paths

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) recognized four people for their commitment to protecting and enhancing Lake Tahoe’s environment with Lake Spirit Awards on Wednesday.

People whose passions include building new paths and trails led the way in nominations this year, with improving mountain biking routes, creating new multi-use paths, and advancing pedestrian and bicycle safety among the interests of the award winners.

UPDATE 7.3.18: Information in this story has changed:

There will once again be a 4th of July Parade through South Lake Tahoe, and the community is invited to participate.

Celebrate the nation's birthday on Wednesday, July 4, 2018 beginning at 10:00 a.m. There is a new route this year. The parade will be staged on Ski Run Boulevard and head West on Highway 50 to Al Tahoe Boulevard where the parade will lead up Al Tahoe Blvd. and conclude again at Bijou Community Park with a community barbecue.

Work resumed May 1 on the SR 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project in Tahoe City, a project that will bring a new Truckee River Bridge, three roundabouts, and street improvements including lights and sidewalks.

The old Fanny Bridge will be replaced with one that has a new bridge rail that matches the original bridge rail, plus there will now be sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides.

News spread through South Lake Tahoe this week that surprised and shocked many, the City Council's decision to put City Manager Nancy Kerry on indefinite leave. The council will be meeting in closed session on Monday, February 12, 2018 to discuss the situation. Their agenda item, "PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b)" starts at 9:00 a.m.

That section of code allows special and closed session meetings to consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, or dismissal of a public employee.

Conserving and restoring Lake Tahoe’s natural environment and revitalizing its communities requires a delicate balancing act. Historically, building consensus around how to strike that balance has been one of the region’s greatest difficulties.

Lake Tahoe reached its strongest-ever consensus on that balance with the 2012 Regional Plan and its focus on sustainable redevelopment to restore natural areas, bring legacy development up to modern environmental standards, and create walkable, bikeable, and vibrant town centers.

Many of South Lake Tahoe's roads are decades past their prime, and Measure C is in front of voters November 7 to increase taxes by one-half percent to pay for their maintenance and repair.

I support Measure C and let me tell you why, but it will have to start with a look back to see how we got here.

he Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on Wednesday recognized 15 exceptional projects completed in 2016 with Best in Basin awards.

Now in its 27th year, TRPA’s Best in Basin awards program each year showcases projects around the lake that demonstrate exceptional planning, implementation, and compatibility with Tahoe’s natural environment and communities.

The city received some good news this week. We were successfully awarded $2.9 million in federal funds to complete all of the funding for the Sierra Blvd. Streetscape project-we are now 100% funded through construction. Kudos to Stan Hill with the City for his excellent grant application. Per Jim Marino, Asst.

Every two years a new business plan is presented to the South Lake Tahoe City Council, outlining goals, the vision and strategic priorities. This is done after each election.

In February, City staff, Council and community members got together for a two-day strategic planning session, and the results that came out of that were put into the 2017/18 South Lake Tahoe Business Plan.

Tyler and Cheryl Cannon, owners of Sprouts Cafe in South Lake Tahoe, opened their doors Tuesday to two of the cycling teams in town for two stages of the Amgen Breakaway from Heart DiseaseTM Women's Race empowered with SRAM on May 11-12.

DROPS and United Healthcare (UHC) were there not only to enjoy the food Sprouts is known for, but to spend time with media and sharing their stories two days before race time.

Lake Tahoe must improve its internal transportation systems before they can expect visitors to the region to get out of their cars and use different, and better, ways of getting around. That was the message during last week's Tahoe Talks presentation by Lake Tahoe transportation partners, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and El Dorado County.

A big thank You to the City of South Lake Tahoe, the County of El Dorado, and the businesses and residents of Tahoe’s South Shore for clearing the snow from your sidewalks and paths.

Even during these big storms, you have made sure the multi-use paths and many sidewalks on the South Shore are passable. And after two feet of snow overnight, you made the roads and paths safe enough for 500+ locals to take to the streets by 11am on Jan 21st for the Women’s March. This is a big and welcome change from the previous years of sidewalk and bike path "freshies". Let’s save those for the slopes.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Warm Warning, Lake Wind Advisory and Flood Watch for South Lake Tahoe, and all three are in effect on Thursday, February 9.

Flood Watch Thursday 10:00 a.m. to Friday 4:00 a.m.

Another period of heavy rain is expected today and tonight with even higher flows and more flooding possible. Areas where snow has clogged drainage paths may remain flooded for longer periods of time. More rock and mud slides may also occur and impact travel.

Vail Resorts has called on the United States Congress to approve the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015. This Act provides $415 million in funding and reauthorizes important Lake Tahoe restoration activities that began in 1997 and refocuses federal, state and local efforts toward reducing wildfire threats, improving water quality and clarity, and combating invasive species. All of these are important to the local economy at one of the most visited lakes in the world.

It is an exciting time to live on the South Shore – during a critical point in our region’s evolution and potential. It is time to set our course: moving away from bickering and blaming, exclusionary special interests and single-industry dominance to consensus-building and proactively choosing progress. Whether we live in Nevada or California, everyone benefits from uniting towards a sustainable vision for the South Shore.

There are many important issues concerning the Nation, California and South Lake on the November 8th ballot. Not only we will decide on who the next President is but we’ll also be voting in two City Officials, who some could argue will actually have a greater impact on our daily lives than the Nation’s Leader.

Is South Lake Tahoe bike friendly? Once known as a “Bicycle Friendly Community," the City has applied to become one again.

The application to the League of American Bicyclists has been submitted, and they will be reviewing criteria such as the number of miles of bike lanes and bike paths in South Lake Tahoe, what improvements have been made to the bike infrastructure, how the City engages with the public and encourages them to cycle, law enforcement related to cycling, educational outreach for cycling, and basic demographics of the community.

The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition is stressing bike safety in their new multimedia education campaign to promote safe bicycling for Tahoe visitors and residents.

“We hope these safety tips help ensure people enjoy riding their bicycles at Lake Tahoe,” said Curtis Fong, vice president of the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition. “This is the greatest and most beautiful place in the world to ride a bike, and we want to help make sure that bicyclists are aware of safe riding practices when bicycling on roadways or bike paths around Lake Tahoe.”

Join Dr. Geoff Schladow for an entertaining public presentation about the most important factors that affected the health of Lake Tahoe last year during the next U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Science Center program. Hear about the most pressing issues for this year, and the new programs that are designed to address them.

The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and its Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers team are partnering with the Lake Tahoe Outreach Committee and other Lake Tahoe organizations to host community events and educational activities June 6-13. As visitors flock to the outdoor recreation wonderland that is Lake Tahoe the trails, beaches and forests are experiencing an increase in use and the associated impacts of trash, trail erosion and shoreline degradation.

Another section of what is becoming the premier bikeway circling Lake Tahoe was dedicated in a ceremony behind Lakeside Inn on Wednesday. This new shared-use trail connects to Rabe Meadow with access to Nevada Beach and Round Hill Pines Resort.

"The TTD (Tahoe Transportation District) is pleased to have been part of this project," said Carl Hasty, District Manager of TTD. "Bike trails are thought of as a 'nice to do' project in many areas, but in Lake Tahoe they are important."

"The Factory Stores at the Y" are being transformed into "The Crossing at Tahoe Valley," with demolition crews on site dismantling parts of the building to accommodate a new design as they prepare for new tenants.

There was once a time when having a beautiful lake, spectacular scenery and non-stop action and gambling was enough for the tourist to visit South Lake Tahoe and the South Shore.

This is no longer the case and the community needs to become future ready.

Carl Ribaudo, owner of Strategic Marketing Group, spoke at the Future Ready Tourism Forum at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel on April 26, 2016.

While change is always tough Ribaudo said, South Lake Tahoe needs to be prepared as the tourist shifts from making a transaction when coming to Tahoe to wanting an experience.

As the number of craft breweries continues to rise throughout the country, so does the number of breweries that are choosing to host live music. No band knows this better than the one time Nashville based indie folk-rock duo You Knew Me When. After uprooting from their Nashville home and full-time jobs in June of 2012 the husband and wife indie folk-rock duo set plans to tour the nation for a full year…however, they never stopped.