education

The New Year brings big changes both for me personally and for the Forest Service in Lake Tahoe. After 37 years with the agency, I’m looking forward to retirement and handing over the reins at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to a new Forest Supervisor.

I’m grateful for steady Basin leadership that has enhanced relationships making them stronger. Days of past tensions between conflicting interests have passed. Today, local agencies work closely together on solutions that protect our communities and our environment.

“Wouldn’t it Be Nice” to rock out as the legendary Beach Boys perform one-night only at Lake Tahoe’s MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, March 27, 2015. Regarded one of the greatest American rock groups and an important catalyst in the evolution of popular music, The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands ever. www.montbleuresort.com.

Are you passionate about gardening in Lake Tahoe and would you like to share your knowledge? Like to get your hands dirty> Become a Master Gardener through the University of California Cooperative Education training series in South Lake Tahoe.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe was granted $35,000 by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation to support its land-use planning program. The foundation also added $200,000 to their endowment with the League.

A four year degree program could be in Lake Tahoe Community College's near future. They are waiting to hear from the California Community College's Chancellor's office to see if they are one of the 15 community colleges in the state who will be allowed the opportunity to offer one four-year degree.

LTCC's Baccalaureate Degree Steering Committee submitted a proposal to the Chancellor's office and should hear on January 21, 2015 if they are going to be offering a four-year degree in Public Safety Administration.

Several key public service positions have been filled the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Tom Lotshaw has been hired to work as TRPA’s Public Information Officer. He replaces Jeff Cowen, who worked for TRPA in that and other roles for eight years.

Lotshaw graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in public affairs journalism and has seven years of newspaper reporting experience. He worked most recently as a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana, and as a reporter and photographer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

"We made sacrifices to keep the fight outside of our homes." An emotional Sheryll Valencia spoke of why she joined the Army in 2004 and made three deployments to Iraq and now works for David & Johnson, Ltd in South Lake Tahoe. "It's important to always remember the ones who sacrificed their lives," Sheryll told the women gathered for Thursday's Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra meeting.

Two Douglas County businesses took home top awards on November 6 during Northern Nevada Development Authority’s (NNDA) Pioneer Awards. The Pioneer Awards recognized businesses in 5 county regions and each county chose a business of the year. Douglas County’s Business of the Year Award went to Bently Enterprises.

Bently was selected based on alignment with the County’s five guiding economic vitality principles:
· Improves business climate and enhances education and workforce
· Is unique and marketable
· Helps maintain the exceptional quality of life

A historic donation was made to the Lake Tahoe Community College today, enabling the school to build the Robert Maloff University Center on campus in preparation for offering four year degrees. LTCC has applied to be part of a state pilot program that will bring in baccalaureate degrees to 15 community colleges, beginning with at least one program at each school.

In January of 2015, all undocumented workers in California will have their first chance to have a driver's license. The California legislature passed Assembly Bill 60 in 2013 and since then, officials have been preparing the processes people will need to follow.

Under the bill, all undocumented workers living in California 16 years of age or older can receive driver’s licenses if they complete driver’s education and training, and also pass California’s written and driving tests.

If you have an absentee ballot and have not mailed it in, there is still a way to make sure your vote is counted! You can turn in your ballot at any precinct location on Tuesday. All precincts are open from 7 am to 8 pm. You can also hand deliver your ballot to the El Dorado County Elections Department, 2850 Fairlane Ct., Placerville or the El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk's Office, 3368 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 108, South Lake Tahoe. Ballots must be received by the Elections Department no later than 8 pm on Tuesday.

Below is a list of all locations in El Dorado County's District V:

South Lake Tahoe may be a small city of around 23,000 residents but it isn't immune to the big city problems of gangs.

Our mountain hamlet has white gangs, a black gang, hispanic gangs, motorcycle gangs and even white supremacists and sometimes they cross racial lines in order to beef up numbers. The gang names won't be mentioned in this article because of the advertising value it would give them as they try and recruit children and new members.

Last week's arrest of three gang members for a home invasion robbery brought the comment to the forefront..."Tahoe has gangs?"

South Tahoe High Graduate Francisco Figueroa-Yanez, known as "Frankie" to his friends, has his new career as a school teacher in San Francisco highlighted in a recent SFGate article titled "Bay Area schools scramble for qualified teachers amid shortage." Frankie graduated from STHS in 2007, went to Santa Clara University where he majored in Biology and Spanish and is now at the University of San Francisco working on his masters degree. He visits South Lake Tahoe when time allows to see his parents and friends.

The Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation’s Speaker Spotlight Series continues on Monday, October 27 with visiting speaker Jesse Livezey, a U.C. Berkeley doctoral student. He’ll present a talk about brain physics from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in LTCC’s Board/Aspen Room, inside the library building.

Backcountry explorers, wilderness leaders, ski resort employees and search and rescue personnel: prepare for the winter season by attending the California Avalanche Workshop at Lake Tahoe Community College on Saturday, October 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Board/Aspen Room. This is a rare opportunity to hear forecasters from all of the California avalanche centers speak and answer questions. In addition, ski guides, pro skiers, snow scientists, and avalanche survivors will present their findings.

My name is Dr. Frederick “Fritz” Wenck, DDS, and I’ve been closely involved with Lake Tahoe Community College since its beginning in 1974, when I was elected one of the first LTCC Board of Trustees members. I’d like you to consider, just for a minute, what would happen if the college’s Measure F bond effort failed to pass this Election Day.

Almost 2,000 elementary students from South Lake Tahoe completed the WeCan! fitness and nutritional program on Friday, October 10.

Students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade at Bijou, Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet, Sierra House and Tahoe Valley Elementary Schools participated in the four week program.

The students participated in weekly challenges that focused on fitness and nutrition goals. Challenges included eating fruits and vegetables of a particular color, drinking more water, stretching, exercising and trying new healthy foods.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) approved two grow domes to be installed at Sierra House Elementary School. Ground is being broken on the project area this weekend and the project is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Being touted as "The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act" by proponents, Proposition 47 will mandate misdemeanors instead of felonies for “non-serious, nonviolent crimes," unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.

The reason Prop 47 got this name is because a fund bearing it's name will be created by the estimated savings of $150M to $250M the state will receive by not having to prosecute crimes that would become misdemeanors.

This letter was given to South Tahoe Now for publication.
September 26, 2014

Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, California 95814

Re: Support for SB 850 State Senator Block – Pilot Baccalaureate Program for
California Community Colleges

Dear Governor Brown:

I am writing to you to urge your signature into law of SB 850 (“The Bill”) by State Senator Block. The Bill as is valuable to our State’s future to increase the education and training of residents of our State.

TahoeChamber has endorsed seven candidates for the upcoming election that best portray the values and abilities necessary to serve the South Shore business community. As directed by the TahoeChamber Board of Directors, the TahoeChamber Candidate Endorsement Committee (TC-CEC) used the pillars of the Chamber’s adopted Tahoe Future A South Shore Community Vision 2020 as the foundational criteria for evaluating candidates. The pillars include Economic Vitality, Quality of Life, Sustainability, Infrastructure and Intellectual Capital.

The seven candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were at Wednesday nights Candidate Forum at Lake Tahoe Golf Course. The Tahoe Chamber and Tahoe Daily Tribune hosted the evening which had Rabbi Evon Yakar moderating the questions and answers.

About 100 people showed up to listen to panel who were given questions prepared by the chamber's new political committee as well as those asked by the audience. The questions were asked of different candidates so not everyone was asked the same one.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District is renewing their focus on raising the attendance rates of students in the district's seven schools. Not only is being at school essential to a good education, it's also essential to the District's budget.

On Tuesday, the LTUSD Board will vote on a proclamation to declare September as "Attendance Awareness Month." They want parents, students, teachers, staff, administrators and the community to focus on "Every School Day Matters" and help keep kids in school.

During the 2013/14 school year, the attendance rates were:

Bijou - 92.3%

Looking for a project you can help out with that makes a different? If so, the second Stewards of Stormwater event might be for you.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is inviting community members to help mark storm drains and prevent pollution from entering Lake Tahoe on August 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tahoe Keys.

The League is hosting the event in partnership with the City of South Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association.

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