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The City of South Lake Tahoe was set to start accepting development agreement applications for the six cannabis licenses up for grabs after City Council approved a cannabis ordinance on August 21, 2018.

That is on hold after 1,687 signatures were gathered and submitted to the South Lake Tahoe city clerk's office to prevent the ordinance from taking effect for now. Only 1,019 signatures were needed but those collecting the signatures wanted to make sure they had enough.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will be continuing their July 17 discussion and voting on the new cannabis ordinance at their next meeting on Tuesday, August 21.

If approved, the new ordinance will replace the existing medical marijuana ordinance.

To enter the cannabis industry in South Lake Tahoe, businesses will have to obtain a Use Permit, a Development Agreement and a Public Safety License.

No more than two retailers, two microbusinesses and two cultivators. No person can own more than one cannabis business, and no more than one cannabis business can exist on a lot or parcel.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For 40 years, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) has been serving the South Lake Tahoe Community, and on Saturday, August 4 they are holding their annual Open House and opening up their doors to the public from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

This is the one time a year the general public can walk the grounds where wild birds and animals are being rehabilitated prior to their release back into the wild.

The good news, South Lake Tahoe City Council approved an adult-use cannabis ordinance at their special meeting Monday.

What hasn't been worked out yet is how much to charge the different types of cannabis businesses to operate, and how product and surrounding services will be taxed.

There will be a special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council on Monday, June 2 starting at 9:00 a.m. in Council Chambers at the airport.

Cannabis is the topic of the main reason for the meeting, both a vote on a tax measure for the November ballot and a public hearing on the zoning and regulations of adult use cannibus businesses and the medical marijuana dispensary.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - At their May 1 meeting, the South Lake Tahoe City Council gave direction to the City Attorney's office to draft ordinances to regulate sales, cultivation and distribution of medical and adult-use cannabis.

Consensus at that meeting was to allow for two micro-businesses, two retail businesses, two cultivation businesses up to 5,000 square feet and unlimited testing labs.

At that same meeting, the Council assigned councilmembers Austin Sass and Brooke Laine to an ordinance sub-comittee and they have worked on the ordinance will be voted on Tuesday.

For 40 years, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) has been helping animals out of Tom and Cheryl Millham's home. Every from bears to birds have entered their loving doors, and now they are holding a celebration of the first 40 years on Sunday, May 20 at Revive Coffee and Wine from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

There will be a ceremony at 4:00 p.m. acknowledging various people and agencies who have worked with LTWC as well as receiving proclamations from the City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, the State of California and from the U. S. House of Representatives.

Could South Lake Tahoe become the Napa Valley of cannabis? Could a new slogan be "Made in Tahoe, Enjoyed in California?" Or will Tahoe weed be world famous?

These are all possible, and the desire of many entrepreneurs, but the South Lake Tahoe City Council wants regulations around the cannabis industry to be done correctly, and thus slowly, to prevent unseen issues that could arise as they develop the first ordinance for adult use cannabis in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In 2008 it was known as "The Hole" after financing dried up for a redevelopment project, bordered by Highway 50, Stateline Avenue, Friday Avenue and Cedar Avenue. A cement hole with rebar stayed until the project area could get under control of one owner through bankruptcy. In 2013, Owens Financial obtained a building permit to start spending $400 million to build over 27,000 square feet of commercial space along Highway 50. This was followed by the Zalanta Resort opening at Highway 50 and Friday Avenue in 2017.

Tahoe Wellness Cooperative (TWC), the only medicinal marijuana collective in South Lake Tahoe, was given the boost they needed Tuesday during a special SLT City Council meeting.

Cody Bass, the nonprofit's executive director, has been unable to purchase many products for this business since retail sales of marijuana have been allowed in the state of California. Those businesses are now only allowed to sell to others with a license.

A federal indictment was unsealed last week, charging 36 individuals for their alleged roles in the Infraud Organization, an Internet-based cybercriminal enterprise engaged in the large-scale acquisition, sale, and dissemination of stolen identities, compromised debit and credit cards, personally identifiable information, financial and banking information, computer malware, and other contraband.

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.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to start the process to implement a three-tier ban of Styrofoam (Polystyrene) in the city limits.

Following the path of over one hundred cities and counties in California, South Lake Tahoe will ban single-use Polystyrene used for take-out foods, and ban retail sales of foam coolers and single-use food containers at all retail stores. The third tier voted on is already a part of special event regulations - all containers used must be compostable.

The list of New York City; Takoma Park, Maryland; Seattle, Washington; Washington DC; Miami Beach, Florida; Freeport and Portland, Maine; Nantucket, Massachusetts; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California could soon have South Lake Tahoe added as the 113th California city or county to ban polystyrene. Berkeley has had a ban in place since 1988, the first California city to do so.

Nicholas "Nic" Abelow an independent financial advisor at Abelow, Pratt & Associates in South Lake Tahoe, California, has obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. This is a mark in the financial services industry awarded to financial advisors who have met certain standards for experience, knowledge and ethical conduct in financial planning.

“I am honored to have earned the CFP® certification,” said Nic “It further demonstrates my dedication and commitment to my clients to provide them with objective financial advice to help them work toward their financial goals.”

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.

California ski towns are going to have to wait a little longer for recreational marijuana.

On Jan. 1, adults 21 and over will be allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of recreational marijuana in California, but most ski towns in Northern California won't allow sales of retail product yet.

Some of the most popular ski towns in Northern California — South Lake Tahoe, Truckee and Mammoth Lakes included — have moratoriums on recreational marijuana businesses, which means that product won’t be available until late spring, at the earliest.

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District Board of Directors has appointed Brian Hogan as a board member-at-large, replacing the seat recently vacated by Robert Rossi.

Hogan is the Regional President for U.S. Bank's Central California and Northern Nevada Community Banking Region and has been employed with the bank for the last 25 years. As regional president, he oversees the banking groups in the region including Commercial, Retail, Business Banking, and Private Banking. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Economics and Government from California State University Sacramento.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the addition of Bijou Marketplace along Highway 50 between Ski Run Boulevard and Herbert Avenue, owners of nearby properties have started to look at how this new development will help their businesses.

Throwaway polystyrene coffee cups, soup bowls, plates, trays, meat packing trays, egg cartons, to-go boxes and packing peanuts are already a thing of the past in cities across the country, and South Lake Tahoe might soon have their name on that list.

City Council members heard a presentation at their October 17 meeting, testing the waters to see if there is a desire to eliminate or limit the use of Polystyrene within the City limits.

Single use plastic bags in grocery stores were banned in South Lake Tahoe in 2013 and recently made a pledge to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2032.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Work crews have been busy at the historic Pioneer Center on Harrison Avenue where a roof collapsed on January 23, flooding out the liquor store and thrift shop beneath it.

Hoyt Holmes of H.W. Holmes Incorporated has been hired to rebuild the structure which will have a smaller version of the liquor store and a new retail/coffee shop space as well as the existing Port-of-Subs, Sierra Veterinary Hospital, Rojo's and Jalisco's.

Holmes said the new roof will be up by October 31 and construction should be complete around the beginning of 2018.

Vail Resorts Inc., the parent company of Heavenly Mountain Resort, Kirkwood and Northstar California, posted income of $210.6 million for fiscal 2017, and increase of 40.6 percent over 2016.

Highlights of their year:

Total skier visits for fiscal 2017 increased to approximately 12.0 million, up 20.1 percent

Total lift revenue increased $160.3 million, or 24.4%

Ski school revenue increased $34.5 million, or 24.1%

Dining revenue increased $29.6 million, or 24.4%

Retail/rental revenue increased $52.3 million, or 21.7%

Lots to do in South Lake Tahoe this weekend. Now that South Tahoe and Whittell High Schools had their homecoming games Friday night, the rest of the weekend can be filled with everything from helping feed local youth, buying mattresses or playing golf for the high school, honoring one of the City's first leaders and enjoying the annual Fire Fest.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) is reporting a significant increase in the amount of counterfeit currency being passed along the Highway 50 corridor. The bills found to be fake have consisted mainly of $20 and $100 dollar bills.

The suspects have passed the bills at El Dorado County businesses in exchange for products or in the purchase of gift cards.

According to EDSO Sgt. Tasha Thompson, Safeway stores in particular seem to be targeted, and use of the fake bills at self-checkout stations has been a common occurrence.