Virginia City museums will be free on the first Friday of the month starting in May.
This promotion will last through October, but will not include July.
The historic mining town has 17 museums.
Go online for more info.
By Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee
The parents of a 13-year-old girl with a peanut allergy who went into shock and died after eating a night-time snack at Camp Sacramento have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
Louis Giorgi and his wife, Joanne, charged in the suit, filed Friday in Sacramento Superior Court, that information had been conveyed “in writing and in person numerous times” to camp operators about their daughter Natalie’s peanut allergy. The girl was “conscientious about avoiding foods that contained peanuts or peanut by-products” and there were other children at the camp who shared the same allergy – a fact known to camp personnel, according to the lawsuit.
“Obviously it’s something we find no joy in pursuing,” Louis Giorgi said of the lawsuit, “but it is consistent with our approach to accomplish the goal to help raise awareness of people, to pay attention to this and know it can be fatal. We need to take simple steps to protect all of our children. There can never be another Natalie. And there should never be another Natalie. It can be prevented.”
Natalie Giorgi went into an anaphylactic shock July 26 after eating a Rice Krispie treat during a hula hoop contest on her family’s last night of a four-day vacation at the popular, city-owned Camp Sacramento facility near Lake Tahoe that has been visited by untold thousands of families since it was founded in the 1930s.
By Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee
When Marcela Sosa opened her email last month and saw the “congratulations” message from the University of California, Berkeley, she was so shocked that she jumped out of her chair.
“I didn’t even think I was going to get in,” the St. Francis High School senior said. “I had always placed it above me. … It makes me proud that I put in the hard work.”
Sosa is one of the lucky few to be accepted in the most exclusive admissions class ever at one of the state’s most elite colleges.
Even as the University of California accepted a record number of freshman for fall 2014, admission rates at its most selective campuses reached new lows. Huge increases in the number of applicants, changing admissions processes and a growing emphasis on out-of-state and international students are driving them down.
Preliminary UC admission data released Friday morning showed a record 86,865 freshmen accepted this year, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2013. The overall admission rate dropped slightly, but rates plunged at the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses, long the system’s most selective, dipping below 20 percent for the first time.
By Kathryn Reed
Cauliflower used to be one of my least favorite vegetables. But like so many veggies, it’s all about how it is cooked and seasoned.
Much like broccoli, cauliflower is usually cut into florets and then cooked. The recipe below cooks the entire head of cauliflower before cutting it into pieces to serve. For one, this makes for a different type of presentation. It would also allow people to take as much as they like. The problem could be that those who like this concoction may take more than their fair share.
It is so incredibly easy to make that this would be a good dish for kids to start with or have that novice cook help with. The only tricky part for kids would be cutting off the stem, so that would be better for an adult to handle.
You are bound to have leftovers of the marinade. It can be used on other veggies or meats or fish. Or go get more cauliflower.
The nice is this is healthy because yogurt is used instead of sour cream. Guilt free, good eating is always something to savor.
Spicy Cauliflower
1 T olive or vegetable oil
1 head cauliflower
1½ C plain Greek yogurt
1 lime, zest and juice
2 T chile powder
1 T cumin
1 T garlic powder
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a small baking sheet with oil.
Trim stem and leaves from cauliflower.
In a medium bowl, combine all of the other ingredients.
Put cauliflower in the bowl to cover it with mixture. Use hands or spatula to cover thoroughly. Excess marinade can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.
Place the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the surface is browned with a crust on top. It will take 30 to 40 minutes.
• South Lake Tahoe is hosting a workshop May 17 at 5:30pm at Lake Tahoe Airport to discuss how the plastic bag ban ordinance is affecting businesses.
• Washoe County residents are invited to a behind-the-scenes look at the sheriff’s office’s Forensic Science Division on April 24 from 8:30am-4pm at 911 Parr Blvd., Reno.
• World Book Night is April 23. Throughout the day, volunteer book lovers will be in various locations in El Dorado County giving away hundreds of books.
• There will be an informational workshop April 22 at 3pm in Truckee about Measure V – the half cent sales tax initiative. The meeting is at town hall.
• This Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care video is of the newest cub making a contented sound called chortling.
The 2nd annual Made in Tahoe Festival returns to Squaw Valley May 24-25.
It showcases local businesses, artisans, product designers, nonprofits and performers all hailing from the Tahoe region. Food will also be available.
New this year will be live performances by local artists including Tahoe Flow Arts, a studio that specializes in aerial arts, dance and yoga.
Festivities will be from 11am-7pm.
For more info, go online.
Lumber is what Glenbrook used to be known for. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society
In the 1860s, Glenbrook was the smoky and cluttered site of A.W. Pray’s lumber and shingles mills.
Lake Tahoe was a primary lumber source for burgeoning Virginia City.
Glenbrook Inn
Photo/Theresa and Darrell Eymann Collection
By the early 1900s, the mills were gone and Glenbrook became a favorite of high society. The Glenbrook Inn, left, is seen on a hand-colored 1909 postcard.
Steamers docking in Glenbrook. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society
The steamers Tahoe and Nevada would dock together at the pier fronting the Glenbrook Inn.
The 1915 aerial view and today’s Google view exhibit a stark contrast to the lumbering clutter of the 1860s.
Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society
In September of 1951, this fellow, bottom right, enjoyed the beach and golf at Glenbrook. Do you recognize him?
— Bill Kingman
Clark Gable
Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society
Photo/Google Earth
By Kathryn Reed
Flying critters may become problematic sooner this year in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
With temps being in the 60s for much of last week and the basin coming off a relatively dry winter, it means yellowjackets could be in abundance.
And despite the lack of water, it’s impossible to completely skip mosquito season.
Vector control is already suggesting people get their traps out for the yellowjackets.
“We are expecting a little more activity this year. Because of the dry winter a queen can survive the winter,” Karen Bender with El Dorado County Department of Environmental Health told Lake Tahoe News.
Each queen can have a colony of 5,000 wasps. (Yellowjackets are a wasp, not a bee.)
This area had a huge influx of the insects late last summer. Getting rid of the queen now can help prevent problems later on.
Trapping the bees is the easiest way to rid them from a residence or business. Traps, though, need to be set away from any entrances to a structure so the yellowjackets don’t fly in.
If people have a hive, vector control will come spray. Vector control does not necessarily get rid of the hive, nor do employees do anything with nests that are indoors. El Dorado County residents pay $6 a year via property taxes for vector control, so home visits are free.
Most often hives are underground, under a deck or in the eaves. The underground ones are the most difficult to see because they could be under leaves or dirt. Step on one, though, and the stings will let you know you hit the jackpot.
When it comes to mosquitoes, Bender said her offices wants to know if people are getting bit. That way they can locate the standing water and treat it.
“There’s not a lot of water, but what we’re seeing right now is a higher concentration of (mosquito) larvae that we are treating,” Bender said. “We haven’t seen any flying mosquitoes.”
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Notes:
• People who have yellowjacket issues or concerns, should call 530.573.3197 or 530.573.3450.
• People who find dead birds should call 877.968.2473 or go online to find more info about West Nile virus.
To the community,
Bread & Broth would like to thank the “Daisies” Girl Scout Troop 31 for the seven dozen cupcakes they made and decorated for B&B’s dinner guests on April 14.
The members of Troop 31 are kindergartners and first-graders who meet at St. Theresa School. They made the delicious cupcakes as a special treat, which they personally delivered to the dinner.
Thank you for making the dinner special with your desserts and proud and happy faces.
Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth
It will be hard not to find an art event on the South Shore this summer.
Works will range from pottery, jewelry, sculpture, paintings, photography and woodwork to unique hand-crafted items/
Some of the money raised will benefit Kiwanis, Tahoe Art League, Christmas Cheer and American Legion.
Show schedule:
May 23-26 South Lake Tahoe Y
June 6-8 Round Hill Square
June 13-15 South Lake Tahoe American Legion
June 20-22 Round Hill Square
June 26-29 South Tahoe Middle School
July 3-6 South Lake Tahoe Y
July 11-13 Round Hill Square
July 17-20 South Tahoe Middle School
July 24-27 South Lake Tahoe Y
July 31-Aug. 3 South Tahoe Middle School
Aug. 7-10 South Tahoe Middle School
Aug. 15-17 South Lake Tahoe American Legion
Aug. 22-24 Round Hill Square
Aug. 29-Sept. 1 South Lake Tahoe Y.