500 Days of Russyan Insult

       Ukrainians and the world has endured the Russyan insult against humanity for 500 days. Imagine, if you will, wherever you live, if life changed forever after an invasion of murderous thugs showed up on your doorstep, armed to the yellow teeth they possess. On February 28, 2022, Little green Men from Russya arrived in the DonBass region of Ukraine and started murdering the locals, a blood sport to them.

      Mad Vlad of Kremlin fame called the invasion a "special operation" for media purposes and also a nugget for the folks in Moskva, St. Petersburg, and Siberia, home to the masses of gullible citizens living with this situation not of their making.

      Within weeks, newsmen and women gathered graphic evidence of war crimes, putting it mildly. The destruction of cities and towns and isolated villages continues to this day. All of this insult followed the invasion of Crimea in 2014 which was unanswered by the West. And now, payback of sorts.

     Yevgeny responded with a rebellion of sorts, but he is too weak to make a difference. What comes next?

    Standby.

Janet Yellen in China

       The U.S. Government sent its top financial representative to China to confront its Beijing leaders with a dose of reality. Reality is not a concern for most of China's Communist leaders. They trade in wishes and preposterous accusations seeking to intimidate countries worldwide. Ms. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, has met with various Chinese counterparts who manage the levers of power, politically and financially. With the two financial behemoths sparring everywhere including technology, auto manufacturing, rare earth supplies, student exchanges, etc. Wait, wait a minute.

      Student exchanges? Hmmmmmm. At this time, 296,000 Chinese students attend institutions of higher learning in the U.S.A. The number of American students attending institutions of higher learning in China is-------------------------------------------------70-------------------------------------------------------------------------.

     How many? 70 American students. Hmmmmm. Are they all in Beijing hanging around Tianamin Square? Are they in Xi'an studying ceramic warriors? Are they in Shanghai breathing air pollution. Or maybe in Chengdu examining Panda poop under a microscope? Nobody really knows, but we do know most of the Chinese students are supported by the PLA and/or Beijing Government institutions. Read: spies/industrial espionage. And that's the largest denominator of Janet Yellen's business trip: the sucking of American research knowledge from our research centers back to Beijing to facilitate the world wide reach of Chinese influence. Go for the leader.

Where is Yevgeny?

       Belarus leader, Alexander Yukashenko said in a broadcast today that Wagner Group leader(or former leader) Yevgeny Prighozin is not in Belarus, but in Russya, probably St. Petersburg or Moskva. Nobody has heard from him, the man Peggy Noonan calls the "Slob".

      Numerous public appearances by Vladimir Putin have not quieted the rumors or chatter about the rebelluion and attmpted coup by the Wagner Group. The war in Ukraine is sucking up Russyan troops by the thousands and no more are in the pipeline. The Ukrainian army is in siege-mode as they counter attack Russyan defensive positions in the Donbass. Summer attacks are under way as the fertile ground has firmed up and can carry heavy armour units across the terrain.

     Maybe YP is back at the front to encourage his militia; maybe not. 

U.S. Navy Sends Missile Cruiser into Strat of Hormuz

      The US Navy's 5th Fleet sent one of its ships into the Strait of Hormuz when Iranian naval vessels attempted to capture 2 oil tankers while passing through the Strait. One of the Iranian ships fired its guns at one of the tankers before it ran from the scene.

        This is a continuing problem for commercial ship traffic, especially fully loaded oil tankers which have the potential to create an environmental disaster in the vicinity of any oil spill of their contents. Iran, which supplies arms and drones to Russyan's army in Ukraine, continues to antagonize the West, no matter which "west" they come from. These leaders are doing their ultra best to convince the world they are really subhuman. Maybe it's the water; maybe the hooka smoke. Maybe the head gear, or the long dresses, or sandals, or bad food, or the climate, or dust storms, Or brain damage. Nobody knows. It's only been like this for about 100 years, so, maybe in another 100 years, things will change.

Don't hold your breath. Have a nice day.

Russyan Journalist Kidnapped By Iraqi Terrorists

       The journalist was having a meal in central Baghdad on the 4th of July. It was announced by the Israeli Government.  The 36-year old woman, Elizabeth Tsurkov, is Russyan, and is an Israeli citizen. She speaks many languages besides the local language in Iraq. She is an experienced journalist and also is a PhD. candidate student at Princeton University in the US.

       The Israeli Government stated that she is alive and is being held by a militia group of known terrorists who are called Kataib Hezbollah, a splinter Group of the larger body of Hezbollah, an international Terrorist Group that operates widely in the Middle East and is directed by various scum and vermin who have nothing better to do, and would rather promote terrorism than contribute anything meaningful to whatever culture they ascribe to.

     And so, things haven't changed much. Iraq-what a place.

Have a nice day, Elizabeth, if you can.

Eagle Falls Claims Another Victim

       In what is becoming a local tragedy, a visitor to the Emerald Bay area died in a tragic fall. The 25-year old woman was at the top of Eagle Falls where the creek cascades over the granite face above Emerald Bay, above the Vikingsholm Castle on the shore below. The Mayor was there only a week ago with friends, and we all were very aware of the dangers and witnessed more than a few visitors who took the attitude that they were better than the fast moving, swollen waters of the rushing creek.

      Many parks and scenic  sites are attractive because they include certain unusual formations such as cliffs, canyons, falls, steep gullys, crashing forces of nature that are picturesque and inviting. Most visitors play loose with the dangers; thinking they know better how to protect themselves. Young people are especially susceptible to such attractions: they have not the history of the site, nor its hazards.

     Nearby Angora Lakes, above Fallen Leaf Lake has taken to posting pictures of victims who have died are have sustained serious injuries as a result of jumping or diving from rock formations above the placid waters. The elevation can be as much as 35' above the  surface. Yes, a daring soul would challenge the jump, after watching many people who do. But, one slip; one miscalculation, and death awaits.

     At the top of Eagle Falls one finds no signage; no fencing; no barriers to stupidity or carelessness. So, beware:

EAGLE FALLS is a dangerous place.

Giants Slumping

        The Seattle Mariners came to town and have won 2 in a row against the homeboys. What? the surging Giants have lost 7 of 9? How does this happen? Well, they've had injuries, including two batters hit suffering fractured hands, pitchers with back and arm troubles put on the IR/DL. And the Mariners pitching throwing a shut out today, only the 4th in the majors so far this season. But it is the 4th of July, and it was a nice day, and maybe some fireworks around the Bay to take the sting away. Tomorrow is another day, and the All Star Game is next week. We can all rest up until the second half begins. Oh, and a home run derby thrown in for fun. 

Update: 7/5/23

    Today, your Giants prevented a sweep by the Mariners as the Pitcher, Cobb, threw 6 innings of solid ball, shutting out the team from Seattle. Relievers went the rest of the way, with Duval getting the save.

Plane Crash in Rubicon Bay

     Yes, it's true: a plane crashed into the water of Lake Tahoe last Friday. It was a Piper Cherokee with 2 passengers on board. Details are scare, as the El Dorado sheriff is conducting an investigation. The crash had many witnesses as a HOA meeting was being conducted nearby the impact location. Both passengers were able to extricate from the plane as it sunk to the lake bottom in about 15' of water. One of the 2 men had a severe head injury and both were taken to a nearby(South Lake) hospital.

       Two local boaters assisted in the rescue of both as they swam to the surface from the wreckage. The position was then marked with a radio float to assist in recovery and investigation efforts. It was heard that the plane had recently taken off from the Tahoe Truckee airport about 20 miles from the site.

More details will be known soon, as the FAA will send in a team to gather the facts and interview the pilot and passenger.

Keep Homewood Public Community Meeting

       Almost 125 locals and concerned citizens of the West Shore of Lake Tahoe showed up Sunday at our local park: Sluchak Park to listen to information regarding the future of the ski facility we know as Homewood Ski Resort. For those of us who've been awake the last 12 years plus, we know that change is coming to our neighborhood. But change is not new; change is a regular occurrence as nothing stays the same.

      A short history is in order: in 2011, a permit was issued to a development group, JMA, which has owned the site since 2006. TRPA and Placer County were the two approving government entities representing the citizenry. The Master Plan as approved included a European style resort with many amenities that have not been available at Homewood before this plan was approved. Since then, JMA has been joined by two other corporate operators: Discovery Land Company and Mohari Hospitality. Mohari and Discovery appear to have joined the group in 2021. Mohari is a financial backer, while Discovery is a builder/operator. The Master Plan included about a dozen employee housing units. Recently, JMA purchased Tahoma Meadows Cottages, and its inclusion is unknown at this time.

        As we have learned by experience in the recent past, Homewood operators have charged the highest day ticket prices this past winter in the USA. What a dubious honor. What business model uses this marketing tactic? Hmmmmmmmm. Additionally, developers have a permit to build a gondola to replace a chairlift-the Madden chairlift. They want foundations built before winter, 2023-24. The largest problem is the access afforded to the public: in a word-there will not be public access. It will be a members only resort with a 6-figure buy in, plus a 5-figure annual fee structure. In other words, Discovery Land Company will replicate the village they recently built with these same parameters in Yellowstone Club in Wyoming. They did not convert an existing establishment, but started from scratch at that site.

Recent Developments

TRPA has paused permitting for the project, thanks to community input with over 600 letters submitted. They have told the developers to resubmit the 'new' plans that have differed significantly from the Master Plan as permitted in 2011. The citizens committee, known as Keep Homewood Public, will continue efforts to ensure that  these developers adhere to the permitted use of a "PUBLIC" ski resort; not a "members only" enclave that will force locals to ski at some other remote site, of which there are few within reasonable distance from Homewood/Tahoma/Rubicon/Pineland/McKinney/ Chambers/Sugar Pine/Talmont/Tahoe City.

How does one stay up to speed with the situation? Signup with email at the web site:KeepHomewoodPublic.com

The Vision of Keep Homewood Public includes:

• Accessible 356-day public recreation, enjoyed equally by all local residents and visitors
• an environmentally friendly development
• community benefits, such as affordable housing, traffic mitigations, and inclusive gathering places
• delivered by beneficial owners in good-faith collaboration with West Shore residents
• Robustly codified and financially backed for the benefit of future generations at Lake Tahoe

     So, one could ask of any local: Would one like a 77'-tall "Mountain Modern" (read Soviet block house design) teetering over Highway 89?

Sign up today; stay informed. The Mayor of Tahoma is involved as a concerned citizen.

4TH of July: Official Summer

      Well, kids, time to play hooky from anything serious: it's SUMMER. Wheeeeee. No school, no books, no homework. Playtime all the live long day. Long days, short nights; extended twilight, warm rivers and streams; even coastal oceans warm(a bit out here on the West Coast.

      So, did you look @ the "Super Moon"? Yes, that big orb that rose above the Tahoe Basin's east rim is called a Super Moon. Why? Well, because it looks bigger for a reason: it's 14,000 miles closer to earth right now. Astronomers called it super-sized because it appears larger; it's still the same old, same old, Luna.

      The Mayor was gazing at the lake and the reflection on the surface of the moon as it climbed higher in the night sky. The long streak of reflected moonlight filled the lens of any optical tool available, and also provided unlimited opportunities for photo buffs to jiggle their smart phones to get a nice shot they could send to friends and relatives around the country.

Moon Rise Over Lake Tahoe: Super Moon

Data for this photo:

24mm f1.78; 12MP- 3024 x 4032 1.1 MB

 Happy 4th of July