By Mandy Kendall

With the effects of wildfires evident all around us during the last few days, it is not easy to ignore the potential threat that is on our very own doorstep, and in our own backyards.

The smoke is an ever present reminder that we live in a potentially hazardous place that requires respect and preparation.

Mandy Kendall

With that in mind, I decided to devote this week’s Qwik-e tips for prevention of, protection from, and preparation for wildfires. Many of these will be familiar, common sense tactics but it doesn’t do any harm to go over them.

Prevention

• Defensible space – Far too much information to go into here but CalFire have a great website with information about defensible space preparation, emergency kits etc.

• Chipping service — Keeping your yard clear of dead, dry foliage can be a huge help in preventing possible fires around your home. Your local fire prevention team may offer a service where they will come to your property and turn shrub and tree debris into wood chip (and some offer to haul the chip away too).

• Open flames — It goes without saying that any open flame is an accident waiting to happen. Candles, barbecues, fires, etc should certainly not be left unattended (or even lighted in the first place), but you should also consider things like cigarettes that you think you may have extinguished but are really still smoldering and just waiting to catch something on fire. Think about having a fire bucket with sand in it for proper outside disposal of things like cigarettes and matches.

Protection

• Masks — Many are not designed to filter out much more than large particles of dust (during construction, etc.) so do not rely on them to protect you from the smoke particles unless the packaging indicates otherwise.

• Exercise — Any exertion outside will increase the amount of smoke inhalation and potential lung damage. Keep activity to a minimum. Try exercising in a gym, or taking your walks in an enclosed area like a shopping mall.

• Portable air purifiers – These can be very effective at clearing the airspace in your home. At least two are suggested. One for the living area and one for the bedroom, as it can take up to two hours to clear the air in a room so it would not be effective immediately if you were to take it from your living room to your bedroom with you.

• AC — In the house and in the car, can be effective in helping to recycle air indoors rather than keep bringing fresh polluted air from outside. Just make sure that you keep the fresh air intake closed so you just recycle air only. Also be sure to check the filters, as they will likely need changing more frequently.

• Children and pets – These two groups are potentially more vulnerable than others. Their respiration rates are higher than adults so they breathe in more air, especially when active. Try to keep them indoors as much as possible. Keep a look out for running red eyes, sneezing or coughing. Doctors and vets can offer advice on how best to treat the effects of smoke inhalation.

• Cleaning — Dust surfaces with a damp cloth to help prevent stirring the settled ash up into the air again. Some vacuums will also just re-distribute the ash into the atmosphere so limit vacuuming if possible.

Preparation

• Supplies — A large supply of water contained near your house may help extinguish a fire as well as provide drinking water in an emergency.

• Personal documents — Keeping important personal and family documents in one place will make emergency evacuations quick and simple.

• Family exit plan — Have a practice run with your family to make sure everyone knows the quickest way out of the house from every room. Agree on a meeting place, away from the house, for everyone to gather at following an evacuation. Appoint someone you know, who lives away from your area, as a central contact point. Should you be unable to connect with any of your family during an emergency you will at least have one person that everyone calls to let them know they are safe.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe, which aligns wellness seekers with their ideal wellness provider. If you have questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and well-being topic, drop her an email at connect@healthconnective.com or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.

Fun’s high-energy music kept people on their feet all night Aug. 27 at Harveys. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Susan Wood

STATELINE – Against a hazy, blood-orange Sierra Nevada sky, indie band Fun lived up to its name with a red-hot performance that energized a youthful crowd at Harveys Lake Tahoe this week.

The electric production is one of the last of the outdoor concert series as the summer winds down.

John Packer, Harrah’s spokesman and entertainment director, was optimistic Tuesday night before the show because the poor air quality from the massive Rim Fire raging in the Yosemite area had improved. He promised a “smokin’ good time” based on the promise of Fun, with the help of opening synthpop act Tegan and Sara of Canada.

And boy, Fun delivered – period.

After a stunning performance by sister duo Tegan and Sara, the three core members of Fun, the high-energy New York-based band led by vocalist Nate Ruess, entered the dark stage in tuxedos and quickly tore them off as if stripping themselves of all inhibitions.

Take the bellowing vocal chords of U2’s Bono, the perfectly synchronized ’70s rock band Yes with Rick Wakeman and the pulsating rhythms of David Byrne’s Talking Heads – and throw in Styx, Queen and Electric Light Orchestra – and you’ve got a new generation’s modern-day band with a dynamic stage presence, diverse music style and even a civil rights conscience. (The band has brought the Ally Coalition and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays on tour with them to support LGBTQ equality.)

“It’s really important for Jack (Antonoff, Fun guitarist) to cultivate a safe space (for the LGBT community),” Michael White of Boston, who has toured with the band in 15 cities, told Lake Tahoe News. He was joined at the Stateline concert tables by local volunteer Betti Christensen of Minden who was there in support of her gay nephew “to protect him from the big bad world.”

Sara and Tegan are destined to be headliners.

Serious activism aside, Fun soon showed how the band raked in last year’s Grammy Award for Best New Artist and another for Song of the Year, “We Are Young” – which had the Harveys crowd roaring and mouthing all the words near the end of the show. In the bridge where the song stops before the chorus, one could hear a rare silence.

For the entire show, the audience stood in anticipation of what would happen next on stage and on the flashy giant video screen behind it.

Ruess, with Antonoff and keyboardist Andrew Dost, wove a web of recognizable and lesser-known tunes and fed off the enthusiasm of the audience.

Their hit single “Carry On” had the entire crowd dancing, swaying and singing. They even brought out their version of an old favorite, the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” The baby boomers danced and sang in unison to that number.

They were often personable and seemed so enthused to be in Tahoe that Ruess pledged to bring the band back during another tour. This one, which started July 6 and ends in September, is expected to be followed by the making of another album to follow the ever-popular “Some Nights.” The title track was the encore of the night, upon the demands of thousands of dedicated, screaming fans.

Nate Ruess rarely stops moving on stage.

The adoration and respect was reciprocated when, in so many words, Ruess and Antonoff broke between songs to tell the locals among the crowd how lucky they are to live in paradise – despite the residual smoke. He reminded those who may fret over the smoky haze that he was unsure he could even sing a few days ago. But Ruess was so spot on with the melodies his vocals could fill Yosemite Valley.

“I’m so sorry it smells like a wilderness campfire,” Ruess said, after declaring it was the first time the band spent time in the Tahoe region. The band apparently took full advantage of the three-day experience, going out on Jet Skis and golfing. He added the band members liked Edgewood Tahoe so much they let the cost of the activities cut into the show’s proceeds.

Fun was not alone in their fun that night.

The up-and-coming band Tegan and Sara – with a loyal following of their own electro-induced sounds and deep, angst-filled lyrics — insisted a few times how they enjoyed coming to Tahoe.

Tegan Quin especially liked watching some people chair dancing.

“We are thrilled to be here,” she yelled out to the crowd. This was a notable tip of the hat to Tahoe from a duo that country sensation Taylor Swift singled out as a favorite act of hers to listen to. The Quin sisters have enjoyed a diverse appeal through the years, touring with the Pretenders, Neil Young, The Killers and Cyndi Lauper. They recently performed for a Major League Baseball Fan Cave online concert.

The Harveys show was a testament to vibrant, synthesizer-driven keyboards in concert with flashy images on the video screen behind the duo and the three-member backup band.

Mostly, it was the dark side of the lovelorn that the Quin sisters belted out in their self-written lyrics. They both seemed to be in a perpetual breakup. But in the music world, that’s what so many in the fan base can relate to. In their popular “I Was a Fool,” the lyrics appeared to bleed down the video screen. It was almost reassuring between sets when they smiled and seemed jovial.

The show turned a little torchy with their hit “Closer,” with lyrics highlighting the excitement of sexual energy between two people. Anyone who’s lived through puberty, high school or even the exhilaration of the pursuit could relate.

“There’s something so liberating about their music. It’s amazing with an ’80s influence. I feel they’re charismatic and honest on stage,” said Taylor Gaddy of Reno, who has listened to Tegan and Sara for three years.

And yet there is more to come before the summer closes its doors at the Harveys Lake Tahoe outdoor concert series.

Country superstar Brad Paisley hits the arena tonight, the Dave Matthews Band comes to Tahoe Sept. 4 and rock band Journey follows 10 days later.

Lake Tahoe’s Jeff Jones has released his third full-length album, “The Rooster Crows – The Bank Sessions.”

The album features Jones on vocals, acoustic and slide guitar, Eric Matlock (Jelly Bread) on keys and the three members of the Italian Afro-Disco band The Bank (Francisco Brini, Domenico Loparco, Emanuele Zullo).

“The album was recorded as ‘full band’ live sessions over three spring days at my home on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. Because each member of the band was present and actively crafting each song in the moment, the personalities and musical styles pushed and pulled in real-time and came through more effectively than if we isolated everyone in a recording booth,” Jones said in a press release. “Each song is a single take. I think that is what makes it feel so alive and puts the listener in the front row.”

The remastered version of “The Rooster Crows – The Bank Sessions” will be available Oct. 1 on Jones’ website and through iTunes, CDBaby and Amazon.

The 7th annual Poker Run to benefit Austin’s House is Sept. 7.

All types of vehicles are welcome to join in the fun. Registration is from 9-10am in the parking lot at Century 21 Clark Properties located at 1674 Highway 395 in Minden. The entry fee is $25 plus $15 for a second rider.

The fee includes a prize for the best poker hand, barbecue lunch, limited edition ride pin, pink bandana and live music.

The first stop for the 2013 Poker Run will be Nevada’s Oldest Thirst Parlor in Genoa. The next draw will take place at Jethro’s in the Gardnerville Ranchos. The caravan then heads south on Highway 88 to Markleeville and a stop at the Wolf Creek Restaurant & Bar. The run continues over Monitor Pass down to Topaz Lake for the fourth stop at Iggy & Squiggy’s Holbrook Junction Bar. The final stop is Heritage Park in Gardnerville where lunch will be served with live music. The Poker Run is approximately 81 miles and lasts about two hours.

For more info, call Danny Villalobos at (775) 721.7111.

Austin’s House is the only emergency children’s shelter in rural Northern Nevada. Austin’s House provides services and care for up to 10 children from infants to age 18. The children are placed at Austin’s House after being removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.

Christie Rassuchine (Higman) and Robyn Lindner, two authors who grew up in Tahoe, will be reading Sept. 24 from their new book “The Crazy Club Gets its Start”.

The story is about a group of elementary school students who form their own club and deal with bullying, acceptance, and what it feels like to be the new kid at school. The characters in the story are in third grade, but the book appeals to kids throughout elementary school.

The free event is put on by the Friends of the Library. It starts at 6pm at the South Lake Tahoe library — 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

The book will be available purchase and to be signed that night.

By Nancy Shute, NPR

Surgery can be a necessary misery, endured in hope of health.

But what if you took away the misery, and kept the benefits?

When hospitals quit subjecting patients to prolonged fasting, nasogastric tubes, abdominal drains, and other commonplaces of surgical care, a study finds, patients feel less pain and recover faster.

Women who had major abdominal surgery at the Mayo Clinic under a protocol to enhance recovery went home sooner and needed less pain medication than women who had the surgery the usual way. And 95 percent of the women in the group whose treatment emphasized recovery rated their care as excellent or very good.

The enhanced recovery approach, which was pioneered in Europe about a decade ago, abandons many of the standard steps for patient care before, during and after surgery. It turns out there was no evidence of benefit for many of these practices, even though they’re used worldwide. So this protocol chucks them.

So patients aren’t asked to slurp down quarts of medication to clean the gastrointestinal tract, so-called bowel prep, or told to shun food and drink before surgery. Instead, they can eat up till midnight the day before, and drink water up till four hours before surgery.

Read the whole story

By Angela Chen, Wall Street Journal

Something summery may be lingering even as the season fades — the summer cold.

Colds in summertime can last for weeks, at times seemingly going away and then suddenly storming back with a vengeance, infectious-disease experts say. A winter cold, by contrast, is typically gone in a few days.

The reason for the difference: Summer colds are caused by different viruses from the ones that bring on sniffling and sneezing in the colder months. And some of the things people commonly do in the summer can prolong the illness, like being physically active and going in and out of air-conditioned buildings.

“A winter cold is nasty, brutish and short,” says Bruce Hirsch, infectious-disease specialist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. “But summer colds tend to linger. They can go on for weeks and reoccur.”

Summer colds, which can hit between June and October, occur only about 25 percent as often as the winter variety. But summer colds can have more severe, flu-like symptoms, in addition to sneezing and coughing. Many people also mistake a summer cold for allergies, because it just doesn’t seem to leave.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

A knock on the door. It’s the police. Guns are drawn. You don’t know why. Your husband is hauled off to jail and then charged with a crime he didn’t commit.

This is the basic formula for TV shows throughout time. But this scenario is not from the imagination of some scriptwriter. It was the reality for a Boulder, Colo., couple.

Michelle Lombardi Gesse has written a first-person account of the harrowing experience she and her husband had with the criminal justice system in 2009. “Bogus Allegations: The Injustice of Guilty Until Proven Innocent” came out in 2012.

It’s a definite page-turner.

The absurdity of why the district attorney thought he had a case is mind-boggling. This is illustrated through Gesse’s memory and supported by court transcripts.

As Gesse often points out, ours is not a system of innocent until proven guilty, but really, guilty until proven innocent.

I suppose the book struck home knowing there is an elected official in South Lake Tahoe whose life has been turned upside down by the law, but no charges filed. That would in many ways seem worse than what the Boulder couple endured. They at least had resolution.

The expense of the trial had the Gesses selling items to pay their attorney. It cost them friends. It nearly cost them their marriage.

While Steven Gesse was found not guilty on all charges, the ordeal changed them.

“Bogus Allegations” is not the best-written book. It gets bogged down with repetitiveness and doesn’t always flow well. But the subject matter is compelling and in many ways terrifying because it points out how something like this could happen to anyone.

Nessie

Nessie thinks she’s a Lab. She would rather chase a ball than anything else. But she’s actually a very sweet purebred German shorthaired pointer, who is perhaps 10 years old with lots of energy.

Being mature, she is house trained and has good manners. She is able to put down the ball and play with other well-mannered dogs and she is happy to hang out with her people, also.

Nessie is spayed, microchipped, 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 online 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.

— Karen Kuentz

By Adam Nagourney, New York Times

RACHEL, Nev. — The Little A’Le’Inn has been an unlikely tourist destination in the Mojave Desert for nearly 25 years, selling souvenirs — from green alien coffee cups to E.T. Highway T-shirts — dedicated to the notion that we are not alone. Understandably.

Nine miles up a nearby dirt road is the top-secret military installation known as Area 51, whose murky provenance fueled decades of speculation about extraterrestrial aliens and kept the U.F.O.-hunting tourists coming.

Or rather, the top-secret military installation not known as Area 51 — at least until last week, when the CIA released a classified report on the history of the U-2 spy plane, which officially acknowledged what everyone here has long known: There is a secret military testing base at Groom Lake called Area 51. It is 150 miles north by car from Las Vegas, in a vast expanse of utterly empty scabland, desert and mountain, and signs reading “No gas station next 150 miles.”

The report, released after eight years of prodding by a George Washington University archivist researching the history of the U-2, made no mention of colonies of alien life, suggesting that the secret base was dedicated to the relatively more mundane task of testing spy planes.

But no matter. Even this little bit of validation was welcome in Rachel, which claimed a population of 57 as of last Tuesday afternoon, and where the tourists have not been coming at quite the pace they once did. The movies and television shows that once fed an international fixation with aliens secreted at Area 51 — from “The X Files” to movies like “Independence Day” and “Paul” — are, with the passage of time and the inevitable rise of new subjects of national interest, not quite as gripping as they once were.

Read the whole story