May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 27:

There are a few people associated with Lake Tahoe News who don’t really want attention called to them. But we would be remiss if we didn’t in some way acknowledge their contributions.

Pat sends emails about typos, grammar and other problems with stories. The retired teacher living out of state is a great copy editor. We just wish we could pay her to read everything before we published.

Joy, on occasion, alerts us to typos – especially when it comes to headlines.

Brenda is a fabulous business consultant.

Our attorney keeps things legal and will be the one in court when we seek adjudication.

A longtime local is our go-to person for historical references when our knowledge base stops.

Lisa Tolda, while she has not done a ton of photography work for LTN, is the key professional we call in for the big stories like last year’s Tour of California. Even though the event didn’t happen, her photos were outstanding.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 26:

Giving back to the community is important to Lake Tahoe News.

Sometimes it comes in the form of helping out while we are on assignment – like raking pine needles at Valhalla, or picking up trash on Coastal Cleanup Day. It’s a form of multitasking.

We also partner with nonprofits to tease their event a bit while giving away tickets so the public can go without paying – to things like Barton’s Festival of Trees and Lights and Soroptimist’s wine tasting.

Substantial discounts have been offered to most local nonprofits when it comes to advertising. This allows them to get their message and keep more of the revenue for their cause.

In January 2012, Lake Tahoe News had a monthlong promotion called Random Acts of Kindness where people were encouraged to do nice things for others. Local businesses generously donated prizes for this.

Later this year Lake Tahoe News plans to sponsor one of the meals for Bread & Broth.

We don’t do these things for praise. Giving is reward enough. We just hope to be able to do more in the future.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 25:

Without readers, everything we do would be pointless.

That is why we would like to take this time to thank all of you for being part of Lake Tahoe News. You may never write a comment, or send in a press release, or suggest a story, or even know anyone at LTN personally, but you are the most important part of LTN.

In the last month, we have had more than 64,000 visits to the site. A person can only be recorded once per IP address, so we can’t log in and off and in again to inflate those numbers. And about one-third are unique visitors. This means it’s their first time reading LTN. That one-third has been consistent, which means we keep turning people into regular readers of Lake Tahoe News.

Readers come from more than 100 countries and more than 3,000 cities.

Thank you for being part of the Lake Tahoe News family.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 24:

Each Monday a picture of a dog or cat is on Lake Tahoe News. Each one is looking for a home.

The words and photo are courtesy of Karen Kuentz, a volunteer at the animal shelter in Meyers. She provides this service to Lake Tahoe News readers for free.

We are incredibly grateful for her doing this week in and week out.

Be sure to catch Tahoe Tails each Monday. Plus, there is a link each week showing the other animals who are in need of a home.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 23:

Lake Tahoe News was born from the frustration of the publisher knowing what she knew wasn’t getting published and unable to imagine what she didn’t know that wasn’t getting published. Simply, we saw a need for a better, timelier news venue that came out more often. We decided to fill that need.

Tahoe – the entire basin – is a region rich with news. People are doing interesting things, have interesting stories to tell. Elected officials are doing what they believe is right. The environment, outdoors, education, entertainment – they and all the other topics need to be covered.

We are here to tell those stories.

Until Lake Tahoe News came around, there had never been a daily source for news anywhere in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Being online we can update stories quickly, fix errors and fix typos.

We aren’t perfect. No news source ever can or will be. But we do strive for accuracy. Please excuse our typos – one day we’ll have a fulltime editor who will help eliminate those.

Our philosophy is to deliver news in a timely fashion that has been researched and is well written. Our egos want us to be first and to scoop the other media. Our professionalism mandates we be accurate and as thorough as possible before pushing the publish button.

We like to say we write for the readers – not ourselves, not the politicians, and never for the advertiser.

We know, as long as LTN has the current ownership, it can never be bought by any advertiser. This means an advertiser cannot influence editorial copy. Our news hole is not for sale.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 22:

Lake Tahoe News is collecting names of people for our special NEWS Team. Being part of the club means an opportunity to win prizes.

People have become part of the team by entering contests and donating money at select times. This is another one of those times. As we’ve been telling you all month in these tidbits, we are looking for paid subscribers (click on the link for details) in our quest to become an adjudicated publication. Everyone who signs up this month as a paid subscriber is automatically in the running for one of two Dirk Yuricich photographs.

All paid subscribers – no matter when you become one – will automatically be part of the NEWS Team.

Being part of the NEWS Team in 2011 meant a chance to win tickets to last July’s celebrity golf tournament, November’s Soroptimist wine tasting and December’s Festival of Trees and Lights.

In addition to the photographs, in June we’re having a promotion to win a copy of the just released “Tahoe Blues” published by Bona Fide Books in Meyers and later in the year we have tickets to a Giants game in September that need to find a home. Those contests will be open to everyone on the NEWS Team.

And there are bound to be other goodies for NEWS Team members as the year progresses. What are you waiting for? Become a paid subscriber today.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 21:

As with many people associated with Lake Tahoe News, Kim Wyatt has many roles. Most of which are behind the scenes.

Her vast experience as an editor is often the skill we tap into most. Her fingerprints are there – though they are invisible to the reader. She takes over the editing on occasion when the publisher leaves town. Wyatt can take charge of the back end when needed.

Wyatt is also a skilled writer – which LTN readers will get to witness next month.

Her acumen in the publishing world is an asset that is priceless.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 20:

People often ask where we come up with story ideas and why we didn’t cover something.

You, the reader, provide so many of the ideas. Some stories are generated from meetings, just talking to people, being out in the community, localizing a national story, or going to an event.

And so much content is provided by readers in the form of letting us know about an event.

Lake Tahoe News is grateful to all of you for your ideas and the content you provide.

If we don’t know about something, we can’t cover it. That’s why we rely on you to tell us what is going on so we can tell everyone else.

But we can’t be everywhere. If money were of no issue, reporters could be dispatched to so many more events, meetings and other news events, as well as cover a plethora of feature stories. Unfortunately, this is a business and we don’t have the financial resources to be everywhere.

If you have an idea or want to have something published, send an email to info@LakeTahoeNews.net and we’ll consider it.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 19:

Need to find a business or resource in the Lake Tahoe Basin? Then consider taking a look at the Directory that is accessed at the top of Lake Tahoe News’ home page.

Advertisers who have at least a six-month contract are in the Directory – one of the perks of advertising. Service clubs that have contacted Lake Tahoe News are in it for free. Key recreation resources that readers would want are listed.

If you, your business or the entity you represent are not in the Directory, consider doing so for $100 a year. If you think you should be in there without paying the annual fee, let us know. Shoot us an email at info@LakeTahoeNews.net to find out more about the Directory.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 18:

A recent addition to Lake Tahoe News is the weekly column by Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. Usually Cheryl Millham, executive director of the South Shore nonprofit that rehabilitates wildlife so they can keep living in the wild, writes the articles. Occasionally, Tom Millham, her husband and secretary-treasurer of LTWC, contributes.

The columns run every Saturday.

The articles run the gamut from why swallows are good to what to do when crossing paths with a mama bear and her cubs.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.