legal

Californians are invited to attend public hearings being held by the Department of Motor Vehicles on AB60, the state law that directs DMV to issue driver licenses to undocumented California residents.

While no hearings are held in South Lake Tahoe, there will be one in each Southern California and Northern California as well as an on-line telecast.

A live webcast of the hearings will be available. For a direct link, please visit the DMV web page at http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/ab60 during the hearings.

The competitive landscape of the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe will dramatically alter in 2014 with the addition of LPGA great Annika Sorenstam.

The legendary golf superstar, winner of 89 international tournaments and over $22 million, is among the most successful players in history. A part-time resident of Lake Tahoe and mother of two, Sorenstam will play on even terms with pro athletes in the nationally televised, 54-hole, $600,000 competition at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

On May 14th, El Dorado County Supervisor Ray Nutting was found guilty on six misdemeanors involving illegal and undocumented loans from county employees and a county contractor.

Nutting was found not guilty on three felony charges including filing false documents, perjury and approving conflict-of-interest contracts.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors met with legal counsel Wednesday to discuss whether Supervisor Ray Nutting was suspended from the office of county supervisor by operation of law because of jury verdicts on May 14, 2014 that found him guilty of six misdemeanors.

A coalition of all counties present at the lake along with residents, environmental groups, legislators and business groups were behind the Tahoe Regional Plan and urged its adoption in 2012. Since that time, the Sierra Club and "Friends of the West Shore" have sued (in February 2013) to oppose the plan, lost their motion (April 2014) and now, as of May 7, have filed an appeal to the court's decision to uphold the 2012 Lake Tahoe Regional Plan.

Have bottles of prescriptions sitting unused in your medicine cabinet?

A free and anonymous disposal site for expired and unused drugs will be in the Safeway parking lot at 1020 Johnson Blvd. on April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of National Drug Take Back Day. The El Dorado County Sheriff's and South Lake Tahoe Police Departments, in conjunction with the South Lake Tahoe Drug Free Coalition will be hosting the event. The Coalition will be on hand to answer any questions or address any concerns the public may have.

The Annual Home & Garden Show in South Lake Tahoe will be held April 25 to 26, 2014 at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex.

The long list of vendors participating include the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, I Can Fix THat, Just Fabulous Repurposed Furniture and Consignment, Second Chances, Everything Tahoe, Legal Shield, H20 at Home and many more. There will also be an author's corner this year, along with raffles, classes, demonstrations and live music.

Friday - 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Paid parking remains a hot topic in the city which was proven by the packed house at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. On the agenda was discussion and possible action on an initiative to prohibit paid parking on city streets.

Tahoe 4 Tahoe (T4T), a local group organized to fight paid parking, gathered more than the required signatures to get the initiative put on the ballot, but legal precedence and unforeseen consequences of the proposed initiative led the city council to vote unanimously to have a Fiscal Impact Report completed in the next 30 days.

You may not have noticed a lack of old style light bulbs on the store shelves yet, but on January 1st it became illegal to manufacture or import 40 and 60 watt incandescent light bulbs.

Stores are allowed to sell their current stock of the popular general service light bulbs. Some of the incandescent bulbs will still be allowed though, including three way, 150 watt and narrower based candelabra lights.

The State of the City address by the Mayor was upbeat, informative and a real pat myself on the back (if any of them actually could) and see all the positive things we have done to improve the city while sugarcoating on how we actually got to a balanced budget.

As we do each year, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department bolstered our patrol staffing to meet the emergency response needs of our crowded City during the Independence Day celebration.

There were squads of officers patrolling the beaches, assigned to traffic duties and extra officers assigned to work a variety of areas throughout the City. Although the City was quite full with holiday revelers, the number of calls for emergency police responses was fewer this year than during many past years.

William “Bill” Yeates, a California attorney with 34 years of experience in environmental law, has joined the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board following an appointment by the California Senate Rules Committee.

The seat is one of 14 voting positions on the Lake Tahoe environmental planning agency’s board - seven representing California and seven representing Nevada. One board seat, appointed by the President of the United States, is non-voting.

From Mark Twain and Frank Sinatra to teamsters and tourism, the history of Lake Tahoe recorded in a new book by Michael J. Makley brings the region’s many dimensions to life. The noted local author is the featured speaker at the February Frances Humphrey lecture series from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, where he will explore the geology and natural history of Lake Tahoe and the people who shaped its history.

With the bitter January cold weather in the Sierra and above Lake Tahoe behind us, we do have plenty of water frozen on our creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and reservoirs. And that ice covering provides an excellent opportunity to catch fish.
Ice fishing is a unique sport that requires a whole different set of fishing techniques, gear and clothing, as opposed to lazy fishing on a warm, drowsy day in the middle of the summer. So, if you’ve never tried fishing through the ice, here’s some information that should be more than enough to get you “hooked” on this winter sport:

The business community is invited to attend a lively employment law update “What’s on Your Mind?” Friday, Feb. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce located at 169 Highway 50 at Stateline.

Sponsored by the Tahoechamber in partnership with the Sierra Human Resources Association, this seminar includes updated information managers and business professionals need to know for 2013. The popular format includes a great presentation followed by plenty of time to ask our pair of attorneys from both California and Nevada anything that’s on your mind.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - As Toyota Motor Corp. chips away at settling lawsuits claiming its vehicles suddenly accelerate, the question remains whether attorneys who sued could prove to a jury there was a...

More than 275 traffic enforcement stops were made by Nevada Highway Patrol troopers on Northern Nevada highways in a 10-hour period from 7 pm Monday until 5 am Tuesday morning.

Only seven motorists, or roughly three percent, stopped during that timeframe were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Many of those motorists stopped were designated drivers for passengers riding in the vehicle who were celebrating the New Year and had already consumed alcohol.

DENVER (AP) - Marijuana for recreational use became legal in Colorado Monday, when the governor took the procedural step of declaring the voter-approved change part of the state constitution.Colora...

The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office will drop all charges against Gino DiMatteo and let federal authorities take over because there are higher criminal penalties in that legal system, MyNews4.com is reporting. KRNV has received the first copy of the unsealed criminal complaint by the federal government and in that complaint a bribery charge is not mentioned. DiMatteo was originally charged with attempting to bribe South Lake Tahoe City Councilwoman Angela Swanson.

Costume contests, games, local business booths and a Tahoe-style chili cook-off are on tap Saturday, Oct. 27 with the South Lake Tahoe Harvest Festival.
Who makes the best chili in town? Taste, pick and vote for your favorite at the festival, a great way for locals to come together before winter begins. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe.

Scott Johnson, a quadriplegic attorney who has filed more than 1,000 lawsuits in Sacramento federal court since 2004, is now being sued by four former legal assistants for sexual harassment. Plaint...

The University of California will host a two-part workshop series on succession planning to help forest landowners learn simple techniques to pass their land and its legacy on to the next generation. The first workshop is being offered at 7 locations throughout California. In the central Sierra Nevada, workshops will be held in Auburn on Oct. 30, Jackson on Nov. 13, and Sacramento on Nov. 15. All workshops will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.

Join the Rotary club of South Lake Tahoe for lunch and a presentation from Minden Rotarian John Carne, a retired lawyer, speaking on the First Amendment legal history.

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