The Sierra Human Resources Association will be presenting “Working the Room: How to Build your Elevator Pitch and Networking Skills” on Sept. 18 from4-5pm at the Resort at Squaw Creek.

In just one hour participants will pick up useful tips to use at the free joint chamber Holiday Showcase mixer immediately following the workshop.

Anyone who can use more confidence when mingling will benefit from crafting a short “elevator pitch” to succinctly express ideas in a compelling way. Participants will learn to be interested and interesting while generating business leads and making new connections in the community.

From 5-7pm participants can mix and mingle while enjoying food and drinks, raffle prizes and networking at the joint North Lake Tahoe and Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce mixers of the year.

The workshop fee is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. To register for the workshop, go to the online store. For more information, call Laura Moriarty at (530) 573.0224.

To the community,

At the recent Lake Tahoe Air Fest the Sheriff’s Team of Active Retirees (STAR) assisted handicapped attendees park their cars, making sure they were aboard a shuttle bound for the action on the tarmac. This is one of several activities the STAR volunteers do throughout the year.

The group is presently looking for enthusiastic men and women aged 50 and over to help in their year-round activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The group meets monthly with a sheriff’s deputy and are updated on the needs of the county’s law enforcement agency. Routinely, STAR volunteers patrol Tahoe area neighborhoods, trail heads and beaches, check on live-alones, and do vacation home checks for traveling locals.

Other activities throughout the year include participation in Every 15 Minutes (drunk driving education for high school juniors-seniors), The Drug Store Project (drug and alcohol deterrent for middle school students), Treat Street (Halloween activities for young people and parents), and provide extra support during emergencies.

After a background check and an interview by a deputy, candidates for membership attend a two-week STAR training academy taught by sheriff’s office staff, wear a STAR uniform and become members of a dedicated and fun group of community service volunteers. To apply, visit the sheriff’s office at 1360 Johnson Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe or call (530) 573.3000. The academy will be scheduled this fall.

Joan Young, STAR volunteer

By Kathryn Reed

Some time Sunday morning the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association will be governed by a whole new group of people.

Five of the seven board members were recalled earlier this month.

Homeowners in this South Lake Tahoe enclave have until 5pm Aug. 31 to vote for a new board. Six people are on the ballot, with two write-ins qualifying. Jay Bushrow is the only current board member on the ballot.

Tahoe Keys homeowners are fighting among themselves. Photo/LTN

However, Sam Pavone and Jim Siegfried, who were recalled, are also on the ballot.

Much of the lack of harmony among residents is tied to what people can do with docks. Between lawsuits, memorandums of understanding and accusatory letters the bottom line is Keys residents have to follow the rules of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency when it comes to docks. For now, that means no new ones will be built.

The people advocating for the recall believed too many property rights were being given up as rules were being created. The recall, according to information given to Lake Tahoe News, has cost the TKPOA approximately $6,000.

TKPOA General Manager Greg Feet did not return multiple phone calls.

Ballots will be counted at the annual homeowners’ meeting on Sept. 1 at 9am, with the announcement and appointment of directors the following morning at 9am.

By Kathryn Reed

OLYMPIC VALLEY – Three golden eagles soar overhead. But from this vantage point of more than 8,200 feet, it’s already a bit like having a bird’s-eye view.

Dave, our guide on this free hike out of Squaw Valley’s High Camp, has us looking up at the peaks, down at the flowers and out at the vast expanse of granite.

Like many who came for a winter to ski, Dave has been here 23 winters. While his main job is working in mountain operations, including a trip this month to Peru to find employees for the season, on this particular August Saturday he is taking a group on an hour hike.

A trip to the top of Squaw opens up miles of hiking trails. Photos/Kathryn Reed

It’s part history lesson as we learn about the humble beginnings of the ski resort that opened Thanksgiving Day 1949 to becoming the unexpected host of the 1960 Winter Olympics to today’s changes as evidenced by lifts being removed and others being installed.

Those Games were the first to be televised.

“It was like a 12-day commercial for Squaw,” Dave tells us.

As Dave put it, this was back in the day when California was thought of as the land of oranges and surfing. It was not a skiing destination. It wasn’t home to multiple winter Olympians.

It was the late Sandy Poulsen who helped name the legendary KT-22. It took her 22 kick turns to get down the mountain.

White pines and mountain hemlock are the predominate trees at this elevation.

With last winter not producing much white stuff, the wildflowers have been less than vibrant. Still, even this month some were dotting the landscape – yarrow, Indian paintbrush, mule’s ear, pennyroyal, and fireweed.

Dave takes off some mountain sage leaves so we can find out it smells just like the spice.

Plenty of hiking opportunities abound. The later guided hike often entails going to Emigrant Peak (8,700 feet), but time does not allow for that on the first excursion. It’s another 30 minutes from our turning around point, which is at the Gold Coast chairlift.

Dave says from Emigrant Peak – if it’s a super clear day – the Bay Area peaks of Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais are visible.

Plus, the Pacific Crest Trail goes through the area. The Granite Chief Wilderness has numerous trails. Hikers can even reach High Camp from the village area, which would mean an elevation gain of 2,000 feet.

While we didn’t work up much of a sweat on this cool summer day, we still wanted to catch some rays by the pool and listen to the band. A bar at the pool supplies drinks, but just outside the gate is food at the café.

The pool is an ideal setting to relax. For those who want to keep playing, the High Camp area offers roller skating (ice in the winter) and paintball.

Things to know:

• Guided hikes leave from the grassy area just outside the High Camp building. Hikes are at 12:30pm and 2:30pm on weekends through Sept. 23, and on Fridays through Sept. 9.

• Cost for adults to ride the tram is $29, to use the pool-hot tub is $15, and to do both is $41.

• Tram is free for downloading if you’ve hiked up there.

• High Camp Run (5K or 10K) and Pool Party is Sept. 15 beginning at 11:30am at High Camp. Cost is $30 in advance or, $35 that day.

• More info is on Squaw’s website.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Squaw Valley is hosting the world premiere of “Further” – the second installment in the Jeremy Jones snowboard movie trilogy by award-winning producers Teton Gravity Research.

Presented by O’Neill, “Further” will open at Squaw Valley’s KT Base Bar on Sept. 7. Doors open at 5:30pm, show starts at 8:30pm.

The world premiere of “Further” will kick off with an opening disc jockey set by Treez, and Squaw’s JT Holmes will be skydiving into the event at approximately 7:30pm accompanied by members of the Red Bull Air Force. Jeremy Jones and other athletes from “Further” will be at the premiere.

Tickets for “Further” are $15 and can be purchased at Squaw Valley’s ticket center, Start Haus, Full Belly Deli (both located in Truckee) or online. Tickets purchased on-site immediately before the event will be cash only.

Sawmill Pond was stocked with 650 pound of rainbow trout on Aug. 29.

This fishing spot on the corner of Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road on the South Shore is for youth 14 and younger.

It’s recommended a limit of two fish per child.

For further information, call Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters at (530) 541.8208.

Look for the blue moon on Aug. 31. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Be sure to check out the full moon on Aug. 31. It’s a blue moon.

The moon won’t actually be blue. This moon gets it name from being the second full moon of the month.

The next time this will occur is July 2015.

The bands that will battle Friday during CASA El Dorado’s Best Sunset Band fundraiser have been announced.

Taking the stage Aug. 31 at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe will be Groovebox, In Escrow, and Cash Only.

The crowd will determine the winner.

The free event is from 3-8pm. But it costs to vote. That is how CASA will make money.

Besides music, there will be a trampoline, bounce house, paddleboard lessons, craft vendors, food, beer and wine.

By Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau

CARSON CITY – A state lawmaker has requested a bill be drafted to implement a “Buy American Act” in Nevada for public works projects.

Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, said details will have to be worked out in the 2013 legislative session, but the idea is to create some level of preference for bidders on state government construction projects who use American made products and materials.

“There is some model legislation out there and it’s worth having the conversation,” she said. “There are two or three different ways of doing it and our legal staff is looking at the best option.”

Carlton said she heard a brief presentation on the concept at a recent National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in Chicago.

If creating a Buy American law in Nevada helps grow jobs around the country, then the state’s tourism-dependent economy will benefit, she said.

Any such proposal will have to be evaluated in light of other laws relating to bidder preferences already on the books in Nevada, including Assembly Bill 144 of the 2011 session providing a preference for companies hiring Nevadans and purchasing materials in Nevada, among other provisions. The “Nevada Jobs First,” bill was sought by Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, and took effect in April last year.

At least two other states have considered but rejected Buy American measures.

The Colorado Legislature earlier this year considered a measure which would have provided a 1 percent bidding preference to state contractors that bought materials for their projects domestically.

The Denver Business Journal reported in April that the measure was opposed by business groups and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade out of concerns it would add to the cost of state projects and could hurt relations with foreign countries that might consider laws that would hurt Colorado’s exports.

The Nebraska Legislature also considered but did not pass a Buy American measure. The proposal included exceptions if the materials were not produced in the U.S. in sufficient quantities or quality; if the use of American products increased the cost of a contract by more than 10 percent; or if application of the requirement was found not to be in the public interest.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership formed in 2007 by some of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers, testified in support of the Nebraska proposal.

“AAM supports the passage of a strong Buy America provision into state law to ensure that Nebraska tax dollars create jobs in the United States and are not needlessly directed to support production in China and other foreign factories,” said AAM Deputy Director Scott Boos in testimony in October 2011.

At the federal level, the Buy American Act dates to 1933. The provisions were expanded in the 1940s to apply to defense spending. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan signed into law an expansion of Buy America provisions for highway and transit projects that are funded by federal grants.

By Karoun Demirjian, Las Vegas Sun

TAMPA — When Brian Sandoval spoke to the Republican National Convention, he used his personal American story to make a pitch for the country to vote for Mitt Romney.

But it’s what he didn’t say about himself that may have been his loudest message at the convention.

Brian Sandoval

Sandoval is in many ways the Republicans’ best answer to the two voting blocs where the Democrats feel they have the upper hand on the issues: women and Hispanics.

Democrats have long been charging that Republicans aren’t sympathetic to Hispanic voters because of the party’s opposition to immigration reforms like the Dream Act, a measure that would put undocumented immigrants with long tenure in this country on a pathway to citizenship.

They’ve also charged Republicans with waging a “war on women” over reproductive rights, a claim that was punctuated 10 days ago when Republican Rep. Todd Akin, who is running for the Senate in Missouri, questioned the necessity of abortion because he believed women were hard-wired to “shut that whole thing down” and avoid pregnancy in the case of rape.

Republican leaders cut off Akin’s campaign funding and publicly called for him to drop out of the race after his statements but still have sustained hits from Democrats who accuse the GOP of sharing the bulk of Akin’s views, even if they condemn his comment.

Enter Sandoval, the pro-choice Republican.

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