Sao Paolo Today

On the ground in Brazile
Our Minister of Foreign Trade and International Business Skyped the mayor's Office yesterday to fill us in on the latest Brazilian happenings. It's all about World Cup 2010. South Africa has become the official focus of the entire country. Little if anything will be accomplished from June 11th to July 10, 2010. Football, as the world knows it, will dominate conversation from the beaches to the capitol of Brasilia. Lula will be trotting out some retired players to have his photo taken with national heroes. What else is new?
For those interested in business: take some time off, there will be no business done during world cup!
The Mayor's office supports sports in general and soccer football in particular, but we must follow our obligation to the citizenry by conducting the people's business in an orderly fashion. We will be available throughout world cup during business hours.
The Minister of Trade in Sao Paolo will be allowed time off to watch games as he feels necessary to conduct his mission with Brazilians. Local business has reported slower sales do to a shift in consumer focus from needs to wants, ie more football, less work.
One might say this is the Latin American response to a call for more work, in general.
With World Cup kickoff in 11 days, we can understand the buildup of interest. We'll be watching, too, in downtown Tahoma.

Memorial Day

Back to the Future
Citizens of this great country: today, recall the efforts of those who gave all for the principles we live by, and recall the efforts of those who continue to give daily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As we meander to our places of repose and relaxation, reflect momentarily on the history wrapped around this holiday: reasonable people thought we could collectively benefit in remembrance.
Enjoy a safe, peaceful day.

Mary Stegner

It is with sadness we report the passing of Mary Stegner, the widow of that American literary lion, Wallace Stegner. Her son reported she passed away in Portola vally, CA, where she has lived recently, not far from the Stanford campus where she and her late husband spent so many wonderful years of their lives together. She always asserted that she chose to support her husband's genius, and he loved her dearly for that support.
She was an accomplished violinist and played in the Stanford Symphony while he taught in the English dept.
She was 99 years old. A more detailed obituary was published in a Utah newspaper.

Moon over the mountains

Can't sleep, take a moonlight stroll and gaze on a serene landscape. As the last clouds move east from the last system and the skies clear, the moonlit night views offer a breathtaking sight: reflected light from snow covered mountainsides creates a rarely seen picture for the Memorial Day weekend. The mayor is truly in awe of Tahoe, at night, again. Enjoy!

skiing on the holiday

Ladies and Gentlemen:
Wax your boards, it's time. There's still time left on this season's calendar. Donner Ski ranch will be open for some unexpected good rides. Get there early, enjoy. The bar b que starts at 12 NOON. Good eats.
The mixed weather report is causing some nervousness among business owners looking for a jump start to summer. Although the Sat/Sun looks good, Thursday and Friday are dicey. Keep your eyes open when traveling toward the end of the week.
The Mayor will be on Campus shortly, and will be taking notes.

Jazz trombone

Mayor's Conference in New Orleans
If you visit NOLA, as many are doing as we speak, music is high on the list of things worth seeing/listening. And the hot ticket? Trombone Shorty! Thanks to well developed talent, great support, and some luck(as always), a native born young musician is getting some notoriety. Thanks to the new TV series" Treme'", the music of New Orleans is getting some overdue exposure. Trombone Shorty is a member of a new talent pool of trained, educated traditionalists who are emerging from various venues to display their fine talent.
His music can be found on Itunes, Amazon, Pandora, etc. I recommend him.

Angle of Repose

Have you read any Wallace Stegner lately? What? You haven't, but you mean to read him, soon? Well, why wait, you're missing a good one. After putting the book down several times, I finally had the wherewithal to stay with it. It was worth it. This gem of a prize winner, published over 40 years ago, has all the elements of a perennial favorite: strong elements of locale-the West; focused characters with well developed traits and sympathetic lives; conflicts, tragedy, dilemmas, lost love,lives lived; reflection and redemption. If you've ever thought about the West, read it, enjoy it. Mr. Stegner weaves a wonderful tale, blending time and generations(3) to great affect.
He captures the essence of relational conflict including the difficulties found with couples that include talent on both sides. His story almost foretells the future of modern culture where one can find 21st century couples wrestling with the same dilemma: How does one behave with the equal partner? Who gives more? who gives less? How is compromise made when breaking new ground in not one but two career choices? Which solution works best: the goal of economic independence or the goal of job satisfaction? Is the artist just as valued as the engineer? Can the artist adapt his goals to match the real world? All valid questions and the answers are subject to ongoing debate during this new millenium.
The Pulitzer Prize awarded to Stegner was the capstone to a stellar career as professor/author. A generation of students(at Stanford) benefited from his remarkable talents. Californians and those living here can find many many familiar places and names: New Almaden, Santa Cruz to mention a couple.
I was reminded, yes there was a town of Santa Cruz before the surfers arrived.
This book and Stegner come highly recommended.

winter: still here

The Mayor is reviewing weather data to seek answers to the many ?'s regarding the end of winter. Apparently, winter will end sometime this summer, which is scheduled to begin in 1 month: June 20.
In the meantime, bear with it. It will end.
Forecast for next week: snow showers, rain, and cooler than normal temps. Keep the firewood handy, and dry!

Spring Forecast

Residents Brace for new storm
The reports of the end of the Winter of 2010 were premature. The 10-days forecast includes at least 5 days of precipitation to include rain and snow. Don't put the boat in the lake just yet. WAIT a little longer.
Keep the snow shovel handy, along with the salt and sand. Oh, well.
Noticed snow on the east face of Rubicon peak on Saturday. That is quite rare for May Day. Duly noted.

Movie Review: Mid-August Lunch(Pranzo Di Ferragosto)

Italian Delights
For italophiles, this film is a treat! Absent are the sensuous actors, lush landscapes of Tuscany,and coastside fishing villages of traditional films. Here we find a Roman condo(or any condo) and its two inhabitants: aging Mamma and doting, unemployed, unmarried son. Life has not been easy of late for either of them, but, they're getting by. Now, it is mid- summer, the City is empty, its residents fleeing the heat for the coast, either one.
By simply squeezing the son, a few acquaintances coerce him into accepting their own mothers as house guests while they join the hoards at the coasts. Within a few hours, the condo is now the temporary home of 3 more aging Mammas. Their personal interactions, their individual characters, and their angst and humor are artfully followed by hand held cameras as they adjust to their new surroundings.
As one who was raised with grandparents close at hand, it is an easy reach to the empathy position with the son: it is a duty to be there, despite the difficulties coupled with aging. We know them-physical deterioration, forgetfulness, selective memory,confusion, and often pain.
Director Di Gregorio is called by some an advocate of Neo-realism. But I believe his style and others like it are in the van of changes brought by, what else? technology! With video capabilities in almost every electronic gadget, and everyone a man w/ camera, films will undergo rapid, dynamic change. Couple this with the popularity of reality entertainment and we have the making of a new age of film.
The characters in the film: Valeria de Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, and Maria Cali are all untrained performers. Shortly after production started, Di Gregorio threw away the script and did an adlib, with the women making the most of it. Humorous, touching, and sympathetic, the film warms the heart, treats the eyes, and brings a smile to one's face.

Spring Moon over the Lake in the Sky

For those still up at 2am, the view south provided a glimpse of the full moon for May Day. Rising to a point about 22 degrees above the horizon, La Luna provided sufficient light for reading. With the reflection off the calm surface of the lake, the effect was extraordinary- a real visual treat for any observer. The Mayor appreciates these phenomena!

On the "In between Season": many complaints from local businesses that the down economy is more in evidence now than a year ago. Coming off a terrific winter season, locals can only hope to hold on until Memorial Day/ 4th of July. There were no boats in the Obexer's marina, but a few sailors were seen preparing craft for impending good weather.
Homewood Resort looked forlorn with its empty parking lot, but that should change within weeks.
Meeks Bay Fire Dist. will continue prevention operations with controlled burns in the Meeks Creek basin. Successful efforts have left telltale burned over areas on the south facing side of the canyon. Not much left to burn there indicating a considerable amount of fuels. The snow levels are high for May and there could be more coming on Mothers' Day Sunday: not what we wanted to hear.

Squaw valley update
Squaw valley Corp. has taken over the Intrawest Development after some very bad years. THis should provide better on scene management for residents and guests. Time will tell.

The weekend was a warm one, and appears to harbinger more springtime weather to come. Builders may start to show up in their signature T's this week.
Look out for the boat tractors around Obexers' in coming weeks as yachtsmen get the urge to return to the Deep Blue. By the way, The Chron reported a free diving record set in the Bahamas-285', a man w/ a single fin! What is the free diving record @ the Lake? More research necessary here.

Read the letter to locals from the director of TRPA. She stretches her credibility by stating TRPA wants to promote better economic conditions w/i the Basin. Her nose is starting to grow again. As always, TRPA speaks through many filters and rarely comments with any understandable language. They all could take lessons from the Mayor.