By Rodrique Ngowi, AP

BOSTON — When Michelle Johnson scribbles out prescriptions, the next stop for many of her patients is the gym, not the pharmacy.

Doctors treating chronic health problems increasingly are prescribing exercise for their patients — and encouraging them to think of physical activity as their new medication.

In one such program run by a health center in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, primary care physicians, internists and psychologists prescribe access to a gym for $10 a month, including free child care, classes and kids programs. Providing affordable gym access for patients ensures compliance, said Gibbs Saunders of Healthworks Community Fitness, a nonprofit gym in Dorchester that has partnered with several health care providers to help low-income residents fill their exercise prescriptions.

Executives at the Whittier Street Health Center say low-cost access to a gym is important, since many residents’ income is low and 70 percent of those they treat suffer from chronic problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.

Life expectancy in Roxbury is 59 years — well below the national average of 78.8 years.

“Exercise is not a new medicine. It’s really an old medicine,” said Johnson, who prescribes exercise to patients at the Roxbury-based health center. “But you know, I think we’re now coming to the point of understanding how important it is.”

Monisha Long, who is morbidly obese and suffers from hypertension, got a doctor’s prescription for exercise and says she’s gotten visible and dramatic results after more than two years of regular workouts.

“I lost well over 150 pounds, and I’ve been keeping it off for the past couple of years,” she said after working out on an elliptical machine at Healthworks.

And Long cites other, less-visible benefits.

“I’m more energized,” she said. “As far as my energy, I feel like I’m stronger. I feel like I’m less tired. I feel like I can do almost anything now.”

People who are physically active tend to live longer and are at lower risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, depression and some cancers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. Yet fewer than one in four American adults exercises enough to reap those benefits, the agency says.

Edward Phillips, a Boston physician, is so sold on exercise he pedals on a stationary bike that’s integrated into his office desk. Phillips said exercise is “like taking a little bit of Prozac — an antidepressant — and a little bit of Ritalin, which is a stimulant.”

“Our bodies are meant to move,” he said. “Integrating movement into our day allows the system to work optimally. Part of the system that needs to work is our brain, and includes sleep, mood, cognition, ability to concentrate.”

A prescription for exercise is a bargain, said Stephanie Dennis, who works out on a treadmill to stay fit.

“$10 a month is what? $2 a week, $2-$2.50 a week,” she said. “A lot of people pay that every day for coffee. It’s not a big sacrifice for something that you get big rewards from.”

“Rumors”, playwright Neil Simon’s fast-paced comic farce set in the late 1980s, is coming to South Tahoe High School.

The premise is guests have arrived for a 10th wedding anniversary and are met with mayhem. The play is best for middle school age and up.

The play is March 24, 25 and 26 and April 1 and 2 at 7pm.

Cost is adults $10, 18 and under $5.

Mewtoo

Mewtoo is a nice 1 year old girl who has been at the shelter the longest of all cats, almost exactly six months, perhaps because she needs to be an only pet. But the shelter isn’t giving up on her. She is affectionate and likes children, and deserves a good home.

Her adoption fee has been paid by a kind donor.

Mewtoo is spayed, microchipped, tested for FIV, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

A hybrid worthy of the Sierra. Photos/Larry Weitzman

By Larry Weitzman

Let’s get one thing clear from the beginning, this new second generation Sonata Hybrid is the best hybrid I’ve ever tested. Understand there still are some hybrids I haven’t driven including some of the newer PHEV’s like the Chevy Volt. What makes this Sonata Hybrid so good are its seamless transitions between gas and electric, the smoothness of the gas engine coming on line (it doesn’t drive like a hybrid), its incredible fuel economy and its overall performance all while exhibiting excellent driving characteristics and the smoothness and quiet of a (near) luxury car.

Sonata Hybrid starts with a beautiful Sonata body and platform with a slightly different grille and other mods some that aren’t readily apparent, and its own set of low drag wheels that don’t exactly excite. But when the car goes down the road, you can’t see them anyway and in motion they look OK. It has a coefficient of drag of 0.24, which is like the limbo, “how low can you go.” That’s one slick wind cheating body.

Size-wise, the Sonata is a mid-size on the outside, but is less than half of a percent of having a full-size car interior. Overall, it is 191-inches long, a wide 73 inches and stands 58-inches tall. Track is huge at 63 inches, front and rear. Remember those numbers for later.

Specifications
Price $30,975 to about $36,000
Engine
2.0L DOHC, 16 valve, inline four 154 hp @ 6,000
140 lb.-ft. of torque @ 5,000 rpm
Electric package
38 kW electric motor (51 hp)
Battery 1.62 kWh Lithium-polymer, max output 56 kW (75 hp)
Transmission
Six-speed (no torque converter) automatic
Configuration
Transverse front engine/motor//front wheel drive
Dimensions
Wheelbase 110.4 inches
Length 191.1 inches
Width 73.4 inches
Height 57.9 inches
Track (f/r) 63.1/63.6 inches
Weight 3,560 pounds
Fuel capacity 15.85 gallons
Trunk capacity 13.3 cubic feet
Passenger volume 106.1 cubic feet
Wheels (std/opt) 16X6.5/17X6.5 inch alloys
Tires (std//opt) 205/55X16//215/55X17
Steering lock to lock 2.78 turns
Turning circle 35.6 feet
Co-efficient of drag 0.24
Performance
0-60 mph 7.18 seconds
50-70 mph 3.98 seconds
50-70 uphill 5.62 seconds
Top speed you are kidding, right? Ok way into triple digits.
Fuel economy EPA rated at 39/43/41 mpg. Expect 43 plus mpg in rural driving, 45-46 mpg on a level highway at 70 mph.

Under the hood are two power systems, a 2.0L 154 hp at 6,000 rpm, 140 pounds of twist at 5,000 rpm inline four plus a 51 hp electric motor which allows for a maximum concerted effort of 193 hp at 6,000 rpm. Of course your next question, why not 205 hp? The simple answer is that the 1.62 kWh L-po battery pack located in the trunk floor (so it does not significantly reduce trunk capacity) has an output of 56 kWh, which is equal to 75 hp. But at 6,000 rpm when the engine is producing 193 hp, peak hp of the electric motor is 39 hp which when added to 154 equals 193 hp. In hybrid cars, it’s not how powerful the electric motor is, it’s usually governed what is the maximum battery output or peak engine rpm hp. You can forget about the technical drivel, as it’s all smoothly integrated through a silky six-speed tranny that drives the front wheels. The electric motor is between the tranny and engine and supplants the torque converter to improve fuel economy. Trick stuff.

All those machinations produce a high performance automobile with a 0-60 mph time of just 7.18 seconds. Passing times also reflect quality performance with a 50-70 mph time of 3.98 seconds and the same parameter up a 6 percent grade only slowing that time to 5.62 seconds. Compared to a Prius, the Hyundai is a rocket ship and it outperforms all standard mid-size normally aspirated four cylinder sedans, even its sibling Sonatas. This Sonata is a peppy vehicle, step on the accelerator with authority and it will get your attention pronto.

But in the Sonata Hybrid’s case performance and fuel economy are not mutually exclusive. At 70 mph the Sonata averaged 45.6 mpg and on a 200-mile highway trip with about 20 percent of the time in congestion, it averaged 44.5 mpg. On a 165 miles round trip from Placerville to South Lake Tahoe the Sonata Hybrid averaged an incredible 47.6 mpg and during the 50 miles of downhill on the western slope, over 80 percent the Sonata operated as a pure electric vehicle with traffic operating at least 55 mph (the speed limit) in the 30 miles of two lane road (echo Summit to Ice House Road). Imagine going to Lake Tahoe and back on less than 4 gallons of gas. Overall, the Sonata Hybrid averaged 43.7 mpg for 539 miles of driving. Oh, the EPA numbers are 39/43/41 mpg city/highway/combined. This is the first hybrid tested that has exceeded its EPA numbers.

So how does it ride and handle? A one-word answer is “great.” Suspension is state of the art independent in all four corners with specific high performance shocks and stab bars at both ends. Quick rack and pinion electric power steering (2.8 turns lock to lock) while a bit numb, has good feel and weighting. Track is wide and the tires are decent sized 215/55X17s with all of this giving very good cornering power and surprisingly good handling. Yeah sure, it doesn’t have the credentials of sports car, but it gives the driver plenty of confidence when being pushed hard in the twisties. It is a capable handler.

Ride quality, especially with its “think in a whisper quiet” is excellent. What a great road car and around town it’s a veritable sponge when it comes to bumps. There is no tach, but engine rpm at 70 mph should be close to a low 2,000 rpm. But it’s most fun when you are able to run pure electric at 60 and sometimes even 70 mph. Much of that ability is due to its compact, high capacity battery and in its management. Its energy storage is significant larger than some other hybrids.

Braking power with its large four wheel ventilated discs arrested forward progress from 40 mph in 42 feet. In most mid-size cars, only the front discs are ventilated. My loaded tester had every safety devise including lane departure warning, pre-emptive braking, stability control and probably oxygen masks that drop from the ceiling at 10,000 feet (Colorado’s Independence Pass exceeds 12,000 feet or maybe good for a Pike’s Peak run). Just kidding about the masks. With turbocharging, an engine can make sea-level hp to high altitudes. In a normally aspirated engine car, at 10,000 feet it is making 30 percent less hp or a 200 hp engine at 10,000 feet is only capable of 140 hp. A turbo engine with a higher critical altitude still makes 200 hp. Would this Sonata be great in the Sierra or Colorado.

Inside is a nearly full size interior. At 106.1 cubes, it is actually bigger than some full sized counter parts. But its slightly smaller trunk of 13.3 cubic feet (the battery takes the place of where a spare tire would have gone), it misses being a large car by half a cubic foot. But a nice interior it is with sublime standard power everything, leather on the seats including heating and cooling in the front and heat in the rear. Rear seats are perfect for a basketball team’s front line.

Comfort is one of the hallmarks of this vehicle.

As with most hybrids, there is no tach which in this case is replaced by a battery use meter from 0-100 percent. OK, but the rest of the instrumentation is clear, concise and complete. Fit and finish demonstrate the fabulous quality of a car that stickers for $30 large plus $825 for the boat from Asan, Korea, (a first class car should be afforded first class accommodations).

My tester had the $4,500 Ultimate package which offered a full glass roof sunroof, an eight inch nav, upgraded radio, smart cruise, and lane departure, forward collision warning and more. Otherwise the base model is extremely well equipped. The total cost of admission all in is $35,765. That is less than my last Prius 5 tested about 10 months ago which did 0-60 mph in 9.48 seconds, had passing times of 2-5 seconds longer, but returned about two mpg more on the highway but the overall fuel economy was only one mpg more.

One more comparison is to that of the Sonata Eco which virtually has identical performance numbers and was only one mpg short on highway fuel economy. But overall fuel economy averaged about eight mpg less. Those are great numbers, too. And with a base price of about $24,000 (not as well equipped as the Hybrid), it offers and interesting dilemma.

There will a special Good Friday performance of “The Living Last Words,” a dramatic musical experience commemorating the seven last words of Christ, written by Ruth Elaine Schram, with music direction by Maureen Leonard, and stage direction by Susan Boulanger.

This free performance will be March 25 at 6pm at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 1041 Lyons Ave., South Lake Tahoe.

In this dramatic work, choral music combines with dramatic monologues as Schram imagines the responses of those who were present at the cross as Jesus died. Characters such as a contemptuous soldier; the crucified thief’s sympathetic sister; a scornful priest; the anguished shepherd; the heartbroken disciple searching for answers; and Mary, the grieving mother of Jesus, share how they are impacted by Jesus and the last words he spoke on the cross.

The actors include parish and community members, and members of the Lake Tahoe Community College Theater Department.  The cast includes Kurt Munger, Thomas Lopez, Ryan Adams, Frank Dixon, Joanie San Agustin, Sharon Kerrigan, and Scott Blumenthal. They are joined by the St. Theresa Choir and soloists Angie Guitierrez, Alejandra Quirarte, and Carmen Mieras.

For further information, call 530.544.3533.

The Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Association has developed the Kevin Murnane Scholarship for athletes and coaches.

When Murnane lost his battle with clinical depression in 2015, the community was shaken. The board of directors wants all the qualities Murnane embodied to be remembered through these scholarships.

Kevin Murnane

Murnane transformed Tahoe Cross Country into a thriving social and athletic hub. Thanks to him, TCCSEA now works closely with local Middle and High schools, provides daily clinics, rentals, world-class grooming, and hosts numerous community events like the Alpenglow 20k, the Great Ski Race, the Tahoe Rim Trail Summer mountain bike ride, and more.

TCCSEA will give up to two scholarships worth up to $1,000 each to deserving graduating seniors from North Tahoe High School. Any athlete who has participated in nordic program(s) in his or her middle and high school years and who shows kindness, generosity, a welcoming community spirit, and more is eligible.

TCCSEA is also offering a Coaching Development Scholarship to support hard-working coaches who teach our young North Tahoe athletes and who need financial support to attend clinics, symposiums, classes, trainings, or help paying wages at events like Junior Nationals.

Donations will be accepted all year online.

By Dianne de Guzman, San Francisco Chronicle

The eating routines of slender people seem counterintuitive to those who have struggled with their weight: adults who maintain a healthy weight reported that they don’t diet.

Well, mostly they don’t.

Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab took a look at the eating and workout habits of those who have been able to remain a healthy weight for their entire life. At the group’s online site, the Global Healthy Weight Registry, researchers asked healthy adults how they work to maintain their weight, in order to figure out how others can do so, also.

A basketball game between police officers and Truckee High School’s varsity team is being turned into a fundraiser for the family of fallen CHP Officer Nathan Taylor.

Taylor died this week from injuries he sustained while working on Interstate 80 in Truckee.

The March 18 game was already going to feature members of the local California Highway Patrol office and Truckee Police Department.

It starts at 6pm. Cost is $5. Proceeds will also benefit the boys’ basketball program.

Donations may be made to the Nathan Taylor Memorial Fund at the CAHP Credit Union by mailing checks to P.O. Box 276507, Sacramento, CA 95827.

Steven Kotler will be in Tahoe area next month giving insights and theories presented in his and co-author Peter H. Diamandis’ book “Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World”.

It all started with a question: What does it really take to change the world? The book is about the art of impact, the idea that everything around us was made up by people who are no smarter than you. That you can change and influence things and generate ideas and new technologies that can change the world. This keynote will examine how individuals and organizations can level up their game like never before. Kotler closes his presentation with five tangible steps for applying his theories and ideas to your own life and business.

The evening also features a motivational and inspirational opening presentation by polar explorer Doug Stoup on the science of flow state in business and adventure sports. Stoup is widely known as a polar pioneer and ski adventurer (having skied to both the North and South Poles more than anyone on the planet), an expedition guide (leading life-changing adventures all across the globe) and an environmental advocate (collecting scientific data for climate change scientists and teaching environmental stewardship). Stoup kicks things off as he shares the challenges, achievements, and lessons of his adventures.

Doors open April 2 at 5:30pm, and the presentation begins promptly at 6:30pm at the Resort at Squaw Creek.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for students and as part of their annual membership. Squaw Valley Institute SVI members are admitted at no charge.

By Bill Taylor, Harvard Business Review

Many of us who are hungry for the latest dispatches from the war for talent look to to Silicon Valley. We want to know Google’s secret to hiring the best people or Mark Zuckerberg’s one tip for hiring employees. But in a world where most companies don’t operate on the frontiers of digital transformation, and most employees aren’t tech geeks or app developers, our appetite for unconventional talent strategies should probably extend to more conventional parts of the economy. Like, say, an amazing fast-food chain called Pal’s Sudden Service.

At first blush, there’s nothing all that amazing about Pal’s. It has 26 locations in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, all within an 80-mile radius of its home base in Kingsport, Tenn. It sells burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes—standard fast-food fare, although the taste and quality have a well-deserved reputation for excellence.

Dig deeper, though, and you see that nothing about Pal’s is standard for its business, or any business. The most obvious difference is its fanatical devotion to speed and accuracy.

But Pal’s is not just absurdly fast. It is also staggeringly accurate. So what can the rest of us learn from Pal’s? First, the best companies hire for attitude and train for skill.

Read the whole story