law

Summer is on it’s way and with it comes the risk of wildland fires. Already throughout the State many lives and homes have been in danger due to wildland fires. If your home, or the home of someone you care for is at risk, will you be notified? Have you registered for emergency notifications through the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO), Office of Emergency Services (OES), Emergency Notification System? If not, now is the time to do so. The system sends out individual alerts about public health and public safety emergencies affecting specific geographical areas.

An armed man walked into the Kings Beach branch of the Plumas Bank Friday morning, demanding money of two clerks. He then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect, identified as 55 year old Brent Muir of Carson City, was sighted near Sand Harbor by FBI agents responding to the robbery from South Lake Tahoe.

Fatalities are up nationwide for unbelted vehicle occupants – the first time in five years according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2012, 10,335 unbelted vehicle occupants lost their lives. In Nevada, 41 unbelted vehicle occupants died last year.

South Tahoe Now sent a questionnaire out to all of the candidates for Douglas County Sheriff. We will be posting them in the order received.

1) What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department?

A simultaneous sting operation between the California State License Board and the Nevada Contractors License Board snared 11 people on the California side of South Lake Tahoe and 8 on the Nevada side on Wednesday.

Named the "Border Blitz," the sting was conducted at a SLT single family home near the Hwy 89 and Hwy 50 intersection (the "Y")and at a condominium in Stateline, NV. Investigators from the CSLB and NCLB posed as homeowners seeking bids for various projects that included exterior painting, deck work, landscaping, and other tasks requiring general "B" contractor skills.

There is a proposed "Forest Order" that would require proper storage of food and refuse at developed National Forest System recreation sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Bears are attracted to anything edible or scented. Improper storage of human food sources and refuse is a leading cause of human-bear conflict. Without a Forest Order in place, Forest Service law enforcement are unable to require visitors to employ proper food and refuse storage practices. The proposed Forest Order would require use of bear-resistant dumpsters and food lockers designed to prevent access by wildlife.

Registration for South Lake Tahoe kindergarten and transitional kindergarten will be held May 5th through May 9th.

Children must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2014. Children who turn 5 between September 2 and December 2, 2014 are eligible for transitional kindergarten.

California Law requires that:
1. You bring child's birth certificate;
2. You bring proof of immunizations, which includes the Varicella (Chicken Pox), Hepatitis B and for
most children - the last booster shot. Children will not be enrolled in school without presenting an

The Nevada Highway Patrol recently stepped up enforcement of Nevada's Share the Road laws, pulling over 200 motorists who violated the law and issued them warnings.

Now its turn for the NHP to turn the tables and watch for bicyclists not in compliance.

4-5-14 12:40 p.m. update - Camilyn Kay Price-Miller has been found alive and well in another location. She was unaware of the search for her so, once she found out about the situation she walked into a local police station.

Law enforcement officers served warrants Thursday at Sierra Tahoe Ready Mix on Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe as well as a related residence as part of a fraud investigation into the issuance of false or fraudulent documents relating to government construction contracts.

Personnel from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and El Dorado County District Attorney and Sheriff's Offices took in evidence as a result of the warrant.

In an effort to keep bicyclists safer on Nevada roads, the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) has joined forces with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) in a SHARE THE ROAD campaign. They will be stepping up enforcement to ensure that motor vehicles are sharing the roads with the bicyclists and reducing the accidents between the two.

Spring is here which means Nevadans will be taking to the road to get some exercise and soak up some sun, so you will begin to see more people biking along the roads in Nevada.

Drivers along Highway 50 between South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento this weekend will see an increased presence of law enforcement in an effort to reduce fatalities on the roadway.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will have extra officers on the road as part of their zero tolerance enforcement operation. They will be targeting aggressive drivers, drivers using unsafe speeds and those making unsafe passing and lane changes.

A year and a half road construction project will result in the closure of Kingsbury Grade for almost 75 days this year and more in 2015. Since this will have an impact on local businesses, residents and commuters, a forum was held on Wednesday in order to inform the community about the impact.

A full house was on hand in the TahoeChamber conference room to listen to representatives from Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and the road construction company.

Rates for South Tahoe Public Utility customers need to be raised "in order to be prepared for fire, prevent sewer or recycled water spills into the lake and meet law requirements on new meter installation," according to South Tahoe Public Utility District G.M. Richard Solbrig. He provided explanation of the three challenges to the district in a presentation to Tahoe Douglas Rotarians on Friday, January 31.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) welcomes attorney Jessica Satre to its legal team as Agency Associate Counsel. Satre joined TRPA in November last year.

Most recently, Satre was a government affairs and legislative analyst for the law firm of Snell & Wilmer, LLP. She has also worked on Capitol Hill in Washington DC for Senator Harry Reid and held legal internships at the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Education.

You may not have noticed a lack of old style light bulbs on the store shelves yet, but on January 1st it became illegal to manufacture or import 40 and 60 watt incandescent light bulbs.

Stores are allowed to sell their current stock of the popular general service light bulbs. Some of the incandescent bulbs will still be allowed though, including three way, 150 watt and narrower based candelabra lights.

With hundreds of new laws every year for the past 45 years, one might wonder if anyone knows them all or can keep track of the changes. There are new laws on the books for both California (800 new laws) and Nevada (45 new laws) that Lake Tahoe residents might want to brush up on.

Here is an overview of some of them:

California

The search is on for Kathryn Ann Moore, 44 and her two children Patricia Read, 5, and William Moore, 2, after Moore failed to return the children to their father Richard Read of Gardnerville, NV.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Department, Moore was to be in court to exchange the children with Read on November 21. Attempts to contact Kathryn have been unsuccessful and a recent visit to her home has indicated that she has left with the children.

The County of El Dorado and the Judges of the Superior Court of California, County of El Dorado, are pleased to announce that Brian Richart has accepted appointment as El Dorado County’s new Chief Probation Officer. A unique position under California law, the Chief Probation Officer is appointed by the judges of the Superior Court, with the Board of Supervisors setting the salary and benefit levels. Due to the importance of this position, the Superior Court worked collaboratively with the Sheriff’s Department and county officials to select the best possible candidate.

This Halloween, police, sheriff and CHP Officers in El Dorado County will crack down on drunk and drugged drivers throughout the region with an aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement effort. The Avoid the 6 DUI Task Force has given a fair warning to all partygoers: keep the party off the road.

“The scariest part of Halloween is not the spooky costumes and scary pranks, it’s the impaired drivers. All too often, partygoers don’t plan ahead and choose to drive impaired, but a costume can’t disguise drunk driving,” said Press Information Officer Dave Stevenson.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host a drug disposal day on October 26th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Safeway. They are giving the public its seventh opportunity in three years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to Safeway at 1020 Johnson Blvd, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Department Captain Randy Pershon has been appointed to the Judicial Council Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee. This committee makes recommendations improving the processing of cases in drug courts, domestic violence courts, peer courts, and other community-based treatment courts. They also propose rules, standards, and forms; reviews and recommends legislation; identifies potential funding sources; oversees the treatment court grant process; and acts on assignments referred to it by the Judicial Council.

5 PM UPDATE: Alpine County Undersheriff Rob Levy provides new information regarding an assault of a woman Sunday night near Hope Valley who was stopped by a vehicle occupied by a man impersonating a police officer.

Authorities are looking for a man, described as a white, stocky build, approximately 40 to 50 years of age, 6 feet, two inches in height, 225 pounds, with dark hair and a bushy mustache. The male may have sustained injuries.

A new documentary film about the life of Matthew Shepard will have its Northern California premiere with the Theatre Arts Department at Lake Tahoe Community College on Saturday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke Theatre. Tickets are $5 at the door.