austin sass

"It was so frustrating and only so much we could do," recalled Kit Bailey of the U.S. Forest Service during Saturday's Angora Fire First Responder Remembrance Ceremony. "Its miraculous nobody got hurt."

On the 10th anniversary of the devastating fire that destroyed 254 homes as it burned quickly through 3,100 acres in the Meyers area of the South Shore, fire responders gathered at the Lake Valley Fire Department to honor those who served that day, and to honor the resilient community that supported them.

The Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe was a vision that began 25 years ago when the late Brooks Park and now General Manager Bobby King were talking about a complete experience for golfers who could also stay after a round of golf.

Park's grandfather David bought 571 acres of pastureland at Lake Tahoe in 1896. The property included the historic Friday's Station where the family operated it as a way station and butcher's shop for those crossing the terrain from 19818-20.

The public is invited to the dedication of a new public safety memorial wall at Happy Homestead Cemetery on Friday, May 19 at 1:00 p.m.

Local law enforcement and fire departments will be participating, with South Lake Tahoe Mayor Austin Sass, El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel, fire and police chiefs speaking during the ceremony. A large contingent of agency equipment is expected along with honor guards and traditional bell ringing.

There was one thing all speakers during Wednesday evening's Town Hall on recreational cannabis agreed on: People need to get involved, educate themselves and share their opinions with their elected leaders at local, county and state levels.

A panel of six people spoke to the crowd of almost 100 people (and another 300 who were viewing online) during the Tahoe Regional Young Professionals (TRYP) fourth Town Hall meeting in South Lake Tahoe.

A packed house at MontBleu Resort on Saturday night was on hand to see Blue Angel Cafe owner, and Lake Tahoe Community College Board Trustee Jeff Cowen win the mirror ball trophy for the 5th annual Tahoe Arts Project's Dancing with the Tahoe Stars.

Cowen, and his professional partner Rhonda Keen performed a Bollywood number that brought down the house.

The anticipated list is out! Tahoe Arts Project (TAP) has announced the participants in the 5th annual Dancing with the Tahoe Stars which will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. in MontBleu's showroom.

The stars and pros for this special evening:
Betsy Belotti and Rainer Herm
Marimille Dacia and Gerzon Chaves
Alison Ganong and Bob Truesdale
Brooke Hernandez and Alex Kaskie
Cindy Martinez and Rex Kline
Jeff Cowen and Rhonda Keen
John Freidrich and Jodi Patton
Matt Levitt and Robyn Lindner
Chuck Malone and Angela Smith
Austin Sass and Catherine Arens

At the beginning of Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, Austin Sass was voted in as mayor, Wendy David as vice mayor and new Councilmembers Jason Collin and Brooke Laine were sworn in.

It was an unanimous vote for Sass, but with three Councilmembers interested in being vice-mayor, the vote for that position was a much closer 3-2. Both Brooke Laine and Tom Davis also expressed a desire to serve under Sass. Collin was the only one not interested in either position, citing his being "the new kid on the block" and wanted to learn the job he was elected for first.

Nobody likes more taxes, but voters in South Lake Tahoe will be faced with approving a new tax that would provide funding for one of three areas that have been deemed a necessity in the community, housing, roads or facilities.

The 1/2 cent sales tax proposal is different than most as the voter gets to decide exactly how it will be spent. That works out to be five cents on every ten dollars spent on non-grocery items and would bring the sales tax in the City to 8.5 percent.

"These are needs we cannot fund without funding from the tax increase," said SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is still trying to work out a deal with the Halferty Development Company, a $4 million sale of the developable portions of the lots known as the "Knights Inn Properties."

During Tuesday's City Council meeting a purchase agreement was scheduled to be voted on, but SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry had to pull it off the agenda.

"We are still working on it," Kerry told South Tahoe Now. "We are still negotiating and have some issues to work out."

The City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Lake Tahoe Community College and South Tahoe Public Utility District have all released advertisements, press releases and emails to the public, looking for candidates for their open seats this election season.

There will be two open seats for City Council, three seats for LTUSD School Board of Trustees, two for LTCC Board of Trustees, and two for the STPUD Board of Directors. All will be voted on during the next election, November 8, 2016.

The 11th annual Lake Tahoe Bike Challenge was officially kicked off with a ceremony at Lakeview Commons Wednesday afternoon. A small crowd gathered for what was the second kick-off party which culminated in a group bike ride.

Proclamations were read by both El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel and South Lake Tahoe Mayor Pro Tem Austin Sass, both celebrating alternative modes of transportation on the South Shore.

The Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Board today unanimously approved a set of principles to clarify and guide the final design and implementation of the US Highway 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project, also known as the Loop Road Project.

This plan that will answer some community member's concerns about the project by addressing right-of-way, housing, road construction, assistance and support for affected businesses, and continued community involvement.

The Bijou Bike Park Association was recognized during Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting with a proclamation honoring their successful creation of the bike park on Al Tahoe Blvd.

"I didn't know this was going to be so successful so quickly," said Amy Fish, an active member of the association. "Our kids can now ride side by side with world class GoPro cyclists at the park."

Amy accepted the award for her husband Ben who was out of town on business. He is the President of both Bijou Bike Park and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Associations

The Knights Inn could be purchased by the City of South Lake Tahoe for $6 million should a grant be awarded them by the California Tahoe Conservancy. If that happens, the City would purchase, and then demolish, the motel located on Highway 50 near Ski Run Boulevard to make way for a new environmental and retail project.

There is grant money available through the CTC which the City will apply for. The funds come from the state's Proposition 1 Water Bond which was approved by voters in 2014 to authorize $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for water projects.

There are many parcels of land in South Lake Tahoe owned by El Dorado County that the City would like to have, and talks between the two are getting closer to making the land transfer a reality.

The visions are big for a new recreation center in South Lake Tahoe. A large indoor aquatic center, a senior center with services, a modern and sustainable building. A large gymnasium

Almost 50 people attended the first of four community meetings to discuss what the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center will provide, how it will look and function. New Mayor Wendy David and Mayor Pro Tem Austin Sass were at the meeting long with members of the Planning Commission, Park and Recreation Commission, and other citizens.

It was a changing of the guard during Monday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. Wendy David moved from her position of mayor pro tem to mayor, and Austin Sass took over the second-in-command duties.

Councilmember Tom Davis, who has served as both mayor and mayor pro tem, was also interested in a fifth term in the pro tem spot but the nod went to Sass.

On June 14, 2014, the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted to delay the implementation of the second phase of the plastic bag ban in the city. Originally slated to begin on October 15, 2014, the Council, by a vote of 3-2, moved the start date out one year to October 15, 2015.

Now that the second phase of the ban has started, Mayor Hal Cole wants to revisit that portion of the ban.

Cole said he wants to undo the ban on plastic bags for retail stores and asked for the topic to be on an upcoming agenda.

It was another packed house at the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday, which has been commonplace for all of the meetings and workshops on the contentious subject of vacation home rentals.

In a unanimous vote of 4-0 (Councilman Tom Davis had to recuse himself), the City Council voted to implement an ordinance that addresses three key issues:

Once again, an audience full of mainly Realtors and property managers filled the South Lake Tahoe City Council Chambers as the topic of Vacation Home Rentals (VHR) was on the agenda for discussion.

Renting a vacation home is being increasingly popular in South Lake Tahoe just as in other communities. Many tourists prefer to rent a VHR instead of a traditional motel or hotel room. There are many reasons from enjoying time with family to reunions and wedding parties.

The newly elected South Lake Tahoe City Council members, City Clerk and City Treasurer were all sworn in during Tuesday's council meeting.

Susan Alessi was re-elected in November as clerk and David Olivo was retained his seat as treasurer. Both terms are for four years.

Newcomers Wendy David and Austin Sass both won seats on the council and they joined re-elected Tom Davis in the swearing in ceremony.

Twenty-one days after the election, the final results have now been certified by the El Dorado County elections department.

The closest race was for the three open seats for South Lake Tahoe City Council. The top vote getter was long time local Wendy David who had 18.05 % of the vote with 1727 residents feeling confident she'd represent them well. Coming in second was incumbent Tom Davis who received 1461 votes, or 15.52% of the vote. Austin Sass moved ahead of incumbent Angela Swanson and ended up with 1318 votes to Swanson's 1289, just .31% difference.

The results of the first wave of counting the approximate 13,000 absentee and provisional ballots from Tuesday's election were released this evening and just one vote separates two candidates from serving on the City Council or not.

Wendy David.......17.98%.......1271 votes
Tom Davis.........15.48%.......1094 votes
Angela Swanson....13.99%........989 votes
Austin Sass.......13.98%........988 votes
Brooke Laine......13.35%........939 votes
Matt Palacio......12.83%........907 votes
Bruce Grego.......12.22%........864 votes

100% of the ballots from polling locations have now been counted in the El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe elections. The following is the result pending some absentee ballots that still need to be counted.

County Supervisor Area 5

Sue Novasel - 59.92% 3529 votes
Kenny Curtzwiler - 39.58% 2331 votes

City of South Lake Tahoe City Council
Top 3 win a seat

Wendy David 18.00% 1205 votes
Tom Davis 15.56% 1042 votes