LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. – Quick actions by boaters and paddlers this year helped prevent the dangerous golden mussel and other aquatic invasive species from entering the Lake Tahoe watershed, according to agencies leading the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) program. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD), which manage the watercraft inspection program, reported that inspectors performed more than 4,700 decontaminations in 2025, a 60 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Inspectors attribute the dramatic jump in decontaminations to actions taken earlier this year to confront the threat of golden mussels, a new and highly invasive mollusk discovered in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta of California one year ago.
In March 2025, the agencies enacted mandatory decontaminations in addition to the mandatory inspections that have been required since 2008. A required stop at one of three regional inspection stations only applies to vessels that don’t have an intact inspection seal from their last haul out from Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake, or Echo Lakes.
This season, trained watercraft inspectors intercepted 72 watercraft traveling to Tahoe with aquatic invasive species, 14 of which had invasive mussels onboard.
2025 by the numbers:
4,700 motorized vessels decontaminated
72 vessels intercepted with AIS on board
14 interceptions of invasive mussels
60% of boats arrived Clean, Drained, and Dry
Since 2008:
123,000 watercraft inspected
“Our inspectors were on the front lines of defense against golden mussels, which brought a strong sense of purpose and exceptional teamwork,” said Thomas Boos, AIS prevention coordinator at TRPA. “We are grateful to our inspectors, boaters, and partners for keeping Lake Tahoe and surrounding waterbodies protected as we face this new threat.”
If introduced, golden mussels would irreversibly harm Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem, recreation, and water quality. Since their discovery last year, golden mussels have already been detected as far south as Silverwood Lake near San Bernardino.
Tahoe Keepers Clean, Drain, Dry their gear
Protecting the Tahoe Basin from invasive species extends beyond the watercraft inspection stations. Agencies and partner organizations rallied this season to augment non-motorized outreach and stewardship programs to reduce the risk of transport on kayaks, paddleboards, and fishing equipment. From billboards, to an interactive exhibit, to a chance-to-win campaign, partners in the basin broadcast one clear message: Clean, Drain, Dry all gear to protect the lake.
2025 non-motorized prevention by the numbers:
800 new Tahoe Keepers certified
4 free CD3 machines located around the lake
4 roving inspectors:
10,000 craft inspected
17,000 people connected
30 beaches protected
Since 2008:
8,300Tahoe Keepers certified
The free Tahoe Keepers training program saw one of its biggest years for new certifications and the addition of a fourth roving inspector helped thousands of recreators learn how to Clean, Drain, and Dry their gear.
“It wasn’t until I worked at the watercraft inspection station that I saw how vulnerable the lake is to invasive species,” said Leland Li, a watercraft inspector turned roving inspector. “The folks I talk to are the same—people care and want to protect the lake but may not be aware of all the threats. When beachgoers are educated, they spread the word to others and amplify the effect of our work.”
Winter Operations Begin
Mandatory inspections and decontaminations continue to be essential in protecting the Jewel of the Sierra. To maintain access for boaters visiting in the winter, inspection and decontamination will only be available by appointment on select Wednesdays at the Meyers, Calif. inspection station. Winter inspections have shifted away from the year-round launch ramps, however boats with an intact Tahoe inspection seal can go straight to the ramp. Appointments for winter decontamination can be made at TahoeBoatInspections.com/appt.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – In the early morning hours of October 15, 2025, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a family disturbance in the 800 block of Southwood Blvd., Incline Village.
Upon arrival, deputies made contact with the female victim and conducted an on-scene investigation. It was determined that a domestic battery, false imprisonment, and preventing/dissuade a victim from reporting a crime had occurred. Deputies discovered that the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Clayton Zechman, had fled the scene prior to their arrival.
Several hours later, deputies located Zechman’s unoccupied vehicle hidden in the trees off of Highway 28 and informed the victim of the discovery. Because the suspect had not yet been located, the victim expressed that she did not feel safe entering her residence and requested a deputy escort.
Upon entering the residence, deputies located Zechman and took him into custody without further incident.
Zechman was booked into the Washoe County Detention Facility with the following charges:
Domestic Battery (1st)
Preventing/Dissuading Reporting of a Crime
False Imprisonment
Resist a Public Officer
Domestic violence is a serious and deeply harmful crime that affects individuals and families across all communities. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to protecting victims and holding offenders accountable. We encourage anyone experiencing domestic violence to seek help, there are resources and support is available. Together, we can break the cycle of violence and work toward a safer community and future.
We encourage anyone affected by domestic violence to seek help. If you or someone you know is in a violent domestic relationship, please be aware of community resources:
In an emergency, do not hesitate to call or text 9-1-1
National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Temporary Protection Order Office: 775-328-3127
Crisis Support Services of Northern Nevada: 800-992-5757
Domestic Violence Resource Center: 775-329-4150
Safe Embrace – Family Violence Program & Shelter: 775-322-3466
Sierra Community House, Incline Village: 800-736-1060
This remains an ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Non-Emergency Dispatch at (775)785-WCSO (9276) or remain anonymous by contacting Secret Witness at (775) 322-4900 / www.secretwitness.com, reference case # WC25- 5204.
A Lake Tahoe man, who was stopped with a .255 blood alcohol content, an open bottle of vodka and a previous felony DUI, was 4-12 years in prison on Monday after a judge said he posed a danger to everyone else on the road.
District Judge Tom Gregory added two years to the 2-10-year sentence recommended by both the defense and prosecution for Jason David Herwill, 34.
“At .255 blood alcohol content you were as dangerous as anyone in the community at that point in time,” Gregory said.
A subsequent felony DUI carries a mandatory sentence of 2-15 years in prison and a $2,000-$5,000 fine.
“He doesn’t want to ruin someone else’s life because he’s having a bad day,” defense attorney Alexis Duecker said in arguing for the judge to follow the recommendation.
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Herwill acknowledged the danger his drinking and driving posed.
“Alcohol has been the bane of my existence,” he said. “I had a daughter, a house, a great job and I lost everything because of alcohol.”
He was arrested on May 7 at the intersection of Mottsville Lane and Foothill Road.
He was on probation from a felony DUI conviction out of Nevada City, Calif., at the time.
Prosecutor Chelsea Mazza said the May arrest was his fourth over the course of a decade.
“That he didn’t kill someone is not by his own design,” she said.
Gregory added two years to the recommended sentence, in part because Herwill was on probation when he was arrested and in part because he denied he was a criminal in the statement he gave in the pre-sentence investigation.
In addition to his prison sentence, Herwill must pay a $2,000 fine. He was given credit for 160 days he served in jail while awaiting proceedings.
The Douglas County School Board has had 18 Open Meeting Law violations since 2023 and they will have to acknowledge two more during the school board meeting scheduled for Thursday at Whittell High School.
Six of those violations resulted in Finding of Facts and Conclusions of Law issued by the Office of Attorney General, including;Lehmann v. Douglas County School District on June 7, 2024, Hokenson v. Douglas County School District on April 16, 2025, Hiatt V. Douglas County School District on June 23, 2025, and McGuffin V. Douglas County School District on July 23, 2025.
More recently, The Office of Attorney General issued Findings of Facts and Conclusion of Law in complaints filed by Minden resident Adrienne Sawyer and Gardnerville resident Jennifer Wilson.
Sawyer filed a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General regarding events that happened between the July 19, 2023, and Aug. 8, 2023, school board meetings. The complaint alleges that the Board approved a contract with Joey Gilbert Law at its July 19, 2023, meeting, but the contract signed by the board in early August was materially different.
According to the complaint, the approval and execution process for the Board’s contract with Joey Gilbert Law did not follow proper open meeting law procedures. The board allegedly approved changes to the contract without further discussion by the board, which was a violation.
The legislative intent of the law does not prohibit every private discussion, but it does intend to prohibit collective deliberations where a quorum is present and action is taken outside of a public meeting. According to Wilson’s complaint at least four board members discussed the termination of previous superintendent, Keith Lewis. Lewis ended up resigning Oct. 23, 2023.
The Office of Attorney General found that the complaints were in violation of Open Meeting Laws and the board must acknowledge the findings at their next board meeting on Thursday.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The unique challenges of creating and maintaining housing in Tahoe have been the focus of the Tribune’s housing series. Now, the Tribune takes a look at other mountain communities: their challenges, triumphs and lessons they’ve learned.
Part 1 of this housing story touches on location and tourism challenges. Part 2 touches on fundi challenges, opinions on housing and lessons learned.
The Tribune spoke with housing managers and planning employees from Ketchum, Idaho (Carissa Connelly); Aspen and Vail, Colorado (Jason Dietz); Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming (April Norton); Hood River, Oregon (Dustin Nielsen); and Mammoth Lakes, California (Marcus Sproll.)
Funding challenges
Finding funding is by far one of the most challenging parts of any endeavor, especially for housing for the missing middle. “There’s a tremendous need across all income ranges,” said Norton. And keeping housing affordable for anyone means often making investments for very little return.
For mountain communities, the cost of construction and materials being shipped to them is extremely high. Norton says that after the great recession, local tradespeople moved away as prices rose, never to return. That means crews come up to Jackson and Teton County from Idaho and Utah, driving up the costs to $500 per square feet for multifamily and affordable housing, $1000 per square feet for single family homes. Not to mention, land costs are also exorbitant.
But two methods seem to work well everywhere: taxation and public/private partnerships. While bonds can be useful, taxation represents a regular contribution, sometimes into dedicated funds. Dietz says that their housing sales tax brings in about $5 million per year. “That’s a lot, but not a lot in the grand scheme of funding,” he said.
So, nonprofits, companies and government entity partnerships are often needed to leverage funds and provide capital that otherwise would be inaccessible. “Creating housing requires a subsidy,” said Dietz. “Government entities can add value by bringing the land, then we can leverage local funds from the general fund or other places with the help of these partnerships.” Dietz cited that the Southbase project used tax-exempt project revenue bonds, made their project attractive through a higher debt coverage ratio and collateralized their golf course.
In Vail, there’s also a real estate transfer tax and a real interest in an STR excise tax to bring more for housing funds. “To get housing, you have to take the risk out of permitting and entitlement and building. How much subsidy can you bring to the table?” asked Dietz.
Aspen’s real estate transfer tax “hasn’t dampened the desire or resale value of houses,” according to Richards. She sees the tax as a substantial funding source, along with their sales tax, which has 25% directed towards housing.
While Aspen and other places in Colorado have these real estate taxes, they’re no longer permitted in the state otherwise. But Colorado has major support in terms of state involvement.
Oregon too, has supported Hood River’s rapid growth and changes. It has followed in California’s footsteps by removing regulatory barriers and adjusting minimum standards. Hood River has adjusted its codes in response to these changes, but Nilsen says Oregon is “very ambitious” in the housing sphere.
“The state has provided assistance with resources when we’ve requested it, and they see what we’re doing as a pilot and possible roadmap,” said Nilsen. Hood River’s construction excise tax, one of the first in Oregon, sets aside funds from market rate construction for affordable housing, buying property and soliciting developers.
Hood River also has an urban renewal overlay, which takes increments from developments to focus on redevelopment, infrastructure and activating spots for housing. “Oregon has been pretty supportive of these creative solutions. They have strict measures on the growth of taxes, but they invest in our most ambitious projects.”
California has also been supportive of housing, though the state has much focus on those at the 80% area median income and below. Low-income tax credits and partnerships with land trusts and private partners made projects like Sugar Pine Village possible. But Sproll says that the missing middle needs funding for new construction too. “It’s one of the most challenging issues out there,” he said, saying that they are the primary challenge in resort communities.
However, not every state is as supportive. “Idaho cannot raise revenue in a way that is meaningful,” said Connelly. “It’s a property rights state. I wish we could do real estate transfer taxes or vacant home taxes. But there’s a state level assumption that if you build more, it will be affordable, which is not necessarily true.”
Teton County, which is in the top 10 highest income counties according to the American Community Survey, is a challenge for Norton as well. “We have received some state support with regards to tax credits, but we have no state housing trust fund—it fails in the legislature every time,” said Norton. “Our state has chosen to take a pro private property stance.”
Opinions on housing
While there is support for housing in many places, public outreach and understanding where people are coming from is needed to help shape how housing will play out.
Norton said, “There’s a couple different factions of anti-housing people here. Some are opposed to the location, some are anti-growth in these communities and some disagree with government involvement in housing.” She also has to contend with a funded anti-housing group, which she says is paid for in part by wealthy, out of state NIMBYs.
Connelly says that there is often backlash to new construction at any scale, especially because of the attitudes around housing. She sympathizes with the people who say that they teach kids, work in pharmacies and serve the community—yet are treated like outsiders.
Connelly lives in an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Ketchum and says people have accused her of lying about living and working there. They’ve also told her in no uncertain terms that they aren’t interested in multi-family homes, as there’s a pervasive rhetoric that people looking for housing are “parasites.” And these people are often speaking up more at public meetings.
Other places have more support by leagues, but are concerned with the environmental ramifications of more building in rural areas, especially those near protected lands. Still more wonder about what the change will bring to their towns.
The character of the place people live has long been a major consideration that, for some, feels encroached on by housing. But the threats that many worry about, like out-of-towners filling up new housing, is actually impacting people who have lived there for a long time.
“People that live here do so because they love the place they live. Change can feel a bit like a threat to that quality of life and small-town feel,” said Nilsen. “But this is a market-driven issue beyond the scope of the individual. This threat is really to long-term residents who are displaced or multi-generational families who can no longer afford to live here, and I fear that they won’t really be able to unless we continue creating housing as a change for the public interest.”
“What is the purpose of affordable housing?” asked Richards. “In a lot of ways, it’s determining your community. Is it all second homes with commutes 40 miles away? Is it just about a workforce? Is it just to fulfill employment? Or do you want to have a community?”
Lessons learned
Major lessons boil down to dealing with the challenges of these mountain communities, with a primary driver being money. “Housing should be something that’s funded annually, like roads,” said Richards.
Solutions should also fit the unique profile of a mountain town, since one size truly doesn’t fit all. Nilsen said, “It’s part of our job to choose the correct fit within our state and what the city is trying to accomplish.”
While low-income tax credits have been invaluable in funding Sugar Pine Village, Richards says that they don’t plan to pursue it further in Aspen. “As time passes and wages increase, but the guidelines don’t change, we end up with empty units we are unable to fill because applicants ‘make too much money.'”
Similarly, while ADUs have had some success in Idaho and California as housing options, the reticence in Nevada and other private property prioritizing states means it might not work everywhere.
But working within state and federal legislation can lead to creative solutions. Jackson County has systems that allows them to manage housing paid for by employers in the area, taking the onus off of employers to clean, care for or lease their properties.
Other places promote housing through zoning, streamlining processes or offering incentives to developers that make it easier, not harder to create housing. Some have suggested taxes to fund them or even tax exemptions that could be discussed.
Everyone acknowledges that so many stages of life are more complicated in these rural communities—being single, having a family and aging all present their own issues. But they’re trying to address those too with local preferences for workforce, increasing multifamily dwellings, preserving housing and in some cases, creating loans that help homeowners make accessibility fixes.
In Italian culture, food is more than just food. It represents familial ties, togetherness and tradition. Meals in Italy are a time for gathering, eating dishes passed down through generations made from only the finest and freshest ingredients, all while celebrating life and spreading love. It makes sense that Italian restaurants have spread through Tahoe. Though the lake itself is huge and the Greater Tahoe Area spreads far and wide, the communities around the lake are tight-knit and hold the small town feel. Pair that with the long list of activities available at the lake including water sports, hiking, skiing/snowboarding, swimming and beach days, snowshoeing, biking, etc and what do we get? A hungry body and belly come dinner time. What better way to wrap up a day of physically taxing festivities than over a bowl of creamy delicious pasta and a flavorful glass of wine?
Classic Italian Restaurants:
Izabella Ristorante Italiano
Izabella’s is a mile from the stateline in South Lake Tahoe making it close to the liveliness of the Heavenly Village and the surrounding area. The dining room is modern and comfy giving a luxurious feel with affordable and delightful meals to match. There is a wide variety of dishes and wine on the menu so everyone can find something to enjoy. Izabella Ristorante Italiano is located at 3967 Lake Tahoe Blvd, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 and serves food 7 days a week opening at 5 P.M. each evening.
Scusa Italian Ristorante
Scusa Italian Ristorante sign.Provided / Haley Beyer
Scusa’s is known for their large selection of appetizers and salads. Their bread and desserts are baked in-house daily and the main menu focuses on traditional, regional and coastal dishes of Italy including Chicken Piccata, Osso Buco, Veal Marsala, Sea Scallops-Mediterranean and Shrimp, Clams and Mussels. Scusa’s is located at the corner of Highway 50 and Sierra Blvd – 2543 Lake Tahoe Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. The restaurant is open 7 days a week and opens at 5 P.M.
Bruschetta
Bruschetta has been open for about a year. The owner, Erik, and a chef he worked with at another restaurant in San Francisco worked together to create a casual/fine dining experience for locals. Bruschetta is known for their 20 layer lasagna and veal parmesan. All of the pasta, bread, and cheese is made in house. The menu is also changed quarterly to bring in fresh ingredients and keep returning guests interested in the limited menu. Bruschetta’s goal is for every guest to leave happy and with a full belly while hopefully creating a community relationship between regular guests and servers. The restaurant is open for lunch from 11 am on weekdays or 10 am on weekends until 2 P.M. The restaurant then reopens for dinner every evening for dinner from 4-9:30 P.M.
Primo’s Lake Tahoe
Primo’s Lake Tahoe sign.Provided / Haley Beyer
Primo’s has two restaurants, one being a finer dining restaurant and the other a pizzeria. Primo’s Lake Tahoe opened in 2024. The modern Italian menu “breaks away from the traditional red sauce,” there are still some classic dishes but Primo’s has prided themselves on being creative and innovative. The fine dishes at Primo’s are made with ingredients from all over Italy in a modern way. Their wine selection includes varieties of all kinds so every meal has a pairing. There is also a heated outdoor patio for a romantic summer evening vibe. Primo’s is open Tuesday – Sunday 4 – 11 P.M. and weekends for brunch from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. Located at 1181 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150.
Azzara’s
Sam Azzara bartending at the restaurant.Provided / Haley Beyer
The first Azzara’s was opened by Sam Azzara with his mothers help in Stanton, CA. Eventually, Sam fell in love and married. He and his wife vacationed in Tahoe and the two loved the area so much that they moved to Incline in 1976. Just two years later, Incline Village’s very own Azzara’s opened. The restaurant is celebrating their 47th year in business in Tahoe. Andrea Azzara Gitchell, daughter of the two, grew up working in the restaurant with her father. “I have always loved the work and loved being with my father and learning from him. I enjoy serving people and being social. I love that good food brings people together. We get a sneak peek into people’s lives – whether it’s big celebrations like weddings, anniversaries, vacations, or just weekday dinners,” Gitchell shared. Gitchell and her husband, Cord, took over the restaurant from her parents in 2007. Just like she did with her dad, Gitchell’s three sons worked in the restaurant with her. “I loved growing up in Incline and at the restaurant and my hope is that one of my sons will want to carry on the family tradition. I think it builds character and teaches work ethic. Hospitality business can be amazing, chaotic, and sometimes very challenging, but so rewarding. I am so proud of our family heritage,” Gitchell explained.
Azzara’s is known for their amazing food, consistency, and value. Their meals are large portions. The entrees come with soup or salads and garlic bread. The chicken parmigiana is the restaurant’s most popular dish followed closely by Lasagna, Penne Vodka, Chicken Capper, and Fettuccini Alfredo. Important to note is Sam Azzara’s favorite dish, Linguine and Clams. Azzara’s also offers homemade desserts including Tiramisu, Cannoli, and cheesecake. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday 5-9 P.M at 930 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village, NV 89451.
Sapori Italian Kitchen at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
One of Tahoe’s finest Italian restaurants located on the 18th floor of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe with views like no other of the Sierra Nevada mountains. All the dishes are from the Carano Family recipe book with housemade pastas, pizzas, and “World Famous Carano” mushroom ravioli, Sapori’s must-eat. The restaurant is also known for its tiramisu, which is prepared tableside. This luxurious experience is available Friday – Tuesday from 5-9 P.M. Reserve a table at https://www.caesars.com/harrahs-tahoe/restaurants/sapori
Lanza’s Restaurant
This restaurant serves all the classics from a variety of pastas, pizzas, chicken dinners and veal meals and an array of side dishes. Lanza’s also has a list of wines to pair with each meal. Reservations are not accepted so walk on in when the family gets hungry. Open everyday from 5-9 P.M. unless stopping by the restaurant bar first which opens at 4:30 P.M. everyday located at 7739 N Lake Blvd, Kings Beach, CA 96143.
Gastromaniac Homemade Pasta and Pizza
This authentic Italian restaurant offers both pizza and handmade pasta in South Lake Tahoe. Gastromaniac prides themselves on being a place where everyone from all walks of life will feel welcome in their easy-going and friendly environment for every occasion including a quick bite, a casual date or a family outing. Gastromaniac also places extra focus on curating a selective and unique wine selection to match the elevated culinary scene of the area. Visit Gastromaniac Monday-Thursday from 4:30-8:30 P.M. or Friday-Sunday from 12-3 P.M. and again from 4:30-9 P.M. (Sundays the restaurant closes at 8:30 P.M.). The restaurant is located at 3091 Harrison Ave #120, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Pizza focused Italian Restaurants:
Pizza Margherita at AleworX, The Y.Provided / Haley Beyer
For a more casual Italian experience, consider one of Tahoe top-rated pizzerias!
Primo’s Pizzeria Tahoe (twin to Primo’s Lake Tahoe) at 2180 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
Za’s Lakefront at 120 Grove St
Mofo’s Pizza and Pasta Lake Tahoe at 868 Tahoe Blvd Ste Incline
Lake Tahoe Pizza Company at 1168 Emerald Bay Road
Lake Tahoe AleworX, The Y at 2050 Lake Tahoe Blvd
Base Camp Pizza Co. at 1001 Heavenly Village Way #25a
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Summer 2025 edition of Tahoe Magazine.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – After more than two decades of service as a social worker and therapist, Dina Ramaha has expanded her mission to the Sierra Nevada, opening a new counseling center in South Lake Tahoe aimed at making mental health care more accessible and community-focused.
Ramaha, who also operates six counseling offices in the Bay Area and one in Truckee, said the South Lake Tahoe location was born out of repeated requests from locals who visited her family’s coffee shop, Three Pines, which she co-owns with her husband, Dimas Pino.
“People kept asking, ‘Can you please open one here?'” Ramaha said. “They weren’t just asking for therapy – they were asking for affordable mental health care.”
While Ramaha wasn’t looking for more work, she really wanted to make this happen for the community and as she explored the feasibility of turning this into a reality, everything seemed to fall into place.
“The moment I sent out energy into the world about the Counseling Center, everything fell into alignment – from renting this place to hiring people – I was supposed to go on this path,” she added.
The therapy center accepts insurance and offers sliding scale rates, making therapy more attainable for residents who might otherwise go without support. Sessions are structured are typically 50-minute therapeutic hours and are available for individuals, couples, and groups. The center also runs specialized programs, including women’s groups, parenting education, and teen support.
Ramaha’s background also includes five years in psychiatric emergency services and a decade working with severely struggling teens and families through a nonprofit. Her global experience spans work in Africa, the Middle East and Vietnam, but her passion remains rooted in building community.
“I love people. I love gathering in community. That’s just always how I’ve been,” she said.
While the office has seen early interest from moms and couples, she acknowledged that getting the word out has been a bit more of a challenge than expected.
“There’s still a stigma around therapy,” Ramaha added. “But it’s not just about pain and suffering. Therapy can be fun. It’s about celebrating your joys and accomplishments too.”
The center welcomes clients from age 12 and up, in accordance with California law, which allows mature minors to consent to their own treatment. While child therapy is not currently offered, the founder expressed interest in expanding services to include play-based and art-based therapy in the future.
Ultimately, she said, the goal is to help people live their best lives – with joy, ease, and connection.
“Every journey begins with the first step. And sometimes, that step is just walking through the door.”
Conscious Mind Therapy Institute is located at 2311 South Lake Tahoe Blvd, Ste 7 in South Lake Tahoe, CA. For more information you can visit them online at consciousmindtherapyinstitute.com.
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.
If you’re one who loves to hit the early NFL games over the weekend (or just love breakfast in general) then this week’s feature is a touchdown waiting to happen. As part of Audible’s new Friday through Sunday breakfast menu, they are taking their signature approach to the menu and putting a little early morning spin on it.
Their Cowboy breakfast burrito (aka the Stone Cold Stunner) is one of eight new offerings and it all starts with a base of five (FIVE!) scrambled eggs. They are rolled up in an extra-large flour tortilla along with tater tots, ground sausage, red peppers, grilled onions and is served “wet” with a sausage gravy and garnished with green onions.
If you couldn’t guess, this burrito is massive. I was told I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing going in and about a quarter of the way through, I realized that was going to be 100% accurate.
If you’re a fan of biscuits and gravy, then you’re going to love this – it’s very much in the same family but more of a cousin with a bigger personality. There is no shortage of stuffing, either. The slight saltiness of the sausage along with the sweetness from the veggies combined with the textures of the tots, peppers and onions you’re getting everything you could ask for in brekkie burrito. And we haven’t even talked about the gravy, which you could easily bury me in when it comes time.
In addition to the menu burritos, patrons can also build their own make their own version of a “wet” burrito with either salsa or hollandaise sauce. With a grandma who came from the south, I’m partial to the gravy, but even grandma would have like this dish.
Audible’s Sports Bar & Gaming is located at 290 Kingsbury Grade Rd #1 in Stateline. For menu items and general information visit them online at audiblestahoe.com or reach them by phone at 775-781-1547.
Alfred Robles: Banned In The USA – 7:30 p.m., Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, 15 Highway 50. Alfred Robles is a rising star in the comedy world, known for his sharp wit, laid-back delivery, and hilarious takes on everyday life. A favorite on the stand-up circuit, Alfred has toured with comedy legends like Gabriel Iglesias and has appeared on major platforms including Comedy Central, Netflix, and “Stand-Up Revolution.” His comedy draws from his personal experiences growing up in Southern California, blending cultural insights with relatable humor that connects with audiences across the country. Whether he’s riffing on family, relationships, or life’s awkward moments, Alfred Robles delivers big laughs with every set.
Community Movie Night at Kahle Community Center – 5-8:30 p.m., Kahle Community Center, 236 Kingsbury Grade P.O. Box 5040. Get ready for a magical evening under the stars! Join us for Community Movie Night on Friday, October 17 at Kahle Park, featuring a special outdoor screening of Disney’s classic Hocus Pocus. Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, family, and friends for a cozy night of Halloween fun in a beautiful Tahoe setting. For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/community-movie-night-at-kahle-community-center/.
Daily Live Music – 12-8 p.m., Gunbarrel Tavern. Daily live music at multiple locations in the Village, including the corner stage at Azul Latin Kitchen, Basecamp Pizza, and Gunbarrel Tavern. Additional dates: 10/17, 10/18, 10/19, 10/20, 10/21, 10/22, 10/23. For more information, visit https://theshopsatheavenly.com/event/live-music-gunbarrel-tavern/2025-10-17/.
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/2025-10-17/.
DJ N-TUNE at HQ – 9 p.m.-1 a.m., Bally’s Lake Tahoe Casino Resort, 55 Highway 50. Music. For more information, visit https://casinos.ballys.com/lake-tahoe/events-calendar.aspx?date=10/17/2 025&display=event&eventid=2449826.
Dueling Pianos at Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe – 8:30-10:30 p.m., Harveys Casino Resort, 18 Hwy 50. Join us at the Mountain Bar located on Caesars Republic casino floor for a free show you don’t want to miss. Put your favorite song request in, grab a drink at the Mountain Bar and enjoy the fun! Playing Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM. Dueling Pianos. Van Walraven and Guest. They play your favorite sing-alongs and are very appealing to the happy crowd. Van is a Guinness World Record Holder for the longest piano marathon: 39 hours, 976 songs. Proceeds went to VH-1 Save the Music Foundation. For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/dueling-pianos-at-caesars-republic-lake-tahoe/2025-10-17/.
Fall Into Square Dancing – Intro to Modern Western Square Dance Party – 6-8:30 p.m., South Lake Tahoe Senior Center, 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd.. Carson Valley Squares is hosting another Introduction to Modern Western Square Dancing. This is a great family friendly event! (Ages 12 and up. Younger kids are possible if parents think they can dance.) For more information, visit http://CarsonValleySquares.com or call 916-761-0894.
Lake Tahoe Sand Harbor State Park Celebrates Spooky Harbor – Get Out – 6:30-9 p.m., Sand Harbor, 2005 Nevada State Route 28. This fall, Sand Harbor State Park transforms into Spooky Harbor, a lakeside celebration of Halloween with movies under the stars and festive fun for all ages! Grab your friends and family and join us every Friday from September 26 to October 31, and Saturday, November 1, for a fun movie-filled night. From pumpkin fun to lakeside chills, Spooky Harbor is where Halloween magic meets the beauty of Lake Tahoe. Gather your ghouls, ghosts, and goblins—we can’t wait to celebrate spooky season with you! For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/lake-tahoe-sand-harbor-state-park-celebrates-spooky-harbor/2025-10-17/.
Magic After Dark: Robert Hall Unfiltered – 9-10 p.m., The Loft, 1021 Heavenly Village Way. Fridays at 9:00 pm. Magic After Dark offers an unfiltered, adults-only magic experience for those seeking something edgier. Step into the tantalizing, witty, and sometimes twisted world of award-winning magician and comedian Robert Hall. Alongside his stunning assistant, Robert delivers a 75-85 minute performance —guaranteed to leave even the most insatiable audiences wanting more. For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/magic-dark-robert-hall-unfiltered/2025-10-17/ or call (530) 523-8024.
Proof – Fall Play – 7:30 p.m., Valhalla Boathouse Theatre. Proof | A Valhalla Tahoe Theatre Production October 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25 at 7:30 PM October 26 at 2:00 PM Valhalla Tahoe – Boathouse Theatre Tickets: $30 GA | $27 Member | $20 Students Doors open 30 minutes before showtime Genius, madness, and the fine line between them. This fall, Valhalla Tahoe presents Proof, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning drama by David Auburn, directed by David Hamilton. Catherine has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a legendary mathematician. After his death, she must face the arrival of her estranged sister, the attentions of a former student digging through her father’s notebooks, and the legacy of a mysterious proof that could unravel everything she believes about herself-and her sanity. Set on a back porch and steeped in the tension between logic and emotion, Proof is a powerful, intimate exploration of family, genius, and trust. Valhalla Tahoe’s fall production delivers an unforgettable evening of thought-provoking theatre in the atmospheric Boathouse Theatre-where every equation has a cost, and every truth has a consequence. Seating is limited. Reserve your tickets now for this deeply moving modern c Additional dates: 10/17, 10/18, 10/19, 10/23. For more information, visit https://valhallatahoe.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=246.
Saturday, October 18
HECATE’S CAULDRON: A Samhain Fire & Pole Ritual – 7-10 p.m., Paddle House Brews, 3135 Harrison Ave. A symphony of music, enchanting dance performances, and the scintillating spectacle of FIRE all for the celebration of Halloween/Samhain! For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hecates-cauldron-a-samhain-fire-pole-ritual-tickets-1693968227569.
Joe Praino & Friends: Comedy Show & Dinner – 6-9 p.m., The Barrel Room, 3338 Sandy Way. On Saturday, October 18, 2025, join us at The Barrel Room for an evening filled with comedy, food, and drinks in support of the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joe-praino-friends-comedy-show-dinner-tickets-1704521833689?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl.
Meet The Author – Miriam Dorsett – 11 a.m.-12 p.m., bff tahoe, 2540 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Meet the Author: Miriam Dorsett. Come spend an inspiring afternoon with author, artist, and community builder Miriam Dorsett as she reads from her children’s art book “The Lion and The Elephant.” This beautifully illustrated story celebrates the journey of life, friendship, and creativity – perfect for kids and families. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-author-miriam-dorsett-tickets-1549614722349?aff=oddtdtcreator or call (530) 725-9296.
Pumpkin Patch Splash – 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., South Lake Tahoe Recreational & Swim Complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. Dive into a fun, family-friendly fall tradition at our Pumpkin Patch Splash! Kids of all ages can experience the excitement of selecting their pumpkins straight from the pool in this one-of-a-kind event. It’s a unique and memorable way for families to celebrate the season together while supporting a great cause. If you have any questions, call 530.542.6056, and for details, visit https://www.cityofslt.us/2434/Pumpkin-Patch-Splash. For more information, visit https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/pumpkin-patch-splash-at-south-lake-tahoe-recreation-center/.
Tahoe Club Crawl Fall/Winter 25/26 – 8-11 p.m., Tahoe Club Crawl, 31 US HWY 50. 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 Golden Nugget Casino Center Bar, unless told otherwise. For more information, visit https://tahoeclubcrawl.ticketsauce.com/e/tahoe-club-crawl-fall-winter-25-32?aff=cityspark.
Sunday, October 19
Allen Stone and Ripe – The Get Sweet Tour – 6:55 p.m., Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, 15 Highway 50. or call (800) 427-7247.
Fall Fest – 2-10 p.m., South of North Brewing Company, 932 Stateline Avenue. The festival will have vendors, games, raffles, a beer tasting fest, and live music all day long that will keep you grooving from 2 – 10pm, featuring a lineup of local bands and a favorite of ours – Blu Egyptian! We will have guest breweries pouring in the yard from 2-6 pm for the beer festival. The event is free to enter, but tickets are required for the beer fest to get your tasting glass and unlimited tastes of 20+ beers and ciders! For more information, visit https://www.southofnorthbeer.com/event/fall-fest-2025/ or call 5304949805.
Paint & Sip Luncheon – 12-3 p.m., Edgewood Golf Course, 180 Lake Pkwy. Join Us for a Paint & Sip Luncheon at the BGCLT Golf Classic! For more information, visit https://secure.givelively.org/event/boys-and-girls-club-of-lake-tahoe/32nd-annual-golf-classic-paint-sip-luncheon.
Wednesday, October 22
MacRosite Wine Tasting – 4:30 p.m., The Idle Hour Lake Tahoe, 3351 Lake Tahoe Blvd Ste 5. Organizer Idle Hour Wine & Bubbly Bar. Founded in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, MacRostie Winery has built a reputation for crafting elegant, expressive Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen works with over 30 prestigious vineyards across Sonoma County, hand-selecting fruit that showcases the unique character of each site. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1543340913322235/ or call (530) 600-3304.
Wildwood Makers Market Anniversary Party – 5-7 p.m., Wildwood Makers Market, 989 Tallac Avenue. Come celebrate the anniversary of Wildwood Makers Market with a fun party full of local artisans, crafts, food, and live music! For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wildwood-makers-market-anniversary-party-tickets-1770435352799.
Thursday, October 23
Cascade Kitchens Pumpkin Carving & Contest – 5:30-7:30 p.m., 1030 Tata Lane. Join us for an evening of family friendly Halloween fun. Carve your best ghoul or goblin for a chance to win prizes in the carving contest. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cascade-kitchens-pumpkin-carving-contest-tickets-1774889465169.
DJ Montague – 9-11:30 p.m., AleWorX Stateline. For more information, visit https://laketahoealeworx.com/event/dj-montague-4/2025-10-23/.
PROF – Dirty Work Tour – 8 p.m., Bally’s Lake Tahoe, 55 Highway 50. To purchase tickets please click HERE:https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/170062C2AC8B177A?did=vipprof&data=05|02||e64c83c5dc8644c9619508dda20b582c|84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa|1|0|638844891786892480|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ==|0|||&sdata=P6BK0T9Gam4ZW4+tSaj/hfd5WIy319A2BK6Moq9/66k=&reserved=0
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Fire Chief Jim Drennan is pleased to announce two Fire Department Command Staff promotions. Battalion Chief Karl Koeppen has been selected for the position of Deputy Chief of Operations and Captain Tom Kerley has been selected as our newest Battalion Chief who will oversee the Prevention Bureau.
Karl Koeppen has been selected for the position of Deputy Chief of Operations. Provided
Tom Kerley has been selected as the newest Battalion Chief who will oversee the Prevention Bureau. Provided
South Lake Tahoe Fire rescue honored multiple promotions on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Provided
Chief Koeppen has been with the department since 2002 and with the City since 1999 holding several leadership positions over the last 18 years. Chief Kerley came to SLTFR in 2022 with extensive experience in the fire service in Douglas County as well as in Jackson County, Oregon.
Chief Drennan said “Both chief officers have shown tremendous leadership ability and will continue to help guide the department. Our focus is to build and maintain strong relationships with our partner agencies in the basin and I am confident they will excel in their new roles.”
Chief Koeppen and Captain Kerley were recognized in a badge pinning ceremony on October 14, 2025. The Fire Department also acknowledged the promotions of Tom Jones to Fire Captain and Blake Sturdivan to Fire Engineer in the badge pinning ceremony.
As part of the special ceremony, Chief Drennan was also very proud to bestow medals for the heroic efforts of the Marine 17 boat crew on June 21. On that day ten lives were saved on Lake Tahoe, near Tahoe Keys Marina, during an unprecedented storm when a boat capsized and passengers needed rescue. The three recipients of the medal of valor were Captain Trent Renner, Engineer Lance Hubbard, and Firefighter Paramedic Stuart Bogle. In addition, two Chiefs’ meritorious awards were given to Firefighter Paramedic Paul Bias and Firefighter Paramedic Brent Tajkowski for separately pulling citizens in distress out of the water from the shore.
Medal recipientsProvided
At the ceremony, Police Chief Roberson also awarded medals of valor to Marine Officer Shannon Laney and Marine Officer Michele Gigante for their courageous Marine 1 boat response and water rescues that day. Meritorious Service Award were given to Public Safety Dispatchers Nicole Harrington and Melissa Dube for their work as the police and fire dispatchers during the rescues.
The Fire Department and Police Department are very proud of the heroic efforts of these First Responders.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.—The California Tahoe Conservancy is implementing a project to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk on 33 acres of Conservancy land in El Dorado County near Lake Tahoe Airport. By thinning the overcrowded forest and removing hazardous fuels, the project will help protect the airport and nearby El Dorado County neighborhoods along Pioneer Trail from wildfire.
A map of the project.Provided
The Washoe Tribal Conservation Crew, a resource crew of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, will hand-thin the 33 forested acres, creating piles to be burned later.
Benefits of the project will be forest conditions that are more resilient to drought, disease, and insect outbreaks. The project will also result in reduced wildfire risk for El Dorado County’s Golden Bear and other neighborhoods along Pioneer Trail.
The Conservancy is also preparing an additional 99 acres of adjacent Conservancy land to thin in 2026 using mechanical equipment.
The Conservancy plans forestry projects like these in coordination with the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, and in support of the goals of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program. The lands included in this project are in the wildland-urban interface, where neighborhoods meet the forest. Lake Tahoe Basin partners identified these properties as priority treatment areas in the recently released Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
The Conservancy received approval for this project under Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation on wildfire. Governor Newsom issued an Emergency Proclamation on March 1, 2025, to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires that threatens public safety across California. The Conservancy received authorization to implement this forestry project from the Secretaries of the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency under streamlined permitting processes.
Funding for the 33-acre project comes from State General Funds approved for wildfire resilience projects.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Former South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace announced on Wednesday that she has hired criminal defense attorney Steven C. Bailey. Bailey, from Placerville, Calif., will represent Wallace in a potential criminal pending matter, which is under investigation by the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office.
Bailey is a retired El Dorado County Superior Court Judge and a 2018 candidate for California Attorney General. He has over 35 years of criminal law defense experience, which includes defending clients in a January 6th case in Washington D.C. federal court, murder and death penalty cases, and a number of complex white collar criminal matters.
Bailey’s office is in Placerville, and according to a press release, Placerville will be the likely venue for this case.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., – For public safety, the Secret Harbor parking area on Lake Tahoe’s East Shore is temporarily closed while contractors remove logs from the area between the parking lot and the shoreline. The parking area is anticipated to reopen on Thursday, Oct. 16. Access to Lake Tahoe and private property in the area is not affected.
To provide for public access and safety during the closure, contractors will manage trail and beach access for visitors while contractors remove logs that were felled earlier to protect NV Energy power lines to mitigate wildfire risks and improve overall forest health.
This project is a collaborative effort by NV Energy and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.
The Lake Tahoe Lakers return to the Tahoe Ice Arena to take on the Seattle Totems for three games in a row Oct. 24-26. The Friday and Saturday night games start at 7:30 p.m. while the Sunday game starts at noon.
Tickets are available at the door for $10 each. Child admission is free on Sunday.
Kasper Parkonen, Oliver Owens, and Mike Litle. Provided / Aidan Sechrist, ASLT.Media
It has been a tough stretch for the Lakers as of late. After winning their first three games of the season against the Rogue Valley Royals, the Lakers have since dropped six straight against some tough opponents.
Earlier this month, Lakers fans stuffed the Tahoe Ice Arena to capacity for the team’s home debut against the Fresno Monsters, the United States Premier Hockey League’s defending Pacific Division Champions. Unfortunately, they were spooked by the Monsters who won all three games in dominant fashion.
Fresno’s roster was bolstered during the offseason by the acquisition of Brian Erte, the Lakers leading scorer last season, who came back to haunt his former team by scoring two goals and adding nine assists against them in the series.
The Lakers then returned to the road looking to exorcise some demons against the Ontario Jr. Reign, the same team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season. Unfortunately, the losing streak continued in Ontario. And for a second consecutive series, a former Laker scored two goals against his former team. This time it was South Lake Tahoe’s own Brennan Monroe who accomplished the task for the Jr. Reign in his first game of the season against the Lakers.
When it rains it pours.
But through these early season growing pains, there have been encouraging signs of progress from the Lakers.
In each of the last two series, the number of goals against has steadily decreased from one game to the next. Flashes of goaltending brilliance have been on display at times. The local kids, Oliver Owens from Reno and Max “The Hound” Basset from Truckee, have played with consistent physicality.
Oliver Owens clashes with player from the Fresno Monsters. Provided / Aidan Sechrist, ASLT.Media
Veteran Carver Alford has put his hometown team on his back at times, providing dynamic offensive rushes at one end of the rink and devastating body checks at the other. Team Captain Chayce Tuton continues to sacrifice his body for the team, blocking shots no matter the score and dropping the gloves to defend his teammates when necessary.
There are no signs of quitting in the Lake Tahoe Lakers who continue to stick together and look forward to playing once again in front of the fans who have always stuck behind them.
The task will not get any easier against the visiting Seattle Totems who come into town with an undefeated 7-0 record led by the USPHL Premier Division’s All-Time leading scorer Roman Wolynec who sits just one point away from a milestone 300 career regular season points in just 125 regular season games played in the league.
Dickie Dunn is the Lake Tahoe Lakers beat writer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Tahoe Crew, an up-and-coming youth rowing team, is off to a promising season following its first two races this fall.
The Tahoe Crew is a youth rowing team based out of Incline Village. Left to right, Katie Illg, Kennedy Kelly, Kole Buckley, Alex Tippett, Sebren Key, Brecken Ken, Kai Copeland, Asher Edwards.Provided
Based out of Incline Village, the team is fresh off the Head of Port Regatta, a competition in Sacramento, which took place Sunday, Oct. 5. The team brought home six gold medals in the following categories.
Boys U19 Single – Sebren Key (Galena)
Boys U17 Single – Alex Tippett (North Tahoe)
Boys U16 Single – Kai Copeland (Carson)
Boys U17 Double – Tippett and Kole Buckley (Galena)
Boys Novice Double – Copeland and Brecken Ken (Galena)
Girls Novice Double – Katie Illg (Sage Ridge) and Kennedy Kelly (North Tahoe)
In addition to those six golds, U19 racer, Sebren Key, claimed a trophy awarded to the fastest single boat of the entire regatta, regardless of sex or age. The perpetual trophy will remain with Key until next year’s race. It has over two decades worth of names engraved on the side since its origination in 1999. Key, however, is one of just a few youth names to claim it.
Sebren K wins the trophy for the fastest single boat at the entire regatta on Oct. 5. Provided
Key outcompeted competitors who bested him last year, some of which went to nationals. It’s a testament to his growth and improvement.
With talent like Key and other Tahoe Crew rising stars, Lake Tahoe Rowing Association president, Wyatt Nordstrom, believes the club is emerging with some of the top rowers in the western U.S.
This season’s accomplishments so far, which include another four gold medals, a silver and a bronze from their first regatta, have head coach, Jennifer Greenough and Nordstrom, excited about the season to come.
It’s particularly impressive given the program started in the summer of 2023 with just a handful of rowers and has expanded to over 20 participants as it enters its second full season.
“For a brand new, young startup program, we’re certainly punching way above our weight,” Nordstrom says, “and producing some pretty great athletes.”
Greenough attributes Tahoe Crew’s quick rise to success to the grit Tahoe has instilled. “They don’t mind a little rough water, that’s for sure,” Greenough says.
The medals are stacking after Tahoe Crew’s quick rise to success.Provided
The boats are built to be fast, not stable. Rowing the extremely narrow and shallow boats in Tahoe’s often choppy waters, whether due to wakesurf boats or winds, is no easy task.
“Most people perceive that in order to row at all, you need to have really flat water,” Nordstrom explains. “Well, guess what? We’re on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe. There’s no flat water here.”
He adds, “We’re in a tough spot and that makes us tougher.”
The conditions prepare them for anything, allowing the team to be adaptable on race day.
“If there’s even the slightest wind or waves or unpleasantness to the water,” Nordstrom says, “we just plow right through it and a lot of other athletes will get hung up on that.”
Tahoe’s training grounds and high altitude has proven to build a resilient team, but it is a double-edged sword. The winters keep the team off the water for part of the year, while other teams can be on the water year around.
The location also means the team is relatively isolated from scrimmages, making it hard to know where they stand competition-wise.
Any meet-up or competition means trailering or flying gear hundreds of miles.
“But, you know, that makes it even more gratifying,” Nordstrom says, “that we’ve done so well.”
The team combats these challenges by making the most of the time on the water and conditioning through the winter.
“For all the challenges of rowing on Tahoe, it is an amazing and beautiful location, and getting the youth out onto the lake is an amazing experience for them and for the coaches,” Greenough says. “We are so lucky to have this incredible location and this unique way to appreciate it.”
Each event ahead brings larger competitor fields and will continue to challenge the emerging team.
The next race, the Head of the American on Oct. 25 will host around 2,000 competitors.
“But so far,” Nordstrom says, “for the first two regattas, we’ve outperformed our expectations and we think we’re well positioned to do very, very well ahead of the American in two weeks.”
The Lake Tahoe Row Association also oversees an adult club, called Row Tahoe.
For more information on both teams and the association, visit rowtahoe.org.
Visiting South Lake Tahoe under 21? You’re in luck—there’s plenty to see and do beyond the casino floors. On top of all the most epic year-round outdoor adventures you could dream of, there are some sweet options for after dark too. Whether you’re a local looking to mix up your routine or a first-time visitor exploring the area, Tahoe offers endless opportunities for adventure, relaxation, and unforgettable memories. From outdoor experiences to unique local hangouts, here are five of the best ways to enjoy the South Shore if you’re not yet 21.
Rad Arcades
Inside Retroactive Arcade
Retroactive Arcade, which opened in the summer of 2025, is a treasure trove of vintage arcade games from pinball to Skeeball to classic racing games. At this arcade, old-school thrills meet cold drinks and good times. Step into the vibrant retro space filled with iconic games, bold colors, and nonstop nostalgia. There’s something for every kind of button-masher. Pair the action with cold beer, fizzy soda, and your favorite snacks. It’s the perfect hangout for a night out with friends, a fun family day, or simply reliving the good old days. The coolest part? Admission is a flat rate for unlimited game play. So you don’t have to worry about running out of coins and can play to your heart’s content.
In addition, both Harrah’s and Caesars Republic have arcades that are easy to find. Harrah’s arcade also has a jungle gym. They have old school style arcade games as well as modern day “flappy bird” game consoles.
Classic Bowling Alley
From birthday parties, to school celebrationsTahoe Bowlis a classic spot for family and friends. A recent visit reminded me just how timeless bowling can be. Along with the lanes, you’ll find old-school arcade games and tasty food to fuel your game. Best of all, Tahoe Bowl is easy on the wallet, making it a great choice for a day or night out.
Ice-Skating & Heavenly Village Activities
Ice-skating is yet again another fun physical activity that families and friends could definitely enjoy. South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena is another affordable facility to try out. They include a food court, a warm sitting area to warm as well as TVs to watch to shows in case you needed to warm up and need entertainment.
During the wintertime, the Heavenly Village mini golf course is replaced with an ice rink. There are a ton of things to do all within the Heavenly Village, including live music, a magic show, ice skating or mini golf, Rocket Fizz (So. Much. Candy.), and more.
Edgewood Tahoe Resort also has an ice skating rink – surrounded by pristine views of the resort and snow-capped mountains, Edgewood on Ice.
Mini Golf at Heavenly Village or Magic Carpet
When the snow melts, mini golf season kicks into gear on Tahoe’s South Shore. At Heavenly Village Mini Golf, you can putt your way through a lively setting surrounded by shops, dining, and live entertainment—perfect for families and friends looking to add a little friendly competition to their day.
For a more classic experience, head to Magic Carpet Golf, a Tahoe favorite featuring multiple themed courses with playful obstacles and plenty of nostalgic charm. Affordable, fun, and outdoors, it’s a go-to activity for sunny afternoons and long summer evenings.
From retro arcades and bowling alleys to ice-skating rinks and endless outdoor adventures, South Lake Tahoe has plenty of ways to keep the fun going if you’re under 21. Whether you’re here with friends, family, or just exploring on your own, the South Shore is full of memorable experiences in every season—no ID required.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners adopted an ordinance increasing the maximum density for multiple family dwellings in a zone between Incline Village and Crystal Bay at a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
In a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Michael Clark dissenting, the board amended the ordinance, increasing the maximum density from four units per acre to six units per acre in the Crystal Bay Condominiums Regulatory Zone Special Area, which lies between Tahoe Blvd and Lakeshore Blvd, heading towards Crystal Bay from Incline Village.
Aerial Image of Crystal Bay Condominiums – Special Area overlay.Provided
This was the second hearing on the ordinance amendment, initially introduced on Sept. 9.
The applicant, GilanFarr Architecture, reasons the increase will incentivize more redevelopment in the area and make a more viable project at the zone’s westernmost parcel, 560 Lakeshore Boulevard.
The parcel currently has three vacant structures, previous used as a gas station. According to the county assessor, the property owner is Village Springs LLC.
Expressed throughout GilanFarr Architecture’s application is the property owner, Village Springs LLC’s, intent to create a more community appropriate alternative to the gas station, expressing that increasing residential density could make the site viable for a vibrant, mixed-use redevelopment.
The change allows for an additional five multiple family dwellings in the entire regulatory zone and an additional two on that specific parcel.
The motion passed with no comments from the board or public.
Rusted lifts, abandoned towers and empty slopes mark the former Iron Mountain Ski Resort, a site that repeatedly tried, and failed, to bring skiers to its slopes. Decades after its last run, the property is back on the market for $4 million.
The resort, last operated in 1995, sits near the Highway 88 junction with the Mormon Emigrant Trail in El Dorado County. Over the last five decades, the resort has changed hands and names several times, creating a layered history that has become part of California’s ski lore.
A bold beginning
The resort first opened in 1971 as Silver Basin, the brainchild of founder John Allen. His concept flipped the standard mountain layout: skiers could start their day gliding downhill from the base lodge and parking lot, hopping on a lift only to return to the top.
Allen’s enthusiasm, however, could not overcome geography or marketing woes. In a 1972 advertisement in The Sacramento Bee, Allen published a plea to potential visitors.
“I have a problem, and I need your help,” Allen wrote. “My problem is that as not too many people know where to find Highway 88 … I don’t have long crowded lift lines.”
The same ad criticized restaurant management, blamed his wife’s beginner skiing skills for the resort’s easy slopes and begged for more guests. Despite his candor, the plea did not work. By 1974, Silver Basin shuttered its lifts.
Allen later accused the Bank of Stockton — whose directors allegedly had ties to nearby Kirkwood — of denying him a crucial loan and forcing foreclosure, a lawsuit that underscored the bitterness of the resort’s first closure.
Silver Basin map.Provided / Skimp.org
Second and third lives
Four years later, in 1978, the property reopened as Ski Sundown. Crowds remained thin, with the best weekends drawing about 350 skiers and lift lines rarely topping three minutes. A day pass cost $7, a bargain that did not attract the masses. A year after reopening, the lifts closed again.
By 1983, the resort had a new name — Iron Mountain — and a new goal: compete directly with Kirkwood. Five chairlifts were installed, and optimism ran high. But the mountain’s lower elevation, about 1,000 feet below Kirkwood, often left it with bare slopes while its neighbor stayed buried in powder. In 1986, Iron Mountain closed again, citing rising insurance rates.
The lifts would spin again in 1989 under new ownership. But in 1991, the resort’s owner was arrested for illegal logging activities. The scandal forced Iron Mountain to close again.
Iron Mountain map in 1990.Provided / Skimp.org
One last run
In 1994, hopeful investors took one final shot, reopening as Carson Ski Area. For a brief winter, skiers returned to the slopes off Highway 88. By the next year, bankruptcy hit, and the lifts went silent for good.
Since then, the “upside-down mountain” has remained frozen in time. Decaying lifts, rusted towers, and a fading lodge serve as a monument to decades of dreams that melted away.
Now, three decades later, the property — originally listed for $5.8 million in July — is on the market for $4 million.
“This flexibly zoned parcel is a rare find for investors and developers looking to create a premier destination in a sought-after location,” the listing said.
The roughly 65-acre plot comes with preapproved permits to build condos and is zoned for a new ski resort and camping, the sellers say. Provided / Colliers
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Former mayor Tamara Wallace resigned last night, and confirmed her resignation to the Tribune this morning. The city council will need to fill the open seat as soon as possible, as Wallace’s term would have ended in November 2026.
Given that Wallace resigned at 10:55 p.m. on Monday, the clock is ticking. According to city code, the council has 60 days from the stated date of resignation to either call for a special election or to fill the vacancy by appointment.
The next city council meeting, which will be on October 21, will be the first time for the city to discuss filling the vacant seat. The agenda will also include a report on the status of City operations.
The council will also need to reorganize to select a new mayor and mayor pro tempore (also called mayor pro tem), along with filling vacant outside board and commission seats.
With Wallace’s resignation, the following board and commission positions are vacant:
California Tahoe Conservancy – Voting Board member
El Dorado County City Selection Committee – Voting member
El Dorado Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) – Voting member
El Dorado Countywide Oversight Board – Voting member
California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (Cal Tahoe JPA) – Voting member
Clean Tahoe Program – Voting Board member
Park Avenue Development Project Plaza Maintenance Association (PADMA) – Voting Board member
Tahoe Prosperity Center – Council Liaison
City Council Finance Subcommittee – Appointee
“Despite the recent changes in City Council leadership, city operations continue without disruption.” said City Manager Joe Irvin. “All City departments are fully operational and serving the community continues to be our top priority. To reiterate, City funds are carefully managed, properly accounted for, and verified with an independent financial audit conducted annually as required by state law (California Government Code Section 26909).”
Historically, the mayor pro tem position would step up to mayor, but Mayor Pro Tem Bass’s arrest has led to some public distrust. In Wallace’s own resignation letter, she urged for Bass to resign as well.
While a special election is an option, it’s one with a few caveats. A special election would take place 114 days after the call for it by city council, which would put the election sometime in February if they called for it at the nearest meeting. There would also be an increased cost to taxpayers for putting a special election on, as it would require more staffing and distribution of election materials.
Another option is that city council will appoint someone to fill the seat. These candidates would need to fill out an application and be interviewed by current councilmembers. After the interviews, the appointee would be sworn in and begin serving on the council immediately for the remainder of the term. After that, the appointee would need to be elected to city council.
Wallace’s term would have ended in November 2026, along with councilmember Scott Robbins and Bass’s terms. It’s highly likely that previous candidates who ran for city council may interview for a position if that’s the route council decides to take.
Either of these options are on the table, but will be discussed in further detail by city council during their next meeting.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On October 6, members of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Leadership Team sponsored Bread & Broth’s Monday Meal. Their hosting an Adopt A Day of Nourishment (AAD) exemplifies the Leadership Teams’ commitment to its mission – not only to support and nurture students but to care for and foster the well-being of the entire LTUSD community. Hosting a Monday Meal reflects how the district’s educators extend their dedication beyond the classroom to embrace and help community members.
Bread Broth welcomed the LTUSD’s Leadership Team members, who included Karen Goldberg, Director of the Multilingual Program; Marimar Perez-Banuet, Director of Finance; Teresa Schow, Public Information Officer; and Justin Zunino, South Tahoe High School Principal. It was definitely a pleasure to have this amazing group of dedicated individuals help the Bread & Broth volunteers throughout the dinner event, helping with the meal’s setup, serving, and takedown /cleanup.
Collectively, the LTUSD Leadership Team members shared their thoughts about their experience of volunteering and serving at a Monday Meal, stating, “We had a wonderful time. Everything was really organized and the food we served was amazing. We really appreciate what Bread & Broth does for our community, and we are thankful that we were able to help our fellow community members.”
The dinner guests expressed their sincere appreciation for the meal, with many commenting on how much they enjoyed the dinner which featured herb roasted pork, yams and cranberries, sauteed cabbage and apple slices, and a green garden salad. The diners not only enjoyed the meal, but the warm smiles and kind words of the LTUSD Leadership Team members on the serving line.
Thank you to the LTUSD Leadership Team for their financial sponsorship and for the outstanding and hardworking Adopt A Day volunteer crew who did a wonderful job of assisting the B&B volunteers.
In addition, to the Monday Meal, Bread & Broth offers a Second Serving hot meal every Friday at the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church from 4 to 5 p.m. The meal includes a simple entre and a hot soup generously donated by local restaurants and casinos.
For additional information about making donations, volunteering, or learning more about Bread & Broth’s food programs, please visit www.breadandbroth.org or follow Bread & Broth on Instagram or Facebook.
The $10.6 million Fanny Bridge project continued with placement of the bridge deck concrete on Oct. 6. The new Fanny Bridge is scheduled to reopen to all traffic Saturday, Nov. 15. During the project, traffic will detour onto Lake Boulevard bypass to access State Route 89 (SR 89) and SR 28. West Lake Boulevard remains open for business and transit center access with only Fanny Bridge being closed. The pedestrian and bicycle path across the Truckee River Dam will remain open throughout the project. The project is led by the Federal Highway Administration and the contractor is Thompson Builders of Novato.
For real-time traffic information, click on Caltrans’ QuickMap.
TTAD Serves as Voting Center for Upcoming Election
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Tahoe Airport District is supporting local democracy by serving as an 11-day voting center for Nevada County Elections, open Oct. 25 through Nov. 4 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.. Voters can cast ballots, register, or receive election assistance in the Airport’s community rooms.
TTAD is also home to a Placer County official ballot drop box, available for ballot drop-off beginning Oct. 7 with regular weekday pick-ups through Nov. 4. On Election Day, multiple pick-ups will occur, and the box will be securely locked at 8 p.m.
TTAD partnered with Nevada and Placer counties to make voting convenient, accessible, and secure for the community.
~ Truckee Tahoe Airport District press release
First West Nile Virus Death of Season
PLACER COUNTY
Public Health officials confirmed the first death of a Placer County resident from West Nile virus this season, a Roseville man.
There have been 54 confirmed human cases and five West Nile virus-related deaths reported in California this year. There have been five confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in Placer County this season and high numbers of West Nile virus positive mosquitoes and dead bird samples.
The risk of serious illness to most people from West Nile virus is low. However, some individuals (less than 1%) can develop a serious illness known as neuroinvasive West Nile, which is fatal for about 10% of patients. People 50 years of age and older have a higher chance of getting sick and are more likely to develop complications.
West Nile virus is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water. Eliminate all sources of standing water including flowerpots, old car tires, rain gutters, and pet bowls. If there is a swimming pool that is not being properly maintained, contact the district at (916) 380-5444.
Contact the district for any additional help controlling mosquitoes.
For more information about West Nile virus, visit the state of California’s website on West Nile. Residents are encouraged to report all dead birds on that website.
~ Placer County Health and Human Services press release
Tahoe Forest Health System Announces Free, Confidential Mental Health Resource
TRUCKEE/TAHOE
Tahoe Forest Health System is excited to announce the launch of a new partnership with CredibleMind, an innovative online platform offering free, confidential, and 24/7 access to more than 10,000 science-backed mental health and wellbeing resources.
Through CredibleMind, community members will have one easy-to-use digital hub to explore expert-rated videos, podcasts, apps, books, online programs, and articles. The platform also features self-assessments, interactive tools, and personalized recommendations to support mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.
To celebrate the launch, Tahoe Forest Health System invites community members to take the What’s Your Mental Health Profile? assessment, which provides insights into more than 20 areas of mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. Anyone who creates an account and completes the assessment by Oct. 31 will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift card. Privacy is fully protected; personal information, including names, emails, and assessment responses, will not be shared with Tahoe Forest Health System.
Mental health goes beyond anxiety, depression, or stress — it includes factors like sleep, nutrition, relationships, happiness, time management, and resilience. CredibleMind covers more than 100 topics.
Placer County Treasurer-Tax Collector Tristan Butcher announced the property tax bills for the 2025/2026 fiscal year have been mailed. Butcher stated there are 181,900 tax bills for Proposition 13 taxes and voter approved special assessments.
The first installment of the 2025/2026 Property Tax Bill is due Nov. 1 and becomes delinquent after Dec. 10, 2025, at which time a 10% penalty will be added. The second installment is due Feb. 1, 2026, and becomes delinquent after April 10, 2026, at which time a 10% penalty plus an additional $10 cost will be added. Taxes remaining unpaid after June 30, 2026, accrue additional penalties at 1.5% per month (18% annually), plus a $15 fee is due at time of redemption. When mailing close to a delinquent date, it is encouraged that taxpayers request a hand-cancelled timely postmark at a U.S. Postal Office counter.
Download a property tax bill copy by visiting placer.ca.gov/pay-my-taxes or by calling (530) 889-4120, toll free at (888) 888-5218.
There are several different property tax payment options to the public:
Free Livestream Conference on Rural Entrepreneurship
NEVADA CITY
Sierra Commons is hosting an action-focused event that will bring entrepreneurs, community leaders, policymakers, nonprofit partners, and special guest California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, CPA, together to address rural challenges and create cross-sector solutions to strengthen local economies.
“Resilience Through Rural Entrepreneurship: A Gathering for Change-Makers and Cross-Pollinators” will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13. The event will be livestreamed on Zoom, and the public is invited to join free of charge.
Ma will deliver the afternoon keynote and moderate a panel discussion with leaders representing sectors such as local food systems, forest resilience, and workforce housing.
The first-of-its-kind event for Sierra Commons will include guest presentations, success story spotlights, networking, and facilitated group discussions. The event builds upon a year of growth for the nonprofit that is expanding in-person and online business education to grow a broader audience with workshops throughout California.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is reminding residents and contractors that the annual grading and digging season for permitted projects will end on Wednesday, Oct. 15. All construction sites must be winterized to protect Lake Tahoe’s famed water clarity. Grading season in the Tahoe Basin runs from May 1 to Oct. 15 every year.
The long-standing requirement helps prevent sediment from washing into stormwater systems and the lake and prevents soil compaction and disturbance during the wettest months. Site winterization requirements are available on trpa.gov/applications-forms/winterization-guidelines.
The agency is able to review applications for a grading season exception at trpa.gov/inspections-and-securities if a public health, safety, or water quality emergency exists. Applications for an exception can be submitted beginning Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Some digging activities are considered exempt and do not require TRPA approval, even outside of the grading season. To remain exempt, these activities must adhere to water quality standards and only continue during dry conditions. When a site is wet or covered with snow, work must stop and the site must be stabilized following the winterization guidelines at the link above. A list of exempt projects is under “How Do I Know If I Need a Permit?” at trpa.gov/frequently-asked-questions.
The grading and digging season for permitted projects at Lake Tahoe will reopen May 1, 2026.
~ Tahoe Regional Planning Agency press release
Community Noise Meeting Recap
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Tahoe Airport District hosted its latest Community Noise Meeting on Sept. 26 at Riverview Sports Park. The meeting was attended by 27 community members along with airport staff.
Truckee residents continued to express that they report fewer noise comments. Several attendees noted they have submitted online noise comment webforms during late spring and early summer but had not received any responses. Director of Aviation Jeff Menasco acknowledged the issue, explaining that there was a staffing gap at the time, with no dedicated noise employee in place.
A key difference from past meetings was the high level of interest in understanding flight paths, particularly for both jet and piston aircraft.
~ Truckee Tahoe Airport District press release
Business Briefs
TAHOE DORMS open on campus at Lake Tahoe Community College. Photo courtesy Lake Tahoe Community College
Lake Tahoe Community College New On-Campus Student Housing
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE
Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) marked a historic milestone with the dedication of its first-ever on-campus student housing facility on Oct. 2. The 100-bed residential community, a decade in the making, represents a transformational step for LTCC students and the broader South Lake Tahoe community. It is also the first California Community College student housing project fully funded through the California Legislature’s 2022 to 2023 investment in affordable student housing to be completed and opened for students, making LTCC the first in the state to cross the finish line.
The new facility provides affordable, modern living spaces designed to support academic success and student well-being. Featuring semi-suite units with both double- and single-occupancy options, the student residence also includes shared lounges, study nooks, a community kitchen, and stunning views of the surrounding Tahoe Basin.
Built with $39.4 million in state funding secured through California’s 2022-23 Budget Act, the housing project addresses a critical regional need. South Lake Tahoe faces one of the state’s most severe affordable housing shortages, with vacancy rates often below 2% and local rents rising more than 35% since 2020. By offering affordable monthly rents, LTCC’s student housing is intentionally accessible for full-time California students, including priority for low-income students.
TAHOE DONNER opens its new downhill ski lodge (rendering pictured above) at the start of the season on Dec. 19. Photo courtesy Tahoe Donner
New Downhill Ski Lodge
TRUCKEE
This year, Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Resort kicks off the 2025/26 season on Dec. 19 (conditions permitting) with the opening of its brand-new lodge featuring a host of thoughtfully considered amenities in a sleek modern building. Guests can enjoy enhancements like level access to the lifts, an expansive and well-appointed sun deck perfect for après ski, a spacious indoor bar and dining area with panoramic views of the mountain, pick-up box kiosks to print pre-purchased tickets quickly and conveniently, and a dedicated kids’ ski school and lesson hub with its own dining hall, bathrooms, cubbies, lunch service, and much more.
Meanwhile, the Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center opens Friday, Nov. 28 celebrating its 40th anniversary season. Over four decades, TDXC has grown from rustic roots into an award-winning, world-class Nordic facility renowned for snowmaking, grooming technology, and its rich heritage. To mark the milestone, TDXC will offer 40th Anniversary Lesson Package Specials:
On the first Monday of every month December through April, $40 Adult Learn to Ski packages for ages 13+ include a trail pass, top-quality rental equipment, and a 90-minute lesson or tour with an instructor and other beginner skiers.
On the last Monday of every month December through March, $40 Adult Learn to Skate packages for ages 13+ also include a trail pass, rental equipment, and a 90-minute lesson.
Special anniversary products go on sale in November. Visit tahoedonner.com/xc to learn more.
Snowplay also opens Dec. 19 (conditions permitting), offering family-friendly fun on the snow, while those looking to keep their golf swing sharp this winter can take advantage of Tahoe Donner Golf Course’s indoor simulator.
~ Tahoe Donner press release
MARTIS VALLEY MASSAGE expands, offering fresh services such as this infrared sauna. Photo courtesy Martis Valley Massage
Martis Valley Massage Grand Re-Opening
TRUCKEE
After a year of design, planning, and construction, Martis Valley Massage poured its heart and soul into creating a beautiful new spa experience. Martis Valley Massage will be closed Oct. 20 through Nov. 1 as it completes the final touches before its grand re-opening party.
Join the celebration of the next chapter of Martis Valley Massage & SPA. The grand re-opening party kicks off Nov. 1 at 4:30 p.m. The first 25 guests will receive special door prizes, plus there will be complimentary beer, wine, and snacks throughout the evening. Enjoy an open-house experience with guided tours of the brand-new facilities, meet representatives from Hydrafacial and Eminence Organic Skincare, and stock up on free product samples and giveaways. Treatments and facility access re-opens on Nov. 2.
From expanded treatment rooms to the beautiful new amenities, every detail has been thoughtfully designed to elevate the wellness experience.
~ Martis Valley Massage press release
Sun Bear Realty Acquires Vacation Station and Incline House Cleaning
INCLINE VILLAGE
Sun Bear Realty & Property Management in Incline Village has recently acquired the well-established Vacation Station short-term and long-term property rental business and its subsidiary, Incline House Cleaning.
The culmination of the acquisition will provide Sun Bear Realty and Property Management with a greatly expanded inventory, providing the largest selection of short-term and long-term home and condominium rentals on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore.
For over 30 years, Sun Bear Realty & Property Management owner Blane Johnson and his team have provided year-round property management, vacation rentals, long-term leases, and real estate advice and services through their office located at 811 Tahoe Blvd. in Incline Village.
For more information, visit sunbearrealty.com or call (775) 831-9000.
~ Sun Bear Realty & Property Management press release
California Prop 50 puts Congressman Kevin Kiley, Tahoe/Truckee’s District 3 representative, under the spotlight. The proposition, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, was passed by the state legislature in August as a way to offset potential Republican gains from Texas’ unprecedented mid-decade gerrymandering, carried out at the behest of President Trump. This November, California residents will have the opportunity to vote on Prop 50, which overrides the state’s independent redistricting commission to target five Republican seats, temporarily redrawing the districts to incorporate more Democratic areas.
If Prop 50 passes, it will impact Tahoe/Truckee, but views on whether this is a positive or negative tend to fall along party lines. Placer and Nevada county Democrats say Prop 50 is necessary to create an even playing field on the national level and counter Republicans’ attempts to keep the House of Representatives from going blue in the mid-term elections next year. Republicans in both counties, however, say this will disenfranchise rural voters, whose voices will be drowned out by the bigger population of Sacramento and its urban issues, as well as undermine the will of the people when they voted to create the independent redistricting commission. Rep. Kiley says he is opposed to mid-district gerrymandering not only in California, but across the country.
Currently, Congressional District 3 stretches north to Plumas County and south to Death Valley, incorporating most of the Eastern Sierra, as well as Nevada County and the Sacramento suburbs of Placer County, where the majority of District 3’s population lives. It is the second largest congressional district in California in terms of area, spanning 22,048 square miles.
The new District 3 removes a large portion of the red-leaning Eastern Sierra, replacing it instead with bigger sections of Sacramento County, which votes majority blue. The district would physically change from extending the eastern length of California to a tight cluster around Sacramento that would still include Tahoe/Truckee and Nevada County. Placer County, however, would be split and divvied up between districts 3, 4, and 6.
“My district would be blown into six different directions,” Kiley said at an online press conference on Sept. 18.
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REDRAWN: The current Congressional map of California versus the new map that would go into effect if Prop 50 is approved by voters on Nov. 4. District 3 would shed most of the red-leaning Eastern Sierra and incorporate more of blue-leaning Sacramento County. Images courtesy California State Assembly
REDRAWN: The current Congressional map of California versus the new map that would go into effect if Prop 50 is approved by voters on Nov. 4. District 3 would shed most of the red-leaning Eastern Sierra and incorporate more of blue-leaning Sacramento County. Images courtesy California State Assembly
How we got here
The impetus for Prop 50 came in July, when President Trump called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbot and state Republicans to find five more red-leaning congressional districts to bolster the party’s odds of keeping control of the House in the 2026 mid-term elections. The Texas legislature obliged and approved the new maps in August. This was unusual because redistricting is traditionally done after the U.S. Census, which is mandated by the Constitution to take place every 10 years; the next census will be in 2030.
In response to Texas’ approval of mid-decade redistricting, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature put forth Prop 50 as a countermeasure. The bipartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRCC), which has been enshrined in the California Constitution since 2010, draws the boundaries of the state’s U.S. Congressional, state senate, state assembly, and board of equalization districts. Therefore, Prop 50 is a constitutional amendment that allows the state to use the new maps for the 2026 and 2030 elections only, essentially bypassing the CRCC for the next two elections. It must be approved by voters, bya simple majority, this November.
Democrats
Democratic groups in Placer and Nevada counties are supportive of Prop 50.
“They want to change the rules in the middle of the stream and traditions in the democratic process in their favor,” said Mike Rogers, chair of the Tahoe Truckee Democratic Club, which is part of the Nevada County Democratic Party. “This is not dissimilar to Trump calling the secretary of state in Georgia [in 2024] and saying that ‘I need 11,780 votes, find it for me’ … This is also obviously an attempt by Newsom to call attention to what I refer to as cheating — pure out and out cheating in elections, which Trump is known for. We have to fight that.”
Rogers believes that electing a Democrat to Congress for District 3 would be good for Tahoe/Truckee.
“It would mean that the issues that Democrats believe in and support will have a much stronger voice in Washington than we have ever had,” he said. “Even if Republicans win Congress again, at least we will have a strong voice on fire mitigation and housing.”
Rogers thinks Prop 50 has a decent chance of passing, and he predicts good turnout on both sides. While he believes changing District 3 will increase the odds of a Democrat winning, he doesn’t think it’s a certainty.
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DEMOCRATS: Mike Rogers, chair of the Tahoe Truckee Democratic Club, believes that Prop 50 is necessary to combat President Trump’s attempts to fix the 2026 midterm elections so that Congressional Republicans stay in power.
DEMOCRATS: Chair of the Placer County Democratic Central Committee Nick Bennett believes that Prop 50 is necessary to combat President Trump’s attempts to fix the 2026 midterm elections so that Congressional Republicans stay in power.
“The new District 3 will be a more winnable position for Democrats but it’s certainly not a slam dunk,” he said. “When Kiley runs against a Democrat, he will have an uphill battle, but he will have every opportunity to continue to represent District 3, but we will give him a hell of a fight.”
Two Democrats have declared their intent to run to represent District 3 in Congress – Nevada County Supervisor Heidi Hall and Tyler Vandenberg, a former marine corps officer who lives in South Lake Tahoe.
Since Congress is one of the few offices where representatives do not have to live in the district, Roseville-based Kiley is not beholden to run again in District 3 if Prop 50 passes. He could choose a different district, such as District 4 or 6.
The Tahoe/Truckee Democrats are campaigning for Prop 50 by knocking on doors and making phone calls.
“We need good PR to make people aware of what’s at stake,” Rogers said. “Democracy is not guaranteed. We cannot roll over and play dead … this is something to fight for.”
Nick Bennett, chair of the Placer County Democratic Central Committee, also believes that Prop 50 is worth fighting for.
“We believe it’s important to counter some of the things being done by the Trump administration and Texas redistricting,” he said. “It’s an attempt by [Trump] to hold on to power and keep Republicans in power in the House and prevent any accountability in Republican states like Texas, so they hold on to the House even if most people do not want him in power.”
Since Texas passed its new maps this summer, other states are following suit, leading to a possible redistricting war. The Missouri Senate approved gerrymandered maps in mid-September, which are expected to be signed into law by the Republican governor. Indiana and Florida have also discussed reworking their maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, as well as Democratic states like Illinois, New York, and Maryland.
However, Sacramento-based political consultant Andrew Acosta says that districts across the country have been so gerrymandered over the years that it might not make a huge difference if more states jump into the redistricting war.
“Thirty years ago, there were many competitive seats around the U.S., but there are far fewer competitive seats in the purplish category because of redistricting and registration changes. It’s made a lot of seats safer,” he said. “They are on the edges of trying to carve a couple seats here or there, but you have to win them. There is no guarantee that any seat you carve is a slam dunk. It depends on the quality of the candidates.”
Republicans
Republican parties in Placer and Nevada counties are opposed to Prop 50. For one, they say this will reduce representation for citizens of both counties since rural concerns will be outvoted by Sacramento residents.
“If you put all the votes in the City of Sacramento, the Congressman is going to listen to where the money is, and the money is in Sacramento,” said Placer County Republican Party Chair Mark Wright. “We will lose our representation.”
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REPUBLICANS: John “Mac” Young, chair of the Nevada County Republican Party, says that Prop 50 will disenfranchise rural voters, who will be overshadowed by the bigger population of Sacramento. Courtesy photo
REPUBLICANS: Chairman of the Placer County Republican Party Mark Wright says that Prop 50 will disenfranchise rural voters, who will be overshadowed by the bigger population of Sacramento. Courtesy photos
He believes that rural issues like forest management and fixing roads won’t be heard by the representative of the new District 3.
“If it passes, I don’t think Placer County will become more blue, I just think Placer won’t have representation anymore,” Wright said. “We won’t have the ear of anyone to say what Placer County needs.”
The Nevada County Republicans agree.
“I believe a bipartisan issue is that the new District 3 really reduces the voices of rural communities in Nevada County as we bring in urban parts of Sacramento County like Rancho Cordova and Sac State, involving outside communities not aligned with issues in Nevada County,” said John “Mac” Young, chairman of the Nevada County Republican Party. “They are not dealing with the same issues like fire insurance and rural economic opportunities — these are not of great concern to urban areas.”
Young said his party is also opposed to Prop 50 because it invalidates part of the state constitution.
“It overturns the independent redistricting commission, and all the work put into place under the Schwarzenegger administration,” he said. “It was a good move to stop gerrymandering that was so rampant.”
To campaign against Prop 50, the Nevada County Republican Party opened its Grass Valley campaign office in mid-September, six months earlier than it normally would have for the 2026 midterms.
Kevin Kiley
Kiley, who is serving his second term as District 3 Representative, is opposed to Prop 50. On Aug. 5, he introduced a bill, H.R. 4889, to stop states from mid-decade redistricting. California Sen. Alex Padilla (D) introduced a similar bill in September.
“I do not support this mid-decade gerrymandering wherever it’s occurring, which is why I’ve introduced legislation to bring it entirely to a halt,” Kiley said during his Sept. 18 press conference. “I’ve called on the Speaker of the House to put together a bipartisan group to come up with something like the other provisions of this bill, which is to say, a way to get rid of gerrymandering in this country.”
REP. KEVIN KILEY’S District 3 is one of five Republican seats being targeted by Prop 50. He says if Prop 50 passes, it will overturn the will of the people by overruling the independent redistricting commission enshrined in the California Constitution by voters in 2010. Courtesy photo
This puts Kiley in a bit of a political predicament since he is going against the president and his own party. However, political consultant Jim Ross, who grew up in Incline Village and now lives in Oakland, thinks that Kiley introduced the bill as political cover to make himself appear more moderate in California.
“The bill has about as much chance as passing as I do becoming pope,” Ross said.
The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has not brought Kiley’s bill to the floor for a vote.
When Moonshine Ink asked Kiley directly how he can oppose Prop 50 when it is California’s response to the state of Texas following President Trump’s orders to redraw its maps for gerrymandering purposes, the Congressman said he is only focused on California.
“What we’re voting on with Prop 50 does not concern any other state. It concerns only California,” he said. “It’s California’s own elections that are going to be affected. So, whatever might be going on elsewhere, that’s no reason why we should harm ourselves. Our own citizens, our own voters, shouldn’t be punished because we don’t like what’s going on elsewhere. They shouldn’t be deprived of fair elections and fair representation. They shouldn’t have the will of the people overturned.”
Kiley added that he is against Texas’ redistricting.
In 2019 when Kiley was a member of the California State Assembly, a bill was introduced to give counties the option to create their own independent redistricting commissions for supervisorial districts. He missed the vote.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sept. 18, California Republicans have historically been opposed to independent redistricting commissions.
“In the last 16 years, Republicans have nearly unanimously opposed all 10 measures in the legislature to hand map-drawing power to independent commissions, while Democrats have overwhelmingly voted yes,” the Chronicle wrote in an article titled California Republicans Hated Independent Redistricting Commissions – until Prop 50.
Kiley said he also opposes Prop 50 because it will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We’re going to spend [nearly] $300 million on an unscheduled special election simply to gerrymander the state,” he said. “Literally, that’s the only purpose of the election is to return us to the era of gerrymandering at a cost of $282 million.”
Prop 50 Outlook
Both Acosta and Ross, the two political consultants Moonshine Ink spoke with, predict that while it will be close, Prop 50 will pass.
Ross cited a Sept. 19 Emerson College poll, which found that 51% of voters plan to vote yes on Prop 50, 34% no, and 15% undecided.
“I have not seen any polling, public or private, that shows Prop 50 losing at this point,” Ross said.
“I have seen polling showing it’s close, in the low 50s, which means they [Yes on 50 campaign] still have a campaign to run.”
Ross said that Prop 50 will create five more competitive seats in California, but it is not guaranteed that Democrats will win all five of them.
“It’s going to move a few points, it’s all going to still be competitive,” he said. “Democrats still have to run really strong campaigns.”
Nevertheless, Ross believes that Kiley will have a difficult time getting reelected in a new District 3 and that a moderate Democrat could win.
“[The new map] is basically creating a moderate, centrist district, and Kiley has a right-wing record in Congress,” he said. “But winning Prop 50 is not enough. It is step one in the fight — the fight before the real fight which happens next year.”
Editor’s note, Oct. 10: Update made to the potential financial impacts to TFHS due to HR-1 if unchanged.
The healthcare landscape under President Donald Trump’s administration is facing significant changes, including funding cuts and shifting qualifications for patient eligibility. As Tahoe Forest Health System prepares to navigate such impacts, it continues to find its footing after a year and a half of major transition.
First, a refresher:
Previous President and CEO Harry Weis, who served more than eight years at the helm, separated from the health system in June 2024 after claims of the local medical community “crumbling” under Weis’ guidance (read CEO’s Departure Paves Way for New Leadership Model at Hospital District).
In direct connection to Weis’ departure were board discussions of implementing an entirely new leadership model that would pair physicians with non-physicians for healthcare oversight, known as dyadic leadership. Since March of 2025, according to hospital district staff, there has been further clarity on incorporating dyadic leadership into decision-making. “We are still on the journey,” shared Ted Owens, TFHS executive director of governance and business.
Organizational development firm WittKieffer was hired to find TFHS’s next CEO.
Last fall, incumbent Bob Barnett lost his board seat to Dr. Robert Darzynkiewicz.
In January of this year, the hospital district announced the hiring of Anna Roth, RN, MS, MPH, as its new president and CEO. Roth finished up her tenure as CEO at Contra Costa Health, where she served in the position for 15 years, amid the fallout of a 2023 Department of Health Care Services audit and a whistleblower situation. Both the audit and whistleblower claimed patient medical needs were being ignored. Further, an NBC Bay Area news station reported a criminal investigation by the California Department of Justice was taking place at the East Bay hospital system.
The California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse was unable to confirm whether such an investigation happened, adding that if such records existed, they would be considered confidential, and such records “do not lose their exempt status due to a decision not to prosecute, or the close of an investigation,” according to an email from a legal secretary.
CAPTAIN OF THE VESSEL: Anna Roth was selected as Tahoe Forest Health System’s president and CEO amid much transition, both within the health district and nationally around healthcare changes. She told Moonshine Ink she’s part of a transparency push at TFHS.
Contra Costa County released a statement on the claim in March, saying it was unaware of such an investigation. “There is no indication that a criminal investigation is taking place. There have been no requests for records, no requests to preserve documents, and no interviews of key personnel by the Department of Justice.”
On July 3, 2025, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, or HR-1, passed. The bill, among other impactful measures such as tax provisions, boosting national defense and enforcement, and federal spending cuts, is anticipated to cut an estimated $1.02 trillion on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program and an estimated $5.1 billion in Medicare over 10 years — both numbers per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The nonprofit and advocacy group Third Way projected a $6.7 million loss annually in Medicaid funding for TFHS.
Under such internal and external sea changes at one of Truckee/North Tahoe’s most public-facing special districts, it seemed a sit-down with Roth was in order.
It’s been about seven months since you donned the Tahoe Forest Health System CEO mantle. How has the adjustment period gone?
I feel like it’s gone by so fast, but I think it’s because I’ve been having so much fun. I love this region because the weather keeps time for you. I arrived at the tail end of winter, I got sort of spring … and now we’re moving into fall.
Top of mind for me, first, the community and the staff have been so welcoming. It’s such an extraordinary place. I’m struck by how much abundance is present here at the top of the mountain and at lake level. There’s extraordinary people living here, there’s extraordinary people working here. It’s really been such a level up for me to join this team.
That’s the thing for me that has been a takeaway, is people really are deeply connected to each other here and deeply connected to the work. And it isn’t that people aren’t connected in other places, but it’s palpable here, and I think it’s a point of pride and a point of strength for this region. That has been my takeaway as I’ve initially arrived. Everyone I’ve met, from town leadership to the different leaders across the regions, they’re all thinking in a very forward-thinking manner. I love that this region, the people here, greet challenge with a sort of like, okay, challenge accepted.
The previous CEO, Harry Weis, departed from the health system in May 2024 under intense scrutiny from staff and community members. With your tenure, there’s the desire to become a more transparent district — starting “a new chapter,” as you called it during a July Good Morning Truckee presentation. What shifts are being made to accommodate that goal?
I can’t speak for what, of course, really happened before I got here, but what I can say is healthcare is incredibly complicated. Across the industry, let’s say the last five years, 2020 to 2025, was incredibly fraught. I think we know here at Tahoe Forest, and one of the things that the leadership team and myself are working on, is there’s actually a lot of information out there, but we really need to work on being the interface specialist and help demystify this information. Maybe package it slightly different. We’ve been doing this in sort of mundane, technical ways. For those who watch … the district meetings … you may note there’s been sort of a shift; we’re moving more things into open session from closed session. We’re pushing the presenters to approach this instead of a technical update to the board, maybe a TED Talk or something, so that the public can follow along a little bit easier.
I think there is actually no dearth of information. I think there’s a lot of information out there, but what we have to figure out is how to talk about it in a way that people can actually follow along, and even better and more importantly, where we can sort of make [information] visible.
This is a natural evolution in healthcare, right? I started in the ’80s, early ’90s, and information and how that information was managed belonged to the health providers, to the professionals. Fast forward, now people have patient portals and stuff. We’ve had to figure out the clinical side, like how do we present a lab test? Now it’s, how do we talk about these very technical policy pieces? Because healthcare reform was sort of a concept in the early 2000s. Now we’re in the center of reform, and I think the public wants to participate.
There’s been sort of a shift [during board of director meetings]; we’re moving more things into open session from closed session. We’re pushing the presenters to approach this instead of a technical update to the board, maybe a TED Talk or something, so that the public can follow along a little bit easier.”
~ Anna Roth, TFHS president and CEO
We could duck and cover, but the reality is, is that change isn’t going away, and change is the only constant that I’ve actually experienced in healthcare. Really the best way to do that is in partnership with the public. But it’s hard for them to do that if our information is so technical.
[We’re] reworking our website to be a little more user friendly. Reworking how we talk about the work we’re doing, present it in a way that people can actually interact with it.
The board prior to your arrival had already been talking about demystifying, et cetera. Are you and the board 100% together in this shift to more open communication? Or were they pushing to adopt that mindset?
I didn’t feel pushed by the board. I actually felt the board was very aligned. This is something that I feel all of us really need. The board was really supportive of supporting transparency. And I would say again, because I don’t struggle with the word transparency, but I struggle with the implication that we as healthcare aren’t transparent; we just don’t do a good job explaining the information. And I think that’s universal.
The duty of leadership is twofold: One, to really deeply understand the needs of those they’re serving, which is, in our case, people who both live in the district and visit the district … But also, the duty is to tell the story of what the staff are doing. That is really easy here because it’s remarkable what they’re doing. Staff love that and deserve that. They come to work every day. They drive through snowstorms and leave their family and come to do amazing work. It’s our responsibility and duty to tell that story.
Do you have an example of something that was pushed to move from a closed session to an open session?
The quality report … [which is how] we track our performance up against national performance. So, things like patient satisfaction, which … it’s not that earth shattering because a lot of this is already publicly available but would require people who know or community members to go and retrieve it. So, we sort of ask ourselves, why is this in closed session? We could put our performance into open session, and so the quality report, most of it — not all of it, because anything that is really [under] investigation or anything that could have personnel as a one-off case; those things go into a whole analysis; there’s legal protection. But for the most part, how you’re generally performing, those aggregate data, we can now move those [to open session].
Does that include internal surveys about staff burnout?
It does include that … I’ll give an example of the physician self-described engagements. I think in 2024 when they did that survey, they were in the 10th percentile [which in this case put TFHS in the bottom 10% of how well employees and staff understand and feel connected to their organization’s mission, goals, and values]. This year, they actually exceeded the national average [by rebounding to the 48th percentile], a significant improvement.
Editor’s note: Per the chief medical officer report at the Aug. 28, 2025, TFHS board meeting, “The Alignment Composite Score rose by 19%, reaching the 48th percentile nationally, while Engagement improved by 8%, now placing us in the 70th percentile. Press Ganey noted that increases of this magnitude in medical staff alignment and engagement are rare.” Roth credited the improvements in alignment to Dr. Johanna Koch, chief of staff, and Dr. Brian Evans, CMO.
Workforce is really important in these regions where there’s already a shortage, but then it actually is exacerbated in the rural regions … It’s a big decision to think about coming [to work at TFHS] … and I think those people who are here, they really want to be here. This is the one area where I think abundance might not apply. We have an abundance in the talent, but … these rural regions … it’s tricky, especially with workforce challenges.
Is there something or some things that you might be able to directly attribute that significant rise in the composite score to?
I will just say there is a plethora of efforts going on. Before I arrived, the internal leadership team and our chief medical officer were doing a ton of work with the provider staff. I want to acknowledge that. A lot of the staff themselves — there’s caring for the caregiver, there’s a wellness committee — there’s a lot of work going on.
HEALTHCARE DOLLARS TO DOLLAR POINT: Tahoe Forest Health System has acquired space for a new clinic in Tahoe City’s Dollar Point neighborhood. Upon completion, which is anticipated spring 2026, the site will include exam rooms, space for surgical subspecialties, modern infrastructure, a new parking lot, and future adaptability to serve as urgent care. Courtesy photo
Some of it is time. People came out of the pandemic — and again, I can’t speak for exactly here, but I can tell you this has been a national phenomenon — exhausted and upset. It’s possible maybe some recovery is also based on just the distance from what we know was a shared difficult experience. Again, I don’t know what exactly to attribute it to, but we’re going to actually try to study that this coming year.
Healthcare reformations are on many people’s minds under recent proposals in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or HR-1. What is TFHS anticipating impact-wise, and how could this affect Truckee/Tahoe residents?
I feel like at this point, I’m sitting in the air traffic control tower at JFK or some place; there’s a million things on the radar. To be clear, health reform is sort of taking up probably 50% of those … There’s many, many studies out there, and I think a couple of things: if you’ve seen one study, you’ve seen one study. We have tried to project a worst-case scenario.
[Referring to the $6.7 million annual loss for TFHS projected by the nonprofit and advocacy group Third Way], that’s not a completely outlandish number. Our CFO has projected even higher than that.
HOSPITAL GATEWAY: Tahoe Forest Hospital District leaders (CEO Anna Roth center right) broke ground at the end of September on a complete remodel of the Old Gateway Center, including 41 exam rooms, primary care and surgical subspecialties, sidewalks and crosswalk improvements for better pedestrian access, and modern infrastructure, including new roofing, HVAC, and plumbing. Courtesy photo
Editor’s note: TFHS’s CFO estimates potential financial impacts to the district caused by HR-1 could be $10 million to $11 million over the next decade, though assuming these numbers are final is unrealistic, as Roth shares.
There’s a few important things to keep in mind. One is, this bill just passed. Now the policy work begins. This sort of comes back to where I started around transparency. There is so much technical policy speak ahead of us. Honestly, [Owens] and I are sort of bracing, like how can we become the chief spokespeople to translate what’s really happening?
The Disproportionate Share Hospital [or DSH, a federal program that provides supplemental payments to hospitals serving significantly disproportionate numbers of low-income and uninsured patients] cuts, those that have been being punted for the last decade-plus, those are on the docket to kick in this October with a couple other changes that are starting. (Editor’s note: As of press deadline, TFHS does not expect any DSH impacts.) Then you see changes trickling for the next 10 years up to 2035. So much is going to happen between now and then. Changing the Medi-Cal eligibility requirements, which could in theory reduce the roles of Medi-Cal in the state of California and Medicaid in the state of Nevada. Some will be introduction of work requirements, or now you have to be redetermined every six months instead of annually. So, you could see a reduction in the Medicaid population across the two states overall, which could then, even though that’s not a huge book of business for us, it could have an indirect impact on us in terms of charity care. We are not planning on it, but you could see some healthcare providers exit markets like OB [obstetrics] or areas where there’s a lot of reliance on Medicaid.
We could see some safety nets [that] are facing significant challenges like we’re seeing down in the Chico area [where the Glenn Medical Center in Glenn County is expected to close in October because of financial hardship under Trump’s healthcare policies]. All of that will change the landscape. Studies we’re seeing now are with the current landscape, but as the landscape changes, the impacts may change. Then you may see policy emerge that says, ‘Okay, hospitals, because this has happened, there’s a funding opportunity here.’ So, again, what we are doing is modeling a variety of scenarios. That said, if I were to say what scenario I thought, it just would not be well-grounded in reality because the reality is there will be a ton of policy efforts.
There will be new funding opportunities that emerge and there will be some cuts. We have a sense of which areas [are threatened] — I mean, obviously Medicaid is blinking brightly, government funding is blinking brightly. I think I said this at Good Morning Truckee, I’ve been around a long time. I can remember when we made the very first Delivery System Incentive Reform program, I was on the team for the state that put that together with [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] at the time. It was because they were changing some of the main funding mechanisms. We used an 1115 waiver to move district dollars into infrastructure and innovation. (Editor’s note: During the Great Recession, these waivers proved critical for healthcare reform, allowing states to experiment with innovative strategies while keeping costs low.)
This [One Big Beautiful Bill Act] just passed. Now the policy work begins … There is so much technical policy speak ahead of us. Honestly, [TFHS Executive Director of Governance and Business Development Ted Owens] and I are sort of bracing, like how can we become the chief spokespeople to translate what’s really happening?”
~ Anna Roth, TFHS president and CEO
You remember Meaningful Use [a program beginning in 2011 that accelerated the adoption of electronic health records to meet program requirements, per the American Medical Association] — that was another federal lever that was pulled.
What’s ahead, I can’t predict. What I can predict is there will be things ahead. And one of the reasons why we have people like [Owens] and [me] … We intend to make sure we’re not sitting on the sidelines. We will be doing everything we can to make sure that Tahoe Forest Health District is informing those policies locally as much as we can but also state and federally as appropriate.
Where can Moonshine Ink readers keep up with the latest state and federal
healthcare actions that could affect TFHS?
The California Hospital Association, and the District Hospital Leadership Forum … that is the heart of where policies or policy lives, so it is very technical and very difficult. For our district, what we are committed to doing is to really try to do sensemaking along the way. So, tune into us.
The reality is, nothing major has happened since HR-1 passed.
We are committed to making sure that our district is informed, and we did that in open session, and we’ll do that in open session. We’re trying to put out a small timeline of when the cuts are coming, and we are committed to keeping people informed because we know health is a really big deal. It’s huge. Health impacts and connects to everything. It’s understandable and it’s important that we all stay informed because there is change coming. How that looks is yet to be determined. But the way we are approaching this is we see this as an opportunity to continue with the long-standing legacy of Tahoe Forest and really use it as a transformation opportunity.
Tune In
Tahoe Forest Health System Board of Directors meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Visit tfhd.com/about/minutes-agendas to view dates and agendas of upcoming meetings.
Compared to August 2025, sales volume in the Tahoe Sierra MLS held relatively steady, while average days on market climbed, reflecting the typical seasonal slowdown. Incline Village experienced a sharper pullback, with sales dropping from 27 in August to 18 in September, accompanied by a dip in median price. Year-over-year, however, Incline recorded higher sales volume but lower median pricing. Within the Tahoe Sierra MLS, September 2025 sales volume outpaced September 2024, and the median sales price held steady at $1,225,000. Five Lakefronts sold in September, down from six in August and level with September 2024.
In Tahoe/Truckee, every purchase tells a story about the kind of community we want to live in.
Choosing local doesn’t just mean skipping the online cart — it means investing in our neighbors, our environment, and the character of our mountain towns.
That story carries forward. Local businesses reinvest in community projects, sponsor youth programs, and are often the first to step up in times of need. They also help preserve what makes Tahoe/Truckee exceptional, from creative shops and local food to products that reflect our region’s spirit. Shopping closer to home reduces emissions and traffic, a goal our community talks about often.
But beyond economics and impact, buying local is about connection. It’s about knowing the people behind the counter, trusting their expertise, and supporting those who support us.
Here’s how five of our staffers keep their dollars circulating close to home.
Ever since I cancelled my Amazon Prime account earlier this year, I have been ordering books from Word After Word in Truckee. You order on their website, and if they have it in stock you can pick it up right away, or if they don’t, they will order the book for you. The friendly staff lets you know when the book is ready and it’s at the counter waiting for you. Easy. Plus, I like having an excuse to pop into the store and browse other books.~ MS
1 of 5
LOCAL FLOW: Staff member Sarah Miller often makes it rain on Mountain Hardware, Bike Truckee, Trout Creek Outfitters, and Tahoe Lab since she loves to build things, needs exercise, loves to fly fish, snowboard, and gets thirsty once in a while. Photo by Sarah Miller/Moonshine Ink
BOOKWORM’S DELIGHT: Who needs Amazon Prime when you can order books online from our favorite local bookstore, Word After Word in downtown Truckee? Photo by Wade Snider/Moonshine Ink
SERIOUSLY GOOD: People are amazed when Mayumi Peacock’s daughter eats green beans, broccoli, shishito peppers, pears, pomegranates, and countless other fruits and veggies with joy. The reason is, Mountain Bounty is that good. Photo by Mayumi Peacock/Moonshine Ink
YEARS OF FUN: Tahoe Dave’s has been helping the area shop locally for skis and snowboards since 1977. Photo by Wade Snider/Moonshine Ink
PUP CUPS 'N STUFFS: Staff dog Huxley receives a pup cup at Dark Horse. It’s pretty much the only thing he enjoys these days, considering the climate of the social and political landscape he had no choice but to be born into. Photo by Wade Snider/Moonshine Ink
My local dollars typically flow toward Mountain Hardware, Trout Creek Outfitters, Bike Truckee, Tahoe Lab, and Dark Horse. When I can’t find something I need, I’ll often try to make it from components I can find locally. I like to tinker, anyway. My bike basket is an example. I built it to carry all my fishing gear and many of its components came from ACE, the bike itself came from Bike Truckee, and many adventures are fueled by a spiced chai from Dark Horse.~ SM
I spend my money on coffee. Local coffee. Local delicious coffee. I am not a Folgers fan. I like it fresh. My dog and I spend our time working on our laptops in coffee shops such as Dark Horse, Drink Coffee Do Stuff, and Coffee Bar. I come for the atmosphere; he comes for the pup cups. I always have a few bags of beans on standby for when I leave town. Nothing like a taste of Truckee pre-surf session. ~ WS
Buying local is about connection. It’s about knowing the people behind the counter, trusting their expertise, and supporting those who support us.
Ski boots, and really all things skiing. Gotta feel it out, gotta breathe it in. Can’t do that stuff with a click.~ JG
It’s true: You are what you eat. Food is your fuel and how you eat is a huge factor in how you impact the world. For 25-plus years I have been shopping at locally owned and operated New Moon Natural Foods and subscribing to Mountain Bounty’s CSA. Food this good becomes an easy habit to keep. ~ MP
When you hear the phrase “emergency resource center,” you might picture a gym full of cots and evacuees. That’s what most people imagine. But here in Truckee, our most frequent emergencies don’t look like that. They come in the form of snowstorms, wildfire smoke, summer heatwaves, and, most of all, power outages.
In conversations about the new Truckee Regional Library, I often ask two simple questions. First: Have you ever experienced an emergency evacuation in Truckee? A few hands go up. Then I ask: Have you experienced a preventative or emergency power outage? Every hand in the room rises.
Power outages are the most common emergency we face here, and they’re happening more often and lasting longer. These outages can leave residents without light, heat, internet, or a way to get information or connect with others. And while families are encouraged to prepare, most people simply don’t have the means to install expensive backup systems at home. Retrofitting a house with a generator can cost thousands of dollars, and it’s not realistic for many working families.
What we have in place now isn’t enough. Our current Community Resource Center, hosted by the Truckee Donner Public Utility District in the downtown Community Arts Center, offers a charging station and basic information during outages, but it lacks important resiliency amenities — such as permanent backup power, full ADA accessibility, and a large enough space to host a lot of people — that come with modern building construction. It helps, but not at the scale or reliability our community needs. Additionally, the Community Resource Center currently hosts other critical community programs such as childcare and education; ideally, an emergency resource center would not displace other critical community programs, which is why a library works well.
The new Truckee Regional Library is being designed with this reality in mind. It’s not just a place to read or study; it’s a piece of essential infrastructure. With permanent backup power, filtered air, temperature control, reliable internet, and full ADA accessibility, it will be a safe, welcoming place for people to gather and stay connected when it matters most. It would also help ensure other critical community programs like preschool, summer camps, and afterschool childcare, all currently offered at the Community Resource Center, aren’t as impacted by local emergencies.
This isn’t just the vision of library staff or advocates. The need for a facility like this was identified by key local stakeholders, including the Tahoe-Truckee Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD). These are the people who help manage community-led disaster response and community resilience. They see the gaps, and they see this library as a solution.
“Libraries are critical in disaster response and resiliency,” said Anne Rarick, Tahoe-Truckee COAD manager. “We need more infrastructure like backup power, heat, HVAC systems, and community spaces in Truckee. COAD fully supports the construction and operation of the new library.”
But emergency preparedness is just one reason this library is long overdue.
Our current library was built in 1974, when Truckee was home to just 2,000 residents. Today, it serves a library district population of more than 20,000. The building’s maximum occupancy? Just 54 people.
And while Truckee has grown in size and complexity, the library has not kept pace, especially when it comes to supporting young people. The current teen area is a single table with four chairs. There’s little space for after-school programming, and few places where older kids and teens can study, gather, and have an area of the library that they can call their own. Our youth deserve better — free and accessible spaces that support learning, creativity, and community.
We’re not just talking about books. We’re talking about equity. We’re talking about safety. We’re talking about giving families and young people the resources they need to thrive in daily life and during disruptions.
This new library is a real, tangible, and achievable way to invest in the resilience and well-being of our community, not just during emergencies, but every single day. It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity.
You can help build the new library we need by voting yes on Measure G in November. Learn more at votetruckeelibrary.com.
~ James Blattler is a local resident and has worked in the field of emergency services for over 15 years. Before moving to Truckee, James was the emergency manager for the City of San Luis Obispo.
~ Kathleen Eagan spearheaded Truckee’s incorporation as a town and was elected Truckee’s first mayor in 1993. Kathleen was also a founding member of the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and has served as an elected member of the Truckee Tahoe Airport Board.
Sure, you can watch new ski edits on the internet or throw Walls of Freedom in the DVD player, but there’s nothing like the energy of a live ski film premiere in a sweet setting surrounded by your ski-town brothers and sisters. Plus, there’s usually some free swag, along with skis and season passes, being raffled off. And the athlete cameos and shenanigans just can’t be recreated in a living room.
Olympic Valley
The pre-season stoke kicks off Oct. 10 at the Olympic Village Events Center with Teton Gravity Research’s Pressure Drop — an ode to the moment of focus and clarity before you point it downhill and gravity takes over.
What started in Jackson Hole in 1996 with a fax machine and a desk made of four milk crates and a piece of plywood, TGR has become one of the biggest action sports film outfits in the world. This year’s journey will take viewers to spines in Alaska and islands in Norway, to perfect pillow lines in British Columbia and familiar yet feisty terrain in Palisades Tahoe.
Watch for segments of Jeremy Jones and his nephew Kai Jones, longtime TGR shredder Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, and X-Games slopestyler turned big mountain slayer Maggie Voison. Complete with the feel-good, product-placement drinking scenes around the fire, Pressure Drop will check the boxes to get you drooling for winter.
Early show at 5 p.m., rowdier show at 7:45 p.m.
Then, on Oct. 29 and 30, the venue will play host to the Tahoe premiere of this year’s Warren Miller flick, Sno-Ciety.
What spawned from Warren and his buddy Ward Baker living out of a teardrop trailer in the Sun Valley parking lot back in 1947 has flourished into over 75 years of ski and snow-sport related inspiration, deadpan comedy, and culture. My dad used to go to Warren Miller premieres back in the ’60s, and today’s little grommets probably will be doing the same 50 years from now. Sno-Ciety was shot in the streets of Finland and on the steeps of Austria, and about a dozen other awesome locales including Mammoth Mountain. Prediction: Daron Rahlves and Chris Rubens will ski fast and there will be some outstanding one-liners in what will be an ode to mountain-town timelessness.
Shows both nights at 7 p.m. Prices and tickets for both films at palisadestahoe.com.
ATHLETES from the films are often on hand at premieres. Photo courtesy Palisades Tahoe.
Tahoe City
Moving down Highway 89 about 5 miles, the Tahoe City Art Hause is jam-packed with ski film premieres this fall.
The theater gets things going Oct. 14 with the premier of Ski for the Love’s fourth film, Yard Sale. With Josh Anderson, Alex “Shugz” Dorszynski, Jedediah Kravitz, and Brandon Craddock in front of the lens and cinematographer Hazen Woolson behind it, this all-Tahoe crew will show you how to ski a big line with grace or how to fall down it with style — because, as they say, “If you’re not yard-saling, you’re probably not trying.”
RAFFLES and swag and good times are all part of a good ski film premiere. Photo courtesy Josh Anderson
Shot in Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, Canada, and California, and not without some naked skiing and overall tomfoolery, these local boys will show you what it means to get after it as they get the theater howling. Shows at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; get your tickets early.
Next up, the Art Haus hosts the Tahoe premiere of Matchstick Productions’ latest drop, After the Snowfall. With shows Oct. 25 at 5:30 and 8 p.m., you’ll get a soul-skiing vibe and a storytelling throughline as your jaw gapes and your posterior clenches. With footage from around the world and from pretty close by, note segments by Truckee local and overall badass Michelle Parker and Nico Porteous, the 2022 Olympic Men’s halfpipe gold medal winner from New Zealand.
In addition to the rock gods and goddesses of skiing and riding, After the Snowfall also celebrates the everyday ski bums and Regular Joe mountain-town folks who’ve built lives around feeding the simple but passionate hunger of making turns down mountains of white. Encore screenings are Oct. 26 and 27.
Then, the Art Haus just keeps the premiere party going. Oct. 29 at 8 p.m., come out for Ornada, Armada’s first foray into ski films that combines big mountain steeps with extensive urban skiing and park sessions, and was shot over a two-year period. Hosted by evo Tahoe City, Tanner Hall headlines an all-star cast. Rounding out their slate is the Tahoe premiere of the Girl Winter Film Tour on Nov. 13. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will feature short and mid-length women-centered films “with range,” aiming to give new voices and stories to the genre. Nov. 9 sees Craig Beck on hand for a 50th anniversary screening of his seminal film, Daydreams. See tahoearthauscinema.com for tickets.
Reno
Lastly, the Biggest Little (Ski) City in the World won’t be left out of this ski film premiere bonanza. Lake Tahoe AleWorX near the Ace’s ballpark in Reno’s Brewery District is getting in on the action too — and not without some oomph. On Oct. 14, the restaurant/bar/event space hosts the TREW To You Tour for a night of films headlined by Adapt, the story of High Fives Athlete Shelby Estocado’s journey from her 2020 spinal cord injury to grit-and-stoke filled adaptive skier. Each film shown that night will be vying for the coveted $15,000 grand prize in the TREW To You Film Contest.
The next night at AleWorx, Oct. 15, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe will present the Reno premiere of Pressure Drop. You can expect a raffle and swag both nights, and stoke and good times all ski-film season long.
Note: There are lots of rippers who live around these parts. They and their friends have cameras. Therefore, keep your eyeballs peeled for announcements of shorter, indie-film premieres popping up as well.
It’s a Thursday night in downtown Tahoe City during fall’s shoulder season and believe it or not, the place is going off. There’s a line out the door for a table at Sylva, the new dinner hotspot that opened last November, and the bar and restaurant are filled at the evo-owned Sierra Surf Club, which opened in March in the historic Tahoe Inn building.
On one side of town, people line up for tacos and ice cream at the food truck land in front of the now-closed Willard’s Sports Shop building, where the Little Truckee Ice Creamery and Morelos Tacos have set up pop-up shops. And on the other end of town, locals file in for trivia night at Tahoe National Brewing Co. and a wine tasting and craft class at Tahoe Wine Collective.
In other words: Tahoe City finally has a buzz in the air again. “When we moved here in 2017, I could see it: Tahoe City was this magical place. But it felt like nothing was happening here. It had hit this lull,” says Alex Looby, owner of Christy Hill, the Sandbar, and the newest addition, Minglewood, a casual breakfast and lunch café that opened in July where Syd’s Bagels used to be. “Everyone is afraid of change, but there are exciting things happening in Tahoe City now, from farmers’ markets to live music on the beach. There are all of these reasons for people to get out of their cars, walk through town, and enjoy themselves.”
While Truckee has seen steady improvements over the years with new businesses becoming popular mainstays, it’s been many years of question marks for the Tahoe City scene. Projects like the Tahoe City Lodge, the new Safeway, and the Boatworks Mall development have been long stalled, and many businesses have come and gone in recent years, leaving vacant buildings and shuttered storefronts. Jake’s on the Lake, a Tahoe City institution for nearly 50 years, will be closing for this winter, starting Nov. 1, due to lease negotiations and seasonal vulnerability, according to owner Jeff Hill, who says he hopes to reopen in the spring. All of that has left people wondering if the town still has the vibrancy it was once known for. Can a business open in Tahoe City now and not just survive but thrive?
MEET MINGLEWOOD: Staff members, (from left) Thomas Pablo Garcia, Esme Roberts, Dylan Olenic, and Nemanja Kostic. Photo by Megan Michelson/Moonshine Ink
New Restaurants Are Flourishing
Bryce Phillips, the owner of evo, considered a few locales before he decided Tahoe City was the spot to open a new hotel and restaurant. “We started thinking about northern California for evo years ago and while we considered going to the city given the concentration of customers, we ended up gravitating to outdoor recreation and a community that we resonated with,” Phillips says. “It’s crystal clear that Tahoe City is a special place. The location, people, and history drew us in, while the opportunity to be a part of positive change is what really sold us.”
The evo Hotel and adjacent Sierra Surf Club opened last spring in the locations previously housed by, respectively, America’s Best Value Inn and the Blue Agave restaurant, which had been closed since 2022. Both locations underwent major interior and exterior renovations before opening. The hotel has a sauna and cold plunge, or you could just run across the street and jump in the lake.
“The evo Hotel, evo retail, and Sierra Surf Club have been very well received so far. And it’s early and just starting to ramp up,” Phillips added. “We are very excited about the future, inspired to create a gathering place for the local community and those traveling to Tahoe to recreate.”
Creating a gathering space for the community was also the intention of the owners of the new Minglewood café, which is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. “We wanted this to be the place you go for everything: a cup of coffee, breakfast or lunch, a business meeting, a beer at the end of the day,” says Alex Looby, who runs the restaurant with his wife, Amanda. Eventually, they plan to add in evening programming like trivia, live music, or karaoke.
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ALL DAY GATHERING SPACE: Owners Alex and Amanda Looby are also the proprietors of Christy Hill. Photo by Megan Michelson/Moonshine Ink
MINGLEWOOD, a casual café, opened in July in the location where Syd’s Bagels once was. Open 7 days a week, 7 to 7, it’s a place for the morning cup of joe, a business meeting, or that relaxing beer at the end of the day. Photo by Megan Michelson/Moonshine Ink
Sylva, owned by husband-and-wife duo Andrew Shimer, the former chef from Christy Hill, and Chata Villa, had a banner summer, with long waitlists and packed tables.
The restaurant has garnered press and excellent reviews for its always-changing seasonal menu and fresh take on American cuisine. “If Tahoe City becomes known for having multiple great restaurants, that’s great for all of us,” says Shimer. “The more reasons people have to come spend time in Tahoe City, the better.”
Infrastructure Projects Are Underway
If you’ve driven through Tahoe City recently, you’ll know that cone season is well underway. The $34 million Fanny Bridge reconstruction project has been diverting traffic since August, with the over 90-year-old bridge currently closed to cars. A new single-span bridge is expected to open in November with improvements for pedestrians and cyclists, including bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the bridge.
The bridge construction is impacting business and foot traffic at restaurants like the Bridgetender, but co-owner Scott Zumwalt — who’s also one of the owners at West Shore Market and Shadyside Lounge, which opened in 2023, says loyal locals are still finding their way in. “People are making an effort to come in and support us, and we appreciate that,” Zumwalt says. “But we have seen a big drop in foot and bike traffic and people driving by and stopping in.”
Also at the wye in Tahoe City, the new Safeway project — which has taken much longer than anticipated — is finally seeing progress. The grocery store is now hiring and expected to open for business in its new spot Oct. 16.
Funds generated from the TOT-TBID program have been used for everything from the ongoing historic preservation of the Watson Cabin, one of the original structures in downtown Tahoe City, to restoration of the bike path along the West Shore to a new singletrack bypass trail constructed by the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) adjacent to the Tahoe XC trails.
“The thing I’ve noticed most is there’s this energy behind the restaurants and businesses and a consistency of experience that we didn’t have before,” says Kirstin Guinn, marketing director for the North Tahoe Community Alliance. “Tahoe City has a staple movie theater, a number of excellent bakeries, a bustling farmers market, and a packed concert series. It feels like a small town that’s thriving with a great local feel.”
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PACKED TABLES: Expect to see a line out the door most nights for dinner at Tahoe City hotspot Sylva, which features a seasonal, constantly changing menu and locally sourced ingredients. Courtesy photo
PACKED TABLES: Expect to see a line out the door most nights for dinner at Tahoe City hotspot Sylva, which features a seasonal, constantly changing menu and locally sourced ingredients. Courtesy photo
The Future Looks Bright
Some projects in town are taking longer than expected but will hopefully be worth the wait. The owners of a new juice and coffee bar in Tahoe City have finally received permitting and plan to open by the end of this year. Called Press + Pour, the juice shop will be located in the Cobblestone Center in the space where Gravity Shop, a bike store, was once. (Editor’s note: The juice shop is owned in part by Moonshine Ink staffer Melissa Siig.) They’ll serve cold-pressed juices, smoothies, grab-and-go paninis, and craft coffee. Currently, the plan is to be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until sunset.
“Change is inevitable and shoulder season is always hard on local businesses, but we can all do our part to keep it local,” says Chris Taylor, general manager of the new Press + Pour and the adjacent Tahoe Tap Haus, which will be undergoing a rebranding in the year to come. “I make an intentional choice to support our local establishments, go to the smaller places, and spread the love.”
Savoie, an upscale restaurant that is expected to open in the old Pfeiffer House building at the west entrance to town, is another long-awaited project. The original Pfeiffer House restaurant closed in 2019, and since then the building has been vacant while undergoing a massive remodel. Alison Sullivan, co-owner of Savoie, said they hope to open by early 2026 and will be serving French and Italian-inspired alpine fare in a completely renovated space.
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AT LONG LAST: Safeway is slated to open in its new location in mid-October. Photo by Megan Michelson/Moonshine Ink
AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH: It’s been a challenging season for the Bridgetender due to construction and road closures as a result of the Fanny Bridge redevelopment project, but locals are still showing up in support. Photo by Wade Snider/Moonshine Ink
CONE SEASON is well underway, making access to businesses difficult. Photo by Wade Snider/Moonshine Ink
The Tahoe City Lodge — where the dilapidated Hendrickson building once sat and was torn down in 2019 — may still be an empty lot that’s been entangled in legal issues, but the project is still tracking, according to Samir Tuma, managing partner of Kila Tahoe, the developers for the lodge. Recent progress for the project includes restoring 1.7 acres of a stream environment zone on the Tahoe City golf course, managing that restoration, and pouring concrete that will eventually facilitate construction of the lodge.
“The capital markets are recovering, and construction pricing is stabilizing, so we are targeting significant construction in 2026,” Tuma tells Moonshine Ink. “I understand people’s frustrations about the project. Nobody is more frustrated than I am. We are optimistic that the project will make significant progress in the coming year.”
Approvals from Placer County for the lodge construction are valid through April 2027.
Lastly, construction of the new Tahoe Cross-Country Lodge broke ground in June, after years in the making. This new lodge — a refurbished historic 1930s Tahoe home — will eventually offer a year-round café and a new trailhead base lodge, with access near North Tahoe High School on Polaris Road. The lodge is currently on track to be completed by winter 2028.
Most business owners in Tahoe City can all agree on one thing: What’s good for some is good for all. “It’s a synergy. What’s better for the town is better for all of us,” says Zumwalt. “If one business is doing well, it means town is doing well. And that’s good news for all of us.”
In 1975, the first episodes of Saturday Night Live premiered, Jaws hit the big screen, and Tahoe Cross Country began grooming Nordic trails. It now maintains 50 kilometers of them, and combined with summertime hiking, biking, and trail-running, provides over 20,000 folks a year with an affordable, and sometimes even free, connection to nature.
But since its inception, the organization, more familiarly known as Tahoe XC, has been operating out of the Highlands Community Center — built as the clubhouse to a nine-hole golf course near Burton Creek that was started but never finished.
COMMUNITY THING: On the trails of Tahoe XC, you’ll often see a mix of generations out skiing together. Courtesy photos
The growing need for a new lodge was first identified by an outside study back in the late ’90s, and since then the dream has never been too far from mind. In 2015, opportunity struck when a historic Rubicon Bay home, originally built in 1937 for an upper-crust family, changed hands.
The new buyer wanted to build a modern house on the land, but didn’t want the old home simply torn down. He saw its historical value and wanted to donate it and see the structure rebuilt elsewhere in Tahoe.
TWO SKIERS absolutely getting after it on a winter’s day at Tahoe XC.
“He approached a couple different organizations about it,” said Sue Irelan, Tahoe XC board member and finance chair for the lodge project. “When he approached the TCPUD, they said they didn’t have a need for it, but then thought about us. They asked us if we were ready to take on a project of this nature, to save the structure and have it become a centerpiece of the community. Our ski area and our nonprofit stepped up and said, ‘yes, we are ready to take this on.’”
Talks ensued and the generous donation was made, marking the start of a long and unique process. First, the building had to be deconstructed. Next, all of the locally milled beams, hand-adzed (cut with a special type of axe) wall paneling, redwood end-grain flooring, and other historically interconnected materials had to be catalogued. Then they had to be moved to a storage facility while fundraising efforts were implemented to meet goals.
Reconstruction efforts will come in three phases.
Phase 1 began this past June 1 with the groundbreaking of the trailhead relocation portion of the project, consisting of building new parking, new facilities, signage, and lights. This will allow trails to start at the new lodge site adjacent to North Tahoe High School (some parking will even be shared), which will be on flatter ground.
WHAT WILL BE: A rendering of the new lodge — the reconstructed historic Pennoyer home with some new additions.
“The current lodge sits at the bottom of a hill,” said Molly Casper, Tahoe XC’s marketing and communications director, “which presents issues. Especially for beginners and for lessons, it’s tough having to start by going uphill. And being right next to the high school will also enhance the community in ways I don’t think we even yet foresee.”
Phase 2 will represent the bulk of the project’s slated time and budget — the actual rebuilding of the 1937 home at the new site. The completed edifice will include roughly 80% original material and 20% new. At the left wing of the house, an annex will be added for ski waxing and equipment storage.
Phase 3 will consist of moving in and completing the things necessary to open up a new era for the old stalwart.
More than just a ski resort
Tahoe XC’s ski operations function as a public benefit corporation that subsidize their sister organization, the nonprofit Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Association (TCCSEA), which fosters myriad community programs.
There is the on-property yurt that serves as a designated snow-science school; the nature camp in the summertime for young children; Las Chicas, the bilingual mountain biking and cross-country skiing program for middle school-aged Latinas. Then there is the free skiing offered to anyone under 19 or over 70, the free skiing for schools, and the free family ski day for any family with a K-5th grader in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District — just call on up, set it up, and come on out for a lesson and a ski.
A BIKER hits the trails during the fall.
These programs are vital cogs in Tahoe XC’s mission to offer connection to nature that creates forever-stewards for the environment.
Perhaps the most vital piece in the mission is Strider Gliders, the cross-country ski program that started back in 1999. The affordable K-5th grade lessons are renown and run entirely by volunteer coaches — firemen, doctors, teachers, retired professional athletes — a lot of them former Strider Gliders themselves.
One such Strider Glider graduate, J.C. Schoonmaker, a member of the U.S. Nordic Ski Team and competitor in the 2022 Olympics, will even stop by when he’s back in town to lead a ski or a trail run.
“The program model has always been to start out as a Strider Glider and come back as a coach,” said Casper.
Tahoe XC is also dog-friendly, performs trail workdays, and serves as a community gathering place.
“It’s not uncommon to see teenagers interacting and recreating on the same trails as people in their 90s,” Casper said. “We have this incredible ‘cosm’ of age groups where people join together. We aim to increase access to snow sports and open space in our area, and the new lodge will help us do that.”
Renewal
Once completed, with an array of solar panels and other measures that go so far as reusing the topsoil and cut lumber from the construction site, Tahoe XC’s new lodge will be net-zero — producing as much renewable energy as it uses.
“We get asked all the time, ‘Why would you go through all the hassle of rebuilding an old house instead of just building something new?’” noted Casper, answering: “‘Well, because it fits with our ethos of adaptive re-use.’”
The original house was built by the Pennoyers, an Oakland family who’d made its fortune in dry goods. In 1917, Paul, son of Albert, honeymooned in Tahoe with his wife, Frances, daughter of none other than banking magnate J.P. Morgan. The newlyweds were entranced by the lake’s serene grandeur, so much so that 18 years later they returned, buying land in Rubicon Bay and setting about to build a summer home. By early July 1937, it was ready for move-in, and for the next 75 years it served as a place of merriment and good times for the family.
The edifice was given the moniker Paradise Flat. But for those who viewed it from the waters of the lake, it perhaps represented a sort of paradise-out-of-reach: so close, but the ability to walk through its doors so far away.
That all changes soon. When Tahoe XC’s new lodge opens up, the summer home for the daughter of J.P. Morgan will become a year-round homebase for outdoor recreation and community connection — serving as a place of merriment and good times for all.
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