By TODD MILBOURN, Sacramento Bee

Environmental cops at Lake Tahoe say Patricia Vincent deserves a prison sentence and a huge fine.

Her alleged crime: chopping down three trees on federal land that improved her backyard view of the lake.

She's believed to be the first target of criminal charges of illegally cutting Tahoe trees. Vincent says it was an honest mistake,

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. -- Open the rusted door to an abandoned gold mine on the outskirts of this tourist-rich Sierra Nevada town and it's a 3,500-foot drop straight down and straight back to the days of California's Gold Rush.

This is where David Watkinson wants to start.