Nevada City

"Hey, honey, dump those broads and come up and see me," a scantily clad woman bellowed from a second-story balcony. My husband, observing the woman, turned to Mary Louise Weaver and asked, "What's this all about?" "It's a rehearsal for a murder mystery that the Foothill Theater Company is putting on this weekend," she said.

It's often said that good writers have to find their voice. If that's so, Samuel Clemens found his in Virginia City, Nev. While working for its local paper in the 1860s, he assumed the name by which he's best known: Mark Twain. Were he alive, Twain would still recognize this town 25 miles southeast of Reno; it hasn't changed much in the last 150 years. The bed Immerse yourself in local lore at the B Street Bed & Breakfast (58 N. B St.; [775] 847-7231, http://www.bstreethouse.com )

Two decades ago, real estate mogul Randy Black turned this blip on the Arizona border into a boomtown when he opened the first of four casinos. Nearly 1 million visitors a year followed, and hotels, restaurants and stucco homes seemed to sprout from sand. "It seemed to be one of those things that 'Geez, it's just going great. It's never going to end,' " said Victor Kotalion, who left Las Vegas in 1990 for this arid patch off Interstate 15.

The hunt continued Monday for a mountain lion that over the weekend mauled a sleeping hiker in the Sierra Nevada foothills northwest of Nevada City, Calif. The victim, 63, was treated for puncture and scratch wounds and released from a Grass Valley hospital. It was only the 15th confirmed mountain lion attack on a human in California since 1890. The Bay Area man, who asked authorities not to release his identity, was driving to a trail head for the start of a hiking trip when he decided to spend the night under the stars at a spot he knew on a tributary of the Yuba River.

A visitor should slip into this former gold-mining town nestled amid ponderosa pines in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, breathe deeply of the clear air, discover the fine shops, restaurants and music pubs, but also relax and embrace what is definitely a Nevada City state of mind.

The water ravaged the Crimson Road neighborhood. It punched in windows, buckled pavement, dug a 7-foot-deep gulch. It barreled over Tony Ebert's redwood fence and hurled his shed across the yard. Calf-deep in brown water on Sunday, he wondered: How could this happen again?

You can stare at a palm tree a long time before you realize it's fall in Southern California. About the only clues that I, a native Angeleno, see of autumn's arrival are the shorter days and football on TV. Seeking more traditional evidence of the season, my wife and I headed to Nevada City in California's Gold Country two weeks ago to have a quiet weekend together and check out the changing foliage. Nevada City isn't New England or the Shenandoah Valley, but it's not a bad alternative.

Scott H. Thorpe, the "disturbed" gunman accused of casually killing two mental health workers and a restaurant employee, emerged Thursday as a recluse who preferred the company of his geese and chickens to people. The one neighbor who knew Thorpe best in this Sierra foothill hamlet described the suspect as a peaceful man who sought help from mental health professionals for his overwhelming fear of crowds. "It's just so out of character," said Gary Dalbey, 61, Thorpe's neighbor across the street.

I'm sorry Bob Scheer ("Golden Oldie," July 28) wrote so beautifully and made Nevada City sound like paradise. What he didn't mention was our expensive and inadequate garbage dump, our overburdened sewage system and the fact that your well may run dry. Nevada City used to be paradise. In my opinion, the damage of extensive housing developments, shopping centers and re-zoning has changed the face of this area already. Though it may look great compared to L.A., readers and visitors should be aware that there are only so many houses available, traffic is already crowded on our highways and Utah has prettier views.

Timing was perfect when I read Bob Scheer's July 28 "Golden Oldie" story on Nevada City. A group of us camp every year near the twin lakes in Bridgeport, Calif., and we try to plan a side trip of interest. Nevada City was great. We all stayed at the very charming National Hotel, had champagne and hors d'oeuvres on the veranda, took a night buggy ride, had drinks and good conversation at the Mine Shaft Saloon, delicious breakfast at the Apple Fare. And shopping was a pleasure at the Brass Shop Emporium.

The fatal shooting of a California Hells Angels leader during a casino melee with a rival gang Friday night has prompted the mayor of Sparks, Nev., to declare a state of emergency and cancel an annual motorcycle event, authorities said. "The safety and security of the public is our No. 1 priority," Mayor Geno Martini said in a statement Saturday. No suspects have been arrested in the fatal shooting of Jeffrey Pettigrew, 51, president of the San Jose Chapter of the Hells Angels, and the shootings of two members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club during the brawl at John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort, authorities said.

Monday's stage: It was scheduled to be 133.2 miles from Squaw Valley to Sacramento and travel over the Donner Pass, snow again affected the race. Because of the continuing wintry weather that caused Sunday's Stage 1 to be canceled, Stage 2 was shortened to about 76 miles and began in Nevada City with a finish in downtown Sacramento. Winner: Ben Swift, 23, of Britain and the Sky ProCycling team, won the slippery sprint finish near the state Capitol. The weather continued to be uncooperative with a downpour hitting downtown Sacramento just as the peloton arrived to ride circuits around downtown.

— Lance Armstrong has his favorites for the Amgen Tour of California, which begins Sunday with a trip from Nevada City to downtown Sacramento. Armstrong predicts the race won't be decided at least until Saturday's time trial that starts and finishes at LA Live in Los Angeles. "I think it comes down to the time trial," Armstrong said. "If I was looking at it as an analyst, I'd say Levi [Leipheimer], Dave [Zabriskie] and Michael Rogers will be the big three … I'm not sure the climbs are selective enough.

Reporting from Sacramento -- Mark Cavendish, the brash 24-year-old sprinter for the California-based HTC-Columbia cycling team, sat up in his bike, first as he predicted, after the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday. Cavendish finished the 104.2-mile trip from Nevada City to Sacramento in 4 hours 4 minutes 6 seconds, just ahead of Juan Jose Haedo of Saxo Bank. The route encompassed rolling hills and tricky turns, and the closing circuit, three times around downtown Sacramento, produced two crashes within the final mile and a half.

Two decades ago, real estate mogul Randy Black turned this blip on the Arizona border into a boomtown when he opened the first of four casinos. Nearly 1 million visitors a year followed, and hotels, restaurants and stucco homes seemed to sprout from sand. "It seemed to be one of those things that 'Geez, it's just going great. It's never going to end,' " said Victor Kotalion, who left Las Vegas in 1990 for this arid patch off Interstate 15.

The water ravaged the Crimson Road neighborhood. It punched in windows, buckled pavement, dug a 7-foot-deep gulch. It barreled over Tony Ebert's redwood fence and hurled his shed across the yard. Calf-deep in brown water on Sunday, he wondered: How could this happen again?

An agent for musical groups in Central California and his wife were found slain in their home five miles east of Grass Valley. Sgt. Tom Bonivert of the Nevada County Sheriff's Department said James Lee Dugan, 25, and his wife, Ruth Karen Steiner-Dugan, 27, a waitress at a Nevada City restaurant, were both shot in the head.

Please tell Robert Scheer that his description of Nevada City was accurate but his recommendation of the National hotel was a bummer. What a dump! Scheer confused a dingy, dark, depressing dump for a charming restored hotel. My wife and I walked in, looked at our "suite" and politely walked out, leaving our deposit behind. GENE DAVIS Palm Desert

You can stare at a palm tree a long time before you realize it's fall in Southern California. About the only clues that I, a native Angeleno, see of autumn's arrival are the shorter days and football on TV. Seeking more traditional evidence of the season, my wife and I headed to Nevada City in California's Gold Country two weeks ago to have a quiet weekend together and check out the changing foliage. Nevada City isn't New England or the Shenandoah Valley, but it's not a bad alternative.

Julie Toste, wearing her blue Friar Tuck's apron, nodded at the heaps of chipped brick and the heavy equipment in front of her. "My floor has changed a little bit," she said dryly. The restaurant in which she worked as floor manager, Friar Tuck's, is now a fenced-off demolition site. The rustic local hangout was consumed by a fire that gutted a beloved corner of this old gold mining town, but not its historic pluck.