Are you good at solving murders?

If yes, then you will want to participate in the interactive “Great Gadfly Murder Mystery” at the Valhalla Grand Hall.

J. J. Gadfly is Lake Tahoeʼs most foremost and respected philanthropist, whose cultural and environmental endeavors are almost as legendary as his lavish weekend soirees. So why do so many people seem to want to do him in? Why, indeed would Strom Makeabuckman, Gadflyʼs business rival in Chicago, become so livid toward Gadfly? Why would the lovely golf champion, Borden Withitall, have a personal grudge to settle with Gadfly? And why is the mysterious Mr. Kliffhanger, who showed up one Christmas morning, at the fabulous Gadfly lakeshore mansion and never seemed to have left, now muttering odd comments like, “plotting revenge?”

Could one of these people commit murder? Find out Aug. 11. Photo/Provided

Learn the answers to these and other questions when the Tahoe Tallac Association and Tahoe Writers Works, in conjunction with the Great Gatsby Festival, unveil the world premiere of “The Great Gadfly Murder Mystery”. Doors open at 7pm Aug. 11 for this one-night show. Cost is $60 for adults, $50 for children under 12, and includes a buffet dinner and complimentary beverage.

For tickets and information, call (530) 541.4975 or go online.

The public is invited to a free Community Open House at Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine State Park on Aug. 12 from 10am to 1pm to learn about what is new at the park and the venues that are available to rent for private events.

State Sen. Ted Gaines, D-Rocklin, will be attending the event to lend his support to the state park on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

Funds generated through the rental of these venues return to the local park units. The senator will be greeting visitors at the Children’s House between 11am and noon.

Sierra Parks Foundation will be on hand to share its vision for keeping local parks open and provide an overview of the current restoration efforts that are in progress on the property.

Park entrance fees will be waived for the duration of this event as well as tour fees for the historic Hellman-Ehrman Mansion for the 10am, 11am and noon tours.

For information, call (530) 525.5060 or email lssec@parks.ca.gov.

By Forbes

Caesars Entertainment posted second quarter results after the bell on Monday, missing top and bottom line estimates as its losses widened. The company blamed the slowing economy, along with lower trip activity and spend per trips in their properties for the disappointing results.

The casino and hotel operator posted a net loss of $241.7 million, down from a $155.56 million loss a year ago. In a per share basis, Caesars’ shareholder lost $1.93, a wider loss than the 83 cents expected by analysts. Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of cash flow, slid 2.6 percent to $512.4 million.

Caesars, which still has no properties in Macau, the world’s largest casino market, saw revenues stay pretty much flat at $2.17 billion, falling shy of the $2.32 billion estimate.

Caesars is the parent company of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys at Stateline.

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Highway 50 was closed for a few blocks in South Lake Tahoe on Monday night because of a gas leak.

All residents and guests in hotels between Fairway and Herbert avenues were requested to shelter in place.

A backhoe had severed a 2-inch high pressure natural gas line.

The highway was closed between those streets from 11pm Aug. 6 to 1:30am Aug. 7.

At approximately 12:45am Southwest Gas was able to secure the gas line.

There was a separate Southwest Gas issue on Tuesday morning on the West Shore that caused Highway 89 to be closed for a few hours. It is now open.

Diamond K out of Texas, which was doing work for Southwest, ruptured a gas line at approximately 8:20am.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Hazel Fire near Jenkinson Lake off Highway 50 is 90 percent contained as of Tuesday morning.

The fire, which started Aug. 5 in the Sly Park area, has burned 45 acres.

The cause remains unknown.

U.S. Forest Service officials said today they plan to begin mop up operations, and continue to construct and secure a fire line. Smoke may be visible in the area today.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Jennifer Gollan, Bay Citizen

If you’ve ever paid a bill after it was due, you’re familiar with late fees.

It turns out the state of California is familiar with them, too.

The state paid more than $34.3 million in penalties for overdue bills from July 2004 through June 2011, according to new figures from California’s Department of General Services, the state’s business manager.

The state accrued a third of those late fees – more than $11.7 million – in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Some of those fees could have been avoided if former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature had agreed to a budget by July 1, 2010, as required by the state Constitution, said Eric Lamoureux, a spokesman for the Department of General Services. Lawmakers approved the budget 100 days after the start of the 2010-11 fiscal year, preventing some departments from paying their bills on time.

“We cannot speak to all the reasons all these penalties were incurred by the previous administration, but historically, late budgets have left departments unable to pay their bills on time,” Lamoureux said.

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By Kathryn Reed

When I do eggs they are scrambled. I might add veggies to them, but little else changes.

But I so enjoy when others do something more for breakfast.

This spring we were at the Wild Rose Inn in Genoa where owner Sue Knight concocted a great quiche. Not having a crust surely made it even a bit healthier. It certainly makes it easier to assemble.

I decided to find the recipe she had given me and make it for my mom and sister, Pam, when they were here in late July. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Besides being so tasty, it is super easy to put together. Plus, depending on what veggies you have on hand or are in season, the flavor can keep changing. I used mushrooms, green onions and zucchini.

Changing the cheese would also alter the flavor.

No need to use a quiche dish. I put everything into a glass pie plate. Even a square pan would work.

Wild Rose Inn’s Crustless Mushroom Quiche (6 servings)

½ pound mushrooms, sliced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3 T butter or margarine

3 eggs

½ C, plus 1 T Biscuit mix

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp nutmeg

1½ C milk

1½ C shredded Monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté mushrooms and onions in butter or margarine. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add Biscuit mix, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; beat 1 minute.

Slowly add milk to egg mixture and blend thoroughly.

Place half of the mushrooms and onions in the bottom of a greased 9-inch quiche dish. Top with cheese, followed by remaining mushrooms and onions. Pour egg mixture over top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set.

Eve is a very sweet, but shy short-haired cat who is scared at the shelter. She is about 5-years-old and doesn’t mind other well mannered animals.

She has been an indoor cat.

Eve is spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go online to see photos and description of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

To the community,

Nullification by ignorance cancels a better world. For example, some business minds are pushing what’s called “creative destruction”. It’s a proposition that preaches greed is good. In other words, business is war.

Well, we’ve been there and done that. The idea would create another age of social Darwinism. The first round of social Darwinism is best represented by John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) of Standard Oil. He employed the idea of survival of the fittest to drive out competition. In doing so he created a monopoly. By the way, Darwin did not coin the term survival of the fittest. That honor goes to Herbert Spencer.

Bill Crawford

It appears that creative destruction is making its presence felt. The trends and conditions in the United States point to the birth of a new Gilded Age in which a few on top are ultra rich living in luxury with Swiss bank accounts. The economic scraps they leave to those beneath them in the food chain.

The result of what is happening will be the death of agape, the belief that all people share a spiritual equality which is the foundation of democratic thought. Greed is good, so they say.

We can’t nullify the past by ignoring it, by being ignorant. If the past is ignored, the cycle will be repeated.

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe

By Sam Ward, USA TODAY

The digital revolution may not be as revolutionary as believed, according to a music survey that found listeners more in tune with friends’ tips and radio than blogs and social networking.

The Nielsen study shows that file sharing, legal and illicit, is not a primary source of discovering and acquiring music, and that only 10 percent of fans share music on social network sites. Those uploading music: 8 percent.

Positive recommendations from friends are most likely to influence music purchases for 57 percent of respondents, compared to the 27 percent who prefer music blogs and chat rooms.

Data were collected from 3,000 online surveys for the Nielsen Music 360 Study, a comprehensive look at U.S. consumer interaction with music: where it’s consumed, through which devices, apps and services, digital vs. physical preferences, the process of discovery, buying decisions, retailer choices, concert attendance and more.

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