To the community,

Heavenly Mountain Resort’s donation of $250 to sponsor an Adopt A Day of Nourishment made sure that many hungry members of the South Lake Tahoe community were able to enjoy Bread & Broth’s hot, nutritious meal on Sept. 16.

The evening’s meal was prepared by Bread & Broth’s cooking crew and a volunteer crew from Heavenly’s Mountain Dining Department worked side-by-side with B&B volunteers to help with the meal’s setup, serving and cleanup.

“It is our pleasure to help out the community at Bread & Broth” said Steve Turner, director of Mountain Dining. “Being in the food and beverage business, this is truly my favorite event to serve.”

Joining Steve were Veronica Arriaga, catering manager; Amy Hurford, administrative assistant and Steve Kremer, assistant director Mountain Dining. The Heavenly volunteer crew arrived at St. Theresa Church’s Grace Hall at 3pm and at 6pm they were still asking Sandy Bobman, B&B’s volunteer coordinator, “What can we do to help?”.

“All Heavenly volunteers are excellent”, said Bobman. “We always look forward to working with them.”

Bread & Broth thanks Heavenly for their monthly sponsorships and their genuine concern for the community. Kudos to Heavenly Mountain Resort for the part they play in B&B’s success in feeding the needy of our community.

To help B&B as a donor or sponsor, please contact me at (530) 542.2876 or carolsgerard@aol.com.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

Munich’s great tradition returns to the shores of Lake Tahoe for Camp Richardson’s 19th annual Oktoberfest on Oct. 5-6.

New this year is an Emerald Bay Beer Cruise with featured Oktoberfest brews, signature mugs and German pretzels. Boats depart Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 3:30pm for a 90-minute round-trip cruise to Emerald Bay. Lederhosen are optional, but encouraged. Tickets are $44 for adults and $19 for children 12 and under. Spots are limited and reservations are recommended.

Camp Richardson offers fun for the whole family, including the family dog, from 10am-5pm both days. Activities include an owner and dog dress up contest, German food and desserts, craft booths, face painting, pumpkin patch, bouncy house, live music featuring the Gruber Family Band, and beer and wine garden.

Humans can also get in on various contests during the two-day festival that range from beer stein holding to yodeling. Admission and parking in the Eagles Nest campground is free for Oktoberfest.

By Mayumi Negishi, MarketWatch

TOKYO — Casino developers now see the best opportunity in years to get a gaming resort built in Japan, hoping that Tokyo’s plans to host the 2020 Olympic Games will provide the long-awaited final push for legislation to legalize casino gambling.

First brought up by legislators in 2002, casino proposals have tantalized resort operators such as Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts WYNN for more than a decade, only to be sidelined by Japanese political instability and concerns that legal gambling may lead to corruption, money laundering, and other crime.

One version of the casino bill has been submitted to the Diet. Ruling party lawmakers want to withdraw it and submit another draft bill in the next Diet session.

The bill’s backers say the strong approval ratings of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who supports the casino plan, offer the best political climate in years for the legislation to pass. Lawmakers in favor of the bill say Japan could generate economic benefits of about $10 billion a year and provide a new source of tax revenue at a time of heightened concern about the country’s growing debt burden.

Read the whole story

By Sridhar Natarajan, Bloomberg

Caesars Entertainment Corp., the largest owner of U.S. casinos, is raising $4.85 billion in bonds and loans to refinance debt, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday.

Citigroup Inc. is arranging a $3 billion term loan for the Las Vegas-based company as well as a $269.5 million revolving credit facility, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction who isn’t authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. Caesars also plans to issue $1.35 billion of second-lien notes and $500 million of first-lien debentures, according to the filing. The proceeds will be used to repurchase commercial mortgage-backed securities and a $450 million senior-secured facility.

Caesars is the parent company of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys in Stateline.

The most indebted U.S. gaming company, which is controlled by Apollo Global Management LLC (APO) and TPG Capital, is refinancing debt through the Caesars Entertainment Resort Properties at the PropCo unit, with most of its more than $23 billion of debt held by the operating company, or the OpCo. The move signals its parent’s plans to shift assets away from lenders at the OpCo in the case of a bankruptcy, according to Fitch Ratings analyst Alex Bumazhny.

Read the whole story

By Kristin Gourlay, NPR

For the past few weeks, the culinary arts students at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., have been working with some less-than-seasoned sous chefs.

One of them, Clinton Piper, may look like a pro in his chef’s whites, but he’s struggling to work a whisk through some batter.

“I know nothing about baking,” he says.

Luckily, he’s got other qualifications. Piper is a fourth-year medical student at Tulane University School of Medicine, and he’s here for a short rotation through a new program designed to educate med students and chefs-in-training about nutrition.

“I think it’s forward thinking to start to see, to view food as medicine,” he says. “That’s not something that’s really on our radar in medical education. But with the burden of disease in the United States being so heavily weighted with lifestyle disease, I think it’s a very, very logical next step.”

Read the whole story

The Douglas County Community Services Foundation has arranged with Sertoma Oktoberfest event to honor pre-sold tickets purchased for the Labor Day free concert in the park which was canceled due to smoke.

Sertoma annual Oktoberfest is Sept. 22 from noon to 4pm at Heritage Park in Gardnerville.

Anyone who purchased a ticket to the Foundation’s Labor Day Free Concert may take their ticket to the Sertoma Oktoberfest event for redemption.

For more info, call (775) 782.9828.

Join the half million other Nevada residents who have already signed up to participate in the fourth annual Great Nevada ShakeOut organized by the UNR’s Seismological Laboratory.

The even is Oct. 17 at 10:17am. Remember to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” for at least 60 seconds.

The Great Nevada ShakeOut is an annual opportunity to practice earthquake safety and prepare for the possibility of a major earthquake. Participation at work is encouraged. Businesses, organizations, schools, and government agencies can register and have their employees practice the “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” action or have a more extensive emergency drill.

So far, 127,155 participants in the counties of Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Washoe are registered for the event.

For more information and to sign up for the drill, go online.

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By Gwen Ernst-Ulrich

In spite of last weekend’s weather that caused 10 small lightning-ignited fires across all four Tahoe National Forest ranger districts, the majority of the 76 reported fires on the TNF since the beginning of 2013 have been either human-caused or of undetermined origin, prompting officials to urge everyone to use extra caution to prevent uncontrolled wildfires, especially as drying weather patterns increase fire danger.

Human activity ranging from debris burns, equipment heat or sparks, juvenile mischief, and unmanaged campfires are some of this year’s specific actions that have caused crews, engines, and other resources to race to the scene of a fire start. Even though fewer campers are enjoying the forest now that summer is ending, fall brings hunters along with those who like to gather firewood or ride off-highway vehicles, all of which are activities that could cause a fire.

Sparks or heat from equipment are leading wildfire causes. People can prevent these types of fires by following a few principles.

· Make sure equipment and off-road vehicles, such as chainsaws, portable generators, and all-terrain vehicles, have a working spark arrester.

· When touring the forest in a vehicle, including trucks, motorcycles, and so on, stay in designated areas and on established roads and trails to avoid exposing your vehicle’s hot parts to dry vegetation.

· Sparks from dragging chains and flat tires can also ignite nearby dry grasses.

Improperly handling stoves, lanterns, and heaters in the forest can also cause wildfires.

· When filling, place them on the ground in a cleared area and move the appliance to a new clearing before lighting it.

· Recap and store flammable liquid containers in a safe place.

· Never light lanterns or stoves inside a tent, trailer, or camper.

People should follow a few simple rules to reduce the risk of an escaped campfire.

· Stay with your campfire at all times.

· Always keep water nearby to extinguish uncontrolled flames.

· Before leaving the area, thoroughly douse your campfire with water and mix (stir) the water in with ashes and embers to ensure the fire is completely out.

Careless smoking in the forest is another wildfire danger.

· Smoke in at least a 3-foot clearing and grind out cigarettes, cigars, or pipe tobacco in the dirt.

· Do not smoke while walking or riding a horse or trail bike.

· Use your ashtray while in your vehicle.

Through the “One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire” interagency fire prevention campaign, the California Wildland Fire Coordinating Group is working to raise awareness, and agencies, businesses, and Fire Safe councils across the state are engaged and supporting this effort. More information is available on the Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region’s website.

“Everyone pays the cost of uncontrolled wildfires,” said Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn. “The costs come in the form of lost lives and damaged or destroyed property and natural resources in addition to tax dollars that could be used for efforts other than fighting fires.”

Quinn encourages people to be aware of wildfire conditions and to take appropriate prevention measures while helping protect their own property by creating defensible space around their homes.

For more fire prevention information, go to the Tahoe National Forest website or the Forest Service National website.

Gwen Ernst-Ulrich works for the Tahoe National Forest.

Have an epic story to tell about your most memorable golf shot? It could be worth a $1,500 golf trip.

“Hooked On Golf,” the seminal radio show on KNBR 680 in San Francisco and the Divine 9, Northern Nevada golf co-op of courses and lodging properties, are looking for best golf shot tales ever told, where writers take a whack via keyboard at anecdotes generally reserved for the 19th hole.

The winner of the contest will win a spot aboard Nevada’s Divine 9 Media Tour on Oct. 1 in Carson City and Carson Valley. The winner also receives four nights lodging, two traditional rounds of golf at Divine 9 member courses, select meals, and a $150 travel allowance.

The winner also be interviewed on the radio post-event by Abendroth and Juricich, hosts of “Hooked On Golf.”

Entrants have until noon Sept. 27 to submit their entry. The winner will be announced on the “Hooked on Golf” program on Sept. 28. Go online for entry information. The contest is open to anyone 21 and older.

The annual community cleanup day is Sept. 21 from 9am–noon.

In three hours, volunteers from all across South Tahoe will be out in force, cleaning up litter and debris from local beaches, rivers, and meadows. The event is part of a larger effort, the Great Sierra River Cleanup, where volunteers will clean waterways in the Sierra Nevada from Mt. Whitney to Lassen National Park.

The local event is being coordinated by the Sierra Nevada Alliance, Clean Tahoe Program and AmeriCorps. Volunteers can choose from 11 cleanup sites or drop-in at Lakeview Commons at 9am Saturday.

All volunteers will receive a goodie bag as a thank you, and the first 40 volunteers to register will get a Great Sierra River Cleanup T-shirt. All ages are welcome.

Last year volunteers on the South Shore picked up nearly 2,000 pounds of trash during the event.

Signup online.

For more information, contact Nikki Thompson at (530) 542.4546, ext. 321.