Both photos, 1965 and 2012, I snapped from the same vantage point in Harrah’s parking lot, evidenced by the distinctive profile of the Harrah’s South Shore Room theater rectangular fly-loft at left.

Among other things, notice the 1965 predominance of American cars, and that today’s parking lot has rotated 90 degrees, apparently affording more spaces. 1965 was decades before today’s multilevel garages now on-site.

In the 1965 photo, those three round bulbous objects on the roof of Harrah’s showroom loft were carbon-arc searchlights which crisscrossed and scanned our Tahoe skies at night, much like the opening of a 20th Century Fox movie, or as seen at car lot or grand opening promotions. Thus, as visitors arrived over Echo Summit at night, Stateline was very obvious.

Those searchlights were discontinued about 1969, perhaps bowing out as “visual pollution” per the new TRPA, I’m told.

Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Hotel and Casino in the 1965 photo was Tahoe’s first high-rise at 11 stories. Harvey Gross’ historic cow-skull with wagon wheel logo, dating from the 1940s is seen on the roof and again fronting Highway 50. Directly under the roof sign, the glass elevator with twinkling white lights traversed the outdoor southeast corner of the hotel up-and-down from the casino floor up to the elegant “Top of the Wheel” restaurant, cocktail lounge and live music dance floor, the locals’ favorite. Gas-fired tiki torches adorned the motif. The outdoor elevator still operates on scheduled evenings today.

After an extortionist’s bomb in August 1980 gutted the lower six floors, Harvey’s rebuilt that original hotel and soon attached a modern 19-story expansion, becoming what is still the largest hotel at Lake Tahoe.

Today, Harveys and Harrah’s are commonly-owned by Caesars Entertainment.

— Bill Kingman

• Barton Women’s Health opens Jan. 2.

• Genoa’s Main Street Enhancement project is out to bid. New walkways, landscaping, lighting, signage, improved parking, and moving some exposed utility lines underground is expected to cost about $1.5 million.

• Truckee is looking for comments on the Canyon Springs draft environmental impact report. The next meeting about the project is Jan. 29, 6-8pm at the town hall.

• The January issue of Sunset magazine has a short blurb about Basecamp in South Lake Tahoe being a “rustic-hipster” hotel.

• The Caltrans office that includes Lake Tahoe donated more than $20,000 and 1,100 pounds of food to local charities and agencies this holiday season. Christmas Cheer of South Lake Tahoe and the Food Bank of Nevada County were two of the beneficiaries.

The Nevada Division of State Lands has funding from the Lake Tahoe Water Quality and Erosion Control Grants Program to implement environmental improvement program projects on the Nevada side of the Lake Tahoe Basin. This includes water quality and stream environment zone restoration and enhancement projects. Non-state agency applicants must provide a minimum 25 percent matching funds.

Pre-applications are due in the NDSL office by 5pm Jan. 11. Eligible projects will then be invited in writing to submit a full application which will be due Feb. 15. The full application will be available online Jan. 2. Then click on Tahoe Resource Team.

With January being National Radon Action Month, the Nevada Radon Education Program of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is offering a free radon education presentation at the Incline Village Library.

The Jan. 10 event is at 6:30pm at 845 Alder Ave. Attendees can learn about the radon health risk, how to test for it and how to fix radon problems. A certified radon mitigator will also present information on radon mitigation and free radon test kits will be offered.

Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas present in many homes, schools and buildings.

Lake Tahoe News would like to thank everyone who became a paid subscriber this month. We used a chunk of that cash to buy food for local groups that help those in need as well as supplied items to the animal shelter in Meyers.

Becoming a paid subscriber means being part of the NEWS Team. And that in turn gives you the opportunity to win various goodies through Lake Tahoe News. In keeping with the food theme, we have a copy of the “Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2012” to give away.

All you have to do is tell us why you should get the cookbook. A winner will randomly be chosen and announced on New Year’s Day.

Here is the paid subscriber form in case you aren’t already part of the NEWS Team.

• For those who like to explore the backcountry this time of year, be sure to bookmark the Sierra Avalanche Center so you know the risks before you go.

• South Lake Tahoe author Todd Borg’s latest book “Tahoe Trap” is free for Kindle readers through Dec. 29.

• Tahoe Cross Country and Tahoe City Winter Sports Park are open for the season.

• Zephyr Cove snowmobiles are running.

• There are more than 140 technology companies in Douglas County. They employ more than 1,800 people and pay $111 million in wages — 20 percent of all wages paid in the county. Their average pay is more than $61,000 per year.

By Diana Lambert, Sacramento Bee

High school students can win cash and the chance to be part of a television advertising campaign in the 2013 Water Spots Video Contest.

The contest, sponsored by the Regional Water Authority and the Sacramento Bee Media in Education program, challenges teens to create a 25-second public service announcement on water efficiency.

The theme is: “Check sprinkler systems every month for water-wasting problems and make repairs within 48 hours.”

The contest is open to high school students in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties, as well as in the city of West Sacramento.

The spots will be judged on creativity, entertainment value, accuracy and originality. Winners will be announced at a Sacramento River Cats game in the spring. The winning spots will be displayed on the big screen at Raley Field.

To submit entries or to get more information, go online.

Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board is taking comments until Jan. 16 on the U.S. Forest Service Upper Truckee River Reach Five Restoration and Utility Relocation Project.

At the Feb. 13-14 meeting, the Lahontan board will consider granting an exemption to the basin plan to allow this project in El Dorado County to go forward.

More information is online.

• Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe is on Conde Nast Traveler’s gold list for 2013 as one of the top hotels in the U.S. as rated by readers of the magazine.

• Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery canceled the Dec. 27 Tahoe coffee meeting because of the holiday week.

• The Trust for Public Land and the Truckee Donner Land Trust, working as part of the Northern Sierra Partnership, raised $11.25 million, meeting a Dec. 20 deadline to buy Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Area.

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

• Tahoe Regional Planning Agency staff provided gifts of clothes and toys to 35 foster children ages 4-17 through Court Appointed Special Advocates. In addition, TRPA staff adopted a family through the Tahoe Family Resource Center and provided wrapped presents of warm clothes and toys for a single mother and her three children, as well as three boxes of food and nearly $600 in local gift cards for the family.

South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Community College Connect Community Education are sponsoring the Renovator, Repair, Painter course for local construction workers. This class is going to be conducted in Spanish.

The Lead Safe Worker eight-hour training is at LTCC on Jan. 19 from 8am-5pm.

The cost is $50. Up to two workers from each local company are welcome to participate.

This one-day class explains how to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s RRP rule. Subjects covered include health effects, regulations, lead safe work practices, containment, cleaning and record keeping. After passing an end-of-class exam, students will receive their RRP certificate.

To register, contact Lydia Zuniga at (530) 542.7417 or lzuniga@cityofslt.us