science

To help mark the late Malcolm X’s birthday, Lake Tahoe Community College is hosting a screening of his most famous speech followed by a faculty panel discussion on Tuesday, May 19 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Board/Aspen Room inside the library building.

This is a free event, and the entire community is welcome and encouraged to participate.

Christine Ann Alper passed gently, peacefully and with grace in her sleep in the early morning hours of May 4 following a recurrence of cancer. The disease affected her but in no way defined her. Her husband, Charles Whitten, was by her side. She was 58 years old.

Due to the rising cost of education in the country, more students are finding the value in the California Community College system. In fact, community colleges in California make up the largest system of higher education in the United States with 2.1 million students on 112 campuses.

With statistics like this, the recognition given to Lake Tahoe Community College this week show how unique the local school is now that LTCC has made the list of "Top Community Colleges in California."

The University of California, Davis and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency recently released their yearly water clarity readings for Lake Tahoe. The good news: Mid-lake water clarity improved significantly in 2014, with an average reading of 77.8 feet. That’s 7.5 feet greater than the average reading for 2013, and almost 14 feet greater than the 64.1 feet measured in 1997, Lake Tahoe’s lowest recorded clarity.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra recently awarded 14 worthy organizations, projects, and programs with funding from their Community Grant program. The mission of the organization is to “Strengthen and enhance the lives of women and youth in our community and the world.”

The following organizations/programs/projects best aligned with this mission according the the Soroptimists: Between Horses and Humans, Bijou Kindergarten Adventure Introduction, Bijou 5th Grade Enrichment Field Trip, Health Talents

As word of California’s measles outbreak spread to even remote Mariposa County, health officer Robert Ryder tried to capitalize on the alarming news by reaching out to families whose children weren’t fully vaccinated.

The 10th Annual Science Expo at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences will be held March 16-20, 2015.

There will be hands-on science investigations and experiments for children ages 6-12. The focus of this year's expo is health, nutrition, the human body, ecosystems, food webs, life cycles, inheritance, adaption and biodiversity.

What does it take to feed nine billion people? How does our food system encourage California agriculture to remain globally competitive, while reducing poverty in low-income countries? How can we deliver healthier outcomes for malnourished communities in Asia and Africa, while reducing rising obesity rates around the world? A food system that meets growing global demand must lower our environmental footprint as well.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.

Across the nation, adjunct faculty at colleges will be walking off the job Wednesday in recognition of National Adjunct Walkout Day. In South Lake Tahoe though, full and part-time faculty at LTCC will host a "Teach-In" to educate students and the public about adjunct positions.

From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., faculty, students and the public will meet in the Main Building's Commons to discuss part-time faculty concerns nationwide, including fair wages, improved job security, and better working conditions.

A Lake Tahoe woman is suing a longtime bear protection group after she says she got death threats for reporting an aggressive black bear to Nevada authorities, who then killed the animal.

Adrienne Evans, a professional mountain bike racer and high school science teacher, accuses the BEAR League of igniting an ugly social media campaign that turned into a vengeful attempt to run her and her husband out of town. She said she loves bears and wasn't trying to get the animal killed.

February 01 Unkle Funkle @ McP's
Super Bowl Party @ Himmel Haus
Seraphin @ Northstar
February 02 Mark Wilson @ McP's
Ben Fuller @ West Shore Cafe
DJ Lambchop @ Fat Cat Cafe
February 03 Coop Da Loop, Dub Coling, Resonant Language @ Whisky Dick's
Buddy Emmer Blues Band @ Harrah's
Open Mic w/ Lucas Arizu @ Fat Cat Cafe
February 4-8 Alan Havey / Joe Dosch @ Improv at Harveys
February 04 Zebuel, Haylestorm, IJV @ The Grid
Chris Emmington @ fat Cat Cafe
February 05 The Saddle Tramps @ Hard Rock Hotel
Taking Root @ Rojo's

The El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society presents Before and After the Flames: Fire, Forest and Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada, a talk by Dr. Hugh D. Safford, Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region (including California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands) and Dr. Becky Estes, ecologist with the the US Forest Service, Tuesday, January 27th, 7pm at the Planning Commission Meeting Room, Building C of the County Office Buildings, 2850 Fairlane Court in Placerville. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Speakers from Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and from other colleges and universities will be sharing their knowledge and experiences with students and the community during their upcoming Speaker Spotlight Series.

On January 28, LTCC will feature one of their own, Bruce Armbrust, a Mathematics and Physics instructor at the college. Armbrust will present “Worlds Beyond Our Own,” a look at the history and science behind the search for other planets in our universe.

A first-of-its-kind circuit by scuba divers around Lake Tahoe is complete. Now, experts are seeking to understand worrying changes on the bottom of the landmark alpine lake.

Members of the scuba team that 13 years ago reached the wreck of a famous steamer sunk in Tahoe's frigid depths completed the first circumnavigation of the lake by divers in October. Scientists are examining the data collected to understand why some of the lake's tiniest bottom dwellers and the plants they depend on appear to be disappearing at an alarming rate.

2015/16 LTUSD Kindergarten Enrollment - The Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School (LTESMS) in Meyers is now taking names for the Fall ‘15 “line-up” of kindergartners. If you have a child who will be turning 5 on or before September 1st, 2015, please come to the Magnet School office (1095 East San Bernardino Ave.) to fill out a lottery application. The lottery will be held on April 1, 2015.

Enrollment at the Magnet School is NOT on a first-come, first-served basis, so you may submit the application any time before the end of March.

Television meteorologists will gather on the south shore once again during Operation Sierra Storm.

Dr. James Hansen, former Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, will be the keynote speaker at a January 8 session that is open to the public.

If you would like your child to attend kindergarten at the Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School (LTESM) for the 2015/16 school year you may start turning in student names after the district's holiday break.

LTESMS will start taking lottery forms on January 5. To be a kindergartner in the fall children have to be 5 before September 1, 2015. For those that turn 5 after the first, students will be enrolled in Transitional Kinder program held at Tahoe Valley Elementary.

A four year degree program could be in Lake Tahoe Community College's near future. They are waiting to hear from the California Community College's Chancellor's office to see if they are one of the 15 community colleges in the state who will be allowed the opportunity to offer one four-year degree.

LTCC's Baccalaureate Degree Steering Committee submitted a proposal to the Chancellor's office and should hear on January 21, 2015 if they are going to be offering a four-year degree in Public Safety Administration.

Past climates in the region characterized by ice ages or droughts leave clues that are etched into our mountain slopes. These records remain today for us to uncover in the field, laboratory, and through computer modeling efforts.

Ongoing weather and climate research in the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin and how it shapes our understanding of the greater Earth system will be discussed in the next Tahoe Center for Environmental Science free public lecture.

As part of their mission to give back to the community and protect the environment, Vail Resorts gave away 49 grants to Lake Tahoe area groups during a ceremony on Tuesday at Heavenly Valley.

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is widely regarded as the largest and oldest citizen science project in the world. Each year, from 14 December through 5 January, tens of thousands of volunteers head out into the winter to count birds for a day. This tradition goes back to 1900, and in the intervening years, these birders have built a database on bird populations that is unmatched by any other wildlife census.

I’ve lived in South Lake Tahoe for 22 years, and I’m the Dean of Career & Technical Education and Instruction at Lake Tahoe Community College. I'd like to share a few stories about students I’ve known through my work at LTCC, and how Measure F will provide new pathways to create many more great stories like these – stories about young people whose lives were changed because of the programs and opportunities available through our local community college.

South Tahoe High Graduate Francisco Figueroa-Yanez, known as "Frankie" to his friends, has his new career as a school teacher in San Francisco highlighted in a recent SFGate article titled "Bay Area schools scramble for qualified teachers amid shortage." Frankie graduated from STHS in 2007, went to Santa Clara University where he majored in Biology and Spanish and is now at the University of San Francisco working on his masters degree. He visits South Lake Tahoe when time allows to see his parents and friends.