discussion

I read with great interest Mayor Sass’s recent editorial of how he and Wendy David have been living, sleeping, and eating the VHR issue for over 2 years. I internalized these words and reflected how we, as responsible vacation home rental managers, have been dealing with inept City Councils and City Management for over 12 years.

More than a few people have asked me if I was frustrated by this last city council meeting and the 6.5 hour discussion regarding the revised VHR (Vacation Home Rental) ordinance. I thought the City Manager's introduction on why we were looking at a revised ordinance and the staff presentation on the revisions were excellent and on point. At first I was a little confused about some of the council questions of staff but reminded myself that the VHR sub-committee made up of Mayor Pro Tem David and myself have been living, sleeping and eating the VHR issue for over two years.

The Tahoe Regional Young Professionals (TRYP) will be hosting the next installment in the Tahoe Town Hall series on August 30 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Tahoe Beach Retreat Conference Center at 3411 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The event, Tahoe Town Hall: Addressing Homelessness, is free to the public, and will feature a panel of experts to discuss the homelessness issue in South Lake Tahoe.

Is SnowGlobe an event that should stay in South Lake Tahoe?

The answer is "yes" according to the City Council, but exactly how the future working and financial relationships between the City and SnowGlobe will look still needs to be worked out.

Chad Donnelly, founder of SnowGlobe, made a presentation at the SLT City Council meeting Tuesday, outlining a plan to keep the annual December 29-31 music festival in the community.

The monthly meeting of the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District (TPRID) Board of Directors will take place on Thursday, July 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the Paradise Park clubhouse.

Members of the public are invited and comment on both agenda items or other matters.

Their agenda includes the following items:

Beach project, deck, ADA and ADA Parking civil Engineering, contractor selection- Additional bathroom project for lower park
Grants update (including ADA)
Sign program for park update
Tennis court resurfacing, court 1 rehab
Music in the park program, summer 2018

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. - The South Lake Tahoe City Council has been working with the public, home owners, residents and vacation rental companies for years in trying to get a vacation home rental ordinance that works for everyone.

The balancing act will continue during a Vacation Rental Workshop during the next City Council meeting on July 11.

Get to know your neighbors at the next U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center's public presentation "Living With Wildlfe" in Incline Village on June 21 starting with a reception at 5:30 p.m., the talk at 6:00 p.m.

Co-existence is a community effort, learn how to protect your pets, home, and property from all wildlife, mice to bears and mountain lions.

The discussion will be lead by Rebecca Dmytryk of the founder of Human Wildlife Control Association, and Madonna Dunbar, resource conservationist for IVGID.

The Sierra Club Tahoe Area Group presents a free, advanced screening of From the Ashes, produced by Radical Media in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies for National Geographic on Thursday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. at Unity of the Lake.

The film provides a compelling and often heartbreaking look at coal and what’s at stake for our economy, health, and climate. Learn more about an industry on the edge and what it means for our future.

I took a couple of field trips this month related to learning more about cannabis and how it may affect our city if retail, commercial grows, testing, and edible production are implemented. I learned a lot and will share some of the highlights with you.

The first trip was to Breckenridge, a visit I piggybacked on top of a wedding I attended in Vail. I met with their Mayor, City Manager (formerly the police chief) and the assistant city manager. We met for two hours and our talk was primarily centered on their experiences with the legalization of cannabis in Breckenridge.

Best selling book and Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" has sparked conversation about mental health and suicide among youth after the lead character leaves behind 13 tapes after she kills herself. Each tape tells a different person the part they played in her death.

As a response to the movie and how students will react to it, Lake Tahoe Unified School District intervention counselors will be holding a community panel discussion called "300 Reasons Why Not" on Tuesday, May 30 at South Tahoe Middle School's Multi-Purpose Room starting at 6:00 p.m.

The public is invited to the next Tahoe Paradise Improvement District Board of Directors on Thursday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the park's clubhouse.

The following items are on the agenda for discussion and vote:

1. Special meeting in May (possibly May 11) on potential conversion to recreation and park district.
2. Approval of Prop 1 grant applications (due April 28)
3. Tennis/Pickleball Court usage and charges
4. Disc golf at park update
5. RVs in the park
6. Surplus equipment removal update
7. Beach sand project, deck, ADA and ADA Parking

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.

El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel is inviting all county residents to join in the continuing discussion about traffic congestion in Meyers at the next Traffic Congestion update meeting in Meyers on April 6 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. She will be leading the discussion that was started at the first meeting on February 13 when about 100 people attended.

What is officially known as the Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project, or unofficially the Knight's Inn Project, will be brought before the South Lake Tahoe City Council to be approved during a special meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 4:00 p.m.

The three phase, 850-acre project will be both an environmental and economic development project, something the City has been working on for several years.

The City of South Lake Tahoe now has a new vision statement to guide all of their decisions: "We will reflect the national treasure in which we live."

During a two-day long retreat and strategic planning session, the City Council and staff leaders met to discuss their strategies over the next two years, something they do right after every Council election.

City leaders will now get other agencies on the South Shore to join them in this mission, as well as the community. The vision will be reflected on City materials, a new logo, and be the "guiding principle in decision making."

A public meeting will be held by the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District Board of Directors on Thursday, February 23 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the park located at 1011 E. San Bernardino in Meyers.

Discussion on several items are on the agenda, including park regulations, improvements and weddings/special events.

Here are some of those agenda items:

Disc golf at park update
RVs in the park
Surplus equipment removal update
each sand project
Grants update (including ADA)
Potential conversion to Recreation district
Sign program for park update

As we look at reopening the Al Tahoe Elementary School as a STEAM academy, it is important to take a look back at the journey Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has taken to get to where we are today.

Following decades of desegregation efforts and forced busing, lawsuits in the 1990s effectively brought a halt to desegregation efforts in the country. Neighborhood schools in South Lake Tahoe may have been segregated, not only based on race, but based on income levels.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - As the State of California figures out how commercial sales of recreational marijuana will be handled in 2018, the City of South Lake Tahoe has adjusted the marijuana ordinance to handle residential grows.

With the passage of Proposition 64 in November, residents can grow up to six plants in their homes, and the City changed their medical marijuana ordinance to match the requirements of the new law legalizing recreational use.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District trustees will continue their discussion into the future use of the old Al Tahoe school site during a study session prior to their normal board meeting Tuesday.

While climate can be an important factor controlling lake temperatures, in many lakes, water temperatures are responding differently than air temperatures. Through decades of climate and water temperature data from Sierra Nevada, Dr. Steve Sadro was able to illustrate the magnitude of warming taking place and demonstrate the role of winter snow-pack in regulating lake temperatures. Sadro and his findings will be featured at the next UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) discussion on February 9. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. with refreshments and no-host bar from 5:30 p.m.

Friday's board meeting of the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) was delayed almost two hours due to ice on the road near near Zephyr Cove, causing it to close, and those weren't the only icy conditions on the South Shore that day.

The other ice could be felt during the meeting as conflict of interest, ethics, integrity, suspicious actions and lack of transparency were the theme of the day.

All three items on the agenda Friday were placed there amid a stressed relationship between the City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and Patrick Wright, the Executive Director of the CTC.

Oceans are warming, becoming more acidic, and are being depleted of oxygen. How aquatic life reacts to these changes can help us understand more about this monumental issue. Learn how genetic differences facilitate how resilient some organisms are to environmental stress and what we can learn from it.

By now, most people have heard: Federal courts upheld the 2012 Regional Plan for Lake Tahoe, affirming the blueprint that maintains development caps and strengthens environmental protections while encouraging community revitalization, redevelopment, and updated infrastructure.

Capturing the most attention these days is the traffic in our small communities from millions of people who drive up to enjoy our lake. And the transportation system is where TRPA is giving more focused attention to benefit Tahoe’s environment, economy, and quality of life.