U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will continue prescribed fires in several locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning today. The controlled burns may take place near Meeks Bay on the West Shore, Slaughterhouse Canyon on the East Shore and near the end of Andria Drive on Kingsbury Grade. Locations and size of the operations will depend on conditions at each site. Operations may continue through the week and possibly through the weekend, weather permitting.

For reasons that remain unclear among many in town, Caltrans wants to raise the speed limit by 5 mph through portions of South Lake Tahoe and Meyers. On Tuesday, city leaders and the community will hear presentations by Caltrans representatives regarding future plans.

State and county officials are investigating a pair of incidents regarding alleged equipment tampering and threatening phone calls made in apparent response to the Nevada Department of Wildlife's placement of a baited black bear trap in a residential neighborhood.
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Sochi, Russia is next on the list for orthopedic surgeon, Terrence Orr's medical volunteerism. As a physician with Tahoe Orthopedic & Sports Medicine, he will be previewing the future site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games as part of his role as Head Team Physician for the United States Men's Alpine Ski Team — a position he has held since 1999.

Douglas County authorities are investigating the death of a 31-year-old Gardnerville woman who was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
Deputies of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence early Sunday morning in the 1300 block of Waterloo Lane after dispatch received a call from a distraught man who said his wife had shot herself at their home, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Jim Halsey.

Douglas County authorities have arrested a California fugitive from justice who was convicted of sexual assault on a minor.
Rick David Oliver, 47, of Yuba County, Calif., was captured by Douglas County Sheriff's authorities and the FBI on Friday afternoon after he was located in the 1100 block of Linda Anne Court in the east valley area of Gardnerville, said Douglas County Undersheriff Paul Howell.
The law agencies learned that Oliver was at the location, recently having fled California to avoid sentencing and capture from law enforcement, Howell said.

The film "The Vow," currently on view at the Heavenly Village Cinema in South Lake Tahoe, is a good bad film. The bad is the sweetness-loaded script and the apparently rock-dumb male lead, Channing Tatum, as Leo Collins. The good is co-star Rachel McAdams as Paige Collins. This is billed as a romantic comedy, ideal as a "date" outing. Maybe, but ...

Movie opens with a brief scene of now and then goes back to five years earlier when Paige and Leo exchanged vows in a yuppie-like wedding. Thus, "The Vow."

The following is from Michael Scialfa, owner of Lake Tahoe Books and Art Windows on the Sierra and Beyond. Follow them on Facebook here.

An open letter to our patrons:

The man believed to have robbed the Wells Fargo Bank inside the Raley's at the Village Center in South Lake Tahoe on Jan. 30 is sitting in a Sacramento jail after allegedly robbing a bank.