Congratulations to the Placer SPCA for recently being named the “Nonprofit Organization of the Year” (and receiving the Nonprofit Excellence Award) by the Sacramento Nonprofit Resource Center. The Placer SPCA placed nearly 2,000 animals in loving homes in 2008. With the start of “kitten season” they are in desperate need of volunteers to help care for the animals not only at the center, but also to provide temporary care in their homes. For more information or to volunteer, visit placerspca.org

The Sierra College Press has published an electronic journal on the California Gold Rush and Gold Mining. The latest edition of Snowy Range Reflections: A Journal of Sierra Nevada History and Biography, examines everything from the impact of the Cornish on California gold mining, to gold mining techniques, and the origin of the name “Mother Lode.” To access the journal, visit jsnhb.org

A new restaurant is coming to the Fountains at Roseville! Noodles & Company is a casual, globally inspired restaurant offering a selection of Asian, Mediterranean and American inspired noodle dishes, soups and salads. To view menu offerings, visit noodles.com

The Crocker Art Museum is participant of the Bank of America’s Museums on Us program. Through April 2010, Bank of America cardholders receive free admission to the Crocker Art Museum as well as 120 museums in 74 cities across the country on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month. For more information, visit bankofamerica.com/museums, or crockerartmuseum.org

Move over eBay, there’s a new place to buy, sell, and trade items in Granite Bay. Granitebayexchange.com is a local on-line marketplace and resource center for finding local businesses, services, camps and more

Kaiser Permanente Hospital was awarded the Public Art Leadership Award by the Roseville Cultural Arts Committee for their inclusion of visual art in their new Women’s and Children’s Centers, with over 500 art pieces between the two buildings on display

St. Alban’s Kamphefner Library in Roseville became one of the 4,000 libraries across the country to be selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to receive free hardcover editions of 17 classic books as part of the We the People Bookshelf Grant Program. The theme of this year’s Bookshelf is “Picturing America” and includes such books as The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, American Tall Tales, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to name a few

Blue Line Gallery is offering a number of unique children’s art camps this summer, and each week’s camp concludes with an installation of the children’s work as an exhibit in the Children’s Gallery. For class offerings, visit rosevillearts.org/children.html

Newcastle is home to new business Client Retention, founded by customer service veterans Jodi Riolo and Sandie Marinoble, providing clients with strategies to stay profitable and succeed even during economic crisis. For more information, visit clientretentioninc.com

Truckee has become the newest California Welcome Center according to the California Travel and Tourism Commission. There are 12 official California Welcome Centers throughout the state and they aim to give travelers a reason to stay in the area longer. To learn more about this and other California Welcome Centers, go to visitcalifornia.com

That’s all for now, but check back next month for our annual People & their Pets feature!

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