pizza

If you haven't made it to Azul Latin Kitchen yet it may be time to schedule a visit for lunch, dinner or a cocktail. The decorations are the bar are very creative and homey, including furniture hanging on the wall and crates as the light fixtures.

Azul opened in the Heavenly Village several weeks ago but they just had their official ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony on November 7. Many people from the South Lake Tahoe business community stopped by to enjoy the food and drinks, many for the first time. A band played near the fire pit outside.

There are several safe trick or treat events going on around the South Shore on Halloween as well as thousands of homes to visit along city streets. Rain is expected as the sun sets so dress warm, stay dry, be safe and have fun!

Halloween Cove returns to the Beach Retreat & Lodge located at 3411 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Kids will go from room to room getting treats, enjoy face painting, games, photos and music. Head for the courtyard of the hotel. It goes from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and it's free.

At the end of the month, costumed revelers will descend upon the MontBleu nightclubs for the 36th Annual Freaker's Ball in South Lake Tahoe. Partiers will be attired in everything from wild, provocative and risque to funny, crazy and creative costumes.

But how did one of the biggest and most popular Halloween events in the region ever come about?

The Beginning in 1978

The South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition would like to extend a huge kudos and recognition to the businesses that attended the ABC educational seminar on Friday July 18th. It was great to see so many businesses educating themselves and their staff on responsible beverage service. These businesses are going the extra mile to avoid selling alcohol to minors and visibly intoxicated community members (both misdemeanor offenses that may result in revocation of their license to sell alcohol).

The following businesses should be recognized for their time and dedication:
Base Camp Pizza Co
Azul

WOW! This is probably the busiest concert month since I've been keeping a blog.

#4thofJuly events include parades and fireworks on both ends of the lake in #LakeTahoe plus Billy Ray Cyrus in Incline Village and Sinbad at the Montbleu on July 5th, Black Star Safari, 4-piece puzzle, and Groovebox at the American legion July 4th, Red White & Bass feat. Love and Light, Muppet Punk, Gurbtron, Trevor Selby, Tre Tuna, DJ Chango at Lakeside at Night and Stylust Beats, Subtropixx, Aux, IJV at Tahoe...

July 01 Unauthorized Rolling Stones @ Harrah's

There will be a free tennis clinic for all local children at the Zephyr Cove Tennis Club on Saturday and Sunday, June 14-15. The event is being sponsored by the Douglas County Parks and Recreation, Coyote Grill and the tennis club.

The clinic is open to all Lake Tahoe basin kids ages 8 and older.

If you haven't been to the Heavenly Village lately, perhaps now is the time to make your way down there to see what's going on.

It was once a plumbing supply store. It was once Johnny's Basque Restaurant. It was once the Vali-Hi. It was once the China Wok. For a short time, it was Godfather's Pizza. Most recently, it was a series of Chinese buffets. But that was then.

The building was torn down last week to make way for the future home of SUP Tahoe and South Shore Bikes.

Talk about the March Madness: the inaugural “Gone Bonkers” Kids Ski and Snowboard Race, March 2, features a top-to-bottom race over Granlibakken Conference Center & Lodge ski area's natural terrain, complete with gates for kids 5 to 12.

It’s all part of North Lake Tahoe's 2014 SnowFest, a 10-day winter madness festival, Feb. 28- March 9.

Twenty South Lake Tahoe restaurants will be representing local cuisine as part of the California Restaurant Month during the week of January 10-17, 2014. Each restaurant will feature specially priced and price fixe menus highlighting the theme "Made With Altitude." Foodies will find delight as they are connected with the area's most notable locally-owned eateries, each recognized for their classic favorites and distinctive dishes

Join novice and expert birders alike for the South Lake Tahoe Christmas Bird Count (CBC), Dec. 14, sponsored by the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS). The Christmas Bird Count, begun in 1900, is widely regarded as the largest and oldest citizen science project in the world.

The CBC makes a valuable contribution to conservation, collecting critical data on bird population trends and building a database. The Audubon Society and other organizations use the CBC database to assess the health of bird populations — and to help guide conservation action.

Mayor Tom Davis touched on more than a couple of dozen points during his State of the City Address which was presented to an overflowing full house at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Among the Davis's highlighted city successes for the year:

Linear Park - Over $600,000 was spent on a paved bike path, landscaping and an additional 22 lights on a stretch from Wildwood Avenue to just before Pioneer Trail.

Hi. I’m Buddy the bear. I guess that’s my name because I hear people calling me that. “Hey Buddy get out of here.” Or “There’s that bear, Bud get out of here. Maybe my name is Get out of here. I live in the neighborhood at South Lake Tahoe. I have lived here a long time. I like it because the people are good to me. They put food in the garage for me. I get the big bags out, doesn’t have a good smell. Kind of like the dried grass in the field. Some time I share it with some noisy four legged animals. I see the people give them food first and then they put it back in the garage for me to take.

The 11th Annual Treat Street will be held on Halloween night at South Lake Tahoe's Pine Cone Acre Motel. This year's event is sponsored by the Tahoe Area Coordinating Council for the Disabled (TACCD) and the Tahoe Sierra Kiwanis Aktion Club.

All trick or treaters are invited to this free evening of fun and games from 5 to 8 pm. There will be a haunted house, bounce house, mini golf, pie eating contest and other special events. There will also be free hot chocolate, candy and s'mores. There will also be hotdogs for sale for $1.

South Lake Tahoe firefighters were able to contain a fire in the attic of Lake Tahoe Pizza Co., in the 1100 block of Emerald Bay Road on Monday night.

The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time, said South Lake Tahoe Fire Department Shift Commander Rob Hembree in a news release. No injuries were reported.

The fire department responded at 11:09 p.m. Other responding agencies were the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, CalFire and Tahoe Douglas Protection District.

The Tahoe Regional Young Professionals will host its March mixer at the new On the Rocks Bar & Grill, March 20 from 7 – 10 p.m. to network, volunteer opportunities and announce TRYP’s upcoming professional development and scholarship program for its members.

The post St. Patty’s Day themed mixer (i.e. wear green) at the recently opened On the Rocks Bar & Grill (located in Round Hill Shopping Center behind Anytime Fitness) will also include hearty appetizers and a free beverage. Admission is complimentary for TRYP members and $5 for non-members.

We have had a strong start to 2013 in Lake Tahoe. Homes continue to sell at a strong pace and now the median price is starting to rise. With a continually reducing inventory of homes on the market and the interest rates still at an all time low, I believe we'll continue to see strong sales.

Milky Way Incorporated dba The Coyote Grill has set Friday, January 25th for its long-awaited ‘Grand Re-Opening’ said Coyote Grill owner, Leland Faegre whose expansion has more than doubled the size of its current business model.

The South Lake Tahoe Rec Center will offer a special “Kids Night Out” on Monday, Dec. 31. Two party options are being offered:
Monday, Dec. 31st from 6:00 pm – Tuesday, Jan. 1st to 1am for $50 per child.
OR, Monday, Dec. 31st from 6:00 pm – Tuesday, Jan. 1st to 10am for $100 per child.

UPDATED: The 5th annual Tahoe Chamber Blue Ribbons Awards were held Thursday night, recognizing businesses, individual and organizations for their outstanding service and contribution to the South Shore Lake Tahoe community. The awards presentation recognized all businesses nominated and announce the winners of the eight separate categories.
The winners, finalists and honorable mentions are listed in the attachment below the story:

The Blue Ribbon Award nominations have been tallied, with more than 150 nominations received. Thank you to the businesses and individuals who took the time to nominate those making significant contributions to the South Shore community. The 5th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards Dinner & Ceremony will be held on November 15 at Embassy Suites; all nominees will be recognized and the winners will be announced during the ceremony.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and Police Department responded to a fire at Pioneer Trail and April Drive on the evening of September 18th. Upon arrival, they saw that two homes were fully engulfed with nearby trees also on fire.

The 2nd Annual South Lake Tahoe & Meyers Climbing Festival & Bouldering Competition is on Saturday, Sept. 15. 9 a.m. signups in Meyers. Beer garden from Divided Sky and local breweries. Live music at Safe Haven Chiropractic and Food from Tahoe Bouldering.com. This event is free to attend; small fee for competitors: this includes and T-Shirt from Rise Graphics, Lunch from Bob Dog Pizza. Score the ability to win and score free stuff and cash. Climbing festival starts at 4pm. Barbeque. Climbing competitions cost $35 adult reg, $25 youth. Go to www.tahoebouldering.com for details.