By Kathryn Reed

It was hard for the four Zephyr Cove Elementary School students to contain their smiles. Giving back feels pretty darn good.

For the second year in a row fourth-grader Alexandra Palant collected toys and stuffed animals to give to youth who are part of the Court Appointed Special Advocates program.

Last year just her class collected items. This year she engaged the student council, which was able to get the entire  school involved.

Ellie Krolicki, Trent Dingman, Caroline Krolicki and Alexandra Palant with the toys the collected for CASA. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Alexandra said her parents have been encouraging her to give to others since she was much younger than she is now.

“There are a lot of kids who aren’t as fortunate as all of us,” Alexandra said.

The council – made up of Ellie Krolicki, Trent Dingman, and Caroline Krolicki – echoed Alexandra’s sentiments. The four brought the toys to the courtroom the afternoon of May 26.

In about a month’s time they were able to collect enough items to fill a large portion of the wall in the family courtroom in the El Dorado County Superior Courthouse in South Lake Tahoe.

Educational games, board games, dollhouses and an array of stuffed animals are ready for someone else to enjoy. Most of the toys are new, with a few slightly used.

The Nevada students are hoping to keep up the collection each year, even when they move on to Whittell High School.

The CASA kids will get to pick out what toys they want when they come to the office. Oftentimes the presiding judge lets a child peruse the display for a toy as well.

Homewood Mountain Resort is having a preview center open house May 29 from 2-5pm.

The open house will take place at Homewood’s South Base Lodge for those who have questions on the project, its process, and potential changes to the plans.

Joseph Scanio, the South Lake Tahoe registered sex offender who was arrested last week, is back behind bars.

He was arrested May 26 about 3pm at his Wyoming Avenue home on a federal warrant for violating the terms of his supervised release.

U.S. probation informed South Lake Tahoe police Scanio had violated his probation by being present at the ice arena without authorization from USPO and for living within an area restricted from convicted sex offenders by the city of South Lake Tahoe.

Joseph Scanio

Scanio is a registered sex offender on federal probation for possession of child pornography.

SLTPD officers arrested Scanio on May 18 for a violation of his mandatory requirement to register his correct physical address with law enforcement. This information was shared with USPO which led to his most recent arrest.

Scanio has previously disclosed to USPO his business affiliation with another registered sex offender in El Dorado County. Because of this disclosure, USPO has monitored the situation but said it has not constituted a violation of his probation. USPO is now investigating additional issues which may constitute further violations of Scanio’s probation.

By George Knapp, 8 NewsNow

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas icon Frank Sinatra had an FBI file that was one-foot thick. So, why did agents follow the singer for more than 40 years? And why were they interested in Marilyn Monroe’s lovers?

The FBI has created an online vault packed with millions of pages of once confidential information including reports on everything from Las Vegas casino moguls and gangsters to UFO’s and animal mutilations.

The vault was created in the interest of public information but it was also done so the FBI could cut itself some slack in responding to huge numbers of public records requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act. Most of the documents inside the vault have been made public to one degree or another but they never before been so accessible.

To Las Vegas casinos, Frank Sinatra was a god, a moody magnet for high rollers. To the FBI, Ol’ Blue Eyes was a wannabe mobster. FBI agents compiled more than 1,200 pages in their Sinatra dossier, from his 1940’s friendship with supreme Mafioso Lucky Luciano to his 1960’s secret partnership with Chicago boss Sam Giancana, a hidden co-owner of Sinatra’s Cal Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe.

Included in the file are news clippings about Sinatra’s drunken Las Vegas rampages. A 1963 memo shows the FBI planned to pressure members of the Rat Pack to rat out their chairman. It never happened though. And in 1964, heat from the FBI prompted Sinatra to announce he was selling his interest in Cal Neva.

Read the whole story

Lake Tahoe Community College’s theater department will put on a production of “Chicago” in the Duke Theatre on the South Lake Tahoe campus.

Tickets are $15.

For more information, call (530) 541.4660, ext. 207.

Matinee performances are June 11 and June 19 at 2pm.

The 8pm performances are June 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18.

Kim Wyatt from Bona Fide Books is hosting a meet and greet for the North and South Shore writing groups at Bona Fide Books in Meyers.

This will be an opportunity to network with writers from around the lake.

Bring a dish to share and something to drink.

Pass this invitation along to people in your writing groups.

It is Sept. 30 from 6-9pm at Bona Fide Books, 1069 Magua St., No. 4, Meyers. This is behind the Getaway Cafe.

Most Eldorado National Forest campgrounds remain snow covered and will not be open for Memorial Weekend, according to Forest Service officials.

The facilities that will be open include:

West Point campground on Union Valley Reservoir; Stumpy Meadows, Black Oak campgrounds and the boat ramp on Stumpy Meadows Reservoir; Middle Meadows group campground and Hell Hole campground, but without water; Sand Flat campground, Bridal Veil picnic area, the parking lot at Twin Bridges/Pyramid Creek trailhead off Highway 50; Mokelumne and White Azalea campgrounds off of Tiger Creek road, and Pipi Campground off Highway 88.

Loon Lake, Caples Lake, and Silver Lake are still partially frozen and have deep snow packs. The Ice House and Union Valley areas still have a significant blanket of snow and have just started melting.

Visitors planning to camp outside of developed campgrounds should be aware that that there is very little dry ground in the popular camping areas and many of these areas are still under snow.

Persons damaging roadbeds may receive citations.

Visitors must park their vehicle on the side of a designated road or within a reasonable distance of the route so as not to block the roadway, create a safety hazard, or damage vegetation. Visitors can also obtain a free map of the designated roads and trails for vehicle travel at all Eldorado National Forest offices.

2011 campfire permits are required in order to use wood, charcoal, or gas fires on national forest land outside of designated, developed campgrounds. Campfire permits can be obtained free-of-charge at any U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry, or Bureau of Land Management office.

Wilderness permits are required year-round for overnight camping in Desolation and Mokelumne Wilderness areas. The wilderness areas and trails still have a large amount of snow and the streams are running at high volume, due to the snow melt. The Forest Service recommends visitors do not attempt to cross swollen streams and that they use caution when traveling along the stream banks.

Visitors can obtain information and permits from 8am to 4:30pm at Forest Service offices this summer. The Pacific Ranger Station just past Pollock Pines and the Georgetown Ranger Station offices are open seven days a week. The Placerville Ranger Station office in Camino (exit 54) is open Monday through Friday. The Amador Ranger Station office in Pioneer is open Monday through Saturday. The Pacific Ranger Station, four miles east of Pollock Pines, is the only Eldorado National Forest office that issues Desolation Wilderness overnight permits. On Memorial weekend, information and fire permits will also be available at the Crystal and Cleveland Corral information stations located on Ice House road.

For additional recreation information on campground and road conditions visit the Eldorado National Forest website.

Session No. 2 of a newly formed work group committed to the development of community-based services for people with disabilities around Lake Tahoe will be June 27 from 1-3pm.

Through the efforts of this group the goal is the needs that exist for opportunities and options for this population can be met by coming together creatively through sharing ideas and resources.

In session No. 1 people identified some of the things community has and identified some of the things it needs.

In the upcoming session the following issues will be addressed:

1) Within existing services, how do they currently work together/with families?

2) What ideas do we have to generate new inter-agency partnerships?

The meeting is at Lake Tahoe Christian Fellowship, multipurpose room, 3580 Blackwood Road, South Lake Tahoe.

RSVP to Nancy Libby at (530) 577.3221.

The Cork and More in South Lake Tahoe is hosting a wine tasting event to benefit the Tahoe Tallac Association on June 16 at 7pm. You can purchase tickets directly through the Cork and More — $15 in advance, $18 at the door. They will be featuring wines from Spain.

Sierra Nevada Alliance and bird expert Sheryl Ferguson will host Birding in Lake Tahoe on May 28 from 8-11am at Pope Beach.

The event is a fundraiser for the Sierra Nevada Alliance, which is asking for a $25 suggested donation. But all are encouraged to come so contribute what you can.