By Patti Neighmond, NPR

People who try to reduce the stress of a long work day with a drink or two, or three, may be causing more health problems for themselves.

Around the world, people working long hours are more likely to drink too much, according to a study that analyzed data from 61 studies involving 333,693 people in 14 countries.

They found that people who worked more than 48 hours a week were 13 percent more likely to engage in risky drinking than people working 35 to 40 hours a week.

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El Dorado County 4-H will host Color Me Green 5K Run at the Shingle Springs Rancheria on March 7.

The 5K run is designed to encourage youths and community members to increase their physical activity while also having fun. During the run, participants are showered with green colored dye as they pass through each marker point.

Participants are encouraged to wear St. Patrick’s Day attire.

For more info, go online.

Amador County this spring will celebrate the four regions that inspire chefs, winemakers and winegrowers in the county — Southern France, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, and “Heritage California” (old vine Amador Zinfandel and mission).

The Amador Four Fires Festival is May 7 at the Amador County Fairgrounds in Plymouth.

The event will include more than 200 wines from 37 wineries—each vetted by a distinguished group of sommeliers and judges. Paired with traditional cuisine prepared over open-flame and reminiscent of the four regions, it will include grilled lamb, whole pigs, simmering paellas, grilled fish and more.

Additional activities include tastings of regional artisan goods, three venues of seminars, cooking demonstrations, live music, and a sensory station featuring wine aromas, barrel toasts and soils.

Proceeds from Amador Four Fires benefit the non-profit Amador County Fair Foundation and their “farm to future” mandate to revitalize the county’s beloved fairgrounds as a year-round event venue.

The festival is from 11am-4pm. Tickets are  $75 in advance and $85 at the door. VIP tickets are $125 in advance and $155 at the door. All tickets will be available for purchase online starting Feb. 1.

By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Caesars Entertainment Corp. placed its largest operating division into bankruptcy Thursday, taking the initial steps to eliminate almost $10 billion of debt and restructure the casino operator’s troubled balance sheet.

The pre-packaged filing covering Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., has been agreed upon by 80 percent of the company’s senior bondholders.It was filed in the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. The company hopes to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

The iconic 4,250-room Caesars Palace is the only Las Vegas property covered by the CEOC bankruptcy filing.

Company officials have said the bankruptcy filing and financial restructuring will not impact day-to-day operations of its hotels and casinos, its interactive gaming operations or the company-owned World Series of Poker. The reorganization will not disrupt Caesars’ Total Rewards customer loyalty program, which has more than 45 million members.

The plan is to seek the court’s approval to convert CEOC into a publicly-traded real estate investment trust. CEOC is the largest of Caesars’ operating units and controls the flagship Caesars Palace, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Reno and more than a dozen regional properties including Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys in Stateline.

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By Kathryn Reed

Counting the number of people in shelters has been going on for years. This is the first year communities are required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to count the homeless who are not in a shelter.

This means people living on the street or in their cars or some other substandard setting.

The count will occur Jan. 30 throughout the United States.

Cheyanne Lane with Tahoe Youth & Family Services is leading the charge on the South Shore.

Questions people will be asked include, but are not limited to:

• Where will you sleep tonight?

• Have you been homeless more than four times in the last three years?

• Why are you homeless?

• Have you been in the military?

• What is your income?

• Do you have children?

• What services could have prevented you from becoming homeless?

Volunteers will be looking for homeless people behind Safeway, Raley’s at the Y, Harrah’s near Van Sickle Bi-State Park, Meek’s, Kmart, at the old Ace Hardware, South Lake Tahoe Library, churches, campgrounds, underpasses, transit centers and on buses.

There is no homeless shelter in the Lake Tahoe Basin. People on the South Shore are still trying to open a warming room in South Lake Tahoe. A shelter usually is permanent and has an array of services, while a warming room is more temporary – opening when overnight temps get to a certain level. They may not even have cots.

A meeting about the warming room this week proved advocates are still uncertain exactly what type of facility the area needs or what they are capable of providing.

A commitment from the Salvation Army, Del Oro Division still needs to be put in writing. From there the local advocates will know what type of funding may be forthcoming.

Research unearthed that many homeless who have vehicles spend the night at the KOA campground in South Lake Tahoe. It has rest rooms and laundry facilities, and heaters can be placed in vehicles for warmth through the night. A commercial real estate agent has been contacted about possible properties that could be turned into a warming room. Temporary trailered showers like those used at Burning Man are a possibility.

Finding out what the local homeless population wants is another desire. Not everyone wants off the street. And some won’t leave their belongs – be it in a vehicle or shopping cart.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Jan. 3, 2015, Fresno Bee.

One of the worst droughts on record forced California lawmakers and voters to implement far-reaching initiatives intended to change how the state manages water. And while the policy shifts last year were remarkable, Californians did not achieve the goal of conservation set by the governor.

The disconnect is baffling, considering how much California accomplished in water policy last year. Voters approved a $7.5 billion water bond in a landslide, and legislators passed historic legislation that finally will lead to groundwater regulation.

Lawmakers also approved a $687 million drought-relief package to assist farmworkers impacted by the drought, provide water for communities facing shortages and fund storm water capture and recycling.

Progress was extraordinary, given that water has been a source of perennial conflict in the Golden State.

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• Money to operate the Donner State Park Visitor Center is in Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget. Exhibits are being worked on, with the goal for a June opening.

• H&R Block has an office at 1068 Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe.

• Sierra Small Business Development Center is putting on an interactive workshop about how to best use social media. The $45 class is Jan. 28 from 5:30-8pm at 10183 Truckee Airport Road, No. 202, Truckee. Go online to register.

• Jet Blue is offering nonstop flights between Reno and New York.

• Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce has initiated Live Like a Local campaign. Hashtag tips and photos with #LiveLikeaLocal for a chance to win a bevy of prizes.

By SportsOneSource Media 

Vail Resorts reported season-to-date total lift ticket revenue at the company’s nine mountain resorts, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 9.3 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period.

Season-to-date ancillary spending increased over prior year, with ski school revenue up 9.2 percent and dining revenue up 6.8 percent at the company’s nine mountain resorts. Additionally, retail/rental revenue for resort store locations was up 10.4 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period.

Season-to-date total skier visits for the company’s nine mountain resorts were up 1.8 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period.

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By Associated Press

The most expensive tickets to Burning Man are about to become available to those willing to plunk down $800 for the counterculture festival’s pre-sale event.

A 72-hour registration period began at noon Wednesday for the weeklong celebration in the Black Rock Desert 120 miles north of Reno.

Those who register will have access to up to six tickets and three vehicle passes during the pre-sale event on Jan. 21.

The $800 tickets cost more than twice as much as other tickets that will be made available in the coming months at various price levels.

This year’s festival runs Aug. 30 to Sept. 7. The art theme is “Carnival of Mirrors.”

An estimated 66,000 people attended last year.

Two acts have already been booked for the 2015 Harveys Outdoor Concert Series. And with Lake Tahoe Hard Rock opening at the end of the month, the South Shore is expected to be more of a music destination.

Kenny Chesney will be at Harveys July 22. Dave Matthews will be on stage Sept. 9. This is a return engagement for both artists. Chesney was in Lake Tahoe in 2009, Matthews in 2013.

Chesney will start at 7:30pm. Tickets range from $79.50-$149.50, but a sale date has not been announced.

Matthews concert starts a 7pm, will be general admission — like last time — and are $85. They go on sale Feb. 13.

Normally the series has about 10 shows from May-September. Last year set a record at 13. But Harveys now has the option to host 18 concerts based on approval last year from the Douglas County commissioners.

Stateline’s newest casino – Hard Rock – is starting off with a free concert opening night Jan. 28. Mojo Green will be at Vinyl at 9pm.

According to Hard Rock officials, “Vinyl provides an intimate setting for singer/songwriters, classic rock n’ roll entertainment and comedians. Programming will include local favorites and tribute bands, open mic nights, comedy routines and late night dancing, as well as national touring acts.”

Uncle Kraker plays there Jan. 29 at 9pm. Tickets start at $61. Skid Row plays Jan. 30 at 9pm – tickets $50. Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts come in Jan. 31 at 9pm – tickets $50.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report