Publisher’s note: This message went out to all employees on May 26 asking for their comments. It is reprinted with permission.

Good Afternoon:

The city has an existing policy of the council to give preference to qualified local vendors of service in our procurement. We are proud of this fact. We are examining a proposal made by our Carpenter’s local to set specific preferences in the award of contracts in regard to local hiring.

The issue undoubtedly will be in this case whether the funds are federal, state or local funds. Different standards apply depending on the color of money, but I am very interested in what the city attorney comes up with. I hope that we can provide preferences in major construction contracts and put our own people back to work.

In a time when many people in our community are suffering under the pressures of a continuing slower economy, business is hurting, people are out of work not just here but in our nation, is there any merit to the idea of establishing a city policy that gives preference under certain defined guidelines for products that are made or assembled in the United States. I have nothing against foreign made products, but in these times, is there something reasonable our local government can do to promote purchase of American made and/or assembled products? Maybe if there was more consumer demand for American made products, there would be more American made products.

No, I wish no ill on our foreign friends and vendors. I just think we need to take care of our folks first.

Any comments and observations in this regard? What is the upside and what is the down side of proposing a policy like this one to the City Council? Are their secondary negative or positive benefits should such a policy be put in place.

I welcome ideas and comments from you.

Dave Jinkens, South Lake Tahoe city manager

Publisher’s note: Annika Sorenstam has a home in Incline Village.

By Heather McPherson, Orlando Sentinel

Annika Vineyards, a joint venture between Hall of Fame golfer and Orlando resident Annika Sorenstam and Wente Vineyards, is proud to introduce its newest entry, a 2008 chardonnay, which will be available for purchase through its website in the spring of 2010. With the addition of this vintage, the Annika Vineyards portfolio is comprised of two ultra-premium, boutique wines that speak to Annika’s personal passion and wine style.

Annika Sorenstam

“This full-bodied Chardonnay has a great balance with apricot, peach, and tangerine interlaced throughout that lead to graham, vanilla, and ground spice flavors on the finish,” says winemaker Karl Wente. “With a perfectly weighted mouth feel, balanced by a refreshing acidity to cleanse the palate, this wine is both complex and crisp. The chardonnay was barrel fermented in a combination of French, American, Eastern European, and neutral oak and was aged for 10 months.”

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By Kathryn Reed

Hiking season in the Lake Tahoe area is a gradual migration from lake level to higher elevations. It may be an extended lake level season this year based on the weather the Sierra has experienced this month.

Still, I was able to get in one of my favorite hikes earlier this month – Rubicon Trail. The four of us started at the Vikingsholm parking lot at Emerald Bay and went as far as Rubicon Point at the end of the bay. (It costs $7 to park because it’s a state park.)

Emerald Bay along the Rubicon Trail. Photos/Kathryn Reed

When the hiking legs are more energized we often do the nine-mile round-trip to the beach at D.L. Bliss State Park as the halfway point. The round-trip is my favorite hike in the basin. It’s one of those ones where bringing an extra camera battery is a good idea.

Going part way like we did this particular Saturday or having another vehicle at D.L. Bliss makes it less strenuous. To the point it’s flat and about two miles. To the state park means a few slight hills, but nothing overly taxing. The worst part about the hike is the mile-long trek up from Vikingsholm to the parking lot.

The 200-foot elevation gain feels like a lot more than that.

An old lighthouse is close to D.L. Bliss. California Conservation Crops crews built a trail to it as an offshoot from the main route. It’s worth a look.

I’ve seen a few daring soles jump from the rocks into the water below. I’m not sure how safe this is, so I’m not recommending it. But it does look like fun for people who don’t have height or cold-water issues. There have been fatalities in the past with jumpers.

It’s the views along the entire route that are breathtaking. Sauntering along Emerald Bay is mesmerizing. Boats cruise by. The only downside this day is a boat overloaded with partiers looking for a cove to anchor in. Luckily, our lunch spot was too rocky for them.

A kayaker has paddled up to the boat-in only campground. The M.S. Dixie takes a boatload around Fanette Island.

An eagles’ nest is on the other side of the bay, so don’t be surprised to see one of these majestic birds.

It’s mid-May and the trail is well used. It’s popular most of the year when snow is not on the ground.

The odd-looking bright red snow plant is sprouting. People have put sticks and rocks around them so they won’t be trampled.

Massive sugar pine cones dot the area.

Make sure you are not in a rush. This is one of those hikes that can take all day, not because of the distance, but because of the scenery.

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California State Parks and GreenInfo Network have created a web portal that makes it dramatically easier for the public to find and get to any kind of open-space and recreational lands in the Golden State.

The FindRecreation website contains data on everything from federal wilderness areas to neighborhood tot lots, with interactive maps and searching.

“We designed FindRecreation to enable people to find parks near home,” Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks, said in a press release. “We hope Californians will discover the natural wonders of this state, have fun, get some exercise and feel better.”

Here’s how it works. Click here. Enter a home address, city or ZIP code and the site will display a detailed street map or aerial image of every recreational opportunity in the area. By clicking on a particular site, the user can learn more, and get transit or driving directions directly to it.

View any site in an interactive 3D map, using Google Earth technology and high-resolution imagery from Microsoft Bing maps.

For many areas, the site will show available trails (a forthcoming version will also show parking sites, restrooms and viewpoint outlooks). After that, it is all up to the user to get packed and get going.

In addition to parks, Find Recreation also shows the detailed location of more than 1,300 public campgrounds in California. Hikers and backpackers can combine FindRecreation’s 3D map views with camp locations and trails to help plan simple walks or multi-day outings.

The park and open space areas shown in FindRecreation are part of the California Protected Areas Database (CPAD), a GIS inventory created by GreenInfo Network. CPAD has data on more than 15,000 named parks in the state, totaling more than 49 million acres and owned by 860 different public agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Two-part training series for executive directors and board members on accounting as good governance will cover:

-What is accounting?

-What financial reports should you be looking at and what do they mean?

-Internal controls: What are they and why are they important?

For more information about the June 3 and June 10 event, click training.

By U.S. Ski Team

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN -– Despite heavy snow, the men’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team wrapped up a dynamic spring camp as athletes at all levels of the program gathered at Mammoth Mountain.

“The camp was a total success on all levels,” said nen’s alpine head coach Sasha Rearick. “We had the Development Team, Europa Cup and World Cup guys in town all doing different things, but they were all pushing each other. It was a cool and super productive dynamic.”

Marco Sullivan

World Cup athletes on snow included Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley), Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) and Erik Fisher (Middleton, Idaho) with a goal of getting in some laps and testing equipment. On hand were boot representatives from Atomic, Fischer and Rossignol, which according to Rearick, was a big boost.

“We have such amazing support from those guys and this spring camp is immensely productive with them on site,” Rearick said. “Nyman was packing in the miles and is starting to get things dialed. Then we had Marco and Fish come in mainly for testing, plus Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley) was also doing some volume skiing.”

It was an end-of-the-season camp for the Development Team with Head Coach Randy Pelkey pushing his athletes as he prepares to invite athletes onto the 2011 squad, while the Europa Cup group worked on fundamentals with Head Coach Forest Carey.

The men’s World Cup group will all gather at the Center of Excellence in early June for their annual testing camp and then the entire men’s alpine program meets again in Park City in July for a conditioning camp focused on playing hockey.

If the weather holds, there will be two car washes in South Lake Tahoe this weekend.

Club Live will have its 17th annual Memorial Weekend Car Wash on Saturday from 9am-4pm at the LTUSD Bus Garage on Al Tahoe Boulevard across from the Rite Aid Shopping Center. Club Live promotes a healthy lifestyle by providing high energy alternative activities.

PAL (Police Activities League) will have a car wash May 31 from 8am-4pm at Tahoe Quik Lube, 2513 Lake Tahoe Blvd., across from Swiss Chalet). Money raised is for field trips.

June 22, 6pm – Amphora Winery, Tasting.

Sonoma winemaker and South Tahoe High School grad Rick Hutchinson is back with his wines. If you met him in April, you know the fun you’ll have at a Rick Hutchinson Tasting. If you weren’t here, come see what he’s all about.

Cost: $25 advance, $30 at door.

Location: Apres Wine Company, corner of Ski Run Boulevard and Highway 50, South Lake Tahoe

June 5, 5pm – Wine, Bikes & Song.

Toast the bicyclists and their supporters after the Tahoe Bike Day Parade & Festival at Après Wine Company. John Chevallier will be playing from 5-7pm followed by Wes King from 7-9pm.

Location: Corner of Ski Run Boulevard and Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe.

June 2, 5:30pm – Barton Foundation Wine Tasting Auction at Edgewood Tahoe Clubhouse in Statelne.

Admission to the wine tasting auction is with either a $75 bottle of wine or $85 cash, per person. All proceeds benefit The Barton Foundation’s Community Health Endowment.

For more information call (530) 543.5909.