South Lake Tahoe’s first Color Blast 5K Fun Run is Sept. 14 from 8am-1pm.

Runners wear white and are doused in color at different stations throughout the run. Colors are corn starch based, non-toxic and biodegradable.

The race is followed by food, drinks and live music. Register online.

The run will be at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Cost is $50 for adults prior to event and $60 the day of event. Kids younger than 10 pay $10. Proceeds benefit Tahoe Youth & Family Services.

By Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee

On Aug. 17, as the first calls for assistance came in from a fire 150 miles away near Yosemite, the ridgetop Interagency Command Center in Grass Valley was already at full throttle.

A shared room for tactical supervisors of the U.S. Forest Service, CalFire and the state Office of Emergency Services was directing materiel to the American Fire near Foresthill, then just 7 days old.

Outside, Grumman S-2 air tankers – dubbed “pink bellies” for the color of the fire retardant they drop – were taking off from the Grass Valley Air Attack Base. They were flying sorties over the Foresthill area’s deep forest canyons, where the stubborn fire was soon to top 26,000 acres.

Suddenly, this new Rim Fire was burning in treacherous terrain to the south in the Stanislaus National Forest. Within 24 hours, thunderclouds triggered vicious downdrafts, endangering firefighters and fanning a massive blaze toward the communities of Groveland, Tuolumne City and Pine Mountain.

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• Rory Bosio of Truckee won the North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc on Aug. 30. She set a women’s record and was seventh overall. This is considered one of the top ultramarathons in the world.

• Jeremy Meyers, who was appointed to the El Dorado County superintendent’s position, has announced he will run in June 2014 to keep the job.

• The South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission will have a public hear Sept. 12 at 5:30pm regarding the Tourist Core Area Plan. The meeting is at Lake Tahoe Airport.

• Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary is having a blood drive Oct. 7 from noon-6pm at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel in South Lake Tahoe. Bring photo ID, and eat and drink before donating.

Winds have shifted, making smoke less of an issue in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

However, a dense smoke advisory remains in effect until 5 this afternoon for Alpine County and northern Mono County.

Lake Tahoe on Aug. 31 from Homewood. Photo/Kathryn Reed

On Saturday it was possible to see across the width of Lake Tahoe for the first time in about a week and blue skies ruled the day. This morning a cloud cover is obscuring the blue and there is a chance of thunderstorms Sunday afternoon.

The Rim Fire near Yosemite is at 40 percent containment, with 222,777 acres burned.

While the American Fire near Foresthill is contained, crews are working hard to fully extinguish is. The fire burned 27,440 acres.

A Burned Area Emergency Response team will start work today identifying areas to be repaired prior to winter rains.

Two bridges on the Western States Trail are standing but damaged. They will be inspected to determine what needs to be done before the public has access to them again.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

This ad appeared in the Tahoe Daily Tribune in September 1965.

According to CoinNews.net, inflation says the price of $349.50 for this 21-inch TV in 1965 would be equal to $2,590.78 in 2013 money.

Alpine TV in 1965 in South Lake Tahoe. Photos/Bill Kingman

The center in 2013.

Today, you can buy a larger 32-inch modern flat-screen TV of the same brand for $299.

Alpine TV was the 1960’s builder and owner of the business center at 1950 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

Today a liquor store occupies the original Alpine TV space.

— Bill Kingman

By Kathryn Reed

Delicia Spees doesn’t know what the word quit means.

Even though Friday was her last day as executive director of the Family Resource Center in South Lake Tahoe, she is still going to be working there. But now she will be the coordinator working with families for about 15 hours a week.

“I have worked and done what I have done because I have this amazing mother who said you have got to give to people,” Spees told Lake Tahoe News. “I was lucky to work for people who needed me and I needed them too because they fulfilled me.”

The 63-year-old is looking forward to spending more time with family and friends, and enjoying Tahoe.

“I want to be a domestic goddess again and play with my girlfriends,” Spees said with a laugh.

She will continue to be involved on the board of directors for the Senior Plaza, being part of the Kinship Program at Lake Tahoe Community College and hoping to volunteer at Bookworks. The used bookstore near Freshies is one of the primary funding sources for FRC.

Karen Tinlin, who has known Spees since she was Spees’ oldest daughter’s third-grade teacher at Meyers Elementary School, said her friend is an advocate for people, even if it isn’t work related.

“She has a real special place in her heart for young children and wanting to make sure their lives are good,” Tinlin said. “She knows the families, their stories. She is connected.”

Spees started at the FRC’s predecessor about 20 years ago and has been the director for the last 13 years. It started as a nonprofit people had to be referred to, and now is open to anyone and includes programs. It used to mainly be a welcome center for new students, where they would enroll and officials would ensure all the paperwork and immunizations were in order.

Now mental health services, translations, food and clothing give-aways, English as a second language classes, one-on-one counseling, parenting classes and advocacy all come under the FRC umbrella.

“I definitely think there should be a FRC in every school if you could afford it. Every school has its own needs,” Spees said. “This FRC doesn’t just cater to Bijou. We work with the school district to do different programs at different schools.”

Rick Meyer, who started on FRC board in 1999, said to this day he remembers the first time he was at the facility.

“I walked into the Family Resource Center and here was the executive director handing out bread, handing out clothes, the phone is ringing, people needed her to do this and that,” Meyer recalled. “She is completely involved with all the people who need to be served.”

He admires that she created an organization from humble beginnings to a stable, respected nonprofit.

Besides more programs, Spees also has seen a growth in need. And while many think FRC only helps the Latino population or those associated with Bijou Community School because its offices are there, the truth is everyone is welcome.

“Because of the economy we have seen a growth in the Anglos coming in,” Spees said.

She knows FRC will continue to evolve.

“We built something that means a lot to the community,” Spees said.

De-Anne Hooper, who at one time was the executive director of the local Boys & Girls Club and has worked closely with FRC and Spees, will now be at the helm of FRC.

Hooper has been on board for the last month to learn the ropes from Spees.

By Ted Long

That our prisons are overflowing with inmates to the point that the system is breaking down, the fact that the prisons are now mostly run by inmate gangs and that recidivism is at record highs has caused some to begin to look at the issue and the underlying logic of a system that was born in medieval times and other then in the use of construction materials, has remained mostly unchanged in its justification for hundreds of years.

At the root of the system, in its origins and still today are three fundamental reasons or justifications for prison. First, is the early and still deep-rooted concept of revenge. If some one breaks the law they have to go to jail so we extract our once of justice.

The second is the notion that we can rehabilitate or should rehabilitate the individual. A concept, that despite the fact that it as been proven not to work in the majority of case is still near and dear to us.

Ted Long

The third is the notion of a deterrent, that an individual will consider the penalties and in weighing them or perhaps just respecting them will not commit the crime because of the penalty. We see reflections of this in our law, crimes of passion and the mentally unstable are given greater license for example.

The first justification, revenge, I leave to you. Revenge is often greatly reflected in society’s values and I would like to think that as a society we have evolved beyond such primitive thinking. However?

The second issue, however, requires a closer look. The fact is that there are a few that do benefit but, the combination of some educational opportunities and industrial training with our knee-jerk reaction to the fact that a person is a convicted criminal makes rehabilitation a double edged sword. A study that I conducted with inmates from Lompoc Federal Prison demonstrated that dilemma. Lompoc had one of the best welder training schools in the country; it trained real good welders. The new welders served their time while learning their new trade, came out and then could not get work because the stigma of convict overweighed their ability to perform the job and they could not get work. The result, increased resentment of society and a reinforced belief the crime was their only opportunity. Think about it, would you hire an ex-con?

The third is even more interesting. The fear of prison versus doing the right thing. In its origin I think there might have been something to it; however prisons were completely different then. I do think that the fear of jail may work best on those of us who are not going to commit a crime anyway, we have no need, other then wanting to punch someone in the nose occasionally, but fear of getting punched back is probably stronger. However, if you look at the percentages in the current prison population what you will find is an overwhelming number of people with nothing or very little to loose, in fact jail may actually be a better place then where they were living.

Imagine, you are a young man, living in a ghetto, a neighborhood where it is dangerous to go out on the street, you go to bed many nights hungry and despite the boosting of the wonderfulness of the “American way” you face little opportunity to improve yourself. You have not only the worst schools but going to school is a major threat. Surrounded by violence and pain, are you really deterred by the fact that you may go to jail? Where you will get first class medical help, an education, and three square meals a day and if you are tough enough, respect?

I don’t think so, and I am not even including the peer presser, the fear of your own life if you do not cooperate with the criminal element.

Like many institutions that have been given to us from the past, we need to rethink them with current conditions. Our prisons, our educational systems, our ways of financing government even the application of our sacred constitution, may be making a greater contributors to our problems than we realize or are willing to omit.

We live in times that have no history, never has progress been so fast and so unpredictable. What was science fiction when I was in high school is today’s standard. Our current prison system is not working.

The point is, what’s wrong with an honest relook at the whys and ways we do things?

Ted Long is a South Lake Tahoe attorney.

The 20th annual Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe Golf Tournament is set for Oct. 14.

The event annually raises more than $40,000 to support the work of the club, which assists more than 800 local kids throughout the year.

Golfers receive a round of golf at Edgewood Tahoe, a gourmet buffet breakfast, beverages throughout the day, hors d’oeuvres and drinks at the awards party, Titleist Pro V1 golf balls as tee prizes, $10,000 Hole-In-One chances and Closet-to-the Pin contests on every par 3, plus dozens of free raffle prizes.

Playing spots are available now through the Boys and Girls Club for $225. For more info, call (530) 542.0838.

Six restaurants and six bands go head-to-head in the Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Wings contest Sept. 6 at Squaw Valley.

The 6-10pm event in the village benefits the Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences.

Each restaurant will be cooking their signature recipes for spicy, flavor-packed chicken wings, while the region’s best bands do their thing.

Entry is a $5 donation to enjoy the wing and drink specials, as well as the opportunity to pick the the winners. Restaurants will battle for the Wing vs. Wing Champion Trophy as well as Wing and Band Best Pairing. Bands will be battling for their own prize.

By Sue Zeidler, Reuters

MGM Resorts International is working with Nevada officials who are discussing banding together with New Jersey to create a joint online gaming market, CEO Jim Murren told Reuters in an interview.

“I think it’s likely that in 2014 we’ll see a compact between New Jersey and Nevada,” Murren said in an interview following the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

In the past, Murren contended that Nevada alone may be too small a state to provide a large enough online market.

“We’ve really been focusing on Nevada’s ability to compact with other states, create more liquidity,” said Murren.

A.G. Burnett, chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, told Reuters he shared Murren’s optimism.

“Nevada is striving to do what it can in regards to compacts. We do not jump into the fire without having done a lot of cautious research and study into the particulars of such agreements, and that phase is nearing completion,” he said.

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