• Peter Fink has been appointed to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Commission.

• It’s time to register to vote. Need to know how and what the deadline is? This website has info on every state.

• Nevada traffic fatalities dropped in 2011 to 243. This compares to 257 Nevada traffic deaths in 2010.

• Looking for snow? Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass holders can ski for free at Montana’s Big Sky Resort through January if they book lodging through Big Sky Central Reservations.

• Fifth generation lumberman Andrew Cross has been promoted to president and CEO of Truckee-Tahoe Lumber Company, a family-run business that has served Northern California and Nevada for the past 80 years.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is temporarily changing the hours of operation for its North Shore office in Incline Village.

Beginning Jan. 11the office will be open Wednesday through Friday from 9sm-3:30pm.

The North Shore office issues permits for Desolation Wilderness, as well as national recreation passes, including the Access, Senior and Annual Interagency passes. It also sells maps and offers hiking, biking, backpacking, off-highway vehicle and other recreation information for the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The North Shore office is located at 855 Alder Ave., and the phone number is (775) 831.0914.

After 35 years of doing business as the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center, the agency is changing its name.

Historically known as a refuge for victims of domestic and sexual abuse, the agency is transitioning from a safe haven to a leader in communitywide violence prevention and intervention. Officials are hoping the new name speaks to the comprehensive and inclusive nature of the agency’s vision.

The name will be announced Jan. 19 during the open house from 5:30-7:30pm at 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The unveiling of the new sign and logo will take place at 6pm.

For more information, contact Leanne Wagoner at (530) 544.2118, ext. 7620.

Rob Shanahan, Ringo Starr’s personal photographer and an acclaimed music photographer, just released the book “Volume 1: Through the Lens of Music Photographer Rob Shanahan”.

He will be at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on Saturday. Shanahan is the drummer for the Hollywood Stones.

Starr wrote the forward for the book. The book includes behind the scenes photos of rocks most iconic musicians including Ringo, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Tommy Lee and more.

Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a legal update seminar for California and Nevada businesses.

The event is Jan. 24 from 9am-noon at the chamber’s conference room at 169 Highway 50, Stateline.

This employment law seminar includes updated information for managers and business professionals.

Register before Jan. 16 for a price of $39 for chamber members or $49 for non-members. After that date the cost goes up $10.

For more information or register, contact Emily Abernathy at (775) 588.1728, ext. 303 or Emily@TahoeChamber.org.

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews are scheduled to resume prescribed fire operations on the South Shore Jan. 6.

Operations will take place in the Pioneer Trail-Highway 50 area near Meyers.

Fuels Management crews expect to complete 1 acre, which will be extinguished at the end of the crew shift.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from this prescribed fire project area. Smoke may be visible near the intersection of Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail. The Forest Service strives to minimize the impacts of smoke on local communities.

Smoke-sensitive residents should consider staying indoors and keeping doors, windows and outside vents closed. To directly receive prescribed fire updates, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

Forest Service staff will post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, and update the local fire information line at (530) 543.2600, No. 6.

• Tahoe Donner Downhill is closed until more snow arrives.

• Matthew MacBever Eastling has applied for a beer and wine license with the ABC under the business name Himmel Haus at the old Christiana Inn on Saddle Road in South Lake Tahoe.

• Placer County is enforcing its rules about where to park – or not as the case may be – even when there isn’t snow at Tahoe. Vehicles may be cited or towed if parked in areas with posted signs that say no parking. Snow has nothing to do with enforcement.

• Need a job? The Tahoe Fund is looking for a president-CEO.

• Applicants have until Jan. 13 to apply online to be a Washoe County sheriff’s deputy. For questions, contact Margaret Brindzak at (775) 328.6383.

As part of its Chamber EDucation program, the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Human Resources Association is hosting a legal update for California business leaders and managers Jan. 17 from 9am-noon at Cedar House Sport Hotel, 10918 Brockway Road in Truckee.

Deadline to register is Jan. 13.

Attendees will learn about new laws that take effect in 2012 and how they impact employers, California legislative updates in regard to credit check ban, PDL amendment, commission agreements, California case law updates such as wage and hour, meal periods and harassment, along with U.S. Supreme Court and California rulings about arbitration, discrimination and class actions.

The seminar will also include significant agency regulations, opinions and trends to watch in 2012, and best practices to prepare organization for employment law compliance this year and beyond.

Special counsel Mary L. Guilfoyle of the Miller Law Group in San Francisco will lead the seminar. Guilfoyle has been practicing labor and employment law exclusively for 20 years, representing management in federal and state court in employment litigation matters involving claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation.

Registration fees before Jan. 9 are $55/person for chamber and SHRA members and $65 for nonmembers. After Jan. 9, registration is $60 for chamber and SHRA members and $70 for nonmembers.

For more information and/or to register, contact Laura Moriarty at (530) 573.0224 or Kym Fabel at (530) 581.8764.

If your home heater goes out during a winter storm, keep warm by closing off the rooms you don’t need.

Use only safe sources of heat like wood or UL- approved indoor fuel burning stoves.

Dress in several layers of lightweight clothing and wear a wool cap because a lot of your body heat is lost through your head. Sleep under several lightweight blankets instead of a single heavy one and eat quick-energy foods like granola, peanut butter, and raisins so your body produces its own heat.

This has been another safety tip from the SLTFD.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department

• Sierra-at-Tahoe’s 6th annual Buckle Up Slopestyle Jam in memory of freestyle athlete Greg Smith and that spreads seatbelt awareness is Jan. 21 from 11am-3pm.

• Beginning Jan. 26, Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery will have monthly coffee meetings the fourth Thursday of every month from 9-10am on the second floor of the Customs House Building, 600 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City.

• Sugar Pine Bakery closed its Emerald Bay Road location in South Lake Tahoe on New Year’s Eve.

• Legendary skier Wayne Wong will be at Diamond Peak in Incline Jan. 7-8 teaching kids in a ski camp called Learn Right from Wong.

• Mt. Rose has $10 lift tickets through Jan. 8 for anyone 17 and younger.