• Tiffany Carter came close to swimming the length of Lake Tahoe on Aug. 20. Read more on her blog.

• The Sierra Expeditionary Learning School opens Aug. 25. It is a charter school in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.

• Now you can get deals from Lakeside Inn by text message. To sign-up, text “LTLakeside” to 79338 (sweet).

• AT&T will be before a South Lake Tahoe zoning administrator Sept. 1 at 2pm in City Council chambers asking to install more wireless communications equipment on a roof at 2633 Sussex Ave., South Lake Tahoe. This is a public hearing.

• Karen Rogers of Tahoe City has postponed her Farallon Island to San Francisco swim to next year. Bad weather and returning sharks forced the change.

• The final map for the 13 condos Steve Leman plans to build in the industrial park area that fronts D Street in South Lake Tahoe was approved by the City Council without any discussion on Aug. 19.

• The August issue of Backpacker magazine has an article about the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Shannon or “Trucha Califia,” (Spanish for California Trout) will be riding through CalTrout’s Lake Tahoe office in South Lake Tahoe this week.

While she is in town there will be a “Spokin for Trout” film series at the Taylor Creek Amphitheatre (on Highway 89 near Taylor Creek Visitor Center) featuring films by local angling advocate Mikey Weir. Films start at 8pm  Aug. 25.

In addition, riders can join La Trucha for a ride along. Riders should meet at CalTrout’s office parking lot (870

Emerald Bay Road) at 7:30am Aug. 26 for a ride toward Emerald Bay or all the way to Tahoe City. Riders will depart at 8am.

What can you do to help? Support Trout on Tour by visiting California Trout’s website and posting comments on our blog.

This year’s evening program series at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater will close out Aug. 26 with “An Evening with Mark Twain.” The program, which begins at 7pm, features local favorite MacAvoy Lane recounting Twain’s significant role in the history of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The local U.S. Forest Service’s nonprofit organization, the Tahoe Heritage Foundation, accepts a $2 per person donation to help defray costs.

Come get a chuckle and go back in time for this one-hour living history presentation at the center’s Lake of the Sky Amphitheater, located on Highway 89 toward Emerald Bay.

Parasol Community Collaboration presents “It’s 2010. Is Your Business Social?” on Oct. 7 from 9am-noon.

RSVP: pcc@parasol.org or (775) 298.0119

Description: Learn how to use social media in your marketing mix and how to effectively listen, engage and measure your social media efforts with real-life examples specific to non-profits and small businesses.

Topics include:

-The power of social media

-Social media strategy

-Content management

-Case studies

-Measurements, benchmarks, and ROI

Instructor: Milena Regos

Location: DWR Center, 948 Incline Way, Incline Village

• Suggestions are being sought for next year’s update of the Lake Tahoe Bike Trail Map. Send ideas to Like Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, P.O. Box 1147, Zephyr Cove, NV 89448 or by email to biketahoe@aol.com.

• Aramark has launched a new user-friendly website, that takes clients, employees and travelers on a tour of the company’s capabilities and experiential programs. The website for Zephyr Cove Resort and Lake Tahoe Cruises has also been revamped.

• If you like “beachy/campfire” music, join the Tahoe Aunties Ukulele Band every Wednesday from 5:30-6:30pm at the platform at Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe. Sing-a-long and bring an instrument.

• The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week said mud washing off logging roads is pollution. This means the Environmental Protection Agency must create rules for logging roads on federal, state and private lands across the West so they will meet Clean Water Act standards.

• The nonprofit sector is struggling nationwide. Click here for a report about it.

• The U.S. Board on Geographic Names will consider naming a cove at Lake Tahoe after Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) when the group meets in Tahoe next month.

A hands-on, drop-in nomination clinic is Aug. 23 for anyone who needs help with the nominating process for geotourism website being created for the region.

The clinic will take place from 10am-3pm in the conference room at the Auburn offices of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, 11521 Blocker Drive, Ste. 205, Auburn.

Organizers are urging participants to bring laptop computers along with their plans and ideas for nominations.

The nomination period for the Tahoe Emigrant Corridor (counties of Placer, Nevada, El Dorado, Washoe, Douglas, and Carson City) ends Aug. 30. Local residents can log on here to place a nomination of a destination to be included in the WebMap.

Dale and Donna Rise, long-time locals and owners of Aloha Ice Cream, are having a fund-raising event to honor the memory of Kaleb James Martin Curtzwiler, who passed away recently.

Curtzwiler was a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, a South Tahoe native, and son of Ken and Pam Curtzwiler.

Donna Rise observed, “Kaleb was a true American hero and will remain in the hearts of our community forever.This event will help the Curtzwiler family in their time of need.”

The fund-raising benefit will be Aug. 25 from 5-10pm at Aloha Ice Cream located in the Lakeview Building at 3330 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

Community members are urged to stop by, purchase an ice cream treat, and enjoy the lake view in the company of other local families. In addition, there will be a silent auction and opportunities to donate to the cause. All proceeds will benefit the Curtzwiler family.

For additional information or to donate silent auction items, contact Dale or Donna Rise at (775) 781.4777 or (775) 781.2777.

Lake Tahoe News and a slew of other local businesses will be at Saturday’s Sample the Sierra event on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

The event is about blending regional food, wine and art – which combine to make local news.

Come meet some of the people behind Lake Tahoe News – Tahoe’s only daily news source. We’ll be giving away T-shirts every 15 minutes, signing people up for free subscriptions, entering businesses in a drawing for three months of free advertising (ad creation not included) and talking about the news of the day.

Click here for more information about Sample the Sierra.

A basic life support CPR/AED class is being offered Oct. 11 from 5:30–9pm.

Cost is $50 for this one evening class. Fee includes manual.

This course is geared for the general public and covers 30:2 CPR for adults, children and infants AED use resuscitation masks.

How to help someone choking. Upon successful completion, receive a two-year certificate.

The instructor is Duane DeClerck. Call him at (530) 906.8171 for more details or set up a class geared for dental & health professionals.

Sign up early to guarantee that the class will run.

Register at the South Lake Tahoe Parks & Recreation Complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

For more info, call (530) 542.6056 or check www.recreationintahoe.com.

On Aug. 19 at 7pm, Barbie and Gabe of Wild Things bring native Sierra Nevada animals on stage at the U.S. Forest Service Taylor Creek Visitor Center.

This program gives people the opportunity to learn more about these fascinating animals, which could include a black bear yearling, bald eagle, beaver, great horned owl, turkey vulture or rattlesnake, depending on the health and general attitude of the animals that day. Most of these animals were taken in injured and can’t be released back to the wlld.

Do not bring pets to this program.

The local U.S. Forest Service’s nonprofit organization Tahoe Heritage Foundation accepts a $2 per person donation to help defray costs. This one-hour educational program, great for the whole family, takes place at the center’s Lake of the Sky Amphitheater, located on Highway 89 toward Emerald Bay.