The Lake Tahoe Community College Theatre Arts Department will be presenting a special theatrical performance to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

There will also be special events connected to the performance to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11.

The performance will be a collection of monologues from “With Their Eyes” and “The Guys.” As this will be presented as a staged reading, rehearsals will be flexible.

Participants must be available the weeks Aug. 29 through Sept. 11. Rehearsal days and times TBA.

Auditions will be May 7 at 11am in the Duke Theatre, or by appointment by calling (530) 541.4660, ext. 240. Casting a variety of men and women from high school age to 65-plus. Audition sides will be available at the Theatre Department callboard prior to auditions.

By Peter Demarest

None of us is immune to mistakes, and the one universal truth of making mistakes is that we all hate that moment when we realize that we just screwed up.

When it hits us that we’ve made a mistake, we always have that instant of “Wow, that was stupid, what was I thinking?” before we move on and try to solve the problem we’ve inadvertently caused.

I refer to the elimination of that space of time between when we screw up and the time we realize we’ve screwed up as practical enlightenment. For the past dozen years or so, I’ve been studying mind-brain science to see if there is a way to help us think better so we make fewer mistakes and create a better life.

I believe we can go further than just preventing mistakes. I believe through the science-based techniques I’ve discovered, people can dramatically improve how they think, make choices, act, and react without having to fix their so-called weaknesses. I derive these ideas from research in a science called neuro-axiology, which is a combination of brain science and value science. Axiology is the name of a fascinating science about how our value perceptions influence our thoughts, choices, actions, and reactions. It’s also about how value actually gets created in the world and in our lives.

I invite people to start thinking better by asking themselves what I call the central question of life, love, and leadership. It’s amazingly simple, but tremendously helpful.

Whenever you’re feeling confused, upset, reactive, conflicted, confronted, or frustrated, or at anytime that you simply want to be thinking the best you can, just ask yourself, ‘What choice can I make and action can I take, in this moment, to create the greatest net value?’

My entire coaching process is based on the natural functions of the brain that allows people to make better use of the strengths and wisdom they already have to get better and better at answering “the central question”.

Fundamentally, success in life is not about the value we get, it’s about the value we create. When people make the deliberate effort to think it terms of “the central question”, they naturally make fewer mistakes, make better decisions, and create greater value in life and work.

You see, most of us, most of the time, act out of habit. We allow ourselves to be controlled by our emotions and our ‘mental programming. We basically let our weakness and our self-centric perceptions of the world run the show. Case in point, do we really need to let our upset over the guy who cut us off on the way to work in the morning ruin our whole day and keep us from being as happy and productive as we could be? We get angry out of habit, but if we consciously shift our perspective from our self-centric upsets and concerns to what we value and the value we can create—then we can literally change our lives.

“The central question” quickly helps us gain more confidence, satisfaction, joy and fulfillment. We get better in our work and in our relationships. We argue less and empower others more.

Using this one idea has made a bigger difference in people’s lives and organizations than anything I’ve ever seen. We all want to make a good living and live the good life, but there is so much more to life than money, power and status which are fleeting and easily taken away. When you focus on the question of what creates greater net value, you’ll develop more of that practical enlightenment. You’ll have a greater sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. Not only will you be professionally more successful, but you’ll have greater personal success as well—and so will many of the people around you.

Peter Demarest is the co-author of the book “Answering The Central Question”. He is also is a co-founder and president of Axiogenics.

The South Lake Tahoe Senior Citizens Center is hosting an AARP Mature Driving Course on May 10 from 8:30am-5pm.

The fee is $12 for AARP members and $14 for non-members. Lunch is available at the center for $3.

Pre-registration is required for the class.

In addition to improving your driving skills, a certificate of completion of this course qualifies for rate reductions with most insurance companies.

For more information, go to the senior center at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. or call (530) 542.6094.

By Kathryn Reed

A plan of action with clear priorities is being developed for South Lake Tahoe’s infrastructure, facilities and equipment.

Jim Marino, who is in charge of the city’s Capital Improvement Program, on Tuesday methodically laid out for the five council members the importance of creating a five-year plan, how getting money for projects today requires being shovel ready, and that each department in the city needs to have a master plan.

“The purpose of the CIP plan is to allow the City Council to accurately prioritize, fund, and implement projects that align with the strategic goals and objectives of the city, while effectively maintain and extend lifespan of existing assets,” Marino wrote in the staff report.

1999 was the last time a five-year plan was developed. But for the most part, work done in the last decade was based on where grant dollars came from – and little or no other reasoning was used.

Pot holes are evidence of the lack of attention South Tahoe has shown for capital improvement in the city. Photo/LTN

Water quality projects always got the priority because of regulations from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Those two entities govern much of what the city and five counties in the Lake Tahoe Basin can do regardless of what local governments deem a priority. It’s about lake clarity and reducing sediment – all other projects are secondary, according to these two regulatory bodies.

But to the city’s discredit, until now it has not been proactive in devising plans that meld projects within the city or adjoining jurisdictions. Not having master plans for each department is part of the problem.

Items that would qualify as capital improvement projects in the three categories include:

Infrastructure:

• Highway 50 streetscape improvements

• Sierra Boulevard streetscape

• Harrison Avenue streetscape

• Tahoe Keys Boulevard right turn lane

• Linear Park bike trails

Facilities:

• Bijou Golf Course driving range

• Regan Beach restroom/concession facilities

• Reconstruct general aviation apron

• Recreation center fitness center reconstruction

• Replace roof at fire station No. 2

Equipment:

• Fleet replacement

• Replace SWAT rifles

• Video conferencing system

• GIS system

• Replace police department body armor.

Another point that was brought up May 3 is the city does not allocate money for regular fleet replacement or maintenance costs of projects.

Marino used the example of the three-year Highway 50 Trout Creek to Ski Run Boulevard project that starts this month. While Caltrans makes millions of dollars in improvements, it will be the city picking up the quarter of a million annual maintenance costs for landscaping, lighting and snow removal.

The council agreed maintenance and operation expenses need to be considered as projects come before them for approval. It’s also an ongoing expense that must be budgeted.

It was stated that the Finance Department is going to have to figure out a different way of how it accounts for certain expenditures to make the budget work.

“Redistributing fees where they belong (is the first step),” Marino said. “Asset management software can collate costs over years. Excel spreadsheets can only go so far.”

Another thing Marino and City Councilwoman Angela Swanson addressed is having true capital improvements part of this plan. Currently, items like guns for the police department and computer software are listed under CIP. This is not standard operating procedure for most cities or businesses.

Marino this week plans to start meeting with department heads to find out their list of priorities.

Health and safety concerns, along with regulatory compliance will be key reasons for a project to be at the top of the list. How to fund them will be another component.

Before the council is asked to put its blessing on priorities, the city’s new Fiscal Sustainability Committee and the Planning Commission will review staff’s list of priorities. Marino plans to have the list before the council this summer so priorities are in place as the 2011-12 budget is adopted.

In other action the council:

• Appointed the following people to the newly formed Fiscal Sustainability Committee – Jerry Bindel, Jill Stanton-Bricker, Dick Derby, Brenda Knox, Jon Kingsbury and Dan McHale.

• Without comment, approved the original $10,000 fee for the consultant working on specs for a snowblower at Lake Tahoe Airport. Cost to the city is $500. The rest is from an FAA grant. This is half the cost that was on the last council agenda.

• Approved wording on letters that will be sent to the Nevada Legislature supporting SB271 in the sense the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency needs to improve itself; and a letter to the board overseeing the League to Save Lake Tahoe. The final version of the latter is then intended to be sent to media outlets as an opinion piece.

Results of a special election Tuesday means there is a Gaines in both branches of the California Legislature.

Republican Beth Gaines won the Assembly seat her husband, Ted, vacated after he was elected to the state Senate earlier this year.

Beth Gaines

Gaines was the favorite in the GOP-dominated 4th District that encompasses Lake Tahoe. She beat Democrat Dennis Campanale. Both candidates are from Roseville.

She received 55.4 percent of the vote with 38,958 votes. Campanale had 44.6 percent of the votes with 31,287.

The district includes parts of El Dorado, Alpine, Placer and Sacramento counties.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A Lake Tahoe News reader reports people along Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe on May 3 were wearing yellow shirts that read “Judgment Day, May 21, 2011”.

Another person had a sign that read “18 more days”.

Some people believe May 21, 2011, will be the second coming of Christ.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

State Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, on Tuesday announced his legislation to create additional transparency and accountability within the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency cleared a major hurdle, passing out of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee with bipartisan support.

Senate Bill 593 would require each California member of the TRPA Governing Board to comply with the requirements of the Political Reform Act, and to file with the Fair Political Practices Commission a statement of economic interests.

“Currently, the California members of the TRPA can make decisions in which they have a conflict of interest and the public has no way of knowing,” Gaines said in a statement. “SB593 would better enable the public to hold these members accountable and creates an important layer of transparency and oversight for this governing board.”

By Kathryn Reed

The South Lake Tahoe City Council barely discussed the cultivation of medicinal marijuana at its meeting May 2.

Changes made from input given at the April meeting were incorporated into the policy the council is expected to approve at its May 17 meeting. The first reading of the ordinance was Tuesday.

Changes from last month include separating out the penalty structure for those who are found be violating the ordinance who have a permit and for those who don’t. Infractions will be harsher for those in the second category.

Only one person spoke during the public hearing.

Jerida Vochatzer said, “I don’t know where to start. I’m outraged. Druggies don’t follow rules.”

To which Mayor Hal Cole said, “I agree this ordinance doesn’t address smoking marijuana.”

Vochatzer responded, “Why are we allowing them to smoke pot?”

The ordinance the city has crafted has to do with allowing people to grow pot for medical reasons under the auspices of Proposition 215.

Councilman Tom Davis was still miffed the names of people with permits to grow the weed will not be public information unless they are found in violation of the ordinance.

Councilwoman Claire Fortier explained to him health laws are murky in terms of privacy issues, plus it’s a safety issue in not wanting people to break into a residence with a legal pot grow.

In other South Tahoe pot news, at the second meeting in June a draft ordinance regulating dispensaries is slated to be discussed. City Attorney Patrick Enright expects to have the document out in circulation in the next 10 days.

Publisher’s note: Hot August Nights CEO Bruce Walter resigned this week.

By Karen Robes Meeks, Press-Telegram

Organizers of a major vintage car show have put the brakes on coming to Long Beach.

Lack of car entries and sponsorships have prompted organizers of Hot August Nights to cancel the four-day show Aug. 3-6 in Long Beach, a top Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau official said today.

CVB senior vice president Iris Himert said organizers met with her briefly this morning to deliver the news.

“We’re very disappointed that Hot August Nights has decided against expanding the show into Long Beach,” she said.

She did not know about how many more cars or sponsorships were needed or whether the event would return in 2012. An earlier report about needing 3,000 vehicles “to break even” was incorrect, Himert said.

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TastyPlacement, which has a satellite office in South Lake Tahoe, released its first book, “WordPress 3.0 Search Engine Optimization” through IT publisher, Packt Publishing.

The book is authored by its founder and president, Michael David.

“WordPress 3.0 Search Engine Optimization” is a complete guide to optimizing a website or blog on the WordPress content management web platform for high performance in search engines. The book also teaches advanced social media and local marketing techniques.

This book is written for anyone building or publishing a website with WordPress, ranging from owners of business sites to website developers and blog owners. Any WordPress user who wants to sell products or services, or send out a message to the world will find that getting better rankings in the search engines will help them reach their goal faster.

The book is available through online retailers, local bookstores, and through PacktPub.com.