Free Flights for Medical Personnel, Supplies
TRUCKEE
Mountain Lion Aviation and Truckee Tahoe Airport are providing free flights for medical purposes in the fight against COVID-19. The private charter company will donate flight time to transport medical supplies, doctors, nurses, medical professionals, and other critical responders across California and around the region to keep people safe. Truckee Tahoe Airport is donating the fuel needed for the operations into and out of the airport district.
“Medical personnel and first responders are the frontline heroes of this war against the coronavirus and we stand ready to do anything we can to help them do their jobs,” said Mountain Lion Aviation chairman and founder Jim Wilkinson. “Our team is honored to partner with the dedicated professionals at the Truckee Tahoe Airport to make this happen.”
The first mission on April 8 delivered 150 gallons of hand sanitizer from Truckee’s Old Trestle Distillery to the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Police Officer Association. Colchis Capital, Signature Flight Support SFO, and the San Francisco Airport authority also helped make it happen.
“We are proud to support this important initiative, and we are grateful to Mountain Lion Aviation for stepping up during this crisis period,” added Truckee Tahoe Airport general manager Kevin Smith. “We are proud to work together to help medical professionals and first responders when they need it most.”
Medical organizations and professionals who need flight assistance can contact Mountain Lion Aviation at (530) 655-1100 or via email at info@mountainlion.aero. For more information go to mountainlion.aero. For inquiries about Old Trestle Distillery hand sanitizer for organizations in need, contact info@oldtrestle.com.
~ Mountain Lion Aviation press release
Government Workforce Housing Agency Launched
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Tahoe Workforce Housing Agency was officially organized and formed as a joint powers agency on March 18, its goal being to provide housing solutions for government employees of the Tahoe Forest Hospital District, Truckee Donner Public Utility District, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, and Truckee Tahoe Airport District. Because the agency is so new, no official employees yet exist, though Emily Vitas has been identified as the agency’s executive director and her contract is being finalized.
“How the real estate market is going to look after [the COVID-19 pandemic], I don’t know,” said airport general manager Kevin Smith, “but as we were going into last year, beginning of 2019, it was desperate as far as finding places for people to live, partly for our schools and hospitals … Here at the airport, I have 25 employees, but another 50 to 60 people we depend on for airport maintenance, careflight, air traffic controllers — trying to make sure that we find places for our employees and our vendors that have places to live. So we hope this would be part of the solution.”
The JPA is not a direct product of Truckee’s Mountain Housing Council, but was an idea discussed by members of the council. Smith said they’re currently in the final process of filing paperwork with the state.
~ AH
Alterra Announces Ski Area Improvements for Next Winter
DENVER, COLORADO
Alterra Mountain Company announced plans to invest $223 million in capital improvements across its 15 North American mountain destinations for the upcoming year, continuing the company’s commitment to enhancing the guest experience.
This year’s $223 million plan includes $50 million for base area facility development; $48 million toward new lifts and upgrades, expanded terrain, and state-of-the-art snowmaking; $30 million in technology including Ikon Pass and destination app development and data utilization; $27 million toward enhancing base area and on-mountain dining experiences; and $7 million toward various summer and winter activity investments.
Locally, the Gold Coast Lodge at the top of the Gold Coast Funitel at Squaw Valley will see a major renovation, overhauling dining areas and dramatically reshaping guest flow through the three-level skier services facility. The deck of the Chalet at Alpine Meadows will be expanded for more outdoor seating at the charming mid-mountain restaurant. Both mountains will begin an extensive upgrade of snowmaking capabilities, boosting early season terrain openings and snow quality in crucial high traffic zones.
~ Alterra Mountain Company press release
Speaker Series Raises Over $230,000 for Tahoe Nonprofits
TAHOE CITY
Alpenglow Sports concluded its 14th annual Winter Speaker Series, presented by Peak Design, in February. Professional skier Hadley Hammer capped the 2019/20 season with an entertaining tale of skiing adventure in remote and dangerous mountain ranges across the globe. Through an unprecedented raffle and the aid of an anonymous philanthropic donor party, the evening raised nearly $50,000 for the Tahoe Fund, a group that seeks to use the power of philanthropy to improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy.
In 14 years, the winter speaker series has raised over $530,000 for local nonprofits, including the Sierra Avalanche Center, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, Project Mana, the High Fives Foundation, and many more. The season welcomed hand-chosen nonprofit beneficiaries Adventure Risk Challenge, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Achieve Tahoe, Sierra Community House, and the Tahoe Fund.
~ Alpenglow Sports press release
KidZone Receives Funding From SITD
TRUCKEE
Soroptimist International of Truckee Donner granted $6,000 to the KidZone Museum to support their KidsReach program for underserved families with children under 5 years old. The grant will be used to operate their bilingual outreach services, which is critical to the children’s success.
“This is a huge help in bridging the gap in support we are facing with the news that First 5 Placer County is no longer able to fund this program,” stated Carol Meagher, director of the KidZone. “Soroptimist’s generosity gives us essential funding so we can keep services going while we work to raise an additional $20,000 to close the funding gap we face and offer hundreds of children and families quality child development experiences at the museum. We are so grateful.”
~ SITD press release
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