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The westbound, lakeside Cave Rock tunnel entrance will get a makeover this summer, one that will stop rocks from falling onto Highway 50, add lighting to the inside of the tunnel as well as adding water quality improvements.

Devin Cartwright, Supervisor with the Nevada Department of Transportation's Roadway Design Division, spoke to the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association Thursday, giving them a overview of the project that will bring with it one lane of traffic in each direction, causing some traffic delays, 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week from May to October, 2016.

We've all seen them, or driven through them. They are a sure sign of winter, filling with water at every storm. They are small, they are large, and in some states they joke they are big enough they can swallow a small car.

What are they? Potholes.

With over 1,000 fire hydrants within the borders of the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, they have unveiled the "Adopt a Hydrant" program.

It is impossible for fire crews to shovel and maintain all of them in a timely manner and since the California Fire Code requires fire hydrants to be free of obstructions and immediately identifiable, LVFPD is asking for the public's help.

The Ponderosa High School water polo coach was arrested by the El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies on Tuesday, January 26 on charges of sex with a minor with the intent of committing sexual acts and possession of child pornography.

Shane O’Rourke, 22, was arrested after the school's resource office obtained information that a coach at the school was possibly involved in an inappropriate relationship with a student. An investigation conducted with EDSO investigators determined O'Rourke had two inappropriate sexual relations with students.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday.

The legislation, created alongside senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Harry Reid, D-Nevada and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., provides federal, state, and local partners important tools to reduce wildfire threats, improve water clarity, jumpstart innovative infrastructure projects, and combat invasive species.

Is there life on Mars? The Curiosity rover is currently exploring the Gale Crater on Mars and the NASA Mars Science Laboratory team has discovered lake and river deposits that show that ancient Mars was habitable by Earth-like life.

Dr. Dawn Sumner, from UC Davis and the NASA Mars Science Laboratory team, will be speaking in Incline Village at the next UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) talk held on Thursday, January 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Recently, I had the chance to visit the much-hyped Tahoe: A visual History at the Nevada Museum of Art. Located in the hip, CalAve District wedged between downtown and midtown Reno, the museum offers locals to the region a taste of world-class art collections. During events like Art Town (a marathon of a hundred-or-so art related events in Reno during the month of July), the museum offers innumerable pieces from local and global artists alike.

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from December 21, 2015 to January 6, 2016.

December 21: 10 calls: 4 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 hazardous condition (other), 1 assist police call, 1 malfunctioning alarm, 1 call canceled en route, 1 carbon monoxide incident

December 22: 13 calls: 6 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 2 calls canceled en route, 1 no incident found upon arrival, 1 alarm system sounded with no incident, 1 passenger vehicle fire, 1 public assistance call

Multimedia artist Cynthia Hooper, whose videos and paintings capture various landscapes found in California and Mexico, is bringing her artistic talents to Lake Tahoe Community College’s Haldan Gallery this winter. Research & Desire: Recent Videos and Paintings by Cynthia Hooper opens Thursday, Jan. 14, with an Artist’s Reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Haldan Gallery. Hooper will give a short talk about her work at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, and all are welcome to attend this free event. The exhibit remains open until March 18.

The first snowpack survey of the season was taken Wednesday in Phillips, showing the snowpack us at 136% of average with a water content of 16.3 inches.

"This is encouraging but not where we'd like to be," said Frank Gehkre, the Chief Snow Surveyor for the California Department of Water Resources. "This is clearly much better than last year at this time."

One year ago the survey showed the snowpack at 47% of average.

Heavy snow stranded two snowmobilers and a vehicle in the Sierra Nevada during recent storms, bringing out search and rescue volunteers from both El Dorado and Alpine Counties in the last ten days.

Construction at the Camp Richardson campsites will not be completed by June, 2016 which has led to the cancellation of the annual Renaissance Faire next summer.

Thousands of music fans will descend upon South Lake Tahoe this week for what has become the most popular outdoor winter music festivals in the country.

Thousands of people will be on hand December 27 through 31 to experience what is being billed as a fusion between music festival, winter expedition and New Year's Eve celebration.

Also promised is cold, with night time temperatures in the low teens. Appropriate clothing and outerwear is strongly encouraged.

For the list of artists each day, see the photos in this story.

Tuesday's show runs from 2:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

To make way for "Star Wars," Disneyland is about to launch its largest expansion ever, which means shutting down a significant chunk of the Anaheim theme park.

In January, 10 attractions and eateries will close — some temporarily, some permanently — only a few months after the resort hiked the price of annual passes as much as 31%. This spring, Disneyland's biggest rival, Universal Studios Hollywood, plans to unveil a widely anticipated Harry Potter attraction.

The holiday travel week may not have started out as many hoped it would as a storm hit Lake Tahoe on Monday, stranding many travelers for hours. I was one of those stranded between Kyburz and South Lake Tahoe on Highway 50, making the 1.5 hour drive from Cameron Park in 8.5 hours.

This caught me off guard since I've been driving the mountain roads for the past 36 years and my four-wheel drive car with snow tires has been very steady and dependable. I normally don't drive the mountain passes when a storm is headed our way, but I had to pick my daughter up from the San Francisco Airport.

The Christmas spirit has been evident all through the South Shore over the past few weeks as many people and non-profit agencies have been blessed with donations of money, food and gifts to help make the holidays a bit brighter.

Here are some of the many Santas who've been busy at work:

The South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge and Women of the Moose filled up 40 boxes with hams and food for families at Tahoe Valley Elementary school. The students decorated the boxes.

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To resolve a pending violation for unauthorized dredging, the Martis Camp Club has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and restore the area disturbed at its Martis Camp Beach property, located at 6920 North Lake Blvd., in Placer County. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board approved the settlement agreement yesterday.

Now that the gift giving season is upon us, many people may have model airplanes, drones or quadcopters on their wish list. There are some new rules in place that all users of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) need to know.

The Federal Aviation Administration today that all UAS units weighing between 0.55 pounds and 50 pounds must be registered by February 19th, 2016.

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from November 24 to December 10, 2015.

November 24, 2015: 10 calls: 2 EMS calls, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 EMS psych transfer, 1 EMS call canceled en route, 1 call for public assistance, 1 power line down, 1 false alarm, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 car vs. pedestrian call.

November 25, 2015: 9 calls: 4 EMS calls, 2 detector activated no fire, 1 good intent call, 1 canceled en route, 1 vehicle accident no injuries.

November 26, 2015: 6 calls: 5 EMS calls, 1 EMS call canceled en route.

A new website puts comprehensive information about the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program at everyone’s fingertips, allowing people to easily learn more about “Lake-Saving Projects” completed in their own neighborhoods and all around Lake Tahoe.

The new Environmental Improvement Program Project Tracker is online at www.conservationclearly.org/tracker.

First lets tackle the “to eat a Christmas Tree or to not eat a Christmas tree” issue. The tree itself is not particularly dangerous if a few needles are ingested, it will most like come right up via kitty or doggie vomiting. The bigger concern is the stagnant tree water as it is a breeding ground for bacteria and your pet could end up with nausea or diarrhea should they drink it. Speaking of the Christmas Tree make sure you securely anchor your Christmas tree so it doesn't tip and fall, causing possible injury to your pet.

Winter has arrived in the Tahoe Basin with very welcome early snow events and freezing night time temperatures, allowing snowmaking operations to commence to help open ski resorts early. Given California’s drought and the District’s request for continued water conservation, one may wonder about the wisdom of using water for snowmaking.

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from November 1 to November 23, 2015.

November 1, 2015: 3 calls: 2 EMS calls, 1 alarm system malfunction.

November 2, 2015: 15 calls: 4 EMS calls, 1 EMS psych transfer, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 water or steam leak, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 motor accident with no injuries, 1 accident without injuries, 1 fire alarm activated with no fire, 1 electrical wiring problem, 1 dispatch canceled enroute, 1 unauthorized burning, 1 no incident found

For years I thawed my turkey, covered it with butter and herbs and foil, and popped it into the oven, always afraid to steer away from what I knew worked.

That was, until I watched Emeril Lagasse on Good Morning America about ten year ago. Now, its all about the brine!

The first year I tried the brine I had the recipe all written out and followed it closely, but since then I improvise with whatever is in the kitchen cupboards.

Since this is Tuesday there is still time to do a brine, but you need to hurry.