Nick Exline

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Timing seems perfect to have a fleet of electric buses for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD), but trustees have the purchase of just one on their Friday night agenda along with the purchase of four diesel buses.

The Board's annual organizational meeting is set for December 13 at 5:00 p.m. instead of their normal Tuesday meeting. During the meeting, they will elect a new board president and clerk, and elect representatives to El Dorado County School Boards Association and Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, and assign annual duties for the trustees.

South Lake Tahoe’s renewable energy leadership is providing the opportunity for the installation of substantive solar projects on the rooftops and properties of public buildings throughout the Sierra. The City took on this leadership role in May after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to become the lead agency for the Sierra under the Solar Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Fund, a not-for-profit program aimed to empower public agencies to evaluate and participate in regional collaborative procurement of municipal solar projects.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What should be the final count of ballots for the November 6 election in El Dorado County was released today, giving clarity to a hotly contested ballot measure in South Lake Tahoe. The citizen generated Measure T calls for a ban of all vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe except for those in what is called the "tourist core."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Measure T, the South Lake Tahoe ballot measure that proposed a ban on all vacation rentals outside of the tourist core area starting in 2021 is a bit closer to passing.

In the second incremental release of votes counter after Tuesday, November 6, the Yes on T vote is at 3265, with No on T counts at 3207 - less than one percent difference. 267 ballots were tallied in this last release for Measure T.

With a narrow margin in the ballot measure concerning the future of vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe, and other races still close, everyone is awaiting the release of more results from Tuesday's election.

You'll still have to wait a bit longer.

On Friday, November 9, El Dorado County Elections will post the next round of results, but it won't be the last as there are over 24,000 ballots yet to count.

13,372 mail-in ballots were dropped off at the polls
2,614 provisional ballots

Learn more about the six candidates looking to represent the community as members of the South Tahoe Public Utility District board of directors during a candidate's forum on Wednesday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the District Board Room.

Chris Cefalu, James Jones and Duane Wallace are all seeking reelection and will be joined by challengers Nick Exline, Louis Pierini and Eric Schafer at the forum.

The forum is open to the public and expected to last two hours. It is a great opportunity for the community to get to know the candidates.

This story has been updated to include Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees candidates.

Nine South Lake Tahoe residents have qualified to run in November and thrown in their hats for three open seats on City Council.

The three incumbents, Mayor Wendy David, Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis and Councilman Austin Sass will all be running for reelection. They will be joined by some veterans of local politics as well as newcomers.

On April 17, 2017 the City of South Lake Tahoe committed to becoming the 26th city in the United States to obtain 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2032. This 100 percent renewable effort was joined locally by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Vail Resorts and our regional neighbors Truckee and Nevada City.

Today, the Sierra Club released a new report showcasing 10 U.S. cities that have made ambitious commitments to be powered with 100 percent clean, renewable energy like wind and solar. View the report: https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/blog/RF100-CaseStudies_2017.pdf

This is the second annual case studies report from Ready For 100, a Sierra Club campaign launched in 2016 working in cities across the United States, including South Lake Tahoe, to accelerate a just and equitable transition to 100 percent clean energy.

On June 1, 2017 as I watched President Trump announce that his administration would be pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord I couldn’t help but reflect on President Reagan’s farewell address to the nation in which he imparted, for the final time as president, his vision that the United States is the world’s shinning “light on a hill.”

People marched to the White House. People marched in New York. People marched in London, and people marched in South Lake Tahoe.

According to organizers, an estimated 400-500 people marched from Lakeview Commons to Earth Day festivities at Bijou community Party Saturday morning. South Lake Tahoe marchers were young, old, two-legged and four-legged, with many carrying signs to promote the protection of the environment.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - Residents of South Lake Tahoe take pride in their city, its beauty, charm and recreational opportunities, and action during Tuesday's City Council gave people another reason to appreciate their community.

In honor of Earth Day, the City of South Lake Tahoe joined at least 26 other municipalities in the United States, and the latest in a growing coalition of mountain communities, to commit to 100 percent clean and renewable electricity by the year 2032.

There are now 27 cities in the United States committed to operating with 100 percent renewable energy, will South Lake Tahoe be #28?

Cities already on board include both large an small communities. Some of those are Madison, Wis.; San Diego, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Pueblo, Aspen and Boulder, Colo.; and Moab, Utah. Efforts are currently underway for Truckee to join that group. Even Las Vegas operates their municipal buildings and facilities with 100 percent renewable energy.

The final group of ballots have been counted in El Dorado County, and the results remained the same in all South Lake Tahoe area elections.

South Lake Tahoe City Council- Top 2 Win

Brooke Laine 2548 22.10%
Jason Collin 1995 17.30%
Tamara Wallace 1852 16.06%
JoAnn Conner 1376 11.94%
Ted Long 1295 11.23%
Danny McLaughlin 775 6.72%
John Shearer 758 6.57%
Harold "Trey" Riddle 328 2.84%
Robert Topel 288 2.50%
Patrick Jarrett 268 2.32%

Lake Tahoe Unified School District

Area 1

November 17, 2:30 p.m. update: There are about 500 provisional ballots from the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers areas that need to be counted, along with a few mail-in ballots.

According to Linda Webster, Assistant Registrar of Voters for the County, there are a few mail-in ballots still to be counted county-wide. She expects there will be an update to the returns before Thanksgiving with a final release of figures right after the holiday. It will be that final report that will include the provisional ballot count.

Since the Tahoe Valley Area Plan was approved in 2015, several projects are being either already in the works or being planned, and land is being opening for development.

During Thursday's Planning Commission meeting, one of those projects was approved.

I would like to congratulate Randy and Kelly on retaining their seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board. I am certain that their future decisions will be in the best interest of our community. I also commend Kirk David for running in this campaign.

My family and I put many hours into this campaign and I hope that at least I was able to spread some awareness about the STPUD Board and the decisions they and our community face.

I am very thankful to my family, friends and everyone who supported, encouraged and voted for me during this campaign.

Many are ready for this election to be over the national level with the negativity surrounding the campaigns. On a local level there are several choices before voters.

If you have not already submitted your ballots, find your polling place here:

California
Nevada

If you live in the South Lake Tahoe City limits, you are able to vote for two of ten candidates for City Council (in alphabetical order):

Brooke Laine
Dan McLaughlin
Jason Collin
JoAnn Conner

Dear South Lake Tahoe Community,

I first met Nick Exline at an event where we had the opportunity to meet Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Bob Derlet. Nick asked about carbon markets and the related benefits to our Sierra Nevada economy. As a watershed scientist, I was impressed by Nick’s informed and thoughtful question. I enjoyed meeting a South Lake Tahoe resident who possessed a strong background in environmental science, as well as a thoughtful man who had ideas about how we could turn our largest obstacles in this region into economic successes for our residents.

Location

I first met Nick at a climate coalition meeting. I was immediately impressed by his passion and knowledge for making a difference to our community, our environment and our economy. He is highly qualified for the position, holding a master’s degree in land use planning. He has lived in our community for 9 years and is dedicated to preserving the environment and improving the infrastructure. He is a proponent of sustainable land practice and renewable energy and will work to implement projects that will have long-term environmental and economic savings for the community.

I am writing this letter in support of Nick Exline's candidacy for the STPUD Board. I have known Nick for several years now and agree with him that renewable energy is our future! He is passionate about, not only how climate change is affecting us, but also what we can do to help solve some of these concerns.

I am lucky to have lived in South Lake Tahoe for 9 years and grateful to be raising my children in such a wonderful place. I received a Masters Degree in Land Use Planning from UNR and am currently a solution oriented AICP, Senior Planner at Midkiff & Associates. My commitment to community service led me to the Leadership Lake Tahoe program, board membership with the Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, the Chamber Government Affairs Committee and the fight against climate change.

Group Four of the Leadership Lake Tahoe Program - David Landry of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Peter Lavallee of South Tahoe Public Utility District, Nick Exline of Midkiff and Associates, Shell...