Lake Tahoe Community College is having auditions for the live stage version of “The Rocky Horror Show,” the hit cult classic by Richard O’Brien.

Brad, Janet, Frank ‘N’ Furter and the whole gang hit the stage in the ultra-campy classic that unfolds on a dark and stormy night where an uptight couple seeks refuge at the castle of a mad scientist just as he unveils his latest creation.

Auditions are April 3 at 7pm in the Duke Theatre. Check the LTCC theater department callboard or website for audition requirements. Everyone will be asked to sing from the show. PDFs of the sheet music and MP3 recordings of the songs to learn for auditions may be found online.

Scripts are available on reserve in the LTCC library and audition sides are available at the LTCC theater department callboard.

For further information, call (530) 541.5660, ext. 240.

By Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times

More than 40 million American adults already take an aspirin a day to prevent heart disease. Now many more are weighing the pros and cons of daily aspirin use in light of new studies finding that it also may reduce the risk of many cancers and stop the spread of tumors.

Six months ago Vanessa Brannan, a 31-year-old Seattle mother of two, learned she had colon cancer and Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that increases risk of the disease and other cancers. Some of the best data on aspirin’s effectiveness against cancer has been found in patients like Brannan. In one British study, patients with Lynch syndrome who took aspirin for two years cut their risk of colon cancer in half.

Yet doctors still don’t know how much aspirin these patients — or anyone else — should take. So Brannan is taking 325 milligrams daily, though patients in the British study received nearly twice that amount. Her oncologist, though, recommended just an 81-milligram baby aspirin. “We kind of decided to split the difference and get as much aspirin into me as we can, knowing that higher amounts have been proven to work,” she said.

She is not the only cancer patient grappling with uncertainty. The science about daily aspirin and its effect on cancer is still in its infancy. In research studies, subjects have received doses ranging from 75 milligrams a day to 1,200 milligrams a day.

Now some scientists think low doses may work if they’re taken every day; American clinical trials of every-other-day aspirin had no effect on cancer rates at all.

Renewed interest in aspirin was set off by studies by researchers at Oxford, published last week in The Lancet, that found that after just three years of daily aspirin use, the risk of developing cancer was reduced by almost 25 percent when compared with a control group not taking aspirin.

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STATELINE — It was wall-to-wall people Friday night as more vendors than usual filled the aisles of the Harrah’s Lake Tahoe convention center for the annual Business Expo.

B Gorman, CEO of Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce – the event producer, expressed to Lake Tahoe News her enthusiasm for the increase in vendors.

The attendance was estimated at more than 1,100 – on the high side compared to years past.

The Beacon and Fresh Ketch hand out samples March 30 at the Business Expo. Photo/LTN

It was a mix of regulars like Lakeside Inn, Calstar and Heavenly, to newbies like the Urban Sitter, AAA out of Carson City and Lake Tahoe Business Referral Network.

One of the busy vendors was Tahoe Best Friends – the doggie day care center in South Lake Tahoe. As owner Paige Rice was leaving, she commented how successful the night was for her.

While the expo is designed to inform the public about various businesses in the area, it really is more like a party and a time to reconnect with friends after being holed up for the winter. Lots of food and alcohol contributed to people stepping into the wild side.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

On Saturday night between 8:30 and 9:30pm, Harrah’s and Harveys Lake Tahoe, along with sister property Harrah’s Reno, will darken all non-essential lighting in support of the World Wildlife Fund’s annual Earth Hour events.

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide are expected to switch off their lights for Earth Hour to send a message for action on climate change.

Harveys and Harrah's will go dark one hour March 31. Photo/LTN file

More than eight years ago, Caesars Entertainment Corporation – Harrah’s and Harveys parent company – formalized its commitment to the environment and sustainability under the banner of CodeGreen.

In the area of energy savings, Harrah’s and Harveys Lake Tahoe have converted nearly 60 percent of all incandescent lighting to energy efficient, CFL and LED lighting throughout the properties in just a little more than two years time.

Recently installed LED external signage at Harrah’s and Harveys is reducing energy consumption by thousands of kilowatt hours per day, realizing a savings of more than $165,000 annually. Additional, dramatic reductions in energy use were recently accomplished with the installation of a state-of-the-art chiller system for cooling water, which also created dramatic cost savings.

In all, the savings in 2011 reached approximately 17 million kilowatt hours, enough electricity saved to power 1,560 residences for one year. This amount translates into $1.7 million is cost savings.

By Robert D. Dávila, Sacramento Bee

Eleanor M. Cavitt, matriarch of a historic Northern California ranching family, died March 22 in Sacramento. She was 103.

Mrs. Cavitt was the widow of James Henry Cavitt, whose family traveled by wagon from Iowa to Truckee during the 1840s and later homesteaded 10,000 acres in Placer and Sacramento counties that became Cavitt Ranch. She married at age 16 and had three children by age 20.

She kept house on a working ranch and pitched in with the family’s dairy and beef operations, including the J.W.S. Butler Ranch near Folsom and a summer range at Sattley in Sierra County. She cooked for cowboys, milked cows, cleaned barns, rounded up cattle and raised 4,000 turkeys for market every year.

“She was very devoted to her family,” said her daughter Dorothee Cavitt Mull of Sacramento. “She never stopped working. She washed and ironed and always kept a clean house.”

Mrs. Cavitt was born in 1908 in Sacramento, one of 11 children born to German immigrants Carline and George Spahn, a railroad worker.

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By Mandy Kendall

As the days get longer, thoughts might be turning toward coming out of hibernation and getting out and about for a bit more exercise.

I think most of us know why we should be exercising. We know it’s good for us: it builds muscle and reduces fat, it strengthens bones, it boosts our energy, combats depression and generally makes us feel good about ourselves. So what is it about exercise that can make it seem like such a chore?

Mandy Kendall

I’m not the most energetic of people and I often find it very easy to come up with plenty of excuses not to exercise on a regular basis. So I wondered if there might be a few changes I could make to my attitude about exercise that might help change that.

How do we exercise? For a lot of us an exercise routine is easy, but boring. Then the body stops responding to exercise the way it used to and we get discouraged.

Why do we exercise? For some of us it might be to change the way we look. So we exercise and we change the way we look, then what? We’ve reached our goal and then there’s no more incentive to keep us exercising.

When do we exercise? Who has time to exercise really? We rush off and try to cram in some exercise like another chore, when we have a gazillion other things we should/would rather be doing, and we may end up resenting it for taking up our valuable time.

So, here are a few Qwik-e (quick and easy) tips to putting some fun back into exercise:

Have some fun! – Mix things up a bit and try a new class or sport; it will challenge areas of your body (and brain) that might have been missed with your regular routine. Most places will let you try a couple of sessions, to see if you like it, before signing up for a whole class. Also, switching between exercise that challenges your breathing and exercise that challenges your muscles helps prevent your body from plateauing in improvement and staves off boredom.

Make it social — Working out with friends and family solves the problem of never having enough time to spend with loved ones and exercise too. It will also help to keep you motivated to exercise on a regular basis.

Multitask — If you find it difficult to allocate a whole hour or more to exercise, try and incorporate movement throughout your day. A few minutes here, a few movements there will make a big difference over time. Lunges and stretches while cleaning the house, or doing chores, may feel a little silly but will make the most of your time. Cycling on a stationary bike or doing weights watching your favorite show will make the time fly by (and will probably take your mind off sitting and eating those cookies too). I have a friend that even does squats while she’s cleaning her teeth.

Set a goal — I’m better when I have a target to work toward. So whatever works for you; setting a distance to run, a standard or level to achieve or a competition to win. Often just some good-natured competition with a friend is enough incentive to keep you focused. When you reach that goal then just set a new one. Weight loss is not the best goal to work towards because once we reach our ultimate goal weight then where do we go? We can’t keep getting thinner, but we can always strive for a better time, longer distance or higher level. Just try and make sure that each goal is realistic and achievable in the near future so you don’t run the risk of being discouraged.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. If you have any questions, 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.

Norah Jones is the latest artist to sign a contract to perform at the Harveys Outdoor Concert Series this summer.

Tickets for the Aug. 12 8pm show go on sale April 6. They range in price from $39.50 to $69.50.

Her latest album — “Little Broken Hearts” — will be released May 1.

Norah Jones

Tickets are on sale now for most of the concerts scheduled for the Stateline venue. The Events page of Lake Tahoe News has the date/time for specific concerts.

Summer concerts:

Chicago/The Doobie Brothers – on sale now

The Beach Boys – on sale TBA

Maroon 5 – on sale now

Journey + Pat Benatar + Loverboy – on sale March 30

Brad Paisley – on sale now

Toby Keith – on sale now

Joe Cocker/Huey Lewis & The News – on sale April 6

Sugarland – on sale March 30.

By Kathryn Reed

When you are part of the choir and you’re annoyed by the preaching, something is wrong with the sermon.

In this case, the sermon was “Veggie revolution: Smart Choices for a Healthy Body and a Healthy Planet” by Sally Kneidel and Sara Kate Kneidel.

The problem with this book that came out in 2005 is how it goes on and on about how horrible it is to eat meat and how much better it is to eat vegetables. No vegetarian needs to read this book – you’re already a convert. And it’s hard for me to imagine a meat eater wouldn’t start using the pages for kindling to start a barbecue to roast up some animal.

Yes, the authors talk to small farmers and show how animals can be treated humanely. But in the end, it really was a crusade to get people to stop eating animal products.

This book had potential. I think that’s what annoyed me the most when I finally finished it.

How corporations run the meat industry was the most interesting part. It was also the most alarming. Had this been the primary and only focus of the book, I would guess sales would be better, with a more diverse readership.

“More than 80 percent of the beef cattle in the United States are slaughtered and marketed by one of four big corporations.”

“Most broiler and breeder chickens in the United States are owned by eight big corporations ….”

The book goes into why big agri-business is bad for the consumer and bad for the farmer.

Had the book solely focused on the environmental aspects of meat production, it would have been better.

“According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture by far is the biggest source of pollution to our streams and rivers, and a significant portion of that is runoff from hogs, poultry and cattle waste.”

“Over half the amount of water used in the United States goes toward irrigating land to grow food for livestock.”

Had the book just talked about the nutritional benefits of being a vegetarian, it would have been better.

There is lots of information in the book. Maybe it needs to be read in smaller doses than how I ingested it. Or maybe the authors should get an editor next time who can provide them with better guidance and direction.

PhotoFocus is a group of South Shore photography enthusiasts. Beginners, advanced and professional photographers gather each month to show, share, and inspire each others photography.

Toasting Emerald Bay. Photo/Justin Baer

A monthly theme motivates the group to go out and shoot. Theme images are shown at the following meeting, with attendees voting on their top picks. Image critique is offered during the presentation, but not required. The winner gets to pick the next month’s theme.

Guest speakers are invited to share their knowledge of photography and related subjects including the latest image processing software, equipment, and techniques.

PhotoFocus’ main objective is to be inspired to get out and have fun making photos. Field trips are organized during the year and workshops are offered by the more advanced members.

PhotoFocus is open to everyone who has an interest in photography. For time and meeting location, contact Theresa Souers at souers@homeintahoe.com or Jim Stamates at jim@stamates.com or (530) 577.4101.

Not only does Tanya Rose Bordner position local yoga aficionados into 26 postures to help heal the mind, body and soul, she also has a knack for whipping up tasty whole-food dishes.

The (partially) raw-inspired meal she will March 30 at Dragonfly Restaurant in Truckee is a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe.

The event starts at 5:30pm.

The full prix-fixed menu is $50, which includes appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert. All of the guest chef menu items will be offered a la carte and the full Dragonfly menu will also be available.

Reservations are strongly recommended by calling (530) 587.0557.

Dragonfly is located upstairs at 10118 Donner Pass Road, in the heart of downtown Truckee.