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Looking for a career as a professional truck driver, but don't have money for school? El Dorado County Connections - One Stop has announced that funds are now available through the Federal Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) to pay for truck driving school tuition. Any unemployed resident of El Dorado County over the age of 23 with a clean driving record is eligible. There is no income restriction.

The impact of vacation rentals, a popular option for tourist lodging, is a big, and controversial topic in South Lake Tahoe.

The El Dorado County Area Agency on Aging has a limited supply of Senior Farmers’ Market check booklets available for qualified El Dorado County Seniors. Each eligible senior will receive one booklet that includes ten checks redeemable for $2 each to be used at Certified Farmers’ Markets for the purchase of fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables, cut herbs and raw unprocessed honey.

Distribution of the Farmers’ Market check booklets will take place as follows:

South Shore casinos are faring better than last year, so far.

Figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board today show they had a big month in April, 2015 with a gain of 56% over last year. Harrah's, Harvey's, MontBleu, Hard Rock and Lakeside had a net win of $14,520,821.

This boost brings the casinos' year-to-date figures up to a 4.21% gain over last year. So far, the casinos in Stateline have a net win $182,247,183.

Overall, the state of Nevada fared well with a gain of 5.39&.

Homelessness has many faces. Some are old, some are young. It affects all races, religions, and sexes. It can be triggered by a poor economy, inconsistent work, a medical catastrophe, and death of a family member. In the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD), there are 246 homeless students (1).

I recently sat down with one of those students to understand a day in the life of a homeless student.

Suicide does not discriminate. Suicide does not know income levels, race or neighborhoods. Suicide can happen next door.

Every day in California, Nevada, and every other state, there are friends, family and co-workers who struggle with emotional pain. And, for some, it's too difficult to talk about the pain, thoughts of suicide, and the need for help.

- Nearly 40,000 Americans commit suicide every year.
- In the U.S., suicide rates are highest during the spring.
- Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds and 2nd for 24 to 35-year-olds.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their figures for the month of March, 2015 and they show Stateline casinos bringing in $13,911,206 which is 6.83% down from the same period in 2014.

For the fiscal year, the South Shore is up $1,915,009 over last year.

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, the Boulder Strip once again did the best with a 18.97% increase in gaming win. The biggest loss when compared to last year was North Lake Tahoe which saw a 15.31% decrease with their take of $1,529,528.

The state "win" figure is down 3.15% with income of $951,245,276.

The Food Bank of El Dorado County will be in South Lake Tahoe with its Mobile Food Pantry on Wednesday, April 22nd from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the American Legion Hall to distribute emergency supplemental groceries to those who need it most.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra recently awarded 14 worthy organizations, projects, and programs with funding from their Community Grant program. The mission of the organization is to “Strengthen and enhance the lives of women and youth in our community and the world.”

The following organizations/programs/projects best aligned with this mission according the the Soroptimists: Between Horses and Humans, Bijou Kindergarten Adventure Introduction, Bijou 5th Grade Enrichment Field Trip, Health Talents

There was both good and bad news in the message released by El Dorado County today. For the fifth consecutive year, El Dorado County has ranked among the top ten healthiest counties statewide in an annual report by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The "County Health Rankings" report, released on March 25, 2015, ranked El Dorado County 7th healthiest among the 57 ranked counties in California.

Now that the temperatures are rising, it is now time to start planning your home's weatherization check-up. Low income El Dorado County residents can keep their homes cooler this summer and warmer next winter, by taking advantage of free weatherization services through the El Dorado County Community Services Weatherization Program.

"The average household can save as much as $400 each year on their energy bills after weatherization," said Kyle Hartman, weatherization supervisor with Community Services.

A public workshop on the City of South Lake Tahoe's vacation home rental policy (VHR) will be held on March 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

Excessive noise, trash and parking issues are some of the main complaints voiced by neighbors of vacation homes so the City wants to address all concerns. Those concerned neighbors as well as vacation homeowners, rental companies and hotels are invited to attend the meeting.

Nevada gaming figures for the month of January show the South Shore casinos won $14,139,520, down 3.8% from the previous year. With seven months of the fiscal year completed, year-to-date figures are fairly even with the gaming win 1.55% over the same period last year.

The Carson Valley casinos are up the same percentage the South Shore is down, 3.8%.

The gaming win represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board's monthly report shows the state being up 7.75%.

Vacation home rentals are an everyday part of life in South Lake Tahoe, though during weekends and holiday periods their impact is much more noticeable. With the large number of visitors "living" in the area neighborhoods next to full time residents their impact has created tension over noise, trash and parking issues.

In the City limits there are currently 1,574 houses that have a permit to be operated as a vacation home. In comparison there are about 15-20% that number in vacation cities Santa Cruz and Napa.

Reno to New York City, nonstop. It's coming in May.

After an intro of dancers stepping to Sinatra's "New York, New York," JetBlue Airways and local officials Tuesday announced daily flights linking Reno to John F. Kennedy International Airport beginning May 28 via the low-cost airline that is a perennial winner in customer satisfaction surveys.

It will be the first-ever daily nonstop service linking Reno with the nation's most populous region and the financial world's epicenter.

Casinos in South Lake Tahoe won $12,104,211 in November, which is down over 30% from last year when the gaming win was $17,381,413. This ends a three month run of gains in this figure.

The casino gaming win reflects represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

Statewide, the figures were almost equal to last year with a gaming win of $876,278,690,a .04% gain over November of 2014.

Casinos in North Las Vegas led the state with a 37.62% gain while South Lake Tahoe's gambling venues had the biggest loss.

There may be a duel this winter over hotel rooms around Lake Tahoe.

Placer County is interested in paying about $3.7 million to buy hotels from private owners and demolish them in the city of South Lake Tahoe, which is in El Dorado County.

South Lake Tahoe doesn't want to lose the hotels, along with the important associated sales and room taxes.

Placer County wants the hotels so it can open development of new lodging along Placer County's north shore of Lake Tahoe, which hasn't had a new hotel built since 1959.

Tahoe Chamber, in partnership with the City of South Lake Tahoe and Mann, Urrutia, Nelson CPAs, is offering The Business of Budgeting & Bookkeeping workshop for business owners on December 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bears apparently found the food pantry at Christmas Cheer All Year too good to pass up on Monday night. Board Member Tom Davis reported that bears broke into the food pantry and helped themselves to the food used to feed those community members in need.

Christmas Cheer All Year is asking for the community’s support with food and monetary donations as they begin to restock their shelves.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is expected to allocated $2.3M to communities in the form of grants that fit the categories of community facilities, planning and capacity building, economic development, micro enterprise programs, and low/moderate income development.

People are now able to apply for the Community Development Block Grant program in Douglas County. The public is invited to provide ideas, comments and potential projects.

The seven candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were at Wednesday nights Candidate Forum at Lake Tahoe Golf Course. The Tahoe Chamber and Tahoe Daily Tribune hosted the evening which had Rabbi Evon Yakar moderating the questions and answers.

About 100 people showed up to listen to panel who were given questions prepared by the chamber's new political committee as well as those asked by the audience. The questions were asked of different candidates so not everyone was asked the same one.

Casinos on the south shore of Lake Tahoe won $12,230,394 in June, down from the previous June by 2.33%. With the end of the fiscal year, this brings the total win for the region to $204,443,211 which is down 3.34% from the previous year.

Overall, the state of Nevada did well with a gain for June of 14.36%.

The gaming win represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

Las Vegas and North Las Vegas were the big winners for the month with a gain of over 22% while North Lake Tahoe saw the biggest loss of 15.39%.

Casinos in South Lake Tahoe won $17,320,995 in May, up 18.37% over last year. They gained the most in the State of Nevada which saw an overall win of 8.11%.

North Lake Tahoe casinos won %1,837,836, up 1.63% and casinos in the Carson Valley lost 2.71% with their win of $8,618,391.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, the South Lake Tahoe casinos are down 3.41% with a total gaming win of $192,212,817.

The gaming win represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

The El Dorado County Area Agency on Aging has a limited supply of Senior Farmers' Market check booklets available for qualified El Dorado County Seniors. Farmers' Market check booklets will be distributed on first come, first served basis to seniors who are at least 60 years of age and meet income guidelines (one person household with annual income less than $21,590 or two person household with income less than $29,101).