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It's a great thing to call for unity. It sounds good and feels good. But for far too long hollow calls for "working together" have become excuses for bulldozing over the needs of the people who live and work here in favor of the needs of the developers, resorts and casinos.

I chose the locals.

I choose to give a voice to those who are marginalized.

And if this seems like I’m causing trouble, then it is, as John Lewis called it, good trouble.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Live Violence Free, the South Lake Tahoe-based agency committed to promoting a violence-free community, has announced the appointment of a new executive director.

Chelcee Thomas has returned to her hometown to lead the 43-year-old agency. The South Tahoe High graduate has dedicated her career to supporting social

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a month dedicated to coming together in solidarity with victims and survivors by speaking out on relationship violence to provide education and empowerment.

Domestic violence, and other intimate partner violence, is a pattern of abusive behavior to keep power and control over a partner’s personal life. Abusive partners can use intimidation, threats, force, manipulation or coercion to establish and maintain this control over their partner. 

We are both running for South Lake Tahoe City Council to move our community past division, negativity, misinformation and finger pointing, and toward common ground solutions on critical issues. We’re all in this together.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - During Tuesday's El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting, the county's Public health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams said the region remains in the orange tier of the California reopening plan.

During the meeting, Dr. Williams told the supervisors it is now obvious that California is in the midst of a second wave of coronavirus cases, and El Dorado County is experiencing a second wave as well, but so far the numbers have kept the region in the "orange."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The first set of campaign finance reports filed by South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates have been received by election officials and posted to the City's website.

Required forms:

Form 460 - Candidates who have raised/spent $2,000 or more file
Form 410 (Statement of Organization) - Must also be filed once $2,000 or more has been raised/spent
Form 470 - Candidates who do not raise or spend $2,000 or more (or anticipate raising or spending $2,000 or more) in 2020 and do not have an open committee

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra are once again awarding a $2,000 Live Your Dream Award to a deserving woman from the South Lake Tahoe area.

Since 1972, Soroptimist International has given the Live Your Dream Awards to women who are working to better their lives through additional schooling and skills training.

Celebrate Halloween this year with family-friendly and spooky railbike rides on the V&T Railway in Carson City.

From Friday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 25 and Wednesday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 31, V&T Railway will offer child-focused haunted rides at at 6:00 p.m. and adult-focused haunted rides at 8:00 p.m. Each ride will follow COVID-19 guidelines and offer an alternative this year for Halloween fun. Ticket prices are $40 per rider for the 6:00 p.m. family ride and $75 per rider for the 8:00 p.m. adult ride.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The woman who died in Lake Tahoe on Friday, October 9, 2020, has been positively identified as a 30-year-old El Paso, Texas Resident.

According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO), Daisy Rogers had been on a boat on Lake Tahoe when she went to back of the boat and accidentally fell off. A male adult who was also on board jumped in to save her but was unable to. He was wearing a life preserver but the victim did not have one on.

This Saturday I will drive a good friend with 93 years of knowledge to our voting place where we will cancel each other out. It's the American way. Voting is the most American thing we do. My mother and father took great delight in canceling each other every four years without damaging their sweet relationship in the least.

I tend to spend more time in the 19th century than the 21st, so call me a dreamer, but I like to remember how Stephen Douglas characterized Abraham Lincoln prior to their great debate, "a kind, amiable and intelligent gentleman, a good citizen and honorable opponent."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Starting Monday, temperatures will increase as high pressure starts to build along the West Coast, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno. Highs will jump back into the upper 70s and low 80s across western Nevada over the next few days, with 60s and low 70s in the Sierra. The pattern remains zonal over the Pacific Northwest, bringing warming temperatures to our area.

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 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.

Last Week's Log: http://southtahoenow.com/story/10/06/2020/el-dorado-county-sheriffs-report

This Week's Log:

10/4

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - School in South Lake Tahoe hasn't been held in-person since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) will start the process of getting kids back into the classroom on Monday, October 12.

They will make the shift from Phase 1 to Phase 2 and a hybrid schedule with elementary students attending either Monday and Tuesday (Cohort A) or on Thursday and Friday (Cohort B), all days with a four-hour schedule. The rest of the time will be distance learning.

LAKE TAHOE - A person hearing cries for help from Lake Tahoe Friday evening brought out a full emergency response to the middle of the lake.

An investigation is underway, but Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District (TDFPD) Marshal Eric Guevin was able to release a few details about the October 9, 2020 incident.

Guevin said their Marine 24 responded along with the US Coast Guard after the person hearing the cries notified first responders. Not knowing exactly where the calls for help came from, responders headed toward Pope Beach. The first 911 calls were heard just before 7:00 p.m.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officials say another seven residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, two are in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, one was removed from the El Dorado Hills count one in Greater Placerville, and five in the Lake Tahoe Region.

The new cases: 1 is under the age of 18, 5 aged 18-49, and 1 aged 50-64.

Another 214 people were tested for the coronavirus and 207 negative tests results were received.

There have been another seven assumed recoveries with 154 assumed active cases.

The American Red Cross volunteer workforce is spread thin with the number of disasters currently across the country. It has been a very active hurricane and wildfire season and they have an urgent need for volunteers who want to make a difference in the lives of those affected by disaster.

The easiest way to sign up is to visit https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.html (find urgent needs here) for jobs from shelter associates and managers to health services.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A new Forestry Education and Job Placement program is heading to Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) in South Lake Tahoe.

To get things started, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board awarded the college a $351,000 grant and $480,000 was received from CAL Fire’s Forest Health Grant Program. LTCC has hired Kim Carr as their contracted consultant on the project and she helped write the grants and secure funding for the new avenue of education in South Lake Tahoe. She is bringing 30 years of forestry and environmental experience to the college.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Tahoe Transportation District have released a public draft of the Main Street Management Plan, setting the stage for a major makeover to a 1-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 50 in the Stateline area near Heavenly Village and the casino core.

An 18-member stakeholder working group and multiple public input sessions helped shape the plan over the past two years. The plan outlines how the street would look, feel, and function after U.S. Highway 50 is realigned through the U.S. 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project.

On September 22, 2020 the Tahoe Chamber endorsed City Council Candidates Cristi Creegan and John Friedrich. We strongly believe they are the wrong choice for this position and will not represent the businesses, jobs, local working residents, and current challenges in our community effectively.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno has issued a Lake Wind Advisory for South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City, Truckee, Markleeville, Stateline, Glenbrook, and Incline Village from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday.

Expect southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph expected. Waves will be 2 to 4 feet with highest waves on the northeast shores.

Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing and should remain off lake waters until conditions improve.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officials say another three residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, one is in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, one in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, and one in the Lake Tahoe Region.

The new cases: 1 are under the age of 18, 1 aged 18-49, and 1 aged 50-64.

Another 187 people were tested for the coronavirus and 184 negative tests results were received.

There have been another six assumed recoveries with 154 assumed active cases.

The US Forest Service has extended its emergency fire restrictions across all National Forest lands in California. This involves all USFS land in the Lake Tahoe Basin on both sides of the state line.

Smoking and all recreational fires, including campfires, bonfires, warming fires, wood fires, charcoal fires, or any other kind of outdoor fires, involving solid fuels are prohibited.

With the ongoing threat of wildfire and a very dry season, the danger of fire remains too high to allow recreational fires.

Christmas tree permits for National Forest lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin will be available for purchase online through Recreation.gov beginning November 16, 2020. Details about designated cutting areas, dates and types of trees that may be cut can be found at https://www.recreation.gov/tree-permits/ltbmu.

The South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) is organizing a District Board Candidate Forum for Wednesday, October 14, at 6:00 p.m. in the District Board Room.

The Forum is open to the public and is an opportunity for the community to attend and hear statements from each of the seven candidates running for a seat in November.

Each candidate will give an opening statement, answer questions posed by the audience and then provide a closing statement. The Forum is anticipated to last approximately two hours.