locals

El Fresco Mexican Bistro has brought a new flavor to the heart of Meyers.

Locals Tim and Kristi Cain moved into the space vacated by Verde and spent weeks creating the new restaurant and menu. They own "Freel Perk" next door so they were excited to offer cuisine that fits not only their active lifestyle, but features a large menu with tapas, 11 breakfast choices, fajitas, tacos, burritos, salads, veggie bowls, soups and much more.

Entrepreneurs continue to be a part of the renaissance in South Lake Tahoe, bringing new businesses and experiences throughout the town.

Three long-time locals have become part of that vibe and opened Emanate Gallery in The Crossing at Tahoe Valley at the Y and will be celebrating with a grand opening weekend February 24-25 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Benjamin Sullivan, a 2010 South Tahoe High graduate, joined Angela and Ron Cabrera in opening the new gallery, complete with its own full service custom frame shop and unique delivery services.

One thing is evident at the last few months of South Lake Tahoe City Council meetings - the public is interested in voicing their opinions about several hot topics on the agenda including vacation home rentals, cannabis and SnowGlobe.

Tuesday, February 20 was no different as a line of locals got up to speak about the newly formed group, the No Globe Alliance.

Rudolph M. Pakes Sr, 91, passed away peacefully and with grace in his home on February 14, 2018 his family by his side.

Rudy was born on June 4, 1926 in Belle Valley, Ohio. His parents Andrew Pakes and Susan Krempasky immigrated from what was then Czechoslovakia for the promise of the “American Dream.” They met and married in Belle Valley, where Andrew worked in the coalmines. Rudy had 5 brothers and 3 sisters. He had a wonderful childhood in Ohio, all of his siblings attended K-12 in a one-room schoolhouse.

Ten local members of the South Lake Tahoe community will be demonstrating their dancing skills on Saturday, March 3 at the 6th annual Tahoe Arts Project Dancing with the Tahoe Stars in the MontBleu Showroom starting at 6:30 p.m.

Master of Ceremonies for the evening will once again be Dreu Murin.

Ten locals have been paired with ten dancers to perform various styles of dance including Cha Cha, Tango, Salsa, Merengue, Swing, Disco, Fox Trot, Bachata, Hip Hop and Musical Theater.

Dear Council Members:

My name is Scott Ramirez, I am a long time resident of South Lake Tahoe. Some of you know me and my family and are familiar with our activities to support our town. We are advocates for our community and volunteer where we can.

A leading national weather conference, Operation Sierra Storm (OSS), returns to the South Shore January 21-24 and locals are invited to attend a morning of their presentations. OSS brings together national weather broadcasters and journalists, prominent scientists and experts.

Are extreme weather events linked to global warming? How do weather broadcasters decide what is aired?

There is a new chef at the helm of Edgewood Tahoe's three restaurants after the retirement of Frank Stagnaro, the resort’s executive chef for over 25 years.

Executive Chef Charles Wilson was amazed at the view from the resort that sits on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

“One of the reasons I’m here is this property,” Wilson said. “Walking into the Great Room and looking out the windows was the moment. The culinary team’s job is to match the ambiance of the resort, and this setting is truly spectacular.”

Douglas County residents continue to receive scam phone calls about missed court dates and jury duties, resulting in two residents being scammed out of over $5,,000 each, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO).

The spirit of Christmas comes to life as the 17-piece Reno Jazz Orchestra and the Pat Esters Gospel Choir blend Christmas favorites, jazz, and soul - with a few surprises mixed in – for three performances of feel good, ‘get ready for the holidays’ music and song. The Reno Youth Jazz Orchestra will perform as well.

“Last year’s Gospel Christmas Show with the RJO was such a success we decided to bring it back to the Reno and Lake Tahoe region,” said Chuck Reider, Music Director.

Location

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel won top honors at the California Hotel & Lodging Association “Stars of the Industry” awards for their "My Tahoe" guest relations program.

The annual awards recognize lodging employees and properties that best symbolize the quality service of the industry.

The “My Tahoe” program was born back in 2013 when the property went independent as a Premier Hotel Collection member, and hotel leadership had the opportunity to reimagine guest experience.

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless is grateful to the Sierra Health Foundation for awarding a grant of $15,000 for the operation of the South Lake Tahoe Warm Room in 2017-2018. The Sierra Health Foundation is an independent foundation committed to supporting health-related activities in Northern California. The South Lake Tahoe Warm Room is an overnight emergency shelter that operates only during the winter months in our community.

Twelve years of Vacation Home Rentals (VHRs), what a sad place So. Lake Tahoe residential neighborhoods have become. Thanks go to local Realtors, out of town owners, and VHR rental agencies, who care mostly about money, not about the peace and tranquility of the local residents. But they’re not alone, we also have City and County officials that don’t represent the locals that elect them, instead it’s all about the tourists and their friends in the VHR business, some of those friends are elected officials.

Many of South Lake Tahoe's roads are decades past their prime, and Measure C is in front of voters November 7 to increase taxes by one-half percent to pay for their maintenance and repair.

I support Measure C and let me tell you why, but it will have to start with a look back to see how we got here.

The Tahoe Prosperity Center will host the first annual Tahoe Economic Summit on
Monday, October 30, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe. The theme of the summit is “Building Community through the Sharing Economy.”

Since escrow on Kingsbury Middle School fell through over a year ago, the school has remained vacant and unlisted at an annual cost of $45,000. Now the Douglas County School District is considering putting the property up for sale once again.

On Tuesday, a majority of city council agreed on a revised VHR (Vacation Home Rental) ordinance. In two weeks we will vote on the first reading of the ordinance and if a majority supports it, on November 7th would be the final vote to adopt the revised regulations and rules. The ordinance would then go into effect 30 days later.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District is looking for volunteers to help them in their quest to help students with a healthy lifestyle as well as their efforts to be sustainable and use of renewable energy.

Community members with an interest or expertise in any of these areas are encouraged to join one of the following committees:

Wellness Committee – Nutrition, Wellness Committee – Physical Education and Activity, and Renewable Energy and Sustainability Committee

The Tahoe Women's Community Fund (TWCF) would like to thank all the community members who came out last Wednesday for the Modern Family Premiere in support of local families! With a fun filled evening of raffle prizes, popcorn, and good company, 150 locals raised almost $6,000 for local families. These funds will go into the 2018 grant cycle of the TWCF and will be open for any eligible non-profit to apply for.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The 24th annual Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe Golf Classic will be held Monday, October 16 at Edgewood Tahoe.

The Golf Classic is the premier fundraiser for the Club and this year their Board of Directors has a goal of raising over $60,000 for the children of the community.

Going to be out and about in South Lake Tahoe this week? Here are some of the activities to enjoy in town from Friday to Thursday:

Great Sierra River Cleanup - Join the ninth annual Great Sierra River Cleanup in conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup day on September 16 starting at 8:00 a.m. Join hundreds of volunteers this day in cleaning up the Lake Tahoe region. (more info here)

More than a few people have asked me if I was frustrated by this last city council meeting and the 6.5 hour discussion regarding the revised VHR (Vacation Home Rental) ordinance. I thought the City Manager's introduction on why we were looking at a revised ordinance and the staff presentation on the revisions were excellent and on point. At first I was a little confused about some of the council questions of staff but reminded myself that the VHR sub-committee made up of Mayor Pro Tem David and myself have been living, sleeping and eating the VHR issue for over two years.

Douglas County, Nevada is filled with exciting, fantastic and vibrant people. Individuals from around the world come to Douglas County to experience wonderful events that locals experience annually. A website called Douglas Diaries was created by Pierce Baker, Public Information Officer Intern, as a gateway to highlight individuals in Douglas County and their interesting stories.

The Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) would like to hear from locals and visitors alike in their Summer 2017 Transit Survey.

Since acquiring the BlueGo transportation system on July 1, 2016, TTD now has one year of operations and ridership to draw upon as they look to improve the transit system.

Do you ride local transit regularly? Have you utilized winter ski shuttles to access the slopes at Heavenly? Perhaps you ride the Emerald Bay Shuttle (Trolley) while visiting Lake Tahoe in the summer? Or maybe you ride commuter routes daily to get to and from work?