The Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association is presenting “Pedal-Driven: a bike-umentary”, a new documentary film from Jamie Howell at Moon Productions.

The screening will take place at Mo’s Place in South Lake Tahoe on Nov. 30 at 7pm. It will be preceded by a social hour starting at 6pm. The movie screening is in conjunction with the TAMBA End of Season Party.

The one-hour documentary examines the long-standing confrontation between mountain bikers and federal land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service over bikers’ access to public lands.

“Pedal-Driven” was created as a nonprofit project in affiliation with International Mountain Bicycling Association and with the cooperation of the Forest Service.

TAMBA is hosting this screening as a membership drive for 2012. The event is free to all new or renewing TAMBA members. TAMBA dues are $10 for individual memberships and can be purchased online or at the event.

TAMBA is the largest mountain bike organization in the Tahoe region and focuses its efforts on volunteer trail work, cooperation with land managers, and education of trail users.

For additional information, go online.

Jim Foff, former owner of the Fantasy Inn in South Lake Tahoe, died Nov. 16. He was 58.

James Coleman Foff was an active member in the lodging community, having been a past president of the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association. He was also active in the various chambers of commerce on the South Shore.

Mr. Foff graduated from Eastern Kentucky University. He went on to become a certified public accountant.

He is survived by wife Connie Foff of South Lake Tahoe; daughters Lindsay Clausen, Ann Blair Foff, and Sarah Foff; grandchildren Coleman and Ella Clausen;.sister Lady Anne Judge of London and brother John Foff of Philadelphia.

By Susan Skorupa, Reno Gazette-Journal

Thanksgiving is Thursday, so the Christmas season begins Friday. Soon, trees will sparkle from windows all over town.

Buying a cut or potted live tree for later planting involves a little science; keeping a cut tree fresh and a live tree alive also require special handling.

Space is the first issue. Where will the tree stand?

“You need to know what kind of space you want to fill. You can buy a little tabletop tree, about 24 to 30 inches tall. It’s perfect for those without a lot of space, for a dorm room, children’s room,” said Mike Bondi of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association, an industry trade group.

Don’t put a tree by a heat register, near or in front of a fireplace or wood stove, or near any direct source of heat, Bondi said.

“If you can keep the tree in a cooler environment, it will stay fresher longer,” Bondi said. “Do not put it in front of a window that gets direct sunlight, not on the south or west side of the house.

“Before you get it, figure out where you’re going to put it,” he said.

When shopping for a cut tree, use the smell-and-snap test, Bondi said.

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Ruff is a true little mutt – Dachshund? Shih Tzu? Terrier? With those ears, Chihuahua? Who knows – what we do know is that he is a sweet little boy who likes to jump into the air to show off.

He’s very affectionate, and he plays nicely with other dogs and cats. He is about 6 months old and about 9 pounds, and he won’t get much bigger.

Ruff 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.

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

Barton Foundation’s third annual Festival of Trees and Lights (Dec. 2-4) will bring in the holiday season with trees and lights, all while benefiting the community by raising funds for the Barton Community Clinic.

More than 2,800 attended the 2010 event at MontBleu in Stateline.

This year’s event includes designer trees and decorations, family night, teddy bear breakfast, teddy bear hospital, Barton’s annual gala, Mrs. Claus’ Gift Shop and the Polar Express.

The Festival of Trees and Lights is Dec. 2-4 at MontBleu. Photo/LTN file

With more than 2,500 lights, the themed trees include gift packages ranging from exotic trips to exquisite items that will be voted on throughout the event and auctioned off at the gala. At the gala, doctors Paul Rork, Greg Bergner, and Brooks Martin will be honored with the Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

Here is a rundown of the ticketed events:

* Teddy Bear Hospital provides an interactive way for kids to learn about their health and hospitals in a fun, safe, “no poke” environment from real doctors, nurses and caregivers. Every child 12 and under attending the festival during the public viewing and Family Night will receive a free teddy bear.

* Family Night, Dec. 2 from 5-9pm, offers a time for families to experience the festival together. The $25 (up to 6 people) admission fee includes a Santa photo, holiday-inspired crafts and face painting. Lake Tahoe News is giving away tickets to this event.

* Teddy Bear Breakfast, Dec. 3 at 8:30am, bring your child’s favorite doll or stuffed animal to be adorned with holiday flair while you enjoy a kid-friendly buffet. They can enjoy a puppet show, costumed characters will roam the room and, of course, Santa will be there to hear your child’s wishes and create that keepsake holiday photo. Adults $20; Children (8 and under) $15.

* The Gala, Dec. 3 at 5:30pm, is the Barton Foundation’s largest annual fundraiser. The black-tie optional event features a live auction, expanded silent auction, live entertainment and the winning cocktail from our Signature Cocktail Contest. This event is sold out.

* Polar Express, Dec. 5 at 4 and 6pm. Dress up in your best pajamas and grab a seat on one of the “trains.” Have your ticket punched by our conductors, sing carols as you make your way to the Red Hut for a cup of hot chocolate. From there the “trains” continue on to the MontBleu for refreshments, the reading of the “Polar Express”, and the songs of the Belles of Christmas choir. Space is limited to 300 people per departure. Tickets are $15 per person.

Proceeds from the Festival of Trees and Lights will benefit the expansion and renovation of the Barton Community Clinic to meet the needs of more the 1,600 uninsured and underinsured of patients each month. Last year, the foundation raised nearly $45,000 for the Community Health Endowment which – created to ensure the future health of the Tahoe region. The clinic is expected to break ground in 2012.

To purchase tickets or for more information, go online or call (530) 543.5614.

By Rebecca P. Coniglio

It is November, the leaves are falling, the days are getting shorter, and families are making their Thanksgiving plans. For me, I can close my eyes and the aroma of my mother’s house on Thanksgiving Day rushes over me. She always makes her famous mushy-mushy, what she calls stuffing and more food than our small family could ever eat, but just that is enough to spark a feeling of gratitude deep within my heart.

I am a child of divorce, a title I have worn reluctantly since I was 10. Now, as a grown woman with a family of my own, holidays and divorce still stir-up a complex set of emotions. On one hand I remember the challenges my family faced when I was a child, especially during the holidays. On the other hand as an adult, I am full of gratitude for my past, present and hopeful for the future.

After my parents’ divorce, my mother tried to keep some of our family traditions alive, such as watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade in our pjs, but there was the nagging feeling of an empty chair at the table along with a helping of guilt and divided loyalties. That has subsided now, and I am better equipped to “find my lucky.”

This is something I have been practicing a little each day. To me it means stopping, taking a deep breath, and thinking about all the people and things I feel so lucky to have in my life. I believe this is a valuable exercise to do everyday and not just on Thanksgiving, but since on this holiday, most people slow down long enough to reflect on what they are grateful for, it can be a wonderful day to start, with the hope of carrying it forward throughout the year.

I happened to have married a man who loves Thanksgiving, so I am grateful for that. He reminds me that the day is not about giving or receiving gifts or material things, but about family and food of course.

Here are some simple steps you can follow to help you and your family find what makes you feel lucky this Thanksgiving:

1. Define what it means to feel lucky. Help your children focus on all the positive things they have in their lives and not dwell on what they do not have.

2. Define what gratitude means and explore ways to express gratitude. For example, telling people how you feel about them, saying thank you, helping others who are less fortunate.

3. Write or draw with your children about the special people in their lives that they feel grateful for.

4. Call or write letters to special relatives that may live too far to visit this Thanksgiving.

5. Go around the room and tell each family member what he or she means to you and why. Parents model this for your children and then encourage them to give it a try.

For parents who are separated or divorced, pay close attention to your children’s feelings and needs this Thanksgiving. Children can sense their parents’ anxiety and it can increase their feelings of anxiety. The best advice I can give based on personal and professional experience is; make sure the adults are acting like adults and allow the children to be children. As much as possible leave them out of any holiday stress. Help your children to understand that even though things are not necessarily the way they want them to be, you are still a family, and there will be days full of joy ahead. Your children may not be at the same Thanksgiving table as you or their other parent due to a divorce, but the day has the same meaning for all of you. You as parents can let your children know that you are grateful for them and be very assured that they feel the same way about you.

Take it from me, hold onto old family traditions and create new ones. Bridge your past and your present. That is why you will find me watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, eating mushy-mushy, expressing my gratitude, and feeling every bit of my lucky.

Rebecca Perlman Coniglio is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice and works with children, adolescents and young adults, ages 5-25, who are facing such issues as loss, anxiety, divorce and depression.

For the 11th year in a row, the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center is organizing an opportunity for community members and businesses to come together and participate in the Adopt-a-Family program.

Last holiday season, the community helped hundreds of individuals working with the Women’s Center. The gratitude expressed by the families adopted was tremendous. Many mothers cried when they saw the gifts donors brought for their children.

These are challenging times, with more families than ever needing help.

Here are ways for individuals or companies can help local families who have been working with the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center:

• Adopt a family and receive a wish list completed by the family. There are families of all sizes to accommodate any budget.

• Donate non-perishable groceries or gift cards for pre-cooked holiday meals at local grocery stores (such as Safeway) so families can enjoy special holiday meals and make happy memories together.

• Make a special end-of-the-year tax deductible donation toward the Women’s Center’s Adopt-A-Family program or to support our other comprehensive and trusted programs and services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.

• Call to learn about the many different ways we could put your energy to good work as a volunteer – one hour per week or even one per month.

The deadline to turn gifts in is Dec. 16 by 4pm at the Women’s Center office at 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

To help, call Emily at the Women’s Center at (530) 544.2118, ext. 7633 or by email at epeart@sltwc.org.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act requires all employers with 50 or more employees to provide training for supervisors and managers on preventing sexual harassment. The training must:

* Be at least two hours

* Be interactive

* Occur every two years, and

* Be provided to each new supervisory employee within six months of assuming their position.

LTCC’s Community Education Connect program is offering Sexual Harassment Awareness & Prevention Training course on Dec. 13 from 9-11am at the South Lake Tahoe campus theater. Cost is $20.

A certificate of completion will be provided at the conclusion of the training.

Virginia Boyar is the instructor.

Register online.

By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times

When it comes to quitting smoking, the lungs might be willing but the flesh is weak. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that while about 69 percent of smokers last year wanted to quit, only about a tenth were able to do so.

The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report used data from a large national survey from 2001 through 2010. Among the smokers surveyed most — 68.8 percent — wanted to quit for good in 2010, and 52.4 percent tried to quit in the previous year. Only 6.2 percent succeeded, however.

When broken down by race and ethnicity, 75.6 percent of blacks were interested in quitting, followed by 69.1 percent of whites and 61 percent of Latinos. Blacks also had the most attempts at quitting (59.1 percent), followed by whites (50.7 percent). But more whites were likely to quit smoking than blacks 12.6 percent versus 3.3 percent. The discrepancy, the report said, could be due to blacks’ lower use of proven stop-smoking treatments as well as their higher use of menthol cigarettes, which may be linked with fewer successful quit attempts among blacks.

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By Brenda Gazzar, San Gabriel Valley

ARCADIA – More than a century after his death, a descendant of Arcadia founder Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin hopes to commission and donate a larger-than-life bronze statue of the colorful businessman to the city for public display.

Baldwin’s great, great, great granddaughter Margaux Viera of Pasadena wants to donate a statue of the prominent investor and racetrack founder to the city as a tribute to his life and significance to Arcadia history.

The City Council, which is scheduled to consider the issue tonight, must agree to provide a location for the proposed statue, purchase a pedestal and provide any electrical, lighting and landscaping deemed appropriate.

“I think it’s long overdue,” Viera, 34, said. “He was the founder of that area – the land extended farther than Arcadia. He really made Arcadia what it is today. He’s the first mayor (of the city) as well … A lot of the young generation might know his name but they might not know of everything he’s done for that immediate area and for all of California.”

Mayor Gary Kovacic, who was recently approached by Viera about the matter, said he thought the proposed statue and its proposed location at the rose garden adjacent to Arcadia Community Center were wonderful ideas.

Baldwin “played obviously a significant role in our (city’s) creation and development; he was a historical figure,” Kovacic said. “I think it’s important to recognize and honor our history.”

The city currently has a statue of a World War I soldier at Arcadia County Park and a statue of the family of Hugo Reid, one of the area’s earliest settlers deeded the land by the Spanish government, at the Arcadia Historical Museum. A Lucky Baldwin statue, he said, would serve to complement the Reid statue as far as significant historic figures in town, Kovacic said.

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