love

The American slopestyle snowboarders reigned supreme at the 35th edition of the Burton US Open on Friday. Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, MI) scored his first major slopestyle win and fellow Michigander Eric Beauchemin (Grand Blanc, MI) finished right behind him in second. On the women’s side Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, CA) took home her third-consecutive US Open title and Karly Shorr (Milford, MI) took second.

Ari Ramos, a 2004 graduate of South Tahoe High, is running across the country to bring awareness to obesity. She is using all 2,700 miles of the journey to engage with school children and communities about healthy lifestyles.

Ari touched the Atlantic Ocean and left Jacksonville, Florida on January 28. Today, Tuesday, February 16, she is 350 miles away in Fort Walton Beach.

According to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it is essential for people to feel love and belonging to reach optimal health and wellness. Valentine’s Day, whether you celebrate the holiday or not, reminds us of love. The word “love” can be confusing and have different meanings for everyone.

Here is a list of some of the things you can enjoy in South Lake Tahoe January 29-January 31, 2016:

Magic Fusion at the Loft Theatre & Lounge. A perfect blend of intimate Magic & Comedy. (530) 523-8024 - Loft Theatre & Lounge at the Heavenly Village, 1021 Heavenly Village Way

Dr. Chris Pavich, who was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, has returned to his hometown to open Kingsbury Chiropractic.

After attending the University of Nevada, Reno and earning his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life West Chiropractic College, Dr. Pavich opened his office located at 276 Kingsbury Grade #1050 in Stateline.

He will be celebrating the new office with a Tahoe Chamber ribbon cutting event on January 28, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. The Grand Opening is from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Pavich is the grandson of Sierra Ski Ranch founder Vern Sprock.

It's been almost two-and-a-half years since South Lake Tahoe native Mitch Underhill died unexpectedly at the age of 34. The firefighter/paramedic with Lake Valley Fire Protection District was passionate not only about his family and career, but for the mountains and community he left behind.

In his memory, the Mitch Underhill Mountain Fund has been created at Lake Tahoe Community College.

"He was so loved in the community," said his widow Sarah. "He was an inspiration."

Unusual snowpack conditions in the Sierra Nevada are contributing to a type of avalanche problem that in the past decade has rarely been widespread in the region.

That’s according to the Sierra Avalanche Center, a non-profit organization that partners with the U.S. Forest Service to observe and analyze snow conditions in the Lake Tahoe area and beyond.

“There could be avalanches in places that have never seen avalanches before,” said Brandon Schwartz, lead forecaster for the center.

On Wednesday morning, December 23, 2015, my wife and best friend, Charlene Middlebrook lost her long and courageous battle with cancer. As with everything she did, Charlene handled the cancer and a subsequent stroke, with grace, courage, total resolve and of course her humor and her smile, once again being the hero in our family. Charlene and I met here in Tahoe 35 years ago and soon discovered that we had both grown up in Southern California about two miles apart.

We're at the beginning of another new year and a lot of us use this day to reflect upon the last 365 days and look forward to the next. The lists of annual resolutions are made, but how may of us actually stick to them?

The New Year's resolutions are a bit like babies: They're fun to make but extremely difficult to maintain. According to Health magazine, each January roughly one in three Americans resolve to better themselves in some way. A much smaller percentage of people actually make good on those resolutions.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a person of interest in a burglary at the Sprint Store, 3790 N Hwy 395, Carson City, NV next to Trader Joes.

On Course Events has teamed up with Sushi Pier Tahoe again to produce the 5th Annual Shred for Sushi Rail Jam on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

Whitney Gardner realized quickly she was overmatched when she first competed in the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup.

The competition was stronger and more experienced. The jumps intimidated her. The features scared her. The courses were too challenging. She was constantly falling. She just wasn’t meeting her own expectations.

Ever since she transitioned into skicross from alpine skiing, Gardner had strove to someday compete on the world cup tour. But now that she was there, she had to admit she wasn’t ready. That was difficult.

For years I thawed my turkey, covered it with butter and herbs and foil, and popped it into the oven, always afraid to steer away from what I knew worked.

That was, until I watched Emeril Lagasse on Good Morning America about ten year ago. Now, its all about the brine!

The first year I tried the brine I had the recipe all written out and followed it closely, but since then I improvise with whatever is in the kitchen cupboards.

Since this is Tuesday there is still time to do a brine, but you need to hurry.

The inaugural Winter Bazaar will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2015, at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The event is open to the public and will feature stocking stuffers, gifts for Hanukkah and Christmas, and small prizes for attending. Food will be offered for sale by Seniors, Inc. The Senior Center is located at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

A little snow isn't going to get in the way of South Lake Tahoe's hosting of the 2015 NIAA Division 1-A High School Boys & Girls Soccer Championships November 13 and 14.

Since the new field at South Tahoe High is synthetic, snow can be plowed easily off the field, leaving it in good shape.

"Our maintenance department has done a great job of clearing the soccer field which is in excellent condition considering we recently had two snowstorms" said STHS Athletic Director Tony Sunzeri.

Tahoe Mountain Lab’s first ever Hackathon will be held on November 7, 2015 to help the League to Save Lake Tahoe build a new visitor app for their recently overhauled Fritzi & David Huntington Environmental Education Center in South Lake Tahoe.

In September, longtime physician Dr. Paul Marlowe will say farewell to his patients and the urgent care practice where he has provided care for 32 years as he embarks on an adventure with his wife Lorraine. The uniquely quirky and endearing Dr. Marlowe is known throughout the community for providing exceptional care since 1983.

"This makes us feel really good," said Mt. Tallac High School teacher Mr. Romer. He was talking about the community members who attended the school's Open House on Monday, the first day of classes for the 75 students who attend Mt. Tallac.

Popular South Tahoe High English teacher Bridey Heidel is trying to attract the attention of musicians Duran Duran and television host Ellen DeGeneres.

Why you ask?

To understand we need to take a step back in time to the year 1983 when a young Bridey was in 7th grade. She had found the band Duran Duran at a very difficult time in her young life and they helped her cope with a life full of trauma as well as moving from town to town. By the time she graduated high school she had been in 26 schools.

"How wonderful you are making us feel," were words shared by fallen firefighter Mikey Hallenbeck's dad Kirby during the candlelight vigil held in his honor on Wednesday evening at Sierra-at-Tahoe. "A reflection of your love for him is reflected back to us."

Approximately 350 people gathered on the Plaza at the ski resort where the younger Hallenbeck worked for two seasons.

The first thing Justin Zunino will have to do is exchange all of his purple clothing for a wardrobe in blue and gold as he starts his new job as Vice Principal at South Tahoe High.

Well, maybe that will be the second thing, first will be buying a home.

Zunino and his wife Nicole are moving to South Lake Tahoe from Oroville, CA where he worked for 17 years, 13 of which were spent teaching and coaching baseball at Oroville High School and the rest as the Vice Principal. Nicole was the school's counselor.

Update 8/7/15: The body found off the OHV Trail west of Slate Mountain in the El Dorado National Forest was positively identified today as 45 year-old Edward Cavanaugh of San Francisco. The identification was done by a forensic odontologist, who compared Cavanaugh’s dental records to the upper and lower jaw bones found near his motorcycle. The cause of death is still under investigation.

STOP RIGHT THERE. Don’t move a muscle, buster. Stay out of this book or I WILL CHOMP YOU!

Meet Bear. He's exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep. Meet Duck, Bear's persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear

If you're a dinosaur, all of your friends are dead. If you're a pirate, all of your friends have scurvy. If you're a tree, all of your friends are end tables.

These are just a few lines out of books written by South Tahoe High School graduate Jory John who's ninth book, "I Will Chomp You," is being released on Tuesday.

The celebrities have been gone from South Lake Tahoe for over a week, back to their jobs and families. While they were the attraction of the American Century Golf Championship, the true stars were the volunteers who made it all happen.

Volunteers helped in many aspects. Soroptimists had their food tents and spent every day serving sandwiches, drinks, chips and snacks.

The Lake Tahoe Bike Coalition had a group out each day, manning the bike valet for the 200 cyclists that used their free services.