life

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. At this time there is no work scheduled for the South Lake Tahoe area.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

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.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Now that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is moving through the official phases and tiers, a vaccine list has been start for those who are able to respond to a Placerville or South Lake Tahoe Public Health Office within 30-60 minutes of getting an alert.

No matter what’s happening in your life, the mountains are always calling. This is the theme behind South Lake Tahoe winter accessory and facemask company "Mountains Calling."

Serving customers since 2010, the family run business with a love for the mountains and the community produces individual and practical bandanas, hats, beanies, t-shirts, and headbands (and of course stickers). The pandemic created a need for face masks, something they were able to start making right away to fit the needs of the public.

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.

Raul I. Aguilar was one of 10 children, born on April 17, 1942 in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico and passed away on December 19th, 2020 in South Lake Tahoe, California. In his 20's, Raul worked as a radio disc jockey and enjoyed playing and winning in chess tournaments.

Raul moved to South Lake Tahoe in the early 1970's where he later got married and had three children. Raul always worked in the service industry as a banquet server and enjoyed meeting people and catering all sorts of events along the way.

It was a great honor to serve as a member of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Board of Trustees for the last four years. As previously reported, I am stepping aside to focus on my career and raising my beautiful baby girl. I said many times while I was on the Board that every family in the District was my family, and every child in the District was my responsibility. Now that I have a child of my own, I think the parents of LTUSD will understand when I say that I need to focus on my own family for the time being.

There will be two virtual presentations on suicide and depression for parents on Monday, December 22 hosted by the Suicide Prevention Network (SPN).

At 10:00 a.m., Lisa Utzig Schafer of SPN and Juanita Hernandez- Morin, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist from El Dorado County Mental Health for a Suicide & Depression Parent Presentation.

At 6:00 p.m., Utzig Schafer will be joined by Anna Lee, AMFT, with A Balanced Life for a presentation on Depression & Suicide-Teen Edition. Learn about warning signs, what to say, and community resources.

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.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection (TDFP), state agencies, local non-profits and businesses are coming together to launch a campaign aimed to help our community stay safer by providing server intervention training and ride alternatives to those who are drinking and need to get home.

Call For A Ride, Stay Alive is a drunk driving awareness campaign that offers server intervention training to employees from casinos and other Stateline area businesses.

State health insurance exchanges, like Covered California and Nevada Health Link, are now in open enrollment - the time when we can sign up for coverage for the year ahead. It’s always a good idea to make sure you and your family have health insurance, and with the current surge of COVID-19, you don’t want to be uncovered. Luckily, there are many options for families and individuals to enroll virtually, including free, bi-lingual enrollment services offered here in our community.

Fire Marshal Eric Guevin of the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District (TDFPD) was recently awarded the Fire Prevention Association of Nevada (FPAN) 2020 Golden Sparky Award.

The Golden Sparky Award is the State of Nevada’s highest award for outstanding achievement in fire prevention and fire safety education for fire service personnel.

Guevin has served as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Fire Education Network Representative for the State of Nevada. In this capacity, Eric became a vital liaison between the FPAN, the Fire Safety Educators of Nevada, and NFPA.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have passed an updated vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance for the Lake Tahoe portion of the county.

In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the second reading of the ordinance passed, one that adds a ceiling on the number of permits allowed. Supervisor Sue Novasel had to recuse herself because of a resident's request that she do so due to her husband's investment company.

If those who attended the first Thanksgiving in 1621 happened to time travel and visit the 2020 version, what would they think of our version of the holiday?

That first celebration wasn't called Thanksgiving, they didn't have potatoes or pumpkin pie, but they did have a feeling of gratitude and thankfulness over the three-day celebration after a successful harvest.

Thanksgiving is based on the idea that we should all take time to count our blessings at least once a year and to celebrate it with family and friends.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The safety of patients and healthcare workers is Barton Health’s top priority. The health care system has operations in place to continue to meet the demand for medical services as COVID-19 cases surge across the nation and Lake Tahoe. After preparation for the anticipated increase of patient volume this fall and winter, aspects of Barton’s plan are being implemented to meet the needs for patient care.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In search of something positive to do while staying at home during the pandemic, South Lake Tahoe parent Gantt Miller and his daughter Mackenzie started brainstorming. They couldn't sew, so making masks were out of the question. What could they do?

They could tell a story.

The nine-year-old Mackenzie and her dad, who wrote the book under a pen name, M.C. Behm, started to explore what messages they could convey between the front and back covers.

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. - 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

As daylight saving time comes to an end on Sunday, November 1, any will notice the time change disrupting sleep patterns and affecting the ability to concentrate and safely operate a motor vehicle. To highlight the life-threatening dangers of fatigued driving, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) joins the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the National Sleep Foundation in recognizing Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, November 1-8, 2020, and encouraging Californians to stay alert and stay alive.

Larry Eugene Schaffer passed away on October 28, 2020 after a brief illness. He was 76-years-old.

The son of Harold and Mary Schaffer. Larry grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Larry enlisted in the Marines at age 18 where he was a radio mechanic during the Vietnam War. After the Marines he attended California State University Northridge and received a degree in Sociology. He went on to receive his Master’s degree.

Upon his return from the war Larry married Elizabeth Anne Brewer who preceded him in death after 10 years of marriage. Larry and Beth had one son, Jason Schaffer.

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

In 2020, Red Ribbon Week, the nation's largest and longest running drug-use prevention campaign, turns 35 and will be observed October 23-31. Red Ribbon Week has informed millions of kids and parents about the danger of drugs and alcohol, influencing positive choices and behaviors. However, one “drug” that may not receive as much attention lately is nicotine. which is highly addictive.

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.

Dear Voters: Everyone knows what goes downhill, but the South Tahoe Public Utility District knows how to recycle it into 381,000 kilowatts of electricity per year. A recent feature article by the Association of California Water Agencies pointed out that STPUD is one of only a handful of utility districts in the entire world that can claim 100% reuse of wastewater and bio solids. Here’s how. We use centrifuges instead of the usual pollution causing burners. That allows us to make fertilizer for ranch land.