road

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of the long term and short term projects the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has scheduled for the week around Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra and El Dorado County.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - When the three parking lots with 90 spaces were created last year in Incline Village for the popular East Shore Trail, they were free but all were told paid parking was coming in the near future.

That time has now come.

Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) has unveiled the Park Tahoe pilot program at the trailhead north of Ponderosa Rand Road. The lots were created to expand off-highway parking options along the high traffic area of SR28 between Incline Village and Sand Harbor State Park.

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. - School Resource Officers, or SROs, have been a recent topic of conversations in the community with some residents questioning the need for an armed officer on South Lake Tahoe campuses.

The word "resource" gives one an insight into their position - a resource for the students, and not only at school. A resource for the parents. A resource for the school district. A resource for the school.

And the job doesn't end there.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Roadside parking along SR28 south of Incline Village has been problematic for years. Several "no parking" areas have been created over several miles to keep cars off the road to improve safety.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) announced Monday they will add "no parking" signs to enhance traffic safety on a section of State Route 28 in southeastern Incline Village.

Beginning July 13, NDOT will add six new “no parking” signs on the west, lakeside of State Route 28, extending from southern Lakeshore Boulevard to approximately 300 feet south.

The Numbers Fire has been measured at 17,318 acres and firefighters now have a line around 20 percent of the area.

The cause of the fire, which started on July 6 at approximately 7:00 p.m., is under investigation. At one time over 350 residents had been asked to evacuate. Road closures and most evacuation areas in Douglas County have been lifted. The area of Pinenut 2 Road East of Out Our Way is still under evacuation orders.

Three homes have been lost or damaged along with 37 outbuildings. Burned has been grass, brush, pinyon-juniper.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One man has been arrested in connection with three suspicious fires in the Echo Peak and Echo Lakes area on July 5, 2020. The fires, the Echo Fire, the Upper Fire, and the Lake Fire, appear to have been intentionally started.

UPDATE 6:23 p.m.: One person died in Tuesday's crash of a single-engine plane in Meyers. At 3:23 p.m., El Dorado County Sheriff Deputies responded to the report of the crash near the Forest Service homes on Rainbow Road.

When Deputies arrived, they found a single-engine plane "crumpled and upside down" in a wooded area. There were two people on board the plane. One person was deceased and the other was taken to Renown Hospital in Reno via helicopter. Their condition is unknown at this time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - - The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has resumed work on area highways. The following is their current project list at Lake Tahoe and in the Sierra.

Most traffic-interfering work will be restricted from 6 a.m. July 2 until 8 p.m. Monday, July 6 due to the July Fourth holiday.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Detectives from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) were assisting the U.S. Marshals office in locating a wanted felon who was thought to be in the South Lake Tahoe area.

Matthew Core, a 38-year-old man from the Sacramento area had been in federal custody in the Sacramento jail when he was released due to COVID-19, then went on the run according to SLTPD Detective Sgt. Travis Cabral.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Starting in July public access will be limited or restricted in portions of the Upper Truckee Marsh to protect the public during construction of the new river and marsh restoration project.

The California Tahoe Conservancy is restoring more than 250 acres of the marsh ecosystem to enhance wildlife habitat, improve water quality entering Lake Tahoe, and create an accessible-to-all trail to Lake Tahoe. Restoration activities will continue into fall 2022.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - It will be different at the American Century Championship at Edgewood next week with no fans allowed, but what won't be different is the philanthropic focus of the tournament.

In an all-new vehicle in what can be considered a new size class for SUVs, Lia’s new Telluride has hit a Grand Slam (Salami, if you are Italian or a Yankee Fan), but not an ordinary Grand Slam, but this one landed on River Avenue or Waveland Avenue if you’re a Cubby. I used those exact words about Kia’s sibling, the Hyundai Palisade. It is flat out one of the two best SUVs I have ever driven with performance, ride, handling, quiet, comfort and economy levels that put it immediately at the top of its class and almost every other class. Telluride is also simply a Class act.

Update 6/25 at 9:00 a.m.: The Monarch Fire burning in Douglas County is now 1,794 acres. The fire is burning three miles south of Sierra Spirit Ranch in the Fish Springs/ Pinenut Creek Road area.

3:51 p.m. 6/24 update: From Douglas County: Several agencies including Bureau of Land Management, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, East Fork Fire, the US Forest Service and the Nevada Division of Forestry are currently responding to the Monarch Fire, a Brush fire in the Fish Springs Pinenut Creek Rd area. No structures are threatened at this time. No active road closures at this time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was a perfect day, at a perfect location, at a perfect celebration to wrap up what wasn't such a perfect senior year of high school.

On Friday afternoon, one by one, the South Tahoe and Mt. Tallac High School seniors stepped out of their decorated cars amidst cheering from teachers and staff. They sent the students onto the red carpet, down the stairs to more cheering, and dancing, and more red carpet, as they made their way onto a ski lift at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

11:25 p.m. Update: Merlin Turner was found Thursday and has been reunited with his family. According to Fox40 in Sacramento, a family friend said between the stress brought on by COVID-19 and his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, Turner needed some respite.

Social media was instrumental in finding Turner. Someone reported seeing him in Knights Landing and another person saw him eating a burger at their diner. The family friend says Turner didn’t even realize how many days had gone by or that he was on the news being reported as missing.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In a graduation season marked by COVID-19 social distancing regulations, high school students across the globe knew the ceremonies marking the end of K-12 school careers would be different than in years past. With daily school work moved online, graduations were moved to a virtual format.

At both South Tahoe High and Mt. Tallac High schools, graduation has been made special by social media acknowledgments, yard signs, and special bags full of gifts.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Tuesday, June 9, the South Lake Tahoe City Council will hold their monthly meeting. On the agenda is an update to the US 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project. The Council had asked to be involved in the project to represent the City's interest and ensure public concerns were addressed, and the presentation will include a draft Expanded Economic Impact Analysis.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has resumed work on area highways. The following is their current project list at Lake Tahoe and in the Sierra.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

On Friday May 29, 2019, El Dorado Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton
released his Fiscal Year 2020-21 Recommended Budget to the Board of Supervisors. The total recommended budget is approximately $647.7 million, which is $87.3 million less than the Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget, a copy of which can be accessed here.

No, this can’t be. It’s too interesting to be a Rav4. Over the waning ‘teens, Toyota has sought to seemingly reinvent itself as a carmaker of interest. Now, that begs an important question, though: did they have to? Even as the cars became more and more relentlessly boring, people still bought them to make for the single biggest car brand in the world.

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 California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has resumed work on area highways. The following is their current project list at Lake Tahoe and in the Sierra. Most traffic-interfering work will be restricted from 6:00 a.m. Friday, May 22 until 10:00 p.m. Monday, May 25 due to the Memorial Day holiday.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

5/22 update 11:00 a.m. - The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) has released a few more details about Thursday's death of a local man.