LOCAL MUSINGS

As I write this Monday morning, I just witnessed a house fire two doors down from mine. South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and all the supporting area fire entities were there in minutes, averting what could have been a disaster. Great job!

SnowGlobe is on the City of South Lake Tahoe’s agenda for a long-term deal. I have supported the event and continue to do so. I realize it’s loud and can play havoc with its neighbors — I live in a neighborhood that hears the music — but I believe this is an incredibly important event for our destination. As baby boomers age, it is critical for destinations to attract and build loyalty with millennials. They are the visitors that will be the most impactful for the next 30 years. Those destinations that cultivate and attract that group will build loyalty and visitation over the long term. SnowGlobe is designed to attract that group, and I think this destination would be at a competitive disadvantage over the long term without it.

I was also glad to see the Tahoe Hockey Academy win unanimous approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Governing Board last week. I knew both Paul Gardner and Alex Graff, and I think they would have loved to see this innovative use of property they developed. While some complained that the notification process was not what it should have been (that might have been the case), in the end the board approved it, which I think is a good thing. This is a welcome addition to a community that supports athletes from the local to Olympic level.

THE BIG PICTURE

The biggest story has to be the vote England took to withdraw from the European Union. There are many reasons on both sides of the issues, including generational, immigration, economics and political control. While the issues may be different, the framework is the same — those that are more comfortable with progressive change and those that are not. There needs to be a realization on both sides of an issue. That change doesn’t always happen as its laid out (as in the case of staying in the European Union); and those that are against the change must realize the world is never going back to the way it was.

Be it the European Union or South Lake Tahoe, these points often separate the discussion. Instead it might be good to manage expectations and have a willingness to move forward with new ideas.

RECOMMENDATION

For the past six years I have been trying to get to Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite. I first found out about it years ago reading John Muir’s account, and I thought it would be a great motorcycle ride to finally at least get a glimpse of what Muir saw. Well, every year something came up — work, fire and two years ago leaving Sonora on our way my friend was hit on his bike by a truck. I felt just a bit like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick.

To make matters worse, I dropped my bike the morning I was going there. It was just a broken blinker and some damaged pride, dropping it in front of all those people. Well, I finally made it and it was stunning and it was all I had hoped it would be. Just beautiful. Sitting there and looking at the beauty in front of me I could only imagine what the valley would have looked like as Muir saw it before the City of San Francisco dammed it up.

IT’S A WRAP

This column is dedicated to those who were murdered at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. There is a special place in hell for the gunman.

Carl Ribaudo is a contributing opinion columnist for the Tahoe Daily Tribune. He is also a consultant, speaker and writer who lives in South Lake Tahoe. He can be reached at carl@smgonline.net.