June 13 marks the start of the next series of positive focus dog training classes designed to promote bonding, dependable good behavior, and fun activities with your dog.

This series includes Puppy Kindergarten, Adolescent Dog Obedience, and Brilliant Buddy Advanced Obedience.

To assure individual attention, class size is imited to 10 participants. Preregistration is required. Classes are at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center. Only positive reinforcement methods are used – no choke chains, pinch collars, or physical restraint. The instructors are certified staff from Dog Training by PJ.

For information and to register, call the Lake Tahoe Humane Society and S.P.C.A. at (530) 542.2857.

The 3rd Annual Tahoe Douglas Rotary “Great Lake Tahoe Chili CookOff is June 12 from 11am to 2pm in the MontBleu parking lot in Stateline.

The Douglas County Public Library Lake Tahoe branch celebrates the Summer Reading Program with stories and crafts on June 18 at 1:30pm.

Miss Carol will read stories about sunshine and Father’s Day. Children ages 3 and up will make a craft; young children should be accompanied by an adult.

Sign up by June 17.

The Lake Tahoe branch of the Douglas County Public Library is located at 233 Warrior Way in Zephyr Cove. For more information, call (775) 588.6411 or visit www.douglas.lib.nv.us.

By Freeskier Magazine

Freeskier has learned of an immeasurable loss to the skiing community. We have confirmed that Arne Backstrom, perennial freeskiing pro, 29, has passed after a big mountain fall. Although details are still unconfirmed, the accident is reported to have occurred on Pisco Mountain (5757m), in the Cordillera Blanca region of Peru, South America.

Details on the exact location and incident are unconfirmed and sketchy at this time. Family and friends are still being notified.

Our thoughts go out to the Backstrom family and to all of Arne’s friends.

As Freeskier confirms details we will post more information.

Publisher’s note as of June 4 at 2:30pm: The stakeholders and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency officials met today. Seaplanes will not be banned from Lake Tahoe.

By EAA

Long a premier destination for seaplanes in the Western United States, local governing bodies threaten to severely restrict seaplane access to Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in the Western Hemisphere. A federally chartered regional planning agency has proposed a noise ordinance that would prohibit any seaplane operations within one mile of the shoreline in a bid to protect the serenity of the lake.

Bisected by the California-Nevada border, Lake Tahoe, often called “The Jewel of the Sierra,” is 6200 feet above sea level, 24 miles long, 12 miles wide and the second deepest lake in North America. Seaplanes have been operating there for at least 75 years since Lake Tahoe Airways started operating Sikorsky S-38 Amphibians on the lake in 1934. Since then, other longtime commercial seaplane airlines and operations have flourished on Lake Tahoe.

Governing the lake is the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) which is a federally chartered bi-state agency created to preserve and enhance the beauty of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Currently, the agency is updating its regional plan for the lake and the proposed noise ordinance would severely restrict private and commercial seaplane operations on the lake.

Read the whole story

The Nevada Commission on Tourism awarded 111 grants worth more than $662,000 to help rural communities promote attractions that draw visitors and generate revenue for local economies, Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki announced Thursday.

NCOT awards grants twice a year to public entities such as visitors authorities, cities and chambers of commerce, and each grant must be matched in value with local funds or labor. Grant recipients in fiscal year 2009 reported an economic impact of $844 million and more than 1.3 million room nights generated for rural Nevada.

Examples of grants include:

· $2,000 to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to help market the 2010 Pyramid Lake Triathlon to out-of-state participants and spectators. The grant will help Pyramid Lake and Northern Nevada gain exposure as a quality recreational destination.

· $3,000 to the Laughlin Tourism Commission to design and implement a website dedicated to River of Lights Boat Parade on the Colorado River.

· $5,120 to the Yerington Theatre for the Arts to help market a series of cultural events through radio and internet advertising. These events will help attract future performances to Yerington and increase visitation to the town.

· $2,850 to the Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership to optimize and promote the organization’s website, which does not appear in the first 10 pages of Google search results.

· $10,000 to the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority to continue a widely successful billboard campaign in California. Billboards on Interstate 80 and Highway 50 in California have proven to increase interest and visitation to Virginia City from California travelers who saw the billboards.

· $5,000 to the Nevada Bed and Breakfast Guild to distribute brochures and pay for online advertising and web hosting to promote more than 20 B&Bs statewide. Most of the guild members are in rural Nevada, so this grant will help increase awareness of rural destinations.

By U.S. Ski Team

A U.S. and French proposal to submit ski halfpipe to the International Olympic Committee for consideration as early as 2014 was approved without dissent as the International Ski Federation concluded its biennial FIS Congress Friday in Antalya, Turkey. The Congress also unanimously passed proposals from the USA and other nations to accept both snowboarding slopestyle and team snowboardcross into the FIS World Snowboard Championships.

A decision on new events for 2014 could be made by the IOC as early as 2011.

“As a member association, we’re proud of the reputation that FIS has developed as a progressive and dynamic international sports federation, particularly in terms of the events and sports it provides to the Olympic Games,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Vice President, Luke Bodensteiner in his presentation to the Congress. “By aggressively developing new and dynamic action sports into its program, FIS is leading from a position that is relevant to youth and the worldwide public. That provides value to our stakeholders and our partners.”

Ski halfpipe has been included in FIS World Championships since 2005 and is already on the program for the 2012 Youth Olympics in Innsbruck.

“Ski halfpipe is strongly supported by the ski industry as an opportunity to develop additional, relevant connection points for FIS competitions,” said Bodensteiner. “And it’s an opportunity to derive value from sponsors and television who crave innovative events with strong youth appeal.”

There was also unanimous support for snowboarding slopestyle and team snowboardcross with acceptance into the FIS World Championships by a host of proposals from the USA, Canada and New Zealand.

“Snowboard slopestyle is a great opportunity for both the large and many small areas around the world to activate around terrain parks which are prevalent, easy to develop and easily capable of hosting training and competition,” said Bodensteiner.

While Olympic consideration was not a part of the formal proposal, advocates encouraged the FIS to also look forward and consider it as a potential future event. “It’s a great opportunity for the FIS to seize the moment and subsequently recommend this sport for inclusion in the Olympic Winter Games beginning in 2014,” added Bodensteiner in his Congress presentation.

Team snowboardcross is a format that has already been tested successfully on the World Cup and proven to be well received by the public and athletes.

“With successful team events in nordic and now in alpine skiing, there’s tremendous opportunity to add a team event into snowboarding,” said Bodensteiner. “A nation’s event will bring a fantastic new element to the typically individual competitions of snowboarding.”

The FIS is already submitting both an alpine team event and women’s ski jumping again to the IOC for 2014 consideration, both approved in past meetings.

By Roman Stubbs, Reno Gazette-Journal

Terry Sullivan will compete in his third consecutive Reno-Tahoe Odyssey this weekend.

But unlike in his first two races, the Reno native will run from another country. Some might say another world.

He’ll run his portions of the race in Afghanistan, outside a NATO base in Kabul, chasing the feeling of home.

“I’ll definitely be thinking about the locations that I would have run if I were home,” Colonel Terry Sullivan said via e-mail, taking a break from long hours with the Nevada Army National Guard. “It’s a pretty austere environment here with lots of work and very little ‘down’ time. To have a chance to be part of something as special as the RTO reminds me of why I volunteered to come here.”

Read the whole story

The South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena is offering a curling orientation and clinic June 12 from 1-3pm.

Curling is a great sport similar to shuffleboard played on ice. Although it is often played with significant strategy and skill, it can be enjoyed by all ages after a short lesson. The intent is to develop enough players to offer a league beginning this fall.

Prepare yourself by logging on to www.curlingbasics.com to learn the fundamentals of the game. Cost is$12 and enrollment is limited, so sign up by stopping by the Arena at 1176 Rufus Allen Blvd., or calling (530) 542.6262.

Bands on the Run — June 17 from 3pm to June 18 at 1:30am along Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe and nearby venues.

Music by Rob Armenti and filsm for the Go Big Project and Keep Tahoe Real at Wilman from 4-7pm.

(outside patio seating on the marina)

Come out and see local live music at these restaurants and enjoy happy hour food and drink specials:

Wildman, Riva Grill, Pizza Hut & Wingstreet, Chevy’s, Apres Wine Co., Diamond Resorts, Blue Angel, and Mo’s Place.

Music by Fabrizio and Happy Hour/Meet&Greet at Diamond Resorts (4-7pm)

Music by John Chevalier at Apres Wine Co. (6-9pm)

Music by Jackie Dauzat at Riva grill (8-10pm)

Karaoke at Mo’s Place late night