investment

South Tahoe Now will be presenting a series on increasing drug use among children and adults in South Lake Tahoe, current trends and solutions. This is the first part in the series: Heroin.

It is euphoria, sensory overload and beyond any pleasure you know. That is the beginning, and the average heroin user will spend years trying to find the same feeling as that first high, ended only by death, or seeking help to rid themselves of the dark beast of addiction. Those are the only two options.

Millions of dollars could be headed to the South Shore if the Douglas County Commissioners vote to increase gas tax by five cents and add an additional 0.25% infrastructure sales tax.

The Countywide Connectivity initiative looks at several projects both at the lake and in the valley that would address safety issues for walkers, cyclists and drivers while creating vibrate business districts that attract investment.

Almost 2,500 athletes from around the world experienced a Lake Tahoe many will never know. A 2.4 miles swim in the lake was followed by a 112 mile bike ride and capped off with a 26.2 mile run.

Emerging from the pack as the overall winner was Gregory Lindquist, an attorney from Boulder, CO who competes in the Men's 30-34 age group. He finished in 9 hrs 39 minutes and 23 seconds. After hours of competition, second place finisher Ryan Linden was just 29 seconds behind. Linden is from Washington, MI and is also in the 30-34 group.

City Manager Nancy Kerry and Mark Carlson, the City's Administrative Services Director presented the 2015-16 Fiscal year budget to the South Lake Tahoe City Council during a workshop Tuesday.

"There is a lot we can be proud of," Kerry said.

The budget process has been ongoing since May, involving staff in making the decision on where to cut back, and where to spend.

After the passing of the $55 million Lake Tahoe Community College General Bond, known as Measure F in November, the next step was to sell the bonds.

On August 6, 2015, $19 million of Series A bonds were sold at a much better rate than anyone expected. When the market opened at 7 a.m. PST, investors were ready to jump on these bonds and it only took two hours to sell them, and waiting in the wings were another $54.4 million in orders.

The biggest single investor was State Farm Insurance who bought about 25% of the bonds or, $4.7 million.

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.”

Locals and visitors can join #teamfireworks, a large effort to remove all debris from South Lake Tahoe's beaches following both the 4th of July and Labor Day fireworks shows.

Over 100,000 people enjoy the fireworks and anytime an area gets that many people, trash is sure to be an issue. Last year's beach clean was originally meant to make sure the debris from the actual fireworks was not left floating on the water or strewn along the beach. While not many parts of fireworks were found, hundreds of pounds of trash was collected.

The Tahoe Prosperity Center (TPC) website has been updated to what they feel better reflects their mission to unite Tahoe's communities to strengthen regional prosperity.

TPC is the only basin-­wide organization focused on our regional economy to improve
the quality of life for Tahoe residents.

The new website includes current project information, the Connected Tahoe internet speed test, and their investment campaign information.

Local photographer Jim Delso (jdelsophotography.com) donated beautiful Lake Tahoe images for use on the website.

If the long line at the entrance to the cafeteria at Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School on Wednesday evening was any indication, the Meyers Area Plan (MAP) meeting was going to be another contentious event.

The meeting was one of several that has been hosted by El Dorado County concerning the future plan for the community of Meyers. As one can imagine, there is not a single plan that all who live there can agree upon.

South Lake Tahoe's major summer event, the American Century Championship, will once again add another U.S. Army veteran and hero to the 2015 event this July.

Retired United States Army Sergeant Major Rodney Gorman will join the field by virtue of his victory in the 2014 George W. Bush Presidential Center’s Warrior Open. He will join Corporal Chad Pfeifer at Edgewood this summer. Pfeifer was the three-time defending Warrior Open champion and the 2014 tournament's fifth place finisher.

I, like many of the other citizens of this beautiful city, enjoy the recent tourist-friendly developments created in the last decade. However, the city should place greater emphasis in revitalizing the run-down residential roads because the lack of sidewalks in these areas is unacceptable. As a solution, the city should begin projects to build sidewalks in residential areas because our residents would enjoy living a healthier lifestyle as well as experience an increase in their property values.

Clarity levels at Lake Tahoe in 2014 showed the biggest improvements in more than a decade, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, who have studied the lake for the last half century.

The improvements are in part due to continuous work from the Lake Tahoe community to lower pollutants to the lake. They were also influenced by the drought, as reduced precipitation meant fewer contaminants flowed into Lake Tahoe, particularly during the summer, when clarity levels were the highest recorded since 2002.

El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel, who represents South Lake Tahoe and the rest of the South Shore, was told by County Counsel that she may no longer participate in the Meyers Area Plan (MAP) discussions. Novasel owns 11.5% of a commercial building in Meyers, and it was determined that decisions about the MAP and zoning changes could affect her investment.

“I am disappointed that a conflict of interest will prevent my future participation in the Meyers Area Plan project," Novasel said.

"We have good news for the second year in a row," City Manager Nancy Kerry started with during her presentation Tuesday to the South Lake Tahoe City Council.

The budget for fiscal year 2013-14 closed out with a positive cash flow of $910,000. Kerry reported that a conservative fiscal philosophy and being budget conscious got the City through the recession. They have maintained a 25% reserve in the budget since 2005, a move that has allowed the City to be in the position to now grow the economy.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. is getting used to saying no.

For the second time in two weeks, the casino operator rejected a demand from an unsecured second level bondholder for payment of the obligations.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, Caesars said BOKF N.A. asked for payment on $750 million in debt plus interest. Caesars said it turned down the payment demand.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District has been chosen to be one of 12 school districts in the state to be featured in the Larry King hosted show on FOX Business Network. In View.

Superintendent Dr. Tarwater was contacted by the show's Senior Producer about the opportunity to be part of the educational television program. The show will be a special edition, half-hour program focusing on the state of education.

The Douglas County Economic Vitality team is working on Countywide Connectivity project and will present its work and vision at the February 5, 2015 Board of Commissioners meeting in Minden. This information will also be shared at the February 19, 2015 board meeting in Stateline.

Renovate, improve, contemporize and rebrand. That is what Burke Fathy says Sutter Capital Group plans to do with the former Factory Stores at the Y.

"The property needs to be repositioned," said Fathy, a partner with Sutter, told South Tahoe Now. "We are going to rebrand it from a factory store and make it more mixed tenant and give it new life."

The Sacramento investment group recently purchased the center after it fell into bankruptcy after years of mismanagement, Fathy said.

The following is a summary of accomplishments during 2014 by the City of South Lake Tahoe.

Strategic Priority: Fiscal Sustainability
The most important issue facing cities and local agencies is continued steadfast attention to the budget, both short term and long term fiscal impacts.

· Implemented “budget watch” approach to financial analysis; a year-long effort evaluating state, national and global economic impacts for South Shore economy, and capital investment opportunities

In anticipation of the resignation of the county's Clerk/Treasurer Ted Thran, Douglas County is looking for a committee to help find a replacement as well as county residents to fill the position.

Thran resigned in August but was re-elected in November. His second resignation is expected. The term will begin on January 5, 2015.

South Lake Tahoe non-profits were awarded $48,000 during the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board meeting today. The 22 groups were each given between $1,000 and $3,000. The LTVA, in partnership with NBC Sports and American Century Investments, previously directed an additional $67,200 through on-site volunteer organizations and other efforts during tournament week to area high schools, Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe Booster Club, Boys and Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe, and the Gene Upshaw Scholarship

Known as the "Loop Road," the U.S. 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project is about two months away from having its environmental analysis completed. Expecting that completion in January, 2015, the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) is holding a community meeting will update people on the plan to realign traffic through the casino corridor.

Planners are working on a concept with a more walkable, bikeable and transit friendly "main street" from Pioneer Trail's intersection with Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe to the loop road to the east side of MontBleu.

My name is Dr. Frederick “Fritz” Wenck, DDS, and I’ve been closely involved with Lake Tahoe Community College since its beginning in 1974, when I was elected one of the first LTCC Board of Trustees members. I’d like you to consider, just for a minute, what would happen if the college’s Measure F bond effort failed to pass this Election Day.

My wife and I bought a retirement home in Tahoe in 2002, in part because there was a college in South Lake Tahoe. I have been on the LTCC Foundation Board since 2009. I am writing to urge everyone to support Measure F to modernize Lake Tahoe Community College and increase the educational opportunities offered there.