Lake Tahoe Community College’s College and Transfer Day from 10am-1pm. Representatives from several colleges and universities will be available to discuss their programs. Reps will be in the Commons area of the South Lake Tahoe campus.
Enjoy great food from local chefs at Passport to Dining on Oct. 8 in Kings Beach, with 25 food, beer and wine vendors and live music with Serina Dawn. Tickets are $30/person at the door. www.GoTahoeNorth.com
Join wine lovers and shoppers extraordinaire at the 6th Annual Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop on Oct. 3, noon to 4 p.m., on historic Commercial Row. Tickets are $35/person day of the event.
The Tahoe Rim Trail Association hosts a free guided hike to Spooner Summit South on Oct. 3. A trail that travels upward through conifers and across small meadows with views of Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley. www.GoTahoeNorth.com
The Lodge at Sugar Bowl is hosting an evening of fine dining and wine pairings from Mt. Vernon Winery on Sept. 26. Highlights of the evening will include pan seared duck breast terrine accompanied by Mt. Vernon’s Cooper Vineyard Barbera. The wine and dinner package is $250 per couple and includes a tasting of five select wines and a five-course meal. www.GoTahoeNorth.com
The 2009 snowboard film “VIDEOGRASS” is premiering Sept. 26, 8 p.m., at Olympic Village Lodge in Squaw Valley. There will also be a special showing of “BozWreck 3000” and live performance by The Fiz. Tickets are $10/person or $5/person with donation of a gently used winter jacket or snow pants, which will be donated to families in need.
Do It Center will soon occupy the old South Shore Motors building in South Tahoe.
By Kathryn Reed
The Do It Center did it.
South Lake Tahoe officials issued the permit Monday for the old South Shore Motors building on Lake Tahoe Boulevard to become a general merchandise-nursery.
A special use permit is not required for this type of business.
In the permit it says, “A condition of approval is included that requires the DIY Center to maintain this variety of merchandise and not evolve over time in to a store that would be defined under a different use.”
Do It Center President Jess Ruf had wanted to be much more — just like his other locations scattered throughout California. Ruf was not available for comment Monday night.
Ruf signed a 10-year lease on the building in December.
Do It Center’s approval from the Planning Commission was appealed by Robert Cosmi, whose family has owned Scotty’s Hardware for 40 years. The council sided with Cosmi in June by denying the special use permit that was required if Ruf were to carry the more extensive inventory. Since that time Ruf and his backers have been working to reconfigure the business model to fit the 18,792-square-foot site.
What neighboring businesses are upset about is oversaturating the market with the same type of merchandise. Besides Scotty’s, Ace Hardware and Kmart’s home center are within walking distance. There are myriad other businesses on the South Shore that carry similar stock that Do It Center is likely to have on its shelves.
Cosmi on Monday night said he wasn’t surprised about the permit. Still, his intention is to file an appeal within the five-day window that he and anyone else has.
“What, they drop lumber and it becomes a totally different store?” Cosmi said. “Most of the gentleman’s suppliers are mine.”
Twenty-five to 30 percent of the store is expected to be devoted to nursery items and 10 to 15 percent will be seasonal items. The remaining categories include lighting-electrical, paint, hardware, plumbing, cleaning supplies, small appliances, storage-home decor, clothing, auto, pet, sundries, pool-spa supplies, and a display of large appliances that can be ordered.
Plans call for overhauling the outdated facade with a cleaner, more contemporary look. The parking lot will be reconfigured so traffic flow is better.
The permit says, “The applicant is proposing to remove existing windows and much of the glass on the front and sides of the building. The plan proposes to fill in the space for the windows and doors on the sides of the building with siding and CMU block wainscot to match the existing building.”
Cosmi said he plans to talk to Nel’s and Meeks today. He also plans to contact the National Hardware Association.
Residents clear trash from El Dorado Beach on Saturday.         Photo/Clean Tahoe
By Ellen Nunes
With Saturday marking the 25th anniversary of the California Coastal Cleanup Day, residents of the South Shore did their part to ensure Lake Tahoe and its tributaries are much cleaner.
Unseasonably warm weather was enjoyed by the 146 local volunteers who ranged in age from 18 months to 74 years. They helped to move 1,546 pounds of trash and 441 pounds of recyclables from the 15 locations chosen for the three-hour cleanup.
Past Coastal Cleanup Day data tells us that the majority of what is picked up on the South Shore is thousands of cigarette butts, and this year was no exception. Volunteers voiced their disgust for those who carelessly left them behind. Micro trash continues to be epidemic in our beautiful mountain town.
In Blackwood Meadows, an environmentally sensitive area and a hot spot for illegal dumping, 720 pounds of debris were removed. Last year 1,230 pounds was extracted, so we are seeing some improvement in this location. Trash included couches, tires, wood scraps, mattresses, doors, a bike and a bong.
With 65 percent of the cleanup sites in California reporting to the Coastal Commission, the statewide count stands at 66,550 volunteers and is expected to reach the event goal of 70,000. Those volunteers picked up 819,394 pound of trash and an additional 89,899 pounds of recyclable materials for a total of 909,294 pounds. The Coastal Commission expects to exceed 1 million pounds of trash when all of the totals are in.
Coordinating staff from the Clean Tahoe Program would like to thank Cait and Kelly from the Stateline Starbucks, who not only brought the great java, but joined in the cleanup efforts with the other 144 volunteers. With many coming from out of town to join the locals in this statewide effort, it is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when caring individuals come together for a cause.
Ellen Nunes runs Clean Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe. She may be reached at (530) 544.4210.
Ultra runners can test their physical and mental endurance at the Lake Tahoe Marathon during the 9th annual Tahoe Triple and the 4th annual Super Triple.
The events are Sept. 25-27.
The Tahoe Triple has racers running three marathons in three consecutive days in two states, and circumnavigates the shoreline of Lake Tahoe. The Super Triple kicks it up with two marathons in two consecutive days (Friday and Saturday), but rather than resting Saturday night, participants hit the ground running at 10pm to run another 72 miles, which includes the Sunday marathon event.
Three years ago South African Johan Oosthuizen broke a Guinness World Record of “Fastest Aggregate Time – Three Marathons in Three Days†at the Tahoe Triple.
Oosthuizen’s official time was 8:11:08. Chuck Engle of Dublin, Ohio, took home top honors last year with a three-day combined time of 9:14:27, and Suzanne Wetzel of San Luis Obispo won in the women’s division with a time of 11:09:35.
A cash purse prize of $500 is awarded to the first overall man and woman winners.
Runners and walkers have a host of events to choose from during the Lake Tahoe Marathon Race Week (Sept. 23-27).
For more information or to register, call (530) 544.7095 or visit www.laketahoemarathon.com.
On Sept. 18, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County Family Support Council received generous donations from the Jay G. Bourgerie Trust. Jay G. Bourgerie died July 20th, 2008, at his home in Zephyr Cove.
The donations were presented by Erik Bourgerie, the nephew of Jay G. Bourgerie, and executor of the trust. Bourgerie, a captain with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado, drove the 1,100-plus miles to Minden to present the donations.
Bourgerie stated that his uncle, an entrepreneur and world-renowned consultant, had a strong sense of care for community, and his uncle recognized and understood the key role that law enforcement agencies and family support groups play in their community; therefore his uncle instructed in his trust that these donations be made to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County Family Support Council.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Youth Services/DARE/GREAT program and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Protection Association received donations of $15,000 each; and the Douglas County Family Support Council received a donation of $37,500.00.
The donations will be used by each of the recipient organizations to enhance programs carried out for the betterment of citizens of Douglas County.