safety

Thinning of trees for fuels reduction and forest health is underway on approximately 50 acres of National Forest System lands adjacent to Gardner Street near Panther and Tata lanes in South Lake Tahoe, and on approximately 30 acres on the southwest end of the Spring Creek Tract off Highway 89.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

A problem-causing black bear that wildlife officials said was becoming increasingly dangerous was killed Tuesday in Incline Village.

The bear, a 9-year-old, 450-pound male, was captured Monday night or early Tuesday morning, tranquilized and subsequently euthanized with drugs, said Chris Healy, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The bear was determined to be the same one that had been raiding trash, breaking into cars and knocking over fences in the area and was killed as a threat to public safety, Healy said.

The South Lake Tahoe Area office of the California Highway Patrol will be hosting a child passenger safety seat clinic on Wednesday, Aug 19 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and again on Saturday, August 29 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

There will also be free car seats go to those who qualify.

Their office is located at 2063 Hopi Ave.

Come down and have your car seats inspected for free by trained professionals.

The Tahoe Transportation District recently appointed Russ Nygaard as transportation capital program manager to oversee the planning, design and execution of the agency's capital projects.

With 26 years engineering experience in transportation and bridge projects, Nygaard will perform project management duties and assist with funding procurement and budget maintenance while ensuring all federal requirements are met and executed on schedule.

8 p.m. update 8/18/15:

The Walker Fire has now burned 3,715 acres and is now 35% contained. It has been determined that the fire is human caused and is under investigation.

There are 484 firefighters working on the fire along with 4 helicopters, 2 Air tankers, 34 Engines, 10 Crews, 6 Water Tenders, and 4 Dozers.

235 structures remain threatened but none have burned so far.

UPDATE: Tonight at 8 p.m. there will be a candle light vigil at the Peace Officer Memorial site in Carson City at Nevada State Legislature grounds.
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A Carson City Sheriff's deputy was killed in a shooting early Saturday morning during an exchange of gunfire on Montez Drive on the northeast side of Carson City. The suspect also died, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.

The following is a statement by Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong:

Douglas County residents can expect to see an increase in the normal law enforcement presence near crosswalks within Douglas County between August 17 and August 28, 2015. Douglas County has joined forces with Lyon County and other law enforcement agencies statewide to monitor pedestrian safety.

Perched around a secluded campfire in the Rocky Mountains, Glenn Martin jerked forward, said, "Ow," and died. The wayward bullet that struck him in the national forest has campers and other users calling for changes in recreational shooting policy.

Martin, 60, died July 3 in the Pike & San Isabel National Forest, 30 miles southwest of Denver. The 3.1-million-acre forest holds the record for the most gun-related violations reported in the country, a review of federal records by the USA TODAY Media Network shows.

Burning Man is always changing, and this year is no exception.

Some of this year's changes are pretty major, however, and have both attracted applause and criticism from invested Burners and other groups who are tied in some way to Burning Man.

Since last year's Burn, here are some of the changes in how the event operates:

1. No for-fun drones

A new vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance will take effect in South Lake Tahoe on October 1, 2015.

The new ordinance will require all homeowners who want to rent out their homes to get it inspected by the Zoning Administrator prior to being issued a license. Since the real estate community told City Council that not having a permit prior to escrow may cause homeowners to lose sales, the current homeowner may now get it inspected prior to the sale in order to take as much uncertainty away from sales as possible. This inspection will be valid for one year.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

7/26

11:40 a.m. - Grand Theft - Jameson Beach - DEPUTIES WERE DISPATCHED TO A REPORT OF PROPERTY THEFT. A REPORT WAS GENERATED AND FORWARDED TO DETECTIVES.

1:56 p.m. - Battery - Al Tahoe Blvd - BATTERY ON A 41-YEAR-OLD MAN AND A 53-YEAR-OLD MAN.

Responding to continued drone interference in fighting wildfires, Senator Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado) today announced plans to introduce legislation to help protect emergency responders engaged in their life-saving work. Senate Bill 168, co-authored by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale), grants immunity to any emergency responder who damages an unmanned aircraft in the course of firefighting, air ambulance, or search-and-rescue operations.

You're hiking along the trails of Lake Tahoe, fall and break your ankle. How do you get to the hospital? You're exploring the valleys and canyons of the Sierra, it gets dark and you don't know where you are. How do you get to safety? You've fallen on the slippery rocks of a waterfall and can't get out. Who do you call?

El Dorado Search and Rescue (SAR) is the answer to all of these questions and dozens more. Annually, the volunteers and deputies that make up SAR handle between 150 and 200 calls in the county portion of the Tahoe basin (AKA the east slope).

The Kyburz Fire is burning about 25 miles west of South Lake Tahoe. It has burned both sides of Highway 50 near and around the American River. It started on Highway 50 near Whitehall.

10 a.m. update 7/27/15:

The Sand Flat Campground has reopened as firefighters can almost total control of the fire lines. They now have 98% of the fire contained.

An updated infrared look at the scene has again reduced the amount burned to 75 acres.

They will not be updating the fire command website after Tuesday as they transfer o a forest Type 4 organization.

It was another packed house at the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday, which has been commonplace for all of the meetings and workshops on the contentious subject of vacation home rentals.

In a unanimous vote of 4-0 (Councilman Tom Davis had to recuse himself), the City Council voted to implement an ordinance that addresses three key issues:

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will be discussing changes to the Vacation Home Rental Ordinance on Tuesday that, if passed, will bring about changes to the permit review process, add criteria to be considered when a new permit is issued, and the addition of an annual renewal review.

There have been several packed council and community meetings on the topic of the proposed updated to the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance, and Tuesday's meeting should be no different.

Nighttime lane closures will be in place over the coming week on South Carson Street and U.S. 50 near Spooner junction for the Nevada Department of Transportation’s Carson City Freeway project.

Lane closures and reduced speed limits will be in place on both South Carson Street and U.S. 50 in the Spooner junction area beginning Sunday, June 19 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closures are anticipated to last for approximately one week.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

After years of planing and months of public input, the new Airport Master Plan for South Lake Tahoe was presented to the community on Tuesday. About a dozen people attended to see and hear what the final plan might look like.

Since buying the Tahoe Valley Airport from El Dorado County in 1983 for $1, the City of South Lake Tahoe has been supporting its operation which at one time saw almost 300,000 people a year pass through.

Due to the increase of travelers expected in the Lake Tahoe basin, all road work projects will end for the week on Thursday, July 2.

On the South Shore:

The Fourth of July is one of America’s favorite holidays. And why not? Families and friends gather to celebrate our country with food, parades, parties, picnics and fireworks.

Prescription Drugs are potentially dangerous when they fall into the wrong hands. The abuse of certain prescription drugs— opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants—can lead to a variety of adverse health effects, including addiction.

To get unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs off the street, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department will be holding a Drug Tahoe Back Day in the county on Sunday, July 12, 2015 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at several locations.

Join community members on Wednesday, June 24 at the next 'Tahoe Talks' session when the topic will be "Law Enforcement Strategies to Improve Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety."

Someone from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department will be on hand to provide discussion and answer questions after the viewing of a short webinar produced by the Association of Pedestrians and Bicyclists.

Webinar presenters:
Jim Curtin, City of Seattle Department of Transportation
Brian Dougherty, City of Seattle Department of Transportation