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Welcome our Tech Trek attendees who will be giving us a presentation on their summer experience at UC Davis. Our presenters are 8th grade girls who attended our scholarship sponsored week long technology camp.

We will have an array of light refreshments and visitors are welcome. Please attend if you are interested in finding out more about what our local AAUW organization is involved in. There will be a brief business meeting to inform about our small group programming for fall.

Join us at 10 AM in the Aspen Room in the LTCC Library.

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What rattles our communities across our nation to their core? Drug abuse. Approximately 100 people each day die from drug overdoses. Whole industries of products and programs are being developed to combat this problem. Every day more grandparents are now “parenting” their grandchildren so they can be raised in a stable and healthy environment. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is costing our Nation over $740 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care.

Engaging from the actor's first entrance to the moment the stage lights went dark, Pam Taylor & Briana Biller’s performances in "‘Night, Mother" are raw, are tender, and shatteringly heart wrenching. The two actresses expertly weave the tragic story into such simple and relatable conversation, yet take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster that keeps you breathless. Director Rich Sargent has knocked it out of the park with this production.

Heading to Lake Tahoe this Labor Day weekend to celebrate the unofficial end of summer? Below are some tips and important information for residents and visitors to keep in mind for a safe and fun-filled holiday weekend.

There is no greater responsibility in all of government than public safety and the public’s lifeline is the 9-1-1 system.

Every single day, people rely on 9-1-1 to connect with police, fire and EMS responders. For shooting events, wildfires, and even last year’s Oroville Dam incident, 9-1-1 call centers are regularly overwhelmed with calls from the public
requiring assistance. Unfortunately, an increasing reliance on cell phones and reduced “landline” usage is threatening the future of 9-1-1 services.

The "Angel of Tahoe" Lisa Maloff has made $100,000 available to students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) to provide equitable educational trips for all students through 6th grade.

As a result, a F.E.E.T (Fulfill Equitable Educational Trips) Fund was started by a newly formed group founded by Kathy Haven.

A new South Lake Tahoe theater company has hit the road running with their production of 'night, Mother, a Pulitzer prize-winning play about the relationship between a mother and daughter. Friday, August 24 is opening night and the play will run at the Lake Tahoe Community College's Duke Theatre for two weekends.

Jessie, the daughter, has moved back home after a divorce and is depressed and is done with life and wants to end hers. Her relationship with mother Thelma is explored during the 90-minute play that is full of drama, dark comedy and emotion.

It was another successful summer for the Bread & Broth 4 Kids (BB4K) team after they gave away 2,255 bags of food during their nine-week long program feeding local youth. This was almost double the number of bags given away the previous summer.

For three years, BB4K has given weekly backpacks of food to qualifying children at Bijou, Sierra House, Tahoe Valley, Magnet and South Tahoe Middle schools. During the 2017-18 school year, 5,449 backpacks of food were distributed.

In December of 2017, the South Lake Tahoe City Council approved the latest Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance based on months of workshops, testimony and compromise.

They found out during their meeting on August 21, 2018 that one portion of that ordinance cannot be enforced due to the Vehicle Code which allows for parking on streets.

This was brought to light during public comment at the meeting when local resident Andrea Olsen said the Community Service Officer (CSO) told her they could no longer enforce renters parking on city streets.

South Lake Tahoe Charter Communications customers have been unable to watch Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA since June 8, 2018, but area residents along with City and County government are continuing the fight to get them back on the local line-up.

Charter pulled the station because they already carry a local NBC channel, KRNV out of Reno and are not required to carry two. They are only required to carry stations based on a region's Designated Market Area (DMA). South Lake Tahoe is in the Reno DMA, not the Sacramento.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county. The following are calls that only pertain to the South and West Shore, including Meyers, South Lake Tahoe, Meeks Bay, Tahoma and the Echo Summit area. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

8/8

12:34 a.m. - Bear Break-in - Country Club Dr

The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition is distributing 215 free bicycle racks throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin, creating secure parking for 430 bicycles at key public destinations.

Supported by funding from the Tahoe Fund and the Nevada Commission on Tourism and in-kind support from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the nonprofit Bike Coalition is distributing the high-quality bike racks to Tahoe’s local jurisdictions and government agencies. Each of the two types of racks being

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue welcomed four new firefighter paramedics to their family during a pinning ceremony at the airport Thursday. They also celebrated the promotion of Kevin Van Kirk to Engineer and honored retired Batalion Chief Tim Spencer.

"Fire service is really about family," said Chief Jeff Meston and he opened the ceremony. "This is a special day for South Lake Tahoe."

He explained how tough it is to get a new firefighter on board. There are tests, boards and interviews.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A female bear was recently hit and killed by a car along Highway 120 in Mariposa, leaving her two small cubs motherless. The pair arrived at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care on Sunday, undernourished and full of ticks and foxtails.

Local veterinarian Dr. Kevin Willetts and a team of volunteers examined them and cleaned them up.

Both cubs are underweight, under 10-pounds which is more than half of what a 6-month-old cub should be. Their mother was also small. It is possible they were moved out of their normal territory by fire, but that is unknown.

Last month this column focused on the faces of Tahoe’s housing crisis. This month we look at a few promising solutions from other tourist communities.

One example is the Town of Vail’s “Vail InDEED” program. Like Tahoe, the Town of Vail is constrained by a lack of available land and high construction costs. Development of new housing is slow and costly. The Vail InDEED program was created to deed restrict existing properties to create a market for locals only.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Almost seven years ago, longtime friends Mark Hudson and Don Havard went to Kauai with their wives to vacation on the Hawaiian Island. They like to get a taste of local favorites while out of town and asked locals where they should eat.

Chicken In A Barrel was their recommendation.

Not only did the Las Vegas foursome go once, but they went a few times and the flavors they experienced have stayed on their minds ever since.

The annual Lake Tahoe Summit held this week at Sand Harbor State Park marked the 22nd time government officials, public agencies, non-profit environmental groups, the public and other groups came together to renew their focus and commitment on preserving the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

It may still be August on the calendar, but plans are already being made for local philanthropist Lisa Maloff to play Mrs. Santa again this December, the event that earned her the name "Angel of Tahoe" in 2017.

"Your struggles were never meant to break you, but make you stronger."

Those are the words that have been printed on the new mural of Emerald Bay painted by Community Works participants on the gym wall at the Juvenile Treatment Center (JTC) in South Lake Tahoe.

The five participants, all incarcerated at the JTC, had to do something community service oriented as part of their graduation from the one-year program. They brainstormed what that final project would be. They said they felt the white walls of the center's gym needed some color, and the idea of a mural was born.

The following is a copy of a letter sent to City Council, USFS, Supervisor Sue Novasel, California Tahoe Conservancy Officers, and others, and shared with South Tahoe Now:

Dear Mayor David and Council Members:

A Las Vegas woman who was on vacation on the South Shore last weekend is asking for the public's help in finding her dog Coco, a four-pound chihuahua.

Nicole and her family were staying at Harrah's Tahoe, and while she was up zip lining at Heavenly on July 27, those in charge of Coco's care had her out for a walk. She slipped out of her harness, got scared and took off sprinting through the casino corridor along Highway 50.

Coco crossed the highway at MontBleu and ran down the driveway between the Hard Rock and Harveys.

There are still a few days left for those interested in running for public office this November, but several candidates have completed the process to qualify for the ballot. The following number of seats will be open: El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (1), LTUSD School Board (2) , City Council (3), City Clerk (1), City Treasurer (1), South Tahoe Public Utility District (3), Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District, and Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees (3).

The deadline to complete the candidate process is August 10, 2018.

Since tetrachloroethylene, PCE, was found in drinking water wells near the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe, local water companies have been working together to ensure residents have safe drinking water. Those companies, South Tahoe Public Utility District, Lukins Brothers Water Company, and Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association, will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, August 8, to provide updates about the groundwater contaminant at the South Lake Tahoe Airport from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Steve Teshara, CEO of the Tahoe Chamber and chairperson of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Board of Directors, now has another leadership duty for the upcoming year.

Teshara will serve as the president of the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG), a group whose membership includes 47 regional governments involved in the planning, funding, and development of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

He has been representing TTD on the CALCOG Board.