Press Release

10/16/17 11:20PM - The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office (EDSO) has identified the person who sent the threatening Instagram post. The individual is a resident of Texas and was contacted by local law enforcement in that state. The individual, identified as nineteen year old Justin Boaz of Tyler, Texas, admitted to making the post because he was “bored”.

A subsidiary of Vail Resorts announced Wednesday that it has received approvaly to convert a portion of a commercial property they own in Silverthorne, Colorado to workforce housing.

Colorado Mountain Express got a conditional use permit for their $440,000 project is the latest in Vail Resorts’ $30 million commitment to creating workforce housing opportunities in the communities in which the Company operates, including the Wintergreen development in Keystone and the recently announced plans to rezone a parcel of land in East Vail for workforce housing and open space, pending approvals.

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz announced today that his company has committed to zero net emissions by 2030, zero waste to landfill by 2030 and zero net operating impact to forests and habitat.

"Everything we do at Vail Resorts is driven by the spectacular natural environments where our employees, guests and communities live, work and play," Katz said in a press release. "The environment – and our stakeholders’ passion for it – is our business, and we have a special obligation to protect it."

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Life-saving resuscitation measures were performed on 20-year-old Matheus Silva, a midfielder currently playing with the Reno 1868 FC, after he was pulled out of Lake Tahoe where he had been swimming Tuesday morning.

According to Eric Guevin of Tahoe Douglas Fire, Silva was swimming at Zephyr Cove Resort at 6:00 a.m. when he called out for help. People in the area brought him to shore where CPR was initiated. When Tahoe Douglas Fire transported him to Barton Silva was breathing and had a pulse.

Ben, a retired Washoe County Sheriff’s Office K9, passed away from medical complications this weekend. In service from 2006-2014, K9 Ben was paired with Deputy Cole Bunyard who was at the German Shepherd's side when he died.

The retired Bunyard and Ben were involved a number of assignments over their 8 year together on the force, including Patrol and Highway Interdiction. K9 Ben was also a valued tracker for lost people. K9 Ben and Deputy Bunyard were assigned as the resident deputy in Gerlach between 2010 and 2014.

Carline Sinkler has been selected as the new principal of South Tahoe High School and the community is invited to meet her at the LTUSD District Office on Tuesday, May 23 at 5:00 p.m.

Sinkler comes from the San Francisco Unified School District where she has served as the principal of Herbert Hoover Middle School since 2013.

She was selected by the interview committee with "overwhelming enthusiasm" according to Shannon Chandler, the district's public information officer.

A massive global cyber-attack using hacking tools believed to be developed by the U.S. National Security Agency has affected 99 countries across the globe and disrupted Britain's healthcare system.

Even though far away, Barton Health is taking precautions to protect their computer systems and because of this their phone system is currently limited in operations. They are asking anyone who needs to call a Barton Health patient office or department, to call the direct hospital line at 530.541.3420. Other direct lines may be available, but calls will not be transferred from other lines.

The annual grading season of May 1 to October 15 begins today in the Lake Tahoe Basin and those who will be disturbing soil need to remember some rules after this wet winter.

No grading can take place during times of precipitation, and if the project site is still covered in snow, saturated or muddy, all grading and soil disturbing activities must be suspended.

A lengthy, multi-agency gang investigation in the Reno and Stockton areas led to the arrest of 23 people, including one correctional officer on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The U.S. Coast Guard unloaded 22 tons of seized cocaine this week, six in San Diego, 16 in Florida. The wholesale value of the cocaine is about $577.5 million.

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton offloaded the cocaine in San Diego during a media event Friday. Several cutters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean area seized the drugs mid-January through February.

The drugs were intercepted in international waters off the coast of Central and South America.

2/25/17 - Updated information at the end of this story provided by Mendocino Sheriff.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - A fugitive pot plant trimmer suspected in the robbery and brutal killing of an operator of a commercial marijuana farm in Mendocino County was arrested in South Lake Tahoe Friday afternoon.

2:00 p.m. update - Joe Zuiches, a 42 year-old resident of Olympic Valley and a member of the Squaw Valley professional ski patrol since 2012, was killed in a fatal incident at 8:35 a.m. Tuesday morning, prior to regularly scheduled operations, during avalanche control activities at the top of Gold Coast Ridge at Squaw Valley. The cause is believed to be the detonation of an explosive charge. An investigation is ongoing in cooperation with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and North Tahoe Fire Department.

CVS announced today that it will now sell the opioid overdose antidote naloxone without a prescription in all of their Nevada locations. This brings the total to 37 states where the drugstore chains sells naloxone over-the-counter, including California.

Members of the Douglas County Sheriff's Explorer's Post #2105 recently competed against 25 other law enforcement agencies in the 2016 Central Valley Law Enforcement Explorer Competition in Hanford, Calif.

The two day event against Explorers from California featured both mentally and physically challenging events.

"This young team, most of whom is their second time competing, did an outstanding job overall and represented Douglas County very well," said Sgt. Bernadette Smith in a press release.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have unanimously voted in favor of a resolution opposing the passage of California Proposition 64 which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and over in the state.

Owens Realty Mortgage has reported that Tahoe Stateline Venture, LLC, has entered into a purchase agreement with Jianping Pan, Kawana Holdings LLC to sell some of their Chateau at the Village for $42.5 million.

The father of two South Lake Tahoe children who failed to return them to their mother on August 15 has been arrested in the Rosarito Beach area of Mexico.

Scott Selger of Chula Vista, Calif., was arrested by the Baja California State Preventive Police on September 1 and the children were safely returned to their mother, Jenn Luckman Conant.

Investigators from several agencies had been searching for Selger and the children after their mother realized her children, 9-year-old twins Ava and Paolo, were not on their scheduled return flight home after visiting with their father.

It's been months of lawsuits, open arguments, censure of a councilperson, a community taking sides and a mounting legal tab. City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner, the City of South Lake Tahoe and City Manager Nancy Kerry have come to a compromise and have signed a settlement agreement.

In October of 2015, the City Council voted to censure Conner over what they said was "abusive, bullying and intolerant behavior."

A proposed redevelopment plan for Squaw Valley would include affordable employee housing, new infrastructure including roads and fire safety, as well as environmental improvements according to Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC. They have kicked off and effort to communicate with the public and gain support through "Squaw Tomorrow" for what is being called the Village at Squaw Valley redevelopment project.

The Sierra Business Council announced the winners for their annual Sierra Vision Awards, and a South Lake Tahoe business and its owners were on the list.

They give out the awards to recognize and honor leadership in restoring and invigorating our local economies, communities, and environment.

Headlines, both regionally and nationally are full of the message: Opioid addiction is sweeping the country and its out of control. With the death of musical artist Prince of an opioid overdose, the stigma of the addiction to strong prescription pain pills has been erased. It isn't a poor person's problem, it isn't an unemployed person's problem, it isn't a metropolitan problem. It is a problem in South Lake Tahoe, Reno, the west and the whole country.

Four new projects in South Lake Tahoe will be moving forward after the City was awarded $3 million in grants from the federal government through TRPA's Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPO).

The money will be used for the following:

$1.8 million for design and construction of the Sierra Boulevard Complete Street Project
$510,000 for construction of the Tahoe Valley Greenbelt Project
$390,000 for purchase of a Sander vehicle replacement
$200,000 for the design and engineering of the Lake Tahoe Boulevard Bike Trail

Don Ashton, the El Dorado County Director of Health & Human Services, was appointed Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) during the Board of Supervisor's meeting in Placerville Tuesday.

When Sue Novasel, the South Shore representative on the Board of Supervisors was asked why Ashton was chosen, she said his 23 years of experience in the public sector is extensive, and he'll know how to take the county to the next level.

The Food Bank of El Dorado County will bring their mobile food pantry to South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, April 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the American Legion located at 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

One allocation of emergency supplemental groceries will be given per qualifying household. Those who are struggling to make ends meet, live in El Dorado County and meet the State of California Health and Social Services Agency Emergency Food Assistance Program income guidelines may stop by for food distribution. Income guidelines can be found online at www.dss.cahwnet.gov/efap/.