News Briefs
Change in Town’s Emergency Notification System
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Police Department and the Truckee Fire Protection District are switching from Nixle to the CodeRED Emergency Alert System as their primary method of communication during critical incidents.
CodeRED is an opt-in notification system and alerts may be received as text, email, landline, cell phone, and TTY. By joining CodeRED, the department and district will be on one platform with Nevada County, creating continuity between jurisdictions. Residents and visitors are encouraged to subscribe to CodeRED to stay informed in the event of an emergency. Those who are subscribers of Nixle will need to subscribe to CodeRED.
Beginning June 1, 2022 all emergency alert communications will be sent via CodeRED. Register for CodeRED emergency alerts:
- Online at truckeepolice.com/disaster-preparedness
- Call 211 or 1-833-DIAL211
- Text ReadyNevadaCounty to 99411 and follow the prompt to register.
~ Town of Truckee e-news
Free California State Parks Passes Available at Nevada County Libraries
NEVADA COUNTY
The Nevada County Community Library has announced that its members can now visit California State Parks for free. Six vehicle day-use passes are available at county libraries as a product of a partnership between California state parks and the California State Library. The Parks Pass program will help reduce economic barriers so that community members who may not otherwise have access can visit California state parks.
The Madelyn Helling Library will hold two passes, and the Grass Valley, Penn Valley, Truckee, and Bear River libraries will each hold one pass. They will be reservable in advance and check out for seven days at a time with no renewals. Only one pass can be checked out at a time.
For more information on this program or library services please visit mynevadacounty.com/290/library or call your local library branch.
~ Nevada County library press release
Draft Local Road Safety Plan Ready for Public Review
TRUCKEE
The Town of Truckee Local Road Safety Plan will set roadway safety goals and inform decisions the town makes on roadway safety improvements. The plan includes the following:
- Establishment of a vision, goals, and actions
- Evaluation of existing conditions in the Town of Truckee, including crash history, to identify trends or patterns that could be addressed through systemic treatments or strategies
- Identification of locations that have historically experienced a greater frequency and/or severity of crashes (i.e., high injury network)
- Summary of the public engagement effort to date
- Potential improvements or countermeasures to address the identified priority areas and systemic issues considering five primary areas: engineering, education, enforcement, emergency, and innovation
- Identification of potential funding sources
The plan was developed in collaboration with community partners, including Sierra Community House, Truckee Trails Foundation, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, homeowners associations, Truckee Fire Protection District, California Highway Patrol, and Caltrans.
Please submit any comments to the town’s engineering manager, Becky Bucar, at bbucar@townoftruckee.com by April 22. Click here to visit the Local Road Safety Plan page.
~ Town of Truckee press release
Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team Honored with Wildfire Mitigation Award
LAKE TAHOE
In March the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team received a 2022 National Wildfire Mitigation Award for innovation and leadership in wildfire mitigation. The award recognizes outstanding service at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels of government and at the community level. It is the highest national honor an organization can receive for exceptional work and significant program impact in wildfire preparedness and mitigation.
The National Association of State Foresters, National Fire Protection Association, USDA Forest Service, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs established the award in 2014 to recognize effective wildfire mitigation projects and programs throughout the United States.
The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team is Lake Tahoe’s partnership of 21 federal, tribal, state, and local organizations dedicated to managing Tahoe’s forests and preparing communities for wildfire. The team focuses on multiple aspects of fire prevention, landscape resilience, and community wildfire preparedness, including home hardening, defensible space, fuel reduction, prescribed fire, data hub management, and unified public information and community outreach.
Since 2008, the partner agencies of the team have treated 65,000 acres in Tahoe’s wildland-urban interface across all land ownerships. The team also works directly with residents on wildfire preparation. In the last five years team members conducted over 25,000 defensible space inspections, responded to over 6,000 curbside chipping requests, and reached thousands of people through over 200 community events and workshops.
For information and resources on how to prepare for wildfire and locate your local fire district, visit tahoelivingwithfire.com.
~ Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team press release
Most El Dorado Properties Cleared of Caldor Fire Debris
SACRAMENTO
State contractors have cleared the remains — burned metal, concrete, ash, and contaminated soil — from more than 95% of homes and properties in El Dorado County whose owners enrolled in the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program after last year’s Caldor Fire.
The 569 properties in the county cleared to date represent 95.6% of the 595 parcels participating in the full debris removal program. Another 183 parcels are participating in the hazardous trees only element of the program.
To date, state contractors have removed 150,893 tons of fire-related debris, including 2,170 tons of burned metal, 21,724 tons of burned concrete, and 25,231 tons of ash and contaminated soil generated by the fire. Contractors also felled and removed more than 18,400 hazardous trees from properties in El Dorado County identified with such trees.
Under the program, administered by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in collaboration with county officials, participating property owners incur no direct costs.
Property owners opted into the program by submitting a right-of-entry form to their county, which allows the state to begin work on their property and incur no direct costs for the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash, and contaminated soil from their properties.
Statewide, crews have removed debris from 1,535, or 86.4%, of the 1,775 parcels enrolled in the full program. An additional 360 properties are participating in the hazardous trees only element of the program.
Property owners can track progress on the debris operations dashboard for the 2021 statewide wildfires. The dashboard is updated every hour and provides users with the ability to search by county or address.
~ CalOES press release
First Phase Launched of $30 Million Forest Futures Campaign
TAHOE/TRUCKEE
In response to the region’s series of catastrophic wildfires, the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation has awarded grants totaling $1 million for phase one of its three-year, $30 million Forest Futures Campaign, a comprehensive playbook that can be replicated by other communities to align local organizations around minimizing the risk of extreme wildfires through better preparation, investment in forest health and infrastructure, and diversifying local economies. The first 11 grants were awarded to nine local institutions with forest management projects that will begin before the next fire season to protect the community and build infrastructure through workforce development.
Grants were awarded to the following (for more details on grantees, visit bit.ly/36LfVyu):
- To protect communities through fuel reduction, grants were awarded to the National Forest Foundation for three projects (North Alder Fuel Reduction for 853 acres of forest treatment and small-diameter tree removal; Five Creeks Project for tree marking and fuel reduction; and planning acceleration project for the Tahoe National Forest for fuel reduction around the Alpine Meadows Community); Truckee Donner Land Trust for completion of forest restoration work in Billy Mack Canyon and hand-thinning treatments on Creekside Woods properties; and Truckee River Watershed Council for a collaborative fuel reduction and forest restoration project that crosses federal, state and private ownership boundaries;
- To protect communities through restoration planning, grants were awarded to the Feather River Land Trust to support the Dixie and Beckwourth Complex Fire Recovery planning effort;
- For infrastructure and workforce development, grants were awarded to the Maidu Summit Consortium for workforce capacity building; the Sierra Institute to increase diversity in a forestry workforce; the Sierra Nevada Alliance to support continuation of the Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship Program; and Great Basin Institute to support forestry workforce development programs.
- For infrastructure technology, grants were awarded to VP Data Commons – Land Tender to assess the health of the Tahoe National Forest.
TTCF plans to announce grants for phase two and three of Forest Futures before the summer. For information on how to support Forest Futures, visit bit.ly/3tRLMqd.
~ TTCF press release
Moving In, Moving Up, Moving On
Police Chief Recruitment Process
TRUCKEE
Finalist interviews to fill the Truckee Police Department’s police chief position were conducted the week of March 14 with an extensive process, including interviews with a community panel, public safety panel, town employee panel, the town’s department dead team, and command staff within the police department.
Two candidates were invited to participate in this process, which spanned two days and allowed for individual time with each candidate. Following the interviews, Town Manager Jen Callaway debriefed with each panel, discussed both candidates to assess if either would be the right fit for our community. After several days of absorbing the feedback received and reflecting on time with each candidate, Callaway decided to not move forward with either candidate.
Acting Chief Danny Renfrow has agreed to remain in the acting role for the next six months, at which time staff will reassess.
~ Town of Truckee e-news
Business Briefs
Local Medical Aesthetic Services Now Available
TRUCKEE/TAHOE
A new company, Persimmon, is offering medical aesthetic treatment services in the Truckee/Tahoe area like Botox, chemical peels, and microneedling. Currently, Persimmon nurses are available to provide such services at events co-hosted with local businesses like hair salons, health clubs, boutiques, and more. Eventually, Persimmon will offer in-home treatments to interested Truckee/Tahoe patients. Anyone seeking to host Persimmon at an event or wanting to apply to become a medical aesthetic nurse with the company can reach out through the website.
Jessica Higgins has spent 15 years in acute care hospital nursing and recently began working for Persimmon. “It’s exciting that this company is gaining momentum at a time where nurses are feeling undervalued and under-appreciated,” Higgins told Moonshine, referencing the toll Covid-19 and subsequent staffing shortages have had on medical staff.
Those seeking medical aesthetic services can browse through Persimmon’s online catalog of nurses and request an appointment.
“What’s really cool about it is it used to be [that the] only people who could access concierge services were people who were really wealthy,” Higgins continued. “… Now with companies like Persimmon who are using this tech interface, we’re able to offer concierge services to people at much more affordable rates.”
~ AH
Monopoly Announces Lake Tahoe Edition, Debuting Winter 2023
TAHOE
Top Trumps USA announces the winter 2023 debut of Monopoly Lake Tahoe, under license from Hasbro.
Monopoly Lake Tahoe will replace the perennial board game’s famous Atlantic City squares (from Boardwalk to Park Place) with representations of much-loved Lake Tahoe historic landmarks, treasured natural destinations, and summertime favorites. The Lake Tahoe board will also include customized Community Chest and Chance playing cards, ensuring each detail of the game pays homage to the region.
Through June 3, fans, locals, and vacationers can share which locations they would like to see featured on the board by emailing the official Monopoly Lake Tahoe team at laketahoe@toptrumps.com. All submissions will be closely reviewed, tallied, and considered throughout the board curation process.
Aaron Green, a representative from Top Trumps USA said, “Lake Tahoe is a national treasure, with picture-perfect beaches, world-class ski resorts, and countless beloved historical and cultural sites. Since we have just 22 squares for our game, it’s important that we create an accurate portrayal of what this community loves about their region. We’re excited for folks to submit their recommendations; we want to know what your favorite place is in Lake Tahoe.”
Monopoly Lake Tahoe will launch nationwide in winter 2023 and will be available in stores and online at retail partners, including CVS, Amazon, Wegmans, and more.
~ Top Trumps USA, Hasbro press release
PBS Reno Features Roundwood Furniture
KINGS BEACH
The public television station PBS Reno featured North Shore staple Roundwood Furniture as a local shop giving repurposed material a new life. View the 7-minute video below:
~ PBS
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