Come see what Saturday Mornings at SNC (formerly Senior Saturdays), the award-winning joint offering of Sierra Nevada College and Incline Village Parks & Recreation Senior Programs, are all about.

Share coffee with SNC’s faculty and other knowledgeable locals as they present bite-size offerings of intellectual material. An optional continental breakfast will be provided for $3.

Learn about the birds most likely to be encountered in the Tahoe region from Kirk Hardie, a co-executive director of the newly formed Tahoe Institute for Natural Science. The presentation will cover identification tips and natural history information for each species.

Kirk Hardie grew up in Sacramento and spent most winter weekends skiing in the Tahoe region. He has been an environmental educator in Idaho, Oregon, California, and Nevada, highlighting the beauty of birds in the natural world, among many other topics. He received his master of science degree in biology from UNR in 2009, where he developed a four-week high-school curriculum based on the ecology of the Great Basin.

The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science is a nonprofit organization seeking to advance the natural history, conservation, and ecosystem knowledge of the Tahoe region. Its long-term goal is to bring a world-class interpretive nature center and educational facility to the Tahoe area. Currently, the organization engages in multiple science, education, and outreach programs to promote greater appreciation, understanding, and stewardship of the natural resources of the Tahoe region. www.tins.org

Date: Aug. 14

Program: Birds of the Tahoe Region

Time: 10am–noon

Where: Prim Library, Sierra Nevada College, 999 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village

Fee: $3 Optional Continental Breakfast

For details on course offerings, visit www.Inclineseniors.com or call (775) 832.1310.

The Douglas County Public Library in Zephyr Cove is having a pirate party on Aug. 6 at 1:30pm.

Children can make a pirate treasure chest and ice-cream-in-a-can. Children should bring their own ice cream toppings such as chocolate sauce, cherries, and whipped cream. Bring small clear coffee can lids (13-oz. coffee cans) if you have them.

Safeway and the library will furnish other supplies.

For ages 3 and up; young children should be accompanied by an adult. Children must register by Aug. 5 to attend this program.

For more information visit douglas.lib.nv.us; to sign up for this event call (775) 588.6411.

Updated July 25, 2010, 4:12pm: Lightning stopped the paddle. The duo plans to resume the trip on July 27 at 11:30am from Meeks Bay, weather permitting.

In a quest to raise money for two nonprofits, South Shore’s Aaron Hussmann and Greg Anthenien will kayak the 72-mile perimeter of Lake Tahoe on July 25.

The fundraiser is called Paddling the Distance for People with Disabilities. The goal is to finish the paddle in 24 hours.

Money is being raised for two charities. The first is Camp Care Nevada, a nonprofit annual special needs summer camp at Zephyr Point. The second is the Special Olympics.

For more information about the paddle and how to donate, go the Facebook page or website.

Gray skies started early Sunday, with the South Shore losing most of its blue sky by 11am. The sun has peeked in and out most of the day, as threatening thunderheads loom nearby.

“Thunderstorms will be driest through 4pm, then begin to produce some wetting rains and abundant lightning with the threat of new starts continuing through 8pm,” the National Weather Service in Reno said.

A red flag warning is in affect for Eastern California and Western Nevada until 8pm.

Lightning and 50mph winds are expected to create an extreme fire threat.

— Compiled by Kathryn Reed

By Pete Krajewski, Reno Gazette-Journal

The Garson Fire near Verdi was 100 percent controlled Sunday afternoon, with full containment expected by 5pm for the blaze that burned an estimated 40 acres near Boomtown.

Another blaze that started around 11:30am near Eagle Canyon Drive and Loop Road north of Spanish Springs charred about one acre. The Hungry Fire was determined to be human-caused, possibly from a target shooter, and tribal police have begun an investigation, Sierra Front spokesman Todd Chaponot said.

Elsewhere, a massive brush fire north of Reno continued to burn out of control Sunday afternoon, as new thunderstorms were popping up and the danger of more fires in the area persisted.

The Constantia Fire in Lasson County was estimated at 400 acres at 12:15pm, and firefighters had the blaze about 30 percent contained, Chaponot said. The blaze destroyed one home and two buildings Saturday evening.

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By Loretta Kalb, Sacramento Bee

The foothills and mountains to the east of Sacramento are in line for a dose of lightning strikes today and Monday, courtesy of “monsoonal moisture” from the nation’s Four Corners region.

Drew Peterson, meteorologist, said some 20 or so lightning strikes were recorded by mid-morning, mostly within the mountains east of Sacramento, although the entire Sierra Nevada is experiencing the thunderstorms.

“We’ve had a few strikes in El Dorado County as well as Amador and Calaveras (counties),” Peterson said.

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Cilantro Mexican restaurant in Stateline is this week’s featured restaurant in Taste of Tahoe.

Taste of Tahoe raises money for next month’s Relay for Life at Kahle Community Park.

A portion of the proceeds at Cilantro from now through July 31 help fight cancer.

By Jim Sanders, Sacramento Bee

A public memorial service for state Sen. Dave Cox is planned next month near the Capitol where the Fair Oaks Republican served as a legislator for a dozen years.

The celebration for Cox, who died last week after a 13-year battle with prostate cancer, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 5 at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, 1017 11th St.

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By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

With vital water supplies for droughts seemingly secured through a legal victory, the Truckee Meadows primary water provider is trying to recover costs of dam improvements at Donner Lake.

The Truckee Meadows Water Authority wants $500,000 from the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, half the cost of improvements to the Donner Lake dam ordered by the California Department of Dam Safety, Jeffrey Dunn, a lawyer representing the authority in a lengthy dispute over Donner’s water rights, said.

“TCID stiffed us,” Dunn said.

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By Gus Thomson, Auburn Journal

The doors at 18 museums around Placer County are set to creak open and welcome big crowds Aug. 7 and 8 for the third annual Heritage Trail tour.

The doors will be opening wide for a cross-county tour that Museums Administrator Melanie Barton described as an opportunity for all ages – especially families – to enjoy the magic of the museum experience.

“It’s free, it’s fun and it’s a great way to better understand Placer County’s rich and colorful history,” Barton said.

The Heritage Trail tour, which Barton estimates attracted 5,000 people last August, features 19 museum stops from Roseville to North Lake Tahoe.

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