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Like Americans nationwide, Nevadans were more likely to die from heart disease or cancer in 2016 than other causes.

But one cause of death in the Silver State stands out compared with national trends: suicide. The number of suicides increased by 13 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to data provided by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health.

It's a trend Washoe County's chief medical examiner and coroner, Dr. Laura Knight, has noticed locally.

here was no shortage of bad news this year.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria devastated the lives of hundreds in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands and caused billions in damages.

A mass shooter killed 58 people and injured hundreds attending a concert in Las Vegas and another mass shooter killed 26 people, including children, in a Texas church.

However, there were many good things that happened amid the torrent of bad news. Here’s a sampling:

A homeless man spent his last $20 to keep her safe. She’s raised $402,000 to repay him.

A significant amount of Nestlé’s water diversions in the San Bernardino National Forest are unauthorized, state water rights investigators say.

The Swiss-based company has been diverting an average of 192 acre feet of water per year from the forest, which is more than the 26 acre feet it is allowed under its current water rights, according to a report released Thursday, Dec. 21, by the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights.

Christmas is a little brighter this Christmas for ten South Lake Tahoe area families who received a box full of food from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) and Blue Shield of California.

The El Dorado Hills based insurance company paid for the food for families throughout the county, and the deputies delivered them.

"It felt really good. I was glad we could do something like this, especially this time of year," said Deputy Vince DeLeon who has been with the Sheriff's Office for 17 years and helped do the deliveries.

California ski towns are going to have to wait a little longer for recreational marijuana.

On Jan. 1, adults 21 and over will be allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of recreational marijuana in California, but most ski towns in Northern California won't allow sales of retail product yet.

Some of the most popular ski towns in Northern California — South Lake Tahoe, Truckee and Mammoth Lakes included — have moratoriums on recreational marijuana businesses, which means that product won’t be available until late spring, at the earliest.

Updated information 12/17/17 9:00PM:

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has announced that a four-year-old from Redwood City, California has died on the South Shore.

At 1:27 p.m. Sunday, December 17, emergency personnel were called to MontBleu Casino and Resort in Stateline, Nevada after the toddler was found in a hot tub. He was transported by the Tahoe Douglas Fire Department to Barton Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The next of kin has been notified.

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson has always had success at Dew Tour events, and her Saturday second-place finish in the women’s slopestyle snowboarding final in Breckenridge, Colorado, got her something much more than another medal.

As the top American woman on the podium, Anderson qualified for her second Olympic Winter Games and earned the chance to defend her title in PyeongChang in February. She will also be able to add a medal in another event as all slopestyle riders will also compete in big air as it makes its Olympic debut.

One thing was evident as the special Polar Express Train departed the depot, you don't have to have kids with you to enjoy the annual holiday favorite on the historic V & T Railroad.

For eight years V & T has held the Polar Express during the Christmas season. Tickets normally disappear as quickly as they're posted for sale, but this year organizers are trying something new to give more people a chance to enjoy the experience.

12:15PM Update 12/11/17: The snowboarder who died on Thursday has been identified as 23-year-old David Karlin of Orangevale, Calif. For more info: http://southtahoenow.com/story/12/11/2017/snowboarder-identified-thursdays-accident-lake-tahoe-resort

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A 23-year-old snowboarder died on Thursday while boarding on an intermediate trail at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

More than a dozen reports from the public about a phone scam prompted the Washoe County Sheriff's Office to issue an alert.

The callers claim to be a person's grandchild and they are in need of financial assistance because they're in jail, or have been involved in an accident. It is not unusual for scammers to use personal information about a potential victim’s family members in order to sound credible. This type of information is often easily obtained via the Internet or social media.

Tech billionaire and real estate fanatic Larry Ellison might back away from a deal to buy Frank Sinatra’s old Lake Tahoe casino.

Ellison’s $35.8 million purchase of the faded Cal Neva Resort & Casino has been tied up in court for more than a month, and the Oracle Corp. founder isn’t willing to wait much longer, federal bankruptcy officials warned in a court filing last week.

Lake Tahoe-based Weidinger Public Relations was recognized with three awards for 2017 campaigns at the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter Silver Spikes Awards, Nov. 16 at The Grove in Reno, Nev.

Weidinger PR received honors for three entries: one Silver Spike and two Awards of Excellence. The firm’s public relations efforts for the 2017 American Century Championship captured the Silver Spike for “Special Events and Observances.”

The search is on for a gang of grinches who robbed and ransacked a family-run Christmas tree farm in El Dorado County.

The heartless holiday crime will end a 40-year tradition.

“They clearly busted in the door, they broke off the steal bar, and huge padlock that was on here,” says Gary Schoennauer of the Cedar Ravine Tree Farm in PLacerville, Calif.

Nearly 200 conservation professionals from around the country gathered back east this November to have a strategic dialogue about the state of landscape-scale conservation. Lake Tahoe was featured at the forum for the region’s cooperative restoration initiatives, and it was an honor to share the stage with such high-caliber conservation thought leaders.

The national forum showcased how people of all backgrounds are collaborating and working to conserve some of America’s most iconic natural areas.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - 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 time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

11/9

What is currently six portable buildings at the Al Tahoe school site could be a new home for the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT). That is the idea Jude Wood presented to the school board Tuesday night.

Wood, the BGCLT Executive Director, spoke in front of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's Trustees, giving them a look into a proposed partnership and future facility use agreement with the District with a new Clubhouse built on District owned property. The Club would fully fund the new building.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - 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 time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

11/1

4:29 p.m. - Battery - South Lake Tahoe - A FEMALE JUVENILE WAS ARRESTED FOR BATTERY AFTER SHE ASSAULTED HER 52-YEAR-OLD MOTHER.

11/3

Many people in Meyers and South Lake Tahoe heard "loud booms" early Tuesday afternoon. Those who have lived through winter recognized the sound as avalanche control cannons, but with no snow the reasons weren't clear.

Here is the story:

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was installing new cannons to replace the 25-year-old equipment on Flagpole Mountain, home to the Echo Summit avalanche control operations.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - 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 time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

10/25

Higher fuel taxes are set to start November 1, 2017, raising the base gasoline excise tax from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon. Senate Bill 1 was signed into law by California Jerry Brown and contains other increases that will cover the state's transportation needs for the next ten years with an extra $52 billion in revenue.

Other funds are coming from a new transportation improvement fee based on vehicle value, and paying off past transportation loans, Caltrans savings, and new charges on diesel fuel and zero-emission vehicles.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - 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 time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

10/18

1:47 p.m. - Violation of Probation - Rubicon Trail - 30-YEAR-OLD MALE WAS CONTACTED AND DETAINED. PROBATION SEARCH OF HIS PERSON RENDERED NUMEROUS ITEMS OF ILLEGAL CONTRABAND. THE SUBJECT WAS ARRESTED, TRANSPORTED, AND BOOKED INTO THE EDCJ.

New York performer and choreographer Sebastiani Romagnolo grew up dancing with Marcia Sarosik at her South Lake Tahoe dance studio, and he returned to those roots this week to help teach the next generation of performers.

The 2007 South Tahoe High and 2011 New York University (NYU) graduate took time out his hectic east coast schedule to head west to visit family in South Lake Tahoe, and visits to town always include a stop by Sarosik's studio.

Many may remember his talent as he headlined many South Tahoe High musicals, and now he's entertaining audiences in New York.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - 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 time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

10/13

1:47 a.m. - Possession of Unlawful Paraphernalia - Sierra Blvd - A TRAFFIC STOP WAS INITIATED ON A VEHICLE. IT WAS LATER LEARNED TWO OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE HAS

Power is out to residents in the Gardner Mountain and Boulder Mountain Court area Saturday morning. Crews from Liberty Utilities have responded and expect to have power restored within the hour.

Complete details are not yet available but early reports say a car hit a power pole. Liberty Utilities responded shortly after 8:00 a.m.

This story will be updated as soon as details change.