Latest Stories

Lights, trees, action! Lake Tahoe community members and visitors are invited to celebrate the holiday season at the seventh annual Festival of Trees and Lights.

The family-friendly festival runs from December 2 through December 6 at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa. This year, all proceeds will support prevention programs and trauma services for Barton Hospital’s Level III Trauma Center.

Residents and visitors in South Lake Tahoe are waking up to some very chilly temperatures with 0 degrees on the thermometer. Clear skies and no snow expected through Wednesday.

Forecast for South Lake Tahoe from the National Weather Service:

Today - Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. East wind around 5 mph.

Tonight - Mostly clear, with a low around 8. Southeast wind around 5 mph.

Sunday - Sunny, with a high near 35. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming east in the afternoon.

Sunday Night - Mostly clear, with a low around 12. South wind around 5 mph.

This week we had a request for help from a family whose 10 month old German Shepard got his muzzle stuck in a knuckle bone purchased from a pet store. He had eaten out the center of the bone and the bone became lodged onto his jaw. After the owner tried for an hour to remove the bone it became apparent that an emergency vet appointment was need. The bone had broken his tooth and was causing extreme pain. Alpine Animal Hospital was nice enough to squeeze them in right away and was able to remove the bone with a minor surgery.

Sheriff Ron Pierini recently announced the graduation of two Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies from the State of Nevada Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Law Enforcement Academy.

Douglas County Deputies Matthew Sampson and Steven Kimbrell graduated from the academy on Thursday, November 19, 2015, after attending the academy for four months. The P.O.S.T. academy is located at the State of Nevada Stewart Training Facility, in Carson City, Nev.

The South Tahoe High Sober Grad Night Task Force would like to thank the following businesses and individuals who helped make our annual event for the graduating seniors such a success! The kids loved the evening and it couldn't have been made possible if you weren't a part of it.

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue widespread prescribed fire operations beginning the week of November 30, 2015.

Operations are planned for the following areas:

57 acres on urban lots on the west side of Incline Village. Smoke expected to travel North/Northeast/East.

28 acres off Fairway Drive near Tahoe City. Smoke expected to travel North/Northeast/East.

105 acres in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park north of Spooner Lake. Smoked expected to travel Northeast.

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from November 1 to November 23, 2015.

November 1, 2015: 3 calls: 2 EMS calls, 1 alarm system malfunction.

November 2, 2015: 15 calls: 4 EMS calls, 1 EMS psych transfer, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 water or steam leak, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 motor accident with no injuries, 1 accident without injuries, 1 fire alarm activated with no fire, 1 electrical wiring problem, 1 dispatch canceled enroute, 1 unauthorized burning, 1 no incident found

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

Happy Thanksgiving to our readers, their families, friends and loved ones.

Anyone on the roads today noticed a big influx of travelers, both inside the Tahoe basin and on the state's highways.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) advises motorists that experts are predicting a slight increase in all methods of travel nationwide, with about 47 million people traveling either by car or airplane for the Thanksgiving holiday.

A 16-year-old South Lake Tahoe boy was walking on the bike path behind the Motel 6 on Monday, November 23 when he was robbed by a man who came out of the bushes. The teen was on the path at 1:30 p.m. when the suspect had his hand in his trench coat pocket, simulating a gun, and pointed it at the boy. The suspect demanded money and the young victim, who believed the man had a gun, gave him what he had. The teen was unharmed in the incident.

The unidentified suspect left the area on foot.

The victim described the suspect as:

-White male adult, between 6’00’’ and 6’03’’

Darrell Hinz was the trusted construction manager hired by the United Auburn Indian Community to complete its Indian Hills Road office project.

Instead, Hinz became enmeshed in a fraud scheme that federal investigators determined would ultimately suck $17 million out of the project in fraudulently inflated invoices.

The money ended up paying for luxuries that included a $70,000 BMW, a condo in South Lake Tahoe and a new swimming pool.

Shoppers buying locally in South Lake Tahoe between November 28 and January 1 might be taking home more than a gift for someone on their list this season.

"Go Local and Win" is a campaign by the Tahoe Chamber to encourage people to shop in town and not off the hill. By doing so, not only will they support local businesses, they can also win prizes each week.

For years I thawed my turkey, covered it with butter and herbs and foil, and popped it into the oven, always afraid to steer away from what I knew worked.

That was, until I watched Emeril Lagasse on Good Morning America about ten year ago. Now, its all about the brine!

The first year I tried the brine I had the recipe all written out and followed it closely, but since then I improvise with whatever is in the kitchen cupboards.

Since this is Tuesday there is still time to do a brine, but you need to hurry.

Several skiers from the Lake Tahoe area were announced to the 2015/16 US Alpine Ski Team, including Olympians Julia Mancuso, Travis Ganong, Tim Jitloff and Marco Sullivan. Even though Mancuso was name to the team she will miss out on the season due to hip surgery, but has her sights set on the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.

Men's A Team

David Chodounksy (Crested Butte, CO; Crested Butte Ski Team) 6/25/1984
Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team) 7/14/1988
Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV; Park City Ski Team) 1/11/1985
Ted Ligety (Park City, UT; Park City Ski Team) 8/31/1984

Just as predicted, snow started falling in South Lake Tahoe at noon on Tuesday.

The attached photo is from the Caltrans camera located at Twin Bridges at 12:30 p.m., giving people an idea of what is on the way.

As of 12:30 p.m. on November 24, the following road controls are in place:
From Meyers to 3 miles east of Kyburz on Highway 50, chains are required on all vehicles except or 4WD with snow tires.

Northbound on Hwy 89 from north of Camp Richardson along the west shore to Truckee, Chains are required except on 4WD with snow tires.

The Loop Road project in South Lake Tahoe has undergone changes, from being a federally funded project to realign Highway 50 to evolving into a community development project that promises to beautify, provide new gateways and gathering places. Without this plan being a federal project allows local control and development.

The revamped US Highway 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project will be presented to the community during an open house on Tuesday, December 1 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

This year more than 500 students in grades K-12 throughout South Lake Tahoe received a brand new, warm winter coat of their very own though the efforts of the Kiwanis Community Organization, Inc. The project ensures that every child in our community who needs one receives a coat at no charge. The Kiwanis Community Organization, Inc., a 501 c3 non-profit, was established as a collaboration in our community for numerous service organizations to work together on projects such as Coats For Kids, that align with their common missions of supporting the youth and families of our community.

11/24/15 update: The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office arrested both Ross and Stone on warrants issued by El Dorado County. When contacted, both Ross and Stone were armed with loaded firearms. They were taken into custody without incident and some of the stolen property from the Greenwood robbery was recovered. Ross and Stone were booked into the Sacramento County Jail on weapons and drug charges. They were also booked on warrants from El Dorado County. They are both in custody at the Sacramento County Jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.

A man is behind bars on suspicion of pulling a knife on his grandmother and threatening to kill her on Friday night in South Lake Tahoe.

On November 20, 2015, officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to a home on Candlewood Drive at 11:35 p.m. A 73-year-old woman had gone to a neighbor's house where she called 911 after her grandson, 30-year-old Jesse Shane Gage, displayed a large knife and threatened to kill her.

Gage, who lives with his grandmother, was arrested and charged with terrorizing, trying to harm an elderly person and exhibiting a deadly weapon.

The path of the next storm headed to the Lake Tahoe area is still uncertain and weather experts are keeping a close eye on the situation to keep drivers informed during one of the most heavily traveled holidays. The National Weather Service is advising motorists to be informed as snow totals are still uncertain.

The National Weather Service warning: There are uncertainties with the exact tract of a strong winter storm heading into the Sierra. The storm will drop south-southeast into Eastern California and Western Nevada Tuesday, then linger through the remainder of the week.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, most lane closures will be restricted from 6 a.m. Wednesday, November 25 until 8 p.m. Sunday, November 29.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Dayton was the scene of the NIAA Division IV State Football Championships between Whittell High School, number one team from the north, against the south's best, Pahranagat Valley.

Whittell had dominated the north all season, taking an 11-0 record into the final game of the year. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Pahranagat Valley won the game 54-28.

Pahranagat Valley's 93 game winning streak is now the best in the country for 8-man teams.

Both teams were undefeated during the regular season.

No box score is available at this time.

A 4-year-old Carson City boy was hospitalized Friday night after ingesting methamphetamine that allegedly belonged to the boy's father who is now custody on suspicion of child endangerment, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.

Taken into custody was Pedro Montanez, 27, on suspicion of child endangerment and possession of trafficking levels of a controlled substance.

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts will continue prescribed fire operations around Incline Village, Kingsbury Grade and Van Sickle Bi-State Park through next week as weather and conditions allow.

On the west side on Incline Village, crews will be burning 77 acres of hand piles starting Monday, November 23.

35 acres on Park Cattle property near Van Sickle Bi-State Park were ignited Wednesday and will continue as conditions allow.