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Opinion: What really counts at Lake Tahoe

The May 27 My Turn column by the chair of the Tahoe Prosperity Center entitled, “Collaboration key to grow Tahoe’s economy,” represents the kind of wrong thinking and promotion that eventually makes special places like Lake Tahoe less special.

Growing Tahoe’s economy is the wrong emphasis.

Residents who want “more amenities like sidewalks with lights,” “better job opportunities,” and “higher wages and less seasonality” might find better choices in Reno or Sacramento or a host of other urban experiences that already exist.



Many residents and visitors find some of the best Tahoe moments are in the so-called offseason when things are quieter, less frenetic, and more in keeping with the natural splendor.

“The blight, the dilapidated and undesirable buildings” referenced in the guest column are in my opinion the true reminders of what growing Tahoe’s economy in the past has delivered.



I disagree with the guest column conclusion that we “know that Lake Tahoe will always be a spectacular place to visit.”

Humanity’s capacity to ruin it outweighs its capacity to maintain or improve it.

Albert Einstein once said: “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count, everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”

Initiatives to “grow our $5 billion economy” should not be the count or the emphasis.

John Sell

Crystal Bay


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