agencies

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A Cameron Park, California man has been identified as the swimmer who went missing in Lake Tahoe on Sunday, September 9, 2018.

Multiple agencies responded to the 5:36 p.m. call for help and a possible drowning on the lake near Nevada Beach including the Coast Guard, Tahoe Douglas Fire Department, South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) and South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, El Dorado County Sheriff (EDSO) and Douglas County Sheriff's Offices (DCSO).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Thursday, the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board of Directors discussed changing their administrative code to allow for the transfer of sewer and water units from one parcel to another in order to encourage the building of affordable housing projects.

Since 2012, the transfer of the sewer units have not been allowed by STPUD, but with the current lack of affordable housing on the South Shore the board will look to approve a change of the code at their September 20, 2018 meeting.

Early on the morning of September 3, 2018, over 70 Keep Tahoe Blue volunteers arrived at Commons Beach in Tahoe City to comb the sands along six miles of shoreline in search of items left behind by those enjoying the previous night’s fireworks festivities.

They collected 224 pounds of litter including 2,064 cigarette butts and 1,520 pieces of plastic. League to Save Lake Tahoe staff ship the cigarette butts to a company on the east coast that upcycles them into new plastic products. Plastic cannot be upcycled and end up in landfills.

What rattles our communities across our nation to their core? Drug abuse. Approximately 100 people each day die from drug overdoses. Whole industries of products and programs are being developed to combat this problem. Every day more grandparents are now “parenting” their grandchildren so they can be raised in a stable and healthy environment. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is costing our Nation over $740 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care.

The California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) Valley Division and Golden Gate Divisions, having jurisdiction over the Sacramento regions and San Francisco Bay Area, are partnering with the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) to participate in an “I-80 Challenge.”

This effort aims to reduce distracted and reckless driving along the 615 miles of Interstate 80 from San Francisco, Calif. to the Nevada/Utah Stateline from Monday, August 27 – Labor Day, September 3, 2018, by enhancing traffic safety, enforcement, and education along this section of the National Highway System.

The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition is distributing 215 free bicycle racks throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin, creating secure parking for 430 bicycles at key public destinations.

Supported by funding from the Tahoe Fund and the Nevada Commission on Tourism and in-kind support from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the nonprofit Bike Coalition is distributing the high-quality bike racks to Tahoe’s local jurisdictions and government agencies. Each of the two types of racks being

A Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) agreement between the California Tahoe Conservancy and U.S. Forest Service is in the works that would allow the Conservancy to begin maintaining and restoring USFS urban lots in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

There are less than 2,200 urban lots that can fall into this agreement, most of which are less than one-acre and located near lots the Conservancy already owns and maintains.

The public and public safety agencies came out for National Night Out on August 7 at Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe. Booths were set up by California Highway Patrol, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Barton Heath, California Conservation Corps, South Lake Tahoe Action Team, El Dorado County STAR, El Dorado County Sheriff's Search & Rescue, South Lake Tahoe Drug Free Coalition and the El Dorado County Animal Shelter.

Food was provided by Kiwanis.

The event was also a toy drop off for Toys For Tots.

The annual Lake Tahoe Summit held this week at Sand Harbor State Park marked the 22nd time government officials, public agencies, non-profit environmental groups, the public and other groups came together to renew their focus and commitment on preserving the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

Today, CAL FIRE awarded four grants totaling $27.5 million to fund high-priority forest health projects designed to combat climate change and reduce the risk of wildfires.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The body of a 21-year-old California man was located in Lake Tahoe Sunday afternoon, more than 24 hours after he jumped off a boat near Edgewood Tahoe.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office cadaver dogs alerted others to the body of the man about one-quarter mile off shore between Tahoe Meadows and Lakeside Marina just before 5:00 p.m. Sunday, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Traci Trapani.

The identity of the man is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

The following is a copy of a letter sent to City Council, USFS, Supervisor Sue Novasel, California Tahoe Conservancy Officers, and others, and shared with South Tahoe Now:

Dear Mayor David and Council Members:

U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) will host the 22nd Annual Lake Tahoe Summit at Sand Harbor State Park in Incline Village, Nevada on Tuesday, August 7th, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Beach and park operations will be closed until 1:00 p.m. that day.

Lawmakers from Nevada and California will meet on the shores of Lake Tahoe to discuss how to protect a national treasure as it faces continued threats to water clarity, invasive species, wildfire and drought.

Steve Teshara, CEO of the Tahoe Chamber and chairperson of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Board of Directors, now has another leadership duty for the upcoming year.

Teshara will serve as the president of the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG), a group whose membership includes 47 regional governments involved in the planning, funding, and development of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

He has been representing TTD on the CALCOG Board.

The follow letter was given to South Tahoe Now and mailed to the South Lake Tahoe Mayor, City Councilmembers and staff:

Dear Mayor David and Council Members:

I am writing to you as a follow-up to my letter of May 12, 2018 (see at end of story) regarding Policy Priorities and Issues for City Government.

Quality and Affordable Housing for Residents is Very Important

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has given Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) $1.6M to help continue bus service from Carson City to the Carson Valley and on to Lake Tahoe, but more is still needed to help TTD continue service both at the lake and in the valley.

A house fire in Meyers brought out crews from multiple agencies on Friday, July 13.

Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) responded to a structure fire call at approximately 11:04 a,m. Crews arrived to the scene on Kiowa Drive to find smoke and flames coming from the lower lever of the home. Firefighters initiated a fire attack and with the help of CalFire, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and North Tahoe Fire, crews were able to knock down the flames and extinguish the fire.

9:14 p.m. update: The James Loop Fire was reported at 12:45 p.m. at the James Canyon Development near Carson City, Nevada. Tonight, the fire was mapped at 260 acres and is currently 30 percent contained. The fire was caused by heavy equipment working on a new home under construction The fire burned 163 acres of private and 107 acres of Bureau of Indian Affairs lands, but threatened lands
managed by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The East Fork Fire Protection District was in unified command with the U.S. Forest Service.

The author shared the following letter with South Tahoe Now that was sent to SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston concerning fire safety and the responsibility of all public agencies to assist him and the Department in this effort. "Best wishes to you and the men and women of the Fire Department," said Jinkens.

Dear Chief Meston:

First of all, my sincere thanks to you and the men and women who serve our community in the Fire Service. I am grateful for all of your work and effort to keep our community fire safe and to respond to emergency calls for service.

Customers of Liberty Utilities on both the north and south shores of Lake Tahoe have been targeted again by scammers demanding cash payments to avoid shut off of their power over the weekend.

Liberty Utilities' customer service reps are getting calls from customers to advise them of the demands.

The scammers appear to be legit at first, reciting the customer's account numbers to them.

At this time Liberty Utilities does not know how they obtained the account information. They have contacted the appropriate law enforcement agencies to let them know about the situation.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host the eighth Wild Tahoe Weekend 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, 2018 at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89. The weekend event consists of the Native Species Festival on Saturday and the Lake Tahoe Bird Festival on Sunday.

On April 17, 2017 the City of South Lake Tahoe committed to becoming the 26th city in the United States to obtain 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2032. This 100 percent renewable effort was joined locally by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Vail Resorts and our regional neighbors Truckee and Nevada City.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One man is behind bars and another at Renown Medical Center with life threatening injuries after an altercation Monday between roommates at a Stateline area motel.

At 12:30 p.m. on May 28, officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) responded to a report of a stabbing at the Mark Twain Motel at 947 Park Avenue. Upon arrival they found a 23-year-old man who had recently moved to South Lake Tahoe with numerous life threatening wounds to his head and leg.

Several Lake Tahoe agencies have joined together to remind residents and visitors to practice proper food storage and trash disposal at all times while in bear country. Intentional or unintentional feeding of bears can result in the bear being killed, fines and/or jail time for violators. Every year law enforcement and state wildlife officers respond to hundreds of calls in which bears may pose a public safety threat and/or are damaging property. In some cases, the animals are euthanized.

Become part of the solution and help save our Tahoe bears!