News

FRIDAY Update: The Advisory has been upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning from 11 a.m. Saturday to 8 am. Sunday. Expect heavy snow above 5000 feet. Snow accumulations up to 5 to 8 inches around the Lake Tahoe Basin, 8 to 12 inches over higher Sierra passes, and up to 12 to 20 inches of snow across the Sierra Crest above 7000 feet. Winds gusting as high as 55 mph. Wind-prone areas along Hwy-395 in Mono County may see gusts 60+ mph. Higher Sierra ridgetops may see gusts 100+ mph.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county. The following calls only pertain to the South and West Shore, including Meyers, South Lake Tahoe, Meeks Bay, Tahoma, and the Echo Summit area. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at the time of the story.

April 22 - Apr. 28, 2024

4/22

07:29 ORDINANCE VIOLATION REPORT - Occurred on Eighth Ave, in Tahoma, CA. Disposition: IN SERVICE.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. - Lake Tahoe watercraft inspection stations are open for the season to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and boaters can now book an appointment for this summer online, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD) announced today. With the discovery last year of invasive New Zealand mudsnails in Lake Tahoe, the agencies are urging boaters, paddlers, beachgoers, and anglers to learn how to prevent the spread of this new threat.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - CalFire has opened the residential burn season for the Amador-El Dorado Unit. Homeowners in the unincorporated areas of El Dorado County may get a Residential Burn permit starting May 1. No matter when you got your last burn permit, you will need to get a new one in 2024. They are free of charge and can be obtained at https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/. Burn permits must now be obtained online - submit the application and watch a short educational video.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - As humans, we are innately fascinated with the natural world and often spend time and money to view the strength and resiliency of wildlife. We have zoos, safaris, wildlife excursions, and more dedicated to viewing wildlife. Those serve as excellent ways for education and conservation but people in the wild to get photos with bears and other wildlife are not conducive to successful interactions.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) held a promotion ceremony on April 29 to celebrate the promotion of two of their staff.

The next regular meeting of the Nevada State Legislative Committee for the Review and Oversight of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Marlette Lake Water System will be held Friday, May 3 at 1 p.m. in the Trepp Room at Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation, Incline Village, Nevada.

This committee of the Nevada Legislature meets several times every other year during the state’s interim session to discuss the work of TRPA and Nevada state agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin and to provide oversight on issues important to Nevada citizens.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A fight that started inside Starbucks in the Village Center in South Lake Tahoe led to the arrests of two men, a 34-year-old and a 19-year-old, both out of Gardnerville.

When officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) arrived to the call of a big fight, the two men ran away towards the old Raley's. Witnesses pointed the officers in the direction of the men, both of whom refused to stop.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil's team will be at Lake Tahoe Community College on Tuesday, April 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The mobile office hours allow the public an opportunity to share concerns, issues, and advocacy.

This will also be a chance to receive updates on key issues Alvarado-Gil is tackling at the Capitol in Sacramento.

District Representative Heidi Mayerhofer will be at the college in the Student Commons.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - El Dorado Transit will be adding a route to its popular Sacramento Commuter service and extend all routes to include a stop at the May Lee State Office Complex (formerly known as the Richards Boulevard Office Complex, or RBOC) at 651 Bannon Street, near the intersection of Richards Boulevard and North 7th Street. A total of five trips will occur starting on May 6, 2024, in both the morning and in the afternoon. The Sacramento Commuter Service originates at Park and Ride locations in western El Dorado County and ends in downtown Sacramento.

PLACER COUNTY, Calif. – Caltrans is advising motorists of traffic-interfering work resuming for the 2024 construction season on State Route 28 along the north shore of Lake Tahoe next week.

Southwest Gas and its contractor, Q&D Construction, will continue work on a gas line replacement project on Highway 28 between Tahoe City and Kings Beach.

One-way traffic control is scheduled at Mackinaw Road in Tahoe City from Sunday, April 28 at 7 p.m. until Friday, May 3 at noon.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Former City Manager and current Good Government Advocate David Jinkens has announced his campaign for South Lake Tahoe City Council, the first candidate to publicly toss their ring into the hat for the 2024 election.

There are two seats open this year, the ones held by Cristi Creegan and Mayor Pro Tem John Friedrich and it is unknown at this time if they will be running for second terms.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of calls the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to during the week of Apr. 15 - Apr. 21, 2024. Location Checks are when officers search an area at a certain address. Transient/Homeless arrests/citations and calls are those normally categorized in other columns (Drunk in Public, Trespassing, etc.) but stats are collected separately.

Log for April 15 - April 21, 2024

4/15

Arrests
11:48 Warrant Arrest - Occurred on Pinter Ave. Disposition: Misdemeanor Arrest.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit, and deputies from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responded to a small wildfire near Van Sickle Park in South Lake Tahoe.

Forward progress was stopped at approximately 1/10 acre, and a hand line around the fire is complete and the area is in patrol status.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - At their meeting Tuesday evening, the South Lake Tahoe City Council said they are ready to play hardball with Heavenly Mountain Resort after ski area officials have not responded to a request by the city to support their annexation efforts.

The Council was to receive an update on parking restrictions in Heavenly Valley neighborhoods, the Heavenly Parking Agreement, and the Heavenly Area Annexation.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The proponents of the South Lake Tahoe Residential Vacancy Tax initiative filed their petition to make it on the November 2024 ballot today. The minimum number of signatures needed was ten percent of registered voters, or 1,159, and the group sponsoring the initiative turned in 2,471. City Clerk Susan Blankenship performed a prima facie review, or, an initial examination, to determine the number, and the signatures will be sent to the El Dorado County Elections Department for certification.

The next agenda for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board includes: Solar power for STPUD, Washoe Tahoe Area Plan amendments for school zoning in Incline Village, proposed clarification to Phase 2 Housing Amendments, a resolution of support for affordable housing, and funds for the City of South Lake Tahoe for the Bijou Park Greenway Trail Connector and sediment-reducing street sweepers.

Lost your keys? Misplaced your glasses? Can’t remember where you parked the car? You may wish you had the memory of a mountain chickadee.

In warmer months, these half-ounce birds, with brains slightly larger than a pea, stash tens of thousands of food items like seeds in tree bark, in lichens and crevices on the tree branches across the mountains. When winter arrives, they can recall the exact locations of their caches, a skill that helps them survive the bitter cold and deep snow.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Governor Newsom has awarded 10 new jurisdictions with the coveted designation that makes them eligible for incentives to scale up efforts to advance housing, and South Lake Tahoe is one of them. This brings the total number of cities and counties with a Prohousing Designation to 47.

The designation is given for the community's efforts in encouraging the development of housing at all income levels. This designation comes with funding incentives and additional resources to help speed housing production.

The Republican Women of California - South Lake Tahoe guest speaker series continued in April with a talk by Todd White, long-time Chair of the El Dorado County Republican Central Committee and long-time resident of El Dorado County.

Mr. White noted there are 58 counties in California, and each county has a Central Committee whose responsibility is to educate the public on good governance principles, important issues, and introduce Republican candidates for office to our members, and help elect them.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Have you heard (or actually, not heard) the new electric school buses in South Lake Tahoe? The new electric fleet for Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) was officially unveiled this week, along with the charging infrastructure installed inside the bus garages in South Lake Tahoe.

It has been 164 years since the Pony Express first brought mail to California and Nevada. It took 10 days to get letters from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Progress has advanced the service since then, but possible changes are on the horizon that could put mail to and from Lake Tahoe and western Nevada and the rest of the country back on a slower trail.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has proposed a plan to revamp its system in the country in a $40 billion investment strategy.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) made a vehicle stop on April 15 at 11:50 p.m. after the driver was seen speeding. inside the car, a 2008 Toyota Camry, were Keyli Escalante-Enamorado and Rudy Socop-Domingo. A consent search of the Toyota revealed over three hundred pieces of opened and unopened mail that included 261 personal and business checks totaling over $555,000. A majority of the stolen checks were written to the IRS. Also, located in the Toyota were two homemade mail fishing devices made of vinyl strips, duct tape, and weights.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Members of the Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team (TFFT) will continue prescribed fire operations this week at Lake Tahoe, conditions and weather permitting. Smoke may be present throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding areas. View smoke management tips and the current air quality index at AirNow and the U.S.