• Bears have been seen out and about in the basin. They don’t sleep through the winter because they go through a state of torpor instead of true hibernation. When winter weather comes back they will likely go back to their den.

• Tahoe Mountain Milers running club raised $2,300 during the 2012 Kokanee Salmon Run to be used for projects at Taylor Creek Visitor Center and educational materials for this year’s Kokanee Salmon Festival.

• MontBleu’s Ciera Steak + Chop House in Stateline is the lone Northern Nevada restaurant to earn the Four Diamond designation from AAA.

• South Lake Tahoe Rotary’s 2nd annual Off the Wall fine art auction is Feb. 9 at 6:30pm. The event is at Inn by the Lake. The $15 fee includes hors d’oeuvres and Champagne.

• Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe is on U.S. News & World Report’s gold list of Best Hotels.