The Tahoe Choir will begin rehearsals for the December Holiday program on Sept. 14 at 7pm in Room F120 at Lake Tahoe Community College. Everyone is invited to join the Tahoe Choir, or enroll in the College Chorus class at LTCC.

There are no auditions. All you need is the love of music and the desire to sing. We will be performing the

Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi along with some traditional holiday songs such as White Christmas, Sleigh ride and Chestnuts roasting on an Open Fire.

More than 80 environmental leaders and advocates from a variety of local organizations and agencies will take a first step toward realizing a sustainable future for the Lake Tahoe Basin with a daylong summit at Sand Harbor Sept. 16. The summit will focus on planning a World Sustainability Expo at the Lake in 2011.

Guest speakers include: Charles Goldman, Sierra Nevada College President Richard Rubsamen, David Hansen of the Embassy Suites hotel in South Lake Tahoe, Mark Twain impersonator McAvoy Layne and Steven James, a Washoe elder presenting a Washoe prayer.

By arriving to the congress by water ferry, kayak, bus, bike, and electric cars, the action of the group, known as the Tahoe Sustainability Congress, will be to help realize the recently completed Tahoe Prosperity Plan, which seeks to position Lake Tahoe as a leader in geotourism, green technology and health.

Congress participants will brainstorm on how activities that motivate acts of conservation can become the cornerstone of Tahoe’s new economy and prosperity.

In the next 11 months, workshops like these will seek to evolve a geotourism menu in concert with green innovation from around the globe ready to showcase at a basin-wide 2011 Lake Tahoe Sustainability Expo.

This economic vitalization progression is being hosted by a Sustainable Tahoe, a nonprofit looking to promote positive collaboration among existing organizations, agencies and commerce, to make the Prosperity Plan a reality.

For a list of participating organizations and information on this Congress and Sustainable Tahoe, click here.

For more information, call (775) 883.0831.

The North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sierra Human Resources Association are offering “The Art of Public Speaking: Crafting and Delivering a Winning Presentation” Sept. 14 from 8am-12:30pm at The Chateau at Incline Village, 955 Fairway Blvd.

The workshop teaches attendees how to prepare a presentation, while preparing themselves, and handle the audience in a low-pressure, encouraging and comfortable group setting. There will also be take away techniques that attendees can implement immediately to improve the structure of their next presentation.

Laura Moriarty of Tahoe Training Partners, a seasoned human resources executive and nationally known corporate trainer and frequent present of SHRA workshops, will present at the Art of Public Speaking workshop.

Registration is $69 for North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and SHRA members and $79 for non-members. Seating is limited.

To register and for more information about the workshop, call Moriarty at (530) 573.0224 or North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce Manger Kym Fabel at (530) 581.8764. Attendees can also register online.

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association has retained the executive recruiting firm SearchWide, headquartered in Minnesota and specializing in the tourism and travel industry, to identify and recommend potential candidates to take on the leadership role of executive director/CEO of the organization.

“SearchWide is assisting us in finding the best possible candidates to move the NLTRA forward in achieving world-class destination resort status,” NLTRA board President Alex Mourelatos said in a statement. “This individual will lead us in addressing the tourism challenges and issues that face our region as documented in our master plan and prioritized by the Board of Directors. This is an outstanding opportunity to continue the journey and great work that has been done in collaborating amongst a diverse stakeholder group in achieving sustainable prosperity in the region.”

Steve Teshara resigned last spring as the top man at NLTRA.

SearchWide specializes in tourism and travel industry related executive recruiting with an emphasis on executive positions for destination marketing organizations, hotel companies, convention centers and other community driven tourism organizations.

Interested candidates should send their resume and salary history (in confidence) via e-mail to Jim Carra at carra@searchwide.com or by visiting the SearchWide website.

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association is the umbrella organization for the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and the Tahoe North Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is a partner with the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau in the North Lake Tahoe Marketing Cooperative.

On Sept. 23, Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra will be hosting its 8th Annual SeptOberfest.

For $30, guests will have the availability of unlimited German food, five brands of beer (at least two will be German), and five wineries in attendance for wine tasting. The price at the door is $35.

There will also be three silent auction tables, a live auction and the famous envelope items, where every envelope has a prize with a minimum value of $5.

Derek Tarpey, The Lake DJ, will be providing music! $30 per person, or $35 The event is at MontBleu’s convention center in Stateline.

The Tahoe Sierra Kiwanians have identified local children as the beneficiaries for this year’s event. Last year, the club raised more than $10,000.

For tickets and more information, call Mike Foster at (530) 544.2864 or Phil Blowney at (530) 318.2912.

• The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is extending its 2010 season to include “Colors in the Canyon” train rides through Dec. 18.

• Crater Lake is the only body of water in the United States to make BudgetTravel.com’s top 10 most beautiful lake list.

• The 16th annual Winter Fest gay ski week on the South Shore is March 6-11, 2011.

• Douglas County Manager Michael Brown said there are no discussions going on about his jurisdiction pulling out of the coordinated transit system known as STATA even though it has filed for bankruptcy and faces several lawsuits.

• Small business owners in Kings Beach have formed the Kings Beach Downtown Association.

• The environmental impact statement for the Boulder Bay project in Crystal Bay is out. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board is expected to vote on the project Oct. 28, with the APC hearing it first on Oct. 13.

• Click here for info about the West Nile virus in El Dorado County.

Nevada Wildlife commissioners will review public input about reintroducing black bear hunting at the Sept. 24-25 board meeting in Las Vegas and then again during Dec. 3-4 board meeting in Reno.

Check the Wildlife Commission meeting times at the Nevada Department of Wildlife website under the “commissions and boards” tab.

Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba will speak Sept. 15 in Stateline about their experiences in New York City in the weeks following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The authors of “Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion” are guests of Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe.

The lunch is at Harveys on the convention floor from 11:30am-1:30pm. Cost is $15. Reservations must be made by Sept. 10 by calling (530) 573.2433.

Books will be signed before and after the talk.

South Tahoe High School students involved in a senior prank the first week of school have been suspended for three days, will have to pay to clean up the mess and are not allowed to park on campus.

No permanent damage was done with writing “class of 2011” in water soluble chalk at the front of the school.

The district is not releasing the names of the students involved or saying how many were suspended. No one was arrested.

“We met with students regularly last year and provided them a structure to work with staff when planning and implementing any ‘school spirited’ events,” Principal Ivone Larson said. “Unfortunately, students did not follow this process. Staff members met with some of the students involved the Friday prior and advised the students of consequences.”

— Compiled by Kathryn Reed

Caltrans will be installing new pedestrian flashing beacons, signs, street lights, pedestrian push buttons lights inside the tunnel and to do shoulder paving on Highway 89 in the “Mousehole” Tunnel area near Truckee starting Sept. 7.

The construction schedule is:

Sept. 8-Oct. 15 – one-way traffic controls will be in effect 24 hours a day using temporary traffic signals located on each side of the “Mousehole” Tunnel.

This $245,000 project is designed to increase the safety of the traveling public in the “Mousehole” Tunnel area. The general contractor for this project is Koch Excavating Inc. from Penn Valley.