future

Like many residents and visitors of Lake Tahoe, I have had the good fortune of running, hiking, swimming, skiing, dining, lodging and otherwise living in and around Lake Tahoe nearly all of my life. Tahoe has played a vital role in the development of my most treasured relationship, with my wife Lisa, where we both learned to care for much more than ourselves, and where we were married 25 years ago on the west shore.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Manager Joe Irvin, recently received the Credentialed Manager designation from ICMA, the International City/County Management Association. Irvin is one of over 1,300 local government management professionals currently credentialed through the ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The public is invited to participate in another 56-Acre Master Plan virtual session on January 20, 2021 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Planning is underway to create a signature park and area in the heart of South Lake Tahoe that will fill a large wish list of projects.

There are many ways the community can participate including taking the self-guided tour onsite, the online survey, and joining the public online meeting.

Online Public Meeting:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dear LTUSD friends and families, As the holiday season comes to a close and a new year is upon us, I greet the opportunity to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. Happy New Year!!

James Anthony Biller was born in Ventura, CA, July 10, 1951, to Jack and Marjorie Biller. Growing up in Ventura, he surfed, sailed, played water polo for the Ventura High Cougars, and was one of the best swimmers Ventura High had ever seen, getting his varsity letter and pin as a sophomore and setting swimming records that stood for many years after he graduated in 1969. That Jim had a love of the beach, sailing, and everything that had to do with the water was obvious to everyone around him.

Christmas started early for this guy once the pandemic hit. I put my Christmas lights up over the 4th of July and for a short while started watching Christmas movies too to try and get that feel-good feeling happening. Okay, I also did it because I wanted to watch movies where no one was wearing a mask and hugging one another without fear of being exposed. I’ve always enjoyed movies for their pure escapism and who doesn’t want to escape what we’ve been through already ya know? I also like being wrapped around a movie completely.

Del Laine has left her mark on South Lake Tahoe in ways that many local residents might not know. She was a mover and shaker, whose focus was on making the city a better place. Her most important role, though, was promoting the well-being of women.

This pioneer died Dec. 18, 2020, at home from natural causes, with family at her side. She was 90.

She was born Dolores Mae Wright on March 20, 1930, in Oakland, Calif., to Mabel Paulson and Leslie Wright.

Christmas Cheer, the South Lake Tahoe-based food pantry, is in need of food to give to the local community. The Tahoe Chamber has teamed up with a chamber member who is matching donations of food and cash given to Christmas Cheer this season up to $1,500.

All donating with locally purchased items and donated funds are eligible for the Chamber's Go Local Passport program. Spending locally gives the donator entries into the passport's $500 grand prize.

What is needed most this week at Christmas Cheer are hams and turkeys.

Lights, Camera, Action! These three words beginning the filming of any movie and they've been heard quite a bit recently around the Lake Tahoe and the Carson City area. The beautiful scenery the area provides has been the prefect holiday backdrop for romantic Christmas movies this season.

"Feliz NaviDAD," "Dear Christmas," and "Once Upon a Main Street," were all filmed in the area this year, following last year's "Christmas Reservations" and years of Hollywood movie hits.

Even before the pandemic hit, American businesses were losing 300 billion dollars a year as a result of workplace stress. A recent nationwide survey shows 90 percent of U.S. adults are experiencing emotional distress.

To give employers needed information, the Tahoe Chamber is hosting another installment of its Level Up Webinars on Wednesday, December 16 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for Chamber members and $20 for non-members.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The volunteers at Bread & Broth packed bags of food for the community Monday, bags full of food for not only a Thanksgiving meal, but for meals through the week.

From 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on November 23, almost 200 people picked up bags for their families containing a turkey breast, yams, green beans, rolls, stuffing, pumpkin pie, sparkling apple cider, fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk and much more. Those bags of food went to feed 549 individuals in the South Lake Tahoe community.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Board of Trustees will have a change December 15 with a changing of the guard on the Area 4
seat. Trustee Troy Matthews decided to not run for reelection so he could spend more time with his family which includes a new baby girl.

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

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two parcels behind Raley's at Stateline are the subject of a public workshop on Thursday, November 12 at 5:00 p.m.. The City of South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency are seeking public scoping comments on an applicant-initiated proposal to rezone the two parcels located within the boundary of the City of South Lake Tahoe Tourist Core Area Plan. The proposed amendment submitted by HVR Acquisitions would rezone the two parcels from Recreation to Tourist Center Mixed Use.

Daylight-saving time comes to an end for 2020 on Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 a.m. in much of the United States. Clocks will move back one hour as standard time starts its run.

The practice of having the time change started in the early 1900s as a way to make better use of daylight during the spring and summer months, so there is an extra hour of sunlight in the evening instead of the morning.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Long after the fire trucks have come and gone, the threat to a community impacted by wildfire remains. It’s a less obvious threat than a towering inferno destroying homes and ripping through forests and hillsides. It is a hidden threat that arrives with winter rains and California Conservation Corps Corpsmembers are helping communities stay safe from it—toxic runoff, including those from the South Lake Tahoe center.

While the consensus is that 2020 will look much better in the rearview mirror, it will leave indelible experiences that shape discussions, planning, and direction for years to come.

It certainly reinforces sustainability as the future of tourism here at Tahoe, with benchmarks to embrace including environmental integrity, economic development, and social equity for visitors and locals.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce Board recently asked the nine City Council candidates ten questions they felt were of most importance to its members. The questions focused mainly on topics relating to things that will or may affect both the local small businesses and the community in general.

Their board made the decision to not endorse a specific candidate this election, but instead rank them based on how much they align with the South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce goals based on their answers to the questions below.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of the long term and short term projects the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has scheduled for the week around Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra and El Dorado County.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Autumn’s reflections have begun and Lake Tahoe’s forests and wildlife are preparing for the winter. While fall is generally a treasured time of year at the lake, a sense of uneasiness hangs in the crisp air as we brace for the next phase of the COVID crisis.

Summer was record breaking on many fronts. Businesses and agencies with major staff and budget shortages were suddenly required to manage the pandemic, following strict protocols. Trash overflowed on our pristine beaches and roadways. Follow that with more than 8,300 wildfires and 4 million acres burned in California alone.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are three open seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board of Directors this election season, two for a four-year term and one for a two-year term.

South Tahoe Now reached out to the candidates and below are their answers to a set of questions. For the two four-year terms, incumbent Kelly Sheehan is running for reelection, Duane Wallace is running after being appointed to fill Jim Jones's spot on the board until this election, and they are joined by David Peterson.

Douglas County has released the results of a community survey on the Master Plan Text Amendment conducted in September of 2020. More than 1,500 people took the survey, which asked about Agriculture and Conservation, Economic Development, Growth Management, Land Use, Public Facilities, Services, Recreation, and Public Safety. The Master Plan text provides additional guidance on the long- term development of the County (over the next 10-20 years). The text defines current issues and needs in the community.

The free virtual screening of the Wilder Than Wild film has been extended through October 25.

If you missed the first presentation, you're in luck!

The award-winning documentary Wilder Than Wild: Fire, Forests, and the Future reveals how fire suppression and climate change have exposed Western landscapes to large, high-intensity wildfires. The sixty-minute film explores strategies that are being developed to help mitigate the impact of these fires.

On October 31, 2016 I wrote an editorial "Use the election to create a community of collaboration and teamwork" due to a growing vibe of discourse and anger across the country as well as in South Lake Tahoe.

Since we are once again in the midst of a contentious national election I saw a need to once again look at the definition of community as we focus on our local situation in El Dorado County and Douglas County.

com·mu·ni·ty: