change

Fall is here! A pleasant weekend in South Lake Tahoe will change to dropping temperatures through Wednesday as a low pressure system comes to Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada. Look for brisk northerly winds through Tuesday with much colder temperatures through Wednesday. Warmth will make a return as a gradual warming trend will develop for the latter half of the week with above average temperatures possible by next weekend as high pressure returns.

Forecast from the National Weather Service in Reno:

Monday - Sunny, with a high near 53. East wind 10 to 15 mph.

Vacation home rentals (VHRs) in South Lake Tahoe are again the subject of a City Council meeting. In an effort to come to an ordinance that satisfies all sides, the October 3 council meeting will look at several topics that were discussed at the September 5 VHR workshop.

Faces of Homelessness, an event hosted by the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless, will take plan on Thursday, October 26 at the historic Valhalla Tahoe at 5:30 p.m.

Around the country, formerly homeless individuals are sharing their stories through a series of Faces of Homelessness panel discussions. The South Lake Tahoe version will feature speakers from Northern California, including Lake Tahoe.

Child Advocates of El Dorado County were awarded a $10,000 donation from Cumbre Insurance Services, LLC in celebration of the agency being honored for demonstrating extraordinary volunteerism to make positive change happen in their community.

This 2017 Safeco Insurance® Make More Happen Award allowed the local company to assist with the non-profit’s mission of providing an advocate for every abused, neglected and at-risk child within the county.

- Do you know how to get 32% more social security income for life?
- Most people don’t know ALL of the choices available.
- Do you want help understanding this complex decision?
- Be informed, you only get one chance to choose.

An evening with Troy Simmons – National Speaker on Social Security on September 26, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe.

Limited Seating – Reserve Seat Here or by calling 775-588-6116 or email CRessler@1stallied.com.

Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) is holding their State of the College address on Thursday, September 13 inside the Duke Theater starting at 8:00 a.m. with a breakfast reception.

LTCC President Jeff DeFranco will discuss where the college is today and where they are headed. A LTCC Alumni Panel will follow DeFranco, sharing their experiences on the South Lake Tahoe campus. Wrapping up the event will be Dr. Victor Rios, who will talk about how to change students' lives through meaningful contact.

The alumni panel will include:

Lake Tahoe is known around the world for its crystal-clear water. For several decades, Tahoe’s clarity, which measured more than 100 feet in 1968, was declining each year because of stormwater pollution from poorly planned development and the lingering effects of historical activities such as cattle grazing and logging.

UPDATE 10:45AM: Power has been restored to all South Lake Tahoe area customers of Liberty Utilities. The cause of the outage is still unknown.

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Power went out to almost 4,000 Liberty Utilities customers in South Lake Tahoe at 9:10 a.m. Friday. There is a locked out circuit at the Meyers substation.

Crews are at the scene trying to get power back on.

As of 10:00 a.m., power was restored to some people, but 2,206 customers are still without power.

There is no estimated restoration time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two topics that fills the City Council chambers: Marijuana and Vacation Home Rentals (VHR). Interested residents and other stakeholders in the City's proposed changes to the VHR ordinance not only filled chambers, but filled seats surrounding televisions in the lobby where the proceedings were aired.

After almost six hours of presentation and conversation, the City Council voted to bring back the new ordinance in one month on October 5.

"Our job is to make a decision, not continuing to kick the can down the road," said SLT Mayor Austin Sass.

UPDATE 9/3 9:00pm - 9,051 acres have now burned in the Slinkard Fire near Topaz Lake. It remains at 20 percent contained.

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UPDATE 9/2 2:45PM - The Slinkard Fire is burning in three counties and two states: Mono, Alpine and Douglas County in California and Nevada. It has consumed 7,881 acres since starting by lightning on August 29. Firefighters now have a containment line around 20 percent of the fire. It is located in Slinkard Valley, and on the west slope of Antelope Valley, west of Topaz Lake and eight miles north of Walker, Calif.

It took just 72 minutes to change the lives of millions of people on September 11, 2001.

In commemoration of that day and the lives lost with attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, members of South Lake Tahoe’s American Legion Post 795 and the Ladies Auxiliary will be holding a ceremony on Sept. 11, 2017 at the American Legion Hall starting at 11:00 a.m.

The community and first responders are invited.

UPDATE 3:30PM - Residents with proper identification will be allowed to pass through closed highway areas in Topaz Estates and north of the fire. School buses will be running as normal for Thursday afternoon.

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The Nevada Highway Patrol and California Hwy Patrol are working traffic control for the Slinkard Fire in Topaz near the Nevada and California state line.

North of the fire, Hwy 395 is closed in both directions at Leviathan Mine Road, which is south of Gardnerville, Nevada.

South of the fire, Hwy 395 is closed in both directions at Hwy 182 in Bridgeport, Calif.

Today at the 21st annual Lake Tahoe Summit, the creation of a new partnership of state, federal, environmental, industry, and research representatives working together to protect Lake Tahoe and the surrounding central Sierra Nevada was announced. The effort, the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative, is focused on restoring the health and resilience of the area’s forests and watersheds. It builds on the legacy of work that has been done to “Keep Tahoe Blue,” and a variety of activities already underway in the Central Sierra landscape.

Many South Lake Tahoe residents love their dogs. Most Police Officers love dogs too. I’ve heard it said by someone not so long ago…. “The more people I meet, the more I love dogs!” We at the police department understand and share in this fondness; however, we receive weekly complaints from community members regarding dogs in public parks, and most frequently dogs at the Live-at-Lakeview events. The South Lake Tahoe City Code (SLTCC), does not allow dogs, even on a leash, to be in our public parks (SLTCC §8.05.130).

The search for a new Assistant County Manager for Douglas County is almost over as Bradley Hurley and Philip Ritger have been chosen as the final two candidates. The public is invited to meet the two on August 21 from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. at the Carson Valley Inn.

Last Monday, panel interviews were conducted for eight applicants, and from that group Hurley and Ritger were chosen to be interviewed by County Manager Larry Werner.

Ritger is the current Town of Genoa Manager and Hurley the Deputy Communications Officer with the Department of Defense. Both are residents of Douglas County.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors today issued the following statement
about El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Warren Stracener’s decision regarding the constitutionality of Measure E, which was passed by voters in June 2016. It enacted or reinstated certain restrictions and policies concerning roads and traffic congestion, especially traffic issues related to new development:

Twelve four-season resorts with 20,000 skiable acres are all now part of a new company that was formed to acquire Intrawest Resort Holdings, Inc. and Mammoth Resorts.

Affiliates of KSL Capital Partners, LLC and Henry Crown and Company now own Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Snow Summit, Bear Mountain and June Mountain in California; Steamboat Ski & Resort and Winter Park Resort in Colorado; Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Ontario; Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec; Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont; and Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia.

A 27-year-old Sparks, Nev. man has been positively identified as Saturday's drowning victim at Sand Harbor.

The Washoe County Coroner's Office told South Tahoe Now that Jose Jaime Partida was the man who died in Lake Tahoe on July 29. The cause of death is drowning.

They will be running a toxicology screening which is normal protocol and won't change the cause of death.

Climate change has brought major changes to Lake Tahoe including warmer water, an increase in dying trees and a reducing summertime lake clarity.

These and other findings were released today in the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) annual Tahoe: State of the Lake Report for 2016. The year was marked by the hottest temperatures on record followed by a winter of unprecedented levels of rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada.

TERC Director Geoffrey Schladow presented the report at a free public talk July 27 in Incline Village.

A change in weather is forecast for the Lake Tahoe Basin, with a 30 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for July 24-25. By Wednesday the area will dry out and highs of 88 are expected by the end of the week.

With the chance of showers and thunderstorms also comes a chance of gusty winds, hail and flash flooding possible in some areas of Western Nevada. Activity on the water should cease when this activity starts.

Forecast from the National Weather Service in Reno:

By proclamation of the County Board of Supervisors, El Dorado County celebrated Probation Services Week this week, July 17 – July 21, 2017. As the Chief Probation Officer in El Dorado County, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on the critical work probation does in our criminal justice system and say thank you to all the men and women of my department who work tirelessly to protect our communities, reduce recidivism, restore victims, promote healthy families, and live the vision of our department: Safe Communities Through Changed Lives.

7:45 p.m. update: There is less smoke in the Lake Tahoe basin this evening but air quality is still measuring in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range. The Detwiler Fire is burning in drought stricken chaparral and in an area of severe tree mortality and has consumed 70,596 acres and is now 10 percent contained.

As of tonight, 50 residences and 49 other structures have been destroyed and widespread evacuation orders are still in place.

Widespread haze over Lake Tahoe, Reno and Carson City areas is forecast again for Friday.

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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What does a win-win-win vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance look like?

It may not yet be known after today's workshop held during the South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting in front of a full house, but all sides appear to be committed to creating something that works for everyone in the community.

Cities across the country are grappling with their own ordinances for VHRs as the new trend towards vacationing centers around renting a home instead of staying in a motel or hotel.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Caltrans has temporarily turned off the pedestrian hybrid beacon at Camp Richardson after backup in the congested area became a concern to both motorists and other agencies.

The light on State Highway 89 at Camp Richardson was turned off on June 27 and will remain off through the upcoming weekend and July 4th holiday.