summer

Heavenly Mountain Resort, Northstar California and Kirkwood Mountain Resort, opened up sales for their 2014-15 season passes.

Starting at $409 with as little as $49 down and the balance due in the fall, skiers and riders have until April 13 to secure the best available price for winter 2014-15 season passes and six buddy tickets.

A year and a half road construction project will result in the closure of Kingsbury Grade for almost 75 days this year and more in 2015. Since this will have an impact on local businesses, residents and commuters, a forum was held on Wednesday in order to inform the community about the impact.

A full house was on hand in the TahoeChamber conference room to listen to representatives from Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and the road construction company.

South Lake Tahoe may just have a future Olympian in its midst. 18 year old Whittell High School graduate Ty Sprock is one of 16 elite U.S. athletes that will be competing in the 2014 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in Slovakia February 26 through March 6.

The City of Berkeley's camp at Echo Lake, located at the top of Echo Summit just west of South Lake Tahoe, has long been a tradition for many families to visit and vacation.

It's also been one of the lowest cost family camp bay area families could attend, but that may be history after Tuesday night's Berkeley City Council meeting.

In a quest to make a difference, South Tahoe High School senior Brooke Georguson is collecting jeans that will be donated to homeless youth in the Reno/Tahoe community. On top of that goal, Brooke wants to collect the most jeans in the region so her school will be awarded a $10,000 grant.

Selected among several local outstanding youth Josh Kornbeck will compete against other Boys & Girls Club members for the California Youth of the Year title and a $1,000 college scholarship from Tupperware Brands Corporation. As the new Youth of the Year for Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, 16-year old Josh is a true example of an extraordinary young man recognized by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for his sound character, leadership skills and willingness to give back to the community.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2014 – A limited water supply is predicted west of the Continental Divide, according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) in its first forecast of 2014. The NWCC also predicts normal water supply east of the Continental Divide and will continue to monitor, forecast and update water supplies for the next six months.

Helen Keller wrote those words many years ago yet they continue to be very relevant today. As I look forward to 2014 I also like to reflect on another one of my favorite quotes, this one from Ghandi, "you must be the change you wish to see in the world."

As a community that is in the midst of change, we can be reminded of these quotes as we move forward and live in a town we're both proud of, and a vibrant part of.

As 2013 draws to a close, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of many this year. It was just a few short years ago, in the midst of the Great Recession, both public agencies and private companies throughout the basin were in the middle of layoffs, service reductions and unemployment hovering above 17%. Concerns regarding economic recovery were significant. Rather than buckling under, we buckled down, got things done and prepared for recovery.

Heavenly Mountain Resort's proposal to expand to year round, non-skiing activities is now under review by the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Heavenly's plan is to create a summer experience for guests with the addition of zipline and skycycle canopy tours, a mountain bike park, a ropes course, water activities, hiking trails,mountain excursion tours and nature interpretation.

Dubbed the "All Star Panel," a group of long time local residents shared stories of a South Lake Tahoe most of us never experienced. The seven panelists have lived in Lake Tahoe a combined 600 plus years and shared some great stories with the overflowing crowd at Camp Richardson Lodge on Tuesday evening. In fact, the number of long time locals in the audience was very evident since their combined years of living in Lake Tahoe was over 1880!

Dave Wakeman, South Lake Tahoe resident since 1947

You may have noticed the new bus shelters placed this summer along Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe. They were installed by the Tahoe Transportation District, operator of the local South Shore Transit System. The shelters won't only come with seating and protect those waiting for buses from the elements, they also have new bike racks and bear safe trash cans.

Ian McFeron live @ The Cottonwood
Saturday, November 9th, 2013 – 7:00pm to 10:00pm / FREE
The Cottonwood, 10142 Rue Hilltop, Truckee, CA 96161 - (530) 587-5711

Ian McFeron tours in support of his new album "Time Will Take You", recorded in Nashville and produced by Grammy nominated Doug Lancio. McFeron is joined on tour by longtime friend and musical accompanist Alisa Milner on fiddle, cello, and harmony vocals.

The 2013-14 school year is off to a great start! We have had much excitement since August 19th with our first and hopefully, annual Round Hill Pines Beach Bash which was held on September 8th. Festivities included hot dogs and hamburgers, a raffle, and a silent auction. Families were able to get acquainted and re-acquainted and the kids were still enjoying the long summer sun. Thanks to our awesome Parent-Teacher Club, we are well on our way to funding many academic opportunities for enrichment and intervention as well as materials and resources for our teachers.

The City of South Lake Tahoe and the South Lake Tahoe Police Canine Association (SLTPCA) worked in partnership to install several pieces of custom dog agility equipment at Bijou Park. A Ribbon Cutting ceremony was held on Sunday, September 22nd to celebrate the opening of the Bijou Dog Agility Park.

The popular farmer's market held on Fridays all summer long at Kahle Park has moved to Lakeside Inn & Casino for the month of October. Enjoy the farm treats from 3 pm to 6 pm as well as live music, a beer garden and more.

For the first market on October 4, enjoy the bluegrass sounds by a fantastic band, Merrygold, who recently won a contest held by the recording studio owned by Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead.

For more information: FridayEveningMarket@yahoo.com, (775) 339-1203. www.FridayEveningMarket.com.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will lift fire restrictions on National Forest System lands beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, September 24, 2013. “The arrival of cooler, wetter weather brings safer conditions and has allowed us to lift restrictions on Forest Service managed lands,” said Forest Service fire chief Kit Bailey. “Even though restrictions will be lifted, we still need hikers and campers to use caution with campfires, stoves, barbecue grills and cigarette smoking.”

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors conceptually adopted a $587 million balanced budget for fiscal year 2013-14 at a special budget hearing held September 16.

Chief Budget Officer Laura Schwartz presented the numbers to the supervisors. Focusing on the General Fund which pays for many of the county’s discretionary programs, Schwartz highlighted an $11 million increase in fund balance from the initial budget approved earlier this summer. The change in fund balance represents a combination of increased revenue and decreased spending within county departments.

Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus concludes the 2013 Tahoe Summer MusicFest with a concert series commemorating the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.
The series features famed violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn performing Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin in D major Op.61 on the legendary Red Stradivarius Violin. The concert will conclude with Mozart’s symphonic choral masterpiece, Requiem, featuring vocal soloists and the Tahoe Symphony Chorus.

With less than 100 days until the beginning of the 2013-2014 Lake Tahoe ski and ride season, now is the time to purchase the best-valued season pass to Tahoe’s three premier mountain destinations, Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar.

The Tahoe Local and Tahoe Value Passes offer access to more than 263 trails, 14 terrain parks and 10,270 acres all on one pass; but the current season pass prices are only guaranteed through September 2, 2013.

Two Sierra Nevada black bears, a mother and her cub, were released in the foothills in Douglas County near Kingsbury Grade Thursday night after being caught by Nevada Division of Wildlife officials earlier that morning.

TahoeChamber’s “Ca$h Mob” series have been successful in their mission to support local businesses and keep money on the hill. Yesterday’s Happy Hour Mob was no exception.

More than 15 “mobbers” showed up for food and drink specials including a delicious smoked rib sampler platter at the Fox & Hound on Tramway Drive off Kingsbury Grade.

TahoeChamber would like to thank the Fox & Hound for hosting the mob, as well as the attendees at this event that that was created to help fulfill the chamber’s goal of creating a strong local economy.

We are still seeing a lot of action in the South Lake Tahoe real estate market! The July, 2013 figures were just released and they continue to show that interest in buying a home in Lake Tahoe is still growing. During the last year we saw home buyers flock to Lake Tahoe for a few reasons: low interest rates and an increased interest to buy something before they felt it was too late. When we saw more home listings enter the market this summer we saw the sales frenzy subside a bit.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Aug. 1-6.