Walley’s in1875. Photo/Nevada Historical Society

Walley’s Hot Springs in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman

In 1862, David and Harriet Walley established Walley’s Hot Springs, a spa with 11 baths, a ballroom, and gardens, on what is today’s Foothill Road in Genoa.

These two photos, 1875 and 2014, were taken from the same viewpoint. The tall white building in the old photo served as a hotel until it burned-down in 1935.

Today’s main building is slightly shifted from the original hotel site. The adjacent stone building (at left) was built in 1890 atop the principal hot spring and distributes hot water to the tubs and pools.

— Bill Kingman

El Dorado County faces numerous potential disaster risks. On Aug. 19 from 2-4pm at the Greenwood Center, El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency – Animal Services and Public Health Preparedness and Response staff will conduct a presentation to help community members prepare themselves, their families and pets to respond when disasters happen.

The Greenwood Center is located at 4401 Highway 193 in Greenwood.

The presentation is free.

For more information, call 530.621.6251.

In response to an especially busy kitten season, El Dorado County Animal Services, in partnership with People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County, is offering a limited time reduction on the price of kittens.

All kittens at the South Lake Tahoe and Placerville shelters are available for adoption for half-price — $40.

The adoption fee covers the cost of the kitten’s first shots, spay or neuter, a microchip and vet exam. Each spring and summer, Animal Services’ shelters experience an influx of kittens and are nearing capacity with more kittens arriving daily.

Animal Services is also looking for loving homes to provide temporary foster homes for many of the kittens over the next several weeks. Fostering the kittens in a home environment helps to socialize them and they are more adoptable when they come back to the shelter, officials said..

For more information, call 530.621.7631.

• South Lake Tahoe is canceling its Aug. 19 City Council meeting so members may attend the annual Environmental Summit at Valhalla, which starts at 10am.
• Tom Lotshaw has been hired as public information officer for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Most recently he has been a reporter at the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
• On Aug. 22 at 8pm, Will Richardson is giving a presentation on Birds of the Sierra Nevada at the Taylor Creek amphitheater on the South Shore.
• The Friends of the Library is having a book sale Aug. 16 from 10am-3pm at the South Lake Tahoe Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.
• Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum will perform at the Boathouse Theatre on the South Shore on Aug. 6 at 7:30pm.

Placer County is in the process of figuring out what the Lake Tahoe area should look like in the next 20 years.

Staff presented an update last month to the Board of Supervisors and Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

The environmental documents being prepared cover most of the North Shore of the California side of the basin.

Comments on the Placer County Tahoe Basin Community Plan are due by 5pm Aug. 15 to cdraecs@placer.ca.gov.

More  info about the notice of preparation is available online.

The Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe’s Heroes Now and Forever campaign is in its final months.

This means there is limited time and space to be a part of the shelter’s recognition wall.

Individuals or businesses contributing $1,000 or more can be part of the wall, either in honor or memory of a person, pet, or event. The contribution can be broken down into two or four equal payments. The deadline to take part is Oct. 31.

For more information or to join this campaign, call Dale Lawrence at 530.582.2468 or Stephanie Nistler at 530.582.2462.

• Kirk Hardie, co-founder and co-executive director of the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, will lead a bird walk along the Rainbow Trail at Taylor Creek on the South Shore on Aug. 7 from 8-10am. Meet at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center building next to the Rainbow Trail sign.
• On Aug. 9, Pony Express re-riders will be on the Tahoe Rim Trail meeting with users to talk about the important role the Pony Express once played in the Sierra.
• Tahoe City Day is Aug 8, with a celebration from 5-8pm. For more info, go online.
• The Perseids meteor showers have begun. They are likely to be obscured at their peak Aug. 11 because of the full moon.

Two orphaned sparrow hawks are fed at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. Photo/LTWC

Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care’s open house is Aug. 3 from 10am-4pm.

This is the one time of the year the public is permitted on the grounds where the wild birds and animals are rehabilitated before being released back to the wild.

Nine bear cubs and oodles of other animals are being cared for. Volunteers will be on hand to guide people through the grounds and describe the reasons the various wildlife are at LTWC, and the prognosis for their eventual release back to the wild.

LTWC is at 1485 Cherry Hills Circle, off Elks Club Drive in Meyers.

For more information, call 530.577.2273.

• The seasonal dog ban at the Upper Truckee Marsh ends Aug. 1.
• St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church will be hosting its 27th annual Reno-Tahoe Greek Festival Aug. 22-24. For more info, go online.
• Kings Beach improvements are the topic of the Aug. 12 7:30am Tahoe Donner Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. For more info, call 530.587.2757.
• Drought conditions have increased the possibility of disease outbreaks in waterfowl, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Report any possible outbreaks to 916.358.2790.
• Nineteen-year-old blues phenom Matthew Curry has been added to Aug. 5 free Bluesdays concert at Squaw Valley. He will play from 5:30-6:30pm.

Veterans in the South Lake Tahoe will be able to get a veterans ID card on Aug. 6.

Participating businesses offer discounts when the card is shown.

Veterans must present a picture ID, DD214 or honorable discharge certificate, and appropriate documents if name change applies to qualify for the card.

Cards will be given out between 9am-4pm at the American Legion Hall, 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

For more info, call 530.573.7955, ext. 5892.