This September, the Village at Squaw Valley will host a battle of epic proportions–Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Wings–with five restaurants and five bands facing off for the ultimate supremacy for best wings and best band.

On Sept. 15 from 4-9:30pm each restaurant will be cooking its signature recipes for spicy, flavor-packed chicken wings and joining forces with the region’s best bands.

All proceeds benefit the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the natural history, conservation and ecosystem knowledge of the Tahoe region through science, education and outreach. Last year, Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Wings raised nearly $5,000 for TINS.

Participating restaurants include Auld Dubliner, Fireside Pizza, Rocker@Squaw, Twenty Two Bistro and new this year, the chefs from High Camp at Squaw Valley. This year’s bands will include Truckee Tribe, The Connor Party, The Beergardeners, Ostricized and Chi McClean. 

There is a $5 entry donation. The donation gains access to special pricing of four wings for $5, group package pricing on wings, drinks specials at the restaurants in the village and entry into a raffle.

Extraterrestrial life in the solar system? Is there life out there? If E.T. does exist, where would we find it, and what would it look like?

Those are some of the questions Tony Berendsen will answer during an astronomy talk on Oct. 3 at 6pm at the South Lake Tahoe Library.

Berendsen is an outreach astronomer, owner of Tahoe Star Tours and writes the Star Guide column for Lake Tahoe News.

The talk is free and open to all. The library is located on Rufus Allen Boulevard.

By Mike Higdon, Reno Gazette-Journal

Actress Sofia Vergara and fellow cast members of “Modern Family” have been hanging out around Lake Tahoe the last two days, according to Instagram posts. Some of their Instagram posts say they are shooting an episode on the water.

“Modern Family” is a faux-documentary comedy of three generations living and interacting with each other in suburban Los Angeles. 

In the show, actors Vergara and Ed O’Neill play an intergenerational and interracial couple. Actors Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson play a gay couple with an adopted Vietnamese daughter and actors Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell play a traditional couple with three children.

Read the whole story

By Tracy Protell

As children get ready to go back to school, I understand bullying is one of the last things parents want to worry about. However, bullying is a salient and, unfortunately, common occurrence. It can take place on school grounds, after school, and through electronics (cyberbullying). 

Tracy Protell

Bullying is defined as a repetitive and deliberate use of physical force or emotional aggression intended to harm another person. Examples, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, include repeatedly making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, or excluding someone from a group.

Studies show that up to half of children and adolescents report being victims of bullying. Bullying has short-term mental and physical health consequences as well as an increased risk of long term issues that carry into adulthood. Victims and perpetrators of bullying show increased rates of anxiety disorders, depression, psychosis, drug and alcohol abuse, self-harm, and suicide.

With the prevalence of bullying so high and many avenues for bullying outside of parent or guardian’s sight, what can you do?

Tip No. 1: Have open communication. Your children need to feel comfortable coming to you if they feel unsafe or victimized. Regularly ask about their life in a nonjudgmental way and listen without trying to place blame or solve problems. Especially with adolescents, express less emotion. They are more likely to open up if they do not fear your emotional reaction.

Tip No. 2: Monitor media use. Keep a close eye on what is being said or shown to your child through phones and computers. Many parents have lost touch with their children’s lives because so much occurs online or through text messages. For some reason, parents do not monitor electronic usage the way they monitor where their children hang out and with who. Know what your child is doing online and with whom.

Tip No. 3: Action is important. The problem may not just “go away.” Studies have demonstrated that involvement of school officials, such as principals, counselors, and teachers is an important step. Even when bullying occurs outside of school, problems can be addressed through school discipline systems. Telling a child to fight back or dealing with the child’s family directly can backfire, causing more distress and on-going issues. Take your child’s complaint seriously to avoid a feeling of re-victimization, and reinforce that bullying is not OK.

Tip No. 4: Teach your children the importance of empathy and kindness. At an early age, instill in your children that different is not bad and acceptance of other types of families, cultures, and backgrounds makes this life better. Teach your children to respectfully stand up for themselves. Let them know who they can turn to when they experience disrespect, putdowns, threats, and other demeaning words or actions.

There are many supportive people and families in this community. My wish is that every child grows up feeling safe, secure, and appreciated.

Tracy Protell is a pediatrician and child psychiatrist who sees patients at Barton Psychiatry in Stateline and at the Barton Community Health Center.

The Truckee Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) chapter is returning to the Lake Tahoe Airport this year for a Young Eagles rally, offering free airplane rides for youngsters 8-17. The rally will be Sept. 23 starting at 8am.

The free rides are part of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program, in which volunteer pilots introduce kids to aviation by giving them airplane rides.

The EAA started the Young Eagles program in 1992 with the goal of flying 1 million kids by Dec. 17, 2003, the centennial of the Wright brothers’ flights. They easily surpassed that goal and to date more than 2 million kids in more than 90 countries have joined the ranks of Young Eagles. The Truckee chapter has flown over 3,500 Young Eagles in that time.

Following the flight, each young person receives a certificate making them an official Young Eagle. Their name will then be entered into the world’s largest logbook, which is on permanent display at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis. In addition to the certificate, the new Young Eagle will be given their own logbook with an access code for a free EAA student membership and free access to the online flight training course offered by Sporty’s Pilot Shop, as well as several other programs.

For more info, contact Tom Meadows at yecoord1073@outlook.com or 530.587.7281.

By Melinda Myers

Do just one thing this fall and you can improve the health and vigor of your lawn. Fall fertilization helps lawns recover from the stresses of summer and provides needed nutrients to grow deeper roots and a denser stand of grass. And that means fewer weeds and a healthier lawn that’s more resistant to drought, insects and diseases.

Fertilize around Labor Day as the temperatures begin to cool and lawns start spreading outward instead of growing upward. Continue to leave clippings on the lawn. They return nutrients, moisture and organic matter to the soil.  Consider it free fertilizer applied every time you mow the lawn.

One fall application will give low maintenance lawns the nutrient boost they need. You’ll have a healthier lawn with minimal care.

Fall lawn fertilization is the first step in growing a healthy lawn next year. Photo/Provided

Increase the quality and improve the lawn’s ability to withstand and recover from wear and tear with a second application. Apply fertilizer in late fall between Halloween and Thanksgiving, but before the ground freezes. Those growing warm season grasses should make the last application in early October at least one month prior to the first killing frost.

No need to purchase a winterizing fertilizer. Most soils have high to excessive levels of phosphorous and potassium. Have a soil test first if you suspect your lawn is deficient in these nutrients. You’ll save money and harm to the environment by using the right product.

Consider using a slow release, organic nitrogen fertilizer that helps improve the soil, while providing needed nutrients.  Research discovered that as the microorganisms work on releasing the nutrients from its pellets they also make some of the phosphorous, which promotes root development, as well as potassium, which promotes hardiness and disease resistance, that is bound to the soil available to the grass plants.

Continue to mow high as long as the grass continues to grow. You can gradually reduce the mowing height for winter if desired.

Once you see the improvement in your lawn, you may be inspired to adopt the holiday fertilization schedule. Adding one or two additional fertilizer applications can greatly increase your lawn’s health, vigor, wear resistance and ability to tolerate drought and pests.

Those growing warm season grasses can begin fertilizing around Easter once the grass begins growing. Make additional applications around Memorial Day and the recommended fall date. Those growing cool season grasses should wait until Memorial Day to start fertilizing in addition to the two fall applications. Add a mid-summer application of slow release fertilizer for irrigated lawns.

Fall fertilization is the first step in growing a healthy lawn next year. Do this one thing this fall and you will decrease your lawn care challenges and workload next year. 

Gardening expert Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written more than 20 gardening books, including “Small Space Gardening” and the “Midwest Gardener’s Handbook.” She hosts the Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moment” TV and radio segments.

Homebrew for the Homeless is an annual fundraiser for Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless, the nonprofit organization that operates the South Lake Tahoe warm room.

The family-friendly event, presented in collaboration with Hops Envy, features live music, a homebrew beer competition, a chili cook-off, and horseback rides and other activities for children. It will be Sept. 23 starting at 3:30pm at the DDRC (Leigh Wayne Miller’s ranch) in Minden.

All proceeds from the event will be used to support Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless. During the winter, Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless provides overnight refuge from the elements.

General entry tickets are $15 per person, which includes all activities and live music, as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages. Tickets for children under 12 are $10, with children 2 and under free. Tickets for the poker run which includes homebrew tasting (open to those 21 and over) are $35, including general entry. For more information and to purchase tickets, go online.

Alpenglow Sports, Tahoe City’s 39-year-old mountain shop, is starting an in-house adventure presentation series coined the Tailgate Talks.

The shows are focused on adventure, travel and mountain exploration. The shows will take place at Alpenglow Sports on various weekday evenings throughout the fall. Each show is communal in nature, designed to provide a fun and inspiring outlet for the Lake Tahoe adventure community and benefits a local nonprofit.  

The first installment will be Sept. 21 at 7pm with Bree Loewen, a thoughtful and elegant explorer of the hardships and joys of search and rescue, risk and motherhood. Loewen will present stories and readings from her new book “Found: A Life in Mountain Rescue.”

Loewen’s first book, “Pickets and Dead Men,” was her account of the three seasons she spent as a climbing ranger on Mount Rainier.

The show begins at 7pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. Call Alpenglow Sports at 530.583.6917 for further details. 

Quinten

Quinten is a 2 year old German shepherd mix who is very sweet. He was transferred to Tahoe from an overcrowded shelter to find his forever home. Please call the shelter for more details about this beautiful boy.

Quinten is neutered, microchipped, tested for heart worm, 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 to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions 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 or call the animal shelter. Vouchers are available there also. Bring $25 and a copy of a photo ID and a local utility bill.

— Karen Kuentz

By Niraj Chokshi, New York Times

The photos you share online speak volumes. They can serve as a form of self-expression or a record of travel. They can reflect your style and your quirks. But they might convey even more than you realize: The photos you share may hold clues to your mental health, new research suggests.

From the colors and faces in their photos to the enhancements they make before posting them, Instagram users with a history of depression seem to present the world differently from their peers, according to the study, published this month in the journal EPJ Data Science.

“People in our sample who were depressed tended to post photos that, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, were bluer, darker and grayer on average than healthy people,” said Andrew Reece, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University and co-author of the study with Christopher Danforth, a professor at the University of Vermont.

Read the whole story