2020

John Russell Rice Jr. died peacefully at Carson Tahoe Medical Center in Carson City, Nevada on February 23, 2020, from complications of a recently diagnosed medical condition, surrounded by family. He was 62.

John is preceded in death by his parents: father John Russell Rice Sr. of Fremont, Calif.; mother Elizabeth LaVerne Rice-Killion of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; and his grandson Mason Allen Geist of Gardnerville, NV.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In just two weeks the City of South Lake Tahoe will be saying goodbye to its sixth police chief since becoming incorporated in 1965.

Chief Brian Uhler will be wrapping up a 40-year career in law enforcement when he retires from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) on March 12, 2020. He has been the second-longest serving chief, coming within a couple of months of the City's second police chief, John Crow.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Registration is now open for the High Sierra Softball League's 2020 season. Learn skills, make friends and be part of a team...and everyone plays. The league is open to players ages 5-16 - Minis age 5-8, Minors age 8-12, Majors age 12-16.

Online regular registration is open until March 21.

Registration Status: Open
Regular Registration: Saturday, February 1, 2020 - Saturday, March 21, 2020
Late Registration: Sunday, March 22, 2020 - Sunday, March 29, 2020
Program Duration: Saturday, March 28, 2020 - Sunday, June 21, 2020

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Do you love the Wilderness? Would you like to help preserve its’ breathtaking beauty and natural pristine environment? Do you love spending time outdoors and helping people? Do you have the willingness and dedication to volunteer and help preserve one of our most popular back-country areas overlooking Lake Tahoe and the Crystal Range?

If the answer is yes, then Desolation Wilderness, co-managed by the USDA Forest Service’s Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), may offer exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s time to sign up for the South Tahoe Babe Ruth 2020 season!

Last year, all three of the South Tahoe Babe Ruth All-Star age divisions were Nevada State Champions. Now its time to start the new season and tryouts are scheduled for March 22 and 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Depending on weather, tryouts will be held at Todd Fields or South Tahoe High School.

Babe Ruth is a recreational baseball league serving players born on or before August 31, 2007 and have aged out of Little League. Everyone plays.

To sign up, please use the following link:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Thursday, February 20, an officer from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) on routine patrol located a vehicle that was believed to be part of a crime in the Placerville area.

At 8:00 a.m. two days prior, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) responded to a call near Placerville about an alleged carjacking. The victim knew the suspects and had been riding in the vehicle with them at the time of the incident. They had just driven from South Lake Tahoe to the Placerville area where the crime occurred, EDSO said.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) will work on projects through the Sierra, as weather permits this winter. There are no major projects going on in the Lake Tahoe Basin until building season begins in May. The following is their weekly schedule:

SPECIAL EVENT

State Route 28 (Placer County) from the junction with State Route 89 to Sierra Terrace Road in Tahoe City: Motorists can expect the highway closed from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, February 29 for the SnowFest Parade.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

ALL TAX AIDE SESSIONS HAVE BEEN CANCELED DUE TO CONCERNS AROUND THE CONORAVIRUS.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Court Appointed Court Special Advocates (CASA) of El Dorado County are holding their 24th annual CASA Box Lunch fundraiser on Thursday, April 2, and for the first time in years people in South Lake Tahoe can participate once again.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe (HSTT) is joining local veterinarians as well as the Town of Truckee in providing free spay and neuter surgeries during World Spay Day on February 25 and February's Spay/Neuter Awareness Month around Lake Tahoe.

The procedures are available for qualifying cats or dogs in the community to mark World Spay Day on February 25th, 2020. South Lake Tahoe appointments are full that day, but there are still some available on the North Shore.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, South Tahoe Public Utility District discovered food-grade oil in their Christmas Valley water tank during a routine inspection. Up to one gallon of food-grade oil leaked into the 200,000-gallon water tank due to a mechanical issue and the tank was immediately taken out of service. Results from the water samples collected from the top and
bottom of the water tank and two neighboring homes meet all drinking water standards.

There is no evidence that oil entered the water distribution system.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - A two-month-long investigation into narcotics coming in to El Dorado County culminated with the arrests of one man and two women on February 11, 2020.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) narcotics team executed a search warrant at a home in Los Banos, California. Their investigation had led them to the home where two people, 28-year-old Julio Chavez and 29-year-old Dennise Castro-Lopez, resided. EDSO says the Los Banos residents were the main source of supply of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin to El Dorado County.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - A man who was facing life in prison after being convicted in 2005 for a murder that authorities now know he did not commit, is now heading home a free man. Ricky Leo Davis, now 54, was 20-years-old when a friend of his mother, 54-year-old Jane Hylton, was brutally murdered in their El Dorado Hills home in 1985.

On July 7, 1985, Davis and his 19-year-old live-in girlfriend, Connie Dahl, called law enforcement, saying they were at a party in Cameron Park and returned home to find Hylton murdered.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – One of South Tahoe Public Utility District’s water tanks had a mechanical issue where up to one gallon of food-grade oil leaked into the 200,000-gallon water tank in Christmas Valley. The oil floated to the top of the tank where it was discovered by staff during a routine inspection the evening of Tuesday, February 11, 2020, and the tank was immediately taken out of service.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Ready to party with a few thousand of your friends this summer? Join country music star Dierks Bentley when he comes to the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys Tahoe on Saturday, August 15.

Coming off the release of his successful ninth album in 2018 and "Burning Man" tour in 2019, Bentley will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. and entertain concert goers with many of his 17 number one songs and other fan favorites.

Tickets are $60.50, $90.50 and $130.50, plus fees and taxes, and are available Friday, Feb 14, at Another Planet (apeconcerts.com) and Ticketmaster.com.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif, - The Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation (CFLF) is hosting its inaugural STROLO Tahoe CF Winterfest event on the slopes at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe March 6-8, 2020.

CFLF help people with cystic fibrosis live STROnger and LOnger (STROLO).

Location

Andrew (Andy) Joseph Mora, 37, passed peacefully on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, at Renown Hospital. He was born on December 15, 1982, in Reno, Nevada to Andrew and Kristie Mora.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two people in their 80s had to be airlifted to Renown Hospital in Reno after the vehicle they were hit was struck by a tractor-trailer on February 4, 2020.

At 2:15 p.m., the California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the area of the collision which was on SR-88 east of Red Lake Road. From their preliminary investigation, a tractor-trailer driven by 40-year-old Juan C. Hernandez of Vacaville, California was driving eastbound at the same time a Honda CRV with driver George Schultz, 81, and his passenger Patricia Schultz, 80, were headed west.

TAHOMA, Calif. - You don't have to be an Olympian to explore the self-guided trails of the Olympic Heritage trails at Sugar Pine Point State Park. Sierra State Parks Foundation, the local nonprofit park partner, is hosting a free park day in honor of the 60th anniversary of the 1960 Winter Olympics, which took place in Squaw Valley and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe.

This is a great opportunity to explore the Olympic Heritage trails and interpretive displays while learning about the cultural and natural history of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was a snowy night on January 30, 2016, when Dennis Wright, Jr. brought at least 100 pounds of pot to the Beverly Lodge on Lake Tahoe Boulevard to sell to an interested party. Wright, who was better known as Spike, never made it back to his home in River Pines, Amador County that night. Instead, he was shot and killed at about 7:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the motel.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After a good start to the Sierra snowpack, big storms have almost been non-existent this winter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports January 2020 was the fifth warmest on record in the US.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Couples wanting to take the big leap can do so on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2020, when Sierra-at-Tahoe hosts the first-ever Great Sierra Elopement.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of calls the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to January 30 - February 3, 2020.

1/30

ARRESTS (4):
31-year-old female arrested for felony domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, false imprisonment, and preventing a witness or victim by threat or force.
47-year-old male arrested on a Douglas County warrant.
40-year-old female arrested for public intoxication, battery on a peace officer, and resisting arrest.
58-year-old male arrested for trespassing.

TRAFFIC STOPS (11)

The University of California invites Tahoe-based adults interested in teaching others sustainable gardening to become a Master Gardener volunteer. You will learn University-based scientific information and then share that knowledge with others. UC Master Gardener volunteers are people of all ages and from all walks of life with a common desire to help others learn about gardening.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Most major work by Caltrans on Sierra highways is on winter suspension, but some temporary work can be completed, weather permitting. Here is the week's schedule for Caltrans:

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): Work is winter suspension on a $5.2 million project to upgrade metal beam guardrail and construct concrete barriers at 89 locations from the Red Hawk Undercrossing to 1.9 miles west of the junction with State Route 89 in Meyers. Completion is expected in late spring 2020.