wanted

El Dorado County District Attorney's Office has been having "Most Wanted Wednesdays" for months, and taking the story to social media has proven very beneficial with an 80% success rate in capturing the criminals.

This week's most wanted has ties to South Lake Tahoe:

Randy Gene BOWEN
10-3-1960 age 55,
Male White, 5’9, 155lbs
Brown hair, Hazel eyes

The barbershop is making a comeback, something the clients at Beau's Barbershop in South Lake Tahoe are happy about.

"Barbering is a lost art," said Beau Baker, the shop's owner. "But, barbers are making a comeback."

"I just got the best haircut of my life from a new barber in town," said South Tahoe High Athletic Director Tony Sunzeri. "It's an old school barbershop with new school flavor."

The City of South Lake Tahoe is now without their Development Services Director after Shawna Brekke-Read left the position in December.

Brekke-Read was in the position just over a year after leaving the Town of Moraga in 2014 where she served as their Planning Director.

Her husband Don, who is a middle school teacher, had stayed behind in the Bay Area after she accepted the new position. According to City of South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry, Brekke-Read wanted to move back to the Bay Area to be with her husband.

The City has started recruiting for the vacant position.

The El Dorado County Board of Education has promoted one of its own to the top job, one that has been vacant since the November, 2015 resignation of Jeremy Meyers.

Dr. Ed Manansala became the new superintendent Tuesday, moving up from his position as Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services, one he'd held since June of 2013.

In a move that will save the city money as well as increase staffing, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue added 12 new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) specialists to their staff on December 14.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue is now the only fire department in the Tahoe basin to have three firefighters on each engine at all times and two EMS specialists in the ambulance.

There are five small pieces of property standing in the way of completing the Ski Run Blvd to El Dorado Beach Class 1 multi-use trail, and it was determined in a City Council vote that South Lake Tahoe can resort to using eminent domain if necessary in order to complete it.

The walking and biking path is ten feet wide, and as it crosses the land in front of the old Don Cheapo's Ski Rentals, Beach Retreat at Tahoe, Heidi's Restaurant and Tahoe Beach & Ski Club, the City needs easement in order to make the path the required width, make it safe, and have it landscaped.

It was a changing of the guard during Monday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. Wendy David moved from her position of mayor pro tem to mayor, and Austin Sass took over the second-in-command duties.

Councilmember Tom Davis, who has served as both mayor and mayor pro tem, was also interested in a fifth term in the pro tem spot but the nod went to Sass.

‘Tis the season for friends, family and holiday feasts—but also for possible distress for our animal companions. Pets won’t be so thankful if they munch on undercooked turkey or a pet-unfriendly floral arrangement, or if they stumble upon an unattended alcoholic drink.

Check out the following tips from ASPCA experts for a fulfilling Thanksgiving that your pets can enjoy, too.

Talkin’ Turkey

South Tahoe High senior Kaitlynn Watson signed a letter of intent Friday to play volleyball of Loyola of New Orleans.

Watson takes with her a long list of accolades including All Team Academics, 1st Team All League and is currently ranked #2 in the state with digs at 360.

"The moment I stepped on the campus, I knew that is where I wanted to be," Kaitlynn said of Loyola. "They made me feel so at home, they're like a family and not a team." Watson will major in Biology with an emphasis in nutrition.

Citing concern over their role in the new playfield proposal, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has pulled out of the Community Play Consortium Joint Powers Authority.

Tahoe Mountain Lab’s first ever Hackathon will be held on November 7, 2015 to help the League to Save Lake Tahoe build a new visitor app for their recently overhauled Fritzi & David Huntington Environmental Education Center in South Lake Tahoe.

On June 14, 2014, the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted to delay the implementation of the second phase of the plastic bag ban in the city. Originally slated to begin on October 15, 2014, the Council, by a vote of 3-2, moved the start date out one year to October 15, 2015.

Now that the second phase of the ban has started, Mayor Hal Cole wants to revisit that portion of the ban.

Cole said he wants to undo the ban on plastic bags for retail stores and asked for the topic to be on an upcoming agenda.

9:45 p.m. update 10/15/15: Douglas County Sheriff's Office reports that the young man who ran away from China Spring Youth Camp was found at the Walmart on Topsy Lane and taken into custody. He was arrested without incident or injuries.

Numerous tips received by law enforcement led to his capture.

Original Story:

A 15-year-old runaway from the China Spring Youth Camp is being sought by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

The local production crew, Mindful Massive, is putting on a concert in South Lake Tahoe Friday night to help the victims of the Butte Fire. It will be held at the American Legion from 9 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Tyler Mikkelsen of Mindful Massive said they wanted to do something to help those that lost everything in last month's devastating fire that consumed 70,868 acres, destroyed 475 homes and 343 outbuildings, damaged 45 structures and killed two people. A friend of theirs lived in Mountain Ranch and lost his home and belongings.

Seven of the eight candidates for the four open seats of the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District (TPRID) Board of Directors were at Thursday's meeting and candidate's forum. The election will be held on November 3.

Vying for the two seats with a two-year term are Jan Roman-Gonzales, incumbent Joseph Cardinale, incumbent Peter Nelligan and Frank Jones.

Candidates for the two seats with a four-year term are incumbent Victor Babbitt, incumbent Judy Klot, Diane Verwoest and Brandi Jordan-Griffith.

Jordan-Griffith did not attend the forum due to a case of the flu.

During the September 15 South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, a man who identified himself as Ross Tisanrich approached the speaker's podium during the public comment period. He said he was a local wildland firefighter and wanted to bring the use of pesticides to a halt. He told the council he would drink the chemical weed killer Round-Up if they wouldn't commit to ending the use of pesticides that get into Lake Tahoe.

Editors Note: This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the San Francisco Examiner. Those of us who live in El Dorado County already knew this secret, but it is now out!

It may be gold (and God and gun) country, but visitors are beginning to satisfy other tastes in the Hangtown hills, from apple orchards, farm-side vacation respites and outdoor excursions to wines without an extra layer of price or pretense.

South Lake Tahoe police were called to Barton Hospital on Thursday, August 27 to investigate a call about a wanted subject on the premises.

Kelly Marcus Forte, 48, was wanted on a felony warrant from Riverside County with a bail of $100,000.

The officer arrived and contacted Forte at the hospital without incident.

He is currently sitting in the El Dorado County Jail.

As people move into bear country the bears learn that people has tasty food, even if its not exactly what they should be eating. They also learn that people leave this tasty food out where they can easily find it, in trash cans in front of homes and in big dumpsters at restaurants, motels and timeshares.

The year was 1946. The President was Harry S. Truman, "It's a Wonderful Life" was in the theaters and a stamp cost three cents. It was also the year the Tahoe Trout Farm opened in South Lake Tahoe.

This business, located off of Lake Tahoe Blvd on Blue Lake Avenue, was the topic of the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission's meeting on August 13.

In an effort to "Clean Up Highway 50," the City's sign ordinance is meant to get rid of the blight and unattractive signage that visitors and locals see each day they travel the main artery through town.

After the passing of the $55 million Lake Tahoe Community College General Bond, known as Measure F in November, the next step was to sell the bonds.

On August 6, 2015, $19 million of Series A bonds were sold at a much better rate than anyone expected. When the market opened at 7 a.m. PST, investors were ready to jump on these bonds and it only took two hours to sell them, and waiting in the wings were another $54.4 million in orders.

The biggest single investor was State Farm Insurance who bought about 25% of the bonds or, $4.7 million.

Mysterious booms have plagued the residents of El Dorado County in California for some time now. While some have speculated what the cause of these booms has been, it's remained a mystery until now.

Residents have reported that the booms aren't as crisp as a gunshot, and instead sound more like an aerial bomb. A few have speculated that it could be the result of work occurring in an underground mine.

STOP RIGHT THERE. Don’t move a muscle, buster. Stay out of this book or I WILL CHOMP YOU!

Meet Bear. He's exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep. Meet Duck, Bear's persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear

If you're a dinosaur, all of your friends are dead. If you're a pirate, all of your friends have scurvy. If you're a tree, all of your friends are end tables.

These are just a few lines out of books written by South Tahoe High School graduate Jory John who's ninth book, "I Will Chomp You," is being released on Tuesday.

Douglas County Douglas County is hosting a Flood Outreach on August 6 from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the CVIC Hall, Minden, NV. The event will give the public the opportunity to collect information, provide public input, and view flood damage maps.

“After our staff presentation on the flooding, we wanted to give citizens a place to gather and receive information from as many resources as possible.” said Douglas County Commission Chair, Doug Johnson.

Resources present at the event will include:

• Engineering/Stormwater Management