el dorado

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A man found slumped over in the driver's seat of a F-150 pickup truck was arrested on August 20, 2018 on multiple charges including drugs, DUI, carrying a loaded firearm and possession of burglary tools.

A 52-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested in the area of North Curry and West Spear streets for felony suspicion of third DUI, driving on a revoked license, and following too close, a Carson City sheriff's deputy said.

Ragan Allen Stacey was arrested after deputies responded to a two vehicle crash Saturday evening. Dispatch advised the driver of one of the vehicles was walking away from the crash, and deputies were able to locate him on North Curry Street.

Nicola "Niki" Congero, the former Lake Tahoe Humane Society (LTHS) executive director accused of embezzlement, is now sitting in the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville.

On Sunday, August 19, 2018, the El Dorado County Sheriff's extradition team returned from Knoxville, Tennessee with Congero. She is accused of using the LTHS debit card on personal things such gambling, rental furniture for her home, dentist bills, family cell phones, repairs to family members vehicles, and numerous point of sale purchases with cash back at casinos, just to name a few.

The following is a list of the Caltrans roadwork projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin and El Dorado County for the week of August 19 - August 25, 2018.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The sixth bear in five weeks has been hit by a car and killed between South Lake Tahoe and the West Shore.

Late Wednesday night, August 15, an unknown car hit one of three bears attempting to cross Highway 50 near Edgewood Circle. The mother bear then drug her cub off the road into the wooded area near the bike path and remained there with her other cub until Toogee Sielsch of the Bear League arrived at 7:00 a.m. Thursday to remove the cub.

With a goal of being sustainable, Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) is changing the way they provide transit in Lake Tahoe starting November 1, 2018.

"This is a reboot, not an end," said Carl Hasty, TTD District Manager at the District's board meeting Friday. "We'll all feel some pain but it's not the end."

There will be some cut routes, reduced hours, elimination of winter shuttles along with an addition of service to Meyers. Buses will now operate 14 hours a day instead of the current 20 hours.

The West Shore service (Emerald Bay Shuttle) and its connections to TahoeTruckee

This story has been updated to include Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees candidates.

Nine South Lake Tahoe residents have qualified to run in November and thrown in their hats for three open seats on City Council.

The three incumbents, Mayor Wendy David, Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis and Councilman Austin Sass will all be running for reelection. They will be joined by some veterans of local politics as well as newcomers.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The body of a 21-year-old California man was located in Lake Tahoe Sunday afternoon, more than 24 hours after he jumped off a boat near Edgewood Tahoe.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office cadaver dogs alerted others to the body of the man about one-quarter mile off shore between Tahoe Meadows and Lakeside Marina just before 5:00 p.m. Sunday, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Traci Trapani.

The identity of the man is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

8:00 p.m. 8/5/18 UPDATE: SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The body of a 21-year-old California man was located in Lake Tahoe Sunday afternoon, more than 24 hours after he jumped off a boat near Edgewood Tahoe.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office cadaver dogs alerted others to the body of the man about one-quarter mile off shore between Tahoe Meadows and Lakeside Marina just before 5:00 p.m. Sunday, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Traci Trapani.

For more on the story: http://southtahoenow.com/story/08/05/2018/california-man-drowns-lake-tahoe
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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Friday morning started off clear and sunny, but by mid-morning smoke from from several California fires filled the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The smoke Friday has been a combination of the Carr Fire, the Mendocino Complex fires (Ranch Fire and River Fire) and the two western El Dorado County fires according to the USFS office in South Lake Tahoe. The Whaleback Fire and Ferguson Fire are also burning north and south of the lake.

There are still a few days left for those interested in running for public office this November, but several candidates have completed the process to qualify for the ballot. The following number of seats will be open: El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (1), LTUSD School Board (2) , City Council (3), City Clerk (1), City Treasurer (1), South Tahoe Public Utility District (3), Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District, and Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees (3).

The deadline to complete the candidate process is August 10, 2018.

Detectives from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department flew to Tennessee overnight to arrest Nicola "Niki" Congero, the former executive director of Lake Tahoe Humane Society.

Congero, 50, was arrested without incident on the morning of Wednesday, August 1 and booked into the Knoxville jail on charges of embezzling approximately $60,000 from the South Lake Tahoe based non-profit. She is being held there on $200,000 bail and is currently awaiting extradition.

Steve Teshara, CEO of the Tahoe Chamber and chairperson of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Board of Directors, now has another leadership duty for the upcoming year.

Teshara will serve as the president of the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG), a group whose membership includes 47 regional governments involved in the planning, funding, and development of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

He has been representing TTD on the CALCOG Board.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county. The following are calls that only pertain to the South and West Shore, including Meyers, South Lake Tahoe, Meeks Bay, Tahoma and the Echo Summit area. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log

7/18

As most people have experienced, cell phone coverage around Lake Tahoe can be trying at times, especially during heavy tourist days when thousands of extra users are in the area. Combine that with over half of homes ditching their land-lines and relying only on cell phones, demand has greatly increased.

Lake Tahoe cell phone coverage may soon be improved as Verizon is working with Liberty Utilities and NV Energy and local governments to place small, seven-foot, grounded cell towers on top of current power poles on all sides of the lake.

Officers from the South Lake Tahoe office of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to US 50 and Pioneer Trail Wednesday morning after a citizen reported a possible bomb laying in the roadway.

Upon arrival they observed what appeared to be some type of explosive ordinance in the road and called in the El Dorado County Sheriff's bomb squad. The roadway was shut down temporarily for public safety according to a post on the CHP Facebook page.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Glenbrook, Alpine County, Place County, El Dorado County, Washoe County, Douglas County an Western Carson City from 6:06 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. Sunday, July 22.

Radar has indicated a strong cell sitting over South Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay, bringing a chance of quarter size hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph. In heavy hit areas, expect hail damage to vehicles along with wind damage to roofs, siding, fencing and trees.

Another strong thunderstorm cell is above Kirkwood.

The following is a list of the Caltrans roadwork projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin and El Dorado County for the week of July 22 - 28, 2018.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

During the July 24 El Dorado County Board of Supervisor's meeting, the next phase of additions to the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance will be discussed.

The ad hoc committee of Supervisors Sue Novasel and Michael Ranalli will be making the following recommendations:

Cap at a maximum of 12 overnight occupants, even if a home has enough bedrooms to accommodate more. The calculation of 2 people per bedroom plus 2. If someone wishes to have more than 12 the homeowner may apply for a conditional use permit.

A fire destroyed a vehicle parked outside a Meyers residence early Tuesday morning. The call came in at 3:26 a.m. July 17, and Lake Valley Fire Protection District, CalFire and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) reponded.

The fire was contained to the vehicle which was parked on Zuni Street.

The incident is an active investigation on a suspicious fire, according to EDSO Sergeant Anthony Prencipe.

No other details at this point.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county. The following are calls that only pertain to the South and West Shore, including Meyers, South Lake Tahoe, Meeks Bay and Tahoma. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

7/4
3:41

September 13, 2015 was the worst day in the lives of the Molly McAffe, and Adam and Gavin Buchanan families. They lost a son, grandson, sister, daughter, aunt, nephew, cousin, and their lives will be forever haunted by the heinous acts of another relative, Nolen Buchanan.

It was a very emotional afternoon in El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury's court Thursday during the sentencing of the now 18-year-old responsible for shooting his father, his father's fiancé and his 8-year-old brother and then setting their cabin on fire in Greenwood, Calif.

There are several opportunities this election season for South Lake Tahoe area residents to represent their community on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (1), LTUSD School Board (2) , City Council (3), City Clerk (1), City Treasurer (1), South Tahoe Public Utility District (2), Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District, and now, Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees (2).

The positions all have residential requirements with both LTCC and LTUSD have further area boundaries.

The filing period opens on July 16 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on August 10, 2018.

During the first two weeks of June, participants in the 13th annual Lake Tahoe Bike Challenge traveled 11,215 miles on foot or on bicycle, burning an estimated 482,245 calories and preventing an estimated 12,105 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and $2,493 in gasoline purchases.

Organized by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, the basin-wide Bike Challenge is a friendly competition to see what individuals and teams can rack up the most trips and miles by biking, walking, or taking transit instead of driving cars.