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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Many head to the Sierra to experience snow in all forms, from the ski slopes to sledding and building snowmen. Even during the pandemic and current "Stay-at-Home" orders in California, area roads were full this past holiday weekend with those seeking play time in the snow.

Each year, law enforcement has to deal with those who seem to have forgotten the laws of being safe on the roadway and parking on the highways, and not observing "no parking" zone rules.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Tahoe Conservancy announced Friday that the gates to Van Sickle Bi-State Park have closed for the winter season. Although roads and facilities will close, the park grounds remain open to pedestrian access year-round.

The 725-acre Van Sickle Bi-State Park provides day-use opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. For visitor safety, sledding is not allowed.

South Tahoe Now reached out to all nine candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council and provided the same list of questions to each one of them. Once a day their answers will be published in the order received.

Today's candidate is Bruce Grego

Profession: Attorney

How many years in SLT: 53 years

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - All campgrounds and day use areas on U.S. Forest Service land in California and the Lake Tahoe Basin must close at 5:00 p.m. Monday, September 7 due to the unprecedented and dangerous fire conditions and extreme heat, significant wind events, dry conditions, and firefighting resources that are stretched to the limit.

The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has announced the following temporary closures and fire restrictions to provide for public safety and reduce the potential for human caused fire starts:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County Animal Services is looking for information from the public about a Cocker Spaniel dog that was abandoned on the side of the road in South Lake Tahoe. The severely neglected dog was found on August 22, 2020, by a Good Samaritan who brought the dog to the El Dorado County Animal Services Shelter in Meyers.

The female Cocker Spaniel is about eight-years-old with tan fur. She wasn’t wearing a collar or identification tag and was found lying on the side of the road on Spruce Avenue by Bijou School in South Lake Tahoe.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Busy summers come with lots of litter. Help the League to Save Lake Tahoe keep the Tahoe that we love clean by participating in Tahoe's Trash Pickup Challenge all September long. You can join them at in-person events, cleanup remotely or do both.

Every Saturday in September is a cleanup day. Join them by tidying up in your neighborhood, local happy place or one of the litter hot spots listed in the signup form. If Saturdays don’t jive with your calendar, don't let that stop you! You can clean up any day, any time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - We have all seen the photos of trash left behind on beaches, trails, parking lots and surrounding dumpsters not only in Lake Tahoe but across the country. This is only the tip of the problem and managing our trash is key to prevent landfills being overflowed with our unnecessary waste.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A large group of car enthusiasts on top of an already busy summer weekend created a hectic weekend for South Lake Tahoe area law enforcement.

Dubbed #Lake2o, a social media-organized group of about 300-400 modified car owners converged on the town starting Thursday and went through Monday morning, taking over parking lots, parking garages and filling city streets.

Remember minivans? Now think about this for a moment: how many new minivans do you see on the road? In my youth, it seemed like every third car on the road was a people carrier. In 2020 I hardly see any brand-new ones, and the answer seems to be that minivan buyers simply switched to SUVs instead. Maybe it’s because they’re simply uncool and became a cliché of new parents. Regardless of the reason, what if there was a vehicle that is a marriage of both? Enter the Pilot.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Summer mountain activities will soon get underway at Vail's Lake Tahoe resorts: Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. The South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed an urgency ordinance during their special meeting Thursday, one that relaxes the regulations regarding temporary signage, building permit fees, and outdoor restaurant seating rules.

As the City and County move into Governor Newsom's Stage 2 plans, restrictions placed on some places of business to promote social distancing and safety practices will not allow many to reopen in the same manner as pre-pandemic.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The messaging from the state, county, and city has been consistent throughout the coronavirus pandemic: This is not the time to travel to South Lake Tahoe. Nevada has also sent out the same message as a ban on nonessential travel that was created to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between communities.

The following is a letter sent to El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe. It is published here in its entirety at the request of the author.

The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce would like to offer encouragement and support of a revival of the local economy, while continuing to keep the health and safety of our residents in mind. Cases of COVID-19 have remained low in our region when compared to other more populated areas around the State and Nation. We applaud the quick action taken by the County and City that has helped us keep the case count low.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A temporary closure order for USFS beaches and recreation sites around Lake Tahoe has been extended through at least May 15, 2020. The original order was set to expire May 1. To keep in alignment with current federal, state, and local guidance for social distancing, and to ensure the health and safety of its employees, visitors, and volunteers, it was extended.

Trailheads and trails outside of the orange areas of the attached maps, or the ones on the closure website, are not affected by this order but parking lots are closed.

Beautiful weather and a case of cabin fever from shelter in place directives have many of us yearning to get outside. Being in nature provides many wellness benefits. When we leave home to enjoy the bounty of outdoor activities, parks, and trails around us, we can honor those working on the front-line of the coronavirus pandemic by doing our part to stay healthy and keep each other safe.

4/20 Update: The response was huge this weekend and all of the seedlings the Sugar Pine Foundation had to give way were gone in the first day! They have 2,000 more to distribute on Saturday, April 25 at 9:00 a.m. while supplies last, except at the Mountain Hardware location.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you looked at the 7-day forecast on Sunday morning you may have been excited...high 50s at the end of the week followed by a 60 on Easter Sunday. That all went awry by afternoon as the weather models show a cold front dropping further south than originally planned and into northern California and Nevada with the jet stream near the Oregon border.

There will now be increased winds for Wednesday through Friday afternoons, particularly for thee Sierra ridges. The highs decreased and will now be closer to average and a chance of precipitation lingers.

Besides being known for bringing candy hearts and lots of snow, February is National Heart Health Month. Heart disease is identified as the leading cause of death in both men and women by the Centers for Disease Control. In addition to screenings that can be done to monitor your heart’s health, there are fundamentals of following a preventative heart health lifestyle that can help prevent heart disease and maintain heart health.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) and the El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson are investigating possible illegal and improper predatory towing practices.

SLTPD has received several informal complaints from the public about the possible illegal tow practices that involve cars removed from private parking areas near the Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe.

The complains involve a tow company improperly holding stored vehicles longer than necessary, thus adding extra storage fees to the vehicle's owner.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Youth participating in SOS Outreach participated in a leadership evening on Thursday evening where they listened to a panel of three South Lake Tahoe leaders and learned about how to create positive change in breakout sessions.

SOS Outreach is a national youth development nonprofit that mentors at-risk and underserved youth with positive adults through outdoor activities. Youth in their fourth year of the mentor program have been building and practicing leadership skills and other life skills over the past years and were chosen to participate on Thursday.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On March 3, 2020, voters in the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) boundaries will decide if Measure B should pass, a measure that would give the fire department funds for much-needed equipment, apparatuses, and supplies.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the arrival of winter, El Dorado County Animal Services is reminding residents to take precautions with their pets.
“Winter in our county regularly brings freezing temperatures, frigid wind, ice and snow,” said Henry Brzezinski, Chief of El Dorado County Animal Services. “These conditions can adversely affect animals in numerous ways, and even threaten a pet’s life. A few simple steps can ensure your pet’s safety.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The ringing in of the new year was celebrated several different ways across the South Shore of Lake Tahoe.

At Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe, a season-long celebration concluded with a New Year's Eve celebration attended by an estimated 6,500 people. The festivities included a 9:00 p.m. fireworks show on the gondola, concerts and special activities all day long.

Clarity was originally a name reserved for Honda’s venture into fuel cells which still exists in the Clarity Fuel Cell. But at a price approaching $60,000, its sales are very small at about 625 units for 2018. While that is a percentage increase of about 35 percent, the actual number of increased unit sales was under 200 year over year. See how percentage increase figures can be misleading? However, the new Clarity Plug-in Hybrid is having robust sales in comparison (over 18,0000 units sold) and for many a good reason.