By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee

From its inception – first as a Spanish colony, later as part of Mexico, briefly as an independent nation and finally as a state – California has been a youthful society.

Waves of young immigrants, drawn by its expansive opportunities to find fame and fortune, and periodic surges in its birth rate generated high population growth and kept California relatively young.

Dan Walters

No more.

Immigration has slowed to a trickle, and with high outflow to other states and a rapidly declining birth rate, California’s once-vibrant population growth has slowed to a walk – just one-third the rate of the 1980s.

The corollary is that those once-young immigrants and their progeny of yesteryear are getting older. As they do, California is growing grayer – fast.

A Census Bureau report reveals that when the 2010 census was taken, California had 4.2 million residents age 65 or older, or 11.4 percent of its 37 million residents.

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This beach bear was put down. Photo/NDOW

A bear in Glenbrook was killed this week by Nevada Department of Wildlife officials.

The 3-year-old male was a threat to humans, according to Chris Healy with NDOW. It had been captured twice before — in 2011 in Carson City, last year in Glenbrook.

Officials are expecting this to be an active bear season because of the drought. Animals will be more apt to scour neighborhoods for easing pickings.

This is the first bear NDOW has put down this year. Five were killed in 2013.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Tahoe Rim Trail Association needs people on July 19 to help build a trail to Mt. Houghton Summit from the Tahoe Rim Trail.

TRTA is providing lunch to all preregistered volunteers thanks to project sponsors Clif Bar Family Foundation and National Environmental Education Foundation.

This trail construction project is unique because it protects Tahoe Draba, a species that grows above 8,000 feet along the peaks of Lake Tahoe. The TRTA will be creating a single trail to Mt. Houghton that will keep users from damaging critical Tahoe Draba habitat.

Volunteers of all skill levels are welcome and encouraged to participate. Meet at the Mt. Rose Summit parking lot no later than 9am, then carpool up to Relay Ridge. The workday should end at 4pm.

To register, email amyt@tahoerimtrailassociation or call 775.298.4492.

By Kathryn Reed

The EPA on July 8 approved a treatment to combat invasive zebra and quagga mussels in lakes, rivers, recreation areas and other open bodies of water.

Zequanox was created by Davis-based Marrone Bio Innovations. The chemical was first approved by the EPA in 2012 to be used in enclosed systems, which includes intake pipes for dams, manufacturers and golf courses.

These invasive species have crippled the Great Lakes region as well as Lake Mead in Southern Nevada, Lake Powell in Utah, and rivers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Colorado. While they have not reached Lake Tahoe, they are a threat. These mussels are some of species that the decontamination stations are looking for before boaters are able to launch at Tahoe.

On July 9 a boat coming from Lake Mead was inspected at the Spooner Summit station. Inspectors found quagga mussels and an unidentified snail species hiding in the anchor locker.

During the Fourth of July weekend, more than 725 boats were screened for invasive species at four inspection stations surrounding the Tahoe, which is a 17 percent increase from 2013.

Since May, inspectors have intercepted 24 boats containing invasive species bound for the waters of Lake Tahoe. Eight of these boats contained invasive mussels and another four boats were carrying several different snail species.

The mussels disrupt the ecosystem and cause proliferation of toxic blue-green algae. They decrease game fish populations, which can have a serious effect on the economy. Swimmers run the risk of injury from the invasive mussels’ sharp shells, and water intakes from infested lakes and rivers used for irrigation, fire suppression and drinking water can suffer impeded or blocked flow and damage to infrastructure and equipment.

Zequanox is composed of dead cells derived from a naturally occurring soil microbe, and it controls mussels in all life stages. Unlike toxic treatments, such as potash and copper-based solutions, Zequanox is biodegradable, noncorrosive and nonvolatile. In addition, Zequanox is highly selective to control only the invasive zebra and quagga mussels, is effective in a broad range of water conditions and according to the EPA, its active ingredient has “low toxicity and presents little risk to non-target organisms.”

“The product is not damaging to aquatic life, humans or infrastructure,” Jessi DeMartini, research center coordinator with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Ill., said in a statement. “Zequanox produced high mortality of the zebra mussels – reaching 97 percent at the peak of application – while native fish exposed to the product remained unharmed. After further testing we concluded there were no lasting impacts to water quality.”

DeMartini was part of two collaborative open water studies at the Deep Quarry Lake in DuPage County in 2012 and 2013.

Zequanox is applied directly into a lake or river using standard injection equipment. Treatments can occur during any time of the day while people and pets are present, and can be completed within hours.

Tahoe’s goal is to prevent the mussels from ever reaching the lake.

Your Child’s Health and Immunizations is the subject of the Aug. 6 lecture.

It will be presented by Allison Steinmetz from Barton Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and Rhonda Sneeringer from Barton Memorial Hospital

People hear about why immunizations matter and what diseases doctors recommend patients immunize against.

The free lecture begins at 6pm in the board room at Lake Tahoe Community College.

By S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times

Practically every high-end restaurant you’ll ever go into has an award from Wine Spectator posted prominently on the wall. The venerable wine magazine gives out a lot of them. This year, 3,748 restaurants around the world, representing all 50 states and 81 other countries and territories, have earned Restaurant Awards.

But only 72 restaurants across the country can boast a Wine Spectator Grand Award. It doesn’t pass those out like peanuts. Only six restaurants were added to the roster for 2014, and four of them are from California.

In Northern California, the much lauded Saison in San Francisco, with one of the country’s most expensive tasting menus, got the nod. I was happy too, to see La Toque in Napa Valley added to the list. Ken Frank is one chef who’s always had a strong interest in wine.

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Dan Kerr

Avid volunteer and longtime Lake Tahoe resident Daniel Lee Kerr has died.

Mr. Kerr died June 27. He was 76.

He was born in Seattle on Oct. 7, 1937, weighing only 2.2 pounds. As a young boy the family moved to San Diego. That is where his love of surfing developed. He proclaimed himself to be a “beach rat”.

Mr. Kerr would also call himself “Dan the Mountain Man”. In his younger days he was an avid hiker.

Mr. Kerr moved to the South Shore in the late 1970s to take care of his mother after his father passed away. They lived on the top of Kingsbury Grade.

For six years Mr. Kerr was in the Marine Corps, which included serving in Vietnam. He was honorably discharged in 1967 with the rank of sergeant.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in history/philosophy from the University of San Diego and then a master’s in education from the University of Santa Clara.

Mr. Kerr was a teacher and administrator in California and Colorado before moving to Stateline. He put his experience to use as a substitute teacher in Douglas County School District.

Marilyn Richardson with DCSD said, “He was a very sweet man.” With his K-12 substitute license, he could be called on to work at any grade level for any subject. Mostly he preferred to work at the lake schools. He was part of DCSD from 1988-2013.

Volunteering was his vocation. Starting in 1985 he worked with the Barton Auxiliary, including as president of the nonprofit in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2010.

“He loved what he did. He did amazing things for the hospital,” said Judy Cefalu, who worked with Mr. Kerr on the Auxiliary.

Mr. Kerr was instrumental in bringing more workers into The Attic thrift store and changing how things were run there.

Giving blood and coordinating blood drives was another passion of his. Locally, he donated more than 200 pints of blood. The only reason he stopped giving was because of his age.

He served on the Sacramento Blood Source Blood Drive since 1979 and chaired the South Lake Tahoe Community Blood Drive for 35 years.

Mr. Kerr also volunteered for the Sacramento Valley Area Council of Hospital Volunteers for many years as a board member and president.

He joined Sons in Retirement Inc. in 2012 and was “little sir” for the branch.

Mr. Kerr was a devoted Catholic, giving countless hours to Our Lady of Tahoe Church in Zephyr Cove. He never missed Mass.

Survivors include sons Glenn Ciganek and Ronald Ciganek of Florida, and Todd Ciganek of Illinois; daughter Traci Powers of Colorado; cousin Joe Wicker; and eight grandchildren.

Services will be July 24 at 11am at Our Lady of Tahoe on Elks Point Road in Zephyr Cove. Following the service will be a reception in the adjoining Father Bain Hall. Burial will be at 1:30pm at Happy Homestead Cemetery in South Lake Tahoe.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Attn: Memorial Fund for Dan Kerr, 2170 South St., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150; BloodSource, Attn: Memorial Fund for Dan Kerr, 10536 Peter A McCuen Blvd., Mather, CA 95655-4128; Our Lady of Tahoe, Attn: Memorial Fund for Dan Kerr, P.O. Box 115, Zephyr Cove, NV 89448.

By Anne Miller, NPR

The secret to more productive meetings? You might simply need to stand up.

This we know, to some degree. Just take as examples the growing popularity of standing desks, which took off after a flurry of reports found that sitting for long periods of time can significantly, negatively, impact employees’ health.

That set a pair of professors at the Washington University’s Olin Business School, Andrew Knight and Markus Bear, wondering: Should the standing trend expand beyond cubicles? Could it help meetings, too? The academics looked at 54 meetings, each about 30 minutes long (since about 75 percent of meetings run for 30 minutes or less).

Their answer: Yes, yes it could.

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• Dennis Walsh has been promoted to captain and has assumed command of the North Lake Tahoe Station of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

• El Dorado County’s Sheriff’s Team of Active Retirees is looking for members. For more info, call 530.573.3000.

• The red-legged frog made famous in a tale by Mark Twain is now California’s official state amphibian.

• Here is a video from the State Water Board about disconnecting downspouts.

• Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation’s Taste of Gold is July 12 from 6-9pm. The $75 tickets may be purchased online.

The bridge crossing Martis Creek for Phase 3B of the Truckee River Legacy Trail is in.

It is 150-feet long and spans Martis Creek and its 100-year floodplain. The bridge was transported to the site in three pieces. A crane was used to put the bridge together and to set it in place. The crane required 220,000 pounds of counterweight.

This time lapse video shows the installation.

The bridge design was chosen to minimize the effect the project will have on the setting of the adjacent Truckee Ice Company Site (1885-1898). The Pratt truss design is consistent with truss configurations used on metal bridges during that time period. In addition, the weathered steel material was chosen to blend into the Martis Creek setting.

The contractor will continue to work on Phase 3B through July. It should be open to the public at the beginning of August.