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The old Bijou Post Office on Sandy Way in South Lake Tahoe may soon be home to new El Dorado County offices. This property is across the street from their current government center at the corner of Takela Drive and Lake Tahoe Boulevard.

During the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, there will be a vote on the agenda item regarding purchase of the property for $1,250,000. Supervisor Sue Novasel said they have been putting money aside to be used in an El Dorado Center Campus in South Lake Tahoe. The project includes a major remodel of both buildings.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - Lights. Camera. Action! Tahoe Arts Project is launching a new after-school theater club at South Tahoe Middle School on March 12 to give all students access to the performing arts.

ACT ONE is meant to help fill a void for middle school-aged student’s hunger for creative expression, given the absence of drama and other arts programming available to students at a critical developmental age.

Tickets are now on sale for the 3rd annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival hosted by Mountain Area Preservation (MAP) on Friday April 20 at the Community Arts Center in Historic Downtown Truckee at 5:00 p.m. This year, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival Truckee will show 13 inspiring and adventurous films, including feature films, SHIFT and Follow Through.

The Family Caregiver Support Program of the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency is pleased to present a free “Aging and Caregiving” educational series in South Lake Tahoe. This series will be held weekly on Mondays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. beginning April 16, 2018, and ending May 21, 2018, at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel located at 4130 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

The educational series will give instruction and support for people who provide care for a family member or friend aged 60 years or greater.

The series will feature a different topic each week:

PHILLIPS STATION, CALIF. - In 2017, the water content on March 1 at Phillips Station was measured at 185 percent of normal. One year later it is a different story, but much better than just a week ago.

The water content of the snow measured at Phillips Station on March 5, 2018 is 39 percent of the historical average with the 41.1" snow at the measuring spot 14 miles west of Lake Tahoe containing a snow water equivalent (SWE) of 9.4".

The SWE is the amount of water that would come out of the snow if melted all at once.

The entire Sierra Nevada are under a high avalanche warning in the back country at all elevations, but now there is a warning in the Crystal Bay area of Lake Tahoe in neighborhoods.

Per the Washoe County Emergency Management avalanche expert, due to weather conditions and forecasted incoming weather conditions, a Stage 1 Avalanche Warning has been issued for the residents of Crystal Bay/Third Creek subdivisions.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisor's vacation home rental meeting rescheduled for Saturday, March 3 has been postponed, this time due to the blizzard conditions.

This meeting was to be a continuation of the February 1 meeting in South Lake Tahoe held to dicuss the county's new vacation rental ordinance. That meeting had to end after just a few minutes due to over a capacity crowd, almost double of the 112 people allowed in the SLT council chambers where the meeting was held.

The blizzard warnings in the Lake Tahoe basin have prompted school officials to close schools, or in the case of Douglas County, put them on late start.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District is on a Snow Day. All Schools Will be CLOSED today due to the Blizzard Warning issued by the National Weather Service.

Gaming revenue for the State of Nevada during the month of January showed a two percent gain over the same month in 2017. The had a "gaming win" of $1,015,027,320 according to figures released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

On the South Shore, the $19,641,340 in gaming revenue earned by the casinos was up 14.83 percent from January, 2017. The Carson City and Carson Valley had a "win" of $8,101,427, up 7.21 percent.

The "gaming win" represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

The North Shore casino win was down 1.46 percent.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - The first of two storms due to hit Lake Tahoe this week has arrived. This current storm will head out Monday night with the next one due Wednesday through Friday.

Chain controls are up on most mountain roads as of 8:20 a.m. on Feb. 26:

R1 controls: Chains are required - snow tread tires allowed
R2 controls: Chains are required on all vehicles except four wheel drive vehicles with snow tires on all four wheels

HWY50 - R2 FREDS TO MEYERS^ SPLIT CONTROLS
HWY50 - R2 PLACERVILLE TO FRESH POND
SR88 R2 FRM SILVER LAKE TO CRYSTAL SPRINGS

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 Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

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With the March 6 South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting set to address the annual music festival SnowGlobe, the Parks & Recreation Commission held a special meeting to decide what their stance would be on the festival being held on the Community Playfields.

The new playfields have never had a soccer or football game played on them, but they are in need of a lot of repair after SnowGlobe unpacked and left after their Dec. 29-31 event.

The snow has been falling all down in the Sierra, giving residents and visitors a glimpse into a winter that hasn't been even a slight resemblance into the big winter of 2017.

At this point, every seems to be happy with what fell Thursday. Snow totals aren't in from the ski resorts yet since they release them in the morning, but they most likely will be several inches and hovering near the one foot level.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - One year ago, South Tahoe Now carried the story of Kerry Gross, a local woman who was setting off on a bike ride across the country as part of her "Women Who Dare" project.

The Women Who Dare podcast, to be released on March 6, follows Gross on her five-month bike ride where she met inspirational women who had a story to tell. She spent the summer of 2017 riding 5,800 miles to meet and interview remarkable women.

Holiday traffic leaving South Lake Tahoe this weekend created another bottleneck in Meyers as well as on side roads throughout the area from those attempting to find a quicker getaway. The choices they made Monday created a three-hour drive from the Y in South Lake Tahoe to areas in Meyers.

Highway 50 over Echo Summit is designed to handle 1,200 cars per hour without any issues, but those numbers dropped Monday, February 19. Just how much they dropped is unknown as the traffic counters normally placed over the roadway are removed for snow removal.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 643 calls for the 23 days between January 16 - February 7, 2018.

Calls Resulting in Arrests/Citations:

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Driving on a suspended/revoked license in the 4000 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Petty Theft in the 4000 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Transient/Homeless at Lake Tahoe Blvd & Herbert Ave

1/17
Transient/Homeless in the 1800 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

1/18
Warrant in the 1000 block of Shepherds Dr

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 Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

2/7

2:28 a.m. - Spousal Battery - South Lake Tahoe - 28-YEAR-OLD FEMALE ARRESTED FOR SPOUSAL BATTERY.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is looking ahead to the summer road construction season by accepting applications for paid summer internships through Feb. 28.

The internships provide on-the-job training in civil and environmental engineering, including roadway and bridge design, construction, hydraulics, materials, as well as traffic engineering, environmental stewardship and highway project administration, maintenance and storm water management.

The internships take place May through August 2018 and pay up to $18 per hour, depending on education and experience.

A strong cold front will move through the region Sunday into Sunday night. bringing periods of snow to the Sierra and snow showers to western Nevada. The temperatures early next week will be the coldest of the season with dangerous wind chills in the Sierra.

Winds will continue to increase tonight becoming strong along ridgetops and gusty in Sierra valleys and along the Sierra front range. The strongest winds are expected Sunday as the cold front moves through the region. Wind advisories remain in effect tonight through Sunday evening mainly for areas south of I-80. Expect

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - There may be new vendors at Lakeview Commons this summer. At the 9:00 a.m. South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 20, City staff will present the results of the bidding process for concessionaires at both the food and beverage concession and non-motorized watercraft rental service.

Staff's recommended concessionaires are Sierra-at-Tahoe for the food and beverage services at Lakeview Commons, and Tahoe City Kayak and Paddleboard for the watercraft rentals. The Council will take their consideration into their vote.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - Since January 1, 2018 there have been 18 school shootings in the United States, 25 fatal school shootings since 1999's Columbine High School tragedy. With the deadly shooting February 14, 2018 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many communities are looking at their own schools and their safety procedures to help prevent a repeat of a tragic event.

What is commonplace at schools across the country are drills for "shelter in place" and for students to understand what to do, and not do, in case of an emergency.

After being unprepared for a very large crowd at their last attempt for a vacation home rental (VHR) meeting, the El Dorado County Board if Supervisors have reschedule that postponed meeting to Saturday, March 3 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the South Tahoe Middle School multi-purpose room.

Imagine being a child who has to navigate the legal system at a young age. Since no one can expect children to know what to do there is CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocate. These volunteers work for the best interest of children who are in the foster care system, abused, neglected and at-risk.

Think of all the people involved: social workers, attorneys, foster parents, biological parents, and more. The CASA volunteer ensures that the child's needs are being met while in the system, just as these others in their lives do.

4:15 p.m. 2/12/18 update: Family members say the man who died in Sunday's house fire is Dean Eastin. His former sister-in-law Mimi Bertrand told South Tahoe Now that it was Dean who died. His two adult children, Lori and Gregory, moved from South Lake Tahoe and now live in Grants Pass, Oregon.

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8:00 p.m. update: The cause of the deadly fire in South Lake Tahoe today was the result of smoking materials on a couch. The deceased is a 58-year-old male. There is an ongoing investigation by the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and Police departments. No name has been released.

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