An old friend of mine gave me some advice years ago. He said to always, “write angry but always edit calmly.“ That’s what I’ve done with this letter.

Wednesday night we went to see the Frozen play at Tahoe Valley Elementary School where our daughter was the director. We brought our granddaughter and our son. When we arrived, a man was standing at a table. At first, we thought he was selling play tickets, but it turned out he was one of Councilman Scott Robbins' minions, asking people who approached, as we did if they were for affordable housing. Who would say no to that?

LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. - The Tahoe Prosperity Center (TPC) is the regional lead for the California Jobs First Initiative and is working to identify projects that drive economic growth across various sectors. Using the Envision Tahoe Prosperity Playbook as a guide, the initiative marks a significant departure from previous approaches, aiming to direct state funding in a manner that reflects the diverse needs and aspirations of our communities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of calls the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to during the weeks of Mar. 25 - Mar. 31, 2024. Location Checks are when officers search an area at a certain address. Transient/Homeless arrests/citations and calls are those normally categorized in other columns (Drunk in Public, Trespassing, etc.) but stats are collected separately.

Log for March 25 - March 31, 2024

3/25

Arrests
09:35 Warrant Arrest - Occurred on Ponderosa St. Disposition: Felony Arrest.

The South Tahoe Public Utility District (District) is hosting a Public Meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive to discuss proposed rate increases. Most of South Lake Tahoe’s water and sewer systems were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Much of this infrastructure needs to be upgraded, repaired, or replaced.

The District is considering raising water and sewer rates over the next five years to provide revenue to address:

The Vacancy Tax initiative to tax 'vacant' second homes in South Lake Tahoe at a $6000 yearly rate is extraordinarily unfair to property owners who are not full-time residents in the city, yet who maintain their homes not as speculative ventures, but as intimate private family abodes.

The characterization of all such homes by the initiative as 'housing units' depersonalizes what to many of us are just extensions of our primary residences, albeit used intermittently, and exemplifies the callousness of the initiative's supporters.

A South Lake Tahoe man is facing more charges after a federal grand jury returned a 16-count superseding indictment against 45-year-old Richard Alan Abrusci. The new indictment charges him with 12 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of monetary transactions with proceeds of specified unlawful activity, according to U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) is introducing its inaugural Hall of Distinction honorees. In November 2023, LTUSD asked for nominations for the program which acknowledges the outstanding achievements of former students, employees, and contributors to the school community.

After a meticulous review process, a committee of local community members selected the inaugural inductees. The committee selected three people for the Distinguished Service category, one for the Retired or Former Employee category, and one for the Former Student category.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Barton Health staff members and physicians have voted Dr. Kyle Swanson, MD, FAAOS, as Barton’s Physician of the Year. The annual award is a way to recognize physicians for their extraordinary work and dedication in fulfilling Barton’s mission of delivering safe, high-quality care.

Letter to the Editor: While those struggling most with housing have been working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads, we have seen a flurry of op-eds and social media posts written by authors sowing division and misrepresenting how the Vacancy Tax benefits our community. They have put quite a bit of fear and misinformation into circulation, so below are some important clarifying facts about the initiative.