permits

U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials are asking Burning Man organizers to provide "excessive" comforts such as flushing toilets, washers and dryers, and vanity mirrors in a compound for high-level government officials staying in Black Rock City.

A Burning Man spokesman estimated the compound would cost the event more than $1 million, bringing its 2015 permit fees to about $5 million. The renderings of the compound obtained by the RGJ also show various accommodations set aside for VIP visitors but don't indicate who the visiting dignitaries will be.

Once again, an audience full of mainly Realtors and property managers filled the South Lake Tahoe City Council Chambers as the topic of Vacation Home Rentals (VHR) was on the agenda for discussion.

Renting a vacation home is being increasingly popular in South Lake Tahoe just as in other communities. Many tourists prefer to rent a VHR instead of a traditional motel or hotel room. There are many reasons from enjoying time with family to reunions and wedding parties.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community will execute an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill on Monday, June 8, 2015 between the hours of 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The drill will simulate a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone. Situations which could cause a neighborhood evacuation would be a wildfire, earthquake, hazardous spill or some other catastrophic event.

California cannabis growers may be making millions, but their thirsty plants are sucking up a priceless resource: water. Now scientists say that if no action is taken in the drought-wracked state, the consequences for fisheries and wildlife will be dire.

"If this activity continues on the trajectory it's on, we're looking at potentially streams going dry, streams that harbor endangered fish species like salmon, steelhead," said Scott Bauer of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Hoopa and Salyer, two bear cubs who have been at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care since the end of December, left their winter home Thursday and are now headed to the Hoopa Indian Reservation near Eureka, CA.

Salyer was just 24 pounds when he arrived in South Lake Tahoe from Salyer, CA, and Hoopa, who was found at the Reservation, was 25 pounds when she arrived.

Closed since last fall's fire which burned over 97,000 acres near Pollock Pines, the King Fire area opens to the public on Saturday, April 25.

"I've decided to reopen the national forest lands in the King Fire area to the public beginning Saturday, April 25, in conjunction with the general opening of fishing season," said Forest Supervisor Laurence Crabtree. "Parts of the fire area are still hazardous, but that will continue to be true for years."

There are many sides to the South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rental (VHR) situation. On one side are the locals whose peaceful lives have been disturbed because they are the neighbors of vacation home rentals that are reportedly out of control with excess noise and trash that come from inconsiderate renters. On another side are the people wanting to enjoy South Lake Tahoe from the comfort of a private home. Yet another side are the second home owners who want to earn money from their vacation home.

An overflowing audience of South Lake Tahoe residents, home owners, vacation home owners, real estate agents, property managers, vacation rental companies, locals and city officials were on hand Tuesday night at the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) community workshop held in City Council chambers at the airport.

City Manager Nancy Kerry ran the meeting, giving everyone a chance to speak their opinion after a short presentation.

City Announces “Fix-Up 50” Initiative in time for Summer Tourism Season
Help improve our City’s appearance in preparation for summer guests.

Heavenly Mountain Resort added summertime activities to the top of the gondola last summer but that was only the beginning if the Epic Discovery Project gets approval from the necessary agencies.

Almost twenty years later and the Tahoe Valley Area plan isn't in place, yet. John Hitchcock, the City of South Lake Tahoe Planning Manager, gave the Council another presentation on the status of the plan and where things stand as of today during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

First proposed in the early 1990's, the resurrection of the Tahoe Valley Area plan made great strides towards adoption in 2014 with Hitchcock holding four public meetings where input was requested, presenting the plan to TRPA three times, three times to City Council and twice to the planning commission.

Imagine packing up the car and heading up to South Lake Tahoe to enjoy a week at the large vacation home you just rented, only to find out that the house isn't yours to use when you arrive.

That scenario happened over the recent holiday when not one, not two, but four different groups thought they rented a home on Bonita Road near Heavenly Mountain Resort. All of the groups found a home for rent on Craigslist, a popular website used for buying, selling and renting.

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

Favorable conditions are giving the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service more opportunities to burn piles around Van Sickle Bi-State Park, Heavenly urban lots and McKinney Rubicon area.

With cooler temperatures and some precipitation, this time of year is perfect for prescribed burning.

Several key public service positions have been filled the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Tom Lotshaw has been hired to work as TRPA’s Public Information Officer. He replaces Jeff Cowen, who worked for TRPA in that and other roles for eight years.

Lotshaw graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in public affairs journalism and has seven years of newspaper reporting experience. He worked most recently as a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana, and as a reporter and photographer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

A historic donation was made to the Lake Tahoe Community College today, enabling the school to build the Robert Maloff University Center on campus in preparation for offering four year degrees. LTCC has applied to be part of a state pilot program that will bring in baccalaureate degrees to 15 community colleges, beginning with at least one program at each school.

Free public fire wood gathering will again be available at the Wrights Lake Recreation Area on the Eldorado National Forest to this weekend, November 8-9. “This weekend’s weather forecast is favorable,” stated Richard Thornburgh, Pacific District Ranger. “We feel this is a perfect opportunity to continue cleaning up the area by allowing people to take home free firewood.” The Recreation Area was hit by a severe wind storm almost a year ago, causing more than 200 trees to fall.

The five month long grading season in Lake Tahoe ends on October 15 and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has made it easier for builders to request an extension.

TRPA now has an online system to handle the requests in order to improve customer service and eliminate the need to people to drive to their office.

Grading season for construction projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin extends from May 1 to October 15. Soil disturbance during wet conditions can harm the lake’s water quality. Outside of the grading season, soil disturbance activities generally require an exception.

The spring and summer weather is here and many of us are starting or planning to start those home improvement projects that just can’t be done in the cold and wet months. Maybe we have also heard about the dangers that can be present when working on surfaces that contain lead. As many of us now know, any home that was constructed prior to 1978 may have lead-based paint or lead containing finishes on any of the painted or varnished surfaces on the exterior and interior of the home and on outbuildings, fences and other surfaces as well.

The following is an opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the views of South Tahoe Now:

They’ve been called unpleasant names that can’t be printed. They’ve received death threats. For a few days one may even assume they were hated. That was then.

They’re being called courageous. They’re being called heroes. They’re being thanked for caring about our environment and bringing the effect of fireworks in the lake to the forefront. That is now.

3/4/14 10 am update: Passes will not be available until 3/5/14.

In an effort to keep up their end of the "parking bargain," the City of South Lake Tahoe has started selling annual parking permits to local residents in the 89448-89449 and 96150-96158 zip codes. In last month's City Council meetings with the public and a group opposed to paid parking, city leaders had promised to work out a parking plan that would address the issues proposed, and a paid permit for locals is the first step.

With Tahoe South’s two annual fireworks celebrations meeting all state and federal standards throughout their 30-year history, area tourism officials strongly denounced a lawsuit that could threaten the annual July Fourth and Labor Day events as totally unnecessary.

In November, Joseph and Joan Truxler, of Zephyr Cove, Nev., filed a federal lawsuit against the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and Pyro Spectaculars North alleging the twice-annual fireworks shows violated the Clean Water Act.

Charlee Simons from K-Tahoe gets his U.S. Forest Service permits to cut down his own Christmas Trees on U.S. Forest Service land, and gets all giddy about it!