After failing on several attempts to wipe out two yellowjacket nests (my bride was stung a few times), a friend from Contra Costa County mentioned she could not rely on the county for yellowjacket control, but because we lived in Alameda County, we could.
I checked the website for the county’s vector control agency, that also does rodents, mosquitoes and other insects, and discovered she was right. It was time to enlist help against those two underground yellowjacket nests.
I filled out the online form over the Labor Day weekend and received a call from Mike Tuesday morning saying he could be here at later in the morning. That time didn’t work, but 2 p.m. that afternoon did. He treated both nests and the next day there were no yellowjackets for the first time in weeks.
We’ve had similar speedy responses when wrestling with mosquito problems. The agency is supported by a modest parcel tax that voters have twice approved.
It’s great to see government work so efficiently.


We enjoyed the week before Labor Day at South Lake Tahoe after the crowds dropped because school has started in many communities. We returned on Labor Day Saturday and were very pleased we were not headed the other direction—there was plenty of traffic on Highway 88. We choose 88 both for its scenery and to stop at the famed Lockford Sausage Co.
Typically, we have stopped there during ski season and it rarely has been busy. Reading on Yelp and other platforms I learned there could be a crowd. We stopped late in the afternoon on the way to the Lake and it was a 20-minute wait with four people standing outside the door.
When we returned on Sept. 1, WOW. The line wound around the block. I guessed, as I decided to skip it this time, that it would have a more than an hour wait given my earlier experience. The sausage—typically a treat at street fairs—is excellent at a fair price, but not that good. We opted for a roadside fruit stand instead.
If you’re headed for Lake Tahoe or Truckee for some late summer golf, one heads-up. The seasons are changing. Both the Lake Tahoe Golf Club and Edgewood had morning frost holds while we were there. The Friday we played Edgewood, those teeing off in the prime time of 8:30 a.m. would be facing 46-degree temperatures. Our early afternoon tee time was perfect in the low 70s with a light breeze.
We played with an Edgewood member who has homes in Folsom and South Lake Tahoe. He said he was looking forward to the next six weeks when vacationers are gone, and he will have the golf course to himself any afternoon.