2014

Whittell High School's varsity baseball team will be defending their 2014 Nevada State Title this week as they head to the 2015 NIAA Division IV Tournament in Las Vegas.

The Warriors went 2-1 this weekend's Northern Nevada playoffs, getting wins over Wells and Mineral County.

The boys from the South Shore will enter the State Tournament as the number two seed from the north. Virginia City is number one.

Here is the State Tournament schedule:

Thursday, May 14, 2015 @ Durango High School (Las Vegas)

Game 1 – PAHRANAGAT VALLEY (#1 Southern) vs. WHITTELL (#2 Northern),

In July of 2014, a packed house was at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Board Meeting (TRPA). The crowd, made up mostly of those in the Lake Tahoe real estate profession, were there to voice their concern about a proposal before the board to require completion of Best Management Practices (BMPs) by the time a home sold or the title would not be cleared until completed.

The real estate brokers and agents said they didn't find it appropriate that they should be the enforcing arm of TRPA.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their figures for the month of March, 2015 and they show Stateline casinos bringing in $13,911,206 which is 6.83% down from the same period in 2014.

For the fiscal year, the South Shore is up $1,915,009 over last year.

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, the Boulder Strip once again did the best with a 18.97% increase in gaming win. The biggest loss when compared to last year was North Lake Tahoe which saw a 15.31% decrease with their take of $1,529,528.

The state "win" figure is down 3.15% with income of $951,245,276.

A rabid skunk was found in the Pleasant Valley area of El Dorado County, bringing the total number of the rabid animals found to three so far in 2015.

The county's Animal Services reported the skunk was found on Pleasant Valley Road near Grindstone Road and White Rose Lane.

One of their officers was called to the scene around noon on April 24, 2015, after a member of the public observed the skunk showing signs of rabies. The officer retrieved the skunk and sent it to the El Dorado County Public Health Laboratory for testing. Test results came back positive for rabies on April 27.

For the past several years, South Lake Tahoe has been a part of Hot August Nights with a few days of local show and shines, cruises and concerts prior to the big annual event in Reno.

This is no longer the case.

Without funding or a local venue to take on the "South Lake Tahoe Experience," Hot August Nights is bypassing the lake in 2015.

Cherry Creek Radio has filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to sell South Lake Tahoe based KRLT-FM and KOWL-AM to current General Manager, Steve Harness and a group of investors.

"I put together a group of investors and secured financing to make it possible," Harness told South Tahoe Now. "I've put eight years of sweat equity into both stations and I did not want to see that work undone by new owners."

After taking the South Tahoe High Varsity Girls Soccer team to back-to-back NIAA state championships, coach Jeremy Evans has left the program to become the new Lake Tahoe Community College women's head soccer coach.

LTCC found themselves without a women's coach after first year Coyote coach Christian DeLeon recently left the program to become the new women's head coach at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village.

The University of California, Davis and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency recently released their yearly water clarity readings for Lake Tahoe. The good news: Mid-lake water clarity improved significantly in 2014, with an average reading of 77.8 feet. That’s 7.5 feet greater than the average reading for 2013, and almost 14 feet greater than the 64.1 feet measured in 1997, Lake Tahoe’s lowest recorded clarity.

It was a festive and lively event at the Barton Auxiliary’s annual volunteer appreciation luncheon on Monday, April 13. More than 80 volunteers from the hospital, gift shop, and The Attic Thrift Store attended and were recognized for their service and gifts.

Unpaid traffic fines and mushrooming fees have left 4.2 million Californians with suspended driver’s licenses — more than one-sixth of the licenses issued statewide — with poor people the hardest-hit, according to a newly published study that criticizes policies that take drivers off the road because of debts they can’t pay.

Reno's first-ever poet laureate, Gailmarie Pahmeier and poet/teacher Shaun T. Griffin will be the next featured artists at the Lake Tahoe Community College's Writers Series on April 21 at 7 p.m.

The poets will read selections from their works, answer questions from the audience and sign copies of their books at the event which will take place at the college'e Roberta L. Mason Library. Their books will be available for sale.

One of the top water users in the Reno area, Gov. Brian Sandoval said Wednesday he is taking steps to cut back on outdoor irrigation and plans to remove turf in his yard to set an example during this time of drought.

A landscape contractor who is taking care of Sandoval's Latigo Drive home while he and his family reside in the governor's Carson City mansion accepted blame for overwatering that at one point consumed more than 1 million gallons over the course of a year, according to records obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Clarity levels at Lake Tahoe in 2014 showed the biggest improvements in more than a decade, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, who have studied the lake for the last half century.

The improvements are in part due to continuous work from the Lake Tahoe community to lower pollutants to the lake. They were also influenced by the drought, as reduced precipitation meant fewer contaminants flowed into Lake Tahoe, particularly during the summer, when clarity levels were the highest recorded since 2002.

Last month, the City Manager and City Council hosted a strategic planning session with all City departments to ensure we are coordinated and pulling together to address key community issues. Community wellness is one such focus area.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their February casino win/loss figures today, and the South Shore casinos experienced a "win" of $15,575,141. This amount is up 5.66% from February of 2014.

For the fiscal year, the South Shore is up $2,934,706 over last year.

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, the Boulder Strip did the best with a 10.59% increase in gaming win. The biggest loss when compared to last year was the Las Vegas Strip which saw a 4.38% decrease with their take of $531,348,04.

The former operator and members of a Diamond Springs marijuana dispensary are suing El Dorado County to recover seized marijuana, medical records and financial documents taken in a Sheriff’s Department raid last year.

The Pure Life Collective has been shuttered since the Nov. 17, 2014, raid, which resulted in the arrest of dispensary operator Kelly Chiusano. No charges have been filed.

The documented ill health effects from inhaling secondhand smoke were squared off against individual rights at a hearing Thursday on a bill that would ban smoking in cars while children are present.

Assembly Bill 322 by Mike Sprinkle, D-Sparks, was supported in the Judiciary Committee hearing by health advocates who argued that children should not be exposed to an adult who is smoking in a confined space such as a vehicle.

Drivers violating the law could be pulled over for the offense by police and fined $25. It would not count as a moving traffic violation.

There are a few days left to nominate Lake Tahoe projects for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) 2014 Best in the Basin awards program.

The Best in the Basin awards program is in its 25th year. It was created to recognize projects that demonstrate exceptional planning and design and compatibility with the environment and TRPA guidelines.

The project to transform the look and feel of North Lake Tahoe’s California/Nevada state line by redeveloping the Tahoe Biltmore will move forward after the company overseeing it secured financing in a deal cemented with an undisclosed private equity firm on Thursday, March 12.

Boulder Bay LLC had been struggling to garner the necessary dollars to fund construction of the development ever since it received approval nearly four years ago after a 12-hour Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board meeting that witnessed more than 80 members of the community offer opinions on the project.

El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel, who represents South Lake Tahoe and the rest of the South Shore, was told by County Counsel that she may no longer participate in the Meyers Area Plan (MAP) discussions. Novasel owns 11.5% of a commercial building in Meyers, and it was determined that decisions about the MAP and zoning changes could affect her investment.

“I am disappointed that a conflict of interest will prevent my future participation in the Meyers Area Plan project," Novasel said.

Just when everyone had pretty much written it off, the El Niño event that has been nearly a year in the offing finally emerged in February and could last through the spring and summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

This isn’t the blockbuster, 1998 repeat El Niño many anticipated when the first hints of an impending event emerged about a year ago. This El Niño has just crept across the official threshold, so it won’t be a strong event.

Craft shows allowed in South Lake Tahoe have long been an issue, whether it was the number of them or the quality of goods offered. In September of 2013, the codes concerning craft shows were revised to only allow 10 per year in 2014 and eight per year starting in 2015. The maximum number of shows per location was changed to limit just four.

The Bijou Bike Park will take a step towards reality on Tuesday if the South Lake Tahoe City Council votes to approve the funding and in-kind services staff is recommending.

Members of the Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) presented the original project to the City back in September of 2011, and since then they've been working non-stop in their efforts to create the park. South Lake Tahoe BMX and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association have been helping BBPA in their efforts.

Good News…Crime for 2014 is down!

Police officials recently completed the official Uniform Crime Report for 2014. Overall, the “part 1” violent and property crimes are down.

Here are some details comparing 2013 and 2014:

Violent Crime - the first column of numbers is for 2013, second is for2014

Homicide ..........3..........0

Forcible Rape..........8..........14

Robbery..........16..........21

Aggravated Assault..........89..........77