Sierra Nevada Ballet in collaboration with the Reno Jazz Orchestra is performing in an original production, “Duke’s Place”, based on Nevada history in celebration of Nevada’s 150th anniversary.

Performances are 7:30pm on Oct. 24 at the Bob Boldrick Theater in the Carson City Community Center in Carson City and 7:30pm on Nov.1 at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno.

“Duke’s Place” gives insight into Nevada history and also tells the story of a magical reunion between a father and long lost daughter.

It was written and choreographed by Rosine Bena and features music by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Count Basie.
The production also features international tap super star, Sam Weber, (known as the “fastest feet  in Tap”), former Joffrey Ballet principal, Mauro Villaneuva and Sierra Nevada Ballet’s popular principal, Ananda Bena-Weber, (former solo dancer with the Jazz Tap Ensemble) and special cameo appearances by community celebrities from “Hello Hollywood, Hello”,with a cast of 40 dancers and 16-piece orchestra with music arranged and conducted by Chuck  Reider of the Reno Jazz Orchestra.

Tickets start at $22 with reduced tickets available for students and seniors. For complete ticket information contact gina704@msn.com or call 775.386.5456 for the Carson City event or call 866.553.6605 for the Reno performance.

Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce in partnership with South Lake Tahoe is putting on two workshops this month.

Leadership and People Management is a workshop for business owners on Oct. 22 from 1-5pm.

Participants will be taught why leadership skills are critical to a business in today’s economy and how to avoid the biggest mistakes that kill morale, motivation, productivity and profits. Participants will also be taught how to manage challenging employees more effectively, manage feelings, create a positive work environment for all, and respond positively to and treat all employees fairly. Topics include the high cost of poor leadership, creating a positive culture, dealing with difficult employees, the art of giving feedback and overcoming your own reactive tendencies. This interactive workshop is ideal for managers and business owners who want to improve their leadership skills, retain good employees and/or motivate their staff.

On Oct. 29 from 1-5pm will be a Time Management workshop for business owners.

Workshop participants will identify the barriers that keep them from managing their time more effectively. Topics include taming the calendar beast, focusing on what matters, tips for staying on track and meeting deadlines and the art of energy management. This interactive workshop is ideal for anyone whose inbox is full, has missed an appointment, hasn’t gotten eight hours of sleep since the ’90s or could just use one more hour in the day.

The workshops will be the chamber office, 169 Highway 50, Stateline.

For more detailed information or to register for the workshops, go online.

By Jeremy Miller

After a severely dry summer financially, Hollywood, sadly, still failed to open October with a successful horror flick. With the genius of James Wan (“Saw”, “Insidious”, “The Conjuring”) backing the film I most certainly expected something more than what I got.

Being somewhat of a precursor to the blowout “The Conjuring”, “Annabelle” follows John (Ward Horton) and Mia (Annabelle Wallis) who are newly married. While finishing medical school, John buys his expecting wife a doll as a gift to complete her already overly creepy collection. A short time later their home is invaded by two people who resemble members of the Manson family who are satanic cultists. The woman cultist is gunned down by police while holding the doll recently gifted to Mia. The woman’s dark spirit possesses the doll and all the cliché possession flick stuff follows thereafter.

Our main characters are accompanied by two rather weak characters, a priest (Tony Amendola), and a bookstore owner (Alfre Woodard) who has little to no real presence in the flick at all. After the attack the couple eventually relocates to try and move on with their lives.

The Miller Meter: 1 out of 5 stars

Sure enough the weird visions and paranormal occurrences move with them. With no more options, the couple turns to the church for help and the little crew wage war against the spirits possessing the doll.

I rate this movie so low for several reasons. The biggest being a total lack of story. The movie only had an hour and a half runtime, but the thing felt like an eternity. The first hour of building characters and backstory was a total bust. They showed a tragic event that starts it all, which is great, but then followed it with 40 minutes of emotional back and forth between the newlyweds that’s so pointless and hollow it nearly drove me out of the theater.

My next qualm is that pretty much nothing happened. Doll gets possessed, family gets scared, stuff gets weird, someone dies, spirit moves on, queue “The Conjuring”. I didn’t need this movie to exist and that’s a fundamental flaw when it comes to an audience. I felt like I was watching “Titanic”, but the version where the boat didn’t crash … an experience that felt like three hours of nothing more than a couple trying way too hard to make it work.

My blame falls on an unseasoned writer/director combo. We’ve got a rather reputable cinematographer, John Leonetti, who’s only directed a handful of TV episodes, a straight to DVD flick, and “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”. Though the latter is an absolute classic, it’s not enough to give someone the knowhow or skill to put together a well-rounded horror movie. Behind the script we have Gary Dauberman whose experience is limited to scripting three B-rated, limited release horror flicks with next to nothing budgets.

Now, I’m not saying that people don’t deserve a shot in the big leagues by any means, but a warm up round is a wise move. I wouldn’t consider the first horror movie of an already droughty season a smart warm up round. The camera work was bland at best and I am almost positive I jumped more watching “Insidious” for the ninth time knowing exactly what was coming and when. Acting was pretty poor, but I don’t blame the talent I blame the script. You could’ve put A-listers in those slots and magic would not have happened. I give it a one because there were a few scenes that were almost really awesome, but fell short and I just took it upon myself to divert to my own imagination to keep myself going until the end. It’s never a good sign when every three minutes I am checking my watch in combination with calculating how long the trailers were so I get an accurate estimation of how much more I had to endure.

South Lake Tahoe resident Jeremy Miller has more movie reviews online.

By Kathryn Reed

Each time I picked up “All is Well, Safely Rest and Other Stories” it was a mystery what I would be reading next.

This is a collection of nine works of fiction from Wade Morgan, who used to live and work in Lake Tahoe.

The biggest problem I had is that none of the stories seemed to go with the next one. It appears to just be a collection of his short stories. And while there is nothing wrong with this per se, it is a hard collection to recommend because they are all over the place.

Stories range from young firefighters to two couples targeted by Mexican outlaws to a woman looking to find a trumpeter from Hawaii. Each is well written. Some even have unexpected turns.

I could see Morgan developing some of them into a full novel. It’s like he has the chapter or two of more than one novel written.

He is definitely a good storyteller with a good imagination.

These short stories also seem like they would have more readership appeal if they were sold separately – perhaps published in a magazine – rather than bundled in this collection.

By Michael Doyle, Bee Washington Bureau

Fresno native Brian Turner packed his poetry and went to war. Now, he’s returned with an acclaimed memoir.

With “My Life as a Foreign Country,” Turner has earned both accolades and, it seems, a measure of peace. The former infantryman has also fleshed out what he previously hinted at in poems dug from the hard ground in Iraq.

“The landscape is war,” Turner said in an interview, not for the first time, “but the actual subject is love and loss.”

Turner, 47, is a thrice-published author. His first two volumes, “Phantom Noise” and “Here, Bullet,” were published by a small, quality outfit called Alice James Books. His latest, 212 pages of prose armored between hard covers, was published by W.W. Norton, which is big time.

Turner chairs the master of fine arts program at Sierra Nevada College on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.

Read the whole story

Shared and individual desks are available at Tahoe Mountain Lab depending on membership. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Boss doesn’t believe you’ll work in Tahoe? Mom doesn’t believe you’ll meet anyone being self-employed? Spouse wonders how the home office is suddenly so neat?

Tahoe Mountain Lab may prove working on vacation isn’t so stuff, that like-minded entrepreneurs flock together, and working independently and alone are two very different things.

It is tucked along Ski Run Boulevard in a two-story building that opened in June with the sole purpose of bringing freelancers, self-employed people, and others together.

No cubicle to contend with on these premises. Desks are more like butcher block tables. Some are pushed together to make a foursome, while others are solitary. No problem for those needing to stand to work. Your desk is in one of the corners.

Chairs swivel and are adjustable so the worker can be ergonomically correct.

Most people bring their own phones, but there is one in the conference room if need be. And for the loud talkers there is what looks like an old-fashioned telephone booth so they can duck into it so everyone has privacy.

Probably the most important thing to people is the Internet connection. Charter built-out a high-speed line specifically for Tahoe Mountain Lab.

Shared workspaces are no longer the corner coffeeshop. They’ve evolved into an office environment.

Jesse Walker, David Orr and Jamie Orr

The South Lake Tahoe enclave is the brainchild of Jesse Walker, David Orr and Jamie Orr. They had similar ideas, pulled their resources and opened what is now a bevy of activity. But they still have their “real” jobs – urban planning consultant, general manager of Startup & Tech Mixer, and college science professor, respectively.

They know what it’s like to work from home. It’s not always as idyllic as it sounds. A little structure can be good. Because they knew they weren’t alone and had experienced workspaces elsewhere, they were sure Tahoe would be a good fit.

“It was hard to work in a home office where you don’t want to bring people to,” Jamie Orr said.

Walker, who was born and raised on the South Shore, had spent enough time away to solidify his career to where he could work at home. A small baby proved more than he could handle on a regular basis and get work done.

The Orrs moved here about three years ago, also understand the young child scenario, and soon started looking for alternatives.

Tahoe Mountain Lab is now a different kind of baby for all of them.

They equate membership in the lab to like being at a gym. There is full membership, part and drop in. The first two come with a key so people can work any hour. Full-time membership includes a place to store some belongings for the long haul.

Eventually, the goal would be some of these businesses will get so big they will need to find their own brick and mortar location. To the lab owners, that would be a success story.

To help ward against any unsavory characters, everyone must sign a code of conduct.

For those who need a little more space there is room to rent upstairs on a monthly basis. They are private, can be locked and allow a business to have more a permanent space. Sierra Nevada Alliance, Sage Engineers and Spatial Informatics Group are some of the companies calling the lab home.

A small conference room may be rented by anyone. It also comes with video- and teleconferencing capabilities.

While mostly it’s locals who are filling the lab, a number of second homeowners and tourists drop in.

But like any good workplace, it’s not just about work. The trio is creating social opportunities for people – just like a traditional workplace would do.

Tahoe Mountain Lab plans to partner with other shared workspaces in the mountains so the respective members can benefit when they travel. The closest space to South Lake Tahoe is in Alpine Meadows.

—–

Notes:

• Tahoe Mountain Lab is online.

• Phone: 530.600.3447.

• Address: 1048 Ski Run Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

• Prices: $250/month membership, $150 for 10 days, $20 to drop in.

By Julie R. Thomson, Huffington Post

Winter is cold, guys. But you know what makes it a little more bearable? Booze. That’s why winter is not only the season of cheer, but also of hard, stiff drinks. The stronger, the better.

Better, that is, if you don’t have to take off your gloves to have a swig from your very own flask, so you don’t get frostbite while trying to get your buzz on. Lucky for all of us, that’s all possible now.

The flask mitten is here to answer all of our winter wishes, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: a flask (that will hold 3 ounces) built inside of a snug red mitten.

It’s designed so that you never, ever have to take your gloves off — the worst part of any winter day.

Read the whole story

By Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post

Just days after a teenager unfurled a Confederate flag at a high school football game in Howard County, Md., teachers began reworking lesson plans to discuss the student’s display and the school’s decision to discipline him.

Their talking points: What is free speech? How is the action different from the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed several students to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War? What does the flag represent? Why does it mean such different things to different people?

“It felt like a good time to talk about the issue,” said Callie Casper, a government and human geography teacher at River Hill High School. “Some kids wanted to talk about it, sometimes I brought it up.”

Teachers across the country routinely must delve into racially sensitive topics such as the display of the Confederate flag and the recent killing of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo. They also tackle politically charged subjects such as same-sex marriage and immigration reform. It is a fine line to walk, they say, as they try not to offer their own personal views while provoking critical thinking about the issues everyone is talking — and tweeting — about.

“It is a part of what social studies teachers do. They address topics as they come up naturally through class discussion, related to current events, and as a part of the curriculum,” said Mark J. Stout, a curriculum coordinator for the Howard County Public School System. Stout sent an e-mail to social studies teachers in the school district to discuss lesson plans around the Confederate flag incident. Stout included the school system’s policy on teaching controversial issues, the superintendent’s statement calling the flag a “powerful symbol of racism, hatred, and unspeakable acts against humanity” and news articles.

Read the whole story

Lake Tahoe Hard Rock owners are spending $60 million to renovate the property.

By Kathryn Reed

A song, like poetry, can capture a mood, leave an edible mark and forever resonate throughout time. It can be head-banging, soul-searching, spine-tingling.

“Music is different to every single person. So is how you interpret it,” Don Marrandino, general manager of Lake Tahoe Hard Rock, told Lake Tahoe News.

Marrandino knows his music, knows Lake Tahoe and is gambling on the two being perfect together.

It’s the music that lures people into Hard Rock establishments. Then the unique memorabilia – from tickets to playbills to outfits to instruments – keeps them in the zone.

It’s more like a museum than casino in many ways. One doesn’t need to gamble to get the full flavor of a Hard Rock.

What the Hard Rock tries to do is put a little of its spell into all corners of the property so people will want to come back, stay longer and spend the night. It would be near impossible to see everything on one or even a handful of visits. And, of course, the music is always changing.

The 539-rooms of what was the Horizon hotel-casino at Stateline have been gutted to their studs. Contractors are scurrying to finish the $60 million remodel as soon as possible. Reservations are being taken starting the night of Jan. 9.

An earlier opening date is possible – maybe even New Year’s Eve.

“One thing we’re adamant about is we don’t want to open when we are not ready. We hope in the next several weeks to have a better idea of when we are ready to do so,” Marrandino said.

This rendering shows how the rooms are being revamped.

He said there have been challenges to dealing with an old building – it opened in 1965 as Del Webb’s Sahara-Tahoe – but nothing that has cut into the time or could not be overcome.

Marrandino would like to recapture some of the glory days of the old property by having people who once played there take to the stage again. He wouldn’t mention any names in particular.

While the great and even obscure sounds from the 1960s to today will boom from the speakers for all to hear, the new casino will also have a separate venue for music.

Specifics about most of the property are being kept underwraps – including if the concert hall will be anything like The Joint in Las Vegas, how big it will be or if anyone has been booked.

First, more than 500 employees need to be hired and trained, which started last month.

Tats, piercings, unnaturally colored hair – they have a place in front of the house. Yes, Lake Tahoe Hard Rock wants authentic people to work at the Stateline hotel-casino, not people who look like everyone else.

“The employees are allowed to be themselves. The only thing we demand is they treat customers like they are their best friend,” Marrandino said.

The preview center that opened this summer in the Heavenly Village will close Oct. 15. There are no plans to have a Hard Rock retail outlet outside of the casino property. But do expect different merchandise than what has been sold elsewhere. This is because the creative geniuses are working on winter specific logowear.

“We are putting stuff together that has never been done before at a Hard Rock. It should make for fun holiday presents,” Marrandino said. (This suggests a pre-Christmas opening.)

Whenever opening day is, it will begin a phased approach. Marrandino said it could take two years for the entire property to be fully operational.

No word yet on specifics about the dining establishments. But Executive Chef Jonathan Snyder won’t be the only local with a position of authority. The human resources director and marketing director also grew up here.

As for what will happen to the Hard Rock Café next door at Harveys, their public relations firm says they are staying open. The café and hotel-casino are owned by different entities.

A South Lake Tahoe father still desires to name a peak in Desolation Wilderness after his son, but doing so is in limbo.

Ryan Shreve

The idea was Mitch Underhill’s. Underhill and Ryan Shreve were best friends and firefighters. Shreve died in 2003 at the age of 24 from second impact syndrome following a wakeboarding accident on Folsom Lake. Underhill died last year.

“Shortly after Mitch died, the USGS met and determined that our application to name an unnamed geologic feature did not meet the 1999 Wilderness Act’s requirements,” Mike Shreve, Ryan’s dad, told Lake Tahoe News. “So now without Mitch with us, I have had little excitement to go after other mapmakers and Google Earth to have the name changed on their sites. I will pursue these options this winter.”

The goal is to have Peak 9441 renamed Mount Ryan.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report