Mushroom-designed fireworks light up the sky Aug. 31. Photos/Howie Nave

Pyrotechnics become butterflies.

People will be out in force today picking up debris from Sunday’s annual fireworks show.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority is organizing trash pick up today through Sept. 5 from 9am-noon each day. The beaches include: 4H Beach, Tahoe Shores, Nevada Beach, Round Hill Pines.

The fireworks on the South Shore are now shot off from the Nevada side.

The cleanup days are to help ensure all the floating debris is removed and discarded properly.

• South Lake Tahoe Police Department’s K9 Trials is Sept. 27 starting at 8am. The patrol dog competition will be at Lakeview Commons.

• Bob Wheeler is now managing broker of the Incline Village office for Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty.

• The next Tapping Tuesday class is Sept. 2 from 6-7pm at Rejuvenate, which is behind Nephele’s on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe. Donations are accepted. For more info, contact Rosemary Manning at tahoehealthtouch@gmail.com or 530.541.6565.

• Barton Auxiliary is sponsoring a blood drive on Oct. 6 from noon-6pm. The event is at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel in South Lake Tahoe. Donors may park for free at the hotel.

• Here are this week’s roadwork schedules from Caltrans for El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra.

Dancing halls were once the rage in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum

In 1948, the Bijou Park Club boasted dancing. Harry Rose’s Bar hosted a community Easter Egg Hunt on Highway 50 not far from today’s Tahoe Meadows.

Years later, a two-story white wooden building near that site housed Armstrong Realty and Rentals which had apartments in the back. I rented a studio unit there in 1961 for $75 a month, utilities included. Parking in back was on a dirt driveway from Highway 50.

The South Shore in 1965. Photo/Bill Kingman

The 1965 photo shows that same section of Highway 50 as a shopping/business area including Lou’s Burgers, The Chef’s Inn, White House Realty, Milano Realty, and a Richfield gas station.

Over the years, some later businesses there included Bandana’s Pizza, Lumbleau School of Real Estate, Federico’s College of Hair Styling, Mountain High Records, and others. In wintertime, however, flooding of Highway 50 at Wildwood Avenue was a persistent problem and locals jokingly would refer to it as “Lake Wildwood.” A detour one block closer to Ski Run Boulevard was the intersection of Sonora Avenue and Highway 50. That intersection was covered/eliminated in the 1980s with construction of the Fantasy Inn.

This is the same location at the other photos as it exists in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman

Redevelopment now has restored both sides of that Highway 50 area with vegetation and drainage control. Many motels and other businesses were razed near Wildwood Avenue where the Memorial Log, large lawn, and greenery now exist

— Bill Kingman

• Cold Water Brewery and Grill in South Lake Tahoe on the corner of Highway 50 and Sierra Boulevard is having job fairs Sept. 4 from 6-8pm and Sept. 6 from 9-11am.

• Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a workshop on Measure F – Lake Tahoe Community College’s facilities bond – on Sept. 18 at 5:30pm at the college’s board room.

• Go online to receive emergency notifications from Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

• Phase 2 of the Trout Creek Trail in Truckee has been selected to receive $1.52 million in Federal Active Transportation Program funds.

• Shawna Brekke-Read has been hired as South Lake Tahoe’s Development Services director.

• Kingsbury Grade will be closed at the summit starting Sept. 2. This will last through October. It will reopen to allow access for the Genoa Candy Dance on Sept. 27-28.

• Climate Change, Forests, and Fire in the Sierra Nevada: Implications for Current and Future Resource Management is the subject of Hugh Safford’s talk Sept. 15 from 6-8pm at the Tahoe Tree Company in Tahoe City.

• Sugar Pine Foundation and Himmel Haus are hosting a benefit concert called Reggae in the Pines to raise money for planting 10,000 sugar pines in the Tahoe region. The event is Sept. 6 starting at 8pm at Himmel Haus, 3819 Saddle Road, South Lake Tahoe. Cost is $10.

• The U.S. Forest Service is having an open house at its South Lake Tahoe office on Sept. 18 form 6-8 pm regarding the draft analysis of a proposal from Heavenly Mountain Resort to expand year-round, non-skiing activities.

• The El Dorado County Mental Health Clinic is moving to 1900 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe next week, with clinic doors expected to be open for clients Sept. 8. County Alcohol and Drug Program services will also be located at the new address. Clinic and staff telephone numbers will remain the same. For more info, call 530.573.7970.

Live Violence Free’s 15th annual Sunset Gala is Oct. 19.

It will feature music by Acoustic Solution, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and a large silent auction with all proceeds directly benefiting the programs and services of Live Violence Free.

The 5-8pm event is at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. Tickets are $65.

For further info or to buy tickets, contact Hannah Greenstreet at hgreenstreet@liveviolencefree.org or 530.544.2118, ext. 7634.

Lake Tahoe residents are gathering on the South Shore on Aug. 31 for what is being called one of the largest non-water wasting bucket challenges for ALS.

Bring a 5 gallon bucket to Lakeview Commons. Lake water will be used for the challenge; with people standing in the lake.

A $10 (or more) donation is suggested that will go toward ALS.

The event is at 3pm.

• Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Wings returns to Squaw Valley on Sept. 5. Seven restaurants and seven bands will go head-to-head from 6-10pm in the village as a benefit for Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences. Registered attendees will get wing deals, plus beer and drink specials available at each restaurant. For more info, go online.

• On Aug. 26 Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz took on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in honor of Northstar Snow Services Manager Matt Reeder, who has been battling the disease since 2011. Vail Resorts donated $25,000 to ALS; $100 for each of the 250 senior team members who jumped in on the challenge.

• Improv Players are putting on a benefit show for Unity at the Lake on Aug. 29 at 7:30pm. Cost is $10. It is at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

• Education will be the topic of Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce’s breakfast meeting Sept. 9 from 7-8:30am at the Truckee airport. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for others. For more info, call 530.587.2757.

• Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day is the largest volunteer restoration event in the Tahoe basin. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited Sept. 27 to work at Tahoe Paradise Park from 9am-2pm. For more info, go online.

South Lake Tahoe police officers have received numerous calls from residents saying people are pretending to be from Liberty Utilities are asking for money for alleged overdue bills.

Contact Liberty Utilities at 800.782.2506 about bills or go online.

Local authorities also say a similar scam involving the IRS is also occurring.

Officers want to remind residents not to give out any personal information over the phone to anyone calling you unsolicited. That includes your name, birth date, Social Security number, debit/credit card numbers, or any banking information. The same is true for any solicitation or requests for money received by email.

Tahoe Arts Project is having a fundraiser on the Safari Rose on Sept. 18 from 6-8pm.

The boat sails from Round Hill Pines.

The event includes a cruise to Emerald Bay. The $65 tickets include wine and appetizers. For tickets, call 530.542.3632.

TAP is a nonprofit that brings performing arts to South Shore students and the community at large.