el dorado

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) works on roads at Lake Tahoe, mainly during summer months. The following is their schedule for the week of April 23-28, 2018.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Many people donate both money and auction items to the Soroptimist of Tahoe Sierra club for their annual Elegant Evening which occurs on Saturday, April 21. What many don't know is where those donations go. There was question recently in the community about donations, so the club wanted to clear up any misunderstandings.

The club recently created a diagram to better explain where each penny goes as they don't have must left over funds after they issue scholarships, grants and other forms of financial support.

Last year’s Elegant Evening funds went to provide:

Lisa Maloff, whose name is synonymous with gracious donations to the South Lake Tahoe community, has once again thrown her financial support behind a local need.

Maloff has given the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe $500,000 to get started on a new building, but she won't be stopping there.

The last few months have been some of the most difficult for our City Council, for our City and for our community. Similar to the national conversation, with immediate access to social media in many forms, controversial opinion pieces go immediately out to the public, even before the accused have an opportunity to hear the allegations. Soon after, public comment and “opinion” on the opinion begins with little interest in whether there is truth.

On April 14th, Brooke Laine, a fellow South Lake Tahoe City Council member, publicly brought forth serious accusations and allegations against our City leaders. Because of the gravity of Ms. Laine's allegations, I, as Mayor, believe I have a duty to ensure that the claims that the City Council, City Clerk, previous City Manager, Acting City Manager, previous City Attorney, Interim City Attorney, and indeed any city employee has violated the law are fully and adequately investigated.

The Law Offices of Adam T. Spicer and Lacey Van Etten invite the public to celebrate with them on Friday, April 27 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Spicer recently moved his practice and expanded office space by joining Van Etten in the office building located at 2269 James Ave.

This has been National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, so what better time to sit down with the women who answer 911 calls in South Lake Tahoe who are the first step in protecting homes, property and people and the unsung heroes of the community.

With an average of 300 to 400 calls going into dispatch each month, staff has to be ready to handle an emergency at every moment through their shift, which in South Lake Tahoe is normally 10 hours long, though they can be up to 12 hours.

Weather has not be the best friend of those wanting to get a revised vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance for El Dorado County. Snow and unsafe travel conditions for staff driving to South Lake Tahoe from Placerville for the meetings lead to the cancellation of the March 3 and March 24 meetings, and the original February 1 meeting had to be stopped due to overcrowding. The next Board of Supervisors meeting on VHRs will be in South Lake Tahoe on May 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the South Tahoe Middle School multi-purpose room.

El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday, April 18 to continue the discussion on traffic issues in the Meyers area. The meeting will be held at the Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This is a follow up to her February 28 meeting on the subject that plagues Meyers neighborhoods on busy Sundays and holidays as visitors leave South Lake Tahoe and head west over Echo Summit.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE and MEYERS, Calif. - The ad hoc committee formed to research options and provide suggestions to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors about their vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance is scheduled to hold a public meeting in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday, April 12 at the Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Mark your calendar for a night of fun on Thursday, April 26 as the Connect for Kids Charity Mixer helps our community's youth through a silent auction, raffle and a Donate & Decorate" bike contest at South Lake Brewing Company from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The mixer will include delicious lite bites by Verde Mexican Rotisserie. Several local non-profits who serve South Shore youth will be in attendance to highlight their organizations. All raffle, silent auction proceeds, and donated bikes will benefit participating non-profits.

Donate & Decorate Bike Contest:

Pick a team of 4 to 6

A Cameron Park man is looking at seven years in prison after he plead guilty on March 29, 2018 to illegally manufacturing concentrated cannabis, commonly referred to as Butane Honey Oil, and illegally transporting/shipping marijuana across the United States.

Michael Ryan Wills, 31, was the subject of investigations by El Dorado County Sheriff narcotics detectives with the assistance from the United States Postal Inspector’s Service over two years.

South Lake Tahoe and Douglas County will be joining thousands of communities across the United States when they participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration “National Drug Take Back" on Saturday, April 28.

Be informed. Come to this month's meeting of the So. Lake Tahoe Republican Women club. You will hear an El Dorado County candidate for Recorder/Clerk speak, plus a discussion of upcoming ballot measures.

The lunch meeting will be held at the Cantina Bar and Grill, 765 Emerald Bay Rd., So. Lake Tahoe. Arrive at 11:30 A.M. Tuesday, April10. Cost for the luncheon is $15.00 per person.

Please call 530 314-1068 to RSVP.

Location

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The cause of death of the Sacramento resident whose body was found in the Upper Truckee River in South Lake Tahoe on April 9, 2017 has been as accidental drowning by the El Dorado County Coroner.

Pamela Suswinsky, 62, was in town with her ex-husband and friend, Henry Suwinsky, and they were staying at the Motel 6 on Lake Tahoe Blvd. Henry said they came to town because she wanted her dog, Wilson, a 150-plus pound Newfoundland to experience snow for the first time.

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 Shore. 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:

No new calls were added to this log

This Week's Report:

3/25

National Public Health Week (NPHW) is April 2–8, 2018. It is an annual event intended to raise awareness about the importance of public health in the United States. What is public health and why is it important in El Dorado County?

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have rescheduled their vacation home rental (VHR) meeting on the South Shore for Wednesday, May 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the South Tahoe Middle School's Multi-Purpose Room.

Weather has canceled two meetings, with the initial meeting postponed due to over-crowding of the meeting room.

This proposed purpose of this meeting on May 2 is to:

1. Conceptually approve amendments to Title 5 - County Business License Ordinance of the El Dorado County Ordinance Code, Chapter 5.56 - Vacation Home Rentals in the Lake Tahoe Basin;

North State Grocery, Inc., a 100 percent employee-owned company out of Cottonwood, Calif., has announced it is purchasing Lira's Market in Meyers, just outside of South Lake Tahoe.

Their new store will open as a Holiday Market as soon as April 9, 2018. according to the company's CFO Michel LeClerc.

“Lira’s Market has a great reputation and a strong team of employees,” says Brad
Askeland, Vice‐President of Holiday Market.  “In order to build on its success, we have met with Lira’s employees and have invited them to join our team of employee‐
owners.”

MEYERS and SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Don Ashton has been making the rounds to communities throughout the county, explaining the budget through an informative presentation and discussion.

Most of the communities Ashton has visited have had 15-20 citizens in attendance, all asking questions and giving input in the budget process as Ashton and the Supervisors figure out how to save $20M over the next four years to meet CalPers pension liabilities.

The third attempt to have the scheduled El Dorado County Board of Supervisors special vacation home rental (VHR) meeting has been postponed due to anticipated severe winter weather and in the interest of public safety, according to Supervisor Sue Novasel.

They have been trying to get the public together to discuss the county's revamping of their ordinance to address concerns since February 1, but a larger than anticipated crowd and weather has canceled each meeting.

There is no rescheduled date as of Thursday, but once a date is known the public will be informed.

The identities of the two bodies found in Fallen Leaf Lake in the fall of 2017 have been released, confirming what law enforcement found at the time. They were identified as 71-year-old Cynthia Ellis and 74-year-old Michael Whalen after the California Department of Justice verified them through DNA samples.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Detectives said there is no evidence of foul play.

LAKE TAHOE - It was March Madness on the South Shore today as about 200 people braved the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe, all in the spirit of raising money for Special Olympics.

The annual Polar Plunge was at Zephyr Cove Resort and the water was about 48 degrees when the crowds jumped in.

"Today's turnout was great!" said Harry Mong, Senior Director of Programs and Partnership for Special Olympics Northern Nevada. "$186,000 was raised and it goes to support our sports programs. There are 300 competitions in 11 different sports, and it is all free for the competitors."

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 Shore. 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:

3/4

3:20 p.m. - Vandalism - BLitzen Rd - R/P CLAIMS THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE HOUSE CAUSED BY THE 41-YEAR-OLD MALE SUSPECT.