Category: Community News

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In The News – Tahoe Prosperity Center searches for new Executive Director

January 26, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 1/24/2025, Submitted

The Board of Directors of the Tahoe Prosperity Center announced it is searching for a new executive director. Heidi Hill Drum has served as the executive director of the organization for ten years and is looking forward to new and different adventures. The board thanks Hill Drum for her service over these past ten years and is appreciative of her flexibility during the search for a new leader. 

While under Hill Drum’s tenure, the Tahoe Prosperity Center has grown and accomplished much in the region and we look forward to a new leader continuing to expand and grow the following programs.

  • Envision Tahoe and Tahoe, Inc – supporting economic resiliency in the Tahoe region and connecting entrepreneurs to support their growth in our unique mountain environment.
  • Alert Tahoe – supporting the early detection wildfire camera network in our communities that have already helped spot more than 100 fires, allowing our local fire agencies to stop them before they reached 1 acre in size. These cameras provide critical information to our local fire crews and protect our communities from the devastation of wildfires. During Heidi’s ten years as executive director, more than 15 cameras in the Lake Tahoe region have been installed.
  • Connected Tahoe – expanding high speed internet to underserved areas of the Tahoe Basin with new technology, improvements in fiber and connectivity and supporting local jurisdictions with projects and funding to ensure quality of broadband for everyone.

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In The News – Incline High School named State Finalist in STEM Competition

January 25, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 1/23/2025, Written by Leah Carter

Incline High School has been selected as one of five State Finalist schools in the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.

The competition encourages students to use their STEM skills to develop devices and other projects that can resolve challenges within their communities. Students in Adam Shoda’s 11th grade class spoke with the Incline Village Community Hospital to determine their efforts.  

“We went to the hospital and we asked them to come up with problems that any of their employees or departments had,” said Shoda. “They gave us a list of about four.”

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PINE NUTS – Revisiting Virginia City

January 24, 2025 | McAvoy Lane

This past summer, Reno advertising guru Michael Lucido invited me to help him publicize a few of Virginia City’s family attractions with a TV commercial. So I hauled a white suit out of the closet, grabbed a cigar, and headed for my old stomping grounds, the Comstock Lode. It was like coming home again, for in the halcyon summer of ’88 I presented 200 shows in Piper’s Opera House to launch a 36-year career as an impressionist of Mark Twain, who, as you know, got his start in Virginia City. The Comstock Lode was one lucky stop for Twain, and one sunny stop for Layne…

We started the shoot at the V&T train station. The V&T was so slow in Twain’s day that 

they once transported a prisoner from Virginia City to Carson, and by the time they got him there he had aged so, they could no longer identify him; they had to let him go. It was so slow, they took the cowcatcher off the front and moved it around to the backside.  Well, they knew they weren’t going to catch any cows, but they were afraid one might try to climb on from behind and bite the passengers.”

Michael issued a casting call for extras to meet Mark Twain at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, where ‘Samuel’ would be sharing some tales. Well, you never saw such a heartwarming bunch of fun lovers in your life, and Mr. Twain got to hear more stories than he told. 

One gentleman in a stovepipe hat told Samuel that he was glad to get out of the house, because his wife was so mad at him that he had to take the batteries out of the cattle prodder. I wondered what it was he had done to make her so mad, but handed him a drink and let it slide. 

Interestingly, the extras never left. They joined us from the Ponderosa Mine to Fourth Ward School, skipping and singing and hollering to beat the band. You’d have thought it was Nevada Day!

As I walked out of Grandma’s Fudge with a humongous ice cream cone in my hand a beautiful lady asked me if she could have a taste. I handed her my coveted cone, she gave me a wink, and walked away with it. Some things never change up there on the Loveable Lode.

In the final scene we were back at the V&T, and I invited folks to revisit Virginia City, where, “Who knows, you might even see a ghost!” Whereupon I snap my fingers and magically disappear. 

I hope the Comstock gets as much custom from Michael’s TV commercial as I received from its viewing. One wag was quick to attest, “McAvoy, I haven’t seen you disappear like that since the waitress at the Café Del Rio brought us the check!” 

Thank you, Virginia City, and Michael Lucido, for reminding me of just how delightful an adventure the Comstock Lode can be in 2025… 

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO

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Washoe County Launches “Lease to Locals” Pilot Program in Incline Village/Crystal Bay to Incentivize Year-Round Rentals

January 22, 2025 | Member Submitted

Submitted by Placemate, Chase Janvrin, 01/22/2025

Thanks to funding provided by Washoe County, Placemate, Inc. is pleased to launch the Lease to Locals pilot program, an innovative initiative aimed at addressing the lack of long-term housing options in the Incline Village / Crystal Bay area for local workers. 

IVCBA is helping to spread the word of this new program in the area, and build on the efforts already implemented by Placemate in neighboring communities of East Placer County, The Town of Truckee, and South Lake Tahoe. IVCBA is hosting an event on Thursday, January 23rd to highlight the program. 

This new program will provide up to $18,000 in incentive payments to property owners who convert their housing units from short-term rentals or from sitting largely vacant, into year-round or seasonal rentals for the local workforce. 

“Our community has struggled with housing for our workforce. Unlocking housing stock through Lease to Locals offers some relief to landlords willing to provide new rentals and some relief to workers who struggle with the lack of available rentals.” commented Linda Offerdahl, IVCBA Community and Business Association Executive Director.

Placemate brings a proven track record and operational capacity to Incline Village / Crystal Bay. They have run similar Lease to Locals incentive programs not just in the Tahoe area, but across the country in resort communities in Ketchum, Idaho; Eagle and Summit Counties, Colorado; and Nantucket and Provincetown, Massachusetts. The programs incentivize long term rentals to full time workers, as an alternative to short term renting or sitting vacant. Across the various markets Placemate operates, they’ve unlocked 688 units and housed 1,561 locals, as of January, 2025.

Program Details: 

To qualify, properties must be located in Incline Village / Crystal Bay, and not have been rented full-time in the past 12 months, and are subject to a maximum rental rate of $4,500/mo. 

Property owners who rent their property to “qualified tenants” for a minimum five month period are eligible for a one-time financial incentive ranging from $2,000 to $18,000, based on the number of qualified tenants they rent to, and the length and type of lease. 

Local workers searching for a property can create a Renter Profile on the Placemate website. Creating a renter profile is fast, free, and easy, and allows Placemate to match renters to potential homes that fit their criteria.

Tenants and property owners can learn more about the program, and get started by creating their tenant or property owner profiles, by visiting https://placemate.com, calling Placemate at (775) 415-9172, or emailing lori@placemate.com. 

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The Local Lens – IVCBA Housing Committee & Placemate

January 22, 2025 | Linda Offerdahl

In addition to being a national crisis, workforce housing hits a small rural mountain community hardest. Employers cannot find employees; snowstorms prevent workers from driving up the hill; businesses have to reduce their hours. It’s a cycle with a detrimental effect on our economy. New businesses are reluctant to open where they may be unable to hire and retain employees, particularly in a cost-effective manner. We all know people who have moved down the hill. Their rent has been raised; their condo insurance is now unaffordable or nonexistent; the property owner has converted the long-term rental into a short-term rental. 

The irony is that we are surrounded by vacant vacation homes. Some are long-standing vacation rentals or owned by the “6 month and a day” residents.  Others sit empty most of the year except for the summer and holiday weeks. With the influx of Airbnb and other companies enabling short-term rentals, some locals have rented out a room or their entire house to vacationers. However, property managers often point out that a short-term rental  is not as good as the long-term rental when taking the whole year into account.  How can we unlock housing stock or convert short-term rentals to long-term rentals?

Washoe County and Placemate’s Lease to Locals Program 

Under Commissioner Alexis Hill’s leadership in 2023, Washoe County approved a Community Reinvestment Grant to implement a program to give incentives to homeowners and landlords willing to rent their properties to local workers. It is Placemate’s Lease to Locals Program.  Read the article submitted by Placemate….

IVCBA Housing Committee 

Some of you may remember the formation of the Washoe Tahoe Housing Partnership (WTHP) in 2020. This was composed of agencies, large employers, and interested local organizations and residents concerned about our lack of affordable workforce housing. Washoe County funded two projects through the WTHP that were managed by the Tahoe Prosperity Center. The “Washoe Tahoe Local Employee Housing Needs and Opportunities” study was completed in September 2021. Based on these findings and more community input, the WTHP produced a “Housing Roadmap” in May 2023, a partnership plan to accelerate community housing action in Incline Village/Crystal Bay; it was approved by the Washoe County Board of Commissioners in July 2023. Its initial work was completed, and the WTHP dissolved in November 2023. However, this left a vacuum for actual implementation of the Housing Roadmap. 

After researching various ways to carry forward this effort, IVCBA formed a Housing Committee in June 2024. Its goal is to engage community members in building workforce housing solutions by sharing information, connecting, convening, and creating partnerships for action. Our accomplishments in 2024 include a community survey to find out which workforce housing topics Incline Village/Crystal Bay residents, employers, and employees are most interested in learning more about. The outcome was IVCBA’s Workforce Housing Series, which will offer knowledgeable speakers the opportunity to share effective approaches taken by similar mountain communities and local experts presenting on the housing opportunities and challenges in our region. The inaugural program on Placemate’s Lease to Locals Program, soon to be launched in our community, is Thursday, January 23, from 6-7 pm at UNR Tahoe’s Prim Library in Incline Village. Please join this night of information and conversation in person or on Zoom. Click here to register and learn more.

IVCBA has also created a page on our website to serve as a resource for housing topics. Go to IVCBA.org/Programs/Housing to read available articles and link to various groups. 

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In The News – When Jimmy Carter Came to Town

January 22, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Moonshine Ink, 01/20/2025, Written by Marianne M. Porter

On a winter day in 2017, after a perfect blue bird day skiing at Northstar, musician and songwriter Richard Blair relaxed on a bench by the ice-skating rink in the village to wait for his family. Feeling blissful, he answered his cellphone to hear the voice of Andy Mond, a booking agent he had talked to a few months earlier to clear a date for a June event. Blair didn’t know what the gig was, but he blocked the time.

Mond said, “Hey, we’re good to go on that gig. You’re going to be playing for President Jimmy Carter.”

Blair said he could barely keep himself from falling off the bench. The guy next to him heard his excitement. “I just got a gig playing for President Jimmy Carter!” Blair told the man. They high-fived, and Blair’s day took a new turn.

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Photo credit Moonshine Ink

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Identity Theft Awareness Week 2025, Jan. 27 – 31

January 21, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the NV Business Hub Resources, 1/21/25

Has someone used your personal information to open accounts, steal your tax refund, or file fake health insurance claims? That’s identity theft. It can happen to anyone, but simple steps can help lessen the chance it will happen to you.

Join us for Identity Theft Awareness Week 2025. The FTC and its partners will host free podcasts, webinars, Facebook Live interviews, and other events focused on avoiding and recovering from identity theft and spotting scams. We’ll have information for everyone and added advice for servicemembers, older adults, young adults, and business owners. 

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A Message from Jody Wright – Tahoe Family Solutions New Executive Director

January 21, 2025 | Member Submitted

The new year brings new opportunities to Tahoe Family Solutions, and I wanted to be the first to share them with you.

My name is Jody Wright. I am a native Nevadan, an experienced leader in non-profit agencies, and the new Executive Director of Tahoe Family Solutions.

 It is my great honor to step into the shoes left empty by Robin Glasgow, who has happily moved into retirement after nearly 15 years at the helm.  He leaves behind a legacy of growing community-focused programs, a strong and healthy 501 (c)(3)business model, and an incredibly talented and passionate team that is perhaps the best I’ve ever worked with.

Tahoe Family Services has served thousands of individuals, families, and children through our bilingual Family Resource Center programs that include affordable or free mental health and psychiatric care, Homework Help Club, beginning and advanced ESL classes for adults, and VITA, a national program that provides s free preparation of federal and state tax returns for low-income households.  In addition, our youth programs reach across the community to provide a 5-week overnight summer wilderness camp, along with fun outdoor and STEM activities throughout the year, that is available to all youth, including those facing financial challenges, across the Tahoe region.  

Finally, as I begin to learn the stories of the families whom Tahoe Family Solutions have impacted, I am struck by the strength and the tenacity of the individuals who access our programs. They need a hand-up, not a hand-out, and you and the Village have responded – with neighbors supporting neighbors through your generous support. It is inspiring and I am honored to be associated with this Mission.

I am eager to meet and engage with community members in the coming months. Please know my office door is always open. If you have any questions or concerns you would like to address immediately, please feel free to contact me at jodyw@tahoefamily.org or 775-413-5145.

Tahoe Family Solutions is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, providing low/no cost services to children and families living along the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning in 1991.  Our mission is “to provide key resources and enhance skills for families in the Tahoe Basin.”

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Incline Village School News

January 21, 2025 | Mary Danahey

Submitted by Incline Education Fund, Mary Danahey

Introducing our 10 Punch Pass to the Club for only $100! 

Are you a family that only needs occasional drop-ins like the winter’s 2-hour delays or special programming?  The Duffield Youth Program at the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe is now offering a punch pass: 

? 10 visits for just $100!? Great for occasional drop-ins(BGCNLT Annual Membership is required with a one-time fee of $40.) Rules and restrictions:

  • Cost: Punch Card $100
  • BGCNLT Annual membership ($40) required. (one-time annual fee)
  • A 3.35% Technology & Processing fee will be applied to all transactions (cash, check or credit card)
  • This BGCNLT punch card is non-transferable
  • Valid at Duffield Youth Program – Incline Village
  • Valid For: 2024-25 WCSD-Incline School Year. Expires: June 13, 2025

Share this with a friend who could benefit from this new service.

For More information contact: Melissa Flaming
BGCNLT Marketing & Development Coordinator | mflaming@bgcnlt.org | 530-582-3760 | www.bgcnlt.org
Admin Office: 8125 Steelhead | PO Box 1617 | Kings Beach, CA 96143

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IVCBA 4th Quarter Accomplishments and Updates

January 20, 2025 | Kristin Derrin

As we conclude the 4th quarter of 2024, we’re proud to share the remarkable strides made in membership growth, community outreach, and business programs, each contributing to the ongoing mission of enhancing Incline Village and Crystal Bay by building a strong and thriving community through collaboration, engagement, and connection.

Membership Growth

Our subscriber base increased to 2,260. We added 6 new members this quarter and renewed 37 memberships, demonstrating sustained community engagement.

Communications and Marketing

We released the Holiday Live.Work.Play edition to celebrate the Northern Lights Festival. The Weekly Snapshot newsletter continued, now featuring advertising opportunities. All Northern Lights holiday events and festivities were promoted through the website, Weekly Snapshot, and social media platforms. Collateral and promotional materials for Northern Lights were also designed and distributed.

Marketing for Members:

We highlighted new and renewing members in the Weekly Snapshot and onboarded members with Growth Zone membership software while providing ongoing support. News briefs featuring member updates were shared, and advertising opportunities were offered in Live.Work.Play magazine and the Weekly Snapshot.

IVCBA and member events were actively promoted, including:

  • Northern Lights: Candy Cane Lane & Village
  • Jingle & Mingle Holiday Shopping Event
  • Washoe Tahoe Leadership Academy
  • IVGID Trustee 2024 Candidate Forum
  • Tahoe Basin Business Walk
  • North Tahoe Chamber/IVCBA Business Mixer

Business Programs

We hosted the North Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and IVCBA Mixer at Bowl Incline on November 21, connecting over 100 business members. In October, we participated in the basin-wide “Business Walk” survey organized by Tahoe Prosperity Center, assessing the local business climate. Additionally, we launched the Housing Page on IVCBA.org to address critical community housing issues.

Community Events and Civic Engagement

Holiday lighting was installed along Tahoe Blvd, and a red tree was placed in East Park to enhance seasonal cheer. The Candy Cane Lane & Village community event was held on December 6, and the new Jingle & Mingle Shop the Village event took place on December 13. We supported Northern Lights Festival events throughout December and launched the Tahoe Leadership Academy on November 18 with inspiring guest speakers.

Looking Ahead to 1st Quarter 2025

  • Publishing the Map of Incline Village and Crystal Bay to improve navigation and engagement.
  • Releasing the Live.Work.Play Spring Edition.
  • Kicking off the Workforce Housing Speaker Series, starting with a session by Placemate.
  • IVCBA Member Social and Focus Group for 2025 Goals and Ideas. 

Summary

Throughout Q4 of 2024, IVCBA achieved significant milestones in membership growth, communications, and community engagement. From expanding our subscriber base to launching impactful events like the Tahoe Leadership Academy and the community-based Northern Lights holiday events. We have strengthened our mission of fostering a thriving and connected community. By enhancing marketing efforts, supporting local businesses, and hosting meaningful events, IVCBA continues to be a catalyst for positive change in Incline Village and Crystal Bay.

We look forward to building on this momentum in 2025.

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