Publisher’s note: This editorial first appeared in the Sacramento Bee on April 3, 2010.

No doubt there will be several official reviews into this week’s shooting death of mental health patient Linda Carol Clark. Administrators at Placerville’s Marshall Hospital will be asked why they don’t have a locked psychiatric unit at their facility or why Clark wasn’t adequately monitored or restrained.

The El Dorado Fire Protection District will review why its ambulance, the one Clark took, was not better secured.

Placerville police will spend time and money reviewing aspects of their slow chase. The officer who shot Clark will face hard questioning.

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South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of activities while Lake Tahoe Unified School District is on spring break.

April 9 1-6:30pm Kids Club (K-5th grade) Minimum Day

$10 (Pre-egistration required)

April 12-16, K-8th grade 7:30am-6:30pm (must sign in by 9:15)

Monday – Soccer and Swimming

Tuesday – Scooters/Handball & Ice Skating

Wednesday – Harrah’s Arcade Free non-ticket video games

Thursday – Park, Galaxy Theater & Carson Swim Center (Prior Reg Required)

Friday – Playground, Games, Crafts & Swimming

Bring a sack lunch and warm clothes each day.

Call (530) 542.6056 for information and cost.

Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline has partnered with free-to-play online HD, 3-D golf destination, World Golf Tour, to reward eight people with the opportunity to see and experience the famed Lake Tahoe course.

Through April 30, golf aficionados can play the Edgewood Tahoe Challenge, a “closest-to-the-hole” web-based golf simulation tournament on a virtual replica of the picturesque course.

One grand prize winner will receive a golf getaway that includes four rounds of golf (two for each person), a two-night stay at the private lakeside estate Twin Pines, designed by legendary architect Julia Morgan and a $300 airfare credit. The contest will also provide two second place winners with two rounds of golf each at the Fazio designed course. Five third place winners will receive a one-week pass to attend the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Edgewood Tahoe in July.

Interested golfer may click here to learn more about the sweepstakes and link to the simulation game for a chance to win. Entry is free.

Winners will be selected at random and announced May 3.

Publisher’s note: Thank you everyone for your fun stories about wine. Janine Green of Carson City was picked by Lake Tahoe News to win the tickets to the Passport Weekend. Her story is below.

By Janine Green

I remember my first sip, as if it were yesterday. The broad rimmed glass touched my lips as the flavors of the dark red wine swirled in my mouth. For me this love affair with wine started at a very young age. Growing up in an Italian household, wine was considered just another welcome member of the family. As I have matured, so has my relationship with wine.

Janine Green is on her way to Passport Weekend at the El Dorado County wineries this month. Photo/Provided

My palate now more enriched, I have learned that the true beauty of wine is not only its taste; wine is much more complex than that … its nose, legs, color and clarity, “Ahhhhhh!” Each varietal of wine, with its individual personality and unique characteristics, has added flavor to my life.

Last September, while wine tasting in El Dorado Hills at Miraflores Winery, I took my love of wine to the next, more intimate level. Entering into the tasting room you could feel the energy and excitement surrounding the activities. I sat and slowly removed my shoes and then took my place behind the other participants. The anticipation I encountered was similar to how I feel while I wait in line for an amusement park ride. As I approached the vats filled with grapes, I reflected back to my childhood, watching Lucy grape stomping in my favorite episode of “I Love Lucy”. How much would my stomping dance compare with this character of my past? Would I be graceful or clumsy? Not a moment more to analyze the situation, it was now my turn. I was directed to a foot bath and then assisted up the stair.

As I stepped down, I giggled with fear and excitement, feeling grapes explode between my toes. While I moved from vat to vat, I was intrigued by the texture and consistency of the fruity substance that surrounded me. Knowing that one wrong step would leave me bathed in this sweet watery pulp. Suddenly, an awareness and appreciation of the love and labor it once took to produce a barrel of wine overcame me. Had my ancestors once stomped grapes too?

While I stomped, sipping a glass of Merlot, I envisioned the final product that someday I would have the opportunity to taste. The simple delight of this moment enveloped me. Stepping out of the vats with pink stained feet, I knew my love affair with wine had deepened. I have now seen and experienced the raw and unrefined side of wine. It brings a smile to my face even at this moment, glass in hand, longing for my next encounter.

Sir Elton John will make his Lake Tahoe debut on July 25 at 8pm.

The legendary singer is part of the Harveys Outdoor Concert Series at Stateline.

Tickets go on sale April 12 at 10am through Ticketmaster. They range from $95.50 to $235.50, plus service fees.

Sir Elton John will make his Lake Tahoe debut on July 25 at 8pm.

The legendary singer is part of the Harveys Outdoor Concert Series at Stateline.

Tickets go on sale April 12 at 10am through Ticketmaster. They range from $95.50 to $235.50, plus service fees.

Each spring hundreds of Nordic skiers, snowshoers and fit bodies race up the mountain at Squaw Valley in the annual Billy Dutton Uphill, in honor of late local luminary, Billy Dutton.

The original “run what ya brung” race is an uphill answer to the famous “Chinese Downhill” of the ’70s. Starting from the bottom of KT-22, the course climbs 2,000 vertical feet over 3.2 miles to the finish at High Camp, elevation 8,200.

The Billy Dutton Uphill race is open to all ages. Registration for the April 11 race begins at 7am at Dave’s Deli and the race starts at 8am at the Funitel. The $20 entry fee includes a T-shirt and goodie bag and all proceeds benefit Far West Nordic’s juniors program.

The always smiling Billy Dutton helped establish the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue (TNSR) in 1976, based on his passion for cross country skiing and his vast knowledge of the Tahoe Basin and the surrounding backcountry.

By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

Reno-based Heritage Bank of Nevada has acquired a vacant bank office in Gardnerville and plans to open its sixth branch there in mid-June.

Heritage officials said Friday they are purchasing the former Colonial Bank building at 1299 U.S. 395 North from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for an undisclosed price. Alabama-based Colonial failed last August.

Heritage President/CEO Stan Wilmoth said his bank will move from the former Carson River Community Bank near the Carson City-Douglas line, which Heritage took over when that bank failed in February.

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Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe, recommends the fat boards and skiing in-bounds today. Here is the ski report.

El Dorado County sheriff’s candidates will congregate in El Dorado Hills on April 20 at 7pm in the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Pavillion, 1021 Harvard Way.

Candidates are: John D’Agostini, district attorney’s investigator; Larry Hennick, retired sheriff’s sergeant; Ernie Hillman, retired sheriff’s captain; Bob Luca, retired chief of the California Bureau of Investigation; George Nielsen, Placerville police chief; and Craig Therkildsen, El Dorado County sheriff’s captain.

Written questions from the audience will be asked. A member of the League of Women Voters will moderate.