tourism

5th annual Spolight Awards in Douglas County honor businesses

Seven Douglas County businesses, including two from the South Shore, were recently honored during the 5th annual Spotlight Awards, recognizing their contributions to the community.

The awards were given at the Critical Issues Conference held on Thursday, September 27 and recognized businesses in the following categories: retail, restaurant, manufacturing and production, sports and recreation, entrepreneur, business and professional service, and tourism and hospitality.

New shuttle and one-way traffic to help alleviate Apple Hill congestion

Fall in El Dorado County means several things, but on the top of many lists is a trip to Apple Hill during the month of October.

Weekend crowds are already heading to the farms, wineries and breweries from Placerville to Pollock Pines, but the thousands of cars that make the trip each week during the month of October have prompted transportation, farming, tourism, safety and County officials to work together to alleviate the weekend gridlock on area roads.

Nominations open for Tahoe Chamber's Blue Ribbon Awards

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, also known as the Tahoe Chamber, is holding the annual Blue Ribbon Awards on November 8 at the MontBleu Resort from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The public is invited to participate in the nomination process and can submit their candidates for the awards until October 5.

Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition distributes over 200 free bike racks throughout Tahoe Basin

The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition is distributing 215 free bicycle racks throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin, creating secure parking for 430 bicycles at key public destinations.

Supported by funding from the Tahoe Fund and the Nevada Commission on Tourism and in-kind support from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the nonprofit Bike Coalition is distributing the high-quality bike racks to Tahoe’s local jurisdictions and government agencies. Each of the two types of racks being

2018 Blue Ribbon Award nominees sought

It's time again for people to make nominations for the Tahoe Chamber's 11th annual Blue Ribbon Awards.

This awards program is the community’s opportunity to recognize South Shore businesses, organizations and individuals for achievements, community contributions, and milestones.

The awards ceremony will be held on November 8, 2018 at MontBleu Resort Casino, and nominations will be accepted until October 5.

Categories for nominations:

Experience Award - Business providing compelling and captivating experiences.

Chariot microtransit system arrives in South lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Your chariot has arrived!

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has teamed with Chariot to bring a new microtransit service to the South Shore starting on Monday, July 9. They will use the busy summer traffic-congested tourist area to test a solution for transportation issues around the lake.

Amendments to VHR fines on horizon

South Lake Tahoe may not be known as the home of the $2,000 parking ticket after action taken by the City Council Tuesday.

National media attention spotlighted the fines ($1,000 to the renter and $1,000 to the homeowner) associated with violations of the vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance approved at the end of 2017 by the South Lake Tahoe City Council. This negative publicity has prompted some cancellations of tourist visits, or other changes to vacation plans, according to those in the industry.

Four vying for El Dorado County Supervisor, District 5

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

Letter to the Editor: Moratorium on County VHRs now

We can always count on either Supervisors Novasel or Ranalli starting off each VHR public meeting discussing VHR’s with the reminder that VHR’s are an allowed use for single family dwellings under TRPA’s land use Ordinances. They have attempted to make us believe the word of God (TRPA) has set this in stone, and that we should all now work together to allow these nuisance businesses to coexist in our neighborhoods.

South Lake Tahoe community group attempts to get new initiative on the ballot

The "South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rentals Restrictions Initiative" may be added to the ballot in November should proponents get enough signatures to put it there.

Created by the Sustainable Community Alliance (SCA), a group in South Lake Tahoe, the initiative is giving voters another chance to voice their opinion about vacation home rentals (VHRs) and should be on the ballot along with another initiative that wants to ban VHRs.

Two big tourism events coming to the South Shore

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - The 10th annual Nevada Tribal Tourism Conference is heading to the South Shore, April 23-25, 2018 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Stateline. The theme this year is "Revitalizing Culture Through Tourism."

The conference is focused on strategies on how the southwest tribes in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah can effectively share their rich history and culture with visitors from around the globe.

Mountain Travel Symposium brings 1,100 people from 35+ countries to Lake Tahoe

This week provides another chance for South Lake Tahoe to shine as over 1100 people from over 35 countries will descend upon the city April 8-14, 2018 for the 43rd Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS), the largest and longest running annual gathering of mountain travel professionals in the world.

Meeting planners, tourism bureaus, executives from ski resorts and lodging properties and many more will take part in the symposium hosted by the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA), Heavenly Mountain Resort, Harrah's Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

Low public turnout for EDC budget presentation

MEYERS and SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Don Ashton has been making the rounds to communities throughout the county, explaining the budget through an informative presentation and discussion.

Most of the communities Ashton has visited have had 15-20 citizens in attendance, all asking questions and giving input in the budget process as Ashton and the Supervisors figure out how to save $20M over the next four years to meet CalPers pension liabilities.

El Dorado County may take 2% TOT hike to the voters

Revenue will need to increase in El Dorado County in order to complete a list of needed projects including those for repaired roads and economic development, both items that are affected by tourism.

The El Dorado County Board o Supervisors will start the discussion at the their next meeting on March 13 to the possibility of taking a tax increase to the voters in 2018, one the voters will benefit from but won't have to pay for.

SnowGlobe to stay with modifications to address concerns

SnowGlobe will be returning to South Lake Tahoe in December, 2018, but it will be with some modifications to mitigate sound issues residents have as well as playfield concerns.

A majority of those speaking at Tuesday's City Council meeting said they are for SnowGlobe continuing, but 38 percent of those who spoke us gave a list of concerns they have from the popular three-day festival.

Tahoe South Shore Arts Town meeting to form community's art vision

Event Date: 
March 13, 2018 - 5:00pm

What does a community "rich in art" look like? The Tahoe Arts Alliance is partnering with Nevada Arts Council to hold a Public Arts Town Meeting and to share and get public input on Tuesday, March 13 at the Tahoe Mountain Lab from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Residents, businesses and non-profits are being brought together to assess the current "state of the arts" on the South Shore.

No Globe Alliance pleads case to South Lake Tahoe City Council

One thing is evident at the last few months of South Lake Tahoe City Council meetings - the public is interested in voicing their opinions about several hot topics on the agenda including vacation home rentals, cannabis and SnowGlobe.

Tuesday, February 20 was no different as a line of locals got up to speak about the newly formed group, the No Globe Alliance.

South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle and Sierra-at-Tahoe chosen as Lakeview Commons concessionaires

A passionate, supportive and large crowd backing South Tahoe StandUp Paddle (STSUP) showed up at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting as the Lakeview Commons concessionaires were decided.

By an unanimous vote, the five members of Council voted to approve STSUP for the non-motorized concession going against what the input of staff appointed to review the proposals. Sierra-at-Tahoe was approved for the food and beverage concession by a vote of four-to-one.

City of South Lake Tahoe to host cannabis workshop

Event Date: 
February 20, 2018 - 5:00pm

After Tuesday's normally scheduled 9:00 a.m. meeting, they will move to the Tahoe Beach Retreat & Lodge for an evening Cannabis Workshop to discuss upcoming regulations concerning the sales of adult-use cannabis in South Lake Tahoe. They moved to the larger venue due to expected participation.

On February 20, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., members of the public can give their input on what an ordinance concerning the sales of cannabis in city limits should look like. Besides council members there will also be representative of the Planning Commission and Cannabis Subcommittee.

Tahoe Chamber offers anti-sexual harassment and bullying workshop

Event Date: 
February 21, 2018 - 12:00pm

South Lake Tahoe residents, including business owners, human resource leaders, and managers, are invited to the Tahoe Chamber's next Level Up Workshop that will address a subject everyone should be trained on: Sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and bullying in the workplace.

Is your team properly prepared to prevent these from happening?

South Lake Tahoe cannabis discussion to move to evening meeting

The Cannabis Community Committee gave a presentation to the South Lake Tahoe City Council Tuesday, outlining the work they've done and recommendations for the City's ordinance for cannabis sales.

Fifteen members of the community came together as the committee and met with Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis, Councilwoman Brooke Laine, Police Chief Brian Uhler, City Attorney Nira Doherty and City Staff member Lisa Watson to discuss and research issues facing legal sales of cannabis in the city limits.

Cannabis-related tourism to have slow start in California

Cannabis is legal in our great state, and maybe you’re ready to scope out the new landscape of cannabis-related tourism. The floodgates have opened, you think, and there’s now a wellspring of pro-marijuana activities, events and venues to frolic through and explore, right?

Well, not exactly.

While cannabis promises to be a $10 billion economy here, the Golden State is still years away from fielding a well-oiled canna-tourism industry that’s on par with main attractions like wine tasting or outdoor recreation. Heck, it’s tough to find a legal place to even smoke the stuff.

No moratorium on vacation rentals in El Dorado County

Tuesday's El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting was just as all other meetings about vacation home rentals have been: A full house and a large contingent passionately representing both sides of the issue.

Supervisor Shiva Frentzen sought conceptual approval of an urgency ordinance to place a moratorium on the issuance of new vacation home rental (VHR) permits in the unincorporated portions of the County located in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Opinion: Working together on traffic and parking at Lake Tahoe

The rural mountain lifestyle we all enjoy at Lake Tahoe is not isolated from the major urban areas nearby. On a typical holiday weekend, the Tahoe Basin turns into a recreation thoroughfare as tens of thousands of day and overnight visitors who sustain our local economy drive up from the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Reno.

Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau appoints new operations director

The Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau appointed Greg Long as Operations and Finance Director, effective Jan. 1, 2018.

Long, a North Lake Tahoe local for the past 20 years, previously served as the Operations Manager at Smith + Jones Marketing since 1999, at which he oversaw production, estimates, purchase printing and client management.

Weidinger PR wins multiple honors at annual awards event

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.”

Blue Ribbon Award winners announced

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE – The winners of the 10th annual Blue Ribbon Awards were announced Thursday night at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Over 300 community members attended to celebrate the winners of seven awards that honor outstanding South Shore businesses, organizations and individuals for civic contributions, tourism experiences, customer service and entrepreneurial achievements.

The following are the winners of the 10th annual Blue Ribbon Awards:

Geotourism Award
Winner: Tahoe Rim Trail Association
Honorable Mention: Edgewood Tahoe
Sponsored by Bike the West

Lake Tahoe ski areas planned opening dates

After a winter of historic snowfall and atmospheric rivers, what will 2017-18 have in store?

That has yet to be seen, but many resorts around the Lake Tahoe Basin are making plans for opening even without that "one good dump."

Planned opening days:

Heavenly Mountain Resort - Nov. 17
Kirkwood Mountain Resort - Nov. 22
Sierra-at-Tahoe,- mid-November
Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows - November 17
Northstar - Nov. 17
Mt. Rose - Nov. 4
Boreal - Nov. 8
Homewood - Dec. 8
Diamond Peak - Dec. 14

Blue Ribbon Award nominees announced

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (Tahoe Chamber) is holding their annual Blue Ribbon Awards dinner on Thursday, November 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Harrah's Lake Tahoe Ballroom. This gala event honors businesses, organizations, and individuals for civic contributions, tourism experiences, customer service, and entrepreneurial achievements. Tickets for the award ceremony are currently available online at www.TahoeChamber.org.

South Lake Tahoe closer to new Vacation Rental Ordinance

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Eight hours, and testimony from 29 people later, the City Council has crafted a new ordinance that attempts to strike a balance between locals and vacation home rentals (VHRs).

"While tourism is the lifeblood in our town, the residents are the heart and soul," said SLT City Councilman Jason Collin.

Passionate testimony from all sides was presented at Tuesday's meeting as has been the case for the 20+ meetings on the subject of VHRs.

The direction from the City Council to staff is to create an ordinance that will contain the following:

Time to nominate people and businesses for Blue Ribbon Awards

Event Date: 
November 9, 2017 - 5:30pm

Since 2007, the Tahoe Chamber's Blue Ribbon Awards have honored excellence in business on the South Shore. The awards program recognizes businesses, organizations, and individuals for achievements, community contributions, and milestones. It is one of the largest business awards program on the South Shore bringing together over 300 local business leaders, entrepreneurs, organizations, community members and government officials.

Douglas County businesses win Spotlight Awards

For the fourth consecutive year, several Douglas County businesses were awarded a Spotlight Award. This year’s awards were given at the Critical Issues Conference held on Thursday, September 28, 2017. The Spotlight Awards recognized businesses in 7 different categories: Retail, Restaurant, Manufacturing and Production, Sports and Recreation, Entrepreneur, Business and Professional Service, Tourism and Hospitality and special recognition was given to the Business Council for their 25 years of dedicated service to Douglas County.

Opinion: Who owns the 'All Year Playground?'

I read with great interest Mayor Sass’s recent editorial of how he and Wendy David have been living, sleeping, and eating the VHR issue for over 2 years. I internalized these words and reflected how we, as responsible vacation home rental managers, have been dealing with inept City Councils and City Management for over 12 years.

Museum in Carson City to host community birthday bash for Glenn Lucky

Event Date: 
September 27, 2017 - 10:00am

Former South Lake Tahoe resident Glenn Lucky turn 65 this month, and the Nevada State Museum in Carson City is planning a big birthday party in his honor on September 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the Dema Guinn Concourse of the museum at 600 N. Carson Street.

Lucky was born on Sept. 27, 1952 in Coronado, Calif. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was just one.

He and his family moved to the South Shore when Glenn was 3-year-old.

Resort Triangle in North Lake Tahoe gets funding for new trails

The Placer County Board of Supervisors have approved two chunks of money to go to their plans to transform North Lake Tahoe into a thriving, local community and, at the same time, provide visitors with a great experience.

Now halfway complete, the "Resort Triangle" will consist of a continuous 62-mile trail that runs from the Town of Truckee to Northstar, then to Kings Beach, to Tahoe City and back to Truckee.

Leadership Lake Tahoe class of 2017-18 announced

The 26 members of the 2017-2018 Leadership Lake Tahoe class have been announced. They will start their ten-month long journey on September 13.

Anjie Goulding - Kirkwood Mountain Resort
Athena Adler - Harrah's & Harveys Lake Tahoe
Brittani Curtis - Tahoe Chamber
Carissa Bisnar - CB Umbrella Group
Carl Franz - Genentech
Eanad Lott - Live Violence Free
Hannah Greenstreet- Live Violence Free/LTUSD
Jason Burke - City of South Lake Tahoe
Jeremy Brown - Lake Tahoe Community College
Julie Lucksinger - Lake Valley Properties
Katharine Miller - El Dorado County Library

Squaw Valley resurrects plans to add year-round coaster

Squaw Valley has applied for a permit to install Lake Tahoe's second gravity-powered coaster, the Timberline Twister.

In March, 2013, Squaw Valley scrapped plans for the coaster "due to business considerations and capital priorities," a.ccording to a letter sent to Placer County at the time

Now plans are back on for the ride that will expand on-mountain experiences for families. It will be located at the bottom of the mountain between the Far East and Red Dog chairlifts, an area already zoned for this type of recreational use.

Occupancy, density and caps of SLT VHRs topic of long meeting

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two topics that fills the City Council chambers: Marijuana and Vacation Home Rentals (VHR). Interested residents and other stakeholders in the City's proposed changes to the VHR ordinance not only filled chambers, but filled seats surrounding televisions in the lobby where the proceedings were aired.

After almost six hours of presentation and conversation, the City Council voted to bring back the new ordinance in one month on October 5.

"Our job is to make a decision, not continuing to kick the can down the road," said SLT Mayor Austin Sass.

Opinion: Tahoe South steals the show – with “Modern Family”

This past week is one for the record books in South Lake Tahoe. I know, you’re thinking record temperatures, attendance at one of our special events or our filled-to-capacity lake. All wrong -- I’m referring to ABC’s Emmy Award-winning hit TV comedy series Modern Family and the filming of the show’s season premiere here at South Shore.

Vacation rentals again on South Lake Tahoe City Council agenda

Renting a home while on vacation is the trend in many tourist destinations, not only in Lake Tahoe, but across the globe. This new way of vacationing has not come without issues so many towns are creating ordinances or, like in Anaheim and other cities, banning them.

City working with promoter to keep SnowGlobe in South Lake Tahoe

Is SnowGlobe an event that should stay in South Lake Tahoe?

The answer is "yes" according to the City Council, but exactly how the future working and financial relationships between the City and SnowGlobe will look still needs to be worked out.

Chad Donnelly, founder of SnowGlobe, made a presentation at the SLT City Council meeting Tuesday, outlining a plan to keep the annual December 29-31 music festival in the community.

North Lake Tahoe Resort Association gets $1.78M from Placer County

Over the next six months the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association (NLTRA) will get $1,779,495 from Placer County after the Board of Supervisors approved the contract Tuesday.

Of the contract, $1,728,262 will fund NLTRA marketing and visitor services, with $16,104 earmarked for NLTRA’s participation in regional transportation planning efforts and $33,129 for their support in developing a capital projects partnership to complete goals in the Tourism Master Plan.

Plug pulled on Lake Tahoe Labor Day fireworks show

In an effort to encourage visitors to the South Shore to stay over on Sunday night during the Labor Day weekend, the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) started a fireworks show in Lake Tahoe in 1998.

With a changing school year calendar and lack of Sunday night stays, the Labor Day fireworks show is no more.

"The lodging and tourism board (LTVA and Tahoe Douglas Visitor's Authority, TDVA) have had discussions for awhile about the Labor Day fireworks," said LTVA and TDVA Executive Director Carol Chaplin. "Lodging was finding their Sunday night reservations were soft."

$475,000 awarded to 118 South Tahoe High seniors

During a series of recent awards ceremonies, South Tahoe High(STHS) students were recognized for academic success, attendance and bilingual immersion.

The annual Senior Awards Night saw 118 students recognized with $475,000 in scholarships. During the evening, 64 individual presentations honored one or more students for achievements.

Carson Valley Starbucks facility to expand, 100 jobs being added

Starbucks operations in Nevada’s Carson Valley plans to grow substantially over the next year with the addition of 700,000 square feet to the distribution portion of the Starbucks Carson Valley Roasting Plant and Distribution Center in Minden, Nev. The expansion will bring nearly 100 new jobs to the location in the first year after completion, bringing the distribution workforce to nearly 350.

Applications being accepted for next Leadership Lake Tahoe

Since its beginning in 2003, Leadership Lake Tahoe has helped shape the community with over 100 new leaders from various sectors including Vail Resort, Barton Health, South Tahoe Public Utility District, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the City of South Lake Tahoe, as well as small business owners and entrepreneurs including South Tahoe Now.

Through a ten-month long, comprehensive program, the current and future leaders increase their knowledge and awareness of the issues and challenges facing the South Shore community.

Nevada tourism honors South Shore and Carson Valley residents

The Nevada Division of Tourism recognized outstanding members of the state’s rural tourism industry at the VolunTourism Awards Dinner April 27 in Elko. The awards ceremony was a highlight of the state’s annual Rural Roundup conference.

“Tourism is a significant component of rural Nevada economies,” Claudia Vecchio, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs director, said. “It is a $2.3 billion industry that continues to grow thanks to the efforts of the tourism professionals in rural Nevada. It is our pleasure to recognize those efforts with this year’s VolunTourism awards.”

Education and participation needed as South Lake Tahoe develops cannabis regulations

There was one thing all speakers during Wednesday evening's Town Hall on recreational cannabis agreed on: People need to get involved, educate themselves and share their opinions with their elected leaders at local, county and state levels.

A panel of six people spoke to the crowd of almost 100 people (and another 300 who were viewing online) during the Tahoe Regional Young Professionals (TRYP) fourth Town Hall meeting in South Lake Tahoe.

Annual South Lake Tahoe tourism forum to focus on global visitors

Event Date: 
April 18, 2017 - 8:15am

Business-minded South Shore locals, entrepreneurs, travel/tourism operators and marketing professionals are invited to the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and Tahoe Chamber's annual tourism forum. This year, the focus is “Welcoming the Global Guest.” The forum, which will focus on how Lake Tahoe businesses and locals can better prepare for international travelers, including Chinese visitors, will be held on Tuesday, April 18 from 8:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

NDOT begins installing new "Welcome to Nevada” signs

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has begun installation of new “Welcome to Nevada” signs designed by Nevada art students.

The first welcome sign was installed Wednesday, March 15 at the Nevada-California border on State Route 88 south of Minden. Signs will be installed at approximately 25 other border locations statewide over the coming months.

Instead of the welcome signs, select border crossings such as State Route 28 in Crystal Bay and U.S. 395 near Bordertown will receive gateway monuments in the future.

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