News Briefs

Lake Tahoe Placed on Travel Company’s No-Go List 

LAKE TAHOE

Travel company Fodor recently published its annual go and no-go travel recommendations for the year to come. Fodor’s No List 2023 featured Lake Tahoe as a destination to avoid, writing, “Lake Tahoe has a people problem” and based its recommendation for travelers to avoid the area on overpopulation. “Amid the pandemic and the great migration, there was an influx of people moving to the mountains, as well as people with second homes in the area coming to live in Tahoe permanently. And it’s caused traffic along the lake to crawl, as well as kept trails and beaches packed.”

Fodor also discusses pollution as a reason to avoid Lake Tahoe, stating that increase in traffic is causing an uptick in pollution and reducing the clarity of the lake. 

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Carol Chaplin with Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority; Tony Karwowski of North Lake Tahoe Resort Association; and Andy Chapman with Travel North Tahoe Nevada responded jointly to Tahoe’s inclusion on the list, sharing that collaborative solutions are underway by Basin agencies and organizations to encourage responsible tourism, including using public transit, visiting during off-peak seasons, and shopping local.

“While we agree there’s more to be done to take care of this special place,” the trio wrote in a statement, “there are efforts already underway, and certainly better ways to achieve the same goal than by just saying ‘don’t go.’”

~ KM

Ski California Puts Safety in Hands of Skiers and Riders

PETALUMA

Five years after the original launch, Ski California and its member resorts have released a new, digital version of the award-winning Mountain Safety Guide. A tool used to educate skiers and riders about staying safe and making good decisions on the slopes, the new Mountain Safety Guide is available at safety.skicalifornia.org.

The guide includes safety information every guest should know, from what to do before skiing or riding to how to ride lifts, to understanding trail signage and navigating potential hazards, and learning deep snow and avalanche awareness. It also features the nearly 60-year-old “Your Responsibility Code,” refreshed by the National Ski Areas Association this year to add new elements and make it more current for today’s skiers and riders.

Designed to be visually compelling and easy to navigate, the new Mountain Safety Guide blends the use of resort photography, video, and animations to aid in the delivery of simple, informative messages. A library of safety-related videos Ski California has developed over recent years to engage with skiers and riders about a variety of on-mountain safety topics is also woven through the guide.

To encourage skiers and riders to become familiar with the guide, completion of a short safety quiz enters participants who get at least 80% correct for a chance to win a 2023/24 Ski California Gold Pass (value $3,750). Valid at all 35 Ski California member resorts, the Gold Pass offers unlimited resort access and is fully transferable. The quiz is available to take at safety.skicalifornia.org. 

~ Ski California  press release 

Golden Valley School Initial Mitigated Negative Declaration Draft Released

TRUCKEE

An Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared for the Golden Valley Tahoe School Project.

The proposed project would expand the Golden Valley Tahoe School at the existing school site to construct four new buildings on four permanent foundations that would support four new classroom buildings. The classroom buildings would be made up of modular buildings, five of which have already been purchased from the Truckee Elementary School and are being temporarily stored on-site. Three of the proposed buildings would be created by combining two modulars, and one building would consist of one standard size modular. The school would operate out of the existing 4,560-square-foot building, as well as the proposed modular buildings. The proposed project would increase the approved student capacity from 44 to 240 students and would also include widening the existing 12-foot paved entrance road to a 24-foot roadway with a two-foot-wide shoulder on both sides. A reconfiguration of the parking/drop off area is also proposed. 

The proposed project requires approvals from the Town of Truckee on the development permit and the use permit. 

Staff has prepared an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed project. Identified potential significant environmental impacts include air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, noise, transportation, tribal cultural resources, and wildfire. However, the IS/MND requires mitigation measures sufficient to reduce all such impacts to less-than-significant levels. The measures will be included as part of the project and adopted with the Mitigation Monitoring Plan. 

The project is anticipated to be reviewed by the Planning Commission at the Dec. 20 public hearing. The public review period for the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration began on Nov. 14 and ends at the close of public comment at the Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 20.

If you have any questions on the project, please contact Chantal Birnberg, associate planner, at (530) 582-2927 or by email at cbirnberg@townoftruckee.com. 

~ Town of Truckee press release 

2022 General Election Results, Week Two

REGION-WIDE

Results for the 2022 General Election continue to pour in. Below is the latest round-up of counts for contested races, correct as of Friday, Nov. 11. Visit the websites below for county-specific information:

• El Dorado County 
• Nevada County
• Placer County
• Washoe County

* incumbent

~ AH

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