hal cole

For an estimated 20 days a year, homeless people would have access to a "warm room" where they can seek refuge when temperatures drop below freezing and conditions are deemed unsafe.

The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) asked the South Lake Tahoe City Council today for access to the recreation center between the hours of 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. on nights when there is a forecast of extreme temperatures. Wanting to keep the homeless population on the South Shore safe, TCH asked for permission to house approximately 20 men and women on a temporary basis.

A new vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance will take effect in South Lake Tahoe on October 1, 2015.

The new ordinance will require all homeowners who want to rent out their homes to get it inspected by the Zoning Administrator prior to being issued a license. Since the real estate community told City Council that not having a permit prior to escrow may cause homeowners to lose sales, the current homeowner may now get it inspected prior to the sale in order to take as much uncertainty away from sales as possible. This inspection will be valid for one year.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston made a presentation Tuesday, asking for an alteration to the Cal Tahoe JPA agreement for City provided ambulance services.

Meston wants the City to remain a part of the JPA, but hand over ambulance duties to Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD).

"Keep us humble of heart, unselfish in purpose," were some of the words spoken by Chaplain Curt Emrie at the South Lake Tahoe Memorial Day ceremony held Monday at Happy Homestead Cemetery.

About 100 people gathered to honor those who not only gave the ultimate sacrifice in the country's wars, but for those who served in the Armed Forces.

550 flags had been placed on the grave sites of veterans, placed there by members of the South Lake Tahoe American Legion Post and the SLT Moose Lodge.

During Monday's ceremony there were speakers, music and shared memories.

You will soon be seeing this state of the art, high tech van traveling through the streets of South Lake Tahoe. Equiped with lasers, GPS, digital measuring tools and cameras, the van will be able to record the conditions of the city's infrastructure, thus allowing the gathered data to be evaluated to priorizie all maintenance.

Nationally it is estimated that there are $2 trillion of backlog mainenance to roads and other items in the infrastruce of cities and counties. Locally the number is estimated at $26 million.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.

The newly elected South Lake Tahoe City Council members, City Clerk and City Treasurer were all sworn in during Tuesday's council meeting.

Susan Alessi was re-elected in November as clerk and David Olivo was retained his seat as treasurer. Both terms are for four years.

Newcomers Wendy David and Austin Sass both won seats on the council and they joined re-elected Tom Davis in the swearing in ceremony.

For his "State of the City" address, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Hal Cole took everyone on a trip through the city, celebrating the successes of the last year and creating an anticipation for a future seen with new investments, an improved economy, more businesses and a community that will continue to thrive.

Mayor Hal Cole will deliver the 2014 State of the City Address during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

The agenda for the 9 a.m. meeting at the Council Chambers located at the airport also includes the graduation of the Citizen's Academy, the presentation of an audit that shows paid parking was profitable and a vacation rental home presentation.

If unable to attend the meeting in person one can view it on line,

At the end of the month, costumed revelers will descend upon the MontBleu nightclubs for the 36th Annual Freaker's Ball in South Lake Tahoe. Partiers will be attired in everything from wild, provocative and risque to funny, crazy and creative costumes.

But how did one of the biggest and most popular Halloween events in the region ever come about?

The Beginning in 1978

The last time emergency response processes were tested in South Lake Tahoe was during the 2007 Angora Fire. In order to test communication, responses and evaluate procedures, a mock disaster drill was held at the Tahoe Valley Airport Monday.

"I call upon you to with every ounce of respect to please take your community's engagement to heart and hear their voices as their elected officials," said resident Jenna Palacio during the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday. "This is your opportunity for leadership."

Palacio was one of many who spoke in front of the Council and asked them to stay on their original track and keep the single use plastic bag ban in place.

South Lake Tahoe City Council members, City staff, project contractors and a few members of the public gathered Tuesday to celebrate the beginning of the Harrison Avenue Project.

City Council members Tom Davis, Angela Swanson and JoAnn Connor joined Mayor Hal Cole, City Manager Nancy Kerry, Police Chief Brian Uhler, Fire Chief Jeff Meston, Public Works Director Jim Marino and Mitch Grayson of Sierra Nevada Construction, the project's contractor.

Mayor Hal Cole summed it up as "the biggest facelift this city has seen in quite some time." In Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council action, the final steps of the Harrison Avenue Project were unanimously approved after 20 years of planning, discussing and talking by the City, business owners, property owners and residents.

The project will start this spring with substantial completion by October 15, 2014. The wrap up of the project will be complete by December 1, 2014.

The Council took five different votes concerning the project:

The Lake Tahoe Humane Society and SPCA thanks South Lake Tahoe for the great turn out at their open house and ribbon cutting on February 25, 2014 in honor of “World Spay Day”. TahoeChamber was present to officiate the ribbon cutting and Mayor Hal Cole cut the ribbon. It was a great turn out and a good start in the Lake Tahoe Humane Society’s mission to let the community learn about all their fantastic services, such as spay and neuter vouchers, emergency pet medical care assistance and an emergency pet food bank.

South Lake Tahoe Councilwoman Angela Swanson has declared her candidacy for El Dorado County Supervisor District 5. "There is no better time to jump in," said Swanson of her announcement. "I am in the final year of my council term and will leave office having accomplished many of my goals and with an in-depth knowledge of the key issues affecting the district." Swanson cites economic redevelopment, smart growth and community investment as her top priorities along with building cohesiveness within the newly expanded district.

With a vote of 3 to 2 in favor, the City Council today voted to ban single use carry out plastic bags in the South Lake Tahoe city limits. This issue was passionately debated by council members and the 8 citizens that offered their comment during today's City Council meeting. The city council is expected to finalize the ordinance later this month. The ban will take effect in grocery stores and farmers markets three months after adoption and will apply to all retail establishments after one year. Pharmacies,restaurants, and non-profits are exempted.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council made appointments to various Boards and Commissions for 2013 at Tuesday's meeting. Mayor Tom Davis will serve on the following boards: California Tahoe Conservancy, City Selection Committee, TahoeChamber.org, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, and South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce.

Mayor Pro Tem Hal Cole will serve on El Dorado County LAFCO, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Abandoned Vehicle Abatement JPA, and South Tahoe Redevelopment Successor Agency boards.

Newly-elected South Lake Tahoe City Council member JoAnn Conner and re-elected councilman Hal Cole will take their seats on a reconstituted council Tuesday.Cole and Conner will be sworn in and the ...

In line with the early absentee counts, South Lake Tahoe voters tapped community jack-of-all-trades JoAnn Conner and incumbent Hal Cole to lead the town over the next four years. With all precincts reporting by 12:40am, Cole received 26 percent of the vote with 1980 ballots cast. Conner seized the second seat with 1928 votes at 25.3 percent.

If there is one thing that sitting on City Council has taught me, it's decisions are never black and white and outcomes are rarely shades of gray. The capacity to handle tough decisions, while alwa...

Hal Cole, 63, is a general building contractor who has lived at the South Shore since 1959. He has been elected to the council on four previous occasions, serving from 1994-1998, 1998-2002, 2002...

And they're off. Two incumbents — Hal Cole and Bruce Grego — will face three and possibly four challengers in the race for two seats on the South Lake Tahoe City Council in November.

The filing period ended at 5 p.m. Friday. If one of the incumbents had not filed, the filing period would have been extended by five days.

Golden Bear Events would like to thank the community of South Lake Tahoe for the success of the Inaugural Community Wide 4th of July Parade and Celebration. Parade participants and vendors came from primarily Meyers, Stateline, and South Lake Tahoe. Several new businesses, like The Oven, the Yum Truck, and Lake Tahoe Custom Cycles were happy to be a part of something as new as they.