sugar pine

Food, drink and music are the theme at the inaugural BBQ, Beer and Beats Festival in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, August 27, 2016 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe has replaced their annual car raffle with a new way to support local projects, organizations and student scholarships at the Lake Tahoe Golf Course. Enjoy BBQ, samples of beer, music featuring RedNeck Quartet, and tunes played by members of South Tahoe's Ukelele Club.

Tickets $45 advance purchase ($50 at door), $10 youth (ages 6-20), 5 and under free.

Magic Fusion at the Loft Theatre & Lounge. A perfect blend of intimate Magic & Comedy. (530) 523-8024. The Loft Theatre & Lounge at the Heavenly Village, 1021 Heavenly Village Way

Pope House Tour at the Tallac Historic Site - The Pope House Tour is the perfect way to see how the rich and famous lived while at Lake Tahoe, from the separate kitchen to the elegantly restored formal dining room. This docent guided tour takes approximately an hour and is filled with stories of early times. (530) 541-5227, Pope House at Tallac Historic Site, Heritage Way

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Now that the 4th of July holiday has passed, construction on the Caltrans Hwy 89 project along the West Shore of Lake Tahoe is now on an overnight schedule and will remain so for the next several weeks during the peak summer season, the department announced today.

Contractor Road and Highway Builders now works a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift during the week and 10:00 p.m. Sunday to 6:00 a.m. Monday. That schedule is expected to continue until August 15. Completion of the project was originally targeted for the end of this season, but some work now will extend into 2017.

NOTE: Most traffic-interfering work will be restricted until 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 5 due to the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

SPECIAL EVENT

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from the “Y” at Lake Tahoe Boulevard and State Route 89 North to Rufus Allen Boulevard: Motorists can expect a moving closure of both lanes from 10 a.m. to Noon Monday July 4 for the City of South Lake Tahoe 4th of July parade.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Most lane closures are restricted until 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 31 because of the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

May 31-June 3 - State Route 89 (Placer County) from Mankato Place to Olympic Drive South: Motorists can expect one-way traffic control at various locations around the clock from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 11 a.m. Friday for drainage work and roadway excavation.

Officially Earth Day is over, but the spirit runs throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin all year long. One way that the public can help the environment is to join forces with the Sugar Pine Foundation.

Prescribed fire operations are set to continue this week in the Lake Tahoe Basin, as long as the weather allows burning. California State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service have projects planned near Burton Creek, Sugar Pine Point and D.L. Bliss state parks. On the East Shore, operations are scheduled to take place on Spooner Summit and near Camp Galilee. On the South Shore, operations may take place near Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road, Panther Lane near South Tahoe High School and off Highway 89 near Spring Creek.

California State Parks, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations started back up today, February 22, 2016.

On the East Shore, operations are scheduled to take place near Logan Shoals Vista Point, Spooner Summit and Sand Harbor. Ten acres on Spooner, 15 acres at Logan Shoals, 150 acres at Camp Galilee and 30 acres at Sand Harbor.

On the South Shore, operations are scheduled near Eagle Point Campground, Spring Creek and Panther Road. Five acres in Angora Creek area, 10 acres on Panther, 30 acres at Emerald Bay.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service are planning to resume prescribed fire operations during the week of January 10-15, 2016.

They will be concentrating on six areas (matching with letters on the attached map):

A. Emerald Bay State Park - 38 acres. Ignite 1/11/16. Expected duration of ignition and smoke, one month.

B. Sugar Pine Point State Park - 26 acres. Ignite 1/11/16. Expected duration of ignition and smoke, one month.

Just in time for the holiday season, the Sugar Pine Foundation is selling their new Christmas Ornament, a festive addition holiday decor.

Orders can be placed through their website, www.sugarpinefoundationstore.com (check out all of their gift items for sale while there). The ornaments are delivered in a cushioned decorative box. The ornaments are $19 each plus $% for shipping.

The California Transportation Commission announced this week that it will award nearly $9 million in Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant funding to help complete three major bike and pedestrian projects in the City of South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City.

Members of the Lake Tahoe Bikeway Partnership applied for the grants. The partnership formed several years ago to secure funding for critical trail segments to improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety and complete the Lake Tahoe Bikeway, a comprehensive multi-use trail network for the Lake Tahoe Region.

Fall is here early and the pine seeds are ripening. The Sugar Pine Foundation has set some upcoming cone collection days so they can gather those seeds for future plantings.

This year, there are not many new sugar pines cones, but the western white pine cone crop is abundant. They will be collecting cones from the newly identified resistant western white pine at Heavenly near Maggie's Run on Tuesday, September 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is the first known resistant western white pine in our seed zone 772, so they are very excited!

Motorists traveling along Highway 89 on the west shore this weekend can expect delays during the Lake Tahoe Triathlon.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) said the highway will not close during events but CHP officers will be conducting traffic control at several locations along the courses, including several turnaround spots for the cyclists. Work on Caltrans’ construction projects in the area will be wrapped up by Friday at 10 a.m. and won’t resume until Sunday night.

July 17-Aug 23 Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: "Romeo and Juliet" @ Sand Harbor
July 29-Aug 02 Shayla Rivera / Pete Banachowski @ Improv at Harvey's
July 31-Aug 16 Lake Tahoe Summerfest classical music series @ Sierra Nevada College
July 31-Aug 01 Lisa Marie Johnston @ Moodys Bistro
Coburn Station @ Bar of America
August 01 Three Dog Night @ Montbleu
Robert Cray @ Harrah's
Forget the Roses @ Hard Rock Hotel
Drought Relief @ Heavenly Village
DJ Rick Gee / DJ Rockwell @ Peek Tahoe
Daze on the Green @ Cabo Wabo
JKC Band @ Steamers
Darren Senn @ 968 Park Hotel

A project to remove invasive plants from the Lake Tahoe Basin will continue this summer. The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will eradicate, control, and contain these plants using chemical treatment. Work will occur at approximately 70 infestation sites beginning May 15 and continuing through September, 2015.

Give Where You Live! is a 24-hour giving challenge coordinated by the El Dorado Community Foundation. This year's day long giving day is Thursday, April 23, 2015.

“We have approximately 70 nonprofits participating in the event this year. Each nonprofit will have its own website presence to highlight a particular need or needs for which it is focusing giving dollars, as well as more information about the organization in general,” said Megan Buchanan, donor services coordinator at the foundation.

California State Parks introduced their 2015 lineup of season passes this week and included this year are a Tahoe Regional pass and the return of the popular "Golden Poppy" pass.

The new Tahoe Regional Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass will cost $75.00 per year and gets you admission to our Lake Tahoe favorites, D.L. Bliss State Park, Ed Z’Berg Sugar Pine Point State Park, Emerald Bay State Park, Kings Beach State Recreation Area and Donner Memorial State Park.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks, Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations near Sugar Pine Point State Park, Sawmill Pond, Pioneer Trail and Washoan Boulevard, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Van Sickle Bi-State Park, Luther Pass, Spooner Summit, and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park in Slaughterhouse Canyon. Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District, California State Parks, Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations near Sugar Pine Point State Park, Pioneer Trail and Washoan Boulevard, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Luther Pass, Spooner Summit, and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park in Slaughterhouse Canyon. Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

The following is a list of burn areas and how many acres are being burned.

Project Sunset at Washoan and Pioneer Trail - 12 acres

As part of their mission to give back to the community and protect the environment, Vail Resorts gave away 49 grants to Lake Tahoe area groups during a ceremony on Tuesday at Heavenly Valley.

South Lake Tahoe's Golden Girl Jamie Anderson is throwing a party in her hometown to help raise money for the sugar pine trees.

On Thursday, November 6, Jamie in presenting "Golden Experience" at Azul Latin Kitchen in the Heavenly Village from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. She will talk about her trip to Socchi, Russia and the winning of a gold medal.

The Sugar Pine Foundation will be auctioning off some snowboard gear signed by Jamie, Vail lift tickets and winter themed art.

Tickets $20 per person include a poster of Jamie snowboarding. Kids are free.

The fall planting season for the sugar pine tree is underway around Lake Tahoe. The public is invited to join the Sugar Pine Foundation in any (or all) of their four scheduled plantings.

The Sugar Pine Foundation's Fall Planting Schedule

Saturday, Oct. 11th, 11-1pm - Rubicon McKinley Planting, 6445 Chamberland Drive, Tahoe National Forest, Tahoma, CA

Saturday, Oct. 18th, 10-12pm - Kingsbury Middle School Planting, 1900 Echo Court, Toiyabe National Forest, Glenbrook, NV

The Sugar Pine Foundation needs the public's help to collect seed for restoration. They are starting their annual cone harvest this fall and invite everyone to come join in the fun.

All that's needed is a pair of gloves and a helmet to volunteer as a member of the ground crew. Spectators are also invited.

The collection dates on the South, East and West Shore:

Monday, Sept. 8th @ 9:00am - Secret Cove, East Shore
Wednesday, Sept. 10th @ 10:00am - Meyers, near the gun tower
Friday, Sept. 12th @ 9:30am - Van Sickle State Park, near the CA Parking lot