April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Truckee Police Department, in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies nationwide, is participating in educational and enforcement activities related to distracted driving.

The overall goal of the increased enforcement is to convince drivers of the dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number of people impacted by this risky behavior. The “It’s Not Worth It!” theme of this national campaign emphasizes that a phone call or text isn’t worth a hefty fine or a collision.

Truckee PD hopes to encourage safe behavior for local drivers by enhancing enforcement activities specifically related to cell phone use during the month of April.

Truckee PD offers the following tips to avoid becoming distracted from safe driving:

1. Turn off your phone and/or put it out of reach while driving

2. Include in your outgoing message that you can’t answer while you are driving

3. Don’t call or text anyone at a time when you think they may be driving

4. Adjust controls and set your song playlist before you set out on the road

5. Stay alert and keep your mind on the task of driving- often after a long day at work or a not-so-restful night’s sleep, people’s minds can wander when behind the wheel. If you find yourself daydreaming – clear your head and focus on the road.

By Nancy Trejos, USA Today

When Colleen Hurley travels for work, she’s often rushing to a meeting as soon as she gets off the plane.

A dietitian from California, she’s got to be in top form when she visits clients, even if she’s been on a plane for hours.

“It can be both physically and mentally exhausting — particularly when you spend hours on a plane — or sometimes for me even in the car, and then having to hit the ground running and go straight to a client meeting,” she says.

Through the years, she’s figured out ways to eliminate the stress of the road. She prepares for her meetings well in advance of boarding her flight. Midair, she takes a power nap. On the ground, she sticks post-it notes on her rental car dashboard with presentation points that she can glance at occasionally. She constantly refreshes her iPod playlist with podcasts that will entertain her during the little downtime she has.

Traveling frequently can take its toll on the mind and the body. USA Today Road Warriors, frequent travelers who, combined, rack up millions of miles a year on the road for business, say the biggest challenges they face are eating healthy, exercising regularly, sleeping well and missing loved ones back home.

“Being on the road can be energizing and enlivening. However, it can also be lonely, disorienting, and exhausting,” says Stephanie Holdenried, an Oakland resident who works in the North America office of adventure travel company Explore Worldwide.

A study late last year by Carlson Wagonlit Travel found business travelers are often stressed out when they travel, especially when they feel they aren’t making efficient use of their time, when their travel plans are disrupted and when they break their regular healthy habits. Stress levels increased with age and frequency of travel, the study found.

But even leisure travelers have to endure some stress on their way to that carefree vacation spot. Traveling is anything but relaxing, with long security lines at airports and uncomfortable seating on planes.

“Travel is inherently more difficult than it was back in the day,” says David Gee, a Minnesota-based speaker who helps train salespeople. “The whole TSA thing is a nightmare, and the stress level of people today is exponentially higher. And that adds to my stress.”

Hotels and airlines increasingly encourage travelers to stay sane and healthy on the road. United Airlines, for instance, now awards frequent fliers miles for joining a gym or purchasing health and fitness products through GlobalFit, which has 10,000 gyms nationwide.

In addition to fitness centers, Marriott’s Residence Inns have pools and whirlpool spas. They also have complimentary evening socials to help travelers unwind.

To help travelers relax even more, IHG’s Crowne Plaza has a Sleep Advantage program with soft bedding, aromatherapy kits and quiet zones where no housekeeping or engineering can take place from 9pm to 10am Sunday through Thursday.

Ritz-Carlton hotels across the country are introducing healthier spa menus. Kimpton hotels will soon have yoga mats in every room.

Holdenried says she often takes advantage of any hotel amenities that will help her feel healthier while traveling. “I will treat myself,” she says.

To stay fit, she always seeks out hotels with pools or yoga studios nearby. She tries to stay somewhere close enough to her appointments so she can walk, and she’s always scoping out scenic routes for walking or running.

Other Road Warriors say they’ve figured out their own tricks for staying grounded while traveling. Here are some of their tips for relaxing and recharging on the road:

Plan well: Come up with daily itineraries so you’ll know where you’ll be and what you’ll be doing most of the time. Surprises may pop up, but you’ll still feel as if you have some control of your trip. Make lists if it helps you feel organized.

“Spontaneity is great, but having a bit of structure helps a lot,” says Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, who started the Web series The Healthy Voyager.

Pack healthy snacks: Always carry back-up food in case you can’t find anything healthy to eat. Think fresh or dried fruits, almonds, trail mix, kale chips, protein bars, soy chips, cereal and plenty of water. Staying hydrated is key.

Tom Holland, president and founder of fitness company TeamHolland, packs a small separate bag with healthy goods such as oatmeal and energy bars. “This really makes a difference and prevents late-night trips to the vending machine,” he says.

Eat healthy meals: Hotels are now offering healthier food in their restaurants, room service menus and even minibars. Walk through most major airports, and you’ll see as many salad bars as burger joints.

But you’re not going to have all your meals at your hotel or the airport. Do some research before you head to your destination, and find out what healthy food options are around you. Before you go to a restaurant, study the menu online to see if there’s anything you can eat. Don’t be afraid to go to a restaurant and ask the chef to prepare you a lower-calorie meal.

Go easy on the booze. “Cocktails provide tons of empty calories, are dehydrating, make it difficult to be on your A game if you’re hung over, and let’s face it — you don’t’ want to embarrass yourself in front of your clients,” says Hurley, the frequent traveler.

Don’t skip the workout: Hotels have gotten into the fitness craze in recent years. Fitness rooms have gone from glorified closets to full-on gyms in many cases. But sometimes, there’s no time for the gym.

Holland says he always travels with rubber exercise bands so he can get in a workout in his room or just about anywhere else. Exercise videos are also abundant online. If all else fails, you can take a long walk.

Keep in touch with loved ones back home: Technology has made everyone more connected. Lonely? Videocalling services such as Skype, FaceTime, Tango and ooVoo will let you see friends and relatives every day if you’d like to.

Denise Antoon, founder of public relations company Antoon Group, says the hardest part of traveling is being away from her three sons, ages 18, 6, and 4.

“I make every effort to not miss anything important with my kid’s schedules like a game, birthday or school event.” she says. But when she is away, she’ll call or Skype them every day. “It is important for me to not make them think work is the priority over them.”

Don’t take your work to bed: Replaying the events of the day will only keep you awake. Tune it out, and spend some moments concentrating on yourself. Meditate, take a hot bath or shower, listen to music, watch your favorite TV show. Avoid the Blackberry or iPhone.

“Don’t look at tomorrow’s schedule right before going to bed,” Hurley says.

By Verne Kopytoff, CNN-Money

Spotting a tourist used to be easy. Just look for someone toting around a travel guide. Today, vacationers are organizing their trips entirely online. All they need to carry with them is a smartphone to occasionally look up tourist attractions and navigate around town.

Travel guide publishers are in upheaval amid this new reality. Sales of guidebooks are down sharply as people instead turn to sites like TripAdvisor for hotel and restaurant reviews. The industry’s decline was hammered home recently with two big developments.

The latest came Thursday with word that Google planned to kill the print edition of Frommer’s, the travel guide giant it acquired last year. Google declined to comment, although Skift, a travel news site, reported that Google’s editors had already broken the news to authors of some upcoming titles. Frommer’s has long been a bible for globetrotters, and its extinction in print, at least, would be a big loss for the travel guide industry. Google could continue to publish digital books under the Frommer’s name and keep Frommer’s website alive, however.

The second development, the BBC’s sale of Lonely Planet, happened earlier this month. The British broadcaster disclosed plans to sell the guide-book publisher for $78 million, far less than the nearly $200 million it had originally paid. The buyer, NC2 Media, a Nashville-based media company controlled by reclusive billionaire Brad Kelley, promises to continue publishing travel guides. But the huge loss the BBC took on the sale highlights the difficulty travel guide businesses face in the digital age.

“If you go back 15 or 20 years, a guidebook was the only source of information for a traveler to go on,” said Stephen Palmer, managing director for Lonely Planet. “Now people are using six to eight different sources of information to plan that trip. We believe the guidebook still has a role in that mix.”

The decline in guidebook sales started with the recession, which decimated leisure travel. The influx of mobile devices compounded the problem. Bookstores like Borders, a big source of travel guide sales, shut down en masse. Free online travel information became more readily available, further eliminating the need to pay $30 for a guidebook.

Major travel booking engines like Expedia, Orbitz and TripAdvisor all make hotel reviews from users available to people deciding where to stay, for example. AirBnB and VRBO.com, which focus on private vacation rentals, have similar critiques. You’d have to go pretty far off the beaten path to find a hotel, restaurant, or bar that hasn’t been praised or panned somewhere online. The question is whether anonymous critics are as trustworthy as professional travel writers.

Travel guides must also compete against free open source guides, which are written by volunteers. Wikitravel and Wikivoyage, a branch of Wikipedia, offer free online travel tips for cities and countries around the world. Their prose tends to be utilitarian compared with some of the professionally written guides. But they generally give a decent overview, with the usual details about hotels, tourist sites, and how to get around.

Google’s brief history with travel guides started when it acquired Frommer’s along with the Unofficial Guide series from John Wiley & Sons for $22 million. It wasn’t Google first foray into print, however. A year earlier, it had bought Zagat Survey, best known for its restaurant ratings. Google planned to incorporate both Frommer’s and Zagat reviews into its online products. The rise of Yelp and TripAdvisor had showed that reviews could be valuable.

What Google would do with Frommer’s print business was always a question, however. The match between the online Goliath and an older school publisher seemed odd. A number of Frommer’s titles scheduled for release in February and earlier this month are now overdue. The most recent titles published focusing on Napa and Sonoma along with Banff and the Canadian Rockies, may be the last to be printed with Frommer’s name.

Palmer, from Lonely Planet, said that the demise of Frommer’s print guides would be an opportunity for his business to gain market share. But he’s still waiting to see how the situation plays out. Lonely Planet sells about 5 million guidebooks annually, Palmer said. But sales are lower than they were before the recession.

U.S. guidebook sales are down 10 percent to 20 percent since 2008, he said. Recently, sales have stabilized, providing a glimmer of hope. To reach a bigger audience, Lonely Planet has started a new series of books, Discover, that are for more mainstream travelers who must make due with shorter vacations. “I don’t think anyone is pretending that sales of travel guides aren’t down,” Palmer said. “But they aren’t off a cliff. What we’re seeing now is a level of stability.”

Like many travel guide publishers, Lonely Planet is investing in its online business. And like many media companies, news included, the transition is difficult. Lonely Planet, of course, uses its website to sell print guidebooks along with pushing digital copies. It also makes money from online advertising and for connecting visitors with hotel reservations and insurance, among other things.

In five years, Palmer said that even more people will use tablets and smartphones to plan their vacations. But some travelers will still prefer analog over digital, contrary to predictions about travel guides heading for a quick extinction. “I think there will be a place for books,” Palmer said.

Sea bass Kalani’s style. Photo/Matt Duckor/Bon Appetit

Bon Appétit magazine has a section where readers may write in about a restaurant recipe they would like the publication to track down.

The April issue features one from Kalani’s in South Lake Tahoe.

Betty Magan of Bass Lake wrote the magazine saying, “We’re just back from Lake Tahoe, where we had the wonderful miso sea bass at Kalani’s. I’m dying to make it!”

Here is the recipe Bon Appétit shared via Kalani’s:

Miso-Yaki Sea Bass (2 servings)

The miso marinade lightly cures the fish, which results in a pleasantly firm texture and great flavor.

¼ C sugar

2 T mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

2 T white miso (fermented soybean paste)

2 6-ounce skin-on black sea bass or branzino fillets, pin bones removed

1½ T vegetable oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

4 C mixed salad greens

1 T balsamic vinegar

Ingredient info: Mirin and white miso are available at some supermarkets.

Preparation: Whisk sugar, mirin, and miso in a medium bowl to blend; add fish and turn to coat. Cover and chill, turning fish occasionally, at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Remove fish from marinade, scraping off excess; season with salt and pepper. Cook fish skin side down until dark brown and caramelized, about 4 minutes. Turn fish over and cook until just opaque in the center, about 3 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add greens and cook, tossing, just until wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper; divide between plates.

Add vinegar to same skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 30 seconds; drizzle reduced vinegar over greens. Top with fish.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The snow is melting, the lower trails are starting to be ridden, it’s time for mountain bike riders to get to work.

The first TAMBA Trail Day of the season is April 6 on the Whites Creek Trail in Galena. Workers will be fixing some damage from the winter storms, rerouting an eroding section of trail away from the creek and legitimizing a log ride-over to make it more solid and a permanent feature.

Meet at 9am at the Whites Creek Day Use Parking lot up the road from Timberline Drive. Wear long pants, long sleeves, and sturdy shoes and bring water and snacks. Lunch and post work refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP on the Facebook event so organizers can plan tools and food.

There will be a second trail day at the same place on May 5 to do another reroute and build a “switchberm”.

To the community,

Bread & Broth would like to thank Hard Rock Cafe for sponsoring the March 18 evening $250 Adopt A Day dinner served at St. Theresa Church’s Grace Hall. Hard Rock Cafe sent seven ambassador volunteers to help with all of the activities necessary to feed over 80 guests who attended the evening’s meals.

Lizzy Gates, operations manager; Tony Prendiz, prep cook; Kim Templeton, sales-marketing manager; Duane Young, buser; and JZ Zinniel, server, arrived at 3pm to help assist B&B volunteers. They bagged giveaways and wrapped silverware; then at 4 they served dinner, all the while giving big welcoming smiles to the evening guests.

Lizzy Gates, from left, Duane Young, JZ Zinniel, Kim Templeton and Tony Prendiz help at Bread & Broth. Photo/Provided

After their work shift at Hard Rock Cafe, Krissy Tylende, retail store associate and Taylor Carson, bartender, arrived to help their fellow ambassadors with the “tear down” of tables and chairs and kitchen cleanup.

“They were all fabulous workers and they were all very happy to be there with us” said Christy Slocum, the evening’s B&B volunteer coordinator.

Hard Rock Cafe and their ambassador volunteers have been major ongoing supporters of Bread & Broth. In addition to sponsoring the evening’s Adopt A Day of Nourishment, Hard Rock Cafe has been Bread & Broth’s go-to employer when we are in need of extra volunteers especially on the fifth Mondays of the month. And they hosted a B&B volunteer “thank you” breakfast last September. B&B recognizes and applauds the role Hard Rock Cafe plays in our success in helping the needy of our community.

If you are interested in supporting B&B, please contact me at (530) 542.2876 or carolsgerard@aol.com.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

Kirkwood and Heavenly are reporting fresh snow at higher elevations.

Here is the March 30 ski report.

— Curtis Fong

• The town of Truckee incorporated 20 years ago this month, but was founded 150 years ago.

• If you think Lake Tahoe is a pet friendly destination, then vote online.

• Dave Curry, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District executive director of Educational Services, was recognized by the Association of California School Administrators as Placer County Charter Administrator of the Year.

• Lake of the Sky Outfitters and Unity at the Lake in concert with Native Wild Horse Protection and the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign will be showing the award winning documentary “Wild Horses and Renegades” on March 30 at 7pm. The free screening will be at Unity at the Lake, 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

• Local author Mark McLaughlin will speak April 9 at 7pm about the brutal winter storms of the past and how climate change will impact this area. Space is limited, so come early. This Lake Tahoe Historical Society event is free at the Lodge at Camp Richardson.

Publisher’s note: This is the first of a few stories about road construction planned for the Lake Tahoe Basin this summer.

By Kathryn Reed

Advice – set the alarm clock even earlier. That may be necessary to make it to your destination on time with the projected delays throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin from roadwork that is about to begin.

It’s not just the highways that will be torn up, but city and county streets, too. Some of this is because of repaving jobs, part has to do with sidewalks, scenic improvements are another factor. Utility crews are also upgrading their infrastructure – much of which is below ground and requires a jackhammer to get to.

“Everything we are doing this year will impact the public,” Jim Marino told Lake Tahoe News. Marino is South Lake Tahoe’s go-to guy when it comes to all things road related.

These are proposed projects for this construction season in South Lake Tahoe for all agencies. Map/South Lake Tahoe

If all projects the city is involved with go forward this building season, it means about $17 million in improvements.

Sidewalks along Pioneer Trail between Highway 50 near Stateline and Larch Avenue will be put in starting mid-June. The $1.17 million contract is expected to be awarded at the April 16 City Council meeting.

South Tahoe Public Utility District must do some work in this area before the city begins its project.

The 5-foot wide sidewalks on both sides of the street will be traditional in design – nothing meandering or fancy.

“They will keep the baby carriages out of the roadway,” is how Marino described them.

This residential area has people walking and biking along the edge of the road at all times of day and night, as well as year-round. It can be difficult to see people because of how dark it is. And when the snow piles up, people are forced to walk in the road where drivers often whiz by at a high rate of speed.

Improvements will include lighting that is similar in design to what has been put in along Highway 50 where Caltrans made improvements for the last two years. All of these lights are expected to be operational by the end of the building season, Marino said.

Part of the bid process included having to specify traffic plans. The city will insist one lane of Pioneer Trail be open at all times.

Night work won’t be possible because of the proximity to residents.

This work is entirely funded by the feds through congestion mitigation air quality (CMAQ) funds.

Marino anticipates if the loop road ever gets built, it will take out some of the improvements being made this summer. But the rationale is do the work now and not wait for something that may never occur or could be a reality 10 years from now.

Plus, the city doesn’t have the luxury to let grant funds earn interest. Most are a “use it or lose it” scenario.

By Mandy Kendall

I’ve never been one to complain about sunshine, but recently I have been none too happy with the brilliant rays beaming through our windows highlighting all the dust that I have been ignoring throughout the winter. So I started doing some cleaning and that made me look at the spare bedroom that had become our “temporary” storage area when we recently moved. (Which is now two months ago!)

It’s amazing how quickly extra stuff becomes part of the furniture and you just don’t see it anymore. However, when you clear it out of the way you realize how much it was cluttering up your life and how liberating the space can be.

Mandy Kendall

We seem to be able to tolerate quite a bit before we decide things need to change, and it is often something quite insignificant (like dusty window sills) that is the catalyst that leads us to big changes.

This is the time of the year we tend to do some spring cleaning; so is there something taking up space in your house that’s been around for so long you don’t see it anymore (except maybe when you clean around it) and is no longer serving a purpose?

Are there things in your life that you unnecessarily tolerate? They may be small (a drawer that sticks for instance) but add a few of them together and they soon take up time and energy and distract from the flow of your day.

So what are you tolerating that could be changed? What else could you clear out of your life? Could we look a little deeper than our wardrobes and garages?

The clutter in our minds is often way more demoralizing than the stationary bike gathering dust. Unresolved issues or tolerances with other people or situations can take up a lot of mental energy and can cause us to become stuck, unable to move forward, or moving in a direction we don’t want to go.

• Be brutally honest with yourself — If you’ve not used something in the last 12 months chances are you’re not going to. If there is something in your life that is not moving you forward in the direction you want to go, perhaps that needs to go too.

• Take it one step at a time – De-cluttering your whole life in one go may be more overwhelming than anything. Take it one wardrobe, room or bad habit at a time.

• Think about what you would like to make room for — Deciding what you want to do with all this new space, energy, cash or attitude will be a great motivating factor in helping make it happen.

• Make a clean start — The act of cleaning something or clearing a space, cannot only improve how things flow in your physical space, it can also have a similar effect on how your mental and personal energy flows.

• Prioritize your de-cluttering — Decide on all the things you would like to clear out of your life (you know I’m going to suggest making a list don’t you) and start with some small tasks that you can complete easily to help boost that sense of achievement that will help spur you on to the larger issues.

• Take time to enjoy your hard work — Reward yourself for making these changes. Use the new found time to do something you really enjoy or celebrate your revitalized space with friends.

• Make it a habit — You will probably find that life will present you with more stuff to clutter up your life again. Try and schedule regular de-cluttering sessions. You don’t have to wait for spring.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe, which aligns wellness seekers with their ideal wellness provider. If you have questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and well-being topic, drop her an email at connect@healthconnective.com or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.