Call in to KTHO FM 96.1/AM-590 (530.544.8255) this morning starting at 10:15 when Lake Tahoe News Publisher Kathryn Reed moderates the Ask the TRPA radio show. Or listen online at www.kthoradio.com.

• Tahoe Creamery of Minden gets a mention as a “readers’ favorite” in the March-April issue of Via magazine.

• Sierra-at-Tahoe has opened its 400-foot long superpipe for the season.

• The controversial Do It Center submitted plans earlier this month for a remodel of the building it has leased on Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe. Multiple calls to Do It Center officials went unreturned to confirm or deny the rumor they are trying to sublease the property.

• Serac Adventure Film School of Boulder, Colo., is putting on a weeklong class in Lake Tahoe March 21-28. Click here for details.

• Bliss Salon has opened on Kingsbury Grade in Stateline.

Pending favorable weather, USFS Fuels Management Crews are planning additional hazard fuels reduction prescribed fire work on Feb 23 on national forest lands near Highway 267 and National Avenue.

Up to 12 acres of hand piles may be involved in the operation.

Residents and travelers can expect to see smoke from prescribed fire project areas.

Other Fire Management Agencies both state and local, may also be conducting prescribed fire activity during this period.

Eat for free at IHOP on Feb. 23 from 7am-10pm.

The free order of short stack buttermilk pancakes is designed to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network, a nonprofit organization that raises money for children’s hospitals in North America.

The idea is for people to eat for free, but then doante the value of the meal — $4.99 — to the charity.

IHOPs are at 3730 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe; 10150 N. McCarran Blvd., Reno; 1800 S. Virginia St., 9786 S. Virginia St., Reno; 4752 Galleria Pkwy., Sparks; 3883 S. Carson St., Carson City.

Connect with a writing community, generate new material, play with language and meaning, explore craft and form, and develop a writing practice in a supportive creative environment.

For writers at any level of experience. Each workshop is different. Coffee provided.

Workshops meet March 6, 27, April 10, and 24;

Saturdays from 10am–1pm;

Cost is $35 for one workshop;

Sign up for two or more at a time for $30 each.

Contact Karen Terrey at (530) 386.3901 or email tangledrootswriting@gmail.com for more information and to sign up.

Terrey, poetry editor for the literary arts journal Quay, has an MFA in creative writing and teaches Creative Writing at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village.

In addition to Barton Hospice’s ongoing “Memory Dish Bereavement Groups” that meet twice monthly, there will be a nine session focused group called “Understanding Your Grief” beginning March 3.

“Understanding Your Grief” is sponsored and facilitated by Barton Hospice.

Pre-registration is required and the group will be limited to 10 people. After the second session, registration will be closed.

“Understanding Your Grief” is for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one.

Dates of the nine sessions are March 3, March 17, March 31, April 14, April 28, May 12, May 26, June 9 and June 23.

The group will meet at the Barton Foundation Office, 2092 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 600, South Lake Tahoe.

For more information or to register, call Phillipsen at (775) 220.0342 or Gina Bemis at (530) 543.5591.

A series of six classes is designed to provide instruction and support for caregivers who are or plan to care for a family member or friend 60 years of age or greater.

Classes will be for six weeks on Mondays beginning April 5. They will be from 1-3pm at Embassy Suites, 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe. Classes are free.

To register, call El Dorado County Department of Human Services Family Caregiver Support Program at (530) 621.6151.

• David Anderson won the Tahoe Writers Works flash fiction contest for with his piece “Sweet Chariot.” His short story will be printed in “EDGE Vol. 5” to be published in 2011.

• Steve Weissinger is in trouble with the law again. He will be in court in Minden on April 12 to face drunken driving charges after being arrested earlier this month. The Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce president-elect in 2003 pleaded no contest to taking $100 from the Raley’s in South Lake Tahoe where he worked. He was on the Douglas County Commission at that time.

• Tracy Mimmo of Peppermill Casino in Reno is slated to leave that post in March to take over as general manager of Red Hawk Indian casino in Shingle Springs.

• B Gorman, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, was among 31 chamber executives to graduate this month from the Western Association of Chamber Executives.

• A Verizon wireless store is moving into the old Re/Max building in South Lake Tahoe.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is offering basic wildland firefighter training this spring.

Those who successfully complete the course are eligible to become a member of the LTBMU emergency on-call, or AD (administratively determined), firefighter program. There is no fee or tuition to attend.

Two class sessions will be a day session and a night session. The day session will be April 12-15 from 8am-4:30pm. The night session will be April 19-23 from 4-10pm.

Class sessions will be at the U.S. Forest Service Meyers Fire Training room located at 2215 Keetak Ave. in Meyers. Call (530) 543.2881 for directions.

In order to pass the class, all students must participate in the field day on May 8. The field day is a physically demanding experience. Wildland fire fighters must pass a work capacity test to fully qualify. Participants will be required to have approved firefighting boots, and proper footwear will be discussed during the course.

Advanced registration is required. To register for the class, contact Josh Thalacker at (530) 543.2881. Students who have not registered may show up the day of the class and will be enrolled if seats are available on a case-by-case basis.

Pending favorable conditions, U.S. Forest Service will conduct a hand pile burn operation in the Kings Beach area on Feb. 18-19.

The project area is less than 10 acres in size.

Please be aware that other fire management agencies, state and local, may also be conducting prescribed fire operations during this period.

Residents and travelers can expect to see smoke from prescribed fire project areas.