2014

What once took hours of City of South Lake Tahoe staff time as well as weeks for applicants to get answers may soon be a one hour process.

Since it was organized in 2014, the City Attorney has been working with departments to update each section of the City Code. For portions that pertains to zoning, land use, development standards and building standards, City staff looked at ways to streamline the process and remove permit process portions of the code where possible.

No matter how you slice it, Yelp reviewers dished up mountains of praise on South Lake Tahoe’s Base Camp Pizza Co., ranking the eatery fourth out of 50 “Daytime Hot Spots” nationwide in a user-generated survey of places to drink and dine.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their figures for the month of July, 2015 and they show Stateline casinos bringing in $23,313,076 which is 7.04% down from the same period in 2014.

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, the big winner was the Elko County with an income up 10.14% for the county, 14.81% for Wendover. The big loser, the Boulder Strip with their income of $60,630,987 down 11.06% when compared to 2014.

The state "win" figure was down .96% with income of $922,886,804.

The gaming win represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Meyers was booked and released from El Dorado County Jail on Saturday, a condition of his sentencing for driving under the influence in June.

Meyers’ attorney, Paul Zappettini, said Meyers was cited June 9 for driving under the influence of alcohol. He appeared in court Aug. 10 and received a five-day alternative sentence, which was served as house arrest, Zappettini said. He also was fined and faces suspension of his driver’s license. As a condition of his sentence, Meyers also was required to be booked at 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.

Burning Man is always changing, and this year is no exception.

Some of this year's changes are pretty major, however, and have both attracted applause and criticism from invested Burners and other groups who are tied in some way to Burning Man.

Since last year's Burn, here are some of the changes in how the event operates:

1. No for-fun drones

Community Outreach: The “Meet the Police” outreach campaign is going well. As a reminder, Coffee with a Cop happens on Thursdays and ends on August 27th. The Police Open House was well attended and we look forward to doing it again next year.

Now that July has drawn to a close, the South Lake Tahoe real estate figures are in.

The number of people deciding to sell their Tahoe homes rose slightly in July, with an increase of 4.6% in new listings, while the total number of homes on the market has risen 8.9% in the past 12 months. Also on the rise is the median sales price. In July, the median price for closed sales was $346,000. In July of 2014, it was $339,000.

Pending sales were also on the rise while closed sales stayed even from last year, though up from May and June.

So, what does this mean?

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their figures today for the month of June, 2015 and they show Stateline casinos bringing in $17,613,209 for the month, which is 44% above the same period in 2014. This is the biggest increase in the state which saw a loss of 8.37%.

This reporting period wraps up the fiscal year. The South Shore is up $11,567,637, of 5.66%, over last year.

The biggest loss when compared to last year was the Las Vegas Strip which saw a 16.31% decrease with their take of $445,510,980.

Scientists have determined that Lake Tahoe’s iconic blueness is most strongly related to algae, not clarity. In a report released today from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, researchers found the lower the algal concentration, the bluer the lake.

In the “Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2015” report, research shows clarity is controlled by sediment. Blueness is controlled by algal concentration, which in turn is driven by the level of nutrients available to the algae.

The City of South Lake Tahoe will be hosting a public meeting for the community to review three initial design concepts for future improvements to the Regan Beach Public Park on Tuesday, July 28th from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. in the gym at the Recreation and Swim Complex, located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.

Previous public meetings to gather public input were held in 2014 and 2015. Recently an online survey was posted for community members who could not attend meetings to submit their comments.

If there are any questions, contact Jim Marino at jmarino@cityofslt.us.

Four-time American Century Golf champion Billy Joe Tolliver, former quarterback for five NFL teams, is now the top choice of Harrah’s and Harveys Race & Sports Book to win the 26th annual celebrity golf tournament this week in South Lake Tahoe.

He is listed at 7-2 to win the event over defending champion Mark Rypien and perennial contenders John Smoltz and John Elway.

Rypien, the original favorite, is 5-1 with Smoltz at 6-1 and eight-time champion Rick Rhoden at 7-1 for the 54-hole, modified-Stableford competition at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

Former South Lake Tahoe orthopaedic surgeon and U.S. Ski Team doctor, J. Richard Steadman, MD, will be inducted into the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Hall of Fame on Friday, July 10th, during the Society’s Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. AOSSM Hall of Famers are individuals in the sports medicine community who have contributed immensely and set themselves apart from others in the field.

You may remember the news back on January 13, 2014, when a Chihuahua puppy was found in the Bay Area with her fur dyed pink and a fractured leg. A good Samaritan had picked the puppy off the street and took her into the Peninsula Humane Society (PHS) and SPCA in San Mateo, CA.

Their staff got the two-month old puppy into surgery for a hairline fracture to her right rear tibia and started her on pain medication. As she was resting at the facility the staff named her "Candy" because of her unique coloring.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their May casino win/loss figures today, and casinos on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe had a net 'win' of $16,150,457 in May, down 6.76% from 2014.

The local casinos experienced a "win" of $16,150,457. This amount is down 6.76% from May of 2014.

For the fiscal year, the South Shore is up $6,184,822 over last year (the fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30).

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, the downtown Las Vegas did the best with a 15.45% increase in gaming win. The South Lake Tahoe casinos had the biggest percentage of loss.

Organizers of the annual South Lake Tahoe 4th of July parade scrambled to remove the roadblocks which caused them to announce earlier this week the event was canceled.

"I had a meeting this morning, and partially due to the public pleas to make it work, we were able to resolve the problems and I am happy to say the parade is on," said JoAnn Conner, owner of Golden Bear Events who is the sponsor of event.

Interim El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer Pamela Knorr no longer holds the title of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the title she has held since being appointed in 2014. After a closed session of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, she was removed from the position and Larry Combs was appointed to fill the position.

Knorr will return to her original appointment as the county’s full-time Human Resources director on June 29.

A trip to South Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July fireworks turned deadly in 2014 for a couple from Dixon, CA when the motorcycle they were riding was struck by a drunk driver in the Twin Bridges area.

Megan Hickel, 28, was sentenced on Monday to 12 years in state prison for killing the couple, 48-year-old Richard Schwab and his wife Kelly, age 49.

El Dorado County Superior Court Presiding Judge Suzanne Kingsbury handed down the sentence after Hickel pled guilty to two counts gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

In August of 2014, the City of South Lake Tahoe invited community members to take part in planning the future of Regan Beach.

Since then, the City has received completed surveys, analyzed them and hired Design Workshop to create a conceptual design for $98,836.

Now, its time for the public to weigh in on that design.

The Regan Beach community outreach meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the gym of the SLT Recreation and Swim Complex.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council has a full agenda for their Tuesday, June 2 meeting at the airport.

After several public forums, meetings and presentations, the council will be deciding to adopt the Tahoe Valley Area Plan, which is the vision for the area around the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe. The City starting working on the plan in January of 2014, after the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) adopted the Regional Plan update at the end of 2012.

On behalf of the entire Barton family, I wish to express my deepest condolences to the Fry family on the passing of Dr. Paul J. Fry, II.

Dr. Fry made significant contributions to the health and wellness of our community, and his impact has improved the lives of many.

"Papa Fry," as he was known by many members of the community, was a beloved orthopedic physician in Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley for nearly 50 years. He opened Tahoe Fracture Clinic in 1964, and propelled the orthopedic program to a nationally recognized level.

Once again, the most popular celebrity golf tournament in the county will be held on the southern shores of Lake Tahoe. The 26th Annual American Century Championship will be held in South Lake Tahoe from July 14-19, 2015 at Edgewood Tahoe.

The list of the 95 participants released resemble the 'A List' of who's who in sports and entertainment, as well as the military. They will all be going after a prize purse of $625,000.

Community members joined Rotarians on Saturday as they walked the streets of South Lake Tahoe to show support and raise awareness of Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio in the world. Over 300 people joined in the 3k walk which proceeded along Highway 50 in Stateline, past Edgewood Tahoe, by Lakeside Beach and back to the beginning at the corner of Stateline Avenue and Highway 50 at McP's Taphouse.

Rain may have moved the ceremony indoors, but spirits weren't dampened as the South Lake Tahoe Police Department honored some of their own on Thursday in honor of National Peace Officer's Memorial Day.

"We are normal people who are asked to do extraordinary tasks," SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler told the audience of the officer's families, friends, City Council, city staff, community members and other area law enforcement including the El Dorado County Sheriff, CHP and the FBI.