Huffington Post

We were sure that by this point, everybody knew what quinoa was. You can find it in most grocery stores and it has been written about again and again. But when we saw that The Bachelorette and her two contestants were not familiar with this popular ingredient, we realized that there might still people out there who are unaware of this amazing and cheap source of protein. (Because it’s a great source of protein, not “fiber” as the one contestant wrongly claims.)

And while we’re aware that the people on The Bachlorette may not be the best measure for the knowledge of the general public, we still thought it was safer to give a quick overview. So here it is, everything you should know about quinoa.

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• Truckee River Winery’s Cask as Canvas provides 10 retired wine barrels to be painted by local artists, with five being auctioned off at the end of the summer and the proceeds going to local charities. To participate, email katy@truckeeriverwinery.com for a registration form due by July 20.

• Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association is holding two weekends to ride and work on trails: July 14-15 on the Sunflower Hill Trail and July 20-21 on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Go online for more information.

• Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and Carson City Sheriff’s Office are offering a free training class for rental property owners called “Crime Free Multi-Housing Program” July 25 from 8am to 5pm at DCSO, 1625 8th St., Minden, Nev.

Placer County is seeking information about a robbery that took place early July 10 at a construction site in the 1400 block of River Road in Tahoe City.

The police said unknown suspects broke into a shared construction yard at the location and stole gas lawn mowers, gas-powered earth compactors, power hand tools, a chop saw, welders, 1-inch, 1.5-inch and 2-inch copper tubing rolls, hundreds of copper and brass fittings, and cash.

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Detective John Riella at (530) 581.6325 or Detective Sgt. John Giovannini at (530) 581.6321. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 may call Placer County Crime Stoppers at 800.923.8191.

By Kathryn Reed

Who are Rockhopper, Peachy Keen, Green Bean and Numbnut?

They are much more than characters in a book.

These are trail names for some of the people who were hiking the Appalachian Trail when Jared Manninen was making the through hike in 1999. In 2011, Manninen published a graphic novel of his account of this 167-day, 2,160-mile journey.

Manninen lives in South Lake Tahoe and operates Makoto Press with his business partner Joe Daley out of Scottsdale.

While many graphic novels are often more like a comic book in nature, this would not be the way to describe “Mega ’99: Adventures of an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker”.

The black and white sketches complement the words in a way that photographs would not have been able to. It keeps the feel of the ruggedness of the trail.

While plenty of books have been written about this famous trail that goes from Maine to Georgia, this book gives an interesting twist – in large part because of its being a graphic novel.

But don’t let the word novel fool you either. This is not a novel. It’s really Manninen’s journal. However, the journal has 110,000 words (which required the use of eight pens) and the book has been condensed to 46,000 words. It’s the good, the bad, the funny, the lonely times on an expedition of this type.

For anyone who likes the outdoors, has thought about doing a major hike or likes to live vicariously through others, “Mega ’99: Adventures of an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker” is definitely worth a read.

As with most books, if you purchase it from the publisher or author directly, it’s better for those people. Just so you know, Amazon takes a 55 percent cut.

To buy “Mega ’99: Adventures of an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker” go online to Makoto Press.

By Stuart Leavenworth, Sacramento Bee

They go by several different names: Crayfish, crawfish, crawdads, yabbies, mudbugs.

Whatever you call them, there are about 220 million of these crustaceans bathing in Lake Tahoe, where they apparently are adding to the algae growth that clouds North America’s largest alpine lake.

Some scientists want to reduce these numbers, and for that there is an easy solution. If California and Nevada were to transplant some Cajuns to Tahoe, the crayfish population would be diminished in a few months.

Instead, as Carlos Alcalá reported in The Bee, Nevada has just issued its first permit for commercial harvesting of crayfish in that state’s waters of Lake Tahoe. The company granted the permit, Tahoe Lobster Co., hopes to supply restaurants looking for a local source of what French gourmands call écrevisse.

So should California follow Nevada’s lead and permit commercial harvesting of Tahoe crayfish? I say: Laissez les bon temps rouler.

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Nevada State Parks is hosting a day of free historical talks at Mormon Station State Historic Park on July 14.

The outdoor presentations begin at 10am and and each lasts approximately 30 to 45 minutes.  The schedule is as follows:

• 10am –  Stanley Paher, Western Nevada Ghosts and Ghost Trail

• 11:30am – Laurie Hickey, The Emigrant Trail – 1848 to 1851

• 1pm –  Bob Ellison, Ranch One, The First Land Claim in Nevada

• 2:30pm –  Frank Mullen, Jr., Donner Party:  The Tragedy of a Doomed Wagon Train

Members of the Truckee Meadows and Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneers will also be demonstrating rope making, Dutch-oven cooking, musket firing, pioneer toys and tools.

Bring a lawn chair, beverage, and picnic lunch.  For more information, contact the park at (775) 782.2590.

By Anne Knowles

Cynthea Preston, long-time Lake Tahoe Community College faculty member and administrator, is retiring.

Cynthea Preston is retiring after 20 years with LTCC. Photo/courtesy LTCC

Preston, who has been with LTCC for 20 years, first as a professor of English then as dean of instruction for the last dozen years, is taking an early retirement package offered by the school and leaving LTCC Sept. 21.

“I will miss the students the most and the programs I love,” Preston told Lake Tahoe News. “There are so many areas I’ve been intimately involved with.”

That includes the school’s burgeoning culinary arts program, which has grown from 30 students to more than 300 students a year, and its 5-year-old jail program that teaches inmates how to cook and helps them secure jobs on release.

“It’s an amazing program,” said Preston. “We have a very vibrant culinary arts program.”

Preston was also instrumental in developing LTCC’s 7-year-old fire academy, which last year graduated 28 cadets, and the school’s wilderness education program as well as its business and math programs, although she is quick not to take too much credit.

“A lot of people worked on these things,” she said.

And Preston worked with a lot of those people over the years, including many students she taught before becoming an administrator.

“Before becoming dean of instruction, Cynthea was a terrific English instructor. Her classes were thought-provoking, fun and inspiring,” said Frances Brady, former student and administrative assistant to the vice president of administrative services.

"I can't describe how much I'll miss her," said Tom Greene, LTCC vice president, academic affairs and student services.

“It’s hard to describe how much I am going to miss her,” said Tom Greene, vice president, academic affairs and student services at LTCC, after the LTCC Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday. “She has deep roots in this institution and institutional history.”

In her 20 years with the school, Preston did witness a lot of change.

“I’ve seen growth in and the expansion of college,” she said. “And the declining budget and its effects on growth and our community and courses.”

‘Ultimate people person’

“Cynthea is the ultimate people person,” former LTCC President Guy Lease told Lake Tahoe News. “She really cares about the faculty and staff and the students. She’s been there for them.”

She was also there for Lease, who was president of the school when Preston was hired and encouraged her to take on the role of Rotary Club president, which she just completed.

“When I’d get too focused on something that needed to happen now, or with the budget,” said Lease, “she was always there as sort of a counsel and advisor to keep balance between money and people.”

“She’s been a big part of the success of LTCC,” he said.

Preston said the school has been more than a professional home to her.

“I have four children who went through this college and all have doctorates or law degrees or are teaching,” she said.

Preston says she’s looking forward to a “permanent vacation,” and plans to travel and spend more time with her children and grandchildren, all of whom live in Southern California and visit Lake Tahoe often.

Ten employees of LTCC have accepted early retirement packages. Photo/LTN file

“My plans are to continue to be involved with the school and community,” she said, “and to spend time with my family and travel.”

Preston is part of a group who accepted an early retirement package as part of the school’s efforts to shave $500,000 off its 2013 budget. The other retirements accepted at Tuesday’s LTCC Board of Trustees board meeting were Gary Brusco, a full-time custodian; Craig Gasteit, interim maintenance director; Ginger Janssen, graphics arts specialist; Peggy Meyer, library technician II; Bob Roseblade, purchasing technician; and Juan Veneros, accounting assistant. A total of 10 LTCC employees have taken the early retirement package.

During the meeting, several board members expressed their sadness at Preston’s leaving.

“There will a lot of holes on this campus,” said long-time board member Roberta Mason.

By Karoun Demirijan, Las Vegas Sun

Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley was always going to have to face some tough music on the Senate campaign trail over allegations she used her seat in Congress to push for policies and programs that benefited her family’s bottom line.

But the inquiry that stood at least a chance of being dismissed as a political witch hunt now ranks among the most serious investigations of alleged ethical offenses taking place this Congress.

The House Committee on Ethics voted unanimously Monday to appoint an investigative subcommittee, armed with full subpoena power, to determine whether Berkley violated the House’s Code of Official Conduct over matters “in which (her) husband had a financial interest.”

In 2008, Berkley joined with other members of the Nevada House delegation, including her current Senate opponent, Dean Heller, to press federal officials not to shutter the kidney center at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, which would have sent Southern Nevadans in need of transplants looking out of state for treatment. In that same year, Berkley sent a letter on her own to Rep. Pete Stark, who chaired the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over Medicare, urging him to oppose lowering Medicare reimbursement rates for dialysis.

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By Paul McHugh, Sacramento Bee

Each fall, California ski areas hop to a big list of tasks – bringing in supplies, hiring “lifties,” spraying a base of manmade snow.

But many resorts become almost as busy as they prepare to devote resources to summer recreation.

They’re also getting creative. The 2012 menu of summer activities goes past staples such as concerts or mountain biking on ski trails to include flat-water paddling, disc golf, star- gazing, skateboarding, zipline rides and even wacky pursuits such as obstacle races through mud.

“Summer programs for resorts have become vital to our business,” said Bob Roberts, director of the California Ski Industry Association. “Fewer places are putting a chain across the road and closing up. Summer revenue helps a resort cover fixed costs and provides jobs for employees you want to keep.”

It’s true for resorts small or large. At the Bear Valley Cross Country ski area on Highway 4, founder Paul Petersen morphs his business into the Bear Valley Adventure Co. in late May. Summer activity today constitutes around 20 percent of his business.

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