meetings

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) begins their search for a replacement for the retiring superintendent the people tasked with finding the right candidates are reaching out to the community.

What is being developed from public meetings and an online survey will create the profile of what makes up the desired characteristics neede or the person who will move into Dr. James Tarwater's position when he retires in June 2020.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Nine pine trees have been vandalized at Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe in what appears to be an attempt to cut them down. Each tree has a wide swath of chopping action across it with boring holes at the base.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Parks Department was notified of the damage on Saturday, November 9 and a police report was generated. Staff is calling the destruction "a wanton act of vandalism and abuse of public trust."

The Jeffrey Pines are estimated to be about 20-years-old.

Caltrans addressed what they reported to be an increase of accidents at the intersection of US50 and SR89 with a $7.3 million roundabout in Meyers, and today there was a ribbon-cutting with local partners to officially open it up.

What used to be a T-intersection with one stop sign is now a three-leg roundabout with a bypass lane. Years of studies, planning, environmental reviews, and engineering led to this past summer's build by Q&D Construction.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In a quest to allow staff and City Council time to address strategies and goals and less time spent on preparing reports for meetings, the South Lake Tahoe City Council moved on Tuesday to adopt a new meeting schedule for 2020, one that gives them one major meeting a month along with budget workshops, closed sessions, joint agency meetings, team building sessions, and public forums.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has released the "Proposed Action for the Winter Recreation and Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) Travel Management Project," and in that document are changes to snowmobile access in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

They have proposed to open OSV use (snowmobiles) to areas around the lake that have been restricted in the past and close up other areas. The plan still leaves about 50 percent of the lands managed by LTBMU open to OSV use.

The new areas proposed for OSV use

The 2019 legislative year for California has come to an end and Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped u the session with signing several bills. His first year of office saw 870 new laws and 172 vetoed proposals.

MEYERS, Calif. - El Dorado County has opened the online availability of pre-applications and applications for commercial cannabis use permits and annual operating permits, but those wanting to operate in Meyers must wait. The Meyers Area Plan does not meet the permitted zones for the retail sales, cultivation, delivery and manufacturing licenses that will be issued.

There are a few locations in the unincorporated areas of El Dorado County on the East Slope (Lake Tahoe area) that could fit the requirements between Meyers and South Lake Tahoe and Tahoma.

Crews have cleared out of Sierra House Elementary and it is set to reopen to all grades on Tuesday, October 1.

Families, students, and staff got the good news Monday.

"The kids and staff are thrilled to be back," said Lake Tahoe Unified School District Spokesperson Shannon Chandler. "It's like a second home so I imagine that everyone is relieved and comforted to be back."

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Safety for visitors entering and exiting the Round Hill Pines Resort from U50 is the focus of a second public meeting on a project currently in the Environmental Assessment stage. The purpose of the project is to increase safety and improve accessibility for motorists, pedestrians, and bicycles entering and exiting the popular resort. HIghway planner say the major issues in the area are limited sight distance, unprotected turning movements across US50 and vehicle queuing in the eastbound inside lane of US50 during peak visitation periods

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A logo was presented to the South Lake Tahoe City Council on Tuesday, one created by a local designer as a brand for City publications, the website, social media, video publications, and other needs as they arise.

South Lake Tahoe had previously only had a City seal and that will remain as the seal.

Rise Designs of South Lake Tahoe created the logo that is meant to complement the City seal. Over time, the new logo would also be displayed on City clothing,
vehicles, and facilities as new assets are put into service and/or as funds permit.

9.6.19 Update: At this time Echo Summit will be closed for 14 days starting on October 18, 2019.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Due to a delay in receiving needed supplies, the Caltrans contractor working on the US 50 Echo Summit Sidehill Viaduct project will be moving their expected full road closure date.

Caltrans today told the South Lake Tahoe City Council it is looking more like mid-October for their closing the artery between the lake and Sacramento for up to 14 days. They said the actual closure date is still a moving target.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Ever since the information was released about the possibility of closing US50 over Echo Summit at the end of September, the Caltrans Maintenance Yard in Meyers has been inundated with requests for a local's pass. If the highway is closed, locals will have an option to head west via Johnson's Pass Road.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Highway 50 over Echo Summit may close up to 14 days this September to allow the Caltrans contractor to install new girders and demolition work on the existing bridge structure.

There will be two meetings to inform the public of the potential closure and detour (see attached map). Local residents and businesses will be issued passes to use Johnson Pass Road as a detour during the closure, which if in place would be toward the end of the month. More information on that will be provided at the meetings and not before.

El Dorado County, Calif. - Currently, homeowners in fire-prone areas of California and El Dorado County are starting to see skyrocketing insurance premiums, canceled policies canceled and notices of non-renewal within weeks of a policy's expiration.

Due to the alarming rates at which this is happening, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors reached out to the California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to explain the dire situation in the county.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be another fire in California, but when and where cannot be predicted and is unknown - but what is known is there will be another community that is devastated by wildland fire.

Residents around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra know this all too well and have been talking about concerns of wildfire threats in and around the Tahoe Basin. Those conversations have turned into plans and the City of South Lake Tahoe has just released an interactive website to help both residents and visitors map out an evacuation plan based on their neighborhood.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The scam is old, but if you want to help those in need it may pull at your heart strings....for a moment.

I got a text today from someone claiming to be Father Mauricio Hurtado of St. Theresa Catholic Church. While I am not a member of the church I am co-chair of their Bread & Broth 4 Kids program and it isn't that abnormal for him to contact me, though it is normally through email.

So at 8:25 a.m. Friday when the text says, "Hi Paula, I need a favor from you, text me back as soon as you get my message - Fr. Mauricio Hurtado," I hit reply right away.

A 400-acre plume of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has been found in some of the South Lake Tahoe groundwater and the agencies tasked with protecting the local drinking supply will be updating the community on cleanup efforts and the status of the plume on Wednesday, June 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the South Lake Tahoe City Council Chambers at the airport.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With electrical transmission lines found to be at fault in recent California fires, agencies responsible for supplying electricity to communities have been creating plans to prevent fires in the future.

Both companies that supply power to Lake Tahoe, NV Energy and Liberty Utilities, have announced new mitigation efforts to reduce the risk of fire.

El Dorado County has created a new website as part of its efforts to keep residents informed, safe and prepared for wildfires. Part of this new informative site is an explanation of defensible space and the County's new vegetation ordinance that takes effect May 30, 2019.

The County will use the next nine months to educate the public as to what the ordinance is and how to comply.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For the past few months, the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) has been meeting with staff and the public to discuss rate changes needed to improve the water, sewer and recycled water systems to their customers.

To start the process of raising rates each year for the next five years, STPUD followed a set of rules outlined under Proposition 218, one of which was to send notices to their ratepayers on how much the proposed increase could be.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It currently costs the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) $1,073,855 a year to provide natural gas, electricity, and water to their nine locations, which is a cost of $ 1.77 per square foot.

They have been looking at ways to reduce these costs through their Sustainability Committee, and now a "Renewable Energy & Sustainability Committee Implementation Plan" has been presented to the Board of Education.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The public has another chance to speak to the South Tahoe Public Utility District about a proposed rate change during their board meeting on Thursday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m.

There have been several meetings and workshops about water and sewer rates in South Lake Tahoe since January.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Manager Frank Rush writes a community monthly newsletter and shares it on South Tahoe Now. The following is the May 1, 2019 edition:

Sign Up for the Brand New City Newsletter

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For almost 18 years the California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (CTESOA) has been providing ambulance service to the portions of El Dorado County at Lake Tahoe and parts of northwestern Alpine County through a Joint Powers Authority (JPA).