My nephew’s football team Iowa State upset No. 2 Oklahoma State in overtime, 37-31.
With six wins, the team is now post-season bowl bound.
Congratulations!
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Reno fire’s forward progress stopped
Posted on November 18, 2011 by jeffpelline
Editor’s note: The Reno fire’s forward progress has been stopped. We know of at least two families who had to evacuate.
About 25 homes were affected by the fire, but 4,900 homes were potentially threatened, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
“Incline Fire Chief Mike Brown said he has personally seen embers blowing a half-mile to a mile from the main fire.
“Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said there is no timetable for when many evacuees can return to their homes. He said there are concerns over downed power lines and the smell of natural gas in some neighborhoods.”
The rest of the article is here.
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Scoop: Land Trust gets more serious about acquiring Royal Gorge
Posted on November 18, 2011 by jeffpelline
The Truckee Donner Land Trust is getting more serious about acquiring Royal Gorge at Soda Springs — now in the hands of a court-appointed receiver after Bay Area developers defaulted on the loan.
Land Trust officials have been scouting out the property, which includes the ski area and famous Rainbow Lodge and 3,400 acres, according to my sources. Another 5000 acres of leased land makes Royal Gorge one of the nation’s largest cross-country resorts.
The ski area and lodge will be open this winter. The receiver, in fact, has been agreeing to some expenditures to spruce up the property — a very positive sign.
Royal Gorge is expected to go on the market soon, and the sale is expected to close sometime mid-2012 or sooner.
The plans for an ambitious housing development at Royal Gorge were met with stiff opposition from environmental groups and nearby residents.
We have been fans of Royal Gorge for decades and look forward to it finding an owner who will provide the needed “TLC” and market its uniqueness. It is a gem of the Sierra.
One of its “regulars” has been world-famous fiddler Alasdair Fraser of Nevada City, who entertained guests one Christmas when a snow storm made travel impossible.
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Efforts to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
Posted on November 18, 2011 by jeffpelline
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U.S. birthrate hits record lows
Posted on November 18, 2011 by jeffpelline
“Better birth control? No, it’s the bad economy. The national birth rate dropped for the third straight year, down another 3% in 2010, and experts say it’s because women fear they can’t afford the cost of kids,” according to Time magazine.
“According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released Thursday, birth rates dropped in all racial and ethnic groups and in most age groups from 2009 to 2010. But they fell most precipitously in teens and young women: in teens aged 15 to 19, the birth rate declined 9%, and in women aged 20 to 24, it fell 6% — down to the lowest rates since the government began tracking births in 1946-47. Births to unmarried women also dropped 4% from 2009 to 2010.
“The trend lines closely mirror the economic downturn. U.S. births hit a record-high 4.3 million in 2007. After the official start of the recession in December 2007, births started dipping, and declined steadily in 2008 and 2009. By 2010, U.S. births were down to about 4 million.
‘”I don’t think there’s any doubt now that it was the recession. It could not be anything else,’ Carl Haub, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau who was not involved in the study, told the AP.”
The rest of the article is here.
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