revitalization

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.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Tahoe Transportation District have released a public draft of the Main Street Management Plan, setting the stage for a major makeover to a 1-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 50 in the Stateline area near Heavenly Village and the casino core.

An 18-member stakeholder working group and multiple public input sessions helped shape the plan over the past two years. The plan outlines how the street would look, feel, and function after U.S. Highway 50 is realigned through the U.S. 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project.

A major makeover is planned for a stretch of US Highway 50 from Pioneer Trail to Lake Parkway and the draft Mainstreet Management Plan for this area has been released for public review and comment.

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 Douglas Williams

Profession: Hospitality

How many years in SLT: 10 years

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 John Friedrich

Profession: Founder and Director, Tahoe Green Jobs Initiative

How many years in SLT: 15

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 Keith Roberts.

Profession: Executive Chef

How many years in SLT: 5 years

As ashes fell delicately from a blazing orange sky earlier this week, Lake Tahoe got a jarring glimpse of just one of the threats of the climate crisis. The frequency and intensity of wildfires in the West are breaking records and destroying communities. Scientists are also measuring wilder weather patterns, more severe droughts, and changing ecosystems as the planet’s temperature rises. More drought means more dead trees, and hotter summers mean a longer and more
severe fire season.

NORTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you've been on SR89 near Tahoe City lately you've noticed the new roundabout that was installed south of the Fanny Bridge near the transit station. A new bridge over the Truckee River was also created during the first stage of the SR89/Fanny Bridge Revitalization Project which included another roundabout on the west end of Tahoe City on SR89.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The third of four open houses to discuss the Highway 50/Main Street Management Plan for the South Shore will be held on Wednesday, November 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel in South Lake Tahoe.

After the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) approved the Highway 50 Revitalization Plan last year, focus has been on the Main Street plan (MontBleu/Lake Parkway to Pioneer Trail).

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to several hundred Tahoe City residents on a warm summer evening in August. I was there for a celebration that has been a long time coming.

Residents gathered in the parking lot of the blighted Henrikson Building to take a ceremonial swing of the hammer — to say goodbye to an eyesore of a building whose useful life came to an end years ago. They were also there to celebrate what will soon take shape as Tahoe City’s first new hotel in more than 60 years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The next public US Highway 50 Main Street Management Plan open house will be held on Tuesday, August 27 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel Tallac Room from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The event will consist of a series of informational stations where residents can give input on the planning stages of this transformational project. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) are seeking comments as different options for the design of the corridor come into focus.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will be meeting on Tuesday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m.

Their agenda includes:

Introduction / Swearing-In of new SLTPD K9 Rocky

Memoranda of Understanding - Affordable Housing Development - US 50 South Shore
Community Revitalization Project - Requested Action / Suggested Motions: Pass a Motion to approve Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Tahoe Transportation District, Pacific Development Group, Inc. and United Housing Corporation, LLC for the development of affordable housing associated with the US 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City Council has a long agenda to go through during their meeting that starts at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 6.

Some of the highlights:

STATELINE, Nev. - Dozens of residents from both sides of the state line on the South Shore attended the Main Street Management Plan workshop Wednesday to participate in planning the future of Lake Tahoe Boulevard from Pioneer Trail/Raley's area to MontBleu.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - What is sustainable tourism and what does it mean for Lake Tahoe?

The future of Tahoe tourism needs to be sustainable. This year’s Annual Tourism Forum will address this global concern on a local level on Thursday, May 30 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Responsible tourism is something all businesses in the Lake Tahoe basin are working towards and this year’s forum will explore that theme. The forum will include a main keynote speaker, two general sessions, and breakout sessions designed to get a closer look at four key topics.

The SR89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe has not progressed as expected and completion will not happen in 2019 though lots of work is scheduled.

Weather, utilities and construction scheduling have put it well behind the original 2018 planned completion and now construction work will be getting off to a late start in 2019 because of high water levels at the lake and Truckee River after an above average winter of snow and rain. Crews are expecting to start around mid-June.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. The City of South Lake Tahoe has launched its new
newsletter - "At Lake Level." The monthly newsletter is written by City Manager Frank Rush and prepared by Communications Manager Chris Fiore in an effort to keep the community well informed about City issues and initiatives.

New Leadership

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The community is invited to attend a forum on the US 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project this Thursday, March 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In 2016 a group of citizens gathered enough signatures to put a measure before the voters in November of that year to prevent the City of South Lake Tahoe from taking any action on what has been known as the Loop Road project (though the official name is the US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project) without first getting approval by the voters.

Today the California Supreme Court put an end to that measure.

STATELINE, Nev. – With the recently approved U.S. 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project in South Lake Tahoe (also known as the Loop Road), three people are being sought to become a working group that will help develop a Main Street Management Plan for the area.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The third area branch of Chase Bank has opened in South Lake Tahoe and they were officially welcomed to the community during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday.

"Congratulations, thank you to Chase for being a part of the community," said Jason Drew of the Tahoe Chamber. "It is incredible to see you opening and being part of the revitalization."

Drew was joined by Chamber CEO Steve Teshara and a couple dozen of their members and other locals.

The following is a letter from Duane Wallace, past president of the South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce to the Tahoe Transportation District Board. He outlines the concerns their Chamber has expressed about the US 50 South Shore Community
Revitalization Project (Loop Road) EIR process and content.

"It is on the fastest track I've ever seen," he said of the Loop Road project.

Dear Chair Teshara and Commission Members,

Local public safety employees hosted the eighth and final South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates' forum on October 25 at Lake Tahoe Community College.

It was a full house at the event which was hosted by the South Lake Tahoe Police Officers, the California Nurses and the South Lake Tahoe Firefighters associations and gave everyone a chance to hear from the nine candidates about their views before the November 6 election. Each association gave them two questions a piece, plus a couple asked by audience members during the two-hour long forum.

Steve Teshara, CEO of the Tahoe Chamber and chairperson of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Board of Directors, now has another leadership duty for the upcoming year.

Teshara will serve as the president of the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG), a group whose membership includes 47 regional governments involved in the planning, funding, and development of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

He has been representing TTD on the CALCOG Board.