Latest Stories

Maybe there's just no use talking to PGA Tour players about pressure. Their skills exist on an entirely different plateau, and their weekly exposure to seven-figure paychecks and audiences has inured them from experiencing anything like what we mortals feel teeing it up in a club championship. Then again, what's the point of asking cousin Bob—who's a very nice player—for competitive advice when in the grand scheme he's just another loser, too. If you want to learn something valuable about tournament golf, there's really only one place to go: Lake Tahoe in July.

4:25 p.m. update: The U.S. Forest Service said the fire that burned near Genoa Peak turned out to be an abandoned campfire that wasn't properly doused. The fire burned about a 10 foot x 10 foot patch on private land adjacent to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near the Tahoe Rim Trail.

It is currently smoldering after firefighters arrived quickly and were able to gain the upper hand quickly.

* * *

There is a fire reported at Genoa Peak. Multiple agencies are responding and we'll update the story once more is known.

The South Tahoe High boy's tennis team continues to dominate Northern Nevada action on the courts and are now preparing to take their 12-0 record to the Nevada state tournament which begins in two weeks. In the meantime, players head to the regional playoffs.

South Tahoe High's varsity football team is now in a three-way tie for second place in Northern Nevada 3A with their 6-1 record. They blanked Dayton during Friday's homecoming game at South Tahoe, 57-0.

The first South Tahoe Middle School convention was complete with delegates, platforms, debates and slates. Every state was represented and the students spent the day Friday much as a participant at the national convention would.

Since the school year began, teachers James Seider and Andrew Losk have been teaching their eighth grade students about civic responsibilities and duties, what it means to be a citizen of the United States and about the political process.

Harrah’s/Harveys’ HEROs hosted Bread & Broth’s evening meal on September 26th, providing the funds and help to feed the 103 dinner guests who came to St. Theresa Church Grace Hall for the weekly Monday evening dinner. For over 27 years, the hungry of the Tahoe south shore community know that every Monday, a hot, nutritious meal will be provided to everyone who attends the dinner. For the last 7 years, the meals have been funded by B&B’s ‘Adopt A Day of Nourishment’ sponsors like the HEROs.

Earlier this summer, the Undersea Voyager Project, a nonprofit organization located in Napa, California, conducted a series of dives in their 2-man submersible to explore dozens of ancient trees still standing at the bottom of Fallen Leaf Lake. Beginning this weekend, they will continue their mission to document the trees and study one theory of how they got there.

The kickoff events are now in the record books, and racers are now preparing for the rest of Lake Tahoe Marathon week to get started.

Saturday, October 8

7:00 a.m. - Cal-Neva Marathon, race from Sand Harbor to Homewood
9:00 a.m. - Carnelian Bay Half Marathon, race from Carnelian Bay to Homewood
9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. - Tahoe Sport & Fitness Expo at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel
9:00 p.m. - The Midnight Express 72 Mile Ultra - Round trip race around the lake starting at Lakeside Beach in South Lake Tahoe

Sunday, October 9

There was another small fire in South Lake Tahoe Friday afternoon, this time in dry brush near the state line.

Multiple agencies responded at 3:43 p.m. just east of the gondola at Van Sickle Bi-State Park.

Within minutes fire crews had a line around the fire.

Smoke, and the smell of smoke, made its way to nearby Raley's and Heavenly Village.

The fire burned about 1/4 of an acre according to Lisa Heron of the U.S. Forest Service.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown and is under investigation.

The first four-year bachelor's degree program offered on the South Shore begins Monday, October 17 on the campus of Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and there is still room for students to enroll.

In collaboration with Sierra Nevada College (SNC), LTCC is offering the degree in Global Business Management, the first several four-year degrees the campus plans on offering inside the new Robert and Lisa Maloff University Center which will open in Fall of 2018.

Indian police have arrested 70 people and are questioning hundreds more after uncovering a massive scam to cheat thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars by posing as U.S. tax authorities and demanding unpaid taxes, a police officer said Thursday.

South Lake Tahoe residents were not immune to the targeted scams.

According to police in Mumbai, the yearlong scam involved running fake call centers which sent voice mail messages telling U.S. nationals to call back because they owed back taxes.

Tahoe Arts Project is welcoming back Missoula Children's Theater for the 30th time in South Lake Tahoe. This year they will be presenting "Rumpelstiltskin."

There are over 60 roles for local youth ages 5-17 who are already in school. For those unfamiliar with the production, the theater group comes to town on a Monday for auditions, holds rehearsals Tuesday through Friday, then have two performances on Saturday.

The South Tahoe Public Utility District is organizing a Board Candidate Forum for Wednesday, October 19, at 6 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 four candidates running for a seat in November: Kirk David, Nick Exline, Kelly Sheehan, and Randy Vogelgesang.

Each candidate will be allowed to give an opening statement, answer questions posed by the audience and then provide a closing statement. The Forum is anticipated to last approximately 1½ hours.

A person, or persons, impersonating deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, are targeting local residents in what has become a common phone scam.

The scammers call the resident and inform them that they failed to show up for jury duty, and has an active warrant. The impersonator even states dates of notices and case numbers.

The impersonator instructs the residents to wire money or to purchase a pre-paid credit card and they will call back to obtain the credit card numbers.

Smoke filled the Lake Tahoe Basin on Wednesday, but it isn't from a wildland fire. There is a prescribed burn by the Nevada Division of Forestry in the Whittell Forest between Lake Tahoe and Washoe Lake.

The 250-acre prescribed burn remains under control and is not posing any threat. The forest is owned by the University of Nevada, Reno

Whittell Forest is located on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada in Little Valley, about three miles west of Washoe Lake and 2.5 miles east of Lake Tahoe and 20 miles south of Reno. The burn operation is expected to continue for four or five days.

You hear of the "great recession" causing issues in many areas from jobs and income to housing, but another victim is quality child care in South Lake Tahoe.

Prior to 2009 there were over 45 licensed day care providers on the South Shore, a majority of them licensed for 12 children and open evenings and weekends. Now, there are just 20, 12 of which are licensed for 12, the other eight are small licenses, for six children or less.

The utility relocation work on Highway 50 through South Lake Tahoe the past two years has made way for a major, three-year long Caltrans project that will get underway next Spring.

The project, which is currently out for bid, will be starting in 2017 and will have crews working along U.S. Highway 50 from the "Y" intersection with State Highway 89 to the Trout Creek Bridge once again.

Are you starting a business? Are you overwhelmed by a new business or bleeding money into your business? Entrepreneurs Assembly (EA), an award-winning mentor program that assists budding and existing entrepreneurs, is here to help!

To date, they have assisted over 250 unique entrepreneurs in only three years, guiding individuals to form real strategies that produce real results.

To get a look at the properties the County owns, and to get a look at services and programs going on in South Lake Tahoe, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS) met on the South Shore last week for tours and discussions.

The County owned properties in SLT were highlighted during a morning tour. Each of the properties, the Senior Center, the Museum, the Art League building and the Visitor's Authority building, are owned by the County and maintained by the City.

If you see smoke around Amador, Georgetown and Placerville it will most likely be from 12,671 acres of National Forest land being burned this fall by the U.S. Forest Service.

USFS will begin its fall prescribed burn program in the Eldorado National Forest as soon as weather conditions are favorable. Fire managers plan to burn approximately, 12,671 acres of National Forest land this fall, winter and spring using a combination of understory and pile burning techniques.

There is a "Flash Vote" out for community members to give input on their feelings about the safety of South Lake Tahoe's neighborhoods.

Until October 6 at 2:12 p.m., votes will be accepted on perceived safety during the day, during nights, and any input surrounding safety participants wish to provide.

FLASH VOTE HERE

All lanes of US 50 through the Cave Rock tunnel are now open to traffic, almost a month ahead of schedule on the $6 million traveler safety and roadside water quality project.

Since May, drivers have had to utilize a single lane of traffic in each direction through one side of the tunnel.

The contractor, Q&D Construction, will earn an extra $300,000 for completing early. Their contract gave them $15,000 for each day prior to the deadline they completed early, with a maximum of $300,000, which they earned.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Three men are being sought by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for the allegedly passed counterfeit $100 bills at the CVS pharmacy in Stateline, Nev., on September 30.

Seven counterfeit bills were passed in three separate incidents by the three suspects. The transactions occurred at 12:07 a.m., 4:17 a.m. and 6:24 a.m. In all three incidents the men purchased Visa gift cards in varying amounts and received cash back in change.

At the 12:07 a.m. transaction, the suspect is described as a male, possible Hispanic, in his mid-30’s, wearing a black hat, black sweatshirt.

The following 54 businesses took out business licenses with the City of South Lake Tahoe during the month of August:

08/01/2016 - AIR & LUBE SYSTEMS INC
08/02/2016 - MORRIS MASONRY
08/03/2016 - BEN SAVELLI RIDESHARE
08/03/2016 - MICHAEL KULIGOWSKI RIDESHARE
08/03/2016 - SLT DETAILED HOUSEKEEPING
08/04/2016 - JOHN MCCOLLUM RIDESHARE
08/04/2016 - ROSE MARIE GRAPINET SKINCARE
08/04/2016 - SABRINA SORENSON RIDESHARE
08/05/2016 - GRUPE FAMILY
08/08/2016 - DYNAMIC MOVEMENT THERAPEUTICS
08/09/2016 - JASON HOWARDS HANDYMAN SERVICE
08/09/2016 - NATURES GARDENER