northern california

OCTOBER 9th Common Scams/Preventing Elder Abuse
Presenter: Michelle Ward, Attorney—El Dorado County Senior Legal Services
Address issues regarding scams directed towards seniors and how to prevent your loved one from being abused financially by these scam artists.

OCTOBER 16th Healthy Living for your Brain and Body

Location

High pressure will set up over Northern California and Northwest Nevada over the next few days and dominate area weather. Expect hot temperatures, with some records possible on both sides of the Sierra.

In Nevada there will be isolated thunderstorms each afternoon and evening. The high will shift east late in the week with moisture increasing. Thunderstorm potential will increase at this time as well according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

Whole Foods Market’s 45 stores in northern California and Reno will donate five percent of its sales on Wednesday, July 26, to fund entrepreneurship grants for a select group of small businesses in the region. Tahoe Trail Bar, vegan snack bars cherished by outdoor enthusiasts, is one of the organizations chosen to receive the coveted grant.

12:30 p.m. update: If you are in South Lake Tahoe right now you know the forecast was wrong! A storm cell moved up from the Southern Sierra, bringing rain, thunder and lightning over the South Shore.

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Temperatures will continue to remain in the 80s in South Lake Tahoe over the next week as a ridge of high pressure strengthens over Northern Nevada and Northern California. Lake Tahoe will be dry as triple digit heat will again be possible across western Nevada where isolated thunderstorms possible during the afternoon hours with increasing chances for storms by early next week.

LAKE TAHOE - In a game of numbers, model and golfer Blair O'Neal has several associated with her golfing career:

2 NCAA Long Drive Championships
160 yards is her average 7-iron distance
308 yards is her longest drive
270 yards is her average driving distance
1 hole-in-one

And 2 is the number of American Century Golf Championships she'll be in as of next month.

The community is invited to meet artist Erin Whitman when she visits Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) June 8-9. The school's Art Department welcomes the visiting artist for two days of events, including lecture about her work and artistic inspirations on Thursday, June 8 at 6 p.m. in LTCC’s Board Room. Whitman is also hosting a hands-on demonstration of her work on Friday, June 9 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room F101, located in the Fine Arts building. These events, sponsored by the LTCC Foundation and the LTCC Art Club, are free and open to the public.

Those who live in the Sierra know its been a wet and snowy winter, but now the record books support what they've experienced over the past six months: It is now the wettest winter on record in the Northern California mountains.

Precipitation measured at eight stations from Lake Tahoe to Mt. Shasta surpassed to old record held for 35 years. In that winter of 1982-1983 there was 88.5 inches of of precipitation measured at the same eight station. Today's measurement was 89.7 inches.

Two South Lake Tahoe hockey teams went to San Jose to compete in the 2017 California Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) State Championships, and both came home with a division title.

The Lake Tahoe Grizzlies Pee Wee A and Bantam B hockey teams won their respective divisions during the tournament at Sharks Ice March 31 to April 2.

This is the first time in CAHA history where two teams from one hockey club took home the gold in the same year.

As a national treasure offering world-class recreation opportunities, Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in Northern California and Nevada. And sometimes, being popular has its challenges.

Tahoe’s limited roadways become congested during times of peak visitation, when thousands of people who live in nearby metropolitan areas get in their cars to drive up to our small mountain communities. Suddenly, a road system designed for 55,000 residents must handle four to five times that many cars on an average busy day.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to build during one of the wettest winters in California’s recorded history and this was evident as the monthly snow survey was conducted by the Department of Water Resources at Phillips Station near Sierra-at-Tahoe.

The snow water equivalent (SWE) measured was 179 percent of average, or 43.4 inches.

The 113 inches of snow at Phillips Station contains the fifth-highest March 1 reading of the SWE. In 1969, the record reading was 57.4 inches of snow-water content in 160.9 inches of water.

Rivers have flooded, the lake is filling and snow is covering the slopes because of the several atmospheric rivers to hit Lake Tahoe this winter. To celebrate the epic season, the Beverage Department team at Harrah’s and Harveys Lake Tahoe concocted a cocktail to honor and celebrate the winter.

The "Atmospheric River" drink "blends the frosty peaks of the Sierra Nevada with the stunning shades of blue found only at Lake Tahoe," said John Packer of Harrah’s and Harveys Lake Tahoe.

May the frost be with you! Special Olympics Nevada and Northern California will host the annual South Lake Tahoe Polar Plunge fundraiser beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, in the icy waters of Lake Tahoe at Zephyr Cove Resort. The 2017 Polar Plunge will feature a “space odyssey” theme and raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics and its athletes.

Roadwork to clear mud and rocks from Highway 50 continues on both sides of the state line of Lake Tahoe with no estimated reopening time released by either transportation agency.

Last week, five boulders fell onto the highway near Logan Creek on the east side of the lake, prompting Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) to close the road due to an unstable hillside. Progress is being made on the stretch of road that connects South Lake Tahoe to Carson City according to Meg Ragonese of NDOT. She said the "monolithic-size boulders" are being removed.

Measurements of the Sierra snowpack by both California and Nevada water officials have good, but not surprising news: There is well above average amounts of snow and snow water content in the Sierra Nevada, and Lake Tahoe and Truckee basins.

During his monthly trek into the snow at Phillips Station, 15 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe, Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program found 22.1 more inches of water in the snow than what he found January 3.

After California suffered through two weeks of storms, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Monday, paving the way for cities and counties to get reimbursed for storm damage.

The City of South Lake Tahoe declared a state of emergency at their City Council meeting last week and is now going through the community to assess the damage.

With flood warnings up around Northern California and Western Nevada, Douglas County officials are alerting residents of a flood watch issued for the area from late Saturday night January 7 through Monday morning, January 9.

Douglas County Emergency Management is preparing for changing flood conditions and the safety of Douglas County residents.

Grant funds in the amount of $504,230 were awarded to agencies and groups across rural Nevada to be used to develop, promote and improve tourism to and within the State of Nevada, and some is headed to the South Shore.

The Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) was one of 27 in the Reno-Tahoe Territory to get a portion of $132,295 awarded to the area.

LTVA is getting $6,000 for digital advertising and social media for the AMGEN Women's Cycling Race and a $15,000 grant to promote events through the purchase of

Northern California has been drenched this month, giving the state the second wettest October on record since the Department of Water Resources began keeping track in 1921.

The Lake Tahoe Airport on the South Shore received 7.3 inches of rain in October, just over double of the monthly average of 3.54 inches. This water is helping to fill Lake Tahoe, which rose during the wet mid-October storm by over 3 inches, adding 11 billion gallons of water to the lake.

Word Wave, a festival for readers, writers, and lovers of story has returned to South Lake Tahoe. The three day long Word Wave will feature readings, workshops, panels, music, and plays from October 21-23, 2016 at Tallac Historic Site.

Every culture has used, and continues to use, story to entertain, educate, preserve history and tradition, and connect and WordWave will celebrate those words and the story in all its forms for the second year on the South Shore.

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Friday, October 21

A whistleblower will earn about $430,000 after leading investigators to orthopedic clinics in Reno, Chico and Redlands for their allegedly using discounted and reimported osteoarthritis medications, but billing the government for full value.

The three clinics will pay a combined $2.39 million to resolve federal and state False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly billed federal and state health care programs for the unauthorized viscosupplements.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As part of ongoing efforts to evaluate and use numerous tools to fight aquatic invasive plants in the Tahoe Keys, the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association recently announced its plans to apply for a permit for a small-scale demonstration of aquatic herbicides in 2018.

All 50 states and 167 countries have reported incidents of trafficking according to the National Trafficking Resource Center. They further report that the fourth ranked destination in the U.S. for trafficking is California.

The United States is taking a pro-active role in stopping this crime. Both the Democrats and Republicans announced at their conventions that they have priortized the fight to combat labor and sex trafficking.

The South Tahoe Wooden Boat Classic returns to the Tahoe Keys Marina this weekend with a celebration of vintage raceboats. Featured will be industrialist Henry Kaiser, Jr.'s one-of-a-kind 1930 Gar Wood Hornet II and his 1955 Scooter Too with its huge and extremely rare 24-cylinder Allison engine. Both hydroplanes are racing legends. Also on display will be the 1913 Redskin, the 1950's movie star Hurricane IV and the all-aluminium experimental Shanty II.

Despite near average rainfall in much of Northern California this past winter, 60 percent of the state remains in severe or extreme drought. Groundwater basins and many reservoirs are badly depleted as the state’s drought grinds into a fifth year. Those living in, and visiting, South Lake Tahoe, have enjoyed higher water levels to view, boat and recreate in.