Influential women from around the Tahoe-Truckee-Reno region are coming together to cultivate self-reliance, creativity, and collaboration to catalyze change.

This full-day event on Oct. 2 is designed to provide people with the tools and inspiration to create vibrant and resilient communities on a personal, local and global level.

Women as Change Makers: Building Community from the Ground Up will focus on:

• Leveraging the assets and strengths of individuals and community.
• Creating partnerships and coalitions to initiate and scale change locally and globally.
• Embracing change by learning to adapt and thrive in a complex world.
• Engaging with some of the region’s most successful female community builders.

The keynote speaker will be Rayona Sharpnack, founder and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Leadership.

Confirmed panelists include:

Susie Sutphin, Tahoe Food Hub
Jana Vanderhaar, Verdant Connections
Amber Sallaberry, Great Basin Coop
Crissy Klenk, Reno Maker Faire
Emily Hargraves, Backcountry Babes
Melissa Siig, Tahoe Art House & Cinema
Paul Bancroft, Tahoe Safe Alliance
Ed Gurowtiz, Gender Leadership Group
Rebecca Bryson, Lake Tahoe Sustainablity Collaborative
Kim Wyatt, Bona Fide Books
Mayumi Elegado, Moonshine Ink
Kathryn Reed, Lake Tahoe News.

The event is from 8:30am-6pm at the North Lake Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

For more information or to sign up, go online.

South Lake Tahoe’s permit center at Tata Lane is expanding hours to improve customer service.

Beginning Aug. 17 the center will be open 8am-4pm, Monday through Friday, with no closures during the day.

The city has seen a substantial increase in the number of requests for service and submission of permits due to an increase in construction activity. In addition, with the changes to vacation home rental permits and code requirements for single room occupancy motels there will be an increase in the number of community members needing assistance.

The city will also be redesigning the center next spring to create a more user-friendly lobby, develop methods and opportunities for self-submission of minor permits, and invest in technology and staffing to expedite and improve the permitting process.

The center is located at 1052 Tata Lane.

By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has received a $50,000 grant from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for programs to combat underage drinking and alcohol sales to minors.

The sheriff’s office, throughout the year, will target problematic ABC licensed establishments that sell alcoholic beverages to minors and obviously intoxicated adult patrons. Minor-decoy and shoulder-tap operations also will be conducted countywide in an effort to reduce minors’ access to alcohol, sheriff’s officials said.

In a shoulder-tap operation, a minor, under the direct supervision of a peace officer, stands outside a liquor or convenience store and asks patrons to buy alcohol for him or her.

Read the whole story

Ralph

Ralph is a 3-year-old chocolate Lab mix. He’s a happy playful boy who loves to play fetch and swim. Ralph has a short tail due to an injury.

Ralph is neutered, microchipped, tested for FIV, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

Barton Heath in May started removing sod from many areas, including near the Alpine Building. Photo/Provided

By Kathryn Reed

Hospitals use huge quantities of water – from old sterilizers operating 24 hours a day to non-aerated faucets to old toilets. And then there is landscaping.

According to the EPA, the median hospital uses 315 gallons of water per bed per day. Hospitals have historically been near the top for water consumption based on square footage at 55 gallons per square foot. Only senior care facilities and hotels ranked higher, according to the EPA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, and American Water Works Association put out a report titled “When Every Drop Counts: Protecting Public Health During Drought Conditions”. It says, “Hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities oftentimes rely heavily on water to ensure the well-being of their patients. Water is used for drinking, sanitation, patient care, equipment sterilization, HVAC systems, and other essential functions throughout these facilities.”

Barton Memorial Hospital is no different than other entities when it comes to needing to use water for all of the above-mentioned reasons. However, the South Lake Tahoe medical facility it trying to curtail its usage as California deals with being in year four of a drought.

“Water plays an intricate part in our wellbeing which is why we, the staff and physicians at Barton Health, are doing our part to reduce our water usage and protect Tahoe’s natural beauty. We value our residents, visitors, and wildlife, and want to be part of the solution to help alleviate our state’s water crisis,” Rich Belli, director of facilities, told Lake Tahoe News.

Mulch was put down and native plants are growing where sod once was. Photo/Provided

In 2014, Barton cut its water usage by more than 28 percent compared to the previous year.

Actions taken this year include:

·      Replacing remaining standard toilets with low flow toilets at all Barton Health facilities.

·      Decreasing sprinkler usage and working with South Tahoe Public Utility District’s turf buyback program to remove 8,000 square feet of lawn in various areas throughout the hospital campus and replace it with drought tolerant landscape.

·      Turning off outside water features.

·       Minimizing use of bottled water by serving pitchers of water at catering events and to patients unless medically necessary.

Former pro Lindsay Davenport is coaching Madison Keys. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle

The news has come in waves this summer. Becky Hammon, the lone female assistant in the NBA, coached the Spurs to an NBA Summer League title.

A few weeks later, Nancy Lieberman was hired by the Sacramento Kings to be an assistant coach under George Karl.

Jen Welter was hired as an assistant linebackers coaching intern for the Arizona Cardinals.

Sarah Thomas is preparing for the NFL season as the first full-time female official in the league.

Beth Mowins was hired to do play-by-play on Raiders preseason games.

Add in the overwhelming success of the U.S. women’s national soccer team — with record-setting television ratings and coached by Jill Ellis, the first woman to take the Americans to a world title — the dominance of Serena Williams and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and it’s been a landmark summer for women in sports.

Read the whole story

By Ananya Bhattacharya, CNNMoney

How pervasive is bias against women in the workplace? Well, it’s literally in the air.

That’s one takeaway from a new study by two European researchers.

Most modern offices use climate control systems based on the metabolic rate of an average 40-year-old man who weighs 155 pounds.

That may have described a typical worker in the 1960s, when this standard was first adopted, but does not anymore.

Read the whole story

By Sandra Chereb, Las Vegas Review-Journal 

CARSON CITY — Nevada has received $1.6 million in AmeriCorps grants, money that will be used to aid and promote volunteer efforts targeting a host of causes, from education and rural healthcare access to environmental restoration and veteran services, the governor’s office said Thursday.

In all, the funding will support nearly 300 AmeriCorps members serving in more than 60 nonprofits throughout the state.

The AmeriCorps program is coordinated through Nevada Volunteers, set up under the Governor’s Commission on Service. Programs funded with the grants will start enrolling members Sept. 1.

Read the whole story

Scott Harlan found this meteorite at Misfit Flats. Photo/Provided

By Scott Harlan, Salinas Californian

My interest in geology probably started with my father who was a petroleum geologist. We would go to gem and mineral shows together and look at all of the spectacular specimens.

There is a sense of discovery when you find something that no man has ever seen before.

Then in 2013, there was a fireball over Lake Tahoe that possibly could have resulted in meteorites on the ground. My brother in law, Richard Medalen, and I went up to look, but the hike was going to be difficult and it started raining the day we planned to search.

So, we decided to head to the nearest dry lake bed, which was Misfit Flats in Nevada.

We searched for a few hours and brought home a few rocks that could possibly be meteorites. Almost all meteorites have metallic iron and nickel inside, so the most definitive test for a novice is to cut the stone, polish the cut surface, and look for silver colored metal.

Read the whole story

Kyle Swanson, an orthopedic surgeon with Tahoe Orthopedics & Sport Medicine in Carson City and Lake Tahoe, will be honored at the 5th annual Aviation Roundup at Minden-Tahoe Airport.

The Army veteran served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan where he performed surgeries on soldiers and Afghan civilians.

Kyle Swanson

Swanson, along with four orthopedic physicians at Tahoe Orthopedics & Sport Medicine, including his father, Keith Swanson, Steve Bannar, Robert Rupp, and Daniel Roberts, have served as orthopedic physicians in the military.

Keith Swanson will provide medical coverage at the Aug. 22-23 Aviation Roundup alongside physician assistant Damian Garza who recently joined the medical group after retiring from the Air Force after 20 years.

Veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia and Afghanistan will be recognized alongside Swanson during a ceremony at Sunday’s event.

For more information about the air show or to purchase tickets, go online.