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The grand hall at MontBleu Casino Resort has been turned into a holiday paradise, a winter wonderland with the main attraction being the specialty Christmas trees.

On Thursday, local celebrities and media strolled by each of the designer trees, selecting those that won top honors of Most Elegant, Best Theme, Most Creative and Best of Show.

The excellent work on each made it almost impossible to come up with a winner, but four were chosen after much deliberation. Each tree will be paired with a special prize package during a live auction at Saturday's Gala.

Flight Deck Sports Bar and Grill at the Lake Tahoe Airport is holding a Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC) fundraiser on Friday, December 1 starting at 6:00 p.m. There will be music by Cash Only Band's Davin & Dallas, raffle prizes, and the showing of a movie and short films, all for $10.

"Boondockers Fourteen," a snowmobile movie, will be shown along with short films by local Ty Dayberry and Bird Flu Crew, and a snowmobile avalanche awareness movie, "Knowledge is Power."

There will be food and drink specials all night long as well.

The forecasted storm hit the Lake Tahoe area starting Sunday evening, and is now moving on. A Winter Storm Advisory is in place until 10:00 a.m. Monday. The week ahead should be clear and sunny and cold with a new storm coming in next Saturday.

As of 8:30 a.m. the following chain controls are in place. For up to the minute reports, visit http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ in California and http://nvroads.com/ in Nevada.

Twin Bridges to Meyers on Highway 50

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:

11/17

10:58 p.m. - Driving without a license - Stockton Ave - A TRAFFIC STOP WAS CONDUCTED ON A VEHICLE FOR AN INFRACTION. IT WAS LATER LEARNED THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE WAS UNLICENSED. THE 32-YEAR-OLD FEMALE DRIVER WAS LATER CITED AND RELEASED.

The following are the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) projects around Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Vehicles without the proper traction control device on their cars while on El Dorado County roads this winter may be fined and/or towed.

Massive traffic jams on Sundays in Meyers throughout last winter led drivers onto side streets without chains or snow tires on their vehicles, creating a parking lot of disabled cars that were stuck in the snow. Those drivers attempting to circumvent traffic ended up using Manda, North Upper Truckee and other local roads but a new ordinance will try and alleviate those issues.

Does the cold weather stop you in your tracks? Maybe not if you are a winter sports enthusiast, but what if you aren’t? Maintaining your fitness goals can be challenging when you’re shoveling snow to get out of your driveway - or even to get into your car. But remember: shoveling snow is exercise!

If you’re someone who goes into hibernation with the bears during winter, I’m here to offer some tips that will help you stay motivated throughout the colder, darker months.

The Tahoe Choir & Lake Tahoe Community College Chorus will present their holiday concert, "A Christmas of Hope, Peace, & Joy" in South Lake Tahoe December 1 and 3, 2017 at St. Theresa Church.

On Friday, December 1, the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, December 3, at at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets may be obtained from choir members, at the LTCC Bookstore, or one hour before each performance at the church. $2 of each ticket to be donated to the Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Fund. Ticket prices are: $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, free for children under 5.

After months of debate and community discussions, South Lake Tahoe will have a new Vacation Home Rental Ordinance (VHR) starting December 21, 2017, but don't expect the discussions to be over.

The City Council will continue to evaluate the ordinance and look at it during a meeting a least quarterly as they look at what is working and what still needs adjustment.

Main points of the VHR ordinance:

The 7th annual Meyers Community Tree Lighting Celebration will be held on Friday, December 1 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Divided Sky/Downtown Cafe parking Lot in Meyers underneath the big tree.

The evening will be full of fun activities for the whole family:

-Santa arrives in the CalStar helicopter (weather permitting)
-Free hot chocolate and popcorn
-Christmas fire truck
-Christmas carols/music

All in the Meyers' community style.

Twelve years of Vacation Home Rentals (VHRs), what a sad place So. Lake Tahoe residential neighborhoods have become. Thanks go to local Realtors, out of town owners, and VHR rental agencies, who care mostly about money, not about the peace and tranquility of the local residents. But they’re not alone, we also have City and County officials that don’t represent the locals that elect them, instead it’s all about the tourists and their friends in the VHR business, some of those friends are elected officials.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have voted for a temporary ban of commercial licenses for both medical and recreational cannabis in El Dorado County with the exception of medical cannabis dispensaries allowed to operate under ordinance 4999.

At the same time, they voted to create a new ad hoc Cannabis Advisory Committee to study and create ballot measures for different cannabis commercial uses tied to
taxation for a local election.

Supervisor Sue Novasel, who represents the South Shore will join Supervisor Ranalli on the new committee.

Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) soccer fans will have to wait a few more days to watch their Lady Coyotes in the playoffs. Their first round opponent, the Solano Falcons, had to forfeit Saturday's game due to a lack of players.

The forfeit automatically gives them a first round win.

It all started when she joined her mom on Saturday runs while in elementary school. By third grade she was hooked and by fifth grade she found she loved to compete in track meets. In middle school she loved the "Pumpkin Runs" and through high school she consistently made it regional and state meets.

Today, South Tahoe High Senior Ally Sullivan signed a letter of intent to attend St. Mary's College to run on their Division 1 track team. Joined by parents Dan and Deni Sullivan, and brothers Josh and Matt, Ally signed in front of coaches and friends.

The South Shore has been getting just rain, and lots of it since the recent storm reached the Sierra Wednesday. Heavenly Mountain Resort received 11" of snow overnight, just ahead of their Friday opening day. Squaw Valley / Alpine Meadows each received 14" from this storm, and 7" at Kirkwood.

Snow is expected at both lake level and at the resorts tonight before the system passes through.

What is currently six portable buildings at the Al Tahoe school site could be a new home for the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT). That is the idea Jude Wood presented to the school board Tuesday night.

Wood, the BGCLT Executive Director, spoke in front of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's Trustees, giving them a look into a proposed partnership and future facility use agreement with the District with a new Clubhouse built on District owned property. The Club would fully fund the new building.

Clear Creek Tahoe, the private residential community and club in the mountains just east of Lake Tahoe, has hired a seasoned hospitality director as part of their commitment to create one of the finest amenity collections in the country.

Franck Savoy has been hired as its general manager. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in luxury hospitality management, Savoy will be responsible for all operations at the property.

Exclusive communities nationwide continue to offer members more elevated experiences, and that is why Clear Creek Tahoe brought Savoy on board.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 418 calls between October 23 - November 5, 2017.

Calls Resulting in Arrests/Citations:

10/23 - 24 Total Calls

Transient Homeless in the 2600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Warrant in the 1900 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Resisting in the 1200 block of Bonanza
Warrant in the 3900 block of Pioneer Trail

10/24 - 23 Total Calls

Suspicious Activity in the 1000 block of Emerald Bay Rd

It was a true community project last weekend as Meyers residents prepared their famous tree for the holidays.Ed Cook Tree Service provided the crane and one of the climbers up the tree was rock climber Paul Crawford.

The Meyers Community Foundation's 7th annual Tree Lighting Celebration will be held on Friday, December 1 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (weather permitting). Catch Santa arriving by a Calstar helicopter, enjoy hot chocolate and popcorn and see the Lake Valley Fire Christmas Truck.

Catch all the activity in the Divided Sky/Downtown Cafe parking lot.

Lake Valley, North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, California State Parks, California Tahoe Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service will continue Lake Tahoe Basin prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks, weather permitting. Operations are scheduled to take place at or near D.L. Bliss State Park, Carnelian Bay, Kings Beach, Incline Village, Diamond Peak Ski Resort area, Glenbrook, upper and lower Kingsbury Grade and south and east of the Lake Tahoe Airport.

South Shore

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) will be wrapping up their two major Lake Tahoe projects for the season over the coming weeks. Crews are working diligently to complete all that they can this construction season before heavy winter weather sets in and makes construction infeasible. Both projects will return with construction next spring.

U.S. 50 Logan Creek Slope Stabilization Project

American Century Championship continues to impact the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, even months after the annual tournament is over. Since its inception in 1990, the tournament has donated more than $4.5 million to local and national non-profits.

On Thursday, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and American Century Investments gave 30 local organizations checks in the amount of $500 to $5,000 to help them serve the community.

"We need the community to get together and collaborate," said SLT Councilman Jason Collin during Tuesday's Council meeting. "Its polarized the community."

Collin was discussing the South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rental Ordinance after another full day of a City Council meeting focused on the subject of vacation homes in the community.

Signing up for a health insurance plan can be daunting and time consuming. As a Certified Enrollment Counselor, my job is to make it easier for South Lake Tahoe families and individuals to navigate Covered California and enroll in a health care plan.

With all the talk the about health care, I have heard rumblings and rumors about what is happening with the Affordable Care Act and what is changing with insurance. Get informed! Make a free one-on-one appointment with me or one my fellow enrollment counselors, have your questions answered, and get enrolled for 2018.