By Amanda MacMilian, Outside

Enjoy that fruitcake. There’s nothing wrong with athletes gaining a few pounds over the holidays. In fact, for someone like a runner who’s been competing at race weight, it’s healthy to bulk up a bit during off-season.

“This can be a great time to work on your strength and your endurance by really feeding yourself well and giving your body a little extra fuel,” says Jim White, registered dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and certified personal trainer. “It’s hard to maintain a super clean diet during the holidays, and taking a break from it will give you both a physical and mental breather.”

It’s possible to compromise your immunity if you’ve been restricting calories and therefore restricting nutrients needed for your body to operate optimally, White says. Adding a few extra pounds can help your body better defend against stress, the demands of exercise, and cold and flu germs.

The catch? You’ve still have to be smart about what you’re eating—and not overdo it. In other words, enjoy that slice of fruitcake, but don’t eat the whole pie in one day. “Whether training or not, you should never aim to eat a lot of desserts or rich holiday food,” says Alicia Shay, a nutritionist and professional runner. “Too much indulgence will leave you feeling heavy and crummy when training resumes.”

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By Paige Parker, Vegas Inc.

If it seems like your day job is taking over your night hours, you’re right. The Pew Research Center reports nearly half of all Americans do at least some work from home.

“In particular for those who run their own businesses, there is an epidemic of people working 24/7 and taking work home with them,” said Tina Forsyth, a business consultant and author of “The Entrepreneur’s Trap.”

The pressure to be constantly on the clock can have serious health consequences, according to the American Psychological Association, which found in 2012 that 65 percent of Americans cited work as a top source of stress. Untreated, chronic stress can lead to anxiety, insomnia, obesity and heart disease.

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By Kathryn Reed

It would be hard to imagine anyone condoning bullying. Even bullies probably would like to overcome whatever insecurity they have to be a nicer person.

What’s sad, though, is that children’s books are now being deliberately written to call attention to bullying. Maybe there has always been this intent by authors and just the marketing is different now.

Nonetheless, a book that came out this year is all about how being nice and respectful of others will bring out the tender side of people. Actually, in this case, it’s all about creating tender turkeys.

“Turkey Trouble” was written by Judy Walker. She is an educator who has seen the taunts at school as well as how love and kindness can soften bullies.

According to NoBullying.com, 160,000 students miss school each day for fear of attack or intimidation by other students.

Walker is trying to defuse the bullying by showing how being kind has more rewards than being mean.

Using royal turkeys to illustrate her point brings the message to light without being overbearing. In fact, the word bully is not found in the book.

Like many books, there is a message in here that children will likely not consciously realize they are being taught. But on some level it is bound to resonate that acting a certain way – good or bad – has consequences.

By Anahad O’Connor, New York Times

People who regularly drink from cans and plastic bottles may want to reconsider: A study shows that a common chemical in the containers can seep into beverages and raise blood pressure within a few hours.

The research raises new concerns about the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, which is widely found in plastic bottles, plastic packaging and the linings of food and beverage cans. Chronic exposure to BPA, as it is commonly known, has been associated with heart disease, cancer and other health problems. But the new study is among the first to show that a single exposure to the chemical can have a direct and fairly immediate impact on cardiovascular health.

The study found that when people drank soy milk from a can, the levels of BPA in their urine rose dramatically within two hours – and so did their blood pressure. But on days when they drank the same beverage from glass bottles, which don’t use BPA linings, there was no significant change in their BPA levels or blood pressure.

A single instance of increased blood pressure may not be particularly harmful. But the findings suggest that for people who drink from multiple cans or plastic bottles every day, the repeated exposure over time could contribute to hypertension, said physician Karin B. Michels, an expert on BPA who was not involved in the new research.

Michels said the design of the new study was impressive and its findings “concerning.” About 30 percent of adults nationwide have hypertension, and BPA exposure is ubiquitous.

BPA has been used since the 1960s to make countless everyday products like plastic bottles, food containers, contact lenses, and even sippy cups and baby bottles. The chemical can leach into food, and studies show that the vast majority of Americans who are tested have BPA in their urine.

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By Ed Koch, Las Vegas Sun

Paramedic Alan Tinney remembers pulling up to MGM Grand on that autumn day in 1980 and witnessing “a fireball coming out the side of the building” — the beginning of what would be the deadliest tragedy in Nevada history. Eighty-five people died in the blaze, and nearly 700 were injured.

Tinney would make three runs from MGM — now Bally’s — carrying seven to nine victims each time to emergency rooms. Along the way, he and his partner provided life-saving treatments for smoke inhalation to several patients.

The day’s efforts occurred just seven years after the birth of the nation’s modern Emergency Medical Services system that nurtured a new generation of professional, medically trained first responders.

Tinney is one of about 150 emergency responders, representing every Nevada county, to be profiled in the recently released book “Nevada EMS: A History of Emergency Medical Services in Nevada” written by retired Reno physician Elwood L. Schmidt.

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“Collage” takes place Jan. 8-10 at the Truckee High School auditorium.

Members of the Drama Club have been rehearsing a collection of scenes and monologues for months. Works will include a number of monologues written by the actors, as well as one-act plays and scenes.

The actors are preparing for the Lenaea Theater Festival at the end of January, where many of these pieces will be entered for competition. The Lenaea Theater Festival offers three days of workshops where the high school actors from throughout Northern California perform before working theater professionals from across the country, known as “respondents”. The respondents view and critique the performances and ultimately, award medals in Monologues, Duo Scenes, One Act plays, and Musical Theater performances.

The shows start a 7 each night, 11725 Donner Pass Road, Truckee. Tickets are $10 adults, $8 students.

For more info, call 530.386.1929.

By Molly Wood, New York Times

Weather can be a great equalizer. It can also be a way to make conversation with just about everyone.

No wonder, then, that the weather forecast is one of the pieces of information many of us crave when starting each day — and that weather apps are among the most frequently used programs on smartphones.

Weather apps aren’t all created equal, though. The built-in apps on iPhones and Android phones are perfectly serviceable, offering glanceable forecasts for as many cities as you want, and they’re tied into the phones’ virtual assistants. But weather technology — both the creation and presentation of forecasts — is evolving quickly. It’s worth checking out the options.

For prettier backdrops, Yahoo Weather is hands down the most gorgeous app out there. Weather Underground’s app is for budding meteorologists who want to dig deep into weather conditions, and Dark Sky’s mesmerizing globe of animated weather patterns is a great party trick.

In the end, though, finding the right weather app is really a matter of personal taste in the design, how much information you want and, crucially, how much you trust the forecast. And there is a bit of a philosophical difference brewing in terms of how those forecasts are created.

Now, weather apps are often powered by one of a few sources of information, including the Weather Channel and Weather Underground (both of which are owned by the Weather Company), and Weatherbug and AccuWeather.

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Bomber

Bomber is a 4-year-old poodle-Yorkie mix. He has very nice manners, walks well on his leash and loves to snuggle with people.

He does well with other dogs and likes to play with them, but he can be a little bossy. Bomber weighs 7 pounds, and will need to be groomed regularly.

Bomber is neutered, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated.

He 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

By Dave Lopez

What does it take to be comfortable during retirement? Conventional wisdom calls it the 4 percent rule – withdrawing about that amount from your nest egg each year to live comfortably. And, for that, millions of Americans believe they need to stick to a job they don’t like during their earning years.

Unfortunately, the kind of money retirees want to spend each year for a comfortable lifestyle tends to be about $60,000, which means someone’s nest egg would have to be $1.5 million for that rate of withdrawal to sustain for 25 years.

Of course, there are additional sources of income during retirement, such as social security, but the program may not survive the coming decades. And, there are additional costs of retirement, including legacy interests and the likelihood of needing long-term medical care.

The fact is that millions of retirees simply do not have or will not have the kind of income they’d like to have during retirement.

Here is an alternative approach to the golden, or distribution years:

• Remember, Social Security is a welfare program. Before President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, seniors worked. America was an agrarian culture, and many who were in their 60s and 70s usually continued duties on the family farm, albeit handling lighter tasks. Social Security is essentially a socialist idea. A response to the Great Depression, its purpose was to move out older workers in favor of employing younger Americans, but times have changed.

• You don’t have to remain stuck in your “earning” job. The U.S. government is the biggest employer in the world, and I work with many of its employees. They usually have high-stress jobs and usually want to retire as early as possible and, while leaning on their pension, start working on their own terms as government contractors.

• Consider retiring early and working the job you’ve always wanted. The model frequently followed by retired government workers can be replicated by millions of other retirees. You don’t need a $1.5 million nest egg when you combine Social Security with a smaller withdrawal amount and a fun job earning $20,000 a year. Retirees can be creative in how they earn this “fun money.”

Let’s say your passion is water skiing – why not parlay this hobby into a career? You’ll likely have decades of experience and plenty of contacts. You might work for a ski shop or create a small business giving lessons. Doing something you love is a great way to stay active as an older person.

• No pension? – Create your own. The days of working 30 years for a single company and collecting a sizable pension are mostly over. This means retirees need to get creative and rely on other sources of income, including IRAs and strategies for annuities – effectively creating their own “pension.” Annuities are contracts with insurance companies. The contracts, which can be funded with either a lump sum or through regular payments, are designed as financial vehicles for retirement purposes. The money used to fund the contract grows tax-deferred. Unlike other tax advantaged retirement programs, there are no contribution limits on annuities.

Annuities provide plenty of opportunity. Of course, creative options also yield the risk of complexity. You’ll want to be sure to know what you’re doing, or at least consult with an accredited professional.

• Consider lifestyle changes. Through the distribution years, you should consider moving to a place where the cost of living is cheaper than major metropolitan areas. Simply put, you’ll want your money to go further. Take a play from younger folks who are cutting their cable in favor of only Wi-Fi access. Learn how to cook delicious meals on a budget. For many, learning how to make one’s money work better for them, rather than working for their money, is a preferable lifestyle.

Dave Lopez is the founder of ILG Financial and has been working with individuals and businesses since 1986. 

Vincent Francis Campodonico Jr.

A photograph hangs in our father’s home – Needham Grammar School, Lodi, California, class of 1944, 120 kids from a different time. Amazingly, dad could name a fair number of those classmates 70 years later.

A teacher for 25 years, the ex-students of South Tahoe High School will remember having Mr. Campodonico for history or civics.

Vince held an optimistic belief in society and citizenship that he practiced all life long. He was always planning a trip, back from a trip or on a trip. Vince enjoyed people and would want us to say his goodbyes to his friends and family.

We can’t thank dad enough for the great life he provided us; the love and care he gave us. We will try to be extensions of his integrity the rest of our lives.

We will have a celebration of life at a later date. Send a card to the family home at 1511 Seminole Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 and let us know if you wish to be notified or any other sentiments or questions you may have.

Dad willed his body to UCSF School of Medicine in 1959, an educator to the end.

With love,

Vince’s family