Amy

Amy is an 8-year-old girl who has been at the shelter for almost two months. She likes to sit on laps and is independent, and she does well with other cats. Part of her adoption fee has been paid.

Amy is spayed, microchipped, tested for FIV, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter. 

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet. 

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online. 

— Karen Kuentz

Roland Garros may have names like Williams, Federer and Nadal, but the tournament doesn’t have players who made it to district and sectional tournaments in Northern California this spring.

That’s because those tennis stars will be at Viva La Tennis at Zephyr Cove Tennis Club on May 26 – the eve of the French Open.

While ZCTC is home to some outstanding, competitive tennis players, it is also known for having a relaxed, fun, and social atmosphere. To showcase how it combines the serious with the playful, the club is hosting Viva La Tennis. The doubles tournament is the kick off to the season.

No need to have a partner because the tournament director will assemble the teams. All ages and abilities are encouraged to play.

The event is free to club members, $15 for others. Those who become a member that day will have the tournament fee waived. A barbecue lunch is included. (Membership is $90.) Participants are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert, as well as beverage of choice that does not come in a glass container. Get more information on the club’s website.

By Matt Weiser, Water Deeply
 
A century of fire suppression has left Western forests overgrown. That has interrupted nature’s regular fire cycle and means that when fires do happen, they become catastrophic because there is plentiful fuel to burn. It also means forests are sucking up more water than they did historically.

How much more water? That’s always been difficult to estimate. But making this calculation could go a long way toward fixing the overgrown forest problem. If we know how much water could be freed up by thinning forests to reduce fire danger, it could create a new financing mechanism to do the expensive work of cutting trees and staging controlled burns.

A team of scientists from the University of California and the National Park Service now has some answers. In a new study, they combined sensors that measure evapotranspiration – how much water trees exhale – with satellite images of “greenness” on the landscape to estimate the additional freshwater runoff that could be created by thinning overgrown forests.

Read the whole story

California State Parks and the California Tahoe Conservancy are seeking public input until June 29 on the future of Kings Beach State Recreation Area.

In the next 20 years, the public agencies would like to add facilities such as an outdoor event stage, lakeside promenade and small administration building. There is also a proposal to relocate the pier, playground, picnic areas and basketball court, and modify the restrooms and parking areas. The current boat ramp would be replaced with a smaller, non-motorized lake access point.

Kings Beach SRA encompasses about 14 acres and provides public access to more than 1,000 feet of the Lake Tahoe shoreline.

Project documents are available online.

To the community,

Kudos to the South Lake Tahoe Taxaide Team. Despite the harsh March weather, we helped our fellow residents file a record number of complete and accurate returns (640 – a 6 percent increase over last year).

Refunds of $795,646 were processed, with $235,913 balance due. That means that over a half million dollars was returned to our community.

So, thank you Tahoe. We look forward to serving you again next year.

Bob Niedermeier, advertising volunteer for the AARP Taxaide Program

·      South Lake Tahoe Police K9 Tara is retiring this month. The 10-year-old’s handler is Sgt. Jason Cheney.

·      South Lake Tahoe Mayor Wendy David’s May “conversation” will include guests Steve Nelson, with Caltrans, and Stan Hill, project manager for the Sierra Boulevard. The talk will be May 16 at 9am at the senior center.

·      Kingsbury General Improvement District is having a public hearing June 19 at 6pm regarding changes to water and sewer rates. The meeting will be at 255 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline.

·      Here are the El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra roadwork schedules for the week from Caltrans.

·      UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center volunteer docent training dates are June 11, 14, 16 and 18. More info is available online.

The annual bike path clean up event is South Lake Tahoe is June 12 from 5-6:30pm, with a celebration afterward from 6:30-7:30pm.

Volunteers can meet at one of three locations throughout South Tahoe to pick up litter from the areas around the bike paths. All ages are welcome and all supplies will be provided
 
Find more info and register for the event here.
 
Volunteers are encouraged to ride their bike. Those who do will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a prize.
 
The event is organized through a partnership between the Lake Tahoe Bike Coalition, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Clean Tahoe, TRPA, and Vail EpicPromise.

By Kathryn Reed

After being out of town for a week last month, I was craving vegetables. I don’t always get enough veggies when I eat out – all depends on the restaurant.

The combo of tomato, mozzarella and basil is one of my favorites – usually in summer when tomatoes are fresh. This recipe used canned tomatoes; which offer plenty of flavor – especially if they are fire roasted, but they don’t have to be.

There is the potential for a lot of versatility with this dish by using different vegetables. The next time I make this I might add a can of garbanzo beans. This would add a different texture as well as some protein.

This could be an entrée or side.

Veggie Caprese Bowl

1 medium zucchini

¾ tsp kosher salt, divided

2 T olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic gloves, chopped

16 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 T tomato paste

28 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tsp ground pepper

5 ounces spinach

4 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese

3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

¼ C loosely packed fresh basil

Use a vegetable peeler to create strips of zucchini. Toss those with one-quarter teaspoon salt in a colander. Let stand.

Over medium-high heat, cook onion and garlic in oil. Stir until tender. Add mushrooms; cook until browned. Add tomato paste; cook about a minute. Stir in tomatoes, pepper, and remaining salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer about 8 minutes. Stir in spinach; cover until it wilts. Remove from heat. Stir in zucchini strips.

Blend ricotta and mozzarella, then microwave for 30 seconds.

Spoon vegetable mixture into individual bowls, dot with cheese mixture, then sprinkle with basil.

Publisher’s note: Profiles for the four El Dorado County District 5 supervisorial candidates will be running on May 6 and May 7. The election is June 5.

Kenny Curtzwiler

Name: Kenny Curtzwiler

Age: 62 on May 11

Occupation: Retired military/contractor

Education: Two years college

What elected, civic, nonprofit boards or groups are or have you been affiliated with and in what capacity?: None

Why do you want to be supervisor?: I have always been active in the community and feel that I can direct a positive change in the forefront rather than behind my articles.

This is a nonpartisan position. How will you conduct your duties in a nonpartisan manner?: I am a registered non-partisan. I will listen to all sides of an issue without party influences or party loyalty.

Why should people vote for you over one of the other candidates?: I have been a 41 year residents and already am involved with community issues.

How are you going to resolve the CalPERS issue?: Solving CalPERS can only be done at the state level.

Should the government be responsible for solving the affordable housing issue as well as homelessness? Why or why not to both? If yes, how would you solve those issues?: Affordable housing a city issue and not the responsibility of the county. That said the county should be interacting with the city and private groups to not only address the issues behind affordable housing but take an active role in public/private responsibilities. The TRPA must remove the barriers in place that are preventing residents from building an affordable home. As it stands now only out of town investors can afford to overbuild a house in Tahoe and turn it into a VHR. We need to build homes and not investment houses.

To date the county has not been able to fix the traffic issue in Meyers with tourists clogging up residential streets. What is your solution?: I have already come up with one solution to the overuse of the algorithems guiding the shortcuts beyond the “nudge” solution currently being used. This solution will affect all eight points of entry to our side streets at a cost of zero.

What are your thoughts of making Lake Tahoe its own county?: It will be far easier to form our own city of Meyers then combine with the city of South Lake Tahoe to form a separate county.

What entities would you not take money from?: I did not accept any money in the last election from Red Hawk Casino, Local One, West Slope developers or the local chambers and I don’t see myself changing.

What is the No. 1 issue facing District 5 and how do you propose to resolve it?: Lack of proper representation from our current supervisor on every major issue in the Myers area. We cannot solve or move forward on the issues of the Meyers Plan without the community’s input.

Do you believe supervisors should meet in Tahoe more often? Why or why not?: Yes. We are one-fifth of the county and we should meet here one-fifth of the time.

Would you support having more tax dollars from the county coming to the South Shore? Currently, more dollars leave the basin than come back.: Yes.

What is your vision for the 56-acres in South Lake Tahoe?: The county needs to step up and either work with the city of South Lake Tahoe to create a viable and productive recreational area or sell it to the city for $1 as they did with the airport.

Do you support having vacation home rentals? Why or why not?: Yes. We are a tourist community and everyone is affected by them. The problems we are now experiencing at an unprecedented level are caused by out of area investors without a state in the community. An owner can have a VHR but they must have a local brick and mortar property manager to address any violations. We must also have a limit to the VHRs as well as addressing occupancy levels, noise, bear boxes and multi-family overbuilt residences being built in a neighborhood that is zone for single family residences. TRPA must either enforce the current zoning or the city and county must change the zoning laws.

You lost last time you ran. What makes you think there will be a different outcome this time?: The current supervisor will now have to acknowledge the fact that she must recuse herself from the important issues and explain to the public why she did not say anything until after she was sworn in. The residents need representation which has been lacking these past 3.5 years. We cannot continue to pay someone for a full time job that they are only at part time.

Tell us something about yourself that people might not know: Pam and I have been married 37 years and we actually held the wedding ceremony on the beach at Vikingholmes castle in Emerald Bay.

Publisher’s note: Profiles for the four El Dorado County District 5 supervisorial candidates will be running on May 6 and May 7. The election is June 5.

Norma Santiago

Name:  Norma Santiago

Age: 63

Occupation: Community consultant; Sierra State Parks Foundation, board member; El Dorado County Mental Health Commission, associate member

Education: B.S. Business Administration with emphasis in marketing and organizational behavior, UC Berkeley, graduated 1977

What elected, civic, nonprofit boards or groups are or have you been affiliated with and in what capacity?: I was elected on three occasions to represent Lake Tahoe residents as their District V supervisor on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. Within that capacity, I served on the:

·       El Dorado County Water Agency

·       Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

·       Mental Health Commission

·       El Dorado County Transportation Commission

·       Tahoe Transportation District  

·       California Tahoe Conservancy

·       Chamber of Commerce liaison

·       Tahoe Paradise (Park) Resort Improvement District

·       South Lake Tahoe Recreation Joint Powers Authority

·       California State Association of Counties (CSAC), board of directors, El Dorado County representative

As a volunteer, I remain very active in the following:

·       CA State Biomass Working Group

·       South Fork of the American River (SOFAR) Collaborative

·       Sierra State Parks Foundation, board member

·       El Dorado County Mental Health Commission, associate member

·       Hope Lutheran Church, Church Council, secretary

·       South Lake Tahoe Democratic Club, vice president

Why do you want to be supervisor?: I thrive on being in service to the community.

I love being the kind of supervisor that listens and works with the community on deliver solutions that best serve them.

This is a nonpartisan position. How will you conduct your duties in a nonpartisan manner?: I seek community solutions based on community input. When called upon, I don’t ask a person’s political affiliation, I ask how can I help solve the issue?

Why should people vote for you over one of the other candidates?: I am the candidate who best suits the next stages of Lake Tahoe’s evolution in refining a vision and implementing ways to improve technology, advance economic clusters for education, tourism, recreation and environmental science; and, for taking steps in creating the kind of community that will thrive with diversified  opportunities for families, the workforce, business, visitors, and assisting those in need within our community.

How are you going to resolve the CalPERS issue?: There is a multi-faceted approach to addressing the county’s solvency with respect to its retiree benefits that affect current and future budgets. First, is to have a direct input on what investments CalPERS makes that generates the best return for the fund’s solvency without compromising the state’s values e.g. investments in high tech industries that deal with climate change adaptability, “green” technologies, etc. I believe that California should be an example of a prosperous new economy based upon its commitment to climate change adaptability.

Given this there are, in my mind, three ways to deal with the problem:

1) Remain active with organizations such as CSAC to work with the state on ongoing pension reform.  CSAC’s well respected Executive Committee provides input from its members directly to the governor.

2) California state government and labor organizations need to work together to find a resolution for pension reform. There needs to be a compromise in policy so that the fund can get to solvency and begin the process of decreasing these unfunded mandates.

3) The county must look at the future impact it is facing with unfunded mandates and evaluate its own investments to set aside monies to pay these future obligations.

Should the government be responsible for solving the affordable housing issue as well as homelessness? Why or why not to both? If yes, how would you solve those issues?: Yes, government should assist communities in addressing the homelessness condition and affordable housing. County government has been conspicuously absent from the solutions side of the table regarding homelessness, lending a compassionate ear to the kind souls assisting those in need, but doing little to actually turn the tide on a growing homeless population. El Dorado County has dedicated only mild participation for mental health, affordable housing, substance abuse counseling, and veterans services for crisis and chronic homelessness.

I applaud the people whose exhaustive efforts have been assisting those in crisis and I would bring a final report to the Board of Supervisors based on practical input and practice to guide staff, departmental services and dedicated funding for a proactive programming to turn this condition around. On the policy side, ongoing studies and discussions have created analysis paralysis. It is time we take action on the conversion of tourist accommodation units to help build workforce housing; incentivize long term rentals versus vacation home rentals, and work with our larger employers and nonprofits, such as land trusts and foundations, to develop housing programs for their employees.

To date the county has not been able to fix the traffic issue in Meyers with tourists clogging up residential streets. What is your solution?: This is an unforeseen negative impact on our community from mobile map applications that give travelers shortcut information to avoid Highway 50 congestion. The city and county have met to address this issue and have addressed some of the neighborhood congestion by creating road blocks at Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill due to chain requirements; but while that works in winter, it is the travelers right to utilize public roads and this measure is only effective when chain conditions exist. 

The California Highway Patrol is currently looking into the map application software to create electronic closure of roads, guiding travelers exiting the basin through the Agriculture Check (Bug) Station.

Arguably, this is a public safety issue and the agencies in charge of our visitors’ and residents’ safety are the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, police and fire districts and departments.

I would work with all public safety agencies in addressing key map application providers and not give up until this issue is handled and travelers not congest neighborhoods but are directed to remain on U.S. highways when exiting the basin.

Likewise, the utilization of intelligent transportation systems that help motorist get real time information about traffic conditions could help minimize congestion while monitoring traffic flows.

And, finally, proven measures to improve traffic flow can be designed and put in place with the help of the highway patrol and Caltrans. El Dorado County’s Transportation Department maintains a very professional and positive working relationship with Caltrans. Input from the community and county transportation staff will be an effective influence in working with Caltrans on traffic flow solutions.

What are your thoughts of making Lake Tahoe its own county?: While I love the thought of autonomy based on the Tahoe basin knowing keenly its issues and solutions, I think affording its own identity as a county will require a great deal of analysis and public participation.  Counties and cities are formed to initially address specific public safety, transportation, roads, public services, goals and visions reflected and requested by their constituencies. Services are provided through a tax base that is budgeted by government. In so much as the overlaps between counties and cities are balanced, it will be the budget of an independent Tahoe county that would have difficulty delivering state mandated social services and minimum law enforcement (Sheriff’s Department) from within its own tax base. Whether that tax base is large enough to cover these services has to be part of the analysis.

In the meantime, I see that communities at Lake Tahoe, Meyers to the West Shore, have consistently served as visionary examples impressing policy makers in Placerville. The strength of our community providing input to the Board of Supervisors has worked to implement positive changes throughout the entire county, but especially in the Tahoe basin. 

When I was county supervisor, the board followed my lead in cleaning up the Angora Fire and processing the rebuilding of our burned community quickly and without undue costs to the fire victims. 

The board also followed my lead on chamber of commerce grant requests, recreation improvements, bike trail expansion, water quality projects, forest treatment priorities, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency goals, road maintenance funding, public safety protections, and greater relationship building with the city of South Lake Tahoe and other regulatory agencies at the lake.

What entities would you not take money from?: It would be immediately convenient to say that I would not take campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association, as I would not.

I have never been confronted morally or ethically by a misguided contribution, so I haven’t needed to contemplate this question. I have traditionally received contributions from supportive community members who know that I represent all voices evenly without consideration of financial impact on my election.

What is the No. 1 issue facing District 5 and how do you propose to resolve it?: Housing. 

District 5 has been facing a housing crisis for several years and it is time to make a commitment to solve this issue. There have been many studies and gatherings that have led to more studies and gatherings.

Policy changes need to be addressed to move toward building a sustainable, diverse inventory of housing for our residents: Revising ordinances for vacation home rentals, converting tourist accommodation units to create some workforce housing, and conformance to the 2008 California State Aeronautics Act zoning could seriously impact housing stock.

There is a direct relationship between housing and jobs. The opportunity for varying, well-paying jobs is not only contingent upon a strong and diversified economy, but also on a solid housing policy that creates a diversified housing inventory. We cannot have one without the other. 

This issue can only be solved by strong leadership and political will. This will be one of my focused priorities and I fully intend to utilize all available resources by the combined agencies at the lake to finally provide improvements for affordable workforce housing.

Do you believe supervisors should meet in Tahoe more often? Why or why not?: Yes. Support by county supervisors is fundamentally based on an ongoing and frequent familiarity with the Lake Tahoe Basin issues.

When policymakers truly experience issues and efforts at Lake Tahoe, they will be invested in the solutions.

When I was the District V supervisor, I brought El Dorado County board members to the lake often to either meet with me individually, attend meetings with the city, to participate in public forums, to tour facilities, for annual board meetings, and to meet with our business and regulatory agencies so that each board member could gain a greater understanding of issues before making decisions on them. 

Also, because of Lake Tahoe’s unique position at the federal and state level, there is an opportunity to influence policy county-wide that benefits the entire county. Some examples of this are in the areas of water, forest management, transportation, the digital infrastructure.

Would you support having more tax dollars from the county coming to the South Shore? Currently, more dollars leave the basin than come back.: I would argue that more county contributions come to the lake versus leave, though that figure can fluctuate according to road and facility maintenance needs, social services requirements, water quality control requirements and fluctuations in the economy that are recreation and tourist based.

El Dorado County provides many services at South Lake Tahoe and within the basin, including, animal services, library, recreation, road maintenance and snow removal, water quality, mosquito abatement, mental health, public health, law enforcement, court facilities, Juvenile Treatment Center, county jail, planning and building departments, recorder clerk, senior and low income services, Job Connections, environmental management, public defender, district attorney, and veterans’ services.

And, while the Lake Tahoe Basin is a contributing economic engine for the entire county, it takes the entire county to contribute to a healthy Tahoe basin. And, vice versa.

In my nine years as the District V county supervisor, I took great effort in breaking down the barriers that leant to the separation of effort for the health of the entire county. When fires in the American River Canyon close down a transportation artery, not only does Lake Tahoe suffer from the economically constricting result, but so does Placerville and Pollock Pines.

I strive to keep our county whole and healthy, creating policy that raises the entire tide so that all ships rise.

What is your vision for the 56-acres in South Lake Tahoe?: The South Lake Tahoe Recreation Area, 56-acre, is a gem for our community and contains one of the greatest recreational and cultural experience potentials at the lake. 

After a planning charrette, a creative public process by which the community, planners and governments came together to propose the best possible opportunities for this site, the county and city worked together alongside the Tahoe Conservancy to build Lakeview Commons and bike trails. 

The future holds incredible possibilities for performing arts, expanded recreation, and improvements to the El Dorado County South Lake Tahoe Branch Library.

However, before we realize this vision, the lease agreement between the city and county regarding this property is in great need of revision. Soon this lease is going to be up for renewal and several things contained in the current lease need clarification. Discussions must begin now to address the greater goal and specific responsibilities. 

It is important that the county and city come to an agreement on this important public property. There will be great opportunities to fund exciting projects in the future with the potential passage of Proposition 68.

Do you support having vacation home rentals? Why or why not?: I fully support community input, and I respect those who have suffered from the lack of enforcement in their neighborhood surrounded by abusive behaviors in vacation rentals. I believe not only the abuser occupying the house should be penalized, but the owner or manager of that house should be immediately awakened, cited, and put on notice. There should be swift action throughout the community that our County will not tolerate bad behavior within our neighborhoods.

I believe county enforcement of offenders has been hindered by confusion within the Treasurer Tax Collector’s Office, tying the hands of our law enforcement with bureaucratic processes and procedures.

Residents should not be repeatedly victimized because the county cannot effectively and efficiently solve this problem. I am wholly disappointed that leadership on this issue was seriously late and lacking in action.

It is time that we come to an agreement over the definitions of vacation home rentals. While the state defines them as single-family homes subject only to county provisions of any single family home, the truth is that they are commercial enterprises that require conformation to higher standards due to their adverse impacts. 

As a single-family home, VHRs are a permissible use in the neighborhoods, however, if they were designated as a commercial entity, they would be required to conform to same regulations similar to a commercial lodging property. How we get there could require a California Environmental Quality Act analysis that would provide input for zoning changes in residential neighborhoods related to restricting current uses.

Perhaps simpler would be new leadership and a strong political will that immediately makes necessary changes to relevant ordinances, and direction to county counsel to finitely present action the Board of Supervisors can currently take that will curtail abusive behaviors in our neighborhoods.

Lake Tahoe area Realtors and property management companies have an important role to play in this issue. During my tenure as county supervisor, I found that VHRs that were managed by property management firms where less likely to create problems in the neighborhoods. Given this experience and direct discussions with some VHR owners, I would make it a requirement that VHRs be managed by a local property management firm.

After you were no longer a supervisor you sued the county for back pay. How can you justify this?: For the purpose of clarification, Supervisor [Ron] Briggs and I pursued litigation not because of more pay. We pursued it because of a disagreement on a legal interpretation of a compensatory benefit for the members of the Board of Supervisors that was written in the applicable ordinance. Supervisor Briggs, with the help of his own legal counsel, had done extensive research on the matter and brought it to me as well as other members of the board who would have been impacted. Given the extent of his argument, I chose to join him in the case. 

As a county supervisor, you rely heavily on county counsel to provide you with the legal facts of a case in front of you. I have a great deal of respect for the county counsel and the many who serve in that capacity. Supervisor Briggs and I had limited avenues for ordinance clarification. From the court’s decision, it forced the county to clarify and correct any misinterpretation of action and ordinance language. In the end, the important thing to remember is not who wins or loses, but that a positive outcome is achieved.

I strongly believe that any employee has the right to question policy especially if what is in an ordinance or any governing document is unclear. It is important that clarity be established by whatever manner is available. In our case, the option was to go to court.

I’m glad you asked the question because I want to make it clear to the people that just because you hold a certain position does not take away your constitutional right to challenge a legislative policy. 

Tell us something about yourself that people might not know: I’m a proud mother of two amazing children.

I’m a very active member of the Hope Lutheran Church and service on its Church Council as the secretary. The core of my spiritual being is in the belief that we are here to help and love one another. 

I love Star Trek!

I am a proud Puerto Rican American who loves her birthplace and wishes that all could see it and its wonderful, loving people. It is a U.S. territory worthy of being honored and respected as any other state in the U.S. Viva Puerto Rico!

I love movies. I will watch a good movie over and over again. It was not only a preoccupation, but I also co-hosted a radio and TV movie review program.

I collected Betty Boop and Barbies, that I’ll finally part with if anyone is interested.

I fully relate to being poor, and being successful, to personally searching for affordable housing at Lake Tahoe, and to preferring a job that helps people.

I believe in this community and the vision it can create.

I listen, I hear, I respond, and I respect community input. I love the public input process.