it.”
With more than 20 years of experience in private clubs and luxury hospitality, Eric brings extensive operational expertise along with a deep appreciation for the traditions of premier club life. Most recently, he served as club director of Twin Dolphin Club in Los Cabos for seven years. While there, he helped build a strong leadership team and a culture rooted in service, trust, and meaningful member relationships. Romero’s background also includes leadership roles at several distinguished clubs, and while his career began in golf, Romero is known for elevating dining, programming, and wellness offerings to enhance the overall member experience.
Eric Romero
Nestled between Incline Village and Carson City on the eastern slope of the Carson Range in Nevada, Clear Creek Tahoe’s magnificent Coore Crenshaw-designed golf course is the top-rated private golf course in Nevada, according to the experts at both GOLF Magazine and Golfweek.
In addition to golf, the roughly 2,000-acre private community features a host of thoughtful amenities to bring out the best of the Tahoe mountain lifestyle, including Summit Camp, a family-oriented recreation center with resort-style pool, racquet club, pavilion, and more; Twin Pines, a private lake club on the shores of South Lake Tahoe; a comprehensive wellness program, an award-winning clubhouse with fine and casual dining; trail system; and an 800-plus acre nature preserve that connects to the national forest. A variety of homesites and finished homes are available.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Monday, May 4, Caesars Republic/Harrah’s HEROs hosted the second of their three 2026 Bread & Broth Adopt A Day of Nourishment (AAD) sponsorships. Since 2014, employee members of the HEROs organization from the two casinos have supported Bread & Broth’s Monday Meal program. In addition to donating the $350 AAD sponsorship fee, the HEROs always send outstanding HEROs organization members to help the Bread & Broth volunteers with their sponsorship meal’s setup, serving, and breakdown/cleanup.
Krysteena Palaroan of Casino Human Resources said the HEROs’ AAD sponsorships is “our way of giving back to the heart of Lake Tahoe and those who call it home.” Krysteena added, “Bread & Broth represents more than service; it represents community. We cherish the opportunity to provide a meal, engage in meaningful conversations, and witness the impact of our service through smiles and full bellies.”
Joining Krysteena were fellow HEROs members Rigoberto Duque, Count Room Manager; Philip Griffith, Brew Brothers Chef; Raquel Rando, Casino Pit Supervisor; Janeen White, Player Development; and Darlene Winkelman, Casino Operations Manager.
Left to right: Front – Janeen White, Rigoberto Duque, Darlene Winkelman, Krysteena Palaroan, Back – Philip Griffith, Raquel PandoProvided
It was a busy evening for both the HEROs sponsor team and the Bread & Broth volunteers. Together, they packed 100 bags of fresh fruit and vegetables for guests to take home and enjoy later in the week. HEROs team also served a comforting meal of Sloppy Joes with cheese, onion rings, coleslaw, and fruit salad to 123 dinner guests. Of those guests, 23 returned for second servings. Manning the serving line gives the AAD sponsors a chance to chat with guests, sharing warm and lively conversations.
The HEROs team members are deeply appreciated by both Bread & Broth volunteers and dinner guests for their enthusiasm, warmth, and willingness to help. Beyond this meal, the HEROs’ organization supports many efforts that strengthen the South Shore Lake Tahoe community. That ongoing commitment makes HEROs an important part of how Caesars Republic/Harrah’s serves its neighbors.
Thank you to Caesars Republic/Harrah’s HEROs for their continued support of our free meal service and food giveaway program. Bread & Broth looks forward to their next sponsorship on October 26th.
To learn more about Bread & Broth or how to donate or sponsor an Adopt A Day of Nourishment, please visit www.breadandbroth.org or follow Bread & Broth on Instagram or Facebook.
RENO, Nev. — Sky Tavern is kicking off the summer season with the return of its highly anticipated MAYDAY Festival on May 30, alongside the launch of new community-powered bike park memberships and an expanded shuttle program—marking a major step forward in access, progression, and sustainability for Northern Nevada’s mountain bike and outdoor community.
MAYDAY Festival signals the start of summer at Sky Tavern, bringing together riders, families, and outdoor enthusiasts for a community celebration of bikes, vendors, youth skills workshops, live music, food and beverage offerings, and a zip line in partnership with Project Discovery. MAYDAY highlights the spirit of connection and progression that defines Sky Tavern’s bike park.
“This festival represents Why We Sky—community, progression, and getting outside together,” said Rick Reed, marketing and bike park manager. “It’s the perfect way to kick off the summer season while creating awareness of our offerings to the community.”
MAYDAY Festival begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. Admission is on sale now via the Sky Tavern website. Kids under 12 are free. Proceeds go to community-powered trails and programs.
New this season, Sky Tavern is launching a tiered bike membership program designed to directly support trail maintenance and programming. These memberships provide riders with meaningful ways to invest in the future of the bike park while unlocking access benefits—including shuttle privileges, early access opportunities, and exclusive community perks.
Built on a “community-powered trails” model, the memberships reinforce Sky Tavern’s mission as a nonprofit organization, where the community plays a critical role in sustaining and expanding trail access for all.
Sky Tavern is officially launching its summer shuttle program, offering riders easier access to the mountain’s growing trail network.Provided
In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Sky Tavern is officially launching its summer shuttle program, offering riders easier access to the mountain’s growing trail network. The shuttle is designed to enhance the overall riding experience, reduce barriers to entry, and increase lap capacity for riders of all abilities—from beginners to advanced. The shuttle program integrates with membership offerings, creating a seamless experience for riders looking to maximize their time on the mountain.
With expanded programming and shuttles, Sky Tavern is poised for its most impactful bike park season yet. The Riders in the Sky skills clinics program begins in June with more youth and adult offerings than ever.
For more information on Sky Tavern Bike Park and MAYDAY Festival, visit www.skytavern.org.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Local real estate agent Kristie Wells is hosting a Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation Community Seminar at The Chateau in Incline Village on May 26 from 5-7 p.m. after seeing firsthand how wildfires can impact real estate decisions and raise many questions.
Through the seminar, Wells is creating a space where Incline Village and Crystal Bay property owners can receive clear, practical information from local experts, offering actionable guidance on reducing wildfire risk and protecting their homes.
“With this year’s lighter snowpack and wildfire season already top of mind for many residents,” Wells says, “we felt it was important to create an event focused on real-world information people can use immediately – from defensible space and home hardening to insurance and preparedness planning.”
Wells has brought together local experts in defensible space and home hardening, as well as insurance and risk mitigation, including North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, the Tahoe Resource Conservation District, State Farm, Peyton Insurance and others.
“Our goal is simple: help ensure our community is better informed and better prepared before wildfire season intensifies.”
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Child Advocates of El Dorado County (CASA) invites the community to its 2nd Annual Summer Soiree: Celebrating Brighter Tomorrows, an evening dedicated to the belief that every child deserves brighter tomorrows. The event will take place on Friday, June 26 at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
Set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Tahoe, the Summer Soirée will bring together community members, supporters, and advocates for an evening of delicious food, complimentary drinks, and meaningful connection, all in support of CASA’s mission.
Guests will experience a powerful CASA impact story, highlighting the life-changing difference advocates make in the lives of children in foster care and the juvenile justice system. The evening will also feature an exciting auction and recognition of the South Lake Tahoe CASA Volunteer of the Year, honoring a volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to serving youth in our community.
Proceeds from the event will support CASA El Dorado’s mission to provide advocacy, support, and a voice for abused, neglected, and at-risk foster and juvenile justice youth throughout El Dorado County.
Tickets are $125 per person, and sponsorship opportunities are also available. Community members are encouraged to attend and be part of an evening that celebrates impact, connection, and hope for brighter tomorrows. Tickets and additional information can be found casaeldorado.org/events.
For more information, visit the website above or call (530) 622-9882, ext. 2.
Zack is a handsome 1-year-old pup with a gentle soul, a playful spirit, and so much love to give. This sweet boy absolutely loves toys and playtime, and once he feels comfortable, his fun and affectionate personality truly shines. Whether he’s happily carrying around his favorite toy, enjoying some playtime with canine friends, or leaning in for pets and attention, Zack is happiest when he’s connecting with those around him.
He has a calm, easygoing personality that makes him a wonderful companion. Zack may do especially well in a home with another friendly dog who can help show him the ropes and give him a playful buddy to spend time with. He enjoys companionship and would thrive in a home that can provide consistency, positive experiences, and lots of encouragement as he continues building confidence.
Zack is this week’s Pet of the Week.Provided
Zack can be a little shy when meeting new people or experiencing unfamiliar situations, but he continues to grow more confident every single day. He simply needs a little patience and understanding while he settles in and learns that the world can be a safe and loving place. Once he trusts you, Zack becomes incredibly affectionate and loyal, happily soaking up every bit of love and attention he can get.
He is still young and has so much potential ahead of him. With the right family, he’s sure to blossom into an amazing lifelong companion. He’s looking for a patient, loving home that will give him the time he needs to fully come out of his shell and become the happy, confident dog we know he can be.
If you’re searching for a sweet, gentle, and loving best friend who will reward your kindness with endless loyalty and affection, Zack may be the perfect addition to your family.
If you are interested in meeting Zack or learning more about him, please get in touch with one of HSTT’s Adoption Specialists, 530-587-5948 or adoptions@hstt.org. He is neutered, vaccinated, and up to date on his vaccines. To view more adoptable pets or to learn more about the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, visit, www.hstt.org.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – A viral video garnering 1.6 million views has made false claims, using organizations and people in the Lake Tahoe area, that toxic waste barrels, human remains, and dumped cars litter the bottom of the lake. Footage from both Lake Tahoe and several other bodies of water, AI-generated images and voices as well as false citations of quotes to organizations and people has led to those organizations taking steps to address this and multiple other videos of that nature.
The video in question, produced by a content farming account called Optic Expedition, sits along others produced in rapid succession: claiming proof of aliens in The Last Supper painting, anti-gravity technology and multiple conspiracies about Hitler.
While it shows real news footage, videos of Lake Tahoe, pictures from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and even ROV footage from the Tahoe Fund and Restoring the Lake’s Depths dive from last year, it’s intercut with AI-generated footage and images and videos taken out of context. The video description itself even has a disclaimer, as required by YouTube, that the sounds or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.
Over the 26-minute video, an AI-generated voice claims that after a drought in 2024, it was discovered that toxic waste barrels and dumped cars related to missing persons or murder cases were found at the bottom of the lake. It also claims that ROV footage related to potential dead bodies at the bottom of the lake were retained by law enforcement. It attributes research on these to TERC and its Director Emeritus Geoffrey Schladow, Clean up the Lake and its CEO Colin West, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA.)
West said in a public release, “Clean Up The Lake has not discovered multiple vehicles, toxic waste barrels, human remains and the environmental contamination as described in the video. Quotes attributed to Clean Up The Lake or Colin West in the video are fabricated. Our footage was used without our knowledge or permission.”
The release goes on to say that Clean Up The Lake has no involvement with ROV investigations, chemical analyses or law enforcement activities as described in the video. “None of these events occurred.”
Cara Kiger Hollis, communications and marketing specialist at the TERC, said, “There’s basically nothing in that video that’s true except that Lake Tahoe is here, and there’s water in it. Our images from the TERC were used for made-up, story-telling purposes, and everything they’ve said about the TERC is untrue. That video was made for clicks.”
The central claim in the story, that there was a record-breaking drought in 2024, is patently false. TERC’s State of the Lake and other reports show that the lake was at normal to high levels that year.
Hollis also stated that the TERC never received data from Clean Up The Lake on such claims, and they used unrelated footage of Schladow from talks they have hosted.
While there may not be toxic chemicals seeping from barrels below the lake, people are certainly on high alert for chemical impacts on the lake, especially after discussions of the use of the herbicide glyphosate (commercially sold as RoundUp) from the U.S. Forest Service in treating areas affected by the Caldor Fire.
However, the TERC regularly monitors the lake, its composition and its clarity, especially because of the concerns around aquatic invasive species and algal blooms—actual threats to the lake and community health. “There are real things people should be paying attention to,” said Hollis, and directed people to the TERC’s State of the Lake reports.
“Clean Up The Lake remains committed to the conservation of Lake Tahoe through underwater litter removal, data collection, education and honest work,” said West’s statement. “The organization has received an incredible amount of support from donors, volunteers, and partners whose generosity we also defend. For accurate information about our work, please rely only on our official website and social media channels.”
While this video has garnered millions of views (as opposed to the paltry hundred or thousand their other videos have gotten), other similar content mills have put out similar false narratives. In the official statement, Clean Up The Lake said they have requested the videos be removed and are taking appropriate steps to address the situation.
For two years, I’d been thoroughly gaslit by my brother into believing I’d lost my beloved longboard — until I spotted it in the background of a photo he sent to the family group chat. Needless to say, I demanded its immediate return.
So, after I clocked out on Friday, I smiled at the sunshine, thinking it would be the perfect day for my official longboarding comeback. I drove to a downhill stretch of the Legacy Trail near Truckee, stepped onto the board, and as I picked up speed, the wind rushed through my hair, the sun hit my shoulders just right, and for a moment I felt seventeen again.
Then — the trail curved quickly. “Shoot, I’m not going to turn in time. Wait — how do I stop this thing again?” I panicked. “Maybe if I just —”
And just like that, I was sprawled on the side of the trail, my summer overalls ripped at the knees and hips, hair tangled and sweat-soaked, gravel embedded in my skin, blood on my shoulder, arms, knee, and toes — looking like the physical embodiment of poor decision-making.
Eventually, I managed to hype myself up enough to limp back uphill to my car and drive home.
Standing in the kitchen was my roommate. Luckily for me, she’s a ski patroller, which basically means she can magically transform from regular person into wilderness medic at a moment’s notice. She had everything an injured longboarder could possibly dream of. She cleaned my wounds and patched me back together with the kind of patience usually reserved for wounded wildlife.
And that was the start of my weekend. Now that we’ve established the setting — me hobbling around like a wounded Victorian child — I can move on to the actual fun part.
A couple months ago, I got a call from Trails and Vistas, a local nonprofit, asking if I’d run a few community poetry workshops. I was immediately excited. No one had ever just reached out asking me to teach before — usually it meant pitching myself, sending emails, and trying to convince people I knew what I was doing.
“Of course,” I told them, trying to sound more composed than I felt.
So, this weekend, still half-bandaged and moving like someone three times my age after my longboarding disaster, I got to teach alongside Karen Terrey, Nevada County’s Poet Laureate.
Karen — or Kat, as everyone calls her — is a poet I’ve looked up to since moving to Tahoe. She’s an incredible writer, an incredible teacher, and somehow also one of the warmest people I’ve met here.
On Saturday morning, I limped over to Church of the Mountains. I introduced myself, learned a little about our students, and set the theme: nature and environment — which, if you know anything about my writing, makes complete sense. Nature sneaks into almost every poem I write.
The workshop was part of a broader effort by Trails and Vistas to bring poetry events to Truckee’s teens.Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
My favorite part of teaching these workshops is getting to know people twice — first as people, then as writers. There’s something special about hearing work written only a few minutes earlier. You start to see how they think, the images they carry, the questions they live with.
One Truckee High student, Charlie, wrote: “I think of the bird, who stretched her bony, downy wings, and whose feet grasped the edges of her wiry, too-small nest. I ask myself, did she hesitate?” As her mother sat beside her, tears immediately welled in her eyes, reminded that her daughter would be leaving for college soon. “Did she consider the fall beneath her perch? Or did the possibility of a wild, blue sky whisk those thoughts away?” she read.
And while Charlie’s poem was stunning, the truth is everyone in that room wrote something beautiful. People are endlessly creative, endlessly surprising, and helping someone discover a new way into their own writing is a special thing.
Kat later taught students how to respond to each other’s work with more depth than “I really liked this;” the art of revision. And honestly, I was just as excited to sit there learning as I was to teach.
The few times I’ve written or worked with Kat, I’ve left wanting to crack open every poem I’ve ever written and reimagine what it could become. I hope our students felt something similar.
At the end of the day, as I limped back toward my car, I knew there was very little left in this sore, scabbed-up body that I could realistically accomplish. I postponed my twenty-mile bike ride and multipitch climbing plans for another weekend. Sunday would be reserved for rest.
All my road rash will be long gone by the time I have to fit into a wetsuit next weekend for a three-day kayak guiding course, right?
Matthew Wilson Taylor (“Matt”) passed away on April 22, 2026, at the age of 50, following a sudden heart attack.
Born in 1975 and raised in the natural beauty of South Lake Tahoe, Matt was truly a chip off the old block. Growing up under the influence of his father and coach, Michael Taylor, Matt developed a lifelong love of sports, especially tennis. He excelled in both tennis and baseball at South Tahoe High School, interests that stayed with him throughout his life.
Matt went on to attend the University of California, Davis, where he played collegiate tennis and earned a BS in Biological Sciences in 1997. This is where he met so many lifelong friends. After graduation, he worked in the wine industry in the Napa Valley before beginning his career in Quality Control at Genentech in South San Francisco. He made the nearby town of Burlingame his home. During his 24 years at Genentech, he built lasting friendships and was deeply valued by his colleagues. In 7 short years, he went from a lab analyst to a Senior Supervisor in QC. He then became an award-winning member of management. He was reliable, easy to chat with, and very knowledgeable. Matt retired from Genentech early in 2023 and embraced the life of an avid sports fan, a great friend, a proud uncle, brother, cousin, son, and nephew.
Matt found great joy in attending live shows and sporting events with friends and family. He especially loved sharing those experiences—whether at concerts or games—with the many people he held close. Some of his favorite musicians were The Mother Hips, Pearl Jam, The Who, Pink Floyd, and the list goes on. In the sports world, Matt especially loved cheering on his San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, through good seasons annnnd other ones (though, according to Matt, you can NEVER have a bad day at the ballpark).
Matt was incredibly smart—almost suspiciously so. If there was a random fact, historical date, or obscure bit of trivia to be known, Matt already knew it, and then some. In recent years, Matt leaned fully into his love of reading, playing board games and doing puzzles, always eager for any excuse to gather friends together and outwit them all! Whether at a board game, a concert, or a sporting event, Matt delighted in connection and camaraderie—and never missed a chance to show up for others.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Mike and Carol Taylor. He is survived by his younger sister, Maren Linkugel; her husband, Eric Linkugel; and their children, Cody and Claire, of California’s Grover Beach.
Matt will be remembered for his warmth, his love of connection through knowledge, and the joy he brought to those around him. He will be deeply missed by all.
Fire crews have started their bootcamps, red flag warnings have been issued across California, and for a month now, the sign at a Truckee Fire station on Donner Pass Road has been flashing the annual urge:
It’s never too early
for defensible space
Updated projections for 2026 wildland fire potential were released on May 1, by the National Interagency Coordination Center, showing the California side of Lake Tahoe having above average potential for wildfire beginning in May and continuing through August, which is as far out as the projections forecast, and the Nevada side of the lake having above average potential beginning in June.
The severity of conditions across the state have been building for years, said David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire out of its Sacramento headquarters. But “one strange winter does add its own element.” The time frame for fire season has expanded, and California slips into what Acuña and other fire officials have begun to call a fire year.
The total snowfall during the 2025/26 winter was only about 50 inches below average, but it came in bursts. The upper foothills and higher were sunny and unseasonably warm in January and February, melting the snow from a storm in late December. This began drying out fuels. Then came another big storm and a warm cycle, and again.
“We’ve also had occasional rain, and that’s great,” Acuña said, “but it leads to the eventuality that the grasses [or light, flashy fuels, like pine needles] continue to grow and die.”
1 of 4
SUMMER 2026: On May 1, the National Interagency Fire Center released its National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook, spanning May through August. Areas marked in red show above-average wildland fire potential. Courtesy graphics
SUMMER 2026: On May 1, the National Interagency Fire Center released its National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook, spanning May through August. Areas marked in red show above-average wildland fire potential. Courtesy graphics
SUMMER 2026: On May 1, the National Interagency Fire Center released its National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook, spanning May through August. Areas marked in red show above-average wildland fire potential. Courtesy graphics
SUMMER 2026: On May 1, the National Interagency Fire Center released its National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook, spanning May through August. Areas marked in red show above-average wildland fire potential. Courtesy graphics
This phenomenon isn’t new. Even in winters with less sporadic snowfall, plants grow in the spring and die and dry later in the summer. Wildland firefighters call August “dirty August” because it’s usually when plants have had time to go through the cycle of growth, death, and drying.
Sometimes the fuels don’t burn, though — lightning doesn’t strike, winds don’t blow at the right time, or the fire is put out before it’s burned all the available fuel. “Over time, the fuels have layered over on top of each other,” Acuña said. “Now California is like a haystack of light fuels that are ready to burn.”
Other parts of the U.S., especially the central south, are already seeing wildfire activity. According to Tyler Andrade, forestry field supervisor for the Tahoe Donner Association, these fires are “ahead of the season.”
Tahoe Donner is a Firewise Community where its forestry staff rotate through the nearly 6,500 homes, the common areas, and the trails every six years to ensure the necessary home hardening and forest management are current.
Of particular importance is the association’s southwest corner, which receives the brunt of Truckee’s common southwest wind. “A lot of our focus goes into that southwest corner,” Andrade said, “and making that extremely defended, hardened, and good to go, and then spreading out, working properties and common areas.”
Andrade emphasized the importance of community work as well: “I really do believe that the community’s got to buy in,” he said, “and then you will see individual ownership from there.”
Community ownership and buy-in rose quickly after the 2021 Caldor Fire, which burned more than 221,000 acres in California and caused the city of South Lake Tahoe to evacuate. The fire came within 4 miles of Lake Tahoe’s south shore. As then-Cal Fire Assistant Chief Brian Newman (now retired) told Moonshine in 2022, it was “the biggest event in history in Lake Tahoe.” That remains the case.
This tragedy, which Andrade worked on for the U.S. Forest Service, became “a very large reminder and eyeopener of ‘don’t get complacent,’” he said.
“California is like a haystack of light fuels that are ready to burn.”
~ David Acuña, Cal Fire spokesperson
That said, the Caldor Fire happened almost five years ago.
“I really do believe human nature will always battle with complacency,” Andrade said. “And I really hate to say it, but five years in, there definitely are small things where you look at and you can tell where there hasn’t been a threat or a scare. People start to let their guard down a little bit. People start to forget … I do believe complacency will always be a small narrative.”
Andrade echoed Acuña’s observations about the 2025/26 winter, and urged resident and visitor wildfire education and the importance of “understanding that longer drying periods can create a longer fire season, which makes early mitigation and preparedness even more vital.”
THINNING OUT: The morning of May 14, Tahoe Donner Association’s forestry crew members went through a common area and identified timber to be removed so as not to crowd the space. Before/after photos courtesy Tyler Andrade
Early snowmelt means public agencies and private contractors can begin mechanically clearing excess fuels sooner, but it also makes the window for prescribed burns — which can only be done in specific temperature, humidity, and fuel moisture content ranges — shorter. Acuña recommends looking at Cal Fire and U.S. Forest Service social media accounts to keep up to date on where and when prescribed burns will take place.
“I wouldn’t say there’s one area that’s worse or better [for this fire season],” Acuña says. “It’s a matter of matching weather conditions with what’s on the ground.”
Half of this equation is controllable, but Acuña says the amount of work that’s recommended for fire prevention is often overwhelming. “If you look at the recommendations, there’s a lot,” he explained. “If you would just replace your roof and replace your deck and replace your siding, tear the whole house down … We’re not asking that. What’s necessary to protect your home is to start with the first 5 feet [around your home]. It’s not a guarantee, but it is moving the right direction. We’re always going to recommend the next step. But just start.”
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – This month, 120 eighth graders from Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) left their desks for the twelfth annual Heavenly Mountain Resort Snowshoe Field Trip, hosted by the South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (STEEC).
Over the course of two days, 8th grade students rode the Heavenly tram to participate in interactive environmental education and explore the exciting careers of mountain operations, mechanics, and safety, in addition to meeting avalanche rescue dogs.
“The annual field trip provides an invaluable opportunity for students to step out of the classroom and engage in hands-on learning,” LTUSD eighth-grade science teacher Sabrina Zalles said. “This experiential approach not only reinforces our science curriculum but also fosters a sense of stewardship for Lake Tahoe.”
The curriculum included four lessons from STEEC partners, including Keep Tahoe Blue, Sugar Pine Foundation, Sierra Avalanche Center, and Heavenly Ski Patrol.
Students explored how the Lake Tahoe Basin watershed is interconnected while overlooking the lake, then reinforced those lessons through a snowshoe relay that demonstrated the erosion cycle and the link between human impacts and water quality. In the forest, they identified tree species and measured tree height and width like forestry technicians. Snow science and safety were also a focus as they examined layers of the snowpack from a hand-dug pit and learned the basics of avalanche safety and rescue.
One eighth-grade student remarked, “I have never seen Lake Tahoe from a mountain top.”
This field trip is made possible by a grant from Vail Report’s EpicPromise program. For more information or to support STEEC programs, visit www.steec.us.
The Tahoe City Public Utility District has never built a water system. Instead, as its inception in 1938 intended, it bought up small, privately owned water companies that dotted the North and West shores of Lake Tahoe to consolidate them into one locally controlled public water system.
Over the course of nine decades, the TCPUD has brought two dozen water systems into its fold. Designed primarily for summer use, these small water systems were not built to meet modern drinking water standards or operate year-round. By the 21st century, many of these systems — with aging infrastructure and delayed capital improvements — were at risk of failing.
The Mid-Sierra Water Utility, located in Tahoma, is one of those failing. Purchased by the PUD in 2018, it comprises two water systems – Tahoe Cedars and Madden Creek. Tahoe Cedars, built in the 1940s, is so big and in such dire straits that its renovation represents the largest, most expensive, and most complex water system reconstruction project in the district’s history. And it is not without controversy.
The point of contention centers around the proposed staging area for Phase 1 of the project. Neighbors are concerned about environmental impacts to the surrounding forest and wildlife habitat, and question why this location was selected when, in their view, other sites are better suited for a staging area. The PUD, however, contends this site is the most efficient because it’s near the construction and will reduce disturbances to the greater neighborhood.
FIRE SAFETY: A map of where the Tahoe City Public Utility District will be installing 144 new fire hydrants in the Tahoma neighborhood as part of the Tahoe Cedars Water System Reconstruction Project. Illustration courtesy TCPUD
Tahoe Cedars
Between 1939 and 1979, the TCPUD consolidated 19 small water systems. In the last eight years alone, it spent $7.8 million to purchase five more, all on the West Shore.
Tahoe Cedars is the oldest and — due to aging pipelines, limited storage, outdated or nonexistent meters, and patched-together infrastructure — is actively failing. The system has 1,200 connections, representing 20% of the PUD’s water customers. The project entails replacing 15 miles of undersized and failing water pipes, installing 144 fire hydrants (the neighborhood currently only has around 80, most of which do not meet modern fire protection flow standards), and installing 1,200 residential water meters, which means relocating the connections from residents’ backyards to the public right-of-way. (The PUD is helping to offset these service relocation costs to homeowners by offering a $5,000 reimbursement, or $12,000 for those who qualify for the district’s low-income program.)
The water pipes are in such bad condition that many have holes in them, which were patched by the previous owners with clamps. As a result, the district put a moratorium on fire hydrant testing.
“We can’t do it anymore because anytime we open a fire hydrant, it creates more leaks,” said TCPUD General Manager Sean Barclay.
DETERIORIATING: Pipes in the Tahoe Cedars water system, which date back to the 1940s, are actively failing and leaking. Many were patched with clamps by the previous owner.
The estimated cost to fix the Tahoe Cedars water system is currently $85 million, but the district expects that number to rise due to inflation. Funding for the project comes from water rate revenue from all of the district’s 6,200 customers and property taxes. However, starting in January 2024, Tahoe Cedars and Madden Creek customers began paying an additional infrastructure improvement charge of $43.58 per month for 30 years, marking the first time the PUD has implemented an additional charge to a select group of customers.
“This is directly related to the magnitude of the cost of the project,” Barclay said. “We spend an inordinate amount of time in that water system [more] than in any other system fixing leaks.”
Although the district has a One Water System policy, which includes a single rate structure across its customer service area, the PUD made an exception to its rule to offset the extreme expense of the Tahoma project.
“It’s an attempt to balance equity between customers in this system and customers in the rest of the system,” Barclay said. “The magnitude of the costs to rebuild this system is much greater than we have ever had to do with previous acquisitions.”
Environmental Concerns
The Tahoe Cedars water tank was selected by the district as the staging area for the water system reconstruction. This is a roughly 3-acre parcel owned by the TCPUD and surrounded by 42 acres of California Tahoe Conservancy land. Although the district considered 30 sites scattered throughout and surrounding the Tahoma neighborhood for the staging area, it landed on the Tahoe Cedars water tank because of its location adjacent to the project.
“The reason the parcel is being considered as one of many potential staging locations is just its proximity to the construction site and the fact that we own the parcel,” Barclay said. “The closer it is to the site of construction is ideal, right? There’s not trucks driving through the neighborhood. You can minimize the time that’s needed to access the materials that are stored there.”
However, when neighbors became aware of this, they grew concerned. The Tahoe Cedars water tank leads to heavily used trails that are accessed by hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers. The trails are the community’s main access to Sugar Pine Point State Park and national forest.
1 of 2
HIGH-MAINTENANCE: A TCPUD utility crew searches for a water-main leak in a backyard in Tahoma. The district says it spends more time in this area fixing leaks than in any other service area.
BUSTED: Pipes from the original 1940s Tahoe Cedars water system that have failed and been removed by the TCPUD.
“Why would you even think of putting a corporation yard like that in a forest when you got what the PUD stated was 30 other alternatives?” asked neighbor Rick Landgraf. “This is a community impact. Would you take Commons Beach and let trucks drive all over it? That’s how we should be thinking about it.”
Landgraf, a former hydrologist, is alarmed by the heavy equipment that will be stationed at the site, speculating that there will be 200 pieces of heavy equipment and a 12,000-gallon fuel tank.
“My experience when I was doing this kind of work, this stuff is really damaging. It compacts soils and vibrates; it’s loud,” he said. “It will lead to very serious and permanent destruction … That can lead to runoff problems. In a corporation yard, that’s an area where you take equipment. Sometimes it breaks, it needs to be repaired, you have to drain fluids. I am flabbergasted to even think why somebody would want to put that in the middle of a forest.”
Landgraf also worries about a loose chain sparking or equipment overheating and causing a fire.
Barclay, however, said that characterization of the staging area as an industrial yard is not accurate, and that the PUD is not even going to utilize the entire 3-acre parcel; the district says that it will use less than an acre. He also estimated that there would not be more than 10 to 15 pieces of equipment at the site at one time.
“It’s not going to be an industrial yard, nor will it be the only staging area … There will be no fuel storage tanks or chemical storage tank at that site,” he said. “We would maintain recreation access throughout the duration of that use … This is nowhere near the size, scale, or impact that is being described right now.”
WHY HERE? The proposed staging area at the Tahoe Cedars water tank in Tahoma, which leads to highly used trails and is near an American goshawk nest, is at the center of the controversy surrounding the water system reconstruction. Photos courtesy TCPUD
The Nesting Site
Other concerns include an American goshawk nest on the conservancy land (the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency said it is unknown if it is currently an active nest). Although goshawks are not endangered, they are designated as a sensitive species by the U.S. Forest Service.
“They are very sensitive to disturbance and relatively intolerant of activity by humans, and they are very protective of their nests,” said Will Richardson, Tahoe Institute of Natural Science executive director. “That is one of the reasons the Forest Service and other land management agencies put a lot of effort into trying to protect the birds.”
The TRPA has a threshold of 12 active goshawk nests in the Basin. In 2010, the last time a full survey was conducted, 10 sites were recorded (there are 30 known nests, but not all are active). The agency and USFS require a quarter-mile buffer zone around nesting areas, which the latter calls Protected Activity Centers (PACs), where no disturbance is allowed. According to the TRPA, the Tahoe Cedars water-tank site sits outside the requisite buffer.
Neighbor Mike Levin became so concerned about the staging area that he started a Facebook page and website, Save Tahoma Wilderness, in March. It states, “We support community progress and utility upgrades, but we believe they must be made without destroying our forest. We are advocating for using developed, paved alternative staging sites that preserve the integrity of Tahoma’s trails and the safety of our neighbors.”
The website provided an advocacy toolkit including talking points, an email template, and facts to share. According to TRPA spokesperson Jeff Cowen, the agency received around 12 of these email form letters.
1 of 2
FORMER HYDROLOGIST Rick Landgraf, who has a home in Tahoma near the proposed staging area for the Tahoe Cedars Water System Reconstruction Project, is concerned about impacts to the forest and wildlife. Courtesy photo
PUBLIC PROCESS: TCPUD General Manager Sean Barclay said of the controversial staging area for the Tahoe Cedars water system project: “We’re going to continue to evaluate it and evaluate whether we have other options that are better or more efficient. We’re going to go through all the processes that are required to make sure that we actually can use it.” Courtesy photo
Staging Area Deferred
Levin and Landgraf also accused TCPUD of sidestepping the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process. However, Barclay said that its CEQA consultants determined that Tahoe Cedars was categorically exempt, but that “as individual phases move through and get to the final design phase, these changes are consistently evaluated by us and reviewed to confirm whether there is any additional environmental review [warranted] … we always make sure our projects comply with CEQA.”
Barclay added, “I can just tell you that we are very transparent. We pride ourselves on that. There is nothing to hide here. We’re a public agency. We are not a for-profit agency.”
The TCPUD was required to obtain a TRPA permit for the Tahoe Cedars project, which was granted in April. By that time, however, the district had removed the portion of the project that would have required the use of the staging area in the forest — replacing the waterline on Placer Street and Antelope Way above Elm Street — from its application for Phase 1. (The project is so big there are four phases.) That decision was made partly because in mid-2025, the PUD learned of the goshawk nest.
“We are concerned. We are aware of it now and we will make sure that we are doing all the work that we need to do to meet any sort of regulations to protect the goshawk,” Barclay asserted. “So that is also part of the reason that we removed that piece of pipe from this project — to make sure we’re doing all of the work that we need to do to comply with any regulations or requirements to protect the environment or wildlife.”
While the staging area at the Tahoe Cedars water tank is off the table for now, the PUD will eventually need to revisit the idea when it’s ready to bring back the portion of Phase 1 involving the waterline.
The TRPA stated that if the PUD decides to reconsider the water tank area, it will monitor the site for bird activity.
COMMUNITY TRAILS: The Tahoe Cedars water tank marks the start of popular trails that are used year-round and are the main access route for neighbors to reach Sugar Pine Point State Park and national forest. Photo courtesy Mike Levin
“A lot of times when it comes to potential impacts to wildlife, then projects are put on hold while monitoring happens because monitoring for, especially bird habitat, can take an entire season,” Cowen said. “Sometimes noise monitoring happens during projects as well, so that we know if the project needs to change BMPs, change time of day, change time of year, that it operates.”
Despite the TRPA’s and TCPUD’s assurances that the project will follow all environmental regulations, neighbors are not convinced.
“Eight years into this project, and weeks from groundbreaking, fundamental questions on fire risk, public safety, environmental impact, site design, and project financing remain unanswered in the public record,” Landgraf wrote in an email to Moonshine Ink.
With the staging area put on the back burner for the near future, neighbors are breathing a sigh of relief, but only temporarily.
“We will continue to monitor and organize the community and continue to see that the PUD does the responsible thing here, and not what’s convenient for the contractor,” Levin said.
Concern spread across the region in March when it was announced that NV Energy will stop providing electricity generation service to Liberty Utilities — provider for the California side of the Lake Tahoe Basin — by 2027.
In reaction, Liberty is taking steps to find a new provider. Currently, the utility is seeking approval through the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) to launch a formal search process. Assuming approval, a formal bidding process is anticipated to start this summer. Official results and a decision will likely be known in winter of 2026/27, and an agreement with a new supplier established in spring 2027.
Eric Schwarzrock, who has been Liberty Utilities president for about a year and a half now and a longtime South Lake Tahoe resident, has expressed a goal of transparency during the process across various outlets, town halls, and public forums.
That’s the plan for what has been described as an emergency. The discontinuance of power generation by NV Energy, as noted in a March letter to CPUC from Liberty, came as “a surprise.” In a 2022 Integrated Resource Plan, Liberty wrote that it assumed operating “through the end of 2025, and then under similar provisions for 2026-2030, under a follow-on NV Energy ESA (Energy Services Agreement).”
NV Energy, meanwhile, says this separation has been in the works all along.
“The decision not to extend the Liberty agreement long term is rooted in the original planning assumptions and contractual intent dating back to the 2009 asset sale,” shared Katie Nannini, community relations manager for NV Energy, in an email. “NV Energy sold the Liberty load with the clear understanding that it would not serve that load indefinitely.”
Review of public documents submitted to the CPUC over the past five years shows a nuanced situation between the two utility companies, including efforts Liberty previously took to separate from NV Energy. Liberty declined to comment beyond public statements that have already been made.
Now the situation, regardless of a shared history, is down to the wire.
Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
An electrifying past
The separation of the two utilities is the final step for what was once one company. Liberty Utilities used to be owned by NV Energy — specifically Sierra Pacific Power Company, one of three subsidiaries that merged in 1999 and began doing business as NV Energy in 2008.
In 2011, at the conclusion of the 2009 asset sale, NV Energy, an investor-owned holding company incorporated under Nevada law, divested its California electric assets, comprising about 46,000 square miles in seven counties. After a multi-layered sale, the California customers ended up in the hands of CalPeco, aka Liberty Utilities, a subsidiary of Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp.
Along with the sale, NV Energy “also agreed to provide energy and generation capacity for a temporary transition period,” Nannini explained. “That period was originally set for five years and was later extended in 2015 and again in 2020 to give Liberty more time to implement its long term plans.”
And Liberty did try.
HIGH VOLTAGE: Liberty Utilities currently receives its power generation and transmission through NV Energy, which eventually makes its way to the Tahoe City Substation, pictured here. The substation takes power from the transmission lines and distributes it to households and businesses. Photo by Jared Alden/Moonshine Ink
An attempt at separation occurred in 2018, when Liberty began negotiations with potential third-party suppliers “in order to seek more favorable terms and conditions and pursue its own accelerated renewable goals,” per an advice letter from Liberty to CPUC. The small, multi-jurisdictional utility sent an early termination notice to NV Energy in January 2018, to be effective May 1, 2019.
What stalled this effort? NV Energy itself. To move to a third-party supplier, Liberty needed to reserve space in NV Energy’s transmission system for a supplier to send electricity through. In July 2018, Liberty filed for 145 megawatts (MWs) of service. Space was reserved based on numbers provided by NV Energy. Four months later, using those numbers, Liberty began officially soliciting a new energy provider.
But the amount of availability in NV Energy’s transmission system turned out to be wrong.
“In January 2019,” a 2020 letter from Liberty to the CPUC stated, “NVE informed Liberty CalPeco of [a] … calculation error, which, after it was corrected, showed that 11 MW of Import Transmission Capacity was available for Liberty CalPeco, far less than previously published.”
Based on such constraints, by August 2019, no realistic alternatives emerged for Liberty. Negotiations with NV Energy were reopened and in August 2020, an ESA was created “for the sale and delivery of capacity and energy to Liberty” from December 2020 to December 2025.
At first, this new ESA was described by Liberty “as a bridge until Liberty CalPeco can secure utility-owned non-GHG emitting renewable generation through a competitive process, which will enable it to achieve its ambitious 100% renewables goal.”
Yet two years later, Liberty was anticipating remaining an NV Energy customer indefinitely since the Nevada utility company was providing the best possible outcome for its customers … until a new project goes online.
“Given Liberty’s understanding of NV Energy’s transmission planning activities,” the 2022 Integrated Resource Plan states, “the earliest time at which Liberty could potentially leave its current energy supply arrangement with NV Energy would be after Phase I of the Greenlink Initiative goes into service.”
The data center of it all
NV Energy’s Greenlink is a two-part project installing two kilovolt lines, or “energy highways,” across Nevada — one running for 250 miles, from Las Vegas to Yerington (Greenlink West), the other spanning 235 miles from Ely to Yerington (Greenlink North). These lines will allow the utility to increase import capacity for Northern Nevada. A December 2025 update from NV Energy stated, “The completion of Greenlink West and Greenlink North — along with the existing One Nevada Line — creates a triangle of transmission in the state … Greenlink Nevada results in modernization of the grid, improves reliability for customers, and positions NV Energy to meet Nevada’s energy needs.”
GREENLINK’S LINKAGE: NV Energy’s Greenlink Initiative is adding two “energy highways” across Nevada to increase import capacity for Northern Nevada. Greenlink West, running from Las Vegas to Yerington, is anticipated to be completed May 2027. Courtesy map
Greenlink West is anticipated to be completed May 2027 and will serve as the signal for Liberty’s official transition from NV Energy. This same project will help address the increasingly competitive market for power resources, especially with the increase of data centers in Washoe and Storey counties. Data centers are physical facilities housing and running large computer systems.
The U.S. Congress reported in January 2026: “U.S. data center annual energy use in 2023 (not accounting for cryptocurrency) was approximately 176 terawatt-hours (TWh), approximately 4.4% of U.S. annual electricity consumption that year, according to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory … Some projections show that data center energy consumption could double or triple by 2028, accounting for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use.”
At the time of the Congressional report, there were no “legally binding energy standards” applying specifically to private sector data center operations.
However, at the end of March, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) announced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would effectively put a pin in further data center development until more oversight can be established. As of press deadline, the bill lies with the Congressional Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Currently, there are 29 such centers between Reno, Sparks, and the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI Center), the latter home to all but six of them. TRI Center’s first data center — Switch’s “Citadel Campus” — began construction in 2015 and officially opened in early 2017.
Then-Storey County Commissioner Marshall McBride said of the project, “With Switch’s $1 billion investment and 3-million-square-foot SUPERNAP data center, this region is solidifying its place in the technology innovation space. The country is looking at Nevada differently and now sees northern Nevada, Storey County, and TRI as the place for development projects of any size.”
NV Energy’s Nannini said, contrary to other media reports, the decision to stop providing power for Liberty was not driven by the rise of data centers, citing original contractual intent “well before data center load growth was a consideration … Data center growth did not change that position.”
Still a live wire
While NV Energy is pulling the plug on the actual power in the lines, it will still provide Liberty Utilities transmission services. Liberty (as well as the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, which powers Truckee) is part of NV Energy’s balancing authority, meaning NV Energy is responsible for ensuring the electric grid operates reliably 24/7 for users within its region.
Where the power will come from is what Liberty leaders are working on figuring out. The utility customers are not physically connected to the rest of California, so pulling power from the state is problematic. “It would take a large transmission line from our service territory over the Sierras and then west further into California,” Liberty’s Schwarzrock said during a late-April Placer County town hall. “We looked at the nearest connection points. One of the ones that was closest that potentially would be one of the most reasonable connections was near El Dorado Hills. That would be a transmission line from El Dorado Hills toward South Lake Tahoe. [It would cost] hundreds of millions of dollars to build a transmission like line like that over the Sierras.
“We may seek to do something like that,” he continued. “But right now, that was not the best option. We actually have evaluated nine different [energy supply options] … to assemble our energy supply portfolio. Utilities often utilize a mix of strategies, including but not limited to, direct ownership, power purchase agreements, and various market options. [The transmission line option] was the least beneficial option because of the cost to build that transmission line.”
Liberty Utilities maintains two solar projects in Nevada that provide power, though not enough at present to power its customers entirely: There is the 50-MW Luning solar facility, which is forecasted to deliver 101,000 megawatt hours (MWh) in 2026, and the 10-MW Turquoise facility, anticipated to deliver 21,000 MWh. “For many days out of the year,” shared Liberty’s manager of regional communications, Kurt Althof, in an email. “When the sun is shining, our facilities provide 100% of the required supply.”
How ratepayers will be affected by the transition remains unknown, though Liberty has stated in an FAQ on the situation that it intends to keep affordability at the forefront of its discussions with potential providers.
Schwarzrock said there are numerous alternatives for how the company can approach the void, including wind farms, solar and battery farms, geothermal options, and full-service energy suppliers. As a winter-peaking region, Tahoe’s highest energy demand comes during the colder months — contrary to other utilities in the Western U.S., which use the most electricity during summer for air conditioning.
“It’s important to us that we’re going to make them compete for our business,” he said. “We’re looking forward for those entities to compete. We are a good partner and a good load for energy suppliers, so we expect a competitive process. Our priorities as we go through that [Request for Proposals] and make our transparent selections with the CPUC, are that we’re going to prioritize renewable and achieving our renewable goals within the state of California, and we are going to prioritize affordability.”
Could Something Similar Happen in Truckee?
The Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s coverage area lies as an independent island within Liberty’s service. The only overlap for TDPUD and Liberty is that they both rely on transmission from NV Energy.
“We pay our fair share to NV Energy for the transmission services they give us,” said Steven Poncelet, public information and strategic affairs director for the PUD. “That’s all done at the federal level through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.”
Beyond that commonality, TDPUD has a different makeup entirely as an electricity provider.
Rather than the investor-owned utility model, the PUD is a municipal not-for-profit agency that provides both water and electric services for the Truckee community. As one of 18 special districts in the Truckee/North Tahoe region, it is overseen by an elected board of directors.
TDPUD’s power primarily comes from the Utah Associated Municipal Power System (UAMPS), which consists of 49 public power utilities across many western states. “That’s who builds and owns and operates all of our power plants,” Poncelet said. “So, when we say that our largest resource is Horse Butte Wind in Idaho, that’s a project that we own a percentage of, and that is run, owned, and operated by UAMPS on behalf of the members. They have the transmission, and then they send the power to us eventually through NV energy transmission for delivery to our customers.”
Could NV Energy similarly end its transmissions contracts with TDPUD as it has done with Liberty’s power generation contract? Poncelet said that’s not a concern. “The [transmissions] contracts that we have are approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission … and across the industry, every utility across the country goes to FERC for these transmission contracts. Many lawyers have asked that question, so I’m pretty confident they couldn’t just decide not to service.”
My wife and I moved from Mammoth Lakes to Tahoe City in 1980. Back then, being a “mountain person” wasn’t a brand, it was a way of life. We learned from those who came before us. Nature was our guide, and long-time locals showed us how to live in rhythm with it: shoveling the roof before it bowed, reading a subtle shift in the wind and clouds before a storm, and knowing exactly which neighbor’s truck would get stuck after the plow turned the road into ice.
When we had questions about mountain living, we sought out people who had actually lived it — true experts on where to go, what to do, and how to do it.
The mountains are as beautiful as ever, but their rhythm has changed. We’ve shifted from a true “mountain town” to a “mountain resort.” The lake is still breathtaking; the backcountry is still full of adventure, but the way we live here has become increasingly digital.
The Covid era brought a surge of new energy to our Basin, much of it driven by the tech sector. There is no denying the immense value these new residents bring — their economic contributions and fresh cultural perspectives are essential ingredients in the evolving story of the Tahoe/Truckee area. They also arrived with remarkable technological tools.
And something else: a new kind of expert I’ll call the “techspert.”
A techspert is someone who has mastered the data of the mountains without fully absorbing the experience. They find trailheads through apps instead of conversations. They troubleshoot a woodstove on a forum instead of asking a neighbor. Too often, they take frustrations to social media instead of resolving them face-to-face — the very interactions that once defined our community.
As a healthcare provider, I’ve spent my career observing the difference between a body that simply functions and one that is truly vital. I see a parallel here. Technology can guide you to a trailhead with perfect GPS accuracy. It can tell you the temperature, the elevation, and the distance. But it lacks nuance.
A techspert may know the stats of a hike, but not that a recent washout has turned it into a sandbagged bushwhack. They have information, but not the “preventative medicine” of local wisdom.
Techsperts will never replace experts.
A seasoned local can tell you why a certain shift in the clouds means you should head home early or why taking just 10 extra steps down a slope will lead you to a spot with the kind of energy that doesn’t just “use” nature but revitalizes the soul.
Apps tell you what is happening; humans tell you how to feel it.
This isn’t a rejection of technology. I value the information age and rely on it in many ways. Rather, it’s an invitation to balance technology with mentorship. It isn’t just our newer residents who’ve been pulled in by technology — we all have. But don’t let these mountains exist only on your screen; belong to them.
Instead of scrolling through an anonymous forum, walk into your local shop. Ask about the best tires for riding on decomposed granite or the ideal ski wax for a warm spring morning. These places aren’t just stores, they’re living archives.
The next time you’re curious about a route or a storm, pause before you reach for your phone. Say hello to a neighbor and start a conversation.
Ask about the “why,” not just the “where.” You’ll discover that the best way to live here isn’t by mastering an app, it’s by building relationships.
Real life. Real people. Real Tahoe.
~ Tim Schroeder, DC, has lived in Tahoe City since 1980 and has practiced chiropractic care there since 1989. An active community member who values nature, he is an avid skier, hiker, and biker. To explore his chiropractic practice and his latest writing, visit the Insights tab at balancedoctor.com.
The Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency is moving forward on a new wastewater treatment facility. The decision is a big pivot from the 2022 Master Sewer Plan, intended to guide the agency in addressing its aging infrastructure over
25 years.
The variable leading to this pivot? Covid-19 and its impacts on constructions costs and materials and labor shortages. When TTSA began receiving bids for various projects under the sewer plan, there were significant inconsistencies compared to the preliminary November 2021 estimates. That difference led to staff in early 2024 shifting from the rehabilitation strategy to implementation of a more modern replacement.
Which brings us to the Clean Water Revitalization Project, set to replace TTSA’s existing nutrient removal (or wastewater treatment) facility to the tune of $310 million. The rehabilitation plan in today’s numbers would cost, according to project consultant numbers, $393.3 million.
General Manager Jason Hays walks us through some key questions about the project, what it means, and how ratepayers — amid a significant rate increase — will be affected.
~ AH
In general terms, what is the Clean Water Revitalization Project?
Jason Hays, TTSA General Manager: Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency (TTSA) is embarking on a multi-year initiative to modernize the existing wastewater treatment infrastructure that has been in existence for over 50 years. The Clean Water Revitalization Project is focused on modern treatment methods that will more reliably protect public health, the Truckee River, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding watershed, while also improving system stability and ease of operation.
Did the following factors lead the agency to move forward with building a new wastewater treatment facility?
Aging TTSA nutrient-removal facilities, which require increasing maintenance to maintain operations
Significant cost increases from rehabilitation costs stated in a 2022 Master Sewer Plan
A desire to shift to less energy- and chemical-intensive processes for cleaning wastewater
The possibility of more stringent limits, monitoring, and reporting (TTSA could be regulated under the Federal NDPES permitting program in the future based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s “County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund” case.)
These assumptions are accurate with a few minor caveats; while TTSA is seeking to establish a reduced dependence on chemicals and move toward a more biologically focused process, the new Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) facility is not likely to reduce energy usage. Throughout the design process, we will continue to remain open to opportunities for energy efficiency, but pumping water is an inherently energy intensive process. We are also closely watching opportunities for green energy offsets like solar and using biogas generated onsite for energy production.
Regarding potential future regulatory pressures, it’s important to note that TTSA is already subject to some of the most stringent discharge requirements in the country. At this time, there is no immediate reason to believe that the regulatory monitoring program under which we are regulated will change. Leadership within TTSA recognized during initial evaluations and continues to maintain the position that it is our responsibility to be prepared for any potential regulatory scenario. MBR technology offers both the most secure assurance to continue to meet existing limits and the strongest potential to expand capabilities if the discharge requirements become more stringent at some point in the future.
TTSA currently utilizes a Biological Nitrogen Removal (BNR) system but is looking to shift to an MBR system. Could you explain what this means?
Biological Nutrient Removal or Biological Nitrogen Removal (BNR) is the process of using a variety of microorganisms cultured specifically to consume nitrogen and phosphorus. TTSA is currently using a hybridized approach that requires a chemically intensive process to remove phosphorus in combination with BNR. Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) is a variation of BNR that uses very fine filter membranes to dramatically reduce the dependence on chemical processes. MBR also allows us to intensify the BNR process and use a much smaller footprint with improved automation and operational simplicity to accomplish the same or better levels of nutrient removal.
UP-AND-COMING: The Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency is moving forward with a new wastewater treatment facility, which will replace current and aged infrastructure, shown highlighted in yellow on the map. Courtesy map
Where is the water coming out of this nutrient removal facility going to go?
Currently, we are planning to maintain the same discharge and disposal system for the new MBR facility that we currently have in place. TTSA currently injects the treated water from the facility into the ground in Martis Valley. The water migrates from the injection point through the ground toward the confluence of the Truckee River and Martis Creek where it comingles and joins the waterways. TTSA rigorously monitors several wells along the groundwater flow path and also monitors the Truckee River and Martis Creek above and below TTSA influence.
Does TTSA currently have any trouble meeting discharge requirements from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board?
TTSA consistently meets all discharge limits under its existing Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR) permit. While some of the processes used at TTSA are chemically intensive and require substantial operational and maintenance staffing, we have proudly protected Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River for over 50 years. A major driver for initiating the Clean Water Revitalization Project is to ensure future generations of community members and visitors can continue to rely on a high standard of public health and environmental protection for the next 50 years and beyond.
What is the total project cost?
In order to make the most fiscally responsible long-term decisions for the future of TTSA, staff engaged in a 50-year life cycle cost assessment comparing the cost of the Clean Water Revitalization Project to a progressive rehabilitation of the existing facility. While it is important to note that cost estimates used in this assessment are very high level and actual costs can vary significantly as the scope of the project becomes clearer, we believe the assessment strongly supported moving forward with the project. Currently estimated costs for the entire project are approximately $310 million. As design milestones are met, a clearer picture of actual final costs will become more focused. TTSA is committed to providing the rate-paying public with revised cost information as it becomes available.
In 2023, after no rate increases for the previous 12 years, TTSA approved a significant hike in customer bills (96.72% increase) over the course of four years (2024 to 2028) in order “to ensure proper funding for upcoming major capital projects and increasing costs due to hyper-inflation.” That increase happened before any final decisions on the new nutrient removal facility were made.
How will the new facility impact customer costs? What other funding sources is the agency considering for this project?
We at TTSA recognize that large increases to rates in a short timeframe are undesirable. This abrupt increase in rates was proceeded by 12 years of 0% rate increases, primarily due to a relatively minimal capital replacement plan. After the 2022 Master Plan established a more substantial capital plan with baseline cost assumptions and timing, TTSA staff recognized that current rates could not fully support the plan. In 2023 the TTSA Board approved Prop 218-compliant annual adjustments for fiscal years ’24 through ’28 to address long-term inflation and to fund the capital plan. The rate increases were as follows:
FY24: 30.1%
FY25: 18.6%
FY26: 13.6%
FY27: 8.6%
FY28: 3.4%
TTSA is currently seeking to perform a new rate study that includes timing and costs associated with the Clean Water Revitalization Project. Many projects identified in the master plan will be made unnecessary by the decision to move forward with MBR technology. Project and capital spending timing will also change substantially. Staff has engaged in a process of identifying strategic cost saving measures to ensure a continued focus on operational efficiency. As part of our funding strategy, we are exploring opportunities to fund portions of the project with grants and subsidized lending programs. Efforts are already underway to position the agency and the project as an attractive opportunity for potential alternative funding mechanisms.
What is the most critical information TTSA wants the public to know about this project and process?
We live and work in one of the most environmentally pristine and beautiful locations in the world. We owe the clarity of Lake Tahoe and the natural beauty of the Truckee River to those men and women 50 years ago that had the foresight and drive to do what was needed to rehabilitate and ensure the protection of these amazing water bodies. We believe that we have a generational responsibility to the people enjoying this area 50 years from now to guarantee protection of our water resources. In the 1970s the U.S. Congress enacted the Clean Water Act to reverse the damage done to our environment. We are welcoming in the next 50 years of environmental responsibility and public health with the Clean Water Revitalization Project.
Not considering my education after high school, my parents insisted that college was the next step. Growing up in New York, I headed to Florida to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville earning my BS degree in photojournalism. Not ready to get a real job, I hit the road, living out of a converted school bus, until I arrived in California four years later. I was so excited to learn that there was such a place as Tahoe where I could ski, a lifelong dream. That was the winter of ’94/’95. Working nights, traveling and skiing, I was pretty happy, but I really wanted to do more with my photography. In 2000, A Day In Your Life Photography began.
1 of 6
Nepal Bodhi Tree Foundation Trek
Alaska
Lakeview
Colette’s wedding
First hours
Rainbow over Tahoe
Documenting weddings and birth helped me with my pursuit of travel and bolstered my body of work in fine art photography. For wedding and birth imagery see the archive on my website: adiyl.net.
My current focus is capturing dream vacations for families. My motto is, “I’ll do the documentation while you enjoy your vacation.”
My travel and Tahoe photography will be featured at Made in Tahoe this Memorial Day Weekend at Palisades and the Kings Beach Art Tour in August. I’ll also be participating at the Tahoe City Farmers Market and Truckee Thursdays. Hope to see you there!
~ Instagram: adayinyourlifephotography, Facebook: A Day In Your Life Photography
Growing up, Mia Andler would spend weeks at a time during summer with her family sailing the Finnish archipelago — her days spent swimming and fishing, exploring caves and forests, inventing games with her siblings and the sea birds. She didn’t know how good she had it.
“I was lucky enough to spend my entire summers outside without electricity,” she reminisced. “I got to connect with the islands and feel the spacious timelessness of that.”
VILDA students practice tracking on a summertime excursion.
Those sailing trips, she says, gave her a “grounded psychological perspective” that led her to a nature-filled life and career. Andler is an expert forager, a heralded tracker and guide, an author, a wilderness educator, and founder of Vilda, a place-based wilderness education school whose mission is to connect kids with nature. First established in Marin County in 2008, Vilda has had a presence in Tahoe/Truckee since 2020 and now serves over 1,000 kids a year. The organization offers myriad school-year programs, summer camps, backpacking trips, and specialty workshops which can be found at vildanature.org.
The name Vilda comes from the name of the boat Andler sailed on as a child, short for Vildanden, Finnish for “wild duck,” symbolizing journey and exploration.
In addition to her summer-long sailing adventures, Andler’s Finnish upbringing was full of simply “being outdoors all the time.” However, she acknowledges that’s no longer a given for children anymore, even in the outdoor haven that is Tahoe.
THE FERAL FINN: Mia Andler, born in Finland, is an experienced naturalist, wilderness guide, author, and founder of the Vilda place-based wilderness schools.
“That’s why I started Vilda,” she said. “In today’s world, it’s not always safe or allowed [for kids] to go outside. So now they have us, some guides.”
And while just bringing youths out into the natural world is a vital aspect of what Vilda does — “we need to have the grounding aspect of nature and to know that we are a part of nature” — she also figures she should teach them some things while they’re out there.
Her curriculum is centered largely around adventure and play and offers an array of wilderness knowledge and skills. Students should expect to get their hands dirty as they track animals, learn bird languages and fire-starting skills, build shelters, identify and eat wild edibles, kayak, become good at reading maps, practice archery, tend to and restore the land, dabble in poetry and song, and create nature-based crafts.
Gratitude is a central tenet, and peaceful conflict resolution and friendship are also aspects of the Vilda education. Friendship, as a key rung of a wilderness school?
“Young people and screens are a major challenge right now,” said Andler, who has been featured in national print publications, in-flight magazines, television, and the documentary film Play Again. “They often don’t know how to connect with each other. You play a video game and you are instantly that character, you are instantly ‘in the game.’ You don’t have to cultivate that skill of ‘getting into the game.’”
CARVING OUT TIME: Vilda aims to connect children with nature and to help them realize “how much fun they can have with rocks and sticks.”
In addition to cultivating (or recultivating) human-to-human connection, a core motif of Vilda is creating (or recreating) connection to the earth.
“The kids’ world is so patterned by media images and gaming images that they don’t know anything else,” Andler explained. “Our job is to show them how much fun you can have with rocks and sticks.”
Once the child is having fun and beginning to see the forest through the trees, Vilda’s tertiary lessons come into play. Rather than simply holding an outdoor classroom where students learn the name of this tree or that flower, Andler aims for something more. “We focus on enhancing their relationship to nature,” she said. “We believe if we can help [our students] form a relationship with the forest, then they will become the leader that protects it.”
Andler relayed a conversation she had many years ago with the then-executive director of the Rainforest Alliance. The person, an American, grew up with love for her natural world and then literally had it ripped away. “She told me how when she was a child she used to play in a certain part of the forest, and then one day a bulldozer showed up and it was gone. That was her home, that was her playground.”
Seeing her local, childhood forest bulldozed to the ground led that human to fight to save forests all over the world.
It’s the same on many levels, Andler said. “If a kid loves the natural world,” she observed, “you don’t need to tell them to recycle. They’ll do it on their own.”
An Adventurous, Curious Life
After moving to Venezuela and then San Francisco (with some time back in Finland) due to her father’s job, Andler attended college in Maine, studied abroad in Scotland, and “traveled a fair bit” before moving to Tahoe/Truckee in the early 2000s. She earned her teaching credential from Sierra Nevada College and taught art and music at Lake Tahoe School. Early on, though, she felt like something was missing.
“I realized that I just wanted to be outside teaching students,” she said.
She had the idea to start a wilderness school — “it became my mission” — but she realized that in order to make it happen she still had a lot to learn.
As so often happens, her quest was rewarded by the teacher appearing along the path at just the right time. Andler’s Obi Wan Kenobi was Jon Young, a renowned naturalist teaching around Bolinas and Half Moon Bay at the time.
“We were out on the land three days a week in coastal chaparral and redwood forest,” Andler recalled. “We slept … underneath the stars, rain or shine.”
Young himself was the pupil of perhaps America’s most famous tracker and survivalist, the late Tom Brown Jr., who, among other notables, founded the esteemed Tracker School in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Brown was trained by an Apache, and Young speaks of time spent with the San bushmen of Botswana, among other peoples and training, as fundamental to his own education.
ROPING IT UP: A Vilda student makes cordage from natural material.
Andler learned all she could from Young (and from other individuals and cultures), and in 2008 started Vilda in Fairfax — the 7,000-plus person forest-abutting town in Marin County, with its six nearby open-space preserves and proximity to Mt. Tamalpais and Pt. Reyes. The school is still thriving, with Andler going down occasionally “mostly to train guides.”
Like Young and Brown Jr., Andler is also a speaker and an author, presenting at conferences and appearing on podcasts and having co-written The Bay Area Forager and penned the The Sierra Forager.
Again, it was her nature-oriented childhood and curiosity-driven lifestyle that led her to becoming an author.
“In Finland, foraging is still done,” she said. “I grew up picking berries and mushrooms and such as part of my family life. When I got to the Bay Area, I figured there must be something edible out there, it just wasn’t as obvious as Finland. So, I started asking around.”
She sought out people with similar interests and joined the board of Sustainable Fairfax, a nonprofit that was offering classes to the community.
“I was like, I think I could teach one about wild edibles,” Andler recounted. “The first one I ever scheduled old out, and I had people emailing me for months.”
She kept leading classes and guiding wilderness walks. The more she learned, the more she became aware of the fact that the available books weren’t detailing specific edible plants for specific areas of the region. “Everything was too broad,” Andler noted of the literature, and she and a friend saw a niche. “We were like, hey, let’s write the book.”
And so they did, and The Bay Area Forager was born.
“People received that book very well,” Andler said. “I love it when people still come up to me, and they’re some cool person doing some cool thing; and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love your book.’”
When she moved back up to North Tahoe for good during the pandemic and established Vilda’s local presence, the next book almost wrote itself.
“I wanted to call it The Taste of Tahoe or something, and make it super hyper local, but my publisher was like, no, too small.”
Though The Sierra Forager came to focus on wild edibles in Yosemite and Mammoth as well as Tahoe, its content stays true to its origins by pertaining exclusively to environments and locales above 6,000 feet in elevation (the Jewel of the Sierra rests at 6,225 feet).
So yeah, it’s been quite a journey for the self-described Feral Finn, Mia Andler. From summers sailing island-to-island without electricity to a life and career that seemingly goes wherever it wants, she continues to
do what she loves — spending time
in the wilderness to learn and to do and to be.
“To be honest, I never planned to
do any of it,” she revealed. “I just do the next thing. It’s been easy because it flows.”
Now there’s a lesson from nature if there ever was one.
In addition to teaching children through her school, Vilda, Mia Andler also leads wilderness activities and lessons for adults. She’s looking to expand her adult offerings and is curious what the community would like to learn and/or do. She encourages readers to reach out to her at thisferalfinn.com.
On having wilderness survival skills, Andler says: “It’s empowering knowing that if something did ever go very wrong, I have a freedom because I do have skills. It’s empowering even if there’s no emergency. You can pack less on your next camping trip, being confident in your fire-starting skills or your water-finding skills.”
Growing up in Truckee, Sierra Bohnet never thought she fit in.
“I didn’t vibe with the mountain culture at all,” she says. “I felt like I didn’t belong here.”
Post-high school, Bohnet left town and moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. Upon changing majors from songwriting to music production, she released her fantasy-inspired debut EP “Ëradøn” in 2020.
Her first LP, Astral (2021), delved into the primal psyche of Gen Z, revealing a more complex side of the artist. Rather than writing from experience, Bohnet crafted the songs from her mind’s eye.
“My imagination is out of this world,” she says. “I like to collect magical things. I’m really into reading fantasy books. I’m creating my own world. I have a map. Each part of the map is a part of me.”
By 2023, Bohnet changed her stage name to Nomé Naku (no-may nah-koo). Like David Bowie becoming Ziggy Stardust or Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce, it was a sign of a distinctive artistic vision beginning to coalesce.
RAISED IN TRUCKEE, fantasy-pop songwriter and producer Sierra Bohnet has found her artistic vision in Los Angeles as Nomé Naku.
“It’s a little bit both me and a character,” Bohnet shares. “I feel it’s me at my purest form, and that’s also a persona I can step into.”
After Berklee, Bohnet moved to Los Angeles, where she now lives in Burbank nearby Universal Studios.
“I chose L.A. for the music industry,” she says. “I’m still figuring it out. I made a few cool connections so far, nothing crazy. If anything, it’s taught me that I can do what I want to do from anywhere.”
Bohnet has collaborated with artists like Saint Mesa, zfromthealphabet, Shrimpnose and Cloudchord, lending grace, power, and depth to their work. But 99% of the time, she works alone.
“I am self-produced,” she says. “It’s a big part of my artistic identity. The whole sound is crafted by me.”
The music’s swirling and expansive yet precise aural tapestries seem woven from the ineffable threads of her primordial being. Based on the raw range of emotions felt in the music, it’s clear that it’s not always easy stepping into the role. The fact that Bohnet is willing to connect with these feelings on such a deep level is a testament to her vision and courage — all made whole through her transformation into Nomé Naku.
When she’s not making music, Bohnet works as a pet groomer to help pay the bills. “I give dogs haircuts,” she laughs.
Bohnet also has an Instagram channel that alternates seamlessly from intense sonic-visual journeys to silly confessions about her wall of fairytale hand-drawings to the quirky intricacies of her makeup routine.
BOHNET WRITES and self-produces cinematic, evocative music inspired by her poignantly felt emotional world and vivid imagination. Photos courtesy Nomé Naku.
After the move to L.A., a two-year barrage of singles releases followed, eventually leading to the self-titled LP Nomé Naku (2025). The album cover features a red-lit image of Bohnet, shot from behind as she wears dragonfly wings with a fire burning inside her chest. The epic feel of the music rides lush-layered vocal harmonies, heavy synth melodies, and tribal percussion, evoking ethereal artists like Aurora, Banks, and Florence + the Machine.
“The new album is a little bit darker, a little more mature,” Bohnet says. “The theme is being a woman … I like my songs to work for whoever is listening. Here and there, I make it very specific, but generally I’ll write about the feeling itself.”
And where do these transcendent soundscapes come from?
“There are so many levels,” she says. “The first level is the actual inspiration for the music. I’m a highly sensitive person, so I feel very deeply. I need a way to channel that. In this lifetime, it’s been music.”
This year, she’s releasing singles in anticipation of her next LP. In the intricate music videos she produces for the songs, Bohnet undulates fluidly into her character — or maybe it’s just deeper within herself.
“It comes from nowhere,” she says. “I have no background in dance or any training whatsoever. That’s how I naturally move to my music.”
The artist recently scored a short film, Transcend the Sword. Some of the songs are sung in her own language, Laroo, for which she’s developed a personal dictionary.
“I have really vivid dreams where I am in different worlds,” she shares. “I had a dream where I witnessed the destruction of a planet in fast motion. Then I wake up and I’m like, ‘Where am I?’”
On weekends and breaks, Bohnet often travels back home to her roots at Lake Tahoe. It’s the place where the dreams began, at least in this world and lifetime.
“As soon as I’m no longer here,” she muses, “I realize — I am a mountain girl. I was raised in Tahoe, but I had to grow into my mountain-ness.”
Fire crews have started their bootcamps, red flag warnings have been issued across California, and for a month now, the sign at a Truckee Fire station on Donner Pass Road has been flashing the annual urge:
