Liberty Electric has been ripping the locals of South Lake Tahoe off for years and the PUC approves every rate increase. The 100% rate increase since 2020 is unacceptable. We complain but PUC and the judges approve it anyway even when the latest increase was due to them causing a fire that caused a death. They should be putting the rate increases to the shareholders not the rate payers.
When there is a fire caused by the utility company they need to pay for it that is why they have insurance. When others cause the fire, that is why there is insurance, and FEMA money. Utilities take advantage of the rate payers even when insurances pick up the cost. We are sick of all the utility companies overcharging us. They should be maintaining their lines and equipment and maybe stuff wouldn’t cost so much today. Same with the water company and garbage.
South Lake Tahoe should have a municipal utility like SMUD which is affordable for the locals. The cost of living in SLT is unaffordable because it is a tourist town. It is time to stop the gouging. Gas is higher, electricity, housing, food. It is ridiculous. We have one WIFI provider Spectrum and they rip us off too $99 for WIFI and that doesn’t include cable.
No wonder the locals can afford to work and live here. We need competition for cable. Let Comcast come here at least you can negotiate. Let Verizon offer their home WIFI for $35; it never changes. Where does Nevada get their water for all these data centers? Don’t let them take it from California or Tahoe! They don’t want to give us electricity; well we should cut them off from getting water.
This AI is out of control and moving faster before regulations can get in place. We don’t have the resources to support it. I could care a less about AI. I will not use it! Where are our lawmakers to help with this. Jaron Brandon is the only one with a plan. Marie Alvarez is useless! She needs to get voted out. Vote blue! Save South Lake Tahoe!
Lisa McDonald
If Bayer has paid out billions in cancer-related deaths due to glyphosate, why in the world would they still use it? You can’t control what glyphosate destroys either. Why aren’t they using natural ways like goat scaping if they perceive a problem? When did eliminating native plants become a great idea and how many of those have medicinal properties?
Valerie Shealy
To the Editor,
As this winter season comes to a close here in South Lake, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what it asked of all of us.
It wasn’t an easy season. Weather patterns were inconsistent. Conditions were often unpredictable. Plans shifted more than anyone would have liked. For many organizations and families, simply showing up required more flexibility, patience, and persistence than usual.
At SOS Outreach, we experienced that firsthand while working with young people across the Tahoe basin. But what stood out wasn’t the challenge. It was the response.
Mentors continued to show up, week after week, creating consistency for young people who needed it. Staff, mountain partners like Heavenly and Kirkwood, and local organizations adapted in real time by creating access, finding solutions, and ensuring that young people still had a place to show up. And our participants kept coming back. They were engaging, building relationships, and trusting the space being created for them. Those moments may not make headlines, but they are what build strong communities.
In a time when young people across our community are carrying real pressure, academically, socially, and at home, having consistent, caring adults and spaces where they feel they belong matters more than ever. That’s something South Tahoe continues to do well. Not perfectly, but consistently.
As we head into the off-season and look toward what’s next, this feels like an important reminder: Community isn’t built in ideal conditions. It’s built when people continue to show up for each other, especially when things get hard.
We’re grateful to be part of a community that continues to do just that through volunteers, partners like Vail Resorts Epic Promise Foundation, families, and young people themselves.
Sincerely,
Seth Ehrlich
CEO, SOS Outreach
