Orphaned animals got a helping hand last month when the Truckee police officers cleared tables and waited on guests at the Wagon Train, donating 100 percent of their tips to the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe.

The officers raised $3,200.

Truckee police Officer Jeff Safford with Bear who helped greet customers at the Wagon Train. Photo/Provided

Mayor Carolyn Wallace Dee was also on hand, greeting and seating diners, and even taking half an hour to explain the HSTT to a customer. The diner then left a $1,000 tip.

The fundraiser was part of the Truckee Police Officers Association Tip-a-Cop program. The Wagon Train also donated a portion of sales from the July 20-21 event to HSTT.

Founded in 1994 by a group of volunteers, the Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe has become the driving force of animal rescue and adoption for the Truckee-North Lake Tahoe area. Over the last decade it has evolved to a nationally recognized nonprofit organization with four employees and hundreds of dedicated volunteers, offering a variety of services and programs, including adoption days, fostering, public education, pet-assisted therapy, and community spay and neuter programs.

For more information, call (530) 587.5948.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the July 30, 2013, Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Demonstrating just how difficult it will be to reach any political consensus on reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, some interesting opposition to the effort popped up this week.

Was it environmentalists, unions or the liberal Democrats who have been arguing that changes to the act would no doubt weaken valuable protections against pollution, environmental damage and health threats to residents that have been in place for more than 40 years?

Nope.

The warning shot fired this week was delivered by a coalition of business, housing and local government leaders. They say the plan to rework California’s landmark environmental law could actually backfire, leading to more lawsuits and making it even harder to approve responsible projects, the opposite of what lawmakers seeking the overhaul say they are trying to do. The group, according to the Associated Press, includes such powerful organizations as the California Chamber of Commerce, the Southern California Association of Governments and the California Association of Realtors.

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The 28th annual Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival at Northstar will pair savory adventures with the regional food and wine delicacies.

The Sept. 6-8 event includes cooking seminars and demonstrations, culinary competitions, wine tastings, food-themed excursions and more.

Events include the Gourmet Marketplace Vendor Fair, Village Wine and Brew Walk, Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook Off and the Charbay Annual Release Party. Other additions include the Goose Island Craft Beer and Artisan Cheese Pairing, Live Concert with Joe Craven, cooking demonstrations with TV chef Nathan Lyon, and a raw foods seminar with raw chef Steph.

A complete list of events is available online.

Wildlife biologist Jenni Jeffers will be releasing an owl Aug. 14 following a presentation at Mormon Station State Historic Park.

Jeffers will show several live native owls as she discusses the life cycle of owls, their habits, habitats and how the public can help in their conservation.

No photographs or dogs are allowed.

The free event is from 7:30-9pm.

Meet in the group pavilion area of the park. Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa is 20 minutes from South Lake Tahoe via Kingsbury Grade and Foothill Road.

A man died Saturday while in the water at Sand Harbor in Incline Village.

Washoe County sheriff’s deputies said it does not appear the circumstances leading to the death are suspicious.

They are not releasing his age or hometown.

Deputies said the man was found unresponsive in Lake Tahoe about 12:15pm Aug. 3.

An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Andrew Doughman, Las Vegas Sun

Federal water experts and climatologists on Friday issued a grim report on the future of the Colorado River watershed to lawmakers from around the West in Las Vegas.

But perhaps no other state has as much at stake in the river’s declining conditions as Nevada.

Managing the Colorado River will cost billions of dollars over the next 50 years, according to the panel of experts at the Council of State Governments West conference.

Demand for the Colorado River’s water exceeds supply, meaning governments will likely have to spend from $4 billion to $7 billion to ensure a stable water supply in Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.

Federal government experts see population growth in these states as increasing demand for water. The billions of dollars would be put toward increasing supply — through re-use, importation, or desalination of water — and decreasing demand through conservation in residences, industry and agriculture.

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“Men’s Health – Live & Love Longer” is the topic of Dr. Paula Crenshaw’s Sept. 4 lecture.

The free event is from 6-7pm at Kahle Community Center (295 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline).

Learn about how to help prevent heart disease and why does it strikes earlier in men, about eating well, cancer prevention, prostate cancer advice on screening, prevention and treatment, and keeping your sex life healthy.

For more info, call (530) 543.5537.

Jerry Qualls will lead a tour of the special wetlands in Washoe Meadows State Park on Aug. 7 from 10am-noon and explain why they are important to the health of Lake Tahoe.

Qualls is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science at UNR. His areas of interest and expertise include hydrology, geomorphology, wetland ecology and management as well as fens.

Meet at 10am at the end of Ulmeca Street in South Lake Tahoe.

For more info, contact Lynne Paulson at (408) 823.6585 or LCPaulson@comcast.net.

By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times

They aren’t leaving the nest.

More than one-third of millennials still live with their parents, the highest share in their age group in at least 40 years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Thursday.

Last year, a record 21.6 million adults ages 18-31 lived in their parents’ homes, Pew said. That’s up from 18.5 million in 2007.

The reasons why millennials are living with their parents vary, Pew said. It’s a combination of economic, educational and cultural factors.

But one striking detail shows that men are more likely than women to still be living with their parents, according to Thursday’s analysis.

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By Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times

WASHINGTON — The federal government on Friday set a standard for gluten-free claims on food labels, a step that health officials said would help the three million Americans with celiac disease and bring uniformity to the $4 billion market for gluten-free products.

Gluten is a composite of starch and proteins found in certain grassy grains like wheat, barley and rye. When eaten by people with celiac disease, gluten can trigger the production of antibodies that damage the lining of the small intestine.

To protect people with the disease, Congress passed a law in 2004 calling on the Food and Drug Administration to set standards for how much trace gluten could be in foods whose labels said they were gluten free. A standard became even more urgent, observers said, when broader consumer demand for gluten-free foods drove the rapid expansion of the market.

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