Review

It's back to school from youth at the south end of Lake Tahoe on Monday, August 27. Both Lake Tahoe Unified School Distrist and Douglas County School District open their doors and welcome back students for the 2018/19 school year.

All school offices are open and available to help with registration and scheduling needs and to pick up schedules.

Let me just say right off the top no, it's not another ripoff of 1975's "Jaws" (although I did think that way when I first saw the trailer). Oh sure there are some parallels taking place in the summer, a huge shark (this one is prehistoric though) and yes, they needed a bigger boat too. That said "The Meg" does stand on its own with the trifecta elements of sarcastic humor, a long standing feud between former friends and of course, a love interest complete with a little girl (played by Shuya Sophia Cai) who at times steals the scenes like most little kids do).

With lightning and thunderstorms in the Lake Tahoe forecast for another few days, it's always good to review safety tips when caught in the middle of a storm.

You can protect yourself from risk even if you are caught outdoors when lightning is close by.

Safety precautions outdoors

- If the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity.
- Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors. Find a safe, enclosed shelter.

Road rage over a parking spot in South Lake Tahoe led to the stabbing of a 51-year-old man from San Jose on Thursday, July 12.

At about 10:30 a.m., the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) received numerous 911 calls about a stabbing in front of the CVS Pharmacy located at 3471 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

Upon arrival they found Scott Nevin bleeding from a stab wound. Witnesses identified 71-year-old Paul Ivanovsky from Sparks as the person who allegedly stabbed Nevin, and he was sitting in his car nearby, awaiting the arrival of police.

Valhalla Tahoe is presenting Broadway in Blue starting July 5 and running two weekends. The show, a revue of contemporary and classic Broadway tunes performed by some of Lake Tahoe’s best singing and acting talent, was created by Gabriella Giocomo especially for Valhalla. Giocomo was one of three finalists in Valhalla’s WordWave One-Act play script competition in 2017. When she came for the stage reading hosted at the Boathouse Theatre she was inspired by the space and submitted the show in the winter of 2018 for review by Valhalla.

The public is invited to the next meeting of the City of South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission where a draft Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) will be unveiled, outlining anticipated and orderly growth at the airport for the next 20 years.

They will be meeting at the City Council Chambers on Thursday, June 21 at 3:00 p.m.

South Lake Tahoe may not be known as the home of the $2,000 parking ticket after action taken by the City Council Tuesday.

National media attention spotlighted the fines ($1,000 to the renter and $1,000 to the homeowner) associated with violations of the vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance approved at the end of 2017 by the South Lake Tahoe City Council. This negative publicity has prompted some cancellations of tourist visits, or other changes to vacation plans, according to those in the industry.

El Dorado County residents who may qualify for CalFresh, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal or the County Medical Services Program (CMSP) now have multiple ways to enroll in the programs, check their benefits and more. Through a secure internet portal at www.C4yourself.com, individuals can complete their applications and annual renewals, submit documents, and check the status of their case online at any time; they can also access their case information over the phone via the State’s secure Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System at any time.

South Tahoe High School received great news from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Commission with confirmation that the school is fully accredited through June 2022. When the accreditation team left the campus in March they had nothing but glowing reports for the staff and school, but the final decision was mailed to the school May 3.

The last few attempts to have a special El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting on vacation home rentals (VHRs) have been met by bad weather and an overcrowded venue. The VHR meeting is now scheduled for Wednesday, May 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the South Tahoe Middle School multi-purpose room.

A revised VHR ordinance is the only item on the agenda.

The Board is looking at eight revisions to the current Ordinance:

1) Restructure the violation and penalty provisions;
2) Clarify the language throughout the Ordinance;
3) Require exterior signage;

We can always count on either Supervisors Novasel or Ranalli starting off each VHR public meeting discussing VHR’s with the reminder that VHR’s are an allowed use for single family dwellings under TRPA’s land use Ordinances. They have attempted to make us believe the word of God (TRPA) has set this in stone, and that we should all now work together to allow these nuisance businesses to coexist in our neighborhoods.

Lake Tahoe’s shoreline is a place of majestic beauty with sandy beaches and secluded, boulder-strewn coves. It’s where residents and visitors alike go to enjoy Tahoe’s famously cold, clear water, whether they are dipping their toes in for the first time or launching their boat, kayak, or paddleboard for a daily outing.

In the South Lake Tahoe public safety communication system installed in 1965, there are three major problems:

1) There are three systems working totally separately: the police, fire and public works departments;

2) Trees have grown since the system was installed 53 years ago, now blocking signals through the town;

3) Having functioning radio frequencies near water is challenging.

Fifty years have elapsed since the release of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which creatively tried to make sense of the past and speculated about the future.

Northern Nevada lecturer Mike Thomas will review that 1968 blockbuster film and its impact on a generation during his presentation on Saturday, April 14 at Western Nevada College’s Jack C. Davis Observatory in Carson City. Thomas will also provide a lecture on “Old West Lawmen” on Friday, April 13 at the observatory.

For a second year, the Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe has brought live theater to the Lake Tahoe Golf Course. This year, a production of Divorce Southern Style hits the stage created inside the clubhouse.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I received my tickets, but I was thoroughly impressed and the night was very enjoyable with a great three-course dinner and lots of laughs.

The golf course's brand new bar was unveiled on opening night of "Divorce," so it was the centerpiece before the food and entertainment. Beautifully done with copper and wood throughout.

During this week's California Tahoe Conservancy board meeting, funds were not only approved for the Greenway shared use trail in South Lake Tahoe, but also for grants to be used on the lake, a forest health project and a 10 percent raise for Executive Director Patrick Wright.

Sound levels from SnowGlobe have been a concern of many residents in South Lake Tahoe, and after a presentation at Tuesday's City Council meeting, new sound monitoring protocols will start this year.

After Recreation Superintendent Lauren Thomaselli gave the SnowGlobe Special Event Agreement Annual review, staff decided to perform the sound measurement for the 2018 festival in both A-Weighting and C-Weighting.

It is time again for public comment on the annual grant funding for trail maintenance and operation of facilities for off-highway vehicle (OHV) access in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is applying for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division grant application.

The 30-day grant application comment period begins Tuesday, March 6 and ends Monday, April 2, 2018.

A passionate, supportive and large crowd backing South Tahoe StandUp Paddle (STSUP) showed up at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting as the Lakeview Commons concessionaires were decided.

By an unanimous vote, the five members of Council voted to approve STSUP for the non-motorized concession going against what the input of staff appointed to review the proposals. Sierra-at-Tahoe was approved for the food and beverage concession by a vote of four-to-one.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - Since January 1, 2018 there have been 18 school shootings in the United States, 25 fatal school shootings since 1999's Columbine High School tragedy. With the deadly shooting February 14, 2018 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many communities are looking at their own schools and their safety procedures to help prevent a repeat of a tragic event.

What is commonplace at schools across the country are drills for "shelter in place" and for students to understand what to do, and not do, in case of an emergency.

On February 8th, 2018 a South Lake news source, based on seven anonymous sources, destroyed City Manager Nancy Kerry’s reputation. As the former City Manager prior to Nancy Kerry, I know the challenges, rewards, and pitfalls of managing cities. Given the average tenure of a City Manager is 3-5 years, it is not uncommon for City Managers and City Councils to amicably part ways.

The Cannabis Community Committee gave a presentation to the South Lake Tahoe City Council Tuesday, outlining the work they've done and recommendations for the City's ordinance for cannabis sales.

Fifteen members of the community came together as the committee and met with Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis, Councilwoman Brooke Laine, Police Chief Brian Uhler, City Attorney Nira Doherty and City Staff member Lisa Watson to discuss and research issues facing legal sales of cannabis in the city limits.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was just 11 years old as she walked to the bus stop on the morning of June 10 in 1991 when she was abducted by two people. The Meyers and South Lake Tahoe community joined law enforcement in searching for the missing girls. As days turned into weeks, and then eventually years, parents searched for ways to teach their own children about safety and abduction.

There is an item on Tuesday's El Dorado County Board of Supervisor's agenda that caught many by surprise, especially those supervisors appointed to address the issue. Supervisor Shiva Frentzen is seeking conceptual approval of urgency ordinance to place a moratorium on the issuance of new vacation home rental permits in the unincorporated portions of the County located in the Lake Tahoe Basin.