south tahoe now

Detectives from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department flew to Tennessee overnight to arrest Nicola "Niki" Congero, the former executive director of Lake Tahoe Humane Society.

Congero, 50, was arrested without incident on the morning of Wednesday, August 1 and booked into the Knoxville jail on charges of embezzling approximately $60,000 from the South Lake Tahoe based non-profit. She is being held there on $200,000 bail and is currently awaiting extradition.

A South Lake Tahoe man was arrested Friday, July 27 after leading police officers on a foot pursuit in the Bijou neighborhood.

An officer from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) attempted to make contact with a 36-year-old local man who matched the description of a person seen casing homes in the area.

As soon as the officer approached, the man took off on foot. Other officers joined in the pursuit and the suspect was found in a backyard on Champlain Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

The follow letter was given to South Tahoe Now and mailed to the South Lake Tahoe Mayor, City Councilmembers and staff:

Dear Mayor David and Council Members:

I am writing to you as a follow-up to my letter of May 12, 2018 (see at end of story) regarding Policy Priorities and Issues for City Government.

Quality and Affordable Housing for Residents is Very Important

The author shared the following letter with South Tahoe Now that was sent to SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston concerning fire safety and the responsibility of all public agencies to assist him and the Department in this effort. "Best wishes to you and the men and women of the Fire Department," said Jinkens.

Dear Chief Meston:

First of all, my sincere thanks to you and the men and women who serve our community in the Fire Service. I am grateful for all of your work and effort to keep our community fire safe and to respond to emergency calls for service.

11:15 p.m. update: According to El Dorado County Jail logs, the suspect who turned themself into law enforcement is Joseph Matthew Chesler, 33, of South Lake Tahoe. His bail has been set at $125,000, $75,000 for Hit and Run Causing Injury/Death and $50,000 for Involuntary Manslaughter.

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An arrest has been made in Tuesday night's fatal hit-and-run crash in South Lake Tahoe.

In an effort to keep cars off the road, a key to increasing the clarity of Lake Tahoe, a new micro-transit system is heading to South Lake Tahoe.

Chariot, a shuttle company based in San Francisco, is coming to town for a three month trial run starting in just a few weeks.

"Chariot will be more responsive than traditional transportation," Jesse Patterson, Deputy Director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, told South Tahoe Now. "We'll get Chariot here and get people on board, then see if it works."

It has been a very tough and tragic week, with the passing of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and because of their suicides and a report released by the CDC, NAMI ((National Alliance on Mental Illness) El Dorado County is seeing an increase in phone calls from the community.

Suicide rates have been rising in nearly every state, according to the latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is the 10th leading cause of death and is one of just three leading causes that are on the rise (behind diseases of the heart and Cerebrovascular diseases).

El Dorado County Elections official are still counting some 23,000 "Vote By Mail" ballots that were either sent in close to election day, or dropped off at polling places Tuesday.

This isn't an abnormal number but one that often catches many by surprise.

During those late counts of ballots in 2014, the final two candidates for the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors for Area 5 changed from election day, sending Sue Novasel and Kenny Curtzwiler to the November election. As of Tuesday, the same two appear to be headed to November's ballot.

Vail Resorts has made two announcements this week, one to report their expansion on the slopes, and another that expands their lodging property offerings in South Lake Tahoe.

Vail Resorts has acquired four new mountain resorts: Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont, Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire, Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado, and Stevens Pass in Washington State.

Many saw the large tree at Heavenly Village as they drove or walked by, not knowing that it was a hazard and deemed unsafe to be around pedestrians. On Monday, June 4, the tree was cut down by the contractor hired to bring it down, Kenny Curtzwiler and K & K Services, and another local business, Frank's Stump Grinding, took care of the remains and ground level and below.

The 90 foot tree is now firewood, but Dreu Murin of the Heavenly Village management team told South Tahoe Now what is going in its place.

The story has been updated.

After the death of a South Tahoe High School junior, the school has set up grief counseling for students as the school comes to grips with losing one of their own.

On Thursday, school officials notified students and their parents of the death of Thomas Varner.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Thomas and will continued to provide care and support to our staff and students," said Principal Carline Sinkler in a letter to parents.

Over 60 student were seen by counselors through student walk-ins or staff and/or parent referral.

Recently retired from the City of Davis, Dirk Brazil has been selected to become the City of South Lake Tahoe's interim city manager starting June 5.

Even though he doesn't start officially until next month, Brazil has been in town meeting with various stakeholders and getting to know the city.

He said a lot of things in a city are the same, departments and their functions are similar, but each one has its own issues.

Its been 19 days since Ron Svetlik was seriously burned after an engine he was working on in his shop exploded and caught on fire. The 57-year-old South Lake Tahoe man has been in the U.C.

It's time again for the Amgen Tour of California, and the South Lake Tahoe area once again is host to both the men's and the women's portions of the race.

On Friday, May 18, the town will be the scene for the men's Stage 6 and the women's Stage 2, but with the rolling road closures and number of people in town for the day will take some planning to watch the excitement.

The annual joint board meeting with the Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) to discuss common goal strategies was held Tuesday, will innovative programs and successes highlighted.

A Minden, Nevada man was arrested in South Lake Tahoe Tuesday after allegedly "nodding" off at the wheel after using heroin and crashing into a building on the corner of 3rd Street and James Avenue.

The 27-year-old man was driving as part of his local job. He is being charged with DUI, Driving While Addicted and Possession of Narcotics, all misdemeanors. He is currently in the El Dorado County Jail with a bail of $22,500.

There was some damage to a utility cover on the building .

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and Police Departments responded. The driver was not injured.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Prothman Executive Recruitment has been hired by the City of South Lake Tahoe to conduct searches for the next city attorney and city manager, but the process to find an interim city manager will be conducted in house, for now.

During Tuesday's City Council meeting, Brad Robbins of Prothman Executive Recruitment was the only representative of the three companies who submitted proposals to show up.

South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler has asked the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office to look into allegations made by Councilwoman Brooke Laine in her opinion piece published on South Tahoe Now on April 15.

Uhler was asked by acting city manager, Fire Chief Jeff Meston to look into the content of Laine's disclosures. "I asked for that [the investigation] to occur to ensure transparency under my authority as City Manager," said Meston.

The rain in the Sierra Thursday and Friday melted snow, sending the water down into rivers and the lake faster than normal. While the Upper Truckee River in South Lake Tahoe is over the banks and flooding the meadow, Lake Tahoe got closer to full.

The Upper Truckee is moving at 1960 cubic feet per minute, much faster than the 112 feet per minute just a week ago. It is also just over 11 feet in height, a few inches above the flood stage per NOAA-NWS.

Lake Tahoe measured at 6228.7 ft above sea level on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The legal limit is 6229.1, the natural rim is 6223 ft.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston has given the city council a 30-day notice for his acting city manager job.

"I am unable to complete my duties as the fire chief while working as the acting city manager," Meston said in a letter to the council. "I respectfully request that we move ahead in the next 30 days to find and hire an interim city manager. I believe the City will be better served with a professional city manager."

Captain Leslie Asbury of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) was honored during Tuesday's City Council meeting after graduating from the United States Fire Administration National Fire Academy Managing Officer Program. It was a two-year commitment for Asbury.

"We are very fortunate to have a committed and dedicated fire officer within our organization," said SLTFR Chief Jeff Meston. "We are honored to work with her."

The following was sent to the South Lake Tahoe City Council and was shared with South Tahoe Now:

(The following was send to the SLT Mayor and City Council members and South Tahoe Now)

Dear Honorable Mayor David and Council Members:

I am writing as a follow-up to my email communication of March 6, 2018 regarding the regulation of cannabis within the City limits.

I once again applaud the City Council for studying the issue carefully. It is an important issue and the decision on it will impact the type of community we become well into the future.

Recommendation:

This letter was sent to South Tahoe Now. We will be running all three "Letters to the Editor" received on the subject at the same time.

The inaccuracies and subjective opinion of a recent news story (not published on South Tahoe Now) compelled us to respond with the facts and true information about the volunteer food and beverage tents at American Century Championship.