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How the 1960 Winter Olympics Came to Tahoe; A Mom Questions Digital Girl Scout Cookie Sales; Spreading Community Through Fortune Cookies

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Nine-year-old Girl Scout Gianna Salcedo has been taking cookie orders in her neighborhood of River Park, Sacramento.  (Ana Tintocolis)

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‘The World Was Shocked’: How the Winter Olympics Came to Tahoe in 1960

If you’ve been watching the Winter Olympics, you’ve probably caught sight of some of the amazing California athletes. In fact, 29 Team USA athletes call California home. That’s more than any other state. Back in 1960, California hosted the winter games near Lake Tahoe. Those Olympics were pretty small in comparison to today’s games. Thirty countries participated, instead of the 91 competing in Beijing right now, and there were far fewer events. But what happened in Tahoe that year left its mark, and not just on future Olympics. It also helped transform sports into mass entertainment, turned the West Coast into a coveted destination for anyone who likes to spend their time zipping about on snow or ice. But how California won the bid to host those Olympic Games is kind of a miracle. KQED’s Chloe Veltman brings us this underdog story, which also has razzle dazzle, controversy and…romance.

Why Girl Scout Cookie Sales Going Digital Raises Questions for One Sacramento Mom

It’s Girl Scout cookie season in California, when girls armed with Thin Mints and Trefoils try to sell as many boxes as they can to meet their cookie quotas. And these cookies are big business. This time of year, sales of Girl Scout cookies top Oreos and Chips Ahoy. And Girl Scouts aren’t just going door to door anymore. They’ve expanded into online sales. Scouts can now send you a link to order the cookies, and the boxes arrive at your doorstep, no Girl Scout visit required. The California Report’s former education reporter Ana Tintocalis used to be a scout, and her nine-year-old daughter Gianna recently became one herself. Ana says while she’s trying to be open-minded about the virtual cookie world, she’s got some questions about it.

This Mother-Daughter Duo Spreads Community Connection...Through Fortune Cookies

Just on the outskirts of Oakland’s Chinatown, you can hear the rhythmic pulsing of hot ovens and the steady screech of revolving griddles. The sound hits your ears, before your nose picks up the smell of sweet cookie batter. Alicia Wong and her mother Jiamin run the Oakland Fortune Factory, where joy and positivity are the not-so-secret-ingredients that have kept their business thriving. Our intern Izzy Bloom takes us inside the factory, where this mother-daughter duo churns out thousands of handmade cookies every day.

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