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A wide variety of local businesses will fill Harveys Tahoe on Friday, March 30 for the 2018 GO Local: Business EXPO from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This annual event is a community favorite that aims to showcase the most cutting-edge businesses on the South Shore. This year 85 exhibitors will feature their latest and greatest products, services and promotions. All members of the community are encouraged to attend and can expect a fun night of food tasting, beer and wine sampling, live music and vendor giveaways.

A federal indictment was unsealed last week, charging 36 individuals for their alleged roles in the Infraud Organization, an Internet-based cybercriminal enterprise engaged in the large-scale acquisition, sale, and dissemination of stolen identities, compromised debit and credit cards, personally identifiable information, financial and banking information, computer malware, and other contraband.

The location and time are yet unknown, but the date has been set for the next El Dorado County Board of Supervisor's meeting on a vacation rental ordinance.

March 3, 2018 is the rescheduled special board meeting that was postponed after their Feb. 1 meeting had to be shut down due to an overcapacity crowd wanted to participate.

The South Lake Tahoe Cancer League has a lot to be grateful for this past year. For nearly four decades, the volunteers of this organization have driven patients from South Lake Tahoe to their medical treatment, at no charge to the patients or their families. The drivers take patients to Reno, Carson City, Minden, Truckee, and as far away as UC Davis. The Cancer League also gives limited monetary assistance in the form of small grants to the patients to help with their monthly expenses.

Could there soon be a publicly-owned events center on the corner of Highway 50 and Lake Parkway on the MontBleu parking lot in Stateline, Nevada?

The plan to build the 88,420 square foot Tahoe South Events Center is now in the scoping stage where the public can weigh in and provide comments on the Tahoe Douglas Visitor's Authority (TDVA) proposal to construct the assembly, event and entertainment venue.

Residents in South Lake Tahoe will soon be paying more for garbage pick-up after the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted 4-1 to approve South Tahoe Refuse's request to raise rates for residential customers by 8.81 percent, the biggest one-time increase ever added to the service.

The rate increase will go into effect January 1, 2018.

The monthly rate for SLT customers will go from $26.55 to #28.89 for unlimited service, and increase of $2.34. Qualified seniors (65 and over and part of Liberty Utilities Care program) will pay an extra $1.95, taking their monthly rate to $24.15.

Douglas County Commissioners will be voting on the 20-year update to the Douglas County Master Plan during a special meeting on Tuesday, December 4 at 9:00 a.m. in the Courthouse at 1616 8th Street in Minden.

Tuesday's discussion will focus on the housing element of the plan along with other portions including safety.

Those unable to attend but would like to comment can submit written comment to the commissioners via their website here: https://www.douglascountynv.gov/46/Board-of-County-Commissioners.

The Brockway substation in Kings Beach was switched back into service Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m. The 50+ year old substation had been temporarily shut down for necessary repairs due to damage sustained during this year’s winter storms.

A new transformer was installed to replace equipment that had caught on fire during extreme weather experienced in the Lake Tahoe region in January and February "Snowmegeddon."

American Century Championship continues to impact the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, even months after the annual tournament is over. Since its inception in 1990, the tournament has donated more than $4.5 million to local and national non-profits.

On Thursday, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and American Century Investments gave 30 local organizations checks in the amount of $500 to $5,000 to help them serve the community.

Many of South Lake Tahoe's roads are decades past their prime, and Measure C is in front of voters November 7 to increase taxes by one-half percent to pay for their maintenance and repair.

I support Measure C and let me tell you why, but it will have to start with a look back to see how we got here.

I’m voting for Measure C because South Lake Tahoe needs a reliable and transparent way to fund road maintenance and improvement. Last winter was illustration enough for me. After I hit a pothole on Pioneer Trail during a snowstorm, I had no other option than to spend $800 for new tires if I was going to drive my children to school and get to work. In the summer months, I watched as the asphalt wore down from thousands of tires coming in from out of town every week. As the tourists leave, we are left with cracks and splits and holes.

An Affordable Housing Task Force has been formed to assist Douglas County in its efforts to develop quality affordable housing opportunities. This has been in the works since July when they entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nevada Rural Housing Authority “For Creating a Viable Path to Achieving Affordable Housing for Douglas County, Nevada.”

Part of the Board of County Commissioners Strategic Plan includes evaluating the potential of offering affordable housing development incentives through the update of the Housing Element of the Master Plan.

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (Tahoe Chamber) is holding their annual Blue Ribbon Awards dinner on Thursday, November 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Harrah's Lake Tahoe Ballroom. This gala event honors businesses, organizations, and individuals for civic contributions, tourism experiences, customer service, and entrepreneurial achievements. Tickets for the award ceremony are currently available online at www.TahoeChamber.org.

he Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on Wednesday recognized 15 exceptional projects completed in 2016 with Best in Basin awards.

Now in its 27th year, TRPA’s Best in Basin awards program each year showcases projects around the lake that demonstrate exceptional planning, implementation, and compatibility with Tahoe’s natural environment and communities.

- Do you know how to get 32% more social security income for life?
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An evening with Troy Simmons – National Speaker on Social Security on September 26, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe.

Limited Seating – Reserve Seat Here or by calling 775-588-6116 or email CRessler@1stallied.com.

The 26 members of the 2017-2018 Leadership Lake Tahoe class have been announced. They will start their ten-month long journey on September 13.

Anjie Goulding - Kirkwood Mountain Resort
Athena Adler - Harrah's & Harveys Lake Tahoe
Brittani Curtis - Tahoe Chamber
Carissa Bisnar - CB Umbrella Group
Carl Franz - Genentech
Eanad Lott - Live Violence Free
Hannah Greenstreet- Live Violence Free/LTUSD
Jason Burke - City of South Lake Tahoe
Jeremy Brown - Lake Tahoe Community College
Julie Lucksinger - Lake Valley Properties
Katharine Miller - El Dorado County Library

For years the Fallen Leaf Lake Fire Department (FLLF) has wanted to join the South Lake Tahoe and Lake Valley fire departments and be part of the California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (CTESOA), and today they finally got their wish.

During Monday's meeting of CTESOA, also known as the CalTahoe JPA, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to add FLFF, giving them an ALS to be stationed at Fallen Leaf Lake as well as a possible voting spot on the board. (ALS-Advanced Life Support)

Many South Lake Tahoe residents love their dogs. Most Police Officers love dogs too. I’ve heard it said by someone not so long ago…. “The more people I meet, the more I love dogs!” We at the police department understand and share in this fondness; however, we receive weekly complaints from community members regarding dogs in public parks, and most frequently dogs at the Live-at-Lakeview events. The South Lake Tahoe City Code (SLTCC), does not allow dogs, even on a leash, to be in our public parks (SLTCC §8.05.130).

More money is on the way to the South Shore to fund ambulance services thanks to a unanimous vote by the El Dorado County Supervisors during their June 27 meeting. An amendment was made to the original contract between the Cal Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (Cal Tahoe) and the County, giving an extra $790,000 per year as well as funds to buy a new ambulance.

The extra money will help fund a special team for interfacility transfers.

In an effort to encourage visitors to the South Shore to stay over on Sunday night during the Labor Day weekend, the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) started a fireworks show in Lake Tahoe in 1998.

With a changing school year calendar and lack of Sunday night stays, the Labor Day fireworks show is no more.

"The lodging and tourism board (LTVA and Tahoe Douglas Visitor's Authority, TDVA) have had discussions for awhile about the Labor Day fireworks," said LTVA and TDVA Executive Director Carol Chaplin. "Lodging was finding their Sunday night reservations were soft."

Pete Sonntag, the current senior vice president of Vail Resort's Lake Tahoe region, is leaving the lake to be the new chief operating officer of Vail's Whistler Blackcomb.

He will start this summer once his Canadian work visa is approved.

The appointment follows the announcement last month that longtime Whistler Blackcomb chief operating officer, Dave Brownlie, was stepping down to pursue other endeavors after a nearly 30-year career at the resort.

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed dozens of new bills last week, including two that affect improvement districts on the Douglas County side of Lake Tahoe, and both will become law on July 1, 2017.

SB 471 abolishes the Douglas County Sewer District No. 1, which was established in 1953, and converts it into the Douglas County Lake Tahoe Sewer Authority and changes its governing structure. The Authority will furnish residents with an adequate system of sewage collection and treatment and disposal of wastewater.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council is looking for three community members to take a spot on the Building & Housing Board of Appeals.

Those who apply need to reside within the Tahoe Basin portion of EI Dorado County.

Board members hear appeals regarding requirements of the City relating to the use, maintenance and change of occupancy of buildings and structures, including requirements governing alteration, additions, repair, demolition and moving. In addition, they hear appeals relating to new building construction and appeals relating to existing buildings.

The Nevada Division of Tourism recognized outstanding members of the state’s rural tourism industry at the VolunTourism Awards Dinner April 27 in Elko. The awards ceremony was a highlight of the state’s annual Rural Roundup conference.

“Tourism is a significant component of rural Nevada economies,” Claudia Vecchio, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs director, said. “It is a $2.3 billion industry that continues to grow thanks to the efforts of the tourism professionals in rural Nevada. It is our pleasure to recognize those efforts with this year’s VolunTourism awards.”