senate

Work is complete on a two-season project to replace a bridge that served motorists for more than 80 years with a new structure that meets current safety and seismic standards.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - U.S. Highway 50 is back open to traffic over Echo Summit five days ahead of schedule, Caltrans announced today.

A full closure of Highway 50 over the summit was implemented Friday, Sept. 18 to install seven precast, prestressed 96-foot bridge girders and associated work that included pouring ultra high-performance concrete to connect the girders, building concrete barrier walls and approach slabs, applying a polyester overlay on the bridge, and asphalt paving approaching both sides of the new structure.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After a delay in getting materials in 2019, Caltrans has scheduled a full closure of U.S. Highway 50 for the Echo Summit Sidehill Viaduct Replacement Project for two weeks beginning Friday, Sept. 18. After the delay last year, the contractor on the project was going to install the bridge girders in June of 2020, but many wanted that timeframe postponed due to the the opening of tourist season after COVID-related closures this past spring.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Twenty-five California students have been named as National Youth and Young Adult Ambassadors by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for demonstrating leadership in fighting tobacco use in their communities.

These young leaders were among 133 youth and young adults from 33 states who participated in the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ Digital Advocacy Symposium, a five-day online training session focused on building advocacy, communications and leadership skills.

STATELINE, Nev. - It's been 23 years in the making, and today was the first physical step to bringing the new Tahoe South Event Center to existence. The fence is up around the parking lot at MontBleu Resort, and the first shovels of dirt were moved during a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - The Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID) Board of Trustees voted unanimously to prohibit the use of any form of tobacco at all district-owned and operated facilities, including restrooms, spectator and concession areas.

Per Nevada statutes, marijuana and vaping use were already prohibited in all public spaces.

The move by the board was to "help protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and guests of Incline Village and Crystal Bay."

STATELINE, Nev. - The public is invited to take part in one of several meetings over the next two weeks that will go over NV Energy's Natural Disaster Protection Plan (NDPP).

The public is invited to take part as the utility shares key elements of their draft NDPP and solicit feedback before it is filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada by March 1, 2020.

Senate Bill 329 addresses how the utilities will mitigate and respond to wildfires, severe storms and other natural disaster risks in service territories.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) Board has authorized spending $1,036,750 to implement three high-priority projects to reduce fire risk and improve forest health in South Lake Tahoe and on the west shore.

During their meeting on Thursday, the CTC Board approved funding for projects that include:

- Spending up to $211,250 on forest thinning on Conservancy land in the South Lake Tahoe Ski Run and Bijou neighborhoods,

- A grant to the South Tahoe Public Utility District for up to $338,000 for forest thinning on the grounds of its treatment plant, and

The 2019 legislative year for California has come to an end and Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped u the session with signing several bills. His first year of office saw 870 new laws and 172 vetoed proposals.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Perhaps you know of them as mother-in-law units, tiny houses in the backyard or an extra apartment above a garage for renters. The term Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) has become a popular one in describing these types of housing as the affordable housing conversation turns towards solutions.

From the California Department of Housing and Community Development:

What are the benefits of ADUs?
- ADUs are an affordable type of home to construct in California because they do not require paying for land, major new infrastructure, structured parking, or elevators.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - A new $5 per night surcharge will be added to all hotel rooms and other transient lodging accommodations within the Lake Tahoe Township area of Douglas County.

As a result of Senate Bill 461, the new law adding the fee went into effect July 1, 2019, giving the new charge to Tahoe-Douglas Visitor’s Authority (TDVA) for a planned event center in Stateline. It affects all bookings received by the lodging properties after July 1.

There is a Special Runoff Election on June 4, 2019 scheduled to fill a vacancy in Senate District 1. All currently registered voters in the County of El Dorado are eligible to participate.

When Ted Gaines won a seat on the California Board of Equalization in November, the Senate District 1 seat he had held since 2011 was up for grabs. In March there was an election to decide his replacement, but since no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote the top two are now on Tuesday's ballot.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Heading to the polls will soon have a different meaning to the voters of South Lake Tahoe and the rest of California as the one-day voting period ends and initiation of voting centers begin.

With the passage of SB450, the 2016 Voter's Choice Act, 11-day and 4-day voting centers are planned to begin in 2020 after being started in 2018 with pilot centers in five counties: Madera, Nevada, Napa, Sacramento and San Mateo. El Dorado County will start vote centers in the 2020 election pending approval from the Board of Supervisors.

At its Board meeting in Sacramento on Thursday, the California Tahoe Conservancy accepted a $1.95 million grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to co-manage the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI), a pioneering landscape-level effort to restore forest and watershed resilience to more than 2.4 million acres.

Carson City was abuzz Thursday evening at the Nevada State Legislature, in which over 100 Nevadan residents gathered to support honeybees, and their ability to be kept by residents.

Senate Bill 389 relates to the ability to keep bees in residential zones in Nevada and has been hotly debated since it was announced on March 20. It was read during a Natural Resources Committee meeting Wednesday.

Residents attended to an extent that legislative staff needed to open an overflow room to provide for those gathered, in which the meeting was televised from down the hall.

On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, voters will be selecting their new District 1 State Senator, a vacancy created when Ted Gaines won a seat on the state Board of Equalization in November.

District 1 spans California’s northeastern corner from the Oregon border to Lake Tahoe, including some of the Sacramento area’s eastern suburbs. Residents living in Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou Counties are in District 1 as well as parts of Placer County (Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Loomis, and Rocklin) and Sacramento County (Folsom, Orangevale, and Fair Oaks).

Douglas County has made it clear to the State of Nevada they won't stand for any legislation that exceeds federal firearm transfer requirements. Their reaction came after Governor Steve Sisolak signed SB 143, a bill that would require background checks on gun sales, on February 15, 2019.

2018 was an extraordinary year for Lake Tahoe, and one of the region’s most successful years in decades. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) assisted by dozens of partners approved landmark programs and projects, including a new Shoreline Plan, a comprehensive update of TRPA’s development rights system, and the U.S. 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project.

NOTE: Most traffic-interfering work will be restricted from 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 21 through 10:00 p.m. Sunday, November 25 due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

STATELINE, Nev. - A standing room only crowd was in the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) board room on October 25, 2018 for an updated presentation, and plans for the next steps, of the U.S. 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project, commonly known as the Loop Road. It reroutes Highway 50 from its current location in front of Heavenly Village and the casinos to behind Raley's, the Village Center and Harrahs Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) roadwork schedule around Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County.

SPECIAL EVENT - U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from 5 Mile Road to Carson Road in Camino: Eastbound motorists can expect the left turn lanes to be closed at 5 Mile Road, lower Carson Road and upper Carson Road from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, October 21 and Saturday, October 27 for Apple Hill season traffic. Motorists will be directed to Exit 54/Cedar Grove to access Carson Road.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There were no seats available and people were standing along the sides of the Lake Tahoe Community College board room Sunday, all to see Congressional Candidate Jessica Morse.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be a candidate's forum co-hosted by the South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and the Lake Tahoe Community College Student Senate on October 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the school's Student Lounge/Creekside Room.

The following are projects the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is working on in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS