El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel is hosting a town hall meeting on Feb. 28 about the issue of tourist traffic in neighborhoods.

The large volume of traffic leaving the Tahoe basin on weekends, and the significant congestion and potential public safety issues is something the county is trying to address.

County staff will be at the 6-8pm gathering at the magnet school in Meyers.

·      Incline Village General Improvement District board is having a public hearing April 11 at 6pm regarding the proposed 3.4 percent water rate increase and 2.7 percent sewer hike. The meeting will be at the Chateau.

·      NoGlobe’s next meeting will be March 1 at 5:30pm at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center.

·      During March, staff from the Nevada Division of Water Resources will be measuring groundwater levels in wells throughout various hydrographic basins in the state. Water level measurements may be reviewed online.

·      Olympian David Wise’s return to Reno has been pushed back as he is headed on a media tour before returning home.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency will be accepting project nominations for its annual Best in Basin awards through March 31.

TRPA created the awards program as a way to recognize projects that demonstrate exceptional planning and design and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

The program has five award categories for projects completed in 2017: Building and general construction projects; water quality restoration and erosion control projects; defensible space and forest health projects; public and environmental improvement program projects; and sustainability actions and projects. Projects must have been completed in 2017 to be eligible for an award.

Lake Tahoe residents interested in volunteering to judge projects should contact Tom Lotshaw at tlotshaw@trpa.org.

More information is available online.

Invasive mussels are marching into new territory, threatening water bodies across the West. Quagga and zebra mussels, which alter the underwater food chain and damage infrastructure, have been detected in Colorado and Montana in recent months.

They have yet to reach Lake Tahoe.

Until now, federal and state agencies have relied on awareness campaigns and boat inspections to warn recreationalists about the harmful impacts of infestation. Now they’re taking a new approach to prevent their destructive spread: crowdsourcing.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is offering a $100,000 prize for the best suggestion on how to stop the spread of invasive mussels in large bodies of water that is cost-effective and environmentally sound. Ideas must be submitted by Feb. 28. 

There will be a three-day retreat at Veterans Healing Camp in Silver Springs from March 25-28 for all area veterans.

Fun, fellowship and healing are on the agenda.

There is no charge for the retreat, including all meals and transportation.

Contact Shahla Fadaie at 775.781.2394 to sign up for the retreat. Veterans may sign up for select activities during the three days or choose to participate in all. Bring a sleeping bag and pillow if you would like to stay overnight. Lodging is available for the first six veterans who would like to stay on the Veterans Healing Camp property in Silver Springs.

·      Family-owned Overland Meat Co. of South Lake Tahoe is for sale.

·      The Grouch plus Pure Powers and ZP Ratik, and DJ Van Gloryus will be at Whiskey Dicks Saloon on March 1. Doors open at 9pm. Must be 21 to attend. Tickets are $25.

·      The fresh snow has allowed Tahoe Cross Country in Tahoe City to reopen.

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

·      On Feb. 22, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team used a drone to search the area where the Piper Seneca crashed on Monday. Pieces of the craft were located about one-half mile south of the crash site. The FAA is continuing its investigation of this incident.

Lake Spirit Awards recognize real people making real progress in conserving Lake Tahoe’s unique natural environment. Nominations are open for this year’s contest.

The awards honor those committed to a spirit of cooperation and protecting Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency created the Lake Spirit Awards in 2011 to recognize individuals showing exceptional commitment to the Lake Tahoe Basin. The awards expanded the following year to include categories for exemplary citizen and agency representative/environmental scientist. A winner from the North Shore and South Shore will be selected in each category.

The nomination form is online. The deadline to submit is March 23.

·      Zephyr Cove Library will be hosting local author JoAnn Conner on March 7 at 6pm. She will discuss her books and sign copies of “Heartwood” and “The Mountain.”

·      Tahoe Environmental Science Center’s 13th annual Science Expo will be March 14 from 4-6pm in Incline Village. There will be hands-on science investigations, experiments, and demonstrations for visitors of all ages. This year’s activities focus on health, nutrition, the human body, organisms, ecosystems, food webs, life cycles, inheritance, adaptation, and more. It is free.

·      Liberty Utilities has a planned outage in the Kings Beach area along Brook Avenue on Feb. 23 from 8:30am-4pm to replace overhead wires.

·      Elements: Our Region is an art installation inspired by the natural elements of the Eastern Sierra that is coming to the Truckee Community Recreation Center on March 9. The free opening reception will be that day from 5-7pm. The gallery will open through June.

·      Truckee Donner Public Utility District recently awarded the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District $90,000 in energy efficiency rebates to support school projects.

·      John Brissenden, 69, of Hope Valley has been appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, where he served from 2005-17. Brissenden has owned Sorensen’s Resort since 1980. He was a member of the Alpine County Board of Supervisors from 1989-93.

·       Liberty Utilities has a planned outage for Feb. 21 from 8am-4pm in the Tahoma area along El Dorado Street and Deer Avenue to replace overhead wire. 

·      Slightly Stoopid will be at Harveys in Stateline on June 16 at 5pm. Stick Figure and Pepper will open. This is a general assignment show. Tickets are $39.50.

·      Placer County’s Tahoe Basin Design Review Committee has a meeting set for Feb. 27 at 4pm in Tahoe City to discuss Tahoe City Marina’s request to convert existing commercial space into 10 studio apartments (multi-family) with a mixture of market rate, moderate, and affordable units.

·      During the week before Oscar night, the Minden Library will be showing films nominated for the 2018 Academy Awards. “Dunkirk” (rated PG-13) will be shown on Feb. 27 at 4pm and “Darkest Hour” (rated PG-13) on March 3 at 10:30am.

Tahoe City Public Utility District has scheduled a special board meeting for Feb. 22 to discuss the Tahoe City Lodge project.

The only item on open session is: Approving an agreement with Kila Tahoe LLC with respect to the grant of a shared-use parking easement, transfer of density from TCPUD property to the Tahoe City Lodge project, grant of necessary rights for the construction of SEZ restoration on district property and various future agreements for the demolition of the existing clubhouse and construction of a new clubhouse with a conference center and the lease for the conference center.

On closed session is an item about the Tahoe City Golf Course.

The meeting will start at 5pm at the district’s offices at 221 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City.