Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, March 19, 2025…
- Finding a place to live in the Tahoe Basin is a difficult task for many local workers. A recent partnership between Placemate and Washoe County aims to remedy this problem.
- Under California law, if a person makes a threat to a place – like a school or house of worship – but they don’t threaten specific individuals, it can be really hard to prosecute them. A bill moving through the state legislature could close this loophole.
- New questions are being raised about Southern California Edison power lines that may have ignited January’s deadly Eaton Fire in Altadena.
Housing Initiative Launches In North Lake Tahoe
According to census data, around 50% of houses in the Truckee-Tahoe region sit vacant for much of the year. But in early February, the Placemate Lease to Locals program launched in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. It aims to unlock these vacant homes as housing for the local workforce.
The Placemate general manager for the Lake Tahoe region, Chase Janvrin, said the program provides homeowners with monetary incentives to lease to local workers. “The concept has really resonated with these communities that, again, have a high percentage of their homes that are either vacant second homes or Airbnbs,” Janvrin said.
According to their website, the program provides one time cash incentives to qualifying homeowners when they convert their property into a new long-term rental. For a 5-11 month lease the incentive is $2,000 per qualifying tenant. And for a 12-plus month lease the amount is $4,500 per qualifying tenant.
For a tenant to qualify they must work at least 30 hours per week within the Incline Village Crystal Bay Planning Boundary. The combined income of all adult tenants must not exceed 200% of the area median income of $141,750.
Loophole In California Law Makes It Hard To Prosecute Threats Against Schools
For over six months, San Diego resident Lee Lor sent hundreds of emails threatening a mass shooting at Shoal Creek Elementary School as replies to random spam emails. He was arrested and spent 10 months in jail, but the charges were dismissed by a judge last October because Lor didn’t name a specific individual in his threats, as the law requires for prosecution.