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We all have certain songs that bring back vivid memories—a first crush, a family vacation, or even just riding in the car with friends. Why does music form such strong associations?

Research shows that people with dementia will respond to familiar songs from their past helps them regain memories from when they first heard that song. Even for persons with severe dementia, music can tap deep emotional recall. For individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s, memory for things—names, places, facts—is compromised, but memories from our teenage years can be well-preserved.

Don Ashton, the El Dorado County Director of Health & Human Services, was appointed Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) during the Board of Supervisor's meeting in Placerville Tuesday.

When Sue Novasel, the South Shore representative on the Board of Supervisors was asked why Ashton was chosen, she said his 23 years of experience in the public sector is extensive, and he'll know how to take the county to the next level.

With thousands of fans lining the streets of Santa Rosa, Team KATUSHA’s star sprinter Alexander Kristoff (NOR) catapulted to a stage win, his eighth of the season, by a rim over all-time Amgen Tour of California stage win record holder Peter Sagan (SVK) of Tinkoff, who had spent much of the 109.1-mile day in a breakaway. The Amgen Breakaway from Heart Disease™ Women’s Race Empowered with SRAM also spent the day in Santa Rosa, with cycling’s winningest woman Marianne Vos (NED) cinching the victory for Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team.

It's not every day that elite cyclists come to your hometown for an international race, so when they do, take advantage of it. Students from Bijou Community School walked to the corner of Pioneer Trail and Ski Run Blvd. on Thursday to watch Stage 1 of the Amgen Breakaway from Heart Disease Race.

As the women raced by the young fans, they heard the chanting of "U.S.A" and the sounds of cowbells.

After a race around Lake Tahoe, Stage 1 for the women ended with Megan Guarnier of the United States in first. Here are the winners Thursday:

Stage 1 Podium

The Tahoe Tot Spot is celebrating their grand re-opening with a special day on May 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. They've invited the public to stop by and check out all of the changes.

There will be treats, a bounce house, fun activities for the kids, face-painting and ice cream. And the best part, everything is FREE! There will even be a Kid Fit class at 10:00 a.m.

They are located at 1012 Al Tahoe Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, next to Rite-Aid.

Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California is in the books, and now it's time for 180 of the best in men's cycling and 108 of elite women's racers to head to South Lake Tahoe.

Peter Sagan won Wednesday's race at the Laguna Seca racetrack. BMC's Greg Van Avermaet challenged Sagan, but it wasn't enough and the Tinkoff rider easily won and now wears the green jersey of the sprint competition leader. Dimension Data’s Nathan Haas was third after leading out the sprint.

Stage 4, top 10
1. Peter SAGAN, TINKOFF, in 5:16:33
2. Greg VAN AVERMAET, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00

It came down to the final moment of the race, and Peter Sagan emerged from the impressive field of sprinters as the winner of the San Diego Stage 1 during the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday, May 15.

Sagen, who rides for Tinkoff, was last year’s overall winner. This was his third victory of the season. Cannondale’s Wouter Wippert earned runner-up honors on the stage and Dylan Groenewegen of LottoNL – Jumbo took third at the end of the 105 mile stage in and around San Diego.

An award-winning musician and producer was arrested Thursday near a Lake Tahoe casino after drug enforcement officers found nearly 58 grams of methamphetamine on the man, according to a Tri-NET task force officer.

In a representative democracy, the system the United States supposedly has, the policy making is controlled by the representatives elected by the people. The idea behind representative democracy is that people will elect representatives that will serve their best interest. However, in the United States the funding for election campaigns is provided by large corporations, banks, and a handful of wealthy individuals that results in the election of representatives who serve the best interests of the large corporations, banks, and wealthy individuals.

A home designed by Julia Morgan on the shores of South Lake Tahoe near Stateline has sold for $8.5 million, making it the largest residential home sales in the city in nearly a decade.

Morgan, best known as being the architect behind Hearst Castle in San Simeon, designed two homes in Lake Tahoe. The one on the South Shore, named Twin Pines, was built in 1928 and includes a 2,750-square-foot main house with an 864-square-foot guesthouse. The home sits on 1.65 acres with more than 180 feet of sandy beach, a pier, and buoy.

The community is invited to Lake Tahoe Community College’s Annual Student Art Exhibition opening reception on Sunday, May 22 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Commons, located in the Main Building on campus. An awards ceremony honoring the winners starts at 3:30 p.m. There will be approximately 400 works of student art on display, ranging from digital art to printmaking and sculpture. All of the artwork displayed represents student production over the past year. Much of the work reflects the Art Department’s curriculum, but also includes work created independently by LTCC students.

What does a police officer do after they retire?

Hunt for Bigfoot, of course.

That is what South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Donna Kingman said she'll be doing after hanging up her shield after 29 years of working in the community. Her official last day is April 30, but Thursday was her last shift working in uniform.

Of course, she won't be hunting for Bigfoot in cold, shaded areas as she'll be seeking sun and a life of being "footloose and fancy free."

Entries are open now for the second annual Lake Tahoe WordWave One-Act Play Competition. “WordWave, A Festival of Story at Lake Tahoe,” will return Oct. 21-23 to the Tallac Historic Site in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Winners of the play competition receive a $500 cash prize and the chance to see their work directed and produced as a staged reading on the historic Boathouse Theatre stage.

The Lake Tahoe Community College Writers’ Series welcomes novelist and short story writer Daniel Chacón on Friday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m. in LTCC’s library. Chacón will read selections from his works, answer audience questions about the writing process, and sign copies of his books, which will be available for sale. This event is sponsored by LTCC’s Equity Office, and is free and open to the public.

The popular Animal Coalition of Tahoe Bowling Night fundraiser has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at the Tahoe Bowl from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

ACT's primary goal is to provide a low-cost Spay/Neuter Program, and funds raised during the event will support that as well as the Animal Shelter in Meyers.

For $20 per person, people can participate and enjoy three hours of bowling. There is also a popular raffle with lots of donated prizes as well as awards for best team scores. The entry fee covers bowling, shoe rental and a raffle ticket.

It was down to the 11th hour, Chris Brackett had to be out of his South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle location and had no place to go with all of his boards. He was in the same situation as Rude Brothers, the bagel and coffee shop that shared the same location. With the building sold and all tenants given notice to move, both businesses needed to relocate.

Entrepreneurs who have already started a business or are dreaming of starting one are often seeking the freedom to define their quality of life. Tahoe is appealing as one assumes they can work and “live the life,” however, many aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners find the reality is often stress over licensing, logistics, finances and marketing.

Location

The 2015 SnowGlobe video has been released, and it shows the best of the South Shore from Emerald Bay to Lake Tahoe Community College, the venue for the annual three-day music festival.

Tickets are already on sale for the 2016 show which will be on the new fields which will be built this summer. Early Bird tickets can be purchased here.

South Lake Tahoe will see high in the 60s this week, with a chance of rain coming into the Basin by April 8. 2016.

According to the National Weather Service in Reno, forecast simulations are coming into better agreement in a transition to a wet pattern starting the end of the upcoming week into next weekend. The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day and 8-14 day outlooks both agree on this as well.

Barton Memorial Hospital was recently awarded a four star rating from The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Each Medicare certified acute care hospital across the nation receives a patient perception rating between one and five stars based on patient satisfaction surveys. Of the 298 California hospitals assessed, Barton Hospital ranked in the top 14 percent.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) has selected Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows as the proposed site of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup in 2017. U.S. Ski Team officials are supporting the return of World Cup ski racing to the Olympic venue of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows for the first time since 1969.

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Wednesday, March 23, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe, brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

Weather - South Lake Tahoe will have a high today of 47 and a low tonight of 27. Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47. East wind around 5 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Friday, March 18, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

Weather - South Lake Tahoe will have a high today of 59 and a low tonight of 30. Today:Sunny, with a high near 59. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Thursday, March 17, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

Weather - South Lake Tahoe will have a high today of 56 and a low tonight of 30. Today: Sunny, with a high near 56. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 30. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.