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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

Concern over national attention on "South Lake Tahoe being the home of the $2,000 parking ticket" may soon be a thing of the past after action initiated by City Council Tuesday.

Fines will be restructured and modified, lessening fines per occurrence of many of the violations of the vacation home rental (VHRs) ordinance. Some of the fines will be against the home owner only, while others to the renter only.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) is joining the South Lake Tahoe Fire and Lake Valley Fire medics in having their personnel carrying medication used to block the effects of opioids. Narcan (commercial name for Naloxone) can be given to persons suffering from suspected or accidental opioid overdoses at the earliest possible time to minimize overdosing.

The new board of directors for the Lake Tahoe Humane Society (LTHS) has decided to put their building on Emerald Bay Road up for sale.

The City of South Lake Tahoe owned boat ramp at El Dorado Beach is now open for the season.

Located at LakeView Commons at the corner of Highway 50 and Lakeview Avenue, the boat ramp is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with the last launch at 4:30 p.m.

The ramp is open seasonally based on accessibility and the lake's water level. The boat ramp is open daily 8;00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. with the last launch at 4:30 pm.

There are four people running for El Dorado County Supervisor for the 5th District on June 5: Incumbent Sue Novasel and challengers Kenny Curtzwiler, Norma Santiago and Jeffrey Spencer. The 5th District covers Pollock Pines to South Lake Tahoe and Tahoma.

South Tahoe Now asked each candidate the same questions, and here are all of their answers, exactly as they were presented to us.

Sue Novasel
Occupation: El Dorado County Supervisor – District V
Past political history:
2015 – Present: County Supervisor, District V

Nationally recognized human trafficking consultant John Vanek will return to South Lake Tahoe for a May 18, 2018 presentation as a guest of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and Live Violence Free.

Vanek, an author and retired lieutenant of the San Jose Police Human Trafficking Task Force, will speak on that date at Sierra Community Church at 6:00 p.m. Vanek is a leadership, collaboration, and anti-human trafficking consultant and speaker working with law enforcement agencies, non-governmental and community-based organizations, academic institutions and private sector companies.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Last October, California experienced a series of devastating wildfires that destroyed property and took lives. In a four month period the State endured fires and floods from San Diego to Mendocino that destroyed over 11,000 homes and commercial structures and killed 64 Californians. Local Government fire and rescue personnel and equipment comprised up to 80 percent available resources for mutual aid throughout the State. The City of South Lake Tahoe Fire Department along with other fire agencies around the basin engaged in these critical fire fights.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be an ordinance regulating the retail sale of cannabis in South Lake Tahoe, that is certain, but when it will be in place is uncertain.

During a special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council Tuesday afternoon and evening, several areas were discussed from zoning to processes, and many were narrowed down enough so the acting City Attorney, Sergio Rudin, can bring a draft back at the April 17 council meeting. If there are no major changes that document can be voted on as a "first reading" with an ordinance 30 days later.

During Tuesday's City Council meeting, the upcoming commercial marijuana ordinance was slatted to be discussed, but Council voted to hold off since the normal agenda materials were not provided prior to the meeting to the public nor the Council.

On Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 4:00 p.m., the community is invited to participate in a special SLT Council meeting as the final touches are put on an cannabis ordinance that will control where sales can take place, what types of licenses can be issued, how products will be packaged and distributed among other points.

Entrepreneurs continue to be a part of the renaissance in South Lake Tahoe, bringing new businesses and experiences throughout the town.

Three long-time locals have become part of that vibe and opened Emanate Gallery in The Crossing at Tahoe Valley at the Y and will be celebrating with a grand opening weekend February 24-25 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Benjamin Sullivan, a 2010 South Tahoe High graduate, joined Angela and Ron Cabrera in opening the new gallery, complete with its own full service custom frame shop and unique delivery services.

Human Trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others; a modern day form of slavery. It is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world

And its happening outside our door.

On Tuesday both the South Lake Tahoe City Council and the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to extend their ban on commercial sales of cannabis as they work out the rules and regulations for their jurisdictions.

The ban on sales in South Lake Tahoe was set to expire on January 25, 2018, and without an extension or ordinance in place, anyone could have applied for a license to sell with the State of California.

The question I get asked the most when sharing that I’m a member of PATH (Partners Against the Trafficking of Humans) is: Is human trafficking happening here in South Lake Tahoe? The answer is yes, although solid numbers are hard to come by. Recently, it was reported in local media that 14 people were arrested and one 17 year old girl rescued from a trafficking ring in El Dorado County that included South Lake Tahoe, Placerville, and El Dorado Hills.

Meyers, the commercial, public services, and recreation hub of unincorporated El Dorado County at the South Shore may soon have a new area plan and there are three upcoming public meetings on the plan. It could be adopted at the third meeting, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) board meeting on February 28.

Weekly residential customers of South Tahoe Refuse and Recycling in Nevada and California can now get rid of their Christmas trees through their free curbside recycling program.

From December 26, 2017 through January 8, 2018, place the tree out on normal trash pick-up days for pick up.

To have them pick up trees, make sure the following are done:

Cut tree into six-foot lengths.
Remove tinsel, lights, nails and stands from your tree.
Flocked trees are not accepted as they cannot be recycled into compost.

A 38-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested early Saturday for felony suspicion of attempted commercial burglary and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

William Jack Phelps was taken into custody in the 4200 block of South Carson Street.

According to the arrest report, a security guard contacted the sheriff’s office regarding a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of Big Lots, 4215 South Carson Street.

After months of debate and community discussions, South Lake Tahoe will have a new Vacation Home Rental Ordinance (VHR) starting December 21, 2017, but don't expect the discussions to be over.

The City Council will continue to evaluate the ordinance and look at it during a meeting a least quarterly as they look at what is working and what still needs adjustment.

Main points of the VHR ordinance:

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District Board of Directors has appointed Brian Hogan as a board member-at-large, replacing the seat recently vacated by Robert Rossi.

Hogan is the Regional President for U.S. Bank's Central California and Northern Nevada Community Banking Region and has been employed with the bank for the last 25 years. As regional president, he oversees the banking groups in the region including Commercial, Retail, Business Banking, and Private Banking. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Economics and Government from California State University Sacramento.

The following 71 businesses took out business licenses with the City of South Lake Tahoe during the month of September:

9/1
WILLIAM ROSE CONTRACTOR

9/2
FESC NORTHERN NEVADA LLC

9/5
DUALITY BODY ART

9/6
GOLD COUNTRY DRIVING SCHOOL
JIMMY SHRULL ROOFING INC
QUICK ACTION FIRE PROTECTION
TONY HOWTING CONSTRUCTION

9/7
H.W. HOLMES INC
SIERRACON INC
XTREME ROOFING CONTRACTORS

9/8
GLYNN CONSTRUCTION
GREEN WINDOW WASHING
LRG BUILDER SERVICES INC
THE PALACIO GROUP

The last meeting of El Dorado County's Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee was a packed house, with a majority of those in attendance made up of cannabis growers in the area, and more of the same is expected at their next meeting.

One of the organizers, County Supervisor Sue Novasel of the South Shore, said all participants were respectful of each other's opinions. "It was a good meeting," said Novasel. She said many were concerned about a proposed registration procedure.

Overnight fire conditions were very active on several fronts forcing additional
evacuations across Northern California. Firefighters are battling 22 large
wildfires that have burned nearly 170,000 acres. Firefighters are bracing for
the winds to shift this evening and increase in speed. 17 people are confirmed
to have died in the wildfires this week. 11 people alone died in the Tubbs Fire,
making it the 6th deadliest fire in our state’s history.
While damage assessment continues on all the fires, it is estimated that at

A new dock, breakwater, restaurant and beach pavilion will all be in place for the 2018 summer season at the Round Hill Pines Resort.

With demolition of the old structure nearly complete, work started last week on a new 3,000-square-foot facility overlooking the beach.

The new building will house a full commercial kitchen, retail space, restrooms, offices for the resort’s management and sales staff, and storage. The seating for the summer bar and grill will be in an open-air pavilion with retractable awnings.

Overnight significant winds fanned over a dozen fires across Northern California. 15 new wind whipped wildfires in nine counties have already burned over 73,000 acres in the past 12 hours. Firefighters have been challenged with winds gusting in excess of 50 mph causing extreme rates of spread and volatile burning conditions.