2015

To increase safety on not only Lake Tahoe, but on waterways across the state, operators of motorized vessels will soon be required to possess a California Boater Card. The first group to fall into this category, those 20 years of age or younger, must have a card by January 1, 2018 with other age groups added annually.

Those renting boats will not be required to get a card, nor will those in the state less than 60 days or holding a commercial fishing license.

The Nevada Division of Tourism recognized outstanding members of the state’s rural tourism industry at the VolunTourism Awards Dinner April 27 in Elko. The awards ceremony was a highlight of the state’s annual Rural Roundup conference.

“Tourism is a significant component of rural Nevada economies,” Claudia Vecchio, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs director, said. “It is a $2.3 billion industry that continues to grow thanks to the efforts of the tourism professionals in rural Nevada. It is our pleasure to recognize those efforts with this year’s VolunTourism awards.”

Charles Woodson, Travis Kelce, Doug Pederson, Mike Zimmer and Adam Thielen will make up the NFL contingent of first time competitors at the annual American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood in Lake Tahoe July 14-16.

This is the 28th year the 54-hole tournament has been on the South Shore, offering a purse of $600,000 while also raising money for local and national charities.

Cities around the country are having ongoing discussions and debates about single family homes in their community being used as short-term vacation rentals. South Lake Tahoe is not alone in this issue which has pitted home owners vs. home owners vs. community members. As with any divisive issue, there is no easy answer.

No, BumpBar is not a new watering hole in South Lake Tahoe. Instead, BumpBar is a nutritious bar with the pregnant or nursing woman in mind, and is the creation of local couple Dr. Amanda Weavil, MD and Scott Weavil.

BumpBar began in 2015 when Amanda, a South Lake Tahoe OB/GYN wanted to develop a nutrition bar for her patients who were either pregnant or nursing. Something they have and not worry about the ingredients.

Scott researched the large nutrition bar market and found there were no options for sale like they had in mind, something people could eat on the go that was healthy.

A new solar energy project will be unveiled to the public on Wednesday, April 19 at 9:30 a.m. in the town of Luning, Nevada. Since going on line, the new 50 MW Luning Solar Energy Center has supplied 25 percent of Liberty Utilities' customers’ energy needs with clean, renewable energy.

The Luning center is located on Highway 361 at Mile Marker 25, approximately a three-hour drive from South Lake Tahoe.

“We’re very excited to share this official opening with our customers and the community of Luning,” stated Travis Johnson, Liberty Utilities’ VP of Electric Operations.

In 2015 and 2016 the Washoe County Detention Facility was faced with a spike of in-custody deaths. Each of these resulted in a thorough and thoughtful investigation to help us better understand and mitigate critical community-wide issues that permeate our facility. These investigations helped lead to changes and pursuits aimed at prevention.

A stretch of Highway 50 over Echo Summit has been renamed the Firefighter Michael "Mikey" Hallenbeck Memorial Highway, and his family is raising funds to produce and install the signs.

Hallenbeck died fighting the Sierra Fire in August of 2015, near where he worked as a ski life operator. The 21-year-old was also a wildland firefighter for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Since early 2015, Scratchdog Stringband has been touring throughout the West Coast and Midwest with their fresh amalgamation of classic and contemporary Americana music. They will be in South Lake Tahoe on April 22 at 9:00 p.m. at the Divided Sky in Meyers.

Between 2011 and 2015, 369 lives were lost in Nevada in alcohol-related crashes, one of the deadliest and most often committed of crimes on the road. Impaired drivers have consistently been the most common cause of motor vehicle crashes resulting in injuries and deaths in Nevada which is a serious safety epidemic.

There is someone injured in a car accident every two minutes, and someone killed every 53 minutes in the United States involving an impaired driver. This is a preventable crime, and lives can be saved by following some simple steps.

A 3.86 mile shared used bike trail from Van Sickle Bi-State Park to Sierra Boulevard is getting closer to becoming reality after a Memo of Understanding (MOU) has been developed between its three partners.

The first phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail was completed through the Bijou neighborhood in Summer, 2015, but the next phase needed a partnership between the City of South Lake Tahoe (City), Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) to be completed.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - Its been years in the making, and finally, on Monday, March 20, Sierra Suds Car Wash will be open to the public.

In the 1950's, the 23-unit Cedar Lodge was located at 2685 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The motel was eventually demolished and South Lake Tahoe dentist Dr. Jim Getzelman bought the property in hopes of developing it into a car wash.

"We’re trying the best to make this a very clean alternative to washing a car at home,” Getzelman said in March, 2008 of his plans to open the car wash in the fall of that year.

The teams for this Spring's Amgen Tour of California and Amgen Breakaway from Heart DiseaseTM Women’s Race empowered with SRAM have been announced, and they contain some of the most decorated cyclists in the world.

AEG, the producer and presenter of the 2017 tours, made the announcement today.

The men's Amgen Tour of California runs from May 14-20 and the Amgen Breakaway from Heart DiseaseTM Women’s Race empowered with SRAM starts in South Lake Tahoe on May 11,with the final race on May 14.

Water conservation efforts in California have saved 2.51 million acre-feet of water since June of 2105. This is enough water to provide 6.24 million homes with water for a year, or almost one-third of the state's population.

Since state-mandated water restrictions have been in place, the cumulative statewide savings has been 22.5 percent, when compared with the previous 18-month period.

Since June 2015, the 817.9 billion gallons saved is enough water to supply more than 12.5 million people with water for a year has been saved at the state level.

Former South Lake Tahoe Fire Captain Mark McLeod Wygant was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 10 years in prison for transportation of child pornography

Wygant, 46, plead guilty in December.

Following an FBI and SLT Police Department investigation, Wygant was a
arrested on Jan. 29 2015 and has been in custody ever since. He had been immediately placed on administration leave but resigned just days after his arrest.

The Tahoe Women's Community Fund has $29,000 to give to South Lake Tahoe non-profit groups and agencies who focus on five critical areas they've selected for funding in 2017. $10,000 grants will be given to those chosen whose focus is children and youth, and mental health and wellness. $3,000 will given in three grants: poverty and housing, education and literacy, and environment and the community.

The Request for Proposals are now available and due back February 28 at 5:00 p.m. They can be found HERE.

A year can pass very quickly. Just ask Samantha Byassee and Karrina Ferris, who were crowned Miss Carson City and Miss Carson City Outstanding Teen, respectively, in 2016.

One year later, the two reigning local titleholders in the Miss America organization turned their crowns over to the 2017 winners Saturday night on stage in the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William Street in Carson City.

"Savor every moment, because a year will go by so fast," Ferris said in her farewell speech to the waiting contestants.

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office and several law enforcement agencies are investigating new information related to threats made against a Carson City judge, Sheriff Ken Furlong said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Carson City Sheriff’s Office detectives and Department of Public Safety investigators received information that an inmate at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Detention Center was being held on a 2011 felony contempt of court warrant out of Carson City.

South Tahoe High School's star quarterback is headed north to fill the same position at Eastern Oregon University (EOU). Tommy Cefalu signed a letter of intent to play for the Mountaineers on National Signing Day, Wednesday, February 1, surrounded by his family, friends, teammates and coaches.

The offer for the two sport South Tahoe High athlete (he also plays for his dad Joby on the school's basketball team) is a full ride scholarship. Tommy plans on majoring in Business Administration.

The City of South Lake Tahoe's second workshop on vacation home rentals (VHRs) drew about 45 people in person Wednesday, while several others participated from home via the internet. As is every discussion about VHRs in the community, passions ran high and differences were apparent.

Not all changes to the City of South Lake Tahoe's master fee schedule results in higher fees for residents and business owners.

During Tuesday' City Council meeting, Kevin Fabino, Director of the Development Services Department, presented the new Fire/Life Safety Inspection Program, something all South Lake Tahoe businesses must participate in annually for the safety of their customers and staff. The SLT Fire Department conducted the inspections until 2011, but they were suspended due to staffing shortages until 2015 when a fire inspector was hired for Fabino's department.

It was a winning year for Nevada casinos as they turned a $661.7 million loss in 2015 into a $978.9 million gain in net income during Fiscal year 2016 (FY16).

There are 273 casinos in Nevada that have gross receipts of $1 million or more, and together they had $25 billion in total revenue during the year. Total revenue is the money spent by patrons on gaming, rooms, food, beverage, and other attractions.

Net income/loss is the money retained by casinos after expenses have been paid but prior to deducting federal income taxes and prior to accounting for extraordinary expenses.

The first baby born in South Lake Tahoe in 2017 has arrived.

Bodie James Briggs was born in the Barton Hospital Birthing Center on Wednesday, January 4 at 5:08 p.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 19 inches long.

Mom and dad are Jessica and Steve Briggs of Meyers. Bodie is named after the historic California gold-mining ghost town where they said they had enjoyed one of their most memorable days in 2015.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - I could not be more honored and excited to represent this community as your Mayor. Having served on City Council for two years, I have learned that there are deeply passionate and extremely knowledgeable citizens and fellow council members who care immensely about our community and the decisions made by our City.