Nationally recognized author Rabbi Jamie Korngold will give a free talk in South Lake Tahoe based on her book “God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors”.

Jamie Korngold

Korngold, known as the ‘adventure rabbi’, will be at Temple Bat Yam on Oct. 5 at 7pm.

An ultramarathon runner, skier and climber, Korngold’s nature-based approach to Judaism reflects a belief that spiritual fulfillment is especially well accessed through the outdoors.

In her book, she uses biblical stories, personal experiences and witty insights to reveal “the rich traditions and lessons God taught our ancestors in the wild” and to explore “why the natural world is essential to the spiritual development.”

Temple Bat Yam is located at 3260 Pioneer Trail.

For more info, call (530) 542.1211 or email rabbi@tbytahoe.org.

Grover Hot Springs in 1965. Photos/Bill Kingman

Grover Hot Springs State Park, which is four miles west of Markleeville, has been a favorite escape for locals for decades.

The 1965 photo shows the small, rustic rock-lined pool, a wooden fence, and a wooden semi-private changing shed with nails to hang your clothes. There was no bathroom, no attendant, and no charge for admission.

The 2013 photos show the larger, newer pool adjacent to the original (now resurfaced) pool, plus modern dressing rooms, showers, bathrooms, maintenance facilities and the ticket booth.The original changing shed still offers storage.

The pool is open year-round except Wednesdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

— Bill Kingman

By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee

There is simply nothing more important to California’s future than an adequate and dependable supply of clean water.

Accordingly, there is simply nothing more complex than its water politics, as we are beginning to see as Gov. Jerry Brown, legislators and water stakeholders attempt to write a 2014 bond issue.

Dan Walters

The Legislature and Brown’s predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote an $11.1 billion water bond issue four years ago as an adjunct to building an “alternative conveyance” for water through, around or under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

However, placing the bond issue before voters was postponed twice due to fears that it would be rejected due to its size and bits of pork that had nothing to do with water supply. It’s scheduled for the 2014 ballot, but that version is likely to be abandoned.

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By Kathryn Reed

Some of the best cookbooks are ones that practically read like a novel because they tell stories that weave food into our everyday lives. Others offer so many tips that they eliminate the need for some other “how to” books. Some are compilations and not just the recipes of one chef.

“Favorite Recipes from the South Tahoe Garden Club” is a little bit of all of those types of cookbooks.

And while it doesn’t have the stories per se, the ads, ingredients and advice are insights into Lake Tahoe in 1969 – the year the book was published. The cookbooks were a moneymaker for the club.

Lake Tahoe News Publisher Kathryn Reed celebrates her birthday with an Ethel Clarke chocolate cake made by Susan Wood. Photo/Susan Wood

Some of the businesses that advertised are still here. Some are just memories.

One of the funniest ads is for Tahoe Valley Pharmacy. It says, “If your experimental recipe does not work, come see us.”

The book has tips for high altitude cooking and gardening. All sorts of different conversions are in it – like how 2 pounds of fresh peaches will become 1 quart when canned.

What to do with leftovers, ideas for kids’ lunches, what to grill, suggestions for losing weight and the nutritional value of foods are all part of the cookbook.

While the cookbook is comprehensive, it’s not very big – 128 pages. But the type in places is super small.

Tucked into this cookbook is a recipe made famous by Ethel Clarke. She was notorious for delivering her famous chocolate cakes to houses when there was a birthday.

“I have never tasted so much chocolate in my life,” Del Laine said. With six kids in the Laine family, they were well stocked with cakes every year.

Clarke never sold a cake for profit, but plenty of money was made off of her baking skills. That’s how people became familiar with her chocolate cake. She would bring them to different bazaars. Sometimes they were sold by the slice, other times the whole cake was purchased.

“The chocolate cake was a treasure. It was made with real butter. It was so moist,” recalls Brenda Stewart.

With all of her civic involvement, there were plenty of opportunities for cake making. Clarke was secretary of the Lake Valley Community Club, organizer-president of the American Legion Auxiliary, charter president of Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, first secretary of South Tahoe Public Utility District, board member of Lake Tahoe Community Concerts, charter member of Lake Tahoe Historical Society, and member (chair for five years) of the South Tahoe City-School Recreation Commission. (Plus she owned the first insurance agency and built the first local office building in South Lake Tahoe.)

Clarke died in 1987, but her recipe lives on. It was part of a birthday celebration last weekend.

 Chocolate Cake by Ethel Clarke

Cream 1 cube of butter. Add 1½ cups of sugar; beat. Add 4 egg yolks; beat. Add 2 squares of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate melted over hot water – beat. Have ready 2¼ cups of flour (sifted 3 times). Into 1½ cups of buttermilk stir 1¼ teaspoons of soda.

When buttermilk is well mixed with soda, add ½ to batter. Next, add one half of the flour, then the balance of buttermilk and balance of flour. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla and fold in 4 stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.

Batter should be very stiff, makes 3 round or 2 large square layers.

Ice with:

1 cube butter

milk to moisten

2 tsp vanilla

1 package powdered sugar

2 squares Baker’s unsweetened chocolate melted over hot water

Do not use a butter substitutes – will not work.

By Shirley S. Wang, Wall Street Journal

New research into how we maintain our balance could help athletes and prevent falls among older people.

Scientists are finding that maintaining stability and balance with each step we take requires complex coordination of foot placement, arm movement, trunk angle and neck and head motion. That’s because every step is different from the one before it. There are slight variations in stride length and width and the angle at which the foot hits the ground, as well as small shifts of weight in the torso. People’s bodies when walking must constantly make minuscule adjustments to accommodate these variations.

Other research is exploring how the brain controls our balance, which isn’t well understood. A recent study identified a pocket of motion-detector neurons deep in the brain that sends out an alert when the body moves in unexpected ways, such as after stumbling on a crack in the sidewalk. The alert triggers compensating reactions throughout the body aimed at helping us to not fall down.

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By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Sun

Saturation has arrived in the gaming industry and except for a few outposts — namely the state of Texas — there aren’t many places in the United States where a player can’t drive three hours or less to get to a casino, a panel of gaming industry executives concluded in a wide-ranging panel on industry issues.

“New England is saturated,” said Penn National Gaming President Tim Wilmott. “The market is crowded in Ohio. It’s a little underserved in Florida.”

So what does that mean for companies in the business? Panelists said it means growth will occur by acquisition and mergers and possibly diversification into the online world.

Even international markets are getting crowded, with Southeast Asia still the best option for new venues. Wilmott said Japan and South Korea have casinos in their future.

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In Ski magazine’s annual readers’ survey of best ski resorts, no Tahoe area resort made it in the top 10.

Mammoth, which has long been eyed by Vail Resorts as its possible next acquisition, came in at No. 14. Heavenly is No. 22, Squaw No. 24 and Northstar No. 25.

These are the rankings for the West. The magazine divides the resorts between East and West.

Here is how the Tahoe area resorts did in the specialized categories:

• Grooming – Northstar, No. 4

• Scenery – Heavenly, No. 3; Homewood, No. 4

• Terrain variety – Mammoth, No. 5

• Terrain parks – Mammoth, No. 2; Northstar, No. 3

• Family programming – Northstar, No. 3.

The El Dorado County Library Playmobile will be stationed outside the Live Violence Free office on Sept. 30 from 11am-2pm.

It’s a hands-on, interactive learning experience for kids. The palymobile is fully equipped with a Light Table, Play Kitchen, Sand Table and other toys.

Bring children and any questions you may have regarding to your child’s development or health care options. There will be Spanish speaking representatives.

Live Violence Free is at 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

A documentary film about the life of Matthew Shepard will be shown at Lake Tahoe Community College on Oct. 12 at 7:30pm in the Duke Theatre.

Tickets are $5 at the door.

In October 1998, two men lured Matthew Shepard, a gay freshman at the University of Wyoming, from a bar in Laramie. He was kidnapped and driven to a field where he was tied to a fence, beaten, and left to die because he was gay.

A new documentary, “Matthew Shepard is a Friend of Mine”, explores the life and tragic death of Matthew Shepard through a personal lens. The film follows Michele Josue, director of the film and a close friend of Shepard’s, as she travels to pivotal locations in his life, interviewing friends and family members, and gaining insight into the life and devastating loss of Matthew Shepard.

Shepard’s murder was a shocking tragedy that made headlines around the world. As people denounced the hatred and senseless violence that caused Matthew’s death, a much-needed dialogue about hate crimes and intolerance began. This set the stage for the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that was signed into law by President Obama in 2009.

The LTCC Theater Department is one of a handful of organizations across the country that will be presenting this film on or around the 15-year anniversary of Shepard’s death. The film will have its world premiere on Oct. 4 on both coasts simultaneously with a screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival and at an event hosted by the Washington National Cathedral.

In addition to the film screening, the LTCC Theater Arts Department will present the play “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later” in November.

For more information, call (530) 541.4660, ext. 240.

By Michael Doyle, McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The devastating Rim Fire around Yosemite National Park has now rekindled a fierce fight over salvage logging.

Some want to speed commercial removal of the wrecked timber left behind by the fire that has burned over 257,000 Sierra Nevada acres since mid-August. Others caution about the consequences of eliminating the standard regulatory and judicial reviews. The politically savvy agree that a far-reaching timber salvage bill newly introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, is only the start of serious debate.

“If this effort is anything more than just a press release, he’s going to have to be able to sit down and negotiate with the Senate,” Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said Friday.

The bill introduced late Thursday is a more aggressive version of a salvage logging amendment added, on a largely party line vote, a week ago to a separate piece of House legislation about public lands. Like McClintock’s House amendment, his bill effectively blocks lawsuits to challenge salvage logging plans.

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