citizens

The TRE Fire burning in south Douglas County has grown to 7,500 acres, and is 15 percent contained, officials report Thursday.
The fire continues to burn in the hills to the north and east of the Topaz Ranch Estates residential area. Two homes and 17 structures were destroyed. No additional homes or structures have burned or are in immediate threat. The area in and around the fire is under a red flag warning to 11 p.m. Thursday due to high winds and relatively low humidity.

From the Warfront to the Homefront Foundation is again sponsoring a day across the United States and world when we ask citizens from to take some moments out of their day/night on May 20 to remember every fallen U.S. soldier who has died from the days of the Revolution until now.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said Thursday that a recent deal announced with Amazon.com to collect sales taxes from on-line purchases in Nevada beginning in January 2014 is only the tip of the iceberg.

Carson City, Nev. - This time of year is a perfect occasion to Be a Force of Nature and the Nevada Division of Emergency Management is proud to be promoting severe weather preparedness week. To help spread the word and make its employees and members of the community better prepared, the Nevada Division of Emergency Management is committed to being a leader for weather-readiness by knowing the risk, taking action and being an example.

University of Nevada Reno interim chief Marc Johnson, who took over after the sudden death of administrative leader Milt Click, was selected by the state's Board of Regents as the 16th president of UNR.
“It is a high honor to have been given this opportunity,” said Johnson, who has served as UNR's interim president since April. “I am very gratified by the community and campus support of my candidacy.”

Education Driven
“The University of Nevada, Reno is a quality university with a statewide obligation and presence, and we will continue to communicate with our constituents statewide to better convey what the University represents and how it contributes to Nevada’s future,” Johnson added. “We will continue to grow the University’s national reputation and remain committed to being a University with hands-on learning opportunities that prepares students with the knowledge and skills to be contributing, successful citizens.”

CARSON CITY – A little-known benefit of Nevada’s public employee pension plan is the right to purchase up to five years of service towards retirement.
Referred to by some as “air time,” or the ability to add years of retirement without actually putting in the time in a public sector job, the benefit can allow state and local government workers to retire early, collecting annual pensions years before they would be eligible otherwise.

This April, the League to Save Lake Tahoe will partner with Aveda's Earth Month 2012 campaign in which local Northern California and Nevada Aveda salons raise money to help Keep Tahoe Blue.

The Nevada Division of Emergency Management/Homeland Security and the National Weather Service are partnering together to educate the citizens of Nevada on National Flood Safety Awareness Week, March 12-16.

According to the National Weather Service, Floods and Flash Floods are the #1 weather-related killer in the United States and can occur any time of the year. This is why the Nevada Division of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service Offices in Reno, Las Vegas, and Elko want to help spread the word about being flood safe.

One of the critical issues continuously expressed by our citizens has been the condition of our town. Rundown, second-rate and blighted are words often used in the same sentence as city of South La...

TRIAD is committed to enhancing the quality of life for our senior citizens. TRIAD is made up of the: Douglas County Sheriff Department, East Fork Fire and Paramedic District, Tahoe Douglas Fire, D...

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.

The City of South Lake Tahoe would like to partner with citizens to help increase communications with neighbors and facilitate improvements.
If you live, own or work at a business in any of the neighborhoods listed below, please join us for the
Neighborhood Service Team Area #6 Meeting
For neighborhoods: Stateline Residential, Lakeside Park, Heavenly Valley, Tahoe Meadows and Bijou Park
Tuesday, February 21st 2:30 – 4:00 pm at the Best Western Station House in the conference room
901 Park Avenue
Come be part of YOUR Neighborhood!

The following is the complete text of President Obama's State of the Union address as written.
Remarks of President Barack Obama - As Prepared for Delivery
State of the Union Address
"An America Built to Last"
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Washington, DC

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

View Washoe Drive Fire (1/19/2012) in a larger map

UPDATE 10PM: Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said tonight the Washoe Drive Fire has consumed and estimated 3,700 acres, burned at least 20 structures and has resulted in one fatality.
Hernandez would not go into details of how the person died. He said the 250+ firefighters on the scene have stopped the forward progress of the fire. He said the fire started in the East Lake area, and then followed the Highway 395 corridor north, where it was stopped just south of Galena High School.
Highway 395 will be closed until further notice due to damage to debris and damage to guard rails, power poles and other item near the roadway. Gov. Brian Sandoval told state workers who commute by this route to stay home Friday. Evacuations have been lifted for the Galena area. About 2,000 people are still unable to go back to their homes tonight.
Hernandez said firefighters saved more than 800 homes that were in the path of this destructive fire.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
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UPDATE 9PM: Reno Fire officials report forward progress on Washoe Drive fire has stopped. Fire behavior is moderating due to diminishing winds, lowering termperatures and increasing humidity/moisture moving over the Sierra Nevada/Carson Range. Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 10,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

U.S. Highway-395 remains closed between 1.8 miles north of Carson City to the Junction of SR 341/431 (Mt. Rose Junction) in south Reno. U.S. Highway 395 could remained closed on Friday (1/20) through the morning commute - make alternate plans.
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At 4:40 pm Thursday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.”
Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Efforts by Gov. Brian Sandoval and state lawmakers to encourage new business creation, relocation and expansion in Nevada took a major step forward today when the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee approved nearly $3.5 million to fund a new economic development office.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Squaw Valley USA and Alpine Meadows topped the list for California resorts in the Ski Area Citizens Coalition's 11th Annual Ski Area Environmental Report Card. The report...

Two vacancies (chamber and at-large) will occur on the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee in Lake Tahoe Unified School District on Jan. 31. For more info, call ...www.laketahoenews.net/2011/.../sn...

By the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority
Lake Tahoe South is New Year’s celebration central with Snow Globe, a three-day outdoor music festival with over 40 world-class musicians on three main stages, firework shows, combined with a myriad of outdoor recreation, entertainment and nightlife, providing action-packed holiday season for kids of all ages.

There are balls of cheese and then there are Barton Auxiliary’s Famous Cheese Balls. 
One creamy swipe across a piece of sourdough bread or dipped with a cracker, and anyone with a discerning palate can tell the difference between store-bought and these homemade delights. This superior concoction is garlicky, nutty and slightly spicy.
With the holidays around the corner, Barton Auxiliary will once again sell these delicious concoctions for $7.50 at the following locations:

As an early snowstorm descended on South Lake Tahoe the first week of October, the continuing winter of economic discontent looks bleak for the city’s budget woes and employees facing layoff. Seventeen positions are still on the chopping block. At least half of those positions are linked to street maintenance and snow removal operations. While negotiations between the bargaining units and the city continue to be held, there is a hint of an impasse — while the city functions on only an interim budget until the end of the month.

By Li Terrell
The South Lake Tahoe City Council will meet today at 4pm to discuss several agenda items, most importantly, to pass an interim budget for the next 30 days while they continue to haggle with remedies for the city’s $5.2 million shortfall.

By Li Terrell
To a crowd of about 200, the South Lake Tahoe City Council met to hear the 2011-12 Budget Proposal from its city manager and finance director on Thursday.  There was an obvious tension between the council and members of the public who attended the meeting, though the general sentiment of the council and city manager is that the deficit issues are not their fault, and that employee sacrifice is what is required to balance the budget.