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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, blood drives have been nonexistent but they are returning to the South Shore in the coming weeks. As a bonus, all of those donations will receive a free COVID-19 antibody screening test.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District is hosting a blood drive on June 30 at the Kahle Community Center's Tallac Activity Room from 11:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. To make an appointment, visit HERE.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Barton Foundation began accepting applications on June 15 from local nonprofit organizations for this year’s $100,000 Community Health Grant program. Area service groups and organizations that share Barton Health’s commitment to improving community health and well-being are encouraged to apply online at bartonhealth.org/foundation.

Applications will be accepted through June 30, 2020.

Carson Tahoe Care Center invites the community to join a free webinar on Friday, June 19 from noon to 1 p.m. PST, led by dementia care expert Teepa Snow. The engaging online discussion will focus on understanding the symptoms of dementia and how families can support people living with various forms of the disease.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two community-wide events in South Lake Tahoe Friday, June 12 to join voices around the world to eradicate racism, educate and peacefully protest.

Lakeview Commons - 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m

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.

The Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities (Tahoe Network), with generous support from the Tahoe Fund, is hosting a free virtual screening of the award-winning documentary Wilder than Wild: Fire, Forests, and the Future through the Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema from June 5 - June 11, 2020.

Wilder than Wild is a one-hour documentary that reveals how fire suppressioand climate change have exposed Western landscapes to large, high-intensity wildfires. The film goes on to explore strategies that are being developed to help mitigate the impact of these fires.

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.

Rules and regulations are ever-changing these days, but there are actions everyone should take to keep everyone healthy and safe. In coordination with local governments and health officials, Take Care Tahoe has created messages encouraging mask-wearing and social distancing, everywhere you go.

And they are offering them to the public for use in businesses, online messaging, and on social media. The files are free to use, or posters can be ordered for a small fee.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Is your local business reopening after being shut down for several weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic? Let us help get the word out with one free week of advertising!

The first ten businesses to respond will get on the immediate advertising loop and more will be accommodated if space allows. There are Facebook sidebar ads, across-the-top banners and sidebar banner spaces available.

The business needs to provide the artwork and South Tahoe Now will share the good news that you are open!

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Nine weeks into the COVID-19 crisis, Bread & Broth is still providing food to those in the community who are being impacted by the loss or reduction of income due to the temporary closing of many of our communities’ businesses. Thanks to many generous monetary donors and volunteers, Bread & Broth is providing bags of food through their Monday and Friday food bag giveaway program at Grace Hall and B&B 4 Kids program.

Through its four-part webinar series, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has offered a window into the future of Lake Tahoe’s transportation system. Each part in the series – from trails and transit, to technology and communities – explored a different aspect of the Regional Transportation Plan, the vision that will guide transportation in the Tahoe Basin for the next 20 years.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Lake Tahoe transit providers Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and Tahoe‐Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) will be getting a boost from the federal government after they received word that $8.6 million form the CARES Act is headed their way. Transit services are especially critical to essential workers during this COVID crisis, the agencies said today.

These funds will help sustain free transit services for the public.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities is presenting their eighth "Tip of the Week," an ongoing series for the public since they are unable to perform their normal community outreach services. All tips are ways people can prepare for wildfire while staying at home. They will be providing a total of ten tips.

Tip #8: Create Defensible Space

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Hope Lutheran Church of the Sierra in South Lake Tahoe will resume their "Hope Full Lunch Outreach" on Fridays.

Homeless and anyone in need of a meal are invited to stop by the church on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. to receive a free sack lunch. The church is located at 930 Julie Lane at the Y, just past Jim Bagan Toyota.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are just eight active cases of COVID-19 in El Dorado County as of Tuesday, May 5. No new cases have been reported with two new recoveries recorded, and 80 new tests were administered by the County. 2,550 people have now been tested for the virus.

The following is a letter sent to El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe. It is published here in its entirety at the request of the author.

The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce would like to offer encouragement and support of a revival of the local economy, while continuing to keep the health and safety of our residents in mind. Cases of COVID-19 have remained low in our region when compared to other more populated areas around the State and Nation. We applaud the quick action taken by the County and City that has helped us keep the case count low.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County officials announced Sunday they will open two appointment-only community sites for COVID-19 testing for any resident wanting to be tested for the virus, one in South Lake Tahoe and the other in Shingle Springs.

These sites follow Governor Newsom's announcement last week to add more than 80 community COVID-19 testing sites across the state, focusing on underserved communities. His goal is to test 60,000 to 80,000 people per day for the virus as the state prepares to reopen.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Many South Lake Tahoe businesses have been impacted by closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic but one business, Rise Designs, has worked on sharing their designs with other local enterprises through their "Tahoe is My Happy Place" campaign.

Mike Miller and Marley Reel, coowners of the 13-year-old business that specializes in screenprinting custom hats and shirts with artwork for many local businesses and groups. They do projects with a customer's artwork or help them with it. They also recently created the City of South Lake Tahoe's new logo.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - One person in El Dorado County has tested positive for COVID-19 since Monday. The new case is a male from South County aged 50-64, bringing the total testing positive in the county to 44. He was the first South County resident to test positive.

The County tested 60 more people Tuesday, bringing the total of residents being tested to 2000.

One more person has recovered and there are five active cases.

Fifteen in the Lake Tahoe region of the county have tested positive. This region includes South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Kyburz, and Tahoma.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Since Friday, one new person has tested positive for COVID-19, this time a Lake Tahoe area man in the 18-49 age group, bringing the total of people who have tested positive in El Dorado County to 43. Two hundred additional tests have been issued in El Dorado County.

One more person has recovered, leaving five active cases of COVID-19.

Fifteen in the Lake Tahoe region of the county have tested positive. This region includes South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Kyburz, and Tahoma.

Totals for the county:

With a ski and snowboard season cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, Vail Resorts announced Monday morning a plan to address the many concerns of pass holders. They will be providing 2019/20 season pass holders with credits of 20 percent to 80 percent, depending on how often they were able to use that pass during the season.

In a letter to pass holders, the plan was laid out:

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe is having a special puppy adoption day on May 5 to coincide with the annual Giving Tuesday fundraising day.

"Little Rays of Sunshine" is bringing two litters with a total of 11 puppies, along with one of the moms, to the public for adoption.

Pictured here is the mom Sunshine with one her puppies, Hope.

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. - A South Lake Tahoe-based concierge service is now offering free grocery delivery to seniors over the age of 65 and to those in need.

Tahoe Warm Welcome has been providing home and guest services to homeowners and visitors to the Lake Tahoe Basin since 2006. Operated by two long-time locals with over 30 years of customer service experience, they are no expanding what they offer during the coronavirus pandemic to include free shopping services for seniors and anti-viral sterilization cleaning packages for the home.