Committee

At the Lake Tahoe Summit last month, we saw the power of what we can accomplish when we work together. Progress over the last two decades was showcased when President Obama made his first-ever visit to Tahoe and said conservation and restoration efforts like ours are more important than ever as the nation works to adapt to a changing climate and create a more resilient environment.

More money is headed to preserve and restore Lake Tahoe. In Washington Wednesday the U.S. Senate passed its $415 million version of 2015's Lake Tahoe Restoration Act by a vote of 95-3.

The money for Lake Tahoe is part of the $10 billion Water Resources Development Act of 2016.

This is the first time the funding legislation to reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act has cleared the full Senate even though its has succeeded at the committee level several times.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe will host the 19th annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on Saturday, September 10 in South Lake Tahoe. Community members will gather for this fun, all-ages, hands-on restoration day at the Angora Burn Area.

To the South Shore community: My name is Troy Matthews and I am thrilled to announce my candidacy for Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Education in Trustee Area 4. My wife Rae and I honeymooned in South Tahoe and decided not to leave. We have fallen in love with this community and have taken active roles in many different local organizations. I work for Tahoe Youth & Family Services, one of the oldest local non-profit organizations in the region serving at-risk and underprivileged youth in South Lake Tahoe.

I am lucky to have lived in South Lake Tahoe for 9 years and grateful to be raising my children in such a wonderful place. I received a Masters Degree in Land Use Planning from UNR and am currently a solution oriented AICP, Senior Planner at Midkiff & Associates. My commitment to community service led me to the Leadership Lake Tahoe program, board membership with the Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, the Chamber Government Affairs Committee and the fight against climate change.

I am running as a candidate for Lake Tahoe Community College Trustee in District 4 because I believe a good education is one of the most important services a community can provide to its citizens.

Lake Tahoe Community College is in an extraordinary and unprecedented position with the passing of Measure F two years ago. I am committed to the prospect of offering students an affordable four-year degree program, upgrading our current facilities, building the University center and exploring the possibility of on campus housing for students.

Dr. Annie Davidson filed Thursday to run for school board member of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District serving Trustee Area 1.

A proposed redevelopment plan for Squaw Valley would include affordable employee housing, new infrastructure including roads and fire safety, as well as environmental improvements according to Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC. They have kicked off and effort to communicate with the public and gain support through "Squaw Tomorrow" for what is being called the Village at Squaw Valley redevelopment project.

Fourteen students from Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley received $19,500 in scholarships from the Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for their academic achievement and plans to pursue a career in medicine or science.

“It is our hope to give a head start to our future doctors, nurses, physical therapists, medical techs, biologists, psychologists, and first responders,” says Joanne Donmoyer, an Auxiliary and Scholarship Committee member. "The medical and science professions are very important in Tahoe, and we would be so pleased if some of our young people returned and served our community.”

The International Ski Federation (FIS) and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) announced today that Squaw Valley will host an Audi FIS World Cup in March 2017, consisting of a women’s giant slalom on Friday, March 10 and a women’s slalom on Saturday, March 11. The event will mark the return of World Cup ski racing to California for the first time in 19 years.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) recognized Dr. Terry Orr of South Lake Tahoe as the 2016 recipient of the John J. Clair Jr. Award.

The John J. Clair Jr. Award is given annually to a person who provides exceptional service to the U.S. Ski Team or U.S. Snowboarding. Past recipients include Dave McCoy, the founder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, and Deedee Corradini, the first and only female mayor of Salt Lake City. This year, Dr. Orr received the award at the USSA Congress’s Chairman Awards Dinner on Friday, May 13 in Park City, Utah.

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) didn't give South Tahoe High the results the school was expecting after the recent visit by the group's visiting accreditation committee, so they have begun the appeal process.

After the committee left South Tahoe High, they told Principal Chad Houck they were impressed with what they saw, so a recommendation for the school to be placed on a two-year probationary accreditation caught Houck and other school district leaders by surprise and was contrary to what they led him to believe while they were in South Lake Tahoe.

It once housed The Shiek, a boat named in honor of Rudolf Valentino, friend and frequent guest to the Pope Estate in South Lake Tahoe. The Shiek was the biggest and fastest boat of its time on Lake Tahoe.

In the late 1800's it housed the boats of William Tevis who owned the 75 acre sprawling estate along the South Shore.

The Barton Foundation has $50,000 to give away in grant funding to groups in the South Lake Tahoe area who work to improve community health.

During their annual grant cycles, Barton provides funds to programs and organizations, and this year they will award grants to those who address mental health, substance abuse, and access to healthcare services.

The Amgen Tour of California South Lake Tahoe Organizing Committee is seeking 300 volunteers for the combined stages for men and women on Thursday, May 19, 2016.

The men’s elite race Stage 5 will begin in Lodi, Calif. at 10 a.m., and finish around 3:45 p.m. at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s California Base Lodge in South Lake Tahoe totaling 132.4 miles. The women’s Stage 1 will start at 10:50 a.m. and finish approximately at 2:00 p.m. at Heavenly, totaling 72.7 miles.

For almost 30 years, Edgewood Tahoe has hosted a golf tournament to help raise funds for local schools, and plans have now been unveiled for the 29th Annual Booster Club Golf Tournament. The first day of this popular event has already sold out, so now is the time to sign up for the May 8 tournament.

This fun filled event includes a chance to win trophies, raffle prizes and a closest to the pin contest, and a hole in one prize.

It has been about 18 months since the Cal Tahoe JPA voted to spend $192,000 on badly needed EKG monitors for the nine ambulances that serve the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers area. As of March 31, not a dime has been spent due to a division between the two fire departments that are part of the JPA.

"I don't want public safety to get in the way of politics," said SLT City Councilman Tom Davis at Thursday's emergency JPA meeting. Davis is one of two Council representatives on the JPA board. The other is Mayor Wendy David.

In the mix you have El Dorado County, the City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Valley Fire Protection and the Cal Tahoe JPA. More importantly, and most likely the reason for the passionate responses from all involved, the mix also contains the safety of the public.

On March 15, 2016, the City of South Lake Tahoe sent a letter to the JPA, stating their intent to pull out of the agency that was created in 2001 to supply ambulance service to the City and the County and a portion of Alpine County.

Rarely do I use this space to comment upon political issues within our community. That said, with the “politicization” of the US Hwy 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project I felt the need to share some background and perspectives for consideration.

Erica Mirich has been hired by the League to Save Lake Tahoe to be their new Director of Development.

A competitive national search brought Mirich back to Lake Tahoe previously served as director of development for the Lake Tahoe School in Incline Village. Most recently she served as senior director of annual giving for the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Mirich holds a master’s degree in science education from Harvard and brings classroom experience as a science educator.

On October 27, 2015, Sue Novasel, the County Supervisor representing South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Tahoma and Pollock Pines was served a “notice of intent to circulate a recall petition” by a group of citizens who said they are “tired of the corruption and cronyism that has plagued our county for years.” It wasn’t only Novasel, but all five of the County Supervisors, Shiva Frentzen, Ron Mikulaco, Michael Ranalli and Brian Veerkamp.

Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller have announced that Katherine "Kate" Krolicki has been chosen to be one of 104 student delegates who will be attending the 54th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) in Washington, D.C.

"I never thought it'd happen," Krolick said of her being selected. "It's right up my alley and I am so excited to go back to Washington."

The Whittell High School senior has worked in Washington, D.C. twice, once as page for Senator Reid in 2014, and as Senator Heller's intern in 2015.

Long the dream of many in South Lake Tahoe, a four-year educational opportunity is on target to break ground in the spring of 2017 on the grounds of Lake Tahoe Community College. The Lisa and Robert Maloff University Center will then be built and open in the fall of 2018.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) will “make a real difference for families and communities” struggling with drug addiction, U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio said Saturday. He spoke about the bill, which has bipartisan support, in a weekly Republican address.

“This epidemic does not discriminate,” Senator Portman said. “Zip codes don’t matter. It’s affecting our cities, suburban areas, and rural counties. Young or old, rich, middle class or poor, black, white, Hispanic or Asian. The grip of addiction affects all of us.”