I just spoke with Ms. Buffa again. Seems that about 400 Charter customers in Meyers got the upgraded network, with the improved services, but did not get their rates increased at that time. This was an oversight by Charter at that time. These customers’ rates will now be raised, to get them in line with everyone else.

So, as regards Ms. Reed’s original question about rate increases in the County portion of South Shore, the answer has changed to “maybe”. Those customers who had a rate increase earlier this year will not have another; those who did not will have their increase now.

Stuart Whitehead, I.T. Analyst II El Dorado County I.T. Dept.

Lake Tahoe Community College instructor Chef Steve Fernald and the culinary arts students are preparing an organic vegan Thanksgiving themed feast Nov. 20.

This event is sponsored by the Advocates for Wellness, Animal Rights, and the Environment, A.W.A.R.E., a student club.

Special guest Hope Bohanec, Grassroots Campaigns Director, IDA, will be speaking about “Eco-Eating: The Power of Your Plate.” This presentation will explore the effects of food choices on the environment: global warming, water use and pollution, energy consumption, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and species, as well as the impact of fishing on the oceans.

Tickets are $9 in advance and available for purchase at LTCC Student Services, Nov. 4-18 or online at www.ltcc.edu/news.asp. If not sold-out, they will be $12 at the door.

Dinner will be in the Student Center Cafeteria at 6:30pm, Lake Tahoe Community College, One College Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

I am the attorney that represented Ms. (Jacqueline) Mittelstadt at the 10.20.09 City Council meeting. This matter has been continued to the 11.03.09 meeting. The parties have an agreement not to discuss the status of our current communications in the interim. The video of the 10.20.09 City Council Meeting can be found at http://slt.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=337.

The portion regarding Ms. Mittelstadt begins at 1 hour and 24 minutes into the video.

Unfortunately, the City Manager and an anonymous blogger have chosen this time to weigh in on this matter in public, at a time when neither Ms. Mittelstadt nor her supporters may respond. I ask that Citizens of South Lake Tahoe consider the timing and anonymity of those comments in contrast to Ms. Mittelstadt’s request at the 10.20.09 meeting that her side of the story to be aired in public session, subject to cross-examination by members of the City Council, their attorney, and members of the public.

We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding at this juncture.

Timothy L. Brictson

It’s time for ghosts and goblins at the first Haunted Horizon Hallow-Kid Fest. Grab your costume and come down to the convention center of the Horizon Casino Resort on Halloween afternoon from 1-5pm, as we gather the ghouls for a fun, old-fashioned, Halloween festival. There will be games, costume contests, tricks and treats, the Haunted Horizon Maze and much more.

Admission is free.

KTHO AM-590/FM 96.1 will be there live.

This is sponsored by Borges Sleigh and Carriage Ride, Lira’s Market, Arvco Investments, and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Special thanks to   Company and Rocky Mountain Audio Visual for their decoration contributions.

The HOPE Club from Lake Tahoe Community College in partnership with the Lake Tahoe Boys & Girls Club is throwing a Halloween Dance for high school students on Oct. 30 from 6-10pm.

It’s at the Boys & Girls Club (1100 Lyons Ave., South Tahoe)

Admission is $7 or $5 with a costume.

There will be prizes for best costumes as well as raffles. Music provided by disc jockey Diversity/Diversity.

For the second year in a row, the SnowBomb Ski & Board Festivals promise to be the biggest and best venue for finding not only the latest ski and snowboard gear for the upcoming winter, but also taste premiere wines and boutique beers.

More than 150 wineries and breweries will be attending and offering tastes of their newest flavors this year. All of the Lake Tahoe resorts will be there.

Because of the huge success of last year’s event in San Francisco, SnowBomb has added a second event in Santa Clara at Santa Clara Convention Center. Both events will from 10am until 8pm on Saturday, and from 10am until 6pm on Sunday. The SF event at Fort Mason is Nov. 7-8; while the South Bay event is Nov. 14-15.

Both festivals will have the same basic elements, the entertainment will feature resort booths from more than 20 of the top resorts in North America including Tahoe resorts, Whistler, Vail, Mammoth, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Big Sky and many more.

Tickets are online at sfSkiFest.com. General admission tickets are $20 per day and include a free lift ticket to Bear Valley, Dodge Ridge, or Sierra Summit, a 2 for 1 lift ticket to Mammoth, a free burrito at Wahoos Fish Taco among others freebies. The $40 VIP ticket includes all the General Admission perks, a commemorative glass and unlimited beer or wine tasting for four hours.

Kids can play in the snow area or watch professional BMX and skaters hitting the massive halfpipe in the Festival’s “extreme scene”. Both Festivals also feature a huge ski/snowboard sale with over 1 million dollars in goods being sold at up to 70 percent off.

For more information, go to snowbomb.com or sfskifest.com.

Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe community appreciation day includes a Bavarian-theme beer garden at the Winters Lodge, a snow-building contest, and a dual slalom race.

The Tahoe Environmental Research Center hosts UC Davis geology Professor Eldridge Moores, who will give a lecture on our regional landscapes.

California and western Nevada have a long and storied past including plate movements, granitic intrusions, volcanism, and collisions of island arcs and continental fragments with the western US over the past 250 million years. Rocks are historical archives. One can read these archives of Earth history if one knows the language of geology. Major challenges in the 21st century, including climate change, energy, resources, water, and earth hazards, deeply involve geology.

Moores is a distinguished professor emeritus in the UC Davis Geology Department, where he has been a faculty member since 1966. His specialty is Structural Geology and Tectonics. Details: rspellman@ucdavis.edu.

Dec. 9, 5:30-7:30pm at Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, 291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village(Sierra Nevada College campus)

Cost: Free

Phone: (775) 881-7560

Girls on the Run Sierras is hosting the LUNAFEST Film Festival at the Village at Squaw Valley on Nov. 14. LUNAFEST is a film festival featuring award-winning short films by, for, and about women. The film festival begins at 6:30pm and is in conjunction with the annual Women’s Wellness Weekend on Nov. 14-15. Tickets are $49 each and includes appetizers, wine, live auction and film viewings. All proceeds for the event benefit Girls on the Run Sierras and the Breast Cancer Fund. Call (530)587.3769 or go to www.girlsontherunsierras.org for more information.

Head for the Hill Bluegrass at Crystal Bay Club on Nov. 5 at 10pm Colorado Bluegrass band “Head for the Hills” performs a free concert at the Crystal Bay Casino’s Red Room. 21 and over.