olympics

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. - Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows announced Tuesday that it is making a commitment to change the name of the legendary California mountain destination and remove the word "squaw."

What the new name will be is unknown at this time and work to determine what it will be is beginning immediately. They will announce the new name after the winter season concludes in 2021.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. - The 24th annual Lake Tahoe Summit has moved to a virtual format this year. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will be hosting the event that will feature Olympian David Wise as the keynote speaker.

Since the first Lake Tahoe Summit in 1997, the area’s congressional representatives have pledged to keep working together and with local, state, and private sector partners to restore Tahoe’s environment, improve forest health, and confront climate change.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) hosted a “Workout with Law Enforcement” day at Lampe Park in Gardnerville for Special Olympics Athletes, an event that concluded the ‘DCSO Special Olympics Fitness Challenge’.

Members of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office worked-out alongside the athletes, cheering each other on, just as they do at the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run event.

TAHOMA, Calif. - You don't have to be an Olympian to explore the self-guided trails of the Olympic Heritage trails at Sugar Pine Point State Park. Sierra State Parks Foundation, the local nonprofit park partner, is hosting a free park day in honor of the 60th anniversary of the 1960 Winter Olympics, which took place in Squaw Valley and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe.

This is a great opportunity to explore the Olympic Heritage trails and interpretive displays while learning about the cultural and natural history of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One of South Lake Tahoe's Golden Girls, Maddie Bowman, has announced her retirement from competitive halfpipe freeskiing on Monday.

In an announcement, U.S. Ski & Snowboard said Bowman, Olympic gold medalist, X Games gold medalist and seven-year member of the U.S. Freeski Team, is stepping away and leaving in her tracks a lasting legacy of triumph, perseverance, and progression.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The popular Heavenly Holidays has returned to the Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe. This family-friendly event runs until December 31.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Clean Tahoe is hosting an event on Thursday afternoon with South Lake Tahoe native and Olympian Jamie Anderson, Don't Talk Trash - Pick It Up Scavenger Hunt.

On October 3 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., join the community at Lakeside Beach and participate in a trash pick up. Be at the beach at 3:30 p.m. to get supplies and scorecards. The fun begins at 3:50 p.m. and all have exactly one hour to clean the beach and neighborhood. Prizes will then be handed out.

No need to RSVP, just show up and have fun while helping the environment.

South Lake Tahoe police officers will be part of the waitstaff at Applebee's on Friday, March 29 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to raise money for Special Olympics Northern California.

One-hundred percent of the tips the "celebrity waiters" earn will be donated directly to Special Olympics Northern California, which provides year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It's been over three decades in the making. The US50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project, also known as the Loop Road, is getting closer to becoming a final plan and its implementation.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council heard a presentation by Tahoe Transportation District (TTD), Lew Feldman and John Hasty of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on Tuesday, outlining what has been accomplished and what is left to be done.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Ski on the trails made famous in the 1960 Winter Olympics during a free ski day at Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park on Saturday, February 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

California State Parks and the Sierra State Parks Foundation are bringing back groomed Nordic skiing at the park and have invited the public to enjoy the sport in the same spot the biathlon and cross-country events of the Olympics were held.

The latest round of winter storms has brought in plenty of fresh snow for the park to offer this popular pastime.

"The Track in the Forest: The Creation of a Legendary 1968 US Olympic Team" chronicles the role that the high-altitude training camp and final selection meet at Echo Summit played 50 years ago in the historic performance of the U.S. Olympic men's track and field team at the Mexico City Olympics.  Join us for a tantalizing presentation as sports journalist Bob Burns draws the curtain back sharing the incredible history of this time in Tahoe and beyond. Burns does a masterful job weaving the narratives of the men training together, vying for coveted spots on the U.S.

Location

A world-renown veterinarian living in Truckee, California is facing tax evasion and filing false tax returns.

A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment today against Jack Ray Snyder, 61, alleging he failed to report significant income and filed false tax returns between 2012 and 2014. Besides the income discrepancy, Snyder is charged with deducting non-deductible personal expenses and overreporting his property taxes.

Troopers from the Nevada Highway Patrol, as well as other employees for the Department of Public Safety will be volunteering their time to raise money for Special Olympics of Nevada and California on Thursday June 14, 2018. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, located in South Lake Tahoe, is where all of the fun will be taking place during the lunch and dinner hours. Patrons will enjoy the NHP and other public safety employees serving as volunteer waiters and waitresses as they assist the restaurant staff that day while they work for “special tips.”

Jamie Anderson grew up on a snowboard at Sierra-at-Tahoe near South Lake Tahoe, and since those early days on the slopes the world has found out about how talented she is from the X Games to two Olympics. Now the country gets to see the South Lake Tahoe resident on the dance floor as the 26th season of Dancing With the Stars begins on April 30.

She will be seen on the long-running reality competition show which features an all-athlete edition this season, and it will be a much shorter season in 2018, lasting just four weeks.

LAKE TAHOE - It was March Madness on the South Shore today as about 200 people braved the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe, all in the spirit of raising money for Special Olympics.

The annual Polar Plunge was at Zephyr Cove Resort and the water was about 48 degrees when the crowds jumped in.

"Today's turnout was great!" said Harry Mong, Senior Director of Programs and Partnership for Special Olympics Northern Nevada. "$186,000 was raised and it goes to support our sports programs. There are 300 competitions in 11 different sports, and it is all free for the competitors."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - The U.S. Olympic Committee is recognizing the success of Jamie Anderson of the South Shore and David Wise of Reno Reno in the Olympics by naming them finalists for the Female and Male Olympic athlete of the Games. This year's Team USA Awards, Best of the Games are presented by Dow. Winners will be determined by online votes over the next 18 days, until March 11.

Vote here (as many times as you wish): https://awards.teamusa.org/vote and show them some hometown support.

With a forecast of gusty winds, the Olympic organizers moved the Women's Snowboard Big Air medal runs up one day, and a South Lake Tahoe resident is walking away with a medal in the first ever Big Air event at the Olympics.

Jamie Anderson added to her medal count, wining a silver medal in Big Air with jumps that scored 90.00 and 87.25. Her third jump did not score.

Austria's Anna Gasser, with a pair of extremely progressive tricks, won the gold in women's snowboard big air with a 89.00 and 96.00. Her first jump did not score.

Gold medalists Maddie Bowman and Jamie Anderson are representing the South Shore once again on the global stage as they head to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang February 9-25.

Below are the Olympic snowboarding, free skiing, alpine and freestyle teams headed to South Korea. (names in bold are Lake Tahoe area athletes)

2018 U.S. OLYMPIC SNOWBOARDING SKIING TEAM

Women's Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air
Jamie Anderson, South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (9/13/1990) *
Julia Marino, Westport, Conn. (9/11/1997)

Here’s a look at the athletes from California who will compete for the United States in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which run Feb. 9-25

SKIING

Maddie Bowman
Hometown: South Lake Tahoe

Comment: The 24-year-old won a gold medal in halfpipe four years ago in Sochi. This will be the second Olympics for Bowman, who won gold in superpipe in four consecutive Aspen X Games (2013-16).

Social media: On Instagram, maddie_bowman; Twitter, @maddiebowman

Bryce Bennett
Hometown: Tahoe City

Just one more week of ski and snowboard competition until the 2018 U.S. Olympic teams are closer to being finalized. Focus will be south of Tahoe this week for the U.S. Grand Prix Series at Mammoth Mountain.

The results will help determine who the U.S. sends to next month's Winter Olympics in these disciplines.

South Lake Tahoe's Maddie Bowman is headed to her second straight Olympics!

She, along with Reno's David Wise, won gold in the first halfpipe for skiers held in the Olympic, and now they're both the first U.S. halfpipe skiers to qualify for February's Olympics in PyeongChang.

Even though Maddie finished in fourth place Friday, she clinched and punched her ticket to South Korea during the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Snowmass because she had two podium finishes during the previous three qualifying events.

A new exhibit that celebrates the 1960 Olympic Winter Games at Squaw Valley is opening at the Fausel House Gallery in Placerville on Friday, January 12 and will be running through March 9.

The curated exhibit will feature art, memorabilia and promotional items from those Olympics, the only to be held in Lake Tahoe and the first to be televised.

Finding a spot to build a snowman or do a little snowshoeing will be a little easier this winter as Placer County’s Squaw Valley Park in Olympic Valley will remain open to offer a free snow play option for visitors and residents.

The park’s parking area will be plowed all winter long, creating a free and convenient place to park and play.

After a winter of historic snowfall and atmospheric rivers, what will 2017-18 have in store?

That has yet to be seen, but many resorts around the Lake Tahoe Basin are making plans for opening even without that "one good dump."

Planned opening days:

Heavenly Mountain Resort - Nov. 17
Kirkwood Mountain Resort - Nov. 22
Sierra-at-Tahoe,- mid-November
Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows - November 17
Northstar - Nov. 17
Mt. Rose - Nov. 4
Boreal - Nov. 8
Homewood - Dec. 8
Diamond Peak - Dec. 14