voters

South Lake Tahoe - The year was 1974. Richard Nixon resigned as president, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, All in the Family and Sanford and Son were number one and two on the top TV show list, gas was 38 cents a gallon and Dr. Frederick “Fritz” Wenck became an elected Board of Trustees member for Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC).

Fast forward to 2016 and Dr. Wenck retired from the board.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF.: Former City of South Lake Tahoe Councilmember Bill Crawford passed away on Friday, November 25, 2016 at the age of 82 after a brief illness. In honor of his service to the community, all City flags will be lowered to half-staff through Friday, December 2.

By now, most people have heard: Federal courts upheld the 2012 Regional Plan for Lake Tahoe, affirming the blueprint that maintains development caps and strengthens environmental protections while encouraging community revitalization, redevelopment, and updated infrastructure.

Capturing the most attention these days is the traffic in our small communities from millions of people who drive up to enjoy our lake. And the transportation system is where TRPA is giving more focused attention to benefit Tahoe’s environment, economy, and quality of life.

The election was seven days ago, but the final ballots cast in El Dorado County have yet to be tabulated, and it might not be until Friday for the results of over 20,000 ballots are released. Another 3,000 provisional ballots should be counted by Monday.

As of 5:00 p.m. November 15, the 20,000 ballots were about to be scanned.

Measure P, the two percent raise in transient occupancy tax for lodging properties in the City limits, has passed by a fairly large margin. With 100 percent of the precincts counted, a "yes" vote of 3,214 to 1,537 has passed by a 35.30 percent difference in the unofficial results.

The measure will use the funds raised by the extra tax to support recreational improvements in the City. A new recreation center, competitive pool and ball courts are in the plans.

I just want to thank everyone who supported me and my campaign. I really feel that I made a decent showing, considering I was out-spent 33 to 1. I plan to stay involved in the community as I have always done. Who knows what will happen in 2 years. I’m already considering another city council run in 2018. I feel so lucky having been able to personally talk to about 2,500 voters, answer their questions, discuss their concerns and rejoice with them about living in the most beautiful place on earth.

6:00 a.m. 11/9 Update: It took awhile for ballots to be counted, but 100 percent of the precincts have now been counted for El Dorado County and South Lake Tahoe. The results are unofficial as some mail-in ballots will still be tallied.

Former councilwoman Brooke Laine and hospital executive Jason Collin will be headed to the South Lake Tahoe City Council in what turned out to be a close race with local politics newcomer, Tamara Wallace. Current Councilwoman JoAnn Conner will not be returning for a second term.

SLT City Council results, the top two vote-getters win:

This November, please vote YES on Proposition 52. Proposition 52, the Medi-Cal Funding and Accountability Act, extends the current partnership between the state and California hospitals to help fund the health care needs of 13 million children, seniors, and low-income families in California.

In the last two years, the number of Med-Cal recipients in South Lake Tahoe has doubled. El Dorado County receives $20,136,379 in federal funding each year and without this money our working families who would not be able to afford health care services.

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

Tamara Wallace, 46, Retired Businesswoman/Chamber Exec

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

John Shearer, 49 years old, has lived in South Lake Tahoe for over 30 years and own and operate several local businesses.

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

JoAnn Conner, 67, Small Business Owner, 35 years in SLT.

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

Ted Long, 77, attorney and lecturer, 21 years full time skiing here since 1965.

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations

Dear Voters,

I am writing to endorse Annie Davidson for LTUSD School Board. As coach of my daughter’s soccer team, Annie showed true devotion to her athletes and was an incredible teacher and mentor for the girls she coached. She showed true patience and skill in coaching nine 7-year-old girls. I got to know Annie during this time and was impressed with her enthusiasm for our youth and our community.

Registered voters at Stateline, the Y and Bijou don't normally vote in elections but those living in Montgomery Estates, the Tahoe Keys, Gardner Mountain and parts of Sierra Tract do, according to a new research project at U.C. Davis.

It is an exciting time to live on the South Shore – during a critical point in our region’s evolution and potential. It is time to set our course: moving away from bickering and blaming, exclusionary special interests and single-industry dominance to consensus-building and proactively choosing progress. Whether we live in Nevada or California, everyone benefits from uniting towards a sustainable vision for the South Shore.

As a sitting Council Member and Board Member of Lodging Association, I urge voters to vote Yes on Measure P – “P” for Play and Recreation. This would increase hotel taxes by 2% throughout the City. The Lodging Association is supporting this measure because Recreation is our economy; investing in our economy will encourage more visitors and visitors to stay longer, which in turn supports the rest of our local economy.

Measure T is not about the Loop Road. It is about power. If and when there is a Loop Road Plan, there will be components that will need the city’s approval. The two biggies will be accepting the old Hwy 50 as a city street and using eminent domain to tear down many houses. The point here is that the city will be making decisions. Measure T is about who will be making those decisions: A majority of city council, i.e. 3 people, or 9000 voters.

A special election officer has been appointed by the U.S. Attorney's Office to oversee any complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud," said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. "The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Board of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (Tahoe Chamber) has announced its position on seven local ballot measures in the City of South Lake Tahoe and Douglas County.

Yes on Measure P

Did you miss the public forum put on by the South Tahoe Public Utility District last week? With elections just two weeks away, perhaps voters don't know who they'll be voting for the five-member board of which two seats are open.

You can hear and watch the statements from each of the four candidates running for a seat in November: Kirk David, Nick Exline, Kelly Sheehan, and Randy Vogelgesang.

Each candidate gave an opening statement, answered questions posed by the audience and then provided a closing statement.

The forum lasted just over an hour, all of which is on this video.

In a cost-cutting move, the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District (TPRID) Board of Directors is looking at the possibility of consolidating their elections.

William E. Schultz, the El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk-Registrar of Voters, has presented the board with information on how to accomplish this goal which cost the small park district $5,833 in 2015. With just 605 votes cast in that election, this amount works out to be almost $10 per vote.

This November, please vote YES on Proposition 52. Proposition 52, the Medi-Cal Funding and Accountability Act, extends the current partnership between the state and California hospitals to help fund the health care needs of 13 million children, seniors, and low-income families in California.

In the last two years, the number of Med-Cal recipients in South Lake Tahoe has doubled. El Dorado County receives $20,136,379 in federal funding each year and without this money our working families would not be able to afford health care services.

Nobody likes more taxes, but voters in South Lake Tahoe will be faced with approving a new tax that would provide funding for one of three areas that have been deemed a necessity in the community, housing, roads or facilities.

The 1/2 cent sales tax proposal is different than most as the voter gets to decide exactly how it will be spent. That works out to be five cents on every ten dollars spent on non-grocery items and would bring the sales tax in the City to 8.5 percent.

"These are needs we cannot fund without funding from the tax increase," said SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry.

On November 8, voters living in the City of South Lake Tahoe will be electing two city council members and the decision may not be an easy one. There are ten candidates, so as an aid to help community members with their pick, the Tahoe Chamber and the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association have joined together to host a candidate's forum on Tuesday, September 20 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.