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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It is looking more like a white Christmas for the Lake Tahoe Basin as a Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from late Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. A stormy pattern is taking shape as another Pacific storms look to impact the Sierra and western Nevada into early next week.

Heavy snow is possible with this first storm and total snow accumulations of 3 to 8
inches are possible with 1 foot or more above 7000 feet. Exposed Sierra ridge winds could gust to 85 mph or higher.

While most students across the country have been learning online this fall because of the coronavirus, a group of students at Western Nevada College (WNC) took advantage of an exciting hands-on scientific learning opportunity earlier this month.

Students and science professors gathered at Jack C. Davis Observatory’s parking lot early in the morning and sent a helium-filled balloon nearly 17 miles into the stratosphere to record high-altitude data, then retrieved the balloon’s payload, which included instruments and sensors, in a cow pasture a few towns away in Minden.

I continue to remark in several recent Road Beats, that Honda is on a roll, after testing this new Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring, I have to report that the roll is still accelerating and rather quickly, including its price. Here is a car with loads of utility, outstanding performance, great fuel economy, superb handling and good comfort for a sticker price not $22,380 with the boat ride from Swindon, Wiltshire, England, but $29,780. That’s right a price bump of about 30 percent for the Touring model.

Celebrate Halloween this year with family-friendly and spooky railbike rides on the V&T Railway in Carson City.

From Friday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 25 and Wednesday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 31, V&T Railway will offer child-focused haunted rides at at 6:00 p.m. and adult-focused haunted rides at 8:00 p.m. Each ride will follow COVID-19 guidelines and offer an alternative this year for Halloween fun. Ticket prices are $40 per rider for the 6:00 p.m. family ride and $75 per rider for the 8:00 p.m. adult ride.

Running a hospital takes a large team of professionals, all pulling together, often under tremendous stress. We often recognize our caregivers who have direct contact with patients. But behind every clinician is a team of people making sure she or he can do their job well and safely.

There are currently some scams currently spreading through the area from phone calls from IRS and Department of Justice impostors.

The Office of Justice Programs’ Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has received multiple reports that individuals claiming to represent the Department of Justice are calling members of the public as part of an impostor scam. The department strongly encourages the public to remain vigilant and not to provide personal information during these calls, which appear to target the elderly.

Join the Suicide Prevention Network in their efforts to end the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide. Throughout the month of September, people are encouraged to get outside and walk or hike with friends and family, or on your own. Physical activity and spending time outdoors is good for our mental wellness so this is the perfect time to encourage and empower others to join this movement.

All monies raised benefit the prevention, education and outreach programs at Suicide Prevention Network.

How to Hike for Hope

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Every ten years a Census is taken of all people living in the Unitied States. While the state of California currently has a 64.5 percent response rate, South Lake Tahoe once again is lagging far behind.

As of August 6, 28.1 percent of those living in South Lake Tahoe had turned in answers to the Census Bureau. El Dorado County as a whole, 58.6 percent. Nationally, the Census return rate is 63.2 percent.

Why is it so hard to get South Lake Tahoe residents to participate?

People around the country are receiving mysterious seed packets in the mail from China. While the shipping package may be mislabeled as jewelry or other merchandise, the contents are instead unlabeled seeds.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has become aware of a number of reports regarding these seeds.

Some have been mailed to homes in El Dorado County.

El Dorado County Department of Agriculture officials are instructing residents not to open, plant, or dispose of any unsolicited seed packets received, but to contact their office.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Over 300 locals and visitors took part in the 15th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge, biking 45,442 miles during the month-long event. The Tahoe-basin wide challenge was a friendly competition that annually encourages individuals and teams to track trips and miles completed on their bikes.

“Congratulations to all of the winners and riders,” TRPA Transportation Planner Kira Smith said. “Although this year looked a little bit different, we hope the Challenge inspires people to bike and walk through the rest of the year.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Stargazers are being treated to something special as the Comet NEOWISE (also known as Comet C/2020 F3) whizzes by earth and giving a show this month that can be seen by the naked eye.

NEOWISE is brighter than Haley's Comet which was visible 34 years ago. Comet NEOWISE was just discovered heading to earth in March, and passed a test that many comets don't survive, a path by the sun.

South Lake Tahoe resident John Gomez woke up early Friday morning to catch a glimpse of NEOWISE and took the photos in this story.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Maddy Moody, a former South Lake Tahoe student and current Douglas High sophomore, will be at the UC San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital at the end of the month for brain surgery.

In an all-new vehicle in what can be considered a new size class for SUVs, Lia’s new Telluride has hit a Grand Slam (Salami, if you are Italian or a Yankee Fan), but not an ordinary Grand Slam, but this one landed on River Avenue or Waveland Avenue if you’re a Cubby. I used those exact words about Kia’s sibling, the Hyundai Palisade. It is flat out one of the two best SUVs I have ever driven with performance, ride, handling, quiet, comfort and economy levels that put it immediately at the top of its class and almost every other class. Telluride is also simply a Class act.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Members of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) now make up the city's Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), giving them the ability to help change homelessness through relationship building and ongoing collaborative efforts while protecting the whole community.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors are holding a special meeting on Tuesday, June 2 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss expansion of the County's Stage 2 attestation announced by the Public Health Administrator Dr. Nancy Williams.

The only item on the agenda is discussion and possible action on expanding Stage 2 to include all businesses and industries identified in Stage 3 of Governor Newsom's Resiliency Roadmap.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Spring is in full swing in the Tahoe Basin and Tahoe black bears are searching for food. Intentional or unintentional feeding of bears results in unwanted bear behaviors, increased human-bear conflicts, and public safety issues as well as fines and possible jail time for violators. Each year, local law enforcement and state wildlife officers respond to hundreds of calls in which bears may pose a public safety threat or are damaging property. In some cases, the bear must be euthanized.

It has been about a year and a half since I last tested a Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, a base model stickering for just $23,210. This time around, my tester was a near top of the line limited. Essentially, they are the same vehicle except for content. But that doesn’t mean that this base unit is a stripper? It isn’t as it comes standard with power windows, mirrors, backup camera, and most everything else one could want.

The Tahoe Prosperity Center will be holding a free and brief webinar on Financial Literacy in light of the financial impact Covid-19 is having on households in the Lake Tahoe community.

The webinar will be this Thursday, April 30 at 4:00 p.m. It is open to all residents in the Tahoe Basin that are interested in learning how to create or refine their personal budgeting skills.

The focus will be on how to track income versus expenses and will provide some simple tools and resources to help you create your own budget and spending plan.

With the global spread of Covid-19, we have discovered how quickly our world can change and have responded with sacrifices. It’s clear that we deeply value the health and well-being of our community.

With our response, we have improved the health of our planet, too. It’s remarkable! On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, our skies are the cleanest they have been for over a century.

Volvo has been on a serious roll with some new product that is off the charts like the new S90, V90, XC90, and XC60 and their sales growth indicates renewed customer enthusiasm. But now we have the new XC40 which was rewarded recently with the European Car of the Year for 2018. So, it was with much anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the new XC40.

It’s been over two years since my last visit with this second and a half-generation Tundra (the second generation was introduced in 2008 and heavily refreshed in 2014). My last review remarked how Toyota finally made the Tundra into a real “Cowboy Cadillac” (it’s built near San Antonio, Texas) with a ride smoother than a baby’s butt. This new Tundra feels even a bit smoother, perhaps a little less jiggly over Caltrans challenged pavement. And my tester was the new TRD Pro edition.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dr. Todd Cutler has been announced as the new superintendent for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD). During their closed session meeting Saturday, the Board of Trustees decided to reveal their announcement ahead of the previously announced March 10 date. His contract has now been finalized and he will start work at the end of the school year.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The monthly manual survey of the snowpack at Phillips Station, just west of Lake Tahoe, revealed data that won't catch many by surprise. There is 29 inches of snow with a snow water equivalent (SWE) of 11.5 inches at the location near US50 and Sierra-at-Tahoe Road. This is 47 percent of the March average at this spot.

The SWE measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack, which provides a more accurate forecast of spring runoff.

After a gangbuster start to the winter season, a lot of us in Tahoe are wondering where all the snow has gone. Sitting here at the end of February with snowpack numbers dwindling, snow lovers are chomping at the bit, waiting to see the storm track shift back our way.

Still, the mountains have been buzzing with activity as skiers and snowboarders race to the mountains to enjoy what natural snow we’ve received and are ever thankful for the assist from local resorts’ snowmaking operations.