air quality

Passengers will be riding Blue GO buses along Highway 50 for free through January 5. Routes 50 and 53 run from the "Y" to the Kahle Community Center from 5 am to 11 pm.

Tahoe Transportation District is offering the free rides to keep cars off the road during the higher traffic holiday season and to show riders how they can help the South Lake Tahoe air quality and to see how convenient, comfortable and affordable the bus system is.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is currently reviewing the opening brief filed by regional plan litigants who, according to the Agency, are continuing their misinformation campaign about the updated environmental plan that is supported widely by environmental advocates, business groups, and state and local leaders.

Projects that will provide significant motor vehicle emission reductions can now be funded through grants from the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District(AQMD). Air in the district does not meet the quality standards for ozone and PM2.5, which is the fine particle found in the air from vehicle emissions. Available for the years 2014 and 2015 is $726,000 in grant money from motor vehicle fees since the quality standard is not met in the district.

Update 9/1/13 9:00 am: South Lake Tahoe has grey skies this morning but they are due to a combination of cloud cover and a little smoke. Air Quality is listed as "good." The Rim Fire is 40% contained and has burned 222,777 acres. There were some spot fires that broke out over night due to winds. The heavy fuels are experiencing complete combustion. The containment date announced on the fire website yesterday is incorrect as is still officially September 20.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District has issued restrictions to outdoor activities due to the unhealthy condition of the air in South Lake Tahoe due to the Rim Fire.

All recesses will be conducted indoors and all afternoon sports practices will be restricted. These conditions will be lifted should air quality improve during the day.

During fire season, the air we breathe can become impacted by wildfire smoke. Fine particles in smoke can cause health problems, especially for children, older people and those with respiratory conditions.

Residents who see or smell smoke should consider taking these precautionary measures:

1. Healthy people should delay strenuous exercise.
2. Children and elderly people should consider avoiding outdoor activities, particularly prolonged outdoor exertion.
3. People with health-related illnesses, particularly respiratory problems, should remain indoors.

Aug 20, 2013 - UPDATE - 8:45am:

Latest American Fire News Release: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/3624/20488/

Current Size: 14,990 acres Containment: 54 percent Structures
Estimated Containment Date moved to September 1, 2013

Aug 19, 2013 - UPDATE - 9:25am:

From Tahoe’s mountaintops to the lake’s sandy bottom, scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno continue to study and find solutions to the breadth of issues that face the entire Lake Tahoe Basin. Their research is making a tangible contribution to the decisions, policies and practices that guide the basin’s environmental health.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid today co-sponsored, along with Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act that was introduced today by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act continues the federal commitment to Lake Tahoe by authorizing $415 million over 10 years to improve Lake Tahoe’s water clarity, reduce risks from catastrophic wildfires, combat invasive species and restore and protect the environment in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The Nevada Land Bank currently has funds available to purchase land coverage in all five Hydrozones on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. There is also land coverage available for sale in the Incline Village, South Stateline and Agate Bay areas, as well as one Development Right available in Washoe County.

Two Tahoe conservation groups, the Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging new rules for Lake Tahoe that seriously reduce protections for the treasured mountain lake. The new Tahoe Regional Plan Update, approved in December by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), shifts authority over future development decisions to local jurisdictions. The plan also allows those towns and counties to adopt weakened pollution controls that do not meet the minimum environmental requirements established by TRPA.

A low pressure system over California will bring some snow to the Sierra and Lake Tahoe Basin beginning Sunday morning, the National Weather Service in Reno reports.

Up to 6 inches of snow is possible along the Sierra crest near the Lake Tahoe Basin with a few inches at lake level and higher accumulations amounts expected across Mono County.

In a symbolic gesture to Lake Tahoe's first roundabout, Beach Boy Mike Love and local dignitaries celebrated how locals and visitors can "Get Around" North Shore's intersection of Mount Rose Highway and State Route 28 at the dedication, Oct. 17.

“For these past 50 years you could say that I ‘Get Around,’ laughed Mike Love, lead singer and co-owner of the Beach Boys. “With the music I created along with the other Beach Boys it has taken me all over the world. If you ask me it’s pretty cool that thanks to the efforts of a whole lot of good people I get a Roundabout – it’s beautiful.”

The North and South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce leaders at Lake Tahoe have joined together to launch a Region-wide public participation campaign to harness the groundswell of support for a new vision to restore and revitalize the Basin. Called TahoeFuture.org, the campaign will focus, over the next 8 months, on two critical land-use and transportation plans that create a blueprint for a revitalized Lake Tahoe.

Several environmental gains over the last five years have been made at the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s “Threshold Evaluation Report” released Wednesday, which highlights water quality as a continued area of concern.

The comprehensive report offers a snapshot of the health of the ecosystem in the Tahoe Basin by documenting the status and trends of more than 100 environmental standards ranging from air and water quality to fish and wildlife. The biggest improvements were documented in air and water quality, and scenic resources.

Residents of Meyers met with Caltrans officials Tuesday evening in a public meeting to discuss the proposed raising of the speed limit on Highway 50. More than 50 residents, business owners and families showed up to question the wisdom of the proposal and the survey results themselves. However, the results of the meeting indicate that Caltrans will proceed with the changes and the new speeds posted within two months.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An unusually dry winter has spelled trouble for parts of California.Air quality in the San Francisco Bay area and Central Valley is the poorest it's been in years. State fire o...

Reinvention: We're all in this together.
This is the vision of the proposed Edgewood Tahoe Lodge at Stateline.
The plan by Edgewood Companies is to create a unique world-class destination that delivers significant economic, environmental and community benefits to South Shore Lake Tahoe.  
“That is one of the things that investment can bring to the community, said Patrick Rhamey, vice president of Real Estate for Edgewood Companies. “We have continued to re-invest our property over the years and hope to be a pathway for others to follow.”