Originally Published in the Sierra Sun 8/18/2023, Written by Justin Scacco, Photo Credit Justin Scacco

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Clean up the Lake, known for diving beneath Tahoe’s waves and retrieving litter from the bottom, has taken a major step toward its environmental efforts with the grand opening of a new dive center in Incline Village.

Members from the nonprofit organization celebrated the opening of the new Environmental Dive Center on Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included several members from the community and other organizations that helped make the center a possibility.

“The center will be the first of it’s kind”, said Clean up the Lake founder and CEO Colin West, who added the goal of the center will be to create an “army” of environmental divers.

The Environmental Dive Center will be a hybrid between a conservation dive school and an environmental science center. Roughly $200,000 was raised in order to make the dive center a reality, and was made possible from donations by Boatworks Mall, Tahoe Beach Club, Nila Ruslen & Pavel Pragin, Marv & Patti Hovatter, Victoria Rosauer, and Lake Tahoe Community College. With support from its donors Clean up the Lake announced it will be able to match incoming donations, up to $125,000.

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We now have a finalized schedule for the Mountain Course Cart Path project and how this will affect the golf course operations and play. These temporary closures were planned to get the project completed earlier and the golf course returned to the golfers. This schedule also results in more days for our golfers to play the full 18 holes.

Please remember that even though the course will be fully operational at times, there will be work going on, noise and some rerouting for carts. Below is the Mountain Course schedule for September 5 through the projected closing date of October 15. 

Mountain Course Schedule

All dates are subject to change due to weather conditions affecting construction activities. Any updates or changes will be posted on the Mountain Course Cart Path page.  

September 5-9: Mountain Course closed for major cart path repairs

September 25 – October 3: Holes 2 and 3 closed  

September 30: Mountain Course closed for major cart path repairs

October 4 – Closing Day (projected October 15):  Mountain Course open with 18 holes

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope this does not impact your plans for golf at the Mountain course too much. Once this project is completed, we look forward to enjoying the improvements and a full season of golfing. Thank you for your patience during this process.

The intrepid Kathy Collins, who has always been Maui personified, recommended “The Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund,” for much needed Maui relief. So with a lump in my throat, and a heavy heart for Lahaina I sent my heartfelt support. 

I was granted a stroll through history while living on Maui from 1973-83 and hosting a morning radio show that included remote broadcasts from iconic Lahaina Town. To benefit the Maui United Way, I published a paperback book, Zowie It’s Maui, the Halcyon years ’73-’83.  

Mark Twain told us back in 1866, “The Sandwich Islands are one long slumbering Sabbath. The good who die there experience no change, for they fall asleep in one heaven and wake up in another.” Our hearts and dollars go out to those who lost a loved one, a pet, a home, a place of business, and for some, all of the above…

It will take years, but Lahaina will come back faster than any other town its size could ever muster. The society I knew there was composed of wild, free, unspeakably happy souls, who laughed at poverty while having a noble good time in all weathers, though they never expected a fire. And why would they? Lahaina was lush and green until climate change, sugar, and the tourist industry sucked up the water, and Maui was transmogrified from sacred pools to savanna, from mangos to matchsticks. How tragic.

Among the things I carried with me when I moved to Tahoe in ’83 was a listing of early house rules at the Pioneer Inn…

How ironic…

There was always something distinct about Lahaina, as if they had a sign at the town border, “Check your cares and inhibitions here, and fill-up your heart with cheer & charity.”

With her noble spirit of Ohana, Lahaina will be back better than ever, and I’m making it a goal to live long enough to bear witness to that heroic return…

                                                        Audio: https://anchor.fm/mcavoy-layne

Originally Published in The Tahoe Daily Tribune 8/17/2023, Written by Miranda Jacobson & photo credit

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev.— The Incline Village evacuation drill and preparedness fair invited both residents living in the Second Creek area of Incline Village, along with anyone interested in learning more about emergency preparedness, to the Incline Village Recreation Center on Wednesday, Aug. 16. 

The fair was bustling with residents visiting different booths of fair vendors, ranging from the American Read Cross and PulsePoint Foundation, to community partners of the drill like Washoe County Emergency Management, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. 

Washoe County Regional Animal County Services also had a booth, and offered free dog tags made possible with the funding of the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation, along with free microchipping for dogs. 

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Annual competitive grants expanded through donor co-investment opportunities.

INCLINE VILLAGE, NEV (August 14, 2023) – Thanks to the generosity of its donors, the Community Foundation is excited to announce that it has granted nearly $300,000 from its Community Fund to
nonprofit organizations serving the Lake Tahoe basin in 2023. 

Each year, the Community Foundation offers competitive Community Fund grants to nonprofit
organizations. These grants allow nonprofit organizations to request the support they need to
better serve the Tahoe Region and focus on the Community Foundation’s five focus areas: well-
being, education, arts and culture, environment, and community engagement. Each year, the
Community Impact Committee, which is comprised of volunteer members from the community,
review each grant proposal and award the most impactful opportunities. 

In 2023, for the first time, Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation invited its Donor Advised Fund
holders to co-invest in the Community Fund grants. Donors were provided brief summaries of each
grant proposal and given the opportunity to make grant recommendations from their funds. “We
are thrilled with the response from our Donor Advised Fund holders and are thankful for donors
who were moved to give,” said Parasol’s Donor Services Director Mackenzie Little. “This co-
investment in grantees expanded the collective support for nonprofits serving Lake Tahoe and
increased the overall amount granted.”

This year, grants were awarded to programs offering hunger relief and family resources, providing
equitable access to music education to local students, completing vital search and rescue
operations, teaching STEM programs, supporting adaptive outdoor experiences, and much
more. The 2023 Grant Recipients were:

 Achieve Tahoe
 Adventure Risk Challenge
 Boys and Girls Club Lake Tahoe
 Bread and Broth
 El Dorado Search and Rescue

 Gateway Mountain Center
 Incline Education Fund
 Lake Tahoe Dance Collective
 League to Save Lake Tahoe
 Live Violence Free
 Professional Ski Instructors of America-West
 Saint Joseph Community Land Trust
 Sierra Community House
 SOS Outreach
 Tahoe Family Solutions
 Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue
 Tahoe Truckee School of Music
 Tahoe Youth and Family Services
 Tahoe’s Connection for Families
 Pet Network Humane Society

Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation has granted over $1 Million to community efforts through its
annual grant cycle.  The grant process continues to provide vital support to outstanding
organizations who are making a difference in our community, providing equitable opportunities, and fundamental resources.

About Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation

Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation is dedicated to cultivating community philanthropy. Parasol
connects donors to causes that matter most to them, helping nonprofit organizations achieve their
charitable goals, positively impacting the quality of life and supporting the people and places of
Tahoe.

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Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune 8/10/2023, Staff Reporting

CRYSTAL BAY, Nev.— As a continued commitment to the community, Revitalize Tahoe Biltmore announced a recent update about the project’s construction and demolition initiatives for 2023. 

The summer 2023 scope of work includes the competition of abatement for the Tahoe Biltmore. The demolition of the property’s cottages is scheduled to begin within the next few weeks, with a goal to demolish the Tahoe Biltmore Casino and Hotel following the completion of the abatement. 

The demolition is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023 to prepare the property for the 2024 construction season. 

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Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune 08/11/2023, Written By Miranda Jacobson

KINGS BEACH, Calif.— The 27th annual Lake Tahoe Summit was held at the Kings Beach Recreation Area Wednesday, Aug. 9. The bi-partisan, bi-state coalition of local, state, federal, Tribal, and environmental leaders were able to gather to discuss the importance of sustainable solutions to combat climate crisis and local community issues in Lake Tahoe. 

This year’s summit, “Protecting Lake Tahoe Sustainability and Stewardship in the Face of the Climate Crisis,” was hosted by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, who was joined by many of his colleagues including Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and Senator Jackie Rosen, among many others. The summit was able to highlight the urgent need to extend the authorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act through 2034 in order to keep allocating funds and approving projects that lead to the restoration and preservation of Lake Tahoe. 

It was noted by many speakers that as of late, Lake Tahoe has experienced incredible highs and lows in climate events, a lingering trace that the Basin has not been spared by climate change. 

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photo: Miranda Jacobson – Tahoe Daily Tribune

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune 08/16/2023, Submitted

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Heavenly Mountain Resort, Northstar California, and Kirkwood Mountain Resort today announced their planned opening dates for the upcoming 2023-2024 ski and ride season. Heavenly and Northstar will target opening on Friday, November 17, and Kirkwood will target Friday, December 1. 

After a historic 2022-23 season that led to new snowfall records of 592″ at Heavenly and 727″ at Kirkwood, as well as 50^th anniversary celebrations at Kirkwood and Northstar, Vail’s Tahoe resorts are looking forward to another unique season of new memories.  

“We are always looking forward to the next ski and ride season, getting more snow, and breaking out our skis and snowboards,” said Tom Fortune, vice president and COO of Heavenly Mountain Resort and the Tahoe region. “Coming off a truly historic winter, the bar is high this year, and I know it will be another amazing ski and ride season for our resorts across the Tahoe region. The teams at Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Northstar have remained dedicated and focused throughout the summer and will work incredibly hard in preparation to deliver another excellent ski and ride season to our guests.” 

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