homes

Volatile oil prices. Looming climate change. Worldwide economic and political unrest. Worsening traffic congestion. Crisis in transportation financing.

The following is the complete text of President Obama's State of the Union address as written.
Remarks of President Barack Obama - As Prepared for Delivery
State of the Union Address
"An America Built to Last"
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Washington, DC

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Fire officials in Reno say a man has admitted to accidentally starting a huge fire that destroyed 29 homes and forced as many as 10,000 people to evacuate.Fire Chief Michael Herna...

Officials reported this morning that the Washoe Drive Fire destroyed 26 homes, and has currently consumed 3,900 acres.
At a 9 a.m. press conference, officials reported the blaze is 50 percent contained, and that 700 firefighters are working to extinguish hot spots in advance of the high wind that are forecast for this afternoon.
There were 20 homes reported lost last night, but in the light of day, personnel working the fire were able to get a better count of the structures that burned.

View Washoe Drive Fire (1/19/2012) in a larger map

UPDATE 10PM: Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said tonight the Washoe Drive Fire has consumed and estimated 3,700 acres, burned at least 20 structures and has resulted in one fatality.
Hernandez would not go into details of how the person died. He said the 250+ firefighters on the scene have stopped the forward progress of the fire. He said the fire started in the East Lake area, and then followed the Highway 395 corridor north, where it was stopped just south of Galena High School.
Highway 395 will be closed until further notice due to damage to debris and damage to guard rails, power poles and other item near the roadway. Gov. Brian Sandoval told state workers who commute by this route to stay home Friday. Evacuations have been lifted for the Galena area. About 2,000 people are still unable to go back to their homes tonight.
Hernandez said firefighters saved more than 800 homes that were in the path of this destructive fire.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
****
UPDATE 9PM: Reno Fire officials report forward progress on Washoe Drive fire has stopped. Fire behavior is moderating due to diminishing winds, lowering termperatures and increasing humidity/moisture moving over the Sierra Nevada/Carson Range. Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 10,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

U.S. Highway-395 remains closed between 1.8 miles north of Carson City to the Junction of SR 341/431 (Mt. Rose Junction) in south Reno. U.S. Highway 395 could remained closed on Friday (1/20) through the morning commute - make alternate plans.
***

At 4:40 pm Thursday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.”
Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency received a notice of intent to file suit on the recent approval of the Homewood Mountain Resort Ski Area Master Plan project, officials said.
EarthJustice, on behalf of the Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore, lists both TRPA and Placer County as defendants in the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court of Eastern California. Absent from the suit is the League to Save Lake Tahoe, which implied that it likely wouldn't sue when the project was unanimously approved last month by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's Governing Board.

RENO/TAHOE - Signs point to a recovery in the residential sales and construction market.Inventories of homes for sale are declining, and lower prices are attracting investors and other buyers.Realt...

By Kristi Boosman
Staff and members of the Governing Board at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency got into the holiday spirit this year by trying to make the holidays a little nicer for some local children and families in need.

“We know many local families are struggling this year,” said Jill Larson, one of the organizers of TRPA’s holiday drive. “The staff really wanted to help,” she said.

Attorneys General Kamala D. Harris of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada announced Tuesday that their states have entered into a joint investigation alliance designed to assist homeowners who have been harmed by misconduct and fraud in the mortgage industry.

By forging this alliance, California and Nevada will combine investigative resources, including litigation strategies, information, and evidence gathered through their respective ongoing investigations, assisting each state as it pursues independent prosecutions.

Dickson Realty wants to discover if there's a market for luxury homes in the Reno- Tahoe market among wealthy Chinese. After a week in Beijing, Harvey Fennell ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../dickson-...

Publisher's note: South Lake Tahoe firefighters have been sent to Reno. By Reno Gazette-Journal. 9:30pm: Containment for the Caughlin Fire was at zero ...www.laketahoenews.net/2011/.../fire-rages-...

Wind toppled a large tree on Anita Drive in South Lake Tahoe early this morning damaging at least three homes. One home suffered severe interior and exterior damage and two of the homes were clipped. No one was hurt but the damage created is significant. The unoccupied homes are second residences. The tree came down around 3 a.m.
Photos by Shelley Piscitelli

Update 5 p.m.: Firefighters have stopped the advance of the fire and are now going back and putting out hot spots. Light snow and lessening winds are helping the efforts. Reno Fire Chief Mike Hernandez said 25 homes have been impacted by the fire. The fire has burned between 1,700 and 2,000 acres. One firefighter has been injured, one person suffered a heart attack and died and more than 4,500 NV Energy customers are without power.

View Caughlin Fire (fka Pine Haven fire) in a larger map

All homes have energy - good, bad or indifferent. It's so important before you make a move to a new location, apartment or condo that you spend time to research the property. Check out the history ...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the median price of South Lake Tahoe homes down in the third quarter of 2011 compared with the third quarter of 2010 and mortgage rates hovering around 4 percent,...

A new pier installation at Tahoe Beach Club www.beachclubtahoe.com will underscore the lakefront lifestyle at the first fully-owned residential lakefront development on Lake Tahoe in 25 years, and mark initial phase construction at the eagerly awaited project.

By Kristi Boosman
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced the winners of the Lake Spirit Awards honoring "real people making real progress protecting Lake Tahoe" at their first-ever Community Appreciation Day event held on September 29 at TRPA's office.

NEWS RELEASE — With recent success guiding the approval process for major projects at Lake Tahoe, the accomplishments of law firm Feldman McLaughlin Thiel reflect a rising correlation in the spectacular mountain community between a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

Within three hours of a mass shooting last week in which four people were killed and 11 injured, investigators knew they were dealing with a mentally unstable man, according to recently released police testimony seeking search warrants for shooter Eduardo Sencion's two vehicles and his brother and parents' homes, as reported in the Nevada Appeal. Go here for the story.

MINDEN, Nev. - Two 15-year-old boys admitted to setting the campfire that eventually sparked the 3,895-acre Ray May fire that threatened homes in the Pine Nut Mountains.Both boys appeared in Dou...

An injunction to halt fuel reduction work in the Angora Fire area was denied last month after a lawsuit was filed by two environmental organizations.
A three-person panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an emergency injunction was not needed after a U.S. District Court judge in Sacramento, Garland Burrell, upheld the agency's environmental
analysis. The suit was brought on by Earth Island Institute and Center for Biological Diversity over the protection of a rare black-backed woodpecker.

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal. Updated 2:25p Aug. 17: The chief of the local fire district where the Ray May Fire threatens homes said he is optimistic over progress being made by firefighters....

RENO, Nev. (AP) - A federal appeals court cleared the way Monday for the Forest Service to begin logging near Lake Tahoe, where a wildfire burned more than 250 homes four years ago.In making its...