At the Lake: Bicycle Coalition unveils free map

As part of this weekend's Opening Day at the Lake festivities, the Lake Tahoe Bike Coalition will unveil a free trail map for the entire Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond.

"It's the first bike trail map that covers all the paved trails running from Alpine County all the way to Truckee and Donner Lake," said Ty Polastri, president of the bike coalition.

South Lake Tahoe was designated a bicycle friendly community in September 2006 by the League of American Bicyclists, but gaps remain in the city's trail system.

The bike trail map fills in some of these missing links with "connector routes" to aid recreation and transportation.

"Connector routes are intuitive," Polastri said. "They're not official bike paths, but they're really intelligent ways to get through town."

These routes won't be unofficial forever, though.

"There is movement toward creating more connectivity," Polastri said. "Some of these connector routes will become designated bike paths."

The bicycle maps will make their debut at the bike coalition's booth at the Opening Day Celebration Block Party on Saturday.

Maps will then be made available at sport shops, chambers of commerce and tourist bureaus throughout the area.

Polastri encouraged everyone to ride their bike to Saturday's event, where the coalition's booth will feature information, bike raffles and a free bike valet.

On one hand, there's a belief South Shore's economy could collapse if illegal immigrants were banished from the area.

On the other, California itself experiences a $10 billion annual budget deficit due to costs associated with illegal immigration.

And that's only one side of the immigration debate.

The topic of immigration continues to gather heat as politicians and others wrangle about how to solve, or at least properly address, the immigration situation.

"I think it's (a) really, really complicated situation," said Delicia Spees, executive director for the Family Resource Center, an organization that often assists Latinos. "I have a lot of thoughts on it but, you know ... I would like to see a bill that would be just for people."

President George Bush as well as Republican and Democratic leaders have attempted to solve the issue with various bills, amendments and ideas but have, so far, failed.

On Thursday, Bush said he wanted to revive attempts for immigration legislation reform with increased funding for a border fence.

According to Reuters, Bush's intent would include a temporary worker program and a plan to legalize most of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. It also would create a new merit-based system for future immigration, Reuters stated.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the immigration bill will be re-examined on the Senate floor after an energy bill is considered.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, hopes to first decrease the ease of access between the U.S. and Mexico with a fence " saying freeway-construction firm CC Meyers could do it efficiently " and add extra patrol. Secondly, those who arrive should go through the natural process of becoming a citizen.

"I think it's very critical everybody who comes to this country learns the essence of America," Gaines said.

"We're not looking to create a nation within a country," he added.

Gaines mentioned California is losing $10 billion a year due to immigration costs.

In South Lake Tahoe, efforts are being made to assimilate immigrants with English as a Second Language classes and citizenship classes, said Arturo Rangel, who works for Lake Tahoe Community College as an outreach technician.

Rangel is against amnesty for illegal immigrants. Some hurdles should be met, he said. Most who are illegal come to the country and overextend their visit, Rangel said.

Immigrants work in the kitchens and housekeeping and maintenance " jobs that support Tahoe's economy, Rangel said.

"I'm sure there would be Americans doing those jobs but they would not settle for (minimum wage)," Rangel said.

And once immigrants, illegal or otherwise, get a whiff of the American dream, it's hard for them to imagine returning to their native country.

"Once they see they can provide some kind of benefit to their families insofar as being here, they're not going back to their countries," Rangel said.

But is the American dream still a reality? Or is it a mirage? Scott Lukas, an anthropology and sociology teacher at Lake Tahoe Community College, said many people raised in America can't afford to buy a house, purchase a vehicle or raise a family.

Lukas said a "perfect storm" of economic, demographic, political and cultural issues have joined together to make immigration a hot issue. Yet, with the ease to travel the globe, the United States engaging in offshore business practices, and the European Union slowly melding together, perhaps it's how things will be as there's a "breakdown of traditional nations," Lukas said.

"People have to go somewhere."