design

There is a new deputy in town! Sheriff Ron Pierini recently swore in Deputy Todd Sampson as the newest member of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO).

In front of family, friends and fellow county employees, Sampson took the oath of office, including his son Matt who is also a a deputy sheriff with DCSO.

Todd previously worked for Orange County Sheriff’s Office from 1990 to 1993, and then worked for Torrance Police in Torrance, California. He left there in 2004 to move to the Carson Valley and pursue a kitchen and bath design/build business.

SR-89 at Emerald Bay may open Saturday after crews have made significant progress on clearing away snow from last week's storm as well as snow and debris 20 feet high from a slide that fell onto the highway at Vikingsholm.

Meanwhile, one lane of U.S. Highway 50 remains open in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls while emergency work continues on a major slipout that destroyed the #2 westbound lane and also impacted the #1 lane. Work there is also expected to take several months for the design and construction of a new retaining wall to stabilize the slope.

Plans for an upgrade to the recreational facilities at Kings Beach State Recreation Area were unveiled during a public meeting last week. The project includes upgrades to the playground, restrooms, picnic areas, boat ramp and parking area, a relocation of the pier and the addition of an event area and stage, all over the next 20 years.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) held the meeting to get public feedback, and for those unable to attend the comment/feedback period is available online until February 15, 2017.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - The January 7, 2017 storm that hit the Sierra Nevada and brought with it over 5 inches of rain before several feet of snow, also brought along some records, too.

During this storm event the Tahoe Resource Conservaton District (TRCD) Stormwater Monitoring Program measured the highest flows ever recorded at all eight of their monitoring locations since monitoring began in 2013. The Tahoe Valley site, located off Tahoe Keys Blvd., measured 1.5 million cubic feet of flow, nearly 90 percent of the flow that was observed throughout the whole 2016 water year!

In their ongoing battle with aquatic invasive plants in the Tahoe Keys, the area's property owners association has applied for a permit to test herbicides in the lagoon in 2018.

The following 37 businesses took out licenses with the City of South Lake Tahoe in the month of November, 2016.

11/03/2016
BIJOU CREATIVE - JAGACIEWSKI DANIEL
CONFORTI PLUMBING INC - CONFORTI PLUMBING INC
KEN WAGNER CONSULTING - WAGNER KEN
LAKE TAHOE WOW - SKIBUM FAMILY INC

11/04/2016
AMBLER CONSTRUCTION - AMBLER MICHAEL
MICHAEL HARRIS RIDE SHARE - HARRIS MICHAEL

11/07/2016
BURKE WILLIAMS AND SORENSEN LLP - BURKE WILLIAMS AND SORENSEN LLP
ENGEL INSULATION INC - ENGEL INSULATION INC

Caltrans is hosting a community meeting on Thursday, December 15 to present design alternatives for a U.S. Highway 50 safety project in the Camino area of El Dorado County, a project that will overlap major highway projects on the Lake Tahoe side of the mountain.

The meeting will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Camino Elementary School, 3060 Snows Road, Camino. A project presentation will take place at 5:45 p.m.

Enjoy the beauty of Christmas lights but hate the hassle of untangling cords, climbing ladders and replacing bulbs? A new Lake Tahoe business is in town to relieve you of those duties, and they store them until next year too!

Tahoe Lights is the brainchild of Savannah Jackson. She had five successful seasons in Mammoth Lakes and wanted to expand her magic to the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The newest lakefront resort being built on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe is set to open in June, 2017, and reservations for the 154 room Edgewood Lodge are already being taken.

On a tour this week of the new lodging property located within the grounds of the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, work crews could be seen working on the swimming pool, the rooms, lobby, spa, restaurant, the stone fence and all other aspects of the resort which will give visitors a new taste of luxury.

In an effort to clear up misinformation about the proposed US50 Community
Revitalization/Loop Road Project, the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (TahoeChamber) hosted a public meeting Thursday evening at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel. With the amount of negative public comments and voiced skepticism during past meetings, Measure T, and in social media, a larger group was expected than the 35 people who attended (and many of those were Tahoe Transportation and Tahoe Chamber staff).

Learn more about the US 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project during a community forum hosted by the Tahoe Chamber on November 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

The program will include a project update, information about the environmental analysis, and audience Q & A about the highly debated topic also known as the Loop Road.

With the pending release of the draft environmental impact study for public review and comment, it’s never been more front and center than now and now is the time for the public to get their questions answered.

Pedestrian and bicycle transportation and safety will be among the topics at the 14th annual Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Summit, scheduled for Nov. 9 and 10 at the MontBleu Resort Casino in Lake Tahoe.

Developed to augment statewide bicycle and pedestrian resources, the summit will provide the latest information on bicycle tourism, facility planning and design, safety, enforcement and education initiatives, as well as Safe Routes to School and complete streets program information and more.

A proposed 3-legged roundabout in Meyers at the intersection of Highway 89 and Highway 50 will not significantly affect the quality of the environment according to a report just released.

The Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is proposing the intersection improvements due to safety concerns for both cyclists and drivers. The purpose is to influence traffic calming with the implementation of a roundabout, something transportation officials say is needed because the intersection is experiencing a number of collisions related to the intersection type.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As part of ongoing efforts to evaluate and use numerous tools to fight aquatic invasive plants in the Tahoe Keys, the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association recently announced its plans to apply for a permit for a small-scale demonstration of aquatic herbicides in 2018.

I am one of the candidates running for the Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees representing area 4.

New Police Vehicle Look - The Officers and staff of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department have undertaken a review appearance of the SLTPD vehicles and have concluded with a new design. The new look depicts our patch, which we are all proud to wear. The background includes a mountain scene which represents our good fortune to serve in such a beautiful place. The old logo was rather generic with just lettering on the doors. I hope you like the new look.

The 25-year-old iconic "Welcome to Nevada" signs from highways around the state are going to be raffled off to some lucky residents.
The Nevada Department of Transportation is replacing the old, obsolete signs, depicting a lone miner that once greeted travelers to the state. They held a recent contest for Nevada high school students for the design of a new series of signs.

Work along Pioneer Trail will continue through mid-October to move power lines underground from Black Bart Court to just south of Golden Bear Trail.

A contractor for Liberty Utilities has already started on the project which could result in traffic delays.

Approximately 5,800 feet of overhead power lines (as well as communication lines owned by AT&T and Charter Communications) are being relocated underground. The work is expected to continue through mid-October this year, and will be completed next year during the allowed construction time period of May-October.

A proposed redevelopment plan for Squaw Valley would include affordable employee housing, new infrastructure including roads and fire safety, as well as environmental improvements according to Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC. They have kicked off and effort to communicate with the public and gain support through "Squaw Tomorrow" for what is being called the Village at Squaw Valley redevelopment project.

Summer in South Lake Tahoe is already known for its outdoor entertainment – great beaches, hiking trails, kayaking, mountain biking, and more. I don’t often hear talk about South Lake Tahoe as a theatrical hub, but that really should change.

Lake Tahoe homes are often found in the limelight. This month an Lake Tahoe East Shore home is in exclusive company as it finds itself on HGTV’s Ultimate House Hunt.

The Glenbrook estate, listed by Chase International’s Mike Dunn, is one of only eight properties in the world to be selected for the waterfront category. The contest takes place online through July 8.

The South Lake Tahoe community pulled together behind Ryan Wallace in 2014 when he needed to buy a new prosthetic leg, which even at a discounted $25,000 was out of reach for the native man.

At the age of 19, Ryan had to have his leg amputated due to a rare form of bone cancer. The leg he received was wearing out after ten years, and the community helped Wallace buy the new one so he could walk and get back to coaching wrestling to the youth of the town.

The weather is starting to clear and temperatures are warming up, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget, when you are coming or going from the Lake Tahoe Basin, check out the Caltrans message board at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/. Click on "Options" and "message boards." This handy tool shows you the exact time it takes to get from town over the mountain so you can stay longer and avoid the traffic!

Here is a list of some of the things to do on the South side:

Lake Tahoe Summer Kick Off Car and Bike Show at the Heavenly Village

A joint effort between the City of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Community College will soon expand recreation offerings on the South Shore.

The Community Playfields Expansion Project will bring two new playfields to the area as work gets underway on the Community Playfields Expansion Project adjacent to the current soccer field at the college.