In response to Where Water Means War in the May print edition
Lucky Some Plans Failed
I love the stories of the plans to build massive tunnels to exploit Tahoe water. One was to go west to San Francisco. Another was to go east to a dammed-up Washoe Lake for casino resorts and irrigation. Thank god none of these dreams were realized.
~ Rick Cooper via Facebook
In response to the Shine On cartoon Power Now Goes to Servers Teaching AI in the May print edition
What About the Billionaires?
Doesn’t that impact Zuckerberg’s property too? He is leading the effort to build more data centers.
~ Dean Eppley via Facebook
Ski Resorts Will be Affected
The ski lifts will still work though, right?
~ Ryan Fitzhenry, Tahoe City, via Facebook
In response to Fixing the Pipes, Angering the Neighbors in the May print edition
Nest Is within Protected Zone
One major correction: the protected zone around the goshawk nest, which produced three fledglings last year, is 0.5 miles, not 0.25 miles. The goshawk nest sits within the 0.5 mile zone, not outside it as is stated in the article.
~ Michael Levin, Tahoma, Facebook
In response to Techspert vs. Expert: Tahoe Beyond the Screen in the May print edition
Must Be Able to Handle the Tahoe Essentials
How you deal with parking, snow removal, and dogs will make or break your Tahoe experience.
~ Chris Gallagher, Tahoe City, via Instagram
Talk to People, Not Social Media
Wow Tim, you nailed it! Growing up on the West Shore in the early ’70s was the experience. Skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and boating all came with an “Old Timer Tahoe” wisdom. You met people on the lift, you talked with people at the trailhead, and you buoyed up at your favorite cove to cuss and discuss the travels of life. It was passed down from generation to generation in all good faith to keep the local legacy growing. In today’s “gotta have it now” generation, it’s a good and bad seed of recreating together safely and sanely and not bagging a peak for bragging rights or being rescued in the middle of a blizzard just for posting on social networks. Lake Tahoe wilderness will always be available for everyone to enjoy but open your eyes, ears, and mind to nature, not technonature!
~ Marc Bourriague, Reno, via website
In response to A Shock to the System in the May print edition.
AI Will Benefit the Wealthy
NV Energy may claim AI has nothing to do with cutting off Liberty Utilities but that is clearly untrue. It is clear who will benefit from AI — the corporations and other businesses that use AI to lay off workers and increase profits. It is clear who will lose — the workers, of course, and consumers who will pay more for electricity and water, if they can get it at all. (It is not clear if AI itself will be profitable, although one assumes it will be.) Unlike previous technological leaps — the printing press, trains and cars, the computer — which benefited everyone, AI will likely benefit only the wealthy. We may get tossed a few bones — we can make AI art and music for example — but we will not be at the table where the meat is served. (Forgive the non-vegan metaphor.) This is the best article I have read on the Liberty Utilities situation. Well done.
~ Jack Kashtan, Truckee, via website
