EPA

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are three open seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board of Directors this election season, two for a four-year term and one for a two-year term.

South Tahoe Now reached out to the candidates and below are their answers to a set of questions. For the two four-year terms, incumbent Kelly Sheehan is running for reelection, Duane Wallace is running after being appointed to fill Jim Jones's spot on the board until this election, and they are joined by David Peterson.

In an all-new vehicle in what can be considered a new size class for SUVs, Lia’s new Telluride has hit a Grand Slam (Salami, if you are Italian or a Yankee Fan), but not an ordinary Grand Slam, but this one landed on River Avenue or Waveland Avenue if you’re a Cubby. I used those exact words about Kia’s sibling, the Hyundai Palisade. It is flat out one of the two best SUVs I have ever driven with performance, ride, handling, quiet, comfort and economy levels that put it immediately at the top of its class and almost every other class. Telluride is also simply a Class act.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Casinos in Nevada will not be opening during the Phase 1 reopening plan unveiled by Governor Steve Sisolak Thursday. All Nevada casinos will be required to create and implement an infectious disease prevention plan before they will be allowed to open once Sisolak gives them the green light. He said Thursday Phase 1 expires May 30 and the next phase can start then, or even earlier if all goes as planned. It is unknown at this time if casinos will be included in the next reopening phase.

Volvo has been on a serious roll with some new product that is off the charts like the new S90, V90, XC90, and XC60 and their sales growth indicates renewed customer enthusiasm. But now we have the new XC40 which was rewarded recently with the European Car of the Year for 2018. So, it was with much anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the new XC40.

After testing nearly every hybrid on the market including products from Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Ford. Toyota’s 2020 Avalon hybrid is the best yet (actually it is tied with the Camry Hybrid and Lexus ES300h which essentially share chassis and hybrid system). Usually, the predominant factor in buying a hybrid is fuel economy and while the Avalon is rated at 43/43/43 mpg which is not the highest rating among hybrids, it can clearly outperform those numbers while doing so many other things extremely well.

In an all-new vehicle in what can be considered a new size class for SUVs, Hyundai’s new Palisade has hit a Grand Slam (Salami, if you are Italian or a Yankee Fan), but not an ordinary Grand Slam, but this one landed on River Avenue or Waveland Avenue if you’re a Cubby. It is flat out the best SUV I have ever driven with performance, ride, handling, quiet, comfort and economy levels that put it immediately at the top of its class and almost every other class. Palisade is simply a Class act.

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.

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.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will continue a project to eradicate, control, and contain known infestations of invasive plants in the Lake Tahoe Basin using chemical treatment. Work will take place at approximately 90 infestations sites (105 acres) beginning in late May and continuing through September 2019.

Not very often does a new car/truck come along that gets my attention as the new Honda Passport did. It is certainly not a rebadged Isuzu as the original “rush to market” first Passport was.

Third generation Honda Pilot has been with us about three years, commencing with the model year 2016. It was an all-new design and ride with the only carryover being the 3.5L V-6 and even that was tricked out a bit with direct injection and 30 more ponies and nine more pounds of twist. Transmissions also got better with a standard six-speeder (one extra gear) and in the Touring and Elite trim lines, you’ll get a nine-speeder, which picks achieves about one mpg in the ratings.

Going into its fourth model year of this fourth generation RX, the Lexus RX450hL enters its second year with little revision. But since this is the first time around for this new expanded RX model for the Road Beat, it needs to be discussed as an entirely new model.

2019 Volvo XC90 AWD Inscription, inscribed to be the best, but?

Volvo brought us the XC90 in model year 2003 and it won the Motor Trend SUV of the year. It was a trick vehicle and one of my favorites, especially when equipped with the spectacular 4.4L, 311 hp Yamaha V-8 engine. It was about the perfect SUV with great styling from Volvo designer, Doug Frasher, a man responsible for many great Volvo designs including the S80.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The air quality test conducted at Sierra House Elementary on Friday has come back negative for asbestos.

The 2019 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring, Only the performance and fuel economy lets you know it’s a hybrid.

Most of you know I haven’t been a fan of hybrids, but that’s changing and this new Honda Accord Hybrid has put me over the edge, it’s the first hybrid I have ever driven you can’t tell the transition from electric to gas or even start-up that it is a hybrid. The only clue is the phenomenal fuel economy, extreme quiet and ethereal smoothness. You simply can’t feel the integration of the gas motor coming on line. I would buy this hybrid for this and so many other reasons.

Join UC Davis TERC in Incline Village for a special summer feature lecture on Thursday, August 30, with Jared Blumenfeld, former EPA Regional Administrator.

For Jared, walking from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail opened up new ways of thinking about our relationship with nature. Jared's talk will combine his amazing hiking photographs, stories of adventure and insights about the current state of environmental politics.

January is National Radon Action Month and the cold winter months are the best time to test for this radioactive gas. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is offering free test kits to households in California throughout the month of January, or until supplies run out.

he Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on Wednesday recognized 15 exceptional projects completed in 2016 with Best in Basin awards.

Now in its 27th year, TRPA’s Best in Basin awards program each year showcases projects around the lake that demonstrate exceptional planning, implementation, and compatibility with Tahoe’s natural environment and communities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Starting later this month, the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will start using chemical treatment to try and eradicate, control and contain known infestations of invasive plants. Their focus will be on 90 sites covering 18.25 acres of sites inside the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Radon Education Program is offering free radon test kits and an educational presentation about radon on Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 p.m. at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) offices.

Free radon test kits will be available for Nevada residents and test kits can be purchased at low-cost for out-of-state residents.

This summer,the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association (TKPOA) has been both combating aquatic invasive weeds while also testing out methods for future eradication of the pesky plants from their channels. They will be hosting a public meeting to update the community on their ongoing efforts on Tuesday, November 1 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the South Tahoe Public Utility District board room.

In operation in South Lake Tahoe since 1964, Tahoe Asphalt Inc. will replace their aging equipment this fall, some as old 63-years-old.

The batch plant, the only one of its kind in the Lake Tahoe Basin, was recently granted approval for their renovations by the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission after a series of public meetings. Located on Industrial Avenue, it predates most buildings west of the "Y", but a few neighbors were concerned about the plant and what it does to the environment.

The historical American character and humorist, Mark Twain is returning to Nevada and Lake Tahoe California, so be on the lookout for an elderly man with a distinctive mound of unruly white hair, wearing a white suit with an ever-present cigar in his hand. Actually, Rob Alvey, a professional geologist and adjunct Professor at York College in NYC is coming. Alvey, an award winning geologist with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Division is well regarded for his unique sense of humor and an uncanny resemblance to Samuel Clemens alter ego, Mark Twain.

An oil leak found Monday, April 11, 2016 at the Tahoe Keys Marina is being cleaned up, but the source of the oil is still unknown. After being found, the spill was reported to the California Office of Emergency Services, the agency that deals with oils spill hazardous materials.

The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) is investigating the leak and have taken samples to test to try and determine origin.

Clean Harbors has been hired by the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association to clean up the oil. Their truck and containment boom were at the marina on Tuesday.