U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will resume prescribed fire operations on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe in the McKinney/Rubicon area Oct. 27.

Weather permitting, fuels crews will conduct operations on 70 acres and expect to continue through the week.

Because of the large number of acres associated with the project, as with the projects last week, residents and visitors may see a significant amount of smoke rising from the project area.

Forest Service prescribed fire managers plan these larger burns based on predicted weather that allows for good dispersion of smoke.

Tahoe Maritime Museum becomes a haunted museum Oct. 30 from 2-4pm. Costumes encouraged.

Dress up the family to celebrate Halloween at the Haunted Museum. Hear the tales of Tahoe, make crafts, play games and win treats.

Free for children under 12 and museum members. Museum admission is $5 for adults.

The museum is at 5205 West Lake Blvd. in Homewood.

To the publisher,

South Lake Tahoe is at a tipping point. I am running for City Council to help push us toward creating a first-class, eco-resort that embraces recreation as a major economic driver. From AYSO to the Olympics to families looking for an active vacation, the South Shore should be a place the world comes to play.

I want to see South Lake Tahoe as a vibrant community that thinks differently – a community focused on a stable and sustainable future. Well planned and well maintained, South Lake Tahoe should be a place we are proud to call home.

I am sure you have the same vision, only to look around at the dim reality of our city. The lack of cohesive strategic planning, the crumbling infrastructure and the inability to play well with others is crippling our town.

As a 17-year resident of the city, I am passionate about rebuilding a thriving community. I am an independent thinker who believes great things can be accomplished with the collective power of collaborative leadership.

Collaborative leadership helped us stop the decline in lake clarity. It also spurred the Prosperity Plan, a model of regional foresight and cooperation. While “doing battle” is invigorating rhetoric, I know from experience that working together is what gets results for our town.

I believe blue can be green: We can reach economic and environmental sustainability here in the Lake Tahoe Basin and with it, a new vitality for South Lake Tahoe. It will take hard work, compromise and a sincere belief in the outcome.

And it will require leaders with the knowledge, passion and courage to move us forward.

That’s what I offer to City Council.

Think clear. Think Claire. Please vote for Claire Fortier for City Council.

Thank you,

Claire Fortier, South Lake Tahoe

Mountain bike riders from around the Lake Tahoe Basin will convene Nov. 5 from 6-8pm at South Lake Tahoe Parks & Recreation Department, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd., Cedar Room, to discuss how to proceed in forming a single regional club or a couple clubs representing each area in the basin.

The exclusive Lake Tahoe premiere of “The Story” comes to the Crystal Bay Club Casino in Crystal Bay on Oct. 29.

It highlights the ski talent of mountain sports biggest stars. The evening will begin with a special tribute to international adventure sports legend and North Lake Tahoe resident Shane McConkey with the screening of the new short film “Shane & the McConkeys.”

The show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $15 per person.

Toccata — Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus — kicks off its 2010-11 Winter MusicFest with a program featuring selections from Handel’s Messiah along with many holiday favorites.

Performance dates:

Dec. 15, 7:30pm, Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno.

Dec. 17, 7:30pm, St. Theresa Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe.

Dec 18, 2pm, St. Francis of Assisi Church on Mt. Rose Highway and Highway 28, Incline Village.

Dec. 19, 3 pm, Squaw Creek Resort in Olympic Valley.

Dec. 26, 3 pm, Christ the King Lutheran in Tahoe City.

The Truckee Tahoe Community Chorus will collaborate with Toccata on the Dec. 15 and 19 performances and the Sierra Nevada College Choir will collaborate on the Dec. 17 and 18 concerts.

Tickets are $35 preferred, $20 adults, $15 seniors, $5 students with children under 12 free. Tickets may be purchased at the door or online. Call (775) 313.9697 for more information.

By Kathryn Reed

The Angora Fire of 2007 continues to alter how entities in the Lake Tahoe Basin do business.

No longer do owners of vacant lots where houses once stood have to pay for water and sewer when they aren’t using either.

The Angora Fire continues to shape policy in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Photo/Kathryn Reed

An owner of a lot protested the continued fees. It brought about change this month by the South Tahoe Public Utility District board.

About 75 of the 254 lots that lost a house are still empty. But the owners kept getting STPUD bills. The board modified the regulation so the owner still has the water hookup and won’t have to pay for that again.

In the past when a house burned down South Tahoe PUD would suspend fees for two quarters. The thinking is in most structure fires people rebuild immediately. With something like a massive wildfire, not everyone rebuilds immediately, if ever.

It is customary for people with vacant lots that have never been built on to not pay any sewer-water fees until the connection is made. Water is turned on per fire codes when building begins. Sewer hookup is part of the final phase.

With quarterly sewer-water bills for STPUD about $200 per residence, this change in policy affecting the burn area will save those property owners a good deal of money going forward.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Oct. 6, 2010, Sacramento Bee.

In the California Senate district that includes Fair Oaks, Roseville, Elk Grove and points east and north, voters have a rare opportunity to help quiet the bickering that drowns out reason in the Legislature.

Voters in the heavily Republican Senate District 1 have a choice of three serious Republicans, and a Democrat, seeking to replace Sen. Dave Cox, who died in July.

Of the GOP contenders, one, Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, has shown he can work with Democrats for the benefit of California. Voters would be doing themselves and the state a favor by voting for him on Nov. 2.

Read the whole story

The Far West Ski Association has received a grant from the California Skin Cancer Prevention Program to develop a program to inform young snow sports enthusiasts and their parents on the danger of skin cancer.

The Slip, Slop, Slide & Slither program featuring informative brochures, decals, and a sunscreen partner is being developed and administered by Fran Long, Trustee and Youth & Family Involvement chair. The program will be presented at the major ski shows in Los Angeles, San Jose, San Diego, and San Francisco this fall.

In addition, FWSA will distribute the materials at Mammoth Mountain and Lake Tahoe during school holiday periods in order to reach more children and their families.

The Far West Ski Association, founded in 1930, is a volunteer, nonprofit organization representing 180 affiliated ski clubs located throughout 11 regional councils in the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

By Jessie Price, EatingWell

My pantry at home is always well-stocked. (Actually most people would probably call it overstocked.) I don’t feel right if my cupboards are bare. And once I started working on our new book, EatingWell on a Budget, I realized that my pantry-stocking obsession also had the benefit of helping me save money: when I have key ingredients on hand to make dinner, I’m much less likely to call for delivery or go out. (Plus cooking at home is almost always cheaper than going out.)

Here are five of my favorite ingredients to keep on hand that help stretch my food dollars further.

Potatoes

Cost: about 44¢ apiece

Russet potatoes, which are a good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C, are a great nutritional bang for your buck. And these babies are truly versatile. Try baking them, then stuffing them with beans, vegetables and salsa; mash them; slice and roast them; or turn them into hash browns for breakfast.

Read the whole story