vote

With just 13 votes separating two candidates and deciding who will be on the South Lake Tahoe City Council, thousands of uncounted absentee and provisional ballots could actually change the outcome.

El Dorado County election officials told South Tahoe Now today that an estimated 12,000 absentee ballots and 1,000 provisional ballots may take until Thanksgiving to count. By law they have 18 days to certify the election and all votes must be counted by then.

100% of the ballots from polling locations have now been counted in the El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe elections. The following is the result pending some absentee ballots that still need to be counted.

County Supervisor Area 5

Sue Novasel - 59.92% 3529 votes
Kenny Curtzwiler - 39.58% 2331 votes

City of South Lake Tahoe City Council
Top 3 win a seat

Wendy David 18.00% 1205 votes
Tom Davis 15.56% 1042 votes

Stroll through a holiday wonderland with thousands of twinkling lights on decorated Christmas trees and holiday decor! Vote for your favorite tree in the Festival's "People's Choice Award" contest. Settle down to watch the entertainment, bid in the silent auction, enter the raffle, get a family photo with Santa, and take the kids to Teddy Bear Hospital. Kids can stop by the Gingerbread Junction, where they can write a letter to Santa and drop it in the giant mailbox for express delivery to the North Pole.

Location

If you have an absentee ballot and have not mailed it in, there is still a way to make sure your vote is counted! You can turn in your ballot at any precinct location on Tuesday. All precincts are open from 7 am to 8 pm. You can also hand deliver your ballot to the El Dorado County Elections Department, 2850 Fairlane Ct., Placerville or the El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk's Office, 3368 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 108, South Lake Tahoe. Ballots must be received by the Elections Department no later than 8 pm on Tuesday.

Below is a list of all locations in El Dorado County's District V:

I’ve lived in South Lake Tahoe for 22 years, and I’m the Dean of Career & Technical Education and Instruction at Lake Tahoe Community College. I'd like to share a few stories about students I’ve known through my work at LTCC, and how Measure F will provide new pathways to create many more great stories like these – stories about young people whose lives were changed because of the programs and opportunities available through our local community college.

As supervisor of Lake Valley’s wildfire prevention program for almost 10 years, I have witnessed a great change in our community’s awareness and understanding of our biggest hazard. However, I can honestly say that we have so much more work to do. For less than $10 a month, you can both safeguard our community and move our economy forward. Wildfire prevention is cheaper than suppression. Residents will continue to receive free curbside chipping. Local tree and roofing contractors will continue to benefit through rebates.

The campaign posters on Measures M, N and O that have plastered the west slope for a few months have now made their way to South Lake Tahoe. But, what are they all about?

Growth, to put it in one word.

On one side you have people who want to have control of growth in the county and not let it go to Sacramento. On the other side there is a grass roots movement to keep all growth out of the county unless Cal Trans says its okay.

California Proposition 46 is costly and deceiving to voters. It would increase costs for patients, deter doctors from practicing in California, and threaten patient privacy. The consequences are also higher for rural communities like South Lake Tahoe. I have been a physician in South Lake Tahoe for over 34 years and I’m asking our voters and patients to take a closer look; Prop 46 just doesn’t add up.

Kenny Curtzwiler – www.voteforkenny.com

I have lived, worked and enjoyed South Lake Tahoe as a resident since 1977 when I came here for a vacation and stayed on as so many have. What makes me qualified for this position?

Commitment. I have been married for 33 years, raised three children, owned a Tree Service and Roofing Company for 33 years and served for 20 years in the Nevada Army National Guard, retiring as an officer with the rank of Major. I will not go along with the status quo of cronyism and favoritism that has stifled our local economy in El Dorado County District 5.

Most of us moved to Meyers because it's a rural community, away from the City & tourist congestion. I am pro-growth, most locals are, as long as it's appropriately sized growth for our community. The proposed Meyer's Plan however, opens the door to a Mega Resort, with incentives for large development and in my mind, lacks long range planning.

I started going to planning meetings last summer, just to listen, but it wasn't until December that I got really concerned. Here's a timeline of events, from my perspective:

Voters in El Dorado County District 5 will be voting for a new supervisor on November 4 and the winner will either be Sue Novasel or Kenny Curtzwiler. The Sacramento Bee's Voter Guide got the candidates wrong as they wrote that Sue's opponent was Kevin Brown.

Before all the votes were counted during June's primary, Brown looked like he was headed to the runoff in November, but ended up in 4th place with 17.61% of the vote. The top two vote getters in June earned a spot on the ballot in November.

Novasel - 1,557 votes 28.47%
Curtzwiler - 977 votes 17.87%
Swanson - 967 votes 17.67%

There are less than two weeks left for Californians to register to vote on the November 4 election day. In order to be eligible to vote, one must be 18, a U.S. citizen, are not in prison or on parole for conviction of a felony, or have not been ruled mentally incompetent to vote by the courts.

As a past twenty plus year resident of South Lake Tahoe I feel moved to write this letter to let people know how I feel. I am probably known by name or reputation to quite a few residents. As the founder of The Children's Memorial I worked with many individuals, organizations, businesses etc. to celebrate and remember the lives of children who have died over the years.

Tahoe Chamber has a long history of Representing Business to Government via advocating for policies that provide a fair and predictable process for businesses of any size. This process is guided by our Government Affairs Committee (GAC), the
board, the Chamber CEO and our Government Affairs Liaison.

First let me say that I respect my opponent in this race and consider him a friend. I also respect the other candidates for the other offices who were endorsed by the Nevada based Chamber. I and other candidates declined to participate. Here are my reasons.

Backers of California Proposition 46 claim it will protect the patient and reduce patient harm. While the initiative argues patient safeguards and seems well-intended, the proposition is flawed and costly. If passed as written, Proposition 46 would discourage doctors from working in California, jeopardize patient privacy, and increase patient and government healthcare costs.

The seven candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were at Wednesday nights Candidate Forum at Lake Tahoe Golf Course. The Tahoe Chamber and Tahoe Daily Tribune hosted the evening which had Rabbi Evon Yakar moderating the questions and answers.

About 100 people showed up to listen to panel who were given questions prepared by the chamber's new political committee as well as those asked by the audience. The questions were asked of different candidates so not everyone was asked the same one.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District is renewing their focus on raising the attendance rates of students in the district's seven schools. Not only is being at school essential to a good education, it's also essential to the District's budget.

On Tuesday, the LTUSD Board will vote on a proclamation to declare September as "Attendance Awareness Month." They want parents, students, teachers, staff, administrators and the community to focus on "Every School Day Matters" and help keep kids in school.

During the 2013/14 school year, the attendance rates were:

Bijou - 92.3%

Guidelines for the operation of Bingo games in South Lake Tahoe are to be voted on during the City Council meeting on September 2. In an effort to clean up the city's code, City Attorney Tom Watson has been evaluating and updating all rules in the books, and the Bingo rules are part of this change.

California may soon be the first state to have a ban on single use plastic bags.

A ban on single use plastic bags is already in place in South Lake Tahoe and 90 other cities and counties in the state of California, but that may soon change. If Governor Brown signs the bill that was sent to him on Friday, the whole state will have a ban on plastic bags for grocery stores and large pharmacies in 2015 and convenience stores in 2016.

"I call upon you to with every ounce of respect to please take your community's engagement to heart and hear their voices as their elected officials," said resident Jenna Palacio during the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday. "This is your opportunity for leadership."

Palacio was one of many who spoke in front of the Council and asked them to stay on their original track and keep the single use plastic bag ban in place.

There are a few buzz words that are evidently going to be used during the El Dorado County District 5 Supervisor race this summer and fall.

Economic Vitality - An economy with sufficient jobs, products and services to support the community. A sufficient tax base provides citizens with police and fire, parks and recreation and public services needed by the population.

Festival goers will have their say this Labor Day weekend as Sample the Sierra adds a competitive edge to the food and wine festival with the introduction of a new award – Best Tasting Experience! Attendees will vote for the booth that has their favorite flavorful creation that includes fresh ingredients that are prepared by a local chef or restaurant and then paired with regional wine, beer or spirits. The booth with the most votes will be awarded the Best Tasting Experience of 2014.

The filing period opened on Monday for candidates wishing to run for one of the two open Lake Tahoe Unified School Board positions. The full term of the position will be until 11/30/18.

All interested persons must be a registered voter and reside within the boundaries of Trustee Area #5 or #2. Area 5 covers a wide region from Cascade Lake to Meyers and Area 2 is part of the Al Tahoe and Bijou neighborhoods (see attached maps for exact boundaries).

The November 4th elections will be part of the El Dorado County wide ballot.