the y

A popular South Lake Tahoe hamburger spot has opened a second location at the "Y".

Loreen Sanchez, owner of The Burger Lounge on Highway 89 has opened "The Burger Stop" at the South Y Center between Beach Hut Deli and Starbucks.

Wednesday was opening day, unveiling a full menu including gourmet burgers and hot dogs, fries, salads, 23 flavors of milkshakes and sundaes, freezes, floats, and ice cream.

Sanchez and her team will be open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Phone in orders are available at 530-541-3642.

Now that weather is favorable for roadwork, Caltrans and NDot have begun their projects around Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas.

Long term projects:

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe's West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

Exciting times for South Lake Tahoe in May as the community shines on the international stage as the location of the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Fourteen teams consisting of 84 of the top professional women racers will be in town for the race May 8-9, 2015. The racers consist of Olympic medalists, World Champions, Tour de France competitors and other cyclists from the National and International field.

Many of the teams have already been in the area getting ready for the Lake Tahoe stop on their tour. As we get closer to May 8, more of the participants will be in town.

While the summertime tourist to South Lake Tahoe should only be slightly affected, business owners along Highway 89 are worried about their livelihood with overnight road construction and blocked driveways.

During Thursday evening's Caltrans informational meeting at South Tahoe High, several owners of lodging properties, restaurants, sports and retail stores spoke about their concerns during the project which will last from mid-April to mid-October in 2015 and could even extend into the 2017 building season.

It took several more months than planned, but Soup Tahoe is now open on the South Shore.

In September, South Tahoe Now announced that SUP Tahoe would be converted into Soup Tahoe during the non-summer months where stand up paddling isn't as popular.

"There were many more regulations than we first figured into our business plan," said owner Eddie Smith of the delay in opening. Smith and his wife, Kimberly, got the doors opened to Soup Tahoe last week.

Almost twenty years later and the Tahoe Valley Area plan isn't in place, yet. John Hitchcock, the City of South Lake Tahoe Planning Manager, gave the Council another presentation on the status of the plan and where things stand as of today during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

First proposed in the early 1990's, the resurrection of the Tahoe Valley Area plan made great strides towards adoption in 2014 with Hitchcock holding four public meetings where input was requested, presenting the plan to TRPA three times, three times to City Council and twice to the planning commission.

Renovate, improve, contemporize and rebrand. That is what Burke Fathy says Sutter Capital Group plans to do with the former Factory Stores at the Y.

"The property needs to be repositioned," said Fathy, a partner with Sutter, told South Tahoe Now. "We are going to rebrand it from a factory store and make it more mixed tenant and give it new life."

The Sacramento investment group recently purchased the center after it fell into bankruptcy after years of mismanagement, Fathy said.

The annual procession of decorated City vehicles and other participants made it's way down Lake Tahoe Blvd on Saturday night, much to the delight of people along the parade route and at the tree lighting ceremony at the end.

As the row of cars and trucks passed by local businesses, those adorned with lights turned them on like one moving light switch.

At the "Shops at the Y" people gathered to watch the tree lightening ceremony along with treats and photos with Santa.

What is becoming a new holiday tradition on the South Shore will be making its way through town on Saturday, December 6.

"Light Up South Lake Tahoe" is a procession through town of lit up city vehicles including a fire truck, police armoured vehicle and city works snow plow. The idea is, as the procession passes by each business they are to turn on their holiday lights.

For his "State of the City" address, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Hal Cole took everyone on a trip through the city, celebrating the successes of the last year and creating an anticipation for a future seen with new investments, an improved economy, more businesses and a community that will continue to thrive.

In what has become a very busy year at Lake Tahoe wildlife Care, another bear was added to their den on Friday after his mother was hit and killed on Hwy 89 near The Cantina on October 4.

Tom Milham, LTWC co-founder and Secretary/Treasurer, went on the air at all of the local radio stations on October 16, asking for the public's help in finding Gardner after several sightings in the Y area. When he got the call that someone saw Gardner near Anderson Bike Rentals, Milham and Fish & Wildlife showed up with a cage full of food. They safely got Gardner into the cage.

More than 3,400 seasonal employees are needed by Vail Resorts for the upcoming ski season at their Lake Tahoe resorts Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar.

Three job fairs will be held in October where perspective employees can meet with resort personnel and have interviews.

This first job fair will be held on Saturday, October 11, from 9:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. at the Red Cliffs Lodge at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. There will be a free shuttle for job fair attendees that will leave the South Lake Tahoe Transit Center at the Y at 9 a.m., returning at 1 p.m.

South Lake Tahoe resident Robert Klein, 61, was hit by a drunk driver on Monday evening near the intersection of Emerald Bay Road and Lake Tahoe Blvd (the "Y"). Police arrived at the scene at approximately 5:40 p.m. and found Klein lying in the traffic lanes with his bicycle. He was struck by a mini-van driven by 57 year old Carmel Jennings of South Lake Tahoe.

Property Crime: Several South Lake Tahoe businesses were disrupted over the past three months (June/July/August) by 19 different smash and grab commercial burglaries. Typically, these burglaries are occurring in the early morning hours (between 3am-9am. The offender(s) have broken windows or glass doors to gain access to these businesses across town. The crimes have not been centralized in any one particular area, although several have occurred in the area of the Y and some of the same businesses have been victimized more than once.

If you were wondering where Wildman's Cafe went to after leaving their Ski Run Marina location, you're in luck....we found them in their new home!

Rami and Patricia Suda Merrikh have opened Wildman's 50's Drive-In at the Y in South Lake Tahoe. While not the coffee house as before, they prepare a wide variety of food on their menu.

We stopped in to see what was up in the mid-century circa establishment. Rami was at the grill and Patricia was taking care of the front counter.

Communities across the country are celebrating America's Independence Day and South Lake Tahoe is no different.

Thousands of visitors have come to town to enjoy fireworks, BBQs and family fun. There are many ways to celebrate Friday:

Head out to watch the 3rd Annual Fourth of July Parade at 10 a.m. Cars, trucks and other vehicles will set out from Les Schwab Tires at the Y and head down Highway 50 to the American Legion where there will be a BBQ. Sit along the street (the best views are on the same side of the street as the parade will be moving).

Can you survive the next wildfire in Lake Tahoe? Yes, if your community is prepared.

The Lake Tahoe Basin's firefighting agencies and UNR Cooperative Education have come together to promote the "Fire Adapted Community Concept." This type of community has five elements:

1. Community Protection - Well-designed fuelbreaks and safe areas protect the community.
2. Defensible Space - Proper management of vegetation surrounding the home reduces the wildfire threat.
3. Access - Good access helps emergency responders arrive in a timely manner.

Customers and employees were evacuated from businesses around noon today at the South Y Center in response to suspicious circumstances surrounding an overheard conversation and a possible bomb.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department received a call from an employee at the South Y K-Mart, stating they had overheard a suspicious conversation between store patrons. The employee stated that the patrons had exited the store and that the employee walked around the shopping center and reported hearing a ticking sound coming from the shopping center general mailbox.

Movies were in a Quonset hut where movie goers had to bundle up to fight the cold. Lake Tahoe was full of one way roads and a 2 room school. The switchboard operator knew where all 50 winter residents were at all times. Cattle walking down Highway 50.

The history of the south shore came alive last week at the Camp Richardson Lodge during the Lake Tahoe Historical Society’s “Do You Remember?” series.

The Welcome Home celebration for the South Lake Tahoe Olympians will be held on Saturday, March 15. A procession will leave South Tahoe High at 1 p.m. and proceed to the Y, down Highway 50, through Meyers and to Sierra at Tahoe.

The South Lake Tahoe community is know for its ability to pull together when one of it own is in need of help, and that is evident once again with the story of Ryan Wallace. The life long local had a rare form of bone cancer which led to the amputation of his leg when he was just 19.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is encouraging residents to be informed and engaged in the community and is offering several opportunities in the coming weeks to do just that.

"In an engaged community, every person has the information, the opportunities and the support needed to take action and lead change throughout their lives," according to the Knight Foundation. "When people become involved, and exercise their full democratic rights, they make their lives and those of others better."

The single use plastic bag ban goes into effect on January 15 in South Lake Tahoe. In order to help people with the transition, the city's Lead Safe Tahoe team is giving away free reusable shopping bags on the following dates:

January 13 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. @ Raley's at 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (near Stateline)
January 14 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. @ Safeway on Johnson Blvd.
January 15 from 1:00-3:30 p.m. @ Raley's on 1040 Emerald Bay Rd. (The "Y")
January 15 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. @ South Lake Tahoe Grocery Outlet on 2358 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

The 2nd Annual South Lake Tahoe Holiday Parade will be held on Saturday, December 14. Spectators will line the parade route from the top of Ski Run Blvd to TJMaxx at the Y. When the parade starts the forecast is sunny and 40 degrees.