Spotting one of the above banners could win someone a cruiser bike.

This is all part of the annual Tahoe Bike Challenge.

When you see one of these banners at a business, email info@tahoebike.org with your name, email, phone number, and where you spotted the banner to be entered into the raffle. Emailing a picture with you and the banner is worth two raffle entries.

The banners will be rotated at businesses throughout the Tahoe region and Truckee.

The drawing will take place at the Cycle Celebration on June 20 at Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe.

The bike challenge is June 1-14. For information and to register, go online.

The nation’s largest one-day food drive will be May 9. Fill a bag – or any container – with nonperishable food, and leave it for your letter carrier at home or work or bring food to the local post office.

In 2014, Nevada carriers collected more nearly 440,000 pounds of food. Nationally, 78 million pounds of food was collected by postal carriers, feeding an estimated 30 million people.

Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.

·  Boatbound, a boat rental marketplace, is now in Lake Tahoe. Boat owners can lend their boats to people for a price. Owners in Homewood, Tahoe Keys and Meeks Bay have signed up. For more info, go online. Lake Tahoe News readers may use the promo coupon code TAHOE for $50 off any rental.

·  Clear Creek Tahoe in Carson City was recently recognized by Golfweek magazine as the No. 18 Best Residential Course in America.

·  Ed Wilson, 59, of Placerville has been appointed assistant director of public affairs at the California Department of Water Resources.

·  For the fifth year in a row, Craig Zager of Coldwell Banker Select in Zephyr Cove has achieved the status of No. 1 producing sales agent in Nevada for Coldwell Banker.

·  The first book in their “Weird” trilogy, “Weird Reno” is a collection of curiosities researched from numerous media sources from the mid-1800s to the early 21st century. La Nae and La Ferry will give talk May 9 from 10-11am about the book, which will be available for purchase at a discounted price. Bring a comfortable lawn chair to Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park, 1450 Highway 88
Minden.

Echo Summit has always been a main connector to South Lake Tahoe. It used to be accessed via Johnson Pass Road, which connected to what is now called the Old Meyers Grade.

An aerial view of Highway 50 in the Echo Summit area. The white X marks where the next three photos were taken nearly 100 years ago on Johnson Pass Road, Photo/Google Earth

Old Echo Summit Road in 1918. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

Early days of the summit. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

In the 1930s and 1940s, the construction of Highway 50 over Echo Summit as we know it today was under way.

A 1919 Cadillac makes it over the summit. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

The Highway 50 Association advertised it as “All-Year High-Gear Highway 50” in 1949 as seen here
in the Stanford Daily.

Four-wheel drive was not an options in the 1930s. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

With today’s technology, a simple mouse click produces a live webcam view of Highway 50 traffic over Echo Summit. Photo/Caltrans

— Bill Kingman

· The California Public Utilities Commission has mandated that Lukins Water Company customers may only water twice a week – even addresses on Monday and Thursday and odd addresses on Tuesday and Friday. It must be done before 7am or after 7pm.

· Nevada Beach’s gates are open.

· Here are the Caltrans roadwork schedules for the week for El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra.

·  The annual Harrah’s/Harvey’s Hike for the Humane Society is May 16 starting in the back parking lot of Harrah’s. The guided hike, which starts at 9:30am and includes lunch, is $10. There will also be a first come, first served vaccination clinic for $5. For more information, call Niki at 530.542.2857.

· Al Pacino will be at the Peppermill in Reno on July 18 to share stories and more from his long acting career. He will also perform some of his most popular theatrical and on-screen moments. Doors open at 7pm, show is at 8pm. Tickets are available online.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is putting on a free seminar for businesses on May 28 from 10am-2pm at Lake Tahoe Airport.

The Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs seminar will give businesses:

• Information on what is acceptable identification.; the best way to check I.; how to refuse service; signs and prevention of illicit drug activity
• Facts about criminal, civil, and ABC liability
• An update on California alcohol laws
• Helpful handouts.

Register online by May 26. Find the link “Register for a LEAD training” and then locate the class under the Sacramento District.

On the day of the training, bring a copy of your ABC license.

The Nevada Heritage Foundation is accepting applications for the 2015 Continuing Education Scholarship, an award that enables students with an interest in agriculture to purse their degrees. The application deadline is July 1.

Students currently enrolled in either traditional or non-traditional post-secondary programs may apply. The award winner will receive a $1,000 to use toward his or her education costs.

The successful candidate must be from a Farm Bureau family and must have completed at least one year of post-secondary education. Preference will be given to students pursuing career goals in the agriculture or agriculture business industry. An interview may be required before the recipient is selected.

The scholarship application is available here.

For more info, contact Jill Combs at jillbcombs@gmail.com.

·       Animal Coalition of Tahoe’s bowling fundraiser is May 13 at Tahoe Bowl in South Lake Tahoe. Click on the form to sign up.

·       Reno Sculpture Fest is May 8-10 from 10am-10pm each day at the ReTrack located between 3rd Street and Commercial Row, and North Virginia and West streets.

·       There will be drop-in maker space activities for ages 8-16 at the South Lake Tahoe Library on May 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 starting at 3:30pm.

·       Brenen Davis, who started as a reserve firefighter in 2002 and was then hired full time in 2004 with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, has been promoted to fire engineer-paramedic with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

·      In celebration of Emergency Medical Services Week, May 17-23, the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department will be hosting an open house May 23 from 10a-2pm at fire station No. 3, 2101 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

·      Bijou Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe opens May 15.

·      South Lake Tahoe Police Department’s annual awards ceremony is May 14 at 2pm in front of the police department. There will also be an open house at the police department as part of the city’s 50th anniversary.

·       South Lake Tahoe Fire Department is having a blood drive in honor of Fresno fire Capt. Pete Dern who was injured this spring. The drive is May 15 from 11am-3:30pm at Fire Station No. 3, 2101 Lake Tahoe Blvd. To schedule an appointment, contact Kim George at 530.307.9596.

·      Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District’s Guns and Hoses Charity Golf Tournament is at Lakeridge Golf Course on May 4 starting at 11am. The cost is $100 per person and registration includes a round of golf, cart, lunch and non-alcoholic beverages. For more information, call 775.328.3012.

·       An 11-mile stretch of Highway 49 between Cool and Coloma is being repaved. Work is expected to last through July. The contractor is working from 6am-7pm, Monday through Friday with one-way traffic control using a pilot car. There also will be some night work in Cool later into the project.

·      Zephyr Cove Tennis Club’s season starts May 1. Membership is $80. Register
online

·       Edgewood Tahoe gave $9,274 to the Tahoe Fund to help preserve Tahoe’s environment. The donation was a result of cash added to rounds of golf during the 2014 season by Edgewood Tahoe and its guests through a program called Green Bucks.

·       Lake Tahoe Historical Society is forgoing its traditional garden tour this year.

·       The Bicycle Advisory Committee of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority will meet May 1 from 9-11am at Lake Tahoe Airport.

·      Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District’s board meets April 30 from 6-8pm at the clubhouse.