The public will be able to visually immerse themselves in two of the best-known lakes in the United States thanks to a $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

The three-year grant will be used to develop three-dimensional visualization technology to enhance public understanding and stewardship of freshwater lake ecosystems and earth-science processes. The project will directly reach about 400,000 visitors to Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, and Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York.

The project’s collaborators hope it will serve as a global prototype for lake and watershed education.

Key to the project will be “immersive” 3-D visualizations of lake and watershed processes, with the Lake Tahoe portion being housed in the Otellini 3-D Visualization Theater at the Lake Tahoe center. Content for the visualizations will be developed from a variety of sources including high-resolution lidar, a laser-based remote sensing technology; sonar; satellite imaging; 3-D hydrodynamic modeling; and in-situ lake measurements. The audience will be enveloped by the data and, by accessing a suite of visualization, measurement and navigation tools, can explore every facet of the virtual display.

The resulting educational program will focus on water quality and ecosystem health, lake formation, lake food webs, weather and climate, and the impact of people on the ecosystem. In addition to 3-D visualizations, the lessons also will be conveyed via portable science stations, docent training guides and manuals for informal science education venues.

The project also aims to evaluate how 3-D visualizations and related technologies can be used more broadly to support education and training in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Collaborating on the project with the Tahoe Environmental Research Center will be the W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in the Earth Sciences (KeckCAVES) at UC Davis, the UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science, ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Vermont, and the Institute for Learning Innovation in Maryland.

Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute is offerings a QuickBooks workshop to help small farm owners learn accounting fundamentals Oct. 7-8 from 9am-4:30pm at WNC Fallon campus, 160 Campus Way.

Cost is $85 when registering before Sept. 30, and $95 after Sept. 30. Lunch is included.

Space is limited, and early enrollment is encouraged.

Participants will learn to set up and use QuickBooks software to keep track of farm finances, and generate reports and data for business planning and farm management. QuickBooks software will be used actively during the workshop, with time for questions and answers throughout, in an interactive learning environment. A QuickBooks handbook will be provided, and attendees will have the option of purchasing the software at a discounted price.

The workshop will be led by Marie Gibson, advanced QuickBooks proAdvisor, university instructor, and member of Intuit’s National Speaker/Writer Network.

For information/registration, contact Ann Louhela at (775) 351.2551 or louhelaa@wnc.edu.

By Jessie Marchesseau

Rounding the corner en route to the Duke Theatre at Lake Tahoe Community College on Sunday, I walked into a sea of tiny American flags, 2,977 of them to be exact. One for each victim of the attacks.

A loud bell was tolling — 2,977 times.

Each flag represents one of the 2,977 people who died at the World Trade Center. Photos/Jessie Marchesseau

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, LTCC presented The 9/11 Project. The event, which consisted of a theatrical presentation, a panel discussion, and a special commemoration and reception, was not only to pay tribute to those who died that day, but also to celebrate local public safety personnel.

“I wanted to honor and remember the victims of 9/11 and morph it into something a little more hopeful,” Susan Boulanger, director of theater arts at LTCC, said.

Girl Scouts wearing sashes handed out programs at the door and asked for donations for the South Lake Tahoe Search and Rescue. The local Boy Scout troops had placed the nearly 3,000 miniature flags into the ground. Most of the Scouts did not look old enough to remember that day in 2001, some of them were probably not even born yet.

The Duke Theatre, which holds 190 people, was packed. Some attendees were forced to stand in the walkways. As the lights went down, 18 actors dressed in black took their places on stage in front of 18 chairs. Seeing them standing there, somber, on a stage of all black, a firefighter uniform and hats from various public service departments displayed in the rear corner of the stage, it was apparent there would be no singing and dancing in this play.

Boulanger chose to do a collection of monologues from two plays for the 9/11 presentation. Seventeen actors would be reading from “With their eyes – September 11th: The view from a high school at Ground Zero,” a series of real-life accounts of faculty, staff and students at Stuyvesant High School, located just four blocks from the World Trade Center. The 18th actor would perform excerpts from “The guys,” a play based on a true story about a New York City fire captain who lost eight of his men in the tragedy, and is then faced with the task of finding the words to remember each of them.

Before a syllable was even spoken on stage, I felt the lump forming in my throat and the tears beginning to well in my eyes. A woman in front of me pulled a tissue from her purse. Just the thought of that day brings about myriad emotions for many of us.

Law enforcment gather at LTCC for Sunday’s event.

The performance was dramatic. Not a giggle or a snicker in the house. Each oration was a reminder of the real people affected that day, not mythical heroes or ghosts, but ordinary people whose lives would never be the same.

“We tend to forget that they’re human beings,” Boulanger said. “We put heroes on a pedestal.”

She said she chose this particular set of monologues to remind us all of that.

After the theatrical presentation, a panel of seven law enforcement officers, firefighters and military veterans took their place on stage to share how the events of 9/11 affected each of them personally and their professions. The audience was also encouraged to pose their own questions to the group.

South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler said it was an honor to be asked to be part of the panel. “I’m glad that people are still paying attention, and we haven’t become numb to the events of 9/11,” he said.

A plaque at LTCC honors those who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001.

Due to weather, the commemoration and reception that had been slated to follow at the Ledbetter Terrace was moved into the theater. Boulanger announced the planting of two crab-apple trees in the terrace along with a plaque reading “In Honor of the Heroes and Victims of 9/11 And the Heroes Who Protect Us Today September 11, 2011.” As she gave thanks to our public service personnel, the audience offered a standing ovation.

“I wasn’t there when it happened, and I couldn’t do anything then,” Joanie San Agustin, one of the actors, said after the performance. “This was a really great way to pay tribute to those who gave their lives and those who lost their lives.”

Our Melting Poles: Where Life on Earth is Changing is a presentation by Professor Warwick F. Vincent from the Center for Northern Studies, Laval University, Quebec City.

The event is Sept. 15 at 6pm at Sierra Nevada College, Room 106, Incline Village. There is a no-host bar at 5:30pm.

Cost is $5.

Vincent is known internationally for his research on polar lakes, rivers and coastal seas, and the responses at the base of their food webs to environmental change.

By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee

Adam Forest works in a virtual Eden, as seems appropriate for his name.

His commute is less than a paper carrier’s toss from a log cabin house to a log cabin office, both with views of the oak woodlands along the south fork of the American River in the tiny community of Lotus, north of Placerville.

He may do his job in shorts and sandals at times, but it is not stress-free work.

His small firm, the Forest Group, does high level corporate executive recruitment around the country for companies that are household names.

If you’ve nibbled on a Clif Bar, sipped from a stainless steel Klean Kanteen or just set foot in an REI store, Forest has a hand in your world.

He has recruited directors for REI’s board and managers pulling down six figures for other outdoor recreation companies.

All from a spot along a poorly paved road, miles from any freeway, in a region of poor-to-nonexistent cellphone reception.

It began in the late 1990s.

“In my early 30s, I really had to ask myself – and this is a question I ask candidates, as well: Is my profession and my passion … are they aligned? And they weren’t,” he said.

Read the whole story

Firefighters have the Holbrook Fire in south Douglas County fully contained.

The blaze that started Saturday charred 135 acres. No structures were lost.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A 21-year-old Douglas County man is in custody on kidnapping, attempted sexual assault and other charges.

Jacob Wilcher was arrested Sept. 11 at about noon after fleeing Lifepoint Church in Minden where the alleged crimes occurred.

A teacher at the church was conducting an outdoor class for church youth members when Wilcher reportedly grabbed a 10 year-old boy from the group and ran around the side of the church building.

Jacob Wilcher

Church officials told officers they found Wilcher on the other side of the building disrobing while still holding onto the scared 10-year-old boy. Church officials grabbed the boy and attempted to detain Wilcher. Wilcher broke free, ran to his vehicle and drove away.

Church officials followed the vehicle. Douglas County deputies located the suspect traveling on Johnson Lane

Deputies said the vehicle Wilcher was driving belongs to his mother, which he had reportedly stolen earlier today.

The youth was not injured, deputies said.

Wilcher was being held on $332,000 bail.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Douglas County is forming an advisory work group led by local residents and county staff to assist the county in developing short and long term strategies in dealing with Lake Tahoe Basin water issues and challenges.

The group will be conducted as a partnership between the county and a number of volunteer community residents with keen knowledge of the issues, and requisite expertise and experience to accomplish the work. The group is expected to make specific recommendations to the county manager by Jan. 31, 2012.

The initial members include Doug Patterson, Ron Alling, Cameron McKay, Darryl Harris, Lynn Endicutt, Greg Ott, Steve Kenninger, Rick Gardner, Ben Sharit and Mike Hashemi, all residents of the Tahoe basin who have been involved in water related issues.

The work group is expected to release interim reports prior to submission of its final recommendations.

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News wanted to do a story for its 9/11 series about how K-12 educators in the Lake Tahoe Basin-Truckee area address the event in the classroom. The reporter was thwarted in his efforts. One assistant principal in Truckee said, “Teachers may or may not be open to talking to local media based on the topic, and Is the topic something that may be damaging to our school or district?” Lake Tahoe News regrets at this time not being able to tell you what local children are learning about 9/11.

By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

Most states do not include in their social studies/history standards a direct mention of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a new study, and only four states actually name Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda.

An earlier stage of the study had found that many of the best-selling history and civics textbooks used in schools have “a startling lack of detail about what actually happened” on Sept. 11.

Twenty states plus the District of Columbia mention the terrorist attacks but most don’t require that students learn more than a few key facts devoid of context, it says. Of those that don’t directly mention Sept. 11, 14 states include some reference to terrorism or another key term related to the war on terror. And 14 states don’t include any reference to 9/11, the war on terror or terrorism.

“For the most part, students are not directed to examine the roots and causes of terrorism, but instead are asked to learn about the impact of these attacks, primarily on the United States,” a summary of the report says.

The study was conducted by Professors Jeremy Stoddard from the College of William & Mary and Diana Hess at the University of Wisconsin-Madison/Spencer Foundation. It was released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tisch College at Tufts University.

It was released just days before the 10th anniversary of the attacks and contributes to a debate about how, when and what children should be taught in school about the event.

For example, a separate report just issued by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute argues that some 9/11 lessons being taught to children are missing the point of the event, giving too little information about the history and instead discussing related issues.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

With something going on in nearly every corner, it was hard to know where to be in Bijou Community Park during the annual Bijou Bash on Saturday.

More than 2,000 people attended the free South Lake Tahoe event that is designed to highlight a bit of what the area is about, showcase the park and give people a chance to mingle with friends.

Derby Dames meandered about in their signature green and black get-ups before putting on a demonstration for an enthusiastic crowd.

Big and little kids have fun at the Sept. 10 Bijou Bash. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Nearby, skateboarders and BMX’ers were co-mingling as each tried to get some air on the ramps.

While it looked like Argo was taking a chunk out of South Lake Tahoe police Officer Ryan Wagoner’s arm, the protective shield prevented that from occurring. All of this was part of a demo so show what SLTPD’s K-9 unit is capable of.

Across the way a stage was set up to allow dancers, singers and karate experts to dazzle the crowd with their talents.

“Bijou Bash will continue to grow and has the potential to be a two-day event,” coordinator Lauren Thomaselli told Lake Tahoe News as things wound down just before the rain started to fall Saturday afternoon.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)