• Cork & More in South Lake Tahoe is celebrating 35 years in business.

• Sierra-at-Tahoe opens with limited terrain on Dec. 17. Sierra will have the first snowboard park in the world that features iconic Star Wars themes to introduce children as young as 3 to snowboarding. The Riglet Park is a partnership with Burton Snowboards and Lucasfilm.

• Advanced lodging bookings going into the holidays are up 35 percent in North Lake Tahoe compared to 2010. North Tahoe’s transient occupancy tax was up 15 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, compared to 2009-10.

• The Tahoe Queen ski shuttle start date has been moved to Jan. 17.

• Country pop music singer Karla Robinson will be at Sugar Bowl ski resort for free Dec. 17-18 from 2-5pm.

• Douglas County School District board of education will discuss on Jan. 10 how to proceed with the Kingsbury Middle School property. The meeting is at the county library in Zephyr Cove starting at 3:30pm.

• Heavenly Mountain Resort opened Stagecoach Express on Dec. 14, giving skiers and snowboarders top-to-bottom skiing and riding on the resort’s Nevada side. Stagecoach Lodge is open with food and beverage, as well as rental and retail services.

To the community,

The Meyers Business Group would like to thank the individuals and businesses that made our inaugural Meyers Tree Lighting event on Dec. 9 such a success. More than 350 people showed up to ring in the holidays and celebrate Meyers, and we couldn’t have done it without phenomenal local support.

Instrumental to the lighting of the Meyers Community Tree were Affordable Construction Services and Shane Electric; Liberty Energy/Lake Valley Fire District; and the skillful team of climbers John Dayberry of Native Elements, Bill Atkins, Chip Brejc and Ryan Curry, who wrapped the tree in lights. We’d also like to thank Sunrise Ski and Snowboard Rental for electricity, and the Meyers Downtown Café for supplying dozens of fresh baked cookies.

Establishments that donated to the tree lighting will be recognized with a plaque by Angie’s Signs in the near future: Sierra-at-Tahoe, Steve’s Transmission, New Visions Construction, Meyers Downtown Café, Wattabike/Vertical Sports, The Getaway Café, Stanley H. Jones, D.C., Champagne Productions, Got it! Real Estate & Rentals, Jeff Chamberlain DDS, Novasel & Schwarte, Strategic Marketing Group, Safe Haven Chiropractic, United Country Tahoe Gateway Realty, The Studio Lake Tahoe, South Tahoe CrossFit, Sunrise Ski and Snowboard Rentals, Century 21 at Tahoe Paradise, Maya’s Mexican Grill, Bona Fide Books, Elevate Wellness Center, Lira’s Supermarket, Chevron, Greg Ochoa – Oliver Luxury Real Estate, Roadrunner Gas & Liquor, Meek’s, Divided Sky, Leonard Mechanical & Plumbing, Lake Tahoe Adventures, Pinnacle Real Estate Group of Lake Tahoe, the CCC and Alpine Environmental.

A big shout out to JoAnn Conner, president of the South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, who managed logistics and CalStar, to law enforcement for traffic control and Santa assistance and finally, to Santa Steve Rozier.

Thanks to all who came out to enjoy the festivities — we wish you a happy holiday!

Rene Brejc, Meyers Business Group

Tahoe Center for Orthopedics’ and U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team physicians Terrence Orr and Jonathan Finnoff will give a lecture focusing on ski and snowboard injury prevention and treatment options on Jan. 5 from 6-7pm at Lake Tahoe Community College (One College Avenue, South Lake Tahoe).

The event is free.

In addition to ski and snowboard injury awareness, surgical and non-surgical approaches to injury treatment will be addressed.

Orr and Finnoff bring years of winter injury experience, serving Lake Tahoe and beyond. From the beginner snowboarder to the advanced skier, this talk will address a multitude of accident scenarios and prevention techniques.

This lecture is part of Barton Health’s 2012 wellness lectures. Attendees will receive an attendance “punch card” and automatically be entered to win a 2012-13 season pass to a Lake Tahoe ski resort, in addition to other prizes.

For more information, call (530) 543.5656.

By Jeff DeLong, Reno Gazette-Journal

The Reno man who killed the first bear in Nevada’s highly controversial black bear hunt faces charges he illegally baited the animals.

Timothy Kawelmacher, 55, is scheduled to appear in Reno Justice Court on Monday. He is charged with two misdemeanor counts of baiting big-game mammals for the purpose of hunting, said Chris Hicks, Washoe County deputy district attorney.

“It is very discouraging that the very first bear killed in this controversial hunt is now the subject of prosecution,” Hicks said.

Kawelmacher is charged with using apples and bacon grease to bait for bears on Aug. 11 and anise oil for the same purpose between Aug. 5 and Aug. 20, when the season opened, Hicks said.

Kawelmacher killed the season’s first bear — a 9-year-old, 180-pound female — with a rifle near Garson Road west of Reno on Aug. 20, according to officials with the Nevada Department of Wildlife. He was later cited by game wardens, and the bear’s head and hide were seized as evidence.

Kawelmacher, who Hicks said has cooperated with authorities, could not be reached for comment. It appears he will be acting as his own attorney Monday, Hicks said.

Read the whole story

By Ed Fletcher and Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee

Two senior Placer County officials announced plans this week to retire.

Placer County Executive Officer Tom Miller, 57, announced Tuesday that he plans to retire early next year.

Also stepping down is Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt, 50.

Miller said he plans to spend more time with his three granddaughters before exploring the next chapter of his life.

Whitt, who will step down Dec. 29, said it was time to move on and expressed frustration at the city’s lack of resources.

“Given the climate in the city, I have come to a point where it is frustrating to not be as effective as I would like to be. We have good people with very little resources to support them in carrying out the mission of this department,” he said.

Miller came to the county in 1999 to serve as the facility services director. He has been the county executive since 2005. He earned $261,994 in 2010.

Miller said his task was to see the county of 348,400 residents through a rough economic period.

The county laid off just 17 employees as a result of the downturn.

Read the whole story

The California Highway Patrol South Lake Tahoe area will conduct a Child Safety Seat Check-Up event Dec. 17 from 11am-3pm.

Certified car seat technicians from the CHP will be available to show parents how to properly and securely install a child safety seat in their vehicle.

National studies show three out of four car seats are not being used correctly, making children at risk of serious injury or death.

A California law that takes effect Jan. 1, extends the length of time a child must use a child passenger restraint or safety seat by two years while riding in a motor vehicle. The new law means child passengers must ride in either a car seat or booster seat until the age of 8 or until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall.

The CHP will also be collecting toys, non-perishable foods and new or lightly used jackets as a part of their annual CHiPs For Kids Holiday Drive. tems donated will be kept locally and given to Christmas Cheer for distribution.

The event is at the Y in South Lake Tahoe in the Raley’s/Kmart center.

The Tahoe Science Consortium and Sierra Nevada College will host the 2012 Tahoe Science Conference May 22-24 on at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village.

The theme of the conference will be “Environmental Restoration in a Changing Climate”. Lake Tahoe and many other high alpine lakes around the world are being increasingly stressed by climatic changes and urban development. Compounding these factors are economic stresses on government agencies, local communities, the environmental community, and the public.

The 2012 Tahoe Science Conference is designed to encourage creative dialogue among scientists, artists, environmental managers, public officials, and the general public about how to protect high alpine ecosystems under changing environmental and social climates.

The registration fee covers all program activities beginning Tuesday afternoon and extending through Thursday evening. Register online.

For more information, contact Tina Triplett at (775) 473.5473 or creativerno@charter.net.

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News is looking for gift ideas that are less than $20. Find out how to make a suggestion.

Your holiday gift can help save the biggest pine in the world — the sugar pine. Sugar pines are noted for their unique shape and enormous cones.

For $20 you can buy someone a Sugar Pine Foundation (SPF) membership which comes with an organic cotton shirt, a tote bag, or a BPA free water bottle. You can also buy a sugar pine seedlings for $10 and sugar pine seeds for $1 each.

Explore SPF gift options here.

The Sugar Pine Foundation is a nonprofit organization working to restore sugar pines and other white pines by involving the community in forest stewardship. We conduct community and student tree plantings in the Tahoe region every spring and fall.

For more information, check our website and join us on Facebook.

— Maria Mircheva

By Kathryn Reed

Some soups I can have night after night, week after week, winter after winter.

The one below that I got from my sister, Tami, is one of those soups. It’s the splash of balsamic vinegar that makes this soup’s flavor a bit unique. You would not want to serve it without the balsamic vinegar.

Tami got the recipe from the “Cooking Light Cookbook 1996” and apparently shared it with mom in Christmas 1998. I know this because my copy of it has mom’s handwriting saying “Tami Christmas ’98”.

It was a good thing I had to call Tami to see where it originally came from because we started talking about other soup recipes. A new one will be in the mail to me soon.

Although the original recipe calls for chicken broth, I use vegetable broth for all my soups. I’m also trying to use more organic products. My friend Joy is the inspiration for that change in my eating habits. So, to that end, I could not find organic tortellini so I used ravioli. It worked, but my preference would be tortellini, right after my preference for organic.

“There is no doubt that organic food is better for the environment, but it’s also better for your physique,” says Cynthia Sass in the January-February 2012 issue of Tennis magazine. “Organic foods contain more antioxidants, which not only protect your cells from aging, inflammation and disease, but may also make you leaner. In a recent study, University of Florida researchers found that people who consume more antioxidants had lower body mass indices, smaller waistlines, and lower body fat percentages than those with lower intakes, even though both groups consumed about the same number of daily calories. In addition, research shows that pesticide residues from conventionally grown foods may be a factor in rising obesity rates. If you can’t go 100 percent, buy organic versions of the staple foods you eat most often, particularly such animal based foods as milk, eggs and meat.”

I don’t like store bought tomatoes this time of year so I thawed a packet of tomatoes. These were from the summer farmers’ market that I had stewed in a crock pot and then froze for occasions like this.

Tami can’t always get fresh basil in the tiny Minnesota town she lives in, so she uses dried when she has to.

I tend to double the recipe because we like it so much.

Tortellini-Basil Soup

4 C canned low-sodium chicken broth, undiluted

1 (9 oz.) package fresh cheese-filled tortellini, uncooked

1 (15-oz.) can cannellini beans, drained

1 C chopped tomato

½ C shredded fresh basil

2 T balsamic vinegar

¼ tsp salt

1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Bring broth to a boil. Add tortellini, and cook 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in beans and tomato. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Remove from heat; stir in basil, vinegar, and slat.

Ladle soup into individual bowls; sprinkle evenly with cheese and pepper.

Heavenly Mountain Resort this week announced it is giving 47 local nonprofit organizations cash grants and in-kind donations for the 2011-12 season.

Vail Resorts Echo, the company’s corporate sustainability program, was established in 2008 to bring a more focused approach to local charitable giving and, since its inception, has contributed more than $6 million annually to more than 150 organizations surrounding its six resorts.

Through Echo, 24 nonprofit organizations in the South Lake Tahoe area will receive cash grants in the coming year, including Bread & Broth, a weekly dinner program at Saint Theresa Catholic Church. Heavenly will serve as a monthly sponsor of the “Adopt-A-Day of Nourishment” at Bread & Broth, which provides a hot meal to approximately 125 less fortunate local residents every Monday.

Heavenly and Northstar will team up to financially support the Snowboard Outreach Society, a nonprofit organization that builds character in youth through outdoor adventure.

Heavenly will also make in-kind donations to local organizations including: South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center, Douglas County Sheriff Search and Rescue, Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, and Bijou Community School.

The recipients were selected by the Heavenly Echo Giving Council, which identifies important local organizations with successful programs that change the lives of children and protect the outstanding natural resources that make South Lake Tahoe unique.

The following organizations will receive donations from Heavenly:

· American Youth Soccer Organization Region 282

· Tahoe Baikal Institute

· Barton Community Foundation – Festival of Trees and Lights

· Bijou Community School

· Bijou Community School PTA

· Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe

· Bread & Broth

· Carson Valley Children’s Center

· CASA El Dorado

· Christmas Cheer

· Clean Tahoe Program

· Douglas County Education Foundation

· Douglas County School Race Training Program

· Douglas County Sheriff Search and Rescue

· El Dorado Fish and Game

· Forest Service Winter Trek Program

· Get in the Act! Arts in Action

· Heavenly Valley Ski Foundation

· Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation

· Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School

· Lake Tahoe Humane Society

· Lake Tahoe Unified School District

· Lake Tahoe Unified School District – Summit to Sand Program

· Marine Research & Education

· Mefiyi Foundation

· Sierra Avalanche

· Sierra House Elementary School PTA

· Snowboard Outreach Society

· Sober Grad Night

· South Lake Tahoe Amateur Hockey Association

· South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center

· South Lake Tahoe 5th Graders on the Hill Program

· South Tahoe High School Tennis Team

· South Tahoe Middle School

· South Lake Tahoe Police Activities League

· South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center

· St. Theresa School

· Sugar Pine Foundation

· Tahoe Arts Project

· Tahoe Heritage Foundation

· Tahoe Parents Nursery School

· Tahoe Tallac Association

· Tahoe Turning Point

· Tahoe Valley Elementary

· Tahoe Youth & Family Services

· Recreation Club at South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center

· Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.