John Pang

Meeks Bay and North Tahoe fire departments have entered an agreement to provide emergency services as well as increased public safety by adding additional management resources and combined response of both districts.

This comes as John Pang, fire chief at Meeks Bay, retired April 4.

Meeks Bay and North Tahoe Fire have a history of working together. The agreement expands their mutual aid partnership.

“There will be extensive cross training involving both departments and the opportunity to evaluate best practices of each,” NTFPD Fire Chief Michael Schwartz said in a press release.

There will be a fundraiser April 18 for the Family Resource Community Garden.

The 8pm event at Himmel Haus in South Lake Tahoe costs $5.

The garden will be put in this spring. It is project being put together by Gardens 4 A Healthy Tahoe and lake Tahoe Sustainability Collaborative.

The Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project is scheduled to begin April 8.

Work will start on Highway 28 with altering the four-lane roadway into three lanes. Also up first is making Brook Avenue an eastbound, one-way road.

One of the largest components of the project is to capture and treat runoff. To accomplish that, a drainage system will be installed that will consist of a treatment basin and sidewalks and gutters that will funnel the runoff through the treatment system. These improvements on the south side of the highway between the North Tahoe Event Center and Coon Street are scheduled to be completed by July 1 and will include the Coon Street roundabout.

Construction will occur Mondays through Fridays, 7am-10pm. Saturday construction work will be as needed. One lane in each direction will be open and there will be no detours into streets north of the highway that run through the residential neighborhood.

South Tahoe Public Utility District is having a workshop May 8 about its Turf Buy Back Program.

The rebate program offers homeowners the opportunity to remove their lawn and replace it with a Tahoe-friendly landscape.

The free workshop is at 6pm at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call 530.543.6268.

• South Lake Tahoe Senior Center is having a grand reopening April 7 at 4pm.

• Tahoe Donner cross country is open again.

• Truckee-based Alison Elder is Chase International’s Realtor of the Year for 2013.

• Truckee Trails and Bikeways master plan community workshop is April 16 from 5-8pm at council chambers.

• Here is the El Dorado-Tahoe roadwork schedule for the week for Caltrans.

South Lake Tahoe in 1956. Photo/Stephen Gennerich collection

This mid-1950s view of Highway 50, left, is looking toward Stateline. No marked lanes, no stoplights, easy street parking, and all wires overhead on poles.

Small, but visible, in the exact center of the photo is the faint blue Lawrence’s Department Store sign fronting the same building which today houses Chevy’s restaurant. The large blue and white “Ski Heavenly Valley” sign/marquee fronting Del’s Market at right is the corner site of today’s Red Hut Cafe at Ski Run Boulevard.

Looking toward Stateline today. Photo/Bill Kingman

Today, seven miles of Highway 50 through South Lake Tahoe is marked five lanes wide, with no parking on the roadway. There are 18 traffic signals between Stateline and the Y.

Another sign of modern times is one of the Caltrans traffic cameras seen atop the pole which we can view on the Internet from anywhere in the world.

— Bill Kingman

El Dorado County Grand Jury is looking for members for 2014-15.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age, have resided in the county for at least one year at the time of the swearing-in date, and cannot hold an elected office. Final selection will take place in late June. Jurors serve for a period of one year commencing July 1.

The grand jury is an investigatory body created for the protection of society and the enforcement of the law. It is an arm of the court and a representative of the public. The Grand Jury acts as an investigative body to ensure that county, special district, and city government is being effectively run.

Applications are available at 2850 Fairlane Court, Suite 110 (Building C), Placerville, or call 530.621.7414. The deadline to apply is May 2.

Patty Smith will be remembering her son Sgt. Timothy Michael Smith on April 7.

It has been six years since Smith was killed in action in the Mideast.

The remembrance is a potluck at the Smith house, 848 Placer Ave., South Lake Tahoe from 5-8pm.

There will be a tree planting in his honor. People are invited to bring an ornament or keepsake to place around the tree.

Barton Health’s third annual Mom’s Morning Out is May 3.

Women of all ages – mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters – are may attend this free event. Yoga and fitness classes start at 8:15am. Coffee and brunch from Blue Angel Cafe will be served. Other complimentary activities include wellness booths put together by local businesses, health presentations, and a Zen room with acupuncture, facials, and massage services.

Wellness booths and pampering are from 9-11:30am.

Mom’s Morning Out will take place at Lake Tahoe Community College. The event is free and no reservation is required. All attendees must be at least 12.

For more info, call 530.543.5537.

• Park Tahoe in Stateline (aka the former Horizon) plans to have movie theaters. What’s not known, according to the PR firm handling the property, is who the operator will be.

• for the June 28-29 Race the Lake of the Sky paddleboard contest in South Lake Tahoe.

• Climate Reality Project launched this video featuring Squaw Valley native and freeskier Michelle Parker and fellow I Am Pro Snow ambassadors and freeskier Mark Abma and adventurer Doug Stoup.

• A total lunar eclipse will be visible in the early hours of April 15.

• This website will tell you how K-12 and community college districts are spending taxpayer funded Proposition 30 dollars.