WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Forest Service is publishing a Federal Register notice announcing an interagency effort to monitor recreation use by implementing pilot projects across public lands. This effort is geared towards improving recreation resource management, visitor services, and planning.
The purpose of these pilot protocols is to model recreation use patterns, including low-use and dispersed recreation activities, that may not be effectively measured by existing general and opportunistic survey and monitoring protocols. The Federal Register notice will be available for public inspection tomorrow and will officially publish on Monday, initiating a 30-day public comment period on the proposed pilot projects. The notice will direct the public to BLM’s e-planning website for comment collection.
“Understanding visitor recreation use patterns is important for the Forest Service to gain a better understanding of the demand so we can improve visitor experiences,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “These pilot projects will incorporate a variety of on-site techniques including activities such as manually counting visitors, summarizing trail permit data, installing mechanical counters, and providing logbooks for visitors to record their use.”
There will also be the incorporation of emerging data sources and technologies, such leveraging anonymized digital data generated by visitors to recreation sites to describe recreation-use patterns at those sites. This will include scanning social media to research photo and review sharing applications, understanding anonymized location-based services from smart phones, and incorporating remotely sensed data like aerial photography and satellite imagery to corroborate on-data pulled from recreation usage.
These pilot projects are one of the many ongoing actions identified in the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, enacted January 4, 2026, and is specifically tied to section 133.
The Forest Service is proposing pilot projects alongside the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Wednesday’s State of the City 2026, Mayor Cody Bass highlighted the achievements of city council in the past year. Bass paid special attention to economic vitality and small business support, and also addressed the strategic priorities of the council.
Most of city council was present, with the exception of councilmember David Jinkens who could not be present. Bass gave a special shoutout to councilmember Heather Horgan, who stepped up to the position after the resignation of former mayor Tamara Wallace. He also commended city staff for maintaining their services after major transitions in the past year, notably the departure of former city manager Joe Irvin and city attorney Heather Stroud.
“When we really look at what has happened… we have a lot of economic vitality here,” said Bass, noting the success of the Target, Elements, the Hangar and the businesses at the Y that replaced K-Mart.
Regarding housing, this summer, Sugar Pine Village residents will be moving in to Phase 1B, while the final phase (which will include the local tenant preference policy) continues. Earlier this year, Rep. Kevin Kiley gave $1 million for the development of housing at 3900 Lake Tahoe Boulevard. Lastly, the shelter pass program passed by council, which would allow people seeking shelter in cold weather to use a pass for local motels and hotels, assisted 45 people.
On environmental protection, the council approved the expansion of more EV chargers, such as the ones at the rec center. The Tahoe Valley Greenbelt and Stormwater Improvement project, which aims to create paths and a play area behind the Aleworx at the Y, will also help with sediment mitigation efforts. It’s set to finish in September of this year.
On the roads, Lake Link will be expanding to cover the entirety of the city come July. Bass called it a “long-term investment” to get people comfortable to coming to Tahoe without a vehicle. He also hoped that in the future, they could invest in electric flights from Reno or Sacramento to Tahoe.
Road rehabilitation, which has always been a hot topic, is happening in earnest, with work happening to harden key roads that have deteriorated significantly. “We now spend ten times more on road rehabilitation than the year I joined council,” said Bass. This year’s road budget was $4.8 million. Bass noted that Fire Station 3, which has been in operation since the 1950s, will be rebuilt using the parcel near the bank that was recently acquired.
The city also had several openings in the past year, including the skatepark, the recreation center and the Bijou trail connector that opened this week. Bass noted that Fire Station 3, which has been in operation since the 1950s, will be rebuilt using the parcel near the bank that was recently acquired
In the future, Bass said they will focus on working with businesses, through the Business Visitation Program and business permitting concierge program, both of which aim to hear from businesses and streamline their processes.
“The creation of a second economy is at the forefront for us,” said Bass.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — For one evening each June, Ski Run Boulevard becomes something entirely different.
The traffic disappears. Tables replace parking spaces. Costumes emerge. Music fills the air. Neighbors reconnect, strangers become friends, and one stretch of roadway transforms into a celebration of community unlike anything else in South Lake Tahoe.
On June 16, more than 130 themed tables stretched from Aspen Ave to Tamarack Ave, covering almost three whole blocks of Ski Run Blvd, as hundreds of community members gathered for the 2026 Longest Dinner Table.
Held annually near the summer solstice, the Longest Dinner Table began in 2019 when friends and neighbors Chris McNamara, Tor McNamara, and Darcie Goodman Collins came together with a simple idea: create a reason for people to gather and build community.
“When we started in 2019, we dreamed of creating the world’s longest dinner table that stretched all the way from the mountains to the lake,” said Chris and Tor McNamara. “But we quickly realized it’s less about the number of tables—and more about creating a space for people to come together and celebrate our community in creative ways. Watching it grow into a massive neighborhood block party meets Halloween has been more fun and meaningful than we ever imagined.“
Creativity was on full display this year as participants transformed their tables into immersive experiences complete with costumes, props, games, and elaborate decorations. Among the most talked-about themes were The Mob Wives, Let Them Eat Cake, The Live Volcano, The Price Is Right, and Dodgeball. Honorable mentions included the crowd-favorite Donner Party table, Where’s Waldo, Read Banned Books, and two live World Cup-themed experiences.
Throughout its history, the Longest Dinner Table has supported a variety of local causes and nonprofit organizations. As the event continued to grow, the founders partnered with the Marcella Foundation to help coordinate and execute the event while preserving the community spirit that has defined it since the beginning.
This year’s event raised over $17,000 to support the Marcella Foundation’s work advancing food access, student literacy, and youth mentorship throughout South Lake Tahoe.
“The tables may be what draw people in, but it’s the connections made around them that keep people coming back,” said Darcie Goodman Collins, co-founder of the Longest Dinner Table. “Every year, we’re amazed by the creativity people bring, from elaborate themes and costumes to the small details that make each table unique. At its heart, the Longest Dinner Table is about bringing people together and strengthening our community.”
The evening was made possible through the support of sponsors, volunteers, and community partners, including lead sponsors Desolation Hotel, Outdoor Gear Lab, and Amanda Kluesner Photography.
Special thanks also go to the South Tahoe High School Football Team for handling setup and tear down, Hands4Hope for providing student volunteers, Edgewood Tahoe Resort volunteers, Dreda Dre & his patreon team for coordinating event operations, and JeNes & The Juice for providing live music throughout the evening.
As planning begins for next year, organizers are already looking ahead to the next gathering around the table.
Community members are encouraged to save the date for the 7th Annual Longest Dinner Table on June 22, 2027, and join the event mailing list for updates on table registration, sponsorship opportunities, volunteer opportunities, and event announcements.
CASA El Dorado’s 2nd Annual Summer Soiree: Celebrating Brighter Tomorrows – 5:30-10 p.m., Riva Grille, 900 Ski Run Blvd, Ste 3. Description Child Advocates of El Dorado County (CASA) invites the community to its 2nd Annual Summer Soiree: Celebrating Brighter Tomorrows, an evening dedicated to the belief that every child deserves brighter tomorrows. The event will take place on Friday, June 26th at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe, with doors opening at 5:30 PM. Set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Tahoe, the Summer Soirée will bring together community members, supporters, and advocates for an evening of delicious food, complimentary drinks, and meaningful connection, all in support of CASA’s mission. Guests will experience a powerful CASA impact story, highlighting the life-changing difference advocates make in the lives of children in foster care and the juvenile justice system. The evening will also feature an exciting auction and recognition of the South Lake Tahoe CASA Volunteer of the Year, honoring a volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to serving youth in our community. Proceeds from the event will support CASA El Dorado’s mission to provide advocacy, support, and a voice for abused, neglected, and at-risk foster and juvenile justice youth throughout El Dorado County. For more information, visit https://business.tahoechamber.org/events/details/casa-el-dorado-s-2nd-annual-summer-soiree-celebrating-brighter-tomorrows-26126.
Children’s Summer Theater June 18-July3 – 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., South Tahoe Middle School 2940 Lake Tahoe Blvd. South Lake Tahoe, Please enter through the enterance on Al Tahoe Blvd. Description Tahoe Arts Project and Tahoe Valley Performing Arts presents My Son Pinocchio Jr. Directed by Allyssa Little and Nicole Mora, this is a heartwarming and humorous twist on a classic tale, My Son Pinocchio Jr. tells the story of Geppetto, a kind-hearted toymaker who longs for a child of his own. When his wish is magically granted, he becomes the father of Pinocchio-a wooden boy full of curiosity, energy, and a tendency to get into trouble. There are roles for children entering 1st-9th grade in the fall. Everyone will be cast. Auditions: June 18, 2026 1st-3rd Grade 9:00-10:00 4th-9th Grade 10:00-11:30 Rehearsals:June 22-26 and June 29-July 2 1st-3rd Grade 9:00-11:30 4th-9th Grade 10:00-1:30 Performances: July 3rd (Times to be determined) Everything will take place at South Tahoe Middle School Additional dates: 6/26, 6/27, 6/28, 6/29, 6/30, 7/1, 7/2. For more information, visit https://business.tahoechamber.org/events/details/childen-s-summer-theater-june-18-july3-26110.
Wine Tasting at Black Bear Lodge – 5-7 p.m., Black Bear Lodge, 1202 Ski Run Boulevard. Join us at Black Bear Lodge for our Summer Wine Tasting Series, happening every other Friday from 5–7 PM. Enjoy an evening of curated wines from a featured winery, live music, and the relaxed gardens of Black Bear Lodge. Sip, unwind, and discover something new with each unique tasting experience throughout the summer. For more information, visit http://tahoeblackbear.com/events or call 5305444451.
CalNat Immersive Course at Sagehen – 1 p.m., Since 2012, this course has used education and service to inspire and empower individuals to create more resilient communities and ecosystems by becoming a certified California Naturalist. Aspiring Naturalists enroll in a 40-hour course that combines classroom and field experience in science, problem-solving, communication training and community service. Class and field sessions are taught by local experts in the fields of: ecology, geology, plants, animals, climate, global environmental issues, energy, water, forests, and interpretation. Participants gain knowledge about the unique natural history of California with a focus on the Northern Sierras and Lake Tahoe Basin. Learn For more information, visit https://www.tinsweb.org/upcoming-events/calnat-immersive-course-at-sagehen-ce4rp.
Keep Memory Alive’s Summer Rodeo – 3-11 p.m., Shakespeare Ranch, 1949 Glenbrook Inn Road. Keep Memory Alive’s annual Summer Rodeo rides back into Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 27, taking over Shakespeare Ranch, a private Lake Tahoe estate, for an unforgettable day and night of high-energy fun, incredible food and meaningful impact in the fight against brain disease across Nevada. Doors open at 3 p.m.
The festivities kick off with a full-throttle rodeo packed with bulls, bucks and barrel racing, alongside a classic BBQ, live music, dancing, kids’ activities, and refreshing summer cocktails. Guests can also bid big during the live and silent auctions, all in support of a powerful cause.
As the sun sets, the experience levels up with an elevated, multi-course dinner by James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Mina, perfectly paired with craft cocktails and fine wines. The night continues with a lively performance from Yachtley Crew, bringing the ultimate yacht rock soundtrack.
For more information, sponsorship opportunities, or to purchase tickets, call (702) 263-9797 or visit keepmemoryalive.org/rodeo. Follow on social @clevelandclinicnevada. For more information, visit https://keepmemoryalive.org/event/rodeo/ or call (702) 263-9797.
Meet the Artist Frogman ~ June 27th – 1-5 p.m., Marcus Ashley Gallery, 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd, Ste 23. For one day only, Frogman is coming back to Marcus Ashley after 10 years: featuring exclusive gallery edition frog sculptures For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-artist-frogman-june-27th-tickets-1986569781694 or call (530) 544-4278.
Paul Thorn (SEATED) – 8 p.m., 14 NV-28. Paul Thorn will make his return to the Crystal Bay Casino on Sat. Jun. 27th! This is a SEATED SHOW with limited tickets available. Make sure to get yours and don’t delay! $25 ADV / $30 DOS I Tickets: https://tixr.com/e/176168 When it comes to songwriting, less is more, and simplicity is strength. Just ask Paul Thorn, who’s spent three decades turning soulful grooves and small syllables into songs that pack a big wallop. Maybe he learned the power of minimalism from his years as a pro boxer; maybe it just comes naturally. But whether he’s targeting heads, hearts, hips or the occasional funny bone, he somehow manages to condense large nuggets of wisdom into tight little mantras, the kind embroiderers stitched onto pillows before internet memes existed.0.2 For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/798482525845953/.
Tahoe Douglas Fire & Family Day – 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Kahle Community Center, 236 Kingsbury Grade P.O. Box 5040. Meet your local fire & safety experts
Trey Stone Band – 1-5 p.m., The Grove, 1900 Jameson Beach Rd. Join us just outside the Grove Restaurant for a performance by Trey Stone Band. For more information, visit https://camprichardsonresort.com/event/trey-stone-band-8/.
Sunday, June 28
Gospel Brunch – 12:15-2:30 p.m., Noel’s Coffee & Apothecary , 31 US-50 #102. Noel’s Coffee & Apothecary In Stateline, NV (located between AleWorx and CVS Pharmacy) now has a Gospel Brunch every Sunday from 12:15 PM until 2:30 PM featuring live Gospel music, croissant sandwiches and craft coffee. Come feed your spirit, soul and body!
Bluesberry Jam – 1-5 p.m., The Grove, 1900 Jameson Beach Rd. Join us just outside the Grove Restaurant for a performance by Bluesberry Jam. For more information, visit https://camprichardsonresort.com/event/bluesberry-jam-6/.
Davin Kangas – 6-8 p.m., The Grove, 1900 Jameson Beach Rd. Join us just outside the Grove Restaurant for a performance by Davin Kangas. For more information, visit https://camprichardsonresort.com/event/davin-kangas-16/.
Wine Tasting with Bella Grace & Silt at the Idle Hour – 5:30 p.m., The Idle Hour Lake Tahoe, 3351 Lake Tahoe Blvd Ste 5. Join us at The Idle Hour for a special evening featuring Bella Grace and Silt Wines. Enjoy a curated tasting experience by the lake, discover beautiful wines, and spend the evening soaking in the views, the flavors, and the relaxed lakeside atmosphere. Come sip with us, explore something new, and make it a night to remember at The Idle Hour. For a slightly more upbeat version: Sip, savor, and unwind at The Idle Hour for a special Wine Tasting with Bella Grace & Silt. Experience a hand-selected lineup of incredible wines, lakeside views, and the perfect setting to gather with friends and enjoy a memorable evening in South Lake Tahoe. $25 per person Additional dates: 6/30, 6/30. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1525585502258154/ or call (530) 600-3304.
Wednesday, July 1
Red, White, and Tahoe Blue Summer Concert Series – 7-9 p.m., St Francis of Assisi Lake Tahoe, 701 Mt Rose Hwy. This is our first concert of the July concert series. Join us at St. Francis of Assisi in beautiful Lake Tahoe for an unforgettable evening — perfect for an affordable date night or a family outing. At this concert, we will include orchestra and chorus performances of Battle Hymn of the Republic, Amazing Grace, and The Stars and Stripes Forever. Also, Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess, Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land, and John Williams’ moving tribute, Hymn to the Fallen. For more information, visit https://www.tahoe-philharmonic.com/concerts/ or call (775) 833-2478.
Thursday, July 2
Gimacus Burns – 1-5 p.m., The Grove, 1900 Jameson Beach Rd. Join us just outside the Grove Restaurant for a performance by Gimacus Burns. For more information, visit https://camprichardsonresort.com/event/gimacus-burns/.
Rock & Roll Summer Concerts – 7 p.m., Cornerstone Community Church, 300 Country Club Dr. TOCCATA Tahoe Symphony celebrates the music that shaped generations with an electrifying Rock n’ Roll Summer Concert Series. From the timeless melodies of The Beatles and Elvis Presley to the anthemic energy of Queen, Journey, and David Bowie, this program brings together iconic hits audiences know and love, all reimagined through the power and color of live orchestra, chorus, and soloists For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1649105763058914/.
Summer Play | Laughing Stock by Charles Morey – 7:30-9:30 p.m., Boathouse Theater, Tallac Historic Site. Laughing Stock By Charles Morey. Step behind the curtain and into the hilarious world of summer stock theater in Charles Morey’s Laughing Stock. Set in a charming New England barn theater, this fast-paced comedy follows a determined troupe of actors, directors, and technicians as they attempt to stage an ambitious repertory season featuring Dracula, Hamlet, and Charley’s Aunt—with predictably chaotic results. For more information, visit https://valhallatahoe.com/event/summer-play-laughing-stock-by-charles-morey/2026-07-02/.
Tessie’s Cocktails & Chords Opening Night – 8 p.m.-2 a.m., Tessie’s Cocktails & Chords, 18 US-50. Thursday, July 2nd, Tessie’s Cocktails & Chords is officially OPEN to the public! We’re kicking off with a high-voltage rock set from Fool Me Twice, ripping through all the hits you know and love. Expect non-stop energy, a packed dance floor, and a night that hits hard from the very first note. This isn’t just live music, it’s a full-blown rock show inside our alpine cocktail lounge. For more information, visit http://tessiestahoe.com/events or call 7755865014.
To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge – there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.
With the brewery location now serving food inspired by the Libation Lodge menu (and thanks to their new handy dandy food truck) I had to accept the invite to see what was cooking. And if all the other items are anything like this week’s feature, I need to head back for another menu item … and a pint If you’re going to rock a fry dish, then they must be the center of attention – just like they are here. Hand cut and double fried, they give off every ounce of potato flavor they can without sacrificing crispiness, despite being loaded to the gills with other ingredients.
South Lake Brewing Company’s Bear-Style FriesRob Galloway / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Piled on top are layers of beer cheese, seasoned and chopped smashed burger, diced tomatoes, onions, pickles, and a house made burger sauce. And if you’re one who likes a little heat, opt for the spicy version and add roasted jalapenos, a sriracha drizzle and jalapeno cheese.
This dish overflows with textures and flavors and eats super fresh. The charred pockets of burger lend a smokiness that balances out nicely with the creamy sauce and tangy punches of pickle. Speaking of pickles, the cut here is key. Because they are cut in thin strips, you are able to get a mouthful of all the ingredients in every bite – something that most loaded fries dishes don’t pull off.
If you’re one who loves a good burger and fries, this is a dish to put on your bucket list. Pair it up with their pilsner (which is also used in the beer cheese) and you have an awesome après bike option for the summer.
South Lake Brewing Company has two locations in South Lake Tahoe: the Libation Lodge at 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. #26 in the Village Center and the Brewery at 1920 Lake Tahoe Blvd which serves up this dish feature. For more information visit them online at southlakebeer.com or reach the brewery at 530-578-0087.
Brian Scott will perform at the South Lake Tahoe Library on June 26Provided/Brian Scott
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The lawn of the El Dorado County Library – South Lake Tahoe Branch will be a place of wonder and magic as magician, Brian Scott, returns to the basin for another year on June 26 to perform for the Summer Reading Program.
While sitting on the front lawn of his own hometown library in Mystic, Connecticut, 7-year-old Scott saw his first-ever magic show. It would prove to be the reason he turned his love for magic into a career.
“I learned very early on, the secret was that you could go and find books with magic tricks. That’s one of the reasons why I love performing at libraries,” said Scott. “It’s one of those places where it started for me and I get to continue the magic for kids there.”
Known for his “Pixar-style” magic shows that blend comedy, the element of surprise, and themes that make you think, Scott aims to not only keep the children mesmerized, but keep the adults captivated as he approaches 20 years of performing in Lake Tahoe.
“Brian Scott comes back almost every year because he provides a great magic show, and he ties it back to literacy. He gets kids excited about magic, about books, and about reading throughout the summer,” said Katharine Miller, Branch Manager at South Lake Tahoe Library. “We’re excited to have him as our first performer of the summer.”
El Dorado County Library’s Summer Reading Challenge is currently taking place and ends on August 31. This year’s theme is “Plant a Seed, Read”, and whether you’re a kid, teen, or adult, you can log your reading, audiobooks included, to earn some amazing prizes.
Brian Scott’s magic show will take place just outside of the library from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, June 26. Scott will be there beforehand talking with the audience and will stick around after for photos and post-show interactions.
As he prepares to put on a dazzling magical event, Scott said his biggest goal is to leave people guessing.
“I really want the audience to be a part of the show. I always tell the kids that I’m performing with them and not for them, because it really takes the audience’s imagination to create the magic,” said Scott. “I want them to think and wonder about what they’re seeing and what they’re experiencing.”
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Darker than black shadows and glimmering silver capture photos that are all at once dreamlike and a crisp snapshot of reality. Alchemical symbols tell a life story in code through Ian Ruhter’s photography book capturing Lake Tahoe, the place where he both grew up and returned to.
Ian Ruhter dons a hat with alchemical symbols representing the seasons, which feature in his photography collection “The Lake.”Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Ruhter, who uses a technique called wet plate collodion, is a world-famous photographer who pioneered a technique to capture massive photography plates through a camera he built in an old mail truck.
The photographer came to South Lake Tahoe’s library through the Friends of the Library to speak about his book, “The Lake”, the first in a series of photo collections to tell a story about his life, his memories and the powerful impact of the water at Lake Tahoe.
Ruhter grew up in Lake Tahoe and says that the natural world and his ability to explore it freely shaped how he viewed the world and inspired his creative spark. He’s been open about how he struggled in school with dyslexia. To him, it was easier to be a troublemaker and punk than to identify with his disability—and it led him to his first career in snowboarding.
But that career ended at 24, after several struggles and contending with the “party lifestyle” that many in the ski and snowboard industry face. As someone who was in the public eye, Ruhter had been photographed and it piqued his interest in exploring the art.
After taking a photography class at Lake Tahoe Community College, Ruhter said he realized, “I can communicate through photos. At the age of 25, it felt like the first time I could talk.”
Ruhter experimented with photography, with special support from his grandma, who helped him save up to get his first camera. “She was a force and such a good mentor to me.” After he practiced taking photos with film at night (a tricky process), he eventually came on a snowboarding trip to shoot photos and try to sell them.
His first day of shooting, he captured a shot that immediately sold—and launching another major shift in his career. Ruhter moved to Los Angeles and became a commercial photographer. “I had essentially made it, I’d moved out of Tahoe to the big city.”
As the age of digital photography came along though, Ruhter became disillusioned with the expectation to heavily edit photos. “That, to me, wasn’t right. My voice, which I had found through photography, was now the voice of a liar.”
To return to what he felt were his roots as a photographer, Ruhter explored old techniques and connected with wet plate collodion. By pouring chemicals over plates, he could create his own light-sensitive film, which capture silvery, grey-scale images. “The way the silver would reflect and the little imperfections were so beautiful to me,” said Ruhter.
The long processing time for the photos was also important to him. “The length of the process forces you to spend time with your subject, to appreciate the environment and who you’re working with. You get to know people.”
Ruhter was inspired to make a massive camera to capture huge wet collodion film plates. And while he was told that no one had ever managed to do what he was describing, Ruhter persisted—creating a camera out of a mail truck and specialty lens, where he was an instrumental part of the device.
Ruhter calibrates each shot from inside of the truck, preparing the film plates and loading them inside to produce the image.
“If you know anything about cameras, you know that they take the photos upside-down and backwards. And being inside of that camera, in that world where everything was upside-down and backwards, I found that I was an essential part of the camera, the machine,” said Ruhter. “It was just like my dyslexia… which I now realize, my disability is one of my greatest assets.”
Ruhter’s exploration of the chemical-heavy technique he’s now known for worldwide has led him to resonate with Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” and the alchemical symbols he put in “The Lake.” In Coelho’s book, a man goes on a journey to seek treasures, and after encountering an alchemist, learns that what he sought was always right back where he started.
“The journey is important though. He needed to go on that journey to find the treasures of home,” said Ruhter, explaining how his life story connected with his return to Lake Tahoe. He told the Tribune that when he shoots photos, he’s often looking for an emotional resonance and memory—many of which he found in the place where he grew up. “I’m seeking that emotion that strikes something in me, that’s almost like déja vu.”
Ian Ruhter talks about one of his first night shots taken with film.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Ruhter spoke about how it was important to him to represent the Washoe people throughout the book and the next books in the series, which will follow the story of the water from Lake Tahoe, through Desolation and into Pyramid Lake. He hopes that people will resonate with the Washoe tribe and other indigenous people’s stewardship of the land and water, which he believes is a critical aspect to highlight these days.
Pre-sales for Ruhter’s next book, “Slab City” will explore the subcultures and unique society living off-the-grid near the Salton Sea. Unlike “The Lake”, which only features a single portrait of Ruhter’s daughter, Lily, among the shots of nature, “Slab City” explores human structures, relationships and “a microcosm of the United States.”
Ruhter counts himself lucky that he gets to live the life that he does, having made many decisions that led him in a completely different path. “I think it’s about following what’s inside your heart. Letting that drive you, rather than success, fame or money.”
Quoting “The Alchemist”, Ruhter said, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. And that’s really how I feel.”
You can order the special 2nd edition of “The Lake” and pre-order “Slab City” on Ruhter’s website, ianruhter.com.
Yes, Lake Tahoe is known for its mountains, wildlife, resorts, and more than 871,000 acres of trees, but let’s face it—Tahoe is a worldwide destination for its big blue beautiful body of water that’s 12 miles wide, 22 miles long, and 72 miles around. This fact draws swimmers, boaters, jet-skiers, and others to plunge into its chilly waters when the sun is shining the brightest.
However, if you want to get some exercise in and take in Tahoe’s shoreline in from the water while not getting so wet, then paddling around the lake—whether that be via kayak or SUP (stand-up paddleboard)—is the best way to get a different perspective of “the jewel of the Sierra.”
Here are places to rent paddleboards and single/double kayaks, go on guided tours, and indulge in unique experiences—all with the paddle included.
Paddleboards for rent at Watermans Landing.Kayla Anderson / Tahoe Magazine
Paddle Shops Around Lake Tahoe:
Major lakefront properties and hotels offer paddle rentals (such as Camp Richardson, Zephyr Cove, and Edgewood Tahoe), but here are a few more shops that rent equipment to get you out on the water:
Considered more in the middle of the West Shore, the aptly named West Shore Sports in Homewood offers SUP and kayak rentals that you can take across the street (Highway 89) to access the water. Sugar Pine Point State Park, Homewood High & Dry Marina, and Sunnyside are close by.
Close to Commons Beach and the Truckee River, Tahoe City Kayak & Paddleboard offers SUP and kayak rentals as well as gives tours and lessons. If you want to buy a kayak or paddleboard, those are available, too.
Located right on the north shore of Lake Tahoe at the dog-friendly Patton Beach, this family-owned café and paddle shop rents SUPs, kayak, and surf skis as well as gives lessons and hosts the summer Tahoe Paddling race series which puts on the iconic Lake Tahoe Crossing in September. A café serving healthy and organic coffee, breakfast, and lunch items is part of the shop.
Found between Highway 28 and a long sandy beach in the cluster of shops next to Jason’s Beachside Grill, Adrift Tahoe offers SUP, kayak, canoe rentals, and sells all the accompanying accessories to have a safe, fun time on the water.
Right in the Kings Beach town center, Tahoe Paddle & Oar rents SUPs and kayaks, sells equipment, and gives guided tours taking you by a few of Tahoe’s natural geological wonders such as underwater boulder fields and by hot springs.
A few blocks up from Incline’s beaches, Tahoe Multisport has quivers of SUPs and kayaks to rent out, as well as provides essentials such as dry bags and life jackets. The best way to get on the water near Incline Village is to book a guided tour with Tahoe Multisport, though…since all of the beaches on Lakeshore Boulevard have restricted access, then its owners can drive you to the best places to launch, help you with your equipment, and point out things from the water that you may not see on your own.
Paddling in Tahoe in the fall. Kayla Anderson / Tahoe Magazine
Over on the southwest end of Lake Tahoe on 871 Emerald Bay Road, SUP Tahoe rents and sells paddleboards as well as giving recommendations on the best places to go. Offers SUP rentals and sales. Its sister business, Pine Nut Cycle Café rents e-bikes and serves great food.
Operating out of the Ski Run and Tahoe Keys marinas, Tahoe Sports rents out pretty much anything water-related from jet skis and motorboats to kayaks and SUPs. Pedal boats, parasailing experiencing, and charter boats are also available.
Renting out SUPs and kayaks from five of South Shore’s iconic beaches, Kayak Tahoe also offers standard and extended version guided tours around Emerald Bay in the summer.
Action Watersports is another one of those South Shore outfitters that has everything from jet ski rentals and parasailing to SUPs and kayaks, as well as a water taxi that can take you to and from other lakefront properties. Action Watersports runs out of Timber Cove, Camp Richardson, and Round Hill Pines.
One-of-a-Kind Paddle Experiences:
There are great spots to paddle around the lake, but some places to launch are more accessible than others. A tour offers the added benefit of having a guide take care of everything for you so that all you have to worry about is the paddling part. Here are some of the more unique tours on the lake:
See everything that’s going on around and below you while paddling atop a clear kayak. From a boat cruise/Clearly Tahoe kayak tour out of Emerald Bay to stargazing tours at night out of the Tahoe Keys marina, Clearly Tahoe knows how to give you a memorable Tahoe paddling trip.
Giving different kinds of tours all around North Lake Tahoe from Sand Harbor to Tahoe Vista on kayaks or SUPs, Tahoe Adventure Company also hosts full moon kayak tours, stargazing kayak tours, multisport kayaking and hiking trips, and even custom multiday lodge-to-lodge kayak tours. Clear kayaks, double kayaks, and SUPs are available to rent, too.
Rafting the Truckee River from Tahoe City to River Ranch Lodge:
Not all paddling is about kayaking and SUPs in Tahoe…two major rafting companies offer floats for the whole family down the Truckee, and both companies have been around for decades. Truckee River Rafting (https://www.truckeeriverrafting.com/) provides commercial grade rafts for groups of all sizes (free parking and shuttle transportation included) while Truckee River Raft Co. (www.truckeeriverraft.com) has a parking lot close to River Ranch Lodge and shuttles you to the top of the five-mile float so you finish the float close to your vehicle.
Plan a self-guided paddle tour around Tahoe:
If you’ve got your own boat and just want to explore Lake Tahoe on your own, the Lake Tahoe Water Trail (https://laketahoewatertrail.org/) website is a great source of information. Access weather maps, day trip maps, safety information, day trip paddle routes, and see where public landing sites and campgrounds are.
Tahoe’s Premier Paddle Events
While paddle events tend to pop up throughout the summer depending on what the weather is doing, these are race organizers to keep on your radar if you want to test your paddling speed/agility/balance/mettle against others or just want to see what the Tahoe paddling community is all about:
If you’re responsible in more ways than one, if Earth is always on your agenda, we have some good news for you. The mountains are calling, and so is the continent’s largest alpine lake. From a LEED Silver Certified eco-luxury lodge to a groundbreaking sustainable travel initiative, your group can make a positive environmental impact while receiving exclusive rates and extra perks. That’s a win for you and Mother Nature.
South Lake Tahoe’s 365 days of outdoor adventures and 24-hour entertainment scene are just the beginning. Choose from 143,000 square feet of event space options and over 10,000 hotel rooms—all within walking distance of thrilling nightclubs, scenic views, and diverse restaurants. And walking isn’t the only way to reduce your carbon footprint. Read on to see what we mean.
Local Resources
Here, nature feels supernatural. Marvel in our striking landscapes with horseback rides, guided plant walks, clear-bottom kayak tours, hot air balloon excursions, and lakeside yoga sessions. But those are just a few of your options.
You already know local shopping translates to global impact. Our Meaningful Travel Map features accommodations, restaurants, stores, and business partners who are implementing mindful, eco-friendly, and community-forward practices—so you can make smart decisions at every step while you’re here.
Volunteer Activities
Nothing says team building like saving the planet. Good thing we have numerous opportunities to turn your crew into sustainable superheroes. Plus, our alpine-fresh air is known to elicit fresh business ideas, and the breathtaking vistas will transform them from tired to inspired.
Assist in preserving this 165-mile nature path that loops around Lake Tahoe. Your options include trail maintenance and construction, backcountry camp cooking, event assistance, administration, and community outreach.
Support multi-purpose pathways throughout the region with trail building and maintenance efforts. The association regularly hosts Trail Days that help get everyone rolling along.
Join the League to Save Lake Tahoe. Yes, joining a league really is as cool as it sounds. Preserve those cerulean waters and their surrounding natural landscapes alongside an environmental organization that offers water quality monitoring, forest stewardship, outreach, and cleanup activities on a regular basis.
You can also craft customized programs in South Lake Tahoe. Groups have gotten involved with food banks, community gardens, wellness events, and youth mentorship workshops in the past. We’d love to know what cause speaks to your crew.
Conservation Practices
South Lake Tahoe aims to be on the leading edge of policies that protect this gorgeous basin for generations to come, and we’ve already begun. Learn how we’re setting the standard while setting you up for success.
Bottle Basics
At 99.99% pure, Tahoe tap is already naturally among the finest in the world. So drink it in, and feel your best. We became one of the first cities to ban the use of single-use plastic water bottles in 2022. Lasting 450 years and turning into harmful microplastics that seep into the resources of humans and wildlife alike, this ban does more than make a statement. Especially since the League to Save Lake Tahoe has already picked up 20,100 bottles, 31,300 caps, and 163,800 plastic pieces. We provide refillable water bottles for both guests and residents, but this is also your chance to create some great company SWAG by passing out branded, reusable bottles for your attendees.
Rules to Lake By
We’ve developed five ways to practice responsible tourism at Lake Tahoe in order to keep this place as picturesque tomorrow as it is today. From protecting the lake to visiting with kindness, from cleaning up after ourselves to respectfully sharing communal spaces, we can enjoy the environment with wonder and awe. So let’s go big, and land lightly. It’s balance in its most natural state.
Add Meaning to Your Meetings
When leaving nothing behind means everything to you, take your group to Lake Tahoe’s South Shore. Browse venues designed for earth-conscious events, meetings, and conventions of all sizes. Our diverse range of accommodations offers the best luxury amenities, stunning views, and flexible event spaces so that you don’t have to compromise in order to cultivate a biodiverse ecosystem. At 6,224 ft. above sea level, attendees will feel so invigorated from the fresh, pine-scented air that they won’t want to fly back home (which is a great time to mention that we’re just a short drive away from Reno-Tahoe International Airport). Sound like a good fit? We’d love to see your RFP.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Summer temperatures across the Tahoe Basin are expected to come to an abrupt end this weekend as an unusually strong cold front moves through the region, bringing significantly cooler temperatures, strong winds and even the possibility of light snow.
According to the National Weather Service in Reno, temperatures will remain seasonably warm through Thursday, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s across Sierra valleys and low-to-mid 90s across western Nevada. However, 20 to 25 mile wind gusts are expected Wednesday afternoon, increasing to 20 to 30 mph by Thursday.
Forecasters say a major weather pattern shift will arrive Friday and Saturday as a strong cold front sweeps across much of the Great Basin.
“This front will take us from being about 10 degrees above average to around 20 degrees below average by Sunday,” the National Weather Service said in its forecast discussion.
The transition will bring widespread gusty winds, with a 20% to 50% chance of wind gusts exceeding 40 mph across the eastern Sierra and western Nevada on Friday and Saturday. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph are also possible Saturday as the cold front moves through the region.
The National Weather Service has issued Fire Weather Watches for Friday and Saturday due to the combination of strong winds, low humidity and dry fuels, particularly across western Nevada.
“In addition to fire weather concerns, winds could disrupt outdoor recreation, create hazardous boating conditions, and impact road and aviation travel,” the forecast discussion states.
The best chance for precipitation will arrive along the cold front Saturday into early Sunday morning. Most showers are expected north of Interstate 80, where there is a 10% to 20% chance of up to one-tenth of an inch of rainfall.
As colder air moves into the region, snow levels are expected to drop to between 7,000 and 8,000 feet from the Tahoe Basin north to the Oregon border, creating the possibility of light snow showers.
Temperatures are expected to remain well below average through the remainder of the weekend.
WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, along with the Department of the Interior announced new steps to reduce hazardous exposure for federal wildland firefighters during the 2026 fire year. These actions include expanded access to N95 respirators on the fireline, required training and standardized decontamination protocols.
Wildland firefighters work in extreme conditions with prolonged exposure to smoke, ash and airborne particles. While no respirator currently meets Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards for wildland firefighting, the Forest Service is moving forward with practical protections that can reduce risk now.
“Secretary Rollins has made it clear that we will no longer stand by as firefighters face long-term health risks just from doing their job,” said Forest Service Deputy Chief of Fire and Aviation Management, Sarah Fisher. The action we are taking today is about doing right by the people who put themselves between our communities and escalating wildfire threats. Improving respiratory safety and expanding decontamination practices are practical, common-sense measures that will make a real difference on the ground.”
For the first time, federal wildland firefighters are authorized to use N95 respirators on the fireline after receiving formal training on their safe use in the wildland fire environment. Expanded N95 use provides a meaningful, immediate tool to reduce the inhalation of particulates that can result in future health impacts. At the same time, both departments are pursuing a full respiratory protection program that is complaint with Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements.
These actions reflect a commitment Secretary Rollins outlined in her 2026 Wildfire Readiness Memo to minimize health impacts for wildland firefighters to the maximum extent possible through immediate interim measures while pursuing long-term solutions.
In addition, decontamination will be integrated into daily operations. Showers, gear cleaning and clean-air recovery reduce cumulative exposure and potential long-term health implications.
The Forest Service has the largest and most capable wildland firefighting force in the world. Protecting their health through every available tool is essential. Firefighters who are healthy, informed, and supported are better positioned to do their jobs effectively and safely. The Forest Service is committed to that outcome and will continue to advance improved health protection measures with the Department of the Interior.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Management members of Vail Resorts Retail team came to Bread & Broth’s Monday Meal on June 15th to represent Heavenly Mountain Resort as the Adopt A Day of Nourishment (AAD) sponsor for the late afternoon meal. Being in the business of customer service, when they arrived at St. Theresa Grace Hall at 3 p.m., AAD the team members were ready to help the Bread & Broth volunteers set up the meal service and food giveaway bags and tables.
By 4 p.m., the dessert and drink table was ready, 125 bags of fresh fruit and vegetables were packed, and the meal prepared by the B&B volunteer cooks was ready to be served. Over the next one and a half hours, the Heavenly AAD team members Michael Berberich, Area Manager; Cyomara Cisneros, Store Assistant Manager; Ryan Olm, Regional Director; and Amanda Phillips, Store Manager, served 146 dinner guests BBQ chicken legs, baked beans, coleslaw, and sautéed summer squash.
Left to right: Ryan Olm, Cyomara Cisneros, Amanda Phillips, Michael Berberich.Provided / Bread & Broth
As attendance has increased in recent months, the B&B cooks have been preparing extra food to not only serve first servings but also to provide sufficient food to provide seconds. At the June 15th meal, 33 guests enjoyed the meal so much and still had stomach room left that they came back for seconds.
“What a wonderful way to serve my community,” Michael said. “Everyone was so very thankful for our help volunteering.” It’s a great feeling to see the dinner guests enjoy the meal and the camaraderie of their fellow dinner guests and serving volunteers. The meal, along with food provided for later in the week, means a great deal to the dinner guests and they are very grateful and appreciative as the cost of living continues to rise.
“Bread & Broth is one incredible example of our community coming together to do good,” Ryan said. Adding that “It was an honor to help serve food to folks in South Lake Tahoe.” Thanks to
Vail’s EpicPromise grant which provides the $350 donation fee to sponsor each of their twelve annual Monday Meals, the Heavenly and Kirkwood team members are able to participate in providing food to those in the community who need a helping hand.
To learn more about Bread & Broth, donate, or sponsor an Adopt A Day of Nourishment, visit www.breadandbroth.org, or follow Bread & Broth on Instagram or Facebook.
BOULDER, Colo. – StormNet, the free app offering real-time severe weather forecasting powered by OpenSnow, outperformed seven competing forecasting models to take the top spot in NOAA’s Hazardous Weather Testbed Experimental Forecast Program Spring Forecasting Experiment. During the blind experiment, conducted in April and May 2026, StormNet ranked first across all lead times and during each week of the experiment, resulting in a first-place overall ranking at the conclusion of the test.
The Spring Forecasting Experiment, an annual, multi-week initiative co-led by the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Storm Prediction Center, evaluates experimental models and radar technologies to improve the lead time and accuracy of tornado, hail, and flash flood warnings. Throughout the experiment, StormNet’s technology consistently bested that of heavyweights including Google DeepMind, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Oklahoma, and others.
“At the end of the experiment, facilitators asked to use StormNet in their forecasting to test how well it does through the rest of the summer,” said Andrew Brady, StormNet founder and OpenSnow engineer. “We’re proud of how our technology stacked up against the competition, and are pleased to offer it as a free app download for everyday users who might find it useful when planning travel or activities based on the severe weather risk.”
Using machine learning and AI, StormNet analyzes radar and 125 million weather data points to produce cohesive severe weather forecasts every two minutes that look out up to 14 days in the future. With the ability to identify everything from lightning and damaging winds, to large hail and tornadoes, StormNet offers first-of-its-kind real-time forecasting. Powered and operated by OpenSnow, a trusted source for the most accurate U.S. weather forecasts, snow reports, and now, AI-powered severe weather maps, StormNet is available as a standalone app or as part of the OpenSnow platform.
Learn more here and start using StormNet today at stormnet.ai or by downloading the free app.
StormNet’s technology consistently outperformed Google DeepMind, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Oklahoma, and others.Provided
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As the school year came to a close, South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (STEEC) welcomed over 750 kindergarten through third-grade students from Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) to Sugar Pine Point State Park.
Kindergarten through second-grade classes learned from environmental educators around the Tahoe Basin, and third-grade classes experienced a tour of the historic Pine Lodge.
Environmental educators connected students with topics in wildlife, trees, water systems, local history, and stewardship, while building upon the students’ knowledge from the school year.
During a lesson with Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s McKenzie Koch, first graders learned about life cycles of native and invasive aquatic species in Lake Tahoe.
The South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition welcomed 750 kindergarten through third grade students to Sugar Pine Point State Park to learn about Tahoe history. Provided / STPUD
“The goal of the lesson is for students to understand how aquatic invasive species can be hard to identify and catch,” said Koch.
Although the threat of aquatic invasive species continues to grow, Koch expressed, “It was really inspiring to see that kids were coming up with solutions to this issue on their own, just from learning about species they love in the Lake right now”.
At the same time, California State Parks and Sierra State Parks Foundation staff members led third-grade students through tours of the Pine Lodge. After spending the school year learning about local Tahoe history, students took a closer look at a historic era with docent Lindsay Harbison. Harbison shared her passion for guiding tours, “I love sharing the history of Pine Lodge to our visitors of all ages”.
Third-grade students also hiked through the nature preserve with California State Parks’ educator, Katie Sullivan.
“It’s a joy to share my passion for the outdoors with students and visitors and see their enthusiasm and care for our natural world,” said Sullivan.
STEEC was thrilled to welcome LTUSD students on their adventurous field trip to the West Shore and further connect them with the beautiful place they call home. STEEC is a collaborative network of more than 20 local agencies and organizations. The organization has conducted environmental education programs with South Tahoe students since 2008.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, Mayor Cody Bass and other city staff joined together to cut the ribbon on the Bijou Park connector trail, which the city has been engaging with the public on since 2023.
Councilmember Scott Robbins and other bikers ride on the trail after the ribbon cutting.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
The 0.6-mile stretch connects the Al Tahoe Mobility Project with the Dennis T. Machida Memorial Greenway. Back in 2020, the city applied for Community Development Block Grant funding for the project, and in 2023-2024, the public provided comment on the project design.
“This short stretch does something massive,” said Bass. “It’s the missing piece of the puzzle,” connecting the bike trails and creating a transportation corridor that’s accessible by walking or biking.
Bass praised that the project unified separate walking paths and increased safety for bikers and pedestrians. The path also helps connect schools to other commute options.
The project, which was $1.85 million, ultimately came in under budget, meaning that some funds will return to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency mitigation fund and the general fund.
After a small snafu where the ribbon-cutting scissors wouldn’t snip, Bass and city partners eventually pulled through and cut the ribbon. Councilmember Scott Robbins was among the bike riders who rode the trail immediately after the ribbon cutting.
Mayor Cody Bass, Margie Kovarik-Maxhimer, and Stephen Anderjack get ready to cut the ribbon on the project.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
After a few failed attempts, the ribbon was finally cut.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Locally Grown Community Baby Shower will take place on June 25Provided/Sarah Abram
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – South Lake Tahoe’s inaugural Locally Grown Community Baby Shower kicks off on Thursday, June 25, at the new South Lake Tahoe Recreation and Aquatics Center, and invites pregnant or postpartum families residing in El Dorado and Alpine Counties to join for free resources and support.
“We’re so excited to be partners in this new event,” said Sarah Abram, Resource and Referral Supervisor at Catalyst Community. “It’s going to be a great way to connect new and expecting families with community resources and also with each other, to build community and make sure they have the most support ready for their growing families.”
Organized by Mountain Valley Health, the event will offer educational workshops, diaper programs, car seat safety, blanket giveaways, and an opportunity to win some amazing raffle prizes including things like baskets of baby clothes, breast pumps, books, and new baby/mother-related items.
Sombreros Mexican Restaurant is providing free and delicious food while baby games and a play area for kids will be available.
Anthem, Kaiser Permanente, Catalyst Community and over 15 additional community partners are coming together to take part in the community baby shower, including Safe Steps 4 Kids, El Dorado County Library, First 5 El Dorado and Alpine Commissions, El Dorado Community Health Centers, Alpine County Early Learning Center, El Dorado Smiles, Healthy Families El Dorado County, St. Theresa’s Bread and Broth, Vista Rise Collective, Barton Health, Marshall, Raya Health and El Dorado County Office of Education.
The event will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. inside the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center’s gym located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On the evening of June 10, 2026, Mt. Tallac High School, Elevated Digital Learning Academy, El Dorado County Adult School, and the ADVANCE program honored students whose determination, perseverance, and personal growth were on full display during a beautiful graduation ceremony hosted by Lake Tahoe Community College.
These programs are more than alternative pathways to a diploma or adult education; they are essential parts of our community. They provide opportunities for youth and adult learners whose journeys may look different from the traditional path, reminding us that success is not one-size-fits-all. In a community as diverse as ours, having multiple pathways to education is not only valuable but necessary.
The graduates’ stories demonstrated the life-changing impact these programs have on individuals, families, and the future of South Lake Tahoe. Student speaker Jennifer Valdez Lopez shared how Mt. Tallac opened doors she never imagined possible.
“Because of Mt. Tallac, I got a job in childcare at LTCC, volunteered at Barton, and started preparing for a future in the medical field. This fall, I plan to begin EMT and nursing classes and work toward becoming a nurse. But more important than any opportunity, this school gave me something greater. It gave me a better version of myself.”
Valdez Lopez’s words reflect what so many students experience through these programs: not only academic achievement but also personal transformation, confidence, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Keynote speaker and former LTUSD employee Susan Baker spoke about the power of kinship, kindness, and community. She challenged graduates and guests alike to imagine a more connected world, asking: “Can you imagine a world where we all felt that deep connection to each other despite our backgrounds and differences?”
Her message served as a powerful reminder that education is not only about preparing students for careers and college but also about building compassionate communities where everyone belongs.
The evening was made even more special by the stunning setting at Lake Tahoe Community College. LTUSD extends its sincere gratitude to LTCC for hosting such a picturesque and memorable ceremony and for its continued partnership in supporting local students and families.
There is also a celebration of the programs that make stories like these possible. Mt. Tallac High School, Elevated Digital Learning Academy, El Dorado County Adult School, and ADVANCE provide hope, opportunity, and second chances. They help students discover their strengths, overcome obstacles, and build meaningful futures. Their impact extends far beyond graduation day, strengthening our workforce, enriching our community, and changing lives for generations to come.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026.
Graduates throw their caps. Provided / LTUSD
A student from Mt. Tallac Provided / LTUSD
LTUSD Superintendent Dr. Cutler speaking at the graduation Provided / LTUSD
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Almost everyone who has visited Lake Tahoe in the busy seasons knows having a car in the basin can be a hassle.
Spending precious beach time looking for parking, finally finding a spot that’s a mile away from your destination and lugging all your beach stuff down the road, realizing you can’t visit your planned spot because you didn’t make a reservation in time or paying too much at a metered spot.
Even locals know the struggle; not being able to park near your place of business because a visitor has illegally parked in your spot, or the drive to work taking twice as long as it does during the shoulder seasons.
That’s why Keep Tahoe Blue has launched Car-Free, Care-Free Tahoe, an initiative to provide and highlight ways for people to get around South Lake Tahoe without their car.
“Basically, what it means is, you get to Tahoe, you park your car once and get to anywhere you want to go in the basin with lake-friendly, non-car options like buses, bikes, e-scooters, shuttles, maybe even boats,” said Chris Joseph, Communications Director, Keep Tahoe Blue.
The program is being piloted this summer in South Lake Tahoe with hopes of it eventually expanding to the North Shore.
While transportation is far from perfect in South Lake Tahoe, new and expanded programs have extended the places people can reach using non-car methods.
Lake Link is an on-demand shuttle that can take users almost anywhere in the South Shore for free. Bike paths have expanded and been repaved, making walking or biking easier.
The City of South Lake Tahoe recently renewed its contract with Lime Scooters to allow e-scooter access to visitors who don’t have a bike. The TTD bus line can take riders along U.S. 50 with many convenient stops along the way, including to the bus terminal at the “Y” where riders can then get picked up by the Emerald Bay Shuttle.
Chris Joseph and Gavin Feiger take Lake Link. Laney Griffo / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Finally, the East Shore Express provides riders with greater access to trails and beaches along Lake Tahoe’s East Shore.
“The best way to experience Lake Tahoe is from the passenger seat or from a bike or on your own two feet,” said Joseph.
“Traffic and parking are a real challenge here in Tahoe. That’s just the nature of being a super-popular worldwide destination that’s also within a four-hour drive for 8-10 million people. So, if you can stay off the roads, or let someone do the driving for you, it’s much, much easier,” Joseph said.
There is also an environmental purpose for this message.
“Every additional car that gets stuck on the road is more tailpipe emissions; that’s more food for algae in the lake; it’s also more wear and tear on the roadways that can create these fine particles of dust and debris that, when it rains, and snow melts, get funneled into the lake,” said Joseph.
TRPA, TTD and Keep Tahoe Blue had booths set up in Heavenly Village on the day the gondola was unveiled. Laney Griffo / Tahoe Daily Tribune
While Keep Tahoe Blue is the driver of the Car-Free Care-Free campaign, it couldn’t be made possible without other agencies in South Lake Tahoe, such as the Tahoe Transportation District, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine, the Tahoe Bike Coalition and more.
Those groups gathered at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Wednesday, June 17, to celebrate the unveiling of two gondola cars wrapped with art depicting the Car Free Care Free message. Keep Tahoe Blue is a beneficiary of Vail’s Epic Promise, and Heavenly leadership was excited to help spread Keep Tahoe Blue’s message.
“The Emerald Bay Shuttle program launched just this last year, and it was such a great example of our shared commitment to protecting the Lake Tahoe Basin,” said Peter Disch, Vice President of Mountain Operations, Heavenly. “So, when Keep Tahoe Blue approached about supporting the [Car Free Care Free] initiative, it was an immediate, ‘yes.'”
Jesse Patterson, Keep Tahoe Blue accepts a donation from Heavenly Mountain Resort. Laney Griffo / Tahoe Daily Tribune
They opened applications to artists within a 50-mile radius to submit their interpretations of Car Free Care Free. About 80 artists submitted applications, but local artist Bryn Merrell was named the winner.
For Merrell, winning the contest was too good to be true, so much so that she assumed the email announcing that she’d won must be spam.
“I couldn’t believe it when I was chosen; it’s a big opportunity, and I was honored,” said Merrell.
The piece is a panoramic view that spans from the East Shore all the way to Emerald Bay. It features some of Merrell’s favorite places along the South Shore, and it also features Highway 89.
“I just wanted the piece to celebrate the road which connects these communities, versus seeing it as a negative,” said Merrell.
She added that while the road does mean traffic, it also gives people access to the beautiful places in the area.
The wrapped cars are already running on Heavenly’s gondola. In addition to the exterior art, there is information inside on how to go car-free.
During the unveiling of the gondola, Keep Tahoe Blue Chief Strategy Officer Jesse Patterson, who rode a Lime Scooter from the KTB offices to the unveiling, said, “Part of visiting Tahoe should be how you get to each location and all the people you meet along the way.”
TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – An 85-year-old motorcyclist is dead after a head-on collision near South Lake Tahoe on Monday morning.
At around 11:15 a.m., a motorcycle traveling east on US-50, just east of Twin Bridges, Calif., crossed into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with an SUV traveling west.
Despite life-saving measures, the motorcycle rider, a male from Lincoln Calif., died at the scene.
It is currently unclear whether drugs or alcohol were a factor.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating and says more information will be released as it becomes available.
The Tahoe TAP podcast returns with another conversation highlighting the people, stories, and moments that make Lake Tahoe such a special place. Hosts Mike Peron and Rob Galloway sit down with one of the most accomplished athletes to ever compete in the American Century Championship — and one of the most respected figures in professional sports.
This episode features Joe Pavelski, the reigning American Century Championship winner, whose dramatic victory at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course instantly became one of the tournament’s most memorable moments. After several close calls, including a runner-up finish in 2024, Pavelski captured the 2025 title in spectacular fashion, sinking a walk-off eagle putt on the 18th hole to secure the championship.
While Tahoe fans have come to know him for his elite golf game, Pavelski’s legacy was built on the ice. Over an 18-year NHL career with the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, he played more than 1,300 games, scored nearly 500 goals, and established himself as one of the greatest American-born players in hockey history. Nicknamed “Captain America,” he served as captain of both the Sharks and Team USA, earned four NHL All-Star selections, and holds the NHL record for the most playoff goals scored by an American-born player with 74.
In this episode, Pavelski reflects on his remarkable hockey career, the transition from professional athlete to championship golfer, and his growing connection to Lake Tahoe through one of the region’s most celebrated sporting events. Listeners will also get to know the person behind the accolades — a fierce competitor, respected leader, and all-around great ambassador for the game.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – It’s that time of year again when bright yellow-green clouds float through the air, turning the shallow waters of Lake Tahoe chartreuse instead of its characteristic blue. It sticks to streets, to clothes, car windows and pet fur, causing sneezes and watery eyes for many. Pollen counts from last year don’t tip into the highs as many times as this year’s do, so it may result in more allergy symptoms for those who have them.
Pollen season starts when plants begin to release their spores to fertilize other plants of their species. In the case of pine trees, their strategy is to rely on the wind to carry the load to other trees—meaning they have to produce a lot of it to be successful.
Maya Duhl / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Under a microscope, you can see pine pollen has a “Mickey Mouse” shape. The two “ears” are air sacs that allow the pine to float farther in the breeze, like a balloon. That’s also why it tends to float on the surface of the lake. Pine pollen is also much bigger than other pollen particles, nearly double the size of grass or birch pollen. That’s why it’s so much easier to see them as they accumulate on surfaces.
According to pollen counts from Allergy and Asthma Associates in Reno, last year’s average of tree pollen concentration from May to early June was 99.8 parts per cubic meter of air—moderate to high levels that were also buffered through some rain. The average percentage of pine pollen was 51%.
This year, compared to the same timeframe from last year, the average tree pollen concentration has jumped up to 110.9 pp/m3, with an average of 75% made up of pine pollen.
These data are also collected from Reno/Sparks, meaning that the concentrations of pine are actually higher up in the Tahoe area.
While the typical season for pine pollen can be anywhere between May to July, it’s likely that the light snowpack and warmer weather has contributed to these bigger bursts in pollen. And places at lower elevation are likely seeing more pollen accumulate as winds deposit the yellow-green dust into these areas naturally. South Lake Tahoe, Crystal Bay, Incline Village and Kings Beach typically see more than other areas.
These seasons are a natural part of living in the Tahoe Basin and shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Even for those who have allergies, it’s likely that it’s not just the pines—other trees are also releasing pollen during these seasons, and their smaller pollen particles might actually be the culprit for your runny nose and itchy eyes.
What can you do during “the pollening” to make your life a little easier? Dr. Boris Lokshin at Allergy and Asthma Associates has a few suggestions.
First, keep your windows closed during the peak hours of pine pollen—typically in the mid-to-late morning. If you have air conditioning, you may want to check and replace the filters, which can easily get clogged with the larger pine pollen particles.
As you move out and about, Lokshin recommends masks if your nose and throat are particularly sensitive. Because the particles are large, even a fabric mask should provide adequate filtration. Over the counter, non-drowsy allergy meds like Claritin (also called loratadine) and Xyzal (also called levocetirizine) can also make it easier if you’re outdoors.
Next, he recommends using air purifiers to keep your home allergen free. Showering at night will also remove the pollen from you so you’re not carrying remnants of it into your bedroom.
While it’s a very specific sight to see during these months in Tahoe, peak pine pollen season will come to pass, and will pass much easier if you follow these tips.
Maya Duhl / Tahoe Daily Tribune
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The sun is setting on Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge as the community has known it for almost four decades. The longtime operator of the restaurant, T S Restaurants, is stepping aside in the fall to make way for a new operator — chef and restaurateur Mark Estee of Local Food Group.
T S Restaurants, which currently operates 13 destination restaurants in Hawaii and California, has run both the Sunnyside restaurant and hotel since 1987. T S CEO Jackie Reed said the decision was a mutual one made with the property owner, Tahoe Sunnyside Partners.
“It was a very difficult decision, but it felt time to return Sunnyside to a more local operator,” she said, “to do what was best for Sunnyside for the future.”
Estee has opened numerous restaurants in Tahoe and Reno, including Burger Me! and Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats (though he is no longer involved with either). Before that, he served as the executive chef at Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe’s Lone Eagle Grille. His group currently owns four restaurants in Reno — seven if you count Great Basin Brewery’s four locations.
Although Reed noted it’s been a difficult few years for the restaurant industry, she said the decision to part ways with Sunnyside was not a financial one. Mike Dumke, managing partner of Tahoe Sunnyside Partners, said the same thing.
“It’s been a great relationship with T S for 39 years, almost more like a partnership than a landlord relationship,” he said. “We both mutually came to the conclusion that it may be better to have them transition out and have a more local operator get involved in the property.”
Dumke said Estee plans on putting a fresh spin on the menu but will retain the theme of American fare as well as seafood and great burgers and adding some smoked items.
The new partnership also marks the beginning of significant investments across the property. Sunnyside will shut down Oct. 5 for renovations with plans to re-open April 1, 2027. The Local Food Group will remodel the restaurant, which includes an expansion of the kitchen and private dining spaces, while the ownership group plans on refreshing the 23 hotel rooms with new paint, carpet, and furniture, but no new construction. Tahoe Sunnyside Partners, which also owns Sunnyside Watersports & Marina, will manage the lodge going forward.
T S’s presence in Tahoe City began in 1978 with Jake’s on the Lake, then Sunnyside nine years later. Jake’s sold to a T S founder’s brother, Chris Thibaut, in 2005. Despite T S leaving Tahoe in the fall, Sunnyside will retain its storied name.
“It’s an emotional and bittersweet time for us,” said Reed, who noted T S is focusing on the Summer Send-Off celebration, with plans still in the works. “Not a lot of restaurants can say they operated for 39 years.”
The latest environmental controversy in Tahoe isn’t a development project, a wildfire, or a fight over lake clarity.
It’s a weed killer.
A proposal to use glyphosate in portions of the Caldor Fire burn scar has triggered mounting concern among residents and environmental advocates, opening a broader conversation about the herbicide’s health risks, ecological impacts, and growing presence throughout the region.
It all started with nonprofit news outlet Mother Jones’ yearlong investigation into the expanding use of herbicides in California forests. Released in May, the article dove deep into the worlds of wildfire management and recovery, industrial pesticide production, and complex federal bureaucracy. Among other projects, the article highlighted Forest Service plans to use herbicide as a vegetation management tool in the burn scar of the 2021 Caldor wildfire.
PULSING INTO WATERSHEDS: The most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate, poses a great risk of ecological devastation, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
The final environmental assessment and decision notice for the Caldor Fire Restoration Project — to be spearheaded by the Forest Service’s Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) — was released in March of this year. The project will thin tree stands in and around the burn area, remove damaged trees, and reforest burned areas, all within an approximately 11,700-acre project footprint.
Part of that preparation and reforestation is slated to include potential herbicide treatment. In the environmental assessment, LTBMU notes that “herbicides may be used to aid site preparation before tree planting and to manage competing vegetation after planting when manual treatments are ineffective or expected to be insufficient.”
At the top of the list of intended herbicides? Glyphosate.
Public reaction to the Caldor Restoration Project
The Mother Jones investigation analyzed more than 5 million California pesticide-use records, finding that approximately 266,000 pounds of glyphosate were applied in California forests in 2023 — nearly five times the amount used two decades earlier. The article characterized forest applications as the fastest-growing use of glyphosate in the state.
Public opposition to the use of the chemical in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin has quickly mounted, and pressure is on for local agencies.
In response to public outcry around the use of glyphosate in the Caldor Fire Restoration Project, a change.org petition began to circulate. It quickly garnered well over 22,000 signatures by the time this article was written, with public comments and support pouring in from across the country. Conspicuously absent from the body of this petition, however, are any concrete demands to address the titular demand, “Stop glyphosate spraying in the Tahoe Basin.”
This missing piece may be a reflection of the confusing decision-making associated with this project — in this particular instance, it seems few people know exactly how to effect change within our local bureaucracy.
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REFORESTATION: A recently planted Jeffrey pine seedling grows at the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort in California during a project in the Caldor Fire burn scar in May. Personnel from Silhouette Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Great Basin Institute planted red fir, Jeffrey pine and western white pine. Photo by Andrew Avitt/U.S. Forest Service
REVEGETATION WITH A PURPOSE: While vegetation will naturally reappear in the burn scar, the Forest Service plans to use mechanical and chemical treatments to ensure sufficient conifer growth. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
PULSING INTO WATERSHEDS: The most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate, poses a great risk of ecological devastation, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Frustrated, concerned, and confused, the public has swarmed to social media and rallied at Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) governance meetings to demand regulatory change. But that’s just not how it works, Jeff Cowen, public information officer at TRPA explained to me. At least, not anymore.
To understand the decision-making process behind environmental projects like this one, one must go back to the start. In 1969, TRPA was formed to help manage the two states, five counties, and three national forests that all wanted decision-making power over Lake Tahoe. Soon after, LTBMU was formed to consolidate national forest management in the region.
“It’s … been a partnership from the start,” Cowen said of the relationship between TRPA and LTBMU. But with 79% of land in the Basin owned and managed by the Forest Service, there are limitations on TRPA’s influence.
Those limitations have shifted over time, perhaps the most notable of which came as a result of the 2007 Angora wildfire. Inefficiencies, silos, and redundant regulatory procedures, Cowen explained, were identified as sticking points in the fire’s cause and magnitude. To address these hindrances, about 20 agencies came together to streamline environmental decision-making in the Basin.
Among the outcomes of this streamlining was an expanded memorandum of understanding between TRPA and LTBMU. For major projects like the Caldor Fire Restoration Project, TRPA is no longer a permitting authority, but instead an advisor to the decision-making process.
Cowen emphasized the efficacy of this decision, sharing that he feels that a “regulatory framework is really ineffective and not needed,” between the two agencies. “Because the Forest Service has very similar goals … they basically get to the point where they’re just adopting [our] goals and implementing them through their own plans.”
Together, the agencies have treated 80,000 acres across the Basin for wildfire prevention in the past two decades. But he also acknowledged there are “big, federal, overarching principles and direction that they also have to follow.”
As of late, these overarching principles seem somewhat murky.
How we got here: A noxious government love affair
In February of this year, the Trump administration made a sweeping move with the issuance of an Executive Order unambiguously named “Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorous and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides.”
This explicit prioritization of glyphosate production and use by the executive branch is a conveniently-timed declaration of support for the lawsuit-ridden Bayer company — and it’s no mystery as to why, Nathan Donley from the Center for Biological Diversity explained.
Our government has and continues to validate the use of glyphosate and other pesticides — despite the widely documented risks — because of the immense lobbying power of agricultural and agrochemical industries, Donley said. And it is far from isolated to the Trump administration.
“It’s been an absolute full court press from Bayer on all levels of government,” he explained. “Not just the executive and legislative branches. I mean, Clarence Thomas was a former Monsanto employee.”
And he’s not the only agrichemical-employee-turned-political-appointee. As of President Trump’s first year in office, all four of the top positions in the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention — the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Assistant Administrator, Deputy Assistant Administrator for New Chemicals, and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticides — have been filled by former executives or lobbyists of chemical and agricultural companies. The EPA and most other pesticide regulatory agencies continue to assert that glyphosate does not pose a health risk when used according to its label.
As Donley said, “the tendrils run deep … in the levels of influence that this company, Bayer, has in our government.”
Just how deep they run on initiatives like the Caldor Fire Restoration Project remains somewhat opaque. In the project’s environmental assessment, the herbicide use is identified as a way to expedite reforestation and “achieve silvicultural objectives.” These objectives? Conifer stands.
The assessment names three target species that, if not for herbicide use, could otherwise outcompete reforested conifers: western whitethorn, greenleaf manzanita, and ceanothus, or California lilac.
These native, fire-adapted species are known as pioneer species, meaning they are often the first to appear after wildfire events. Their fast-growing roots help to stabilize fire-impacted soil and prevent excess erosion, while also providing species-specific benefits like returning nutrients to damaged soils and quickly regenerating important habitat for pollinators and other species.
But while targeted elimination of native species may raise eyebrows, the Forest Service has an explanation. They are “not taking a wholesale targeting approach to these shrub species,” but instead targeting them only in the immediate vicinity of conifer seedlings. This will help ensure the area includes enough established trees to prevent full conversion to a montane chaparral environment, which could otherwise ignite easier and burn faster in future fire seasons.
Still, there is time before glyphosate use is slated to begin in the Basin.
“No herbicide application is planned for 2026 or 2027,” the Forest Service’s Region 5 media team stated. “Reforestation is an activity that will occur after initial entry (such as mechanical or hand treatments to remove overhead hazards and perhaps prescribed burning or mastication as site preparation) and occurs later in the project implementation timeline.”
Of the 11,700 acres of Forest Service land included within the project area, herbicide treatment is only proposed on a portion of the 2,400 to 3,600 acres where reforestation efforts will take place.
It’s a common pesticide. What’s the big deal?
Well, ain’t that the $11 billion question.
Health and environmental concerns associated with glyphosate use and exposure have been bubbling up for over a decade.
And despite being the most widely used herbicide globally, glyphosate wasn’t originally poised to become a pesticide at all. The chemical was first developed as a boiler and pipe cleaner agent. It wasn’t until 1974 that Monsanto, an American agrochemical and biotechnology company, discovered its efficacy as a herbicide. Monsanto quickly patented the discovery and sold glyphosate as the active ingredient in its crown-jewel herbicide product — Roundup.
GREENS-KEEPING: Golf courses are among the many landscapes where glyphosate is commonly used for vegetation management. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
For over 25 years, Roundup products filled shelves at hardware and home garden stores, farming co-ops, and major industrial retailers as the sole glyphosate-based product. Touting its unique success as a versatile weed-killer, products were marketed and sold in a variety of forms, from ready-to-use herbicides for home gardens to commercial-grade concentrates designed for agricultural, industrial, and heavy-duty landscaping use. The substance was applied with everything from handheld bottles to backpack devices to large-scale aerial sprayers.
In 2000, Monsanto’s patent for exclusive use of the chemical expired in the United States. Other manufacturers began to flood the market, introducing their own glyphosate-based herbicides. Public use skyrocketed and, for the better part of two decades, glyphosate products flew off shelves.
Then in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), published a scientific evaluation of the carcinogenicity of several market herbicides, glyphosate among them. As a result, glyphosate was designated as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Months later, the first lawsuit to allege Monsanto’s Roundup products were causing cancer proceeded to trial in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a groundskeeper for Benicia Unified School District argued Roundup had caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The case, Johnson v. Monsanto, became the first of approximately 125,000 similar claims filed by 2020, with the California court ultimately ruling in Mr. Johnson’s favor. The jury awarded the plaintiff $289 million in compensatory and punitive damages, an amount that was later reduced by the judge to $78 million and then $21 million.
At the same time, proponents of glyphosate products began to vehemently defend both its safety and usage.
One such advocate named Patrick Moore, a former environmentalist turned TED-talking-climate-change-skeptic, even went so far as to claim Roundup was safe to drink. Moore was featured on air in a CBC News segment on the 2015 WHO findings, where he stated that “you can drink a whole quart of [Roundup], it won’t hurt you.” However, when offered a glass of the chemical by his interviewer, Moore declined to substantiate his claim in real-time, repeatedly saying “No, I’m not stupid.”
In 2017, a multi-district litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California consolidated the surge of federal lawsuits against Monsanto for its Roundup products. The litigation revealed a body of evidence that the leading study cited to defend Roundup’s safety for human exposure — Safety Evaluation and Risk Assessment of the Herbicide Roundup and Its Active Ingredient, Glyphosate, for Humans, published in 2000 by Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology — was in large part shaped and steered by Monsanto employees. The suit exposed email exchanges between Monsanto employees offering congratulations to one another for their “hard work” on the study and hopes that it would become “the reference on Roundup and glyphosate safety.”
Ultimately, the journal retracted the study, citing significant ethical concerns. But the damage was done, and the study still ranks among the top references justifying glyphosate use and claims to its safety.
In 2018, Monsanto was acquired by Bayer, a German pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical company. Bayer continued to sell Roundup but quickly discontinued the use of the Monsanto brand name, which was becoming increasingly tied to unfavorable litigation.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California found Monsanto liable for another case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. in 2019, initially awarding Mr. Hardeman $80 million in damages — a total subsequently reduced to $20 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision in 2021, finding that the EPA’s approval of a pesticide label does not immunize a manufacturer from being held liable. This case ultimately became the first (and at this point, only) federal decision on the issue.
Despite Bayer phasing out glyphosate as an active ingredient in its residential Roundup products in 2023, it remains present in commercial and agricultural formulas. Lawsuits have continued to arise, with substantial damages and fees awarded to plaintiffs whose exposure to Roundup resulted in non-Hodgkin, follicular, T-cell, or other forms of lymphoma.
As of the time this article is being written, Bayer has paid over $11 billion in settlements for Roundup-related lawsuits and proposed a nation-wide class action settlement that would cap current and future claim payouts at $7.25 billion, to be used for declining payments for up to 21 years. The class action is heavily opposed by plaintiffs and environmental and public health organizations who have described it as a liability “shield.” A decision from the federal Supreme Court on its constitutionality is expected later in June. If approved, it will become one of the largest legal fee awards to date.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE: The 2021 Caldor Fire burned 221,835 acres across El Dorado, Alpine, and Amador counties. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Public health and environmental impact
Cancer is far from the only public health risk posed by glyphosate use and exposure.
Studies have found potential ties between glyphosate exposure and various medical conditions such as liver disease and reproductive disorders including PCOS, endometriosis, and disruptions to fertility. What’s more, a growing body of research is finding that glyphosate exposure may be a trigger for various gastrointestinal diseases and conditions, including celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
But despite these alarming associations, it remains unclear how much exposure is required to pose a real health risk to humans. In the vast majority of legal cases, affected plaintiffs are groundkeepers, farmers, or dedicated recreational gardeners — folks routinely subjected to highly concentrated forms of glyphosate.
In all likelihood, the exposure any individual may experience as a direct result of a relatively remote use such as the Caldor Fire Restoration Project would not cause substantial human harm. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, the half-life (time needed for a chemical to reduce to half of its initial amount) of glyphosate is particularly variable, landing somewhere between 2 and 197 days in soil, and between “a few days” and 91 days in water.
The chance of human exposure narrows further upon consideration of where the Caldor Fire Reforestation Project’s proposed herbicide treatment areas lie. In an email, the Forest Service’s Region 5 media team noted that “for the Caldor Fire Restoration Project, herbicide use is proposed only on a subset of the area proposed for reforestation, where other reforestation site preparation methods will not work. For example, manual removal equipment is not permitted in project areas with steep slopes, locations far from existing roads, [or] sensitive soils.”
But the questionable human health impacts of this project are not the sole consideration in this instance. An even greater risk is the ecological devastation that glyphosate wreaks on habitats, plants, and wildlife.
Donley at the Center for Biological Diversity noted that so long as glyphosate is present, it poses an environmental risk. This is particularly true after any precipitation, where stormwater runoff “goes into the nearby river, lake, or stream of that watershed and contaminates it with high pulses of pesticide.”
Donley emphasized that most animals do rely on these waters, whether they are woodland animals seeking drinking water, wetland species like migratory birds, or aquatic animals that then have no choice but to suffer through 24/7 exposure to contaminated water. While this can be lethal, he added, there are other effects as well. “It can lead to chronic harms like reduced reproductive capability or developmental defects, so it can affect subsequent generations and ultimately lead to population decline or even collapse for certain species,” he explained.
The Environmental Protection Agency found that glyphosate use was likely causing harm to 1,676 of the approximately 1,700 plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Where the Caldor Fire Restoration Project is concerned, LTBMU will be taking some precautions to prevent this catastrophic runoff. “Herbicide applications will not take place within six hours of predicted rainfall that has a high probability of producing measurable runoff, or as requested by the Forest Service aquatics biologist,” the Forest Service shared via email. Additionally, the project will use backpack sprayers or other low-volume methods, as opposed to aquatic or aerial application, which produces greater concern for pollinator species.
But slip-ups or insufficient margins of time between application and precipitation could be catastrophic for some species that call the Tahoe area home.
In 2021, the federal Environmental Protection Agency found that glyphosate use was likely causing harm to 1,676 of the approximately 1,700 plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Impacted species include the Sierra Nevada red fox, California spotted owl, and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, all of which are listed in the federal Endangered Species Act and live in our area.
Hitting close to home
While proposed glyphosate use in the Caldor burn scar has created quite a stir for the public, it appears as though our community remains blissfully unaware that glyphosate made its debut in the Truckee/Tahoe area long ago.
According to its most recent annual data, California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) ranked glyphosate the sixth most used pesticide in the state in 2023. Of herbicides (plant-specific pesticides) used statewide, glyphosate ranked number one both by pounds applied and total acres treated – 10.7 million and 4.8 million, respectively. About 270,000 pounds alone were used to spray California’s forest land, a figure that has been steadily increasing each year.
Agriculture remains a top use, with glyphosate the pesticide of choice for a variety of crops, from cotton to nuts to citrus and even — put down your glass of pinot here — wine grapes. Neighborhood gardens also pose a risk; DPR data excludes residential use, but despite Bayer’s 2023 phaseout of glyphosate from its residential products, the compound remains the active ingredient in competitor products. Nationwide, the EPA estimates residential and non-crop glyphosate use at several million pounds per year.
While glyphosate is most closely associated with agriculture, it is also widely used in non-agricultural settings, including rights-of-way corridors, landscape maintenance, parks, athletic facilities, golf courses, utility infrastructure, and other managed public spaces.
Individual county reporting provides insight into current uses regionally. El Dorado County, which encompasses the Eastern side of Folsom to the California-Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe, applied over 9,500 pounds of glyphosate in 2023 for forest and timberland applications, and just over 6,000 along rights of way areas like roads, highway corridors, sidewalks, and curb areas. Placer County, on the other hand, reported over 9,000 pounds used for rights of way areas, just over 4,600 pounds for forest and timberland areas, and just under 4,000 pounds for landscape maintenance. Nevada County clocked in with significantly lower rates, atjust over 2,000 pounds used for rights of way areas and a similar amount for landscape maintenance topping the list in 2023.
These numbers encompass more than public agency use. Private landowners are also obligated to report use to DPR, and glyphosate has become industry-standard for a number of vegetative fixtures. For example, on its website, NV Energy notes herbicide use as a mechanism for vegetation management under its power lines.
A recent follow-up article from Mother Jones opened with investigative journalist Nate Halverson standing in the middle of a run at Sierra-at-Tahoe that “clearly had been doused in glyphosate,” pointing to the area being “devoid of spring flowers; the bushes leafless, brittle, and dead by all appearances.” Sure enough, Halverson had found that the “Forest Service posted maps online showing it had sprayed glyphosate around and within Sierra-at-Tahoe in spring 2025.” This spraying was a part of a separate Caldor Fire Restoration Project, managed by El Dorado Resource Conservation District and taking place outside of the Basin, with a much larger footprint approved for herbicide use.
Patrick Lacey, public relations manager at Palisades Tahoe, said the resort does not use any chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides for vegetation management. Instead, he explained, its vegetation management crews use the mechanical removal of smaller trees and bushes to focus on “reducing ladder fuels on the forest floor and skier safety; the combination works synergistically.”
Since 2015, more than 125,000 legal claims have been filed alleging that exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, contributed to the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bayer has paid over $11 billion in settlements thus far. File photo
Marc McMullen, the golf course superintendent at Northstar California Resort, told me he does use glyphosate as well as fungicide to manage vegetation on the Northstar course. While total use during the season is relatively low, McMullen emphasized that the compound used is a harsh enough product that it is not available off the shelf and requires a pesticide applicator license through both the state and county.
University extension publications and turf-management literature routinely identify golf courses as a significant use category for the herbicide for vegetation management, cart-path edging, weed control, and renovation projects.
Moonshine Ink reached out to other land managers of community spaces, but many did not respond to the inquiries.
While debate continues over where and when glyphosate should be used, its presence in the modern landscape is difficult to avoid entirely. That reality raises a practical question for residents: What steps, if any, can individuals and communities take to reduce exposure?
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot
Options range from personal choices to participating in public discussions.
First and foremost, eating food grown using organic practices whenever possible is one of the leading ways to reduce glyphosate exposure and mitigate its harms to human health, researchers say.
A 2020 study published in Environmental Research found that diet is a main source of glyphosate exposure for humans. What’s more, researchers found glyphosate levels in children prior to making the switch to organic foods were approximately five times higher than adult levels. The good news? Transitioning to organic food had a near-immediate impact on the amount of glyphosate in subjects’ systems, reducing levels by over
70 percent.
Water, too, can be a potential source of glyphosate exposure. In the Basin, where most household drinking water comes from surface waters, regional water purveyors regularly test for pesticides. Sarah Vidra, the Executive Director at Tahoe Water Suppliers Association, confirmed that “pesticides are … monitored as part of the Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOC) program.” Currently, she added, “the Association is not aware of any pesticide detections exceeding drinking water standards in Lake Tahoe source water supplies.” Vidra confirmed the SOC testing TWSA uses detects glyphosate.
Truckee tap water is substantially more removed from potential contamination, as the Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD) sources all water from deep underground aquifers. “The average age of our drinking water predates many modern chemicals,” Alex Spychalsky, TDPUD Communications Program Manager, explained via email. “For example, the rain we saw fall in our region last week won’t reach our aquifer for decades.”
But Donley said there’s more to be done than relying on water purveyors. “Regardless of how clean you think your water is, everyone should have a good water filter in their house,” he advised. “Because I don’t care how clean you think your water is, it’s not.”
MAKING THE ROUNDS: Glyphosate wasn’t originally poised to become a pesticide at all. The chemical was first developed as a boiler and pipe cleaner agent. In 1974 Monsanto discovered its efficacy as a herbicide and quickly patented the discovery and sold glyphosate as the active ingredient in its crown-jewel herbicide product — Roundup. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
While limiting glyphosate exposure in private spaces like kitchens, yards, and gardens can help mitigate risk, navigating more public areas that are outside of one’s control can be more complex. A simple rule of thumb, Donley suggested, is don’t play — and don’t let your loved ones play — where dandelions don’t grow. Weeds and other landscaping imperfections are natural. Allow them to be a sign of safe, glyphosate-free spaces.
Locally, questions about herbicide use may be addressed through existing regulatory and planning processes. As for the standards by which TRPA advises projects, those can be changed, though Cowen noted that “the path to what action [TRPA] can take is a relatively long one.” While it typically responds to emerging issues through scientific review, Cowen suggested the level of public interest surrounding glyphosate may warrant further examination. In the case of herbicide use in the Tahoe Basin, he said, “public concern is probably enough for us to start looking at it.”
Whether glyphosate is ultimately used as part of the LTBMU Caldor Fire Restoration Project remains to be seen. What is already clear is that the proposal has sparked a broader conversation about forest management, wildfire recovery, herbicide use, public health, and environmental stewardship — one that is likely to continue well beyond the boundaries of the burn scar itself.
For decades, Truckee Fire Protection District has provided fire and emergency medical services to some of the region’s most affluent neighborhoods. According to the district, however, it has never received the full share of property tax revenue that should be tied to those responsibilities.
Now, after years of unsuccessful negotiations, Truckee Fire has taken Placer County to court, arguing that a decades-old property tax allocation error has deprived the district of roughly $40 million since the mid-1970s. The lawsuit could reshape how millions of dollars in property taxes are distributed among local agencies, drawing 10 other districts into the dispute.
Property tax collection for select special districts across Truckee/North Tahoe play a significant role in revenue streams. Some, like Truckee Sanitary District and Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, rely on property taxes for more than 60% of their operating revenue.
This is common in California: Revenue from the 1% property tax is the foundation for most jurisdictions, from counties and cities down to schools and special districts.
Which means if there’s a piece of the highly precious property pie tax missing, it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Nearly 75% of the Truckee Fire Protection District’s 2025/26 revenue comes from taxes, or $14.1 million of its total $19.8 million budget. That number, alleges the district, should be $4 million more.
The district officially brought a case before the Sacramento Superior Court in February 2025 to right a “historic wrong,” according to court documentation.
Placer County, through outside counsel, has so far called into question the legal validity of the entire case, disputing each of the four causes of action submitted by Truckee Fire that make up its argument. Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell ruled against the county’s claims as recently as May 14.
As of press deadline, the ball is in Placer’s court: it has until July 6 to file a formal response to Truckee Fire’s demand for court action and a legal ruling.
Because of the active litigation, both entities provided brief statements to Moonshine Ink:
“Truckee Fire looks forward to having our day in court and to an expeditious, fair, and complete resolution to this matter,” Chief Kevin McKechnie said.
“The county disputes the claims brought by the district and will defend its position in the litigation,” shared Steven Wilson-Maggard, public information officer.
How did we get here?
The red tape that’s causing so much back and forth stems from California’s Proposition 13, passed back in 1978.
This ruling put a 1% tax rate cap of a property’s assessed value and limited yearly assessment increases to 2%. (Prior to ’78, the state’s average property tax rate was 2.67%.) Further, property reassessments bringing up a property to current market value can only take place when there’s a change in ownership or new construction.
Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8), enacted in 1979, determined how that 1% tax was divided up among local governments. County auditors were required to base this distribution on the average property tax revenue received by local governments in the few years preceding Prop 13.
The crux for Truckee Fire is that a few years prior to Prop 13, the district began providing fire protection and medical services to a piece of land known then as the Woolverton Property and known now as Zone 7, annexed into the district in 1974.
CAUGHT IN RED TAPE: Select neighborhoods in Martis Valley are classified as a No Pay Tax Rate Area (TRA), which means Truckee Fire Protection District provides service with no property tax revenue in return. The group of homes in question amounts to 1,600 structures across 2,189 parcels. Graphic by Lauren Shearer/Moonshine Ink and courtesy Google Maps
Zone 7 currently comprises Martis Camp, Schaffer’s Mill, part of Lahontan off Snowshoe Thompson Circle; a portion of Sierra Meadows off Pine Cone and Ponderosa drives, and Golden Pine Road; as well as a section of Ponderosa Palisades on Silver Fir Drive west of Thelin Drive.
The Woolverton agreement limited taxation to the value of improvements (or development), not the underlying land, and allowed property owner Bertha Joerger Woolverton “to continue to live on her property unburdened by taxes but to support the District’s services as she sold her land for development,” as stated in Truckee Fire’s complaint.
In board meetings, Placer County supervisors have called this deal of taxing Zone 7 at a reduced rate as a mistake made by Truckee Fire, leading to the district receiving only partial property tax from that area during three critical years before Prop 13. That taxation level was locked into place in 1978 — and has stayed that way through today.
During the 2024/25 tax year, across the TRAs in Zone 7, Truckee Fire received between 0.60% and 0.75% in AB 8 property tax allocation. A nearby TRA shows Truckee Fire receiving 11.58% of the distribution.
There have been some negotiations in the intervening years. Truckee Fire formally requested its share of AB 8 funding in 1997, 2011, 2018, and 2023. In 1997, Placer’s Auditor Controller Jayne Goulding sent a letter to Truckee Fire stating the revenues had been corrected, but that change never took place.
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IN 1973, Truckee Fire received a letter from Bertha Woolverton requesting annexation into the district for land known today as Martis Valley. Documents courtesy Truckee Fire Protection District
IN 1973, Truckee Fire received a letter from Bertha Woolverton requesting annexation into the district for land known today as Martis Valley. Documents courtesy Truckee Fire Protection District
In 2019, the county allocated the district funding from an adjacent bucket: Placer County executed a voluntary tax share agreement allowing Truckee Fire to receive a portion of fire control fee collected from Zone 7 property taxes, amounting to about $300,000 annually. Truckee Fire considers this agreement irrelevant to the larger situation, according to court documentation.
In June 2024, the Placer County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation about the fire control fund and whether to continue with a subsequent funding method or not.
Placer County Supervisor Jim Holmes pointed out in June 2024 that Truckee Fire could have corrected the issue in part during the county’s 2003 general plan update but did not do so: “This sets a precedent … This takes money out of our general fund to supplement a district that failed to take action when the opportunity was there for them.”
The item was not up for action, and ended with unclear steps for the future. Eight months later, Truckee Fire filed its case.
What specifically is being asked for?
Truckee Fire’s legal reasons for suing Placer fall into two camps: three focus on the failure of property tax allocation (as described previously), while the fourth focuses on the county’s failure to comply with the Placer County General Plan and Martis Valley Community Plan.
This second camp claims the county approved real estate developments such as Martis Valley, Schaffer’s Mill, and part of Lahontan neighborhoods in Zone 7 without funding fire service in conjunction.
In early 2024, Truckee Fire alleges in the complaint, the district stated on an early building permit for a townhome development in Schaffer’s Mill that as the serving fire protection district, it would “withhold approval of a Certificate of Occupancy until it received adequate funding to provide fire services to the development.” The district also requested that the county restrict further development in Martis Valley until the funding issues at hand could be rectified.
On March 26 of that year, Placer amended its county code to allow fire-protection district approval to come from either Truckee Fire, Placer County Fire, or Cal Fire.
Over a year later, the Placer County Planning Commission modified the Schaffer’s Mill Conditional Use Permit language to allow either Truckee Fire or Placer County Fire’s signature for plan approvals.
Placer demurred to the district’s complaint on all causes of action. A demurrer essentially means that even if, in this case, Truckee Fire’s claims are true, they do not warrant a lawsuit. Judge Rockwell overruled two of the three demurrers, while sustaining the third demurrer on the fourth cause of action, but allowed the district time to amend its legal stance.
Truckee Fire did so, submitting an amended complaint — to which Placer demurred once again on the fourth cause of action. The judge overruled this demurrer in mid-May, leading to the current wait for Placer County’s response, due by July 6.
From there, the case will likely enter a discovery phase, during which both sides will exchange information, evidence, and witness interviews.
Among its requests for ruling, Truckee Fire hopes for legal mandates to the county to allocate and pay the district its AB 8 share of Zone 7 property tax revenue; a permanent injunction from denying Truckee Fire its AB 8 share; and a declaration that Placer’s decision to approve development in the Martis Valley area without general plan compliance violates the law.
TRUCKEE FIRE’S Station 96, serving the Martis Valley 24 hours a day, seven days a week since 2000. Courtesy photo
What other districts are involved (and whose side are they on)?
If Truckee Fire is allotted any amount of AB 8, which is a limited pot of money, other entities receiving property tax from Zone 7 will take a hit.
When it first filed its complaint, Truckee Fire did not include other taxing entities involved in Zone 7 who could be impacted. Placer called this out in a demurrer, requiring an amended complaint to include the following as real parties in interest:
Truckee Tahoe Airport District, Placer County Resource Conservation District, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Sierra Community College District, Placer County Office of Education, Placer County Water Agency, Tahoe Forest Hospital District, Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency, Tahoe City Public Utility District, and Truckee Sanitary District. All 10 are listed as parties on the side of Placer County.
Of the parties, the airport district, Tahoe City PUD, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Placer County Office of Education, and Truckee Sanitary District have filed joinders at some point, formally aligning themselves with Placer’s arguments. For the latest set of demurrers, the school district and office of education did not file joinders while the remaining three did.
Why other parties of interest didn’t file a joinder can be for many reasons, including being able to benefit from a decision without the cost or exposure; different interests than defendant’s strategies; and taking a wait-and-see approach.
“While the core of this dispute is between the fire district and the county, the legal remedy sought, a reapportionment of ad valorem property taxes, carries an outsized potential impact on a broad coalition of local public agencies that provide essential services to our community,” TTAD General Manager Robb Etnyre wrote in an email. “Because property tax revenue is a ‘zero-sum’ system under California law, any significant shift in these percentages means the funding must be drawn from the existing shares of other local entities.”
In its 2026 budget, TTAD anticipates receiving about $10 million in property tax revenue — about 55% of its revenue for the year.
Etnyre added that the airport district’s participation in the case, as well as the other parties with interest, “is intended to ensure that the pursuit of fire protection funding does not inadvertently destabilize the budgets of our schools, our hospital, or our regional infrastructure.”
Truckee Fire has said in public statements about the case, “Placer County would prefer we ask taxpayers districtwide to approve a new property tax so that the district can have sufficient funds to fund services in Lahontan, Martis Camp and Schaffer’s Mill … Placer County has already collected substantial tax revenue, they just need to allocate it.”
In the current court case, the district is requesting its AB 8 share from the date of the final court order forward. Meanwhile, it is also asking for historical records of what it received from 1975 to 1978, which would play a role in determining the full amount Truckee Fire might have collected since the mid-1970s.
Sherry McConkey is widely known in Tahoe/Truckee as the wife of the late, famed skier and ski-BASE athlete Shane McConkey, as founder of the Shane McConkey Foundation, and a popular yoga teacher. But the story of how Sherry became such an active part of the Tahoe community started on the other side of the world.
Born to a South African mother and Persian father, Sherry entered the world under complicated circumstances. Her mother, who was a model, gave birth in an adoption home in Ireland because in the 1960s, it would have been complicated to have a mixed-race child in South Africa. When Sherry was born with blonde hair and blue eyes, her mother was able to bring her back to South Africa and raise her there.
After spending her first years in Iran, Sherry grew up near the coastal city of Durban in South Africa. By age 21, she was ready to see more of the world.
“When I was 21, I decided to travel the world and find my birth father,” Sherry said.
With South African currency stretching only so far abroad, she found herself working, traveling, and working again as she made her way across Europe.
“I had some insanely amazing adventures, great and bad, beautiful and crazy,” Sherry said. “Three years of a very innocent, naive young South African traveling the world.”
Along the way, she saw snow for the first time while visiting Switzerland and immediately fell in love with the mountains. Eventually, her search for her father led her to North America.
But shortly before she planned to meet him, everything changed.
“As I was about to come to the States to meet my dad, he left without telling me,” Sherry said. “Basically, I was like, ‘Screw you. I’m done looking. I’m done trying.’”
Without a destination in mind, Sherry followed recommendations from friends and found herself driving to Tahoe.
“I found it miraculous,” she said. “As I drove up the West Shore and the harvest moon was coming out of the lake, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this place is amazing.’”
What was supposed to be a single winter stay has now turned into 36 years.
Tahoe became even more meaningful after she met professional skier Shane McConkey. Together they built a life and raised their daughter, Ayla. When Shane died in a ski-BASE accident in Italy in 2009, Sherry considered leaving the region.
GURU: Sherry McConkey is a popular yoga teacher at Palisades Yoga. She is pictured here at her retreat in Nicaragua. Photos courtesy Sherry McConkey
“When Shane died, the community just wrapped their arms around Ayla and me,” she said. “It was like a family around me. I was like, ‘How am I ever going to leave this?’”
The years that followed were marked by loss throughout the community. Many longtime locals remember the early 2000s as a period of repeated tragedies.
“I got to a point where I was like, ‘How much more can I take?’” Sherry said. “But when I looked at other places to go, I would realize I couldn’t leave my Tahoe family.”
Instead, she stayed and poured her energy into giving back.
In the years following Shane’s death, Sherry helped establish the Shane McConkey Foundation. What began as a way to support environmental causes the couple cared about grew into programs that are now nationwide. Since its founding in 2011, the nonprofit has donated one million dollars to environmental causes, kids health and wellness, and projects that impact the Tahoe/Truckee region.
PMS: Sherry McConkey (in red) with her daughter, Ayla, at the Pain McShlonkey, an annual snowblade contest put on by her foundation, the Shane McConkey Foundation.
“When I first started the foundation, I think I was still in shock,” Sherry said. “We didn’t quite know what to do.”
One of its most successful projects grew from a student environmental initiative led by a teacher at Donner Trail Elementary partaking in the Shane McConkey Eco Challenge. Today, the foundation’s Don’t Drop the Top program operates lid collection sites throughout the region that have diverted 8,200 pounds of plastic from local landfills.
“The kids partaking in the Eco Challenges are mind-blowing and so amazing,” Sherry said. “It gives me hope for the future.”
LOVE: Sherry McConkey and her daughter, Ayla, who is now 20.
For Sherry, the foundation reflects the same philosophy that defined Shane’s life: maximizing enjoyment in life.
“The foundation, in a nutshell, is a combination of fun and not taking life so seriously, but then intense and taking life really seriously,” she said. “A good balance.”
After decades in Tahoe, that balance continues to guide her. The woman who once crossed continents searching for connection ultimately found it in a mountain town that became family.
“My hope for Tahoe is to become the most environmentally conscious town in the world,” Sherry said. “It’s breathtakingly beautiful, and you only have one life. Live it.”
It’s midnight in the middle of nowhere on the Trans-Siberian Railway but sleep is far from mind. Russian train-riders are gathered in the bar car, laughing and dancing around the ragtag string band that’s swigging vodka and making up funny songs on the spot.
The bandmembers are a bunch of Americans, in-country for the 2018 World Cup, and rather than geopolitical hostilities there’s a warmth of human connection forged around global sport and the universal language of music.
TRAIN JAM: Jeremiah Kent (middle) and Martin Cavada (foreground) playing tunes and giving smiles at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Photo by Ryan Salm
“We ended up being the house band on the Trans-Siberian for a week,” guitarist Ryan Salm remembered. “It was before the war [in Ukraine]. We ended up befriending generals and regular people, just singing songs and staying up all night.”
Salm is a founding member of the Home Team String Band, the Tahoe/Truckee-based group that’s traveled to the last four World Cups — bringing an open-armed vibe of music, good times, and cross-cultural connection as they celebrate the unifying power of soccer’s biggest stage.
THE HOME TEAM’S BUS, painted by Ben Williams of Truckee, does not have a nickname yet, but members of the band are pretty sure it will by the time the World Cup is over. Photos courtesy Paul Raymore
This year’s World Cup will be played in North and Central America from June 11 to July 19, with the bulk of the matches taking place in the United States.
“We’ve been welcomed wherever we’ve gone,” said Dan Hurley, the group’s unofficial musical coordinator who, along with Salm, also plays in the Tahoe-based band The Inappropriators. “I’m most looking forward to hosting, and to giving back to the world what they’ve given for us. We are going to show a welcoming spirit.”
To do so, the band bought an old Bluebird school bus and undertook a group-effort, custom build-out, readying their “Schoolie” to be a traveling home, fan-zone (with two TVs and a projector screen), music venue, and cultural welcome center. They’ll make and hand out grilled cheese sandwiches and throw parties, aiming to be a gathering place where people from all over the world can hang out before, during, or after the games and have a good time.
TRANSFORMATION: Members of the Home Team String Band talk it over during a bus-buildout session.
“We’ll play a bunch of songs and hope to get people to join our band along the way,” Salm added.
Folks may join the band forever, for a day, an hour, or even just one song. After all, impromptu additions to the group are what created the Home Team in the first place. The band is now 12-plus humans strong, but it all started back in 2010 with three Tahoe locals who just wanted to go the World Cup in South Africa.
Salm arrived on the continent before the event began and traveled overland from Ethiopia (guitar and harmonica in tow) to South Africa. He knew Paul Raymore and Hurley independently, and they all made plans to meet up before the matches began.
TRANSPORTATION: When the Home Team String Band found themselves in a dry country for the 2022 World Cup, they traded beer for bikes and cycled to the games in Qatar. Photo by Ryan Salm
Prior to linking up with them, Salm was checking out of a bungalow in Malawi just as another guy with a guitar was checking in. He was from L.A., and Salm told him he lived in Tahoe. The guy’s first question was, “Have you been to High Sierra Music Festival?”
Salm smiled. “I go every year,” he said. The connection was instant and the two made sure they’d reconnect in South Africa — and boom, Jeremiah Kent was added to the roster.
Similar serendipity ensued at the USA vs. England game in Rustenberg when an American approached the group and it was discovered they had a mutual friend in Tahoe. He introduced himself as Pete Blanchard and they all hung out that night. “We had an empty spot in our car,” Salm said, “and the next day Pete was part of the crew.”
They met Tahoe-ite Trevor Husted at the USA vs. Algeria knockout match and the group of travel-seeking, soccer-loving musicians started writing funny songs about their World Cup experiences. The bond was tight, and the Home Team String Band was born.
THE HOME TEAM STRING BAND celebrates euphorically at a World Cup match. Photo courtesy Paul Raymore
Everyone has a nickname. Someone who joined eight years ago will always be New Guy (Dane Halter). Added in 2014 were Hulké (Martin Cavada), Hylando (Rylan Cordova), and Maximus (Kurt Beckering). Then there’s Godfather (Paul Raymore), Captain Jebbers (Kent), and Handsome (Hurley), among others.
The nicknames are written on the back of the bandmate’s personal Sweatsedo — a sweet, custom-made velour track suit — in the local language of whatever country they are in. Sometimes the names get lost in translation. In Russia, for example, Trevor Husted’s “T-Bone” read as “T-Steak.”
Eight years later, Husted is still T-Steak.
Blanchard earned his original nickname, Granada (Spanish for grenade), due to his proclivity for explosive late-night antics, but on the Trans-Siberian he turned sweet. On a short stop, he ran out and bought flowers for the Russian bartendress. She received them well and started calling him Pupsik — a term of endearment either romantic or maternal meaning something akin to “cutie.” The boys couldn’t resist that one either, and his nickname forever changed to Pupsik.
There’s an origin story, of course, for the nicknames. In 2010, the original crew was driving on a dirt road in Lesotho, the small, mountainous nation landlocked by South Africa, when a couple of locals boys threw a small rock at the vehicle. “Stop the car!” boomed Salm’s voice. In a flash he was running into the African plains after the half-laughing, half-screaming perpetrators.
The team was beyond impressed by Salm’s speed. Right then and there he became “Cheetah” — and the naming began.
The young-adult sons of Raymore and Halter, Ethan and Nathan respectively, will hop on the bus for their first Home Team action this World Cup. “They’re good kids but they haven’t done much yet,” Hurley said. “They’ll be known collectively as JV until they prove themselves worthy of joining the varsity and earning a nickname.”
Not your typical band
The group’s gigs aren’t pre-booked shows in concert halls, rather impromptu busking-type sessions played in crowded subways, outside stadiums, and on bustling city streets.
“My favorite thing about it is that most of our material is written in the moment,” Hurley said, noting that the chord progressions are made up on the spot and the lyrics freestyled. “You write a song about a new person you’re hanging out with or the score of the game, a funny time at the bar or the street scene in Brazil we’re looking at.”
Many of their stream of consciousness songs, in a nod to true art, only ever exist once. Some, however, are played again and refined over time to become part of the band’s growing catalogue.
“We want people coming into it to feel welcome. It’s about the fun, the merriment, the global soccer-sports-music brotherhood that we’ve all come to know and love so much.”
~ Dan Hurley, unofficial musical director of The Home Team String Band, on the 2026 World Cup
And while they’ll mix in some covers — “California Dreaming,” “Hotel California,” and “Born in the U.S.A” are oft-requested when overseas — there’s never anything like a planned-out set list, which appeals to Hurley’s artistic sensibilities. “It’s total musical freedom,” he said.
In addition to the soccer and the music, adventure is a big part of the Home Team’s overall gameplan. On their World Cup-focused trips, they’ve hiked in national parks in Africa, explored the Amazon in Brazil, and embarked on multi-day, self-guided paddleboard trips around Russia’s Lake Baikal (the largest freshwater lake in the world and Tahoe’s sister lake), and the Arabian Sea, including in the Strait of Hormuz.
When Beckering joined the band for the 2014 Cup in Brazil, he brought along his banjo. The circular part of the instrument was white. One day he drew black markings on it to make it look like a soccer ball, and The Soccer Ball Banjo came to be.
“If there was a symbol of our band, that would be it,” Raymore declared.
The band was hitting their stride, but four years later the unthinkable happened: The U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. “It was shocking,” Salm said. “We didn’t know what to do.”
After some debate, the performers decided the show must go on — a decision that led to perhaps the band’s greatest moment, those days and nights of song and merriment as the house band on the clickety tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar in Nov. and Dec. ’21 to avoid the region’s stifling summer heat, featured another changeup: The vodka-swigging, beer-crushing Home Teamers found themselves in a dry country. So, they traded booze for bikes and began cycling to the games, oftentimes two matches a day, and from place to place with their instruments and antics. “A lot of people over there hadn’t seen anything like us,” Salm said.
So, what do these 2026 home games mean for the Home Team String Band?
“We want people coming into it to feel welcome,” said Hurley, who recently wrote a song called “Host the World,” which can be found on YouTube. “It’s about the fun, the merriment, the global soccer-sports-music brotherhood that we’ve all come to know and love so much.”
MAKING NEW FRIENDS is a key part of the Home Team String Band’s World Cup experiences. Ryan Salm at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Tahoe kickoff party takes place on June 12 at Alibi Ale Works in Truckee to watch Team USA’s opening game against Paraguay. The match starts at 6 p.m., with the pre-party starting at 4 p.m. The bus will be on site for tours and photos, and the boys will play tunes. All ages are welcome and bringing instruments is encouraged. “We’d love to see the biggest street band we can make in downtown Truckee,” Raymore said.
After that game, the Home Team will put the bus in gear and start attending matches in person. First, it’s down to San Francisco where Levi’s Stadium hosts Qatar vs. Switzerland on the 13th and Austria vs. Jordan on the 16th. Then it’s up to Seattle for Team USA’s highly anticipated June 19th match against Australia.
But the true destination is the journey — being on the bus and spreading the vibe like some version of the Merry Pranksters with a Pelé predilection and well-tuned instruments.
“We’ll stop anywhere from a town square to a dive bar or a trailer park,” Salm said. “It doesn’t need to be a million people. We’re not an arena band, it’s about intimate.”
From Seattle, the Home Team dips north of the border to catch New Zealand vs. Egypt on the summer solstice in Vancouver. Then the bus will turn around and meander south to get to L.A. in time for Team USA’s final group match June 25 at Sofi Stadium against Türkiye.
After group play the teams with the best records will advance to the knockout stages, the details of those matches being unknown until the completion of the first round. “We don’t have any idea yet where we’ll go,” Salm said, the band perhaps leaning into its ability to play things by ear. “We’ll try to follow the USA if we can.”
The Beautiful Game
Estimates are that 5.8 billion people, roughly 75% of the world population, will view the 2026 World Cup in some form — making it the most watched sporting event in human history.
Soccer, like music, is truly a global language. While there have been historical instances of violence breaking out between different fanbases, the majority of the sport’s power lies in unification.
“We may be enemies on the pitch, but before and after let’s put the differences behind us and hang out,” Salm said.
Not every minute of the band’s travels, however, has been filled with kumbaya. In Qatar, the boys were on a bus before the USA vs. Iran game. The bus was pretty much all Iranians. Some back-and-forth jarring started up that quickly turned heated, the fans at each other’s throats. “For a minute, you thought there was going to be a brawl,” Salm relayed. “But then we came together, like ‘hey, we’re all just human beings here.’”
The two countries are now at war.
There was a similar time on the Trans-Siberian Railway. “We met this guy who looked like a giant ogre, and we were all kind of intimidated,” Hurley recalled. But that mean-looking Russian played the guitar. And the guys bought him some beers. “By the end of the night he was kissing us on the forehead,” Hurley continued.
The Home Team is about getting past stereotypes, about breaking down barriers of preconceived notions of this country or that culture.
“Our adventures are a good chance to be face-to-face with people you don’t think you’ll get along with,” Hurley said. “Then you watch some soccer together and play some tunes and see what happens next.”
Mark Twain wrote that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” It seems like the Home Team String Band has picked up on what the author was putting down. Over the past 16 years, the group has set out across the globe to take in four World Cups, creating innumerable moments of beautiful connection between humans of different cultures.
They have always been visitors in a foreign land, yet wherever they have gone the Americans have been welcomed. This summer, they play host — ambassadors of our nation, doing what they can for international relations and having a good time doing it — one goal, one song, one new member of the Home Team at a time.
A Moonshine reader recently mailed us a letter, asking if we could figure out why Tahoe Forest Products (TFP), the relatively new sawmill facility in Carson City just off Highway 50, wasn’t producing. “They’re well stocked with Caldor Fire trees but no sawdust,” he wrote. “I’ve heard rumors, but what are the facts?
Indeed, the facility opened on Dec. 18, 2023, to quite a bit of fanfare — local publications, as well as Bloomberg, reported on just how critical Tahoe Forest Products would be in supporting healthy forests, fire recovery efforts, the local economy, and more.
But our reader is right. Two and a half years later, and TFP is sitting silent. I reached out to Kevin Leary, CEO of Hallador Investments, which is the primary investor in the facility, to understand the latest. ~ AH
There were rumors in late 2025 that the facility was closing and/or reporting bankruptcy. A Carson Now article reported that wasn’t the case, and that the facility was in the process of “retooling and upgrading” operations and machinery. Is that still the status, and how far along are those updates? Will the facility operate at full capacity soon?
Kevin Leary, CEO of Hallador: TFP did pause production in mid-2025 and it remains paused. The sawmill facility was originally designed using the lowest-possible cost machinery, meaning old and heavily used, which was a mistake. Too many breakdowns and too slow a production pace meant the initial facility was not financially sustainable. We also paused construction of the planer mill (which will sit to the north of the sawmill building, closer to Highway 50), to avoid making the same mistake twice. We expect to commence upgrades in June, and to be in production a year from now. More modern improvements will enable the facility to operate sustainably.
“Too many breakdowns and too slow a production pace meant the initial facility was not financially sustainable.”
~ Kevin Leary, Hallador Investments CEO
How is the facility funded, and are there concerns for ongoing financial support?
The company is funded by local private investors who care deeply about our region’s forest health, water quality, recreation, and cost of living (including home insurance costs), and who want to support the local economy. TFP will continue to have the support of the owners as long as the prospect of sustainable operations remains.
How is TFP working to address complaints by neighbors, including noise and bright lights?
Several of our neighbors have direct communication access to on-site management at TFP. In the past, we have worked with neighbors to address specific concerns, including repositioning lights and replacing diesel generators with fixed power. We engaged a local landscaping company to install several hundred thousand dollars [worth] of trees and plants along Bucks Way to the south and west.
We should add that occasionally complaints are directed at us that are not of TFP’s making. There are other tenants on the same parcel, and we have received complaints (e.g. dust) that are outside of our lease area or control. In other cases, loud nighttime noises or truck lights might be attributed to TFP but have nothing to do with the mill.
BACKLOG: Logs currently filling the Tahoe Forest Products facility outside Carson City are primarily from local fuels reduction treatments over the past few years, though a few remain from the 2021 Caldor Fire. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Is the facility feeling impacts from national changes to the U.S. Forest Service, which is undergoing massive restructuring?
TFP tries to maintain close relationships with the USFS at both the local and national levels. In our view, the goal of the changes underway is to move decision-making to the local level and empower local leadership, accountability, and action. There are layers of hierarchy and bureaucracy that probably should go away, like there are in any organization that has been around over a century. (If the readers want an analogy, they can listen to Jon Stewart interview Ezra Klein, co-author of Abundance, on the rollout of rural broadband, administered by a different federal agency. [Editor’s note: Listen to Why We Can’t Have Nice Things with Ezra Klein on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart wherever you listen to podcasts.])
Locally, we have seen some disruptions, and certainly some over-extended and tired USFS friends picking up more responsibilities. But our hope and expectation are that the changes result in a localized, commonsense approach to forest management. To that end, the USFS recently awarded our partner, the Washoe Tribe, a 20-year Master Stewardship Agreement to empower the tribe and partners to take on a larger role in planning and implementing forest health treatments.
Are trees from the 2021 Caldor Fire still on site?
Yes, but very few. The logs received in the past two years are from fuels reduction treatments (i.e., green trees, not burned or salvaged) in the Tahoe Basin and surrounding national forests (Inyo, Humboldt Toiyabe, Eldorado, Tahoe) plus a smaller number from neighborhood and HOA fuels reduction projects.
One of the biggest shocks to my system when I — a type-A queen all about quick turnarounds and addressing issues exactly when they arise — joined MoonshineInk back in May 2019, was adapting to what we at the office call “Moonshine Time.”
As our readers likely know, we are a free, independent monthly print publication with a (again, free) website that includes both print content as well as online exclusives. We put out a roundup of news briefs every Friday, touching on various happenings during the preceding week, from special district decisions to free events to key hirings or departures and so on.
But what we really sink our teeth into is the print edition. The news articles especially are where we dive deep, exploring topics critical to our Truckee/North Tahoe community in ways that haven’t been addressed by any other news organization.
As Mountain Gazette editor and owner Mike Rogge wrote in 2023, “[Moonshine Ink is] holding up a mirror to who we are as a community.”
But as a primarily monthly focused newspaper with a core staff of eight, we have the tricky challenge of considering each edition’s timeline. For example, this edition, June 2026, runs June 11 to July 8. That means we’re planning for July 4 content in early May, when we sit down to discuss the June edition.
ABOUT 80% of the time, we are focused on the print publication. File photo
When news stories capture the nation’s interest, like the Liberty Utilities and NV Energy debacle earlier this year, we end up in an odd limbo state of watching approximately 1 million other outlets cover the situation while we’re working in the background to pull as many pieces together as possible for a publication date a few weeks out. My story, A Shock to the System, came out a few weeks after said 1 million outlets reported on the situation.
There’s also the controversial herbicide glyphosate being used to treat forests and more in our region. Again, this has been reported on by broader outlets — but we offer an in-depth lens on Truckee/Tahoe impacts.
It can be frustrating, yes (especially for this type-A queen), but I actually don’t mean for it to come off that way. It’s more so an opportunity to educate our readers about how our brains at Moonshine operate. About 80% of the time, we are thinking about what will come out the second Thursday of each month (except January; collective relaxation time for staff), and how our articles will both be as up to date as possible and highly informative.
Does that mean we don’t produce breaking news content? Not at all. We turn out articles on timely information quite often. Most recently, there was the approval of the Village at Palisades development, and the tragic Castle Peak avalanche. In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were constantly updating our readers with daily online updates on the situation. But we only have so many staffers, and as much as I wish otherwise, there are only 24 hours in the day.
To keep up and even expand our ability to cover more and increase publication of those online-exclusive stories, I urge you to consider becoming a Moonshine Ink Member. Like I wrote in a November 2023 Membership update, we want to cover more stories in-depth, but we need help to get there.
The latest environmental controversy in Tahoe isn’t a development project, a wildfire, or a fight over lake clarity.
