The past month has rocked the town. We take a look at mayoral embezzlement, the vice-mayor's arrest and school district shenanigans.
Photo Heather Gould
The Rev. Dr. Greg Hughes of the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church addresses his congregation in the wake of Mayor Tamara Wallace's theft from church coffers.
Serving Lake Tahoe’s South Shore Since 1994
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What a month!
As I was finishing delivering the Mountain News in September, I took a smoothie break and checked my phone. That’s how I learned Charlie Kirk had been murdered. I knew who Charlie Kirk was; someone close to me followed him, and I knew this was a big deal Of course, following his death, there were all sorts of battles over free speech, what constituted protected speech, whether Kirk or others had incited violence with their rhetoric, whether the left or the right was responsible.
In the Mountain News, I have always allowed letters to the editor, columnists and people quoted in stories to push the envelope a little. I did it in the name of facilitating robust conversation that I believe is essential to our functioning as a society. Following Kirk’s death, I gave some thought to putting in more guardrails in the pages of the Mountain News. I ultimately decided not to. Wide-ranging debate, in my mind, can only enhance public dialogue and help us move forward. Silencing people doesn’t silence ideas. It’s important that we speak frankly and honestly about who we are and what we believe. And the Mountain News needs to be a part of that.
Former South Lake Tahoe Councilmember Ted
Long died last month. The Mountain News was at times aligned with Long and opposed Long on various issues, but I always found him articulate and thoughtful, if a somewhat crazy character with a colorful background.
He wrote a letter to the editor several years ago about the meaning of the word “fight” and how it could apply in various contexts.
I reprint it here in part as I think it informs the current moment: “Free speech is not judged by the statement itself, but one must consider the context it is delivered in.
For example, when I say ‘fight’ to my former 12-yearold Little Leaguers, they understood that ‘fight’ means ‘try hard,’ and when George Patton told his soldiers to ‘fight,’ they understood him to mean ‘kill the enemy.’
Same word, different context. While we say you cannot cry ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, you can yell ‘fire’ in an empty theater or even a full one if it is a line in the play being performed .... In addressing a usual group of constituents, ‘fight’ has a meaning, like work hard, make phone calls and knock on more doors.”
So, I will not be putting into place too many hard and fast rules regarding what can be said in the Mountain News, but will be using my judgment while considering context and fairness. As one Supreme Court justice said,
“I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.” I am sure some people will disagree with my choices and they are free to let me know.
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace (still mayor as of this writing) is someone else with whom the Mountain News has both aligned and opposed in the past. We write about her confession of embezzlement in this issue as well as Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass’s entanglement with the justice system, and alleged sexual harassment at LTUSD.
While Wallace has committed what appears to be a serious offence, what kind of price she should pay is best left up to others—voters, the victim, the courts. I did want to give a little shout out to her for seeking psychiatric treatment. As someone who has been psychiatrically hospitalized, I know the inside of one own’s head can feel as bleak and hopeless as a medieval dungeon and stigma and fear can keep people from seeking the mental health care they need. So, I salute Wallace for her bravery in confronting her demons and hopefully coming out a stronger person on the other side. -Heather
The Summer of our discontent
This summer presented some challenges. The very first day (June 21) came with a freak storm, bringing snow and fierce winds, turning the lake into a deadly outing for eight people with many more harrowing stories of rescue and survival amid eight-foot waves that bashed boats and people onto the shore . . . The government proposal to sell off public lands brought the Sierra Club and the Washoe Tribe together (June 22) for the “Tahoe is not for Sale” protest at Kiva Beach . . There was a sewer leak at Camp Richardson and the Incline Village fireworks barge that sunk, both incidents creating unsafe conditions that closed beaches . The ubiquitous paid parking money grab was out of control. Casinos charging $25 to $50 to park and the $100 parking on July 4 near Zephyr Cove are examples of just how absurd this paid parking rip-off has become . .By September, locals had gathered to celebrate the end of Summer and the last free Music in the Park concert at Tahoe Paradise Park, hosted by the amazing Abravanel family who are keeping it real in Meyers. The bald eagle flyover brought cheers and a reminder of why we love Tahoe.
FLIP FLOPPING
On September 9, the city council (in another marathon session) took the first
steps to dismantle the new VHR ordinance they spent months debating and developing and which staff spent months writing and implementing. This ordinance became effective on July 23 and included a 150-foot buffer to reduce clustering and attempt to preserve neighborhood character. The buffer is now on the chopping block. No data was available from city staff to inform the council about how the new rules are working after just six weeks, but that didn’t stop the council from moving forward with major changes. The promise that all policy decisions would be data driven seems to have been lost in their rushed ordinance revision that proposes a cap of 1,200 VHRs with no buffer. The buffer was adopted to prevent residents from being surrounded by VHRs, but now the council is saying strict enforcement will prevent neighborhood conflicts.
This council is looking more and more like a previous council that was ousted by the voters in 2018 after years of VHR policy missteps that created division and vitriol in the community. When a council spends
months developing an ordinance and six weeks later, they reverse course, their ability to lead comes into question. Some members of the council are making people believe they lack the competence to be effective city leaders and instead are revealing their mastery of indecision and the political flipflop. Meanwhile, the appeal of Measure T is moving forward with the Tahoe Neighborhoods Group’s opening written arguments to the court scheduled for November 10.
THE OBSTINATE COMMISSIONER
After a controversial VHR appeal hearing in August that must have set off alarms at city hall, the item was brought back to the SLT Planning Commission at its September meeting. The blowback came when Assistant City Attorney Daniel Bardzell laid out the legal ground rules for the commissioners, reviewing the limits of their oversight duties vs. policy making authorities reserved for the city council. This legal guidance was acknowledged by all except Commissioner Imhoff who made
several attempts during the hearing to assert his personal belief that constitutional rights were an issue in this case. During the hearing, no evidence was presented that anyone’s constitutional rights had been violated on either side. The appeal was denied (4-1) with Imhoff the dissenting vote.
AND…
South Shore now has a breakfast sandwich to talk about. Culinary school graduate and a guy who knows quality food (Ryan O’Malley) has created a variety of authentic New York style breakfast sandwiches under the banner of B.E.C. (Bacon, egg, cheese) served from his custombuilt food trailer. Find him on Instagram.
Construction of student housing at LTCC is complete and wow! The 100-student dormitory is nestled in the woods with forest views from the two-story windowed lobby. Students are loving their new digs and (big surprise) there is a public art installation overlooking the residence hall that is a Tahoe version of Mount Rushmore with four large animal heads (three bears and a coyote) fashioned with pennies, nickels and dimes by the same artists who created the penny bears in Tahoe City. Big score, LTCC. Bravo!
To be continued….
“What is the significance to the Washoe people when the Mount Tallac snow cross melts?”
Zero importance would be the short answer.
“Washoe tribal members who were consulted about the part
about the cross or X on Tallac.” It makes sense the Washoe would not see a cross since that is a Christian symbol that white people brought to the basin;
expert on Tahoe history, laughed when first asked about the cross. It’s just folklore, he assures.
It speaks volumes that Borges puts talk of the snow cross having significance in the same category as Tahoe Tessie.
One then has to wonder how such nonsense gets into the mainstream lexicon.
For starters, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority is perpetuating the myth that the snow cross/X matters to the tribe.
“The Washoe have multiple beliefs including that if the cross does fully melt out before next winter, there would be record snow. FYI: This happened prior to the jaw-dropping 2010-11 season,” the Visit Lake Tahoe website says.
Maybe the tourism bureau would like to fact check its content.
While Mount Tallac at 9,735 feet is not the tallest mountain in the basin, it is
the most prominent and well known. It stands out when driving on certain roads, while boating, sitting on the beach, hiking, skiing—it is always a beacon or landmark of sorts for those on the South Shore. Even though the snow completely melted this summer from the rocks that hold the snow in to form the cross or X, don’t read more into it. Mother Nature will do what she wants no matter whether the symbol on the mountain is gone or remains when the first real snow flies and begins to accumulate again.
Email: mountainnews2@gmail.com
Mail: P.O. Box 8974, South Lake Tahoe, CA 95618.
of Tallac where the snow melts in a shape of a cross thought of it as an X. The snow melt meant that winter is over and summer is here,” Bernadette Nieto, Washoe Tribe administrator in Gardnerville, said.
“Our tribal people say everything in our environment is important to us, but there wasn’t anything specifically significant
it wasn’t something the Washoe were familiar with until then.
Through the years Bill Kingman, one-time South Shore radio guru and local history buff, has heard that when the snow creating the X or cross melts, it would presage a big winter.
Dave Borges, local chiropractor and
Photos Kathryn Reed
The snow cross on Mount Tallac is distinct on June 1, top, while the X barely has any white stuff left on Aug. 1, bottom.
If Californians don’t act now, Donald Trump will rig the 2026 election and steal control of Congress. That will leave his unpopular power grab unchecked for two more years. Trump directed Texas and other Republican-controlled states to redraw Congressional district lines to prevent Democrats from taking back control of the House of Representatives and Senate and holding the Trump administration lawlessness to account through the separation of powers the Founding Fathers designed to prevent tyranny. There are No Kings in America!
WHAT
IS PROPOSITION 50? Proposition 50 is a ballot measure prepared by the California State Legislature for a statewide special election on November 4, 2025. If approved by the voters it would amend the maps for U.S. Congressional Districts until after the 2030 census.
The ripple effect of immigration crackdowns
Publisher’s note: This is one in a series of stories written by immigrants living on the South Shore. Names are being withheld to protect the individual who wrote the story and their family.
My father emigrated to the United States in 1988 from the poverty, corruption and 36 years of civil war in Guatemala. He carried pain with him, but also hoped that one day his children would have the opportunities he lacked.
Now that I am a teacher in an American school, I am in the position of advising children whose lives repeat my own and whose parents also possess the same hope.
Though our visa application was approved in the early 1990s under more open circumstances, the atmosphere now is different. Fear is prevalent among the families with whom I work—fear of being detained or deported after a simple stop … a minor
slip-up, the color of their skin and the language they speak. The tactics of the United States government create uncertainty for many families, especially for those who are undocumented or have mixed status. Under the current administration, intensified deportations, even more expedited expulsions, stricter
border controls, even executive orders affecting the jurisdictions of sanctuary—all these measures taken in the interest of interdiction.
Because I teach very young children, I rarely hear them speak directly about friends whose parents have been detained or about fears of deportation. But I do hear those worries from
their parents who tell me they are afraid to pick their kids up from school, to go to the store and instead send older children for groceries. Many avoid simple outings like day trips to Reno, visits with relatives, or driving long distances because of that fear.
I also hear it from colleagues, soon-to-be new teachers on green cards, who worry that a parent’s death or a loved one’s funeral abroad could cost them their legal status. These conversations reveal how immigration policies ripple across families, classrooms, and even our profession.
I try to create routines that are safe and predictable. I want my classroom to be a place where every child is welcome, no matter where his or her parents were born or what paperwork their family has. I monitor students’ emotional well-being as well as their academic progress,
and when I model empathy and openness, I am providing assurances that they are not alone. Teachers have to be not just educators, but therapists, social workers and advocates— safe and trusted adults. My father’s arrival in the United States changed the direction of our family’s life. His passing in December 2024 has reminded me how precious and hard-won his achievements were. Because of him, I stand in front of my students every day, dedicated to teaching, caring, and supporting. Now, I carry both the weight of what many immigrant families feel and the resolve that schools can be a place of hope. Policy is not just laws and numbers; it is lives, families and dreams. I see those dreams alive in every child who walks into my classroom.
It only took an hour to make a stand
To the editor:
On the morning of October 1, 2025, the following message was displayed on the home page of the US Forest Service website: “! The Radical Left Democrats shut down the government. This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission-critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”
I served in the U.S. Army for three years and worked for the US Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit for 27 years. One of the things you learn when you are in service to your country is the restrictions articulated in the Hatch Act (1939) which is a federal law that limits the partisan political activ-
ities of most federal government employees to ensure nonpartisan administration of government.
Apparently, many current political appointees have not been given this training, including the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, and the Chief of the US Forest Service, Tom Schultz.
I can’t imagine the disgust many of my former colleagues at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit must feel seeing this, along with the fear and uncertainty of the threats by the President and the Office of Management Budget Director, Russell Vought, to implement large-scale firing of “unnecessary” furloughed federal employees during this shutdown.
It is just two more slices in the death by a thousand cuts this administration has been inflicting
on federal workers since the beginning of the year.
It is frustrating to feel so powerless in resisting the immoral and corrupt actions of this administration, but there is something you can do.
Any citizen can report a Hatch Act violation through the website of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). I did this a few days ago, naming Brooke Rollins and Tom Schulz as the Violators, and Trump as the Supervisor for Rollins.
This is a violation of engaging in political activity while on duty, as the results of budget negotiations involve all members of Congress, not just one party.
Everyone in the US Forest Service and those who visit the US Forest Service website are aware of the violation.
I must be honest; this will
require a little fortitude (approximately an hour of your time). Additionally, a complaint will not be acted on by the OSC during the shutdown, and because this administration likely controls this agency's responses, it may never be addressed. I took this action because I felt the need to take a stand, and if more people follow suit, it may have an impact.
Sue Norman South Lake Tahoe
Mayor’s misdeeds leave Presbyterian Church reeling
Publisher's note: This story was updated Oct. 10.
On Oct. 5, in a sermon entitled “Desire
Rewired: Taming Our Hearts by Pursuing Christ,” which referenced the legendary French mathematician Blaise Pascal twice, the Rev. Dr. Greg Hughes, pastor at Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, addressed about 60 congregants who attended services that day.
He spoke of love, free will and choice.
“God never forces his love on us … love demands a choice and a free choice,” he told those assembled. He cautioned against chasing things like happiness, security, freedom, peace, fulfillment and significance through material wealth and comfort and worldly prominence and success.
Phrases projected during a short slideshow that concluded the sermon included: “I am blameless before God. He has wiped my slate clean. Therefore I have no shame.”
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace, who worked as the church administrator, has stated she does feel “shame.” And while God might hold her blameless and have wiped her slate clean, LTCPC has not.
In a short meeting following the service, Hughes shared that Wallace, 55, had been fired in late September from the job she had for seven years. Her termination was prompted by “discrepancies” the church found in her bookkeeping, according to Hughes. Hughes said the church had made a police report about potential embezzlement.
“A preliminary investigation has revealed the taking may be in excess of $300,000,” Phil Dunn, attorney for the church, told this paper. He said this appears to be over the course of about five years.
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department confirmed it had received a report of alleged embezzlement by Wallace. Due to a potential conflict of interest in investigating the mayor of the city, the department forwarded it to the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office without doing its own inquiry. Melanie Torres, DA spokesperson, confirmed the office had received the complaint and promised a “thorough” investigation. She said the DA would be making no further comment.
Later that evening, South Tahoe Now and the Tahoe Daily Tribune posted a lengthy statement from Wallace admitting she had stolen from the Presbyterian Church over an “extended” period of time. Her letter detailed childhood trauma, adult tragedies and a recent suicide attempt. Wallace said she had been receiving psychiatric care. She promised to repay the
Presbyterian Church “every cent” she had stolen.
If Wallace is convicted or pleads guilty to felony embezzlement charges, she could face three years in prison and
a $10,000 fine. More time behind bars could be possible if the $300,000 figure is accurate.
Hughes said the church is working with its insurance company to find out if its policy covers embezzlement by an employee and to what extent.
In addition to potential criminal charges against Wallace, a civil suit could be filed to try to recoup some of the stolen funds. In a later statement, the LTCPC Session (board of directors) said, “Our congregation has suffered extensive loss and as we address this loss and its impact, we remain committed to prayer, compassion, transparency and justice.”
Two El Dorado County Superior Court cases involve Wallace as well.
She was the defendant in a 2006 case involving Federal Insurance Co. to which she was ordered to pay $122,193.16 in $200 monthly installments. That would take nearly 611 months or about 51 years.
A bench warrant was filed in April 2021. Federal Insurance brought the case forward for breach of contract.
The original deal stated that if she failed to pay two months in a row that the insurance company could demand the outstanding amount be paid in full.
The details of the cases are not online and could not be ascertained as of deadline.
In Wallace’s 700 Form, which is an annual financial filing with the Fair Political Practices Commission, she lists the value from her business she describes as “contract accounting and consulting” as well as her income as the same—between $10,001-$100,000. (That is one of the choices provided.) This is for 2024. The official business name is Wallace Business
Services. This was the only year any of her forms mentions Wallace Business Services.
As office manager at the church she stated her salary was between $10,001$100,000.
Her form from 2020 is the first mention of working at the church, even though she started there in 2018, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Last year under “single source of income of $10,000 or more” she listed Tahoe Investment Capital & Stewardship. She also received $300 in tickets from the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. Being on the city’s health insurance is also one benefit of serving on the council.
Wallace Business Services of South Lake Tahoe is not listed with the California Secretary of State’s Office. The Facebook listing for it is no longer online.
A 20-plus year member of the church, who asked for anonymity because he didn’t have the blessing of church leadership to speak, told the Mountain News this was the latest in a series of blows to the 77-yearold institution. When the church applied for a city permit to repair damage caused by a small fire in 2019, the city required it to bring the entire building up to current code, which outstripped its resources. The church took out a loan of several hundred thousand dollars to cover those costs, which is still being repaid. The church then endured COVID, which limited inperson services and gatherings that are an essential feature of its ministry to people.
It also had a previous pastor die while in office. However, this member has faith, so to speak, in the LTCPC community. “We’re a strong church. We’ll get through this.”
This church member shared that LTCPC has been struggling financially for at least a year. These financial struggles led it to cut Wallace’s hours about a year ago among other belt-tightening measures, though financial challenges continued. When church leadership came back a second time to ask congregants to increase their tithes if possible, questions rippled through the congregation about its financial affairs. This member said it will be interesting to see if LTCPC’s financial standing improves now that Wallace has been terminated.
This member said he was in “complete and utter shock that someone we liked and trusted so much would betray us. She came highly recommended.”
Wallace was not a member of LTCPC. When she was hired the church was specifically seeking a non-member to avoid any conflicts that might arise if someone were a member and also an employee.
On Wallace’s Facebook page, she made multiple posts about a 25th anniversary trip she took to Europe in August with her husband, South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce executive Duane Wallace. She has also previously posted about several trips the couple took to Hawaii.
“How could she enjoy these trips if she was using money she stole?” the congregant wondered.
This member was a bit skeptical of Wallace’s public statement.
“She said she wasn’t making excuses, but then she made excuses. I have compassion for all that, but there has to be justice and accountability,” he said.
In a brief email to the Mountain News, Wallace declined to answer whether she would give up her mayorship or step down from the City Council entirely. Wallace cannot be removed from office unless or until she is convicted or pleads guilty in a court of law.
Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass, who has had his own legal woes as of late (see story, p. 21) told the Mountain News “I hope she will resign.” He said it’s too soon to speculate whether the council will seek censure of Wallace, remove her from committee and board assignments, or some other action.
“Stealing of any type, that is one of the realest crimes there is. I don’t think it is right,” Bass said. “It is really unfortunate for our community. I hope justice will be served.”
He said it would be impossible for any council person to take money from the city, saying no council member signs checks or has access to funds.
El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine, who served with Wallace on the council from 2018-20, told the Mountain News, “She should resign her council position immediately. She should have resigned the same day that she admitted to embezzling funds from the church.”
Laine and Wallace are on the California Tahoe Conservancy board. Wallace was a no show at the Sept. 18 meeting.
Duane Wallace did not return a phone call from the Mountain News. It is not known what he knew when about his wife’s financial misappropriation.
As of now, Tamara Wallace has not resigned.
Kathryn Reed contributed to this report.
TRPA’s Legal Committee is slated to discuss the settlement agreement with Barton Health regarding its stormwater violation at the Stateline site of its proposed hospital on October 22 at 8:30am. Public comment will be taken. The committee then makes a recommendation to the Governing Board, with the item being on a future consent calendar.
The Kahle Community Center Youth Basketball League with third grade through eighth grade teams is gearing up for the coming season, which will commence in January. This is an introductory program based on fun and learning the game. Register in person or online at https://communityservices.douglascountynv.gov/recreation/community_centers/ kahle_community_center/sports. Coaches are being sought as well. Contact Elliott at epekar@douglasnv.us.
The Lake Tahoe Unified School District is hosting a community health fair at Bijou Community School on October 16 from 3pm to 6pm. Flu clinic, dental van, insurance assistance and more. Enjoy a free meal from Tacos por Favor.
Lake Tahoe Unified School District is accepting nominations for its annual Hall of Distinction honoring educational contributions in the categories of academics, athletics, career achievements, community service, and overall dedication to local schools. The nomination deadline is November 21. Visit https://www.ltusd. org/district/office_of_the_superintendent/l_t_u_s_d_hall_of_distinction.
Sierra House Elementary received the Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association for improving student achievement with innovation, commitment and vision.
The Sugar Pine Foundation, Keep Tahoe Blue, South Tahoe Public Utility District, Tahoe Institute of Natural Sciences and the United States Forest Service joined forces last month to host a hands-on
Day for students at South Tahoe High School. Sponsors also included the Tahoe Resource Conservation District, South Tahoe Refuse, the Marcella Foundation and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
On November 1, from 2pm to 5pm, the community is invited to the Grand Hall at Valhalla to celebrate and remember the life of Laurel (Wakeman) Ames Guests are invited to bring their stories and tributes of Laurel to share at this gathering.
Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association each received $155,000 in Proposition 68 funds from the California Tahoe Conservancy for trail improvements.
South Lake Tahoe City Manager Joe Irvin’s contract has been extended to April 2032.
American Century Championship, the annual celebrity golf tournament gave $115,000 to local nonprofits.
Any fourth-grader in a California public school may download the California State Park Adventure Pass (https://shorturl.at/iOCet) for a full year of access to 54 participating state parks for free.
South Lake Tahoe’s Sugar Pine Village Phase 1 was named the best real estate project of the year in the public-private partnership category by the Sacramento Business Journal for its innovative approach to community-driven development and regional housing solutions.
Kids are invited to roam Heavenly Village Oct. 31 from 3-6pm to find the 50 candy stops in this safe trick-or-treating event. Best costume wins $1,000. Other activities and fun will be provided.
Head to CC’s Pirate Treasures by Freshies in South Lake Tahoe before the owner retires and closes shop.
Amy is back at Local’s Choice Haircutting.
At the 33rd annual Critical Issues
Conference hosted by the Business Council of Douglas County, Fox & Hound won the Giving Back award for regularly giving back to the community and Zephyr Cove Resort won the Partnership award for demonstrating a strong partnership toward the furthering of community plans. Tahoe Transportation District wants your input about possible changes (https:// shorturl.at/g9pGY) to routes 50 and 55 in South Lake Tahoe. Email comments to planning@tahoetransportation.org by Nov.
5.
Tahoe projects receiving U.S. Forest Service money to reduce wildfire risk are Glenbrook Homeowners Association
($2,979,732) for defensible space projects and the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District ($1,422,870) for the Upper Kingsbury Fire Adapted Community. California State Parks’ Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division in September awarded $23 million in grants
Beneficiaries include: El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office ($148,854), El Dorado County CAO ($307,996), Sierra Avalanche Center ($159,085), Eldorado National Forest ($310,361), and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit ($211,117).
From now until Dec. 11 check out Ian Ruhter’s inaugural art exhibit titled The Lake at Lake Tahoe Community College. South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation’s Pumpkin Patch Splash is Oct. 18 for kids of all ages. For details, call (530) 542-6056.
El Dorado County is hosting a free flu clinic Oct. 23 from 4-6pm. at South Lake Tahoe Public Health Office, 1360 Johnson Blvd., Suite 103.
Submissions are being accepted for the Lake Tahoe Documentary Film Festival through January 17. More info at https:// ltdff.org/submit-here/ Purchase early-bird tickets for the April event at ltdff.org. Retired CPAs, and other experienced tax preparers, are invited to join AARP
Tax-Aide of South Lake Tahoe for the upcoming tax season, joining a small but dedicated group of volunteers serving the local community with free tax preparation services. Email SouthLakeTahoeLC@ gmail.com for more info.
Five hundred and sixty-two participants read 6,917 books for a total of 447,082 minutes of reading as part of the South Lake Tahoe Library Summer Reading Challenge
Over 90 participants, including students from Richard Kinnett’s South Tahoe High Tahoe Science class helped restore Rabe Meadow and Burke Creek as part of the 28th annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on September 23. They removed 500 invasive plants, planted 1000 seedlings, restored 100 feet of streambank, seeded and mulched 3000 square feet and installed three beaver dam analogs.
Visit https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events for UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center programs, including an Oct. 23 talk on bees and a Nov. 20 presentation on zooplankton
The local chapter of the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill hosts a family support group on the second Tuesday of every month at the South Lake Tahoe Library at 5:30pm. Offering hope, support, camaraderie and connection for those with loved ones suffering a mental illness.
Scott McGill has posted beaver crossing signs on Venice Drive near 15th Street to try and protect Buc-ee the beaver who crosses the road every night at sunset.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office BBQ Team won the People’s Choice Award at the wing cookoff as part of the Heavenly Village Fall Alefest last month. Got a community item for Heard? Email mountainnews2@gmail.com, subject line “Heard.”
You are struggling with the loss of a loved one—a partner, child, parent or friend. You feel stuck in your grief and long for the support of a compassionate community.
Here, in the serenity of tall pines and sparkling blue waters, you will not be alone. You can share your story with a circle of understanding women who know the pain of loss. You will rest, breathe and reconnect with yourself and the natural world.
Your grief is welcome here.
You will be guided through daily somatic healing practices, gentle yoga and guided meditation and breath work by Shannon Liebel, E-RYT 500, YACEP, FRCms, MA and Nicole Gordon, certified Grief Educator.
You don’t need to be familiar with yoga or somatic healing practices to take part and benefit.
• Daily somatic healing practices
• Nature immersion and reflection time
• Cozy rustic cabin accommodations
• Delicious nourishing meals
$540
Includes accommodations for 2 nights, meals and all activities
Space is limited. To sign up, email: nicolebuelldds@gmail.com
Photo Ian Ruhter
Artist Ian Ruhter's large format photography exhibition runs through December at Lake Tahoe Community College's Haldan Gallery.
Enviro
Expanding the ring of humiliation
Quick school update
We're back in school going on two months now, and I suspect that's a relief to some parents with school-aged kids. We never experienced that with our own kids because it meant we were also there. That aside, I still look forward to the new school year each fall, getting back to see colleagues, new and returning students. It’s been great so far with my tenth graders. The downside is the end-
of-summer crunch of projects that never get finished by the time we return to school. Thus, the last couple days before school are almost always a frenzy of DIY—hence the rush and carelessness that led to the mini-conflagration you'll hear about in a sec.
A cautionary tale
A quick thank you to the alert neighbors and passersby who contacted the fire department to bail us out of a bone-
headed stain rag disposal that resulted in a late-night "incident" involving—let’s call it a small fire. Think like reality show Survivor’s fire-making challenge. Or maybe like the Girl Scouts. Except they would have been smart enough not to cause it in the first place.
Did I know the right ways to take care of such flammable items? Yes. Have I done it the right way for many years? Of course. But this time, for whatever reason, I had some kind of brainfail and got schooled for it.
But it's not all bad. This way, our kids get to see the Ring cam footage and participate in my shame as well. The Dot made some screen captures to share the best action photos with family and friends. So very helpful.
The other side bonus is that Anne has something to tell her siblings—to expand the ring of humiliation. There's nothing better than giving your family the kind of ammunition they'll never forget—the kind
they can bust out at every family gathering. It's the joy of family, you know?
And of course, a thank you to the fire crew and sheriff’s deputies whom I'm sure had better things to do than to wake up a knucklehead and hose down some burning construction materials. They were great about it and didn't make me feel like a jackass, which would have been well within their rights. I'll do that for myself just fine. Apologies and thank you one and all. And of course, the PSA
Since that episode, I’ve found that a surprising number of people don’t know how to safely dispose of oily and solvent-soaked rags or other materials. Most people are shocked to hear that these materials can combust without a flame source—the process called oxidation, wherein the drying oils react with oxygen, releasing heat in an exothermic reaction (energy in the form of heat).
So, courtesy of AI, here’s a bit more about it:
When soaked rags are balled up or piled together, heat gets trapped, causing the rag's temperature to rise. If the heat builds up enough, it can reach the rag's ignition temperature, leading to spontaneous combustion and fire. If AI says so, it’s
true; plus, well, the aforementioned fire, so yeah.
To prevent this, says AI, spread rags out flat to dissipate heat, or soak them completely in water and place them in a sealed, metal container. I’ve mostly done it the first way in the past, sometimes the second way, using an ash disposal can . . until this time, of course, when I did neither of those things.
Let me emphasize that part in case you missed it: do not put them in yard bags or other plastic containers. That includes the South Tahoe Refuse waste bins, which, as you know, are plastic. And no, I did not do that.
Oil-based product labels issue all these warnings, but I’m guessing hardly anybody reads beyond the application instructions, if that. And remember those “most people” I mentioned who didn’t know about the combustion potential? They have just been putting the rags and whatnot in their trash can or in a bag—sometimes in a closed garage. They’ve been lucky so far. Weirdly, some almost sounded envious that I had proved out the science on this matter. I find that worrisome.
OK, so, now that we’re properly chastened, let’s learn from my folly. Maybe we can spare our firefighters and law enforcement the late-night callouts, not to mention our homes and forest from destruction as well.
As always, email mikesmutterings@gmail.com
LTCC garden a demonstration of neglect
Blood, sweat, determination and cooperation went into developing the demonstration garden at Lake Tahoe Community College.
For years after the garden opened in 1991, it served as a resource for the community. It was the go-to place to learn about all things related to installing a garden in the basin—be it native plants, water conservation techniques, or best management practices required by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
• Display native and adaptive plants in an attractive natural setting;
• Demonstrate Best Management Practices and other backyard conservation practices; and
• Provide a public venue for inspiration and education.”
The amphitheater, gazebo and greater garden were busy with community lecture series, plant sales, and special events like Autumn Fest and the college’s Taste
was Harveys hotel-casino. Her dad worked for Harvey Gross.
Current conditions
Today, the garden is a withering skeleton of what it once was. In fact, the demonstration garden is mostly demonstrating what not to do with a garden.
Water has been turned off even though the irrigation system still exists. Signage is unreadable or in disrepair. Information about BMPs is out-of-date.
Pamphlets were available so people didn’t have to take notes about what they were seeing. Remember, this was before everyone walked around with a phone in their pocket to take photos of signs/information and before QR codes existed.
On the front of the last brochure circa 2018-19 it says:
“The Lake Tahoe Demonstration Garden is a community partnership designed to protect and preserve the Lake Tahoe basin by showcasing landscapes to:
• Promote the use of water-efficient native and adapted plants and gardening practices;
of Gold. College classes were conducted there. Countless individuals used the garden as a place to decompress.
The garden was such a destination that the July-August 1998 issue of Via magazine had a blurb about it.
Through the years the garden evolved. In 2009, the Ledbetter Terrace took the place of the turf demonstration. Jessica Ledbetter, who could not be reached for comment, donated $150,000 in honor of her parents Bill and Beverlee Ledbetter.
Her mom is the daughter of Harvey and Llewellyn Gross—the founders of what
Those who had something to do with the early years are flummoxed and heartbroken by the current situation—some even literally shedding tears about its condition. Still, they are hopeful the college will bring the area back to life.
“It's going to take lots of work and time to get the garden back to where it was even six years ago when it hosted Taste of Gold. It was so interesting and beautiful for many years. A gem, fun to show off to friends and visitors,” Diana Hamilton, who was on the advisory committee for the garden, said. “Now it demonstrates bitterbrush, aspens and pines.”
DEMONSTRATION GARDEN
Continued from page 16
Western Botanical Services.
“It certainly was not demonstrating what it was intended to demonstrate,” she said of her last visit to the site about eight years ago. “It was cutting edge at the time.”
The college this summer officially disbanded the advisory committee.
Many believe the core foundation of the garden is intact and that, with some water, pruning shears, a chain saw and paint, it could bloom again.
Rick Hydrick, who had the original idea for the garden, said, “Over time, the college neglected its basic maintenance. Although the garden, its construction, and signage held up well for its first 10 years and more, the loss of attention, maintenance, and interns were the key losses.”
The current state of the garden is one reason former LTCC President Guy Lease has not been there lately.
“We got a lot of free labor to maintain it. I guess when that dried up the college didn’t really have the resources to maintain it,” Lease said. Those circumstances occurred long after he retired.
Julie Etra, who owned Tahoe Native Plants, was on the selection panel for
The early days
Hydrick was an inspector with South Tahoe Public Utility District in 1985 when he conceived of a demonstration garden whose main goal would be an educational site about water conservation.
His first idea was to develop it near Camp Richardson, or at the stream profile center, or by the beaches along Highway 89. Then the corner of Highway 50 and River Drive overlooking the Upper Trucker River was considered. A two-acre parcel on Highway 50 near Third Street was another possibility.
With LTCC moving to its current location in fall 1988, that became an obvious choice. (The college started in 1974 at the Sunray Motel on Highway 50, which was demolished earlier this year.)
“LTCC provided obvious educational benefits aligning with the idea of a demonstration garden perfectly, as well as parking, accessibility, infrastructure, a maintenance staff, and a restorable disturbed site,” said Hydrick, who now lives in Idaho. “It held outdoor classes for many subjects on the lawn area, planted for that very purpose, on the northern side of the swale just above the garden. In my estimation, the interpretive center/gazebo was beautifully designed and located, as well as all the interpretive sites. It was full of literature and showcased the garden’s purpose very effectively.”
Lease, who was president of the college at the time, was all for the garden.
“It was a fun project to work with because we were taking an area of the college that was not being used for our purposes at the time,” he said.
Much of the three acres was a former borrow pit, meaning the ground had been excavated for its soil and rock to be used as building material at other locations.
The college and STPUD entered into a contract in January 1989 that in part said: “… the college has the ability to commit to the long-term—at least 20 years—maintenance of such a garden … college will provide the land for a permanent demonstration garden at no cost to district or Conservancy.”
With the contract came $13,000 from STPUD to pay for the design and part of the construction.
the contractor, and reviewed the design and layout for the garden. Now she is in Reno where she owns the consulting firm
DEMONSTRATION GARDEN
Continued on page 17
sources Agency.
An advisory committee with members of various agencies and the general public was created to oversee the garden in 1990, meeting monthly. The last meeting was in 2019, about six months before the pandemic hit. By that time the meetings had dwindled to a few times a year.
Mark Zacovic was hired as vice president of business services at LTCC just as the garden was getting off the ground. He was there from 1990-98. One of his jobs was to oversee the advisory committee and coordinate everyone involved with the project.
“I think the college’s role as stewards of the garden was to keep that group moving forward,” Zacovic said from his home in Southern California. “We generated funds from different community groups to fund summer interns for eight to 10 weeks. At one point we had a drumming class that met there. We had art classes that sketched there. We really tried to make it user-friendly and educational with a lot of plant markers with their names.”
At the get-go, Tahoe Resource Conservation District was a big player, with its name still partially visible on the gazebo even though today it has nothing to do with the garden and has no intentions to resume involvement.
At the time, TRCD awarded a grant that paid for a groundsperson, who was John Roos for years. He oversaw the college interns who contributed greatly to the success of the garden.
California Tahoe Conservancy was the primary funder, with an initial grant of $75,000 allocated in February 1988, $85,550 in December 1989, and $39,500 in May 1991.
The keynote speaker at the garden’s dedication in 1991 was Douglas Wheeler, then secretary of the California Natural Re-
LTCC President Jeff DeFranco said the beginning of the garden’s demise was in about 2013 when TRCD no longer paid for that 20-hour per week employee. When DeFranco was a vice president at the college, he was on the garden’s advisory committee.
Brett Long, who Hydrick describes as the best intern, first worked on the garden as a teenager when he was employed on a landscaping crew for Tulip Landscaping.
The South Tahoe High grad came home from Cal Poly Pomona to work in the demonstration garden as an intern for three summers.
“Tahoe is a harsh environment. It can be a challenge to have high quality landscaping. Certain areas have done better than others and that is a good experiment in itself,” Long said of the site, though he has not seen the garden in more than five years. Long, who used to have a landscaping company in Tahoe, was the lead on building the Ledbetter Terrace.
Hope continues
What it would cost to bring the garden back to life in terms of dollars and labor is an unknown.
“My hope is we can get it back going,” said Roberta Mason, one of the founders of LTCC and an original board member. “The problem is we need a faculty member who is interested in it and I don’t think we have that at this point.”
“The scraped earth initially took a while for soils to become living again,” Long said. He said it was a struggle “just getting it to a more conducive environment for plants to grow.”
Today, Long works for Lloyd Consulting Group, which primarily does sporting related projects, including Levi Stadium, home of the 49ers.
Agencies contacted that were part of the garden’s founding like CTC, USFS, TRPA and TRCD no longer have anything to do with the project and don’t have plans to.
“While the Forest Service might have opportunities in the future to assist, at the moment staff capacity and resources are focused on agency priorities including wildfire suppression, fuels reduction and
DEMONSTRATION GARDEN
Continued on page 30
Photo Jackson Berks Rick Hydrick, while working for South Tahoe PUD in the 1980s, came up with the idea for the demonstration garden at Lake Tahoe Community College.
Photo Provided
Locals in 2009 attend events at the college demonstration garden to learn about how to spruce up their home garden.
Photo Kathryn Reed Signage at the college’s demonstration garden is no longer functional.
Salaries more than just numbers
This month’s guest column is by Stephanie Manning, local resident and mother who has been closely involved with the first responder community for over two decades.
I recently read your article regarding city employee salaries, and while the numbers presented may be accurate, the piece leaves out essential context that dramatically changes how those figures should be understood. When publishing comparisons between positions, it is critical to acknowledge that not all roles are equal, not all employees serve in the same
capacity, and not all funding comes from the same source.
Your article lists fire division chief as the highest-paid city employee. What was not mentioned is that position is fully grant-funded, meaning every dollar of his compensation is reimbursed by outside funding, not local tax dollars. More importantly, his role and responsibil-
ities differ greatly from that of the next highest paid employee.
Firefighters operate under a completely different structure. Their schedule of 24 hours on/24 hours off results in an average of 56 hours worked per week, 48 hours more every month than a typical 40hour employee. That overtime is not optional; it is written into the Firefighter Bill of Rights. What is also not optional is leaving the city unprotected, so the mandatory overtime is often greater than that number. Add to that the risks they accept: firefighters face cancer rates nearly twice the national average, not to mention the physical demands that lead to lifelong injuries and medical expenses. These risks and sacrifices deserve recognition rather than criticism over salaries.
A particular example of this chief’s sacrifice to the city is his leadership during the Caldor Fire, when he worked tirelessly for 45 consecutive days in the Tahoe Basin and played a crucial role in safeguarding our community. This experience motivated him to seek grant funding to establish a sustainable fire fuel reduction program. Thanks to his efforts in securing outside funding, the city now has two full-time positions and seven (soon to be 11) seasonal employees dedicated to reducing fire fuel and hazards, thus protecting critical areas in our small community such as local schools, neighborhoods, and evacuation routes. These projects are actively reducing fire risk in Tahoe and preventing our community from becoming the next Paradise or Lahaina and were not in place prior to this chief’s acquisition of grants to fund these critical lifesaving projects.
Specifically regarding this chief, his work extends far beyond the hours he is reimbursed for and he often volunteers his time (sacrificing his own family time to do so) when grant dollars cannot be used. For example, he covered a 24-hour shift during a neighboring city’s firefighter’s funeral so their fellow coworkers could attend. Plus, he has coordinated the replacement and
implementation of critical emergency communications for our area, work not covered under his grant-funded contract but essential for all our first responders and public safety. His contract does encourage wild fire deployments for education and training purposes. On wildfire deployments, with his multiple certified roles, he not only protects other communities but also brings valuable knowledge and key resources back to Tahoe. In fact, in these types of deployments, the city earns revenue back from his service rather than spending on it. This chief’s last deployment netted 456 hours of work in 19 days, which would equal 11.4 weeks of work for a traditional employee and has a reimbursement of over 20 percent coming directly back to the city’s coffers.
But still, during this chief’s time away from Tahoe, he remains dedicated to working on key items… and working remotely as much as possible with help from his own personally paid-for StarLink satellite in order to monitor the city he is sworn to protect, which truly exemplifies his commitment to our community.
The article reduced this complex reality into a simple salary ranking, omitting critical facts about the actual hours worked, the funding source, the risks taken, and the extensive community benefits produced by his position. Numbers without context are misleading. When an individual is singled out, as was done in your article, accuracy and fairness demand a fuller picture as I am sure you would like done if it were you.
The community deserves to know that their firefighters are not only protecting lives and property 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays, but also working tirelessly to reduce fire danger and secure outside funding so local taxpayers aren’t footing the bill. That is a far cry from the implication your article left behind.
No ordinary granola
I vaguely remember eating granola at random times growing up. Maybe with milk? Like cereal? I don’t remember liking it all that much.
As an adult, I’ve tried different granolas, but all are yucky in some way— taste, texture, sugar content. Traveling in Europe I was introduced to muesli, the Swiss breakfast that is similar to oatmeal when soaked overnight. It’s more like granola when served dry. Never got into it.
Now I love granola. Well, I love Jill’s granola. I refuse to eat any other. My friend left me some of her homemade creation outside her casita where I was staying in Baja a few years ago. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Today, I eat Jill’s granola all the time with yogurt and blueberries.
“I probably created it about 12 years ago because I wanted one that wasn't so sweet and wanted it filled with lots of nuts and seeds,” Jill said of her recipe. “I swear I used to make a triple batch every two weeks.”
She and husband Robert had it most mornings for breakfast with fruit until oats were eliminated from their diet for health reasons. Still, the recipe lives on with friends and now hopefully with you as well.
I agree with what Jill wrote at the top of the recipe she shared with me: “No amount is sacred, nor ingredients. Mix and match to suit your taste!”
I no longer use any sweetener. When I did I used honey or guava. I’ve also eliminated the dried cranberries because of the added sugar. Instead I add more cinnamon and vanilla than what’s listed below. I use almonds, cashews and walnuts.
I like the chunkiness of the granola, whereas my sister chops it up to eliminate whole nuts.
I know I’m not the only one who burned the first batch—visually it seems impossible to tell when it’s done. Twenty minutes total works for me, with one stir halfway through.
Stores well in the freezer.
3 C uncooked rolled oats
1 T cinnamon
1 C each almonds, walnuts, pecans or any nuts you want
1/3 C sweetener (such as honey, sugar,
Directions:
Mix oats, cinnamon and nuts together in a large bowl.
If you are using white or brown sugar, mix in with oats now. If using a liquid sweetener, add to the upcoming oil mixture.
Mix coconut oil, liquid sweetener and vanilla in small bowl.
brown sugar, agave, or molasses)
1/3 C coconut oil (melt if necessary)
1 T vanilla
1 C dried fruit like raisins or cranberries
Add oil mixture to oat mixture; combine well.
Spread on rimmed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven.
While still warm, add dried fruit.
Stephanie Manning
LETTERS
Continued from page 9
To the editor,
We recently read your September article “Criminal charges for feeding bears few and far between” in the Tahoe Mountain News. I wanted to take a moment to clarify and correct a few key points.
First, the case referenced in your article has not been referred to our office
We do prosecute
for filing consideration. Criminal investigations usually begin with the appropriate law enforcement agency and, if the agency believes there is sufficient evidence, they submit the case to our office for review. Additionally, over the past five years, there have been four separate cases sent to us for filing consideration for this type of bear-related conduct. We
filed criminal charges in all four cases.
Three have resulted in convictions while one remains active and is currently moving through the court process. As you can see, when circumstances warrant, our office does pursue these cases and takes them seriously.
We respectfully request that this clarification be published as a Letter to
the Editor so the public has the most accurate information.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Lisette Suder, Chief Assistant District Attorney,
El Dorado County
Taking the temperature of our house
To the editor,
Your article in the September 2025 issue of the Tahoe Mountain News was focused on the growing trend to install air conditioning in South Lake Tahoe, but I think the bigger question is why don’t we build our houses with better insulation to begin with so heating and cooling costs are minimal.
When we built our house way back in 1980 we oriented it south to catch the low winter sun and built it with standard 2 x 6 stud construction with fiberglass wall
insulation. We also blew extra insulation in the attic. Because we were conservation-minded, our contractor suggested we wrap the whole house in 2” of rigid foam board (Dow Styrofoam) on top of the 3/8” plywood needed for sheer (earthquake strength) and under the cedar plank siding. It has worked out well for us with the house not only being very quiet but also warm in winter and cool in summer. No furnace or ducting was needed for heat, we only use a stand-alone Franklin style stove in the open living room (originally
burning wood, but now natural gas) with a small electric hall heater upstairs and some electric space heaters for extra cold nights.
My only guess as to why more architects do not recommend extra insulation is that it is not required by the building codes. According to my AI friend, Claude, for a house like mine which is 1800 square feet and 20’ x 40’ two story, it would cost an additional $5k to $11k at today’s prices to wrap it in 2” of foam wall board, a small amount compared to the price of the house. I guess that installing a furnace or air conditioning would probably exceed the price of the extra insulation, not to mention the extra operating costs.
My utility bills averaged $135/month
for gas and $115/month for electricity in 2023.I do not know the exact break-even for installing the extra insulation, but I expect we are saving money every year and I am happy with the way the house feels. After all these years I am surprised that more attention is not paid to energy conservation, solar orientation and insulation in house design to minimize heating and cooling costs and increase livability.
Bass wonders if arrest was politically motivated
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass believes he is the victim, not the perpetrator, of an altercation that occurred last month with a bouncer outside of AleWorx in Stateline.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in Tahoe Justice Court on Dec. 22 on misdemeanor charges of trespassing and harassment.
The report by a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy confirms Bass is the one who called law enforcement.
“I said this is the second time this guy has assaulted me on the street. It’s not right and I want to make a report against him,” Bass told the Mountain News. “(The bouncer) tells them a complete lie and they take his testimony over mine.”
After interviewing Bass and the bouncer—who has not been named—and looking at film of their dispute that started minutes before midnight Sept. 26, Deputy Del Soldato said Bass instigated the confrontation.
Words were exchanged, threats alleged, and there was kicking, but no one was injured, according to the report.
“Based on their statements, coupled with my observations on the surveillance footage, Cody appears to have been the aggressor in the altercation,” Soldato wrote in the report.
Ultimately, Bass was arrested. Bail was set at $1,978, and Bass was released at about 4:35 a.m. Sept. 26.
In his report, Soldato said he was familiar with Bass, having gone to the same restaurant in June when Bass claimed to have been battered.
“It was later determined that Cody had entered AleWorx after having previously trespassed on multiple occasions,” Soldato’s report says.
Luca Genasci, who owns the restaurant-bar chain, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
To the editor,
We have learned that the City’s new $100,000 public art instillation at Lakeview Commons was paid for with Covid relief funds. While we support community art, we find these four metal cages with small wire sculptures inside to be a huge disappointment and a poor use of taxpayer funds. We know that art is subjective, but for us this is a failure on the part of the city to deliver art that has broad community appeal.
These art cages might work in the lobby of a public building, but not in this outdoor location. Beyond the art itself we wonder: What was the process for approving this art? Was the public invited to participate? Did the city council authorize this $100K expenditure sight unseen?
Craig and Andrea Olsen South Lake Tahoe
LETTERS
Continued on pge 23
Bass told the Mountain News he is in talks with ACLU of Nevada to have them represent him in the latest case which he believes is in part “political targeting” based on things he has said as a member of the South Lake Tahoe City Council against and to members of the Douglas County Commission mostly regarding transportation issues. Bass, who was first elected to the council in 2018, is the city’s alternate to the Tahoe Transportation District board. With Mayor Tamara Wallace possibly out (see story, Page 10), the normal course of action is for the mayor pro tem to step into the top role.
The next regular council meeting is set for Oct. 21. As a group, the four could vote for some other leadership structure. While Bass has been mayor of South Lake Tahoe before, none of the remaining three—Scott Robbins, Dave Jinkens or Keith Roberts—has had a leadership role on this council.
Jeff Miner, South Lake Tahoe
Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass
Tahoe Guy needs a reality check
•Hearingbutnotunderstandingcertainwords?
•Difficultyfollowingconversationinnoisysettings?
•Frequentlyaskingpeopletorepeatthemselves?
•NeedtheTVorRadioturneduptoahighvolume?
To the editor,
So, "Tahoe Guy" writes another article about radically changing the traffic infrastructure on Hwy 50. He writes, "People who believe in perpetuating the status quo of sending our children to school alongside a highway are literally killing our children." I Googled this and there has only been one pedestrian or bicycle death on Hwy 50 in the last ten years or more, and that was a 70-year-old man walking at night, not in a crosswalk. If he is refer-
ring to the 13-year-old hit and killed on Sawmill at Lake Tahoe Blvd, and using that tragic accident to bolster his agenda, then he should be ashamed of himself. Now his idea that lowering the speed limit would only add a couple of minutes to a drive across town is sound and reasonable. But then he goes on to argue for more stop lights and roundabouts along Highway 50. His proposed changes would back up traffic (which is already horrible) and add 10 to 20 minutes to get from the Y to the new Barton hospital
(for example). Every new stop light compounds the backup, and in busy times we end up with stopped traffic for miles. If you want to see what roundabouts do to traffic, go to King's Beach in the summer. The entire town is now a traffic jam from one end to the other and cars creep along creating a polluted, horrible environment all along the main street. He cites Bishop and Bridgeport as comparable examples, but Bishop—on 395—gets one-fourth the number of vehicles as we do on Hwy 50, and Bridgeport much less than that. You
can look that up here, https://ext.trackingcalifornia.org/traffic/#/map/explore. We have an interstate running through our town and it behooves us to keep the traffic flowing. This decreases the pollution from tailpipes, makes our inevitable drives across town tolerable, and does not kill our children. We have 12 million vehicles a year drive through town, and we need to deal with that or find another place to live.
Greg Case
Council,
South Lake Tahoe. Mike Phillips, South Lake Tahoe
Meditation, corn and mules
If you ever need a reminder that you are human, read the book Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. It encourages us to make the most of our time on the planet because, unlike bananas, Vanna White and “Wheel of Fortune,” we have an expiration date.
The author explains that many of us choose to live our life “in the brace position” because we fear the plane is crashing. And I know he’s right because I find myself in the brace position every time I go to Costco or have my blood drawn, which is pretty much the same thing.
But the author assures us there is nothing to fear as “the plane has already crashed. It crashed the moment you were born. You’re already stranded on the desert island, with nothing but old airplane food to subsist on, and no option but to make the best of life with your fellow surviving passengers.”
After reading this, I swore never to take the tequila-mainlin-
ing, discount party junket flight to Mexico again. And it reminded me that I needed to go food shopping.
So, I drove fearlessly to town, mostly because summer has skedaddled to another hemisphere and the tourists grabbed their coolers and went with it.
I brought the store sale ads with me, remembering the author’s searing words, “life is a kayak, born on a river of time towards your inevitable death,” which is how I feel every time I walk into a grocery store.
I headed to the vegetable section as the store ad promised for seven cents you could buy 70 ears of corn. Or 40 acres in Iowa. Or maybe it was a mule and a plow. As everyone knows, the best deals are in small, smeared print.
Once at the corn display, I endured the usual agony of public shaming as I struggled to open a persnickety plastic bag while being soaked in sporadic Ama-
zonian rain showers. Then I saw the sign. You know—the one that looks like a Rorschach test. It was looming over the bin of corn.
“Scan me!” it taunted. But what it really meant was, “Yo, Dumbshit, you ain’t getting no discount corn today.”
Thankfully, a store employee who loves antique phones and people was willing to wrestle with my 2010 iPhone. And I willingly surrendered 40 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. But I got my corn. Or my farm in Iowa.
I’m still not sure about the mule.
However, the main theme of the book is, some people don’t really like thinking about the inevitable last kayak trip or slipping
downstream to the whims of the current. They prefer to believe they are “a captain of a super yacht, calm and in charge, sitting back and watching it all unfold from a swivel chair.”
Clearly those people need to sit in a swivel chair and watch Titanic
And when the author concluded, “now that we all are here, what might be some good things to do with your time?” I immediately grabbed Hubby so we could accomplish a long-time goal— visiting the new Target store. Yes, it opened months ago. But sometimes goals are scary and it’s a long kayak ride if you don’t have a coupon for corn and a seven-cent mule.
Once in the store, I embraced the author’s philosophy to “pick out something you genuinely care about” and directed my cart toward Woman’s Wear. Once there, I fondled silky thongs and bras free of metal scaffolding. All while remembering a time I
floated upriver in my kayak on the River Pre-Menopause.
At the checkout stand, a chipper young man greeted us like the sweet senior citizens we are. And then he asked, “Can I see your ID?” At first, I thought he was going to chastise me for being too old to touch the thongs. But he was actually carding us! Normally, I would have collapsed on the floor in a fit of snorting laughter. However, Meditations for Mortals tells us we are “thrown into an existence we didn’t choose, with a personality we didn’t pick and precious time is flowing away.”
So, I scolded my personality. The one I didn’t pick but seem to be saddled with for the rest of my life. And steadying my ancient kayak, feeling time flowing away beneath me, I merrily drifted downstream to pick up fellow survivors, some discount corn and my free mule.
The Tahoe bridge and tunnel crowd
What to do with a dangerous intersection? How do we get a stop sign or lower speed limit or a different road design or traffic pattern that puts a higher value on human life?
The intersection at Sawmill Road and Lake Tahoe Boulevard where Giada Lancellotti was tragically struck and killed by a moving vehicle is deeply flawed and in need of redesign. Charles Lancellotti, Giada’s father, says that he would love to see something different happen at that intersection, ideally a roundabout with designated pedestrian crossings, but at the very least, some stop signs.
I sat down with our El Dorado County Supervisor, Brooke Laine, to discuss the procedures and history surrounding the road design in and around our community. I also attended the Student Bicycle and E-Bike Safety Community Conversation hosted by Dr. Todd Cutler at STMS. It feels like there is a palpable trend in South Lake Tahoe right now, a sense that “we need to do something.”
Many of the stakeholders at the LTUSD meeting expressed not just concern but a willingness to make change. Dr. Cutler gave voice to some of this when he said, “I just want everyone to think about what we can do to be more conscientious when we are out on our bicycles or in our vehicles . . slowing things down and enjoying the world we live in here in South Lake Tahoe and taking more time to get from Point A to Point B.” I agree. We need to slow down in our town and we need to reimagine and advocate for safer traffic patterns.
I wanted to drill down on the dynamics at work for the Sawmill and LTB intersection and Brooke Laine was immensely helpful. According to Laine, “From El Dorado County's perspective, unless there's something significantly flawed at that intersection, the county likely will not go out and change the intersection. There must be something super obvious or an investigation that comes out and says, ‘This was the flaw.’”
Brendan Ferry, chief deputy director at the Tahoe Planning and Building Department for El Dorado County, and I spoke about the history of that intersection and the class-one bike paths that connect Meyers with the City of SLT. Back in the fall of 2010 into 2011, bicycle infrastructure was being reevaluated, and Norma Santiago, our then-supervisor, held community meetings to vet ideas. The easy option would have been to use half of Lake Tahoe Boulevard as a segregated bike path. On one side of the median would be vehicles and on the other side pedestrians and bikes, all the way from the high school to Tahoe Mountain Rd. Feedback from the community was negative. Residents did not want to forfeit designated vehicular asphalt to bikes, due in part to their experience of the 2007 Angora fire and the need to have clear evacuation routes, which makes sense. Instead, one of the changes resulting from the meetings was to make Lake Tahoe Boulevard one lane and not two, but only at the curve, further west of the intersection with Sawmill Road. The reduction to one lane
through the curve certainly helps reduce vehicular speed, but that alone was not enough to prevent tragedy earlier this year.
After that tragedy, Laine spent hours at the intersection of Sawmill and Lake Tahoe Boulevard, observing and talking to cyclists and pedestrians. “I sat there at that intersection the week after the accident and I watched easily 20 bikes go across Lake Tahoe Boulevard and they all did it slightly different. I asked one young man with a full motorcycle helmet on an E-bike, ‘How often do you pass through this intersection?’ and he said, ‘Oh, every day. This is how I get to school and how I get home. I ride my bike everywhere.’ And I responded, ‘Just out of curiosity, how come you didn't push the button to activate the lights?’
He answered by saying, ‘What button?’”
Laine also explained that the duration of the crosswalk’s blinking lights is entirely too long, by almost 30 seconds, so it is “just conditioning drivers that there might not be anyone there,” which is in and of itself dangerous. But that apparently is dictated by a state law that mandates 45 seconds for a crosswalk light when there is a school nearby.
As a community we need to demand change to this flawed intersection by filing a formal petition explicitly asking for a “warrant analysis for a stop sign” or “new traffic control pattern.” We’ll need to collect evidence: police reports, photos of visibility issues, signatures of locals and frequent users, letters from students and cyclists, even
estimates of traffic volume and speed. It can and should be done. One out-of-the-box solution that Laine mentioned is to just dig a tunnel. It would work for wildlife, pedestrians, and cyclists.
“Raccoons can use them. Bears can use them. I can walk; you can ride. They're perfect. You can keep kids off the roadways. And they are not as expensive as bridges. Not as hard to maintain. They keep the snow out. For security, you'd need to do motion sensor lights or something like that, but that's not hard.” What the heck, why not?
Anything is better than the death zones we now have around town that mix highway speeds with pedestrian crossings.
M.C. Behm is a full-time resident of South Lake Tahoe and author of “Once Upon a Quarantine” and “The Elixir of Yosemite.” Available locally and online. To learn more or respond to columns visit www.behmbooks. com or email mcbehmbooks@ gmail.com
Courtesy MC Behm
Harvesting autumn trails
Can you believe it? We have hit that time of year again… Yeah I know, how cliché. But it is true, I feel like summer was incredible. It got too hot for about three days, too hot meaning just over 85 degrees. Yes, we are weather wimps to some degree.
I mean we love our cold winters but not too cold. And we love our summers but not too hot. During our little “hot spell,” I had several people walk into the shop
while I was sweating and whining about the heat, only to have them say, ”Oh, we’re from so and so where it is 95 percent humidity and 114 degrees at our house today; this is nice and cool here!” Yeah okay, I am thinking to myself, that’s why I don’t live there!
Anyway, we have gotten away, so far, with no fires and not even any smoke, though there were plenty of days when the smoke was sitting just outside the basin, the wind was in our favor. All things considered we have had a great summer and it feels like it just zipped right by, too fast for some summer lovers I am sure.
But now for us winter lovers, at least for me, it feels like Mother Nature stomps her foot on the brakes as time slows way down while we wait in anxious anticipation for signs that winter is upon us. Or just a good snow storm at lake level.
Well, while Mother Nature slows down time, and she may also be responsible for chasing away the chaos that comes with summer around here, we do get to enjoy this very special time of year as the leaves change.
Although I am not really a leaf peeper it is a fun sign of change, the bears are out everywhere eating everything they can. This is Harvest season. It is an important time of year for the farmers
School district secrecy surrounding alleged sexual harrassment
John Simons is no longer human resources director for Lake Tahoe Unified School District. On the district’s website, Simons’ photo and title have been replaced by that of Superintendent Todd Cutler, who is identified as the current HR director.
Whether Simons remains employed by the district in some capacity is a mystery.
Cutler disputed those descriptions, labeling such reports “inaccurate.” Cutler said some administrators voluntarily went out drinking together after the teambuilding exercise. He said no district funds were expended for the social aspect of the evening.
But that’s about all he’s saying.
bringing in the year’s crops, all the hard work comes to pay off. Well, the same goes for us.
We have spent the summer riding a little further out each time, higher and higher up each time. Sometimes it was all about working on that technical rock section you just could not make it through.
This has been the case for me as Harvest season comes around. Our rides have gotten longer, we have made some nice big loops finally, the Harvest begins. But I like rocky technical rides, which were getting to be more rare for a number of years, pretty sad and frustrating as more people wanted smooth fast trails especially as electrics got more popular. But then something happened and TAMBA and the Forest Service started to build some really exciting and very difficult alternate lines into a few trails. These are the type of steep technical lines that standing at the top of looking down will elicit certain comments, some of which I won’t mention here, but one of my favorites that we hear people say is, “Oh I can’t afford to get hurt today!” Oh really? Like you are going to come back on a different day and say, “Ah yeah, today I can afford to get hurt today, let’s drop in!” Or one that I actually caught myself saying recently as I rolled up to the top of these two
different alternate lines…more than once, hit the brakes and sat there looking down, heart pounding, “Oh my goodness, I am just too old for this!” What, who the heck just said that?!?
No really, it is okay to age out of doing certain things. Two weeks later, same ride, thinking the whole time about that one line, roll up to the drop in, heart pounding, don’t listen to that voice (that is just trying to save your ass), oh the brakes go on hard again! I walk my bike down it again, which seems even more dangerous, you could twist an ankle! I chalk it up to scouting my line.
What is going on here? Am I simply being chicken? My bike is better and more capable than ever. I have been riding some hard lines more comfortably than ever. Maybe I need my full-face helmet and some pads on for this one, a mistake in there would definitely end badly. That voice, that darn voice, who is that?
And again and, oh the brakes didn’t go on, I’m in, holy crap what is happening…Oh, that wasn’t bad at all, heart pounding! Within a week I get both lines for the first time, hopefully not the last. Harvest season.
Let’s play!
A team-building event for LTUSD administrators before the start of school reportedly went awry and ended with another administrator filing a sexual harassment complaint against Simons. After allegedly trying to flirt with her all evening, the alleged victim, requesting anonymity, told the Mountain News that Simons followed her to her house and tried to engage her romantically.
One person in attendance at the event held at Tipsy Putt characterized it to the Mountain News as a “booze fest.” Another attendee told the Mountain News “drinking was encouraged.”
On Sept. 26, the Mountain News prepared a lengthy California Public Records Act request for information surrounding this incident, and Simons’ job performance and conduct in general. The district replied a week later that it would search for all relevant records and provide an update by Oct. 20. It also cited all sorts of laws and legal cases that it claims may prevent disclosure. The First Amendment Coalition, which reviewed the district’s response, said some of those claims may not hold up.
Responding to two follow-up emails from the Mountain News, the district
refused to state whether Simons is still employed by the district, whether he is on some sort of administrative leave or if he has been transferred to another position within the district, and if he is gone, what his last day was.
LTUSD also declined to provide any district photos of Simons. LTUSD PIO Teresa Schow said the district would respond by mid-October.
These requests are clearly public record, not requiring extensive leg work or document review, and would be simple and easy to provide in a timely manner.
The alleged victim, who is considering legal action against the district, told the Mountain News the district will not tell her or her attorney whether Simons had resigned, been terminated or is still employed in some capacity. Simons' house has been for sale since mid-September.
Simons came to LTUSD in 2015 as principal of South Tahoe Middle
2022. His credentials are still valid, according to a state website. Simons did not return Mountain News phone calls, emails or texts.
Photo Gary Bell
It's not the one, but still so fun!
School. He became director of secondary education in 2021, and HR director in
American pastime now past at Tahoe
Sad news for the South Shore as the Heavenly Village Cinemas closed up, leaving us with no movie theatres. As they said in their release, it is a “sign of the times”; movie theatres, especially small independents, have had trouble staying afloat for a while.
When Covid hit, not only were theatres forced to shut down, but people got used to streaming movies at home, and when things opened back up, people were out of the habit of going to the movies, and because it took the industry some time to get back on track, there weren’t as many good movies to see. It’s sad because going to the movies has been an American pastime since the 1920s.
The Heavenly Village Cinemas served as our theatres since 2005 and featured THX certification, which meant better picture and sound than your run-of-themill theatre. I created many a
movie review after Teresa and I would watch films there.
When I moved to Tahoe in 1968, there were two theatres, the Lakeside, built in 1963 and the Drive-in. The Lakeside was a single screen theatre located where CVS at the Y now sits. It seated probably around 400 people and had a loge section in the center. That section had bigger, more comfortable chairs than the rest and it was more expensive to sit there, so as a kid, I never sat there. And they were pretty good about watching, so sneaking in didn’t happen either. The first film I saw at the Lakeside was Roman Polanski’s 1967 film, The Fearless Vampire Killers, directed by and starring Polanski and his soon-to-be wife, Sharon Tate. The next year she and her unborn child would be brutally murdered by the Manson family.
Back then, the Lakeside was the place to go as a kid on a Sat-
urday afternoon, especially when the weather was bad. Saturday matinees gave us Disney films like Blackbeard’s Ghost and Swiss Family Robinson or westerns like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Those Saturday afternoons were packed with kids and so raucous that Mr. Retzer, the owner, would come down front and tell us he would not start the movie until we quieted down. He always seemed so angry that we were making noise.
Along with Saturday afternoon films, the Lakeside also would occasionally show an older film. I remember seeing Charleton Heston in Ben Hur, and Giant, starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. In the early ‘70s, the Lakeside was split into four smaller screens. It was a “sign of the times” as movie houses were looking at ways to maintain profits and a greater number of smaller screens offered more choices, which would average more patrons. And since it was before the video boom of the mid ‘70s, we could go to the theatre more often to see different films. Around this time, two more theatres were built on the South Shore. The first was the Stateline Cinema, a single screen located pretty much right where the Heavenly Village Cinemas are. At that time there was a small mall there that had the Stateline Post Office, the newer Dead Head record store, and the El Pavo Mexican restau-
rant along with the theatre. I remember seeing the first Superman with Christopher Reeve and went three times to see Silver Streak, the first film pairing Gene Wilder with Richard Prior.
The other theatre built here was the Tahoe Cinema. It was tucked into the corner of what is now Raley’s and the old Kmart. It was a single screen and was nice because it was all new. The Lakeside, Tahoe Cinema and Stateline Cinema were owned by the same Mr. Retzer that yelled at us when we were kids. He sold them to Wallace Theatres in 1991 and they were all closed down when Wallace moved to the eight-screen complex built in the Horizon Casino in the early 2000s. Wallace lost the Stateline Cinema through the rampant eminent domain used during redevelopment, which created the Heavenly Village (and eventually the Heavenly Village Cinemas). The Lakeside became Office Depot (before it became CVS) and the Tahoe Cinema was absorbed into the Raley’s expansion.
The Horizon Cinemas were adequate but definitely of lesser quality and they were built into what used to be the best showroom in Tahoe, the Grand Lake Theatre (which was said to be Elvis’s favorite venue). They barely lasted until Heavenly Cinemas opened and were shut down shortly after.
The one other theatre in South Tahoe’s history is, of
course, the drive-in. It started over on Park Avenue in the late ‘40s and in 1957 moved to Glenwood Ave, butting up to what is now Bijou Park. It was also bought by Mr. Retzer in the ‘70s and he sold it in 1980. Drive-ins were a big part of American culture in those days and it was cool to have our own.
A friend of mine worked there and one summer I used to help him change the marquee, which was on Highway 50 at Herbert Ave.
I remember going there in high school. My girlfriend had an old pick-up and we used to back into a space with lawn chairs and hang out with our friends while smuggled alcohol would be passed around. And if we went in my car, it was also the best make-out spot. It was often one big party, which the theater owners hated, but we all loved.
As most drive-ins went the way of the dodo, so too went the Tahoe drive-in in 1984. There are currently two very large estates there.
With the ebb and flow of time, we have come to that point where we do not have any movie theatres. For people who have 85inch TV screens at home, it may not be a big deal, but the shift in culture to where people just don’t go to the movies anymore is a little sad.
Photo MGM
The Fearless Vampire Slayers first new film Dave saw at the old Lakeside Theater.
DEMONSTRATION GARDEN
Continued from page 17
forest health, safety, and providing quality public access to national forest lands,” said Daniel Cressy, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit public services staff officer and landscape architect.
In the early days Cressy was on the garden’s advisory committee.
Julie Regan, TRPA executive director, was on the committee first when she worked for STPUD and then when she joined TRPA in 2003 as public information officer.
“TRPA cares about the garden and would be very interested in a conversation about the future of the garden,” Regan said. “We would have to innovate for it to be relevant. We would have to make it more interactive and still have it be a living, breathing laboratory.”
She envisions bringing topics to the garden that weren’t part of the discussion in the 1980s like forest health and fuels reduction.
Long would be willing to return to his hometown to help resurrect the garden.
“I definitely can contribute time and effort to bring back some new spirit to it if other people are interested,” he said.
Lisa O’Daly, who still lives in the area and was on the advisory committee at different times for the city, USFS and
Conservancy, in September returned to the garden after years of not visiting the site.
“It didn't feel hopeless at all. It felt like an opportunity. I think it is an opportunity to show native plants even with years without maintenance. It shows how they behave,” O’Daly said. “I think there is opportunity there to bring the garden back and still educate people about why you choose native plants.”
Ultimately, though, the demonstration garden’s future is up to the LTCC board members, who are elected by the community, to tell the administration what to do.
“Because it’s on the college property it’s up to the board of trustees of the college to make a decision and provide the direction of whether the garden is going to be re-established and flourish, and serve as an educational tool and environmental tool or if it is just not a priority for them anymore,” Zacovic, LTCC’s former vice president, said.
LTCC’s point-of-view
For years the garden had not been a priority for the college.
“The college board brings it up occasionally. Then the administration gives us a response, says solutions are coming,” Jeff Cowen, LTCC board member, said. “We haven’t heard about it for a while.” Cowen also served as the TRPA’s rep to the gar-
den’s advisory committee.
President DeFranco says internally the word “hibernation” is used for the garden. It’s been in that state since at least 2020 when the parking lot that serves as the main access point became the construction staging ground first for science labs and other renovations, and more recently for the building of the dorms.
Construction equipment was removed in September.
“Our vision for the future is to take it out of hibernation, reinvigorate it, and get it usable and functional,” DeFranco said.
The college has no intention to resurrect the garden to what it was like in its glory years, or to make it a community demonstration garden again.
He said this summer members of Generation Green through the U.S. Forest Service did some cleanup in the garden.
DeFranco said the college doesn’t have the maintenance staff to put toward the garden in a meaningful way, citing how the institution has more than doubled its square footage since 2000, which puts
other demands on the institution.
“The college doesn’t have the personnel or the bandwidth to also manage the garden like a botanical garden nonprofit would,” DeFranco said. “We want to make sure it is operating at a base level.”
DeFranco clearly stated it will never be what it once was.
Photo Kathryn Reed
Many iterations of Keep Tahoe Blue have appeared through the years, with this one found at Dick's Place, a bar in Mendocino. Tahoe Glue is a hybrid cannabis strain. If you've seen a creative riff on Keep Tahoe Blue, send us a pic and tell us where you saw it.
Photo Kathryn Reed John Roos, who for years was the main gardener at the site, puts the finishing touches on the Ledbetter Terrace at LTCC on Sept. 10, 2009.
