·       Erin Jones is the newest doctor at Barton Family Medicine in South Lake Tahoe.

·       Barton Health Community Advisory Committee is having a mental health forum on Oct. 1 from 8:30am-1pm at South Tahoe High School in the Fallen Leaf-Cascade rooms. Email lwagoner@bartonhealth.org if interested in attending.

·       A group opposing development on a ridgeline on the North Shore has put together an online survey asking the Placer County Board of Supervisors to protect the land.

·       The Good News Club is part of Child Evangelism Fellowship, a worldwide youth organization. It is active in all South Shore elementary schools and STMS with after school programs that meet once a week. More teachers are needed. There will be a training Sept. 26 from 9am-5pm the First Baptist Church, 1053 Wildwood Ave., South Lake Tahoe. To reserve a spot, call Wendylee at 530.544.7055, ext. 245.

·       Douglas County will host Retno Wulan from Indonesia and Manithaythip Thephavanh from Laos for short-term professional assignments, as they participate in the U.S. Department of State-sponsored Professional Fellows Program. The fellows will be in Douglas County from Oct. 10-Nov. 7.

By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times

Disdain and disgust have been common sentiments when it comes to Americans’ views of the national political environment. But local government was supposed to be the safe haven, where things got done in a more neighborly way, with a lot less frustration than, say, dealing with the groaning bureaucracies of the IRS or Veterans Affairs.

It hasn’t worked out that way, exactly.

In a somewhat surprising twist, a new USC Dornsife/California Community Foundation/Los Angeles Times poll on community involvement suggests tension between California voters and their local governments.

A quarter or more of California voters say their elected officials are not responsive to their needs, a figure larger than might have been expected years ago. Voters cast a broad brush of negativity about the usefulness of volunteering for or giving money to political candidates and politicians.

Read the whole story

South Lake Tahoe’s 50th anniversary parade on Sept. 19 will slow traffic. The route is from the Y to Bijou Community Park.

The two westbound lanes of Highway 50 from Stateline to the Y will be open. The two eastbound lanes of Highway 50 from the Y will be closed from 9:30-10:30am, with a rolling lane opening beginning at approximately 10:30am. It is anticipated that the parade will turn onto Al Tahoe Boulevard from 10:30am to 11:00am, finishing at Bijou Community Park.

There are more than 100 entries and approximately 500 walkers in the parade.

The bike park will be dedicated after all parade participants arrive.

The parking lot at Bijou Community Park will be for floats and classic cars from the parade. Parking will be available across the street at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Expect traffic delays on the North Shore and in Truckee on Sept. 20 during Ironman Lake Tahoe.

It starts at the Kings Beach State Recreation Area; with bike ride going to Tahoe City  through the Truckee River corridor, following the Truckee River past Squaw Valley and into Truckee. Here the course turns south back toward the lake, rolling past Northstar  and the start of the climb to Brockway Summit. Back at Kings Beach athletes repeat another loop before finishing at Squaw Valley. Runners will proceed back up the Truckee River corridor along the Truckee River bike path, returning back to Squaw Village for the finish line.

For info, including details about road closures, go online.

Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for the annual Blue Ribbon Awards.

The categories are:

• Geotourism – Providing an authentic Tahoe experience.
• Tourism – Innovative program, promotion or product for visitors.
• Experience – Business providing compelling and captivating experiences.
• Entrepreneur – An innovative individual who assumed the risk of starting a new business. (Business must have been in existence for a minimum of two years and should have a business plan in place).
• Customer service (business) – An individual who consistently provides quality service.
• Customer Sservice (public agency) – Quality service in the not so usual places.
• Wendell Award for a Green Business or Program – Business that is minimizing impact on the environment.

For more info or to make a nomination, go online.

Winners will be announced Nov. 12 at a dinner at MontBleu in Stateline.

By Jason Hildago, Reno Gazette-Journal

NV Energy is seeking approval from the state for a new community solar program that will allow customers to access renewable energy through a subscription.

The Subscription Solar Pilot Program will allow customers to receive a production credit on their bill even without rooftop solar on their homes by subscribing to 100-kilowatt-hour blocks of solar power from NV Energy.

The energy will come from one of two solar farms that will be developed in the northern and southern part of the state if the proposal is approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. Each facility can have up to 5 megawatts of capacity, said Marie Steele, NV Energy manager of renewable energy.

Read the whole story

Emergency paving operations on westbound Interstate 80 started today and will last through Sept. 17.

Work on deteriorating pavement in the right lanes of westbound I-80 between the agricultural inspection station and Donner Park will require alternating closures of right lanes 2 and 3 as well as ramp closures at five Truckee exits. Expect traffic delays between 8am-8pm.

While project operations may result in construction schedule changes, ramp closures from or on to I-80 are anticipated to occur as follows:

·         Sept. 15:          

o   Overland Trail WB off ramp.

·         Sept. 16:   

o   Highway 267 WB off ramp

o   Highway 89 NB on ramp

o   Central Truckee WB off ramp.

·         Sept. 17:

o   Central Truckee WB on ramp

o   Highway 89 SB on and off ramps.

Paving and striping work will continue the following week with the same scheduled closures. All work is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 15.

To the community,

I’m wondering if Tahoe residents have been well informed about the El Dorado County General Plan and zoning changes in progress and how they might be impacted.

I’m from the west county and just recently discovered that 14,500 of the 37,000 parcels being changed are in Tahoe. We are told they are name changes only for alignment with the county’s zone district names. While I’m sure that is generally true, there are anomalies similar to what we’ve found in our area.

People up there need to know that the county is not going to inform them of changes as they would in the typical rezone process; it is up to residents to look into it themselves. Some of us here in the west county have had big surprises.

Here is the link to view proposed parcel changes. If they have any issues, it’s not too late to contact their supervisor, Sue Novasel.

Ellen Van Dyke, El Dorado County

By Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News

Summer officially ends next week, but California’s devastating wildfire season will almost certainly rage on.

As of Monday, three enormous blazes — the Valley Fire in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties; the Rough Fire in the Sierra National Forest in Fresno County; and the Butte Fire, burning in Amador and Calaveras counties — had already charred 270,000 acres, an area 10 times the size of the city of San Francisco.

Experts said at least another month, possibly two, of extreme fire risk remains before hoped-for El Niño winter rains could begin to dampen dry grasses, shrubs and trees all over California.

And, if history is any indication, the most destructive fires can come in October, when conditions are their driest. Major infernos like the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, which killed 25 people and destroyed 2,843 homes, and the 2003 Cedar Fire and the 2007 Witch Fire, which together burned nearly 3,500 homes in San Diego County, all began in October.

Through Monday, 738,516 acres had burned in California in 2015, a 75 percent increase from the same date last year, and a 37 percent increase when compared to the five-year average.

Read the whole story

Updated 2:49pm:

All mandatory evacuations, evacuation advisories, and road closures in Amador County have been lifted.

—-

Mother Nature is lending a hand when it comes to the Butte and Valley fires burning in Northern California. However, tens of thousands of people remain displaced — either permanently or as evacuees — as the fires rage.

Rain fell overnight on the fire in Amador-Calaveras counties, and higher humidity is a factor in Lake-Sonoma-Napa counties. Temperatures are dramatically lower in both locations compared to the weekend.

The Butte Fire is at 71,660 acres, with 37 percent containment. The fire that started Sept. 9 has destroyed 166 residences, 116 outbuildings and damaged 12 others. Another 6,400 structures remain threatened.

“Fire behavior remained minimal throughout the night helping crews continue to progress with perimeter control,” according to CalFire.

More personnel continue to be added to the Valley Fire, which started Saturday in the remote town of Cobb. It is sparsely populated and is wooded like Tahoe.

Lost are 585 homes and hundreds of other structures, including the historic Harbin Hot Springs. That area rebuilt after fires in 1894 and 1943. There are 9,000 structures in immediate danger.

The 67,000-acre Valley Fire is 15 percent contained.

The cause of both fires remains under investigation.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report