City of South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Former Police Chief Brian Uhler has been gone from the post in South Lake Tahoe since March, and since then the department's two lieutenants Dave Stevenson and Shannon Laney have been sharing the duties.

The City has now started the recruitment process for a new police chief.

“Public safety is a top priority in the City of South Lake Tahoe,” said City Manager Joe Irvin. “We want to make sure we hire the most qualified person who embodies the spirit of our City too.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Kevin Fabino, Director of Development Services, is stepping down after four years of service with the City of South Lake Tahoe.

“I have enjoyed my time with the City, even though it wasn’t always easy,” said Fabino. “We have faced many challenges and I know the team I leave behind will continue to move this community forward.”

Under Fabino’s leadership, the department has faced many challenges including updating how the city issues building permits and reworking the process for managing new cell towers.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Due to restrictions on gathering in groups because of COVID-19, Caltrans created a virtual ribbon cutting and "thank you" video highlighting their four-year $52.9M water quality improvement project on Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be a public presentation from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24 on the Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project.

The project is three phases, the first beginning with the removal of the Knight's Inn and addressing flooding issues in that area. The objectives of the complete project are to improve stormwater quality, decrease flooding, restore the Bijou Park Creek SEZ (stream environmental zone), and to install a series of stormwater quality and flood control improvements.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Eighty-seven small businesses have taken advantage of a special fund created to help them through COVID-19 related challenges.

The City of South Lake Tahoe put $50,000 into the fund and that was combined with other donations managed by the El Dorado Community Foundation. Other partners include the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce, and many generous local donors.

Businesses in South Lake Tahoe were awarded $65,579.22.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Election Day in 2020 is on November 3, just 134 days away. There will be several elected positions opening up in South Lake Tahoe and Meyers: South Tahoe Public Utility District, South Lake Tahoe City Council, Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Trustees, Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees, and the Lake Valley Fire Board of Directors.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dr. James Tarwater will be bringing his 54-year career in education to a close this month as he passes the torch to the new Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) superintendent June 30.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe will hold a virtual town hall to discuss the efforts of the police department locally on Monday, June 22, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

“It’s important for our City and Community to come together to have a frank conversation about ways we can continuously improve the services offered by our police department,” said City Manager Joe Irvin, “We are excited to have the police and the public join in the conversation and talk about what’s working and what can be improved in South Lake Tahoe.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Summer baseball leagues across the county will be different this year due to COVID-19, and the South Lake Tahoe Junior Giants program is no different.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Recreation Department has teamed up once again with the Giants Community Fund to offer a free, modified Junior Giants Baseball Program for the 2020 baseball season for youth ages 5-18.

The program features a Digital Dugout offering coaching sessions including physical activities, lessons on health and wellness, reading incentives and character development.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. The South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed an urgency ordinance during their special meeting Thursday, one that relaxes the regulations regarding temporary signage, building permit fees, and outdoor restaurant seating rules.

As the City and County move into Governor Newsom's Stage 2 plans, restrictions placed on some places of business to promote social distancing and safety practices will not allow many to reopen in the same manner as pre-pandemic.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Wednesday, May 27, El Dorado County rescinded its nonessential travel ban into the Lake Tahoe Basin, just as it did when letting the County-specific Stay At Home order expire in April.

The messaging is confusing as local orders are lifted, and state orders are still in place.

The action by the County does not mean that travel into Lake Tahoe Basin is all of a sudden okay though.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The messaging from the state, county, and city has been consistent throughout the coronavirus pandemic: This is not the time to travel to South Lake Tahoe. Nevada has also sent out the same message as a ban on nonessential travel that was created to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between communities.

The Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe is reopening over the Memorial Day Weekend and having a four-day celebration after being closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are excited to have the village open and operating," said Heavenly Village VP Gary Casteel, Jr-. "I cannot stress the level of excitement I have received from our tenants to safely re-open. A special thank you to mayor pro-tem Tami Wallace for all of her support in the re-opening.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Saint Joseph Community Land Trust (SJCLT) has announced a new program that seeks to preserve existing housing stock for permanently affordable, full-time homes for Tahoe Basin employees and residents. It is called the TAHOE (Tahoe Affordable Home Ownership Enabling) program.

TAHOE has been created to do three things:

1. Provide assistance to income-qualified households searching for a home in the Tahoe Basin;
2. Enable SJCLT to purchase available homes to be made available to income-qualified Tahoe Basin employees or full-time residents;

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What appears to have been a cooking fire that got away in the forest near Van Sickle Bi-State Park on Saturday brought out a full response from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue with assistance from Tahoe Douglas Fire, Lake Valley Fire, Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest Service.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jay Manning was driving on Lake Tahoe Boulevard near Stateline when he noticed smoke from the park just after 12:30 p.m. on May 16. At that same time, a ranger from the park called into 911 to report a fire.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The May 12 agenda for the South Lake Tahoe City Council is a full one. The 9:00 a.m. virtual meeting will address the second reading of a wireless communication facility ordinance on private property, the first reading of the facilities on public property, a vote on $1,000 fines, reopening plans for City facilities and a hold on public events on City property until large gatherings are permitted.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What was once a large hole in the ground at Stateline in South Lake Tahoe has been filling in with businesses from the Zalanta condos to restaurants and shops, and the owner of the property is now preparing to start the next phase.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, May 6 at 9:00 a.m. with a single agenda item: Authorization of a letter signed by Mayor Jason Collin to California Governor Gavin Newsom to request approval for the City of South Lake Tahoe for its transition to Phase 2 of re-opening the County of El Dorado and City of South Lake Tahoe for individuals and businesses.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - During their special meeting on Tuesday, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved sending a letter to Governor Newsom to allow a phased opening of some businesses and loosening restrictions on the public in El Dorado County.

Residents have responded to the closures by abiding by stay-in-place orders enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One layer of stay-at-home orders has been lifted for El Dorado County as its Public Health Officer, Dr. Nancy Williams, has lifted her stay-at-home directive effective April 30, the original date it was to be lifted when set on March 19.

This doesn't mean that South Lake Tahoe and the county are open for business though as the State's order is still in effect.

"We are requesting from the Governor that we [South Lake Tahoe] can move towards reopening in a phased approach with attention paid to his six guidelines," said South Lake Tahoe Mayor Jason Collin.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Many nonprofits have had to cancel their fundraisers due to the coronavirus, but the ladies of the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) club in South Lake Tahoe weren't going to let the virus stop them.

Their 31t annual Elegant Evening was slated to be held at Harrah's Tahoe on April 18 with a sit-down dinner, live music, and dancing, raffle, and auction. The venue closed and restrictions on meeting in groups of over 10 people were created, so what do you do with an event that brings together 500 community members?

Move it online, of course.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to issue citations to anyone violating the ban on nonessential travel in the Lake Tahoe Basin as it pertains to the use of vacation home rentals (VHRs).

Anyone found using a VHR is subject to a $1,000 fine per day of violation.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Just over a year ago the South Lake Tahoe City Council approved a new mobile vending ordinance after the desire for food trucks was expressed by locals and businesses without kitchens.

The Tahoe Chamber is holding another Virtual Town Hall on Friday, April 10, this time with Dr. Clint Purvance, CEO of Barton Health, and Chris Kiser, Executive Director of the Barton Foundation.

From 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Tahoe Chamber CEO Steve Teshara will lead the conversation as they discuss the hospital's efforts to combat the coronavirus crisis, the COVID-19 Response Fund, and what the community can do to mitigate the spread.