economy

On March 3, 2020, the Meyer’s community will need to make some difficult decisions about the services that we need and want in our community. Not only do we need to support our Lake Valley Fire Fighters through Measure B, but we also need to decide whether timely, safe and efficient snow removal is vital to our safety, our economy and our ability to live and work in Meyers. For the Meyer’s Advisory Council, the answer is a resounding YES.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In a move to help property and business owners save time and money, El Dorado County will begin processing additional permits on behalf of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) starting January 28, 2020.

Protecting Lake Tahoe’s environment is the paramount goal of the TRPA and in meeting that goal, a TRPA permit is required for most construction projects inside the Lake Tahoe Basin. This runs the gamut from the addition of a new deck to a sign for a new business.

Clarity was originally a name reserved for Honda’s venture into fuel cells which still exists in the Clarity Fuel Cell. But at a price approaching $60,000, its sales are very small at about 625 units for 2018. While that is a percentage increase of about 35 percent, the actual number of increased unit sales was under 200 year over year. See how percentage increase figures can be misleading? However, the new Clarity Plug-in Hybrid is having robust sales in comparison (over 18,0000 units sold) and for many a good reason.

STATELINE, Nev. - Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino is undergoing some major projects including the complete remodel of all Lake Tower hotels rooms. Besides these rooms and the new Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen on the casino floor, Harveys is also adding new balcony suites as part of over $41 million in capital projects for 2019-20.

The tower’s balcony suites, with incredible views of the lake, were also renovated last year. The upgraded guest rooms and additional projects as well as a new casino bar and lounge experience opening in 2020 are part of the new capital outlay.

The AlertTahoe 11-camera system surrounding the Lake Tahoe Basin has been credited for detecting its 57th fire since first being installed in 2013.

As the Kincade Fire in Sonoma and the Easy Fire in Southern California raged, a camera in Lake Tahoe spotted a small fire on the West Shore. Fire crews were able to respond and quickly put it out.

The Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation has announced a donation of $18,057 to the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD) to enhance wildfire suppression capabilities on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. This donation will result in the expansion of strategic and tactical Wildfire Pre Attack plans covering the entire Lake Tahoe Basin. Pre Attack Plans help first responders by identifying critical infrastructure, vulnerable population groups, evacuation routes, water sources, Temporary Refuge Areas, and locations where forests have been thinned before a wildfire strikes.

The Amgen Tour of California race has been put on hiatus for the 2020 racing season according to an announcement Tuesday by AEG, the sports and live entertainment company that produces the race each year. Over the past 14 years, the cycling tour has showcased some of today’s best known and most decorated international cyclists, including numerous World, Olympic and National Champions. South Lake Tahoe has been a host city on both the men's and women's sides of the popular rolling festival.

Placer County has purchased the 11-acre Nahas property near Tahoe City for $3.42 million. They are working with housing developer partner Related-Pacific Companies to develop conceptual options for a potential mixed-use commercial and achievable housing project on the site.

While the purchase represents a step forward in bringing more achievable housing to North Lake Tahoe, development concepts for the site are still in early stages and no project proposal has yet been brought forward for formal consideration or approval.

Californians, including the people of Lake Tahoe, love our public lands. We love the cold deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, the rugged mountains, and the varied forests that are part of the nearly 100 million acres of land all Californians can claim ownership of. We love these public lands not just because of their natural beauty, but because they are central to our way of life. Many of us live here, or moved here, because of what they provide - culture, lifestyle, and livelihood.

What happens when you bring together people who are community-minded, movers, shakers and even disruptors who want to work collaboratively to create positive change to the Lake Tahoe region?

Find out at the annual Lake Tahoe economic summit "Transform Tahoe" hosted by the Tahoe Prosperity Center on Friday, October 11 at the North Lake Tahoe Events Center.

A day full of interactive and collaborative sessions will examine the opportunities for positive change as participants discuss and examine day-to-day challenges while also stepping back to look at the bigger picture.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For 23 years political leaders from the White House to state capitols have professed their commitment to protecting Lake Tahoe.

At the first Lake Tahoe Summit on July 27, 1997, then-President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore told of their commitment to keeping Tahoe blue after decades of erosion from roads, increased emissions from automobiles and boats, removal of wetlands and overgrown and dying forests were threatening its clarity.

Times are good for the auto industry, everyone makes good cars and it’s been that way for about a decade. That goes for full-size trucks, too. But some cars are better than good, some are great and some super-great and Honda/Acura makes great cars and a few super great ones. This new Acura RDX is almost super-great like I would call the Acura TLX SH-AWD A-Spec.

If Acura new radio system was more user-friendly as it’s claimed to be it might make the super great rating. Sometimes it wouldn’t respond to my finger touch. The idea works, but the execution didn’t work all the time.

Carol Chaplin, the executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority since 2008, has been named the new chairperson of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority. The nine-member board oversees both the Reno-Tahoe International and Reno-Stead Airports.

Mandatory inspections of all boats launching in Lake Tahoe and other Sierra lakes has resulted in the interception of invasive quagga mussels on two boats.

The detection of the infestations of aquatic invasive species took place at the California inspection stations in Meyers and Truckee.

When tested exactly three years ago, I called the Mitsubishi Outlander a high value, bang for the buck CUV. Now with compact, small-midsize CUVs all costing in the mid $30K range and more, the Mitsubishi stands out even more as my extremely loaded three rows of seats Outlander GT stickered for $36K all in including the boat from Japan. While the price is up a minuscule three percent, additional content and improvements have increased the value quotient. And that quotient grows as inflation would have boosted the price by at least six percent.

Learn about all of the impacts from droughts, flooding, fires and warming temperatures on Lake Tahoe and the regional economy during the “Climate Change: Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada Threats and Opportunities” presentation on Thursday, June 27 at Western Nevada College in Carson City.

The free presentation will take place in Reynolds Center for Technology Room 103 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Access the Reynolds Center parking lot from Combs Canyon Road.

Momentum has many synonyms such as thrust, energy, force or push. With this new Volvo, it is most appropriate as it can sprint from 0-60 mph in less than 5.2 seconds a world class time. OK, so there is little question this Volvo and many others powered by its T6, 316 hp 2.0L turbo and supercharged engine are extremely quick. It’s a relatively a new trait brought on about 20 years ago with an S60 T6 sedan, a vehicle I called the Rolex Rocket for its brilliant blue instrumentation ala a blue faced Rolex Submariner wristwatch.

Mazda has an “all new” Mazda 3. It has some resemblance to the prior generation Mazda 3 but it is a new fourth generation and it had a new designer, Yasutake Tsuchida. Tsuchida continued with the “Kodo” design theme using a very similar, aggressive front end while smoothing out the body ridges and incorporating a sleeker, less complicated rear end. It uses a similar window line except for the “Hofmeister kink” now present in the termination of the rear side windows. It is a better-looking car (then its prior generation) and retains the title of the best-looking compact car.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - What is sustainable tourism and what does it mean for Lake Tahoe?

The future of Tahoe tourism needs to be sustainable. This year’s Annual Tourism Forum will address this global concern on a local level on Thursday, May 30 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Responsible tourism is something all businesses in the Lake Tahoe basin are working towards and this year’s forum will explore that theme. The forum will include a main keynote speaker, two general sessions, and breakout sessions designed to get a closer look at four key topics.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Manager Frank Rush writes a community monthly newsletter and shares it on South Tahoe Now. The following is the May 1, 2019 edition:

Sign Up for the Brand New City Newsletter

Sure, I like most of the vehicles I test, but there are some that stand out. Then from those stand out motor vehicles, we can find the best of the best. When you factor in price or bang for the buck, that best of the best gets very small, maybe two or three vehicles. The new Genesis G70 is one of them. The other vehicle is the Kia Stinger which is a slightly larger sibling of the G70. I will discuss the differences, but for this Road Beat it is the G70 that gets this ultimate spotlight and my tester was an AWD G70 Sport 3.3T.

It’s hard to believe that it has been only 25 years since Kia came to the U.S. with the 88 hp Sephia. The first TV ad showed a Kia Sephia following a Honda Civic through the streets of Los Angeles (in fast motion) demonstrating it could do anything the Honda Civic could do.

Mitsubishi’s Outlander is an outstanding vehicle and value. I gave it very high marks is most categories especially bang for the buck when I tested it about five months ago. With only a 2.4L, 166 hp inline four-banger, it performed admirably. So, what would happen when Mitsu adds a PHEV battery (12 kwh) to the mix? The answer from my numbers is not exceptional.

LAKE TAHOE, CA/NV – Lake Tahoe needs our help. The “Jewel of the Sierra” is being loved to death. The vast amount of trips being made by motor vehicles have contributed to severe traffic congestion, unsafe conditions for cars, pedestrians, and cyclists, mounting air pollution, declining lake clarity, and other negative impacts.