·      Jamie Orr has been appointed to the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission.

·      Reports say Nevada needs 200 pilots to make up for a rash of retirements and high demand for flights.

·      El Dorado Winery Association’s second annual Blind Barrel is July 15 at 6pm at Lava Cap winery. For more info, go online.

·      North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District purchased five state-of-the-art Stryker auto-load gurney systems with a grant from the Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool.  

·      Tyree Holdridge, who grew up in Gardnerville and graduated from Douglas High School, is Douglas County Sheriff’s Department’s newest deputy.

It’s going to be a quick summer break for Lake Tahoe Unified School District students.

Because of the snow days the last day of school is June 20. The first day for the 2017-18 school year is Aug. 28.

The state Department of Education waived five of the seven days the district applied for. Each year, the district builds three provisional snow days into its academic calendar.

The district called eight snow days this school year and five have been waived. 

Graduation will still be on June 9, and eighth-grade promotion on June 20.

·      California Tahoe Conservancy has closed the Upper Truckee Marsh to dogs. The ban will last through July 31 to protect critical breeding habitat for special, threatened and endangered species such as the Willow Flycatcher and Yellow Warbler.

·      Vicki Moore is now CFO for Douglas County.

·      Boys and girls ages 4-18 who want to play AYSO may sign up online.

·      Law enforcement officers throughout Nevada will be joining forces by increasing patrols for impaired drivers and riders through May 7.

·      The sculpture for the champions plaza in South Lake Tahoe is expected to be installed in August.

Forms are do soon for those wanting to enter the El Dorado County Fair.

Ribbons and Rides is the theme of the fair, which will be in Placerville June 15-18.

One of the special entries this year is the Farm Bureau art project in celebration of the organization’s 100th birthday.

It’s not just food and handcrafts that are judged. Computer programming, web design, graphic design, video game animation and programming are other categories, as is the ugliest decorated cake. 

Entry forms and more info are available online.

Bread & Broth 4 Kids’ Cram-a-Cruiser food drive will be at South Lake Tahoe’s Grocery Outlet on May 6 from 10am-3pm.

Community members will fill up the police car with food items such as: individual Cup-of-Noodles, cups of macaroni and cheese, canned soup or meals like ravioli and chili, fruit snacks, granola bars, individual packets of oatmeal, breakfast bars, individual servings of fruit cups and applesauce. 

A list will be provided at the event for those shopping at Grocery Outlet.

The food goes to local children in need who are in grades K-8 at Sierra House, Bijou, Tahoe Valley and South Tahoe Middle schools.  Each Friday, Bread & Broth 4 Kids fills 130 backpacks of food for students in local schools who have been identified as needing help with food over the weekends and holidays. Weekend bags contain seven meals and four snacks, all non-perishable and single serving size.

Expect delays on Kingsbury Grade through June as NDOT removes debris from eroded roadside slopes and drainages.

Work takes place Monday through Friday from 7am-6pm on the Carson Valley side of the highway between the summit and Foothill Road. While travel delays will average less than five minutes, up to 30-minute delays are possible during major rock removal.

An approximately 60-f00t concrete barrier rail will also be added at the bottom of one of the slopes to reduce erosion onto the roadway.

Drivers should also anticipate lane and road closures in future months for additional roadway improvements, including replacing roadway drainage pipes and other roadside slope repairs.

Five communities in Northern Nevada have received funding from State Farm to support activities aimed at reducing potential loss of life, property and natural resources to wildfire in their communities.

The five residents were among 150 winners chosen nationwide to receive funding from a pool of 420 applicants. Applicants provided a brief description of their proposed projects, and how the State Farm award would make the projects a reality. They each will receive $500.

The Nevada winners include Zephyr Cove community leader Ann Grant, Woodminster Community resident Patricia Owens from Incline Village, Palomino Valley Auxiliary Fire volunteer Cathy Glatthar, Lakeview Community resident D. Marie Bresch from Carson City, and Rivermount Park resident Sue Markert from Reno.

Grant is partnering with the Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and volunteers from Douglas County Community Emergency Response Team and Whittell High School to distribute educational information and answer questions about defensible space and other wildfire preparedness concerns. Participants can also sign up for free defensible space evaluations and chipping services. Representatives will be on hand outside of the Zephyr Cove Post Office on May 6 from 12:30-3pm.

Woodminster community members will assess the damage and downed trees in their community resulting from the long, rough winter. Grant funding will be used to assist residents with the removal of vegetation that is deemed a wildfire hazard.

·      Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation is accepting applications for its 2017 fall grant cycle. Applications are available online.

·      Martis Camp, a private residential golf and ski community in North Lake Tahoe, has sold its final home site (No. 671), after launching sales in 2006.

·       State Sen. Ted Gaines, R-El Dorado, has moved his office in El Dorado Hills to Granite Bay. The phone number is 916.771.5840.

·      Sugar Bowl is looking for someone to take over the Summit Restaurant and Bar on Old Highway 40 after Marina Montano retired last month after operating it since 2001.

·      Summer Concert on the Green returns to Tahoe Donner on July 1-2 with Joel the Band (Billy Joel tribute) and The Rising (Bruce Springsteen tribute) that Saturday and Steely Dan tribute band, Aja Vu, and the high-energy dance cover band Wonder Bread 5 on Sunday. For more info, go online.

Grading season in the Lake Tahoe Basin may be delayed in some areas because of how wet the ground is.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency does not allow soil to be moved until May 1 for erosion reasons.

Officials warn if groundwater is hit while digging, then stop and call your project inspector.

Soil disturbing activities must be suspended during times of precipitation and are not allowed if soil at the project site is covered in snow, saturated, or muddy.

Grading season runs from May 1 through Oct. 15.

Projects that disturb more than 7 cubic yards of soil must apply for a grading permit. Forms are available online. Projects that disturb between 3 and 7 cubic yards of soil most notify TRPA with a qualified exempt activity form available online.

·      The following are dates for public hearings regarding the draft EIS/EIR for the loop road: June 9, 9:30am Tahoe Transportation District board; June 14, 9:30am, TRPA Advisory Planning Commission; and June 28, 9:30am TRPA Governing Board. All meetings are at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency office, 128 Market St., Stateline.

·      El Dorado County Republican Central Committee will be celebrating Armed Forces Week, honoring local veterans, at a spaghetti feed on May 18 from 5:30-8pm at the Rescue Community Center, located at 4180 Green Valley Road. Tickets are $15 per person, $5 for children 8 and younger. Call Todd White at 530.417.0807 for tickets.

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

·      Gov. Jerry Brown appointed James O’Rourke, 46, of Shingle Springs to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

·      Great Gatsby Living History Festival at the Tallac Historic is Aug. 12-13. For more info, go online.