Image by MICHAEL QUICK via Flickr

Jazzercise instructors and students from South Lake Tahoe will perform in a half time routine during the Sacramento Kings basketball game at the ARCO Arena on Saturday. The group of 25 women will join 100 other Jazzercise enthusiasts during the performance to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Instructor Sherry Baiocchi said each performer was required to raise at least $100 for Make-A-Wish.

“Everyone has been working hard to get as many sponsors as possible,” Baiocchi said. “The donation from everyone participating will be substantial.”

Baiocchi said Jazzercise has been in South Lake Tahoe for more than 30 years, with classes at Kahle Community Center and the South Lake Tahoe

 

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St. Theresa Catholic School is hosting its 16th annual “Claws for Cause” crab dinner and auction at 6 p.m. Friday in Grace Hall, 1041 Lyons Ave.

Proceeds from the event benefit the private school. The event is for adults 21 and over. Childcare is available for $15 per child in the social hall.

No-host cocktails begin at 6 p.m., the crab dinner is at 7 p.m., followed by the live auction at 8:30 p.m.

Every class, from preschool to eighth grade, will sponsor a gift basket for the silent auction.

Volunteers are still needed.

Tickets are $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door.

For information, visit www.stslaketahoe.org/crabdinner10.html or call (530) 544-8944.

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The Lake Tahoe basin remains a potential host for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

While local organizations have spearheaded efforts to bring the games to Lake Tahoe in recent years, there is reason for renewed optimism, according to Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki, chairman of Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition (RTWGC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to having Reno/Tahoe selected as the next North American region to host an Olympic Winter Games.

“The latest comments from the USOC are an absolute shot in the arm for the Lake Tahoe region’s latest bid to host the games,” he said. “This will allow us the necessary momentum to create a network and a partnership between Nevada and California that can focus on putting a package in place that makes it compelling for the USOC.”

A shakeup in the United States Olympic Committee leadership has led to a reprioritization of how the committee will approach the bidding process.

USOC Chairman Larry Probst and newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Scott Blackmun indicated they may want to pursue a 2022 Winter Games bid.

“Nothing’s off the table at this point,” chairman Larry Probst said during an interview at Associated Press headquarters Tuesday, when asked about a possible 2022 bid.

In the past, the USOC has focused on bringing the Summer Games to a bid city, as the games are typically viewed as a stronger economic engine for the host city.

However, in wake of Chicago’s last place finish in the bidding process for the 2016 Summer Games, the USOC indicated that bringing the Winter Games to the United States could be a positive step in repairing their relationship with the International Olympic Committee.

“The idea is to face in the right direction and start walking,” Blackmun said, “and we’ll know when we get there.”

According to reports from the Associated Press, the two strongest candidates to host the 2022 Winter Games are Denver and Reno-Tahoe.

“We’re really supportive of the USOC and the Olympic movement,” KieAnn Brownell, president of the Denver Sports Commission, told the Associated Press. “We have aspirations from the standpoint of wanting to host international events of all types. We’re going to follow the USOC’s lead and see where that goes.”

Local Impact

Bringing the 2022 Winter Games to Lake Tahoe would give the region an opportunity to dramatically improve its infrastructure, said Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Spokesman Dennis Oliver.

“Lake Tahoe could be the first Olympic site to deliver a Green Olympics with an underlying theme of sustainability,” he said.

Oliver said preparations for hosting the games should include installing a public transportation system capable of serving residents long after the event has concluded.

Oliver also envisions the creation of new more energy efficient hotel accommodations, athletic facilities with minimal impact on the local environment, and a system of feeding the athletes with locally grown agricultural products.

“It would be an event with an underlying theme of carbon neutral and I know a lot of local leaders would be interested in pulling it off,” Oliver said.

Krolicki agreed.

“The 2022 Winter Games would be a spectacle and a delight for several weeks,” he said. “But the improvements made to the infrastructure of the Lake Tahoe Basin in lead-up to the games would benefit residents for decades.”

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Residents of El Dorado County can receive a free radon test kit until supplies run out.

The Tahoe Division of the El Dorado County Environmental Management Department has several hundred test kits available, said Virginia Huber, Tahoe Division Manager.

The kits can be picked up from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays at 3368 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Suite 303.

“We recommend everyone in the South Lake Tahoe area test their home for radon,” Huber said.

Radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive case that arises from the decay of naturally occurring uranium and thorium in soil. The gas is linked to 21,000 lung cancer deaths a year, second only to cigarette smoking, according to the EPA.

A report from the California Geological Survey in June 2009 estimated that 23,400 people in the Lake Tahoe area live in buildings where radon is likely to equal or exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended action level of 4 picocuries per liter.

The report was based on geological data, as well as results from a survey of 443 homes in South Lake Tahoe between 2006 and 2007.

According to the survey, about 40 percent of homes in the Lake Tahoe area are at or above the EPA’s recommended action level, while approximately 55 percent of homes in the El Dorado County portion of the basin who participated in the survey are at or above the recommended action level.

Winter is a good time to test a home for radon, Huber said.

“It’s the best time to test because your house is closed up,” she said.

For more information call (530) 573-3450.

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California State Parks narrowly escaped major closures during last year’s state budget crisis, and supporters are going to the voters for help to ensure the worst doesn’t happen in 2010.

The California State Parks Foundation and other organizations have created the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010, needing more than 430,000 signatures to get it in the November 2010 ballot.

If successful, the act would add $18 to California’s annual vehicle licensing fees, said Pam Armas, California State Park Ranger Association President, raising about $500 million each year for state parks, wildlife, land conservation and ocean conservation projects.

“That may seem like a lot, but we’ve been so horribly under-funded; this will get us to where we need to be,” Armas said, adding that state parks have an approximately $1 billion backlog in un-funded work.

The $500 million would be split 85 percent to state parks and 15 percent to the other conservation efforts, Armas said, likely finding its way to groups like the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and California Tahoe Conservancy, among others.

In return, California residents who paid licensing fees would get free day admission to all state parks, year-round, Armas said.

“If you go two or three times it pays for itself — state park day use now ranges from $8 to $15,” Armas said.

The effort comes in response to the threat in 2009 to pull $70 million from state parks to help balance California’s eroding budget, which would have closed up to 220 of the state’s 279 parks.

That cut was later reduced to $14.2 million, meaning no full-time closures, but reductions of services and partial closures.

A similar addition to vehicle licensing fees was discussed by lawmakers over the summer, but never gained traction in the capital, so groups like the California State Parks Foundation, Audubon Society of California and the Sierra Club are taking it to the voters, Armas said.

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The Lake Tahoe Unified School District will be part of a three-year, million dollar grant from the California State Department of Education for enhanced and ongoing professional development for teachers in grades three through eight. The California Mathematics and Science Partnership program seeks to establish partnerships to improve the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science, according to a prepared release.

Lake Tahoe Unified joins school districts in Modesto and Stockton for the Summit to Sand grant, which totals $339,201 per year for three years. More than 30 teachers have been recruited for a three-year professional development program that draws upon the diverse geography of California to educate teachers and motivate students. Teachers will receive instruction in life, earth and physical science, focusing on the natural environment of the state of California, in order to positively impact students’ English language arts and science achievement. Faculty from the Lake Tahoe, Columbia and San Joaquin Delta community colleges will provide instruction at three summer institutes from 2010 through 2012.

“This grant will provide important funds to improve science education in the district,” said district superintendent Dr. James Tarwater. “We are very excited to have been funded and to partner with districts and community colleges in our area and in other areas of the state.”

Additional partners include Tahoe Environmental Research Center at University of California, Davis, the San Joaquin County Office of Education, California State University, Monterey Bay, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

This Afternoon: Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 4pm. Snow level 6300 feet. High near 42. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Tonight: Snow before 10pm, then rain and snow. Low around 33. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

M.L.King Day: Rain and snow. High near 35. Breezy, with a south wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

Monday Night: Snow. Low around 26. Breezy, with a south wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Tuesday: Snow. High near 31. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Tuesday Night: Snow. Low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Wednesday: Snow. High near 32. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Wednesday Night: Snow. Cloudy, with a low around 28.

Thursday: Snow. Cloudy, with a high near 29.

Thursday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 25.

Friday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 29.

Friday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 22.

Saturday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 32.

Parents interested in entering their child into the admission lottery may pick up an application at the school or online at www.tahoetwowayimmersion.com.

A mandatory meeting for the kindergarten class will be held March 24 at 6 p.m.

For information, e-mail Kathy Haven at khaven@gmail.com.

Rebate Offer for Locals & Clients -
The South Tahoe Public Utility District announced Jan. 8 that the district is offering a $200 rebate on water efficient clothes washers effectively immediately.

To be eligible, clothes washers must have a water factor of 8.5 or lower, must have been purchased between Jan. 1, 2008, and Jan. 15, 2010, and installed within the district’s service area.

Applications must be turned in by Feb. 28, 2010, with a copy of the purchase receipt, manufacturer’s information including model number and water factor, and an IRS W-9 form.

Applications are available at the district’s customer service office at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, or online at www.stpud.us.

For information, contact Shelly Barnes, water conservation specialist, at (530) 543-6268.

 For those families not interested in the kids seeing the  “street scene” here is an option:

 New Year’s Eve Kids’ Night Out  Starting at 7pm Tahoe Gymnastics 867 Eloise Ave Suite B.  Children will celebrate with games, an obstacle course, trampoline time, pizza, arts and crafts, and a midnight countdown complete with hats, horns, noisemakers, streamers, and balloons.  Prices range from $40 to $100 for overnight care.  Call for more info and to pre-register 530-544-7314.

 The following services and taxicabs are available on New Year’s Eve:

 A1 Tahoe Interstate Taxi

530-725-0199

866-418-3844

AAA Lake Tahoe Taxi

530-577-7000

AAA’s Tipsy Tow Program

Offers a free tow for drunken drivers from 6pm Dec 31 until 6am Jan 1.  Members and non-members alike can call 800-222-4357 for a free tow up to five miles.

BlueGo

530-541-7149

Lake Tahoe Party Bus (Parties of 10 or more)

775-720-7278

Lakeshore Taxi

530-544-3600

Yellow Cab

South Shore 530-544-5555

Stateline 775-588-1234