projects

A $2.8M Proposition 84 grand was received by the City of South Lake Tahoe’s Engineering Division yesterday. The Round 2 grant will correct erosion control issues in the Sierra Tract neighborhood.

February's community meeting on the South Lake Tahoe Airport Master Plan was attended by dozens of residents interested in the future of the airport. As promised, the consultants on the project have released all of the comments collected during and after the meeting.

The list of all the public comments and responses are now available on line at http://www.cityofslt.us/airportpubliccomments.

Living in a forest gives great benefits, but it also carries with it the risk of forest fires.

A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for South Lake Tahoe is being developed jointly by the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and Lake Valley Fire Protection District.

The community is being asked to complete a survey which will help the agencies prepare the CWPP. This will enable the creation of a plan on how the south shore will reduce it's risk of wildfire by identifying strategic sites and methods for fuel reduction projects.

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.

Work will start as early as May 5th on the Forest Service's Fallen Leaf Trail Project. The project will improve the trail system by improving access to popular destinations and reducing congestion and user conflict.

The first phase will be worked on this spring and summer. The result will be a new bike path from Fallen Leaf Lake Campground to the Pope Baldwin Bike Path.

It's long been joked that South Lake Tahoe has two seasons: winter and road construction.

Get ready for the latter as it's time to begin the South Lake Tahoe projects.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Jim Marino, the City's Assistant Public Works Director, outlined all 13 different projects happening within city limits this year.

On the photos in this story you'll their locations, and which ones are deemed to create the heaviest traffic as a result of closing intersections or reducing travel to one lane.

Join people from across the state in one giant science fair project on May 8th. Be a scientist for a day as you complete one of three projects: Find Pollinators, Water Conservation and track where your food comes from.

The vast science project is in in recognition of the 100th anniversary of University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE).

$25,000 will be awarded to South Lake Tahoe groups that make a difference in the health and wellness of individuals in the community.

Barton Health will award grants to organizations that serve underserved populations and have a lasting impact on the community’s well-being.

In this grant cycle, Barton Health will fund programs that address the South Lake Tahoe community’s most pressing health needs. Based on the 2012 Community Health Needs Assessment, the top three health concerns are substance abuse, access to healthcare, and mental health.

Prescribed fire operations will continue around Lake Tahoe this week. Fuels management crews from the U.S. Forest Service will be in various locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin the week of March 30, 2014. Possible locations include Slaughterhouse Canyon on the East Shore, the Luther Pass Campground off of Highway 89 near South Lake Tahoe, the west side of Highway 89 near Tahoma, and near D.L. Bliss State Park on the West Shore.

Operations are ongoing and depend on weather, staffing, and conditions. Locations could vary due to changing conditions.

The expectations of tourists to South Lake Tahoe are continuously evolving, and being able to anticipate, adapt and prepare for these will be highlighted at the 2014 Tourism Forum. The April 15th event is being sponsored by the TahoeChamber, Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority and El Dorado County.

In order to succeed as the tourists to South Lake Tahoe start to deman new services, amenities and conveniences, businesses must adopt the necessary tools to survive or risk being left behind.

California Governor Jerry Brown has called for a 20% reduction in water usage state wide in order to prepare for the anticipated water shortage not only for 2014, but also in coming years.

A presentation was made by South Tahoe Public Utility District at Tuesday's City Council Meeting on just how everyone can cut back, from private homes to city projects.

Long range planning is important for communities to survive cutbacks to water supplies. The District outlined their response to conservation:

Clarity levels within the iconic blue waters of Lake Tahoe continued a decadelong trend of stabilization in 2013, according to University of California, Davis, scientists who study the lake.

Data released today by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC)and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency reported the average annual clarity level for 2013 at 70.1 feet. While the reading represents a 5 foot decrease over the previous year, it is still well above the lowest value recorded in 1997 of 64.1 feet and above recent years' averages.

What could be the last of its kind for some time in South Lake Tahoe, The Aspens at South Lake is celebrating its completion with a grand opening on Thursday, February 27.

The new affordable housing complex is 48 units and cost about $9.5 million to build. 47 of the units will be assisted units which are based on income needs and will likely be filled by service industry employees and single parents with entry level jobs. The Aspens bring the total number of affordable housing units in South Lake Tahoe to 350.

The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board has approved a grant of $704,000 to the Truckee River Watershed Council for three watershed restoration projects that will correct detrimental impacts to streams and meadows from roads and historical logging activities.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is letting the voters decide the future of paid parking in the city limits during the next election on June 3, 2014. Voters will be able to either approve or repeal the city's paid parking ordinance.

During Tuesday night's City Council session, several options were voted on that address concerns the public had on paid parking. They will go into effect immediately, well ahead of the election.

Prescribed burn operations will take place in several locations around the Lake Tahoe basin beginning on Tuesday, February 18.

The U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will be in the Luther Pass Campground off of Highway 89 S near South Lake Tahoe, on the west side of Highway 89 N near Tahoma, and in Slaughterhouse Canyon on Lake Tahoe’s East Shore. Prescribed fire crews may continue operations through the weekend, weather, staffing, and conditions permitting. Locations may vary due to changing conditions.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is encouraging residents to be informed and engaged in the community and is offering several opportunities in the coming weeks to do just that.

"In an engaged community, every person has the information, the opportunities and the support needed to take action and lead change throughout their lives," according to the Knight Foundation. "When people become involved, and exercise their full democratic rights, they make their lives and those of others better."

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 nomination period is open for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s 24th annual Best in the Basin awards program, which annually recognizes environmentally compatible projects in the Tahoe Basin that stand out as the best designed, planned and implemented.

Projects completed between October 12, 2012 and December 31, 2013 can be nominated for consideration by the judging panel in the spring or early summer of this year.

PLACERVILLE, CA - El Dorado Arts Council (EDAC) announced today that Kim Wyatt, publisher of Bona Fide Books, was appointed to the nonprofit arts organization’s board of directors.

“We are excited to have Kim Wyatt join our board as EDAC prepares to launch exciting initiatives in 2014,” says Dan Cattone, EDAC board president. “The support and nurturing of the South Lake Tahoe art community is critical to our mission of ‘More Art in More Places.’ Kim will help us energize that effort and insure that EDAC brings relevant support and value to the South Lake Tahoe art community.”

As 2013 draws to a close, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of many this year. It was just a few short years ago, in the midst of the Great Recession, both public agencies and private companies throughout the basin were in the middle of layoffs, service reductions and unemployment hovering above 17%. Concerns regarding economic recovery were significant. Rather than buckling under, we buckled down, got things done and prepared for recovery.

Lake Tahoe-based Weidinger Public Relations was presented with four awards by the Public Relations Society of American, Sierra Nevada Chapter for various campaigns at the organization’s 27th annual Silver Spike Awards.

There has finally been a lot of construction action at the site of The Chateau Project in South Lake Tahoe over the last couple of months. Many locals have called this area "The Hole" since construction stalled in 2008 but they are now seeing life being put into one of the cornerstones of the South Lake Tahoe Tourist Core.

Mayor Tom Davis touched on more than a couple of dozen points during his State of the City Address which was presented to an overflowing full house at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Among the Davis's highlighted city successes for the year:

Linear Park - Over $600,000 was spent on a paved bike path, landscaping and an additional 22 lights on a stretch from Wildwood Avenue to just before Pioneer Trail.