south tahoe

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue welcomed four new firefighter paramedics to their family during a pinning ceremony at the airport Thursday. They also celebrated the promotion of Kevin Van Kirk to Engineer and honored retired Batalion Chief Tim Spencer.

"Fire service is really about family," said Chief Jeff Meston and he opened the ceremony. "This is a special day for South Lake Tahoe."

He explained how tough it is to get a new firefighter on board. There are tests, boards and interviews.

Greg Withrow passed away unexpectedly on July 30, 2018 in Napa, California.

Born in 1974 in Fresno, Greg moved with his family in 1977 to South Lake Tahoe. Greg graduated from South Tahoe High School in 1992 and worked for many years in the construction industry in South Lake Tahoe and the greater Bay Area, as a carpenter and craftsman.

Greg loved skiing, golf, RC cars, and placing a sports bet; he also had a passion for Vans, hoodies and baseball hats.

This story has been updated to include Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees candidates.

Nine South Lake Tahoe residents have qualified to run in November and thrown in their hats for three open seats on City Council.

The three incumbents, Mayor Wendy David, Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis and Councilman Austin Sass will all be running for reelection. They will be joined by some veterans of local politics as well as newcomers.

Everyone knows what goes downhill, but the South Tahoe Public Utility District knows how to recycle it into 381,000 kilowatts of electricity per year. A recent feature article by the Association of California Water Agencies pointed out that STPUD is one of only a handful of utility districts in the entire world that can claim 100% reuse of wastewater and bio solids. Here’s how. We use centrifuges instead of the usual pollution causing burners. That allows us to make fertilizer for ranch land.

Last month, the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center released the Tahoe: State of the Lake Report, which included their finding of an average of 59.7 feet depth of water clarity for 2017, the lowest since they began taking measurements. In advance of the 2018 Lake Tahoe Summit, the following is from Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD, chief executive officer for the League to Save Lake Tahoe, on the findings:

The following is a copy of a letter sent to City Council, USFS, Supervisor Sue Novasel, California Tahoe Conservancy Officers, and others, and shared with South Tahoe Now:

Dear Mayor David and Council Members:

U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) will host the 22nd Annual Lake Tahoe Summit at Sand Harbor State Park in Incline Village, Nevada on Tuesday, August 7th, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Beach and park operations will be closed until 1:00 p.m. that day.

Lawmakers from Nevada and California will meet on the shores of Lake Tahoe to discuss how to protect a national treasure as it faces continued threats to water clarity, invasive species, wildfire and drought.

For the past several months, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) has been contacting homeless individuals using the meadow behind Motel 6 as an illegal campground, advising them that the area would soon be off limits.

Detectives from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department flew to Tennessee overnight to arrest Nicola "Niki" Congero, the former executive director of Lake Tahoe Humane Society.

Congero, 50, was arrested without incident on the morning of Wednesday, August 1 and booked into the Knoxville jail on charges of embezzling approximately $60,000 from the South Lake Tahoe based non-profit. She is being held there on $200,000 bail and is currently awaiting extradition.

A South Lake Tahoe man was arrested Friday, July 27 after leading police officers on a foot pursuit in the Bijou neighborhood.

An officer from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) attempted to make contact with a 36-year-old local man who matched the description of a person seen casing homes in the area.

As soon as the officer approached, the man took off on foot. Other officers joined in the pursuit and the suspect was found in a backyard on Champlain Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

The follow letter was given to South Tahoe Now and mailed to the South Lake Tahoe Mayor, City Councilmembers and staff:

Dear Mayor David and Council Members:

I am writing to you as a follow-up to my letter of May 12, 2018 (see at end of story) regarding Policy Priorities and Issues for City Government.

Quality and Affordable Housing for Residents is Very Important

Lulu's Hair Design was the big winner during the Optimist Club of South Lake Tahoe's annual Day in Paradise held on June 16 at Tahoe Paradise Park.

Not only did Lulu's win the business entry in the Duck Race at the event, they also won "Best Dressed."

The hair salon, which is inside Harrah's Tahoe, chose to donated their $1,000 prize money to

The attached photo is of Lulu's Hair Design the winners of both the Business Duck Race and Best Dressed. They chose to donate the $1,000 to South Tahoe TakeDown Club which supports local wrestlers.

The public is invited to join Mayor Wendy David for the July “Let’s Have a Conversation” with special guests Steve Teshara of the Tahoe Chamber and Tamara Wallace of the South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce.

This will take place on Wed, July 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

Each month Mayor David holds themed "Let's Have a Conversation" chats covering a myriad of topics the day after the last City Council meeting of the month.

There are several opportunities this election season for South Lake Tahoe area residents to represent their community on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (1), LTUSD School Board (2) , City Council (3), City Clerk (1), City Treasurer (1), South Tahoe Public Utility District (2), Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District, and now, Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees (2).

The positions all have residential requirements with both LTCC and LTUSD have further area boundaries.

The filing period opens on July 16 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on August 10, 2018.

A day on the lake is a dream come true for many, but for two South Lake Tahoe Police Department officers it's another day at the office. As they navigate Lake Tahoe they are looking for speeders, unsafe practices, life vests, drunk boaters and boat registrations, as well as responding to life threatening crashes and drownings.

"It's our little city out here," explained Steve O'Brien who has manned the South Lake Tahoe police boat for 17 summers.

Besides openings on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Lake Tahoe Community College Board, South Lake Tahoe City Council, Tahoe Paradise Park Board, El Dorado County Board of Supervisors this November, there will also be three openings on the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) five-member board.

From July 16 to August 10, those interested in being on the STPUD board must file for candidacy. That deadline is extended to August 15 if an incumbent fails to file for their term prior by the earlier deadline. The incumbent is not allowed to file after August 10.

The author shared the following letter with South Tahoe Now that was sent to SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston concerning fire safety and the responsibility of all public agencies to assist him and the Department in this effort. "Best wishes to you and the men and women of the Fire Department," said Jinkens.

Dear Chief Meston:

First of all, my sincere thanks to you and the men and women who serve our community in the Fire Service. I am grateful for all of your work and effort to keep our community fire safe and to respond to emergency calls for service.

The Tahoe Arts Project is bringing the Missoula Children’s Theatre back to South Lake Tahoe next week and there are rolls for 50-60 local students in grades 1-12. This year they will be rehearsing and performing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Its a whirlwind week with auditions are on Monday, July 9 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (some cast members will rehearse right after auditions, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m). Practices are held Tuesday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the shows are on Friday, July 13 at 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Liberty Utilities has awarded scholarhips to students living within their service territory for the past six years. Awardees attend one of six high schools and one community college students.

The sixth annual group of awardees:

South Tahoe High School – David Holmes
Loyalton High School – Cassandra Garcia
Coleville High School – Crystal Lowe-Rasmussen
North Tahoe High School – Ryland Lubin
Portola High School – Eric Jacobsen
Truckee High School – Megan Burrill
Lake Tahoe Community College – Justin Pease

Trevor M. Bright has been identified as the victim in Tuesday night's hit-and-run vehicle vs. bicycle crash in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Most remember the enchanting play and Disney movie about a boy who didn't want to grow up, a gifted storytelling sister, fairies and a dangerous pirate, all told in the story "Peter Pan."

It's time for week two of the summer-long music series on the beach in South Lake Tahoe, Live at Lakeview.

On Thursday, June 28 from 4:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m., music will fill the shores at Lakeview Commons as two Tennessee artists perform.

Jack Berry, an artist with “a voice that could scare the venom out of a rattlesnake,” as Consequence of Sound describes it, makes his Live at Lakeview debut this Thursday. This Nashville-based alt/blues rocker happens to
originally be from Reno, Nevada so his headlining show is both a homecoming and a debut.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Edgewood Tahoe has moved from one non-profit receiving the proceeds from food concessions during July's American Century Championship to several groups.

This year, Edgewood Tahoe is partnering with Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation, Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, and Tahoe-Douglas Rotary Club who in turn will be donating 400 volunteer hours at Edgewood’s four main concession tents.

In an effort to keep cars off the road, a key to increasing the clarity of Lake Tahoe, a new micro-transit system is heading to South Lake Tahoe.

Chariot, a shuttle company based in San Francisco, is coming to town for a three month trial run starting in just a few weeks.

"Chariot will be more responsive than traditional transportation," Jesse Patterson, Deputy Director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, told South Tahoe Now. "We'll get Chariot here and get people on board, then see if it works."