safety

Residents and businesses located in Nevada and California have joined efforts to remove graffiti and trash from Lake Tahoe which is known for its pristine water and incredible natural setting. On Sunday, October 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., organizers invite friends and supporters of Lake Tahoe to participate in this special multi-state effort. They will meet at 9:30 a.m. at Sand Harbor for a safety talk, graffiti and trash removal instructions and supplies.

Being touted as "The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act" by proponents, Proposition 47 will mandate misdemeanors instead of felonies for “non-serious, nonviolent crimes," unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.

The reason Prop 47 got this name is because a fund bearing it's name will be created by the estimated savings of $150M to $250M the state will receive by not having to prosecute crimes that would become misdemeanors.

Small smoke plumes have been observed in communities as far west as Cool and Auburn as a result of the smoldering King Fire. According to Cal Fire, this is to be expected as the fire continues to burn within the interior. Smoke will settle with the cooler night air and follow canyons and drainages, and will lift and disperse as the day warms. It should be somewhat light smoke, and get progressively lighter over time until the fire runs its course or enough precipitation extinguishes it.

The 7th Annual K9 Trials are being held in South Lake Tahoe all day Saturday. They started with Dog Patrol competition at Lakeview Commons this morning. More events will follow at the beach and the public is invited to attend.

This letter was given to South Tahoe Now for publication.
September 26, 2014

Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, California 95814

Re: Support for SB 850 State Senator Block – Pilot Baccalaureate Program for
California Community Colleges

Dear Governor Brown:

I am writing to you to urge your signature into law of SB 850 (“The Bill”) by State Senator Block. The Bill as is valuable to our State’s future to increase the education and training of residents of our State.

9/29/14 update: Heavy precipitation over the weekend allowed firefighters to achieve 90 percent containment of the Cascade Fire near Snow Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. Crews will begin repairing impacts from fire suppression activities and will monitor the fire to detect any renewed activity later this week due to drier, warmer and windier conditions.

Bayview Trailhead and Campground and TaylorCreek Sno-Park on Hwy. 89 have reopened. The cause of the 20-acre fire is under investigation, but it has been determined to be human-caused.

The Eldorado National Forest has issued a closure order for public safety in the area impacted by the King fire beginning September 18, 2014, until the fire is declared out. The closure order includes the Desolation Wilderness.

“Under our Unified Command System, our top priorities are fighting this fire and keeping the fire fighters and the public safe, said Crabtree. “We cannot safely fight this fire with intermingled publics. Please stay out of the closed areas until I can reopen them, which I intend to do as soon as possible.”

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.

A 4" gas line was stuck by construction crews Thursday morning at the site of the new Hard Rock Casino. Several emergency vehicles responded, lining the street, bringing concern by people passing through the casino corridor at approximately 9:30 a.m.

Tahoe-Douglas Fire Department and the The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the old Horizon Casino. Fire personnel ordered the evacuation of the 55 construction and staff workers and the closure of Highway 50.

The Medical Imaging Department at Barton Health has been awarded a three year term of accreditation by the American College of Radiology as well as the Gold Seal.

“Our radiology staff and facilities have endured a rigorous review process to confirm our medical excellence,” says Tom Davis, Barton’s director of Medical Imaging. “We are very fortunate to have a team of radiologists and staff who are both state and nationally certified and among the most elite in their field.”

American Legion Post 795 will conduct it's annual Patriot's Day ceremony at the Legion Hall at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 11.

The observance honors the safety forces and military members who gave their lives on September 11, 2001 during the terrorist attacks on the United States.

South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler and Fire Chief Jeff Meston will speak on the role of emergency personnel on that day, and on the sacrifices they made.

The public is welcome to attend; light refreshments will be served after the service.

On Monday, the U.S. Forest Service will start a mastication project on the Northwest shore of Lake Tahoe that will impact a portion of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

For the next 6 weeks, including weekends, staff will be in the area near Page Meadows. They'll be using a piece of equipment called a masticator which reducing the amount of material left behind after a tree thinning project. The machinery may cause flying debris to be thrown up to 500 feet.

Energy saving improvements at the Lake Tahoe Community College will soon pay off financially when Liberty Utilities presents a check for $17.085.85 to the LTCC board of directors on September 9.

The check represents all of the rebates the college was eligible for after the improvements were used on campus starting in 2013.

Lake Tahoe Community College gained the support of the South Lake Tahoe City Council today in their pursuit of $55,000,000 in bond funds through Measure F. The Council voted unanimously to adopt the support resolution.

Dr. Kindred Murillo, Superintendent/President of the Lake Tahoe Community College District, was on hand at Tuesday's City Council meeting to provide an explanation of what the bond would mean to the South Shore community and answer any questions the five council members had.

Live Violence Free welcomed distinguished patrons of the upcoming 15th Annual Sunset Gala to the beautiful Glenbrook, NV home of Lynn Brantley and Doug Tuttle on Saturday, August 23. The Sunset Gala Committee extended appreciation for the patrons’ commitment to the expansion of Live Violence Free’s community services and support. The Sunset Gala Committee and Board of Directors proudly recognized the Honorary Chairwomen of the Sunset Gala, Cathy DiCamillo and Ginger Mitchell, for their combined long-standing dedication and service to Live Violence Free that spans almost 60 years.

As soon as the holiday visitors head home after the Labor Day weekend, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) will close State Route 207 to through traffic starting Tuesday, September 2.

Kingsbury Grade will be closed at the top near Tramway Drive. The lake side of the Grade will be open but the valley side will not. NDOT will temporarily re-open SR207 for the Genoa Candy Dance September 27 and 28.

A new business in South Lake Tahoe is the creation of South Lake Tahoe locals Bryan Burnam and Jacob Hanneman, who have taken their passion for the outdoors to start Bakpocket Products.

Since August 8, the company has their newest product, the Adventure Hammock, listed on Kickstarter, which is a global funding platform designed to help small startup companies to promote their projects and products.

Today Kristen Spees announced the start of her congressional campaign’s I-80 District Tour throughout Northern Nevada.

Spees’ I-80 District Tour starting August 17th will be making stops throughout Northern Nevada, including: Lamoille, Elko, Duck Valley, Winnemucca, Lovelock, Battle Mountain, and Fernley.

To represent the citizens of the second district and understand all Nevadans concerns Kristen stated:

Marijuana is a major concern for many in our City. As part of the City Code, our City Council provided for a safer community by allowing marijuana grow operations only after a permit is obtained. The permit process provides for a building official to inspect for things like:

1. Safe wiring—adding large number of “grow lights” overburdens conventional electric outlets and can cause fires.

Douglas County Board of Commissioners have requested a State of Emergency for the series of floods that have hit the region since July 20. In doing so, funds can come into the county to help replenish depleted coffers and to help with the repair of public infrastructure such as county maintained roads, culverts, and drainage.

Flood recovery measures are being taken in the Fish Springs area of Douglas County after Wednesday night's flash flood closed several roads and damaged homes.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's office, this incident produced hazardous conditions due to the amount of water and dark evening hours which created safety concerns and inhibited immediate damage assessment.

The Reverse 911 was down in Douglas County so emergency messages had to be relayed through the National Weather Service, which is the backup system. Reverse 911 should be back up and working by August 15.

What started off as a leisurely 90 minute cruise on the Tahoe Queen turned into quite the adventure for passengers on board Monday afternoon.

The boat was about 30 minutes into its Emerald Bay cruise when it became stuck on a sandbar. At about 3:30 p.m., South Lake Tahoe Fire Department received a call that the Tahoe Queen was stuck off the Regan Beach shore. It is not known at this time why emergency personnel weren't called to the scene until 90 minutes after the Tahoe Queen got stuck.

The Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe is extremely grateful of the services that are being donated by John’s Cleaners.

Once a week we have the opportunity to drop off our shirts that the kids wear daily and they wash and clean them for us. This is a very important service because we want the kids to feel comfortable and clean with the shirts we provide them.

The spring and summer weather is here and many of us are starting or planning to start those home improvement projects that just can’t be done in the cold and wet months. Maybe we have also heard about the dangers that can be present when working on surfaces that contain lead. As many of us now know, any home that was constructed prior to 1978 may have lead-based paint or lead containing finishes on any of the painted or varnished surfaces on the exterior and interior of the home and on outbuildings, fences and other surfaces as well.