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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."

Give Where You Live! is a 24-hour giving challenge coordinated by the El Dorado Community Foundation. This year's day long giving day is Thursday, April 23, 2015.

“We have approximately 70 nonprofits participating in the event this year. Each nonprofit will have its own website presence to highlight a particular need or needs for which it is focusing giving dollars, as well as more information about the organization in general,” said Megan Buchanan, donor services coordinator at the foundation.

As word of California’s measles outbreak spread to even remote Mariposa County, health officer Robert Ryder tried to capitalize on the alarming news by reaching out to families whose children weren’t fully vaccinated.

Flu season is underway. Misconceptions about the flu prevent people from taking the proper precautions. For example, being out the in cold does not cause the flu. Here are a few more flu myths I hear and facts to help you stay healthy this winter.

FLU MYTHS

MYTH:If you think you have the flu, go to the doctor to get antibiotics.

There have been many environmental efforts to help keep Lake Tahoe blue over the last few decades, from stormwater treatments to the banning of two stroke engines. It's long been known that road runoff is the last remaining big culprit.

A public meeting providing an overview and update on the environmental document, design elements, and next steps for SR 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project is being hosted by the Tahoe Transportation District at Granlibakken Resort, Thursday, Dec. 4.

If anyone ever needed proof that every vote counts, they could look to the recent elections in South Lake Tahoe. In June, the County Supervisor District 5 primary election ended up with just 14 votes separating the second, third and fourth positions. The top two, Sue Novasel and Kenny Curtzwiler advanced into this week's election.

Voters in El Dorado County District 5 will be voting for a new supervisor on November 4 and the winner will either be Sue Novasel or Kenny Curtzwiler. The Sacramento Bee's Voter Guide got the candidates wrong as they wrote that Sue's opponent was Kevin Brown.

Before all the votes were counted during June's primary, Brown looked like he was headed to the runoff in November, but ended up in 4th place with 17.61% of the vote. The top two vote getters in June earned a spot on the ballot in November.

Novasel - 1,557 votes 28.47%
Curtzwiler - 977 votes 17.87%
Swanson - 967 votes 17.67%

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- Seen from this lofty vantage point, near the tree line atop the Van Sickle Trail, the south shore divides into bookends of vivid primary colors, all greens and blues. In the middle, like some scar or deformity, lies a jagged expanse of civilization, garish polychromatic swaths of development blending into one another with only jutting casino high-rises and the slash of Highway 50 serving as compass points.

There are an estimated 500 unpermitted, illegal marijuana grow houses on the South Shore according to local law enforcement. In the city limits, South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler estimates there are 300 houses where marijuana is growing illegally with another 200 in the El Dorado County portion of the South Shore according to SLEDNET’s Matt Underhill. (SLEDNET stands for South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team, a joint drug enforcement task force)

Honorable Dylan Sullivan was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to fill retiring Judge Daniel B. Proud's seat on the El Dorado County Superior Court. She won the June primary to become the Judge for Office 5, so this announcement moved up her start date by four months.

Judge Sullivan has been specifically assigned to department 7 by Presiding Judge Suzanne N. Kingsbury, due to her training and experience, to assist the Court in effectively implementing criminal justice realignment in El Dorado County. She was sworn in by Kingsbury on September 19.

TahoeChamber has endorsed seven candidates for the upcoming election that best portray the values and abilities necessary to serve the South Shore business community. As directed by the TahoeChamber Board of Directors, the TahoeChamber Candidate Endorsement Committee (TC-CEC) used the pillars of the Chamber’s adopted Tahoe Future A South Shore Community Vision 2020 as the foundational criteria for evaluating candidates. The pillars include Economic Vitality, Quality of Life, Sustainability, Infrastructure and Intellectual Capital.

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.

An environmental impact report on the Heavenly Epic Discovery Project is ready for public viewing. The new project, located at Heavenly Mountain Resort, will expand their summer activities to include more canopy tours, hiking and biking trails as well as interpretive activities.

Since 2011 the U.S. Forest Service has allowed more summer activities on national forest lands.

The following increase in activities are being proposed:

As a parent, we want our children to be safe. Certain safety measures are designed to help keep children safe, like child safety seats, seat belts, and toddler gates. However, some parents may overlook one critical component to keep children healthy and safe: vaccinations. Current vaccinations are the most effective and safest they have been in history and have saved millions of lives from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Flood recovery measures are being taken in the Fish Springs area of Douglas County after Wednesday night's flash flood closed several roads and damaged homes.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's office, this incident produced hazardous conditions due to the amount of water and dark evening hours which created safety concerns and inhibited immediate damage assessment.

The Reverse 911 was down in Douglas County so emergency messages had to be relayed through the National Weather Service, which is the backup system. Reverse 911 should be back up and working by August 15.

On June 17, 2014, the City Council held a workshop regarding the City’s five-year financial forecast and the overall economic forecast for the local community. While the forecast has improved, we need to attract substantial capital investment over the next ten years to grow the economy, meet the community’s needs and fund projects protecting the natural environment.

The South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition (STDFC) was formed in 2012 by Tahoe Youth and Family Services in collaboration with key community partners. Some of these community partners include the South Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Public Health, and Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

Join the California Tahoe Conservancy and Lake Tahoe Humane Society - S.P.C.A. in celebrating the dog days of summer with Doggie Day festivities at Cove East Beach on Sunday, June 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This free event will feature raffle prizes, educational points and dog-related contests. Every leashed pooch in attendance will leave with a free Frisbee too! Trail access to Cove East beach begins at the end of Venice Drive near the Tahoe Keys Marina.

It may be a couple of weeks until all of the votes are counted for the June 3rd primary, and by the end of it all we may see a different outcome from the one seen Tuesday.

Sue Novasel and Kevin Brown were in the lead after Tuesday's election for the District 5 seat on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. Novasel came out on top with Brown coming in second and with the top two vote getters proceeding to the November runoff most assumed it would be those two names they'd see on the ballot.

There are several choices for South Lake Tahoe voters in Tuesday's primary election.

Local Issues and Offices
El Dorado County Supervisor: Kevin Brown, Kenny Curtzwiler, Gerri Grego, Sue Novasel, Teresa Piper, Angela Swanson

Assessor - Karl Weiland

Auditor/Controller - Michael Owens, Joe Horn

District Attorney - Judson Henry, Vern Pierson

Recorder Clerk/Registrar of Voters - Chris Amaral, Bill Schultz

Sheriff - John D'Agostini

Surveyor - Rich Briner

Treasurer/Tax Collector - Ron Briggs, C.L. Raffety

South Tahoe Now sent a questionnaire out to all of the candidates for El Dorado County Supervisor and Douglas County Sheriff. This is the last of the submitted responses. Candidates Sue Novasel, Kenny Curtzwiler and Angela Swanson were the only County Supervisor candidates to respond, and Douglas County Sheriff candidates Ron Pierini and Dave Brady were the only Sheriff candidates to respond. We thank those that took the time to reply.

1) What do you see as the Number 1 issue facing residents of District 5?

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?

Sample ballots for the June 3 primary elections in California were mailed out April 25th, and absentee/mail in ballots are being mailed out Monday and Tuesday, May 5 and 6.

According to the mailed ballots, South Lake Tahoe county voters have the following choices in June:

U.S. Representative for the 4th District - Tom McClintock or Art Moore
State Assembly for the 5th District - Frank Bigelow
Superior Court Judge for Office 1 - Vicki Ashworth, David Combellack or Joe Weinberger
Superior Court Judge for Office 5 - Joseph Hoffman or Dylan Sullivan