·      Plans are afoot to rename McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to Harry Reid International Airport.

·      Douglas County 911 emergency services was approved as an Emergency Fire Dispatch Center of Excellence by the Board of Accreditation of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. It is the 36th emergency fire dispatch accredited center in the world and the first in Nevada. It is also the first dual accredited fire and medical accredited center in Nevada.

·      Cheech & Chon plus special guest Shelby Chong will be at MontBleu in Stateline on Aug. 18 at 8pm.

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

·      Nevada Equality Day in Carson City is April 4. For more info, go online.

·      El Dorado County is one of 15 counties that will see federal aid from this winter’s storms. President Trump granted the relief this week.

·      The 11th annual Music on the Beach free concert series will be on consecutive Fridays from 6-8:30pm at Kings Beach State Recreation Area. The series will feature nine concerts from June 30-Sept. 1, excluding Aug. 11.

·      Alpine Watershed Group is putting on an Earth Day workday at Grover Hot Springs State Park on April 22. For more details, contact Aly at awg.snap.rm@gmail.com or call 530.694.2327.

·      Douglas County Democrats’ Keep Nevada Blue Dinner will be at the Carson Valley Inn on April 1 starting at 5:30pm. For more information, email jkw@gbis.com or call 775.267.0539.

·      NV Energy this week pulled the plug on the final unit of the Reid Gardner Generating Station near Moapa. It was a coal plant.

In order to properly maintain improvements and budget for the future costs of aging infrastructure in the Tahoe City downtown core, Placer County, Tahoe City Public Utility District and Tahoe City Downtown Association are exploring the idea of forming a benefit assessment district.

Future road and sidewalk improvements in Tahoe City are on their way, including roundabouts on Highway 89 and the Y and the replacement of Fanny Bridge.

The agencies will host two public meetings, March 21 and March 22, to discuss the potential formation of a benefit assessment district — aka additional tax.

Both meetings will be in the Tahoe City Public Utility District board room, 221 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City. The March 21 meeting is from 6-8pm and the March 22 one is form 8-10am.

·      Truckee’s draft Railyard Mixed Use Development Parking Management Plan will be discussed at the March 21 Planning Commission meeting. It starts at 6pm at the airport.

·      Pequeños Day Care is having an open house March 18 from noon-5pm at its new location, 3336 Sandy Way in South Lake Tahoe.

·      Nevada Builders Alliance announced Shaheen Beauchamp Builders LLC is the recipient of the Golden Hammer Award for its contribution to Northern Nevada’s economic development for the 2016 expansion of Top Notch Distributors Inc.’s Carson City distribution center.

·      North Tahoe Business Association had a partnership with Alibi Ale Works, a Tahoe craft brewery, to be exclusively served at NTBA’s summer events in Kings Beach.

During the next two weeks, Douglas County, Lyon County, Churchill County, Carson City and Reno residents can expect to see additional law enforcement on the roads.

Nevada Highway Patrol has joined forces with local agencies throughout the state to concentrate on impaired driving.

If you are going to drink, don’t drive is the message.

In efforts to achieve zero fatalities this St. Patrick’s Day, drivers and riders are encouraged to abide by the following guidelines:

·      designate a sober driver before drinking;

·      use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member or use public transportation if impaired;

·      take advantage of local sober ride programs;

·      call 911 if an impaired driver is spotted on the road;

·      take the keys or assist in making other arrangements for someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired.

The Nevada Department of Transportation has begun installation of new “Welcome to Nevada” signs designed by Nevada art students.

The first welcome sign was installed March 15 at the Nevada-California border on Highway 88 south of Minden.

Signs will be installed at approximately 25 other border locations statewide over the coming months.

Instead of the welcome signs, select border crossings such as Highwy 28 in Crystal Bay and Highway 395 near Bordertown will receive gateway monuments.

The existing welcome signs, including iconic signs depicting a lone prospector, have stood at many interstate and freeway entrances into Nevada for approximately 25 years. The signs are being replaced by signs designed by Nevada high school graphic artists through a contest organized by the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in partnership with the Nevada Department of Education and NDOT.

Caltrans repair work on westbound Interstate 80 east of Truckee on Friday and Saturday will cause delays.

A Caltrans contractor will be grinding off rough patches of asphalt in the westbound No. 2 and No. 3 lanes from 7am-6pm both days.

Work is not expected next week due to storms in the forecast, but will continue the next two months over a 10-mile stretch from just west of Boca to Donner Lake.

·      Sierra Avalanche Center has applied for a grant from the California OHV Division to support avalanche forecasting, education and safety in Lake Tahoe. Public comments may be made online.

·      Zephyr Cove Library will be having an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party on April 15 from 2-4pm for ages 4-10.

·      On March 16, Amazon will donate 5 percent (10 times the usual donation rate) of the price of eligible products customers purchase to Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless.

·      The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest wants to see and share your #SpringFlower photos. Help #TracktheBloom by posting wildflower photos from U.S. Forest Service system lands on social media and tagging the agency.

·      The Baked Bear ice cream shop opened this month in Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe.

·      The Ta-Hoe Nalu Paddle Festival will be at Kings Beach on Aug. 12-13.

·       L.A.-based soul act Soul Scratch will be performing at Crystal Bay on April 8 at 10pm for free.

·      South Lake Tahoe residents Anthony and Mara Cavallaro have started Glazed and Confuzed Tahoe Donut, a doughnut delivery company. Check it out online.

·      Michael McDonald will be at Carson Valley Inn’s TJ’s Corral on Aug. 18.

On the Truckee Planning Commission agenda next month will be the Martis Valley Quarry five-year review.

The quarry was originally approved by Nevada County in 1983, with CEQA review.  As part of the conditions of approval, Nevada County required that the mine operators return every five years.

The mine operator, Teichert Aggregates, was initially reviewed Feb. 21, but was continued so additional information could be provided. The next hearing is set for April 18, 6pm at the airport.

There are no proposals to expand the mine, mining operations, recycling/asphalt plant or other operations.