advisory

A preliminary environmental report has been completed on the Tahoe Valley Area Plan and is ready for public input.

This report is created so the agencies developing the plan can determine whether a nEnvironmental Impact Report (EIR), a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), or a Negative Declaration is required for a project under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines.

Tahoe Douglas Rotary has been a part of the South Shore community since 1962, and, as are the other 1.2 million Rotarians in the world, are bound by a commong purpose, Service Above Self. The club felt it was an ideal fit to recognize police and fire professionals in the community who make sacrifies every day to serve and protect.

During the week, South Tahoe Now will highlight each of this year's winners of the inagural First Responder Community Hero Award.

Less than a month ago the South Lake Tahoe City Council chose Tiffany Good from a group of five local community members interested in serving a two year term on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Advisory Planning Commission.

Immediately after the appointment, Good was offered a job with TRPA so she needs to resign from the commission.

City Council will give direction to staff during Tuesday's meeting on how the position should be filled.

Lake Tahoe has received much needed rain and snow from a wet Pacific storm on both Friday and Saturday, while more is expected late Sunday afternoon.

Heavenly Mountain Resort received 4-8” of new snow overnight Friday and opened two additional trails on Saturday. Sierra at Tahoe has received 10" of new snow while Kirkwood reports 9" of fresh snow. The big winner of this storm, so far, is Mt. Rose Ski Resort who are reporting two feet of new snow.

A winter weather advisory is in effect in Lake Tahoe from 4 p.m. Sunday through 4 p.m. Monday.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is accepting applications from community members who are interested in serving as a the City's layperson on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's advisory planning commission.

Douglas County has selected three final candidates for Clerk/Treasurer in anticipation of a resignation for the term beginning January 5, 2015. The recruitment and selection has been led by the Douglas County Manager Jim Nichols with input from a Citizen Advisory Committee. The three candidates will be invited to a public reception that will occur on the evening of January 20th.

The 3 semi-finalists are:

• Kathleen DeSocio
• Kathy Lewis
• Eileen Thomas

A specialty Nevada license plate supporting safe bicycle and pedestrian programs is now available for purchase through the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

Do you want to .....
- Help improve the quality of Barton’s care for all patients and family members?

- Give feedback to the hospital based on your own experiences as a patient or family member?

- Help Barton plan changes to improve how we take care of patients?

- Work with the hospital for either short- or long-term commitments, depending on the project?

The El Dorado County Commission on Aging is actively recruiting to fill one vacancy. The Commission plays a very important advisory role to both the Area Agency on Aging and the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on matters concerning senior residents. The Commission focuses its efforts on issues such as:

Development of community centers in strategic areas of the County to ensure provision of accessible services to all senior residents Promotion of services that enable seniors to remain in their homes for as long as possible identification and prevention of elder abuse

In a stunning step backwards from transparency the El Dorado County Planning Commission, holding a difficult to attend morning week-day workshop on the Draft Meyers Area Plan at City Hall in South Lake Tahoe on October 16, 2014, recommended yesterday that any new Meyers Area Advisory Council formed by the Board of Supervisor after adoption of a Meyers Area Plan not be subject to California’s Open Meeting Law, the Brown Act.

A collegiate Division 1 hockey player and pro prospect was named the new General Manager and Coaching Director for Tahoe Sports and Entertainment, Inc (TSE), the operators of the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena.

Michael Findorff joins TSE after working for Vail Resorts, most recently as Assistant Manager in Products, Sales and Service. Prior to that Findorff spent two years pursuing a professional hockey career with the New York Islanders and Phoenix Coyotes organizations.

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.

Lake Tahoe Community College has selected Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Chief Ben Sharit as its Distinguished Alumni Award winner for 2014.

The selection process for a Douglas County Manager is moving forward after Douglas County received over 71 applications. The best qualified candidates are currently being reviewed and are slated to be presented to the Board of County Commissioners on July 17, 2014. Following the selection of top candidates, and interview panel including advisory members from the public will be part of the extensive interview process.

The Draft Tahoe Valley Area Plan and accompanying documents were released Wednesday, paving the way for finalization after agency and public review and upcoming comment periods. After community meetings and months of review and planning, the "Town Center" concept has been adopted along with "Greenbelt" portions.

The plan reflects the City of South Lake Tahoe's effort to rekindle the economic vitality and spirit of the Tahoe Valley Community. The plan outlines the community's strategy for resurrection.

The facts are startling, and, for lack of a better work, sobering. Studies show that 11% of all alcohol consumed in the U.S. is done so by youth aged 11 to 20, below the legal drinking age.

Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs according to the Center for Disease Control, and is responsible for more than 4,300 annual deaths among underage youth.

The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that among high school students, during the past 30 days:

39% drank some amount of alcohol.
22% binge drank.

$25,000 will be awarded to South Lake Tahoe groups that make a difference in the health and wellness of individuals in the community.

Barton Health will award grants to organizations that serve underserved populations and have a lasting impact on the community’s well-being.

In this grant cycle, Barton Health will fund programs that address the South Lake Tahoe community’s most pressing health needs. Based on the 2012 Community Health Needs Assessment, the top three health concerns are substance abuse, access to healthcare, and mental health.

Pedestrian and bicycle transportation and safety will be among the topics at the 12th annual Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Summit, scheduled for March 11 and 12 at the Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno.

Developed to augment statewide bicycle and pedestrian resources, the summit will provide the latest information on bicycle tourism, facility planning and design, safety, enforcement and education initiatives, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations, as well as Safe Routes to School program information.

On February 26th, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., the Meyers Community Advisory Council (MCAC) will be hosting a community workshop to discuss and compare the existing Meyers Community Plan with the proposed Meyers Area Plan. All residents and businesses in the unincorporated area of El Dorado County on the South Shore are invited to actively participate in the realization of this vision and are encouraged to offer input.

An additional public workshop will be held on March 19th, from 6:00pm - 8:00pm, to review the Proposed Meyers Area Plan.

Melody Easton is here to make a difference. Recently tapped as the coordinator for the South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, the action oriented Easton has hit the ground running.

Tahoe Youth & Family Services was awarded a Federal Drug Free Communities grant, bringing in $125,000 for each of the next five years to help combat drug and alcohol abuse among the youth of South Lake Tahoe. Once the grant was awarded a coordinator needed to be hired. Easton was hired and the Concordia College graduate and her husband packed up and moved from Portland, Oregon.

Heavenly Mountain Resort's proposal to expand to year round, non-skiing activities is now under review by the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Heavenly's plan is to create a summer experience for guests with the addition of zipline and skycycle canopy tours, a mountain bike park, a ropes course, water activities, hiking trails,mountain excursion tours and nature interpretation.

UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center’s monthly lecture series continues with a presentation on water rights at Pyramid Lake on Thursday, November 14. Dr. Kate Berry, Professor of Geography at the University of Nevada, Reno, will discuss her research at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences.

With the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and a determined committee, an unnamed peak on the North Shore of the Lake Tahoe Basin has been renamed “Gold Star Peak” in honor of soldiers from the area that paid the ultimate price in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the War on Terrorism. A ceremony to dedicate Gold Star Peak will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, September 6, 2013, at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will consider approval of a new area plan for Lake Tahoe’s South Shore on Thursday, June 2. The Douglas County Area Plan is the first to be proposed since the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency adopted the Regional Plan Update in December 2012.