By Liliana E. Sanchez

Each night, during the month of October, South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center displayed purple lights on our building to honor Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

It is not uncommon for us to witness acts of domestic violence at places such as the market, at work, next door or possibly in our own home. It is our hope the purple lights will bring continued awareness well beyond that one month so the community of South Lake Tahoe does not tolerate domestic violence and victims have options.

For victims of domestic violence, every part of their life may feel turned upside-down and the abuse they experience my also affect friends and family. For those of you who have never experienced abuse from a partner or family member, a life “walking on eggshells” to avoid further abuse may be difficult to comprehend. To better understand what victims of domestic violence experience on a daily basis, we begin this four-part educational series by explaining the cycle of violence.

In every abusive relationship there are three defining phases which vary in time and intensity. These are commonly known as the honeymoon, tension, and explosion phases – the cycle of violence.

Each relationship starts out in the honeymoon phase regardless of whether the relationship becomes unhealthy. People pick partners based on mutual interest and affection. Both partners are on “good behavior” trying to show their best side to this new person in their life. People often describe this time as perfect or everything they dreamed of. However, in any relationship you can’t be 100 percent perfect all the time.

When you are trying to merge two lives together inevitably tension can arise. Tension in a relationship can be caused by anything, finances, weather, and even how someone spends their spare time. Relationships that are on their way to becoming unhealthy or abusive struggle to work through everyday issues due to lack of communication and respect which leads to the tension phase.

During the tension phase, one partner typically senses the stress of the other. They may try to change their own behavior in an effort to smooth things over. This phase is often described as “walking on eggshells”. Jealousy, stress, and often brutality are shown by the abusive partner as a result of the tension. Victims are often blamed or blame the actions of their abusive partner on themselves, they may deny that any sort of problem exists, and do whatever they can to stop the tension from rising, frequently to protect their abusive partner or keep the family/relationship together.

The next phase is called the explosion. It is typically the shortest of all and can be the most dangerous. This phase involves an explosion of violence such as intimidation, threats or physical assault. The abusive partner may use physical abuse causing injury to their partner that can range from bruises and broken bones to hospitalization and even death. During this phase the abusive partner is thinking about “teaching him/her a lesson” and will minimize, deny or blame their partner so they do not have to take responsibility for their actions.

In order to complete the cycle, the couple comes back to the honeymoon phase. Commonly, after the explosion the abusive partner may attempt to apologize for their behavior and try to make up due to fear that their partner may leave them. They may claim that they will fall apart or kill themselves if they lose their partner.

Different tactics are used to get their partner to believe them such as charm and/or manipulation. The abusive partner may believe and express he/she has total self control and will never cause them harm again. They may end up convincing their partner they are truly sorry. The couple has now come back to a place where they feel they can stay together and everything will be as it once was.

Unfortunately the cycle is cyclical, meaning it is only time before more tension arises and the abusive partner who is unable to healthily manage the tension will use abuse such as physical, sexual, emotional, verbal and financial to control their relationship and deal with stress. It is not uncommon for the honeymoon phase to fade leaving the abused partner going back and forth between tension and explosion.

So how do perpetrators use the different types of abuse? Why do they do it?

Look for the second piece in this series tomorrow on Lake Tahoe News.

If you have any questions about domestic violence, contact South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center at (530) 544.

2118. The Women’s Center Business office was financed through a low-cost loan from the Rural Community Assistance Corporation.

Liliana E. Sanchez is outreach advocate for the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center.

By Nadja Brandt, Bloomberg News

Spa resorts such as Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Lodge and the Broadmoor in Colorado are using wall climbing, carpentry classes and yoga to lure corporate clients accustomed to little more than free breakfast as a hotel perk.

Stowe Mountain has boosted its corporate group bookings with such programs as the “Naked Table Project,” in which participants learn to build furniture from scratch. At the Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa in Tucson, guests can use meeting breaks to walk a tightrope or jump from a 25-foot pole, an activity known as the “Quantum Leap.”

Luxury hotels, hurt more than their cheaper competitors by last year’s U.S. recession, are working to reverse a drop in demand from business travelers. Spa resorts, upscale properties with a focus on health treatments and other recreational activities, are among those that have had the toughest time booking corporations, which became thriftier during the slump.

“These have been challenging times, but during these last two years, our programs have helped to attract corporate groups,” said Morgan Fukumoto, a spokeswoman for Stowe Mountain in Stowe, Vt. “They look for more team-building activities and to get a great value for their money.”

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South Tahoe High School’s boys’ and girls’ soccer teams were in action this weekend. Both teams have much to celebrate.

At the class 3A Boys State Tournament in Mesquite on Friday the guys beat Boulder City 5-0, while Sparks needed overtime to top Truckee 1-0.

In Saturday’s championship match, South Tahoe beat Sparks 3-1.

In the girls’ division on Friday, STHS beat Truckee 3-0, while Elko topped Boulder City 2-1 in overtime.

In the championship game on Saturday, South Tahoe prevailed over Elko 2-0.

By Lisa Ramsey-Simpson

The American Youth Soccer Organization has been a fixture in South Lake Tahoe youth soccer for some time, providing a way for local youth to learn about the game of soccer, sportsmanship and the value of working together as a team.

Each year South Lake Tahoe sends one to two All-Star teams to compete for the title of All-Star Champions for our region. This year was no different. Having only two weeks to prepare for the tournaments, the coaches had their work cut out for them. They had to take 10 kids per team and get them not only to play together, but to play a strategic and competitive game of soccer at a level above the regular season.

Coaches Mark Salmon, Perry Quinn, Arcadio Garza and Freddie Gonzales took the task of getting the U-10 girls ready for the big event. The two teams practiced together several days per week with and against each other to prepare. Schedules were announced and the teams were notified their first game was going to be early. They all had to be at Carson City no later than 7:30am last Saturday. Each team played hard in the first game and both teams came out with their first wins of the tournament.

South Lake Tahoe's girls soccer teams made it to the championship tournament. Photo/Victoria Gonzales

Saturday afternoon the girls played their second games and came out with another win for each of their respective divisions. The comradery was displayed between the two teams as players and parents watched both divisional games to support the South Lake Tahoe girls.

Sunday would prove to be more challenging. Weather would be a factor with the temperature dropping and consistent rain throughout the day. Dedicated parents withstood the rain and wind to watch the morning games. The air was filled with anticipation, hope and cheers. Luckily, the weather seemed to have little impact on the girls who continued to win again in both divisions. Excitement filled the chilly air as the coaches, girls, and fans realized both teams would be competing in their respective divisions for the All-Star championship.

The Championship games were tough. The Sierra division saw their opponents score a goal within minutes of the first quarter. The Cascade division was able to score a goal in the first quarter, but after multiple attempts couldn’t score again. In the end, the Sierra division took their first loss, which was hard for the players and their friends. The Cascade division was able to hold on to their 1-0 lead to win the Championships.

Cascade team and players moved over to the Sierra division field to rally with the other Tahoe players. Parents, friends and family members created one large Tahoe tunnel and chanted “Tahoe, Tahoe” while the players ran through.

In the end, one could be really proud of the girls from Tahoe. They played well, dominated with points, and above all, played with great class. Coach Mark Salmon told the parents earlier this week “I’m watching our current varsity girl’s team capture the league title over Truckee and moving onto State and picturing this same group of girls doing it several years from now.” Congratulations to all the coaches representing South Lake Tahoe, but especially to Mark, Perry, Freddie, and Arcadio who helped develop these girls to compete on this level. Congratulations to all the players who rocked the fields last weekend and played with every thing they had.

Lisa Ramsey-Simpson is a parent of one of the players.

By Stephanie Fosnight, OakPark-Leaves

If you thought the “eat local” mantra was just the latest foodie fad, then think again. While traveling Europe 131 years ago, Mark Twain pined from abroad for the local flavors of America, flavors that — thanks to the twin revolutions of industry and the railroads — were already on their way out.

“He talks about how the hotel food in Europe is dry, tasteless and stingy. When he talks about American food, it’s always this fresh, vibrant, alive food; things you could have from the garden, often things that were really local,” said Andrew Beahrs, author of Twain’s Feast: Searching for America’s Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens.

The idea for Twain’s Feast came when Beahrs was reading Twain’s travelogue A Tramp Abroad, a memoir of the famous author’s 1879 travels through Europe. When Beahrs stumbled upon a “fantasy menu,” an 80-item paean to American food that Twain created while abroad, Beahrs knew he’d found a book that was not only historically interesting but also pertinent to the current food debates.

In his menu, Twain lovingly references such dishes as “Illinois prairie chicken” and “trout from Tahoe Lake.” These highly local references made Beahrs, a food writer who also authors historical novels, sit up and take notice.

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By Kathryn Reed

INCLINE VILLAGE — A case was made Friday to start a pilot waterborne transit project on the North and West shores as early as next summer.

“Essentially it would be public transit on the lake,” explained Gordon Shaw of LSC Consultants. “This is not going to be a big ferry.”

He was hired by the Tahoe Transportation District to study the feasibility of such a service. On Nov. 12 he made a presentation to the board that outlined how such a system could work, the potential passenger load and projected revenues.

The board is expected to take action on a potential course of action at the December meeting.

Gordon Shaw

Shaw’s proposal anticipates the need of $1.3 million in start-up funds, which could come partially from federal grants.

The goal would be to start with one boat that could hold up to 20 people and add a second with similar capacity the following year. They would allow for wheelchairs and bicycles. Eighteen knots would be the maximum speed. Eight decibels the highest noise output so they could not be heard a quarter mile offshore.

Waterborne transit is not new to Lake Tahoe. Vessels plied the waters years ago to great fanfare in the first half of the last century. Attempts to resurrect this mode of transportation on a wide-scale basis has sputtered and petered out when anything did get launched.

Shaw said the key to being successful this time around is going slow and offering services that will be dependable. The boats would likely run Memorial Day to Labor Day, with weekend service after that.

Lew Madden, a retired Navy captain who lives in Carnelian Bay, spoke in favor of the boat shuttle, but raised a slew of questions that were not addressed in the consultant’s presentation.

(Madden has experience with getting boats on water, which he is in the process of doing in Alaska.)

He doubts Tahoe could implement this plan until summer 2013 based on getting federal funding. He cautioned going forward without contracts in hand from landing sites. He urged TTD to join the Passenger Vessel Association to receive help, guidance and insight.

“I think it will require more work than you can imagine,” Madden told the board.

Jim Markle, an Incline resident representing Sustainable Tahoe, would like the board to look at other watercraft than the five models presented. His interest lies in stability as well as the ability to land on a beach, which could open more areas to the shuttle service.

Stuart Yount, also of Incline, would like to see watercraft that could land at boat ramps and possibly a larger craft. He said with the Incline General Improvement District changing by 40 percent, to not rule out being able to dock in Incline in the future.

Ron Treabess, interim executive director with the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, said his agency may have money to help with something like this.

The reason to start with Placer County destinations is the number of communities in a small area. Plus, a private operate has a shuttle service on the South Shore during the summer that hits Camp Richardson, Lakeside and Timber Cove marinas.

Kings Beach is not on the list of potential landing spots because the water level is too low.

Board member Ron McIntyre brought up the idea of a temporary floating pier in Kings Beach.

With the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s shorezone ordinance on the losing end of a recent court battle, the idea with the water transit to have nothing to do with building new piers.

Water transit is part of TRPA’s Regional Plan and is a component of all community plans that it would engulf; so permitting should not be more difficult than usual. The U.S. Coast Guard would also have to sign off on the plans.

Tahoe Vista Recreation Area is interested, as is Gar Woods in Carnelian Bay.

Possible sites on the North Shore also include Tahoe City Marina, Grove Street Pier and Sunnyside Resort.

Places in Homewood Shaw has spoken to include West Shore Café, Homewood High and Dry Marina, and Obexer’s Marina. Chambers Landing is out for the time being because of lack of parking.

It was noted the reduction in particulate matter from people driving less would be minimal.

“It’s close to being a wash on environmental impact,” Shaw said of the water shuttle.

By Heather Hansman, Ski

Nervous about your kid falling off the chairlift? Do their short legs make them ride precariously close to the edge? Good news. Now, you can magnetically stick them to the back of the chair.

French company Magnestick has been installing magnetized chairs in Europe for the past three years, and this winter they’re coming to the U.S.

Magnets keep kids on the lifts at Alpine. Photo/Rachael Woods

Alpine Meadows is the first resort in the states to implement Magnestick. They installed it in two of their beginner chairs: Meadow and Subway.

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By Emi Urabe and naoko Fujimura, Bloomberg News

Forget the ice ax and $500 climbing boots. The mode du jour for today’s female mountain hikers in Japan is a miniskirt and leggings.

The North Face, the San Leandro maker of Gore-Tex waterproof jackets, and Alpine Tour Service Co. are targeting “yama girls,” or mountain girls, the nickname for the growing number of women who are taking to the hills of Japan wearing short pants or fleece skirts with leggings and designer trekking boots.

“I want to wear something cute like a skirt,” said Machiko Miyauchi, 25, who made her first ascent of Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak, earlier this year after buying new equipment and shoes. “Climbing is healing. You can breathe fresh, clean air.”

Visitors to Mount Fuji in the two months ended Aug. 31, the busiest climbing season, were the most since the government began tracking traffic using infrared sensors in 2005. The number of women applying for Alpine’s treks jumped sixfold from last year, prompting the Tokyo company to increase women-only tours to 13 this year from six in 2009, spokesman Yasushi Kodama said.

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On the occasion of Mark Twain’s 175th birthday, the Mark Twain Cultural Center will host a celebration and the old boy himself (impersonator McAvoy Layne) will hold forth on the balance of the autobiography that Twain asked be withheld for 100 years after his death.

The celebration, which honors one of Lake Tahoe’s most well-known writers and pioneers, takes place Nov. 30 at 7pm at the new Mark Twain Cultural Center at 760 Mays Blvd., Ste. 10 in Incline Village.

General admission tickets are $19.99 for adults and $9.99 for students.

For 20 years, in more than 2,000 performances from Leningrad University in Russia to C-Span, McAvoy Layne has preserved the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain. McAvoy is also the author of the soon to be published “Becoming Mark Twain” and winner of the Nevada Award for Excellence in school and library service. He portrays the ghost of Mark Twain in A&E’s “Biography of Mark Twain” and in the Discovery Channel’s Cronkite award-winning documentary, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

For more information about Mark Twain’s 175th Birthday Bash and to purchase tickets, go to www.GhostofTwain.com or call (775) 831.2820.

By Jim Toedtman

At midnight this New Year’s Eve, unless Congress intervenes, the U.S. tax code does a reverse somersault, upending a decade of tax law and reverting to its alignment of 2001, a tax hike costing $4 trillion over 10 years.

The unyielding calendar dictates that Congress must act quickly. That is an irresponsible option and a wasted opportunity for the nation.

It means a $4 trillion decision after a debate that hasn’t been worth two cents.

What should have been a thoughtful discussion of what we want government to do, followed by selecting the best, most efficient and equitable ways to pay for it, has instead been reduced to a bumper sticker war of words: “Bush tax cuts: keep ’em or kill ’em.”

Our tax code barely reflects the 21st-century world. Instead, vast changes have been accommodated by piecemeal patches and tweaks and an ever-growing list of tax breaks and loopholes that now total $1 trillion a year.

Jim Toedtman is editor of AARP.

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