• Avalon Lodge in South Lake Tahoe is giving 10 percent of its annual Monday profits to one charity. Nominate and select a nonprofit beneficiary via a short five-question form online.

• Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s board will have its annual retreat Oct. 23 at 3:15pm at the student union at South Tahoe High School. The regular meeting will immediately follow the retreat.

• Travel website TravelOrMove.com calls Reno one of the world’s “super cool” communities.

• Fire restrictions have been lifted for most of western Nevada on state and federal land, including at Lake Tahoe.

• There will be a political forum Oct. 17 from 7-9pm at Sierra Nevada College for the two candidates for Washoe County School District board of education. Lisa Ruggerio and Dale Richardson are running for District A.

Run Salmon Run, a community art project and fundraiser for the Tahoe Tallac Association, is Oct. 20 from 5-8p at MontBleu casino in Stateline.

Thirty-five fiberglass fish designed by local artists will be featured at a live auction emceed by George Alm.

Valerie Kuda, project organizer, was inspired to celebrate what she calls Tahoe’s favorite fall fish. Kuda paired local artists with sponsors to create a unique design on 4 inch x 24 inch fiberglass salmon.

Local artists such as Jared Manninen, Kristen Boles and Gina Stowell donated their time to create a fish.

Do you know what went into getting American women the right to vote? The film “Iron Jawed Angels” (with Hilary Swank) tells the story of two courageous women who in the early 1900s helped get women the right to vote.

Unity at the Lake is sponsoring the movie night on Oct. 15 at 7pm.

Donations will be accepted.

Unity at the Lake is located at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., across from the South Lake Tahoe recreation sign.

“Green Fire”, a documentary film about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold, will be shown Nov. 8 at Sierra Nevada College.

Doors open at 6:30pm and film begins at 7pm. A question-answer period will follow.

The screening is free.

The college is at 999 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village.

• Placer County has released the Notice of Preparation for the Squaw Village proposed project. The document is online. Comments will be taken through Nov. 9.

• The Sacramento Bee did a study on California legislators that shows in the 2011-12 session 99 percent of the time Democrats voted the same way as the majority of their party; 94 percent of the time Republicans voted the same way as the majority of their party.

• The Tahoe City Transit Center (165 West Lake Blvd.) will be officially unveiled Oct. 22 at 3pm.

• The Truckee Halloween Parade starts at the train station Oct. 26 at 6pm.

• A partnership between Homewood Mountain Resort, West Shore Café & Inn, and the Annenberg Foundation has put a camera on the mountain and at the lake as part of the nonprofit’s Pearls of the Planet initiative. Go online for more info.

Organizations that are based in or serve the Truckee, Donner Summit, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and North Shore of Lake Tahoe may submit applications to Tahoe Mountain Resorts Foundation to possibly receive a grant.

The deadline to do so is 5pm Oct. 31. Recipients will be announced in January.

A copy of the application and other details are online.

Tahoe Mountain Resorts Foundation gave out $128,800 last year to 17 area nonprofits.

Truckee Elementary School playground becomes the home of the much anticipated annual Pumpkin Patch on Oct. 20 from 10am-2:30pm.

Admission is fee. Cost for event activities ranges from $1 to $4.

If it rains or snows, the festivities will be moved inside.

This ghoulish event includes a pumpkin patch, carnival games, pony rides, haunted and not-so-haunted houses, petting zoo, mini golf, slime the witch, a Día de los Muertos table, cake walk, music, food vendors, spider hockey and much more. Pumpkins will be available to purchase, as will food and treats of all kinds.

Proceeds support a wide range of classroom expenditures, including art supplies, books for creative story-telling time, field trips that encourage environmental-based learning and much more.

Truckee Elementary School is located at 11911 Donner Pass Road.

I would like to encourage everyone buying costumes for Halloween to check the labels to make sure they are made of flame retardant materials. Materials made of 100 percent polyester are best suited for Halloween costumes.

These costume materials may be purchased at most local fabric stores.

The use of commercial flame retardant sprays is not recommended.

Avoid Halloween costumes that are loose or baggy to prevent fabric from coming in contact with any open flames.

Children should carry flashlights or use battery operated lights. Jack-o-lanterns that have an open flame device should be placed up off the ground so long or full costumes and young trick-or-treaters’ hands cannot come in contact with the flames. The use of masks that obstruct vision should be avoided. Costumes should incorporate reflective tape in their design so children can be easily seen at night.

Trick or treat while it’s still light outside, and stay in your neighborhood, visiting only the homes you know. Finally, always check your children’s candy before allowing them to eat any of it.

Have a fun and safe Halloween.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo

Tahoe Regional Young Professionals is having a mixer at the Beacon restaurant at Camp Richardson on Oct. 17 from 6:30–9pm.

The cost for non-members is a $5, while TRYP members are free. Becoming a member costs $40 annually, effective for one year from the purchase date.

TRYP will also be volunteering, handing out candy and networking at the Halloween Cove at Timber Cove Lodge on Oct. 31 from 4–8pm.

The 2nd annual Winter White Holiday party is Nov. 10 at Riva Grill from 7-10pm.

More information is online.

Flu vaccines are available for free for ages 3 to 18. Cost for ages 19 and older is $20 for flu shot and $35 for pneumonia vaccine.

The clinics are:

Barton Family Medicine, 1090 Third St., South Lake Tahoe, Oct. 20 9am-noon, Nov. 17 9am-noon.

Barton Urgent Care & Family Practice at Stateline Medical Center, 155 Highway 50, Nov. 3 9am-noon.

Both vaccines are reimbursable for standard Medicare patients. Medicare HMO’s and other insurances cannot be billed.