$12

The 2011 season for the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is rolling down the track to opening weekend, May 27 through May 29 in Carson City, according to Convention and Visitors Bureau officials.

Before the official opening weekend, the railroad is offering a sneak peek into the historic route with a special event on Mother’s Day, Sun., May 8.

Here is the Northern Nevada, Northern California and Southern Oregon fishing report for the week of March 16-23.

ANGEL LAKE, ELKO COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife www.ndow.org reported: The road is closed.

BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF:
Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (866) 694-2930 www.woodfordsstation.com reported: The road is closed for the winter.

CAPLES LAKE, CALIF:

By Elizabeth Crum / Nevada News Bureau
At 8:12 a.m. this morning, Rep. Dean Heller finally sent an email to his supporters announcing the U.S. Senate run I confirmed here last week.

Heller has a pretty new campaign website, and here is the text of the email:

Friend,

At 8:12 a.m. this morning, Rep. Dean Heller finally sent an email to his supporters announcing the U.S. Senate run I confirmed here last week.
Heller has a pretty new campaign website, and here is the text of the email:
Friend,
Your past support has meant a lot me and for this reason I wanted you to be among the first to know that I am running for the United States Senate.

(Updated at 2:12 p.m. on March 14, 2011 to include new comments from Sandoval Administration)
CARSON CITY – Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford has requested emergency legislation to conduct a performance audit of the revenue collection functions of the Department of Taxation following questions last week about the thoroughness of the agency’s review of mining tax payments.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – State Controller Kim Wallin is seeking new authority from the Nevada Legislature to collect from those who owe the state money.

Here is the Northern Nevada, Northern California and Southern Oregon Fishing Report For the week of March 9-16:

Here is the Northern Nevada outdoor calendar for the month of March:

By the Nevada Department of Wildlife
In an update to an ongoing investigation, the Operation Game Thief Citizens’ Board has offered a $4,000 reward to generate tips to solve a criminal case of eight deer shot in Voltaire Canyon near Carson City.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) released information on the case on Feb. 15 hoping to generate tips and solve the case.

The Citizens’ Board is a volunteer organization that manages donations to the OGT program and offers rewards to solve poaching cases.

Here's a chance to draw cards, win prizes and ski or ride while at Lake Tahoe's Diamond Peak this Saturday.

The Hyatt Regency is the sponsor of the fourth annual Poker Run at Diamond Peak Ski Resort set for Saturday, March 12. Skiers and boarders are urged to join in at Diamond Peak a day of fun on the mountain and and many a chance to win some great prizes.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval is seeking significant changes to Nevada’s public employee pension plan in the 2011 legislative session to reduce the ongoing and long-term financial cost of the benefit to the state and taxpayers.
But if he wants fundamental change, he might look to the state university system’s retirement plan for faculty.

The Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation will host the Shredtacular Rail Jam event at the American Legion in South Lake Tahoe on Friday, March 11 from 4:30 to 10 p.m.

Open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages, the Shredtacular will be held on a feature built by Rob Giustina of On Course Events. Entry is $20 and includes a goodie bag and a raffle ticket for a chance to win tons of prizes.

When walking in a mall or driving behind an older person with only the top of their head showing above the seat in their eighties or early nineties, could that person be a hero?

The Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary, 2001, defines a hero, “A conspicuous possessor of other admirable qualities.” I have known Phyllis Lorraine Anker Bendure for 33 years. After every conversation with her, I discover more of her admirable qualities.

The Carson City Democratic Women's Club will be meeting on March 12 at Grandma Hatties. Everyone is welcome, you may order off the menu from 11:30 to noon. The meeting will run from noon to 1:30 PM. Guest Speaker is Jan Gilbert of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN). She will discuss current issues in Nevada. During the business meeting, two new activity ideas will be discussed.as well as progress reports on other programs For information call 884-3037.

(Press Release) On Wednesday March 2, 2011, at approximately 12:00 p.m. Lander County Sheriff Ron Urger was notified that a man, later identified as Devin Westenskow, age 28, of Evanston, Wyoming, fell while exploring an abandoned mine shaft. The mine site closed since 1945, is located in the Jersey Valley at the far eastern part of Pershing County, Nevada.

If you’re a fisherman or fisherwoman, it’s that time of the year to remind you to purchase your new 2011-2012 fishing license.

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Click here for this week's fishing report and here for the latest outdoor news.
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That new fishing license year began yesterday on March 1 and it will run through the last day in February, 2012.

Here is the Northern Nevada Outdoor Calendar for the Month of March.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
A San Francisco man was recently caught poaching abalone during the closed season – for the third time in three weeks.

The last arrest came on Feb. 19, 2011, when game wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) arrested Qiong Wang, 31, for felony conspiracy and take of abalone for commercial purposes, among other charges.

Wardens also arrested Wang’s companion, Michael Trevors, 28, of San Francisco, on similar charges.

By the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
This is a final reminder that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is bringing the world elk calling championships, along with the annual convention and expo called “Elk Camp,” back to the Reno/Sparks Convention Center, March 3-6, 2011.


This year marks the 27th annual RMEF Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo — the organization’s largest annual fundraiser for its conservation programs.


By the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
This is a final reminder that amateur and professional elk callers from across the United States will converge on Reno for the RMEF/Leupold World Elk Calling Championships, March 4-5, 2011.


Preliminary rounds begin March 4 at 9:00 a.m., and championship rounds begin March 5 at 9:00 a.m., at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center.
The championships are a centerpiece of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s annual Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo.

Update: This event has been postponed. Contact BAC for more information.

Mile High Jazz Band Association and the Brewery Arts Center present "Speedy" Garfin & the Garfin Gathering on Saturday, March 12, 2011, 7:30 p.m., at the BAC Performance Hall, 511 West King Street in Carson City.

It’s been said that a recession is a terrible thing to waste, and Northern Nevada businesses from Carson City to Las Vegas to Elko businesses aren’t wasting this one.

A Carson City man, who was being booked into jail on a violation of his probation, faces felony drug charges after allegedly having a controlled substance taped to his penis.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada residents bear the second lowest state and local tax burden of any state at 7.5 percent, behind only Alaska at 6.3 percent, according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.

The UC Davis’s Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) in partnership with the Tahoe Expedition Academy (TEA) will host the sixth annual Science Expo on March 16.

The fair features interactive experiments and demonstrations for children from the third to sixth grade, ages 8 to 12 and their families. The event is free and will run from 4 – 6 p.m. at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences in Incline Village. Ice cream will be provided by Susie Scoops of Incline Village and UC Davis TERC.

A week after two storms dropped at least a foot of snow in Carson City and several feet in the Sierra, another storm will move into the area late Thursday into Friday and is expected bring between 3 to 8 inches to the capital city and several feet above Lake Tahoe.

The heaviest snow with the system should be dropping by early Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Reno and Carsonweather.com.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
On a sunny afternoon, 15 workers are waist deep in a half-acre pond, tromping through 46-degree water and dragging a 120-foot net to catch several hundred small fish.

The fingerling yellow perch are being pulled from the water to be part of studies of the small fish, which is being introduced as an alternate commercial species in Alabama.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
A small herd of elk roaming southern Allamakee County in Iowa is causing an uproar.

Jim Jansen with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that the state has shot some of the elk and there are plans to take down the rest.

But several residents think the state should consider allowing the elk to roam free and re-establishing Iowa's wild elk population.

Tim Mason of rural McGregor says the animals should be nurtured, not shot.

By the Nevada Department of Wildlife
Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) game wardens are seeking the public’s help to solve a criminal case of several deer shot and left to waste in Voltaire Canyon near Carson City.

Game wardens discovered one dead buck Jan. 12, and tracked the trails of at least seven other injured deer in the Voltaire Canyon area.

By the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
This is a reminder that amateur and professional elk callers from across the United States will converge on Reno for the RMEF/Leupold World Elk Calling Championships, March 4-5, 2011.
Preliminary rounds begin March 4 at 9:00 a.m., and championship rounds begin March 5 at 9:00 a.m., at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center.
The championships are a centerpiece of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s annual Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo.