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Each February since 2012, people around the globe have been participating in "One Billion Rising" events to bring human trafficking and violence against women and children to the forefront, and South Lake Tahoe has joined them.

Experts say one in three women across the planet will be beater or raped during her lifetime, which equals one billion women.

South Lake Tahoe will again join towns in hundreds of countries to express support through dance, joy and community to celebrate the fact that they have not been defeated by this violence.

The conversation has started on what to do at the former site of Al Tahoe Elementary School after the passage of Proposition 51 in the November election which will create $9 billion in funding for the state's schools. During a study session at the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's (LTUSD) Board of Trustee meeting Tuesday, staff and trustees starting looking the future function of the school that closed in 2004 due to declining enrollment.

Since January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, what do you think of when you hear the term "human trafficking"? If you're like most people, you think of a story like the following true story, where police conduct an operation at a suspected residential brothel and encounter Sally, a 25-year-old citizen of Korea. Sally came to the U.S. having been promised a job as a maid. Instead, she was threatened with violence and forced to work in a brothel until she made $15,000. But the brothel owner retained $10,000, plus additional fees for food and a motel room when she could not work.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue personnel were called out to the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT) after a pipe burst in the ceiling on Christmas Day at 4:00 p.m. Damage was kept to ceiling tiles with some minor water damage to walls of a hallway.

BGCLT was able to open Tuesday as they were able to have the kids access classrooms from the outside instead of the affected hallway.

The pipe that burst leads to the boiler.

Former South Lake Tahoe Fire Captain Mark McLeod Wygant, 46, pleaded guilty in federal court today to transportation of child pornography.

Following an FBI and SLT Police Department investigation, Wygant was a
arrested on Jan. 29 2015 and has been in custody ever since. He had been immediately placed on administration leave but resigned just days after his arrest.

"I am pleased that Mr. Wygant plead guilty to his crime and the punishment will now in the hands of the criminal justice system," said SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston.

Major impacts to communities in El Dorado County were made possible through $264,905 in grants for 2016/2017 from the El Dorado Community Foundation.

Funding for the came from community members who invested in the foundation through Donor Assisted Funds. Those donating to the fund were able to engage in a new process this year by reading the grant proposals (55 were received) and the year-end reports of the non-profits applying for them.

8:00 p.m. update: The Lady Vikings have fallen short in their bid to be the back-to-back state champions in Nevada 3A Girls Soccer. It took two overtimes in their Friday night semi-final game for the Southern Nevada number one seed, Western High, to win by a score of 2-1.

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The first round of the Nevada State Soccer Championships start Friday night in Las Vegas, and South Tahoe High's Lady Vikings are there to defend their title.

South Tahoe High, the defending state champs, meet Western, the number one seed from Southern Nevada at 6:00 p.m. November 11.

Jim Antti started off working as a firefighter/paramedic for Tahoe Doulgas Fire Protection District 24 years ago, and today he is their new assistant chief.

Antti was hired in June of 1992, promoted to captain in February, 2003, and to battalion chief in June, 2013.

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

Tamara Wallace, 46, Retired Businesswoman/Chamber Exec

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

Monday, October 17, was a very busy and charitable day for the Edgewood Ladies Golf Club. In addition to hosting a Boys and Girls Club golf tournament, the Edgewood Ladies Golf Club also sponsored a Bread & Broth Adopt A Day of Nourishment. It is definitely a credit to the members of the ladies golf group that they are so involved with helping the community.

Every new parent in Tahoe knows that finding quality childcare is a struggle. Facilities have long waiting lists; and only a few can offer State subsidies to low-income families.

According to Choices for Children a healthy childcare vacancy rate is 15%. That gives parents choice in where to put their child based on location, costs or personal preferences. Here in Tahoe our vacancy rate is just 5% and as our population continues to grow that percentage is likely to decrease further.

Mya Rossi, a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, has won the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Scholarship. The middle schooler is passionate about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and wanted to attend the Science Camp of America: Air and Space in Hawaii so she applied for the prestigious scholarship.

“I can’t believe that they chose me!" said Mya. "I am so excited to explore this opportunity in Hawaii, thanks to the Hank Aaron Scholarship.”

Boys and Girls Clubs from across the country will be having "Lights on Afterschool" on Thursday, October 20 as a way to highlight the importance of a safe place for kids to go after school.

From 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the students who attend the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT) will show how they feel about the club by designing the future building that will house them.

South Tahoe High's girls volleyball team will be digging for a cure this Friday, October 14 in the school's blue gym starting at 4:00 p.m.

Their "Spike for a Cure" event takes place during all three matches, from Frosh to Varsity. During the afternoon and evening there will be a silent auction to raise money for University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Friend to Friend to help women purchase wigs and prosthetics as they battle breast cancer.

Beside silent auction items there will be donation jars in the gym.

You hear of the "great recession" causing issues in many areas from jobs and income to housing, but another victim is quality child care in South Lake Tahoe.

Prior to 2009 there were over 45 licensed day care providers on the South Shore, a majority of them licensed for 12 children and open evenings and weekends. Now, there are just 20, 12 of which are licensed for 12, the other eight are small licenses, for six children or less.

9/12/6 update: All four teenage girls who were reported as runaways last week have now returned home, the Carson City Sheriff's Office investigators said today.

Two sisters, 15 and 16, who were listed as runaways and not seen since Sept. 2, have turned themselves over to juvenile officers. A 14-year-old had returned to her residence on Thursday and a 16-year-old was located Wednesday.

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The Lake Tahoe Humane Society is inviting everyone to their fundraisers this weekend in South Lake Tahoe, both which get people outside, visiting their favorite bars and beaches, and both helping out pets in the area.

The action starts on Saturday, August 20 with a fun Poker Ride which starts off at California Burger at Heavenly Village. Registration starts at 10:00 a.m. and the event starts at noon.

Poker hands will be collected at five stops, which include beaches and bars. The hands will be entered into the contest, with the worst and best winning bicycles.

Mountain Resort Television reporter Dillon McKeen brings us the info on the Truckee Bike Park and Will's Kids, a new fundraiser to bring the art back into the South Lake Tahoe community for the younger set. Kili Ongoy from the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe shares the event information.

The joint fundraiser by six local non-profits will be held on August 5 at 3:30 p.m. at the Tahoe Tallac Site in South Lake Tahoe.

What started out as a group of friends coming to the South Shore from their homes in the Sacramento area to watch the American Century Golf Tournament at Edgewood has turned into a spectator sport of its own.

As one watches the activity its hard to tell who the gallery is there to watch, the celebrities of the group of friends and what is about to transpire as the celebrity walks to the tee box.

There will soon be a new ordinance in the City of South Lake Tahoe that will regulate massages, massage establishments and massage therapists.

"We will be raising the level of standards to legitimize the industry," said Mayor Wendy David.

There are currently 125 licensed massage therapists in the City, and an unknown number of people who are not. The new ordinance will be in place to make all comply and be licensed therapists in 90 days, or they cannot conduct business.

Beach wrestling is returning to South Lake Tahoe and everyone is invited to participate. Local wrestling coaches Ryan Wallace and Dave Borges are continuing with the success of their inaugural event in 2015, and holding their 2nd annual tournament on Saturday, July 16 at 9:00 a.m. on El Dorado Beach at Lakeview Commons.

Once again, South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle and the Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe are sponsoring the event along with the help of the South Lake Tahoe Police Activities League (PAL).

Three bear cubs arrived in South Lake Tahoe Tuesday, after their mother was killed in a car accident in Yosemite on July 4.

Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care Co-Founder Tom Milham drove to Lee Vining this morning, to meet people from Yosemite and transferred the cubs to his car.

As is the norm with LTWC, bears are named by the region they come from, so these cubs, about four-five months old, are named Yosemite 1, Yosemite 2 and Yosemite 3.

Heavenly Mountain Resort has created Epic Discovery Kids, a program offering free access to Heavenly’s new Epic Discovery summer activities to 2,000 kids from Lake Tahoe schools and non-profits as well as regional non-profits.

Not only have the Girl Scouts from Troop #143 been helping fill bags of food all year for the Bread & Broth 4 Kids program during the whole school year, they also presented the non-profit with a $250 gift card to purchase food with for local children in need. They raised the money from selling Girl Scout cookies this past winter.

The fourth and fifth graders wanted to earn their Bronze Award and decided they wanted to find a community service project that would help other kids and found the Bread & Broth 4 Kids a natural choice.