Pedaling to PEAK Performance is the topic of Chris Kozlowski’s lecture on June 6 from 6-7pm at Kahle Community Center, 236 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline.

May 2 from 6-7pm is a talk about options for people who suffer from reflux.

Scott Welker, a doctor with Barton Health, will give the lecture at Kahle Community Center, 236 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline.

April 4 from 6-7pm is the Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Sports Medicine lecture by Jonathan Finnoff at Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe.

Ronald Gemberling will be talking about all things skin cancer related on April 2 from 6-7pm.

The doctor will focus on diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

The talk is at Kahle Community Center, 236 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline.

Robert Rupp and Rene Hoogendijk will give two lectures in March about hips.

The Barton Health officials will talk about alternative treatments for people with hip pain.

The first meeting is March 7 from 6-7pm at Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe.

The second is March 21 from 6-7pm at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village.

South Tahoe High Performing Arts Department presents “The Royal Family” by George S. Kaufman & Edna Ferber on March 23, 24, 30, 31 at 7pm and March 25 and April 1 at 2pm.

Ticket information will be posted online one week prior to opening night.

By Lee Spears, Bloomberg

Caesars Entertainment Corp., the U.S. casino chain with more than $22 billion in debt, jumped 71 percent in its trading debut after completing an initial public offering a fraction of the size of its failed 2010 effort.

The stock rose to $15.39 as of 4pm New York time Wednesday, valuing Caesars at $1.92 billion. The price almost doubled earlier in the day, tripping circuit breakers, while the volume was more than six times the number of shares sold in the offering. Caesars raised $16.3 million selling less than 2 percent of its shares at $9 each.

That compares with the $531 million IPO scrapped in November 2010. The new offering paves the way for the sale of additional shares by investors in Caesars’ 2008 buyout, led by Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital, and the biggest in history for a U.S. casino. Owners may seek to sell stock valued at more than $500 million based on today’s closing price.

“The float is small, so not too much surprises me” about the stock gain, David Bain, a Newport Beach, California-based senior analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., said in an email. “Where shares trade today is likely not a good benchmark for future Caesars valuation.”

Caesars, trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol CZR, originally offered the shares for $8 to $10 apiece. The Las Vegas-based company priced in the middle of the range, selling 1.81 million shares, according to a statement.

Caesars operates Harveys and Harrah’s in Stateline.

Read the whole story

By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

Gaming revenues in Washoe County jumped 10.2 percent in December from a year earlier, marking just the fourth monthly rise for all of 2011, the state reported today.

The Stateline casino win was up 6 percent in December. Photo/LTN file

Within the county, casinos in Reno saw an 11.8 percent boost over December 2010 while properties in Sparks saw a 7.7 percent rise, according to the report by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. On the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, revenues rose 4.4 percent.

For 2011, Washoe’s gaming revenues showed a 3.2 percent decline from 2010.

Read the whole story

If you live, own or work at a business in Stateline residential, Lakeside Park, Heavenly Valley, Tahoe Meadows or Bijou Park, the city of South Lake Tahoe is having a neighborhood service team meeting Feb. 21 from 2:30-4:30pm.

It will be at the Best Western Station House in the conference room, 901 Park Ave.

The flyer has more meeting information.

By Vicki Barber

President Obama’s State of the Union address had a good deal to say about education. Rightfully so, high quality education does require a large portion of our nation’s budget. The federal government has directed 15 percent of its budget toward education, which is equal to the amount directed to national defense. Those two budget categories are only exceeded by health care and pensions. Therefore, from a fiscal perspective, education is and should be considered extremely important.

Looking at it slightly differently, there isn’t a person reading this article who did not attend school in some way. Regardless of whether this was a public school, a charter school, home school, or a private school, each of us learned to read and write through some means of education. Many of us have children and grandchildren being educated today. Yes, education is extremely important.

Vicki Barber

So what did the president say about education? 1) Without saying the word preschool, he said “… to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.” I can only read that as preschool. 2) He noted that nearly every state in the union has raised the standards for teaching and learning. More specifically, almost all states have aligned their teaching with the National Common Core Standards. 3) He supported more funds for education noting that “… a good teacher can offer an escape from poverty for a child who dreams beyond his circumstances.” Having been witness to many children in our county who have come from circumstances that are perceived as less than ideal, but who go on to amazing heights, I know this is true. 4) He supported giving teachers permission to teach with passion. Most teachers go into the profession with energy, passion and enthusiasm. We want to support that enthusiasm and creativity by ensuring all teachers have the skills and experience necessary to provide all students with high quality access to those very important Common Core Standards. 5) The president issued a challenge to every state to do what is necessary to ensure students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen. Our job is not to just make graduation a possibility, but a reality for every child. 6) Additionally, all students must have access to college, regardless of whether or not they choose to attend college. Encouragement to follow their dreams and to make higher education choices that support the achievement of those dreams is also crucial to the success of our next generation of learners. It is our responsibility as a society to make sure that all students have the opportunities they so deserve. And, yes, that responsibility does have a price tag.

El Dorado County has already stepped up the president’s challenges. Preschool is a priority and we see outstanding programs throughout the county. Our state has adopted the Core Standards and our districts are moving in that direction. Budgets are tight, but districts in El Dorado County are actively working to support teachers and schools. We want the best because our children deserve the best. The graduation rate in El Dorado County is 90 percent, whereas the graduation rate of all of California is 74.4 percent. We actively utilize the opportunities made available through the www.CALocalscholarships.org website. Our schools work in collaboration with families to ensure all students who wish to attend college have the funds to do so.

Yes, we are up to the challenge in El Dorado County. We’re all about education.

Vicki Barber is El Dorado County superintendent of schools.