citizens

The annual Gala for the South Tahoe High Performing & Visual Arts Booster Association (PABA) is being held on Saturday, March 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Enjoy appetizers and "mocktails" prepared by the STHS culinary arts students prior to the evening's performance of A Midsummer's Night Dream.

Tickets for the Gala are $30 for the Gala only; $40 for the Gala plus a show ticket; $50 for the above plus a bonus gift; and $75 for all this plus a reserved seat in the theater!

“The course of true love never did run smooth," wrote William Shakespeare in his most famous comedy, 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream.' Fans of the Bard are in for a treat as the talented South Tahoe High students present this famous play in the school's new, state of the art TADA Theatre March 13-15 and 20-22.

Midsummer's Night Dream will be presented with a Tahoe Twist and promises to keep you in stitches. Director Nannette Niven has a cast of 20 students including Bjorn Hedqvist, Stephanie Hernandez, Zoe Greco, Tyler Martin, Steve Huerta, Zane Brady, Hunter Turney and Jered Stowell.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department will be hosting the second session of STAT: South Tahoe Action Teams from April 2 to April 23.

STAT is designed to incorporate trained citizens in the field with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and other first responders during times of crisis. This is the second session for this innovative programs, the first of its kind in the Tahoe Basin.

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District is one of two members of the California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (JPA). The JPA has a contract with the County of El Dorado to provide Advanced Life Support Ambulance Services to the California side of the Lake Tahoe South Shore as well as a portion of Alpine County. The JPA has been providing this since 2001.

During the City Council meeting on January 20, the new council voted to fill spots on four City Commissions.

There was just one spot filled of the required two for the Airport Land Use Commission. Michael Siracuse was appointed to the two year term. Ted Long had applied for the other position but the Council said he didn't meet the experience requirements. The City will look for a qualified candidate to fill the open spot.

A Sacramento man pled guilty today to conspiring to induce aliens to illegally enter the Unites States for private financial gain.

Sippy Lal, 61 was arrested in 2012 along with co-defendants Mamta Sharma and Rani Singh-Lal on charges they ran an elaborate immigration-fraud scheme involving foreign nationals from India who paid money to have a sham marriage in order to get into the country. The trio recruited U.S. citizens in the Sacramento area in an effort to legalize their immigration status.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to for the week of November 28 to December 4, 2014. They responded to 144 calls during the 7 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

11/28
Assault with a deadly weapon in the 2400 block of Conestoga St
Drunk in Public in the 3000 block of Harrison Ave

11/29
DUI in the 4000 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Driving on Suspended/Revoked license at Lake Tahoe Blvd & Cave Rock Ave
Spousal Abuse in the 2600 block of Knox
Unlicensed Driver on Montreal Road

The public will have a chance to learn about agency efforts to address stormwater pollution and get involved at a stormwater symposium on December 10 at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Location

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, aka the Woz, will be in South Lake Tahoe to help raise funds for Lake Tahoe Unified School District. In partnership with the local Hard Rock Cafe, Wozniak will autograph any laptops, iPhones, t-shirts or other personal items brought in for a suggested donation to LTUSD.

During Tuesday's City Council the most recent group of graduates from the South Lake Tahoe Citizen's Academy received their certificates from Mayor Hal Cole.

The Academy gives locals a chance to increase their knowledge about their government and become more involved in the future development of the community.

Held twice a year, the participants attend sessions once a week for six weeks, covering topics such as parks & recreation, fire and police, and others.

Fall 2014 Citizens Academy Graduates at the meeting Tuesday are pictured from left to right:

Many people have trouble managing their own money and balancing their checkbook, but Douglas County is giving all residents a chance the manage the county's money.

This unique opportunity gives locals $500 to spend on the county's six areas identified on their Strategic Plan. They'll distribute the funds on Safe Community, Economic Vitality, Well Maintained Infrastructure, Financial Stability, Preservation of Natural Environment, Resources and Cultural Heritage and Managed Growth and Development.

It’s the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959. Boston’s Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night performance of a new musical. When the leading lady mysteriously dies on stage the entire cast & crew are suspects.

South Lake Tahoe may be a small city of around 23,000 residents but it isn't immune to the big city problems of gangs.

Our mountain hamlet has white gangs, a black gang, hispanic gangs, motorcycle gangs and even white supremacists and sometimes they cross racial lines in order to beef up numbers. The gang names won't be mentioned in this article because of the advertising value it would give them as they try and recruit children and new members.

Last week's arrest of three gang members for a home invasion robbery brought the comment to the forefront..."Tahoe has gangs?"

My name is Dr. Frederick “Fritz” Wenck, DDS, and I’ve been closely involved with Lake Tahoe Community College since its beginning in 1974, when I was elected one of the first LTCC Board of Trustees members. I’d like you to consider, just for a minute, what would happen if the college’s Measure F bond effort failed to pass this Election Day.

There are several thousand deadly weapons on the streets of South Lake Tahoe every day.

This may seem like a drastic statement and I want to explain it. I'm not talking about guns or metal clubs, I'm talking about cars.

Have you ever waited at the intersection of Highway 50 and Sierra Blvd? How many times has someone rushed into the intersection against a red light as you were moving with your green light?

This letter was given to South Tahoe Now for publication.
September 26, 2014

Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, California 95814

Re: Support for SB 850 State Senator Block – Pilot Baccalaureate Program for
California Community Colleges

Dear Governor Brown:

I am writing to you to urge your signature into law of SB 850 (“The Bill”) by State Senator Block. The Bill as is valuable to our State’s future to increase the education and training of residents of our State.

TahoeChamber has endorsed seven candidates for the upcoming election that best portray the values and abilities necessary to serve the South Shore business community. As directed by the TahoeChamber Board of Directors, the TahoeChamber Candidate Endorsement Committee (TC-CEC) used the pillars of the Chamber’s adopted Tahoe Future A South Shore Community Vision 2020 as the foundational criteria for evaluating candidates. The pillars include Economic Vitality, Quality of Life, Sustainability, Infrastructure and Intellectual Capital.

Would you like to learn more about how the City of South Lake Tahoe operates? A free six week academy is being offered so participants can learn more about City government, learn about City projects, how the budget works and much more.

The Academy will be held on consecutive Wednesdays from 5:30-8pm beginning October 8, 2014 and running through November 12, 2014.

To apply for the Fall 2014 Citizen's Academy, interested people need to fill out an application. The program is limited to 20 participants.

The Recreation Mater Plan has been in front of local citizens, community groups and staff for the past several months, and now their ideas and suggestions has formulated a Draft Master Plan that can now be reviewed.

The Plan is intended to provide strategic guidance for the management, improvement and development of City and County parks, in conjunction with the recreation opportunities provided by other public and private entities in the South Shore.

Award winning performers from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Reno and Tahoe will grace the stage for Trails and Vistas World Concert at Sand Harbor State Park at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 6. The World Concert, an original blend of diverse musicians, aerialists and dancers, is produced by Trails and Vistas, a Truckee, CA-based nonprofit organization dedicated to producing inspiring art events in nature, in collaboration with the Truckee Tahoe Peace Project.

There are a few buzz words that are evidently going to be used during the El Dorado County District 5 Supervisor race this summer and fall.

Economic Vitality - An economy with sufficient jobs, products and services to support the community. A sufficient tax base provides citizens with police and fire, parks and recreation and public services needed by the population.

If you own a home or business in the City of South Lake Tahoe you will soon be able to install renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water conservation improvements and pay for it with a voluntary lien against your property.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a volunteer program which will give property owners a chance to improve their properties. Figtree Financing and the California Enterprise Development Authority (CEDA) will facilitate the program in the city.

The El Dorado County Grand Jury has released their final report for the 2013-14 year and several South Lake Tahoe situations have been brought to light.

According to Jury Foreman Neil Cunningham, the jury compiled 20 reports and recommendations which were created as they followed up on inquiries from citizens and Grand Jury required inspections.

The fourth session of the City of South Lake Tahoe’s Citizens Academy graduated during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

The Spring 2014 academy was held from April 9-May 21, 2014 and consisted of 13 attendees including: Douglas Bolton, Tom Burkart, Ian Caruth, Tobias Devor, Janill Gilbert, Misty Johansen, Jen Menzel, Jo Mutz, Lannette Rangel, Jonathan Schank, Leslie Schultz, Brandon Swartz, and Judy Weber.