Hear Lake Tahoe News Publisher Kathryn Reed moderate the Ask the TRPA show this morning at 10:15am on KTHO AM-590 or www.kthoradio.com.

Debbie Endsley, 51, of Placerville has been appointed by the governor to be director of the Department of Personnel Administration. She has served DPA as chief deputy director since 2007, chief of the Benefits Division from 2004-06 and deputy chief of the Benefits Division from 1998-2004. Prior to that, Endsley served the California Public Employees’ Retirement System as a research analyst from 1995-1998 and the Department of Rehabilitation as an associate budget analyst from 1988-95 and associate personnel analyst from 1984-88. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,965. Endsley is a Republican.

Genoa Country Store owners Kathleen Contento and Doug Lubushkin are handing the keys over to Benedetti Markets Inc. on Oct. 1.

Substantive changes are not expected to the rural Nevada outpost.

For more information, go to www.genoacountrystore.com.

The sign wasn't busted -- Carrows is gone.

Another business has closed shop in South Lake Tahoe — this one with sizable square footage.

The Carrows near the Y left last week. The Carrows by Stateline is still open.

With the city looking to include the bulk of the town in its latest redevelopment plan, the closure should be good news. This is because one of the criteria to be a redevelopment area is that it must be full of blight. Economic blight, aka empty storefronts, counts in the definition.

With the creative parking job by many Lake Tahoe Community College students, it’s obvious there’s a lot of them this quarter.

The South Lake Tahoe campus began the fall quarter Monday. At Tuesday night’s board of trustee meeting it was revealed that only seven more students are on campus compared to a year ago, but they are there more of them.

This is because the number of full-time students is up by 19 percent, while part-timers are slightly down.

It was pointed out that in this economy if people don’t have a job, they take more classes. Even the students who were already full time are taking additional units.

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association in collaboration with the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce has $30,000 in grants to give away — three times what it had in 2008. The grants are to help organizations market and promote their events. New events will be given priority. For more information, go to www.northlaketahoechamber.com.

Sierra Resort’s annual Keep Sierra Clean day is Oct. 11. The goal is to collect 2,000 pounds of trash from the slopes. Last year’s clean up effort yielded more than 1,820 pounds of trash including three snowboards, an iPod, a digital camera and a Blackberry.

Members of the community are invited to join Sierra Resort employees as they spread out to clean up the mountain. This year’s collection effort will cover a broader area than the inaugural year, with some teams heading up one of the chairlifts, some covering the base area, and some focusing on critical stream zones. All of the trash will be weighed and collected, with prizes given in a variety of categories. There will be a BBQ at the end of the day to celebrate Keepín Sierra Clean.

Participants should come prepared to navigate steep and sometimes rocky terrain with sturdy footwear. Work gloves are recommended. To help keep the event low-impact, participants should also bring their own water bottles.

At the conclusion of the event, there will be a tailgate ski swap in “B” Lot, where participants are invited to buy and sell ski and snowboard gear. There is no fee to participate in the swap, which will end at 3pm.

Event schedule:

10am registration begins

10:30am ride to the top of Sierra Resort

12:30pm gather by the main lodge to weigh and collect trash

1pm BBQ begins

1:30pm prizes distributed

2pm ski swap begins

3pm event concludes

For more information, visit www.SierraAtTahoe.com or call (530) 659.7453.

On Sept. 18, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County Family Support Council received generous donations from the Jay G. Bourgerie Trust. Jay G. Bourgerie died July 20th, 2008, at his home in Zephyr Cove.

The donations were presented by Erik Bourgerie, the nephew of Jay G. Bourgerie, and executor of the trust. Bourgerie, a captain with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado, drove the 1,100-plus miles to Minden to present the donations.

Bourgerie stated that his uncle, an entrepreneur and world-renowned consultant, had a strong sense of care for community, and his uncle recognized and understood the key role that law enforcement agencies and family support groups play in their community; therefore his uncle instructed in his trust that these donations be made to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County Family Support Council.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Youth Services/DARE/GREAT program and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Protection Association received donations of $15,000 each; and the Douglas County Family Support Council received a donation of $37,500.00.

The donations will be used by each of the recipient organizations to enhance programs carried out for the betterment of citizens of Douglas County.

Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe meets Sept. 23 at noon at Harvey’s Convention Center. A Candidates’ Forum featuring candidates for the Lake Tahoe UnifiedSchool Board of Trustees as well as the Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees will be presented and is open to the public. Lunch is $15. Call 866-801-8652 to RSVP.

SISLT on Sept. 30 at noon at Harvey’s Convention Center will have a Candidates’ Forum featuring candidates for the South Tahoe Public Utilities District. Lunch is $15. Call 866-801-8652 to RSVP.

South Tahoe’s First Tracks Productions new snowboarding movie “Droppin'”will premiere in the showroom at MontBleu Resort in Stateline on Sept. 25. The premiere is free. Doors open at 7:30, with the show starting at 8pm. Raffle for a Sierra-at-Tahoe season pass, a new snowboard, and a lot more. After-party with live music at Opal for 21+. To see the trailer for “Droppin'” and for more info, go to http://www.firsttracksproductions.com.

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