Thrill-seekers are in for a treat this summer at the El Dorado County Fair in Placerville. If you love to spin, tilt, and twirl you can do so to your heart’s content for just $25 any day and all day of the fair’s four-day run June 17-20.

Entrance Fees & Parking

Entrance fees for the Fair, which have not increased since 2003, will remain the same. Regular admission tickets for persons 13 years and older are $8, ages 7 to 12 years are $6, seniors 60 years and older are $6, children 6 and younger and military personnel in uniform are free every day.

Free parking and free shuttle service is available from the Library/Government Center, Missouri Flat Road Park & Ride, and the Walmart Park & Ride. On grounds parking is $5 per vehicle.

Pre-Sale Tickets and Packages

In addition to the $25 pre-sale carnival wristband, you can save $1 off admission by purchasing tickets in advance. A season pass purchased in advance will gain you entrance to the fair each day, Thursday through Sunday for a cost of $18 regular admission or $15 for those 7 to 12 years, and seniors ages 60 and older. Families and other groups may want to consider the Gold Discovery package. This $40 pre-sale package includes four one-day tickets (valid any day) and 20 coupons for carnival rides — that’s a 50 percent savings compared to the cost of purchasing ride coupons during the fari.

Special Admission Days

June 17

Kid’s Day

12 and younger free until 6:30pm

Senior Day

60 and older free until 4pm plus free carnival rides for seniors

Gates open noon–11pm • Carnival open noon-midnight

Buildings and exhibits close at 10pm

June 18

Teen Day

Ages 13-19 free until 4pm

Gate Opens noon–11pm • Carnival open noon-midnight

Buildings and exhibits close at midnight

June 19

Gates Open 10am–11pm • Carnival open noon-midnight

Buildings and Exhibits close at midnight

Livestock Auction

Free to buyers (between 8-10am)

Destruction Derby

$15 adults and $9 children (includes fair admission)

June 20

Gates open 10am-10pm • Carnival open noon – 10pm

Buildings and exhibits close at 10pm

Father’s Day

$35 – two general admission tickets, one youth admission ticket, and one unlimited ride wristband valid noon-10pm (pre-sale only, must be picked up at fair office)

How to Purchase

Pre-sale tickets, wristbands, and packages may be purchased in person at the fair office, Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm at 100 Placerville Drive in Placerville or online at www.eldoradocountyfair.org.

• Synapse Wines opened a tasting room in Placerville off Highway 50 next to the Cary House Hotel at 304 Main St. Synapse Wines is locally and family owned, with its vineyard in Somerset.

• Nevada Division of Wildlife officials have killed eight bears this season. The norm is one or two. Snow in higher elevations is bring them down into populated areas of the Lake Tahoe Basin. A plethora of bear cubs were reportedly born over the winter.

• The 5.8-mile scenic loop at Mammoth is getting a $4.9 million overhaul from Qualcon Contractors Inc. The Carson Valley firm expects to use two dozen people from the region on the job this summer.

• ESPN The Magazine named Truckee’s Matt Gelso to the first-team Academic All-District at-large team. Gelso is graduating from the University of Colorado and is a standout cross country skier.

• Highway 132 in Mariposa County has been designated the John Muir Highway. It closely follows his path into Yosemite.

• Swimmers are advised by the National Weather Service to “think before you sink.” Rivers in California and Nevada are running extremely fast. The temperature of many bodies of water in the Sierra is in the 40s.

The Barton Foundation’s annual children’s bereavement camp, Camp Sunrise, is Aug. 27-29 at Galilee Camp & Conference Center in Glenbrook.

Camp Sunrise is designed for children ages 7-14 who have experienced the death of a family member. These children receive grief education and support from trained councelors and social workers, and they work through any bereavement issues they may have. The weekend experience leaves them with a more positive outlook for the future.

Volunteers are needed for the camp weekend, especially male volunteers. To inquire about volunteering, contact Robert Orr at (530) 543.6334.

Camp Sunrise is founded on the understanding that every child deserves the opportunity to grieve in a safe, supportive and understanding environment. The camp will be held at Galilee Camp & Conference Center, beginning late Friday afternoon and ending midday on Sunday.

Residents of the South Lake Tahoe, Minden, Gardnerville and the Carson Valley/City areas may apply to attend. There is no cost to attend, however registration ends June 21.

For more information or to register, call the Barton Foundation at (530) 543.5909, or visit www.bartonhealth.org/events.

By Reno Gazette-Journal

Terence Crawford, 22, of Omaha, Neb., headlines a boxing card at MontBleu Resort Casino and Spa at Lake Tahoe on June 26.

Crawford has an 11-0-0 record with eight knockouts since turning pro two years ago in the lightweight division.

Read the whole story

Westface Financial, an independent financial planning company in Truckee, is offering a free College Planning Relief workshop June 15 at 6pm at the Truckee Community Arts Center.

Presented by Beatrice Schultz, a licensed College Planning Relief specialist and co-founder of Westface Financial, the workshop will educate parents on how to be efficient with their money while sending a child to college.

Most parents qualify for more financial aid than they think. This workshop provides parents with specific steps they can take right now to assure they don’t overpay for college, that they clearly understand the process, and maximize their aid qualification.

Attendees of the workshop will:

• Learn specific tactics to making college more affordable

• Better understand the total cost of college and how to prepare

• Know what steps to take right now to maximize aid qualification

• Understand the Public vs. Private school comparison and myths surrounding each

• Discover best practices on school selection

The one-hour workshop is free, but reservations are required. Students are also encouraged to attend. To reserve a seat, call (530) 725.8599 or sign up at www.westfacecollegeplanning.com.

By Kathryn Reed

Even in these economic times, grants continue to be available to public agencies, often from other public agencies.

In the 2009-10 South Lake Tahoe budget, the capital improvement program is receiving 35 percent of its budget from federal grants and 29 percent from state grants. That can be partially broken down to 21 percent from the U.S. Forest Service, 19 percent California Tahoe Conservancy and 11 percent Federal Aviation Administration.

The money the city receives from grantees goes toward Explore Tahoe, roads, erosion control, buildings and grounds, redevelopment, housing, equipment and the airport.

The road at the airport got paved this week with an FAA grant.

“Most of the city’s grant funding is for capital projects,” explained Christine Vuletich, city finance director.

She said in the five years she’s been on the job she’s noticed an uptick in grant dollars being secured even though the city does not have a grant writer.

Although the grant dollars are designated for specific purposes, it’s likely the items those dollars go toward wouldn’t otherwise be funded, especially when cash is in such short supply these days.

South Lake Tahoe is not unique in trying to obtain grant dollars. Most public agencies do. Lake Tahoe Unified School District has $30 million in grants to add to the $54 million bond voters approved – all for facilities.

South Lake Tahoe’s Public Works Department obtains several grants each year for erosion control. Housing grants are another biggie for the city.

Vuletich does not have it broken down as to how much each department receives in grant funding.

On Tuesday the City Council approved the application for a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The police department is asking for $16,883, which would be spent on equipment like Tasers, patrol rifle, handgun magazines, tactical ballistic blanket, ammunition and laptop computer.

Also at the meeting this week was a report by Nancy Kerry, redevelopment and housing manager, about the successes her department has had in the last year with grants and what the goals are for the coming year.

“What is great about looking back over the last year from what we applied and then received is to realize we did very well in our percentage of grants funded,” Kerry said after the meeting. “The number of applications funded indicates it was time well spent, a good use of taxpayer resources.”

She said the primary reasons the grants are needed is that it means jobs, stimulates business and in turn could help stabilize the housing market if people can keep paying their mortgages or rents.

“As for housing grants, those end up helping people get into their first home. That’s good to have full-time owners in homes rather than second homeowners or renters. That’s good for property taxes for the city and good for the neighborhoods and community,” Kerry said.

Grants this year include the $1.5 million Housing and Urban Development grant to remove lead based paint from homes in the city. It’s creating jobs for contractors, money for Lake Tahoe Community College because it’s providing some of the education, and cash for Barton Memorial Hospital because it will test children for lead disease

Kerry was in Tennessee last week for a seminar for all recipients of the lead based paint grant. (The trip is paid from the grant, not out of city coffers.) There she was able to tap into what the feds are looking for in 2010-11 grant applications.

“Right now the federal programs are focused on collaboration. They are looking for cities that can work well together, perform well and come up with innovative collaborative solutions to issues,” Kerry said. “HUD is blending (Department of Energy) money and housing money into new Green Healthy Homes Initiative. The GHHI is the concept or theory that if homes are healthier, kids would be healthier and a healthier home is a green home, too.”

Each year about $20 billion is spent on children’s illnesses, including asthma and allergies. The idea is the GHHI might help reduce the need for all those dollars.

“We’ll take a look at funding opportunities for these kinds of programs because those too would go to the local contractors primarily, which help to circulate the funding among local workers and services,” Kerry said.

By Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — A Justice Department corruption investigation that helped drive John Doolittle from office has now been closed without charges being filed, the former Sacramento, Calif.-area congressman said Friday.

“I’m thrilled,” Doolittle said in an interview. “They’ve dragged this thing out for six and a half years.”

Doolittle’s relief, though, is tinged with bitterness at how he believes the Justice Department has mistreated him. He says he accumulated $600,000 in attorneys fees, some of which he was able to pay with campaign funds. The lingering investigation hindered his ability to find work. In the beginning, he said, it proved “very devastating” to his high school-aged daughter.

Read the whole story

By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

A Gulfstream airplane will make low-level flights over the Sacramento region this month to collect data for a U.S. Department of Energy climate study.

Researchers from the department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., will lead the study, coordinating air and ground operations at three locations. Participating scientists come form several of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, NASA and the University of California, Davis, as well as other academic and research institutions.

Read the whole story

By William Albright, Truckee Times

Tahoe City photographer Steve Lapkin has spent most of his life fascinated by boats and water, and that fascination has paid off with two prize-winning entries in Sailing World magazines’s winter photo contest.

Steve Lapkin's award-winning photograph.

Sailing World is a seasonal publication that focuses on the sport of sailing with an emphasis on performance sailing. The contest drew more than 500 submissions with racing images from around the world. Lapkin’s photos took first and third place.

Read the whole story

The Lake Tahoe Basin will host Wildfire Awareness Week July 3-11. The event is to encourage residents to Be Ember Prepared by protecting their home and community from the embers that cause home fire during wildfires.

California and Nevada already host a Wildfire Awareness Week in early May, but participation has been low in the Tahoe basin partly because many second home owners are not around.

The goal of the week in July is to motivate and empower residents and visitors to take action now to protect homes and communities from embers that can attack during a wildfire. Events and activities are planned throughout the Lake Tahoe basin to remind people of the risks inherent to living in a fire prone environment and the importance of taking measures now to reduce the threat and increase the protection of their homes and communities.

Events will include 4th of July pancake breakfasts by local fire departments, fire station open houses, fuels treatment project tours, fire wise landscaping classes, Fire Safe chapter barbecues, and presentations to homeowner association meetings. The capstone event will be a Wildfire Summit for residents on July 9 from 9am to 5pm at Harveys in Stateline.

Events are listed at www.livingwithfire.info/tahoe.

Homeowners can assess their home’s defensibility by using the “Living with Fire Guide for the Homeowner” and the Ember Awareness Checklist in the “Be Ember Aware! Will your home survive when the embers arrive?” publications found at the www.livingwithfire.info/tahoe website. Further information is also available contacting the Nevada Fire Safe Council at www.NVFSC.org for information about creating a fire safe community.