• Natalie Yanish is now president of the South Tahoe Association of Realtors.

• Jan. 16 from 5:30-8:30pm is Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s annual charity mixer at Riva Grill. Proceeds will be donated to Christmas Cheer and Bread & Broth. Cost is $20 for members, $30 for non-members. Buy tickets online.

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

• Tahoe Blue Vodka and the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority are looking for mixologists to come up with a vodka drink. Submit entries online.

• Elvis Presley would have turned 79 on Jan. 8 and the Carson Valley Inn is celebrating with Elvis Week Jan. 6-11.

According to E.B. Scott’s book “The Saga of Lake Tahoe”, Ephraim “Yank” Clement opened his three-story Yank’s Hotel on homesteaded land at the South Shore of Lake Tahoe in 1875.

Upon being purchased by Elias “Lucky” Baldwin in 1881, the hotel was renamed the Hotel Tallac (aka Tallac Casino) in recognition of adjacent Mt. Tallac and its famous “T” snow cross (photo No. 1).

Hand-colored postcards dated 1908 (photos Nos. 2 and 3) show the majestic hotel. Room rates were $3 per day (without bathroom) or $5 per day (with a bathroom) for one person. Total capacity of the hotel and cottages was 250 people.

A promotional brochure from the early 1900s shows the view from the casino porch (photo No. 4) and the era attire of its customers at play (photos Nos. 5 and 6).

The brochure quaintly states: “AUTOMOBILING: Tallac is easy of access. Every season a great many autos make the trip to Tallac from Los Angeles and San Francisco. A good mountain road and any good machines can make the trip. Mrs. Joseph Chanslor, of Los Angeles, made the trip from Sacramento to Tallac in eight hours.”

The brochure also emphasizes the Truckee-to-Tahoe City train connecting to the steamers Tahoe and Nevada and Meteor going to the Tallac.

The hotel was razed in 1927. Many artifacts of the hotel and the 2,000-acre Baldwin Estate are on display in the Baldwin House Museum at the Tallac Historic Site next to Camp Richardson.

All brochure info, photos and postcards are courtesy of Theresa and Darrell Eymann.

— Bill Kingman

Calling, downloading apps and surfing the web on the Verizon Wireless network is now easier and faster for residents and travelers in El Dorado County because of additional 4G LTE cell sites in El Dorado Hills, Greenwood and Pilot Hill.

The sites improve wireless coverage and capacity in the following areas:

El Dorado Hills: At Oak Meadow Elementary School, south to Suncoast Lane, along Highway 50, and west of El Dorado boulevard

Greenwood: Along Highway 193, Dam Creek Road, Wild Lilac Lane and Coon Creek Road

Pilot Hill: Along Highway 49 around Majestic View Road, Greenwood Creek, Black Rock Lake and Pilot Peak Road.

More than three-quarters of survey takers have a “very positive” impression of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

Of the 6,721 individuals who placed calls for service in August 2013, 125 were given 11 questions to answer in a survey. The survey was issued either in person or by phone and included questions about the deputy’s interpersonal skills, punctuality and overall competence during the call for service.

Here is the community survey.

• Pints & Paddles with Ike & Martin is every Wednesday through March 19 from 5:30-7pm on the M.S. Dixie II.

• Eileen Fahrner, longtime Kings Beach Elementary principal, is retiring at the end of the school year.

• Starting in January, Trax and Truckee police Officer Andrew Holbrook will begin visiting Truckee High to give students an opportunity to find out about his skills and to assist in drug education programs as part of the Truckee-Tahoe Humane Society’s Dogs with Jobs program.

• Michael J. Peters, previously the manager of The Lodge Restaurant & Pub at Tahoe Donner, was promoted to food and beverage director.

Like years past, Douglas County sheriff’s deputies expect to close Highway 50 in the Stateline casino corridor on New Year’s Eve to handle all of the people milling about.

While there have been 60,000 revelers in the past, that number has declined even before SnowGlobe came to town two years ago. SnowGlobe is back. And there is an outdoor music festival at Horizon, too, which should disperse crowds.

If the highway is closed, traffic will be diverted onto the loop road.

Douglas deputies will be present in the Stateline casino area throughout New Year’s Eve, supplemented by officers and representatives of numerous other law enforcement agencies, including Nevada Highway Patrol, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, and the FBI. Supporting agencies include the Douglas County Communications Center, Tahoe-Douglas Fire Department, Caltrans and Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).

Glass or metal containers, regardless of contents, are prohibited in the casino core area on New Year’s Eve.

The curfew in Douglas County is midnight on Dec. 31 for people younger than 18.

• South Tahoe Alliance of Resorts gave $5,000 each to Christmas Cheer, Live Violence Free and Tahoe Youth & Family Services.

• The Douglas County Public Library in Zephyr Cove will be closed Jan. 1. It will reopen Jan. 2 at 9am.

• The Las Vegas Sun reports: “A Nevada law allowing medical marijuana dispensaries takes effect April 1, but licenses to sell and grow the drug probably won’t be issued until months later, a state official said.”

• First class stamps will be 49 cents starting Jan. 26.

• Here is a video of the Trout in the classroom project that features Tahoe Truckee Unified students and staff on PBS’s “This American Land” show:

• Heavenly partnered with Aaron Hagar, son of Sammy Hagar and owner of Rat Runners Garage, to retrofit a retired groomer. It’s been overhauled into a state-of-the-art mobile disc jockey station. Heavenly will unveil the DJ cat Dec. 27 outside Tamarack Lodge at 1pm.

• Sierra Nevada College is putting together an athletics hall of fame. Inaugural inductees will be announced at the Janet Pahl and Warren Kocmond Ski and Snowboard Banquet during Homecoming 2014.

• BlueGo routes 50 and 53 are free until Jan. 5.

• CalFire Amador-El Dorado Unit Deputy Chief Mike Kaslin has been promoted to chief.

South Lake Tahoe’s Children’s Memorial is decorated for Christmas. Photo/Provided

To the community,

Santa’s elves were busy at the South Lake Tahoe Children’s Memorial this week. The memorial, located on the corner of Highway 50 and Wildwood Avenue, got a holiday makeover.

Not only was the area decorated for the Christmas, but there was a stocking placed at the site in memory for each local child who is memorialized there.

Organizers don’t want any child to ever be forgotten nor do they want them to be without their own Christmas stocking for a little something from Santa.

Merry Christmas to all our children.

Santa’s Elves

• Via magazine in the January-February issue mentions Sugar Bowl as a place to kite ski.

• Brent Cutler sold the Sports Exchange in Truckee to longtime manager Rob Cavallo and Brian Murphy.

• Here is the El Dorado-Tahoe Caltrans roadwork schedule for this week.

• High Altitude Adventures, a shop showcasing locally produced products with a percentage of all sales going back to Tahoe area nonprofits, opens Dec. 28 at the Resort at Squaw Creek.