• Tahoe Youth & Family Services Color Blast Fun Run is Sept. 20 starting at 9am at Lake Tahoe Community College. For more info, call 530.541.2445.

• Motorists can expect one-way traffic control from 7am-5pm Sept. 15-18 from Airport Road to F Street in South Lake Tahoe for paving and erosion control work.

• Here are the weekly roadwork schedules from Caltrans for El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra.

• Ironman Lake Tahoe is Sept. 21. For the first time nationally, Ironman and Ironman 70.3 race on the same day. Athletes will traverse the same terrain by water and land. The swim begins at Kings Beach State Recreation Area, then cyclists pedal through Truckee and over Brockway Summit before the event ends with a run into Squaw Valley.

• Tahoe Regional Young Professionals presents Cover Your Digital Assets on Sept. 17 from 5:30-6:30pm at Lake Tahoe Airport. Zion Fink of Techtastic Lake Tahoe IT Consulting will provide an hour of best practices in data backup so attendees can learn how to protect some of their most valuable assets. The workshop is free for members and $5 for non-members.

The old Al Tahoe sign in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

Remindful of the famous Hollywood sign on the hillside overlooking Los Angeles since the 1920s, the Al Tahoe stood near the site of today’s Lakeview Commons.

Today’s Lakeview Commons. Photo/Bill Kingman

Almerin “Al” Sprague had built a hotel and named the area after himself in the early 1900s. Frank Globin bought Sprague’s Al Tahoe Inn and expanded the facilities starting in the 1920s. Aram Hartoonian bought and subdivided land in Al Tahoe in the 1940s, selling lots for $10 down and $10 a month, with many streets now bearing the names of California cities.

Here is a link to some interesting history about the Hollywood sign, which is regarded as the world’s most famous sign.

— Bill Kingman

Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation’s annual Fall Food Fest is Oct. 11 from 6:30-10pm at Harvey’s.

LTEF provides enrichment grants for programs in Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

The event features food, beer and wine from local restaurants, breweries, and wineries. Music and auctions round out the evening.

The $45 tickets are available at all elementary schools and the ed center.

For more info, email lake.tahoe.educational.foundation@gmail.com.

Medicare open enrollment for 2015 is from Oct. 15-Dec. 7.

El Dorado County Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program will give an update on Medicare benefits and costs for 2015 at three free community presentations:

• Oct. 20, 12:30pm, South Lake Tahoe Senior Center located at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe.

• Oct. 22, 1:30pm, Placerville Senior Center located at 937 Spring Street in Placerville.

• Oct. 23, 10am, El Dorado Hills Senior Center located at 990 Lassen Lane in El Dorado Hills.

HICAP is a nonprofit organization that gives free, unbiased information and counseling to Medicare beneficiaries, including people soon to become eligible for Medicare. HICAP is not affiliated with any insurance company, nor does it sell, endorse, or recommend any specific insurance product.

To schedule a free, individual appointment with a registered HICAP counselor, call 530.621.6369.

• September is National Library Card Sign-up Month. Show your card or sign-up for one at any El Dorado County library for a chance to win a frosty treat.

• The Three Feet for Safety Act takes effect Sept. 16 in California. Drivers must give bicyclists traveling in the same direction 3 feet of clearance when passing.

• Rick Brower will demonstrate flint knapping, the making of obsidian arrow points and the workings of carbide lamps (the invention that replaced miners’ candles on their hats) on Sept. 20 at 11am. The free event will be outside the Lake Tahoe Museum in South Lake Tahoe. For more info, call 530.541.5458.

• There is a standup paddleboard fundraiser today for the South Tahoe Cancer League. It is from 8:30am-3pm at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe. Cost is $45. Board rentals are an additional $15. The fee includes lunch.

• The O’Neill Tahoe Cup Series’ Tahoe Fall Classic 2014, a 22-mile paddleboard race and the longest inland distance paddle race in the world, is Sept. 14. Paddlers will go from El Dorado Beach in South Lake Tahoe to Kings Beach.

• Barton Health’s Medical Imaging Department has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation by the American College of Radiology.

• Squaw Valley Institute’s Monthly Movie Night Series in partnership with the Tahoe Art Haus Cinema begins Sept. 20 with “Wild Reverence” about the plight of the American steelhead. There will be 6pm and 9pm showings, with a director Q&A to follow. For more info and to buy tickets, go online.

• The annual Tahoe Sierra Century Bike Ride is Sept. 13 with riders using highways 89, 267 and 28, along with surface streets. There are 30-, 60- and 100-mile routes, all starting and ending at Squaw Valley. Motorists are reminded to “share the road” with cyclists and maintain at least 3 feet of distance when passing.

• To track the fall color progression this season in the Eastern Sierra, go online.

• Gov. Jerry Brown issued a proclamation declaring September as California Wine Month and encourages tourists from around the world to come “sample our vintages and enjoy the many other attractions that our several distinct wine regions have to offer.”

The third annual Fall Festival and Chili Cook Off will offer opportunities for the community to support several local nonprofits.

The event is Sept. 13 from 10am-4pm at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex on Rufus Allen Boulevard.

Buy a bowl of chili and vote for your favorite one. Proceeds will be donated to Bread & Broth, a local volunteer organization that offers hot meals to those in need. Admission is free and will feature live entertainment, vendors, door prizes, fun for the kids, and much more.

South Tahoe Refuse has donated a drawing prize of a crock pot and a certificate for the use of a dumpster. The Lion’s Club collect old eyeglasses to repurpose. Golden Bear Events will give an extra door prize ticket to anyone who brings a donation for Christmas Cheer.

For more information, call JoAnn at 530.544.7412.

Laura Dekker will launch Squaw Valley Institute’s  Alchemist Speaker Series on Sept. 11.

Dekker, at 16,  sailed her 40-foot  Guppy around the world by herself. She will talk about her story of adventure, bravery, and leadership in the face of adversity.

Opening the presentation will be Logan LaPlante of SVI whose recent Ted X talk has been viewed more than 6 million times.

For tickets ($10 for kids, $25 for adults) and more info, go online.

There will be two meetings Sept. 25 regarding the South Lake Tahoe Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan.

The first is a joint meeting between the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Commission and the El Dorado County Parks and Recreation Commission. It is at 9am at Lake Tahoe Airport.

Commissioners will review and discuss recommendations contained in the draft master plan.

The second is an open house about the draft plan at 7pm it is at the recreation and swim complex on Rufus Allen Boulevard.

The event will be an opportunity for the public to share ideas on the recommendations within the plan and address public comments.

Patagonia’s “Damnation “shines the spotlight on dam removal, an ecological solution that can restore compromised watersheds, revive fisheries and more.

The movie will be shown at Lake Tahoe Community College on Sept. 12 at 7pm in Duke Theatre.

It is free.