·       Beginning Oct. 5 Douglas County Commission meetings will be able to be seen live via computers or mobile devices.

·       Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring a blood drive Oct. 16 from noon-5pm at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be 17 years old (16 year olds need a signed BloodSource Parental consent form) and be generally healthy. Bring a photo ID and drink plenty of fluids before donating.

·       Placer County Health and Human Services has been recognized with two merit awards from the California State Association of Counties.

·       The Alpine Aspen Festival is Oct. 10-11 in Hope Valley from 10am-4pm. Some events are free, while others cost some money. For more info, go online.

·       The 26th annual World Championship Outhouse Races are Oct. 3-4 in Virginia City. For more info, go online.

By Michelle Rindels, Reno Gazette-Journal

An annual health survey of Nevada kindergartners shows a big drop in the percentage of children without health insurance, a change that researchers attribute to more use of Medicaid benefits.

The seventh annual report from the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, showed 7.6 percent of kindergartners were uninsured last school year, down from 12.6 percent a year earlier.

The survey found that the number of children receiving Medicaid rose about 5 percentage points year-over-year to 31.3 percent, while the number of children with private insurance dropped about 1.5 percentage points to 48.4 percent.

Read the whole story

To the community,

At this week’s meeting of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Sierra Watch delivered a clear message to Tahoe decision-makers: Proposed development in Squaw Valley threatens their mission to protect Lake Tahoe.

I told the Governing Board, “That the proposed Village at Squaw Valley Specific Plan would remake the region with development of a size, scale, and scope Squaw Valley − and North Lake Tahoe − has never seen. We encourage TRPA to participate in Placer County’s public planning process.”

KSL Capital Partners is seeking development entitlements from Placer County for the proposed Village at Squaw Valley Specific Plan, which would include a series of 10-story tall high rises; an indoor water park with water slides, fake rivers, and indoor sky diving; and 300,000 square feet of commercial development.

New buildings would include more than 1,500 bedrooms.  Proponents project that it would take 25 years to complete.

“If all the development were approved,” I told TRPA, “it would make your job to protect Lake Tahoe even more difficult.”

Of particular concern is traffic.  Traffic in Tahoe is already a problem, with the key intersection in Tahoe City often stuck at what planners call “Level of Service F” − otherwise known as gridlock.

Proposed development in Squaw Valley would add more than 8,000 new daily car trips to the region’s roadways on any summer weekend, many of which would head to Tahoe.

Increased traffic makes for increased air pollution; air pollution is a direct cause of reductions in the lake’s famous clarity − TRPA’s primary responsibility.

I was joined by local volunteers, clad in purple Keep Squaw True T-shirts.

For more information about Sierra Watch and its campaign to Keep Squaw True, contact Chase Schweitzer at cschweitzer@sierrawatch.org or 530.448.1506.

Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch

More than 250 people packed into the Riva Grill on Sept. 23 for the sixth annual Signature Cocktail Contest hosted by the Barton Foundation.

The contest featured one-of-a-kind creations made by local bartenders with Tahoe Blue Vodka and their choice of ingredients. This year, garnishes were a popular addition with different drinks boasting candied beets, cupcakes, and edible flowers.

This year’s contest participants included bartenders from Artemis Lakefront Café (Bret Cram and Xain Coslow), Coldwater Brewery (Mary Potorski), Gunbarrel Tavern (Kelsey Weist), Heavenly (Stephen Camp), Landing Resort and Spa (Marc Jensen), LewMarNel’s (Gary Gramprie), MontBleu (Sarah Woldt and Isaac Croll), Riva Grill (Erick Martinez), and Tahoe Beach Retreat (Andie and Sean McDaniel).

Attendees voted Riva Grill’s Blue Linen as Best Cocktail. The drink combined Tahoe Blue Vodka with lavender, mint, cucumber, and St. Germain. Martinez was also voted Most Congenial Bartender for the second year in a row. In 2013 he also won Best Cocktail.

The winning cocktail will be served at Barton Foundation’s Gala fundraiser on Dec. 5 during the Festival of Trees and Lights. Both events raise funds to support this year’s cause: expanding medical services and community programs for Barton Hospital’s Level III Trauma Center.

By Kathryn Reed

Feta cheese for enchiladas is not something I would have come up with on my own.

I adapted the following recipe from my friend Denise. She rolls hers up more like a taquito, and therefore has less filling. I increased the amounts for all of the ingredients compared to what she did.

She uses a lemon pepper-garlic salt, whereas I used Beau Monde. The latter is a little pricy, but something I had in the cupboard. I would not buy it just for this recipe.

The flavors of this concoction are outstanding. Leftovers have been tasty as well. I’m hoping they freeze well, too.

In the future I might do a mix of green and yellow squash more for color than flavor. It would also be easy to barbecue the squash and cube it after it cools. I also think substituting one of the cans of beans for tofu would be an option. I would cook it with the zucchini.

I have some extra filling, which I will either freeze, throw into an egg scramble or put into a tortilla.

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Feta Cheese Enchiladas

4 C zucchini, diced

Olive oil

1½ tsp Beau Monde

1 medium red onion, diced

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained

12 ounces crumbled feta cheese

28 ounces red enchilada sauce

Tortillas

Cilantro, optional

Avocado, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the zucchini on a rimmed baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and seasoning. With hands, coat zucchini. Roast for about 30 minutes until the edges are brown. Remove to cool.

Turn oven temp to 375 degrees.

In large mixing bowl, combine the onion and black beans. Add 2/3 of cheese. Add zucchini. Toss all together.

Over a burner, lightly char both sides of the tortillas. (This is optional.)

Pour 1/3 of enchilada sauce on bottom of 9 x 13 pan.

Fill tortillas equally with mixture. Squeeze as many enchiladas into the pan as possible. Pour remaining sauce over tortillas. Then top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are crisp.

Top with cilantro and sliced avocado, or serve on the side.

A coach who knows what she is doing is critical to an athlete’s physical wellbeing. Lindsay Davenport having been a professional tennis player is able to use her experience to coach Madison Keys. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

By Kathryn Reed

Steelers linebacker James Harrison made headlines this summer when he made his sons give back trophies they earned for participation in sports and not for actually winning something.

“Getting a trophy saying you are an all-star when you came in last place is counterproductive,” Walter Morris, Lake Tahoe Community College sports psychologist instructor, told Lake Tahoe News. “It is counter productive for kids’ motivations. It contributes to a sense of entitlement.”

He added this could lead to believing because you do the homework or show up for an interview that a good grade and job are automatic.

There are more natural rewards that come with sports at an early age that go beyond being physically fit.

“Between 6 and 12 is when they start motor learning. That period of time carries over for the rest of their lives. Sports promotes balance, body awareness, and flexibility,” Alan Barichievich, physical therapist and director of Barton Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, told Lake Tahoe News.

Sports can teach kids about their body, how to care for it, self-esteem, eye-hand coordination and other benefits.

A growing trend, though, is parents are starting their kids in organized sports at an earlier age. More are specializing in a sport. The era of a three-sport high school athlete is gone.

While pros like Madison Keys get coaching regularly, Barton Health is helping local coaches learn more than the sport. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

This leads to young muscles getting overtaxed. Overuse of muscles can lead to injuries, especially in young bodies that are still developing. However, those who play multiple sports are using various muscles in different capacities.

The other thing that limiting oneself to a single sport can do is lead to burnout, which in turn can translate to a sedentary life as one ages.

“I played softball in college at Notre Dame and I played five sports in high school. I’m a huge advocate to try to keep that going,” Caroline Barichievich, a physical therapy supervisor with Barton Health, told Lake Tahoe News. She said she feels resistance from the mainstream to have kids not specialize in a sport at an early age.

Plus, with traveling teams there often isn’t an off-season or the opportunity to play another sport.

“There is no sport I would tell a kid not to do if they want to do it, but there needs to be good coaching, and understanding of the inherent risk of potentially getting injured,” Alan Barichievich said.

Through the years the Barichievichs’ clients keep getting younger.

“We are seeing young people more than we used to. In our generation most didn’t start sports until 8, now they start at 4,” Caroline Barichievich said. “The competition is now elevated because you are playing for a greater number of years. With competition you are going to have more injuries.”

Their bodies are being asked to do more than they were designed to do, according to the health professionals.

A bit of an irony is that once injured the athlete – young or old – has to slowdown. Oftentimes therapy will include doing a sport they hadn’t done – like cycling or swimming. Looking at form is part of PT so ideally the injury doesn’t recur.

An injury can also give a kid a break.

With so few people going on to play in college, let alone at the professional level, the drive by parents to have a child excel in one sport confounds many.

It’s not just sports that cause concussions. Falling from the monkey bars can have the same result. What is different today from a generation ago is the awareness of concussions and the potential lifelong impact.

Local coaches are invited to the sports physicals Barton does so they can see and understand the movement analysis. If there are poor mechanics, this might be a precursor to a torn ACL. Prevention is just as critical, if not more so, than rehabilitation.

Like sports psychologists, the physical therapists see sports as a positive beyond the physical.

“Sports teach life lessons, how to adapt, how to accept failure, how to accept success. That is just going to bode well for any type of life experience or career,” Caroline Barichievich said.

By Darrell Issa, Orange County Register

California has always prided itself on setting an example for the nation. From its early Gold Rush days, through the rise of its tech industry and the Silicon Valley, the Golden State has repeatedly positioned itself on the cutting edge of the next significant undertaking in American society.

Today, unfortunately, California’s lack of preparedness for this multiyear drought is an example of what happens when the state’s historic boldness and ingenuity take a backseat to a radical political ideology.

How could such an industrious and forward-thinking state – which is also the world’s eighth-largest economy – ever allow itself to get in this position?

In the 1970s, the environmentalist movement began to take shape in the United States. Many California lawmakers and the state’s youthful first-term governor, Jerry Brown, embraced the tenets of this movement and set ambitious goals to create a futuristic Golden State in the vein of environmental idealism. While the notion of making California the greenest state in the country at all costs probably seemed as exciting and ambitious to politicians as building a high-speed bullet train to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles, the consequences of environmental extremism have proven to be, at best, problematic and, at worst, detrimental during times of crisis.

Read the whole story

By Joy Resmovits, Los Angeles Times

More time spent on technology in the classroom doesn’t necessarily help kids do better in school, a new study has found.

In fact, above a certain threshold, an over-reliance on technology might actually detract from learning.

“Limited use of computers at school may be better than no use at all, but levels of computer use above the current … average are associated with significantly poorer results,” states a new report released late Monday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“Students who use computers very frequently in school don’t outperform students who use them moderately, even when we modify for social background,” OECD’s education director, Andreas Schleicher, said in an interview.

Read the whole story

By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval’s three-day drought forum ended Wednesday with a push for more collaboration and fewer lawsuits about water.

Forum facilitator Lewis Michaelson said the feeling was that the right move is taking small steps in changing the law, not making major innovations.

The governor’s drought committee meets Monday to start making recommendations to get Nevada prepared to handle future droughts. The state has had dry winters for the past four years.

Read the whole story

Meyers Community Foundation is hosting the second Meyers Outdoor Gear Swap in the Westgate Center parking lot adjacent to the Divided Sky on Oct. 18 from 11am-3pm.

Bring quality summer or winter gear to sell. Skis, snowboards, bikes, paddle gear, climbing gear, camping equipment, and other outdoor toys wanted. Public merchandise registration will take place in the parking lot between 8:30-10:30am; there is a $1 cash per item fee to register it for the swap. No equipment more than 5 years old will be allowed.

Unsold merchandise may be picked up between 3-5pm; unclaimed items will be donated. Twenty percent of the proceeds will go to the Meyers Community Foundation.

Cash or credit cards will be accepted.

The Meyers Community Foundation is dedicated to improving life in Meyers through its support and promotion of creative and sustainable local projects and community-enhancing events like the annual holiday tree lighting.

For more information about the swap, contact Brian Levy at 530.545.9941 or Rene Brejc at 530.545.0340. For more information about the Meyers Community Foundation, call Brejc or Kim Wyatt at 530.573.1513.