change

STATELINE, Nev. - Three candidates for the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners have been endorsed by the Tahoe Chamber Board of Directors: Larry Walsh, Nathan Tolbert, and Danny Tarkanian.

Walsh is seeking reelection for District 3, Tolbert is a candidate for the open District 5 seat, and Tarkanian is running for election against incumbent Commissioner Dave Nelson in District 1.

The following is a letter sent to El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe. It is published here in its entirety at the request of the author.

The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce would like to offer encouragement and support of a revival of the local economy, while continuing to keep the health and safety of our residents in mind. Cases of COVID-19 have remained low in our region when compared to other more populated areas around the State and Nation. We applaud the quick action taken by the County and City that has helped us keep the case count low.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The line of cars wrapped around the block and down the street in the Al Tahoe neighborhood Friday, all to celebrate a South Lake Tahoe teen's 18th birthday.

With stay-at-home orders in place for both a birthday party and high school graduation, Lisa Calderon had to come up with an idea to make her daughter, Kayla Mason, feel special on her birthday.

With the global spread of Covid-19, we have discovered how quickly our world can change and have responded with sacrifices. It’s clear that we deeply value the health and well-being of our community.

With our response, we have improved the health of our planet, too. It’s remarkable! On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, our skies are the cleanest they have been for over a century.

Celebrations have taken on many new forms since the start of social distancing. Birthday parties have become processions of cars parading past a celebrant’s home—people honking and waving, tossing candy and small gifts (for later disinfecting, then enjoying). And huge international celebrations like the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this week have moved online, giving room for individuals to celebrate and explore the conservation movement in new ways.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is currently accepting applications for community
members to join the newly formed transformational change sub-committee. This committee is focused on developing second and third economies for Tahoe in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The committee is proposing to bring together a diverse and innovative group of community stakeholders, thought leaders, and experts to implement policies, programs, and projects today that will have long term beneficial impacts for South Lake Tahoe over the next 50 years.

Volvo has been on a serious roll with some new product that is off the charts like the new S90, V90, XC90, and XC60 and their sales growth indicates renewed customer enthusiasm. But now we have the new XC40 which was rewarded recently with the European Car of the Year for 2018. So, it was with much anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the new XC40.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The proposed Lake Tahoe West Restoration Project is in the final planning stages and the three agencies involved, USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, California Tahoe Conservancy, and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are inviting the public to provide their input. The project is a big one, covering 59,000 acres, and will provide a science-based, all-lands approach to guide restoration approaches on the West Shore over the next two decades to increase the resilience of ecosystems and human communities.

In the coming days and weeks, you will see a recall petition circulating for me. I voted my conscience on an item before the city council and certain members of the public disagreed with that vote.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Council has two items on their special meeting agenda for Wednesday, April 8 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting is live-streamed on Channel 21 and on the City’s website at www.cityofslt.us.

There will be no formal action on the first item. They will be discussing their newly appointed Transformational Change Committee which is comprised of Councilmembers Cody Bass and Devin Middlebrook.

At their meeting last week, the council created two other committees as well that will address the response and recovery to the COVID-19 crisis:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will be returning to the South Shore of Lake Tahoe this spring to complete two major projects.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The FBI anticipates cyber actors will exploit increased use of virtual environments by government agencies, the private sector, private organizations, and individuals as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Computer systems and virtual environments provide essential communication services for telework and education, in addition to conducting regular business. The criminal, or cyber actor, will exploit vulnerabilities in these systems to steal sensitive information, target individuals and businesses performing financial transactions, and engage in extortion.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - El Dorado County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams today issued a directive extending the amount of time County residents are to remain at home except to engage in “essential activities.” The extension now goes to Thursday, April 30, 2020.

Residents are asked to stay in their homes as much as possible to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Only essential business and essential travel is permissible by the order.

STATELINE, Nev. - The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) board today unanimously approved the Tahoe Douglas Visitor’s Authority Tahoe South Event Center planned for the parking lot area of Montbleu Casino Resort in Stateline. Edgewood Tahoe has donated the 13.3 acres at the corner of Lake Parkway and Highway 50 needed for the center.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Hotels, motels, vacation rentals, and campgrounds are to be used only to house homeless, COVID-19 emergency workers or continue to house residents according to an El Dorado County directive issued on Tuesday. Staying in one of these types of temporary housing is not considered "essential" by Governor Newsom's March 18th "Stay at Home" order.

California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye on Monday issued a statewide order suspending all jury trials in California's superior courts for 60 days and allowing courts to immediately adopt new rules to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In South Lake Tahoe, Judge Suzanne Kingsbury had previously announced new practices in the El Dorado County courtrooms and suspension of the use of juries until April 16.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - In response to COVID-19, Douglas County officials continue to work closely with Carson City Health and Human Services and a regional Emergency Operations Center (EOC) that has been set up in Carson City to ensure compliance with the Governor’s directive while working in partnership to keep Douglas County residents safe.

There is a lot of “yoga” out there right now. A boom has occurred and every gym, fitness spot, grassy area, and the beach are now offering “yoga.” There are live streams, videos, Youtube channels, memberships, subscriptions and more. Learn to differentiate between those that are Yoga and the rest.

What Is Yoga?

There are 8 specific aspects of the practice of Yoga. When all are included, you are practicing Yoga.
1) Yama: Restraint/Direction/Control
2) Niyama: Observation/Self Control

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif, - The entire campus of Lake Tahoe Community College will be closed to students, the public and most employees starting Friday, March 20 due to the quickly evolving COVID-19 situation.

On Thursday, both California Governor Gavin Newsom and El Dorado County issued shelter-in-place orders, the state's order beginning Thursday and the County's Friday night.

The South Lake Tahoe campus was nearing the end of the winter quarter when the announcement was made.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -Sierra-at-Tahoe has announced they will be continuing to suspend their operations for the 2019/20 season indefinitely due to the COVID-19 health issue.

"The health and safety of our guests and employees is our primary concern. During this time of uncertainty, we will do our part to help stop the spread of this virus," the resort spokesperson Sarah Sherman said in a statement.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There is a rapidly changing response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, with businesses, nonprofits, and agencies having to change procedures and policies often.

At this time, the following closures or change to business practices have been announced:

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - Diamond Peak Ski Resort will suspend operations starting the morning of Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 20. All lift operations, food and beverage, and rental services will be closed during this time.

Ongoing updates can be found at DiamondPeak.com.

Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) took additional steps on Friday to help curb the spread of the Novel Coronavirus related to fitness classes. They sent out an email to staff and students, letting them know of closures but some do affect community members who use the gym and facilities.

For up-to-the-minute news on LTCC closures and events, visit http://www.ltcc.edu/campusresources/health-and-safety/coronavirus.php. They will be updating them as things change.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Over 34 million Americans have caught the flu this year with over 20,000 deaths recorded, but its the coronavirus COVID-19 that is getting all the headlines.

There are no current reported cases of COVID-19 in South Lake Tahoe/El Dorado County, Alpine County or Douglas County, but local agencies want to be prepared, just in case people come down with the virus.