·       There will be a meeting about Regan Beach on Oct. 6 from 5:30-7:30pm at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center.

·      UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center in Incline Village will host Robert Emmons, the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, on Nov. 17 at 6pm. Learn how gratitude heals, energizes, and transforms lives. Cost is $5.

·       Tahoe Toastmasters meets the second, fourth, and fifth Mondays of the month at 6:30pm at South Tahoe Public Utility District’s board room, 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe. No cost to attend.

·       El Dorado County residents may sign up for reverse 911 online.

·      The American Legion Post 795 of South Lake Tahoe with members of the American Legion and Ladies Auxiliary is putting on traditional German dinner Oct. 4 from 4-8pm to celebrate Oktoberfest. The cost is $10. There will be a raffle and the Cash Only Band will provide music. The American Legion Hall is at 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

As part of El Dorado County’s process to develop a three-year strategic plan, the county is conducting a citizen survey, town hall meetings, and focus groups.

People may participate by completing the online survey and attending meetings.

The meetings are:

• Oct. 14, 6:30-7:30pm – Cameron Park Community Services District, 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park.
• Oct. 15, 6-7:30pm – South Lake Tahoe City Hall, 1901 Airport Road, South Lake Tahoe.
• Oct. 19, 5-7pm – Board of Supervisors Chambers,  330 Fair Lane, Placerville.
• Oct. 29, 6:30-7:30pm – El Dorado Hills Firehouse No. 85, 1050 Wilson Blvd., El Dorado Hills.

Sierra-at-Tahoe is hosting the 9th annual Keep Sierra Clean Day on Oct. 11.

All members of the community are invited to ride up the Nob Hill chairlift, sweep the mountain of trash and enjoy live music and free lunch on the Solstice Plaza.

In past years, thousands of pounds of trash has been cleared from the summer slopes by pass holders, employees along, and community groups such as the Sierra Education Foundation, Boy Scouts and West Slope high school ski and snowboard teams.

Sierra-at-Tahoe has been awarded numerous accolades for excellence in environmental education and community-based activism. Programs such as Keep Sierra Clean Day, Pack It In, Pack It Out and up-front parking for hybrids during the season are implemented under Project: Green Sierra.

Event registration begins at 10am on the Solstice Plaza. Participants are recommended to bring gloves, trash bags will be provided.

·      The South Lake Tahoe chapter of Girl Scouts is having an informational meeting for perspective members on Oct. 8 from 6-7pm at St. Theresa’s Globin Hall, 1041 Lyons Ave. For more info, call 800.222.5406.

·       Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships’ film festival is Oct. 23-24 at the Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema and Moe’s Original BBQ in Tahoe City. For more info, go online.

·      Sierra Nevada College faculty members Suzanne Roberts, Steven Church, and Peter Mountford and MFA students Brandon Lingle and Wyl Villacres have essays selected for the Notable Mentions section of this year’s “Best American Essays”, an anthology of nonfiction essays selected each year by a guest editor and published by Houghton Miffflin.

·      Mammoth ski resort expects to open Nov. 11.

·       Facts about tourism in Nevada: 1) Tourism employs approximately 474,000 Nevadans, making up 29 percent of the workforce; 2) 53.4 million travelers visited Nevada last year (up 2.6 over previous year); 3) In 2014, tourism spending exceeded $62 billion, up from $59.4 billion in 2014.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has created an amnesty program designed to assist qualified drivers with paying unpaid traffic or non-traffic infraction tickets, by reducing fines by 50 or 80 percent.

The 18-month program begins today.

Applicants must contact the superior court in the jurisdiction where they received the traffic ticket to find out if they are eligible to participate.

California drivers with outstanding infraction tickets originally due for payment on or before Jan. 1, 2013, and those seeking to have their driver’s license reinstated may qualify for the program. This amnesty program does not apply to parking tickets, reckless driving, and DUI offenses.

Courts, counties, and other authorized collection agencies may charge a $50 amnesty program fee.

The Douglas County Public Library Teen Advisory Board is putting on Don Carrasino and the Murdered Mobster, a buffet dinner party and teen mystery play on Oct. 16 from 5-8pm at the Minden library.

Guests will be regulars at The Joint, Don Carrasino’s personal hangout. Everything will appear to be going well until suddenly Don’s righthand man falls over dead. Then it will be up to the guests to figure out who killed him.

The teen mystery party is sponsored by the Friends of the Douglas County Public Library and the Teen Advisory Board.  The Minden Library is located at 1625 Library Lane.

For more info, call 775.782.9841.

Tahoe Arts Project is hosting the 4th annual Holiday Festival on Nov. 14-15 at South Tahoe Middle School’s multipurpose room.

The event will take place Saturday from 10am-4pm and Sunday from 10am-3pm.

It will feature art, craft and food vendors, entertainment, raffle prizes, and a visit from Santa. Admission is free.

Booth space is still available. For more info, call 530.542.3632.

Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe has $25,000 to give to local nonprofits.

SISLT’s goal is to fund quality projects that serve clearly identified needs of women and children in the South Shore community. They will consider new programs, improvements and enhancements to current programs, as well as supporting programs that have been proven effective in bettering the lives of women and children in the community.

Grants between $5,000 and $25,000 will be awarded to no more than five nonprofit organizations.

The application period is open through October. For more information, email sisltfoundation@gmail.com.

South Lake Tahoe and allied law enforcement agencies will be hosting a neighborhood evacuation drill Oct. 1 from 10am-noon.

The neighborhood will receive a reverse 911 call to test the system.

Evacuation maps for the entire city can be found online.

The Highlands Evacuation Drill will affect approximately 160 homes and 270 residents. Residents who wish to participate in the evacuation drill are encouraged to do so by “evacuating” to the snow dump area at the end of Sierra Boulevard. A public information officer will be at the site as well as Red Cross serving snacks.

·       The eight candidates vying for the four seats on the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District board are having a forum Oct. 1 from 6-8pm at the park. The election is in November.

·       The North Tahoe Ski and Sports Swap celebrates its 52nd year on Oct. 24 from 9am-3pm at North Tahoe High School.

·       Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is looking for volunteers to be part of the active transportation plan fall photo shoot the morning of Oct. 8. For more info, email Morgan Beryl at mberyl@trpa.org.

·      Nevada Health Link’s open enrollment health fair is Nov. 1 from 10am-6pm at the Boys & Girls Club, 2680 E. 9th St., Reno. For more info, go online.

·      Barton Hospital Auxiliary has established the Dan Kerr Memorial Scholarship, which will award its first money in 2016.