summer

Sign up now for the golf event of the year — tee off the summer golf season at the 18th annual Gourmand Golf Tournament.
The four person scramble takes place Sunday, May 1 at the Eagle Valley Golf Course. The event is sponsored by the Cracker Box, Adele’s Restaurant and Js’ Old Town Bistro and benefits Carson City’s Community Counseling Center.

By the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Anglers can look forward to another promising steelhead season on the Columbia River and its tributaries this year, based on a forecast released recently by a team of state, federal and tribal biologists.

Elaine and I took a ride on Wednesday from Carson City to Kit Carson Pass (elevation 8,500'), via U.S. Highway 395, Nevada State Route 88 and California State Route 88, to get some pictures of the deep snow in the high country.

Here are eight photos to enjoy:

Photo No. 1: The Hope Valley Store on the way to Kit Carson Pass. They might have a problem in getting to the tire chains.

Photo No. 2: Some summer rental cabins in a meadow, just before reaching Red Lake.

"You can grow it, now sell it," is the message of Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute's workshop for small farms. The daylong workshop is Saturday, April 2, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the WNC Carson City Campus, 2201 West College Parkway. Cost is $35 if registered by March 23 or $45 if registered after March 23. Lunch is included, and seating is limited.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Health and Human Services Director Mike Willden said today he believes the state can reduce Medicaid rates to medical providers as proposed in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget, but acknowledges the issue is “muddy territory.”
Willden’s view suggests the Medicaid reductions can be imposed without the state being subjected to successful legal challenges based on a recent appeals court ruling.

Skiers and riders can enjoy a full month of Lake Tahoe spring skiing for less than $7 per day with Squaw Valley's Spring Pass, on sale now for $199. In addition to spring skiing and riding starting April 11, 2011, this year’s Squaw Valley Spring Pass includes free access to the High Camp Swimming Lagoon and Spa for Spring 2011 and free Summer Cable Car access — all for less than the price of three full-day lift tickets. Squaw Valley’s Spring Passes are on sale now at www.squaw.com.

By the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has set the 2011 sport halibut seasons for the Oregon Coast.

Oregon halibut anglers will enjoy slightly more fishing opportunity in 2011 thanks to a 12 percent increase in the harvest quota set by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, according to Gway Rogers-Kirchner, ODFW marine fishery manager.

(News Release) — In a lakewide study, a team of scientists lead by University of Nevada, Reno limnologist Sudeep Chandra has found a considerable decline in native fish species density at Lake Tahoe since 1951. In their final report, they are recommending establishing and implementing a management plan to protect the nearshore zone habitat, which is critical to native fish.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
A caribou herd shared by Alaska and northwest Canada has rebounded after a near one-third decline, according to a photo census announced by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

State biologists said the Porcupine Caribou Herd has grown to an estimated 169,000 animals.

"People on both sides of the Alaska-Canada border are pleased,'' said Jason Caikoski, an assistant area biologist.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – When Amanda Collins testified before a Senate committee, she recounted an emotional story of her brutal assault at University of Nevada, Reno campus.
Collins said she was defenseless when serial rapist and convicted murderer James Biela attacked her in a UNR parking garage.

LAS VEGAS – The ability to carry a firearm on Nevada’s college campuses could have prevented her brutal rape, says a victim who will testify before the Senate Government Affairs Committee tomorrow in Carson City.

By Wendy Madson, Healthy Communities Coalition liaison for school garden implementation

Nearly 2,000 students are getting their hands dirty in school gardens, thanks to a USDA grant received by Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey, a private nonprofit. This season school gardens are being created in Dayton and Silver Springs, and next season they'll be created in Yerington and Fernley schools.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
Republican governors and members of Congress vowed Tuesday to fight an Obama administration plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West eligible for federal wilderness protection. The GOP officials said the plan would circumvent Congress's authority and could be used to declare a vast swath of public land off-limits to oil-and-gas drilling.

Two reliable sources have confirmed that Congressman Dean Heller said this week he is definitely committed to running in the U.S. Senate race. Heller’s office would not confirm the news this morning when contacted.

By the Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
The boat launch facility at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe will open March 3.
Boating hours will be 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Monday, through the end of April.

Boat inspectors will be present during these hours with the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program.

Recent indicators show tourism at Lake Tahoe South Shore is improving, according to the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority.

December occupancy was up three percent compared to last year (Smith Travel Research). The No. 1 ski destination in the U.S. (Rand McNally 2011; TripAdvisor 2010) has seen a rise of 1.7 percent through Reno-Tahoe International Airport since July; 14 percent more skiers and snowboarders on the slopes, increased bookings over holiday weekends, and advance reservations for summer.

In 2010, McCall Realty of South Lake Tahoe pledged to donate $20,000 of annual profits to five non-profit organizations benefitting the youth of South Shore. Owner Thane McCall is fulfilling that promise by delivering final contributions to the South Lake Tahoe Police Activities League (PAL), which will use the funds for after-school programs including a boxing club, bike club, recreation outing group and various sports teams.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
On a sunny afternoon, 15 workers are waist deep in a half-acre pond, tromping through 46-degree water and dragging a 120-foot net to catch several hundred small fish.

The fingerling yellow perch are being pulled from the water to be part of studies of the small fish, which is being introduced as an alternate commercial species in Alabama.

By GrandViewOutdoors.com
The battle to rid Alexander Creek of salmon-munching northern pike may escalate into a war next summer. More pike will be targeted by state biologists after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was awarded $635,000 from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund for a four-year program to kill pike.

That supplements $127,000 in state money devoted to the project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTDn2A7hcY

For more than a year, the lack of firm details about the Nugget Project has been a major source of frustration to those trying to get their heads around this undertaking.

Without real numbers or plans, those arguing for or against struggled with hitting the moving target that is this project.

But that target just got a whole lot more stationary, as Carson City Manager Larry Werner released a 100+ page feasibility report (attached below) for the Board of Supervisors to use this week when a decision is made on whether to move forward with the project.

The California Department of Fish and Game has successfully returned two California black bear yearlings to the remote wilderness near Truckee. Both female cubs were orphaned last summer.

One cub was illegally dumped last June on the front porch of Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR League. Weighing only 12 pounds, the cub was emaciated and starving.

Here is the greater Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Cascade and Northern California fishing report through Feb. 16, 2011.

BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF:
Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (866) 694-2930 www.woodfordsstation.com reported: The road is closed for the winter.

CAPLES LAKE, CALIF:
John Voss of the Caples Lake Resort (209) 258-8888

This Saturday, Feb. 12, is the opening day of the 2011 fishing seasons for the following waters in Lyon County:

— The Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds, near Wabuska.
— Applicable open waters (Bass Pond, Beaver Slough, Crappie Pond, Hinkson Slough, North Pond and the Walker River), all on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area (MVWMA), near Yerington.

All of the waters listed above will close on Sept. 30. If you are interested in fishing at any of those waters on Opening Day, here is some miscellaneous information:

Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds:

Teams of super heroes, penguins, pirates and other eye-catching characters jumped into Lake Tahoe last winter. On March 19, they’ll do it again, and you’re invited to join them as Special Olympics Nevada co-hosts the “Freezin’ for a Reason” Polar Plunge® 2011 at Zephyr Cove, South Lake Tahoe. The event is open to all and will include entertainment, a costume contest, prizes, and Special Olympics athletes, coaches, and volunteers who will share their experiences with the organization’s inspiring programs.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – While there has been a lot of criticism directed at the details of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed spending plan, there is acclaim for his development of a new budgeting process designed to ensure state agencies get results with taxpayer dollars.

Dayton Intermediate School’s newly developing school garden will boast two large sculptures by internationally known sculptor Mischell Riley.

Riley, who is well known for work such as the 3-story high bronze lion at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, has donated two of her pieces to enhance the school’s garden landscape.

RENO — Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said she is “taking the pulse” of Reno this week as she considers a bid for Republican Sen. John Ensign’s seat in the 2012 election.
She told Sam Shad and Ray Hagar on Nevada NewsMakers today that she is raising campaign money, but she said the money is for her re-election bid in Congress. For now.

CARSON CITY – It’s a rare occurrence that a governor calls a federal law “unconstitutional” one minute and advocates implementing that same law a minute later.

But that’s what happened earlier this week when Gov. Brian Sandoval called for Nevada to move forward with creating the Nevada Health Insurance Exchange, one of the mandates under the Obama administration’s 2010 health care bill.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Third-graders who cannot read at a third-grade level would not advance to fourth grade under a proposal from Gov. Brian Sandoval.
The assertion rests on common-sense logic, and Sandoval has been promoting his idea since he was on the campaign trail.

Businessman and radio host Herman Cain stopped in Las Vegas last week as part of his preparation for a possible presidential run in 2012. The Republican is the first potential candidate so far to have created an exploratory committee, often the first step for those who hope to win their party’s nomination.
Cain has been traveling the country and testing the waters, generally eschewing large events with significant media coverage in favor of intimate settings with the conservative activists and Tea Party groups that constitute much of the GOP base.