Episodes
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
Ep. 27 - Joanne Marchetta - Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
Our special guest this week: Joanne Marchetta from Tahoe Regional Planning Agency!
Joanne Marchetta is the Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, a bi-state compact agency whose mission is to cooperatively lead the work to preserve, restore, and enhance the natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region. Since 2009, she has led the Agency and basin through transformational changes to strengthen the environment, economy, and communities of Lake Tahoe. She came to Tahoe in 2009 to serve as TRPA’s General Counsel before taking on the leadership role as Director. Joanne serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Tahoe Prosperity Center and she enjoys spending time with her partner, walking with her dog, martial arts, hiking, cycling, reading and experiencing all the best of Tahoe’s outdoors options.
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Ep. 26 - Denise Upton - Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Our special guest this week: Denise Upton from Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care!
After joining LTWC in 1995, Denise became one of the most hands-on volunteers involved with the daily care at LTWC. She served on the LTWC board for six years and was the president for two terms before being hired as Animal Care Director in 2014. We discuss coexisting with wildlife in Tahoe, Hank the Tank, and the new center that is being built.
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
Ep. 25 - Ryan Carr - Mental Health & Performance
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
Our special guest this week: Ryan Carr!
Ryan Carr is the Performance Supervisor and a certified Mental Performance Coach at the Barton Center for Orthopedics & Wellness. Prior to Barton, Ryan was a performance and strength/conditioning coach at Princeton University, Seton Hall University, Iona College, and the University of Hartford. His purpose is to live with passion, presence, and optimism, and to positively impact people to maximize their potential so that we can all create and live the life we love! His workshops (both group and 1-on-1) with local and national organizations help people realize the importance and enjoyment of training their minds through performance psychology.
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Ep. 24 - Daron Rahlves - Feb. 3 2022
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Our special guest this week: Daron Rahlves!
Daron Rahlves, former Olympian, American World Cup alpine ski racer, freestyle skier and RedBull athlete extraordinaire was born in Walnut Creek and currently resides in Truckee, CA. He is one of the most celebrated skiers in history as a 4-time Olympian (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010), World Champion (Super-G Gold in 2001) and winner of 28 World Cup podiums overall. Most importantly, he is a proud father of twins and loving husband to Michelle Rahlves!
Thursday Jan 20, 2022
Ep. 23 - Kevin & Rich Alibi Aleworks - Jan. 20, 2022
Thursday Jan 20, 2022
Thursday Jan 20, 2022
Our special guests this week: Kevin Drake and Rich Romo, Founders of Alibi Aleworks!
Listen in on how a Tahoe Native and a craft beer guru united to build one of the most well known and tasty craft beer empires in the Lake Tahoe region.
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Ep. 22: Todd Offenbacher - Jan. 6 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Our special guest this week: Todd Offenbacher! (pronounced Tod Offenbacher)
Born Oct 30th 1962 in Prince Georges, MD... He was the fastest kid in 4th grade running the 100 yard dash. quickly grounded by his parents all of 7th through 9th grade, and shot straight to the top sales person at "Offenbacher Pool n Patio" in 1979 all while holding a solid 2.7 GPA at Wooten High School!
Fast forward many light years ahead and Todd has become the founder of Tahoe Adventure Film Festival, Lead Ski Guide at IceAxe Expeditions, world renowned rock-climber, cover model for Muscle Magazine, Brand Ambassador for Mammut and a self proclaimed NASA astronaut.
That is literally just the tip of the iceberg! It's tough to put words together for this very special human, so please enjoy our conversation with the one and only, Todd Offenbacher!
Thursday May 20, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tahoe Talk - 5/11/21
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Quick-hitting news bits from around the globe and inside your community to keep you up to speed with the world!
LOCAL NEWS:
- Exciting announcement coming out yesterday on the entertainment front – we talked about this a few episodes ago that with Douglas County opening up to 100% on the NV side, perhaps it would mean things like events and concerts could start to come back and we got not only the announcement that the summer concert series was going to be a go, we also got an initial glimpse at the lineup, which got pretty roasted on social media
- Pretty cool story about the efforts to reduce plastic waste around the basin features students from environmental clubs from 4 high schools around the region (North Tahoe, Truckee, Incline & South Tahoe) – as they learned abut the effects microplastics had on the lake they surveyed their local Raley’s stores and brought their findings to the Raley’s executive team on Earth Day – highlighting areas for improvement which Raley’s will be committing to improving
- As more and more drought talk happens, more and more fallout is likely to occur – one of them being the boat ramp at El Dorado Beach will not open this year due to the low water levels from the dry winter. As of now this is the only boat ramp that we’ve heard of, but if you were planning on launching their on the south shore, you will need to find a different point of entry – you can hit up TahoeBoatInspections.com for locations.
- Governor Newsom is proposing a $5.1 billion drought response package that will expand drought emergency actions to 41 counties – should have more on this as more details become available
- As the summer starts to creep in a few notes on some road trip routes – Highway 108 over Sonora Pass has reopened for the season – Tioga pass over to Yosemite is still closed at time of this recording but chance that gets opened I’ve heard maybe even by this weekend, but we’ll wait to hear officially, and Ebbetts Pass still closed but still on track to be opened by Memorial Day weekend.
NATIONAL NEWS:
- “Coin Crowding" has arrived — and it's not just a Bitcoin trend. Crypto "mainstreamification" has reached a level that goes far beyond just Bitcoin. 14% of the US population now invests in cryptocurrency, and American crypto owners could double in 2021. This year, Bitcoin has nearly 2X'd in value – and altcoins have seen even bigger rallies: Ethereum is up ~400%, and Dogecoin has soared 13,000%. According to a Gemini survey: two-thirds of US adults who don't own crypto are "crypto curious.”
- Officials from California’s Sequoia National Park made a disturbing discovery while conducting a survey to determine the effects of the 2020 Castle Fire…a giant sequoia in the area known as Board Camp Grove was found still smoldering and emitting smoke months after historic wildfires devastated the region last August. The Castle Fire, which was ignited by a lightning strike last summer ended up burning down 270+ square miles of land before it was contained in December.
- CA Gov. Newsom, who is facing a recall election later this year, announced a plan to send almost $12B dollars back to taxpayers. If approved, California would give $600 checks to workers who earn up to $75,000 annually, with $500 bonuses for tax filers with dependents and undocumented families. That’s about 80% of the state's workers and two-thirds of all residents would benefit from the plan. He also unrolled a slew of other funding proposals:
• $5.2 billion in federal funding to help low-income renters stay housed.
• $2 billion to help Californians pay overdue water and utility bills.
• $1 billion in college grants to help employees whose jobs have been decimated by the pandemic find better work.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has done what more than a century of past plagues, recessions, crime waves, droughts and earthquakes couldn’t. It shrank California’s population by 182,083 people in 2020. That’s the first time that annual statistic has come with a minus sign since data collection started in 1900. Just 0.4% in case you are trying to do the math in your head.
- After falling for nearly 12 months straight, the US unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 6.1% in April. 266K jobs were added last month — economists were expecting 1M (womp). Millions of Americans are unemployed, but companies in industries like construction, manufacturing, and restaurants still can't find enough people to hire. Potentially holding workers back: child-care burdens, Covid fears, and boosted unemployment benefits
- Just 4% of iPhone users in the U.S. and 12% overall have opted in to app tracking after updating their phones to Apple’s new iOS 14.5, which introduced new privacy features. That is exactly what companies like Facebook were worried about.
- Colonial Pipeline, a major system that delivers roughly 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast was hit with a ransomware attack and halted all operations to deal with the threat. This breach underscores the vulnerabilities of crucial infrastructure, not just banks and IT. Biden is expected to issue an executive order to bolster security of federal and private systems in the next few week.
Tuesday May 04, 2021
Tahoe Talk -5/4/21
Tuesday May 04, 2021
Tuesday May 04, 2021
Quick-hitting news bits from around the globe and inside your community to keep you up to speed with the world!
NATIONAL NEWS:
- Want to hit all 47 national parks in the lower 48 in the most efficient path possible? No room for roadside attractions deviations on University of Penn researcher Dr. Randal Olson National Parks Service map but if you have 14,498 miles worth of gas money and roughly 2 months you can hop on this circuit from anywhere in the country and come home seeing everything the NPS has to offer (LINK)
- It’s official - Caitlyn Jenner is running for CA Governor and released her first campaign commercial on Tuesday with her own name misspelled in the video!
- Out of control Chinese rocket heading for earth. It is too early to say with a high degree of certainty where the rocket or its debris will ultimately crash, but forecasts show if an impact were to occur in the United States, the eastern U.S. would have the highest odds of seeing impact.
- This week, we’ll be treated to one of spring’s best stargazing events as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower lights up the skies. You’ll want to set your alarm for before dawn on Wednesday, May 5, as that’s when the greatest number of meteors at about 10 meteors per hour at its peak. This is all debris from Halley’s Comet. Halley was last seen in Earth's skies in 1986. It will return in 2061 on its regular 76-year journey around the Sun
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers are selling their song catalog to Hipgnosis Songs for upwards of $140 million, sources confirm to Variety, making them the latest heritage artist to benefit from the intellectual property gold rush that has seen Bob Dylan sell his songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing for more than $300 million and Stevie Nicks sell hers to Primary Wave for $100 million. Drummer Chad Smith recently confirmed that the group has been working on a new album
- Mikaela Shiffrin calls Squaw Valley home for spring ski training along with some of the top alpine skiers in the world and Olympic hopefuls.
LOCAL NEWS:
- The Tahoe Trout Farm was one of the stories about local businesses this past week – but unlike the new businesses that were featured on the south shore (Clearly Tahoe & The Lemon Drop), the Trout Farm is celebrating its 75th anniversary – one thing I didn’t know was that if you don’t want to take your fish, you can donate to the homeless with Christmas Cher of to feed the bears at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
- A reminder that residential burn permits are required starting May 1, so no burning unless you have a permit
- Speaking of wildfire, Nevada County just launched a new zone-based evacuation technology – so basically in an emergency situation, this will help you to know where to go based on the zone you are in – you’ll want to check that out at ReadyNevadaCounty.org/KnowYourZone
- If you’re a boater, some good news as beginning Saturday the Sand Harbor and Cave Rock bot ramps were officially open – but, just a as a reminder, you have to complete all TRPA watercraft inspections before using.
- Staying on the water, if you’re in the Incline Village area, one thing to note is fees (for just about everything, really) will be increasing this year – guest beach passes, kayak & paddleboard storage, daily boat launch fees & season pass watercraft launch fees – all these changes go into effect this month
- Also on the recreation and entertainment front most golf courses on the south shore will open by this week, with exception to Bijou, and in Incline the courses are slated to open by end of May – old Brockway is already open.
- Starting this week, construction for the Tahoe South Events Center will get rolling – construction is slated to last 2 years & when completed expected to host up to 130 events each year
- Maybe on a sadder events note – North Tahoe joined Incline Village in cancelling their fourth of July events which leaves South Lake as the only holdout – still has not been decided, but most likely, the anticipation will be that it too, will cancel
- Best of Tahoe & North Lake Tahoe finalist voting is open – don’t forget to vote
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Tahoe Talk - 4/27/21
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Quick-hitting news bits from around the globe and inside your community to keep you up to speed with the world!
LOCAL NEWS:
- Douglas County commissioners passed their plan the week before last that would have most businesses reopen to 100% capacity by May 1. That plan was reviewed Thursday last week by the NV COVID-19 task force and it was passed. So, beginning this Saturday, the first county surrounding the Lake will get back to normal – although masks will still be required (although I’m not sure how much of that will actually be getting enforced) - casinos will still continue to be regulated by the gambling board – this seemingly could pave the way for events like 4th of July fireworks and (possibly) the summer concert series at Harveys – all of NV is supposed to be open with only a mask mandate by June 1 – CA target date is June 15 - Governor Newsom tweeted yesterday that CA’s positivity rate is at 1.2% - lowest in the country, but also the lowest it has been in a year, so it looks to be on track
- Over the weekend we had a little seismic activity when on Sunday morning a little 3.8 quake centered about 5 miles west of Dollar Point shook the basin –There as also an additional 3.2 magnitude quake just after midnight in the same area Monday morning, but I was out cold for that one – but the quakes centering in the lake bring up the discussion of a tsunami
- Looking ahead to May 14 – that is the day that Clean Up the Lake will be launching their effort (& possibly the largest effort ever) to remove trash from Tahoe – we’re not talking about the beaches, we’re talking about all 72 miles of shoreline underneath the surface – the plan is for the team to dive 3 times a week cleaning roughly 1 mile per day at a depth of up to 25 feet – so this is planning on going almost through the end of the year
- On somewhat of a controversial topic, the USDA forest service has released a new proposal that would build new trails and expand access on existing trails for e-bikes – according to forest service officials, about half the people approve and half don’t – As of now e-bikes are considered a motorized vehicle so they’re basically limited to specific trails and roads – this proposal would look to expand that by about 120 miles of new e-bike accessible trails
- Couple of traffic notes – as of next week, Country Club Drive in Incline Village the street that basically runs from the lake (by the Hyatt and Lone Eagle Grille), past the college & up around the backside of the championship course will go from 35 MPH down to 25 MPH and if you are planning a trip over HWY 80 between today and Thursday – you will be detoured as the road will be closed from 8pm – 8 am for partial bridge over-crossing demolition
- News from the west slope, the city of Placerville has directed staff to lose the noose in the city’s logo. Public comments were pretty harsh in its backlash – the noose has been incorporated into the logo since the 70s. Vice mayor Taylor was quoted as saying “our job at the city is not to fight change, but to navigate it” the motion passed with a 5-0 vote but it wasn’t without people not wanting to give into the cancel-culture movement
NATIONAL NEWS:
- China-US scientists create world's first human-monkey 'chimera' embryo amid an ethical storm. A joint research team from China and the US created the world's first embryo that was part human, part monkey as a source for organ transplants that some critics say could "open Pandora's Box"
- NASA picks SpaceX to land Next Americans on Moon by the end of the decade. That was the initial goal but has since been supercharged with an ambitious target of 2024. The project is named Artemis which is name after the Greek Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, chastity, and (fittingly) The Moon. (Side Note: Elon Musk hosting SNL May 8th stirring controversy)
- Apple is updating its iPhone software and letting users decide if they want to be tracked for targeted ads. The current default allows such tracking. But starting this week if you upgrade your operating system to iOS 14.5, there will be a pop-up that requires an opt-in to be tracked. This is expected to cost Google and Facebook ~$25B in ad revenue and severely disrupt the $400B overall industry.
- Google Maps will now default to the “greenest route” (AKA most fuel efficient) for its navigation. People in a rush may be disappointed, as the former default was the “fastest route.” It will take in factors like inclines (more work for the engine) and traffic congestion (more idling) to help reduce environmental impact along with displaying air quality and weather of expected destination.
- Amazon is equipping a Seattle Whole Foods store with its Amazon One palm-scanning device that lets customers pay by...scanning their palms. Amazon reportedly has plans for a broad rollout
- Never has it cost so much to buy a house in California. The median price for a single-family home shot up to a staggering $758,990 in March — a nearly 6% increase from the previous record of $717,930 set in December and a whopping 24% increase from March 2020. Meanwhile, housing production has strayed farther and farther from Gov. Newsom’s campaign goal of building 500,000 units annually as the state’s homeless population swells to record levels