By Kathryn Reed

CHICO — It wasn’t supposed to be a bestseller, let alone No. 1 on the New York Times’ list. “The Shack” started out as a letter to Paul Young’s kids at the request of his wife who wanted him to put his ideas in writing as a living conversation.

He didn’t even have the money to get 15 copies run off for it to be a Christmas present. So his family had to wait even longer.

But then something happened. Family members shared it with others. He started receiving emails from strangers telling him how much the manuscript moved them.

Paul Young

Since “The Shack” was formally published in 2007, Young has been on the speaking circuit. His last stop was in May at CSU Chico.

“The weekend in the shack represents 11 years of my life,” Young told the more than 300 people in attendance.

The back of the 252-page paperback gives this as a description of the book, “Mackenzie Allen Philips’s youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she my have been brutally murdered is found in a an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of the Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. … In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant ‘The Shack’ wrestles with the timeless question: Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?”

Young tells the audience Mackenzie and Missy both are partly autobiographical.

After I read the book a couple years ago I described it as “thought-provoking”. Forgiveness is the overwhelming theme I was left with.

So much of what gets published these days seems so trivial. Perhaps this is because big publishing houses want something safe. This book is not safe. Some would call it controversial.

As Young explains, the book is a conversation starter about God, which is different than religion. The subject matter was a turn off to 20 publishers. They all said no.

Friends of Young decided to help him self-publish. More than 14 million copies of “The Shack” have been sold.

Young is a better writer than a speaker. He’s not sure if he has another book in him, especially considering this wasn’t intended to be one. But he is working on a screenplay. That and wanting to be home have him off the lecture circuit for the time being.

By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee

El Dorado Hills has the newest California Welcome Center for tourism thanks to sign envy.

The El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce had seen signs saying “Tourist Information” along Highway 50 at Folsom to the west and Cameron Park to the east.

“That’s what I wanted,” said chamber President Debbie Manning, “to pull people off 50 into the community.”

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Three decades after the debut of Foreigner and chart-topping success as a solo artist, Lou Gramm returns with a hot new band and a dynamic live show featuring 90 minutes of his own unique brand of rock.

Gramm and his band headline at the El Dorado County Fair on June 19.

Lou Gramm

Fans can expect to rock out on classics like “Hot Blooded” and “Juke Box Hero,” groove to the sound of Gramm’s massive solo hit, “Midnight Blue,” and hear a great slice of melodic rock from the new self-titled album “Lou Gramm Band.”

Gramm and the band Foreigner first exploded onto the music scene in 1977 with the chart topper, “Feels Like The First Time.” Twenty Top 40 singles followed, which continue to drive sales of nearly 80 million albums worldwide.

Discovery of a life-threatening brain tumor in 1997 prompted Gramm to take stock of his life and his creative direction.

He and his new band, which includes brothers Richard Grammatico and Ben Grammatico, have been performing together since 2004.

The Lou Gramm Band performs June 19 at 8pm on the main stage. Admission is included with fair entry.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE — Despite a room full of MV Transportation officials, the wheels are literally and figuratively in motion to move them out and TRC Consultants in.

Much of Friday morning’s South Tahoe Area Transit Authority’s board meeting was what bus service on the South Shore may look like in the future.

During public comment, Nate Smith, president of the western division of MV, said STATA’s interpretation of the letter his company sent on May 17 is not accurate and that “we believe little or no effort was made to resolve the issues.”

At issue is the more than $2 million STATA owes MV as well as what the exact dollar figure is. MV wanted to suspend service until some cash had been handed over. STATA’s response was to cancel the contract.

During a break Smith told Lake Tahoe News that transitioning from one company to another in such period of time would be hard to do. But Smith said all license numbers on the BlueGo buses for California and Nevada will be off by the noon June 20 deadline and that his firm will do what it can to make things go as smooth as possible.

Bob Blanchet with the Teamsters Union flew out from the East Coast for the meeting and was silenced by board Chairwoman Nancy McDermid when he tried to speak about employees and if the new company would honor the union. He arrived late and was not able to speak during the open comment period.

“Sir, I’m asking you to sit down,” McDermid told Blanchet as he tried to get out a few words.

“No way in hell are they (union friendly),” Blanchet told Lake Tahoe News in reference to TRC.

The 70 employees of MV joined the Teamsters this year. STATA officials have said they want to keep the employees. The union issue is not being discussed openly.

Before going into closed session the board voted on TRC’s contract, with all but board member Stacy Dingman saying yes.

“I would love the luxury of more time to do more personal investigation to feel I have all of the information,” Dingman said after the meeting in reference to TRC.

Gordon Shaw of LSC Transportation Consultants talks to the STATA board on June 4. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Most of the morning was spent listening to Gordon Shaw with LSC Transportation Consultants out of Tahoe City give a presentation about money, equity and efficiency. The operations committee of STATA is going to meet next week, with the whole board assembling the morning of June 25 to possibly take action on a short-term plan for the financially plagued bus system.

In the presentation Shaw said the plan is to work with a $4.56 million annual budget, put 10 percent in reserves and use $70,000 to repay the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Some confusion was evident by the board as to whether the reserves would be used to pay the $20,000 a month MV is supposed to start receiving July 1 or if more should be taken out off the top for that debt.

In the scenario presented by Shaw on June 4, it would mean 3,431 hours of service – or 5 percent — would have to be cut. This would bring bus service to 60,893 hours a year.

His presentation then focused on equity v. efficiency.

“Equity is when you have service everywhere. Efficiency is you put resources where the people need it most,” Shaw explained. “The last few year there was probably too much equity and not enough efficiency.”

Some of the proposals include increasing the number of buses on Highway 50, eliminating service in Meyers, disbanding neighborhood service at the Y and Al Tahoe areas, mixing skiers-regular users in the winter, and focusing primarily on the Y to Kingsbury Grade.

Everything is on the table. No decisions were made Friday. Timing was also talked about. Shaw proposes changing routes after Labor Day. Board members say the financial situation is so dire that taking action sooner, possibly in a staggered approach, may be what’s needed to keep the system running.

Five people spoke during the public comment period, including Blanchet who didn’t really get to speak.

John Stenersen, who is a BlueGo bus driver, cautioned the board to not blend skiers with regular riders because skiers leave behind wet seats and have their gear with them. He also said it’s necessary to pay attention to the size of bus being sent to the Ridge at the top of Kingsbury Grade because it’s tight to get around up there.

Jennifer Rodriguez said she stopped riding BlueGo when the last set of changes went into place. She is also a dispatcher and said many people call about getting a ride to Barton Memorial Hospital.

• Bill Crawford has told Lake Tahoe News he will not be running for another term on the South Lake Tahoe City Council.

Bill Crawford

• Rand McNally chose the Tahoe Maritime Museum in Homewood as a unique travel destination for its Best of the Road award program.

• The Boathouse and Grand Hall at the Tallac Site near Camp Richardson will be open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am-4pm. Both will be open on the weekends barring any scheduling conflicts.

• Friends of Truckee may appeal a judge’s late May decision that will allow the 75-acre development at the Truckee Railyard at the eastern end of downtown Truckee to proceed.

• Former South Tahoe High basketball player Chris Grant became the Cleveland Cavaliers’ general manager June 4.

To the community,

If you haven’t already heard, the Sugar Pine Foundation has an opportunity to win $50,000 as the grand prize recipient of Redwood Creek Winery’s Greater Outdoors Project Grant.

We need your continued help and support with VOTING for our project.

Please vote here.

You can vote once a day from now until Aug. 31 – so vote as often as you can. Tell all of your friends to get online a vote for the Sugar Pine Foundation too.

For more information, visit our website and become a fan of the Sugar Pine Foundation on Facebook to stay updated with our organization. Also, you can follow and tweet about us (sugarpinefndn) on Twitter.

Again, thanks so much for your support.

Sincerely,

The Sugar Pine Team

By Kathryn Reed

Skip breakfast and don’t worry about needing dinner. The food is that plentiful and that good. Unfortunately, the opportunity to indulge in a three-course lunch for $10 is going away soon.

Students in Lake Tahoe Community College’s Principles and Practices of Intermediate Food Preparation are the servers, chefs, dish washers, meal planners, menu creators – you name it.

Salad and bread start the three-course meal on June 2 at LTCC. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Part of their final project is working in groups of four or five to come up with a meal to serve to the public.

“We didn’t announce the ones in the fall or winter because we had enough sales. Then people in the public started asking about it and wanting to know about the lunches,” culinary arts instructor Steve Fernald said.

The room was full this week.

Fernald encouraged his students to consider having a vegetarian option, though not all took that advise. The students had to price out the menu, create a shopping list, design a menu and print it.

For four Wednesdays the students are creating an ensemble of dishes. This week it was all about Italy.

Sitting in the Creekside Dining Room at the college is like being on the edge of the forest. With all of the picture windows, diners feel like they are truly in Lake Tahoe and can easily forget they are on a campus of higher learning.

I’m taken to my seat by one of the students and handed that day’s menu. It’s in Italian and English, making me feel like I’m at a restaurant in North Beach in San Francisco perusing a prix fixe menu.

My beverage choices are lemonade or water. Clearly I’m not in The City because a glass of red wine is really what would have been perfect with this meal.

First course is Caesar salad and grilled ciabatta with pesto. This could have been a meal unto itself. The bread could have been cut a little thicker and the layer of pesto a little thinner. Still, the flavor was outstanding – the right mix of garlic and basil.

Three-meat lasagna with béchamel sauce was one entrée choice. I went with the vegetarian lasagna with homemade marinara sauce. The mix of vegetables was tasty, though the ricotta cheese was a bit on the thick side. The overall flavor, though, was yummy.

Vegetarian lasagna

It came with a couple spoonfuls of sautéed spinach on the side. Aesthetically, this was the perfect presentation. A slice of the bread would have been a wonderful accompaniment.

And the portion – wow. I couldn’t eat it all. Of course, I also knew tiramisu cheesecake was still to come. Several people were leaving the dining room with to-go containers.

The only trouble with the tiramisu is how full I was. Still, it didn’t stop me from devouring nearly every morsel.

As the hour came to a close, the class came out for a brief introduction and rousing round of applause.

Two lunches remain. The one on June 9 has a Greek theme, while salmon is the focus of the June 16 meal. Per Fernald’s instructions, all must be three courses and come with a beverage.

Reservations are necessary. Call Steve Fernald at (530) 541.4660, ext. 334 or email fernald@ltcc.edu.

Tiramisu cheesecake

An added bonus is the students will share the recipes. The following is the tiramisu they made. The sheet of paper didn’t say where the recipe originally came from. I can’t attest for the ease or difficulty in making it, but I do know the end product is scrumptious.

Torta di Formaggio di Tiramisu (Tiramisu Cheesecake)

Serves 12-16

1-2 (3oz.) packages ladyfingers

8 T coffee or espresso

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

1 (8 oz.) container mascarpone

¼ C sour cream

1 C white sugar, plus 2 T

2 eggs

4 T all-purpose four or cornstarch

1 (4 oz.) bar semisweet chocolate

4 T Kahlua

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place a pan of water on the bottom of oven.

Remove bottom of 9 x 3-inch springform pan; wrap bottom with plastic wrap. Stir 6 T coffee (cooled), 2 T sugar and 2 T Kahlua in a shallow bowl until sugar dissolves. Quickly dip one side of the ladyfingers into coffee mixture and place wet side up on pan bottom to cover, squeezing in ladyfingers to fit. Use as many as needed. Freeze about 20 minutes or until firm. Lift plastic wrap, with ladyfingers, off pan bottom and place on a flat plate in freezer.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, mascarpone, sour cream, and sugar until very smooth. Add remaining 2 T coffee or espresso and remaining 2 T Kahlua, and mix. Add the eggs then add the flour once sifted; mix slowly until just smooth. The consistency of the mascarpone can vary. If the cheesecake batter is too thick, add a little cream. Do not overmix at this point. Pour batter into crust. (See recipe below for crust.)

Place pan on middle rack of oven. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until center still jiggles slightly when shaken. Turn off oven (leave door closed); leave cake in oven 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let it finish cooling. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably 1 day for bet flavor. For chocolate shavings, pull a swivel-blade vegetable peeler down length of chocolate bar. Refrigerate curls until ready to use, or garnish slices individually when ready.

Graham cracker crust (for 9-inch pie crust)

About 20 honey graham crackers

6 T unsalted butter, melted

Break the graham crackers into smaller pieces. To turn those pieces into crumbs, you can use a food processor or blender. Pulse in sort bursts until you’ve got coarse crumbs.

Pour the crumbs into a large mixing bowl, followed by the melted butter. Work the butter into the crumbs with a wooden spoon or your hands until the butter is evenly distributed.

Dump the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan or pie tin. Use your hands or a flat-bottomed glass to press the mixture evenly into the bottom and side (if desired) of the pan. To avoid crumbs getting into the batter, press firmly to ensure the crust is well compacted.

Bake the curst about 8-10 minutes. Let it cool completely before adding the filling.

By San Jose Business Journal

Facebook Inc. has been sued over disclosure of data that could be used to identify users who click on ads on the social network.

David Gould of South Lake Tahoe sued the Palo Alto company in U.S. District Court in San Jose, saying it had violated its privacy policy when it gave an advertiser his personal information.

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By Marek Warszawski, Fresno Bee

Last (month), Tim Cohee officially became the new owner/operator of China Peak (formerly Sierra Summit), purchasing the Huntington Lake ski resort for $3.8 million.

A ski industry veteran, Cohee spent the past 17 years as a senior executive at Kirkwood Mountain Resort near Lake Tahoe, including 13 as president and general manager. His résumé also includes stops at Snow Summit (the previous owner of Sierra Summit), Heavenly Valley and Sunday River in Maine.

Cohee recently sat down for a lengthy interview to detail his plans for China Peak.

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By Bill O’ Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

They’re holding on to their jobs with both hands at Papa Murphy’s pizza in Spanish Springs.

 As one of the toughest summer job markets for teenagers in memory approaches, those working at Papa Murphy’s said they are fortunate to have found work when the shop opened in February.

“I was extremely lucky,” said Heather Harper, 16, a student at nearby Spanish Springs High School. “A lot of my friends ask me if we’re hiring. They need jobs.”

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