Trout Creek, a South Shore tributary to Lake Tahoe, is flooding back yards; in this location it’s in a front yard. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Amy Graff, San Francisco Chronicle

After a winter and early spring marked by unrelenting storms, the Sierra Nevada is piled high with snow. Now, as the storms taper off and the temperatures warm up, the snowpack is beginning to melt and runoff into rivers and lakes.

One place that’s seeing a huge impact from all the runoff is Lake Tahoe.

Since April 1, the start of the snow melt season, 219,600 acre feet —that’s 71,556,879,600 gallons — of water have poured into the lake, according to Chief Deputy Federal Water Master Dave Wathen.

As a result the lake is filling up fast, and about a foot away from reaching full capacity. Federal wanter managers say Tahoe will fill this summer for the first time in 11 years, and when it does, the total amount it will have risen across the water-year between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30 will be record-breaking. 

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·      Steve Teshara will be executive director of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce for the foreseeable future. Things didn’t work out with Craig Schmidt who had been the leader since Feb. 6.

·      The Loft in South Lake Tahoe is have a winemaker dinner June 7 with Franciscan Estate being the featured winery. On July 12 the winemaker will be Silver Oak-Twomey. For more info about either dinner, call 530.523.8024.

·      Free movies will be shown on Thursdays from July 7-Aug. 31 in the Village at Squaw Valley at 8:30pm. Click here for the schedule.

·      Boreal is building a lift-service mountain bike park that should be open in July.

·      One percent of revenues from Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Epic Discovery activities will go to the Nature Conservancy’s Forest Initiative to fund ecological restoration and conservation projects managed by the agency. 

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks, and U.S. Forest Service plan to continue prescribed fire operations beginning May 22. 

If conditions are favorable, operations may take place near Sugar Pine Point, Glenbrook, Lower Kingsbury Grade, Ski Run Boulevard, Fallen Leaf Lake and Meyers. Operations may continue over the next several weeks, weather permitting. 

To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us. 

Each prescribed fire operation follows a prescribed fire burn plan, which considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. This information is used to decide when and where to burn.

Truckee is the beneficiary from the latest round of California Transportation Commission funding.

In all, $328 million will pay for 88 transportation projects that are designed to alleviate traffic delays, repair aging roads and bridges and encourage bicycling and walking.

The money comes from Senate Bill 1, which increases funding for transportation infrastructure projects and road repairs.

The $905,000 for Truckee will be used to construct class II bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps and curb bump-outs on Glenshire Drive near the Truckee River Legacy Trail trailhead.

By Jay R. Brooks, San Jose Mercury News

Each year, nearly 5 million people visit Lake Tahoe. You could almost say there are two Tahoes. And considering that each state has its own alcohol laws that determine what’s available and where it can be sold, there are two Tahoe beer scenes, as well.

If Lake Tahoe were a clock, you’d find Tahoe Mountain Brewing at 10 o’clock. The Tahoe City brewpub sits across the street from the lake, offering picturesque views to go with your burger or pint. The brewpub taps include a wide of selection of beers available year round, as well as a fun selection of limited-release beers.

South Lake Tahoe sits at the 6 o’clock spot, with the highest concentration of breweries in the area.

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Build a Better World is theme for this summer’s Douglas County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. 

There will be programs for ages 0 to 11 and a teens’ program for ages 12 to 17.  The program runs from June 1 to July 31 at the Minden and Zephyr Cove branches. 

Those who participate will earn prizes while they maintain and build their reading skills during summer break. The registration form is online.

The summer reading kick-off event will be June 6 at the C.V.I.C. Hall, 1602 Esmeralda Ave. in Minden. The Fratello Marionettes will perform a “Mother Goose Land” show at 6:30pm.  The Library Foundation will sponsor an ice cream social from 7:30 to 8pm. Both events are free and open to all ages. 

A children’s used book sale will be before and during the kick-off event from 5:30-8pm. 

By Martin Espinoza, Santa Rosa Press Democrat

The bodies of Brenda and Mark Richard, the Santa Rosa couple whose single-engine airplane went missing last month after taking off from Truckee, have been found, Sierra County sheriff’s officials said Friday.

Sheriff Tim Standley said a recreational snowmobiler found a piece of the plane’s tail in the snow on Tuesday. Authorities confirmed the discovery early Wednesday and on Thursday found the bodies in the separated cockpit buried in 6 to 7 feet of snow.

Officials said the couple’s family has been notified of the discovery, in a remote area east of Yuba Pass in Sierra County.

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The two South Shore Soroptimist organizations separately awarded a number of students with scholarships this month.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra honored 21  students with scholarships and awards totaling $12,200.

• Senior Scholarships  ($1,200 each): George Whittell High School — Samantha Forvilly; South Tahoe High School — Sophie Caputa, Kamren Gonwald, Isabel Leon, Jocelyn Lopez, and Lek Wei Seow.
• Mount Tallac High School Joy Rothschild Senior Memorial Scholarship ($1,000 each): Carlos Lopez and America Mata.
• Mount Tallac High School Young Parents Program ($500 each): Acayda Babson and Isaac Quintana Hernandes.
• Mt. Tallac Career Award ($200 each): Kayla Kippes, Carlos Lopez, America Mata, Jorge Reyes, Amber Ross, and Michaela Valle.
• Most Improved 8th Grade Students ($50 each): Whittell — Sofia Garcia.; South Tahoe Middle School — Crystal Gomez Ceja and Bryan Hernandez Garcia.
• Most Improved 12th Grade Students ($150 each): Whittell — Kristian Landing; South Tahoe Middle School — Nick McComas, Jade Smith, and Kyla Shelnutt.

Soroptimist ​International ​of South Lake Tahoe recognized the following students for their achievements with the annual Rewards for Excellence Scholarship Program.

• Lake Tahoe Community College: Kimberly Barnett-Burton, Laura Buteau, Chris Fabrri, Kristopher Gaffney, Alysse Gutierrez, Morgan McCauley, Joshua Meno, Rachael Schaefer, Soleil Thiele, and Ben Trevino.
• South Tahoe High School-Ivone Larson AVID Awards: Maya Brosch, Sophie Caputa, and Kendra Conard.
• South Tahoe High School: Sierra Bedwell, Caleb Bray, Angelika Cazares, Thomas Cefalu, Kamren Gronwold, Lek Wei Seow, and Caitlin Hannah.
• Whittell High School: Samantha Forvilly and Kai Mangiaracina.

This BMW, left, and two electric Teslas show a small variety in the EV market. Photo/LTN

By Kathryn Reed

KINGS BEACH – Creating an electric highway in the Sierra is under way. It would encompass Highway 50 on the South Shore and Interstate 80 on the North Shore, and points around the basin.

This isn’t a new concept. It has been talked about since at least 2006 when Truckee Donner Public Utility District had a three-year contract with the Electric Auto Association to provide electricity for free to three plug-ins.

But like most things in the Tahoe-Truckee area, actual implementation takes decades.

Advocates for more electric vehicles and places to charge them gathered in Kings Beach this spring for a summit.

“Transportation is the No. 2 source of greenhouse gas emissions at Lake Tahoe,” Devin Middlebrook with the Tahoe Regional Transportation District said. The benefit of electric vehicles is eliminating tailpipes spewing noxious pollutants.

These vehicles – whether a total EV or a hybrid – are no longer an anomaly. And with improved technology, it’s not unrealistic to drive one in snow country.

In 2016, U.S. consumers had the choice of 30 electric vehicles. Dealers sold 159,139 electric vehicles last year, with the top five being the Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and Ford Fusion Energi.

Of the 115 EVs owned by people in the region, 45 percent are Teslas. Most owners are in South Lake Tahoe, Truckee or Incline Village.

Projections are that by 2025 between 3 and 6 percent of daily trips will be via an electric vehicle, with those percentages increasing to between 6 and 14 percent by 2040.

In addition to better vehicles with more offerings – like all-wheel drive – there needs to be places for people to get a charge when they are commuting or traveling for fun. Batteries with insufficient charges area a reason some consumers don’t want to abandon their gas-powered vehicle.

Stations have improved in regards to how long it takes to charge a vehicle. And that infrastructure is starting to spread.

What may make the Tahoe-Truckee area more conducive to creating that electric highway is the recognition by Liberty Utilities, the regulatory agencies and businesses that electric vehicles are here to stay, and that the benefits are multi-faceted.

By Daniel Borenstein, Bay Area News Group

Gov. Jerry Brown and state Treasurer John Chiang have a plan to help cover the state’s soaring pension payments: Borrow money at low interest rates and invest it to make a profit. What could go wrong?

Lots.

Unfortunately, as they try to sell this scheme to the public and the Legislature, the governor and the treasurer fail to mention the risks, or their aggressive assumptions.

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