drive in

While climate can be an important factor controlling lake temperatures, in many lakes, water temperatures are responding differently than air temperatures. Through decades of climate and water temperature data from Sierra Nevada, Dr. Steve Sadro was able to illustrate the magnitude of warming taking place and demonstrate the role of winter snow-pack in regulating lake temperatures. Sadro and his findings will be featured at the next UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) discussion on February 9. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. with refreshments and no-host bar from 5:30 p.m.

Find out how technology can be used to improve the Lake Tahoe transportation system at the next Tahoe Talks on Wednesday, January 18 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Community College's Creekside Room.

Traffic, parking, biking, and commuting are all part of our daily lives and there are now apps to help with everything from smart parking to interactive bike websites to make life easier. New technology is out there to held your daily travel routine.

Join a panel of three experts as they walk through new apps and technology that is being used at Lake Tahoe.

With the heavy rain and high snow levels associated with an atmospheric river hitting the Sierra and Lake Tahoe this weekend, the City of South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County are reminding citizens that sand bags are available, free of charge.

During wet storms, residents may find themselves with flooding issues around their homes and garages.

Sand bags are available year-round at the City’s Streets and Snow Removal Yard located at 1160 Rufus Allen Blvd. Their operating hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Join Kyle Swanson, MD, of the Tahoe Center for Orthopedics, and learn more about shoulder replacement surgery; the good, the bad and the ugly during Barton Health's next wellness lecture on Thursday, December 8 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Community College.

The lecture will cover several topics including:

What is arthritis?
Types of shoulder replacements
What to expect as a patient going through shoulder replacement surgery

This lecture will be held in the LTCC Board room located at One College Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

A Yuba City couple missing in the Sierra Nevada for two days were found late Monday afternoon by a search and rescue team who followed tracks they saw on a U.S. Forest Service road.

Susan and Rory Holloter had gone for a drive in the Wentworth Springs Road area of El Dorado County at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 26 in their Dodge Ramcharger. A storm hit the area that afternoon and the couple became stuck.

Ready to cut some firewood? Time is running out to do so on U.S. Forest Service land in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The last day to purchase fuelwood permit for the is on Friday, November 18 and the last day to cut wood is Sunday, November 20.

Permits cost $20 per cord, with a two-cord minimum purchase and a limit of 10 cords per household. Permits have specific conditions and complete information is provided when the permit is issued. Maps to designated cutting areas are also provided and must be in the permit holder’s possession along with the valid permit.

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 in summer 2017.

Our world is rapidly changing, including the coastal and inland waters. Conservation is essential in order to preserve these areas and the fish that live there but water conservation is a complex subject. Find out what is being done and the issues California's coast and inland waters are confronted with at the UC Davis Tahoe Science Center on Thursday, November 3.

Join Dr. Nann Fangue to learn how we can conserve our imperiled fishes and find solutions by understanding physiological specializations that allow animals to survive and thrive in complex environments.

5:50 p.m. update: A vegetation fire in Rave Meadow between Kahle Drive and Elks Point Road in Stateline consumed about 1/4 acre before being contained by fire crews Sunday afternoon.

U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe Douglas Fire and Calfire crews responded.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

* * *

A second fire is burning in the brush off of Kahle Drive in Stateline. First responders said flames are five feet high and so far a patch of 20 feet by 20 feet has burned with a low rate of spread.

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.

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.

Low-cost community flu vaccination clinics will start in South Lake Tahoe on September 28 and on October 5 on the West Slope.

The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Nursing will be conducting the clinics through mid-November for just $10 per vaccine. No one will be denied service due to inability to pay.

10:30 a.m. update: The Ralph Fire, burning in the Heavenly Creek/Powerline Trail area above Ralph Drive in South Lake Tahoe, is now 60 percent contained.

Firefighters are now in mop-up mode and full containment is expected shortly according to the U.S. Forest Service.

****

The fourth fire to burn around South Lake Tahoe this week burned almost three acres early Friday morning in heavy brush on a steep slope above Pioneer Trail.

Unless a new source of funding comes through, the Tahoe Transportation District Board is going to cut the 21x bus line from the South Shore to Carson City starting October 2.

The passenger transportation system has seen little innovation since the advent of the Interstate Highway System. That is now changing. The ubiquity of smart phones is enabling the commercialization of a range of new mobility services, led by Uber and Lyft; rapid advances in battery and fuel cell technology are enabling electrification of vehicles; and rapid advances in digital technologies are enabling automation of vehicles. The challenge for policymakers is to direct these revolutions toward the public interest—including in the Tahoe Basin.

The establishment of a world record of a Women’s Longest Drive at Elevation will be made during next week's American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe.

Champion long ball artists Heather LeMaster and Blair O’Neal will be making the attempt prior to the 27th annual tournament on July 19 at Edgewood Tahoe.

Teddy Roosevelt once said the Chautauqua is "the most American thing about America." Audiences will soon be able to see one of these historical, and entertaining, events on the South Shore when the Lake Tahoe Historical Society presents their annual Chautauqua at Lake Tahoe August 13 at 6:30 p.m. There is a cocktail party with fabulous appetizers at 5:15 p.m., which is included in the price of admission.

A chemical discovered in a UC Davis lab may be a new, innovative tool to control depression. Studies involve an enzyme (soluble epoxide hydrolase or sEH) which is found in many species from bugs to humans. Research in animal models of depression suggests that sEH plays a key role in modulating inflammation, which is involved in depression. Years of research and discovery around this enzyme led from investigating insect biology to translating the basic science into a potential therapy for man.

The hot, dry days of summer will soon be upon us. Preparing your home for wildfire is more important than ever. And now is a good time to get started. June is “Wildfire Awareness Month” in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and members of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team are asking all Tahoe residents and visitors to “Think First to Keep Tahoe Fire Safe”

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.

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.

The Board of Directors from the South Tahoe Public Utility District are having a special evening meeting to present their proposed 2016-17 budget, and ten-year financial and capital improvement plan to the public.

The budget meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the STPUD board room located at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

Caltrans long-term and short-term roadwork projects around the Lake Tahoe Basin:

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

The U.S. Forest Service seeks input on their draft environmental assessment for the restoration for the Burke Creek Highway 50 Crossing and Realignment Project.

The first two phases of the proposed project would restore the Burke Creek channel and adjacent marsh, reduce the amount of sediment that flows into nearby Lake Tahoe and reduce the potential for flooding on U.S. Highway 50.