Tahoe TAP

Tahoe Talk - 12/1/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Regional News:
- 2020 is back at it again! Invasive and creepy snake-sized Hammerhead worms Virgina and Georgia. 
- Yellowstone sets record for visitors last month: The park hosted 837,499 recreational visits, a 21% increase from September 2019
- Historic 2020 hurricane season is officially “over”
- Starbucks is offering free coffee for frontline workers through the month of December.
- Cyrpto currency is on fire again! Leader of the industry, Bitcoin, hit an all time high yesterday at $19,850 - During the crash in March it was as low as $4,800.
- Beyoncé, up for nine Grammys this year, now has a lifetime 79 nominations and 24 wins, making her the most-nominated female artist in Grammy history . She's tied with Paul McCartney for the second most-nominated artist of all time. 
- The cost of an average Thanksgiving dinner for 10 dropped 4% this year to $46.90, or less than $5 per person, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. 
- Chipotle to test out smoked brisket as a protein option and McDs is bringing back the McRib
- CA is delaying the start of Dungeness crab season. Fish and wildlife officials say’s that’s because whales are continuing their migration and could become entangled in fishing equipment. Estimated opening mid to late December.
- “Pandemic” named word of the year by Merriam-Webster.

Local News: 
- 10,000+ active cases in Washoe Co. - 1 in every 50 people within the county!
- Governor Newsom announces state of CA to receive 327,000 doses of the C19 vaccine
- The Tahoe Film Fest will feature six music documentaries from Dec. 3-6, at the Crystal Bay Club Casino’s Crown Room
- Local ski resorts opening with precautions and above average snowpack for November
- Epic vs. Ikon ski pass war reshapes ski industry
- Local residents open family-friendly tubing park in Meyers

Tahoe Talk - 11/24/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Regional News:
- The NFL will hold a virtual Pro Bowl this year, with players competing in the Madden video game
- Ken Jennings, Jeopardy’s greatest all time player will be the interim host in place of the late Alex Trebek 
- Netflix announces Queens Gambit is officially their most popular scripted series ever at 62m accounts viewed. 
- CO just opened their first ever In-N-Out and the lines streamed for miles and wait time stacked up to 14 hours!
- Barrow, Alaska just plunged into polar darkness that will last the next two months. Yesterday, the sun set on the city of around 4,300 residents for the final time of 2020. The next dawn will be on January 23, 2021. That’s a period of 67 days of total darkness.
- Home Depot announced this week that it plans to spend an additional $1 billion a year to increase employee wages. Starbucks has pledged to give nearly all of its current employees a 10% raise, at minimum, starting next month. 

Local News:
- After last week’s movement of the CA counties surrounding Tahoe into the purple tiers, we were all waiting for the NV shoe to drop to see how they may differ – and late Sunday governor Sisolak announced that they would not be shutting the state down completely – for the most part took the current 50% capacity on places like restaurants, casinos, gyms, and retail down to 25%. He also put some limitations on public gatherings going back to 50 people & private gatherings to 10 people with maximum of 2 households. Also has said the state’s mask mandate will be to wear a mask at all times when around someone who is not part of their immediate household – public or private – those all go into effect today and are for the next 3 weeks – basically the holiday week + 2 weeks of incubation to see how the holiday fared. 
- Just to add to this a bit, the curfew set by CA governor Newsom for the purple counties (10pm – 5 am) is not in effect in NV. They can’t set a curfew in Vegas, right? So, as Tahoe has been all year – the rules are slightly different on the CA side than the NV side. 
- The virus is definitely surging in the region – most notably in Washoe County, although not as significant around the lake portion of the county – but just as a precaution, thought I would mention it’s not quite time to let our guard down – as if you needed the reminder, right? 
- On the CA side of the lake, both Truckee Tahoe and South Tahoe school districts have made the announcement to move back to distance-only learning for the time being. Announcement had some families scrambling to try and figure out child care – Washoe is supposed to make a decision today - & I would anticipate they also move to distance learning – Haven’t seen anything on the Douglas county side of things but we’ll keep you posted if they do. 
- If you are a vacation home renter in El Dorado county you’ll want to know that the county supervisors passed a first reading of an amendment to the VHR ordinance cap the number of permits outside of the SLT city limits. There was a little dissension on the number, but looks to be addressed in the second reading at the beginning of next month. 
- On the weather front for the week, looks like for the most part we got sunny days and cold nights with an ever so slight possibility of weather tomorrow. Thanksgiving should be a little on the chilly side so huddle around the deep fryer. 


Tahoe Talk - 11/17/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date! 

Regional News:
- We officially have a new 2nd richest person in the world: Bernard Arnault, head honcho of French fashion house LVMH worth $137B… he trails only Mr. Burns (Jeff Bezos) — Elon Musk set to take the #3 spot by the end of the week after Tesla’s shares soar following acceptance into the S&P 500
- Whole Foods is collaborating with Progressive to offer Thanksgiving "insurance" with a $35 gift card to customers who "commit a turkey cooking fail." You must submit a picture as proof of your inedible turkey — because your family's ridicule isn't enough. Side Fact: Around 40M turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation (lol)
- Walmart, which already sells almost everything, is launching a new arm, Walmart Pet Care. It will offer insurance, dog walking and pet-sitting services
- Zoom competitor Hopin raises $125M to be the Live Nation of virtual events. It's biggest strength, impeccable timing: it officially launched in June 2019, just around six months before... you know what.  User explosion: In eight months, Hopin grew from 5K users and 1.8K event hosts to 3.5M users and 50K host orgs (including NATO, the UN, and Slack).
- Burrito legend Chipotle opens its first digital-only restaurant (Highland’s, NY) as online orders soar. The design is meant for urban areas, where real estate is more expensive and a full-size restaurant isn’t possible
- Apple’s new MacBook Pro (with its own M1 chip) is the “world’s fastest CPU core” and starts at $1,299
- The Golden State Warriors want to host 10k fans at each home game next NBA season (50% capacity).The team will spend $30m for rapid COVID testing and other measures before entering the stadium.
- Thurs. 11/19 = Nat’l Play Monopoly Day
- Fact Check: “If you used a sharpie on your ballot, your votes were not counted” - False!

Local News: 
- Update on local C19 restrictions
- Tahoe native Jamie Anderson a headliner of US Snowboard Team
- Experts offer advice when leaving the well trodden path and into the backcountry 
- Strong winter storm on the way
- South Tahoe man travels country with his dogs promoting adoption

Tahoe Talk - 11/10/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Local Topics:
- Washoe Co. reports 328 new C19 cases just yesterday!
- NLTRA launches a new initiative for local restaurants called Take Out Lake Tahoe
- Trump rally in Carson Valley raises funds to pay for fines via GoFundMe
- Christmas tree permits on sale for Lake Tahoe on Nov. 16
- North Tahoe Fire District will begin controlled burns this week

Regional Topics:
- Mammoth announces opening day this Saturday, Nov. 14, Squaw Nov. 25, Homewood  Dec. 11.
- Sun Valley Resort, the historic Idaho mountain destination, has been awarded the #1 ski resort by SKI Magazine for 2021.
- A new ski area is coming to the United States this winter.  Skeetawk, located in Hatcher Pass, Alaska plans to open on December 5, 2020. For its inaugural season, the new ski area will have a triple chairlift, 10-12 groomed runs and a day lodge.  Hatcher Alpine Xperience – the non-profit which will be operating the ski hill – plans to expand the ski area in the years to come to include, ski rentals, ski lessons, lighting, snowmaking, as well as adding additional terrain and lifts
- Tioga Pass still open and Yosemite has dropped the day-use reservation system. Likely still limiting total car count. Also, Emily Harrington, a mountain climber from Placer County, has become the fourth person, and the first woman, to free-climb Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan in a single day
- In other National Park news, Beep, a Florida-based autonomous Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider will deploy the first autonomous shuttles at Yellowstone National Park in May 2021. The program will test multi-passenger, electric automated vehicle platforms to provide visitors a safe, innovative and eco-friendly transportation alternative while exploring Yellowstone. The plan is to deploy and operate two autonomous shuttles in the Canyon Village but exact routes and stops have not been determined yet.
- McDonalds introduces their own new meatless burger. What do they call it? The McPlant of course. Plant based options will be available in 2021 for items such as the Big Mac and other signatures as well
- NBA dishes out an early Christmas present. Season will begin Dec. 22nd!
- Last week a Humpback whale scooped up kayakers in Avila Beach, and then spit them back out when it realized what was happening. Photos and video online.
- Sun 11/15 = Nat’l Clean Out Your Fridge Day

 

Tahoe Talk - 11/3/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Local:
- Forest Services closures begin around the Tahoe Basin for winter
- Gov. Newsom’s Thanksgiving guidelines and directives overview
- Douglas County commissioners meeting this Thursday
- American Pickers is searching for goods in California
- Single digit temps this weekend with possible snow as well

National:
-  Finally, some good news for 2020: Record numbers of an endangered turtle species have hatched in Mexico this year.  thanks to reduced human activity during the pandemic and dedicated efforts of an Indigenous conservation group. 2,250 baby Olive Ridley sea turtles into the Gulf of California this year. Usually 500 to 1,000 are released
- iPhone users get a major upgrade. IOS 14 adds new features like widgets to the home screen, resetting all permissions to apps, and much more (Side note:  iPhone sales were down 20% last quarter)
- Amazon just had an insane quarter. In three months, the Zon brought in $96.1B in sales, breaking its record high from the previous quarter. Profit tripled from the same quarter last year to a ginormous $6.3B. But the stock fell because Amazon's weirdly expecting to rake in less profit during the holiday quarter than it did last quarter.
- Krispy Kreme is giving away glazed doughnuts to all along with a special voting sticker while supplies last Tuesday. Planet Fitness is offering a way to work off the stress of the election with a free workout and massage Tuesday through Nov. 8.
- Home is the safest place to be during a pandemic. But as COVID-19 cases rise across the country, as many as 40 million Americans are facing the prospect of losing that protective shelter. An estimated 29% to 43% of renter households in America could face eviction by the end of this year. 
- NASA astronaut Kate Rubins cast her vote in this year’s presidential election from space. It was the second time Rubins voted from the International Space Station. In a video posted by NASA, she said, “If we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground, too."

Friday, 10/6 = Nat’l Nachos Day!

Tahoe Talk - 10/26/20

75th Episode Anniversary!
From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

LOCAL:
- Washoe Co. COVID cases surging. Now the per capita epicenter in the State of Nevada
- Gov. Sisolak last week announces NV will not walk back restrictions yet
- Crystal Bay Casino hosts live show over the weekend with 150 people in attendance, SnowGlobe canceled
- San Quentin C19 outbreak requires 50%, or 1,800 prisoners to be released or transferred 
- Outdoor dining in Lake Tahoe battling the cold temps and winter

NATIONAL:
- Taco Bell discontinues many popular menu items like the the Mexican pizza and potato soft tacos - Missouri man buys in bulk and freezes to sell for $70 per item
- A Minnesota man just won the "Pumpkin Super Bowl" with a 2,350-pound gourd named Tiger King. The champ took home $16,450 in prize money, receiving $7 per pound in a "pay-by-the-pound" system
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups wins the LA Times “Halloween Candy Powder Rankings” top spot
- GMC Hummer-EV, 1000 horsepower, all electric, zero to 60 in 3 seconds, 18 cameras, 6 inch suspension lift with the press of a button… I could go on and on. BUT!! The best is “crab walk” where it can drive diagonally!  Check out the video online
- Movie theaters offering curbside pickup for popcorn, and you can rent out an entire room for $99… Heav Village has the popcorn offering!
- You Can Now Get a COVID-19 Vaccine in China. Two injections of CoronaVac made by SinoVac (otherwise known as Beijing Kexing Bioproducts) cost 2,000 rmb ($300) at the private Taihe Hospital in the Chinese capital. The treatment still hasn’t passed final, Stage 3, clinical trials but is already being offered to the public on a first come, first served basis. Anyone can turn up, pay their money and get the jab (COVID-19 vaccines are projected to be available to the entire American public by April 2021

Fact:
In 2 out of the past 5 elections the electoral college has awarded the White House to the loser of the popular vote. Let that sink in… 3M more people voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016, but  77K votes in 3 key mid-west states swung the entire presidency (That’s smaller than some college football stadiums)

Friday 10/30 = Nat’l Candy Corn Day

Tahoe Talk - 10/20/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Local News: 
- City of SLT Council agenda items overview
- Multiple bank robberies in the area lately
- 4 arrested in major drug bust in SLT
- Tahoe Land podcast wins highest award for any TV/Radio/Digital entity
- New Truckee restaurant offering ‘Mountain Italian’ cuisine

- Earth just experienced the hottest September since records began- Rave: Zoom will start letting people host paid-entry online events with a new service called OnZoom. Beta version available now, worldwide 2021
- Two Bi-Rite locations in the SF are selling brown-paper-wrapped bundles of fall leaves, and for $14.95, you can have around two handfuls' worth of seasonally appropriate plant refuse
- Americans spent $3.4 billion in a single year on cracked screen repairs. 
- Nearly half of all Americans say they’d find it difficult to pay for an unexpected $250 expense right now. 35% of respondents are losing sleep over personal economic concerns.
- The median price of a California home skyrocketed to $712,430 in September — shattering the state record for the fourth month in a row — as sales hit their highest level in more than a decade. It took 11 days on average to sell a single-family home in September — the shortest period ever recorded

 Friday, Oct. 23 = Nat’l Croc Day

Fact Check:
- TahoeMemes causing more fake waves saying that ski resorts will not open until Jan. 15 - FALSE!

Tahoe Talk - 10/12/20

Lakers win the championship Sunday, Judge Amy Coney Barret being confirmed Monday, and Amazon Prime days kicks off Tuesday

- Tuesday, Apple is set to reveal this year’s new iPhones. Delayed a month due to coronavirus disruptions, the lineup is expected to include the first major exterior redesign since 2017, when Apple released the iPhone X with facial recognition.
- Portland rages on… Protest organizers dubbed the event “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage”, in response to Monday’s federal holiday named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, a polarizing figure who Native American advocates say spurred centuries of genocide against indigenous populations
- “Air Bridge” on the table for flights from NYC to London

Fact Check: Mike Pence Says Joe Biden and Kamala Harris support abortion “up to the moment of birth.” - False (PolitiFact)

Fri. October 16 = Global Cat Day

Tahoe Talk - 10/5/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Locals News:
- Small vegetation fire in Crystal Bay, Lake Tahoe!
- Gov. Sisolak to announce Halloween guidelines for Nevada
- Tahoe Transportation Dist. cause multiple waves in Tahoe Basin
- City of SLT proposing pay increases for City Council and Treasurer 
- Forest Service closures this month for popular sites

 

Global & National News:
Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t getting any worse, a brain-eating amoeba was found in a Texas city's water which prompted the Governor to declare a “state of disaster”
- California hit another milestone: 4 million acres burned this year from wildfires, that's roughly the size of Connecticut and the most ever burned in one year. The fires have killed at least 31 people, destroyed over 8,400 structures, and forced about 100,000 people to evacuate their homes. Right now, about 17,000 firefighters are still battling nearly two dozen major fires across the state
- Venice holds back the water for first time in 1,200 years… 78 flood barriers installed in the seabed at the lagoon's three main entrance points.
- SNL is back for it’s 46th season opener with studio fans studio fans - Jim Carrey playing Biden, Chris Rock’s monologue, ridiculous music video by Megan Thee Stallion
- September US jobs report: 661K new jobs means a big slowdown in recovery. The unemployment rate fell to 7.9% from the peak of 14.7% (Still 12.6M Americans without jobs)
- Twitter is testing a new disinformation-reporting feature called “Birdwatch.” If you see a viral lie? Report it to the Birdwatch queue.

Fact Check:
Trump's "boarded Marine One with a portable oxygen concentrator in his pocket with the nasal cannula going up his back, hidden in his hair and tucked under his mask???"

Recognition:
Monday, October 5th = World Teacher Day

Tahoe Talk - 9/28/20

From around the globe to out your backdoor, here are the topics to keep you relevant and up-to-date!

Wildfires explode Sunday night, Presidential debate Tuesday, NBA Finals Wednesday, MLB playoffs

- Amazon Prime Day announced for Oct. 13 and 14 
- 200+ new emojis will hit your keyboard in 2021
- Since all its resorts abruptly shut on March 17th, Vail's profits for the year plunged 68%. But Vail's stock is up 40% since then on hopes of greener slopes this winter
- Western Joshua tree gets temporary endangered species status: due to the ravages of climate change — The California Fish and Game Commission’s vote marked the first time a species has been granted protections due to climate change under the state’s Endangered Species Act. Ironically this happened on the same day it granted 15 solar energy farms permission to remove Joshua trees in the way of their projects
- The Secretary of State’s Elections Division has set up a service that allows voters to track the status of their mail-in ballot. The electronic service will let voters know when the ballot is mailed to them, when it is received by the county and when it has been counted: nevada.ballottrax.net
- California’s community college system is experiencing a systemwide decline of student enrollment this fall, with some campuses reporting double-digit losses. The fact that fewer students have enrolled for this fall reveals a worrisome decline for the nation’s largest college system — total: 116 institutions serving more than two million students. 

- Fact Check: Viral video claims Bill Gate’s is making $200B from vaccines. 26-second clip has been cut from a longer TV interview, where Gates estimated the global social and economic benefits from his foundation's $10 billion investment

- Sun. Oct. 4 = National Taco Day