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Nikki Verdile, one of the incredible sponsor volunteers from Beach Retreat & Lodge, was really happy to be helping at the Monday Meal at Grace Hall on January 30th. “This opportunity was educational in so many ways” commented Nikki. “I met new people, heard wonderful stories, and best of all, everyone was so thankful for the food and help provided. This was so rewarding and the Beach Retreat is so happy for the opportunity to give back to this beautiful community.”

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. – Starting February 4, customers at the Ross Dress for Less store in South Lake Tahoe can support the local Boys & Girls Club by making a monetary donation at the checkout counter during the month of February.

Every year, nearly four million young people are served by Boys & Girls Clubs. To celebrate these extraordinary efforts, Ross Stores, Inc. announced that it is partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America with a four-week program called, “Help Local Kids Learn.”

The west shore of Lake Tahoe now has access to advanced medical services with the announcement that the Meeks Bay Fire Protection District's Station 61 is now designated as an Advanced Life Support (ALS) Station.

As of January 16 2017, the station is now staffed with a minimum of one captain and one paramedic. Primary response from the station will continue to be E-61, with additional response from the closest medic unit. The ALS units at Meeks Bay Fire Protection District work as part of comprehensive plan to provide the advanced services to the west and north shore of Lake Tahoe.

South Lake Tahoe is a community of diverse backgrounds reaching around the world, and with President Trump's current dialog on immigration, concerns are arising among immigrants who call Tahoe home, and from those that represent them in the area.

The current enrollment of Lake Tahoe Unified School District shows 42.4 percent are Hispanic, 3.6 percent Filipino, 1.2 percent Asian, 48.1 percent white and the rest of other nationalities.

What a lively and jubilant occasion at Barton Health’s Eighth Annual Festival of Trees & Lights. It is always a treat to see the delight in children’s eyes as they admire handcrafted trees and seek “treatment” for their injured teddy bears at the Teddy Bear Hospital.

The City of South Lake Tahoe's second workshop on vacation home rentals (VHRs) drew about 45 people in person Wednesday, while several others participated from home via the internet. As is every discussion about VHRs in the community, passions ran high and differences were apparent.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved Placer County’s Tahoe Basin Area Plan and the Tahoe City Lodge Project.

“This is the fourth area plan approved at Lake Tahoe and an important milestone for implementing the 2012 Regional Plan,” said Joanne S. Marchetta, executive director of TRPA. “With this plan, we can take significant steps to improve the environment and strengthen communities on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore.”

11:00 p.m. update - NV Energy was able to fix the problem at their substation in Truckee and all of Liberty Utilities customers should be back on line at this time.

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There has been a transmission problem from NV Energy to Liberty Utilities, resulting in power outages throughout the North Lake Tahoe area.

At their last update at 8:00 p.m., Liberty Utilities told customers in Northstar, Truckee and Glenshire to expect rotating outages throughout the night and into Wednesday morning. The problem is at the NV Energy North Truckee Substation that feeds Liberty's distribution lines.

To the community:

I am so proud to have been part of the Bi-State Women's March on Saturday. And I am proud that Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe sanctioned the opportunity for 500 women, men and children to march, not as a protest, but in unison to affirm that "women's rights are human rights".

Although it’s been a busy season safeguarding Heavenly Mountain Resort skiers, last Monday, January 16, the Heavenly Ski Patrol also wanted to help the community off the mountain. By sponsoring a Bread & Broth Adopt A Day of Nourishment, the Ski Patrol funded a B&B’s Monday Meal which not only provided a hot, tasty meal but also a chance to enjoy a warm and safe place to spend time with others.

"This is incredible," said Heddy Kaufer of South Lake Tahoe as she joined an estimated crowd of 500 men, women and children for the Bi-State Women's March on Washington Lake Tahoe.

Like millions of others who marched around the world on January 21, the festive South Lake Tahoe group walked a three mile route from the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe to the Senior Center in support of not only women's rights, but all human rights.

As the long line of walkers were greeted by honks from cars, they chanted "Love, Not Hate, Makes America Great!"

Snow Days. Kids love 'em, parents maybe not so much.

Last week's five snow days, and a lack of one this week caused some parents to raise concern with how the Lake Tahoe Unified School (LTUSD) decides when to close school for the day.

Closing school is always a tough call for school superintendents across the country, so what is the science behind closing schools when it snows in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District?

After an outpouring of support from the community, Lake Tahoe Community College's Theater Arts program will continue as its vitality is evaluated and its future determined with the help of a community based task force.

Third Eye Blind will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary with Summer Gods Tour at Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey's on July 16, 2017. This is the first concert announced for the popular summer concerts.

Their supporting act(s) have not been announced.

Third Eye Blind will, for the first time in their storied history, play their debut album, considered one of the great rock records of all time, in its entirety, as part of a night of music including their latest, We Are Drugs. They are touring 31 cities as part of the the tour.

As an estimated 200,000 people will join the Women's March on Washington Saturday, January 21, and hundreds of thousands of others march in their own towns across the country. Not to be left out, South Lake Tahoe will be having their own march to highlight issues important to the community, an event that organizers hope will attract a few hundred supporters.

Winners of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce's (TahoeChamber) GO Local & Win campaign held over the holidays in South Lake Tahoe were announced this week.

The GO Local & Win grand prizewinners, announced via Facebook Live, were Stephanie Moynihan winner of $125, Chelsey Shilaikis winner of $250, and Cathy Vogelgesang winner of $500.

The annual 'Ability Bash" fundraiser at Squaw Valley on January 28 will wrap up a week-long Military Sports Camp for disabled veterans. The event will honor the veterans as well as the participants with disabilities who work with Achieve Tahoe throughout the year.

Achieve Tahoe is a provider of winter and summer adaptive sports instruction at all ability levels for adults and children with disabilities. The Ability Bash will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the resort's conference center.

Law enforcement is preparing for the annual New Year's Eve party held at Stateline, an outdoor that at one time saw 50,000 people in the streets.

Though Highway 50 through Stateline hasn't had to close until just before midnight the past two years, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) is prepared to close it to vehicle traffic in the evening if necessary for public safety. If that should occur, vehicle traffic will be diverted around the Stateline casino core area using upper and lower Lake Parkway Drive.

Thanks to the Hard Rock Café, Bread & Broth dinner guests had an unexpected surprise for their meal on Monday, December 12. Instead of the meal being held at St. Theresa Grace Hall where the Monday Meal is normally served, the dinner guests were send a few buildings down to Globin Hall. Once there they were given food “giveaway” bags containing fruits, vegetables, dairy products and breads/pastries and a Box Lunch provided by the Hard Rock Café.

Being gay and a high school student in South Lake Tahoe in 2005 was challenging.

"It was a scary, dark place at the time," said Alex Boyar, who 'came out of the closet' at age 14. "Its a much different environment today."

Boyar, along with his mother Dr. Virginia Berry and sister Christina Boyar, stopped by South Tahoe High Thursday to talk to the students of Ally, the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at the school that he co-founded in 2005.

Now that the Tahoe Valley Area Plan has been approved for the Y area of South Lake Tahoe, plans are moving forward to create a greenbelt area that would improve connectivity, create more biking, walking and play space, as well as implementing stormwater improvements to keep Tahoe blue, and the community green.

"We will continue to stay open," said Cody Bass, founder and executive director of the Tahoe Wellness Cooperative after being told by the City Council Tuesday that he no longer has a Medical Marijuana Dispensary Permit to operate in South Lake Tahoe. "We are going to take this to the end."

One of his lawyers, James Anthony added, "They will be reviewing this decision in Superior Court."

3::45 p.m. update: The Kings Beach man killed in an accident at Northstar has been identified as 35-year-old Dennis Baltimore, a ski instructor at the resort. His Facebook page says he was also once a Zipline Guide at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe.

According to reports, Baltimore had been on his skis on Village Run about 12:00 p.m. when a snowboarder in front of him hit a patch of ice and lost control. He tried to avoid the snowboarder but he crashed into rocks and a creek bed.

Late Friday night, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the U.S. Senate in passing the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, which will bring $415 million in future funding to Lake Tahoe over the next seven years. The decision brought cheers from many local agencies, including the League to Save lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.