environment

A couple from San Jose, Calif. has filed a lawsuit against the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) over a lot they purchased in the Angora Fire area they have been denied building permits on.

Ray and Teresa Burns purchased a piece of property at 889 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The house that had once been located there burned in the 2007 Angora Fire and the Burns bought the lot when it went into foreclosure in 2009.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Thursday, December 10 by the firm they hired, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF).

A 3-2 vote cast last Monday repealed a portion of the 2013 Ban on Single-Use Plastic Carryout Bags. I don’t intend this to be a discussion on whether plastic bags should be banned or not (although I openly support policies that bring about greater environmental stewardship in our community), but I am questioning whether there was due diligence in acquiring the data needed to accurately represent the desires of the community when making this decision.

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A new website puts comprehensive information about the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program at everyone’s fingertips, allowing people to easily learn more about “Lake-Saving Projects” completed in their own neighborhoods and all around Lake Tahoe.

The new Environmental Improvement Program Project Tracker is online at www.conservationclearly.org/tracker.

Many of us have contributed to local school sports teams by buying candy bars, raffle tickets or attending fundraiser dinners, but how many of us have bought soap for ourselves, provided for a needy child in Africa at the same time we're also supporting the teams?

This past summer was Lake Tahoe’s busiest tourist season in recent memory. With the economy rebounding and major population growth projected for nearby metropolitan areas, this summer is also a harbinger of change. We must be prepared to meet the challenges of increased visitation in the future.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe are accepting applications for the Violet Richardson Award. Each year the two local Soroptimist clubs honor young women in the community ages 14-17 who are engaged in volunteer deeds such as fighting drugs, crime and violence; cleaning up the environment; or working to end discrimination or poverty.

Lake Tahoe author Jennifer Quashnick will be launching her newest book "Sierra Nevada River of Lies" at Bonafide Books in Meyers on November 7 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Her newest book is the second one in Quashnick's Mountaingirl series which was started off by "Sierra Nevada Trail of Murder."

A description of the newest story: An offer to help someone in need leaves Rachel Winters and her friends in the killer’s sights as they slowly unravel a multi-layered scheme for profit. Meanwhile, a discovery about Luke Reed’s long-lost family threatens them both.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday approved a $7,500 settlement agreement with the Tahoe Keys Marina and Yacht Club, LLC.

The settlement is for the Tahoe Keys Marina and Yacht Club’s unauthorized grading and creation of coverage at a California Tahoe Conservancy property located near the end of Venice Drive in South Lake Tahoe. The property impacted by this violation is not classified by TRPA as a stream environment zone or wetland.

Trick or Treat in a safe, fun environment at the 13th annual Treat Street on Saturday, October 31 at the Lake Tahoe Community College from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Local businesses and non-profits will be there to hand out candy to children in a safe, controlled environment.

Thousands of children have attended in the past, decked out as superheroes, princesses, magicians and monsters.

Volunteers will be passing out candy, serving hot cocoa, pizza, cotton candy, popcorn and s'mores in and around the haunted house.

Lake Tahoe has been recognized for another important conservation success. Our region’s proactive, collaborative strategy to protect Tahoe yellow cress, begun almost 15 years ago, is working so well that the plant does not need additional protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.

During a special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council on Monday, October 19, JoAnn Conner was publicly censured, a first of its kind for the City. An overflowing crowd spent over three hours in Council Chambers as comments were made both supporting Conner, and against what they said was "abusive, bullying and intolerant behavior."

Sports and entertainment stars, including many of the current and future Hall of Famers, MVPs and stars who golf in South Lake Tahoe's annual celebrity tournament, will be teeing it up in the inaugural Diamond Resorts Invitational celebrity golf tournament at the Golden Bear Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 14-16, 2016.

The South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition collaborated with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office and the South Tahoe Police Department for the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, September 26, 2015, which saw approximately 50 pounds of unwanted prescription medication turned in to authorities. The event gave South Lake Tahoe residents an opportunity to dispose of all unwanted, unused, or expired medications for free with no questions asked. No liquids or needles were accepted and residents were asked to remove all personal information from bottles before dropping off medications.

"The Factory Stores at the Y" will soon be transformed into "The Crossing at Tahoe Valley" if the plan is approved by the City of South Lake Tahoe. In January, 2015, The Sutter Capital Group of Sacramento announced they had purchased the property after it fell into bankruptcy.

A Nevada Department of Transportation project to repave and enhance Kingsbury Grade last year has received a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Best in the Basin Award.

The project substantially completed ahead of schedule in 2014, and was recognized as a water quality and erosion control improvement that helped enhance the Lake Tahoe environment.

Long after the barbecue was over, long after the booths, announcers and crowds were gone, cyclists were still riding the new trails at the Bijou Bike Park as the sun was setting on Saturday night.

The Bijou Bike park was officially opened in a ceremony that followed the City of South Lake Tahoe's 50th Anniversary parade.

After opening statements by park creators, City Council and the Mayor, Ted Wendell spoke to the crowd as the Bijou Bike Park was dedicated to his late brother Tom, who died in 2012.

The Tahoe Homeless Coalition will be the recipient of funds raised at "Homebrew for the Homeless," and event for the whole family on Saturday, September 26.

There will be live music, a chili cook-off, horseback rides, games, bounce house, poker run and a Homebrew Beer Competition.

The Leigh Wayne Miller DDRC ranch in Minden will be the scene for a day of fun and fundraising starting at 1 p.m. The horse ranch is located at 1625 Chowbuck Street.

A large illicit marijuana grow in the mountains of Lincoln County, NV was eradicated after law enforcement found 6,476 marijuana plants in the remote area. The plants had an estimated street value of $17 million.

It appears that individuals had operated the site for several years and was capable of producing large quantities of illegal marijuana intended for sales and distribution. In addition to the marijuana plants, law enforcement personnel recovered and removed nearly two miles of black irrigation piping, along with various chemicals, used during the growing process

Are some bears just born to be bad? Or do they learn from other bears that raid garbage cans, break into cars and homes and eventually have to be killed because they’ve lost their fear of humans?

Scientists have researched this classic debate over “nature” and “nurture” among black bears for decades, from Yosemite National Park in the Sierra to central Florida and the Adirondacks in upstate New York.

Top experts in the Western United States’ fight against aquatic invasive species are gathering at Lake Tahoe this week as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency hosts the annual conference of the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species September 2-4.

The Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species includes representatives from state, federal, and tribal agencies as well as from many academic and nonprofit entities. It was formed by a provision in the National Invasive Species Act of 1996.

Wildfire and invasive species weren't the only topics of this year's Tahoe Summit. With the theme "Connecting Lake Tahoe’s Environment and Economy Through Innovation and Transportation,” speakers at Monday's event also talked of the importance of improved roadways and access for alternative modes of transportation that will support the anticipated increase in numbers of visitors to Lake Tahoe.

The first major historical art survey of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra’s infamous Donner Pass takes an ambitious trip through two centuries, highlighting the roles of Native Americans and railroad barons and the tourists and scientists trying to halt the loss of clarity in the azure waters.

“Tahoe: A Visual History” opened Saturday at the Nevada Museum of Art, featuring more than 400 objects by 175 painters, photographers, architects, basket weavers and sculptors. Arranged chronologically for the most part, it combines culturally and historically significant creations with contemporary works.

More than 10,000 acres of scenic meadows, forests and trout streams in the Sierra Nevada 10 miles west of Lake Tahoe have been preserved in a deal in which environmentalists hope to prove that thinning out overgrown forests can increase California's water supply.

The Northern Sierra Partnership, an environmental group based in Palo Alto and founded by longtime Silicon Valley leaders Jim and Becky Morgan, joined with the Nature Conservancy and the American River Conservancy to buy the land for $10.1 million from Simorg West Forests, a timber company based in Atlanta.

Long considered a nuisance in South Lake Tahoe, the abandoned cars being stored at Runnels Automotive in South Lake Tahoe must be removed following a ruling by El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Daniel Proud on Thursday.

The Judge issued an order granting the City of South Lake Tahoe’s application for abatement to remove the abandoned vehicles stored at the automotive shop located at 986 Emerald Bay Road, which is the corner of Highway 50 and Lake Tahoe Blvd commonly known as the "Y."