The El Dorado County Indian Gaming Local Benefit Committee has $49,847.04 from the state controller to distribute in the form of grants for programs and activities designed to mitigate the impact of gaming upon the community.

Eligible agencies, including cities and special districts, may apply.

Applications will be accepted until April 4.

For additional information and application materials, contact Jessica Brandt at (530) 621/5132 or jessica.brandt@edcgov.us.

• The Bicycle Advisory Committee of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority will meet March 7 from 9-11am in the room adjacent to the City Council Chambers at Lake Tahoe Airport.

• Alpine County is turning 150. The Board of Supervisors will have a proclamation celebration March 18 at 9am at Turtle Rock Park in Markleeville.

• Switchback PR + Marketing Inc. has hired longtime Tahoe-Truckee marketing specialist Anna Koenig as an account manager.

• CrossFit Avalanche and CrossFit Blizzard had a daylong workout fundraiser in honor of former Truckee resident and fallen Naval officer Brian Collins. Money raised will be donated to the Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe. Collins’ name will join others on the HSTT’s animal shelter lobby Heroes wall, signifying his love of animals and a generous contribution donated in his name.

• Q&D Construction Inc. and Placer County Department of Public Works are having an open house March 12 from 4-7pm at the North Tahoe Events Center to hear about the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project’s construction schedule.

South Lake Tahoe is selling parking pass permits to residents.

Permits will allow residents to park in city-designated residential permit areas as well as in areas where paid parking kiosks exist. Passes do not include the garage at Heavenly Village.

Permits are available to people in the 96150 through 96158 ZIP codes, 89448 and 89449 ZIP codes.

The cost is $40. It is valid Monday through Friday, and good for the calendar year. No refunds will be issued if the paid parking program is changed or terminated.

Passes may be purchased at:

• City Administration Offices: 1901 Airport Road
• City Services Center: 1052 Tata Lane
• Recreation Complex: 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.
• Police Department: 1352 Johnson Blvd.

• Pink Chase Tahoe returns to Mt. Rose Ski Resort on March 6. The annual event raises awareness about women’s health issues. Registration is $50. To register and for more info, go online.

• The Regional Transportation Commission will host an open house on March 6 from 7-10am and 3-5:50pm to talk about bringing summer service to Sand Harbor on weekends and holidays. The open house is at the TRC 4th Street station in Reno.

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

• Dan Spano of Paradise Real Estate is now on the Incline Board of Realtors.

• Incline high’s girls basketball team won the Divsion III state championship March 1 over three-time dfending champs Pershing County. This is the teams first state title in 29 years.

• South Tahoe High School student Brianna Rettig received the Golden Key award from National Scholastics at UOP where her photography portfolio is on display in the main gallery.

• The Lake Valley Fire Protection District board on March 13 at 7pm will review and consider revising development fees for fire protection services. The meeting is at 2211 Keetak St. in Meyers.

• Sierra Nevada College was recently ranked one of the “100 Best U.S. Colleges and Universities by State” by thebestschools.org.

• The 38,000 Burning Man tickets that went on sale last week sold out in 44 minutes.

Photo No. 1: Highway 50 circa 1967. Photo/Don Lane

Photo No. 2: Highway 50 in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman

Ogden Nash wrote this parody of Alfred Joyce Kilmer’s 1914 classic poem “Trees”:

I think that I shall never see

A billboard lovely as a tree.

Indeed, unless the billboards fall,

I’ll never see a tree at all.

South Lake Tahoe had many billboards until they were banned in the last half of the 1960s, as was all off-premise signage with few exceptions.

Photo No. 1, circa 1967, shows the landmark Outdoorsman (now Grocery Outlet) with a Harvey’s billboard just beyond it.

Photo No. 3: Highway 50 approaching Al Tahoe Boulevard in 1967. Photo/Don Lane

Photo No. 4: Highway 50 approaching Al Tahoe Boulevard in 2014. Photo/Bill Kingman

Across the street, a large vacant lot (now Motel 6 and a restaurant, photo No. 2) had billboards for Sahara-Tahoe (now Horizon) and Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Notice the old telephone poles and overhead wires before the new city mandated underground replacement.

Photo No. 3 shows another Harrah’s billboard on Highway 50 approaching Al Tahoe Boulevard; 1967 at the earliest. That same meadow also contained a short-lived narrow-gauge railroad.

Behind the billboard at the Al Tahoe Boulevard intersection (no stoplight then) on the corner was the wood-frame Al Tahoe Post Office where Denny’s now stands. That post office building was moved and now serves as the Tahoe Art League Gallery on Highway 50 next door to the Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum, across from the Sno-Flake Drive-In.

The rest of that Al Tahoe Boulevard corner was a large empty lot which became the Tahoe Center (although then we called it the Lucky-Payless Center for its two largest, best-known businesses) starting in 1970.

— Bill Kingman

El Dorado County residents looking for work may want to attend the free Tri-County Job Fair on March 21 from 9am to 1pm at the Folsom Community Center, 52 Natoma St., Folsom.

Approximately 50 employers are expected at this event, which will include workshops on various job-seeking-related topics and a resume critique session.

Red Hawk Casino and El Dorado County Connections-One Stop have collaborated to offer free limited transportation to the fair from select areas of El Dorado County. Since seating is limited, those interested in utilizing the free shuttle service must make a reservation by calling (530) 642.4850.

The Tri-County Job Fair is hosted by a number of public and private agencies in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties.

More information about the job Fair is available online.

Barton Hospice’s Reflections of Life and Loss grief support group meets the first and third Thursday of each month, time varies so call ahead.

Meetings are at 2092 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 600, South Lake Tahoe.

This group helps teach attendees how to cope with certain situations and encourages emotional connections with others.

For questions or more information, call Tina Bruess at (530) 543.5592 or Barton Hospice at (530) 543.5581.

Liberty Utilities is offering academic scholarships for eligible high school and college students within its service territory.

The seven schools participating in the second annual scholarship program are South Tahoe High School, Loyalton High School, Douglas High School (students residing in Alpine County only), Coleville High School, North Tahoe High School and Portola High School, as well as Lake Tahoe Community College.

The six high school scholarships are $500 each. High school seniors must have a minimum unweighted gpa of 2.5 and be accepted to an accredited four-year or two-year college or an accredited vocational school. They also must have community service experience where they reside.

The Lake Tahoe Community College scholarship is $750. Those students are eligible for the scholarship if they have a 2.5 gpa or higher, and have completed at least 18 quarter units at LTCC. They must be enrolled in LTCC’s upcoming fall quarter, and have demonstrated leadership through school and/or community service experiences within the community they reside.

Interested students should contact their school’s financial aid office or counselor to find out more about the scholarship and to obtain an application. The individual schools have different deadlines, but all scholarships will be awarded starting mid-May.

South Lake Tahoe is accepting applications for the spring Citizens Academy.

The academy will be on Wednesdays from 5:30-8pm from April 9-May 21.

The Citizens Academy is a free, seven session interactive course designed to provide residents with an in-depth look into municipal government, as well as, information about the services and programs of the city.

To enroll, complete this application by March 21 at 4pm.