The inaugural Light up South Lake Tahoe in 2012 saw multiple businesses along Highway 50 participating by decorating store fronts and turning on their lights as the South Lake Tahoe Fire Departments firetruck and streets department snowplow led the procession from Stateline to the Y.

This year’s event is Dec. 7. Businesses along Highway 50 will turn on their lights in a wave to Light up South Lake Tahoe.

Want to join in on the fun? Feel free to decorate your vehicle and follow along behind the procession. The festivities will conclude at the Y with the annual tree lighting, a special visit from Santa and hot cocoa and cookies.

South Tahoe Standup Paddle on Harrison Avenue was deemed Best Participation and Most Enthusiastic last year.

For more info, call (530) 542.6016.

Nevada Historic Preservation Office will accept grant applications until 5pm Dec. 6.

Grant funding is provided by the National Park Service as part of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and is used to support the preservation efforts of government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Grants may be used to support building rehabilitation, historic preservation surveys and projects that promote heritage tourism throughout the state. Previous projects funded by this program include the underwater exploration and documentation of the SS Tahoe scuttled near Glenbrook and the painting of the Fourth Ward School in Virginia City.

Priorities for the 2014 funding cycle include surveys and National Register nominations for mid-20th century architectural resources and for threatened historic and prehistoric archaeological resources.

For additional information about the grants, eligibility or an application, contact the State Historic Preservation Office at (775) 684.3450.

• Athletes expected to be on the U.S. Olympic team posed for pictures Oct. 1 during the USOC media summit. To the left is freeskier Maddie Bowman from South Lake Tahoe. The photo is by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images.

• The Friday Kahle farmers market has moved to the front parking lot at Lakeside Inn. It will be there every Friday in October from 3-6pm.

• A celebration of life for 34-year-old Brandon “Mitch” Underhill will be Oct. 20 at 2pm at St. Theresa Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe.

• If you missed the Tough Mudder event at Northstar last month, here is a video recap of the event.

• Here is the agenda for the Oct. 7 meeting with South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and Douglas County officials.

• Phyllis Shafer, chairwoman of Lake Tahoe Community College’s Art Department, has an exhibit at the Stremmel Gallery in Reno from Oct. 10-Nov. 9. There will be an artist’s reception Oct. 10 from 5:30-7:30pm.

• The South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association is looking for board members. For more info, email secretary@sltla.org.

• The Tahoe Donner Association has withdrawn its appeal of the Planning Commission decision on the Tahoe Donner Facility Improvement Project.

• Truckee Police Department on Oct. 8 at 5pm is recognizing new employees at the town hall.

• The South Lake Tahoe Republican Women Federated Club will have its first meeting on Oct. 7 at 5:30pm in The Loft of the Blue Angel Café at 1132 Ski Run Blvd. Lt. Pete Van Arnum of the El Dorado County Sheriffs Department will talk about the Secret Witness Program.

With the intent of providing a higher level of service to South Lake Tahoe home buyers and sellers, the South Tahoe Association of Realtors created the Area Specialist Certification program for its members.

To achieve the certification, a licensed Realtor must demonstrate sufficient knowledge regarding the following local agencies and industries:

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, U.S. Forest Service cabins, building departments ,California Tahoe Conservancy, vacation rentals, South Tahoe Refuse, South Tahoe Public Utility District, fire districts and homeowner’s insurance.

Speakers from the agencies listed above present information and provide updates they believe important for Realtors to be knowledgeable about to best represent their clients in South Lake Tahoe. After each presentation, a test is given.

To qualify for the certificate, which has been approved by the California Association of Realtors, one must pass with at least an 80 percent accuracy rate. The certificate is valid for two years.

The following people passed the test given in September:

James Fain III, Erin Spicer, Scott Fair, Pamela Francis, Jessica Hirsch, Sam Holmes, Vicki Inferrera, Jill Teakell, Larry Finkel, Brent Johnson, Laura Lyle, Jon Rodriguez, Jim Wire, Kathleen Fagan, Madeleine Gutierrez, Teri McKinney, Mike Owen, Janine Raney, Jackie Weaver, Scott Jones, Tiffany Grimes, Michelle Reynolds, Gwen Niccoli, Ellen Camacho, Craig Woodward, Natalie Yanish, Dominique Westlake, Rani Calderon, Rhonda Keen, Brenda Knox, Kelly Flaherty, Gail Kolb, Linda Szendry, John Ward, Barbara Shriver, Dan Spano, Ryan Anderson, Michelle Benedict, Fernanda De Paula Dozier, Gisela Haskins, Dennis Lindsay, Theresa Souers, Lyndsay Bryant, Amanda Adams, Molly Blann, Jonathan Lemen, Heather Lew, Michael Luis and Scott Wadsworth.

Austin’s House, an emergency children’s shelter located near the Douglas County-Carson City border, is celebrating six years of providing compassionate care for children in crisis by launching its second annual giving campaign, the 2013 Appeal For Kids.

The 10-bedroom facility opened in September 2007 and was built entirely with donations from our generous community.

The need for services has increased 30 percent in the past year. Children are now staying an average of 50 days compared to 21 days in past years. Austin’s House has no limit on the length of stay.

In 2012, Austin’s House revenue of $272,126 and expenses of $260,144. The 2012 Appeal For Kids raised more than $32,000. This year, the goal is $40,000.

Anyone interested in learning more about Austin’s House, the Appeal For Kids campaign or making a donation can contact Austin’s House at (775) 267.6711 or go online.

As part of Placer County’s Tahoe Basin Community-General Plan update efforts, the county is having a public workshop on Oct. 9.

The topic will be Land Use, Community Design & Development Potential.

The meeting is from 5-6:30pm at the North Lake Tahoe Event Center, 8318 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach.

For more information, contact Crystal Jacobsen at (530) 745.3000.

Gluten free baking will be the topic of the Friends of the Library presentation by Kathe Hughes on Oct. 16.

Hughes is with the Celiac Sprue Association. She will talk about Celiac disease, provide helpful hints for Gluten-Free dining, and discuss various ways to live healthy.

The free event starts at 6pm at the South Lake Tahoe Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

For more info, call (530) 573.3186.

El Dorado County supervisors will make their annual pilgrimage to the basin on Oct. 7.

Their regular meeting will be at 10am at Lake Tahoe Airport to hear an update on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Regional Plan update that was passed nearly a year ago, as well as the Meyers Area Plan – of which only Supervisor Norma Santiago has attended any of those meetings.

Lunch and an afternoon meeting starting at 1:30 will be the first time the entire elected board of El Dorado and Douglas counties, and South Lake Tahoe have met. Topics will include area plans, transportation and recreation.

The afternoon session is at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel in South Lake Tahoe.

Caltrans recently retimed the signal lights on Highway 50 in Placerville to help traffic flow in both directions.

On weekends until the Christmas close of apple season, signal lights at Canal Street, Spring Street and Bedford Avenue will be timed to maximize Highway 50 traffic flows. Based on computer modeling, Caltrans has programmed a combination of preset signal cycles to smooth actual traffic volumes at various times of the day. Signals that normally permit 120 seconds of highway traffic will be extended up to 180 seconds and optimized to assist flow between intersections.

These new “Apple Hill” plans were first used over the Labor Day weekend, some adjustments were made, and now the plans are in effect and running through the end of the Apple Hill season.

The new signal timing may also be used on other high-traffic holiday weekends and parts of ski season. Traditional signal timing will remain during weekdays.

Although motorists crossing north or south through the Highway 50 intersections will have a longer wait, the project will minimize the gridlock that can prevent north-south traffic from crossing the highway.