Oakland A’s World Series MVP and boater Dave Stewart will be the keynote speaker at the 38th Annual Marina Recreation Association Educational Conference and Trade Show at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nov. 3-5.

“His journey from raw-talent rookie to ultimate success at the top of the game gives Stewart a unique insight into the value of persistence and hard work in good times and bad,” according to conference organizers.

The MRA is an association of marina owners, operators and trade members throughout the Western States, Baja California and Hawaii.

For more information about the MRA or its 38th Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show, visit www.marina.org.

An email from South Lake Tahoe City Manager Dave Jinkens on Oct. 18 to Lake Tahoe News: “I have had contact with Target representatives over the last 2½ years regarding their possible interest in coming to South Lake Tahoe. Recently, I was told that Target would be interested in locating in South Lake Tahoe if the community wanted them to be here and there was a site or sites large enough to accommodate a new store. I have forwarded some information to them regarding location options that are preliminary, and I am waiting to hear back from them. I believe that Target is a great potential retail opportunity for the community that we will pursue over the next few months.”

By Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee

It’s a good time to be a casino regular.

With tribal resorts in the Sacramento region challenged by a flattened economy for gambling, casino patrons are feeling the love of a marketing push to keep them playing their favorite slot machines and table games.

Casinos are renewing courtships with repeat customers and wooing gamblers to sign up for special rewards club programs. They’re showering favored guests – from small but steady bettors to high rollers – with toaster ovens, buffet visits, Elvis commemoratives, limousine service, and special admission to drawings for cars, trucks and cash.

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Assemblyman Ted Gaines and Red Hut owner Nancy Gardner. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

When lawmakers begin the next budget cycle in January, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, expects a $10 billion deficit will have to be dealt with.

“The revenue is just not there,” Gaines said.

He delivered this news to a roomful of constituents at the Red Hut Soda Fountain in South Lake Tahoe on Oct. 14.

After the meeting he told Lake Tahoe News he expects government workers will be laid off, private-public partnerships will be developed, and that drilling oil will become a serious discussion.

“We need to look at the extraction of oil in a safe way,” Gaines said. “There is billions of revenue in that.”

The area being looked at is the Tranquillon Ridge in Santa Barbara County. The Board of Supervisors there approved drilling at T-Ridge last year.

Gaines also supports additional drilling by using existing oil platforms.

Gaines’ opening remarks also touched on how water is such a contentious topic in the state.

“I want to make sure our needs are addressed in the north,” he said.

After those in attendance talked about the Kindertown day care issue, others probed the assemblyman on his stance to give more control to local entities, while taking it away from the state.

When asked how to change government and bring it back to the local level, Gaines said it’s necessary for people to get involved. He also said to pay attention to what the gubernatorial candidates are saying.

Some of these changes could come through a Constitutional Convention that is gaining momentum. He said the California Constitution is about 10 times longer than the U.S. document. But Gaines wants to make sure it is real reform.

“There are a lot of outdated regulations. We need the capacity to get rid of regulations,” Gaines said. “We are one of the most taxed states in the nation. They assume every business is a Fortune 500. They are killing small businesses.”

Lauren Glendenning, Aspen Times

VAIL — One Vail company is trying to hone in on a market that has brought business to other resorts for years — the gay and lesbian community.

Rocky Mountain Vacation Rentals, a local vacation planning and concierge company, is hosting Vail Gay Ski Week Jan. 27 to 31, which will include parties, apres ski events, group skiing, restaurant and lodging deals and other festivities.

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Ciera Signature Wine Dinner on Dec. 18 at the Ciera Steak + Chophouse, MontBleu, Stateline.

General Manager Steve Loyd and Director of Food & Beverage Jean-Michel Labadie pair dinner with Domaine Chandon Sparkling, Sonoma Valley.

For reservations, call 800.648.3353 or after 4:30pm call (775) 588.3515, ext. 3235.

Lake Tahoe Community College Writers’ Series presents an Evening of Poetry with Camille T. Dungy on Nov. 6 from 7-8pm in the college library.

The night will include a reading, Q & A, and book signing.

It is free. Books will be available for purchase.

Dungy is author of What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison (Red Hen Press, 2006) and the forthcoming Suck on the Marrow (Red Hen Press, January 2010). She is editor of Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (UGA, December 2009) and co-editor of From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great (Persea, April 2009). Winner of fellowships from the NEA, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and Cave Canem, she is an associate professor in the Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University.

This event is supported by the LTCC Foundation and Poets & Writers Inc. through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation.

The LTCC English Department brings nationally-known poets and writers from all over the country to the college for readings, book signings, craft talks, and workshops. Because of support from the LTCC Foundation, as well as various grants, all events are free and open to the public.

For information about the Writers’ Series, contact Suzanne Roberts at (530) 541.4660, ext. 708.

By Kathryn Reed

ZEPHYR COVE — Enrollment in Douglas County School District continues to decline, though Zephyr Cove Elementary School is dramatically defying that trend.

With 25 more students than last year, Zephyr Cove’s numbers are up 13 percent. This is not a trend experienced at other elementary schools in the district. Principal Nancy Cauley is not sure what to attribute the increase to.

The school has 217 students in grades K-6. Even though the school is small, the class sizes are not. Class sizes range from 21 students in third-grade to 42 in fourth.

The two high schools keep losing students. At the lake, Whittell High has 34 fewer students than a year ago, for a total enrollment of 229 students for the 7-12 school. This is a 12.9 percent drop.

Douglas High in the valley lost 90 students, or 6.1 percent of its student population. There are 1,380 students at Douglas.

District-wide, enrollment is down 1.5 percent or 95 students. Enrollment for 2009-10 is 6,212. With only two schools at Lake Tahoe, the majority of the students are in the Carson Valley.

Nevada has said declining enrollment will not affect districts’ 2009-10 budget, but that’s not the case for the next fiscal year. DCSD projects a loss of about $575,000 for 2010-11 based on enrollment projections.

Want to know if you have swine flu?

The only place to find out on the South Shore is at Stateline Medical Center. Folks their will test people who come in with flu symptoms.

The only way Barton Memorial Hospital will test for H1N1 is if someone is being admitted to the hospital.

Reno Gazette-Journal

Freestyle athletes from across the U.S. will again wrap up their winter season at Squaw Valley USA at the 2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships.

Moguls, dual moguls, aerials and skier halfpipe titles will be awarded to the best in the U.S. March 25-28, 2010, during the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Winter Games.

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