South Lake Tahoe man shares journey around world
October 20, 2007
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In Rick Gunn’s latest e-mail home, he boasted, “been there done that.”"I did it!” he exclaimed, with more exclamation points than would be prudent to print.The South Lake Tahoe man was celebrating having cycled across 1,900 miles of Australian desert, but the sentiment could have referenced a larger accomplishment.Since Gunn left from the Golden Gate Bridge in July 2005, he has ridden his bike through 31 countries, taking photos and writing stories along the way to share his experience.”It’s been important to me to tell these stories because it is all too easy to forget that each decision we make in our personal lives is capable of having a profound effect outside of our lives, outside of our communities, outside of our borders. To offer a gentle (or not so gentle) reminder that the way we eat, shop, consume and vote can have a severe effect on many we may never see,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I’ve always hoped that by the telling my stories of these deeply personal encounters in the world, it may motivate some to switch off that TV set, and switch on their motivation to help find sustainable solutions to these problems.”His stories and photos have been printed in several publications including the Nevada Appeal, Tahoe Daily Tribune and on his Web site rickgunnphotography.com. Calling his trip the Wish Tour, he’s encouraged readers to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 43-year-old moved to South Lake Tahoe from Castro Valley, Calif., 15 years ago to attend a junior college. He never left, citing a “severe, unending bout of outdoor enthusiasm.”
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Defensible space advocate helps her community
October 20, 2007
For Particia Owens, 65, community service is a way of life. She said she learned from her family to give back to the community, and has always been involved in community affairs.
"I am involved in the community with defensible space and other issues because I want to be the best citizen I can," Owens said. "And I want to leave kids with values."
Owens' latest project is as a board member in Woddminster, a condo complex in Incline Village. She is the defensible-space chairwoman and has volunteered her time to the condo community for about eight years.
"I try to stay informed so I can update others," Owens said. "That way we know how to preserve the beauty of the lake, but also be fire safe. We have to respect the wildlife."
Owens has lived at Tahoe for 18 years. She is a substitute schoolteacher with a background in political science, works part-time for the Census Bureau and volunteers at several community activities in Incline Village. She said she cherishes the beauty of the lake and thinks people living in the area should be aware of the policies and requirements imposed by Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the fire district regarding defensible space, a voluntary constructed clear area surrounding homes and businesses created for fire protection.
"I probably pull out hundreds of little pine trees for defensible space," Owens said. "You need to manicure your area for the trees to grow healthy."
Owens regularly reads the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, stays in contact with officials responsible for defensible space implementation, like forester Jeff Cutler from North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, and goes to public meetings focused on landscaping in Tahoe. She educates herself and stays updated on changes in policies, which, as a result of the Angora fire, are to be made soon.
"I'd like to see mandatory defensible space with clear rules," Owens said. "I want to know when agencies will come in terms on what the new rules will be."
Owens got involved in defensible-space management because, she said, she sees getting others to understand the importance of defensible space can be challenging. She also is trying to convince the rest of condo owners that defensible space and Best Management Practices can work together well.
For Owens, lack of awareness is the biggest environmental problem in Lake Tahoe. She said she tries to find the perfect medium between the policies of TRPA concerning BMPs and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District's about defensible space.
"We want to see the lake still beautiful, and in my community we are looking how to balance defensible space requirements and BMPs," Owens concluded.
Owens said second-home owners and people who want to keep the forest untouched are the most difficult opponents stopping the Woodminster's landscaping improvements.
"People, who don't live here on a daily basis don't understand the pressing importance of defensible space," she said. "But I understand that for the forest health we need to thin some of the trees out, even if they are naturally beautiful."
Owens enjoys being active. Her future plans include finishing the defensible project in her condo area, which is now 25 percent complete, and being involved in other neighborhood projects.
"Helping people is very satisfactory, and it is important to be proactive," Owens declared.
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Photo gallery- Lake Tahoe flipbook
October 20, 2007
According to thefreedictionary.com, a flip·book is “a small book consisting of a series of images that give
the illusion of continuous movement when the edges of the pages are flipped quickly.”
This idea was used to create the photo gallery by taking photos in succession and playing through them to create a movie effect. From clouds blowing over the Mount Rose summit to waves crashing onto the shore near Memorial Point, view the Lake Tahoe flipbook.
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If you would like to add to the flipbook, send photos to LizMargerum@ourtahoe.org. (You will need at least 10 photos.) |
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Are slash mats worth the cost?
October 17, 2007
Slash mats can further reduce soil erosion created by the equipment used to clear forest fuels from stream environment zones, according to a demonstration by the U.S. Forest at Heavenly Creek on Thursday.
However, Forest Service Vegetation Management program manager Scott Parson's questioned, "Do you understand what the cost of that incremental benefit of operating over the slash mat is?"
Parsons said that to clear 22 acres, amounting to 1,900 tons of fuel from the Heavenly Creek stream zone cost a "little over $174,000." Ten percent of the stream zone did not have sufficient material to create a slash mat.
After being described as a "wick" that lit the Angora fire, clearing forest fuels from the stream environment zones in the wildland urban interface has been a public concern.
In the effort to reduce forest fuels in stream environment zones, the Forest Service has been using low impact equipment-harvesters and forwarders. This equipment "cuts to length" the tree to be removed, stripping the limbs from the tree and then cutting the trunk to a stump.
The innovation promoted by the Forest Service at the demonstration is that the harvester will now cut to length in a way in which the limbs and tops of trees fall in front of it. This creates an increased buffer between the soil and tires of the following harvester and forwarder.
Officials say this results in a mat of "slash" that further lowers the soil compaction of the already low-impact equipment. The soil and plant systems in stream environment zones act as filter for run-off and prevents soil erosion, both of which have a negative impact on the clarity of Lake Tahoe.
"Out of spending $7,000 an acre, roughly 50 percent of that cost was purely involved in dealing with that slash mat," Parsons said.
Parsons said that while this technology used to clear the forest isn't any cheaper than the alternative of having people on foot doing the clearing, it does have the definite advantage of low soil compaction.
"If done by hand crews, you would have had hundreds of foot paths all through this area," Parsons said. "Plus it would have taken a whole lot longer to do."
Hydrologist of EC Adaptive Management Sue Norman said there was a "very rigorous monitoring component" in which soil quality criteria and infiltration capacities were met. She noted that soil compaction was tested in areas with and without a slash mat at the site.
"The results show that you get more compaction without a slash mat, but even without the slash mat there is still a positive result," Norman said.
"In the final report I think we'll be able to show that there is virtually no hydrological response from the treatment of this area," she added.
At the end of the demonstration, Lahontan Water Resource Control Engineer Doug Cushman restated the question asked earlier by Forester Parsons.
"When operating without a slash mat, water infiltration is half of what it is when they operated with the slash mat. Is that difference worth the cost?"
Cushman's question was directed to what the Lahontan Water Quality Control Board thinks about the benefits and costs of using slash mats.
However, this question should be asked of Tahoe residents who live next to stream environment zones.
If there is still a "positive result" for water clarity in clearing stream environment zones without the use of a slash mat, why stress the benefit of this technology after the Angora fire — especially if it costs more?
What do you think?
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Organización se preocupa de los necesitados
October 13, 2007
Para ilustrar la importancia del Proyecto MANA, su director George LeBard con frecuencia usa la analogía de una planta. El explica que esta necesita varias cosas para mantenerse viva: aire fresco, sol, nutrientes y agua son algunos de los elementos que él nombra, si uno de ellos falta la planta no puede sobrevivir.
“Es como una comunidad,” él concluye, “si una parte no está bien, afecta a toda la comunidad.”
Por eso, él argumenta, los residentes mas pobres del Lago Tahoe no deberían ser ignorados. Su organización, fundada en 1991 por un estudiante de Sierra Nevada College, provee comida a los necesitados en Incline Village, Kings Beach y Truckee. LeBard se unió a la organización en 1998.
“La salud de la comunidad depende de que todos tengan acceso a las necesidades básicas,” él dijo. “El alimento es una necesidad básica, si no lo tienes piensas en forma diferente, piensas solo en sobrevivir y no piensas en la comunidad.”
LeBard espera cambiar esto. Por años, la organización ha suministrado comida para los necesitados, más de 25,000 visitas el año pasado. Sin embargo, LeBard dijo que los líderes de la organización no estaban contentos con el trato que tenían con sus clientes.
“No los conocíamos,” dijo él. Entonces en Febrero, crearon un equipo para el Servicio de Integración (Service Integration Team), una colaboración entre el Servicio Social (Social-Service) y otras agencias. Ahora, cada cliente se reúne con una familia que apoya a MANA para estudiar otros asuntos, como el abuso de las drogas, la violencia domestica o dificultades en los estudios. A las personas que necesitan aprender inglés se les encuentra clases.
Además de inscribirse para recibir servicios, a los clientes se les invita a participar de voluntarios en agencias como Tahoe Rim Trail. Inspirados por donaciones de el Safeway local, se estableció un sistema de puntos donde los recipientes ganan puntos por cada programa o servicio voluntario al que se integran. Los puntos pueden ser redimidos en la bodega que contiene las donaciones de la comunidad.
“Al terminar el día ellos han logrado algo.” Dijo LeBard. “Al mismo tiempo, se involucran en actividades que no hubiesen hecho normalmente.”
Esta época del año, entre temporadas, es particularmente difícil para las familias de bajos ingresos. “La mayoría de nuestros clientes trabajan en la industria de servicios que apoya a la economía turística,” dijo él.
Para informarse más sobre el proyecto MANA o para hacer donaciones por favor dirigirse a projectmana.org.
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Organization cares for community’s needy
October 13, 2007
To illustrate the importance of Project MANA, director George LeBard often uses the analogy of a plant.He explains that it needs a variety of things to stay alive: fresh air, sunshine, nutrients and water are some of the things he lists. If one or more of those things is missing, he says, the plant can’t survive.”It’s like a community,” he concludes, “if part of it is not doing well, it affects the whole community.”That’s why, he argues, the poorest residents at Lake Tahoe should not be ignored. His organization, founded in 1991 by a Sierra Nevada College student, provides food to those in need in Incline, Kings Beach and Truckee. LeBard joined the organization in 1998.”The health of a community depends on everybody in the community having access to essential needs,” he said. “Food is an essential need. If you don’t have that, you think differently. You think only of survival. You’re not thinking about the community.”LeBard hopes to change that. For years, the organization provided food for the hungry - more than 25,000 visits last year. However, LeBard said, organization leaders were unhappy with the relationship they had with their clients.”We didn’t know them,” he said. So, in February, they created the Service Integration Team, a collaboration of social-service and other agencies. Now, each client meets with a family advocate to assess other issues, such as substance abuse, domestic violence or school struggles. People needing to learn English are set up with classes.In addition to signing up for services, clients are also encouraged to sign up to volunteer with agencies like the Tahoe Rim Trail. Inspired by donations from the local Safeway, a points system was established where recipients earn points for each program or volunteer service they sign up for. Points can be redeemed at a warehouse storing community donations.”At the end of the day, they’re accomplishing something,” LeBard said. “At the same time, it gets them involved in things they wouldn’t have normally done.”This time of year between seasons, known as the shoulder season, is particularly difficult for low-income families. “Most of our clients work in the service industry that supports the tourism economy,” he said.To learn more about Project MANA or to donate, go to projectmana.org.
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Juan Luna talks about BMPs
October 13, 2007
Juan Luna, owner of the Luna Enterprises, Inc., has been working in the landscaping business for 16 years. He specializes in building Best Management Practices, land administration systems required by the TRPA in order to prevent run-off and erosion, and increase lake clarity. Read more
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Green tour highlights Tahoe homes, values
October 13, 2007
Despite the chilly temperatures and fresh snow, about 35 Tahoe-Truckee residents, developers and organizers gathered at 64 Acres Park on Oct. 6 to tour some of the “green” homes on the North Shore.
The Green Home Tour is an annual event that displays the
environmentally friendly building practices local people are
using. This year’s tour showcased green additions, rebuilds, and the
lake’s first straw-bale constructed home.
See the Virtual Reality of Susan Smith’s home. Susan Smith’s home overlooking Rubicon Bay. Photo by Allan Warren |
“It just feels so good to be running my entire home off the energy of
the sun,” said Susan Smith, a Rubicon Bay resident who put her new
solar energy and solar thermal home on display. “It’s even better than
expected. But it both feels good and is a benefit to my pocket book. I
haven’t had a bill in a year and four months.”
Stephen Witek of SEED Inc ., and Smith’s engineer/designer was on hand to explain the green technologies incorporated in Smith’s home.
“We used all three types of solar energy: passive, thermal and electric,” Witek said. “We used efficient windows to maximize heating, the thermal heats the home and the water, and the solar panels provide enough electricity to run the house.”
For Melissa Siig and her husband Steven of Insignia Landscape Construction, going green was more about the little things.
“We wanted to make choices that are affordable and green. We used recycled carpet, paper-stone countertops, environmentally friendly paint, things like that,” Siig said. “There are trade-offs with going green and there are limitations up here because of the elevation and snow load.”
The Siigs focused on making their home more efficient as they doubled the space to make room for their growing family.
“We re-insulated with soy and recycled denim foams, replaced all of our appliances with Energy Star appliances, used bamboo flooring and put in new efficient windows,” Siig said shifting a squirmy little one from arm to arm. “He’s pretty excited. He doesn’t know what to make of all these people.”
But whether it was going green in the little things, in the whole
house, or simply learning about the green options, all the people
involved in the tour were there because of the value they have for Lake
Tahoe’s environment.
“This is double, or more, than the turnout we had last time we had the
tour in the Tahoe Basin,” said Greg Jones, who helped organize the event
with the Sierra Green Building Association.
For Tahoe newcomers Meghan McCarthy and Kevin Black the tour was an opportunity to get to know people in the community as well see the green technologies at work.
“We just came out from Boston a week ago,” McCarthy said. “I’ve never lived out West and we decided on Tahoe because of the environment, both to play in and work in.”
“We’re both civil engineers,” Black said. “We wanted to come to a place where we could get in on the ground floor of (green building). So we quit our jobs and moved out here. So far we really like it. The community seems to revolve around the environment out here.”
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Delicia Spees talks about the Angora fire
October 10, 2007
Delicia Spees, director of the Family Resource Center in South Lake Tahoe, and Angora fire survivor talks about the community and its relationship after the fire.
See the slideshow of Delicia Spees.
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Sitting on a park bench
October 7, 2007
On a crisp Saturday afternoon Leopoldo Perez Garcia and Avelino de la Torre Gonzalez sat together on a bench overlooking Lake Tahoe.
The two were taking advantage of what could be one of the last days before it becomes too cold to spend an afternoon outside in Kings Beach. And when the cold weather sets in, de la Torre leaves his seasonal job as a landscaper and returns to his home in Mexico where he works in the country.Work he describes as being harder and paying less than his job “atendiendo yardas” in Lake Tahoe.Amid the multimillion-dollar mansions and a billion-dollar tourism empire at the lake are also those who live paycheck to paycheck, or job to job.Still, Perez said, he prefers living in the United States.”With money, we eat food that makes us strong,” Perez, 68, said in Spanish. “And here, there’s always money. Sometimes in Mexico, there isn’t any.”He’s lived in the United States for 32 years, returning as often as he can to Mexico to spend time with his wife and four children. Of all the places he’s lived, he said, he enjoys Kings Beach best.”It’s so beautiful,” he said. “The lake is precious - that’s why we come out here to spend an afternoon.”Plus, he says, he makes more money in Lake Tahoe than anywhere else.Both men entered the United States illegally at first but have since, they said, received the necessary paperwork.De la Torre, 55, simply has a work permit, while Perez has his green card, they said. 
Neither worries about the increase in immigration security.”I keep all my papers right here all the time,” Perez says, patting his pocket. “We tow the line and don’t make any problems.”And for the most part, they agree, life in Tahoe is good. People are usually nice to them - they have each encountered some racial hostility, but said they like most of the people they’ve met and worked with.They sometimes miss aspects of their lives in Mexico, but conclude there is more opportunity and more money to he had in America.Although Perez has spent the bulk of three decades in the United States, and de la Torre has spent four summers in Tahoe, the men speak little English.”Somos burros,” Perez offers, and they both laugh.Each has a son living in Kings Beach working seasonally and returning to their wives in Mexico in the winter.Their dream would be to have their families living with them at Lake Tahoe, but getting the paperwork and money to do so has proved to be too difficult.Still, they have hopes for their children.”We want them to have a good future,” Perez said. “We hope they always have enough to eat - always have a fish in the house.”
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Latest Headlines
- Hearing planned in Incline tree-felling case - The federal trial for an Incline Village woman charged with hiring a tree-cutting company to chop three Ponderosa Pines from her Lake Tahoe property has been canceled and a change-of-plea hearing scheduled May 1.
- Truckee man takes torch to North Pole - A Truckee man who reached the North Pole this week carrying an unlit torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games plans to discuss his experience and environmental issues Saturday by audio and video transmissions with participants at a Lake Tahoe festival.
- Quake pattern watched closely - As earthquakes continue to shake Reno, two reports released this month give new insight into the likely characteristics of a temblor at Lake Tahoe.
Winds are North at 6 MPH. The pressure is 30.17" and the humidity is 23%. The heat index is 75. Last Updated on Jul 5, 10:55 am PDT.
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