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by RILEY SNYDER

Nevada could join the ranks of eleven other states, including California, Florida and New Mexico if a Senate bill that bans the controversial practice of horse tripping is passed by the Legislature.

Horse tripping is a sporting event in which the hind or front legs of a galloping horse are roped, causing the animal to fall to the ground.

Occasionally, while preparing somebody’s tax return, it appears that they just barely fall short of being able to itemize deductions instead of taking the standard exemption.

Normally when someone has not filed income tax returns for a few years, the IRS is willing to just get the returns filed and paid. It usually has no jail time involved. IRS will charge interest and some penalties.

However, a taxpayer named Laubly was sentenced to 96 months in jail for willful failure to file a tax return and for tax evasion. Perhaps it was the tax evasion charge that the court found as adequate reason for the jail time sentence.

Several folks have indicated they have a sole owner business and use a part of their home regularly and exclusively for business use. They have not claimed that deduction because they heard it would cause an IRS audit of their tax return.

Our experience is the deduction is fine, OK to claim. IRS has recently even issued a Revenue Procedure for a “safe harbor” Office in Home deduction. Rev. Proc. 2013-13 offers an optional method of figuring the deduction.

This week's Women to Women Nevada features Carol Swanson, independent director of sales for Mary Kay, a former PhD Nursing administrator and retired U.S. Army Colonel. Carol Paz, host of "Women to Women" is broadcast Thursday's, 7 p.m. on Charter Cable and here at Carson Now.
You can follow Swanson on Twitter here or her website here.

by S. LANEY OLSON

I knew little about broadcast up until Feb. 14 of last week. However, when the opportunity for me to shadow Brent Boynton from KNPB arose, I jumped at it without hesitation. I had always been interested in broadcast but had focused my attention on print. This was opportunity to expand my horizons.

(Editor's Note: The following was submitted to Carson Now by Carson City Supervisor Jim Shirk. Follow him on Twitter here and on his blog here. )

North Lake Tahoe celebrates its long winter season with SnowFest, a 10-day carnival and one of the region’s most popular annual family celebrations. SnowFest is scheduled for March 1-10 and will be held at a variety of venues throughout North Lake Tahoe.

In its 32nd year, SnowFest, presented by the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/ Resort Association, is expected to draw thousands of attendees, with the majority of events free to spectators.

by MICHAEL V. MARCOTTE

As I pen this, three UNR grad students are leading eight undergrads in the final planning of the launch of the Nevada Media Alliance. I may be supervising this experiment in news partnering, but these eager, ambitious journalism students will be deciding — and doing — much of what goes into it.

Granlibakken Conference Center and Lodge has answered the arrival of 2013 and ideal conditions at Lake Tahoe with the area’s most attractive ski and stay packages now through spring.

Chris Field, a 2007 Nobel Prize team winner and lead author of the study on the effects of global climate change will be the keynote speaker at Lake Tahoe South's Operation Sierra Storm Meteorologist Conference, Jan 10.

Field, was the Co-Chair for Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shared the 2007 Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore. He’s the director of the Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University and a 2009 Heinz Award recipient, recognizing extraordinary environmental achievement.

The Pony Express Territory is pleased to announce that Victor Galbraith of Auburn, Calif. has won and accepted a free overnight stay in Ely and four tickets to experience the magic of Nevada’s original Polar Express train. When notified that he was the contest winner, Galbraith said, “My wife and I are excited to be bringing our Grandkids with us. They are going to have a blast!"

It might have been raining across much of Northern California, but last week’s storm brought snow to Lake Tahoe ski resorts – more than 3.5 feet of the white stuff, making for a great ski weekend.

“You just never know how these storms are going to play out,” said Chief Marketing Officer Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association. “But Mother Nature cooperated and we’ve got new snow on the mountains.”

After broadcasting live play-by-play Western Nevada College baseball games for six seasons, and recently taking on regular sports blog reporting and analysis for Carson Now, it would be only fitting to give Chris J. Graham the title of Sports Editor. And so as of today we are.

Graham, 26, will step up sports coverage for Carson Now with continued blogs, stories, interviews, analysis and plans in early 2013 for a one-hour weekly broadcast sports show.

National power Western Nevada College Baseball continues to make more splashes in the NCAA Division I rank. Evan Parker, Mike Umscheid, and Brandon Show have already signed letters of intent to play at 4 year colleges starting in the fall of 2013. This will put the number of WNC Baseball players to move onto higher levels at 95 in just seven seasons.

A traditional Lake Tahoe holiday stay at Granlibakken resort means skiing, snowplay, zipline, board games by the fireplace, spa treatments and relaxing. It’s also a sumptuous feast prepared by resort staff, a rollicking atmosphere of good cheer amid an authentic lodge setting with roaring fire and best of all, no dirty dishes or clean up, rather a take home box for any leftovers.

The 2012 Polar Express train aboard the historic V&T Railway in Carson City has sold all of its tickets, officials said. The all-ages train ride is set for 15 different dates, Nov. 23 through Dec. 23. The V&T officially sold all 10,794 of its tickets as of Thursday, said Candy Duncan, executive director of the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Now that the MLB season has come to an end, the offseason begins. Here are my predictions for the awards:

What are some high schools thinking? Some high schools around the nation are lowering or have already lowered the Grade Point Average (GPA) requirements for their student-athletes, and some go as low as 1.6 (a “D” average). This is absolutely absurd to me. I watched a show on ESPN about this and it left me fuming. I cannot believe that schools are so lazy to teach their pupils. They are indirectly saying: “Students struggle so we are not going to work to get them better.”

A batted ball comebacker to a pitcher is the single most dangerous situation in baseball that results more often than not in serious injury.

Can enough steps be taken to protect the pitcher in baseball from a batted ball comebacker that they cannot react fast enough to? Most pitchers throw a pitch with their follow through momentum turning their body to one side, on one foot, leaving them completely vulnerable and mostly defenseless to a screaming batted ball coming right at them.

The Pony Express Territory, a fascinating route that takes travelers across Nevada on U.S. Highway 50 and once dubbed ‘The Loneliest Road in America’, is currently drawing visitors to Fallon’s annual Corn Maze at Lattin Farms via a contest on Facebook through Oct. 23. The award-winning Corn Maze is the West Coast’s largest and is known for family fun.

There is a problem with some American sports fans. We all need to realize that there will be a loser in every game no matter what sport you watch. The loser of course takes more of the spotlight when the games mean a lot more than just a regular season game.

Yesterday, the Saint Louis Cardinals made one of the greatest comebacks in sports' history by beating the Washington Nationals in a decisive, winner-take-all, Game 5. The Nationals got off to a fantastic start by jumping out to a 6-0 lead. The Cardinals never gave in, and slowly chipped away at the Nationals’ lead.

Sale of the 564-acre Genoa Lakes Golf Resort to Mazz Golf Management Co. is currently in escrow with closing expected in mid-October, the principals of the deal announced in a news release.

Visitors to America’s favorite lake, as was designated this year by USA Today, can expect a winter of major content as Lake Tahoe South resorts are poised with prime attractions, sizzling special events and a combination of unmatched outdoor recreation and nighttime amenities.

“The destination is on a major uptick with a record-breaking summer and the ongoing economic recovery,” said Carol Chaplin, executive director at the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “Plus, there’s an enthusiastic outlook as local weather indicators point toward a season of big snow.”

What: Trash Mob
When: Saturday August 11th 8 a.m.
Where: Foothill Dr. at Winnie Lane
Why: This is the second in our series of quick trash pick up events. This area attracts a lot of walkers and bicyclists, and dogs. For all of you who walk or bike this area please come out for just 1 hour and help us clean up. If you have a pooper scooper please bring it.
We’re asking for only 1 hour of your time, not a lot, but it can make such a difference.
Carson City Parks and Recreation has promised to put up a Mutt Mitt station, so if we can get it cleaned up maybe it’ll stay cleaned up.

Lake Tahoe was named the “Best Lake in America” in a recent readers' poll by USA Today. Editors narrowed national nominations to the top 16; readers weighed in and the largest and most popular alpine lake in North America took home top honors by garnering more than 5,000 votes via Facebook and Twitter.
Go here for the story.
Lake Tahoe is recognized for its timeless beauty and an international reputation as an outdoor recreational Mecca. The combination of great outdoors, entertainment, nightlife, dining and gaming identify its unique character.

A water taxi service based at Camp Richardson Resort connects locals and visitors to lakeside marinas, enhancing economic activity on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. The service offers stops at three marinas providing access to recreation, sightseeing, dining and shopping.

The July 4th Holiday and fireworks celebrations always bring an influx of boaters to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for the 4th of July holiday week, boaters are urged to Clean, Drain and Dry their boats before arriving at one of 5 roadside inspection stations in the Tahoe to avoid delays and decontamination fees.

As we reported via Twitter at the time, there was a 4.2 earthquake that shook the area at 8:51 last night, centered six miles north-northwest of Incline Village. You can find all the details here via USGS.

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.