Traffic

With most of the country turning their clocks back and switching to Daylight Saving Time on March 13, the National Sleep Foundation is leading the observation of National Sleep Awareness Week to highlight the importance of drivers being aware of the potential dangers of the time shift.

“Many people have a hard time adjusting to the time change, and it can affect their driving,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “Even the most careful drivers become confused and use poor judgment when they are sleepy.”

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.

2/28
8:55 p.m. - Lost Property - Saddle Road - R/P REPORTED SOME LOST PROPERTY

6:15 p.m. - Domestic Dispute - Alice Lake Rd

10:24 p.m. - Doctor's Case - A 65-YEAR-OLD MALE WAS PRONOUNCED DECEASED

2/29

2:45 p.m. 2/28/16 update:

Two different high speed chases through the Carson Valley and up Kingsbury Grade resulted in the arrest of two men and two women on Saturday, February 27, 2017.

At 3:10 p.m., a trooper from the Nevada Highway Patrol spotted a silver Mercedes-Benz with California plates going down U.S. 50 (Spooner Summit) at 85 mph. The driver failed to pull over for the trooper, instead turning South on Highway 395 towards Minden, Nev., at speeds in excess of 100 mph.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. They responded to 210 calls over the one-week period between February 9 and February 22, 2016.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

2/9
Vandalism in the 2400 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

2/10
No Arrests

2/11
No Arrests

2/12
Drunk in Public in the 1000 block of Emerald Bay Rd
Warrant on "Emerald Bay Rd North"
Resisting in the 4100 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

2/13

A large boulder has rolled down onto Highway 50 on the Lake Tahoe east shore near Logan Creek, causing a dent in the road but no injuries.

The Nevada Highway Patrol was dispatched to the incident at 6:19 p.m. Saturday, February 20. Once there they found the boulder, it was reported to be eight feet across, blocking one lane north of the Cave Rock Tunnel in the westbound lane.

One passerby said the boulder was bigger than their Lincoln Navigator, at least six to seven tall.

A Valentine's Day rockslide at Emerald Bay closed Highway 89 for about an hour. The California Highway Patrol responded to a call of rocks on the roadway and controlled traffic in the are until a truck equipped with a plow could clear off the slide.

The road reopened at 11:34 a.m.

No other details are available at this time.

State Route 49 (El Dorado County) from the Coloma School House to Mt. Murphy Road: Motorists can expect one-way traffic from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for utility work.

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from Upper Truckee Road to Transit Way in South Lake Tahoe: Eastbound and westbound motorists can expect alternating lane closures from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday for survey work.

There are proposed amendments to the South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rental ordinance, ones that came about because of feedback from VHR permit applicants and those enforcing the ordinance.

The most recent VHR ordinance change took effect on October 1, 2015. Since then, there have been over 300 inspections scheduled, including new homes and renewals.

According to Amanda Nolan, the City's VHR Clerk, many of the properties inspected so far have required owners to make corrections to address inspection requirements.

The October 1, 2015 ordinance called for:

The public once again had the opportunity to participate in the planning of the US50/South Shore Revitalization plan (also known as the Loop Road) during a meeting held at South Tahoe Middle School Wednesday evening. About 100 people took advantage of having the opportunity.

A panel made up of three representatives from the project, Tahoe Transportation District's Carl Hasty and Russell Nygaard, and the Project Manager Mark Rayback from Woods Rodgers.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will be performing grinding and paving work on sections of State Highway 89 in the Tahoe City area the next three days.

The work will take place from Blackwood Creek Road to and including the Truckee River (“Fanny”) Bridge in Tahoe City. It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 9-11 and will require one-way traffic control.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety’s Zero teen Fatalities program hosted a state wide contest where Nevada High School students had the opportunity to design an original billboard for Zero teen Fatalities featuring a safe driving message. Topics for the safe driving message included: aggressive driving, impaired driving, distracted driving & seat belts.

Entries were judged on the following criteria:
1. Overall Message (30%)
2. Creativity (30%)
3. Social Impact (20%)
4. Entertainment Value (20%)

Winter has been welcomed back to the Lake Tahoe basin after a few years of drought and less-than-average snowfall, but a resurgence of winter brings with it not only more visitors to enjoy the snow, but poor traveling conditions for the driver.

The community is invited to see the plans for the US50/South Shore Revitalization Plan for the South Lake Tahoe and Stateline areas in an open house on Tuesday, January 26 from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

Tahoe Transportation District has been meeting with the public over several years to get opinions, input and have open discussion about the proposed plan (also know as Loop Road) that would take Highway 50 behind Raley's and the Heavenly Village. The idea is to make the area more walking and biking friendly with safer routes and less vehicle traffic.

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.

1/17

3:30 a.m. - Disorderly Conduct - South Ave - A 23-YEAR-OLD FEMALE SUBJECT WAS INTOXICATED IN A PUBLIC PLACE.

8:45 a.m. 0 Search and Rescue - Sugar Bowl Ski Area - SEARCH AND RESCUE INCIDENT INVOLVING A MISSING/LOST SKIER AT SUGAR BOWL SKI RESORT.

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Monday, January 18, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

A winter weather advisory is in effect until 10:00 a.m. Monday.

The boulder that fell into traffic lanes on Wednesday afternoon was 15 feet wide and weighed 20 tons.

UPDATE 6:30 p.m. - All pieces of the boulder that locked Highway 50 near the Wright's Lake turnoff have been removed and the road is open and free of controls around the rock, but chains or 4WD with snow tires are required from Meyers to three miles east of Kyburz.
_ _ _

UPDATE: 4:30 p.m. - Caltrans have blasted the rock and are now in the process of removing the pieces. At this time the road is still controlled traffic in one direction.
_ _ _

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. They responded to 658 calls between December 15, 2015 and January 4, 2016.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

12/15
Trespassing in the 1100 block of Glenwood Ave
DUI in the 3600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

12/16
Vandalism in the 3300 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drunk in Public in the 4100 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Spousal Abuse in the 400 block of Cedar Ave

12/17
Trespassing in the 100 block of Lake Parkway

While California figures are not in yet, Nevada has released a report on their traffic fatalities for 2015.

Preliminary data shows that there were 321 Nevada traffic deaths in 2015, an increase by 30 deaths over the previous year.

When compared with the number of miles driven in Nevada, though, traffic deaths have dropped from an average of 1.54 deaths per every 100 million miles traveled in 2008 to 1.13 fatalities per 100 million miles in 2013. Statewide, traffic fatalities reached an all-time high of 432 in 2006.

As usual, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department bolstered our patrol staffing to meet the emergency response needs of our crowded City during the New Year celebration period. There were squads of officers patrolling the state line area, the Snow Globe festival and extra officers were also assigned to work patrol throughout the City. South Lake Tahoe was quite full with holiday revelers, and the number of calls for emergency police responses was consistent with recent past years. We are pleased to report there was a decrease in arrests as compared to last year.

For many years the only action on the South Shore for New Year's Eve was the street-closing celebration at Stateline. While thousands still head to the casino corridor for the changing of the year, there are many more options for revelers.

It's going to be a white Christmas in Lake Tahoe, with heavy snow expected throughout the day Thursday, leaving an expected extra foot of snow at lake level by Friday morning.

If you are traveling you can expect road controls from chains or snow tire requirements to chains or 4WD with snow tires.

People at Lake Tahoe are working together like never before to restore our environment, revitalize our economy, and improve our communities. We saw significant progress all around the lake this year. And our progress is sustainable with continued partnership and collaboration, so critical to tackle the many challenges and important decisions on our horizon.

Two Plumas Lake, Calif., residents found themselves in the Washoe County Jail on Sunday after Nevada State Troopers found 63 pounds of marijuana in the back of their car.

At 11:10 a.m. on December 6, Troopers pulled over a white Ford Expedition with New York registration tags for a moving violation on I80 near Robb Drive. The car was occupied by Patrick Fay, 64, and Corinne Fay, 57.

Hal Cole's term as mayor during the City of South Lake Tahoe's 50th anniversary is coming to a close. During the next City Council meeting on Monday, December 7, the next mayor and mayor pro-tem will be elected. All current council members are eligible though first term Councilwoman Wendy David is the current mayor pro-tem.

Normally held on Tuesdays, the Council meeting was moved to Monday so Tom Davis could attend his daughter-in-law's graduation from nursing school in Tennessee. The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at the airport.