tourist

Del Laine has left her mark on South Lake Tahoe in ways that many local residents might not know. She was a mover and shaker, whose focus was on making the city a better place. Her most important role, though, was promoting the well-being of women.

This pioneer died Dec. 18, 2020, at home from natural causes, with family at her side. She was 90.

She was born Dolores Mae Wright on March 20, 1930, in Oakland, Calif., to Mabel Paulson and Leslie Wright.

Time is a unifier of sorts, isn’t it, even during a pandemic. It keeps marching on, month by month, day by day and minute by minute.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There has been much discussion in the community about the City of South Lake Tahoe's new Shared Rental Ordinance, one that is up for a vote during the November 3 City Council meeting.

A shared rental, also known as a hosted rental, is one where a person rents a portion of their home to a visitor on a short term basis* while they are still living in the home. They are not new in South Lake Tahoe, but the focus has been on creating an ordinance for them as a large number of people started obtaining business licenses for shared rentals in recent months.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Council made another attempt to create a Hosted Rental Ordinance but they decided at their meeting Tuesday to hand back to staff for some revisions.

After much discussion they decided to have staff clean up rules that could be potential loopholes for homeowners and/or tenants. This is the second time a first reading has been turned down for more fine tuning.

The following changes were added for Council to review October 20:

(1) Increase the required tenancy for a tenant to qualify as a hosted rental applicant from six months to two years;

It's a great thing to call for unity. It sounds good and feels good. But for far too long hollow calls for "working together" have become excuses for bulldozing over the needs of the people who live and work here in favor of the needs of the developers, resorts and casinos.

I chose the locals.

I choose to give a voice to those who are marginalized.

And if this seems like I’m causing trouble, then it is, as John Lewis called it, good trouble.

On April 18, 2017 the South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed a resolution to: 1) Power the South Lake Tahoe community with electricity provided from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032 and 2) Reduce community carbon emissions from baseline by at least 80 percent by 2040, and reduce municipal emissions by 50 percent by 2030.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It will be hard to find someone in favor of taxes, but with them being the reason many things in this world are funded, they are accepted to some degree.

On November 3, the City of South Lake Tahoe will be asking voters for support of a one-cent local sales tax known as Measure S.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe is continuing the process on the planning, design and construction of the new Community Recreation & Aquatics Center.

For the past several years the City's Parks and Recreation Department has involved the public on the future of its aging recreation center and plans for a new building through community meetings and workshops.

South Tahoe Now reached out to all nine candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council and provided the same list of questions to each one of them. Once a day their answers will be published in the order received.

Today's candidate is Keith Roberts.

Profession: Executive Chef

How many years in SLT: 5 years

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be two new members of the South Lake Tahoe City Council after the November 3 election. In the coming weeks the pubic will have chances to hear from the candidates both via zoom, in print and possibly in person. Below are eight of the ten candidates responses to questions asked by the local #IRunWithMaud group.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With a changing vacation home rental (VHR) landscape in the City of South Lake Tahoe, those wishing to rent their homes may be turning to "shared rentals."

There currently is no ordinance that covers shared rentals as the current VHR ordinance addresses the rental of an entire dwelling for a period of less than 30 consecutive calendar days, Shared rentals deal with renting less that the entire dwelling on a short-term basis.

Open letter from Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz to communities, guests and employees: What will the 2020-21 ski and snowboard season look like? We are still in the heat of July – still celebrating the successful opening of our resorts for summer – and that is the number one question we are getting across our 34 North American resorts. What lies ahead for winter? We remain optimistic that we’ll have a great ski season. And we are actively preparing our resorts to ensure our employees and guests have a safe and enjoyable experience this winter amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It is undeniable that the areas hit the hardest economically by the COVID-19 pandemic are those heavily reliant on tourism. South Lake Tahoe is unquestionably one of these areas, suffering not only because of the closure of its tourist economy but suffering higher infection rates due to the very tourism it relies upon. It is for these reasons that so much of the focus of the El Dorado Community Foundation, who serves all of El Dorado County, has been directed toward South Lake Tahoe. We recognized very early on that South Lake Tahoe would be the hardest hit region in the county.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two locally owned and operated radio stations, KRLT FM and KOWL AM, that have served the Lake Tahoe area for 60 years (AM was first, then FM came 40 years ago).

General Manager and Owner Steve Harness took out a note with investors to buy the station from Cherry Creek Radio five years ago. On June 30, 2020, a $100,000 balloon payment on that note is due. While the stations' monthly overhead has stayed the same during the pandemic, their revenue has dropped by roughly 80 percent.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If California Governor Newsom gives guidelines on the next industries that can open in the state, El Dorado County will be able to move quickly and reopen more businesses and activities.

The following is a letter sent to El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe. It is published here in its entirety at the request of the author.

The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce would like to offer encouragement and support of a revival of the local economy, while continuing to keep the health and safety of our residents in mind. Cases of COVID-19 have remained low in our region when compared to other more populated areas around the State and Nation. We applaud the quick action taken by the County and City that has helped us keep the case count low.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In less than 90 days life has changed in South Lake Tahoe, California and the United States. The West caught up quickly to the novel coronavirus pandemic that was first contracted by a human in China on November 17, 2019.

Scientists and doctors pled for the public to stay home to keep the virus from spreading, and that plea worked better in some areas than others.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Many have asked, what if our community starts getting COVID-19 cases, are we prepared? Many different groups, agencies, and the government have been working diligently and collaboratively on emergency plans to prepare.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The old Super 8 motel on Lake Tahoe Boulevard and adjacent Lotus Pho restaurant in South Lake Tahoe are currently closed as pre-construction activities have begun on a four-story 120-unit Hampton Inn and Suites.

The asbestos abatement has been completed as have the pre-demolition permits and the current two-story building is set for demolition soon. Once that happens, crews will be waiting for the May 1 grading date to get started on what is promised to be a "facelift to the area."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On March 3, 2020, voters in the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) boundaries will decide if Measure B should pass, a measure that would give the fire department funds for much-needed equipment, apparatuses, and supplies.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The long-discussed 56-acre parcel in the middle of South Lake Tahoe is finally seeing movement again, and both the South Lake Tahoe City Council and El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS) supporting further conversation. A formal agreement between the two is expected later in 2020 with another one-two years of public meetings, consultant review, and planning before plans are implemented. The California Tahoe Conservancy is funding the cost of the consultant, just as they did 30 years ago.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Most will say their cell phone coverage isn't great in Lake Tahoe or is severely impaired on big tourist weekends such as the 4th of July. With the growth of remote workers coming to live in Lake Tahoe, better internet coverage is also needed for them to work, along with the needs of many others.

The City of South Lake Tahoe has launched its October Edition of "At Lake Level." The monthly newsletter is prepared by City Manager Frank Rush in an effort to keep the community well informed about City issues and initiatives.

Development Commodities Available at No Cost for Qualified Affordable Housing, Town Center, and Distressed Property Development

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to several hundred Tahoe City residents on a warm summer evening in August. I was there for a celebration that has been a long time coming.

Residents gathered in the parking lot of the blighted Henrikson Building to take a ceremonial swing of the hammer — to say goodbye to an eyesore of a building whose useful life came to an end years ago. They were also there to celebrate what will soon take shape as Tahoe City’s first new hotel in more than 60 years.