STATELINE, Nev. Most of the New Year’s Eve excitement in Douglas County on Thursday happened a lot closer to dawn than midnight.
Likely the most serious incident of the day occurred around 8:20 a.m. when a Pleasantview Drive home was struck by a flatbed pickup.
The driver of the truck punctured the front of the home, before knocking over a street light.
The owner’s daughter said the truck then drove around the lawn running into things before driving away.
The driver was stopped on Wintergreen and was detained by sheriff’s deputies.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported five arrests in the Stateline area overnight and the lowest number of celebrants in decades.
Staff Report
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. The city of South Lake Tahoe is preparing for a different kind of New Year’s celebration as COVID-19 numbers rise across the state.
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department will be out in partnership with California Highway Patrol, California Alcohol Beverage Control and other agencies with safety top of mind.
“We will have extra officers in the Stateline area to assist with public safety needs,” said Police Chief David Stevenson in a press release. “We will be working in partnership with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and other Nevada agencies to help coordinate any responses in the Stateline area.”
The 2019 New Year s Even celebration at Stateline
Even with the current pandemic, New Year s revelers could still flock to the Stateline casino corridor and South Lake Tahoe on Thursday so law enforcement will be prepared. With no SnowGlobe this year due to the pandemic, and Heavenly Village New Year s Eve activities canceled, it is unknown as to what will take place in an area that at one time saw 50,000 people in the streets to bring in the new year. Last year it was estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people took to the streets at midnight at Stateline and 6,500 at Heavenly Village for its 9:00 p.m. fireworks.
Illegal parking at Lake Tahoe Airport. Photo from Jeffrey Spencer.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Many head to the Sierra to experience snow in all forms, from the ski slopes to sledding and building snowmen. Even during the pandemic and current Stay-at-Home orders in California, area roads were full this past holiday weekend with those seeking play time in the snow.
Each year, law enforcement has to deal with those who seem to have forgotten the laws of being safe on the roadway and parking on the highways, and not observing no parking zone rules.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) from South Lake Tahoe and Placerville were kept busy on US50 at the common hot spots of Echo Summit, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Camp Sacramento, and the stretch from Strawberry to Twin Bridges. Numerous cars were parked all day long in areas were parking is not allowed. They are ticketed, and once one car leaves another is there to take its place.
FRC Executive Director Bill Martinez with SLT Mayor Tamara Wallace
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Paying it forward has spread quickly through the South Lake Tahoe community this holiday season, and now the City is joining in to help those in need while at the same time helping out small locally-owned restaurants.
The “Pay It Forward” initiative involves community members and organizations contributing money to open tabs at local restaurants. It’s a program that helps those in need and helps support the restaurants when they need it the most.
Luca Genasci, owner of Lake Tahoe AleWorx, started with giving $100 a day for the month of December to a local restaurant to open a tab for people in need of food. That plan has steamrolled and he was joined by Brian Cohen, owner of Overland Meat & Seafood, Tahoe Wellness Center and other businesses and members of the public who have added to the tabs each day. In the last four days alone, a $1,370 tab was opened at Keys Cafe, $1,370 at e