The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, together with, Bishop Manogue Catholic High School, Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, Our Lady of the Snows and UNR, invite the community to participate in a kindness initiative called Give Back Like Jack.

Throughout 2012, the five organizations encourage residents to help create a sense of kindness and camaraderie in the community by performing random acts of kindness in honor of longtime Reno resident and philanthropist Jack Reviglio, who passed away in 2011.

Give Back Like Jack kicked off on New Year’s Eve with Boys & Girls Club members creating 2,600 day packs for local residents who visit St. Vincent’s Food Pantry for assistance with meals. The initiative has continued to spread as the University of Nevada recently handed out 500 free tickets to this weekend’s men’s basketball game.

Give Back Like Jack is a memorial to Reviglio who was so well known for his kindness and philanthropy throughout northern Nevada. Reviglio worked often with the five nonprofit organizations that have created the initiative, whose mission is to continue spreading the kindness that was so often experienced thanks to Reviglio and his family.

Whether the activity consists of taking the neighbor’s trash to the curb, visiting a friend who is struggling with illness or patiently waiting for a pedestrian to cross the street, Give Back Like Jack encourages people to engage in small daily activities that positively affect a friend, family member, co-worker or even a perfect stranger.

After completing the act, go online to tell the story. Stories will be used as examples for other people to follow throughout the rest of the year.

In addition, an event takes place on Washoe County’s Jack Reviglio Day — March 17 — to celebrate the accomplishments made during the first part of 2012 and encourage residents to keep the kindness going. Details of the event will be made available in the near future.

For more information on Give Back Like Jack, go online or call (775) 331.5437.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Jan. 20, 2012, Los Angeles Times.

Wikipedia went dark for a day. Google hid its logo under a black shroud. And hundreds of other websites darkened their pages temporarily in a massive, coordinated protest against a pair of bills that would step up enforcement of copyrights and trademarks. Wednesday’s demonstration provoked such an intense backlash against the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act (better known as PIPA and SOPA) that by the end of the week, more than 100 lawmakers had declared their opposition and both bills had been placed on hold.

It was a stunning — and in some ways troubling — show of lobbying muscle by some of the Web’s most popular companies. Shell-shocked supporters of the bills complained that the tech industry had misled the public and glossed over the damage being done by foreign-based websites peddling unauthorized copies of U.S. movies, music and brands. But the bills went too far, giving rights holders the power to do much more than proponents said they would. That’s a problem lawmakers need to solve before moving ahead.

The original versions of PIPA and SOPA would have enabled the Justice Department to seek court orders to seize the domain names of foreign sites that were either “dedicated to” infringing copyrights and trademarks or just facilitating infringement. Such orders would require Internet service providers to steer users away from the sites, search engines to block links to them, and payment processors and advertising networks to cut off their financial support. The measures would also have authorized copyright holders to seek similar court orders against any site dedicated to infringement.

Read the whole story

Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District is in need of two members to fill out the five-member board because David Stumbos and Tom Barber resigned earlier this month.

At the March board meeting the remaining three members — Wanda Kownacki, Stephanie Neidig and Tom Bacchetti – are expected to decide whether the vacancies should be filled by appointment or special election.

The board that controls what goes on in the development that surrounds the South Shore lake has come under fire regarding who is allowed to vote in elections and therefore be on the board making decisions.

While Bacchetti did not elaborate as to why these board members resigned, if either were to be convicted of voter fraud, their respective law and medical licenses could be in jeopardy. Neither Stumbos or Barber returned calls.

Bacchetti in his report to district members said, “We are pretty confident that if there are no expense surprises, the year will end well.”

However, there was nothing in the report about the ongoing wrongful termination lawsuit by Tom Barnes, the former general manager of the CSD, and what it is doing to the bottom line.

— Kathryn Reed

Brenda Knox didn’t wait to be asked to help; she just stepped in to provide that extra hand when a woman needed it.

She was nominated yesterday by someone in Lake Tahoe News’ monthlong Random Acts of Kindness promotion. Her good deed has won her either one day of doggie daycare or one night of home-style boarding at Tahoe Best Friends.

Random Acts of Kindness is about taking a moment to do something nice for someone else. For examples of RAOK, read prior stories and the comments by going to the Random Acts of Kindness category at the top of the page.

To participate, write a Random Act of Kindness you have seen, received or given. Then you will be in the running for a prize given by one of the many kind businesses in Lake Tahoe. While the rewards are great, we are hoping the act of spreading kindness is an even greater reward.

There are a few rules associated with Random Acts of Kindness. If you want to read them, check out this story.

Beginning QuickBooks Workshop will teach people how to create and customize chart of accounts, enter and pay bills, use the check register, apply payments and make deposits, and reconcile bank statements.

Cost of the Feb. 15 1:30-5pm workshop is $25 for members of Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce and $40 for non-members. Registration is required.

The class is in Lake Tahoe Community College’s Aspen Room, South Lake Tahoe.

Beginning QuickBooks Workshop part two involves data entry.

This workshop teaches people how to fill out sales forms, memorize transactions, record customer payments, record deposits, enter bills, use accounts payable, pay bills, write checks, use registers, transfer money between accounts, and reconcile bank accounts.

Cost for Feb. 22 1:30-5pm class is $25 for chamber members and $40 for non-members. Registration is required.

To register or for more information, call Emily Abernathy at (775) 588.1728, ext. 303.

By Kathryn Reed

REDDING – Nearly 10 miles of paved trails without ever getting onto a city street. Clearly, I must not be in Tahoe anymore.

This spectacular ride was in Redding.

Pam Valentine rides one of the many paved trails in Redding. Photos/Kathryn Reed

More than 80 miles of paved and natural surface bike-pedestrian paths are scattered throughout Redding. But they are also linked so it makes for a harmonious experience instead of some disjointed, annoying ride.

Cyclists can go from the Sundial Bridge to Shasta Dam on a paved route — 17.5 miles one-way.

I was glad we didn’t park where we had intended to because it meant not going up what the bike shop guys called Cardiac Hill. Instead, my sister, Pam, led Sue and me on a 19-mile round-trip ride through some spectacular scenery before the dam stopped us.

The Keswick Reservoir is to our right as we start our ride. On the north end is the Shasta Dam, to the south is the Keswick Dam. This reservoir is part of the Central Valley Project – one of the main water systems running through California that provides water to farmers and municipalities downstream.

Below the Keswick Dam is the Sacramento River.

A few fishermen are on the Keswick Reservoir in hopes of catching wild trout like German browns and rainbow.

As pretty as the ride is, I know the landscape should be much greener. No moisture until this weekend has left the entire state parched. Still, the austere winter beauty is captivating.

The water is glass-like, providing reflections of the hillside as though it’s a mirror.

Rocks protrude from some locations, reminding me of the tufas that dot Mono Lake.

Where the water is shallow it’s most obvious how fast the current is as mini rapids are created as the water skips over the rocks.

This is part of the Sacramento River Rail Trail that follows the historic rail alignment. One spot has us passing through a tunnel built in the 1920s.

The trail ends at Shasta Dam where there is a dirt park for all terrain vehicles. Just before we get there a Bureau of Land Management employee (and this was a Saturday) is sweeping some debris from the trail. It’s maintained that well.

Redding’s trails are a collaborative project, just like they are in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Where we were last weekend was on Bureau of Land Management property. The McConnell Foundation (founded by the largest shareholders of Farmers Insurance) has contributed significantly to that city’s trails.

The first segment of the Sacramento River Trail opened in 1983. And the network keeps growing.

More information about the Redding Trail System is online. And the trails are accessible year-round.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

By Karoun Demirjian, Las Vegas Sun

Remember Wednesday? When Mitt Romney was poised to win South Carolina, becoming the first non-incumbent Republican in history to take every early GOP presidential contest in a sweep that would render Nevada all but moot by the time the caucuses swung out West?

What a difference just a few days makes.

Newt Gingrich’s South Carolina win Saturday — combined with the revelation earlier this week that Rick Santorum actually won Iowa — has split the spoils of this GOP nominating contest so fully that there’s no way the early states, even once Florida votes, will have unequivocally determined a front-runner, putting Nevada back in position of influence in picking a presidential candidate.

“This speaks volumes for Nevada’s relevance. … No matter who takes Florida, Nevada is vital,” Nevada GOP chairwoman Amy Tarkanian said Saturday night. “I’m very excited.”

Gingrich staged a decisive victory in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary Saturday after managing to overcome a double-digit point deficit in just a few days. But what’s more significant is how he did it: by coalescing the conservative Republican vote.

Read the whole story

Placer County Office of Elections will have a free candidate workshop Feb. 7 from 6-9pm at the Placer County Finance and Administration Building, 2956 Richardson Drive, Auburn.

Prospective candidates and their supporters are encouraged to attend. Members of the media and the public are also invited.

The workshop will explain many of the details involved in running for public office.

Guest speakers will include an experienced candidate, a campaign consultant, and a media representative.

Candidate filing for the June 5 presidential primary election will open Feb. 13 and close March 9. For more information, call (530) 886.5650.

Speed Networking is a combination of musical chairs meets speed networking. Participants have a couple of minutes to meet new people and share details like your name, what you do, where you are from, when you moved here, and what your career goals are.

Tahoe Regional Young Professionals is sponsoring the Speed Networking event on Jan. 26 upstairs at the Fresh Ketch on Venice Drive in South Lake Tahoe from 6-8pm.

Bring business cards for a variety of games.

For more information about Tahoe Regional Young Professionals, go online.

The Weekly is having a 30th birthday bash on Feb. 11 from 5-8pm at GarWoods in Carnelian Bay.

Meet former and current staff members.

There will be appetizers, no-host bar and prizes.