environment

Lake Tahoe Community College stands with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and its Board of Governors in strongly supporting the values and benefits of diversity and inclusion; not just on college campuses, but in towns and cities large and small across the country. The current White House administration’s recent executive orders regarding immigration, the building of a border wall, and its rhetoric regarding Dream Act students has caused widespread concern among California’s community college students.

Carolyn Clark Goodenough (Callie) passed away peacefully from complications of Alzheimer’s disease on January 9, 2017 with her husband Ray by her side. Callie was born on August 27, 1938 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to John and Nell Graham. She was the oldest of three children, and, according to her sister, the most mischievous. This caused her poor father much consternation in the conservative ‘50’s.

The family moved around a bit, finally settling in Newport Beach, Calif. Callie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from San Diego State University.

Rain and snow flows during the atmospheric river storm that hit South Lake Tahoe in January created more than double the normal flow through the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD).

On a normal 4th of July, when most beds are filled in local homes and motels, STPUD sees about five million gallons go through the sewer plant, but with the large amounts of snow and rain on roads and in yards, 12.57 million gallons flowed through the plant on January 8, 2017.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved Placer County’s Tahoe Basin Area Plan and the Tahoe City Lodge Project.

“This is the fourth area plan approved at Lake Tahoe and an important milestone for implementing the 2012 Regional Plan,” said Joanne S. Marchetta, executive director of TRPA. “With this plan, we can take significant steps to improve the environment and strengthen communities on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore.”

1/13/17 update: Too much of a good thing can sometimes put a hitch in your plan! Tahoe received record snowfall in the past week and although clear skies are expected for the day of the hike, it has been postponed to a February date yet to be determined.

In addition, both the City and US Forest Services offices and Lake Tahoe Unified School District have been shut down for most of the week creating additional challenges getting the Generation Green students prepared to lead the event.

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Law enforcement is preparing for the annual New Year's Eve party held at Stateline, an outdoor that at one time saw 50,000 people in the streets.

Though Highway 50 through Stateline hasn't had to close until just before midnight the past two years, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) is prepared to close it to vehicle traffic in the evening if necessary for public safety. If that should occur, vehicle traffic will be diverted around the Stateline casino core area using upper and lower Lake Parkway Drive.

Being gay and a high school student in South Lake Tahoe in 2005 was challenging.

"It was a scary, dark place at the time," said Alex Boyar, who 'came out of the closet' at age 14. "Its a much different environment today."

Boyar, along with his mother Dr. Virginia Berry and sister Christina Boyar, stopped by South Tahoe High Thursday to talk to the students of Ally, the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at the school that he co-founded in 2005.

Four years ago this month, TRPA approved the 2012 Regional Plan. The landmark plan charts a course to restore Lake Tahoe’s environment and revitalize our communities and it was forged through Herculean work by California, Nevada, local governments, the public, and dozens of other partners.

Many Tahoe Basin stakeholders once questioned if we could work together, but the Regional Plan ushered in an era of collaboration. Today, the answer is how can we work together more efficiently. By building and strengthening partnerships we have made remarkable progress. This year was no different.

Vail Resorts has called on the United States Congress to approve the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015. This Act provides $415 million in funding and reauthorizes important Lake Tahoe restoration activities that began in 1997 and refocuses federal, state and local efforts toward reducing wildfire threats, improving water quality and clarity, and combating invasive species. All of these are important to the local economy at one of the most visited lakes in the world.

Approximately $158 million was spent on Lake Tahoe water quality improvement projects around Lake Tahoe in 2016, and Caltrans is not done.

In 2017 two major projects will get underway, one on each end of the lake.

During the busy 2016 season, Caltrans and its contractors completed work on two projects on State Highway 89 and made significant progress on a third.

What happened in 2016:

The Tahoe Prosperity Center (TPC) has announced two changes for the organization: a new project manager and membership in the California Stewardship Network.

Chris Fajkos, formerly of the Port of Redwood City, has been named the center's project manager.

“We are thrilled to have Chris join our team to expand high speed internet in the region and support community revitalization work,” said CEO Heidi Hill Drum.

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

Tamara Wallace, 46, Retired Businesswoman/Chamber Exec

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

It is an exciting time to live on the South Shore – during a critical point in our region’s evolution and potential. It is time to set our course: moving away from bickering and blaming, exclusionary special interests and single-industry dominance to consensus-building and proactively choosing progress. Whether we live in Nevada or California, everyone benefits from uniting towards a sustainable vision for the South Shore.

In order to be a successful community on the South Shore, the state line needs to become a blur and both sides need to work together. There should be no "us" and "them" but a collective "we."

When travelers come to Lake Tahoe they don't see a state line, or a direction on the compass, they see a beautiful recreational paradise that just a few people are able to call home, but millions can call a vacation destination.

Dear South Lake Tahoe Community,

I first met Nick Exline at an event where we had the opportunity to meet Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Bob Derlet. Nick asked about carbon markets and the related benefits to our Sierra Nevada economy. As a watershed scientist, I was impressed by Nick’s informed and thoughtful question. I enjoyed meeting a South Lake Tahoe resident who possessed a strong background in environmental science, as well as a thoughtful man who had ideas about how we could turn our largest obstacles in this region into economic successes for our residents.

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School physical education at one time was full of jumping jacks, sit ups, pull ups and push ups. Today's physical education at schools has taken on a whole new focus, and Sierra House Elementary in South Lake Tahoe is being honored for what they do on a daily basis.

The school received recognition for their outstanding efforts in creating an active school environment under First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, Her plan is dedicated to ensuring 60 minutes of physical activity a day is the norm in K-12 schools.

I first met Nick at a climate coalition meeting. I was immediately impressed by his passion and knowledge for making a difference to our community, our environment and our economy. He is highly qualified for the position, holding a master’s degree in land use planning. He has lived in our community for 9 years and is dedicated to preserving the environment and improving the infrastructure. He is a proponent of sustainable land practice and renewable energy and will work to implement projects that will have long-term environmental and economic savings for the community.

Like many communities that are highly-desirable places to vacation and live, Lake Tahoe has affordable housing problems. Two recent studies commissioned by the Tahoe Prosperity Center and Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation clearly illustrate the housing challenges our region faces.

Median home prices of more than $500,000 on the North Shore and nearly $400,000 on the South Shore are simply too high for our region’s low wages, putting the cost of home ownership and even rent out of reach for many working people.

The Tahoe Mountain Lab founders were honored Thursday for their creation of a unique business that promotes the expansion of opportunities in the South Lake Tahoe community.

For more than a decade, Branch has been writing about life in Nevada’s Great Basin Desert with an audacity, lyricism, and wit that is uniquely his own, and on Thursday, October 20, he brings that humor to Lake Tahoe Community College at 8:00 p.m.

The LTCC Writers' Series event with Branch will be held in LTCC’s Roberta Mason Library. This event is free and open to students and the community.

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.

The Lake Tahoe Basin saw continued environmental improvement over the last four years, but faces major challenges from climate change, according to a draft 2015 Threshold Evaluation Report released by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

The report offers a detailed assessment of the health of Lake Tahoe and its treasured natural environment as indicated by 178 threshold standards in nine categories: Air quality, water quality, soil conservation, vegetation, fisheries, wildlife, scenic resources, noise, and recreation.

Just beyond the Rocky Mountains, an industry that once conjured images of dank basements and back-alley deals is blossoming under state regulation.

After a sluggish start in sales following the 2012 vote to decriminalize marijuana, Colorado’s pot trade — and corresponding tax revenue — is booming as consumers from within and outside the state flock to cannabis shops.

It was 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 28 in the year 1926. Fire had broken out at the Jack Smith Ranch at the base of Clear Creek Canyon above Carson City, Nev.

Flames were high, and the fire traveled up the canyon rapidly, getting ever so close to the source of timber for all of the state's mines at Glenbrook. The fire also burned several ranches. Strong winds fanned those flames, and caused the fire to reverse itself and come down Kings Canyon. Again, it reversed itself and raced up Kings Canyon one more.