Leaves

As the holiday season begins, Karen and I are taking time to remember how much our community has come through — the challenges and sadness it has faced, and the grace and strength with which we've responded.

Karen and I enjoy Thanksgiving because it's a time to gather family and friends and take a moment to count our blessings. I invite everyone to look around, see where help is needed and take a moment, too.

UPDATED 5:22PM: Sad news to report. KTVN-TV confirms that Channel 2 News Sports Director JK Metzker died Sunday afternoon from injuries he suffered after being struck by a vehicle. The accident happened on North Virginia Street near 17th Street at 11:50pm last night following the University of Nevada Wolf Pack football game.

The enchanting appeal of The Polar Express™ has spread to Carson City and has families planning ahead for the holiday season. After merely three weeks, 3,000, or 40 percent of Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s Polar Express™ tickets have been sold, with 4,500 tickets remaining.

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is one of a handful of officially licensed Polar Express Train Ride events nationwide this holiday season, Nov. 25 - Dec. 18.

Four months after the Safeway grocery store leaves its north Carson City location, a ranch and home-store chain plans to open up in its stead.C-A-L Ranch Store aims to open in the Safeway building,...

This is my annual reminder for you to enjoy the spectacular displays of the colorful leaves on quaking aspen trees (quakies) at this time of the year.
If you would like to see and/or photograph those colors, here is a list of my top seven, personal favorite locations, all in Alpine County, Calif., in the Woodfords Canyon – Hope Valley – Red Lake areas.
To reach these locations, just drive south from Carson City on a combination of U.S. 395, Nevada S.R. 88 and California S.R. 88.

In Woodford’s Canyon:

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, the Sierra and Southern Oregon. This report is through Oct. 12.

In honor of retired state archivist Guy Rocha's 60th birthday today, I want to aid him in one of his favorite pursuits, busting myths about Nevada.

In this case, locals commonly make the mistake of saying Brunswick Canyon when they are actually talking about Carson River Canyon. I make this mistake, and I see many instances of this also coming out in arrest reports and press releases from the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Carson City’s Old West meets the North Pole this holiday season as the Polar Express™ train will take weekend railway runs across the frosty Northern Nevada landscape Thanksgiving through Dec. 23, according to the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

A Carson City woman was injured Tuesday evening in a three-vehicle accident at William and Roop streets. According to Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Brian Mendoza, Barron Lauderbaugh, 48, of Carson C...

CARSON CITY – A federal agency that sought comment on rules that would have applied commercial motor vehicle regulations to farm vehicles on public roadways has decided not to go forward with any changes, bringing a sigh of relief to Nevada farmers and ranchers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a statement that it has determined “that most states have already adopted common sense enforcement practices that allow farmers to safely move equipment to and from their fields.”

Monday night's presentation of the new plan for the Carson City Center development to the Nugget Advisory Committee has put this much-criticized project back on track, even winning over some long-time opponents.

The new plan is different enough it needs a new name: Nugget Project 2.0.

Come and join Soroptimist International of the Comstock for our 2nd Annual Train Ride. Boarding will be at the Virginia City Station at 7:00 PM on August 12th. The cost is $45.00 which includes train ride, heavy appetizers, one drink and a door prize ticket. Cocktails, appetizers and dessert start at 5:30 pm and end at 6:45 pm. Additional drink tickets can be purchased for $5.00 each or 3 for $12.00. Sodas will be 2 for $5.00. A Raffle will also be held, with all drawings done before the train leaves the station. It will be a "Full Moon" on the way back to the station.

Fareed Zakaria is a TV talk show who knows the complex world of economics, the Mideast and international politics. His book "The Post-American World, Release 2.0," paints a world where the United States is no longer the sole superpower. Not that superpowers are measured in size of armies but rather in economic sense.
Zakaria writes well and with a tremendous fund of knowledge, and while he paints a grim picture for the USA, he doesn't write the country off.

Carson City Support Services Specialist Elizabeth "Liz" Ann Patterson can now add author to her resume.

The Supreme Court decision upholding major party rights to choose their candidate in the upcoming special election leaves just four candidates on the ballot out of the 30-plus who originally filed....

By Andrew Barbano
RENO, Nev. — Longtime Nevada civil rights leader Mary Valencia Wilson, 66, died at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno shortly after midnight of Friday, June 10. She suffered from complications after a long battle with cancer.

A certification process recently completed by the Carson Nugget leaves it poised to deliver better customer service and quality, according to company heads."The Carson Nugget is the only casino in ...

CARSON CITY – On Assemblyman Harvey Munford’s desk lies his teacher’s edition of an American government textbook.
The former high school history and government teacher said he brought it as a guidebook to the legislative process. But he has not used it much.
“It wasn’t applicable to a whole lot of things,” he said.
Munford, a Democrat from Las Vegas, describes himself as “disillusioned” with the Legislature.

When talking about third-grade teacher Kathy Rothchild, students and colleagues often describe her as kind and dedicated. "She honestly loves children and brings this kindness and empathy to eve...

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – The governor has found $50 million that could erase some of the most controversial cuts in his $5.8 billion proposed budget.
The new revenue projections could mitigate an array of budget cuts to autism, mental health, emergency medical services and rural counties. Those services would have been eliminated or transferred to cash-strapped counties that may not have been able to fund them.
Added to a Mar. 28 amendment of $25.8 million, that leaves the budget about $86 million larger than when the governor submitted it.

A senior advisor to Gov. Brian Sandoval made it clear Monday the governor alone will decide who to name as U.S. Senator when John Ensign leaves the post May 3.Dale Erquiaga said the concurrent r...

Division 45 Kiwanians from Kiwanis of Carson City, Carson Valley, Fallon, Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Sunrisers, Sierra Nevada and Tahoe Sierra participated in the Kiwanis One Day program by raking leaves and picking up windblown trash at Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa on Saturday.

Dear Editor: As a long time resident of the Comstock, I have watched with dismay the erosion of the Comstock Historic District that has occurred because of open pit mining.

One need only travel from Virginia City to Carson City to see what used to be historical landscapes transformed into a series of ugly pit mines. The Comstock Historic District is a cultural and historic resource set aside for the people of Nevada. Pit mining erodes this resource visually, and endangers historic landscapes and structures.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
A caribou herd shared by Alaska and northwest Canada has rebounded after a near one-third decline, according to a photo census announced by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

State biologists said the Porcupine Caribou Herd has grown to an estimated 169,000 animals.

"People on both sides of the Alaska-Canada border are pleased,'' said Jason Caikoski, an assistant area biologist.

The week of Feb. 21, Sal and Catali Quilici of Dayton, together with Elaine, her mom (Mary) and I traveled by two vehicles from Carson City all the way south to La Quinta, California (about 500 miles).

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It was a stark contrast between two totally different worlds. In Carson City, we had been experiencing winter weather conditions, seemingly forever, which is typical for this time of the year: furnace running off and on, all day and all night; heavy frost on the car windows in the mornings, ominous-looking gray clouds filling the skies; cold, biting winds; snow-covered landscapes; trees without leaves; dead-looking flower gardens; having to wear winter jackets and gloves; all kinds of neighbors and friends with sniffles, coughs and colds.

CARSON CITY – The governor has proposed taking funds school districts are using for emergency repairs to help balance the state budget.
School districts have said this would leave them with little money to fix broken boilers and leaky roofs or perform other emergency repairs.
“We don’t have any money set aside right now to cover those expenses if the governor’s proposal moves forward,” said Craig Hulse from the Washoe County School District before a Senate committee reviewing the governor’s proposal.

View the early eagles and other birds of prey in the beautiful Carson Valley, hosted by Jim Woods, a guide for the annual Eagles and Agriculture event. Join Sierra Place staff and other members of the community on their special Sierra Bus to view this amazing yearly event.
Bus leaves Sierra Place at 9:00am sharp and returns at noon. Fresh snacks are included. Cost is $12. RSVP as seating is limited. Limited seating. Call (775) 841-4111.

An single-vehicle accident on Highway 50 this morning in Lyon County provides a good opportunity for the Nevada Highway Patrol to warn motorists to wait for authorities to arrive before leaving the scene.

Troop Dan Lopez reports that NHP is looking for the driver of a yellow Pontiac Aztek who wasn't at the accident site when authorities arrived. The car went down an embankment on Highway 50 east around mile marker 15 about seven miles east of Dayton. The vehicle accident was reported at about 7:15 a.m. Saturday morning.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed spending an estimated $60 million to repay interest on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loans.
That $60 million would come out of the general fund, said Dale Erquiaga, the governor’s senior adviser. This would leave less money for health care, education and other vital state functions in the general fund.

With trees shedding their leaves, Carson City Public Works will be out in mass this week picking up bagged and bundled garden and lawn debris.

Beginning today through Friday crews will pick up all that your trees leave behind if you had signed up last week. If you have and to ensure your debris is picked up, public works asks residents on the list to place the material near the curb in plain view beginning today, Monday morning, at 7:30 a.m.