TRPA Tahoe Blue Crew. Photo provided
STATELINE, Nev. - Using the MLK Day of Service to volunteer, staff from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) spent Monday picking up trash around the informal sled hill between Heavenly Village and Harrah s Tahoe.
The 11 volunteers picked up 68.5 lbs of trash equaling 90 gallons of volume. TRPA is part of the League to Save Lake Tahoe Blue Crew and have committed their volunteers to working in the area twice a month. They ll be back later this week to clean along Montreal Road and Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
Another Tahoe Blue Crew team is currently being trained to work in the same area on opposite weekends of TRPA. This way the popular area for families to use for snow play and sledding can be kept free of trash.
“I supported that,” Van Sickle said. “They are likely a valuable and wonderful organization that contributes to the culture of this community. But I couldn’t shake the concern that this was an organization that didn’t even ask for $10,000.”
In the nonprofit world, there are strict metrics for asking for money and accounting for it later, she said.
Van Sickle started looking into an application process that would allow councilors to know what gaps city funding would fill, how the money would be used and how the money would serve the community.
As someone charged with the public trust, Van Sickle said she saw a need to tighten up the process for distributing public funds.
A local government attorney said family members serving together is not unusual, but could pose challenges. 6:30 am, Jan. 19, 2021 ×
Councilor Jenny Van Sickle and Mayor Jim Paine, who met because of their shared interest in local government and community service, married in October but haven t merged their households yet. (Photo by Megan McGarvey)
Politics weren t even a consideration when Mayor Jim Paine and Councilor Jenny Van Sickle decided to get married Oct. 17, 2020.
For two political wonks with an interest in serving the community, they were a match, and it was the natural progression of their relationship.
“I am a councilor some of the time, but I have a whole life,” Van Sickle said.
New Orleans community health center working to vaccinate as many people as possible against COVID-19
Dozens of vaccine appointment fill up in minutes at CrescentCare By Kimberly Curth | January 15, 2021 at 3:55 PM CST - Updated January 15 at 4:26 PM
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The day finally arrived for 77-year-old Albert Charles to get his COVID-19 vaccine, “It was a little sting that was it,” Charles said. “I had been over here to get tested so they gave me a call and let me know.”
That call came from New Orleans community health center, CrescentCare. They’ve been vaccinating patients who are 70 and older against the Coronavirus. They will partner with the City to host a community vaccination clinic Saturday. The 120 slots they had available for people to call and make an appointment quickly filled up Friday.
Fox21Online
Superior Councilor Raises Ethical Concerns Over Marriage of Mayor Paine, Councilor Van Sickle
In a letter to City Attorney Frog Prell, Sutherland worried votes by Van Sickle could inappropriately benefit Mayor Paine.
January 13, 2021
Letter from Councilor Craig Sutherland to City Attorney Frog Prell
“I strongly believe we need some guidance on what to do moving forward,” Councilor Sutherland said.
In a letter to City Attorney Frog Prell, Sutherland worried votes by Van Sickle could inappropriately benefit Mayor Paine.
“There are conflicts of interest with immediate family members I’m concerned of where one can financially gain not only within their salary but within their health insurance package that the city offers,” said Sutherland. “I feel these lines are very blurred.”