By Kenneth Kiesnoski, Travel Weekly

The story of the growth of the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) travel market in recent years is a tale of two seemingly contradictory — but, in reality, complementary — trends: occasional spurts in the launch of novel, LGBT-specific tourism products and promotions tailored for gay and lesbian consumers.

Those trends have been accompanied by a slow but steady mainstreaming of both LGBT travelers and travel products.

A once neglected, all but invisible and even persecuted market segment, LGBT leisure travelers now find themselves increasingly courted and cajoled by mainstream travel suppliers, destinations and, in some cases, travel agencies, as well as by a growing raft of travel firms and hotels owned and operated by gays and lesbians.

What’s the appeal? First, by one estimate, the LGBT demographic spends some $65 billion a year on vacations.

Gay couple in LondonMoreover, industry players note that LGBT consumers have gained a reputation, deserved or not, over the past two decades as “Teflon travelers,” less prone to cancel in the wake of geopolitical or natural disasters and more willing to part with a bigger portion of their disposable income on vacations than the general population is.

Jonathan Klein, owner of Now, Voyager World Wide Travel in San Francisco, said he heard the first such whispers as far back as 1990 and 1991. At the time, the first Persian Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq was depressing mainstream international bookings, but LGBT travelers apparently kept on trekking. (For more from Klein, see “LGBT specialist talks market’s needs, nuances.”)

John Tanzella, president of the Fort Lauderdale-based International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), said the havoc the 9/11 terror attacks wreaked a decade later on global travel only furthered this reputation for LGBT hardiness.

“We noted an interesting trend after 9/11 of mainstream companies — whether it was major corporations or smaller, mom-and-pop tour operators — courting LGBT travelers and trying to be more welcoming with their products,” he said. “There was just so much press about gay travelers being more resilient.”

Not even LGBT consumers, with their legendary largess, could maintain spending levels in the face of the Great Recession that began in 2008; according to San Francisco-based research firm Community Marketing, spending by gay and lesbian travelers dipped in both 2009 and 2010 for the first time in nearly 20 years. Even so, David Paisley, Community Marketing’s senior projects director, said the drop was less severe in LGBT circles than in the population at large, redeeming the segment’s reputation for resiliency.

“The question is, did [LGBT travel spending] go down as much as the mainstream numbers did? A lot of people would say that no, it didn’t,” he said. “We have seen a bounce-back finally, although we’re probably seeing one in mainstream spending, too.”

To wit, in the 12 months leading up to the conclusion of Community Marketing’s 16th Annual LGBT Tourism Survey on Oct. 31, 2011, LGBT travel spending did indeed rebound, with growth of 1 percent to 3 percent reported by self-described “gay-friendly” destinations. In the same report, gay and bisexual men reported taking nearly four leisure trips, 2.4 business trips and 3.8 airline flights annually. Lesbians and bisexual women took 3.3 leisure trips, 1.6 business trips and 2.6 flights a year.

The appeal of LGBT travelers as a market segment has grown hand-in-hand over the last two decades with an increased societal acceptance, in the U.S. and other Western countries, of what used to be termed “alternative lifestyles.”

Read the whole story

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District is giving nearly $11,000 to local charities.

The donated money is a pass through of sorts from the department’s health insurance consultant LBG Advisors. LBG Advisors is not keeping insurance carrier bonuses and instead donates them to local charities in the name of their clients. Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District has chosen the following nonprofits as beneficiaries:

• Tahoe Douglas Seniors Center — $1,700.

• Whittell High School Boosters Club — $1,700.

• Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation — $5,000.

• DCSO Douglas County Sheriff Advisory Council — $1,700. (Toward the purchase of the VIRTRA Ssimulator.)

• Young at Heart Senior Citizens Club — $600.

Three business workshops are being offered in Truckee this month.

Business Basics (June 6 1-4pm, $40) is a three-hour workshop discussing the fundamentals of starting and building a successful business. Learn the realities of starting a business, licenses and permits needed, developing start-up costs, break-even analysis, cash flow projections, legal structure options, insurance requirements, importance of researching your market, why you need a business plan, typical loan requirements and much more.

SBA Financing Options (June 21, 10:30am-noon, free) is a

workshop discussing the various SBA loan programs, the fundamentals of borrowing, credit, financing options, owner’s injection, collateral, loan restriction and limitations, loan application process, and standards lenders utilize to evaluate the application.

Social Media (June 26, 1-4pm, $40) is about using social media tools to build relationships with customers and create top of mind awareness for your business. This three-hour workshop will cover basics of setting up a Facebook page and provide tips on how to grow your Facebook fan base as well as how to build relationships and drive traffic to events and products. Twitter, Linked-in and the power of email marketing will also be part of the discussion.

All workshops are at Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce, 10065 Donner Pass Road, Truckee. For more information, call (530) 587.8808.

We think this setting would be the perfect place to lounge while reading a copy of the just released “Tahoe Blues” that was published by Bona Fide Books in Meyers.

We have a copy of the book to give the person who writes what we decide is the best caption for this photo. Bonus points for the person who incorporates the correct location into the caption. Enter your caption as a comment — and keep them clean. The winner will be announced June 8.

We can deliver the book to you at the “Tahoe Blues” reading at Lake Tahoe Community College on June 8 at 7pm or mail it to you. The reading is at the Ledbetter Terrace near the Demonstration Garden.

If you don’t win the free copy, books will be on sale and authors ready to sign them. The reading is free.

Anyone who is part of Lake Tahoe News  NEWS Team is eligible to win the book as well as anyone who recently became a paid subscriber. Anyone who becomes a paid subscriber is part of the NEWS Team.

By Mandy Kendall

Looking back on the holiday weekend, eating seemed to be one common activity shared and enjoyed by most people. Food is an absolute necessity for survival, but can also be wrapped up in so many of our social habits. We are taught from an early age not to waste food and to eat everything on our plates. Food is used as a celebration and can become entwined into our perception of enjoyment. Emotional triggers can also cause us to reach for food, not to satisfy hunger but to fill a void or replace something that is missing in our lives.

Carole Carson, an AARP contributor, writes about Edward Abramson, a clinical psychologist and internationally recognized authority on emotional eating, weight control and eating disorders. Abramson has written five books on the issues surrounding eating and has authored 20 scientific studies.

Mandy Kendall

When Carson asked Abramson what percentage of our eating was a function of genuine hunger, Abramson stated that in general, people eat for one of three reasons: (1) physical hunger (for example, low blood sugar, gastric motility); (2) external cues (for example, the sight of others eating in television commercials); and (3) emotional arousal.

Experts estimate that we make more than 220 eating decisions each day and most eating seems to be prompted by external cues that are all around us.

So it seems we are vulnerable to much more than just the hunger pangs we feel when our body tells us it’s time to eat. We may eat to relieve boredom, to fight fatigue or to distract us from a stressful situation. Feelings of obligation may cause us to eat a meal that has been prepared for us even though we might not be hungry. Sometimes food just tastes and smells so good we just can’t stop ourselves, and simply eating with people who eat a lot can, consciously or unconsciously, trigger you to follow their example.

Finally, the food companies have spent many years, and a lot of money, manufacturing food that excites all the perception and arousal centers of our brains to make sure we want to keep on eating more and more of their food.

So here are some Qwik-e tips to help make sure that you are eating for the right reasons:

Serve up a portion — It is easy to overeat when reaching into a bag of something like chips or cookies, especially if you are distracted watching TV. Personally, if I have only two (OK maybe three) of my favorite cookies on a plate I am much more likely to savor each one rather than just keep scoffing them out of a bag until I’m full (which I can tell you will end up being way more than three).

Serve up food on a smaller plate — Studies have shown that the size of the dish food is served on has a huge impact on how full people claim they feel after they have eaten. Subjects claimed that a serving of food on a large plate was not as satisfying as the same size serving on a smaller plate. So maybe try using a salad plate as your entree plate.

Check portion sizes — Apparently 20 years ago a bagel was about 3 inches in diameter and contained about 140 calories. Now bagel is twice the size and twice the calories. Check out this site for an eye opening look at what size portions the experts recommend we eat.

Take your time — If you give your body a chance to register the food that has entered your stomach, you might find you are actually full quite some time before you would normally stop eating. When I was young, and claimed I was still hungry when I had finished my plate full, my dear old mum used to say, “Just wait five minutes and see how you feel.” She was pretty much always right (as mums usually are) and I would feel much more satisfied and not need to go back for more.

Savor each mouthful — Concentrating on the task in hand is always a good idea, especially when eating. Taking a mouthful of food, putting down your cutlery, and savoring all the flavors and chewing until there is nothing left in your mouth will make sure that you don’t rush through a meal and eat too much. It will also make you realize if you are eating food with a high nutritional content or not as poor quality food tends not to taste so good the longer you chew it.

Eating out — If the portions are huge try to make the decision to take half home with you before you start eating? That may stop you from being tempted to eat more than you intended. Maybe split an entrée with someone else or just have the appetizer version. Also when eating at a friend’s house, explain that you are watching your portion sizes and ask them not to give you too much.

Celebration food — Try to have all kinds of food available during celebrations and get creative with healthy foods presented beautifully to distract from the habit of reaching for cakes to celebrate.

A little help from your friends — Some moral support from family and friends can help you spot those times when you might be making those unconscious, and undesirable, food choices. Giving people you love and trust guidelines on what you are trying to achieve, along with permission to keep you accountable, can go along way to break some old habits. For example ask friends if you can meet on a walk rather than sitting in your favorite cafe surrounded with all your favorite ‘snack’ foods to tempt you, or give people permission to distract you if they see you going for the cookie jar for that snack fix.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. If you have any questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and wellbeing topic, please feel free to drop me an email at healthconnective@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook, 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.

The Renaissance Faire is still looking for volunteers.

The event is this weekend and the following in the Camp Richardson area.

For more information, email carl@valhallatahoe.com.

Volunteers for other Tahoe Tallac Association events are also needed.

There will be a volunteer workshop at the Valhalla Grand Hall on June 20 at 10am and June 27 at 6pm. Both are expected to last about 90 minutes.

Tangled Roots Writing is offering a poetry workshop on Saturday at For Goodness Sake in Truckee from 1-4pm.

Explore different techniques in writing poetry using prompts that help people discover new material. Even if you’ve never written poetry, or understood poetry, you will learn how poetry communicates and find inspiration to write your own in this three-hour workshop.

Cost is $35.

Call Karen Terrey at (530) 386.3901 to sign up.

Advance tickets are available for Lake Tahoe Community College’s production of “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

Tickets are $15 general admission, and $12 for children, students and those older than 60.

For further information, call (530) 541.4660, ext. 207.

Performances are:

June 8 8pm

June 9 8pm

June 10 2pm

June 14 8pm

June 15 11pm

June 16 8pm

June 17 2pm.

By Hal Cole

It’s been two weeks since I last visited Margie. She has been ill for many months and this last visit was particularly impactful. I am very aware that every time we say a casual “goodbye” to family and friends it very well could be “farewell”. It was very obvious to both of us that this visit was special. Her squeeze of my hand was a little tighter, the look in her eyes a little sadder.

My family’s relationship with the Springmeyers began many years ago. In the early ’60s my father would have his International Scout serviced at the Springmeyer Garage in the building just east of Izzy’s where we first met Buzz, Margie’s husband. Probably the first significant encounter was in 1969 when my wife, Francie, was 15 and living with her family on Glenwood Way. She kept her horse Gypsy, in the backyard, but would occasionally let her out to graze with the Springmeyer’s cattle. Buzz would periodically chase her off, but at the same time seemed to like the young cowgirl and soon invited her to join his annual cattle drive from the Bijou Meadow up to High Meadows for the summer.

Growing up next to that meadow, it was always Francie’s dream to live there. As fortune would have it, soon after we were married a lot on Pioneer Trail bordering the meadow was listed for sale. The price was more than the two of us could ever afford, but the owner was willing to allow us to make payments so we both took on second jobs and managed somehow to pay it off and began planning our future. Soon after our purchase, Margie would come by and tell us tales about our new home site, which she used to own, and her life. It wasn’t long before Francie and Margie became quite close, sharing their love for the land, Indian jewelry and animals.

Marjorie Springmeyer is a pioneer of Lake Tahoe who now lives in the Carson Valley full time. Photo/LTN file

Our destinies began to merge soon after we bought that property. We had just sold our home, the first I had ever built, and for the first time in our lives had money in the bank and began to plan on building a home on the meadow. Just two weeks after our escrow closed Margie tracked Francie down at work and told her that the meadow property next to our lot was going to be sold at a court ordered sale. Her two brothers, Knox and Bill, had petitioned the court to sell the property over Margie’s objections. Margie told us if we showed up in court with a check we could buy her brothers’ share of the meadow and share ownership with her. It would take all of our money to do it and meant that building a home would have to wait. We agreed and our friendship became a partnership. I soon after realized that the timing of that event was more than luck.

Over the subsequent years our two families would share many more coincidences. Our daughter, Casey, was born on July 23, Margie’s birthday. Casey was a young child staring out at the meadow when out of the blue she told her mom that a dog had pushed her in to the creek and she had died, but now she was back. She had no way of knowing that Margie’s daughter, Connie, had drowned in the Bijou Creek when she was just 3 years old. Margie became Casey’s godmother.

Margie’s distrust of city hall and government in general inspired me to enter politics. I represented her on the Bijou Community Plan Committee and soon began my foray in local government, all the while using her as a sounding board.

I don’t want this article to be about me, rather my view of a woman who has had a profound influence on my life and was truly one of Tahoe’s pioneers. Her family, the Johnsons, was one of Tahoe’s original landowners. She saw a land unspoiled and beautiful beyond description, but also suffered through much hardship. She was injured in a car accident while in high school, giving her a permanent limp that kept her from the athletic life she so loved. She has also witnessed the loss of her husband, daughter and two sons (Fred and Jon). My sister had also died at 3 years old so I know the effect the loss of a child has on a mother.

Margie lived in a world where women weren’t supposed to be in charge. She stood up for herself to whoever crossed her. She is a survivor and to this day cares about Tahoe’s future. At the conclusion of my last visit, I assured her that I would keep our meadow open and full of the animals we both love. I also asked her if there is anything she hasn’t done or missed. She told me there were two things she hasn’t done. She said that she had never had a glass of beer. When I asked what the second one was she whispered to me with that twinkle I know so well, “I can’t tell you.”

On June 12, Universal Music Enterprises releases “Dean Martin — Collected Cool”, the only four-disc box set that combines the artist’s biggest hits and signature tunes from his Capitol Records and Reprise years.

Live rarities and spoken word intros are included on the CD. The rare and unreleased audio recording of his 1962 Lake Tahoe show capturing Martin’s unique vocal styling that cemented his reputation as one of the most revered and emulated artists of all time is also in the box set.

There is only one man who Playboy called “the coolest man who ever lived.” That man is Rat Pack legend Martin.

He is one of the greatest recording artists of all time with a career spanning almost 50 years. Martin was one of the biggest stars of the 20th century who conquered the four corners of entertainment including film, stage, television and music.