WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Forest Service is taking its next steps in repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule, announcing Tuesday that it has filed a proposed rule to rescind the 25-year-old rule in its entirety.
The agency has taken progressive steps towards that goal since its initial announcement to rescind the rule in June of last year.
The Roadless Rule, established in 2001, has prohibited new roads and industrial logging on around 58 million acres of National Forest System lands. Conservation groups attribute the rule to protecting environmental resources, habitats and recreational experiences. The rule also keeps the areas open for recreational activities, such as climbing, hiking, mountain biking, paddling, and backcountry skiing.
These areas constitute a combined 80,000-plus acres on the Tahoe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit forest, according to maps on the Forest Service’s website.
The U.S. Forest Service’s reason for the repeal is to remove regulatory burdens that they say have frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk-reduction work across the designated areas due to restrictions on road construction.
“Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction. Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions – overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease – turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. “For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities.”
The service also says that repealing the action will place decisions about roadless areas in the hands of local national forest managers.
In the Tuesday announcement, the service said rescission removes the national designation on roadless areas but does not mandate timber cutting or road construction, which are concerns expressed by opposing parties.
Although the announcement explicitly states it does not mandate timber cutting, the announcement also states the rescission aligns with multiple Executive Orders, including Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production (Executive Order 14225), and Unleashing American Energy (Executive Order 14154), as well as others.
Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter has opposed the rescission from the start and has conducted a town hall to collect input on the decision. In response to Tuesday’s announcement, the chapter’s Executive Director Olivia Tanager said.
“The Tahoe region is one of the clearest examples of why the Roadless Rule matters. From the forests surrounding Desolation Wilderness to the roadless lands throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin, these protections safeguard some of the Sierra Nevada’s most important remaining wild forests, clean water sources, wildlife habitat and backcountry recreation opportunities.
“Rolling back the Roadless Rule puts these places at greater risk of new roads and industrial logging, while doing nothing to address the root causes of catastrophic wildfire. In Tahoe, where protecting water quality and the Lake itself is a shared priority, keeping intact forests standing is critical to protecting the watersheds and ecosystems that sustain this region.
“Roadless areas are places that communities and visitors rely on for clean water, recreation, wildlife and a healthy forest ecosystem. Sierra Club will fight this rescission tooth and nail to protect roadless forests and Tahoe and beyond.”
The U.S. Forest Service has filed a draft environmental impact statement along with the proposed rule to rescind, which was filed Tuesday in the Federal Register, and is seeking public input. To comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement, go to Regulations.gov. Public comments must be received by midnight on Sept. 21. Information will be available Aug. 19 on the Forest Service Roadless Areas webpage.
STATELINE, Nev. — Will & Ivey Boutique will host two free story time events featuring Lake Tahoe authors on Aug. 22 and Aug. 29. Both events will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the boutique, located at 292 Kingsbury Grade in Stateline.
The events are designed to give local children and families an opportunity to meet area authors, discover new books and participate in creative activities as the new school year begins.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, local author Chantelle Schennings will read her book, “Little Acorn’s Big World.” Children will be invited to participate in activities inspired by the story following the reading.
On Saturday, Aug. 29, local author Kat Madina will read “Grumple the Great.” After the reading, children will participate in a creative activity and make bear masks to take home.
“These events are an opportunity to bring local families together, introduce children to area authors and help them get excited about reading as they begin a new school year,” a Will & Ivey representative said.
Both events are free and open to children and families. Attendees are encouraged to arrive before the 10:30 a.m. start time.
Event details
“Little Acorn’s Big World” with Chantelle Schennings
Saturday, Aug. 22, at 10:30 a.m.
Story time and children’s activities
“Grumple the Great” with Kat Madina
Saturday, Aug. 29, at 10:30 a.m.
Story time and make-your-own bear mask activity
Both events will take place at Will & Ivey Boutique, 292 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline, Nevada.
STATELINE, Nev. – The Knight Monsters’ new head coach Connor Jones is bringing vital lessons he learned as a player to the Tahoe team—accepting nothing short of hard work and having both joy and respect for the game.
Coach Connor Jones addresses the crowd on Friday, Aug. 14.Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune
“I’m excited to get behind the bench and lead these guys,” Jones said, “and have a fast-paced team that works hard and wants to win every night.”
The former professional hockey player expressed his vision and goals at a fan meet-and-greet on Friday, Aug. 14, at the Tahoe Blue Events Center, where he shared that the fans are in for a determined team who carry themselves with respect on and off the ice, have a willingness to play the game the right way, and do whatever it takes to win.
He steps into the leadership role as former head coach Alex Loh joins the Henderson Silver Knights as an assistant coach. As the team’s inaugural head coach, Loh led the team to 76 wins in 144 regular-season games and to back-to-back Kelly Cup playoff appearances in the team’s first two years.
Jones plans to build on Loh’s strong foundation, while also bringing his own leadership to the team, crediting the former coach with instilling a robust work ethic and selecting smart players.
“That’s a big part of being a hockey player,” Jones said, “if you can’t think the game, you’re going to have trouble, so just building on that.”
Jones comes to Tahoe after spending two seasons at Princeton University as an assistant coach.
In his collegiate career, Jones served as an alternate captain in his final two seasons at Quinnipiac University, competing in 153 NCAA games.
Professionally, Jones competed in four National Hockey League games with the New York Islanders during the 2016-2017 campaign. He also has 290 American Hockey League games with the Oklahoma City Barons and Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and 79 ECHL games for the Bakersfield Condors and Fort Wayne Komets under his belt.
Jones previously served as a college scout for the Vegas Golden Knights organization from 2022 to 2024 and is excited to be back with the Knights’ affiliation.
Left to right, communications manager, Brenden Paul, head coach Connor Jones, and co-owner David Hodges.Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune
This will be Jones’ first time serving as head coach, and is looking forward to the leadership role.
“The opportunity to work here for Tahoe, be a part of this team as a head coach,” he said, “it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down”
Fans expressed excitement about his well-rounded resume, having both player and coaching experience, as well as college, professional and scouting experience.
“I think he’s going to be a nice addition for the team, so looking forward to the next season,” Carson City resident James Smack said, a dedicated fan repping a Knight Monsters’ Grateful Dead jersey.
New Knight Monsters’ Coach Connor Jones meets fans at meet-and-greet on Friday, Aug. 14.Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune
To get to the Kelly Cup, Coach Jones says the Knight Monsters need a strong start to the season, winning games early. He said it’s also about keeping the players healthy and the roster set, although he explained that some roster movement is inevitable and requires having players who can step up when needed.
“I think that’s the most important thing,” he said, “is if we have a group of guys that really know their jobs and know what their identities are and roles on this team,” adding that it builds trust, comfort and ultimately makes work a lot of fun each day.
Coach Jones is looking forward to calling Tahoe home. “I mean, it’s got to be one of the best areas to have an ECHL team,” he said, describing Tahoe as a big place with a small community that wraps itself around the players, coaches and team.
The Knight Monsters’ first home game in the upcoming season takes place Friday, October 23, as they take on the New Mexico Goatheads at Tahoe Blue Event Center.
Fans at Friday’s meet and greet.Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune
(The Center Square) – Billions of dollars of government spending over a decade have done nothing to stop homeownership from slipping out of reach for millions of Americans.
That’s especially true for California.
And that’s according to a report released Monday night, “Extreme Makeover: American Dream Edition?” The study by Open the Books, an organization that tracks government spending at the local, state and federal levels, examined public data from 2015 to 2024 to determine whether spending by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development helped bridge the gap between Americans’ wages and increasing home prices.
The conclusion? It did not.
In fact, despite receiving $81.4 billion from HUD during 2015-2024, California remains one of the least affordable states to live in the U.S., according to Open the Books. Besides California, Open the Books tracked states across the nation, including Colorado, where home prices doubled during those years. Meanwhile, Nevada faces an affordability gap, but household incomes have grown in Arizona.
Christopher Neefus of Open the Books said Californians are looking at the better part of two decades of savings to get themselves into the average home.
Home prices grew at a rate 27% faster than the median income, Neefus, vice president of communications at Open the Books, told The Center Square during a phone interview. He added that although California’s gap is among the lowest in the U.S., the figure is misleading because in 2015, the state was already seeing home prices exceeding the reach of the median income.
Home prices during 2015-2024 grew by more than 82% in the Golden State, Neefus said.
“Another factor to consider in California is that home prices started a lot higher and finished a lot higher than most of the country,” Neefus said.
The report also details California’s multi-layered financing rules, expensive construction costs and strict single-family zoning that leaves thousands of affordable units unbuilt. Construction costs average up to $570,000 per unit for affordable housing.
Across the border in Nevada, the Silver State had one of the top 10 affordability gaps in the country.
This is driven by pandemic-era relocation trends. Neefus said price hikes “could be partly attributed to COVID flight.”
“What we do see in Nevada’s case is that where taxpayers and potential homebuyers are heading, economic opportunity follows,” he told The Center Square. “The state is among the top 10 when it comes to income growth over that decade, suggesting new opportunity may start to help close the affordability gap.”
“You’re looking at 150% of median pre-tax income that you would need to put down on an average home in the state,” said Neefus. “If you were to set aside 10% of your pre-tax income every year, which not everyone can afford to do, you’re still looking at 15 years of working to save.”
As in California, local policies have made the economy difficult in parts of Nevada, Neefu said.
“Another piece of the puzzle in Nevada is it is home to a major tourist destination in Las Vegas,” said Neefus. He added that Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, has made it difficult to get approval for short-term rentals, which homeowners rely on to defray costs.
Neefus said the county’s bureaucracy is siding with hotel chains over homeowners.
The neighboring state of Arizona experienced an influx of Americans headed out of major cities during the COVID-19 era and had a high affordability gap. However, Neefus said the Grand Canyon state was also No. 2 in the nation for growth in median household income.
“That suggests the sort of economic dynamism that can be reparative in the future,” said Neefus.
Elsewhere, Colorado is a state that is closer to the middle of the pack, but one that still highlights the broader national reach of the U.S. housing crisis. For example, while Colorado’s 49-point affordability gap was modest compared to Idaho or Florida, home prices in the Centennial State still doubled over the 10-year period that Open the Books examined.
“In Colorado, if you keep setting aside 10% of that median income before taxes, it is a 17-year wait to put a strong down payment on an average home there,” said Neefus. “This is a politically moderate state for the most part, so this could be one of the bellwether states to watch over the next several years.”
To solve affordability problems, Open the Books said, officials at various levels should address local zoning restrictions, regulations on permits and inflationary federal spending.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Vail Resorts has announced the opening dates for its three Tahoe mountains.
Heavenly and Northstar are set to open for the 2026/2027 ski and ride season on November 20. Kirkwood follows on December 4. All opening dates are condition-dependent.
Three mountains. Three ways to winter.
HEAVENLY | Views. Vibes.
A jaw-dropping Lake Tahoe backdrop paired with high-energy après events. Expect scenic skiing, signature events, DJ sets, and plenty of reasons to stay at the mountain after the lifts stop spinning.
NORTHSTAR | Traditions, elevated.
Pristine groomers, dreamy snow days, champagne Tōsts, S’mores, and a vibrant village. Family traditions that come back every winter, plus new ones waiting to be made.
KIRKWOOD | Steep and Deep.
From cradle to grave, Kirkwood is for the die hards. No frills, just pow days, challenging terrain, and a tight-knit mountain community.
The Forecast
Could this be a big one? A possible Super El Niño is putting this winter on the radar. No one can promise what the weather will deliver, but we’re watching closely. Your move, Mother Nature.
Lock in Winter
Lock in the lowest price of an Epic Pass this fall by September 7. Whether you’re planning a handful of ski days, weekend getaways or a season spent chasing every storm cycle, Epic Pass provides significant savings compared to lift ticket prices and helps guests make the most of winter.
The Fine Print
Opening dates are conditions dependent and subject to change. Check resort channels (Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood) for the latest updates.
RENO, Nev. – Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is now accepting online applications for all open positions for the 2026-27 winter season. Part-time and full-time seasonal positions, including weekend and holiday work are available in departments including lift operations, snow tubing, ticket sales, parking, food service, ski and snowboard school, and more. Not all positions require candidates to ski or snowboard.
“We’re looking for people who want to work hard, have fun, and deliver high quality guest experiences all season long,” said Mike Pierce, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe marketing director. “Working in the ski industry and in a mountain environment like Mt. Rose offers incredible perks that go far beyond competitive wages. This is a fun work atmosphere that is likely to be one of the most fun jobs—or careers—anyone can have.”
Mt. Rose’s self-imposed average starting wage of $16 includes employees in nearly all departments. Most entry level positions earn $4 above the $12 per hour mandated minimum wage in Washoe County, Nevada.
Competitive wages are just one of the many perks offered to Mt. Rose employees. Being part of the Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe team also includes free skiing and snowboarding all season long for staff (full-time staff also receive a guest pass). Other staff perks include free lessons and equipment rentals, plus discounts on retail items and resort food outlets. These benefits add to the appeal of this local favorite resort and contribute to a like-minded team spirit that brings returning staff back year-after-year.
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe offers one of the longest seasons in the region, and the most convenient access from Reno and North Lake Tahoe, with affordable lodging and carpool opportunities available to employees.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Although most California drivers recognize the importance of posted speed limits, many refuse to follow them, according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS). One in three drivers admit to ignoring speed limits because they believe no one follows them. The study highlights growing concern over rising, unsafe speeding behavior.
The study found many drivers considered driving 10 mph over the speed limit as routine driving behavior.54% of Californians surveyed said keeping up with traffic is safer than obeying limits (higher than the national rate (49%).) Some 35% classify themselves as “sometimes” speeders, compared to 30% nationwide. These attitudes carry deadly consequences, as speeding remains a factor in nearly 30% of traffic fatalities.
“The speed limit is there for everyone to get home safely,” said Todd Burger, AAA Mountain West Group Chief Automotive Officer. “We’re calling on every motorist to choose to drive the speed limit. It’s a life-saving decision that provides the space and time needed to react to the unexpected.”
Understanding California Driver Behavior
According to the study, drivers believe speeding saves time. Many also view it as necessary for various situations, including: To get around slow drivers (28%) To avoid holding up traffic (24%) To reach destinations faster (24%)
California drivers do slow down in specific scenarios, such as: Avoiding a speeding ticket (75%) Avoiding an accident (72%) Bad weather (55%) Protecting other road users (50%)
Overwhelming Public Support for Speed Countermeasures
California drivers expressed strong support for safety measures that encourage safer speeds and give drivers choices over those that physically force them to slow down:
Police Enforcement: 85% of California drivers support increased police presence in areas with a history or high potential for speed-related crashes.
Automated Speed Cameras: 74% support automated speed cameras in high-risk zones.
In-Vehicle Technology: Over half (54%) of California motorists support advisory Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) like dashboard alerts when exceeding limits. However, support drops sharply (22%) for technology that actively restricts speed without driver override.
Speed Bumps: Less than half (40%) support speed bumps in their own neighborhood.
AAA Shares Tips for Choosing a Safe Speed
The Posted Speed Limit is a benchmark for safety, representing the maximum speed, not the minimum speed you should drive.
Visibility: What you can see determines how much time you have to react.
Road & Weather Conditions can affect your ability to stop safely.
Space Around Your Vehicle: Leave yourself enough room to respond to the unexpected vs. letting traffic dictate your speed.
If you find yourself driving the speed limit while surrounding traffic speeds past: Stay in the rightmost lane and avoid driving in the passing lane. Maintain a steady, predictable speed. Increase your following distance and monitor approaching vehicles from behind.
Lake Tahoe has no shortage of complicated issues — housing, transportation, wildfire resilience, infrastructure and growth among them — and when it comes to understanding how those decisions are made at the county level, few people have a better perspective than Brooke Laine.
On this episode of Tahoe TAP, hosts Mike Peron and Rob Galloway sit down with Laine, the El Dorado County District 5 Supervisor, for a wide-ranging conversation about the issues affecting South Lake Tahoe and the surrounding communities.
Laine is a Tahoe local through and through. A graduate of South Tahoe High School and UC Santa Cruz, she has spent much of her career serving the community in one form or another — from owning a small business and working in banking to volunteering extensively and serving on the South Lake Tahoe City Council, including a stint as mayor.
Today, she represents one of the largest and most geographically diverse districts in El Dorado County, stretching from the Tahoe Basin and communities including Tahoma, Meeks Bay, Meyers and South Lake Tahoe all the way to Pollock Pines.
Her regional involvement extends well beyond county government. Laine has served on numerous organizations and boards dealing with some of Tahoe’s biggest challenges, including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Transportation District and California Tahoe Conservancy.
That experience gives her a unique view of how decisions made outside the basin can have a very real impact on the people who live here — and how local priorities can make their way into the larger regional conversation.
In this episode, Tahoe TAP takes listeners behind the scenes of county government and explores what’s happening across South Lake Tahoe from El Dorado County’s perspective. The conversation covers the region’s biggest challenges, the relationship between Tahoe and Placerville, and where Laine believes the community is headed next.
Tune in for an inside look at the county-level decisions shaping South Lake Tahoe — and a conversation with one of Tahoe’s longtime local leaders who has spent much of her life trying to make this mountain community work.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the BEAR League responded to reports of a bear cub that had been hit and killed by a vehicle before noon on Monday, Aug. 17, in the Tahoe Keys area.
The mother bear just after her cub was killed on the road in the Tahoe Keys on Monday, Aug. 17.Provided / BEAR League
The police department responded to ensure there were no public safety issues since the mother bear was still in the area. BEAR League arrived and ran the mother bear up a tree, where she remained, while the BEAR League removed the cub’s body and neutralized its scent so the mother bear wouldn’t linger.
The BEAR League says this was the bear’s only cub, born this winter.
“It was upsetting to the residents who watched it,” Ann Bryant with the BEAR League said.
The BEAR League also responded to a cub that was hit and killed on Thursday, making this the second cub killed in under a week.
Bryant says this is the time of year when more of these incidents occur. The BEAR League expects them to continue, especially as September arrives and into October, explaining that the bears become much more active foraging in preparation for the winter.
“When you get on into October and November, they’re foraging for 20 hours a day instead of six or seven,” she says, “so they’re crossing roadways.”
Bryant encourages drivers to remain vigilant while driving.
“Keep in mind that we live in bear country,” she says. “We live in wildlife habitat and be watching all the time.”
GigaBite Robotics won the first place Inspire Award at FIRST Tech Challenge Canada Premiere Event.Provided / Monique LeMay
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – GigaBite, a high school-level FIRST Tech Challenge local community team, has just won the first place Inspire Award while competing internationally. The event hosted 48 robotics teams from 10 countries, marking a new level of achievement for the Nevada team after they recently won the Nevada State Championship Inspire Award.
Two of the team’s leading members, Connor Habicht, 17, and Arya Saini, 18, have been part of GigaBite since the team’s inception in 2021.
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge robotics program consists of students in grades 7-12, who design, build and program a reusable robot to compete in a head-to-head challenge.
“It initially started in my garage, and there were maybe six of us,” said Habicht. “We didn’t really know what we were doing and there was no instruction manual or anything. We just, sort of, get the challenge and have to go from there.”
Fast forward six years and the team has nearly doubled in size and has garnered valuable knowledge and experience.
Each year, the theme for the challenge varies, and while last year’s theme focused on ocean exploration with their Into the Deep challenge, this year, it was centered around archaeological discovery and pattern recognition.
Guided by coaches and mentors, the teams are not only focused on the robotics aspect. Raising funds, marketing their brand and participating in community outreach is a vital part of the FIRST Tech Challenge.
For four seasons, GigaBite has been giving robot demos and teaching STEM and robotics at Lake Tahoe Community College and the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe. They also started two LEGO robotics teams for children in grades K-8. Over the past two summers, seven of GigaBite’s members worked as STEM interns at summer camps. One team member even interned at Eco-Clean Solutions, operating BEBOT, a solar-and battery-powered, sand-sifting robot to clean up Lake Tahoe beaches.
To win the Inspire Award, a team has to be a well-rounded, top contender in a number of the other awards in the FIRST Tech Challenge, including the FIRST Leadership Award, Think Award, Connect Award, Design Award, Reach Award, Sustain Award, Control Award, and more, making GigaBite a worthy candidate.
This year was Habicht and Saini’s final season with GigaBite as both have just graduated high school and are heading off to college. Habicht will be attending Northeastern University to study mechanical engineering. Saini is going to Columbia University where she will major in neuroscience and behavior through the medical research route.
“I think Connor would agree with me when I say, this was definitely the perfect way to end our first robotics career. It really was the cherry on top, not only to win the Inspire Award at State, and then get the privilege of competing at an international level, but actually winning the Inspire Award at an international level was pretty unbelievable,” said Saini.
Coaches Jobe Pilgrim and Monique LeMay couldn’t be more proud of the GigaBite team who have been working hard for five years to earn the top prize.
“Their dedication, countless hours of designing, building, coding, practicing, fundraising, and supporting one another have led to this amazing achievement. They have represented our team, our community, and themselves with professionalism, kindness, and determination every step of the way,” LeMay said.
“It seems like everybody who has come out of the program is doing great,” Pilgrim added. “We’ve only had four other kids graduate last year and everybody’s gone into STEM and doing great in college. I’m looking forward to seeing more and more of our alumni building up and doing great things.”
The GigaBite Robotics team’s mission is to create a pathway for STEM in the community through workshops, outreach, and youth engagement.Provided / Monique LeMay
Solange Schwalbe left her home in Tahoe to work in the pit of ground zero.Provided / Solange Schwalbe
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – In the wake of the deadliest terrorist attack in human history, lower Manhattan was left in utter ruin in the days, weeks and months following September 11, 2001. Solange Schwalbe, a South Lake Tahoe local, found herself in the pit of ground zero working alongside 1500 rescue workers. Now, Schwalbe is sharing her experiences in her new book, “I’m Not Supposed To Know This”.
Schwalbe has lived in Lake Tahoe since 1989, and would commute to Los Angeles to continue her Emmy Award-winning career in the film industry doing sound editing in feature films. A few of her many projects include big hits like “Eat, Pray, Love”, “The Da Vinci Code”, “Money Ball”, and more.
“When I was on a movie, I was in Los Angeles, and when I was done, I’m in Lake Tahoe. I did that commute for 32 years,” said Schwalbe who now permanently resides in Tahoe, teaching four classes at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) in the Digital Media Arts department.
Leading up to 9/11, Schwalbe fostered a deep love for New York City and would visit every year.
“New York became my Christmas,” Schwalbe told the Tribune. “I would go again and again, until 2001, when I said, ‘I cannot face it, I cannot see the skyline compromised.”
After some convincing from her best friend who lived there, Schwalbe went back to New York City, and after Christmas, she went to the ground zero site. It was then and there, she decided to volunteer.
Schwalbe was trained by the Salvation Army and placed in the respite center of the pit where she worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week. Volunteers were only allowed to work for up to two weeks, and by the end of her second week, a man approached her.
“He said, ‘I’ve been watching you, and I really like the way you interact with the rescue workers. You want a job?’ and I said, ‘Excuse me, but I’m a sound editor in feature films, I don’t belong here. I’ve never worn a hard hat in my life,” Schwalbe said, and despite having no previous training or experience, her charming personality landed her a four-month job in the pit with the nickname “Hollywood”.
Schwalbe was one of four women out of about 1500 rescue workers.
“It didn’t matter where you were from, who you were – religion, race, creed, color, sex – none of it mattered. Nobody cared. We were all there for one reason: to clean up the mess, and find bodies and body parts.”
Her book, “I’m Not Supposed To Know This” is the retelling of her time working through that devastation and the eye-opening experiences she encountered along the way.
“There are so many elements involved with the cleanup efforts of 9/11,” said Schwalbe. “One of them is the processions. Out of 2800 people who were killed that day, they only found 291 bodies. That’s it.”
For every whole body that was found, a procession – never seen by the public – would take place as the body was placed in a basket, covered with the American flag, and carried through a ramp lined with firefighters, police officers and rescue and emergency service workers.
Every day working in the pit was a gamble on her life, and by the end of Schwalbe’s four-month tour, she gained a 9/11 family.
“I’ve been to every memorial since 2002, and that’s when I get to see my [9/11] family. It’s hard to believe that I would not know any of them if it wasn’t for 9/11,” she said. “I’m not supposed to know these people.”
Two years after she finished her job at ground zero, Schwalbe suffered a deep depression which led her to crisis counseling and continued therapy.
In addition to psychological damage, physical ailments from Schwalbe’s time in the pit continue to surface, including a persistent cough that doesn’t go away, noting that there are 49 cancers identified with ground zero.
“When anybody sees any photographs of the pit, you’re not looking at dirt. You’re looking at zone dust. It was very sticky and it smelled horrible,” she said. “All the chemicals, body parts, it’s everything.”
It took eight months and 19 days to clear ground zero.Provided / Solange Schwalbe
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, samples of dust from the World Trade Center indicated a toxic and complex mixture of particles from building debris and combustion products, such as cement, cellulose, glass fibers (mineral wool and fiberglass), soot, paint (leaded and unleaded), unburned or partially burned jet fuel, plastic, and other materials ignited by fire.
Just six years after 9/11, Schwalbe would lose her home in Lake Tahoe to the Angora Fire.
“After the fire, after they let us back into the neighborhood, I started digging through my ashes and it became my own personal 9/11,” said Schwalbe.
Today, Schwable has found purpose through her career at LTCC teaching film editing, filmmaking and digital media arts.
“I had no idea teaching would be so awesome. I love teaching, it feeds my soul,” she added.
As the Sept. 11 anniversary approaches, it took Schwalbe 20 years to face the memories of her day-to-day life as a rescue worker in the pit and get it all down on paper. 25 years and 224 pages later, “I’m Not Supposed To Know This” is now available on https://imnotsupposedtoknowthis.com/, as well as major platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes and Noble.
(The Center Square) – Lawmakers across the nation have raised concerns that bets on wildfires, popularized on prediction market sites, could encourage arson.
Nevada’s U.S. senators recently joined other Democrats in asking the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission to ban betting on wildfires. The pushback comes amid an historic summer of wildfires.
“I’ve heard from Nevadans that are disgusted at the thought of people gambling on the loss of Americans’ lives and property,” U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, told The Center Square by email. “I have demanded the CFTC stop any onshore prediction market bets concerning wildfires, and I will not stop until Americans have the answers they need.”
Cortez Masto was joined by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, and seven other Democratic U.S. senators in a letter to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig last week. In it, the lawmakers raised concerns over wildfire event contracts offered on prediction markets, and asked for a response from the agency by Aug. 14. Besides Nevada, the senators are from California, Oregon, New Mexico, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
“These markets risk creating perverse incentives, undermining public trust and commodifying human suffering in ways that warrant careful scrutiny,” read the senators’ letter.
The $15 billion prediction markets company Polymarket has previously offered bets over the spread of wildfires, including, “When will the Palisades wildfire be fully contained?” The bet, in reference to the early 2025 Palisades fire in Los Angeles that killed 12 people, brought in over $700,000.
The prediction markets company has previously come under scrutiny for other political and natural disaster-based bet offerings. One ongoing event contract asks bettors, “Will Israel annex West Bank territory before 2027?”
But Polymarket has pushed back at the criticism, telling The Center Square that it makes its money on a processing fee, not the outcomes of bets and that removing predictions markets would make accurate information less accessible.
The senators’ effort against wildfire bets comes as Nevada and other Western states face their worst wildfire season by acres burned in over a decade. At 6.4 million acres, the 2026 wildfire season is 54% above the 10-year average according to the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center.
U.S. users of Polymarket do not currently have access to wildfire-based bets. The senators’ letter argued it was, “Only a matter of time before other U.S. based Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) try to offer these.”
One prediction markets website, Wyldfyre, offered bets on California wildfires earlier this summer with the tagline, “You can’t predict fire, but you can trade on it.” The website offered only paper trades and did not respond to a request for comment by The Center Square.
The senators’ letter asked the CFTC if the agency was considering a ban or any sort of plan on event contracts related to wildfires, and whether the agency believed wildfire-related bets were in the public’s interest.
The CFTC did not respond to requests for comment by The Center Square. The Office of Sen. Cortez Masto told The Center Square this week that none of the senators had received a response.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol of South Lake Tahoe arrested three individuals on Friday, Aug. 14 after they received a call about people dumping trash in South Lake Tahoe on Highway 50, west of Highway 89.
Officers determined one male to be on felony probation out of Santa Clara County and arrested him for a felony probation violation and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
CHP also arrested a female passenger for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of crack cocaine.
As of 2026, the vacation rental policy in South Lake Tahoe has been completely overhauled following a lawsuit challenging the previous ban imposed by the city government. Vacation rentals are possible provided that the property owner meets certain criteria based on the new policy. Below is an overview of the policy as of August 2026. This document is not intended to provide legal advice for individual cases.
Why Short-Term Rentals Are Regulated in South Lake Tahoe
Vacation homes in South Lake Tahoe have long been subject to regulations to balance tourism income with the quality of life and housing availability in neighborhoods. In 2018, voters in South Lake Tahoe passed Measure T. This measure banned short-term vacation rentals in residential areas, except in the Tourist Core.
The court invalidated Measure T, requiring the city to adopt a replacement ordinance. In March 2025, a judge struck down the measure because its “permanent resident exception” clause was considered unconstitutional. So, the city council proposed a new ordinance because it did not want to leave vacation homes unregulated.
Taking into account all those nuances is very important, and this is not only true for real estate. Many visitors research online activities before their trip, including casino games and slot platforms to diversify downtime. Reading reviews of Milky Way Casino can help you evaluate its game selection, bonuses, and payment methods. Once you’ve planned your entertainment, it’s equally important to understand the rules that apply to your accommodation.
Key Rules Every Property Owner Should Know
The current system comes from Ordinance No. 2026-1203, effective April 23, 2026. It mostly replaces the old system, though some operational standards stay the same.
Permits and Registration
To rent property for up to 30 days, the owner needs a Vacation Home Rental (VHR) permit. It’s illegal to advertise short-term rentals without this permit. Permits should be renewed annually during the 30 days before expiration, and renewal is solely the owner’s responsibility.
The new ordinance limits the number of residential permits to 900 across the city, and a waiting list is established when this number is reached. By March 2026, about 382 residential permits were issued, leaving room under the cap, although the remaining permits are limited. One VHR permit is allowed for each parcel. Attached condominiums can also get a permit, unless the HOA has rules against it.
Occupancy, Parking, and Noise Rules
Operational standards apply regardless of when a property received its permit. Several requirements carried over directly from the previous ordinance and remain in force today:
availability of a local property management service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to address any guest concerns or complaints;
indoor sound monitoring systems and outdoor security cameras at the property;
bear-resistant waste storage;
quiet hours beginning at 10:00 PM at the property line;
occupancy is generally limited to two adults per legal bedroom.
These rules aim to prevent rental activities from disturbing full-time residents. Enforcement sees them as strict permit conditions, not just optional advice.
Taxes and Compliance Obligations
Every VHR stay is subject to the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). With the new ordinance, the owner must file TOT returns and remit the tax. They also need to report the number of room nights. This will provide the city with information about short-term rental activity that it previously did not have.
Property owners must meet the deadlines, even if a property management firm handles daily operations. Failure to file the Transient Occupancy Tax will be viewed as a separate compliance issue.
These numbers show the basic limits based on current law. However, each permit may have additional requirements for the specific property. It is up to the property owner to check the actual requirements of the permit before renting the property. Consequences generally fall into one of a few categories, depending on who violated the rule and how often:
guest fines of up to $1,000 for violating posted house rules;
immediate eviction of guests from the property for serious violations;
a booking ban preventing guests from renting in the city again;
permit revocation for hosts with repeated or serious violations.
Losing a permit has more consequences under the current system. There’s a cap of 900 permits. This means that a property owner whose permit is revoked may not be able to obtain another permit if the cap has been reached.
FAQ
Is a Short-Term Rental Permit Required?
Yes, any rental that is less than 30 days in length must have a valid VHR permit, or else advertising without the proper permit violates city ordinances.
Do Vacation Rentals Have Occupancy Limits?
Yes, the usual guideline is to have no more than two adults per legally designated bedroom. However, there are special circumstances concerning younger children traveling as part of a family.
Are Short-Term Rentals Subject to Taxes?
Yes, the host collects and remits Transient Occupancy Tax on each reservation. In addition, the current ordinance requires reporting of room nights along with the tax payment.
Can These Regulations Change?
Yes, the current ordinance replaced the previous one after a court ruling. The city council regularly reviews the operation of the regulations.
Where Can I Find the Current Ordinances and Rules?
The City of South Lake Tahoe’s official VHR webpage includes the current ordinance, permit maps, and permit questions.
STATELINE, Nev. – RedRock Studio Events announced the return of the 4th Annual Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum, taking place August 20 at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada.
The annual gathering brings together transportation professionals, electric transportation pioneers and early adopters, academia, environmental stewardship leaders, electric vehicle manufacturers and vendors, and interested residents and visitors. The Forum provides an engaging and collaborative exchange of ideas while showcasing opportunities to improve air and water quality through the adoption of clean-energy transportation solutions in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
“Some of my earliest memories of Lake Tahoe are of visiting this extraordinary alpine lake as a child, and all these years later, my spouse and I still treasure the time we spend here,” said Kevin McGehee, founder of the Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum. “I created this Forum out of a love for Lake Tahoe and a desire to help preserve what makes this place so special for future generations. Clean transportation gives us an opportunity to embrace the latest emerging technologies while protecting the environment we all come here to enjoy.”
This year’s Forum will showcase futuristic electric transportation solutions that are available today. Heather Chirtea of Relentless Ascent will demonstrate the possibilities of personal electric aviation with her flying car and deliver a motivational keynote address exploring the future of transportation.
Innovation will extend from the air to Lake Tahoe itself. Arc Boats will host evening cruises on Lake Tahoe aboard an electric boat, giving participants an opportunity to experience emerging electric marine technology firsthand.
Electric vehicle manufacturers, including Rivian, Tesla and Audi, will also showcase some of their latest electric vehicle offerings.
The Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum is a high energy celebration of better living through clean technology. It is an opportunity to see, experience and discuss transportation technologies that are rapidly moving from the future into everyday life. The future of electric transportation is now.
The Forum is open to the public. A limited number of tickets remain available.
For additional information, event details and tickets, visit LTETF.com.
(The Center Square) – Two constitutional amendments introduced by Republican lawmakers in California were pushed in a press conference on Thursday morning on election integrity.
Neither amendment is advancing in time for consideration by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and Republicans don’t expect either one to be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. GOP lawmakers also haven’t announced whether they plan to introduce the amendments next year. But they went ahead with the press conference to stress the importance of secure elections.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 23, authored by Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, and Assemblymember Natasha Johnson, R-Lake Elsinore, would make the California Secretary of State’s Office a nonpartisan office. Current secretary of state candidates can declare a party preference, and Secretary of State Shirley Weber is a Democrat.
Many other elected positions in the state, including those on the local level, are required to be nonpartisan positions, the amendment’s advocates said.
“California law already requires elections to be nonpartisan for judicial, school, county and city offices, as well as the state superintendent of public instruction,” Hoover said at the Sacramento press conference. “This constitutional amendment would give California voters the opportunity to add the Office of Secretary of State to the list.”
The other amendment, Senate Constitutional Amendment 3, was introduced in 2025 by Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks. That amendment would shift responsibilities for writing ballot measure titles and summaries from the partisan California Attorney General’s Office to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, Niello said at the Thursday press conference. Niello’s amendment stalled in an Assembly Appropriations Committee meeting on May 14 this year, essentially killing the bill, according to the state’s bill tracker.
Niello said on Thursday that the amendment he introduced was in response to what he said were efforts from the Attorney General’s Office to write ballot measure titles and summaries that misled California voters. The current attorney general is Rob Bonta, a Democrat.
“This has been a continual abuse of the attorney general putting his or her thumb on voters’ opinions with regard to a biased title and summary statement,” Niello said.
Niello pointed to the titles and summary statements for the initial high-speed rail ballot measure, which California voters passed in 2008, as well as Proposition 47, which downgraded certain crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
“Proposition 47, which has had tremendous public safety consequences, was titled by Kamala Harris as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act because she wanted that to pass,” Niello said of the Prop. 47 measure. At the time, Harris, a Democrat who later became the vice president under the Biden administration, was the California attorney general.
That ballot measure, if California voters pass it in November, would require voters to present identification at the ballot box when they vote, or write the last four digits of their Social Security or driver’s license number on their envelope when voting by mail. Opponents of the measure said voter ID restricts certain voters – predominantly voters of color – from voting.
Republican lawmakers previously told The Center Square that Prop. 39 is meant to increase election security, not restrict eligible voters from voting.
However, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco and chair of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee, told The Center Square on Thursday morning that he believes that Republican lawmakers are pushing conspiracy theories about voter fraud and illegal voting.
“Those conspiracy theories are just false,” Wiener said. “We have a really good voting system in California. The rate of voter fraud is unbelievably low.”
Wiener, who said he hadn’t seen either amendment, added that there’s nothing wrong with California’s election system.
“We’ve seen this at the federal level, too,” Wiener said. “It’s all a pretext to restrict voting. Here, the secretary of state does a really good job, and the attorney general does a really good job. There’s no reason to make these changes.”
Every summer, we watch news reports of devastating wildfires across the West and wonder whether Lake Tahoe could be next. The reality is that catastrophic wildfires rarely begin with a major event. More often, they start with a single preventable spark on the wrong day.
Those are the days when the National Weather Service warns us that conditions are primed for rapid wildfire growth. That alert is called a Red Flag Warning.
A Red Flag Warning is the National Weather Service’s highest fire weather alert. It does not mean a wildfire has started, but it does mean hot temperatures, critically low humidity, strong winds, and dry vegetation have combined to create conditions where even a small ignition can spread rapidly.
The Lake Tahoe Basin is especially vulnerable. Our dense forests, steep mountain terrain, and communities nestled within the forest create an environment where wildfire can spread quickly and threaten homes, businesses, critical infrastructure, and the natural beauty that defines our region.
When a Red Flag Warning is issued, fire agencies throughout the Tahoe Basin immediately move into a heightened state of readiness. We increase communication, closely monitor weather and fire conditions, coordinate resources across jurisdictional boundaries, and prepare to respond together should an emergency occur. Wildfires do not recognize district boundaries or state lines, and neither does our commitment to protecting this community.
In wildland firefighting, the first few minutes often determine the outcome. A rapid initial attack can mean the difference between a fire measured in square feet and one measured in thousands of acres.
While firefighters prepare, we ask the public to do the same.
During a Red Flag Warning, avoid all outdoor open flames. This includes campfires, charcoal grills, outdoor fireplaces, debris burning, propane fire pits, and even propane barbecues. While propane appliances are generally safe under normal conditions, extreme fire weather significantly increases the consequences of equipment malfunction, accidental ignition, or human error. Temporary restrictions are a small inconvenience that can help prevent a devastating wildfire.
Residents and visitors should also postpone activities capable of producing sparks, including mowing dry grass, operating chainsaws or weed trimmers, welding, grinding, or cutting metal. Never park a vehicle on dry grass or vegetation, secure trailer safety chains so they cannot drag on the roadway, and always dispose of smoking materials safely.
Nearly 90 percent of wildfires are caused by human activity. That means nearly 90 percent are preventable.
If you see smoke, an unattended fire, or suspicious activity, report it immediately by calling 911. Early notification gives firefighters the best opportunity to stop a small fire before it becomes a major incident.
The Tahoe Basin has invested millions of dollars in forest health projects, defensible space, fuels reduction, and emergency preparedness. Those efforts have made our communities more resilient, but no amount of planning can eliminate the danger created by a single preventable ignition.
During Red Flag Warnings, every resident and every visitor becomes part of Lake Tahoe’s wildfire defense system. The choices you make—postponing a project, skipping a barbecue, or reporting smoke immediately—can protect your neighbors, our forests, and the firefighters who stand ready to serve this community.
One spark can change the Tahoe Basin. One smart decision can prevent the next wildfire.
On behalf of the members of the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, thank you for doing your part to protect the place we are all fortunate to call home. Together, through preparedness, personal responsibility, and community partnership, we can keep Lake Tahoe safe for generations to come.
From left; Kirstine Koran, Lindsey Schultz, Nick Bauer, Chris McNamara, Drew Bray, Peter Disch. Petra Molina / Siera Sun
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Mountain bikers have a new way to access South Lake Tahoe’s trail network, with Heavenly Mountain Resort now allowing riders, for the first time, to load their bikes onto the gondola and exit at Mid-Station.
Heavenly Mountain Resort and the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Tahoe Fund, hosted a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday to celebrate the new bike access and the grand opening of the Panorama Trail, which begins at Mid-Station.
“This epic trail offers amazing lake views,” said Drew Bray, executive director of TAMBA. “It goes from the Mid-Station of the Heavenly Gondola, loops around the mountains, then opens up into epic views of the Carson Valley before passing the East Peak Lodge and continuing on to connect to the Tahoe Rim Trail.”
The project aims to make the region’s extensive trail network more accessible to riders by allowing them to bypass a portion of the climb to reach higher-elevation trails.
“We’ve been working on this idea for over 15 years, on how to make more inclusive bike access to the expansive community network of trails we have, while taking out a little bit of the hard pedaling out of the equation for people,” said Peter Disch, Vice President of Mountain Operations at Heavenly.
The gondola’s Mid-Station sits approximately 2,000 feet above Lake Tahoe and provides riders with access to the newly opened Panorama Trail and surrounding routes.
“I’m really curious to see how the community engages with us and look to see how we can continue to partner with TAMBA and the Rim Trail to continue to expand our trails in the future,” Disch said.
The project was made possible through a partnership among Heavenly, TAMBA, Tahoe Fund and the U.S. Forest Service.
“All the big initiatives that happen here in South Lake Tahoe, it’s the community that puts them together,” Disch said. “So all these organizations, we are constantly working together on a multitude of community efforts. We have a really strong partnership.”
Beginning Monday, Aug. 17, locals and visitors can bring their bikes aboard the Heavenly Gondola and exit at Mid-Station. From there, riders can connect to the Panorama Trail via the Mid-Station Connector Trail and access regional routes including the Tahoe Rim Trail and Van Sickle Trail. Class 1 e-bikes are also permitted.
Mountain Bikers inaugurate the new trail. Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
Bike access pricing
Day passes
Northstar Bike Park pass holders: Free
2026-27 Epic Pass holders: $39
Walk-up guests: $39, plus a gondola sightseeing ticket
Day bike-access tickets include unlimited gondola upload rides for the day.
Season passes
Epic Pass holders: $70
Walk-up guests: $219
Mountain Bikers inaugurate the new trail. Petra Molina / Sierra Sun
One of the issues we hear most frequently during the summer is traffic and crowding around Lake Tahoe. And for good reason, it gets busy. But it’s important to understand where that crowding is coming from.
There are essentially four groups using Tahoe: year-round residents, second-home owners, overnight visitors, and day visitors. Too often, they are lumped together as “tourists,” even though their impacts differ greatly.
Tourism promotion organizations are often blamed for attracting more people. The reality is that these organizations primarily target overnight visitors, people staying in hotels and vacation rentals. In fact, overnight visitation has softened in recent years as lodging prices have increased. What hasn’t softened is day visitation. Day visitors don’t need advertising to know Tahoe is here.
The Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan estimates more than four million annual day visitors to the Tahoe Basin. Communities surrounding Tahoe, including Folsom, Washoe County, Douglas County, and Storey County, have experienced significant population growth. Tahoe is an easy drive and a natural recreation destination for these residents. Add increasingly hot summer temperatures, and Tahoe becomes an obvious escape. It’s crowded for sure. Understanding who is coming and why is essential to managing Tahoe more effectively.
The Evolving Sound of South Shore
One of the more interesting changes many of us have observed is the continuing evolution of music here on South Shore. Music has always been part of the South Shore experience, going back to the glory days of casino entertainment. But in recent years, the range and availability of live music throughout the community has grown significantly.
From performances at Valhalla to casino concerts, local venues and restaurants, community events, and the Tahoe Blue Event Center, there is now an incredible variety of music available almost every night during the summer and increasingly throughout the year. The creativity has been amazing to watch.
Music reflects the cultural energy and personality of South Shore, creating places for residents to gather and giving visitors another way to experience Tahoe. While our spectacular natural environment and outdoor recreation will always define us, a vibrant music scene adds another dimension, one rooted in local culture, creativity, and connection.
Before We Ban, Let’s Figure Out How to Make It Work
I’ve been watching with interest some of the recent efforts to ban activities here in the Tahoe Basin. In the past several weeks, I’ve seen proposals involving electric mountain bikes on Forest Service trails and wakeboarding on the lake. We need to knock it off.
Certainly, there are legitimate issues surrounding both. There can be conflicts between e-bike riders and other trail users, just as there can be concerns about how wakeboarding affects other lake users and the environment. Those issues deserve serious discussion. But I’m not a big believer in starting with a ban.
One thing we’ve learned over many years of regional planning in Tahoe is that living and recreating here requires compromise. We have competing interests, different perspectives, environmental considerations, and limited resources. Working through those differences can be complicated and messy, and rarely does everyone get exactly what they want.
There may ultimately be situations where restrictions, or even a ban, are necessary. But that shouldn’t be our starting point. Our first question should be: How can we make this work? Banning something may be the easiest answer. Finding a way to make it work is harder. In Tahoe, I think we should try the harder approach first.
Just my opinion.
It’s a Wrap: Election Season Is Coming
It won’t be long. Once Labor Day is behind us, election season for the South Lake Tahoe City Council will begin to heat up. My guess is that this could be a transition election. With three seats up for consideration, I wouldn’t be surprised to see ten or more candidates competing for them. That should make for an important discussion about the city’s future direction.
There’s no question in my mind that some changes are needed at the City Council level. The Council needs to operate more effectively and efficiently, with greater focus on the issues that matter most to the community. Just as importantly, I think we all would like to see greater courtesy and respect, both among Council members and toward the public.
As election season unfolds, I’ll have more to say about what I believe South Lake Tahoe should be looking for in its next City Council. This could be an important election for the future of our community.
Carl Ribaudo is a columnist, consultant, speaker, and writer based in South Lake Tahoe. He can be reached at carl@smgonline.net.
How can you tell a good company to invest in from a bad one? With hindsight it’s easy, but in the moment, it can be very difficult. That’s why most investors are better off investing broadly in the market, according to an abundance of evidence.
In a study published in 2010, Eugene Fama and Kenneth French found that actively-managed funds, where the managers select the individual companies that they like while excluding others, generally offered no measurable advantage after accounting for their costs.
Another study, published in 2018 by Hendrik Bessembinder, concluded that 4% of public companies were responsible for the entire net gain of the U.S. markets since 1926. The other 96% collectively matched the returns of U.S. Treasury Bills. If you were picking stocks and you missed out on that magical 4% of winners, your returns could have been dramatically lower than the U.S. markets.
If you’re still thinking that you can beat the market over the long run by picking individual stocks for your portfolio, consider the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). The EMH argues that a stock price reflects the publicly-available information about the company. If you have non-public information and trade on it, you may be criminally liable for insider trading. If you have public information, the stock price probably already reflects that. Thousands of investment professionals are working daily to research companies and assess the available information. Do you think that you (or your stock-picking advisor) have different or better information than all of those professionals?
Most people who invest in individual stocks try to guess where things are headed in the future. But assumptions can change rapidly. For example, 18 months ago, did you think the price of oil was headed up or down? Did you think AI stocks were going to skyrocket, or implode? Did you expect Tesla stock to drop 20% or Micron to go up over 900% since the beginning of 2025? If you picked individual stocks 18 months ago, you may have hit a home run or lost money. If you bought the entire market, your portfolio has participated in the markets’ growth while being more diversified and less exposed to company-specific risk.
Every investor knows someone who made a lot of money on a particular stock. It’s an amazing feeling when it happens to you! But the evidence shows that those wins are more attributable to luck than investors realize. In general, I believe that a well-diversified, global portfolio will provide a better investment experience than a portfolio built around individual stock picks. Even if you don’t know what company will be the next big winner, if you own the market, you will participate when the winner emerges.
How ever you invest your portfolio, invest smartly and invest well!
Larry Sidney is a Zephyr Cove-based Investment Advisor Representative. Information is found at https://palisadeinvestments.com/ or by calling 775-299-4600 x702. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Clients may hold positions mentioned in this article. Past Performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial advisor before purchasing any security.
We begin our exploration of the celestial energies with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. This beloved annual occurrence, active until Aug. 24, is a beautiful invitation to spend an evening beneath the cosmos. As shooting stars streak across the night sky, connect in your heart with all the other human beings making wishes at the same time.
Astrologically, we arrive at the midpoint of summer with an abundance of fire energy as Mercury, Jupiter, the sun, and south node all transit in Leo. On Aug 15, Mercury conjoins Jupiter in this heart-centered sign, creating opportunity for expansive, truthful, and courageous expression.
Energies may turn wonky on Aug. 17 as Mars in Cancer squares Neptune retrograde in Aries. Mars, the planet of action and forward movement, generally feels uncomfortable in Cancer’s nurturing waters, and Neptune can dissolve certainty and blur the path ahead. Fortunately, Venus in her home sign of Libra sextiles Jupiter that day, bringing grace, open-mindedness, and support for peaceful resolutions.
On Aug. 22 the sun conjoins the south node in Leo before moving into Mercury–ruled Virgo the following day. Mercury follows suit, joining first the south node on Aug. 25 before meeting the sun in Virgo for a cazami on Aug. 27. Together, these alignments encourage the release of old identities and outdated stories, allowing more authentic patterns to emerge. We also experience a full moon lunar eclipse in Pisces the same day.
Jupiter trines Saturn retrograde in Aries on Aug. 31, bringing optimism to the work of structure and discipline. However, that supportive energy shifts quickly as Mars squares Saturn on Sept.1. Allow this transit to reveal habits, fears, and reactions that are ready to be transformed, remembering that impatience rarely produces lasting results.
NATURAL MAGIC
To support healing, create an ancestral water-and-fire offering for the Mars-Saturn square. In a safe outside place, light an orange or red candle; fill a bowl with spring water; add rosemary, rose petals, and cedar fronds. Then sit quietly and ask: What ancestral patterns around action, anger, protection, and survival am I ready to complete?
Feel what arises, and write three patterns onto separate pieces of paper. Burn one piece and place its ashes into the bowl. Place a second, unburned, into the bowl among the plant beings. Place the third beneath the bowl of water. Blow out your candle and leave the ritual outside overnight. In the morning, offer the water, ashes, plants, and paper to your garden or compost as a prayer to the earth and to all those that came before you. Trust in the magic of healing
It started on July 3 in my Carnelian Bay neighborhood. Eighty-five percent of the houses are short-term vacation rentals and second homes, which are normally filled up with families on the Fourth of July holiday.
But this Independence Day was the first of its kind. Because not only was it a major milestone celebrating the birth of America, but the influx of visitors flooding the streets weren’t families — it was a teen/college kids takeover.
Suddenly every house in my neighborhood was full of sorority and frat-house-like renters, drinking out of red solo cups and playing cornhole in the streets. And then the crowds kept growing.
By July 4 at 1 p.m., every beach in North Lake Tahoe was packed with an overwhelming number of young people roughly the same age. Most of the girls were dressed in thong bikinis and many guys were in American flag board shorts, no shirts.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office shut down Tahoe City’s Skylandia and Bristlecone beaches by 4 p.m. due to underage drinking, significant traffic impacts, and widespread littering. More than a dozen California State Parks enforcement officers broke up the crowds in Kings Beach.
“We’ve caught multiple kids peeing on our fences and just tossing trash in the streets,” Kings Beach resident Amber Kramer posted to Facebook.
By the time the fireworks started, my neighborhood was eerily silent, all the houses abruptly abandoned by 11 p.m. By the next morning, everyone had vanished.
“It was like spring break around here … in the 20-plus years of living here, I’ve never seen anything like it,” my neighbor said on that (relatively) quiet morning of July 5.
I heard in the following days that San Francisco Bay Area high school and college students organized this. Parents rented the VRBOs and Airbnbs for their kids. Tik-Tok posts went viral weeks before the takeover.
Although the scene didn’t get out of control like the shooting that took place in Florida, large, random gatherings like this can pose a public safety threat.
Kings Beach business owners commented online that the crowds did not contribute to the downtown economy — no one went into the restaurants despite hordes of people hanging out in front of the Taco Bell at 10 p.m. that evening.
“Yes, it was bad for business, and yes, the streets and sidewalks are covered in trash and vomit. Definitely not fun,” a local Kings Beach business owner posted to Facebook.
Shortly after the busy weekend, a petition went out asking Placer County to publicly address what happened this Fourth of July. A few days later, Placer County District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson released a statement saying she was planning a meeting with agency representatives to talk about it.
I feel like this is a weak response.
Right now, neither the rental agencies nor homeowners are taking responsibility for these issues, so Placer County needs to implement penalties big enough to make owners think twice about who they are renting to or what their properties are being used for.
There are a lot of parking, noise, and trash issues that full-time North Tahoe residents deal with all summer from their short-term neighbors, and I have never seen or heard of an instance when rules have been enforced or penalties imposed. Placer County does have a 24/7 short-term rental hotline number neighbors can call to address complaints, but in many cases the vacationers are just given a slap on the wrist or a warning, and a new crop of visitors comes the following weekend. I’ve never heard of an STR getting shut down.
Considering we’re nearing the end of summer, I think Placer County should publish a statement this fall that contains: 1) an analysis of what happened this Fourth of July; 2) a plan emphasizing how parking/trash/noise regulations will start being heavily enforced beginning June 1, 2027; and 3) share a report of how many complaints were recorded and how they were addressed in the summer of 2026.
If this is a problem that affects you, too, sign the petition. Write Cindy Gustafson. And Placer County, please take residents’ complaints seriously and do something about them.
~ Kayla Anderson is a freelance writer and coauthor of Moon Travel Guides’ Best of California State Parks and Northern California Road Trips. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from CSU, Chico, and has been a North Lake Tahoe resident for the past 20 years.
Every summer, Lake Tahoe’s transportation challenges become impossible to ignore. Gridlocked roads, full parking lots, and unsafe parking along busy highways are the visible signs of a problem that dozens of agencies have spent decades trying to solve.
Gavin Feiger, policy director for Keep Tahoe Blue, put it like this:
“Transportation in Tahoe has been one of the largest contributors to clarity decline. It has one of the biggest impacts on the environment and on our day-to-day lives. It’s a huge issue that we haven’t been able to crack as a region yet. We’re tackling aquatic invasive species. We’re doing restoration projects. Development is getting more sustainable and it’s limited. Growth is capped. We’ve done all these things, but we just haven’t worked out transportation yet.”
Part of that, he explained, is the cost. Transportation systems not only include creating bike lanes and trails and shuttles, but also “everything under the street.”
MILE AFTER MILE: Nevada’s state Route 28, which runs from the California state line in Crystal Bay following Lake Tahoe to halfway down its East Shore, sees 2.6 million vehicles annually and over one million recreational visitors.
The Lake Tahoe Regional Transportation Plan, developed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and intended to address water and air quality, scenic and recreation sources, noise levels, and more through a Basin-wide system, puts the total unfunded priorities of the plan at $20 million annually for the next 20 years. Some say that number is on the low end.
“There’s not one big thing that can solve it,” Feiger said. “It’s not like we can go to Sen. [Alex] Padilla and be like, we need the Sen. Padilla Tahoe Transportation Bill, and build a giant bridge, and name it after him. We need $20 million a year for transit operations that will be spread amongst five different agencies. That’s a hard act.”
While a Basin-wide transportation solution remains years away, local agencies are making progress on one piece of the puzzle: parking. This summer, several projects aim to improve access and safety while reducing congestion at some of Tahoe’s busiest destinations.
We touch on the efforts, as well as significant snags, below.
rAguably the most critical player when it comes to all things transportation in Tahoe is the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD). When the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact, which unites California, Nevada, and the U.S. government to manage the shared region, was amended in 1980, it established the TTD.
“That does put us in a pretty unique position because our jurisdiction is the Basin,” said Tara Styer, deputy director for TTD. “We’re able to leverage funding across state lines, and then we’re also able to implement those projects that are across jurisdictions … It takes a bit for everyone to be rowing in the same direction, but having that governing document really helps to have something to point back to.”
In July 2020, TTD began its Park Tahoe program, intended to aid what many see as a long-needed holistic and equitable approach to parking management in the Tahoe Basin. The first area of interest for the program: state Route 28, the famous two-lane highway along the Nevada side of the lake.
LOT FULL: A lack of enforcement capacity along state Route 28 has led to people parking in paid lots as well as continuing to park along the shoulder of the two-lane highway, even in no parking zones.
Park Tahoe was launched the same day as the Tahoe East Shore Trailhead, north of Ponderosa Ranch Road in Incline Village, which offers 90 metered parking spots away from — and this is critical — the shoulder of SR 28. This first lot was Phase 1 of the North Parking Project. Phase 2 is actively underway, with the relocation of 38 shoulder-parked vehicles to an official lot.
Parking along the shoulder of SR 28 is a very popular approach for those looking to visit various beaches. Numbers have doubled in the last 15 years. It’s also, as Styer said, a huge safety risk.
“The last shoulder counts we did in 2024, we looked at a midweek day, and we looked at two Saturdays, usually late July, early August,” Styer said. “We had 970 shoulder-parked vehicles on a summer Saturday in August.” With an average of three people per vehicle, plus bikes, this can mean over 3,000 people on a summer day using the state highway like a sidewalk or parking lot.
Shoulder parking is the leading cause of crashes on SR 28. From an environmental perspective, shoulder parking increases erosion along highway embankments and into Lake Tahoe.
The day-use reservation system at Sand Harbor State Park, implemented August 2024, is an attempt to reduce congestion by limiting the number of vehicles trying to enter the park during peak morning hours. From mid-May through September, visitors must make a reservation if they want to enter the park between 8 and 10:30 a.m. After that, remaining spots are available on a first come, first served basis. “Out of the 400 reservable spots, we are still able to let in 20 to 50 vehicles,” wrote Tyler Kerver of the Nevada Division of State Parks in an email, noting that the number varies with weather, holidays, and the day of the week. “The gates to the main parking lot are usually closed by 11 a.m. June through August.”
Progress is piecemeal, and people are still parking their cars along SR 28, shifting locations as signs marking no-parking zones go up. “As we implement these projects throughout the corridor, it’s sort of a whack-a-mole effect,” Styer said. “Anything south of Secret Harbor is still technically not no parking. Although it’s not safe and a lot of people are parking over the fog line [the white stripe along the outside of a paved road].”
A significant parking lot option became available this June: The Chimney Beach Trailhead, which offers about 130 spaces, each for $12 a day. The site improvements include a pedestrian crosswalk across SR 28. In order to open up, a permit granted by the TRPA to the U.S. Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), required, “The no parking zone on SR-28 shall be extended around Chimney Beach Parking lot prior to the new parking lot being open to the public. The area of no parking shall be consistent with the area identified in the project [environmental assessment]. LTBMU shall coordinate with partners who are responsible for enforcing no parking along the corridor.”
CHIMNEY BEACH: The new parking lot on U.S. Forest Service land offers about 130 spots, each for $12 a day. According to the Tahoe Transportation District, the lot fills up on weekends, but not as much during weekdays (while shoulder parking on state Route 28 stays consistent).
Basically, TRPA was asserting that roughly 130 shoulder parking spots along the highway south of Sand Harbor could be blocked off with no-parking signs, since those cars now have a place to park.
That’s what was supposed to happen.
“The signs went up, there’s [a memorandum of understanding] in place [but] nobody has capacity to do the enforcement,” Feiger said. This has lead to cars not only parking at Chimney Beach, but also, on high-demand days, still parking along the shoulder, despite signage.
However, TRPA Public Information Officer Jeff Cowen says “the new no-parking zone along the Chimney Beach section of the corridor is largely working. NHP has been ticketing. Our [Environmental Improvement Program] manager drove through the corridor [on Wednesday, Aug. 5], and there were a number of cars parked in the corridor, but none in the new no-parking zone.
“There have been issues on very busy days, including the Fourth of July, and times when law enforcement resources are spread out.”
Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) confirmed with Moonshine its staffing is stretched thin. “We’re doing saturation patrols as necessary, focusing on weekends and holidays, trying to get extra staff up there to deal with parking issues,” said Trooper James LaRose, public information officer for NHP.
From January to June 3, 2025, NHP investigated 25 crashes and issued 26 traffic citations and eight parking citations.
The same timeframe for 2026 saw 19 crashes, 34 traffic citations, and 29 parking citations.
“You’d think it would be common sense that people can’t park in the travel lane or block traffic,” LaRose said. “Apparently it’s not and we end up with a lot of people with part of their car still in the travel lane.”
“It’s not like we can go to Sen. Padilla and be like, we need the Sen. Padilla Tahoe Transportation Bill, and build a giant bridge, and name it after him. We need $20 million a year for transit operations that will be spread amongst five different agencies. That’s a hard act.”
~ Gavin Feiger, policy director for Keep Tahoe Blue
He added that officers will drive through using a PA system, letting drivers know they can’t be parked in the travel lane, can’t have their vehicles protrude — “even the mirror over the line” — and asking them to move their vehicles. After the announcement, they’ll come and issue citations.
“If it’s too egregious, we’ll call for a tow truck,” he added.
“We’re very frustrated,” Feiger said of the situation. “And it’s the same permit conditions and the same process for the Spooner lot [which will provide 250 spots and is expected to come online fall 2027]. It’s going to be the same one for the Secret Harbor lot [which is facing a $13-million funding gap for the 120 spots], like all of them. This has to be successful.”
Legislation recently passed in Nevada and a companion bill on the California side could help with this hurdle.
Nevada’s SB 426, passed June 2025, created the Lake Tahoe Basin Scenic Byway Corridor Recreation Safety Zone, spanning Nevada highways and state routes in the Tahoe region, to establish traffic control and parking measures, as well as the development of parking enforcement and citation issuance between the TTD and law enforcement agencies.
The transportation district’s Styer said that while the legislation is in effect, operationalization will take time. She did say the district is in communication with NHP over how the two agencies can coordinate. “We don’t necessarily want to staff someone who’s on the corridor writing tickets. We’d rather leave that in law enforcement’s capable hands … [and possibly do something] similar to the approach that has been taken in Emerald Bay where agencies are funding overtime for CHP.”
TTD’s projects are primarily federally and state-funded, as well as locally, largely from the Tahoe Fund. The money collected through parking meters (aside from a percentage that goes to USFS from parking on federal land) go back into local coffers.
SAND HARBOR is a premier destination for those visiting or living in the Tahoe Basin. To help reduce congestion on state Route 28, the state park instituted a reservation system in 2024, to run from mid-May through September, for entry between 8 and 10:30 a.m. Traffic backs up during those hours, as seen in the bottom photo, and the parking lot is usually closed by 11 a.m.
California’s AB 2679, meanwhile, went before the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Aug. 3 and was placed in a suspense file, to be reviewed in detail for its potential fiscal impact. The bill proposes the Tahoe Transportation Safety Act, which would effectively mimic the Nevada bill by, in part, authorizing TTD to address unsafe parking and pedestrian movement in the Basin.
Raising the price of fines for illegal parking is a more recent solution implemented because up until recently, they simply haven’t been a successful deterrent.
“We’ve been out there doing surveys, doing enforcement with highway patrol, and they’ll tow a car and another car will pull right in,” Feiger said. “The highway patrol person will be like, ‘Did you just see that [the other car got a ticket]?’ And they’re like, ‘How much is the ticket?’ ‘Hundred bucks.’ They’re like, ‘Oh, okay. Fine.’”
El Dorado County in June increased penalties for illegal parking along state highways from $50 to $300 per occurrence. On the Nevada side, the max fine for parking in a no-parking zone is $305, while parking over the fog line incurs a $538 fine.
In South Lake, a new vision is unfolding for what the Tahoe Basin could become as parking management expands: Keep Tahoe Blue’s Car-Free, Care-Free Tahoe, which kicked off this past June. The concept imagines a future where someone can park their car and use interconnected transit options (buses, shuttles, bike paths, scooters, etc.) to reach any destination around Tahoe.
“It was designed to kind of encapsulate all of our transportation efforts,” Feiger said, pointing to ongoing advocating for funding, providing input on the regional transportation plan, getting legislation passed, and so on. And not only the work Keep Tahoe Blue is doing, but also its partners’ work.
A key example is the Emerald Bay Shuttle, run by TTD and piloted last summer through funding from Keep Tahoe Blue and the Tahoe Fund to reduce congestion and pollution, and provide alternative parking options in one of the most visited spots around the lake. Along with the shuttle implementation, which started its 2026 season in late June for $5 one way (reduced fare options available), TTD is installing about 400 feet of temporary barriers along the shoulder. California Highway Patrol promises strict enforcement of parking regulations. Last summer, enforcement wrote 248 citations, issued 13 moving violations, and had 10 vehicles towed.
There has been a lot of good feedback, Styer said about the shuttle, and the partnerships have produced momentum. Beyond that, groups are addressing operational hiccups. “We do not have a formalized crosswalk in Emerald Bay,” she continued. “I think that could be really beneficial. And the speed limit through there is still pretty high, so, you know, those types of things — working with Caltrans.”
Other programs falling under the Car Free, Care Free Tahoe umbrella: the South Shore Transportation Management Association and its 30 different funders (including many local businesses) that helped launch microtransit shuttle Lake Link in 2022. Or Heavenly Ski Resort, which increased its shuttle service in 2024.
“We see this as a way for us to really share that it’s better,” Feiger said. “We have options now. It wasn’t this way for a lot of years, but it’s getting so much better now. And the biggest thing is people need to just get out there and get on the paths, ride the buses. That’s the best thing you can do to support this, so that’s what we’re trying to make happen.”
While this is a vision that will ideally spread around the lake in terms of transit connection, he added that South Shore is the closest to achieving such a goal in Tahoe.
On the North Shore, Placer County is focused on expanding its paid parking program in Kings Beach. Starting May 1, the West End and Rainbow lots began charging vehicles $10 per day, with a $20 holiday rate, through September. These two lots joined the Christmas Tree and Brook Avenue locations, which saw fee increases to a daily rate of $20, with a holiday rate of $40.
Local businesses initially pushed the program to take off in summer 2024 with the Christmas Tree lot pilot program, increasing parking turnover a major goal.
STATE HIGHWAY OR PARKING LOT: In 2024, an estimated 970 cars a day parked on the SR 28 shoulder on a Saturday in August, a huge safety risk and environmental detriment. Tahoe agencies are trying to fix that and more when it comes to parking around the Basin.
“I think one of the frustrations our business owners had in certain areas was that people would park and go to the beach all day, and then there wouldn’t be room for their patrons to come in and access their businesses,” said Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson. “So, the paid parking does help modify behavior and hopefully help people make the decision to be somewhat inconvenient to either walk or ride a bike or call a micro mass transit bus.”
During the first full year of the paid parking program’s pilot, 2025, 595 citations were issued, bringing in roughly $42,000 in revenue, and $43,000 in paid lot fees. Yet expenditures far outweighed the intake: staff cost about $175,000, and contracts $65,000.
“We want it to become self-sustaining,” Gustafson said, “and so we need more in the paid parking program to make it self-sustained. But we have issued a lot of citations. I think over 300 citations, and over 200 warnings [since May 1].”
Such a program for Tahoe City is undergoing staff discussion and community outreach.
Not everyone believes adding parking is the right solution. While agencies are implementing new restrictions and adding infrastructure in the name of safety and environmental protection, some residents argue the Basin has already reached its limits. Steve Dolan, who lived in Incline Village for 23 years and founded the Friends of Third Creek nonprofit, which monitors North Shore watersheds, sees the addition of parking lots and continued development — even with strict codes — as adding to an area that’s already at capacity.
“There’s a limit to what this beautiful emerald of the Sierra can accommodate,” he told Moonshine. “There’s just a limit.”
Dolan wants a moratorium placed in the Basin to stall rapid growth — which, according to TRPA, already boasts 15 million visitors annually and a $5-billion economy.
“At any given time, the number of people that can stay in the parks, camping, in houses as guests, in hotels that exist, and in hotels that are being built, and in developments that are being developed already to this day, that’s too many people,” he said. “We need to stop that now and adjust to it.”
There are also those — especially locals — who find themselves having to pay for parking where it used to be free and are frustrated by that. Styer has heard as much, and said she understands the parking changes aren’t welcomed by everyone.
“I know that it’s a transition,” she said. “It’s a transition for me as well. But the parking revenues are returned to the operations and maintenance within the corridor, and I think that that’s really key. We’re looking at a corridor that didn’t have, in my opinion, adequate facilities. Just adding restrooms along the corridor has been really critical. Allowing Waste Management, having those parking ambassadors at Secret and Chimney this summer to help manage the trash. I think that all of those are huge benefits.”
“There’s a limit to what this beautiful emerald of the Sierra can accommodate. There’s just a limit.”
~ Steve Dolan, former Incline Village resident and
founder of Friends of Third Creek nonprofit
Feiger emphasized the environmental benefits, saying that limiting parking is one of the most effective ways to shift driving behavior by encouraging carpooling or transit use or maybe deciding not to take a trip at all.
“One of the cool things about Tahoe is that all of our locals, all of our residents and our visitors — we’re all going to and from the same places,” he said. “So, a system that works for visitors will also work for our residents. If we can get more visitors out of their cars, it makes it easier for our employees to get around who maybe have to use their cars.”
Gustafson points to being prepared within reason for a future that could see increased visitation: “I think with climate change, we have to be prepared that as temperatures get hotter, the evidence is here: More people come to recreate in the High Sierra. Some of that’s Lake Tahoe, some of it is rivers and streams … My job is to make sure we’re looking ahead and trying to prepare for that and find solutions that can help us live together more amicably. We don’t have the infrastructure for the millions of more Californians and Nevadans there are within drive-up range, and I don’t know that we should pave paradise for that.”
A new facility called Peak Women’s Care is opening in the former Gateway Urgent Care building on Donner Pass Road in Truckee, which says it offers free-of-charge services for people facing an unplanned pregnancy, including pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and what it calls an “options consultation.” The facility has the appearance of a women’s health center, but the reality is it’s more a faith-based resource center than a medical clinic.
Peak Women’s Care also operates a center in Portola, an hour north of Truckee, which opened in November 2024. Its Truckee location is slated to open by the end of this summer, pending an occupancy permit from Nevada County.
“Our goal is to service people from Lake Almanor to North Lake Tahoe, so that’s why we’re growing with a location in Truckee,” Mollie Williams, executive director of Peak Women’s Care, told Moonshine Ink. “We’re often servicing people who are traveling from far away, so we want to try to meet them where they’re at.”
As Peak Women’s Care prepares to open its Truckee doors, residents facing an unplanned pregnancy will soon have another place to turn — though what they’ll find there, and whether it constitutes healthcare, remains at the center of a broader national debate.
In publicly available tax documents, Peak’s mission is stated as this: “To provide free religious instruction and information to members of the public who are pregnant, considering pregnancy, or who are partners of pregnant women.” The document further adds that the center “walks with those facing unplanned or unsupported pregnancies by providing medical, material, and spiritual resources, all centered in Christ while upholding the sanctity of all human life.”
Peak seems to fall under a category known as crisis pregnancy centers. A CPC is a nonprofit organization, regularly affiliated with religious education, that presents itself as a women’s healthcare clinic. In 2022, the California Attorney General issued a consumer alert, stating: “While crisis pregnancy centers may claim to offer comprehensive reproductive healthcare services, their mission is to discourage people from accessing abortion care.”
CPCs have been around since the late 1960s and currently, there are an estimated 2,600 in the U.S., with more continuing to open. (That’s roughly three times the number of abortion clinics in this country.) Most CPCs are associated with national pro-life organizations such as Birthright International, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Care Net, or Heartbeat International.
Peak Women’s Care is licensed as a community clinic in California. A licensed physician, Dr. Alexandra Hunt, serves as its medical director. The clinic is permitted to perform basic pregnancy tests and ultrasounds but not further medical procedures. It does not offer services like prenatal care, testing for sexually transmitted infections, or birth control options, or abortions. It has staff who are trained to perform ultrasounds, according to Williams, but many of the staff are volunteers without medical licenses. The center also provides free online parenting classes and no-charge maternity and baby supplies, like diapers, clothing, and car seats.
The president of the board of directors of Peak Women’s Care is Betsy Taylor, who’s married to Dr. Peter Taylor, a longtime OB-GYN at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. Peter Taylor is not currently working as a doctor at Peak Women’s Care, but Williams did confirm that he has been providing what she called “backup ultrasound interpretations.” Williams said Dr. Taylor will provide those services for the new Truckee location as well. Dr. Taylor could not be reached for comment.
Betsy Taylor declined to be interviewed, but in a letter to Sierra Bible Church’s congregation, she wrote that Peak Women’s Care is a “Christ-centered nonprofit” that’s been “making a powerful impact in our region.” Her letter asked for help with tenant improvements like drywall and electrical and added that “Peak is also looking for people to serve as volunteer patient advocates and nurses.” Her letter added that Care Net training will be provided to volunteers. Care Net is a pro-life ministry that offers training to staff at pregnancy centers such as this one.
The former Gateway Urgent Care building, a 1,300-square-foot A-frame at 11105 Donner Pass Rd., was recently purchased by Tim and Rebekah Ruppert, who attend Sierra Bible Church. The Rupperts are renting the building to Peak Women’s Care. Its location near Tahoe Forest Hospital places the nonprofit in an area where many patients in this community seek healthcare.
“Most people don’t know what crisis pregnancy centers are. They give the appearance that they’re just trying to help pregnant women, and who doesn’t want to help a pregnant woman?” said Andrea Swartzendruber, an associate professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia. Swartzendruber helps run
an online CPC map.
“It can be hard to tell if what you’re looking at is a CPC. They’re deceptive in a lot of ways by calling themselves medical facilities or clinics or giving the impression that they’re unbiased,” Swartzendruber said. “CPCs tend to target young people, people of color, and those with low incomes who don’t have easy access to healthcare. They often give inaccurate health information or use a limited medical ultrasound as a tactic to try to convince people not to get an abortion.”
Dr. Jessica Hamilton, a local physician at the Western Sierra Medical Clinic in Kings Beach and a former medical director at Planned Parenthood, has treated women who’ve recently visited a crisis pregnancy center. “Typically, a patient will come in and say, ‘I went to a clinic around the corner, and I got an ultrasound that told me I was 15 weeks pregnant,’” Hamilton said. “But then I’ll check how far along they are by ultrasound and what they were told previously isn’t accurate. It’s clear people with minimal training are making errors.”
Abortion services often have cut-offs based on how far along a pregnancy is because of institutional policies, medical regulations (medication abortions are often only available to 11 weeks gestation), or a patient’s medical history. Delaying a decision can mean a person has fewer choices. “A misguided visit — especially by someone who lives in a rural area — could drastically affect one’s ability to choose, as options may disappear as they progress in gestational duration,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton is in the process of trying to open a medical clinic in North Lake Tahoe, called Alpine Medicine, that would offer comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion services. Currently, elective abortions aren’t available in the Truckee/North Tahoe area. Tahoe Forest Hospital does not perform them; instead, it’ll refer patients to Planned Parenthood in Reno, Roseville, or Sacramento. “Patients deserve factual information and a full range of options in a timely manner. I would encourage anyone visiting a crisis pregnancy center to understand what it is, ask for licensing, and bring records of your visit, including your ultrasound, to a licensed medical professional,” said Hamilton, who also recommended calling or texting the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline, (833) 246-2632, for anyone needing information.
Funding for Peak Women’s Care comes from hundreds of individual donors and some grant funding. Contributions and grants for the organization in 2025 totaled $355,927, according to tax documents.
Julie Halvorsen is a Tahoe City resident and mother of six children who’s regularly supported Peak Women’s Care through financial donations. “I support women and I’m coming from a place of wanting to do the right thing. A woman making any decision regarding her pregnancy should be given grace, love, support, and understanding without judgment or challenge,” Halvorsen said. “I understand there are women who may not want a pregnancy or are not prepared or supported for one. This mother deserves all the same support. My hopeful confidence is that Peak Women’s Care is going to do everything they can to bring that child into the world.”
Swartzendruber warns that since CPCs aren’t subject to HIPAA laws, they aren’t required to keep patient information secure. However, Williams at Peak Women’s Care said they are committed to patient confidentiality.
“We do not refer or provide abortions, but we are a safe place where people can talk through all of their options,” Williams said. “We never force anything on anyone or give out information people don’t ask for. We want to support holistically, but it’s all permission-based.”
~ Megan Michelson is a freelance journalist who lives in Tahoe City.
While those of us at Moonshine Ink constantly have our heads down putting together edition after edition, once a year we surface to submit select pieces to the National Newspaper Association Foundation (NNAF).
This allows us a regular revisiting of what it means to be the only indie paper of the mountain communities in Truckee and North Tahoe, as well as how we stack up against other newspapers across the country.
For the NNAF’s 2026 Better Newspaper Contest, we submitted what we believed to be our strongest pieces during 2025. Four of them were recognized:
PRIORITY LIFT LANES: Moonshine’s reporting about Palisades Tahoe’s Apex Club, a membership club that started at $12,000 per person at the beginning of the 2025/26 season, won first place in the Best Business Story category of an annual newspaper contest. Photo courtesy Palisades Tahoe
Judge’s comments: Fantastic story showing the anger provoked by a ski lodge providing an “easy-pass” lane. Good examples from social people, man on the street, but also explaining how popular the concept is for businesses.
SPIRITUAL REVIVAL, EVENTUALLY: The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel received seven parcels through donation in December 2022. These were just a few of many that had been languishing, unused, for years and were all connected to one woman. From Holding Pattern to Holy Ground: A Church’s Quiet Revival in Tahoma won second place in the Best Non-Profile Feature Story category. Photo by Wade Snider/Moonshine Ink
Judge’s comments: Well researched and illustrated.
REDISTRICTING: In November 2025, California voters passed Proposition 50 in a special election, allowing the state’s 3rd Congressional District (among others) to be redrawn and its boundaries changed significantly. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Kevin Kiley were on opposite sides of the tug of war. The cover took home third place in the Front-Page Design category. Illustration by Mike English, layout by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Judge’s comments: Moonshine Ink bills itself as an “Independent Newspaper” (cost “Priceless”) and, as such, doesn’t always play by so-called journalistic rules. Witness their choice of using an editorial cartoon for the entire front page of their October 9 issue. Granted, the cartoon, which features a large map of California with most of District 3 shaded in red, is relevant to the lead article … Running across the dueling duo at about waist level is the article headline and page number, “National Redistricting Fight Hits Home … 10”.
A few other articles to be found inside are listed in smaller font below the main bout … er, headline: “The Local Healthcare Landscape … 14”, Most Iconic Slogan of Tahoe … 23”, and “Tahoe City Going Off … 29 & 44|Ski Films! … 42”.
But what important news is on pages 1-9? Where are the police blotter, obituaries, and letters to the editor to be found? It’s a bold choice, but my guess is Moonshine Ink bets on an attention-grabbing cover and rule-flouting to pique curiosity and attract readers. Apparently, the tactic has worked for almost a quarter century, as the masthead informs us this issue is “Vintage 23, Nip 9.”
Best Performing Arts Story, honorable mention: No Stage to Stand On by Ally Gravina
Judge’s comments: This was not what I expected of a performing arts story; it’s perhaps more important than the art itself because it cannot happen (at least not easily) without space. This story examines the issue thoroughly and does a great job of framing it for the general public. I love the headline, too!
No one wants to be surveilled — at least I’m pretty sure no one wants cameras tracking them 24/7, catching their faces and license plates, so let’s talk surveillance and privacy rights.
As technology continuously advances, offering technological convenience and information at our fingertips, the ways in which our data can be captured and stored expand.
In the wake of the latest U.S. Supreme Court session, attacks on Flock’s automated license plate reading and vehicle surveillance cameras, and cases of cops using Flock to stalk people, it’s worth looking into Chatrie v. United States and what rights we have when it comes to the implicit nature of surveillance in public (and even in private).
First, some background: privacy isn’t a right spelled out in the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourth Amendment as protecting people rather than places in regard to privacy through Katz v. United States. Further, Riley v. California determined that police officers need a warrant to search the contents of someone’s phone. Additionally, prior to being overturned, Roe v. Wade also granted us the fundamental right to privacy through the 14th Amendment’s Due Process clause.
As a refresher, the Fourth Amendment is “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” unless probable cause gives reason for a warrant. And the 14th Amendment gave citizenship to formerly enslaved people, stating “no state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
But back to Chatrie v. United States. Okello Chatrie robbed a bank in 2019 and what got him caught was his phone’s location data, which the police department obtained with a geofencing warrant to Google, along with the data of other cell phone users within the radius of the bank during a certain timeframe.
In Chatrie’s case, the Supreme Court ruled on June 27 of this year that pulling someone’s phone location data is a Fourth Amendment search, requiring a warrant and reason for the search (as opposed to conducting an unreasonable search). As such, the court sent the case back to a lower court to decide whether the use of a geofencing warrant was reasonable or unconstitutional.
The interesting part was that in Chatrie v. United States, the Supreme Court justices discussed how phones “[make] possible a form of surveillance that would have been unknown prior to the digital age.” In her court opinion, Justice Elena Kagan applied rulings from Katz v. United States and Carpenter v. United States, which established that collecting cell phone records requires reasonable cause. Kagan also mentioned the idea of personal privacy when it comes to location tracking.
“Whatever the form of an attempted incursion, the Fourth Amendment protects Americans’ long-held conviction that no government official should have free access to the most closely kept aspects of their lives,” Kagan said in her opinion. “In recent decades, this court has often confronted the challenge of adhering to those principles in the face of new technologies.”
We never could have imagined the expanse of technological power and how it would fall within the scope of the Constitution. AI is being used for everything from homework assignments to dating to facial recognition and surveillance. A concern amongst scholarly discussions on surveillance and criminology is about who is being surveilled.
Not only is privacy at risk, but we are becoming used to being watched. We are used to feeding our photos and personal information into our phones, telling AI personal tidbits, and videoing ourselves and each other. Video surveillance isn’t new, but it’s transforming.
The ruling of Chatrie v. United States could implicate other technology with surveillance capabilities, setting further privacy precedents and limiting the capacity for mass surveillance. This protection of privacy is crucial for checking the use of technology by the government in this rapid period of advancement. However, the ruling has yet to impact companies like Flock. Some opposed to the constant scrutiny of outsourced security cameras on street corners have begun dismantling them. Of note, there are 25 Flock cameras around Truckee and North Lake Tahoe.
As AI and surveillance become increasingly integrated into society, our phones ping cell towers that collect location data, apps track it, and Flock cameras register it with license plates. And location isn’t the only thing capable of being tracked. People share their most sensitive data with technology and cameras –– fingerprints, facial recognition, medical data, and more enhance the tracking of each individual who is online. Even if they’re not online, CCTV and Flock cameras can capture one’s movement. The advancement of technology, therefore, has also advanced the ability to control a population without the presence of humans who formally or informally enforce rules.
The implied right to privacy becomes scarce when technology can constantly police a society. It makes one wonder how protected the right to privacy is, especially where the government is involved.
Surveillance creates a power dynamic between those who are monitored, and those who do the monitoring. It is a part of governance and control whether by the United States or another entity entirely.
Though Chatrie v. United States is one ruling that could protect against the increasing usage of surveillance technology, we will have to see what happens as technology pushes the bounds of the Constitution.
