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The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) recognized four people for their commitment to protecting and enhancing Lake Tahoe’s environment with Lake Spirit Awards on Wednesday.

People whose passions include building new paths and trails led the way in nominations this year, with improving mountain biking routes, creating new multi-use paths, and advancing pedestrian and bicycle safety among the interests of the award winners.

Several Lake Tahoe agencies have joined together to remind residents and visitors to practice proper food storage and trash disposal at all times while in bear country. Intentional or unintentional feeding of bears can result in the bear being killed, fines and/or jail time for violators. Every year law enforcement and state wildlife officers respond to hundreds of calls in which bears may pose a public safety threat and/or are damaging property. In some cases, the animals are euthanized.

Become part of the solution and help save our Tahoe bears!

Recently retired from the City of Davis, Dirk Brazil has been selected to become the City of South Lake Tahoe's interim city manager starting June 5.

Even though he doesn't start officially until next month, Brazil has been in town meeting with various stakeholders and getting to know the city.

He said a lot of things in a city are the same, departments and their functions are similar, but each one has its own issues.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will take a look at vacation home rental (VHR) fines at their meeting on Tuesday, May 15. In a story that has had national attention, the $1,000 fines for violations of parking, noise and other ordinances for each the renter and homeowner have become the spotlight.

Council will look at the fines and rules for parking and bear boxes, and the fact that both renter and homeowners are fined for each instance.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The historic Tahoe Trout Farm in South Lake Tahoe will open for the 2018 season on May 1.

For over 70 years the trout farm has been providing families with the experience of fishing in their ponds and catching their dinner, or lots of dinners, as there is no limit to the number of fish caught.

In the 18 years that Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care have been caring for bear cubs, 96 have passed through their doors. Most of those 96 have wintered at the facility on Cherry Hills Circle, and today, Layton, left his temporary home in South Lake Tahoe and went back Laytonville, Calif., the area he was found in.

Late in the evening on June 23, 2017, Layton arrived at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care after being found alone, full of mites, foxtails, ticks and underweight. He weighed in at 15 pounds and was about four or five months old.

March is National Nutrition Month, a time to return to the basics of healthful eating. The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) invites all community members to make March their healthiest month yet.

“Whether you’re starting the day off right with a healthy breakfast or fueling before a workout, the foods you choose can make a real difference,” said Theresa Fagouri, Health Education Coordinator for HHSA’s SNAP-Ed Nutrition Program.

Do you know someone who loves Lake Tahoe and strives to protect it every day? Would you like to see their dedication recognized? Now’s your chance.

The 2018 Lake Spirit Awards recognize real people making real progress in conserving Lake Tahoe’s unique natural environment and are now open for nominations. The awards honor those committed to a spirit of cooperation and protecting Lake Tahoe.

Conserving and restoring Lake Tahoe’s natural environment and revitalizing its communities requires a delicate balancing act. Historically, building consensus around how to strike that balance has been one of the region’s greatest difficulties.

Lake Tahoe reached its strongest-ever consensus on that balance with the 2012 Regional Plan and its focus on sustainable redevelopment to restore natural areas, bring legacy development up to modern environmental standards, and create walkable, bikeable, and vibrant town centers.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort has been fined $754,732 after their snow removal practices resulted in asphalt pavement grindings to get into drainages that flow into Kirkwood Creek and Kirkwood Meadows during the winter of 2015-16.

The financial settlement was with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board over the alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act, the Board announced on December 28.

Hello fellow anglers. I am happy to say, the winter solstice has come and gone. Meaning, each day now brings one minute longer of daylight. But as we all know, that does not mean it will get any warmer soon. Down here in the Minden and Carson Valleys we've experienced an average of 7 to 10 degree mornings.

Most would think that the higher lakes would be frozen and iced over. I received a report from fellow angler Josh Otto last week. As Josh told me, Caples Lake had high winds and was down right cold and had waves blowing across the lake.

A bird found on the west slope of El Dorado County has tested positive for West Nile virus, the second for 2017. The bird found near Garden Valley, an Acorn Woodpecker, was tested on September 29 and county health officials just received confirmation this week it had the virus.

To date there have been 463 dead birds to test positive in 38 counties in California. Nearby Sacramento has had 86 birds and Placer County, three birds.

The popular Rainbow Trail at the U.S. Forest Service Visitor's Center in South Lake Tahoe now has a brand new boardwalk at Taylor Creek.

As Kokanee salmon head upstream on the creek, many people walking the trail to watch this annual display of nature would often wander to the creek, many to get a selfie with bears in the area, and some even disrupting the salmon run.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you've ever been inside Brother's Bar & Grill at the "Y" you most likely noticed all of the money taped to the walls and ceiling, anything with an open space had cash on it.

One day, local business owner was at Brother's having breakfast when he noticed all of the money was gone. He found out from owner Spencer Weiss that he had taken it all down and was now inside threes large garbage bag.

"It consumed the whole place," Weiss said of the cash over every inch of space. "It diminished the feel."

What does one do with bags full of cash?

Tahoe Mountain Milers are holding their annual Kokanee Trail Runs during the Fall Fish Fest on October 8. Participants can choose to participate in the 5K, 10K 1/2 Marathon or the Tadpole Trot at the Sno-Park on Highway 89 north of Camp Richarson.

Race day registration begins at 6:00 a.m. or those wanting to join in can sign up
on October 7 at Oktoberfest at Camp Richardson. Online registration is at
tahoemtnmilers.org.

The long-distance run will start at 7:00 a.m., the Tadpole Trot at 8:00 a.m.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The body of Dan Pham, the man missing in Lake Tahoe after a kayaking trip, has been found by an underwater search team just a few days after they found the body of 11-year-old Marcos Vasquez.

On June 8, 2017, Pham, whose full name is Pham Dan Vu Thanh, called a friend at 9:15 a.m. to tell him he was going kayaking and camping in the Lester Beach area. As of 6:15 p.m. that evening there had been no word from Dan.

In 2015, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) spent more than $250,000 to remove illegally stocked northern pike that had decimated the trout fishery at Comins Lake, and now that work, time and money were for naught.

The voracious predator has again been illegally planted in the lake south of Ely, Nevada.

The Alpine County Grand Jury has released their 2016-17 report and in it they are recommending the County improve their relationship with South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) and work out a new financial deal with the South Lake Tahoe based water provider.

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. - The 28th annual American Century Championship is in the books, and former major league pitcher Mark Mulder won for the third straight year, the first three-peat at the celebrity golf classic at Edgewood Tahoe.

Mulder and his wife Lindsey once again brought their three kids to Lake Tahoe, all who ran out to the 18th green after Mark finished the day with a three-day total of 73 with the modified Stableford scoring.

Day one of the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe is in the book, and former MLB All-Star pitcher Derek Lowe is in the lead. In round one, Lowe scored a 25 in the modified Stableford scoring format.

Favorites to win, Mark Mulder and Tony Romo are 3 back, and 11 back respectively.

The second round of play gets underway at Edgewood Tahoe on Saturday at 7:50 a.m.

Current scoreboard:

Pos Name Scores
1....Lowe, Derek...........25
2....Fish, Mardy...........24
3....Pavelski, Joe.........23
4....Mulder, Mark..........22
4....Rodgers, Aaron........22

The American Century celebrity-amateur tournament begins at Edgewood Tahoe on Thursday, July 13 at 8:00 a.m. with a shotgun start. On the first hole will be Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who was in Los Angeles Wednesday evening to accept an ESPY award with his teammates for "Best Team."

8:00 a.m. group:

Hole 1A
STEPHEN CURRY
NBA MVP: Golden State Warriors
Jonathan Thomas Kunio Watanabe
Andy Saperstein David Lockton

Hole 1B
ALEX SMITH
NFL Quarterback: Kansas City Chiefs
Peter Cieszko Patrick Maggitti

Hole 2
CARSON PALMER
Quarterback: Arizona Cardinals

The 28th annual American Century Golf Championship gets underway at Edgewood Tahoe on Tuesday, July 11. There is an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start for the celebrities and their amateur partners.

Here is the pairings sheet (start tee and players, celebrities are in caps):

1A - ROGER CLEMENS, Jay Ledford, Mark Feder, Mike Durkin, Bob Lovell
1B - BRET SABERHAGEN, Tom Jenkin, Wil Gustafson, Jeff McDaniel, Robert Masuda
2 - STERLING SHARPE, John Koster, James Chan, Peter Kazanas, Richard Conner
3A - MARK RYPIEN, Wayne Walters, Jeffrey Erickson, Matt Anfinson, David Larson

Staff with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue) took the top prizes in the 2017 Tahoe Bike Challenge, while hundreds of Tahoe youth rode in increasingly large bike-to-school events.

Each year, for the first two weeks of June, hundreds of Tahoe residents and visitors participate in the Tahoe Bike Challenge. In teams or as individuals, participants join a friendly competition to see who can replace the most car trips with trips by bicycle.