safe

Join community members on Wednesday, June 24 at the next 'Tahoe Talks' session when the topic will be "Law Enforcement Strategies to Improve Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety."

Someone from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department will be on hand to provide discussion and answer questions after the viewing of a short webinar produced by the Association of Pedestrians and Bicyclists.

Webinar presenters:
Jim Curtin, City of Seattle Department of Transportation
Brian Dougherty, City of Seattle Department of Transportation

CrossFit Lake Tahoe will celebrate 10 years in business this weekend with a grand re-opening and ribbon cutting on Friday, June 26. The celebration continues on Saturday, June 27 with a special 'Open Gym Play and Learn' event for those interested in better understanding CrossFit.

Learn how you can be fire safe in your home and community at the Wildfire Safety Expos in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 20.

Agencies will be on hand to provide information on creating a home evacuation plan,preparing for fire, creating defensible space around your property and more.

The expo will be at the TJ Maxx parking lot at the "Y" from 12:00 p.m. to 3 p.m.

If you cannot attend, visit their website for more information.

We face some big, daunting environmental restoration challenges here at Lake Tahoe. But helping our environment every day can be as simple as riding a bike, walking, or taking transit. And the hundreds of people who participated in the Tahoe Bike Challenge this June, including many of our employees at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are showing how big of an impact our individual actions can have.

Every year, South Lake Tahoe fire agencies prepare to fight fires around the basin but they rarely get to practice evacuations of residents.

That opportunity came on Monday when the Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community executed an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill in the Skyland neighborhood.

The drill simulated a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone.

Off-road enthusiasts will be flocking to the Rubicon Trail once again this summer, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) team will be there to keep it safe.

The mission of the team is to provide education to the public, maintain the family friendly atmosphere and when necessary, use enforcement to support that education. In its fifteenth year on the Rubicon Trail, the OHV team is again helmed by Sergeant Bryan Brown and staffed with one full-time seasonal deputy and eight part-time deputies who work the OHV team, in addition to their usual duties.

In order to ensure motels and hotels being used as long term housing were kept decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable, the City of South Lake Tahoe has created a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) ordinance. At Tuesday's City Council meeting, the first reading received unanimous approval and support.

The ordinance gives the lodging community guidelines to follow if renting out units more than 30 days.

Safe and habitable units will be made available within the next twelve months once the design and maintenance standards are approved at the next council meeting June 16.

For over 20 years, students at South Tahoe High have been enjoying a safe and sober Grad Night. Committed parents and community members have been working hard to create a "never to forget" and "once in a lifetime: experience for all STHS graduates.

On the afternoon of June 5, the seniors will be walking down the school's football field during graduation ceremonies. That night, they'll be celebrating at Heavenly's California lodge with games, food, fun, a hypnotist, dancing and more until the early hours of the morning of the 6th.

Every year for two weeks, hundreds of Lake Tahoe residents and visitors park their cars and ride their bikes to work, school, and for fun. Participants in the Tahoe Bike Challenge, which runs from June 1 to June 14, track their miles and join the friendly competition for fun prizes and bragging rights.

Graduates from South Tahoe High will be enjoying an evening of games, music, food and fun on Friday, June 5, 2015 at the longtime local tradition, Sober Grad Night. In an effort to create an event that provides a safe, and sober, event that all seniors can enjoy after their graduation ceremony, the South Tahoe High Sober Grad Night committee has been working for months to make the evening a night to remember.

A controversial bill that abolishes "personal belief exemptions" for vaccinations won overwhelming approval in the California Senate on Thursday, bolstering supporters' hopes that it will also clear the Assembly and be signed into law.

The measure by Democratic Sens. Richard Pan, of Sacramento, and Ben Allen, of Santa Monica -- introduced after a outbreak of measles in December at Disneyland sickened 136 Californians -- passed 25-10 after the two senators agreed to compromises aimed at easing its passage.

The Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park will temporarily close at 8:00 P.M. tonight, May 13, 2015. This is due to a significant storm predicted for the area that will potentially produce several inches of new snow at higher elevations.

Both roads will remain temporarily closed until conditions permit safe travel. There is no estimated time for the roads to reopen.

For updated, 24-hour road conditions, please call 209-372-0200.

Adrian Ballinger, a veteran high-altitude mountain guide from the Lake Tahoe-area with six Mt. Everest summits on his resume, was on the mountain when the deadly earthquake struck Nepal, killing thousands and causing havoc on the mountain.

Mel Kaida, 30, assistant operations director with Incline Village-based Tusker Trail Adventures, was also in the region and is reported to be safe, according to Andrew Springsteel, operations director for Tusker.

The fourth annual Lake Tahoe Home and Garden Show will be held on Friday, April 24th, and Saturday, April 25th, at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex at 1080 Rufus Allen Blvd. The show will be open to the public on Friday from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm, and Saturday, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Some children live a life characterized by habit and routine. Imagine them being forced to leave their life behind all because there wasn’t enough space and funding. This is what foster children in Lake Tahoe are forced deal with. Primarily, SLT should pass a General Obligation Bond, and, though the cost of raising a child is exorbitant, this cost could be ameliorated by support from passing a General Obligation Bond measure.

Dozens of community members came to the South Lake Tahoe Library Tuesday night to see what is being planned as an update to the Lake Tahoe Region Bike and Pedestrian Plan and give their opinions.

Those attending were asked to look at the plans displayed on boards lining the room, and give their comments on a variety of issues from safety to connectivity.

People were actively participating, telling the project planners, Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPA) and TRPA, what they felt was most important on infrastructure and goals.

BloodSource will hold a South Lake Tahoe Community blood drive to meet the community need for blood and blood products. The new blood drive location will be at the South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Center Gymnasium at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. The blood drive is sponsored by the Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. Walk-ins are welcome.

Location

There was standing room only at Tuesday's City Council meeting as changes to the current Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance were on the agenda.

Most of the audience was from the real estate and home rental management companies, both of whom felt there would be a lot of loss should a stricter policy be enforced.

Beaches, parks, trailheads, campgrounds and popular Lake Tahoe viewing areas will start opening on April 1 for the 2015 season, almost two months ahead of schedule.

A mild winter has allowed the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) to start opening the popular areas but they won't be fully opened since they won't be fully staffed until closer to summer.

A newly released scientific study highlights the importance of collaborative work to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species at Lake Tahoe, and confirms what many public and private stakeholders have feared: That the invasive quagga mussel, if introduced, could establish in our mountain lake’s clear, iconic waters.

Fed up with waiting, Nevada lawmakers are ramping up efforts to have private companies, fire districts and others paid for work conducted years ago to reduce fire danger in vulnerable areas around Lake Tahoe.

The Legislature earlier this month passed a joint resolution urging Congress to pay contractors who performed extensive fuels treatment work in the wake of Tahoe's disastrous Angora Fire of 2007.

El Dorado County receives about $10 million annually to fund ambulance services on both the west and east slope of the county. This money comes from property taxes, assessments, special taxes and from ambulance billing. Since the area is so spread out, ambulance services are divided into two County Service Areas (CSAs), CSA-3 and CSA-7. CSA-3 covers the county portion of Lake Tahoe as well as the northern portion of Alpine County. Both CSAs work under a contract with El Dorado County.

Motels and hotels being used for long term occupancy is a problem across the country and South Lake Tahoe is no different.

Of the 120 motels and hotels in the city limits, 58 of them are being used for long term occupancy. 1,300 rooms are now rented for long periods of time. These units were not built for people to live in long term as there is no refrigeration or cooking facilities, and many times there are families living in a room meant for just two people for a night or two.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.