Lake Tahoe Community College’s Haldan Art Gallery is about to showcase the work of three Bay Area artists whose work is derived either literally or abstractly from organic form.

The exhibit opens Sept. 30 and runs through Dec. 3. There will be a reception for the artists Sept. 30 from 6 to 8pm, with an artists’ talk in the gallery from 5 to 6pm. The reception is free and open to the public.

Joy Broom's art will be at Lake Tahoe Community College.

In addition to an extensive professional art career spanning three decades, Joy Broom is a full-time art instructor at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. With a drawing and painting style that is uniquely hers, Broom’s imagery ranges from precise botanicals to da Vinci’s faces to scary insect forms. She has shown in numerous galleries throughout the Bay Area and the West Coast. In 1992 Broom was awarded a WESTAF/NEA Regional Fellowship for Visual Artists, for Works on Paper. Her work is included in the DiRosa Preserve and Collection in Napa and numerous other private collections in the Bay Area.

Pamela Glasscock was born in Colorado and studied fine art at Stanford University. In 1974 she met her future husband, artist Tony King in New York, where the couple pursued their careers until the early 1990s. During this time Glasscock focused on landscape and still life in silverpoint, a Renaissance drawing technique. The couple spent summers in California until 1992, when they relocated permanently to Freestone with their two sons. After the move, Glasscock began to paint flowers from her own garden and those of friends. Her drawings and watercolors of flowers are meticulously rendered, and created with amazing scientific precision.

The executive curator of Bedford Arts Gallery in Walnut Creek, Carrie Lederer has exhibited her own work in major arts venues and California museums.

Her complex paintings are inspired by fractals and botany.

Lederer’s recent paintings depict turbulent gardens informed by nature’s riotous beauty, or the deep space of our universe filled with a Byzantine intricacy of stars, snowflakes, and snowmen.

Haldan Art Gallery hours are:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11am to 5:30pm

Friday 11am to 2:30pm

The gallery is open and free to the public and hours are subject to change. To schedule a tour,contact Diana Nelson at nelson@ltcc.edu or (530) 541.4660, ext. 335.

School Group Tours:

Lake Tahoe Community College welcomes all school groups to take advantage of the learning opportunity that exists in the gallery and Discovery Center. Teachers or class leaders should plan on a minimum of one hour for a group tour.

The college is located off Al Tahoe Boulevard on One College Drive. For more information, call (530) 541.4660, ext. 251.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, California’s highest public safety award, to 10 law enforcement officers for their outstanding commitment to the people of California.

Placer County Deputy Ken Skogen was one of those recipients.

On Aug. 30, 2009, Placer County deputies responded to the area of Rock Creek Road and Highway 49 for reports of an uncontrolled fire. While evacuating a burning residential neighborhood, Skogen was approached by a frantic male adult with a report that a woman was trapped in her burning home. The residence was fully engulfed in flames. As he came to a bedroom window, Skogen looked in and saw an elderly woman standing with her walker and staring back out at him. The woman was confused and in a state of shock.

Skogen broke the window and pleaded with the woman to come to him. She wouldn’t walk forward and it was too high to pull her out. Knowing time was reducing his options, Skogen ran to the rear door and kicked it open. Realizing he had but a few seconds to save the woman’s life, he pried the woman’s hands from the walker. He lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the smoke filled house and down the street to safety. The house completely burned to the ground moments later.

“Hollywood can’t dream up heroes as amazing as those we are honoring here today,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement. “These public safety officers are our real-life action heroes who have shown extraordinary strength and character in the line of duty. On behalf of all Californians, I thank them for their service and dedication to the people of this great state.”

Effective since 2003, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act gives the governor the authority to award a Medal of Valor to one or more public safety officers who are cited by the attorney general for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. The Medal of Valor is the highest state award to a public safety officer.

Other winners include: officers Rodney Richards and Jason Smith, California Highway Patrol; Sheriff Tom Allman, Mendocino County; Detective Eric Bradley, Lodi Police Department; Kevin Raffaelli and officers Rick Apecechea, Jeff Dellinges and Roberto Gonzalez, San Mateo Police Department; and Officer Kelley Merritt, Susanville Police Department.

There will be a City Council candidates forum on Oct. 14 at 9:30am at Inn by the Lake’s conference center.

This is sponsored by Lake Tahoe News, South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association, and South Tahoe Association of Realtors.

Everyone is invited to attend.

Saturday Night Live meets the Sierra when the Dakota Organization and the Brewery Arts Center Performing Arts Collaborative (BACPAC) bring “I Say Nevada” to the CVIC Hall in Minden on Oct. 15-17.

Tickets may be purchased at the Copeland Cultural Arts Center, 1572 Highway 395, or by calling (775) 265.2942 or email at thedakotaorganization.com. Ticket prices are $17 for general admission, and $10 for seniors and students.

Local author and musician, Bob Reid (of Me and Bobby McGee) conceived this hilarious romp through Nevada. The production rocks the foundations of the Capitol dome with this new revised version of his original creation. Directed by BACPAC’s Karen Chandler, this musical sketch comedy lampoons the politics and the culture of the Silver State and is perfectly timed for Nevada Day and some pre-election fun.

This show was a hit in Carson City in 2008 and has been updated to the ”Government Bailout Edition.”

Performances are scheduled at the historic CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda, Minden on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16 at 7:30pm with a matinee performance on Oct. 17 at 2pm.

A portion of the proceeds of this performance will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Sheryl Ferguson will talk about Tahoe birds and give a PowerPoint presentation Sept. 28 at 6:30pm.

The event is free.

It is at the El Dorado County Library on Rufus Allen Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Sheryl Ferguson will talk about Tahoe birds and give a PowerPoint presentation Sept. 28 at 6:30pm.

The event is free.

It is at the El Dorado County Library on Rufus Allen Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe Community Pumpkin Festival is Oct. 22 from 5:30-8:30pm at 143 Michelle Drive, Stateline.

There will be a bounce house, face painting, mad science lab, raffles, games, bake sale and costume contest.

The event is free.

For more information, call (775) 588.5437.

By Amber Wilson

Packing a school lunch is one of the best ways for your kids to get the nutrients needed for a productive school day. Studies show that well-nourished children perform better in the classroom, so fill their brown bags with a mixture of whole grains, lean protein, fruit and vegetables. The following tips will help you to pack a tasty school lunch that your kids won’t want to trade.

1. Involve your kids – Studies show children are more likely to try a food they had a hand in creating. Sit down with your kids and brainstorm ideas for healthy lunch items. Encourage your kids to try new foods by taking them to the grocery store or the farmers market and letting them pick a new fruit or vegetable to try. The cafeteria is a bartering community and your kids will trade foods from their lunch box that they don’t want to eat.

Amber Wilson

2. Give your sandwich a makeover – Who said a sandwich needs to include two slices of bread? For a new twist on an old favorite, make a wrap instead. Grocery stores carry whole grain tortillas and flat breads that can be filled with a variety of sandwich ingredients. Try turkey, avocado and cheese, hummus and veggies or peanut butter and banana slices.

3. Create your own lunchable – Make your own healthy version of a lunchable with your kids’ favorite snacks. Pack a large Tupperware full of whole wheat crackers, string cheese, veggies (such as baby carrots, strips of bell pepper, pieces of broccoli and cherry tomatoes) and 2 tablespoons of low-fat ranch dressing or hummus. Add a low-fat yogurt for a sweet ending to the meal.

4. Substitute your chips – Crunchy snacks are a favorite lunch box item, but try swapping out the usual fried chips for a healthier, crunchy option. Baked chips, air-popped popcorn, flavored rice cakes, pretzels, trail mix and veggies with dip all provide crunch without the unhealthy fat.

5. Slip in a sweet treat – Cookies and baked goods are a fun treat once in a while, but sugar usually leads to an energy crash later in the afternoon. Instead, satisfy your child’s sweet tooth with snacks that also provide some nutrition, such as fruit, granola bars, trail mix, low-fat yogurt or low-fat chocolate milk.

Amber Wilson, MS, RD, is a nutrition counselor and the owner of NewLife Nutrition in South Lake Tahoe. Contact her at a.wilson@new-life-nutrition.com for more information about personalized nutrition counseling, supermarket tours and healthy cooking classes for you and your family. For additional healthy recipe ideas, visit her website.

In honor of the 90th anniversary of right of women to vote, South Lake Tahoe AAUW will welcome members, guests, and the public on Oct. 9 at 10am at the Aspen Room at Lake Tahoe Community College.

The program, “Ninety Years of Voting Power: Changes, Challenges and Choices,” features a panel with Kathay Lovell, Kim Walli, and Nancy Epstein. The speakers will address their role as women in the political arena.

The event is free.

For more information or to reserve a spot, call (530) 541-1299 or email slocumsrus@msn.com by Oct. 7.

To the publisher,

When the City Council approved redevelopment area two and questioned whether or not Councilman [Bruce] Grego should vote on R/D area two because his law office is in the area, the city attorney said Grego wasn’t in conflict; his lease agreement was month-to-month. When I asked to see a copy of the lease, the city attorney said the lease was a verbal lease. To cloud the issue, Grego’s landlord is a client of Grego.

Bill Crawford

In my attempts to discover the term of the lease on Sept. 8, 2010, I made a public records request addressed to the city attorney. On Sept. 21, 2010, the city attorney replied saying that the bottom line is “… there is no public record that the city has access to and consequently cannot give you a copy.” In reading the reply, I conclude that Grego continues to sandbag which raises a question of his ethical conduct. Whom does he serve as a councilmember? His private interest? His landlord’s interest? Who knows? It seems not the public’s when he will not disclose the terms of the lease.

I enclose a copy of the city attorney’s letter [see below] so that the public can judge for itself the nature of Grego’s conduct.

Bill Crawford, citizen and South Lake Tahoe City Council member

The following is the Sept. 21, 2010, letter from City Attorney Patrick Enright to Councilman Bill Crawford:

I am in receipt of your letter dated September 8, 2010 requesting a copy of the agreement or other documentation of Council Member Grego’s office space lease of his law practice. Neither the City, nor myself has a copy of the lease or any other documentation. I have requested a copy from Council Member Grego on several occasions, but the only document that he has shown me is a brief statement from his landlord stating he and Mr. Grego have an oral month-to-month lease. Mr. Grego refused to give me the document or allow me to make a copy. Therefore, there is no public record that the City has access to and consequently cannot give you a copy.