Helen Smith, who lived at Vikingsholm as a child and is now a docent for California State Parks, was recognized this summer for her 40 years of service to the preservation of the historic home at the base of Emerald Bay.

Trivia: Kings Beach was named after card shark Joe King, who won the town site from George Whittell nearly a century before poker had a cult cable-TV following.

Sierra magazine reports that in the first quarter of 2009 more bicycles were sold in the U.S. than cars.

Harveys handed over $1,141,923 to an Oxnard man after he hit the Wheel of Fortune MegaJackpot on Aug. 10.

Lake Tahoe’s Shane McConkey is featured in the September issue of Skiing magazine.