Local Lens – A Thriving Community

Good news! Washoe County is clearing the sidewalks on Tahoe Boulevard.

Bad news! The potholes on Tahoe Boulevard are dangerous. Doug Brown at the Chevron Station is noticing an increase in business he would rather not see: repairing tires that have gotten chewed up by those potholes. They ARE working on potholes, but they have a lot of roads to cover. Go to dot.nv.gov for the latest information. Please be careful everyone. It’s hard to see pedestrians behind the tall snowbanks especially if they are coming across a driveway where one does not expect to see a pedestrian.

A thriving community. I take it for granted that everyone wants one, but when I bring up the subject of commercial development, I am sometimes met with silence. People are worried we will end up with too many people, too much traffic and we will lose our small-town feel. But look at the composition of our businesses: most are small and family run, not big box stores.  In order to survive, they count on locals to support them year-round and second home owners/visitors to give them a boost in summer and ski season. Be tolerant of those busy times when it’s hard to get into your favorite restaurant. Those merchants have had to adjust to competition from Reno and Amazon.  Things that don’t change will grow stagnant. 

I was outside at the Biltmore yesterday where Tahoe Regional Planning Agency was reviewing the project plans and the site for the Waldorf Astoria development. Replacing a boarded up aging casino with a luxury resort surely is an improvement. We are counting on TRPA to ensure that this project is environmentally sound and meets their standards of excellence. When we moved here 34 years ago, things were different. There was a lot more traffic coming to Crystal Bay for the casinos and to stay at the Cal-Neva and the Tahoe Biltmore. Crystal Bay played a big part in the history of Washoe Tahoe.  Let’s have a state border crossing that makes us proud to live in Nevada.  

I missed the basketball game at the high school last night. This morning, listening to “TK”, the Incline High School basketball coach, talking about the sold-out crowd and close game (that Incline won!) made me wish that I had been there. Don’t be shy about attending games if you don’t have kids in the school. You will connect with families and neighbors that make Incline such a great place to live. Tim Kelly, TK, is much loved by the youth in our community for his coaching and supervision of youth programs at the Rec Center. I am a big fan of TK myself because he is so enthusiastic about the IVCBA Local Heroes Parade and the 4^th of July events!  And, he has plans for another great community event early in June…. just waiting on the official word from IVGID. 

Breaking news!  The dates for the Local Heroes 4^th of July Celebration for 2023 are set!  It will begin on Sunday, July 2 with the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District pancake breakfast at the fire house, followed by the parade along Southwood and Incline Way, ending at the Village Green for the Community Fair and, back this year, Beer and Brats at Aspen Grove. The Celebration ends on July 4th with the Sky Show (the drone show). More details to follow!