The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lake Tahoe Sustainable Communities Program are hosting the region’s inaugural sustainability summit June 22-23 at the Hyatt in Incline Village.

Called Connections 2015, organizers say the summit will be about building more resilient and sustainable communities by strengthening mountain-urban partnerships, bringing together people and organizations from California, Nevada, and the West.

Expert panels, workshops, and networking opportunities will focus on the connections between metropolitan and rural areas, including drinking water, forest health, transportation, and recreation, and how metropolitan and rural areas can partner to improve sustainability and resiliency.

Panel discussions will include:

• Forest health and water security
• Transportation, recreation and access
• Valuing the mountain-urban connection.

A full agenda, schedule, and a link to register are online. Cost is  $45.

·  The annual Environmental Summit is Aug. 24 from 9am-noon at Round Hill Pines. Sen. Deal Heller, R-Nev., is the host. This year’s theme is Transportation, Innovation and Sustainability.

· The next Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Mixer is June 25 at 5:30pm at Basecamp Hotel at 4143 Cedar Ave. in South Lake Tahoe. Tickets are $10 for members and $20 for non-members.

·  On June 15, the El Dorado Trail parking lot at Jacquier Road will be closed for crack seal, slurry seal and striping.

·  North Tahoe Business Association is looking for donations to pay for the July 3 fireworks. The goal is $22,000, with $16,300 having been raised. Mail a check payable to NTBA, to P.O. Box 1023, Kings Beach, CA 96143.

·  More than 100 volunteers in Kings Beach showed up for Clean Up Day on June 6 and picked up 2,340 pounds of trash.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office and Youth in Action Team are hosting a community information evening June 17.

The event is from 6-7:30pm at North Tahoe High School auditorium, 2945 Polaris Road, Tahoe City.

Sheriff’s representatives will be covering the following information:

• An overview of drug and alcohol resistance programs in the community; what to look for and contact information if a potential issue is seen.
• Statistics from 2005-2014 on DUI and drunk in public arrests with a breakdown of visitors vs. locals.
• Youth and the health risks of underage drug and/or alcohol use.
• A brief overview by the CHP on issues they are confronting in the area.
• What agencies have done to work on the above problems; what is being done now and future plans.

Several troopers from the Nevada Highway Patrol, as well as other employees for the Department of Public Safety, will be volunteering their time to raise money for Special Olympics Nevada and California on June 14 at the Hard Rock Café inside Harveys.

The state employees will serve as volunteer waiters and waitresses as they assist the restaurant staff that day while they work for “special tips.” As patrons are greeted, each volunteer will leave an envelope with each table for those wishing to make a donation. These tips are in addition to the regular server’s gratuity.

All of the extra tips will stay in Northern Nevada and Northern California to pay for the sports training and competition activities for area athletes enrolled in Special Olympics Nevada/California programs.

A free weekend shuttle service in Incline Village starts June 27.

Incline Village General Improvement District is providing the service for local and tourist beginning June 27. The shuttle will run on weekends through Aug. 16. It will also be available July 3. The hours are from 10am-7pm, though it will be extended July 3 and July 4.

There will be seven stops throughout Incline, with a bus coming by every hour.

The $15,000 to run the program is coming from IVGID’s beaches’ operating budget.

The First in the West Presidential Roundup will be at Harveys Outdoor Concert Arena on Aug. 22.

The Nevada Republican Alliance has invited Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Mike Pence, Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Scott Walker.

Tickets are available online.

· Charles Barkley is delaying hip surgery so he can play in next month’s American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe in Stateline.

· Tahoe Production House is having an open casting call for a national ad it is producing. More info is online.

· Tahoe Donner’s annual Summer Concert on the Green returns with ’60s and ’70s flair on July 3 with the Beatles and Rolling Stones as inspiration. Two tribute bands will take the stage under the stars at the Tahoe Donner Driving Range, located adjacent to Trout Creek Recreation Center at 12790 Northwoods Blvd., Truckee. Doors open at 5pm. Tickets are available online.

·  The Tahoe Expedition Academy will host a public workshop on June 17 about the school’s proposed campus on the edge of Martis Valley in Truckee. Currently located in Kings Beach, the independent Expeditionary Learning School, in an agreement with the Martis Fund, purchased a 42-acre property on Schaffer Mill Road with plans to build a 60,000 square foot campus to accommodate up to 270 students in grades pre-K-12. Information on the proposed campus and public input will presented from 12:30-2pm and 5:30-7pm in the Truckee Tahoe Airport’s board room.

· Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District’s board is meeting June 11 from 6-8pm at the park.

Foreigner delights fans Saturday at MontBleu. Photo/Ellie Waller

·  Ellie Waller, who was at the June 6 Foreigner concert at MontBleu, raved about the concert. She received two free tickets and was able to meet the band because she is a Lake Tahoe News subscriber.

·  Rachel Michelin, 43, of El Dorado Hills has been reappointed to the California State Board of Optometry, where she has served since 2014.

·  The 14th annual Art Wine and Music Festival at Squaw Valley is July 11-12 from 11am-5pm, with wine tasting from 2-5pm. Cost is $25 per day.

·  Guy Yeaman’s Dog Obedience Class is for six weeks at Kahle Community Center in Stateline on Thursdays from 7-8pm starting June 18. Cost is $80. Dogs must be at least 4 months old. For more information or to enroll, call 775.586.7271.

Highway 50 in the 1930s was much more of a rural route. Photo/Stephen Gennerich collection

If you stood on Highway 50 in 1930 near today’s Lakeland Village on the South Shore, the photo above would have been your view toward Mount Tallac.

Civilization had taken hold by the 1950s. Photo/Stephen Gennerich collection

Slowly the area began developing in the early 1950s with more poles and wires, more facilities and services. Harrah’s and Heavenly Valley both opened in 1955. The late 1950s brought hurried development in anticipation of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Dozens of motels, gas stations, eateries and tourist attractions sprung up.

Highway 50 is very much an urban area today. Photo/Bill Kingman

Today at the same location the view is of more cars, more lanes, and more development, but now the poles and overhead wires are gone.

— Bill Kingman

The Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet from 9am-noon June 22 at the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor’s office inSouth Lake Tahoe.

LTFAC will address issues related to federal activities at Lake Tahoe.Items on the agenda include an overview of committee history, review of committee charter, update on status of Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, and discussion of Committee’s future strategy.

Members of the public interested in finding out more about the LTFAC are welcome to attend the meeting.

LTFAC consists of 20 members representing an array of constituencies.