In Brief

LAND COVERAGE

Tahoe project stalls after groups complain

A Lake Tahoe development project was put on hold by regulators after two conservation groups raised concerns over how much land the structures will cover.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency halted any land disturbance at the Sandy Beach project site in Tahoe Vista, Calif., until the issues can be resolved, agency spokesman Dennis Oliver said.

The bistate agency took the action on Monday after receiving a letter from the League to Save Lake Tahoe and the Friends of Tahoe Vista alleging potential irregularities in the amount of legal existing coverage.

The groups have complained about the project's density. Tahoe Vista Partners wants to build 39 timeshare units and six homes on the present 6.25-acre site of the Sandy Beach Campground just off Highway 28.

ABORTION STANCE

Priest urges confession for Obama supporters

A Roman Catholic priest in Modesto, Calif., has told parishioners that they should confess if they voted for Barack Obama because the president-elect supports abortion.

The Rev. Joseph Illo said his parishioners at St. Joseph's Catholic Church shouldn't risk losing their "state of grace" by receiving communion sacrilegiously. He delivered the message in a Nov. 21 letter and during Mass.

In an interview last week with the Modesto Bee, Illo said he sent the letter because Catholic teaching requires that people go to confession when they commit a mortal sin.

During the presidential campaign, many bishops told Catholic politicians and voters that abortion should be the most important consideration in deciding which candidate to back.