• On July 8 from 10am-noon, the South Tahoe Garden Club will give free 30-minute walks through the gardens at the Pope Estate on the Tallac Historic Site. Park at the USFS Historic Site lot and gather at the Baldwin Museum.

• The 34th annual Death Ride – cycling over five Sierra passes – is July 12.

• Author Lin Wilder will sign copies of her book “The Fragrance Shed by a Violet” on July 11 from 6-7pm at 88 Cups Coffee & Tea, 1663 Lucerne St., Minden.

• Sierra Nevada Ballet presents “Swan Lake” as a part of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival on July 28 at 7:30pm. Buy tickets online.

• James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash scheduled for July 5 at the Boathouse Theater on the South Shore has been canceled because of illness.

The Tahoe Fund is partnering with Nevada State Parks to offer free access to Sand Harbor, Cave Rock and Spooner Lake on July 12 to current owners of Lake Tahoe license plates.

The event is meant as a thank you to those who support Lake Tahoe with the purchase of Tahoe license plates.

Funds generated through the sale of Tahoe license plates support projects that help to preserve and restore the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Entrance is free for Nevada and California plates.

Douglas County teens will get a chance to examine evidence and learn crime scene techniques.

Douglas County sheriff’s Sgt. Pat Brooks will walk teens through a staged crime scene investigation on July 9 from 4-5:30pm at the library in Minden.

Sign up for the free program by July 8; 775.782.9841.

Young’s Bijou Lodge in the 1920s. Phot0/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

Young’s Bijou Lodge of the 1920s was enlarged in the 1930s to Young’s Bijou Lodge.

The dance hall. Photo/Frasher Photo collection of Pomona Public Library

The adjoining large Bal Bijou dance hall, left, with  the high roof is at the right of the building.

Dave Wakeman recalls that many prominent big-name bands played at Bal Bijou. The tower and coffee shop wings were razed in the 1950s, replaced by a strip of adjoining businesses including the Bijou Post Office.

Young’s Lodge
Photo/Frasher Photo collection of Pomona Public Library

That strip today is Nikki’s Chaat Cafe, adjacent to the original Bal Bijou which now is CVS, still identifiable by that high, steep roof.

Today’s Bijou Center. Photo/Bill Kingman

Since the 1960s, Bal Bijou has housed Ink’s Market, Nay’s Bijou Center Market, the Liquor Barn a d Smart & Final.

— Bill Kingman

• Tahoe Windjammers are out on Lake Tahoe racing. For more info, go online.

• Dorinda’s Chocolates is opening a location at the Village at Squaw Valley on July 4.

• The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board awarded the International Certificate of Accreditation to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Forensic Science Division.

• Improv comedy will be at the Grand Hall at Valhalla on July 8 and July 22, and at the Boathouse Theater on Aug. 5 and Aug. 12. Cost is $10. Shows start at 7:30pm. For tickets and more info, go online.

• Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s Tech Tuesday on July 1 is Advanced Social Business Practices & Tools. It is from 5-7pm in the conference room in Stateline.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department has increased its vigilance in enforcing state and city fireworks laws to protect public health and safety.

Virtually all fireworks that explode, shoot into the air or move along the ground are termed “dangerous”, and are illegal anywhere in California. Discharging any type of fireworks, including “safe and sane” fireworks, is against the law in South Lake Tahoe. This includes devices such as simple sparklers.

Police will confiscate any fireworks and issue citations to violators. Possession of larger style fireworks may be prosecuted as a felony.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, on a typical Fourth of July, fireworks cause more fires in the U.S. than all other causes combined.

Sly Park Road in Pollock Pines will be closed overnight Thursday and Friday for bridge work.

The road will be closed to through traffic at the Highway 50 undercrossing from 9pm-5am each night as work continues on a $7.6 million project to replace the existing bridge, which was built in 1963.

The contractor, Viking Construction, is scheduled to set girders tonight and set up forms and deck supports Friday. The road may also need to be closed overnight Monday.

Marked detours and highway message boards will be used to alert motorists to the road closure.

• The California State Fair has announced its wine winners. Lava Cap Winery took home Best of Sierra Foothills White for its 2013 El Dorado Sauvignon Blanc; Moonstone Crossing won Best of Sierra Foothills Red for the 2009 Amado County Wish Upon a Star. Moonstone also won Best of California State Red for its 2009 California Midnight Caress. Best Barbera went to Boeger Winery for its 2011 Barbera Estate. Best Other Red Varietal went to Vina Catellano for the 2009 Abuelito Placer County. Best Viognier is from Gold Hill Vineyard for its 2012 Viognier El Dorado. Here is the complete list of winners.

• Lake Tahoe Community College’s board of trustees this week agreed to ask voters in November to approve a $55 million facilities bond.

• Sierra Nevada Business Council is hosting Peak Innovation: The Next 20 Years on Oct. 8-10 at Granlibakken in Tahoe City. For more info, email mpenwarden@sierrabusiness.org.

• The farmers market at Tunnel Creek in Incline Village will be open July 3 from 4-7pm as part of the festivities of the Mountain Bike and Hike on the Flume Trail event.

Lake Tahoe Area Sierra Club is bringing back its annual fundraiser to the Stonehenge residence in Echo View Estates on July 16.

The annual evening of wine, food, and entertainment will also feature several local artists. The founder of the Sierra Club, John Muir (impersonated by Don Baldwin) will be making an appearance, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his death.

The winner of our photo contest will also be announced. Information regarding the event and contest can be found online.

The event is from 5-8pm. The $35 tickets are available at Aspen Hollow, Emerald Bay Physical Therapy and Lake of the Sky Outfitters.

• Boogie Nights at Blu inside MontBleu at Stateline is coming back with a grand opening July 18-19.

• Natives and Adapted Natives: Why? What? Where? is the July 21, 5:30pm UCCE Master Gardener Green Thumb Series class at Lake Tahoe Community College’s demonstration garden.

• Barton opened a urology office this month at 2169 South Ave., South Lake Tahoe.

• TAMBA is having a trail day in Tahoe City on July 29. Meet at 9am at the Tahoe City PUD parking lot at 221 Fairway Drive (across from the fire station). There will be a 4-wheel drive carpool or volunteers may ride to the project off the Fibreboard Freeway.

• “Lawn Removal – Lawn Be Gone” is episode two in a series of instructional videos on what people can do to change how stormwater leaves their landscapes and how they can be stewards of their watersheds. Click here to see the state Water Board’s video.