CASA El Dorado to host 2nd Annual South Lake Tahoe Summer Soiree: Celebrating Brighter Tomorrows
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Child Advocates of El Dorado County (CASA) invites the community to its 2nd Annual Summer Soiree: Celebrating Brighter Tomorrows, an evening dedicated to the belief that every child deserves brighter tomorrows. The event will take place on Friday, June 26 at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
Set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Tahoe, the Summer Soirée will bring together community members, supporters, and advocates for an evening of delicious food, complimentary drinks, and meaningful connection, all in support of CASA’s mission.
Guests will experience a powerful CASA impact story, highlighting the life-changing difference advocates make in the lives of children in foster care and the juvenile justice system. The evening will also feature an exciting auction and recognition of the South Lake Tahoe CASA Volunteer of the Year, honoring a volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to serving youth in our community.
Proceeds from the event will support CASA El Dorado’s mission to provide advocacy, support, and a voice for abused, neglected, and at-risk foster and juvenile justice youth throughout El Dorado County.
Tickets are $125 per person, and sponsorship opportunities are also available. Community members are encouraged to attend and be part of an evening that celebrates impact, connection, and hope for brighter tomorrows. Tickets and additional information can be found casaeldorado.org/events.
For more information, visit the website above or call (530) 622-9882, ext. 2.
Writers in the wild: The wounded poet
For two years, I’d been thoroughly gaslit by my brother into believing I’d lost my beloved longboard — until I spotted it in the background of a photo he sent to the family group chat. Needless to say, I demanded its immediate return.
So, after I clocked out on Friday, I smiled at the sunshine, thinking it would be the perfect day for my official longboarding comeback. I drove to a downhill stretch of the Legacy Trail near Truckee, stepped onto the board, and as I picked up speed, the wind rushed through my hair, the sun hit my shoulders just right, and for a moment I felt seventeen again.
Then — the trail curved quickly. “Shoot, I’m not going to turn in time. Wait — how do I stop this thing again?” I panicked. “Maybe if I just —”
And just like that, I was sprawled on the side of the trail, my summer overalls ripped at the knees and hips, hair tangled and sweat-soaked, gravel embedded in my skin, blood on my shoulder, arms, knee, and toes — looking like the physical embodiment of poor decision-making.
Eventually, I managed to hype myself up enough to limp back uphill to my car and drive home.
Standing in the kitchen was my roommate. Luckily for me, she’s a ski patroller, which basically means she can magically transform from regular person into wilderness medic at a moment’s notice. She had everything an injured longboarder could possibly dream of. She cleaned my wounds and patched me back together with the kind of patience usually reserved for wounded wildlife.
And that was the start of my weekend. Now that we’ve established the setting — me hobbling around like a wounded Victorian child — I can move on to the actual fun part.
A couple months ago, I got a call from Trails and Vistas, a local nonprofit, asking if I’d run a few community poetry workshops. I was immediately excited. No one had ever just reached out asking me to teach before — usually it meant pitching myself, sending emails, and trying to convince people I knew what I was doing.
“Of course,” I told them, trying to sound more composed than I felt.
So, this weekend, still half-bandaged and moving like someone three times my age after my longboarding disaster, I got to teach alongside Karen Terrey, Nevada County’s Poet Laureate.
Karen — or Kat, as everyone calls her — is a poet I’ve looked up to since moving to Tahoe. She’s an incredible writer, an incredible teacher, and somehow also one of the warmest people I’ve met here.
On Saturday morning, I limped over to Church of the Mountains. I introduced myself, learned a little about our students, and set the theme: nature and environment — which, if you know anything about my writing, makes complete sense. Nature sneaks into almost every poem I write.
My favorite part of teaching these workshops is getting to know people twice — first as people, then as writers. There’s something special about hearing work written only a few minutes earlier. You start to see how they think, the images they carry, the questions they live with.
One Truckee High student, Charlie, wrote: “I think of the bird, who stretched her bony, downy wings, and whose feet grasped the edges of her wiry, too-small nest. I ask myself, did she hesitate?” As her mother sat beside her, tears immediately welled in her eyes, reminded that her daughter would be leaving for college soon. “Did she consider the fall beneath her perch? Or did the possibility of a wild, blue sky whisk those thoughts away?” she read.
And while Charlie’s poem was stunning, the truth is everyone in that room wrote something beautiful. People are endlessly creative, endlessly surprising, and helping someone discover a new way into their own writing is a special thing.
Kat later taught students how to respond to each other’s work with more depth than “I really liked this;” the art of revision. And honestly, I was just as excited to sit there learning as I was to teach.
The few times I’ve written or worked with Kat, I’ve left wanting to crack open every poem I’ve ever written and reimagine what it could become. I hope our students felt something similar.
At the end of the day, as I limped back toward my car, I knew there was very little left in this sore, scabbed-up body that I could realistically accomplish. I postponed my twenty-mile bike ride and multipitch climbing plans for another weekend. Sunday would be reserved for rest.
All my road rash will be long gone by the time I have to fit into a wetsuit next weekend for a three-day kayak guiding course, right?
Obituary: Matthew Taylor
August 6, 1975 – April 22, 2026
Matthew Wilson Taylor (“Matt”) passed away on April 22, 2026, at the age of 50, following a sudden heart attack.
Born in 1975 and raised in the natural beauty of South Lake Tahoe, Matt was truly a chip off the old block. Growing up under the influence of his father and coach, Michael Taylor, Matt developed a lifelong love of sports, especially tennis. He excelled in both tennis and baseball at South Tahoe High School, interests that stayed with him throughout his life.
Matt went on to attend the University of California, Davis, where he played collegiate tennis and earned a BS in Biological Sciences in 1997. This is where he met so many lifelong friends. After graduation, he worked in the wine industry in the Napa Valley before beginning his career in Quality Control at Genentech in South San Francisco. He made the nearby town of Burlingame his home. During his 24 years at Genentech, he built lasting friendships and was deeply valued by his colleagues. In 7 short years, he went from a lab analyst to a Senior Supervisor in QC. He then became an award-winning member of management. He was reliable, easy to chat with, and very knowledgeable. Matt retired from Genentech early in 2023 and embraced the life of an avid sports fan, a great friend, a proud uncle, brother, cousin, son, and nephew.
Matt found great joy in attending live shows and sporting events with friends and family. He especially loved sharing those experiences—whether at concerts or games—with the many people he held close. Some of his favorite musicians were The Mother Hips, Pearl Jam, The Who, Pink Floyd, and the list goes on. In the sports world, Matt especially loved cheering on his San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, through good seasons annnnd other ones (though, according to Matt, you can NEVER have a bad day at the ballpark).
Matt was incredibly smart—almost suspiciously so. If there was a random fact, historical date, or obscure bit of trivia to be known, Matt already knew it, and then some. In recent years, Matt leaned fully into his love of reading, playing board games and doing puzzles, always eager for any excuse to gather friends together and outwit them all! Whether at a board game, a concert, or a sporting event, Matt delighted in connection and camaraderie—and never missed a chance to show up for others.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Mike and Carol Taylor. He is survived by his younger sister, Maren Linkugel; her husband, Eric Linkugel; and their children, Cody and Claire, of California’s Grover Beach.
Matt will be remembered for his warmth, his love of connection through knowledge, and the joy he brought to those around him. He will be deeply missed by all.
