To the community,

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) would like to thank Alpine Carpet One for their support.  In December, TCH opened the South Lake Tahoe warm room for the winter 2016-17 season.  Alpine Carpet One was a generous supporter not only of our fall fundraiser but by donating carpet for our space.  This donation helps keep our guests experiencing homelessness more comfortable in the warm room. 

The warm room plans to remain open through early April. In addition to warm beds and light food and beverages, TCH provides access to social workers and resource referrals to assist our neighbors without housing with some of the challenges that they face.

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless is seeking volunteers and donations. We have one final training on Jan. 9 at 7pm at Unity at the Lake at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd. Email Rachel@tahoehomeless.org for more information.  We can be contacted at tahoewarmroom@gmail.com or 775.573.0822. 

Donations are welcomed to aid in funding. Checks can be made payable to Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless and mailed to PO Box 13514, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151 or online.  

Sincerely,

Marissa Muscat, executive director

Preliminary data shows that 327 traffic fatalities occurred on Nevada roads in 2016, one death more than the previous year. 

Total year-end traffic deaths could be adjusted based on ongoing traffic crash investigations. Statewide, traffic fatalities reached an all-time high of 432 in 2006.

Unsafe driving behavior and an increasing number of miles traveled on Nevada roads may be two contributing factors to the traffic deaths, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation. On average, the amount of miles traveled on Nevada roads increases nearly 4 percent every year. When compared to the amount of miles traveled on Nevada roads, traffic deaths have dropped from an average of 2.05 deaths per every 100 million miles traveled in 2005 to 1.3 fatalities per 100 million miles in 2015.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 94 percent of traffic deaths are the result of driver behavior.

Lake Tahoe Community College is having multiple artists’ receptions on Jan. 19.

The free receptions will be simultaneously from 5-7pm. This is an opportunity to meet the artists whose works will be on display.

In the Haldan Art Gallery in the library building will be a group exhibition by the faculty and staff of the Department of Art at Humboldt State University. Meet them during an artists’ talk at 5:30pm. The artwork on display imparts an understanding of the variety of media, techniques, and concepts in which these teacher-artists are engaged. Over the past several years, LTCC has had a number of students transfer to Humboldt State’s art program, which offers a variety of majors, including fine art as well as more commercially focused programs. This exhibit will be open through March 24.

In the Foyer Gallery located in the Fine Arts building will be oil paintings in Claudia Garza’s “Landscapes of Our Backyard” through March 25. Garza began taking classes at LTCC in 2006, and has continued to enroll in painting classes on and off.

In the Student Gallery in the Main Building Commons will be another group exhibition of artwork by members of the Tahoe Art League. With this new exhibition, TAL hopes to introduce the wide variety of subjects, techniques, and styles of art produced by its members.

For more information about art exhibits, contact Phyllis Shafer at 530.541.4660 ext. 251 or Shafer@ltcc.edu.

Three-term El Dorado County supervisor Bill Johnson has died.

William Van Dyke Johnson was part of the pioneer family that helped create South Lake Tahoe before it was even a city.

Bill Johnson

Mr. Johnson died Dec. 19, 2016. He was 85.

He was born at the J Lazy J Ranch on Mottsville Lane in Gardnerville on March 21, 1931. He graduated from Gardnerville High School class of 1949. 

Mr. Johnson served two years in the Korean War in the Army. Upon being discharged he went to San Francisco where he went to hotel and restaurant management school.

It was on Aug. 29, 1953, that he married Felice Muldoon in South Lake Tahoe. He was in the property management business for nearly 20 years.

In 1969, the voters elected him to represent Tahoe on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, where he served for 12 years. He was instrumental in convincing the county to sell Lake Tahoe Airport to the city – and at a favorable price for South Lake Tahoe. The bill — $1.

Mr. Johnson along with his sister Marjorie Springmeyer and brother Knox Johnson gave land to the city for what is now the city-county government complex on Johnson Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

As an elected official, Mr. Johnson was on various boards, including the Tahoe Basin Transportation Authority for nine years, Tahoe Transportation District, and Highway 50 study corridor group.

More recently Mr. Johnson and his wife had property in Camino where they ran Bills Apples and Felices Dolls.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Felice, and sister Marjorie Johnson Springmeyer.

Mr. Johnson is survived his sons, Ross, Kent and Curtis; brother Knox; daughters-in-law; four grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

There were no services. Donations may be made in Mr. Johnson’s name to any veterans group.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Tracy Franklin

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a major atmospheric river to hit the region this weekend starting on Jan. 8 and continuing through Jan. 9 with widespread flooding expected.

NOAA is also forecasting another atmospheric river arriving in the region on Jan. 10t-11. NOAA is
stating that this event could be similar or greater than the floods of 1997 and 2005 which greatly impacted
South Lake Tahoe.

An atmospheric river is a conveyor belt of vapor that extends thousands of miles from out at sea, carrying as much water as 15 Mississippi Rivers. Each storm can dump inches of rain or feet of snow. NOAA is predicting 6-8 inches of rain falling in the Tahoe basin between Sunday and Monday; if these predictions hold, residents and visitors of South Lake Tahoe need to be prepared.

City public works and public safety crews are working around the clock between Friday and Monday to
prepare for the storm. Friday and Saturday crews will be out clearing snow and storm drains. Residents need to prepare for the storm.

Today we encourage residents to get prepared by doing the following:

• Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not
  everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be,
  #StayHomeStaySafe.
• Get sand bags. Sand bags are available at the city yard at 1160 Rufus Allen Blvd. and also at fire
  station No. 3 at 2101 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
• Clear storm drains. There are 1,874 storm drains in the city. City crews will be out clearing to clear
  high priority drains in expected flood areas. Residents can also help by clearing any storm drains in
  front of their home. Use a shovel or pick to break ice and snow away from storm drains so that water
  can enter the drains.
• Prepare for utility outage. Gather flashlights and replace batteries. During the storm, Liberty Utility
  crews will work 24/7 to restore power where needed. To report a power outage, call 844.245.6868.
• Keep roofs cleared. Snow with high water content is heavy. When it’s followed up by torrential rain,
  existing snow on your roof will become heavier. Spend Friday and Saturday clearing as much snow off your residential structures before the next storm arrives.
• Expect berms. Heavy snow is more difficult to plow and often results in berms in driveways and at
  street intersections.
• Stock up on supplies. People using oxygen tanks need to have battery back-up power on hand.
  Residents should store up on food, water, batteries, pet food. #StayHomeStaySafe
• Don’t drive through water that is too deep. If flooding occurs, don’t drive through it.
• Stay informed. 
• Get the word out. Advise neighbors, friends and family of expected flooding and to plan and prepare.
• Emergency operations. In anticipation of flooding and severe weather, the city has already contacted
  American Red Cross and prepared its emergency operations teams to be on call and ready to open
  evacuation centers as needed. Stay up to date with emergency and weather information with the city’s social media accounts, Twitter feed, Facebook, and NewsFlash reports.

During the 1997 and 2005 floods the following neighborhoods experienced flooding and we anticipate flooding to occur again during these storms:

• Lower Tahoe Keys
• State streets
• Mobile home parks at Third Street and Jean Avenue and Woodbine
• Winnemucca and Highway 50
• Pioneer Trail and Blackbart at the meadow

Recreation center staff are currently working with the Red Cross to have emergency shelter established for residents displaced during the storm. The recreation swim complex is located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.

Tracy Franklin is the public information officer for South Lake Tahoe.

By Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times
 
California water conservation took a slight step backward in November, officials announced Wednesday, possibly due in part to an unusually wet fall and months of successful conservation efforts.

Californians used 18.8 percent less water this past November compared with November 2013, the benchmark year for state conservation measurements. In November 2015, residents statewide cut back usage 20.2 percent compared with 2013.

Though meteorologists note that rainfall across wide swaths of the state was below average in November, it was preceded by the wettest October in 30 years in Northern California, dulling the impact of the reduced precipitation.

Read the whole story

Crews assess the Jan. 5 avalanche scene at Mt. Rose. Photo/Truckee Meadows Fire

By Scott Sonner AP

Rescue crews in the Sierra Nevada say two backcountry skiers caught in an avalanche escaped injury in the snow slide that closed the state highway between Reno and Lake Tahoe.

Washoe County sheriff’s Deputy Jeff McCaskill says the back country skiers — a man and a woman — ended up walking off the mountain on their own after rescue crews responded about 12:20pm Thursday along the Mount Rose Highway west of the Mount Rose ski resort.

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District spokeswoman Tia Rancourt says the skiers already were out of harm’s way when paramedics arrived, conducted a medical evaluation and released them. No one else was hurt.

Nevada Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meg Ragonese says the avalanche passed through a few vehicles traveling on the highway west of the summit near an area popular for sledding and cross-country skiing about 30 miles southwest of Reno.

She says at least two vehicles ended up getting stuck in several feet of snow, but NDOT snowplows were able to free them.

Ragonese says the highway would remain closed for an indefinite period Thursday while crews attempt to trigger some man-made avalanches in an effort to reduce the threat of future snow slides.

Bodie James Briggs joins parents Jessica and Steve Briggs and half-brother Zachary. Photo/Provided

South Lake Tahoe’s first baby of the new year arrived Jan. 4 at 5:08pm at Barton Memorial Hospital.

Bodie James Briggs weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 19 inches.

His parents Jessica and Steve Briggs of Meyers named Bodie after California’s famous gold mining ghost town.

By Sandra Chereb, Las Vegas Review-Journal

CARSON CITY — Former state Sen. Valerie Wiener was aghast when she read a 2003 report that painted a bleak picture of young people and their basic understanding of government.

“We learned that more than 80 percent of 15- to 25-year-olds could identify the most recent ‘American Idol’ (winner), while fewer than half knew the party of their state’s governor,” Wiener, D-Las Vegas, told an Assembly committee in 2007.

 Wiener was testifying on Senate Bill 247, a measure that created what is now the Nevada Youth Legislature, an award-winning program that not only educates Nevada high school students about civics but gives them an active role in setting policy and passing laws pertinent to their generation.

Ten years later, dozens of former and current participants credit the program with sparking their interest in public service. Present and past youth legislators will meet on Saturday for a reunion of sorts, with one event scheduled in Las Vegas and the other in Carson City.

Read the whole story

National Winter Trails Day is Jan. 14.

South Lake Tahoe, U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and South Tahoe High School Generation Green Club is putting a free guided hike at Van Sickle Bi-state Park that day. It will be from 10am-1pm.

Participants will learn about Lake Tahoe’s pristine environment while snowshoeing.

Register in advance by calling 530.542.6059 or email kedwards@cityofslt.us.