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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Yellowjackets - they seem to appear whenever you sit down for your picnic lunch or other outside dining enjoyment in Lake Tahoe, especially in the months of July and August.

While the uninvited guests have some redeeming qualities they are predatory, sting pets and humans and are capable of stinging multiple times. Their aggressive behavior ruins many the outside activity. Yellowjackets are actually wasps but shouldn't be confused with other wasps, such as hornets and paper wasps. They are often mistakenly called "bees" (as in "meat bees").

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you thought you were seeing many more butterflies around Lake Tahoe than normal, you would be correct. The entire Lake Tahoe Basin is in the midst of a massive outbreak of the winged beauties, especially in the Angora Fire burn area and along the east shore.

What most people are seeing is the California Tortoiseshell Butterfly, orange and black on the top of the wings, shades of black underneath. They thrive on the Mountain Whitethorn, part of the Ceanothus family, something that itself is thriving where the Angora fire burned in 2007.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Another telephone scam is being reported to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and they want to make sure residents, especially the senior population, are informed.

This latest scam is much like others in the past. Unidentified callers are telling the person answering the phone they have a warrant issued from the FBI. The scammer is seeking large sums of money, generally $2,000 to $,5000, be sent via the mail in the form of pre-paid gift cards.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has announced he'll retire in one year.

Dr. Tarwater has been with LTUSD since 2005.

During their last meeting on June 11, the Board concluded its annual evaluation of Dr. Tarwater's performance. Though details of that evaluation are not available, they extended his contract one extra year until 2022 until they were notified of his notice of retirement.

At their June 25 meeting, the Board is scheduled to accept his retirement.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - "Never again," chanted the dozens of people that showed up to Trout Creek Thursday to show support of the Jewish community after anti-Semitic graffiti was found underneath the bridge on Lake Tahoe Boulevard.

Former South Lake Tahoe City Attorney Tom Watson has resigned from his position with the City of Tracy, California and taken a new one as the City Attorney of Santa Maria, a community south of San Luis Obispo.

Watson will start with them on June 17 after his contract was unanimously approved by the Santa Maria City Council on May 7.

"I have confidence in his abilities to manage and lead the City Attorney’s Office for years to come,” said Mayor Alice Patino in a news release. “I look forward to him effectively managing the legal needs of our city.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Heading to the polls will soon have a different meaning to the voters of South Lake Tahoe and the rest of California as the one-day voting period ends and initiation of voting centers begin.

With the passage of SB450, the 2016 Voter's Choice Act, 11-day and 4-day voting centers are planned to begin in 2020 after being started in 2018 with pilot centers in five counties: Madera, Nevada, Napa, Sacramento and San Mateo. El Dorado County will start vote centers in the 2020 election pending approval from the Board of Supervisors.

Father John Grace, former pastor of Saint Theresa Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe, passed away on May 4, 2019, at the age of 98. Father Grace had injured himself in a fall while on a walk near his Al Tahoe residence a few days before his death.

He was born September 18, 1920, to John and Cecilia Grace in the small coal-mining village of The Commons, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was predeceased by his parents and two sisters, Catherine (“Rena”) and Maureen. At the time of his death, Father Grace was the oldest priest in the Diocese of Sacramento.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Barton Health has expanded the area's access to care and treatment of neurological issues and opened a neurology office in South Lake Tahoe. To staff the new office they have brought on neurology specialist, Rituparna Das, MD to see patients 18 years and older.

Dr. Das is board-certified and experienced in rural health care systems. She was most recently practicing at Adventist Health Feather River Hospital in Paradise, Calif.

People playing the popular Scrabble-like digital game 'Words With Friends' are now the target of scammers who prey on unsuspecting people. This scam, along with a resurgence of IRS scams, has come to the attention of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Bijou Marketplace in South Lake Tahoe is starting to take shape with the first business, Chase Bank, open and serving the public. Panda Express will most likely be the next to open.

Also confirmed for spaces with plans submitted and approved are Whole Foods and Hub Coffee, with a nail salon and Five Guys currently in plan review.

See the layout in the photo above and below are the confirmed businesses with applications on file going into the spaces:

3600 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Building A Unit 100 – Whole Foods

After a six-month investigation into drug transactions in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the El Dorado Sheriff's Department Narcotics Task Force executed search warrants at two locations in South Lake Tahoe on August 23, 2017. Large amounts of heroin, methamphetamine and approximately 12 firearms were seized in the search. Lynwood Towle, Shawn German, Melissa Griffis, Paul Ryan, and Krystal Long were all arrested, charged, and eventually pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from those searches.

The sleek, graceful beauty of bobcats isn't always easy to see in Lake Tahoe as they are crepuscular, meaning they are active a few hours before sunset until a few hours into the dark, and then before dawn to a few hours after sunrise.

While our schedules don't always mesh with theirs, it is a treat when we get to catch them running across the snow or hanging out in trees.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A study on the health needs of the South Lake Tahoe community has once again put mental health and mental disorders at the top of the list, followed by substance abuse, and access to healthcare services.

Every three years Barton Health conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment to identity the key health issues facing the area. They use a systematic, data-driven process to determine the health status, concerns, and needs of residents in the South Tahoe community.

The 2018 results are a follow-up to similar studies completed in 2012 and 2015.

Art has a way of making the creator immortal. Such is the case with Ed Laine.

The longtime South Lake Tahoe resident died Nov. 8, 2018, at home. He was 87.

Beyond a large family and rich trove of friends, Ed leaves behind a legacy as an artist. He was a quiet man who for years let his voice be heard through his work.

Born in Palo Alto on Oct. 17, 1931, to Selma Alquist and John Laine, Ed grew up in the Bay Area, having graduated from Sequoia Union High School in 1950. He attended San Jose State College, Cal Arts and the University of Oregon. In Oregon he majored in art.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Each of the nine candidates for City Council answered the same ten questions that were given to them by South Tahoe Now. For nine consecutive days the candidate's responses will be shared in the order received.

Today, the current Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis gives his responses as he seeks re-election to the South Lake Tahoe City Council:

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) recently made connections with a senior citizen through their new Caring Neighbors Program. They found the senior had been scammed out of over $34,000 over the past 20 months.

In the program, a deputy and a volunteer visit seniors to obtain needed information such as consent, next of kin and medication information. The information is beneficial in case of a future emergency involving the senior citizen.

There ought to be a compromise letting city homeowners rent out their houses to vacationers, but the topic is controversial. The city once felt residents should know what was permissible in their neighborhoods and maintained an online database listing. This has been removed. Maybe residents shouldn't know about rentals allowing 22 guests?

Location

For the past several months, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) has been contacting homeless individuals using the meadow behind Motel 6 as an illegal campground, advising them that the area would soon be off limits.

This is an Open Letter to Lisa Maloff

First let me say how grateful our city is to you for the generosity you have displayed. As a private citizen of more modest means, it is over whelming to think of how much can be realized when a person is so giving.

On behalf of the Bijou children, staff, and families I would like to send a sincere thank you to Ricky Reich.

Now, Ms. Lisa Maloff’s generosity is spreading even further. Mr. Ricky Reich, her loyal friend and fierce protector, has begun his own philanthropy in this town.

There are four people running for El Dorado County Supervisor for the 5th District on June 5: Incumbent Sue Novasel and challengers Kenny Curtzwiler, Norma Santiago and Jeffrey Spencer. The 5th District covers Pollock Pines to South Lake Tahoe and Tahoma.

South Tahoe Now asked each candidate the same questions, and here are all of their answers, exactly as they were presented to us.

Sue Novasel
Occupation: El Dorado County Supervisor – District V
Past political history:
2015 – Present: County Supervisor, District V

A South Lake Tahoe graduate is heading to the podium at the University of Southern California (USC) on Friday, draped with honors cords, award medallions and a pin that will signify her as the 2018 Class Valedictorian.

Rose Campion, 22, will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in History. The double major will leave her USC career behind with a 3.98 GPA.

In a school of 18,000 students and around 5,000 other soon-to-be graduates, it would seem almost impossible for a young woman from South Lake Tahoe to end up in the top spot on graduation day.

Ground was broken recently on the new 11-acre El Dorado County Sheriff's Public Safety Facility, a project that will cost $68 million, a low interest $57 million loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and $11 million from the County.