roads

To the City, Snowglobe, and Community – As many of you know I am vocal critic of Snowglobe. Well after another year I feel like it’s kind of tradition for me to write my letter and vent about the event.

I will preface this letter with a reminder that I am not against events in the area. I just want events to be at a proper venue and I want them to not shake the walls of my house.

Hello fellow anglers. I am happy to say, the winter solstice has come and gone. Meaning, each day now brings one minute longer of daylight. But as we all know, that does not mean it will get any warmer soon. Down here in the Minden and Carson Valleys we've experienced an average of 7 to 10 degree mornings.

Most would think that the higher lakes would be frozen and iced over. I received a report from fellow angler Josh Otto last week. As Josh told me, Caples Lake had high winds and was down right cold and had waves blowing across the lake.

Vehicles without the proper traction control device on their cars while on El Dorado County roads this winter may be fined and/or towed.

Massive traffic jams on Sundays in Meyers throughout last winter led drivers onto side streets without chains or snow tires on their vehicles, creating a parking lot of disabled cars that were stuck in the snow. Those drivers attempting to circumvent traffic ended up using Manda, North Upper Truckee and other local roads but a new ordinance will try and alleviate those issues.

The skies are clearing over Lake Tahoe Friday morning with cool temperatures and some snow still lingering. As this storm moves to the east, South Lake Tahoe should see a high near 42 and wind gusts up to 25 mph. This weekend forecast includes a high of 50 and sunny skies.

Heavenly Mountain Resort received 23" of snow over the last 48 hours, just in time for opening day November 17. On the North Shore, Squaw Valley had 7" in last 24 hours and Mt. Rose reports 33-40" during this storm.

On Friday morning, chain controls remain on South Shore roads (as of 7:30 a.m.):

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District christened Marine 24 Monday, giving Lake Tahoe its first year-round firefighting boat.

At a cost of almost $500,000, Marine 24 is able to fight fire from hoses on board as well as hooking up to pipes along lakefront homes in Douglas County and piping water from the lake into water tenders. The boat can send water 300 feet, but their main function will be to pump water into pipes at the shore that water tenders will hook up to.

There are slick roads Thursday morning as rain is falling at lake level and snow fluctuating above 7,000 feet.

The California Highway Patrol is reporting a jackknifed big rig on SR-88 just west of Silver Lake near Tragedy Springs Road. The truck is blocking the west bound lane and part of the east bound lane. Crews are on the scene of the incident which was reported at 7:43 a.m.

Chain controls are up east of Kirkwood on SR-88.

10:55 PM Update - With all of the local precincts counted, it appears Measure C has failed. With a final tally of the precinct votes and some mail-ins received by 10:49 p.m., the "yes" votes totaled 54 percent, with the "no" votes getting 46 percent. The measure needed two-thirds to pass.

There may still be some late mail-ins to be counted and the vote has not been certified at this time.

Of the 9,889 registered voters, just 2215 ballots (22.4 percent) have been received tonight.

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Its election time and the only local issue is Measure C; an increase of one-half percent in local sales tax (excludes groceries and prescriptions) for a term of 15 years to fund road rehabilitation. I voted YES to the measure because there is no long term funding solution within the current budget or the foreseeable future. And, our roads are in terrible shape.

To our South Lake Tahoe community,

Investment in South Lake Tahoe roads is a matter of safety. A proactive plan for financing maintenance of City roads, Measure C is vital to our community.

I never thought 20 years ago that SLT roads and pothole problems would still be a problem today, but it still is! Tahoe is a beautiful place, if you ignore the pothole problem. Finally we have a chance to do something. Measure C, a quarter percent sales tax, will replace another sales tax that is expiring, and that same money will be set aside for fixing our roads. The new measure will also mandate a citizens committee with legal clout to make sure this money is spent on roads. This is an amazing opportunity to get something done on our roads.

VOTE YES ON C.

- John Johnck, SLT

I have lived in South Lake Tahoe for 37 years and hope to live in this amazing place for many more years to come. In that time I have not always been pleased with the way our City has spent its tax revenues, but, in the last several years, I believe there has been a concerted effort to control spending and to provide better oversight in the way these funds are used. That's why I am supporting Measure C.

I’m voting for Measure C because South Lake Tahoe needs a reliable and transparent way to fund road maintenance and improvement. Last winter was illustration enough for me. After I hit a pothole on Pioneer Trail during a snowstorm, I had no other option than to spend $800 for new tires if I was going to drive my children to school and get to work. In the summer months, I watched as the asphalt wore down from thousands of tires coming in from out of town every week. As the tourists leave, we are left with cracks and splits and holes.

Higher fuel taxes are set to start November 1, 2017, raising the base gasoline excise tax from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon. Senate Bill 1 was signed into law by California Jerry Brown and contains other increases that will cover the state's transportation needs for the next ten years with an extra $52 billion in revenue.

Other funds are coming from a new transportation improvement fee based on vehicle value, and paying off past transportation loans, Caltrans savings, and new charges on diesel fuel and zero-emission vehicles.

The National Park Service (NPS) is considering raising fees at their most popular locations during the peak season to pay for overdue and badly needed improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks. This includes roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms, and other visitor services.

Ever since we moved to South Lake Tahoe thirty eight years ago, we have been proud to call this city our home. Between our community spirit of caring and sharing, excellent schools, and the inspiring nature of the Lake and Mountains, we are truly fortunate to live in such a special place. We recently hosted our foreign exchange student from twenty years ago and we were proud to show him all of the community upgrades such as Heavenly Village, Lakeview Commons, Harrison Avenue, South Tahoe High School, and the new Whole Foods project.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will soon begin closing recreational facilities and forest roads around the Lake Tahoe Basin for the winter season. Seasonal closures apply to many Forest Service recreation sites including beaches, campgrounds, picnic areas and forest roads. Keep in mind that Tahoe Valley and Zephyr Cove Resort campgrounds remain open year-round along with Camp Richardson and Zephyr Cove resorts and beaches.

The following report is from Caltrans on projects and activities on their roads in Lake Tahoe.

SPECIAL EVENT

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from 5 Mile Road to Carson Road in Camino: Eastbound motorists can expect the left turn lanes to be closed at 5 Mile Road, lower Carson Road and upper Carson Road from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, October 8 and Saturday October 14 for Apple Hill Season. Motorists will be directed to Exit 54/Cedar Grove to access Carson Road.

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

When I ran for City Council, I ran on a platform of repairing and maintaining our local roads in South Lake Tahoe. I knew our community needed a solution to fix the dangerous potholes and cracks that endanger drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. After much planning and thought, I voted yes to place Measure C, a half-cent sales tax measure, on the November 7, 2017 ballot to fix our roads once and for all.

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.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Caltrans work in South Lake Tahoe is normally suspended at 11:00 a.m. on Fridays due to weekend traffic, but weather this week has caused roadwork to go through the day September 22.

Highway 50 will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Dunlap Drive to Winnemucca Avenue on Friday to allow for paving and striping from about 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The work again will be dependent on weather and temperature conditions.

Lake Tahoe is known around the world for its crystal-clear water. For several decades, Tahoe’s clarity, which measured more than 100 feet in 1968, was declining each year because of stormwater pollution from poorly planned development and the lingering effects of historical activities such as cattle grazing and logging.

The Slinkard Fire is now 93 percent contained after it burned 8,925 acres near Topaz Lake. The fire originated in Slinkard Valley and was caused by a lightning strike on Aug. 29, 2017.

Due to fire crews getting the upper hand on the fire, the Southern California Incident Management Team 3 will transition on Thursday to a local Type 4 incident management team.

Highway 395 remains open and Highway 89 over Monitor Pass will remain open to residents only until further notice and will be continually evaluated.

The pedestrian hybrid beacon installed at the Camp Richardson crosswalk will remain active this weekend and until further notice.

There are now an estimated 102 million dead trees in California, creating unhealthy forests that are prone to major and catastrophic wildfires. Even though funds are being allocated to remove many of them, where will that timber go?
For now, there aren’t many options because of what has transpired from the government since 1968.

In that year the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior issued orders restricting the volume of timber that could be harvested from Federal lands in the West. It was updated in 1969 to limit the total harvested to 350-million-board-feet.