SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – CA-03 candidate Heidi Hall and State Senate District 4 candidate Jaron Brandon came to the South Lake Tahoe Democrats Club meeting on Wednesday to discuss their primary campaigns for historically Republican seats.
Heidi Hall
Hall began running for Congress last year, first declaring it in opposition to Rep. Kevin Kiley. Now, she’s running against several Democrats including current Rep. Ami Bera and newcomer Chris Bennett, as well as Republican Chris Bish. The current race has seven candidates.
Heidi Hall addresses the South Lake Tahoe Democrats.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
“I got in this race when it was hard,” said Hall. “I stayed in this race because I am rooted here.” Hall is chair of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, was a program manager at the California State Department of Water Resources and worked for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Hall is running as a Democrat, but has a progressive platform. Hall wants to abolish ICE, institute Medicare for All, a wealth tax and codifying reproductive health rights into law. She also has a gripe with current Democrats like Bera, criticizing him for endorsing Eric Swalwell in the governor race—who was accused of sexual misconduct, causing him to drop from the race earlier this month.
Lastly, Hall said, “It’s important that your representatives answer only to you, not to corporate interests.” She has pledged on No Fossil Fuel Money and Unrig Washington, and has also been recently endorsed by the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Climate Hawks Vote, California Environmental Voters and Green New Deal Champions.
Attendees at the meeting asked her about rural healthcare (especially Barton Healthcare’s move to Nevada), how to work with other representatives in Congress and her interest in green energy. Hall said she would focus on rural healthcare and that Medicare for All would take care of many issues with rural healthcare, spoke about coalition building and committed to investing in green energy.
Jaron Brandon
Jaron Brandon is running for California’s state senate, having previously run and won a seat on the Tuolumne Board of Supervisors at 26 years old. There, Brandon prioritized public safety, housing, government efficiency and infrastructure. Currently, he is the only Democratic candidate for District 4, which is currently represented by Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, who swapped to the Republican party in late 2024.
Jaron Brandon addresses the South Lake Tahoe Democrats.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
“I’m running to unseat Alvarado-Gil, a flip-flopper who doesn’t deserve a second term,” said Brandon. “My background is 100% rural and there’s something intangible about being in a community you have roots in.”
Brandon said that he was mentored by Hall in his run for Board of Supervisors, where he said, “I listened to my community—I try to be accessible, honest and hard-working. I try to be an effective leader.”
His other opponent is Republican Alexandra Duarte, wife of John Duarte who represented the 13th Congressional District of California from 2023 to 2025. “She is someone who has never run for local office, but could buy a spot in,” said Brandon.
Brandon said he was humbled to be the Democratic party champion in a completely Republican race, and said he would prioritize climate resiliency, like resource management, disaster response and resilient infrastructure. He also said he would make fire insurance his number one priority. He is endorsed by State Treasurer Fiona Ma, labor unions, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and District 5 Supervisor Brooke Laine.
Brandon addressed how he would work to address issues like the lack of money for teachers in South Lake Tahoe, saying that the state government could potentially provide sparsity bonuses, something the federal department of education offers and could be amended for state local control funding formulas. “State government is not above local governments. We have to work together,” he said.
Brandon said he represented the “ultimate contrast” to Alvarado-Gil, who only passed a single bill during her term. “I’m banking on my record of success and challenging the status quo. People want somebody who can get something done.”
Brandon and Hall will both be on the primary ballot in June. Ballots will start being distributed sometime in early May.
Editor’s note: The Tribune has reached out to these candidates’ opponents for separate articles.
The Highway 50 road sign above the intersection with Highway 395 warns motorists the road’s closed at Spooner Junction.A 20-year-old Carson City man was identified as the deceased in a head-on collision that occurred 4:48 a.m. April 19 on Highway 50 in Glenbrook.
Angel Vega was driving south on the highway in a 2024 Toyota Camry when it collided with an oncoming Toyota Rav4.
“The front left of the Rav4 struck the front left of the Camry,” according to the Nevada Highway Patrol’s preliminary investigation. “The Rav4 came to rest on the guardrail and the number one travel lane of westbound Highway 50. The Camry came to rest in the number two travel lane of eastbound Highway 50.”
Vega was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Rav4 was transported to an area hospital with injuries. The passenger in the Rav4 and the passenger in the Camry were also transported to an area hospital with injuries.
The Nevada Highway Patrol Major Incident Reconstruction Team is investigating this crash.
This is the first fatal collision in Douglas County in 2026.
2026 ACSA Region 7 Spring Conference – 7:30-11 a.m., Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe, 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd., So. Lake Tahoe. The annual Region 7 Spring Conference is the region’s biggest professional development event for administrators. Additional dates: 5/1, 5/2, 5/3. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-acsa-region-7-spring-conference-registration-1968287832893.
Coloso – 8 p.m.-12 a.m., Crystal Bay Casino, 14 Highway 28. Roots For The Depths Benefit Feat: COLOSO For more information, visit https://www.bandsintown.com/e/1038305529?app_id=pkvts0on0m&came_from=287&utm_medium=api&utm_source=partner_api&utm_campaign=event or call (775) 833-6333.
DJ DELO in the Mix – 9-11:30 p.m., AleWorX Stateline. For more information, visit https://laketahoealeworx.com/event/dj-delo-in-the-mix/2026-05-01/.
James Taylor & His All-Star Band – 8 p.m., Tahoe Blue Event Center, 75 U.S. 50.
Jose “Manny Maze” DJ Meza – 11 p.m.-1:30 a.m., Noel’s Coffee and Apothecary. For more information, visit https://tahoemusic.live/?page=4.
Parents’ Date Night & Kids Movie Night at Cascade Kitchens – 6-8 p.m., Cascade Kitchens, 1030 Tata Ln. Friday, May 1, 2026, 6:00-8:00 pm. Give yourself a well-deserved break, kids will enjoy a cozy movie night while you relax, dine, or grab an adult beverage and get reacquainted! At Cascade Kitchens Food Hall & Bar. For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/parents-night-out-at-cascade-kitchens/.
Parents Night Out Every Friday – 4-11 p.m., An evening of play, movement, and night skiing for kids – and flexible time out for parents.Children enjoy dinner, guided evening activities, and have the opportunity for supervised night ski play on our private hill, or indoor games, followed by cozy indoor wind-down time with experienced caregivers in our licensed preschool environment.$40 per child | Any 4 hours between 4:00-11:00 PMThe evening includes:- Supervised care with experienced early childhood educators- Dinner and evening snack- Guided outdoor play and night skiing on our hill (weather & readiness permitting)- Warm indoor play, stories, and calm settling activities- Small group for safety, supervision, and funAdvance registration required.Register online in minutes to reserve your child’s spot.Space is intentionally limited to keep the evening safe, engaging, and high-quality. For more information, visit https://business.ivcba.org/event-calendar/Details/parents-night-out-every-friday-1635617?sourceTypeId=Hub.
Roots for the Depths Benefit (featuring COLOSO) – 7 p.m., 644 Zephyr Cove. Roots for the Depths is a fundraiser celebrating the roots reggae sounds of COLOSO (Collection of Lone Souljahs), bringing the community together in support of Restoring the Lake Depths. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to keeping Lake Tahoe clean for generations to come. We’ve joined forces with the Crystal Bay Casino to host this special evening where music, community, and a shared love for the lake all come together. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1339393794402464/.
Wordwave at Valhalla One-Act Winners Performance – 7-9 p.m., Boathouse Theatre at Valhalla, 1 Valhalla Rd. Lake Tahoe’s WordWave, a one-act play competition celebrating upcoming playwrights, returns to Valhalla Tahoe May 1-2, at 7 p.m., with a new set of winning plays. The May 2 performance will include a Meet-the-Writer’s Wine & Dessert Reception immediately following in the Grand Hall, with wine sponsored by The Cork and More. For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/wordwave-valhalla-one-act-play-winners-2026/2026-05-01/.
Saturday, May 2
Master Gardeners Workshop – Spring in the Tahoe Garden – 10-11:30 a.m., Keep Tahoe Blue, 2608 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Get your Lake Tahoe Garden Ready for Growing Season! Join the UC Master Gardeners for a spring gardening course designed specifically for the Lake Tahoe Basin! This educational class welcomes local gardeners and homeowners eager to get their yards ready for the growing season. We’ll cover essential topics including garden clean up, plant selection, proper soil preparation and planting techniques, applying mulch, and yard fertility management. You’ll also learn the basics of pruning and how to maintain your landscape with fire and water-wise practices tailored for our unique environment. Come connect with your neighbors and grow your gardening skills in a supportive setting! This is the first in a series of three Tahoe Friendly Gardening classes. Questions? Please contact UC Master Gardeners of South Lake Tahoe Basin at laketahoemg@ucanr.edu For more information, visit https://www.keeptahoeblue.org/events-activities-lessons/master-gardeners-workshop-spring-in-the-tahoe-garden-may-2-2026/.
Red Room Local Series feat. Ginger Molasses – 8 p.m., 14 State Route 28. Red Room Local Series feat. Ginger Molasses Sat. May 2nd 2026 I Doors: 7pm Show: 8pm I Tickets: $15 ADV/DOS I Ticket Link: https://tixr.com/e/182727 Ginger Molasses is a five-piece rock band formed in 2023 in the Sierra Nevada Foothills town of Nevada City, California. Their unique blend of soul, funk, and rock, is a result of a strong chemistry and friendship born during the pandemic, when they bonded over homemade ginger molasses cookies and their shared love of Bob Seger. Ginger Molasses’ songwriting celebrates overlooked American subcultures, and fans are transported to other worlds. Reminiscent of groups like Lake Street Dive, Grace Potter, and Greta Van Fleet, Ginger Molasses also draws inspiration from 60s and 70s rock-soul artists like Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, and Joe Cocker. Their music gets audiences up and moving. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1630276188186322/.
Tahoe Club Crawl Spring/Summer 2026 – 8-11 p.m., 31 US, 1243 Carson Avenue. Tahoe Club Crawl is an organized VIP nightlife tour of the Tahoe South. With the purchase of your ticket, you will receive a welcome shot at 3 out of 4 stops, appetizers, free indoor games at Tipsy Putt and VIP entrance into Peek Nightclub, Lake Tahoe’s hottest Club! You will meet amazing people and have the night of your lives. We meet every Saturday at 8:00 PM Aleworx Stateline, unless told otherwise. Be Sure To Check Out our Ice Cream Shop, Aloha Ice Cream Tahoe “Winner of Best Ice Cream in Tahoe 7 Years In A Row” (Opened Seasonally) For more information, visit https://tahoeclubcrawl.ticketsauce.com/e/tahoe-club-crawl-spring-summer-2055?aff=cityspark.
Monday, May 4
The Machine Dreams Us: Exploring AI in Our World – 12-5 p.m., Lake Tahoe Community College, 1 College Drive. This event will explore AI in our world through an open exhibit in the Aspen room all week and receptions with speakers and spoken word. It will conclude with a free concert with bands, a DJ, and food trucks. For more information, visit https://www.ltcc.edu/calendar/#event-details/e19a4a9d-c2c8-46f9-8a2d-703c97a9cae6.
Tuesday, May 5
Cinco de Mayo Celebration at Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe – 3-5 p.m., LandShark Bar & Grill Margaritaville Lake Tahoe, 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Dig into taco specials while you sip on beer and margaritas in LandShark Bar & Grill. Enjoy live music as we kick off Cinco De Mayo with a fiesta full of flavor! For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/cinco-de-mayo-celebration-at-margaritaville-resort-lake-tahoe/.
Thursday, May 7
Go Local Business Expo 2026 – 5-8 p.m., Tahoe Blue Event Center. Join us for Lake Tahoe’s largest business networking and community event! The Go Local Business Expo returns on Thursday, May 7th from 5–8 PM at the Tahoe Blue Event Center; bringing together 125+ local businesses and over 1,500 attendees for one incredible evening. What to expect: • Unlimited food & beverage tastings • Interactive booths from your favorite local businesses • Raffles, giveaways, and awesome swag • New businesses to discover + returning local favorites Sip, sample, and explore everything Tahoe has to offer; all under one roof! Tickets: • $20 General Admission • Kids under 8 are FREE This is your chance to support local, connect with the community, and experience the best of Tahoe in one high-energy evening. Get your tickets: tahoechamber.org/business-expo purchase in person at The Cork & More (cash only, no fees) purchase in person at Paddle House Brews (cash only, no fees) Don’t miss it; this event gets bigger and better every year! For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/4347972718783197/.
The Sip Scene showcases unique libations from around the basin. Whether it’s a type of beer, wine, cocktail — you name it — we’ll uncover those tasty beverages for you to try at one of the countless local breweries, bars and restaurants.
For those of you that always seem to be the last one to order because you never know what you want, this is your drink. It has a little something for everyone and the flavors it provides are off the chart.
Noel’s BonitoRob Galloway / Tahoe Daily Tribune
For starters, Tahoe Blue vodka gets a long infusion of raspberry before getting shaken up with elderflower liqueur, pineapple and lemon juices, and a very small dash of Noel’s house concocted fire water, which is a mixture of habanero-infused Everclear. It’s garnished with a skeleton leaf, which I had no idea what it was until I saw it, but its name matches its presence in the drink.
First off, don’t let the fire water scare you. It’s only a drop and it provides just a mere hint of heat, which really heightens the flavors of the citrus. Everything comes at you in layered waves with this cocktail and if you let it wash over your palette, you’re rewarded with an amazing mouth feel. It’s crisp and smooth and it never gets out over its skis in the sweetness department.
I wrote in my notes that it could be a sleeper favorite of mine which is high praise because I tend to lean more towards whiskey cocktails, but like I mention above, this drink has a little something for everyone.
Noel’s Coffee & Apothecary is located at 31 U.S. 50 #102 in Stateline. For information and menu information visit them online at noelcoffee.com or reach them by phone at 775-310-6635.
To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge – there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.
I had heard great things about this week’s feature many times before trying it. But much like a movie getting a lot of hype before seeing it, I didn’t want to let that anticipation carry into specific expectations that weren’t going to be met. But, now after having it, I can honestly say that the positive talk around this dish is absolutely justified.
You may think 20 layers sounds like a lot, but the restaurant originally was shooting for 100, so 20 sounds way more approachable in comparison. The key to the layers is the ultra-fine sheets of fresh pasta that are blanched first before starting the construction. The other layers consist of a bechamel sauce, and a ragu featuring pork, veal, prosciutto, and pancetta with the final topping layer of focaccia breadcrumbs for added texture.
If you’re wondering where the cheese is at, it’s mainly melted into the bechamel (with a little inside the layers for added flavor). Sharp white cheddar and mozzarella are blended for a velvety smooth texture that helps punctuate the saltiness of the meats.
Sure, there is also plenty of garlic, Parmesan, basil, onions, and other spices throughout, but for this dish, it’s all about the taste and how each bite seemingly melts in your mouth. And if you’re lucky enough, because these are cooked in large pans, you might get a piece that has lasagna’s signature crispy edges (my favorite).
If you’ve never had lasagna made with fresh pasta, then you are truly missing out. My guess is after you try this, you will likely not want it any other way – at least that’s how it was for me.
Bruschetta is located at 290 Kingsbury Grade Rd #22 in Stateline. For menu and more information visit them online at bruschettatahoe.com or via phone at 775-580-7037.
The Run for the Roses Kentucky Derby Fundraiser takes place Saturday, May 2Provided/Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – It’s time to whip out your wide-brimmed hats and pastel suits for the second annual Run for the Roses Kentucky Derby Fundraiser at Lake Tahoe Golf Course, hosted by Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation on Saturday, May 2.
Starting as a class of just three children taught by Kelly O’Fallon at her studio to now a successful nonprofit foundation holding 62 kids in its program, the Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation strives to bridge the gap of accessible, high-quality ballet and performing arts opportunities to children in the community.
A big part of their success is their initiative to hold fundraising events that accelerate change.
“I love to fundraise, but it’s really important to be passionate about what you’re fundraising for,” said Kelly Tillson, Co-founder and Board President of Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation. “Because it’s a big ask to ask people in the community to support something. We’re just so passionate about where our program has evolved from what was supposed to be a three-day camp to now offering classes.”
The foundation provides access to high-quality performing arts to children Provided/Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation
As the foundation gears up for their big recital in June at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC), Tillson notes how great it is to see the community come together to support their cause.
This year’s second annual Run for the Roses Kentucky Derby Fundraiser is a family-friendly event and provides the opportunity to sponsor a dancer. Folks can donate $100 for sponsorship and be entered into a drawing to win a lakeview room at the stunning property of Edgewood Tahoe Resort. Tickets can be purchased in-person only until May 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tillson Law, located at 589 Tahoe Keys Blvd, Suite E4 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Guests attending the event can sponsor a dancer in-person at the fundraiser for $50. The drawing will be held during the Kentucky Derby Fundraiser, and winners don’t have to be present to win.
In addition to sponsoring a dancer, the event will be teeming with fun things for everyone to enjoy, including children’s activities like Ever After Production characters and facepainting, a live auction and raffle with opportunities to pick your winning horse, appetizers, a cash bar, and of course the excitement of watching the Kentucky Derby races at the beautiful Lake Tahoe Golf Course. “Guests are encouraged to come dressed in Derby best.”
Items for the live auction and raffle include a stay at a Santa Cruz vacation rental, a helicopter tour, SLT Police Department tour, Reno Ace’s tickets, gift cards to amazing local restaurants, nature walk with Tahoe Toogee, boat and jet ski rentals, Sunset Sail, LTCC Connect Camp, hotel stays and more.
“The Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation is deeply grateful to our Derby Sponsors and the many local businesses, individuals, and attendees whose generosity fuels this event. Because of you, we are able to provide no-cost, high-quality performing arts opportunities to children in South Lake Tahoe,” Tillson said.
The Run for the Roses Kentucky Derby Fundraiser starts at 1 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 2.
Tickets are $65 per adult and $30 per child under 18-years-old. Funds raised directly support the Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation’s mission.
“Our mission comes to life through the dedication of our board, the talent of our instructors, the commitment of our families and dancers, and the support of our community organizations—including SLT Arts, Culture, and Tourism Commission, Caesars Foundation, Tahoe Arts Project, Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra, Edgewood Ladies Golf Club, Tahoe Women’s Community Fund, MVMNT Dance Studio, and the incredible team at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation and Swim Complex,” said Tillson.
Sponsors for the event include Goal Foundation, Tahoe Immigration Law, Tillson Law, Pelodog, BFD/Key Architecture, Diamond Woodcraft, Barton, and Liberty Utilities.
“Together, as a community, we have come together to open doors, inspire creativity, and shape a brighter future for the children of South Lake Tahoe,” Tillson added.
To learn more about the Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation, find them on Facebook or Instagram: @tahoeballetpaf
Foundation board members from left to right: Kelly Tillson, Eddi Beaty, Kelly O’Fallon, Heather Coleman, Nicole Bardzell, and Dr. Audry DaSilva (several other board members not present in photo)Provided/Tahoe Ballet and Performing Arts Foundation
STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters fell to the Kansas City Mavericks by a score of 7-2.
The lone goal of the first period came from Kansas City, as Jake McLaughlin scored his first goal of the playoffs to make it 1-0 for the Mavericks headed into the second period.
In the middle frame, Kansas City would add two more goals to their lead from Bobo Carpenter and Nolan Sullivan, and the Mavericks would go up 3-0, going into the final period.
Knight Monsters fall to Maverick in game three of the playoffs.Provided
In the third, Kansas City added to its lead with a goal from Jimmy Glynn, making it 4-0. Tahoe would fight back, however, as Luke Adam scored his first of the playoffs to make it 4-1, and then just over a minute later, Jake Durflinger found the back of the net as well to make it 4-2. Unfortunately for Tahoe, the Mavericks would end the night with three more goals as Jack Randl got his first of the postseason, and McLaughlin and Carpenter both scored again, as the Mavericks took home a 7-2 victory, taking a 3-0 series lead over the Knight Monsters.
The Knight Monsters are back home April 30 to take on the Kansas City Mavericks for game four of the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs at Tahoe Blue Event Center. Puck drop is at 7 pm PT, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 pm PT on the Knight Monsters broadcast network. For more information on upcoming games, visit knightmonstershockey.com.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) has been awarded two new grants that will expand its efforts to strengthen partnerships with the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada while advancing environmental stewardship and access to outdoor education in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The funding will support both ecological restoration and community-based programming that highlights Indigenous knowledge and outdoor leadership.
Trout Creek Meadow, adjacent to the LTCC campus, is one of several meadow systems that punctuate the city of South Lake Tahoe and contribute to the iconic landscape of the Tahoe Basin. Meadow systems provide a wide array of wildlife and watershed benefits; however, factors such as fire suppression and land-use changes undermine the ecological functions of these important habitats. Conifer encroachment over the last 50 years has affected local hydrology and reduced biodiversity, while undermining the meadow’s ability to modulate fire intensity during wildfires. A $710,000 grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board provides LTCC with the support it needs to restore the meadow. The college is engaging with the Washoe Tribe to cultivate tribally significant plants and increase biodiversity, utilizing traditional ecological knowledge.
“Restoration of the Trout Creek Meadow will not only help improve meadow biodiversity, but this project marks the first critical step in reconnecting Indigenous communities with the landscape,” said Dr. Scott Valentine, faculty lead for the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department. “Traditional ecological knowledge will help to increase the diversity of native plants, meadow habitat, and culturally significant species once found in the area. We are happy to have the support of the California Wildlife Conservation Board to bring this level of ecosystem resilience and cultural connectivity back to the Lake Tahoe Region.”
In addition, LTCC was awarded $110,000 by the California Tahoe Conservancy through its Tahoe for All Grant to expand access to outdoor education and safety training for Tribal members. Over the next three years, Lake Tahoe Community College will provide Wilderness First Aid training to members of the Washoe Tribe, helping reduce barriers to outdoor recreation while building skills that support both community well-being and cultural connection to the land.
“This project expands access to LTCC’s Wilderness programs while helping build stronger pathways for Washoe students into the college,” said Antonio Benitez, Director of Lake Tahoe Promise Program and manager for the Tahoe for All grant. “It supports increased enrollment and creates clearer connections to opportunities like the Washoe Promise, linking outdoor learning with continued education, which provides eligible Tribal members with tuition-free pathways at LTCC.”
Together, these initiatives reflect the college’s commitment to inclusive engagement, environmental restoration, and long-term collaboration with Indigenous communities.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Tahoe Public Utilities District (STPUD) had a “ribbon cutting” of sorts on Wednesday. With no ribbon to be seen, the STPUD board threw the switch on for the largest solar array in the Tahoe Basin, celebrating renewable energy and the efforts of the community.
The solar array that will help power the STPUD facilities.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
This project was years in the making and director Shane Romsos stressed how needed such a project was. “Energy is one of our fastest growing costs,” he said. The solar array spans 1.5 acres and will generate 1.4 megawatts of power per year—roughly a third of the energy requirements of the wastewater treatment plant.
The solar array will offset over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year and is estimated to produce $190,000 in savings in its first year. It was bought through a power purchasing agreement with the Staten Group, who also constructed and installed the 2,112 panels.
The panels are set four feet above the ground in preparation for snow seasons, and are bifacial, meaning they can absorb sunlight (and reflected sunlight from the snow) from both sides of the panel.
Romsos thanked their partners and collaborators, including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the city of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and Liberty Utilities. He also thanked staff, saying, “Since the idea was formed in 2019, our staff has worked tirelessly to make this happen.”
Community members gather at the STPUD ribbon cutting for the solar array.Eli Ramos / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Board director Nick Exline said, “This was a really long journey to get here… this was an effort of ‘we.'” He thanked the community for their support and added, “We have a unique opportunity as a public utility. We want to work together so that Tahoe can bring forth its own energy future, because this sets a pathway to where we’re going to go in the future.”
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The California Tahoe Conservancy’s Upper Truckee Marsh property temporarily closes to dogs starting May 1, 2026. This annual seasonal closure prevents dogs from entering sensitive habitat for birds and other wildlife during the breeding season. People must keep their dogs away from the closed area of the Marsh through July 31. The Marsh reopens to leashed dogs on August 1.
Conservancy staff and California Highway Patrol officers monitor these areas for compliance.
The Conservancy manages about 560 acres at the Upper Truckee Marsh—one of the largest remaining marshes in the Sierra Nevada—to preserve, restore, and enhance natural resources and wildlife habitat, and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities consistent with natural resource protection. To advance these objectives, the Conservancy Board adopted a resolution in 2010 that prohibits dogs within the Upper Truckee Marsh from May 1 through July 31.
Cove East, the Conservancy property north of Venice Drive and along the west bank of the Upper Truckee River, remains open for year-round access to leashed dogs. An accessible trail leads from the east end of Venice Drive to Lake Tahoe.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The boat launch at Sand Harbor State Park is scheduled to open for the season on Friday, May 1, 2026, though visitors should be aware that no docks will be available at the launch due to storm damage sustained during an April weather event.
High winds and rough lake conditions damaged the docks at the boat launch, requiring them to be removed from the water for repairs. Nevada State Parks staff are actively working to fabricate new docks and return them to service as quickly as possible.
Photo of the damaged dock.Provided / NSP
Until repairs are complete and the docks are reinstalled, boaters using the launch should plan accordingly and be prepared for no available dock access or tie-up area while launching and retrieving vessels.
The boat launch itself will remain operational and open to the public as scheduled.
Nevada State Parks will provide updates and notify the public once the repairs are complete and the docks have been returned to the water. For more information, and to stay up-to-date, visit parks.nv.gov.
The broken dock was removed from the lake.Provided / NSP
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A ski and ride pass unlike any other, the 2026-27 Ski California Gold Pass goes on sale May 1. Valued for the transferable, unrestricted access it provides to whomever has it in their possession, the Gold Pass is one of the most exclusive passes in the ski industry and provides access to 36 downhill and cross-country ski areas in California and Nevada.
Only a limited number of passes are available for sale annually, making it one of the most coveted passes for skiers, snowboarders, and organizations who purchase them for use as an employee or client perk.
“The Gold Pass is unmatched in terms of the access it provides all season long to the best skiing, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing at ski areas in California and Nevada,” said John Rice, Ski California president. “Fully transferable so that it can be shared with family, friends, employees or clients, the Gold Pass has no blackout dates, offers unlimited use at participating ski areas, and includes direct-to-lift access at most of the 36 ski areas. It truly is the ultimate ski pass.”
The 2026-27 Ski California Gold Pass will be available for $4,250 per pass while supplies last. Purchasers will have the option to pay in full, or with a non-refundable $1,150 deposit per pass if purchased by May 29, with the balance due in four months.
What happens inside a Tahoe home when no one’s there, and how owners deal with what gets left behind.
A place in Tahoe can sit closed up for a good part of the year. You lock the door, head back home, and that’s it for a while. The house just sits there through the cold, with everything inside it. Come back a few months later and it’s a bit of a mixed bag; some things are fine, some aren’t. Fortunately, there is a solution to be found in seasonal storage for vacation home.
Preparing a Tahoe Property for Seasonal Closure
Getting a place ready before winter sets in is not just about pipes and heating. What stays inside the house makes a difference. Fabrics hold moisture, wood reacts to cold, and smaller household items tend to suffer the most when a place sits unheated for months.
A lot of owners end up clearing out anything that does not need to be there. That usually means linens, cushions, rugs, kitchen gear, and smaller appliances. It is not a full move-out, more of a reset so the house can sit without taking unnecessary wear. This is where self storage units for seasonal storage starts to make sense, especially when the same cycle repeats every year.
The scale is usually smaller than people expect at first. A 10×10 unit can handle soft furnishings, boxed items, and a fair amount of loose gear. Step up to a 10×20 and it starts to take full room contents, including larger pieces that are better off out of the cold. People often look at available unit sizes and locations when planning this kind of move, just to get a sense of what fits and what needs to stay behind.
Protecting Interiors From Temperature and Humidity Swings
Leaving everything in place works for some homes, but it comes with trade-offs. Tahoe weather does not stay steady. Temperatures swing, moisture builds, then dries out again. Over a few months, that cycle starts to show on anything that is sensitive.
Wood can warp or crack. Upholstery can pick up damp and hold it. Electronics do not always recover well after sitting in cold conditions for extended periods. None of this is dramatic on day one, but it adds up by the time the place is opened again.
That is where climate controlled storage for second home use comes into play. The goal is not convenience, it is preservation. A stable environment removes most of the stress that changing conditions put on materials. Items come back in the same condition they left, which is usually the point.
Homes that are used more frequently can get away with leaving things in place. Properties that sit for three or four months at a time tend to show more wear, especially at higher elevations where temperature changes are sharper.
Managing the Gap Between Selling and Relocating
There is another situation that comes up more often than expected. A property gets sold before the next one is ready, or plans change halfway through a move. That leaves a gap where everything needs to go somewhere, even if it is only for a short stretch.
In that case, the question turns from protection to logistics. What goes back to the main residence, what stays local, and what gets held off-site until the next step is clear. A storage unit between homes becomes a practical way to bridge that gap without rushing decisions.
Tahoe properties tend to have a mix of items that do not always fit easily into a primary residence. Outdoor gear, seasonal furniture, and spare household items can pile up quickly. Holding those items outside the home for a period keeps the move manageable and avoids overcrowding one space with everything at once.
Working Around Unpredictable Seasonal Timelines
Timelines rarely line up cleanly. Weather can delay access, sales can close earlier or later than planned, and travel schedules change. What looks like a fixed plan in October can move around by the time winter sets in.
That is where month-to-month storage becomes useful. It gives some room to adjust without locking into a fixed end date. Items can stay put until the house is ready again or until the next move is confirmed.
This kind of flexibility fits the way Tahoe properties are used. Owners come and go, sometimes on short notice, and the house does not always follow a strict calendar.
A Closed Property Still Needs Managing
A closed house might look like it is on pause, but everything inside it keeps reacting to the conditions around it. Cold, moisture, and time all have an effect, even when nothing is being used.
Clearing out the right items, protecting what stays, and having a plan for the in-between periods tends to keep things simple. It is not about doing more work, it is about avoiding small problems that build up over a season.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – After years of extinction in California, the state could have a roadmap to reintroduce the grizzly bear by 2028 through California SB 1305, or the California Grizzly Restoration Act. Others worry about the impact that reintroducing an apex predator could pose to rural communities in bear country.
The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Richardson and coauthored by Sen. Weber Pierson, Stern and Blakespear, would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a roadmap for the reintroduction of grizzly bears. This would require a scientific assessment and consultation with Native American tribes in California. The California Grizzly Restoration Act was also co-sponsored by the Yurok and Tejon tribes.
The California Grizzly Restoration Act passed in one senate committee with a 5-2 vote and is set for a hearing on May 4.Metro Creative
Crucially, the bill would prohibit reintroduction until ecological and biological research was done into the viability of establishing a grizzly population, along with consultation with tribes and communities.
Grizzlies have been extinct in California since 1924 after they were killed by settlers, miners, ranchers and government agents. In the time since, California has recovered various species and reintroduced them to the state, such as the California condor, tule elk, gray wolf and North American beaver.
Although it was thought that the subspecies in California was distinct, genomic research has shown that they were part of the greater Ursus arctos populations distributed through Montana, Wyoming and western Canada. Those populations would provide the potential sources for grizzly reintroduction.
The California Grizzly Restoration Act passed in one senate committee with a 5-2 vote and is set for a hearing on May 4.
Assemblymember Heather Hadwick, who represents District 1 (including Tahoe), has opposed this bill, saying that the introduction could impact livestock, public safety and local economies.
“I am dedicated to continuing to advocate for a practical, science-based approach that prioritizes public safety, protects working lands, and ensures rural voices are not sidelined in decisions that directly impact their way of life,” said Hadwick. “Our wildlife management system is already stretched thin, with increasing predator populations and habitat pressures contributing to ecological imbalance and limited prey availability every day.”
There’s concern among residents that given black bear and human interactions in Tahoe, grizzly bears may be far less friendly and more prone to attack when interacting with people. Danielle Oyler, who works at Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks department, told the Tribune that when managing human-bear conflict, grizzlies and black bears are attracted to the same sources.
“Grizzlies and black bears overlap in population here, and in the western half of Montana, we see some of those human-bear interactions,” said Oyler. “Grizzlies are also attracted to things like garbage, birdfeeders and pet food—anything that provides calories to them.”
Oyler says they deal with it in the same way too. “We use the same deterrent methods, like electric fences and mats, noise makers and bear-resistant containers.”
Anecdotally, black bears seem to be more often sighted in towns with black bear and grizzly populations, but Oyler says this could be a result of a number of factors. Black bears may tolerate humans better than grizzly bears, or on the flip side, humans may have low tolerance for grizzly bears and are more likely to scare them away.
A 2024 study in Yellowstone National Park on black bears and grizzly bears showed that grizzlies were tolerant of recreationists and rarely attacked people, but were more likely to display agitation or warning behaviors rather than the neutral state black bears tended to show. However, attacks from both grizzly bears and black bears were recorded more often in the backcountry areas.
But what about how grizzlies and black bears interact with each other? Oyler says that food competition and pressures could exert an impact on how they behave. She noted that among other bears in Alaska, it has been observed that a higher food availability leads to higher tolerance for other bears—that is, the more food there is, the less territorial bears are, since there’s plenty to go around.
In 2010, Schwartz et al. published a study that showed black bears were likely adjusting their behaviors, preferring to be more active in the day rather than dawn and dusk, which is when grizzly bears tend to be active. The authors pointed out that bears also alter their activity patterns in response to humans.
There’s clear anxieties among rural communities about the impact to livestock and those who recreate in backcountry should grizzly bears be reintroduced, especially as the current bill means that the grizzly bear gets several exemptions to the current Fish and Wildlife Code. But the bill may continue to garner support, as the text reads:
“The grizzly bear holds enduring cultural, historical, ecological, and symbolic significance as a vital relative to many California Native American tribes, the emblem on the California State Flag, and the official state animal of California. Evaluating whether reintroduction may be feasible and advisable in particular areas of the state is also consistent with the state’s policy to maintain and restore healthy, natural ecosystems that sustain communities, support the economy, provide for recreation, and preserve California’s history, culture, and traditions, while recognizing the historical and ongoing harms inflicted on wildlife, natural systems, and California Native American tribes”
“Beyond Awestruck: The Scientific Search for Connection” studies the feeling of awe roused by participants in Lake TahoeMaya Duhl / Tahoe Daily Tribune
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The pressures of life, whether they come from the struggle to pay your bills, the workload you’re carrying, or while experiencing the negative aspects of things you can’t control, there’s a moment for many where all of that slips away – it’s just you as you are and the nature around you. For those of us living in or visiting Lake Tahoe, that relief can be found just outside the door. “Beyond Awestruck: The Scientific Search for Connection” is a three-part docuseries studying the feeling of awe a person experiences, what invokes that feeling and the benefits imposed. The study’s muse? One-of-a-kind Lake Tahoe.
“Awe and experiences in nature are pivotal to the human experience. They matter for people’s well-being. They matter for people’s social relationships, and here we’re really trying to map out the ways in which experiences of awe and experiences in nature help people solve essential problems in their lives,” said Paul Piff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Irvine and leader of the experiment to measure moments of awe.
The 2025 project took approximately nine months, from brainstorming and planning to the completion of filming. Among the very few challenges Dr. Piff and his team faced during the project, he told the Tribune, “Personally, I felt like it was an embarrassment of riches in terms of trying to pick which of the many, many awe-inspiring locations to run studies and film in.”
Dr. Paul Piff has been studying the psychology behind awe for more than a decade Provided/Visit Lake Tahoe
So what is awe and why did Dr. Piff and his team choose Lake Tahoe to study it? Awe can be described as many things – profound reverence, wonder, or inspiration. Lake Tahoe, known for its deeply rich history and its intricate and vast array of nature, seems to possess all the ingredients needed for such a unique research project.
Over the course of seven studies while using what they call the “awe meter”, researchers in “Beyond Awestruck”conduct experiments that test the many impacts awe can have on a human being.
In the series, complex topics are touched on including anxiety, depression, suicide, and spirituality, with live accounts and first-hand experiences from people who used nature as a way to heal. For some, it was Tahoe’s nature that provided relief.
“I met so many folks that shared their love for Tahoe, and the personal impact it has on them,” said Piff. “One couple recounted how, in looking over the entirety of the lake, it reminded them of all the different experiences they’d had around it, in their many decades together. It brought them closer to one another, by virtue of reminding them of all the times they’d shared in and around Tahoe. This really touched me.”
One participant in the study during episode two of the series noted how overwhelming it was to see the forest, the mountains and the lake – all in one view, saying, “It didn’t seem real.” It invokes the question: do locals forget they live in one of the most sought-after places in North America? Do they lose that sense of awe after getting used to the views?
Participants are not only observed hiking, paddleboarding or overlooking the lake on the Heavenly Observation Deck, they’re talking about their experiences, how they feel during those moments, and we get to watch. For locals, we can connect to these familiar places – Inspiration Point in Emerald Bay, Echo Lake, the Tahoe Rim Trail, the Heavenly Gondola, and even some familiar faces, such as Adrian Ballinger, Founder of Alpenglow Expeditions, and some of the faces of the Washoe Tribe.
Interview of Adrian Ballinger during the filming of “Beyond Awestruck: The Scientific Search for Connection” Provided/Visit Lake Tahoe
The beauty of the study isn’t just about the singular moments in which awe is felt, it’s also about the longevity in which that feeling curates a beneficial influence on the participant.
Results of the study are profound, showing that experiences of awe in Lake Tahoe led to a 20% boost in environmental stewardship, and a 13% increase in confidence to have meaningful conversations. Over the course of the seven studies, Dr. Piff and his team found that over the span of more than 1000 participants, 34% found an increase of awe observed in and around Lake Tahoe. 33% found an increase in happiness from just two minutes of mindful appreciation of Tahoe.
Dr. Piff notes that the work is still on-going, and plans to return to Tahoe to continue the study will take place in the coming months.
When asked what he hopes the audience takes away from this docuseries, beyond exploring the science of awe and the search for connection, Piff said, “To go out in search of awe, for the betterment of their individual lives and the world around them.”
“Awe can help you find better health, more happiness, stronger relationships, and a deeper connection to the world. And, importantly, awe is relatively easy to find, even in your own backyard if you look for it.”
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. –The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is reminding residents, property owners, and project managers that the grading and digging season for permitted projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin begins May 1.
Grading and digging work are confined to drier months to protect Lake Tahoe’s famed water clarity. Sources of erosion and sediment are among the main contributors to the loss of lake clarity. Through the commitment of property owners and public agencies, Best Management Practices (BMPs) retrofits and meadow restoration and water quality improvement projects are keeping more than 500,000 pounds of sediment out of the lake every year and lake clarity has stabilized.
Widespread erosion and sediment-laden runoff can flow into Lake Tahoe during storm events and when soil is saturated.Provided / TRPA
Working in dry conditions prevents soil compaction and stops loose soil and mud from washing away from project sites or into roadways, storm drains, waterways, and the lake. During the May 1 through October 15 grading season, soil work can proceed in dry conditions, but is prohibited when a project area is covered with snow, during periods of precipitation, and when ground is saturated, muddy, or unstable.
Although all grading is prohibited in wet conditions, not all digging requires a permit. More information is available at trpa.gov/applications-forms under Grading.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The Incline Village roundabout at the intersection of Mount Rose Highway and Tahoe Blvd will soon undergo improvements.
Known for its bronze animals, the talent of local artist June Brown, the roundabout was installed in 2012 as part of the Nevada Department of Transportation’s effort to improve roadways on the North Shore.
Over the years, invasive plants have overrun the roundabout and irrigation issues have prevented planted perennials from thriving. The sculptures and the traffic circle, with its low-mound design, have also been subject to car crashes.
Improvements focus on the safety and aesthetics of the roundabout, including raising the mound, adding irrigation, and incorporating elements that reflect the Tahoe East Shore’s natural beauty, such as granite boulders, fir and aspen trees, and a succession of perennials.
The project represents a public-private collaboration with strong community involvement and fundraising efforts to bring the vision to life.
Incline Village Main Street, a program through the Incline Village Crystal Bay Business & Community Association (IVCBA) to beautify and revitalize commercial areas, is leading the roundabout initiative, orchestrating funding and community involvement.
The traffic circle has had strong community participation since its inception, with residents envisioning the roundabout as a traffic solution and raising funds for the art display. Over the years, maintenance of the roundabout has passed from one community group to another. Incline Property Management now does the maintenance cleanup every spring pro bono. IVCBA is responsible for the sculptures.
The Incline Village Main Street design team, led by Linda Offerdahl, Christine Karnofsky, and Steve Porten, coordinated public input for the initial sketch for the improvements.
Incline Village locals Dale Smith of Smith Design Group and Larry Wodarski of IPM also helped with design.
Incline Village contractor, F.W. Carson Co., who placed the bronze sculptures in 2012, will conduct the improvement work.
Multiple agencies and companies have committed in-kind donations, according to IVCBA, including F.W. Carsn Co.’s donation of labor to place the boulders, which Realberry (owner of the Cal Neva) donated. Realberry’s contractors, SMC and SNC, are donating the transportation of the boulders. NDOT is donating traffic control for the project.
IVCBA says private donations have been a key funding source through the Incline Tahoe Foundation and that it is still seeking $30,000 for the project.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Monday morning, April 27, South Lake Tahoe police and fire crews responded to an incident that left a Subaru Hatchback in the shallows of Lake Tahoe near Timber Cove Beach.
“Sounds like it was an honest mistake,” said Sergeant Matt Morrison with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (STLPD). “Somehow the gentleman’s car was not in park which caused it to roll into the lake.”
Stuart Bogle, Firefighter Paramedic at South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, waded out to the vehicle to hook it up to a tow line before a tow truck fished the Subaru out of the water.
No injuries were reported.
A Subaru Hatchback rolled into Lake Tahoe Monday morningProvided/South Lake Tahoe Fire
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The Tahoe Chamber is proud to highlight a dynamic group of local businesses leading the way in sustainability, stewardship, and community impact at this year’s Go Local Business Expo, taking place on May 7, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Tahoe Blue Event Center.
The Go Local Business Expo is more than just a networking event, it’s a celebration of the entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers shaping the future of the Lake Tahoe region. This year’s spotlight shines on Chamber Members who are not only excelling in their industries but are also prioritizing environmentally conscious practices and meaningful community partnerships.
Eco-Friendly Innovation with Clearly Tahoe
Clearly TahoeProvided
Few experiences capture the beauty of Lake Tahoe quite like seeing straight through its crystal-clear waters; and that’s exactly what Clearly Tahoe delivers. Known for their iconic transparent kayaks and paddleboards, this local business creates unforgettable outdoor adventures while maintaining a strong commitment to preserving the lake’s natural clarity.
By promoting low-impact recreation and environmental awareness, Clearly Tahoe encourages both locals and visitors to appreciate and protect Tahoe’s fragile ecosystem.
Waste Reduction in Action with Tahoe Food Hub
Sustainability starts with what’s on our plate. Tahoe Food Hub is leading the charge in reducing food waste while strengthening the local food system. By connecting regional farms with the community, they ensure fresh, locally sourced food doesn’t go to waste.
Their programs support farmers, reduce environmental impact, and provide access to healthy food, making them a cornerstone of Tahoe’s sustainable future.
Stewardship Through Partnerships with Tahoe Rim Trail Association
Tahoe Rim TrailProvided
Collaboration is key to protecting Tahoe’s natural spaces. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association works hand-in-hand with businesses, volunteers, and environmental organizations to maintain and enhance one of the region’s most treasured outdoor assets.
Their efforts go beyond trail maintenance; they foster a culture of stewardship, encouraging businesses and individuals alike to invest in preserving the landscapes that make Tahoe so special.
Leading the Way in Sustainable Commerce with Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority
Visit Lake TahoeProvided
The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority plays a vital role in positioning the South Shore as a leader in sustainable tourism and commerce. As an active member of the Destination Stewardship Council, they work in tandem with organizations around the lake to ensure messaging is clear and timely.
Through thoughtful campaigns and partnerships, they promote responsible travel, support local businesses, and help ensure that economic growth aligns with environmental preservation.
Why It Matters
The Chamber Members attending the Go Local Business Expo aren’t just participating; they’re setting the standard. By prioritizing sustainability, community collaboration, and innovation, they’re helping shape a stronger, more resilient local economy.
When you support these organizations, you’re investing in the future of Lake Tahoe.
Don’t Miss It
The Go Local Business Expo is back on May 7th from 5 – 8 p.m at the Tahoe Blue Event Center! Tickets are on sale now! Come meet these incredible businesses in person, discover new local favorites, and be part of a community that values both commerce and conservation. Grab your tickets today: https://www.universe.com/events/go-local-business-expo-tickets-9M2PVR.
For the second time in their two-year existence, the Tahoe Knight Monsters are heading to the playoffs. The hockey team earned the #4 seed in the Mountain Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL and will play the Kansas City Mavericks in the Mountain Division Semi-Finals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
“It’s really exciting,” said Brenden Paul, Knight Monsters broadcast and communications manager. “It creates an added buzz around the fan base. We’re looking forward to some bonus hockey in the end of April and the beginning of May.”
The series starts Friday, April 24, in Kansas City, with Tahoe hosting games three through five on April 29, 30, and May 2. In last year’s playoffs, Tahoe swept the Wichita Thunder in the division semis before getting swept by Kansas City in the division finals.
THE KNIGHT MONSTERS DEFENSE will have to be stout to keep the high-scoring Mavericks at bay.
The Mavericks have been a dominating force in the ECHL in recent years, making it to the conference finals last season and to the Kelly Cup finals in 2024. In the 25/26 regular season, they placed first in both the Mountain Division and the entire Western Conference, finishing with a record of 55-12 with 115 total points; ten wins and 15 points more than any team in the conference. Kansas City head coach Tad O’had was named ECHL Coach of the Year, and Marcus Crawford won Defenseman of the Year honors. Crawford also led the league in scoring — the first time in the ECHL’s 38-year history that a defenseman has accomplished the feat.
ICE TIME: The Knight Monsters against the Cincinnati Cyclones in a late-regular season matchup.
With a season record of 35-30 and 77 total points, Tahoe finished ninth in the conference and fourth in the Mountain Division. The team’s record against Kansas City was a less-than-stellar 1-6.
Yet Paul sees a silver lining. “Tahoe is one of the few teams who has been competitive across a series against Kansas City this year. Only one game was lopsided. The record’s not great, but most games went to overtime or were one goal games or there was an empty netter at the end. Tahoe has proven that they can hang with anyone in the league.”
Throughout the season, Mavericks showed a distinct home-ice. To have a shot at winning the series, the underdog Knight Monsters will have to steal one on the road and be stout at home.
UPPING THE ANTE: As intense as any hockey game can be, the home playoff games at Tahoe Blue Events Center will be even more electric. Photos by Jon Grant/Moonshine Ink.
Games three and four will take place at the Taheo Blue Event Center in Stateline Wednesday, April 29, and Thursday, April 30, respectively. If the Knight Monsters are able to extend the best-of-seven series, they will host game five Saturday, May 2, as well. Puck drops at 7 p.m. for all home games.
Tickets are still available but are going fast. See knightmonsterhockey.com for pricing and to purchase.
Paul expects a raucous environment inside the arena. “If you’ve been out to a game in the regular season before, double the energy and the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s nonstop buzz for 60 minutes. It’s electric. The playoffs are just a different brand of hockey.”
Early mornings. Racing from one matchup to the next. The thrill of keeping a swirl of moving pieces right on track, with enough breathing room to soak it all in. You know the drill when it comes to planning a youth sports tournament. You’ve just never seen it like this. The South Shore of Lake turns the whole logistics dance into a dream setting, where the stunning view alone feels like absolute victory.
Imagine pine-fresh air greeting families as they arrive, the deep blue of the lake dazzling in sunlight, and the majestic Sierra peaks towering overhead. No wonder game days feel brighter here. Between matchups, the magic is in the pause: laughter on a stroll, world-class recreation at North America’s largest alpine lake, and core memories in the making for players and families.
What if those early morning warmups led straight into lakeside afternoons? Here, tournaments double as getaways with awe (and then some). Step away from the “what’s next” scramble. Wander, and your next adventure beckons beyond the bend. High spirits feel like an instant classic with stunning vistas, some available right from the roadside, but hiking and biking trails abound. Welcome to your game plan for keeping the trip shimmering right by turquoise pools in a family-friendly playground: smooth, simple, and blissful, from gleeful arrival to the final blow of the whistle.
Game Central: Play It All at These Vibing Venues
Dribbling, spiking, skating. From indoor showdowns to outdoor matchups under sweeping skies and sweet pine, South Lake Tahoe’s sports facilities keep the action rolling, with a splash of Tahoe magic just past the sideline. It’s easy to plan a small or full-scale, multi-sport weekend. These venues? Collegiate-sized hoops, high-school cross courts, and fully convertible arenas built for every spike, slam, and swoosh. Go for tournament logistics that feel effortless, leaving you free to celebrate every epic match-point marvel.
Tahoe Blue Event Center
4,400 seats. The MVP of indoor sports, Tahoe Blue flexes its convertible arena space to host basketball, volleyball, cheer, hockey, wrestling… anything you dream of. Think professional locker rooms, spectator seating, and fan‑friendly spots to rally that make tournament logistics feel effortless — all with postcard-worthy Sierra views you’ll carry with you. Stay here, and you’re right in the heart of downtown, close to all the action.
Tahoe Blue Event Center
Outdoor & Community Facilities
Athletes ready to move. Families here for the fun. Nearby, the new 64,000-square-foot STARS (South Tahoe Recreation & Aquatics Center) brings full-sized courts and gym space for basketball, volleyball, and team practice. Outdoor fields pick up the pace with warmups or extra scrimmages, so multi-sport weekends flow smoothly.
Between games, spots like Bijou Community Park welcome you with open turf for picnic breaks, impromptu soccer kicks, or a little pre- or post-game play under the pines. There’s even a full-on BMX track for the adventurous. Sunlit tennis, pickleball, and high-school gym courts round out flexible spaces that fit right into tournament schedules, helping every player stay active and energized.
STARS (South Tahoe Recreation & Aquatics Center)
Where to Stay: Cozy Game-Day Rooms, Minutes Away
Hop off the bus (or out of your car) and feel that recharge-your-spirit relief: everything is within reach. South Lake Tahoe’s walkable hotel cluster keeps teams and families just steps away from heart-racing match-day buzz. Full-service resorts with pools, spa perks, and lakeside dining. Charming, smaller properties for a short-and-sweet tournament retreat, with quick access to courts and fields. Thankfully, there’s a comfy spot for every squad to kick back and relax.
Planning for larger teams? Total breeze. Groups can split across nearby hotels, where coordinating practice times, breakfast runs, or post-game debriefs feels second nature when it’s blocks away. Families love that everyone can land, unpack, and instantly feel part of the weekend hustle and bustle — whether it’s cheering on with signs from the stands, joining in scenic group activities, or winding down lakeside after a glorious day.
For right-in-the–action access, check out Harrah’s Lake Tahoe (plenty of rooms and amenities in this 18-story tower), Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe (family-friendly with spacious rooms, mountainside), or Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe (spread across multiple blocks together for a full weekend tournament), all easy walking distance from the Tahoe Blue Event Center.
Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe
Hit the Alpine Road (or Sky) to South Lake Tahoe
Getting to and around South Lake Tahoe is a quick swing in, whether you fly or road trip your way to the Jewel of the Sierra. Fly into Reno-Tahoe International Airport, then grab a shuttle or arrange a private ride straight to the South Shore and arrive ready to own the game. Part of a team driving in from California? You’ll be happy to know paradise has scenic highways that lead directly into town, with room for every ride near the main venues.
Once you get here, find everything just where you need it: courts, fields, hotels, and restaurants all clustered together. Teams and families can move from game to getaway in a flash. Short walks, quick rides, or spontaneous adventures between venues. It’s relaxing to navigate South Lake Tahoe.
What Happens Between Games? Sweet Downtime
Take a post-game nap with a view of this mountain haven. Swap stories over a waterfront breakfast. Share laughs while wandering your hotel. When a stay feels this awesome, your tournament becomes one of those rare, escapade-made weekends. Already counting down to game-day?
Well, South Lake Tahoe is a place to play, and a place to experience. Between games, teams and families can revel in a two-for-one breathtaking natural playground (hello, exhilarating family vacation). On the crystal-clear water (diamonds? No, that’s the sun lighting up Lake Tahoe), beaches call for downtime, paddleboarding adds a splash of friendly competition, and kayaking lets everyone glide across Lake Tahoe’s famous crystal-clear blue waters.
In the idyllic mountains, hiking and biking trails invite spirited adventure, with lake and mountain views that will have everyone snapping their new favorite photos. Catch your breath and savor true awe. These scenic views? Absolutely rejuvenating. Feel the scenery as it refreshes and revives you. For moments when the team wants to take it easy together, explore casual dining spots, family-friendly cafes, and laid-back joys — where everyone can delight in cherished bonding (without over-scheduling).
These in-between moments are just as magnetic as the rush of competition. Sunset paddles. A lush trail hike, full of woodsy wonder. That invigorating meal after a big day on the field. South Lake Tahoe gives the gift of precious time. On the court, off the court, memories this elevated feel extraordinary. Just awestruck.
Planning a trip to Lake Tahoe with kids? This guide is designed to help you find the best family-friendly hotels in South Lake Tahoe, so you can spend less time researching and more time enjoying your vacation. Whether you’re traveling with toddlers, school-age kids, or teens, choosing the right place to stay can make a big difference. Family-oriented hotels often offer conveniences like larger rooms, kid-friendly amenities, pools, easy beach or outdoor access, and activities that keep everyone entertained. From laid-back lakeside properties to resorts near attractions, this page highlights options that make traveling as a family smoother, more comfortable, and a lot more fun.
Top Family-Friendly Resorts (The All-Rounders)
These are the places that really check every box for families, comfortable rooms, thoughtful amenities, and easy access to things to do. If you want a stay where both kids and adults are happy (without constantly leaving the property), these are your best bets.
Marriott Grand Residence Club Lake Tahoe
Marriott Grand Residence Club Lake Tahoe
Located right in Heavenly Village, Marriott Grand Residence Club Lake Tahoe is a go-to for families thanks to its condo-style suites with kitchens, separate living spaces, and walkable access to shops, dining, and the gondola. The pool and on-site amenities make it easy to relax after a full day out. Great for families who want convenience, space, and a central location
Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe
Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe
A full-suite resort where every room includes a separate living area, with larger options like two-bedroom family suites that can sleep groups comfortably—ideal for families who want space plus a fun, central location near Heavenly Village. Great for families who want resort energy, big suites and walkability.
Best for Space: Hotels with Kitchenettes & Suites
When you’re traveling with babies, toddlers, or even picky eaters, having a kitchen or kitchenette can make all the difference. These South Lake Tahoe properties offer extra space plus essentials like microwaves, fridges, and full kitchens—giving families flexibility for meals, snacks, and downtime.
Forest Suites Resort at Heavenly Village
Forest Suites Resort at the Heavenly Village Lake Tahoe
Known for its large multi-bedroom suites that can accommodate bigger families, this property combines space with a prime walkable location and amenities like pools, hot tubs, and game areas that keep kids entertained. Great for families who want room to spread out and walk everywhere.
Desolation Hotel
Desolation Hotel South Lake Tahoe
A boutique, eco-conscious hotel with a cozy cabin feel, Desolation Hotel offers spacious accommodations, full kitchens, and outdoor areas that give families room to spread out. Its location near the lake and trails makes it ideal for active families who want both comfort and adventure. Great for families who want a quieter, nature-forward stay with modern amenities.
Best for the Budget
Traveling with family doesn’t have to mean overspending, especially in Tahoe. These properties strike a sweet spot by offering suite-style space, family-friendly amenities, and solid value, making them great picks for budget-conscious trips without sacrificing comfort.
Stardust Lodge
Stardust Lodge Lake Tahoe
A longtime family favorite, this lodge offers suite-style rooms with kitchenettes (microwave, fridge, cookware) along with perks like free breakfast, multiple pools, and hot tubs. Its central location near Heavenly Village means you can walk to activities, saving both time and money. Great for families who want maximum value and tons of included amenities.
The Americana Village
Americana Village Lake Tahoe
Known for its cozy, apartment-style suites, this property includes kitchenettes, free breakfast, and family-friendly extras like a playground, pool, and game areas. It’s a quieter, budget-friendly option that still keeps you close to major attractions. Great for families who want affordable comfort, space and kid-friendly extras.
Tip: Budget-friendly hotels in Tahoe often provide the most value through included perks, like breakfast, parking, or kitchenettes, which can save a surprising amount over the course of a family trip.
Best for the Active Family
For families who don’t just want a place to sleep, but a place where kids can play, explore, and stay entertained, these activity-driven resorts are a great fit. From game rooms and kids’ clubs to pools and organized activities, these properties help turn your hotel stay into part of the vacation.
Hilton Vacation Club Lake Tahoe Resort South
Hilton Vacation Club Lake Tahoe Resort South
This resort is built for active families, with a children’s activity program, game room, and activity center offering crafts, movies, and games to keep kids engaged. It also features both indoor and outdoor pools, plus nearby year-round adventures like hiking, skiing, and lake activities, making it easy to stay busy in any season. Great for families who want on-site activities and easy access to outdoor adventure.
Tahoe Beach & Ski Club
Tahoe Beach & Ski Club Lake Tahoe
Located directly on the lake, this resort combines the feel of a vacation rental with resort-style amenities, making it a strong pick for families who want space and easy access to outdoor fun. Guests can enjoy a private sandy beach, year-round heated pool, hot tubs, and on-site activities like volleyball, all just minutes from Heavenly and downtown. Most accommodations are condo-style suites with kitchenettes or full kitchens, giving families the flexibility to cook meals while still enjoying a full resort experience.
It depends on your activities, summer (June–September) is best for beaches, hiking, and water fun, while winter (December–March) is ideal for skiing and snow play. For fewer crowds and good weather, many families love the shoulder seasons (late spring and early fall).
Entering the stadium, I look down on the field and the outfield grass is as green as the color has ever been. The theme from The Natural, Robert Redford’s classic baseball flick of pasts becoming present, reverberates as the players are introduced with a tip of their cap, the boys of summer taking the field for another season in the sun.
With the red, white, and blue bunting lining the outfield fences the scene drips Americana like a hot dog-scented Norman Rockwell. You feel the ghosts of baseball greats — Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente are the two names my mind selects — somehow taking it all in and smiling. The coaches and the umps shake hands at home plate like they’ve been doing for more than 150 years and the
game begins.
In the top of the first inning, the Rainiers’ first batter of the season reaches on an error by second baseman
Tommy Troy; in a game as superstitious as baseball it’s not a good omen for the home team, but Aces left-handed flamethrower Kohl Drake bears down and strikes out the second batter. He’s the game’s “K batter,” and his swing-and-miss, per the PA announcer’s echoing voice, means that all draft beers are half price until inning’s end. Though most folks have just sat down, many quickly stand back up and scurry for the nearest concession stand.
BALL OR STRIKE? A Reno Aces batter making the split-second decision to swing or not to swing. Photo by Jon Grant
Drake proceeds to strike out hotshot shortstop Colt Emerson, and then blows one by former San Francisco Giant Connor Joe to strike out the side. In the bottom of the first, Troy makes up for his error by wrapping a sharp single to right and moves to second on LuJames Groover’s walk.
Then strides to the plate a man made for baseball lore — cleanup hitter Luken Baker, all 6’4” 285lbs of him, first baseman, Texas-born, biceps as big as the Babe’s. But Baker quickly shows he’s not all brawn. On a low-and-slow inside curve, though slightly fooled, he keeps his hands back and deftly drops bat-head onto ball, wristing the red-seamed sphere down the left field line for a standup double that scores Troy.
The Aces 1-0 lead holds until the top of the third. With a runner on first, the left-handed hitting Emerson drives an outside fastball over the left-centerfield fence to give the Rainiers a 2-1 lead, the ball nearly hitting the bullseye on the Tahoe Truckee Lumber Company billboard en route to its resting place on the train tracks beyond the stadium.
The jumbotron reacts with a romping closeup of Steve Carell as Michael Scott from the T.V. show The Office. “Nooooooooo!” he shouts in his adult-toddler schtick. “No! No! No! No! No!”
Laughter cleanses the stadium’s palate, and Drake retires the side. The vibes are good — and the Aces rip three hits in their half of the inning, culminated by A.J. Vukovich’s two-out RBI single scorched to center to square the game at two.
Fast forward to the sixth
Cloud-cover has encroached and the Aces find themselves down 4-2. Vukovich starts off the inning by smashing a double deep into the right-centerfield gap, the stadium coming a-roar with chants of “Vuuuuuuu.” A hit batsman, two walks, and an infield single create a rally that scores two runs to retie the game. With the bases still full of Aces, LuJames Groover — the slick-fielding third baseman who already has two hits on the day — connects on a fastball and delivers a shot over the shortstop’s head.
The base hit drives in two, and the crowd is lit like a birthday cake as the Aces take a 6-4 lead. The sun breaks through the clouds, and it seems like the ghosts of Mantle and Clemente have lined up an easy pathway to victory for the home team.
But no.
Baseball will break your heart. Writer and one-time Major League Baseball commissioner Bartlett Giamatti even said, “It’s designed to break your heart.” And so, out of design or whimsey or simple athletic prowess, those darn Rainiers from tepid Tacoma score three dang runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-6 lead, the clouds returning to dim the sun as sweatshirts are donned and heads shake slowly from side to side.
The home team fails to plate any
runs in their half of the seventh or
the eighth, so we head to the bottom of the ninth with the Aces still
trailing 7-6.
But there’s hope! LuJames leads off the inning with a liner just above a leaping Connor Joe and his outstretched first baseman’s mitt, and Groover is aboard the bag with his fourth hit of the day.
Luken Baker lumbers to the batter’s box and the crowd roars. The big man already has two big hits — and everyone’s hoping he’ll send us home happy with a walk-off homer. But Luken gets down in the count and then watches a hissing fastball streak by on the outside, the ump raising his arm to the sky to indicate that it caught the corner for strike three.
But it’s okay, it’s all good. Vukovich is up next, and the crowd incants its “Vuuuuuuuu” to spur him on. Still, the Rainiers’ closer makes him look foolish and gets two quick strikes. Us fans are on our feet, all manner of rally caps being worn backward and sideways and inside-out in hopes of appeasing the ghosts of Mantle and Clemente into gifting us a groundball with eyes or a little bloop that finds safe haven in that green outfield grass.
But Vukovich chases a curveball in the dirt for strike three, and the Aces are down to their last out.
If we were in Mudville watching the Nine, it would be time for Casey at the Bat. Alas, we’re not in a great American poem from 1888 but rather a real-life game in 2026, so it’s Kristian at the Bat; Kristian Robinson, from Nassau, the Bahaman with number 59 on his back now number one in our hearts. “Let’s go, Kristian! … Come on, Kristian!” He stands tall in the box, bat held strong as he works the count to three balls and a strike.
LuJames leads off first base. Kristian gets a pitch to hit. He swings! He connects! A hard-hit line drive rocketed to right. It’ll get LuJames to third and heck he might even score …
But the game will break your heart. It’s designed to break your heart. The Rainiers’ right fielder charges in on swift feet and extends a long arm, the leather of his glove snagging the sinking liner in its web to record Reno’s 27th and final out.
The stadium exhales a sigh that is a groan, and the game is over.
Us fans pick up our things and head for the exits. But before we leave, we turn, back around to the diamond, to the green of all that outfield grass. It was a beautiful day at the ballpark, and we know it. And Mantle and Clemente nod down from above, and another season of baseball has come back to us, as it has for so long, once more.
On essay days in Craig Rowe’s classroom at Truckee High School, the rules are simple: nothing written at home.
Students open their school-issued Chromebooks, log into Google Docs, and begin typing. Rowe can see who made changes, what they changed, and when. If the document has a timestamp of 11:42 p.m. on a Thursday night, he knows rules were broken.
“Here’s something you don’t hear from a teacher,” Rowe tells his students. “I do not want you to do this for homework.”
Just a few years ago, take-home essays were standard practice in English classes. Now, Rowe — who describes himself as an “old-school English teacher” — has moved much of his writing into the classroom, not because he suddenly believes homework is ineffective, but because of artificial intelligence.
Programs like ChatGPT and Google Gemini can now generate a competent five-paragraph essay in seconds. They can brainstorm topics, build outlines, write introductions, and edit rough drafts. And while school networks may block these tools, most students carry a smartphone or have a personal laptop that can access them without restriction.
In the Tahoe/Truckee schools, as in schools across the country, the question is no longer whether students will use artificial intelligence. The question is how schools can preserve learning in a world where the work students are asked to do can now be done by a machine.
Administration: Guardrails
At the helm of Tahoe Truckee Unified School District’s Technological Services is Ed Hilton. The department’s motto is Where Students Master Technology for Their Future.
“We’ve got to prepare our students for college, career, and life, and technology is one of those things in every career,”Hilton said. “So, ultimately we’re supporting our kids and using those tools that they’ll be expected to use when they move on from Tahoe Truckee.”
One of those specific tools is AI. “After ChatGPT came on the scene in 2023 we decided to test out some tools, especially in Google workspace. We use some productivity tools,” he said. “And I guess what we’re still concerned about is employees using tools that we haven’t vetted. Especially right as things came out, we did a lot of employee training, like to not upload student info so AI is not training on student info.”
Hilton estimates that in their Google and other curriculum tools, “about 1/3 use some sort of AI in the background.”
DISTRACTIONS DISTRACTIONS: Though cell phones are no longer allowed on a student’s person during classtime at many local schools, the constant distraction of the screen — even by school-issued laptops — is noted by both educators and students. Illustrations by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
He was quick to make a distinction on AI: “If you’re talking about up-font AI-use like ChatGPT, it’s just the staff. Students can’t go to ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Only staff have access.”
Each student at TTUSD is given a Chromebook, which is a streamlined laptop running Google Chrome OS, for school use from kindergarten through the senior year of high school. Kids in younger grades leave the laptops at school, older students take them home for homework, the transition happening in middle school. While on their Chromebooks, or while utilizing a school’s Wi-Fi network, up-front AI tools and a variety of websites are blocked.
Yet many students, especially in high school, have their own laptops as well. When not on school Wi-Fi, these computers (not to mention the smart-phone in most middle school and high schoolers’ pockets) have no restrictions on any AI tool or website.
Hilton acknowledged this, and that students utilizing “front end AI” has been problematic.
“As far as academic honesty, teachers are having those conversations,” he said, noting that the district has just finished a draft of its AI policy, which has been in the works since October with input from three public meetings between administrators, staff, and parents, that Hilton believes will be ratified before the end of the school year. “But we are not going to put our head in the sand. AI is definitely part of the students’ future.”
Hilton repeatedly noted that any use of AI in the district has to be “secure” and “safe.” He pushed on the need for transparency and visibility of how students are using it, and averred that there must be guardrails in place that would, essentially, allow students to use some AI tools for schoolwork, but not all of them.
“Any tool should have some sort of scaffolding to students,” he said. “In that, you don’t get the race car right away, we teach you to drive first.”
TTUSD administrators and educators are watching how the test drive goes in another Placer County school. (Though TTUSD spans three counties, the district is under Placer jurisdiction.) Rocklin Unified has, in Hilton’s term, “deployed” more front-end school-wide AI tools, namely Google Gemini, into their curriculum — okayed and even encouraged for classroom and schoolwide use.
“Our students will use AI in their jobs. But it’s come so quickly — the use, the integration and all the different things,” Hilton said. “We want to make sure we are doing it correctly. The question isn’t are we using it or not, but is it beneficial or not? If we come up with educators who say it’s not beneficial, we won’t use it. But putting our head in sand and saying AI doesn’t exist is not valuable either.”
Teachers: Protect the Learning Process
While Rowe assiduously protects students’ writing process from AI, he is also working on ways to implement the newly evolving tech tools.
THING OF THE PAST: Like the disappearance of chalkboards in the 1990s and 2000s, education is seeing pens, paper, and take-home essays become bygone tools as it enters its AI frontier. File image
“What’s the role of AI in classrooms?” he asked rhetorically. “I think there is one. But the balance of where and when to use them is a work in progress with educators, myself included.”
Rowe’s approach depends on his classes, from AP Language and AP Literature courses to his communications class. In the latter, for instance, student presentations are a large part of the curriculum. He not only okays AI-use for aspects of these, but encourages it. “AI tools are really great for research,” he said, noting an example of a student looking into the difference between engineering programs at various colleges, and how just a few years ago the research could “take days” but “now it’s one query.”
He finds a boon in using AI-generated graphics as well. “I feel like for project-based stuff and visuals, AI has some really cool tools. If someone is giving a mini Shark Tank style presentation in my communications class, I encourage them to use AI for their visuals. In the past, students may not have had much for visual aids, and now it’s almost professional level visuals and art.”
While striving to keep ideation and writing a human-powered endeavor, Rowe does see educational benefit from AI’s use on “the back end” of essay-writing. He talks of a student who had a near-final draft of her paper but wasn’t sure if her tone was coming through as intended. The student, Rowe said, “plugged it into AI, into Gemini, and asked if the tone she had intended to use was the tone that came through.” The feedback the student received, per Rowe, was useful.
But as for writing, Rowe is wary of AI taking over too much of the critical thinking and drafting that has always been vital to the creation of an essay.
“I’ve definitely had my days when I’m grading, and I’ll read something that is just so obvious AI, and it’s depressing quite frankly,” Rowe said. “My initial reaction is that, ‘yeah we have to lock ’em down and just handwrite everything.’ And then I calm down and ask myself, “What is our mission?’” He answers his own question with: “It’s not for students to get a good grade in my class but to prepare our young people to be contributors in society.”
Rowe returned to the need for balance, and the importance for discussion. “Everyone is navigating their way through it,” he said. “This is classic where the technology is way out in front of the policies and the teaching methods.”
“The kids,” he concluded, “are adapting to AI really quickly. Much quicker than the educators and the school policies.”
Laurie Cussen, who teaches history and social studies courses at Truckee High, believes in not shortcutting the learning process. “AI is a tool for productivity once you’re out of education [and into the workforce],” she said. “That makes sense, but the learning has to happen before.”
She makes an apt comparison: “My first grader is a perfect example. He is learning arithmetic, addition, and subtraction. We’ve had calculators forever that could do that for him. But it is so much better for his neuropathways for him to do it himself — to learn how to do it himself.”
“We are in neuropathway building,” she said of herself and her fellow teachers. “We need to protect the productive struggle.”
Cussen gave another analogy: As a wrestler becomes a better wrestler through the struggle of wrestling, learners become better learners through the struggle of learning. Though she acknowledges using AI in some of her own lesson planning, she “shies away” from using AI in her classroom “because it is such a convenient shortcut.”
Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
However, she does see a benefit for students to use AI as “a clarifier of concepts,” going as far as instructing her students to use AI at home to make practice quizzes, referring to it as “as a study companion.”
As for class time, Cussen echoed Mr. Rowe’s sentiments. “[AI] can do any assignment we do in class,” she said, lamenting that the school “is seeing a lot of stuff turned in that is purely done by AI.”
“If you want to ensure that the work is purely student generated, all the work has to be done in the classroom. If you let it go home, you know it’s not all student work.”
“I see class time as preserving the productive struggle, not giving students the cognitive offramp,” Cussen continued. “Protect the space of learning in class, then when you go home, use AI.”
The soft skills of communication, collaboration, problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking must remain at the core of curriculum, she said. AI proficiency, on the other hand, she observed, can be coached in shorter time spans, through short-courses or future employees, down the road. “Learning the soft skills in school is vital,” she emphasized.
Students: The Reality
Kate and Maria are juniors in AP courses at Truckee High. They have been in TTUSD schools since their elementary school days, and they say this year has been their most academically rigorous thus far. They both want to go to college, with some big names in education on their lists of desired schools. Both are taking an AP-heavy courseload. To protect their privacy, their names have been changed.
Both agreed that a difference regarding AI in this school year is “the teachers are more on edge about it in general.” The students spoke about the restrictions regarding AI-use on tests and certain assignments when on school Wi-Fi and Chromebooks.
“But for online homework, there are no restrictions like that,” Kate said. Both she and Maria have their own personal laptops. They said teachers sometimes do encourage or even instruct homework assignments to be completed with AI. Other times, students simply opt to use it.
“I do think sometimes it’s beneficial to use Chat GPT or Gemini because it can help answer questions you don’t know,” Maria said. “Let’s say there was a formula in math that I can’t remember, it can help me. It’s nice to have a website like Chat GPT you can trust to explain it to you step by step.”
The students echoed the idea of the AI study companion.
“Chat GPT for me is really useful for studying for tests because some teachers don’t give study guides,” Kate said, saying that she copies and pastes content from her Google Classroom page into one of the programs to have the AI generate, for instance, “flash cards for unit three of [class].”
When asked, in their view, if they had ever overstepped the ethical bounds of AI-use on an assignment, Maria answered, “Honestly, not really.” Both described how passing AP tests to receive the valuable college credits means that the student actually has to learn the material. (One cannot use AI tools on the test, for instance.) The two juniors also spoke to a genuine desire to learn for learning’s sake.
Maria stated that she did not use AI before she started taking AP classes. “I think learning has definitely changed a lot,” she said.
Still, similar to what their teachers and administrators have noticed, Kate and Maria also see some students finding workarounds and overly relying on AI, using it, in some cases, to complete the entirety, or the near-entirety, of an assignment.
“I definitely think kids are getting stupider from using it too much,” Kate said.
But both do not blame their peers for the overuse. “It’s just so accessible to just search up the answer if you don’t have time,” Kate said.
As for writing, the juniors find AI to be a key tool. “Honestly, writing is more like a first draft, not editing,” Kate said. ‘If I feel like I need editing, I’ll run it through Chat GPT.”
She usually writes out “one to two drafts” on her own before (and if) she seeks AI editing.
When a human-written draft is “run through” an AI program for editing, per the detection software turnitin.app, it is more difficult to catch than if the draft was initially generated by AI. Further hindrances to detection arise when an AI-generated first draft is edited by a human, when there is mixed AI-human authorship; or when content is too short to provide sufficient linguistic data, i.e., a paragraph-length piece rather than an essay-length.
Kate and Maria also noted using AI as a writing tutor on their essays for the “little things you can use ChatGPT for, like topic points or information … how do I format it …what facts do I put in … to see if I need a smoother transition on this” … “When I have no idea what to write about” and to “put it in and see how it’s going to grade me.”
When the students were asked if they work harder or less hard when they use an AI program like ChatGPT on their schoolwork, the students said: “Definitely less effort because it gives you the exact answer.”
How to not be tempted to use AI or other digital technology? Get rid of the screen.
“In my history class where there’s lectures, you can ask questions while you go over the information and take notes,” Maria said. “You don’t have any technology out, and you’re totally focused on the teacher and what they’re saying. I think that’s more impactful, the lecture and taking notes with pen and paper. Way more beneficial for sure. A lot of times when I take notes on my computer, I get sidetracked and open different tabs. When it’s pen and paper, I don’t have that excuse.”
EDUCATION FINDS ITSELF entering an AI landscape where the unknowns outweigh the knowns and where protecting the productive struggle of learning has become paramount. File image
Nevada: The Transplant and the Chatbot
In North Lake Tahoe, Incline Village schools fall under the Washoe County School District. I spoke with an early-grade elementary school teacher who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. She moved to the district from a state where, she said, schools were moving away from classroom technology. In Nevada, she found the opposite. “All curriculum is online,” she said of her classes. Even when she reads a book aloud, the students no longer gather around a physical copy with pages that she fans while teaching; the book is displayed on a screen.
She acknowledged that not all studies show classroom technology to improve learning outcomes, but in her new district, its use is expanding rather than shrinking. She broached how her school has “just implemented an app for kids to do their reading homework on instead of them reading books and completing a reading log.”
The app is called Paloma. Per its LinkedIn page, the company “is a venture-backed edtech startup that harnesses AI to unleash parents’ untapped teaching potential.” In short, Paloma’s AI generates personalized books aligned to what it knows about a student’s learning needs and personal/familial interests, and texts the student’s family a daily tutoring lesson plan.
“A few parents have actually complained since they do not want their child on technology,” the teacher said.
When I was unable to reach administrators at Incline High School, I turned to the district’s website, where I found something no other Tahoe/Truckee area school site had: an AI assistant. The chatbot introduces itself in writing: “Hi, I’m Ask your WCSD AI Assistant. How can I help you today?”
I asked it a simple question: Do Incline High students use AI?
The response began: “The Washoe County School District acknowledges that AI is rapidly reshaping education and can be a powerful tool for expanding learning.” The answer went on for several paragraphs, outlining both benefits and drawbacks, and included a statement that the district had established a framework “that ensures AI is used responsibly, ethically, and effectively.”
In my conversations with educators for this article, that was the first time I had heard the word “ensure” used in reference to students’ ethical AI use.
I asked the chatbot another question: How come AI is so good for first graders?
It responded that AI can “enhance learning,” “foster creativity,” and “personalize learning to meet individual needs, even at an early age.”
Then I asked a question more specific to writing: Is editing writing?
The AI responded that “editing is an integral part of the writing process,” and that “writing encompasses the entire process from ideation to the final product.” So, I asked a follow-up: Can AI help students with ideating and editing an essay?
“Yes,” the chatbot responded, stating that students are encouraged to use AI for brainstorming, for planning ideas and organizing thoughts, and in editing drafts.
Reading the responses, I wrote an if/then statement in my notebook. If ideation and editing are integral aspects of writing an essay and students are encouraged to use AI for them, then does that not innately represent cognitive offloading of integral aspects of writing an essay?
Yes, I believe it does.
When I returned a few days later and asked the chatbot the same questions again, its answers were similar, but not identical. The AI, it seemed, had learned — and altered its answers in subtle but noticeable ways.
WHAT WAS BROKEN? While old-school teaching methods were not perfect, a lot of students learned just fine for a long time before AI-infused curriculums and cognitive offloading. Illustration by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
Waldorf: Trees Before Tech
Public schools are by no means the only option for students and parents in Tahoe/Truckee. Truckee alone offers a number of private and charter schools. I reached out to many and heard back from some, learning that each is eitherallowing or encouraging AI in its curriculum to varying degrees.
One curriculum, however, stood out as unique — Tahoe Truckee Waldorf’s, which teaches students on three campuses from preschool through eighth grade.
“We are a tech-free school and community,” said Alexandra Ball, the school’s admissions manager. “You will not find tech in our classrooms. We ask our families to be cognizant of screentime at home as well.”
Waldorf schools have been around for over 100 years, and they are built on principles of a comprehensive and holistic education aimed to grow students’ intellectual, creative, artistic, and practical skills. Standardized testing is typically limited, and teachers are given a relatively wider range of curriculum autonomy. Nature, play, music, and imagination are widely emphasized as integral tools for learning. A motto of Tahoe Truckee Waldorf is “Trees before Tech.”
“We are tech free not because we are anti-technology but because we believe in developing children’s cognitive abilities and critical thinking abilities before they are introduced to it,” Ball continued, noting the value of human interactions and dealing with real-life situations as educational keys in Tahoe Truckee Waldorf’s curriculum. “We believe it gives children a better start in life.”
Ball grew up in Washington State and went to The Seattle Waldorf School through eighth grade. She has lived in the Tahoe/Truckee area for “about a decade” and all three of her children are in the Tahoe Truckee Waldorf schools.
“It has been proven that technology is not great for attention spans and things like that,” she said. “Plus, it is not really showing that it helps children in reading, comprehension, or aptitude. Countries typically rated high in education, like Sweden, are moving away from technology and back to paper and handwriting. We are not doing anything revolutionary, we are just doubling down on what’s [been] proven to work.
“I believe strongly in giving my kids and all children the best way to develop themselves. As a parent, before I send my children out to the world, I hope their whole brain is being used.”
Adoption: Playing Catch-Up
By the time I got to high school, auto shop had been removed from the curriculum. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But as an adult who has spent thousands of hours driving, I truly wish my school had found a way to keep that class, and that I would have been taught about the inter-workings of such a crucial thing that my world would entail.
Perhaps it’s the same with today’s students and AI, the auto shop of yesteryear — a tool students will use constantly in their adult lives, whether schools fully embrace it or not.
By many criteria, AI is the most powerful tool the world has ever seen. In reaction, teachers talk about “protecting the productive struggle.” Administrators talk about guardrails. Students talk about accessibility and pressure and time. What they all agree on is that it’s not going away.
When human beings adopt a technology, we adapt to it. We built roads for our cars. We rearranged our living rooms for our televisions. We reorganized our attention spans for our smartphones. And now it’s AI.
Schools are trying to figure out how to adapt to this powerful newcomer — how to use artificial intelligence without letting it replace the very skills schools exist to teach. The technology is moving quickly. The policies, and the classrooms, are trying to catch up.
On a clear and calm Thursday morning, a group of six meets on a pontoon boat at the Tahoe City Marina for a dive. Though everyone there is a return volunteer, Clean Up the Lake Operations Manager Klemen Robnik reviews the plans, everyone’s tasks, and boat and high-altitude-dive safety. After the safety debrief, volunteer Roman Versch, who serves as the group’s boat captain, navigates the boat to the last marked GPS location in Hurricane Bay where the previous divers left off.
Most of the lake’s litter and debris is never seen by people who recreate here, but it is quietly collected by Clean Up the Lake, a volunteer-based (1,300 strong) nonprofit organization. CUTL is on its second circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe’s 72-mile shoreline — this time at a greater depth.
The lake is still and glassy as volunteer Cole Wagner and Operations Assistant Nick Krozek suit up and plop into the water, followed by Rose Demoret, who serves as the kayaker and primary data collector, trailing after the divers’ bubbles.
“So, each time we go out on a dive, I’m actually running a Strava route, so I’m following as close as I can in the path that the divers take, so that they have that data to analyze and see exactly where they have been,” Demoret said. “The other component to that is sometimes they come across items that can’t be picked up.” In that case, divers mark the heavy or bulky items to return to.
In the sweet spot of about 45 feet below the surface, the divers float slowly through the cold water, scanning the lakebed. At such a depth, nitrox — a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen — allows them to stay under water for longer. Cradled in the silt is a trove of trash the divers gather and aquatic invasive species they document.
NITROX and diver propulsion vehicles allow scuba divers to more efficiently search for debris between 35 and 55 feet deep, a more taxing depth than the 25 feet of the first circumnavigation cleanup. Photos courtesy Clean Up the Lake
This particular day the divers cover 0.37 miles, collecting over 150 pounds of litter including a soggy orange shag rug that looks like it fell off an Austin Powers set. Bulky items like the rug are sent to the surface via an inflated, bright orange heavy lift bag, which Robnik then retrieves and inspects to see what’s attached.
“We usually pull out roughly 500 to 1,000 pounds a month,” Robnik said.
He recalled a full, five-step staircase the crew found in Carnelian Bay, several boat ladders, tarps, chains, and lost anchors.
“It never goes away unless it’s salvaged,” Versch said.
ACCIDENTAL LITTER: Divers pull up all sorts of debris within the 35- to 55-foot range, much of which they believe to have accidentally fallen off boats.
Going the Extra Mile
“Initially I was like, there’s not much at all to do here. Lake Tahoe is so clean and so beautiful,” said CUTL Founder and CEO Colin West. “Under the surface … the problem’s just been perpetuating out of sight and out of mind.”
There are piles upon piles of trash in the lake, according to him. Clean Up the Lake’s 72 Mile Cleanup2 began with a deep-clean pilot-project in 2025 at depths up to 25 feet. The first cleanup successfully collected 25,281 pounds of trash. This year’s haul is anticipated to surpass that amount.
The current project kicked off on the West Shore border of Placer County in December. Because Lake Tahoe is calm and free from recreation traffic in winter, cleanup days are booked through the chilly months, leading to divers in wetsuits coming up shivering.
Clean Up the Lake is now traveling clockwise around the lake, following the contours of the shore and scoping out the 35- to 55-foot-deep swath of lakebed. The dives will continue through summer. As of the Ink’s publication, this second cleanup has completed 23 dive days and three sorting days, removing more than 3,557 pounds of debris.
“Based on those numbers over our mileage,” Programs Manager Jenny Uvira said, “it projected for us to actually collect more trash in 35 to 55 depth range than we did in the original circumnavigation.”
Uvira guessed that the tipping point might happen near the project’s 62-mile mark. West emphasized it’s a projection; the reality has yet to be seen.
DIVE TEAM: Divers Cole Wagner and Nick Krozek and kayaker Rose Demoret make their way to a GPS pin to continue the 72 Mile Deep Clean2. Photo by Megan Ramsey/Moonshine Ink
“The only way we know is once we swim across and clean it up ourselves,” West said.
So, what’s down there? Alpine lakes are barren in regards to plant life, but there is an abundance of litter.
“You can’t see it until it comes up,” Versch explained. “The divers see it underwater. You don’t realize how much trash is really in the lake. And so much more than I ever imagined.”
Clean Up the Lake’s mission is to conserve lakes across the Eastern Sierra.
“I’ve had the pleasure of visiting other areas around the world and I’ve seen what can become of our environment and our underwater environments if we disregard them, if we don’t take action now while we can, to protect them and protect the beautiful, wild, and natural look that it’s been for so long,” West said.
West came up with the idea to start a nonprofit when he traveled to Belize and saw trash-ridden beaches on stretches of unmaintained shoreline.
“And I think Tahoe is one of those few areas that still shows signs of how it’s always been. But unfortunately, you know, the litter, the New Zealand mud snail, the Asian clams, the Eurasian modern milfoil, curly leaf pond weed, goldfish, bass, the invasive [species], the garbage, the algae growth from runoff, and nutrient loading — all these problems are really starting to have a detrimental effect on Lake Tahoe.”
HEAVY LIFT: Klemen Robnik pulls a disintegrating tire from the water after divers sent it up with an inflated lift bag. Photo by Megan Ramsey/Moonshine Ink
The Aftermath of Trash
“I think a lot of people just think we pull trash out of the lake and then throw it out and take it to the dump,” Uvira said, “but it’s so much more than that. We sort our trash into 83 different categories.”
The main categories are plastics, metal, glass, and wood, which contain subcategories such as plastic utensils, plastic fishing gear, and others — within plastics, there are 27 different subcategories. Uvira said sorting the trash helps identify problems in different parts of the lake. Near buoy fields, for instance, divers find items like boat covers and metal bird-deterrents. At the current depth they are focused on, heavier items and lots of beer cans and beverage bottles have settled.
Even though they find so much litter, volunteers and employees of Clean Up the Lake think the lake is becoming cleaner.
“In the past, there was a lot more littering. We do find lots more trash that’s a little bit older. And if we revisit an area after a while, chances are that there’s going to be less trash,” Robnik said about his personal observations in the field. “The environmental consciousness of people has gotten better, and we are noticing a lot more of modern litter is accidental littering.”
But that doesn’t mean the accumulated litter is without its detriments.
“If the litter’s not removed, the thousand-plus tires we’ve removed break down and turn into microplastics, make their way into drinking water,” West said. “I’ve seen tons of wildlife entanglement in our lakes of huge, beautiful trout being caught in fishing lines.”
Uvira commented that though the overall weight of plastic that they collect tends to be lower than that of other materials, the number of fragments and microplastics is high. The more plastic degrades, the smaller the particles become, and the harder they are to remove from the drinking water Tahoe provides.
Elizabeth Everest, the consulting environmental scientist and GIS expert for CUTL, noted that when debris like rubber begins to break down, it introduces toxins into the water.
cole WAGNER, a certified diver and one of the 1,300 volunteers with Clean Up the Lake, drops into the water with a splash before descending with his dive buddy. Photo by Megan Ramsey/Moonshine Ink
“Once items have been removed from the lake, there’s less of an impact moving forward,” she explained. “But obviously, as things break down, those small pieces that can’t be physically removed are going to remain in the lake for a really long time.”
The effect of toxins in the water, changes in the ecosystem caused by aquatic invasive species, and rising temperatures accumulate and worsen without actions from organizations like Clean Up the Lake.
“These cleanups are fixing the mistakes of our past. We’ve got decades and decades of litter that’s stacked up underneath lakes here,” West said. “Fresh water is one of our most crucial resources and is only going to become more important as we have 73-degree stretches [all] month long in March [at] 7,000 feet. Climate change is happening. It’s here. It’s been in Tahoe all month long. So, we need to protect these freshwater resources that we have.”
Clean Up the Lake remains optimistic, dive by dive, pound of trash after pound of trash removed.
“I feel like we are making strides, and we’re going in the right direction,” West said. “And hopefully we can continue to spread this work.”
The team emphasized that the sooner debris is removed, the less it will degrade and impact water quality. You don’t need a scuba tank to pitch in.
“If you see a piece of trash, pick it up,” Demoret said. “It’s really pretty easy to keep a little plastic bag or an extra bag with you to collect a little bit of trash any time that you go out. If everybody does a small impact picking up a couple trash items on the shoreline, then one, they’re not going to end up in the water, and then two, it won’t be on the shoreline for people to see. You don’t have to make a huge effort.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Join Clean Up the Lake on Earth Day, April 22, for a cleanup at the Tahoe City Marina. Find more opportunities for volunteering at cleanupthelake.org/volunteer
