Potent storm pads Sierra snowpack, but still short
RENO (AP) " A potent winter storm that dumped up to 6 feet of snow in the Sierra and brought much needed moisture to Northern Nevada provided a big boost to the region's snowpack and made an otherwise bleak water outlook a little less grim.
But water experts said Thursday that after two years of drought and otherwise lackluster moisture so far this year, the area is so far in the hole water-wise it would take twice as much precipitation as normal through the end of March to get back to what's considered average.
"The snowfall that we received in the first fours days of March exceeded the average snowfall for an entire month," said Dan Greenlee, a hydrologist with the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service.
4 skiers rescued in 2 days in Douglas
MINDEN (AP) " It's been a busy week for Douglas County rescue teams.
In two days, the team was called to rescue four people who became lost at Heavenly Ski Resort and stuck in deep snow out-of-bounds.
One snowbiker was found around 10 p.m. Tuesday as heavy snow and strong winds battered the region.
On Wednesday, authorities called in a helicopter from Fallon Naval Air Station to pluck an out-of-bounds snowboarder from chest-high snow.
While working on that rescue, authorities received another call about two skiers lost and stuck in the snow below the ski resort. All the victims were found and treated for cold exposure.
Attack draws civil rights indictment
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) " A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted a couple on civil rights charges in the 2007 beating of an Indian-American couple at Lake Tahoe.
Joseph and Georgia Silva of Fairfield pleaded no contest to misdemeanor state assault charges in July. The husband, who is 55, was sentenced to six months in El Dorado County Jail, while his 51-year-old wife was sentenced to a year.
The federal charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years in prison. The U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento says federal charges can be filed when civil rights violations are not pursued through state prosecutions. A county judge previously dismissed hate crime allegations against the Silvas.
Tax preparer accused of bilking refunds
RENO (AP) " A Sparks woman who worked at a national tax preparation firm has been arrested on charges of filing phony tax returns and collecting refunds using information in people's files from last year, authorities said.
Valeri Crystal Guerrero, 31, was arrested Tuesday by officers with a regional fraud task force.
Authorities said Guerrero worked as a tax preparer for H&R Block offices in the Reno area and Truckee, Calif.
An investigation began when two victims reported going to the company to have their taxes done and were told they already were filed, said Truckee police Sgt. Tim Hargrove.
Officials allege Guerrero filed bogus federal returns using the victims' 2008 income tax statements, and had refunds credited to her own personal debit cards.
High court weighs gay marriage ban
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " With thousands chanting slogans and waving placards outside, California's highest court on Thursday skeptically grilled lawyers seeking to overturn the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
Attorneys for same-sex couples sought to persuade the California Supreme Court that the public's right to change the constitution doesn't extend to depriving an unpopular minority of the right to wed.
But the court's seven justices indicated a wariness to override what Associate Justice Joyce Kennard called the people's "very, very broad, well-wrought" authority to amend the state's governing framework at the ballot box.
The Supreme Court has 90 days to issue a ruling.