By Aaron Hurst, Washington Post

The key to not growing up to be money obsessed and unhappy at work is simple: Have a strong relationship with your mother.

It has been understood since the 1970s that our initial development of values and behaviors happens during our middle- and high-school years. And research has consistently shown that, despite the influence of friends and media, parents have the greatest role in shaping these patterns.

What’s been less clear until now is the difference in impact that mothers and fathers have. So prior to receiving her doctorate and joining Google, Kathryn Dekas partnered with her University of Michigan faculty adviser, Wayne Baker, to explore how parents affect the work lives of kids once they leave the nest.

They knew based on previous research — including seminal work by their colleague, Amy Wrzesniewski — that people tend to identify with one of three work orientations and maintain that orientation throughout their entire careers, regardless of job type.

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By Ukiah Daily Journal

A South Lake Tahoe man was arrested last week after an officer who pulled him over reportedly found concentrated cannabis in his car, the Ukiah Police Department reported.

According to the UPD, an officer stopped a vehicle in the 100 block of East Gobbi Street about 5pm May 1, and the driver was identified as Daniel A. Zook, 33, of South Lake Tahoe.

The officer reported that the vehicle smelled of marijuana, and Zook admitted to having the drug. He also reportedly displayed symptoms of having used it recently.

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El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson and county Supervisor Ray Nutting have long been adversaries.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the May 9, 2014, Sacramento Bee.

What does a political prosecution look like? Depending on your perspective, it might look like a peace protester thrown in jail for marching in the street. Or an evangelical Christian convicted of trespassing at an abortion clinic. Even the impeachment of a president for lying about cheating on his wife.

It also could look like Ray Nutting. Though the conservative four-term El Dorado County supervisor and timber rancher probably wouldn’t enjoy the comparison, he is on trial for transgressions so common among elected officials that they are usually dispatched with a slap on the wrist and a fine.

His real crime appears to be occupying the wrong side of a political divide in this county – one that has deepened with the overzealous and politically motivated prosecution by District Attorney Vern Pierson. The three-week trial has resulted in untold costs to the defendant – whose political career has been injured, perhaps fatally – the county, the jurors, the taxpayers and even the DA’s own credibility. No one is going to win here, no matter the ultimate verdict.

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By Joy Resmovits, Huffington Post

High school test scores released by the federal government Wednesday provide fresh evidence of a troubling theme in American education: Students seem to perform worse on tests as they advance through the public school system to higher grades.

America’s high school seniors have mostly stagnated on the National Assessment of Education Progress in reading and math at least since 2005, when a comparable version of the math exam was first given, according to the report. In 2013, the latest NAEP math test, seniors scored an average of 153 out of 500 — three points higher than in 2005. In reading, students lost ground, dropping from 292 in 1992 to 288 in 2013. In both subjects, achievement gaps between ethnic groups didn’t diminish.

“Despite the highest high school graduation rate in our history, and despite growth in student achievement over time in elementary school and middle school, student achievement at the high school level has been flat in recent years,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Just as troubling, achievement gaps among ethnic groups have not narrowed.”

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Author and Sierra Nevada Native Gary D. Noy will talk about his newest book “Sierra Stories: Tales of Dreamers, Schemers, Bigots, and Rogues” on May 20 at 6pm.

This collection highlights unusual or lesser-known stories of the Sierra Nevada experience. Some stories are adventurous, some are horrifying, some are inventive, but all are windows into local history. The book features 65 historic photographs that Noy will share during a PowerPoint presentation.

Questions and answers, book sale and signing to follow the free event at the South Lake Tahoe Library.

Sample the Sierra, now in its fifth year, is moving to a larger location.

The Aug. 31 event will be at Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe from noon to 5pm. The tasting ends at 4pm.

Tickets are $30 until July 4. After that they are $40. They may be purchased online.

Sample the Sierra showcases locally grown and cultivated food paired with wine. It includes live music, the annual Sierra Chefs Challenge, and local artisans.

• Comments from the February Lake Tahoe Airport Master Plan meeting are online.

• Check out this series of videos to see what First Track Productions of South Lake Tahoe has been doing to promote Carson Valley.

• The 31st annual Tahoe Tennis Classic at Zephyr Cove is Aug. 1-3. For more info, contact zctennisclub@gmail.com.

• Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy graduation is June 28 at noon in the Duke Theater at Lake Tahoe Community College.

• Truckee Police Department took in approximately 185 pounds of prescription and over the counter medications last month.

By Anne Knowles

GARDNERVILLE – Twenty-six parents, grandparents, students and teachers spoke out against the possible elimination of the music program at Whittell High School on May 9 during a special meeting of the Douglas County School District board.

Almost twice that many attendees filled the audience in the Carson Valley Middle School library where the seven-member board met Friday afternoon to discuss revisions to its strategic plan.

The possibility of curriculum cuts was not on the agenda, but some Zephyr Cove parents organized via email and Facebook to encourage people to attend the meeting and give a show of support to the music program during the period for public comment.

Whittell High parents crowd the May 9 board meeting. Photo/Anne Knowles

The speakers each talked about the importance of the music classes, choir and band to the students overall education and for college admissions, and many told personal stories of the value of the program.

“I’ve been in the music program since sixth grade,” said Gabe Rusk, a sophomore at Whittell who is a band member. “It’s something I need for my future. It’s probably the way I’m going to get into college.”

Elaine Welch talked about her two children, graduates of Whittell, who sang in the school’s Black and White Choir.

“They sang at the Sacramento Kings basketball game. They sang at the Reno Aces games,” said Welch. “It would be a shame if the choir program went away.”

Maxwell Glasson, a 2002 Whittell graduate, said his participation in the music program helped him get into college and, indirectly, into law school.

“I moved back to raise my family and to put my kids through school there,” said Glasson. “You’re putting these kids’ futures in jeopardy.”

Glasson and several other speakers struggled to speak after choking up with tears during their three-minute allotted time, and every speaker was met with a round of applause when they finished.

Many implored the board to form a committee of parents, educators and administrators to come up with ways to save the program.

“We’re asking to collaborate and for a seat at the table,” said parent Carol Chaplin. “We can think outside of the box together.”

Greg Felton, a parent of two children who graduated from Whittell and a third child attending it, suggested such a group could come up with a long-term plan.

“Put together a task force or committee with the people here and put in place a 10-year plan so this is not hitting us every year,” Felton said. “And in the meantime, freeze the cuts.”

Several parents said this is just the latest in a list of sacrifices the school has already made, especially after Kingsbury Middle School closed and its students were moved into Whittell, putting two schools into one building. It is now a 7-12 school.

“There were 92 periods offered when Whittell and Kingsbury merged,” said Kelly Krolicki, a parent, whose daughter Kate, a Whittell student, spoke after her. “Now there are 74 periods and we’re talking about cutting that to 72 periods. We’ve lost 20 periods in six years.”

Some parents talked about reductions in information technology classes and the unfulfilled promise to hire a vice principal for the school, but most were focused on the threat to the music program.

Nancy Gardner, a member of the DCSD board 40 years ago and a mother and grandmother to Whittell graduates, said she understood the fiscal constraints the current board was working under.

“I understand the issues. There are so many of the same issues we faced,” said Gardner. “One lesson we learned as a board was to carefully pick our fights. This is a battle you should not be fighting.”

Cindy Trigg, Lake Tahoe’s representative on the board also made public comment as a parent. She opened the meeting explaining that the board could not bring or comment on future agenda items during the meeting.

“We are not going to have a conversation back and forth,” she said.

Tom Moore, the board president, closed the public comment, thanking everyone for their respectful and thoughtful suggestions, and making a promise of sorts. The issue was not on an agenda item at the special board meeting. The meeting was called to tie up lose issues regarding the strategic plan.

“This is a conversation that is going to be taking place at the board level very soon,” Moore said.

To the community,

When I was a little kid, I loved to read. My parents didn’t have money for books, so every Saturday, we went to the library. I left with a huge stack, as many as they would let me take out.

When I was 10, I checked out a Times-Life picture book on the Himalayan mountain range — a world completely alien to my childhood in the Bay Area. That book changed my life: I moved to the mountains of Yosemite, Colorado, Alaska, and finally, Tahoe. (In between, I made it to the Himalaya.)

Kim Wyatt

Thanks to the library, I was shown a world I knew nothing about, but on some level it resonated and shaped my life. I want other kids to have that opportunity.

Funding for the South Lake Tahoe library will soon expire, yet access to information is more important than ever. Reading opens worlds, and for those without resources, the library is crucial. Our local library offers services to those who need them and is a shining light in our community. Not everyone can afford books or a computer, and the library is a lifeline.

Please vote yes on Measure L. For $20 a year, you might just change someone’s life.

Kim Wyatt, Meyers

Ben Leubsdorf, Wall Street Journal

Even with tuition bills on the rise, a four-year U.S. college education still pays for itself in the form of higher wages in the decades to come, according to a new research paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

“Although there are stories of people who skipped college and achieved financial success, for most Americans the path to higher future earnings involves a four-year college degree. We show that the value of a college degree remains high, and the average college graduate can recover the costs of attending in less than 20 years,” wrote San Francisco Fed economists Mary C. Daly and Leila Bengali. “Once the investment is paid for, it continues to pay dividends through the rest of the worker’s life, leaving college graduates with substantially higher lifetime earnings than their peers with a high school degree.”

Daly and Bengali analyzed earnings data for U.S. workers. In 2011, college graduates made an average of roughly $20,050 more a year than high-school graduates. “The premium is much smaller, although not zero, for workers with some college but no four-year degree,” they wrote.

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