By Yahoo Studios

Mark Bingham died Sept. 11, 2001, while saving countless lives. Just how many will never be known.

The openly gay rugby player was one of the heroic passengers who led a revolt against the terrorists on United Airlines Flight 93. The hijackers planned to slam the plane into the White House or the U.S. Capitol, according to the 9/11 Commission Report. Instead, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa., killing the terrorists and passengers – but nobody else.

The most visible torchbearer of Bingham’s legacy is Alice Hoagland, his mother. After losing Bingham — her only child — Hoagland became a tireless advocate for issues that were important to her son. Now 61, the retired United flight attendant is a proponent of aviation safety, a spokesperson for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, and an avid supporter of rugby.

Flight 93 passengers learned from cell phone conversations that the World Trade Center and Pentagon had already been attacked. Bingham – along with Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett, and Jeremy Glick – formulated a game plan of sorts to overtake the hijackers, according to accounts from the phone calls. All four men were athletes.

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As part of its Chamber EDucation program, the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sierra Economic Development Corporation is hosting a “Thinking of Selling Your Business” workshop Sept. 14, noon to 1:30pm, at the Tahoe City Public Utility District Boardroom, 221 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City.

Deadline to register is Sept. 9.

This workshop is designed for those thinking of taking the leap and selling their business or perhaps have received an offer they can’t refuse. Attendees will learn about the planning, preparation, communications and execution when selling their business that will lead to a positive, profitable life transition. The presenter is David Frazier, a partner at B2B CFO, the largest financial consulting firm in the country with 184 partners in 39 states. Prior to B2B CFO, Frazier spent more than 25 years in various executive positions in finance and operations at large publicly traded companies.

The cost is $55/person, and participants need to bring their own lunch. To register, call the Sierra Economic Development Corporation at (530) 823.4703 or email info@sedcorp.biz.

This class will be repeated Oct. 12 in Tahoe Vista at Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort.

By Jackie Green, Reno Gazette-Journal

Newmont Mining donated a giant tire. NV Energy offered up the technology for the green energy room. Norm Dianda and Q&D Construction worked on the building, donated tools and outfitted the entire exhibit workshop, among other things. Teachers, biologists, lawyers, university professors and others have contributed curriculum, exhibits, ideas and time.

Around every corner at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, you’ll find a Nevadan’s contribution. And it started because one man — a California transplant, really — wanted to spend more time with his kids.

For Chris Riche of Reno, the founder of the Discovery, which opens Saturday, the journey was a continuous line with pivotal moments along the way.

The journey began in 2004 when Riche decided to take a break from a successful career with Intuit and spend time at home with his children, then 3 and 5 years old.

“My kids were growing up, and I was missing it,” he said.

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Bona Fide Books’ fall line-up includes writing classes for newbies, craft classes for the experienced, and art and music for all.

On Sept. 14 at 6:30pm, Bona Fide Books Publisher Kim Wyatt will speak at the South Lake Tahoe Branch Library about starting her small press and publishing today. This talk is for writers, book lovers and creative entrepreneurs.

For those just breaking into writing for publication, check out Publishing 101 on Sept. 19 from 7-9pm at Bona Fide Books headquarters in Meyers. Wyatt will lead a session on everything you need to know to begin submitting your work, including identifying your target market, writing a query letter that will get you noticed, preparing your manuscript and avoiding common mistakes. The cost for the class is $19. Sign up online or at the door.

On Oct. 7 at 7pm, Philadelphia poet and writer Jason Schossler, winner of the inaugural Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize, will read from his collection “Mud Cakes,” as part of the LTCC Writers Series. The reading is at the LTCC library in South Lake Tahoe. It is appropriate for all ages.

Writer and guest instructor Nicole Banas will teach a class Oct. 8 from 10am-1pm called “Using the Techniques of Film in Your Fiction,” a how-to workshop on integrating film techniques into fiction writing. This three-hour genre-bending class is designed to strengthen your writing. The cost is $25. It is at Bona Fide Books in Meyers.

The Writers in the Woods series at Sierra Nevada College features Wyatt discussing entrepreneurship and book publishing on Oct. 14, followed by a workshop on how to submit work for publication on Oct. 15.

On site at Bona Fide Books HQ, Oct. 14-16, award-winning author Todd Borg offers his acclaimed workshop, “The Hook, The Twist, and the Cliffhanger: What Works, and What Doesn’t in Entertainment Fiction”. For details and information on how to sign up, go online.

The second annual Scary Slam wraps up the month on Oct. 29 at 7pm. Costume contest, spooky guests, and surprise emcee. There’s a $5 entry fee to slam and no cost for the audience. Prizes for best slam and literary-inspired costume. Snacks, beverages and mysterious entertainment provided.

An artist reception will be Nov. 5 from 6:30-9pm featuring the latest collection from painter Shelley Hocknell Zentner, “Written on the Body.” Music and refreshments will be provided.

Check out “Grandma Went to Woodstock: Writing the Family History” Nov. 19-20 from 10am-2 pm. This two-day session will cover creating an outline, using the techniques of fiction to bring your story to life and researching your family history. The cost is $49, sign up online or by phone. Class size is limited.

All Bona Fide Books events feature entertainment, peculiarities and wholesome libations. Bona Fide HQ is located at 1069 Magua St., No. 4, Meyers, behind the Getaway Café.

For more information, go online or call (530) 573.1513.

While the three-day weekend continues, most of the festivities in the Lake Tahoe Basin are wrapped up.

Fireworks light up the sky Sept. 4 on the South Shore. Photos/Howie Nave

That means instead of the manufactured fun, it’s all about enjoying the beaches, hiking trails, mountain bike routes and golf courses in the area. With temperatures expected to be in the high 70s and low 80s all week, it’s still summer in  Tahoe. But with overnight lows dipping into the 30s, the feel of fall is definitely in the air.

Once again the Tahoe Queen won the annual paddle-wheel race over the M.S. Dixie II. In years past when the two boats were not owned by the same company — Aramark — there was a bit more rivalry. Pirate boats have been spotted in the past trying to mess with the competition. This  is the 19th year the boats have raced on the South Shore

The fireworks on Sunday night, while not quite as long as the Fourth of July display, still filled the pitch black night sky with a dramatic display of pyrotechnic magic.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Evon Yakar will be installed as rabbi of Temple Bat Yam in South Lake Tahoe in a two-day ceremony Sept. 16-17.

The weekend will include two of Yakar’s colleagues and friends, Rabbi Bonnie Koppell on Friday night and Rabbi Ken Kanter on Saturday night.

Koppell serves the U.S. Army as chaplain colonel in addition to being the rabbi of Temple Chai in Phoenix. Rabbi Kanter is director of the Rabbinical School at

Evon Yakar

Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati.

Events at Temple Bat Yam:

Sept. 16

6:30pm pot luck happy hour reception.

7:30pm Kabbalat Shabbat service with Rabbi Evon Yakar and special guest Rabbi Bonnie Koppell.

Sept. 17

10am Shabbat hike and service; meet at the parking lot on the corner of Highway 50 and Kahle Drive for a walk through the meadow to Nevada Beach. Bring water and snack.

11am For those not able to walk with us, we will meet at the pay station at Nevada Beach for a service on the beach.

6:30pm Join Rabbi Evon Yakar and Rachel for dinner at the temple. You must RSVP by Sept. 13. Call Charna at (775) 901.6114 or email alersach@aol.com.

7:15pm Havdalah and program with Rabbi Ken Kanter. An evening filled with music and fun. Donation of $18 per person at door.

Daisy is a very nice silver and white shorthaired cat who needs to live indoors.

She has never been around dogs, but she has lived happily with small children and other cats. She came to the shelter with Lily when their owner couldn’t look after them any more.

Daisy 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.

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 first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade of 10,000 workers on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary.

By 1893, more than half the states were observing “Labor Day” on one day or another, and Congress passed a bill to establish a federal holiday in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

There were 153.2 million people 16 and older in the nation’s labor force in July 2011.

Of full-time workers 18 to 64, 84.7 percent were covered by health insurance during all or part of 2009.

The number of people who work from home – 5.9 million. About 11 percent of those who worked at home for some or all of their workweek reported working 11 or more hours in a typical day in 2005. Only about 7 percent of workers who worked outside the home reported doing so.

The 2009 real median earnings for male and female full-time, year-round workers, was $47,127 and $36,278, respectively.

Most people drive to work alone – 76.1 percent. Another 10.0 percent carpool and 5 percent take public transportation (excluding taxicabs).

The average time it takes people in the nation to commute to work is 25.1 minutes.

By Adam Rasmussen, Channel 2 News

The Thunderbird Lodge and yacht in Lake Tahoe first opened in the early 1930s, and over the years have become one of northern Nevada’s biggest cultural tourist attractions.

But the lodge is struggling, and now the Thunderbird Preservation Society is raising money to keep the famous yacht at Lake Tahoe. Officials say keeping it in the water and maintaining it is important to the community.

“It’s kind of like a racehorse,” says Dave Marion, captain of the yacht. “You put it in gear and it wants to go even at idle speed.”

The Thunderbird yacht is arguably the most valuable wooden boat in the country. Described as a mix of a car, a boat and an airplane, George Whittell Jr. first put in the Lake Tahoe waters in 1940. It entertained celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ty Cobb. It was bought by Bill Harrah in 1962, who put two Allison aircraft engines in it. But any future boat rides could be coming to an end soon.

“Our mission is to preserve the historic estate, the yacht, and to educate the public,” says Bill Watson with the Thunderbird Preservation Society.

And to preserve the yacht, the Thunderbird Preservation Society needs to raise $1.5 million. They say if they can’t raise that much, it could be moved from Lake Tahoe. And while the boat has entertained so many celebrities over the years, it’s one today that is doing his best to keep the boat floating in Tahoe.

“This is certainly a part of the history of Tahoe, and it would be such a waste, such a shame if it were no longer taken care of,” says C.B. Sullenberger.

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Health Talks, a free community health education series offered by Tahoe Forest Health System, will feature Jeffrey Dodd talking about a safer, less invasive approach to hip replacement, using the most advanced equipment.

Specializing in orthopedic surgery, Dodd is one of few orthopedic surgeons who have performed anterior hip surgery, an advanced approach to total hip surgery.

This free talk is Sept. 14 at 6pm at the Eskridge Conference Room, Tahoe Forest Hospital, 10121 Pine Ave., Truckee.

For more information, call (530) 587.3769.