The seemingly relentless stream of rain, wind, and snow is back. It has been a historic season so far.  And in Lake Tahoe, these are the seasons that people who like to ski and snowboard, along with businesses in the Tahoe area, dream about. But at some point, has this season become too much of a good thing? We've seen snowstorm after snowstorm close Interstate 80 and Highway 50 more times than we’d like to count. Holiday weekends were wiped out, power outages and businesses were forced to close and dig out from feet of snow. On the bright side, several ski resorts announced they’re extending their seasons deep into the Spring months, one even as far as July 4th. Joining us to talk about the impact this season has had on the North Lake Tahoe area is Paul Raymore with Diamond Peak Ski Resort as well as Kirsten Guinn with the North Tahoe Community Alliance. 

The pandemic squeezed supply chains around the world, but one of the most serious shortages raising the anxiety levels of millions of American families was the shortage of infant formula. Strains were made worse last year by the recall of one major formula brand and the closure of a critical production facility in the Midwest for months. As a result, the formula shelf was empty in about 70 percent of stores across the country in May 2022, with 10 states, including California, where the “out of stock” rate in stores reached 90%. This left families and caregivers in an anxious search for formula. One of those mothers was Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook a mother of two and a professor at UC Merced who studies the psychology of breastfeeding. Her experience motivated her to conduct a nationwide study on the impact of the formula shortage on families and Holbrook joined Insight to tell us about the difficult decisions families had to make in trying to feed their infants during this crisis.  

Crop yields lost due to pests or disease can rake up billions in lost revenue across the agriculture industry. So, a Sacramento-area startup is listening to plants (in a sense) to better understand what they need, and in turn help farmers increase crop yields, reduce pesticide use, and plant with limited waste. The biotech company is called InnerPlant. Located in Davis, they hope their plant technology can be a tool to alleviate food chain shortages. InnerPlant has seen praise from the agricultural industry and received financial backing from companies like John Deere. Sean Yokomizo with InnerPlant joined Insight to explain how their technology allows plants to communicate.