• Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor is putting on “The Gentlemen of Verona” July 13-Aug. 26.

• Squaw Valley Fine Arts & Crafts Festival is June 30 and July 1, 11am-5pm at the village.

• Mountain Lake Cleaning, which just opened, is a family owned business that focuses on providing environmentally safe cleaning service to residential and commercial properties in Incline Village and other parts of North Lake Tahoe.

• James Grant is now director of mountain operations at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

• Squaw Valley’s 11th annual Soaring Kites and Music Festival is July 7, noon-5pm.

During the busy warm months of spring and summer, auto and bicycle traffic fills our roadways. During this time, we at the fire department respond to an increasing number of injury accidents that could have been prevented.

Roadway users must remember that sightseeing and map reading should only be done while your vehicle or bike is stopped and well off the roadway.

Motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians all must be aware of each other in order to share the roadways in a safe manner.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department

The Customer Connection is an interactive workshop put on by Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce and Tahoe Training Partners on June 20 from 8-11am at the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority office (169 Highway 50, Stateline).

Laura Moriarty will go over the basics in customer and guest interaction touching on topics such as how you influence the perception of our community, difficult customers, non-verbal communication, phone etiquette, and why everyone’s a concierge.

Hear from Brian Cohen, owner of Overland Meat & Seafood Company, as well as Gary Weigel, senior planner for the TRPA, about what it takes to deliver good service.

Advanced registration is $29 for chamber members or members of the Sierra HR Association. Advanced registration for non-members is $39. Walk in registration will be $39 or $49. Call (775) 588.1728 to reserve by phone.

Where to Retire, the only magazine in the U.S. geared toward helping people with retirement relocation decisions, has name Lake Tahoe as one of the best places to retire.

The July-August issue will be available nationwide on June 19.

Magazine editor Mary Lu Abbott said Lake Tahoe possesses qualities important to today’s retirees.

“Lakeside communities, such as Lake Tahoe, offer retirees a laid-back lifestyle away from big-city hassles and with all the recreational perks of water access. While our eight featured towns share many similarities, including proximity to health-care services, shopping and entertainment, they vary greatly in climate and setting — from the mountains to the desert. Another bonus: For the water-oriented, retiring around an inland lake is often less costly than a place on the coast,” Abbott said.

Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park’s Sand Harbor has two new beach accessible wheelchairs for public use.

In order to safely get near the water, these chairs are mounted on large inflatable tires designed for travel on soft sand and include a beach umbrella. The chairs are not motorized and will require assistance from a family member or friend.

The chairs may be checked out at Sand Harbor’s main office. Call ahead at (775) 831.0494 to ensure availability. There is no cost for this service.

The beach accessible chairs were purchased through the Tahoe License Plate grant program. These funds are made possible by citizens who purchase a Lake Tahoe personal license plate for their vehicle.

New this year is a Walking Tour of Al Tahoe sponsored by the Lake Tahoe Historical Society.

The tour begins at the Lake Tahoe Museum (3058 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe) and covers just more than one mile.

A $5 donation for the booklet is requested.

For more information, call (530) 541.5458.

During the month of June, the Truckee Police Department, in cooperation with other local law enforcement agencies, will be assigning officers to special DUI saturation patrols designed to find and arrest impaired drivers.

This program is geared toward drivers of all ages, but is especially focused on under-age drinking and driving. June is the end of the school year, graduation time, and the start of the summer season.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and one out of three of those are alcohol related.” ”

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Grass Roots, the natural food store in South Lake Tahoe, is hoping to open the doors to the larger facility in a week.

The tentative date is June 18 — about three months later than originally planned.

Jon McElroy, who owns the store with his wife Sandra, said it was a much bigger project than he expected to convert the old Blockbuster into a grocery store.

No big grand opening is planned at the get-go. McElroy told Lake Tahoe News he wants the opening to be quiet, work out the kinks, and then possibly do something big.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The Beerfest & Bluegrass Festival at Northstar will feature music from the nation’s top bluegrass bands, more than 25 local and regional breweries, special children’s treats and activities on the skating rink.

The festival is July 14 from 3-7pm.

To complement the expansive brew selection, a tasty barbecue will also be available for purchase.

Advance tickets are $30 online. On-site day-of tickets will be available for $38. All tickets include a commemorative pint glass to enjoy the day’s tastings.

Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe is looking for artists to design the 2012 poster for the annual wine tasting.

The original art piece should be 11 x 17, with theme being Tahoe and Wine Tasting.

The artwork will become the property of SISLT and will be used for advertising the event.

Drop off entries at Elevate Wellness Center, 1113 Emerald Bay Road, weekdays between 10am-6pm by July 9.

The winning artist receives $250 and two tickets to the event.

For information, email gina@elevate-wellness.com or call (530) 541.9355.