News Briefs
AT&T Settles Lake Tahoe Lead Cables Lawsuit
DALLAS, TEXAS
AT&T has reached a settlement, subject to court approval, with the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance in a lawsuit, originally filed in January 2021, concerning the presence of two telecommunication cables in Lake Tahoe. AT&T will now resume working with the League to Save Lake Tahoe to remove the telecom cables from the lake.
“With the litigation behind us, we are fulfilling our original commitment to remove the cables in Lake Tahoe,” said AT&T President-California Marc Blakeman.
“We welcome this announcement and appreciate AT&T’s commitment to resume the removal of these cables,” said Jesse Patterson, chief strategy officer for the League to Save Lake Tahoe. “It’s encouraging to see a major corporation stand by its word, and we look forward to continuing our work with AT&T and regulatory agencies to ensure their commitment to remove the cables is fulfilled — both safely and in the near term.”
~ AT&T, League to Save Lake Tahoe press release
Comments Sought for New Home Kitchen Ordinance
NEVADA CITY
Nevada County is exploring the possibility of adopting a microenterprise home kitchen ordinance and is looking for public comment.
Residents and business owners are invited to give their input by attending one of 12 informational public meetings scheduled in September and October or by participating via survey at nevadacountyca.gov/homekitchensurvey.
The proposed ordinance would support local food entrepreneurs by allowing them to operate small food businesses from their home kitchens. The small businesses would have to prepare and serve meals the same day and could serve up to 90 meals per week. They would not be subject to unannounced health inspections like traditional restaurants; all inspections would be by appointment, and they would not be required to remodel their home kitchen to commercial kitchen standards or requirements. The county does not currently allow these businesses.
Residents’ and business owners’ thoughts, questions, and concerns about the ordinance will help shape the final proposal.
The Truckee meetings will take place at the Truckee Town Hall in the Trout Creek Conference Room (second floor, upstairs from the building and planning offices) from 5 to 7 p.m on Sept. 26, Oct. 1, and Oct. 10.
Learn more about the proposed home kitchen ordinance at nevadacountyca.gov/homekitchens.
~ Nevada County press release
Insurance State of Emergency Declaration Requested
AUBURN
With residents and businesses facing dire insurance affordability challenges, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency for homeowners and commercial property insurance.
In a letter sharing the resolution with the governor and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, the board called for the state to “take immediate emergency regulatory and legislative action to strengthen and stabilize California’s marketplace for homeowners insurance and commercial property insurance.”
More than half of respondents in a July survey of Placer residents reported that their homeowners’ insurance policies were either non-renewed or subject to significantly higher premiums.
Meanwhile, Placer County residents and partner agencies have continued working to reduce wildfire risk. Placer County now has the most Firewise USA communities of any county in the nation, program managers announced Tuesday.
Shasta and San Bernardino counties’ boards of supervisors also passed similar resolutions this year requesting more state assistance with the insurance crisis.
~ Placer County press release
County Partners for Biochar Project in North Tahoe
AUBURN
Placer County is finalizing negotiations to bring a unique public-private partnership — focusing on biochar production — to the Cabin Creek Biomass project at the Eastern Regional Landfill in North Lake Tahoe.
The board of supervisors recently heard a report from the department of public works environmental engineering division detailing a proposed public-private partnership between the county and Biochar Now, a Denver-based company that specializes in heating woody biomass, including non-salvageable and non-marketable wood, in oxygen-free kilns to produce a highly marketable carbon-based product.
Placer County has long been searching for a partner to help reduce a surplus of biomass that has accumulated from forest fire cleanup, wildfire reduction programs that include regional forest thinning operations, residential defensible space programs, and other fuel reduction projects.
Once finalized, the county will loan Biochar Now $6 million to build a 30-kiln production facility at 11% interest over 5 years and will receive a 10% revenue share of the company’s proceeds.
Additionally, Placer County will be entitled to future synthetic gas production that is created at the facility for potential use in energy production. Biochar Now will also pay a $12,000 per month ground lease.
The project is expected to take 12 months to install production equipment and build the processing facility, once finalized. Watch the presentation by the environmental engineering division here.
~ Placer County press release
Volunteers Sought to Restore Watershed
TRUCKEE
The Truckee River Watershed Council announced that its annual Truckee River Day will happen Oct. 20. Volunteers will work to restore the Truckee River, along with its creeks and meadows. These efforts restore, protect, and enhance the watershed.
Once complete, this year’s Truckee River Day will:
- Re-introduce native vegetation.
- Protect sensitive meadows and riparian wetland.
- Provide habitat for native fish and wildlife.
- Create resiliency to buffer drought, flood, and wildfire.
- Reduce erosion to improve water quality.
To participate in this year’s restoration projects, visit truckeeriverwc.org. The deadline for registration is Friday, Oct. 11.
~ Truckee River Watershed Council press release
Funding Awarded to Reduce Wildfire Risk
AUBURN
In an effort to reduce wildfire risk in North Lake Tahoe, the Placer County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $145,491 contract award to Bella Wildfire & Forestry to fund vegetation management and fuel load reduction work on 18 acres in Tahoe Vista.
The funding comes from a $658,457 grant awarded to Placer County from the California Tahoe Conservancy last year. That grant was issued in May 2023 to reduce fuel loads on approximately 78 total acres of county property in the Lake Tahoe Basin through multiple contractors over a 3-year period.
These 18 acres in Tahoe Vista were earlier identified as part of a countywide effort by parks, trails, and open space to complete vegetation management on and enhance defensible space and forest health efforts. This work is part of a larger effort to reduce fuel loads on more than 100 parcels of county-owned land.
~ Placer County press release
Illegal Moorings Removed
LAKE TAHOE
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency partnered with the California State Lands Commission this summer to begin removing illegally placed concrete mooring blocks and attached buoys from the bottom of Lake Tahoe. The removal of three boat anchoring blocks on the lake’s West Shore in August was the first such removal under the 2018 Shoreline Plan that capped the number of piers and boat moorings, according to the agencies.
In 2023, the TRPA watercraft team tagged more than 80 illegal moorings.
~ Tahoe Regional Planning Agency press release
Partnership Drives Regenerative Forest Practices, More
SIERRA NEVADA
A scalable climate change solution is unlocking financial resources to address the wildfire and housing crises, forest health, and rural revitalization.
A partnership between Sierra Institute for Community and Environment and the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation is making a commitment to the future of regenerative forest practices and the revitalization of rural economies. TTCF’s Forest Futures campaign has awarded the Sierra Institute and its Mosaic Timber operation a $1 million grant.
This investment leverages $3 million in grants from CalFire and the USDA Forest Service and is aided by the work of Mass Timber Strategy. It culminates a 2-decade vision to transform unhealthy, overcrowded forests into the bedrock of a thriving, regenerative economy. This renewed forest-based economy mitigates wildfire risk, supports recovery efforts post-wildfire, and simultaneously offers an affordable housing solution.
The project aims to establish small-scale manufacturing facilities that use locally removed wood to produce cross-laminated timber, a carbon-smart, fire-resistant, and seismically sound building material. CLT utilizes low market value woody biomass from forest restoration efforts, reducing wildfire risks. Current lack of local processing increases wildfire risks and disposal costs. By creating local CLT production, the project will support forest health, reduce costs, create jobs, and drive sustainable economic development. A facility in Taylorsville will aid timber processing in the North Tahoe/Truckee region.
Consider donating to Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Forest Futures Campaign. Learn more at ttcf.net/projects-programs/forest-futures.
~ Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation press release
GID Candidate Forum Scheduled
INCLINE VILLAGE
Incline Village Crystal Bay Community Forum and Incline Village Crystal Bay Community & Business Association will present a moderated community forum, providing the community an opportunity to participate in a moderated Q&A session with the 2024 Incline Village General Improvement District Board of Trustees candidates. Questions will only be accepted during the meeting by those in attendance, on Sept. 30 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Duffield Theatre at Incline High School.
The forum will be broadcast live, and available later, on the IVCB Community Forum YouTube Channel at youtube.com/@iv-cbcommunityforum9730.
~ Incline Village General Improvement District press release
Fall Festival and Fun Run
TAHOE/TRUCKEE
Join in on Saturday, Oct. 6, for the Tahoe Forest Hospital District 75th Anniversary Fall Festival and Fun Run at the Truckee Regional Park, a free, family-friendly event celebrating 75 years of community, care, and togetherness. The day kicks off with a 5K run at 10:30 a.m., followed by a 1-mile run/walk, kids races, and activities.
Fun run participants are automatically entered into a free drawing to win a BLIX Packa Genie Cargo e-bike and are encouraged to wear a Halloween or autumn-themed costume.
The afternoon culminates with family-friendly activities, live music by Dad’s Lame Playlist, food trucks, and a community safety and health fair. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features activities including pumpkin painting, face painting, ax throwing, photo booth, bounce house obstacle course, arts and crafts, and more.
~ Tahoe Forest Hospital District press release
Moving In, Moving On, Moving Up
IVGID Board Appoints Karen Crocker as Interim GM
INCLINE VILLAGE
At the board meeting on Sept. 11, the Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID) Board of Trustees appointed Karen Crocker as the IVGID’s interim general manager while the district continues its search for a full-time general manager. Crocker was originally hired last July as IVGID’s director of parks and recreation.
Crocker comes to IVGID with a lifetime’s worth of experience in parks and recreation management and administration. Crocker has been a recreation director for the past 20 years after having worked in various roles in recreation. Crocker graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in physical education and spent most of her career in the Orange County, California region.
One of Crocker’s first actions as interim GM was appointing Susan Griffith as the district’s interim finance director.
Griffith comes with an extensive background in governmental finance. Previously, Griffith was a director of finance for a regional agency for 13 years; prior to this, she was the CFO for a large nonprofit in California. Susan’s educational background includes an MBA in finance, MS in accountancy, as well as a BS in business management. Additionally, she has served as a board chair for a local school district’s oversight committee and has several professional associations with a focus on governmental finances.
~ IVGID press release
New Doctors Join Hospital
TAHOE/TRUCKEE
Tahoe Forest Health System welcomes three new doctors.
Dr. Kari Rezac, a specialist in sports medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Rezac will be practicing at the Tahoe Forest Sports Medicine clinic in Truckee, where she will play a vital role in expanding its sports medicine and rehabilitation services.
Dr. Krithika Chandrasekaran, MD, MPH, has joined the primary care team at the MultiSpecialty Clinics in Truckee.
Dr. Emily Bevan is an experienced and board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist whose office is located at the Tahoe Forest Women’s Center on the 2nd floor of the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center in Truckee.
To schedule an appointment with any of the new doctors, call (530) 582-6205.
~ Tahoe Forest Health System press release
Business Briefs
Airport Reports Busiest Summer in Nearly 2 Decades
RENO
Reno-Tahoe International Airport has experienced its busiest summer in 19 years, marking a significant milestone in northern Nevada’s growing air travel demand. This summer, RNO saw a 10% increase in overall passenger traffic compared to last year, continuing its upward trajectory.
Aug. 25 and Sep. 2 became the single busiest days for RNO in 19 years, with about 20,000 passengers passing through the airport each day. Contributing to this increase was the addition of 90,000 new seats that airlines brought to Reno/Tahoe this summer, from both new and returning routes.
Looking ahead, RNO expects continued growth into the fall season, with a 9% increase in available seats compared to the same time last year. Despite the typical seasonal slowdown, the airport is still on track to handle a projected 4.8 million passengers by the end of 2024 in comparison to 2023’s total of 4.6 million passengers.
As RNO looks to 2025, several new and returning routes are set to land at RNO, offering more on Alaska Airlines starting Oct. 1 and to San Diego on Dec. 19, offering expanded options beginning this fall and winter.
For a complete list of nonstop destinations from RNO, visit renoairport.com/flights/non-stop destinations.
~ Reno-Tahoe International Airport press release
Mountainfilm on Tour Returns
TAHOE CITY
Alpenglow Sports has announced its sixth annual screening of Mountainfilm on Tour North Lake Tahoe. The 2-night programming, from Nov. 1 to 2, will feature films that relate to adventure, social justice, environment, and the human spirit. Both nights will benefit the Truckee Roundhouse.
Held every Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, Colorado, the Mountainfilm festival is the longest running documentary film festival in the United States. The Alpenglow Sports team travels to Telluride each May to take in the festival, meet changemakers, and select a compelling batch of films to bring back to North Lake Tahoe each fall.
This is a family-friendly event. Learn more and purchase tickets at alpenglowsports.com/mountain-film-on-tour/.
For information about sponsoring Mountainfilm on Tour North Lake Tahoe, email brendan@alpenglowsports.com.
~ Alpenglow Sports press release
