By Georgia Diebelius, Daily Mail

A collection of striking vintage ski posters that hark back to a golden age of winter holidays are expected to fetch a whopping $1 million at auction.

The pictures of Europe’s top skiing destinations were created in the early 20th century when the first resorts began competing against one another to be recognised as the most beautiful and glamorous.

The bold and colorful paper images are incredibly valuable and can fetch up to $23,000 for one single poster.

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South Tahoe High School’s drama students are putting on Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” this month.

It is the same fairytale with a few new twists. This contemporary take on the classic tale still features the classic music, plus some new songs. The show includes new characters, transformations, a pumpkin coach, and glass slippers.

Directed by Nannette Niven and choreographed by Marcia Sarosik, the cast includes Stephanie Hernandez as Cinderella and Zane Brady as the charming prince, with Aurora Gooch as the fairy godmother, Zoe Greco as the stepmother, and Kristen Harnett and Serenity Sanchez as the stepsisters. Rounding out the cast of more than 40 students and a whole group of singers and dancers.  Conducting the 20-piece orchestra is Casson Scowcroft, with vocal music direction by Alyssa Little, sets by Drake Niven, and assistant direction by Ethan Niven.

Performances are Jan. 15, 16, 22, and 23 at 7pm and Jan. 17 and 24 at 2pm in the South Tahoe High School TADA Theatre. Tickets are $15, $10 for those younger than 18. Children under 4 are not permitted.

There will be a gala on Jan. 22 from 5-6:45pm to raise money for the South Tahoe High School Performing Arts Booster Association. Despite its name, this is a dress-as-you-please event in the Student Union preceding that evening’s performance of “Cinderella”. Refreshments will be provided by the STHS culinary students, a photo booth will include a glass slipper, and there will be a silent auction.

Tickets to the gala are $40; $50 for the gala, plus a discounted $10 general admission ticket to the performance; and $75 for the gala, discounted ticket and preferred seating.

Tickets may be obtained by emailing sthspaba@gmail.com or calling 530.545.2307.

By Tia Rancourt

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team would like to remind all travelers that extra precautions need to be taken while driving in Northern Nevada and California mountain areas with snow and ice. Along with potential hazardous road conditions, motorists can expect extreme delays due to snow conditions or accidents. We recommend following these tips to ensure a safe trip to your destination.

● Ensure your vehicle is stocked with extra warm clothing, food, water, medications, cell phone, a shovel, and other survival supplies in the event you become stuck on a mountain road. Check your vehicle’s battery, tire tread, windshield wipers, and anti-freeze. Tires should be properly inflated. Keep windows clear and put no-freeze fluid in the window washer reservoir. Carry snow melt, Jonny Cat, or sand in the event you become stuck in the snow.

● Make sure your vehicle’s gas tank is full before leaving on any trip. Keep the tank at least half full to avoid gas tank freeze-up.

● If your vehicle has on-demand four-wheel drive, make certain all drivers are familiar with engaging the four-wheel drive function.

● Practice cold weather driving. During the daylight, rehearse maneuvers slowly on ice or snow in an empty lot. Steer into a skid. Know what your brakes will do. Use steady constant pressure on ABS equipped vehicles and pump non-anti-lock brakes.

● Check road conditions before leaving. (The state icons on Lake Tahoe News’ home page go the respective departments of transportation.)

● Plan your route and leave early if necessary for weather conditions. Be familiar with maps and directions and let others know your route and arrival time.

● Leave headlights on while driving in snowy conditions to increase vehicle visibility. Drive carefully. Even when the roads appear dry, patches of ice tend to accumulate on curves and bridges even when the rest of the roadway appears clear. Increase distance between your vehicle and those ahead for safe stopping.

● If you are driving slower than the traffic around you, use turnouts so others may pass.

Winter weather drivers must consider their personal needs, as well as making sure their automobile is ready to face unforeseen conditions. Avoid driving in known hazardous conditions if possible, but when driving is necessary, time spent in preparation is the best defense. Being prepared can help you make good choices if incidents occur.

Tia Rancourt works for North Lake Tahoe Fire District.

Multimedia artist Cynthia Hooper is bringing her videos and paintings of California and Mexico landscapes to Lake Tahoe Community College’s Haldan Gallery.

The exhibit opens Jan. 14 with a free artist’s reception from 5-7pm in the Haldan Gallery. Hooper will give a short talk about her work at 5:30pm.

The exhibit remains open until March 18.

The exhibit features 10 documentary videos about dams and water use in California and Mexico, industrial landscapes in Baja, California, and the timber and fishing industries in Humboldt Bay.

Barton Health’s Mommy and Me Support Group is now offered two days a week.

New mothers and their babies up to age 1 are invited to attend a weekly support group to share experiences and discuss the joys and challenges of parenting. This is an opportunity to get support from other mothers as well as professional support from a childbirth instructor and guest speakers. Speakers and topics vary week to week.

The sessions are Tuesday from 10am-noon and Thursdays from 2-4pm. They are at Barton University, 1077B 4th St., South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, contact Bridget Demaree at 530.543.5549 or bdemaree@bartonhealth.org.

By Eilene Zimmerman, New York Times

Communication today is faster and more ephemeral than ever. We fire off emails, skip the punctuation in our texts, and watch our photos and messages vanish in seconds on Snapchat.

Digital tools have made communicating with others easier but not necessarily more thoughtful, and this bothered Sonny Caberwal, an entrepreneur. “We’re in a rush to make everything disappear,” he said.

Receiving a physical, handwritten thank-you note or letter these days feels special, but it also requires some work. “You have to assemble all the pieces,” Caberwal said — including paper, a pen, the recipient’s address, an envelope and a stamp — and then the note has to be written and mailed, all of which is time-consuming. He wanted to enable people to do that more easily, by harnessing technology to create a product that still felt very personal and worth keeping.

His company, Bond, harks back to a time of fountain pens, creamy sheets of writing paper and wax-sealed envelopes. Caberwal, founder and chief executive of the New York City start-up, describes it as “the opposite of Snapchat.” Bond was started in 2013, and has about 50 full-time employees and several high-profile backers, like Gary D. Cohn, the president of Goldman Sachs, and the rapper Nasir Jones (known as Nas).

Although handwritten notes and cards may seem like artifacts of the 20th century, greeting cards are still a strong business. According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans purchase about 6.5 billion cards a year and annual sales are estimated to be $7 billion to $8 billion. Despite a culture awash in digital communications, the greeting card and stationery industries have not declined precipitously but have remained largely flat, said Patti Stracher, director of the National Stationery Show, an annual trade show and business event for stationery, greeting card and gift companies.

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By John Spinola

Let me just start of by saying I have been around dogs as far back as I can remember. It started with Rootbeer (Irish setter mix), then Cotton (American Eskimo/Samoyed), and next was Smokey (Akita/German Shepherd). They were family dogs. Dogs I grew up with.

As an adult I had Henry (Akita/Bloodhound), next was Astro (Malamute/wolf content) and now Stanley (Great Pyrenees mix). So I am no stranger to dogs. And if you notice I tend to like the larger breeds. I’ll also say that all of the above came from dog pounds or shelters.

Stanley

In digging into the business side of dogs I saw that there was a lot of information about what kind of dog is best for certain personalities and what to do after you get a dog. One thing I noticed was that there is a lack of what to consider before you get a dog.

Here are some tips:

• Do you have the time for a dog? Seriously, do you have 10 to 15 years to commit to something? Ten to 15 years of every day. No days off. The dog is going to take priority. Do you have time in the morning, afternoon, evening and on your days off? Do you have time to walk the dog? Do you have time to play with the dog? New dogs take a lot of time. A lot. They need constant reassurance and companionship. They need exercise and input. They are pack animals. They need to be included. Now granted it does get easier as they get older, but at first it is all time consuming. They take time and you have to put in good time if you want a good one.
• Do want a puppy or a dog that is a little older that might have some training? Consider that with puppies you have to teach them everything. With a dog that is older they might already have some skills like house training, commands like sit and stay.
  Do you have space for a dog? Do you have a yard? Fenced? Do you live in an apartment, house, etc? If renting, does your landlord allow dogs? Are you able to walk the dog from your front door or do you need to go somewhere? A dog is going to take of some space within your space.
• Dog hair. Dogs are dirty hairy creatures. Are you ready for that? House, clothes, floor, all infected with dog hair.
• Are you equipped to transport your dog? Car or truck? If car, are you ready to have it covered in dog hair? If you have a truck, are you going to get a camper shell or a leash system for the dog? If you ride a bike, bus or walk does that choice work with what the dog needs?
• Not to be a downer, but are you ready to say goodbye to one of the best friends you have ever had? If you get a dog, there is going to be a day that you are going to have to decide on “the big sleep”. That’s not easy, but it is the most loving thing you can offer your friend at the end.
• Have you ever thought about traveling with a dog? Do you like to travel or vacation? Are you going to take the dog or leave the dog? A lot of hotels allow dogs for a fee. Do you have someone who will dog sit the dog while you are away? If not, do you have money to kennel the dog?
• Do you have money for the continued cost of a dog? Most everyone I know has said the same thing with his or her first dog. “Well they don’t cost much.” No, not upfront. But after you purchase your dog — hopefully from a shelter or rescue – t here are collars, leashes, vet visits, food, treats, license, grooming, brushes, bed, toys, runner, kennel, dog house, maybe medication if they need it and in my case dog walking service.

There are also unseens that happen. Henry met a porcupine once. One person I know mentioned the dogs was only $X but the fence for the yard was $1,200.

I just want to mention that dogs (or in the case of any animal) take time, money, and commitment. A good animal just doesn’t happen. It is something that is nurtured over a long period. If you have had dogs, you know that there is a point when they go from being “a dog” to “the dog”. If you pull it off, the reward is worth the payment many times over.

John Spinola owns Poundawg Enterprises – Dog Walking based on the South Shore.

By Sumathi Reddy, Wall Street Journal

Good sleep isn’t just about how long you sleep. Continuity may be equally important.

Getting up in middle of the night multiple times to soothe a crying baby or go to the bathroom impacts your mood and cognitive abilities the next day, research has found.

In a study published last month in the journal Sleep, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that individuals forced to awaken multiple times during the night showed a greater decline in positive mood than those forced to go to bed later. They also had less slow-wave or deep sleep, the third stage of non-rapid eye (NREM) movement sleep.

Research from the University of Pittsburgh has shown that the cognitive performance of elderly individuals was impaired when their sleep was disrupted, but not when they slept a shorter amount of time straight through. And a study done in Israel published last year found that a fragmented night of sleep for a full eight-hours impacted mood and attention as much as sleeping just four hours a night.

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Cati

Cati is a small and active orange tabby cat who is about 2 years old. She is very friendly and likes to interact with people. Cati is good with other cats and dogs.

Cati is spayed, microchipped, tested for FIV, and vaccinated. She are 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

Margarita and Rogelio Castaneda with their newborn son, Jeremy. Photo/Provided

By Molly Hucklebridge Coolidge

When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Day, Rogelio Castañeda and a very pregnant Margarita García gave a New Year’s toast with a glass of Champagne and a glass of apple cider, respectively. Three hours later, after a brief slumber, Margarita woke up in labor.

The couple headed to Barton Family Birthing Center and at 6:36pm on Jan. 1 Jeremy Nicolas Castañeda García was born. Jeremy weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20.5-inches long. He was named after his maternal grandmother Geremia, who passed away when Margarita was young.

Jeremy is the couple’s first child and the first baby born at Barton in 2016. Rogelio Castañeda who works at the Chart House, has lived in South Lake Tahoe for 14 years and Margarita Castañeda has lived in South Lake Tahoe for seven years.  The South Lake Tahoe couple met seven years ago while she was working at what is now Fitness Evolution, and he was a member of the gym.

According to couple, Jeremy was born one week earlier than expected.

To honor the first baby born at Barton Memorial Hospital in 2016, the new parents were surprised with a wagon and toddler sled filled with gifts. This year, local businesses and organizations donated baby items and gift certificates totaling nearly $1,800.

Molly Hucklebridge Coolidge works for Barton Health.