North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and Plumas Bank in partnership with the Small Business Development Center of Greater Sacramento/Sierra are offering Marketing Research on April 10, 9am to noon at the Tahoe City Public Utility District Board Room, 221 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City.

The workshop is geared for existing and emerging business owners. Attendees will learn the overview of the “4-P’s” of marketing, demographic and psychographic data along with industry trends.

This workshop will be followed by a series of interactive SBDC sessions that will highlight Financial Projections (April 24) and Business Plan Components (May 8), which will discuss legal structure and operation.

The workshops are free for North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce members, $25/person for business association members and $50/person for the general public.

To register or for more information about the workshop, call Kym Fabel at (530) 581.8764.

Lake Tahoe Community College’s Haldan Art Gallery is the next stop for the Nevada Arts Council’s traveling exhibition program.

There will be an artists’ reception April 12 from 6-8pm for “Great Basin Exteriors: A Photographic Survey”. This is an exhibit of 20 photographs by three regional artists – Adam Jahiel, Daniel Cheek and Nolan Preece. The artists’ work examines loss, change and abandonment in the West.

Pony Express Trail near Austin, Nev. Photo/Daniel Cheek

In this exhibit, the Great Basin is roughly defined as the area between the Wasatch Mountains and the Sierra.

The exhibit will be up April 12-June 15. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday 11am-5:30pm, Friday 11am-2:30pm.

By Julie Weed, New York Times

Tipping for hotel concierges, bellhops and housekeepers moves up and down with the economy, but lately it has also been affected by changes in corporate, airline and hotel policies.

The airlines’ checked bag fees offer a prime example. Since luggage got wheels, more travelers have been eschewing porters and taking their own bags up to their hotel rooms. But the airline fees have made things worse, said Adam Weissenberg, a vice chairman at Deloitte & Touche who leads the firm’s American travel, hospitality and leisure division.

“People are packing lighter so they can bring just a carry-on and avoid the fees,” he said. “The other day, I was sitting in a lobby for 20 minutes, and not one business traveler used a bellman.”

The bag fees have also affected skycap tips, said Calvin Miller, who has worked as a skycap for five years at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. He said that he was paid $2.13 an hour plus tips, and that those tips had decreased by 30 percent since the airlines started charging the fees.

“The more people have to pay for baggage fees, the less money they are going to give to skycaps,” he said. “It would be nice if the money could trickle down to the workers who are giving the service.”

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Parents of children entering seventh grade this fall can be ahead of the game by getting their preteen vaccinated now with the pertussis vaccine booster dose, also known as Tdap. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, and for all future school years, California law requires incoming seventh-grade students in public and private schools to show proof of Tdap vaccination before starting school.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a contagious respiratory infection that can lead to severe coughing fits, hospitalizations, and death among unprotected individuals, particularly infants. The California law requiring the Tdap vaccine for adolescents was passed in response to the epidemic of whooping cough in California in 2010 that resulted in 9,477 cases, hundreds of hospitalizations and 10 infant deaths.

Studies have shown that immunity developed from early childhood vaccination starts to wear off around adolescence. A large number of pertussis cases in 2010 were among middle school and high school aged children. In addition to whooping cough, the Tdap vaccine also protects the body against tetanus and diphtheria.

The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency’s Public Health Division offers the Tdap vaccine, and other childhood and adolescent vaccines, by appointment at low cost. To schedule a vaccination appointment, call (530) 621.6100 in Placerville or (530) 573.3155 in South Lake Tahoe.

For the fourth consecutive year South Tahoe High School has had winners in the California Fourth District Congressional Art Competition and the second consecutive year where STHS students have swept the competition.

Winners are:

First place – Sandy Robles (STHS 12th grade) — “The Beginning of Life”

Second place – Colton McHugh (STHS 10th grade) — “Regrowth”

Third place – Isabella Wulfsberg-Gesmundo (STHS 11th grade) — Untitled

Honorable mention – Nicholas Ballachey (STHS 11th grade) — “Imagination”

The panel judged entries from art and photography students throughout the congressional region, which includes El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, and Modoc counties, as well as parts of Butte and Sacramento counties.

The winning entry from each congressional district will be displayed for one year in the Cannon Tunnel leading to the U.S. Capitol and the artist will be invited, along with one guest, to the unveiling of the exhibit and a reception in Washington, D.C., in June.

Kona is a super sweet and mellow Alaskan Husky-Golden retriever mix with beautiful coloring.

You might think he’s older because he’s very calm when you first meet him, but he is only 2 years old.

Kona is house trained, very good with children of all ages, and he loves to play with other dogs. He has even lived with a cat.

Kona is is neutered, microchipped, 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 online to see photos and description 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

The Tahoe Choir presents three days of music of the ’40s.

Dates are May 4 at 8pm, May 5 8pm, and May 6 2pm.

All concerts are at the Duke Theatre at the Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe.

Tickets are adults $10; seniors $8.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival will be part of the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival on April 19-20 at the Olympic Village Lodge at Squaw Valley.

Screenings on both nights will begin at 7.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival focuses on films which speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of our planet.

On April 19 the movie is “GROW!” – a documentary that captures the energy and independence of a fresh crop of young farmers. The documentary shows that it is not just Old MacDonald on the farm anymore. All across the U.S. there is a growing movement of educated young people who are leaving the cities to take up an agrarian life.

“Dark Side of the Lens”, to be featured on April 20, is the story of one man’s personal and heartfelt account of life as an ocean based photographer. This short film takes the audience on an eerie, stunning and moving journey amongst the oceanic grandeur of Ireland’s west coast.

Also to be shown on April 20 is the film “Kadoma”. After more than a decade exploring Central Africa, Hendri Coetzee is a modern legend of African exploration. Solo on the Congo River in 2009, Hendri received an email from American expedition kayaker Ben Stookesberry. “It would be ludicrous to take an American who you don’t know, and who has never been to Africa into its very heart.” Hendi replied. But a year later, he did just that. Joined by Chris Korbulic, Ben’s longtime kayak partner, Hendi led the way from the Nile overland through Rwanda in order to kayak into the heart of the Congo on a previously unnavigated waterway, the Lukuga River. Seven weeks into the expedition, deep in the DRC, tragedy strikes.

The films will be shown in the Olympic Village Lodge. Tickets are $10. Advanced tickets can be purchased at New Moon Natural Foods in Truckee and Tahoe City, and at Alice’s Market in the Village at Squaw Valley.

Jackie Russow describes herself simply as “someone who cares”. She is also a person with a passion for making cloth tote bags.

Russow recently donated 15 of her handmade totes to Washoe County sheriff’s victim advocate Kasey La Foon to use as emergency toiletry kits for victims of crimes such as domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Russow said she has been making totes for victims through the Crisis Call Center for more than 12 years.

“I saw what they were using and thought I could make something a little nicer,” she said in a statement. “I enjoy making the totes and love the idea that they are going someplace where they can do some good and be appreciated.”

La Foon said the totes also send an important message to victims because they show that people do care.

La Foon said that her office still needs essential toiletry items to fill the kits and is asking the community to continue helping victims by donating the following:

Shampoo and conditioner

Deodorant

Toothbrushes and toothpaste

Washcloths and hand wipes

Soap

Tissues

Hair combs, brushes and ties

Travel-sized lotions

Journals and pens

Shaving cream and razors

Kleenex

Baby powder

Q-tips

Mini first aid kit

Anyone with donations is asked to contact Kasey La Foon at (775) 325.6454.

By Kathryn Reed

SEDONA, Ariz. – It’s as though the rocks are evolving before my eyes. Shadows come and go. The sun is setting. A little more vibrant red; now a little more pink. Sky changing colors.

Mesmerizing. Breathtaking. Captivating.

Sedona, while well known for its vortexes – or spiraling energy, is a feast for the eyes. Everywhere one looks red rock creations sprout from the landscape. It doesn’t matter if one feels the energy; taking in the beauty is a moving experience.

Exquisite rock formations are everywhere in Sedona, including outside the condo where we stayed. Photos/Kathryn Reed

While much of the area is in the Coconino National Forest, it’s hard to think of it as a forest coming from Lake Tahoe. But it is an outdoor paradise.

We spend the first of three nights watching the sunset from the airport. Throngs of people are there before we arrive. The temperature is dropping as the sun fades behind the mountains.

Mother Nature’s show deserves a standing ovation.

We are here for a few days after being at spring training and in Scottsdale the first part of this mid-March week. My sister, Pam, has secured us a condo at her Sedona Summit timeshare. This is her first time Sedona, while mom had stayed in this Arizona town before, and Sue and I had made day trips in the past.

Nothing is on our agenda except to hang out and look at red rocks. A little pool time, reading, relaxing, mixed with those rocks fill our days.

One morning we head to the old mining town of Jerome. At one time it was the fourth largest town in Arizona – that was in 1899. By 1929, the population was 15,000. Today a few hundred people call it home.

Copper is the main mineral pulled from the hillside land. A scar remains on one side of the mountain. At the Jerome State Historic Park it’s possible to look down a shaft that is about 1,900 feet deep. The Audrey Shaft is lined with concrete for fire protection.

Once a mansion, the focal point of the state park is now a museum below the main part of town.

Jerome is built into a hillside. Streets are narrow. A tiny visitor center on Hull Avenue is a good first stop for getting a map that designates historic buildings and businesses.

We take a different route back to Sedona that leads us past some of the more recognizable rock formations like Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Cathedral Rock and Chapel of the Holy Cross.

It’s easy to make this a driving a tour, hiking expedition, or leisurely stroll. The church that in 1956 was built into the rocks is worth getting out to explore – no matter your beliefs.

And make sure your battery is charged. Kodak moments are everywhere.

One morning Sue and I venture off on the Centennial and Girdner trails that are walking distance from the condo.

Sedona turned 100 in 2002. It got its name from the first postmaster’s wife – Sedona was her first name.

Along the red dirt trail are magnificent vistas, with rock outcroppings in the distance. More immediate are blooming cacti, gangly pines and shrub brush. We share the trail with a mountain biker and hikers. The hikers tell us if we descend into the canyon, come out the wash, and hit a road we will make it back to the condo in several hours.

We opt to turn around. The pool is calling.

Another afternoon is spent meandering through the shops at Tlaquepaque. Artwork of all kinds fills the adobe buildings.

Nearby is Ken’s Creekside Café, where we have an early dinner. While no water is running in the creek, the view is still peaceful and relaxing. We all enjoy our meals and fun cocktails.

Sedona is one of those places that is good for all ages. It’s about a two-hour drive from Phoenix. Spend a day, or spend several, there is plenty to do.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)