Holiday Inn Express Lincoln's first major hotel will hold a ribbon-cutting and mixer from 5 to 7 p.m. today.
The 87-room hotel, which opened Oct. 5, features an indoor saltwater pool and hot tub, a fitness center, free high-speed Internet access and free, hot breakfast.
"We are very happy to be in Lincoln," said Vruti Ranchhod, Holiday Inn Express' director of sales. "We're getting a lot of wedding groups and sports teams coming in."
The hotel, 155 Ferrari Ranch Road, is near Thunder Valley Casino and the route for the planned Lincoln bypass.
Tonight's ribbon-cutting and mixer event will include appetizers and dessert as well as drawing prizes.
The general manager for the Holiday Inn Express in Lincoln is Armando Isham.
For more information, call Ranchhod at (916) 681-4166.
* * *
A new computerized machining program at Lincoln High School is scheduled to begin this spring with support from local employers, including Roseville-based Harris & Bruno International.
The new "iDesign Make Almost Anything" program will give students first-hand experience in designing objects with three-dimensional computer software that directs computerized machines to make the items.
Artists, product designers and manufacturing engineers use the software and machines to fashion a variety of products, such as toys, tools, jewelry, industrial fixtures, home accessories and auto components.
Harris & Bruno President Nick Bruno donated a manual milling machine to the iDesign program. Harris & Bruno, which manufactures products for printing presses, also started an apprenticeship program because of its need for computerized machine operators.
"We found that employees who learned manual machining first were much faster when they transferred to (computerized) machining," Bruno said. "There is a need for skilled operators and engineers with practical experience. This program will attract young people to the field."
Other industry experts and educators, including Carpenter Advanced Ceramics, Parallax Inc., Lincoln Products and Sierra Pine, helped advise Lincoln High School instructor Scott Seacrist on equipment, curriculum and marketing.
A grant secured by the Sierra College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies provided funding for machines and new computers.
Lincoln High School also is looking for donations of additional machining tools.
For more information, call Connie Raynor at (916) 789-2993.
Call The Bee's Jennifer K. Morita, (916) 773-7388.

