feinstein

For more than half a century, collaboration and partnership have been the bedrock of Lake Tahoe’s preservation. I speak often of the epic collaboration needed to restore our environment and lift up our communities. The creation of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) 50 years ago challenged us to bring people together to pull this majestic lake back from the brink. Today, TRPA is the backbone for 80 organizations and thousands of property owners working toward the common goals of clean water, a healthy watershed, and resilient communities

LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. - The 24th annual Lake Tahoe Summit has moved to a virtual format this year. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will be hosting the event that will feature Olympian David Wise as the keynote speaker.

Since the first Lake Tahoe Summit in 1997, the area’s congressional representatives have pledged to keep working together and with local, state, and private sector partners to restore Tahoe’s environment, improve forest health, and confront climate change.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For 23 years political leaders from the White House to state capitols have professed their commitment to protecting Lake Tahoe.

At the first Lake Tahoe Summit on July 27, 1997, then-President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore told of their commitment to keeping Tahoe blue after decades of erosion from roads, increased emissions from automobiles and boats, removal of wetlands and overgrown and dying forests were threatening its clarity.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The 23rd annual Lake Tahoe Summit will be held on Tuesday, August 20 at Valhalla in South Lake Tahoe.

Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the main program at 10:00 a.m.

Since the first Lake Tahoe Summit in 1997, the area’s congressional representatives have pledged to keep working together and with local, state, and private sector partners to restore Tahoe’s environment, improve forest health, and confront climate change.

Senator Dianne Feinstein dubbed those helping to keep the region pristine as "Team Tahoe."

The annual Lake Tahoe Summit held this week at Sand Harbor State Park marked the 22nd time government officials, public agencies, non-profit environmental groups, the public and other groups came together to renew their focus and commitment on preserving the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

Charter Communications allowed the Sacramento NBC affiliate, KCRA, to remain on their channel lineup through Tuesday's primary, but as of June 8 it is no longer available despite viewers and government officials reaching out.

UPDATE 5/22 8:35 a.m.: El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel has arranged for a call between the County, City and Charter Cable people this Friday. "We need KCRA for South Tahoe (it’s a public safety issue in my opinion) She, along with others, remember when Charter tried to discontinue California services in 2008.

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News that KCRA will be soon be removed from the Charter Communications lineup for South Lake Tahoe is not being taken well by many locals.

There are now an estimated 102 million dead trees in California, creating unhealthy forests that are prone to major and catastrophic wildfires. Even though funds are being allocated to remove many of them, where will that timber go?
For now, there aren’t many options because of what has transpired from the government since 1968.

In that year the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior issued orders restricting the volume of timber that could be harvested from Federal lands in the West. It was updated in 1969 to limit the total harvested to 350-million-board-feet.

California Senator Diane Feinstein is hosting the 21st annual Lake Tahoe Summit on Tuesday, August 22 at Vahalla in the Tallac Historic Site from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The theme for the day is "2017- A Pivotal Point for the Future of Lake Tahoe.”

The event will examine successful restoration projects and ways to address new challenges facing the lake. A key focus will be combating the effects of climate change in the Lake Tahoe basin.

The 2017 Lake Tahoe Summit will be hosted by California Senator Dianne Feinstein from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 22 at Valhalla Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe.

This is a free event but attendees are asked to register HERE.

Public shuttles will be available to the event site as parking is limited.

Details on the agenda and the event are still being worked out and not been released.

Four years ago this month, TRPA approved the 2012 Regional Plan. The landmark plan charts a course to restore Lake Tahoe’s environment and revitalize our communities and it was forged through Herculean work by California, Nevada, local governments, the public, and dozens of other partners.

Many Tahoe Basin stakeholders once questioned if we could work together, but the Regional Plan ushered in an era of collaboration. Today, the answer is how can we work together more efficiently. By building and strengthening partnerships we have made remarkable progress. This year was no different.

The House and Senate have agreed to include the bipartisan Lake Tahoe Restoration Act in the final bicameral Water Resources Development Act, titled the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, Nevada Sen. Dean Heller announced Monday.

The news comes just hours after Vail Resorts and the many members of the public made pleas for this to happen.

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.

There are an estimated 66 million dead trees in California, and 5.5 million of them need to be cut down immediately to prevent catastrophic fires according to the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"I've never been here," President Obama told the crowd at the 20th annual Lake Tahoe Summit on Wednesday. "Its not that I didn't want to come, but nobody invited me."

The President said he'd be sure to be back. "I'll be coming here more often through my transportation won't be as nice," the President said to a crowd appreciative of his humor.

"I'll be back not because its beautiful, not just because Godfather II happens to be my favorite movie, but because this place is spectacular because its one of the highest, deepest, purest lakes in the world," said the President.

We welcome President Obama to Lake Tahoe, which is admired for its great depth and clarity and beautiful alpine surroundings. As Tahoe’s public water agencies, we are hard at work on a water infrastructure initiative to enhance critical preparedness needs and hazard mitigation in the wildland-urban interface against the threat of catastrophic wildfire.

Mickey George, a member of the Whittell High School class of 2012, helped the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) Supermileage Team recently achieve high scores at the Shell Oil Eco-Marathon in Detroit.

The three-day event scores a car's performance based on energy efficiency, not speed. George served as the team's manufacturing lead.

Achieving 1,215 miles per gallon, Cal Poly's gasoline-fueled prototype vehicle was the top-scoring American entry and placed third overall at the 10th annual competition.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday.

The legislation, created alongside senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Harry Reid, D-Nevada and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., provides federal, state, and local partners important tools to reduce wildfire threats, improve water clarity, jumpstart innovative infrastructure projects, and combat invasive species.

Decisions made in Congress over the next few months may well determine the extent to which Lake Tahoe remains blue and clear, with healthy forests, resilient watersheds, and its ecology protected from the threat of new aquatic invasive species.

For two decades, the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) has provided guidance for the shared investments made by our federal, state and local governments, homeowners, and businesses to restore and protect Tahoe’s unique environmental qualities and enhance its diverse public recreation opportunities.

July 17-Aug 23 Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: "Romeo and Juliet" @ Sand Harbor
July 29-Aug 02 Shayla Rivera / Pete Banachowski @ Improv at Harvey's
July 31-Aug 16 Lake Tahoe Summerfest classical music series @ Sierra Nevada College
July 31-Aug 01 Lisa Marie Johnston @ Moodys Bistro
Coburn Station @ Bar of America
August 01 Three Dog Night @ Montbleu
Robert Cray @ Harrah's
Forget the Roses @ Hard Rock Hotel
Drought Relief @ Heavenly Village
DJ Rick Gee / DJ Rockwell @ Peek Tahoe
Daze on the Green @ Cabo Wabo
JKC Band @ Steamers
Darren Senn @ 968 Park Hotel

History shows time and time again our greatest accomplishments at Lake Tahoe are achieved when people work together. In the past, Tahoe was known as a place where unproductive interactions between stakeholders led to a stunning decay in our environment and our economic vitality, creating a region that seemed frozen in time.

We face major environmental challenges at Tahoe, including the uncertainties of climate change. And as Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

Most of us moved to Meyers because it's a rural community, away from the City & tourist congestion. I am pro-growth, most locals are, as long as it's appropriately sized growth for our community. The proposed Meyer's Plan however, opens the door to a Mega Resort, with incentives for large development and in my mind, lacks long range planning.

I started going to planning meetings last summer, just to listen, but it wasn't until December that I got really concerned. Here's a timeline of events, from my perspective:

California Senator Diane Feinstein will host the 18th Annual Lake Tahoe Summit on Tuesday, August 19 being held on the lawn at Valhalla. The theme for the day is Drought, Wildfire and Invasive Species: Confronting the Effects of Climate Change on Lake Tahoe.

The public is invited to attend. Preregistration is over so plan on registering at Valhalla on the 19th starting at 9 a.m. The main program will start at 10 am.

A measure to advance environmental restoration and forest management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin yesterday passed out of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The legislation would reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, originally passed in 2000, which has helped advance one of the most comprehensive watershed restoration programs in the nation-the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, or EIP.