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California may soon be the first state to have a ban on single use plastic bags.

A ban on single use plastic bags is already in place in South Lake Tahoe and 90 other cities and counties in the state of California, but that may soon change. If Governor Brown signs the bill that was sent to him on Friday, the whole state will have a ban on plastic bags for grocery stores and large pharmacies in 2015 and convenience stores in 2016.

Zawadisha, a Tahoe-based global women’s empowerment organization, announced today that South Lake resident and Lean In partner Rayona Sharpnack will be the keynote speaker at its inaugural “Women as Change Makers: Leading and Thriving in the 21st Century,” conference, to be held October 3rd at the North Tahoe Event Center. Sharpnack, the CEO of the Institute for Women’s Leadership, has facilitated women’s leadership trainings for such Fortune 500 companies as Microsoft, Charles Schwab, and Hewlett Packard.

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Hospital care can be complex and expensive. Strangely, a short hospital trip may cost more than an extended stay.

Sound familiar? In October 2013, Medicare enacted the “two-midnight rule” to discourage hospital inpatient admissions. Medicare patients staying longer than two midnights in the hospital, excluding discharge, may be considered inpatients. Medicare patients that stay less than two midnights typically receive outpatient or “observation status.”

Children and their families are invited by U.C. Davis to visit their Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences on Saturday, August 9 for a day of hand's on activities.

The 15th annual event is free and sponsored by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center. Children's Environmental Science Day includes more than 30 interactive science activities hosted by local organizations, all aimed at children ages 6 and up.

Golf fans know her from her 89 LGPA golf tournament victories, 10 major championships and total winnings over $22M. Celebrity Golf fans will soon find out how the retired golfer who had to "dust the rust off her clubs" will play at Edgewood in her first American Century Golf Tournament this weekend.

Favored to win the tournament, Sorenstam reminded those at a press conference Thursday that she hasn't played much since retiring, and while she has played under the Stableford method that isn't how she won so many tournaments during her career.

A candidates forum for the El Dorado County District 5 Supervisor race will be held on July 29th at 6:30 p.m. at the California Conservation Corps (CCC) Tahoe Center building in Meyers.

The forum was rescheduled from it's original date of July 22.

TahoeChamber, Tahoe Daily Tribune and Tahoe Regional Young Professionals will host the forum in anticipation of the November election in which two candidates, Kenny Curtzwiler and Sue Novasel, will campaign for the position to be vacated by current Supervisor Norma Santiago.

The South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition (STDFC) was formed in 2012 by Tahoe Youth and Family Services in collaboration with key community partners. Some of these community partners include the South Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Public Health, and Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

The El Dorado County Grand Jury has released their final report for the 2013-14 year and several South Lake Tahoe situations have been brought to light.

According to Jury Foreman Neil Cunningham, the jury compiled 20 reports and recommendations which were created as they followed up on inquiries from citizens and Grand Jury required inspections.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Community Services department started their STAR (South Tahoe Adventure Recreation) camps this week. Youth and teens ages 6 to 16 can use this summer to explore Lake Tahoe by enjoying field trips, swimming, going to the beach and many other activities, all in a safe and fun environment.

If you live in the Meyers area of the Tahoe basin, your polling location was changed. This change has caught many voters off guard.

You will vote at the California Conservation Corp (CCC). This is the only Meyers location as the Lake Valley Fire Department location is not open this year.

Jenn Boyd of Weidinger PR hosts this wide-ranging panel discussion from the Elevate Your View: Leadership Lake Tahoe 2014 summit. The panel features Dana Williams, former mayor of Park City, UT; plus Carl Ribaudo of Strategic Marketing Group and Carol Chaplin of the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority's Tahoe South campaign.

PANEL DISCUSSION:
Jenn Boyd Introduction (0:35)
Dana Williams on transforming Park City (6:06)
Carol Chaplin on what Tahoe South is doing to promote itself (10:00)

WHEREAS, mental illness will affect nearly one in five adults and children in a given year, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or religion; and

WHEREAS, mental health is essential to the overall health of every individual and our community; and

WHEREAS, mental health conditions are real and prevalent in our County with many individuals experiencing times of difficulty and stress in their lives; and

South Tahoe Now sent a questionnaire out to all of the candidates for El Dorado County Supervisor. We will be posting them in the order received.

1)What do you see as the Number 1 issue facing residents of District 5?

The South Lake Tahoe office of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was scheduled to close last month for renovations, but due to stormy weather they postponed the project. The DMV announced today that they will be closing the office for two days in May to replace the carpet.

They are alerting local customers that their office, located at 3344 Lake Tahoe Blvd #B, will be closing for renovations on Friday, May 9, 2014, at 12 p.m.

April 20 to 26 marks the 17th annual Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week. In 2014, 55,000 Americans will develop cancer of the head and neck. Though 13,000 people will die from this disease, most cases are preventable.

Causes of Oral, Head, & Neck Cancer
Tobacco use is the most common and preventable cause of head and neck cancer. Tobacco products include cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco. Switching from smoking to smokeless products only changes the risk of lung cancer to a risk of oral cancer.

Meer words cannot describe what volunteers mean to Barton Skilled Nursing Facility residents.

Barton Skilled Nursing volunteers wear many hats. They play inspiring music, bring communion, and call bingo. Volunteers turn an ordinary birthday party into a trip down memory lane with music from the past. Musicians share ukulele, piano, and organ music with our residents. They honor our vets. Some volunteers bring in their pets to lick faces and shower our residents with love. Other groups bring church to Skilled Nursing residents every Sunday.

As Edgewood Properties moves forward with their plans to reconfigure holes on their golf course to accommodate for a new lake front lodge, they asked the City of South Lake Tahoe City Council today for a change in the area's general plan. The original Edgewood Tahoe plans were to have 100% of the golf course in the state of Nevada, but have now altered those plans to have some of the course venture into California on Edgewood owned land.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is looking for cyclists to join their Climate Ride California team to cycle through wine country May 17-20, 2014. Riders will help raise awareness of climate change, alternative modes of transportation and the effort to Keep Tahoe Blue.

League staff member Seth Chanin will be captaining Team Keep Tahoe Blue.

Since March 3rd, trash pick up times in South Lake Tahoe have been moved to two hours later in an effort to reduce wildlife problems and clean up, according to South Tahoe Refuse, protect our unique environment.

While it's too early to tell if the later times will keep bears out of local trash, both Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and the Bear League say they feel it will make a big difference.

Time to get all of your DMV paperwork turned into the South Lake Tahoe office! They will be closing for renovations at noon on Wednesday, March 26 and reopening on Tuesday, April 1.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is alerting local customers that the office, located at 3344 South Lake Tahoe Blvd #B will be closed so to plan ahead.

Several South Lake Tahoe residents showed up at the presentation of the Tahoe Area Plan at the airport on Thursday. Most agreed that the area known as the "Y" needs to be changed with an area plan, but which direction to a take to a final plan is where people differ.

The evening consisted of a presentation by John Hitchcock, who is on loan to the city from the TRPA for this project as Planning Project Manager. After he spoke the group broke out into three breakout sessions, each focuses on one of three choices presented as the future concept for "Y" area.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is letting the voters decide the future of paid parking in the city limits during the next election on June 3, 2014. Voters will be able to either approve or repeal the city's paid parking ordinance.

During Tuesday night's City Council session, several options were voted on that address concerns the public had on paid parking. They will go into effect immediately, well ahead of the election.

They came to have their opinion heard. They came to call for the closure of the airport. They came to support the airport. They came to be a part of the South Lake Tahoe Airport Master Plan process.

An overflowing crowd showed up at the South Lake Tahoe City Council chambers Thursday night to hear about the process involved in preparing the upcoming plan for the future of the airport, why a new plan is needed and what it takes to replace the outdated 1992 Master Plan.

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."