features

Carson City is getting a big present this upcoming holiday season with the return of The Polar Express™ train that will roll through the frosty Northern Nevada landscape on 15 different dates throughout November and December.

For the second year, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is one of the officially licensed Polar Express Train Ride events nationwide this holiday season. This historic 100-year train, complete with decorated passenger cars and Christmas music, leaves the Carson City Eastgate Depot and travels nearly two miles before staging at Santa's mythical North Pole retreat.

The summer sizzles as the Mile High Jazz Band Association, Carson City, local businesses and jazz lovers proudly present the 2012 "Jazz & Beyond" Carson City Music Festival, an annual event that began in August 2004. Performances at multiple venues in Carson City will feature more than 100 musicians in over 50 bands, Aug. 3-19 and are mainly free. Music styles include Dixieland jazz, big band, bluegrass, Latin, blues and folk.

After more than a year in the making, the official opening of Bonanza Park in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday brought community members and families together in celebration of a cooperative public and private agreement made possible by city leaders and Edgewood Companies.
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Claire Fortier and Edgewood's CEO and president Chuck Scharer gladly cut the ribbon after months of negotiations allowing for future property and building rights in exchange for the public park.

This weekend some of the area’s most talented senior citizens will be on stage at the Carson City Community Center in the annual Senior Follies production of “Those Delightful Decades.” This annual production is a fundraiser for the Senior Meals Programs offered through the Carson City Senior Citizens Center.

$400 Million Dollars have been spent, and soon you will have a nice new bridge to ride your bicycle across. But only for a few hours, so listen up!

The Lake Tahoe Science Consortium collaborated with University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Art to create “Visualizing Change,” a photographic art expedition intended to convey concepts in environmental restoration at Lake Tahoe to the scientific community and general public. The exhibit is located in the Prim Desert Research Library at Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe’s Incline Village. It features photography and oil painting contributions from eight noted artists and is free and open to the public through July 27.

CARSON CITY – A television ad campaign sponsored by the pro-Democrat Patriot Majority attacking GOP Sen. Dean Heller on his Medicare votes has expanded to Las Vegas and is again being called false by his campaign.

The ads say Heller voted to “end Medicare,” twice, once while serving in the House from the 2^nd Congressional District and once after being appointed to the Senate by Gov. Brian Sandoval in April 2011

Downtown Carson City was alive this morning as the Legends of the West Show & Shine and Bike Fest kicked off. Carson Street is closed between Robinson and Musser for the car and motorcycle show. The event features classic cars, food, drinks music and fun.

Part of the event includes the Carson City Sheriff's Office 9th Annual Extreme Motor Officer Training Challenge in front of the Carson Nugget. Watch as motorcycle patrol personnel from around the state work their big bikes through an obstacle course.

The event goes on all day until 7 p.m.

The Carson City School District is holding a school board meeting on Tuesday, June 26 at 7 P.M., located at Sierra Room of the Community Center, 851 E. William Street.

The Board of Trustees of Carson City School District and State of Nevada will discuss a Resolution to favor the Final Amended Budget for the Fiscal Year 2011-2012. This discussion will include topics such as revisions and certified enrollment, and audited fund balances. Updates on the phase one school bond projects, and functions and faculty features will also be discussed during the meeting.

See the full agenda below

Fremont Elementary School grounds are currently under construction for a project to create a new and safer traffic pattern, making it easier for parents to drop off their children at school.

The new installations for the school consist of newly reconfigured parking areas to better cope with congestion on nearby roads. A pick-up area specifically designed for the kindergartners is also being installed on the east side of the school.

Lake Tahoe South steps into high endurance overdrive this summer with two new outdoor adventure events that celebrate speed, agility and skill — one with feet to the ground and the other rubber to the road.

Sierra Recon, a high-energy, multi-distance obstacle race screaming the amped premise, “Everyone loves carnage” is set for July 14 at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, while the Lake Tahoe Adventure Motorcycle Ride and Rendezvous celebrates the freedom of the wide open road, Aug. 23-26.

The North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association proudly unveils its new Visitor Information Center with a special Grand Opening Ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, June 12, 4-8 p.m. The pedestrian-friendly venue is located on the ground floor of the association’s headquarters at 100 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City, next to Fanny Bridge.

CARSON CITY – In the Republican quest to regain control of the state Senate in the 2012 general election, two GOP candidates in a bitter primary traded accusations today in a televised debate.

Whether GOP establishment favorite Mari Nakashima St. Martin or challenger Brent Jones wins the June 12 primary, the fiercely contested primary presents another challenge for Republicans to return to dominance in the state Senate.

More than 350 scientists, environmental policy makers and economic stakeholders will discuss Lake Tahoe and its environmental and economic future at the annual Tahoe Science Conference “Environmental Restoration in a Changing Climate” May 22 to 24 at Incline Village.
The conference, this year being held at Sierra Nevada College, features a scientific poster session and the opening of “Visualizing Change, a photographic exhibition,” on Tuesday evening followed by two full days of seminars and workshops covering more than 20 topics in three main areas:

This Mother’s Day, take mom on an historical train excursion via the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Sunday, May 13.
This special edition train ride from Carson City to Virginia City will provide mom with a long stem rose, Wild West history, storytelling, shopping and dining in Virginia City to go along with the spectacular scenery. The train features a 1953 ALCO heritage diesel locomotive leading 100 year-old Pullman coaches displaying the distinctive yellow and green of the V&T.

The new C-A-L Ranch Store on North Carson Street had its official grand opening today, with Mayor Bob Crowell helping to cut the ribbon.

A big crowd was on hand for the event, completely filling the parking lot of the old Safeway building.

The store features a huge variety of products, everything from guns to dresses to live poultry.

The store has 32 employees.

In celebration of Historic Preservation Month, the Carson City Historic Resources Commission is holding their third annual Historic Preservation Scavenger Hunt from May 1-15, 2012.

WILD HORSE CHILDREN’S THEATER ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR

Disney’s “THE LITTLE MERMAID JR.”

Those of us who live here are used to getting questions about brothels, especially the Moonlite BunnyRanch, which is usually described as being in or just outside Carson City.

Those questions have escalated greatly since "Pimpmaster General" Dennis Hof took over the place and broke with the unspoken Nevada brothel code to keep a low profile. On the contrary, Hof searches out publicity like a heat-seeking missile, quick to seek any venue where he can put himself and his ladies into the spotlight.

RENO, Nev. — GPS technology developed and implemented at the University of Nevada, Reno will be the centerpiece of a major test this year by NASA to pinpoint the location and magnitude of strong earthquakes along the West Coast of the United States. The project was announced by NASA today.

Alpine Meadows’ annual Snow Golf Tournament will tee off at 9 a.m. at the top of the mountain off the Summit Express chairlift Saturday, April 21. This highly anticipated spring event features the only mountaintop snow golf course around. It’s the best of both worlds: skiing or snowboarding combined with golf. What better way to spend a beautiful spring day than on the slopes for a game of snow golf?

Sunday through Tuesday, April 22-24, are the 2012 dates for the highly-popular John Riordan Invitational Fishing Derby. John is the Assistant General Manager for the Carson Station Hotel and Casino in Carson City, and this will be the 15th version of his annual, fun-filled, fishing event at Topaz Lake.
His derby is traditionally co-headquartered at the Topaz Lake Marina and the Topaz Lake Lodge at Topaz Lake, which lies along the Nevada-California state line about 40 miles south of Carson City.
Here is some information about that derby:

Derby Rules:

The existing 2 percent Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), which is up for renewal on the June 5, 2012 ballot, has funded a number of North Lake Tahoe public improvement projects and services since voters first authorized it in 1996.

The renewal, called Measure F, is not a tax increase and, if passed, would continue to be paid by lodging guests only via the TOT bed tax when they spend the night in North Lake Tahoe. North Lake Tahoe residents would not be taxed under Measure F.

The Eastern Sierra Back Country Fishing Guide is designed to provide anglers with a quick, informative and accurate account of the distribution of fisheries in back country high elevation lakes.
This guide does not address front country waters, defined as lakes and streams that are accessible by vehicle.
The individual lake information is based on DFG surveys conducted from 2001 to present, with some surveys dating back to 1995.
More than 3,000 lakes have been surveyed for fish and amphibians and related habitat features.

Strings in the Schools, Carson City Symphony's after-school program, presents its 2012 Spring Concert, on Tuesday, April 3, 6:30 p.m. at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St., Carson City. About 80 string players, including public-, private-, and home-schooled students from the Carson City area, will perform several pieces, from classics to folk and fiddle tunes. Admission is free.

The next Caron City Chamber of Commerce Soup's On luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27 at 11:30 a.m. at the Gold Dust West.

This month's luncheon features Joel Dunn, operations manager for Carson City Parks & Recreation, who will talk about the economic impact that sporting events have on the city, and how to become involved.

Mother Nature and the lucky Leprechaun found powder at the end of the rainbow with a late season storm that dropped 5-9 feet of new snow at Tahoe South resorts this past weekend, which will provide great spring skiing conditions through Easter and beyond. Forecasts predict sunny skies throughout the week.

The Northern Nevada Development Authority's monthly breakfast on May 28 at the Gold Dust West features a program on "Recruiting and Retaining the Multi-Generational Workforce."

Authors Lance Richards and Jason Morga will speak about how, in today's dynamic business environment, workforce diversity has emerged as a key to unlocking competitive advantage. The aging and declining workforce is a global phenomenon presenting unprecedented workforce shifts - across traditional boundaries.

How do organizations prepare for these colliding simultaneous trends? What are the keys to success?

The Mile High Jazz Band and vocalist Sheryl Adams will be joined by several poets and readers and guest vocalist June Joplin for a lively evening of big-band jazz music and poetry with a new twist. For "Potluck: A Smorgasbord of Poems and Big-Band Jazz," poets names will be drawn from a hat for each reading, followed by a big band tune.

The program features award-winning poets and readers Krista Lukas, Tracy McQuay, Wayne Carlson, Lee Warner, Terri Breeden, and Joe Crowley.

Admission is $5 general at the door, and free for age 18 and under.

CARSON CITY – A conservative Nevada think tank today published a guide for policymakers and the public on issues ranging from the state spending to public education to tax policy.

The 88-page sourcebook, called “Solutions 2013” is a compilation of research and policy recommendations from the Nevada Policy Research Institute addressing 39 different subject areas.