Keeping the Tahoe blues: The many problems of CA’s treasured lake

Lake Tahoe is sick, and getting worse. This alpine treasure, tucked in the Sierra Nevada, is facing an array of problems that humans inflict on it: Murky waters, pollutants, toxic algae, development, tourism, traffic. Buffeted by the constant tug between developing the region and preserving it, and attracting visitors while managing their impact, Lake Tahoe is showing the strain.

In a two-part series, CalMatters environment reporter Julie Cart and statistical journalist Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett reveal how the billions of dollars spent on improving the health of the Tahoe region have not resolved the lake’s problems, and how regional planners have recently shifted much of their focus to promoting tourism and recreation projects. 

No other natural landscape is managed the way Lake Tahoe is. It has its own concierge, a unique California-Nevada agency that holds great power. Many local residents think the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is veering off course.

• Serrell Smokey, chairperson of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, the region’s original inhabitants: “The lake needs a break. It’s a living entity that’s been abused by constant pressure every year.” 

The Tahoe region, encircled by dense forests, also is one of California’s riskiest places for potentially deadly and out-of-control wildfires. Fire officials told CalMatters that thousands of people could be trapped because of inadequate evacuation routes. Yet developers keep building resorts.

Evacuating the entire Tahoe basin in the height of summer could take 14 hours, according to one analysis commissioned by environmental groups. People scrambling to get out of Lake Tahoe ahead of a wildfire would have few options as the lake is encircled by a single two-lane road.

• Scott Robbins, South Lake Tahoe City Councilmember: “If a fire breaks out quickly on a high wind advisory day, in a worst-case scenario, you can’t evacuate. The reality is it will not be survivable.” 

Read more about the myriad of issues facing Tahoe and the region’s wildfire risks in Julie’s stories.

Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration said it would need to borrow $3.4 billion from the state’s general fund to cover a budget gap in Medi-Cal. But it turns out that California is going to need a lot more than that, reports CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra.

California health care officials told the Legislature on Monday that the state will need an additional $2.8 billion to pay Medi-Cal providers through the end of the fiscal year. That brings the total Medi-Cal budget shortfall to $6.2 billion.

Medi-Cal provides health insurance for 15 million disabled and low-income Californians. Republican legislators have attributed this budget gap to the state’s expansion of Medi-Cal over the years to immigrants regardless of their legal status, which costs about $8.5 billion a year, according to a recent budget hearing. 

Besides increased enrollment, other reasons are contributing towards the state’s higher-than-anticipated Medi-Cal spending, said Michelle Bass, the director of the Department of Health Care Services. That includes rising pharmacy costs; more seniors signing up for the program; and a smaller number of Medi-Cal disenrollments after the pandemic than previously assumed.

• Bass, during an Assembly budget hearing: “These changes were unprecedented, and all happened at once.” 

Read more here.

State lawmakers are trying once again to pass legislation that would exempt some California veterans from paying taxes on their military retirement incomes. 

As CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal explains, Assemblymember James Ramos, a San Bernardino Democrat, has proposed (for a third time) a measure that would enable veterans making under $125,000 a year to exempt up to $20,000 of their federal pensions. Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Murrieta Republican, has a similar bill in the Senate. 

Supporters argue that the tax break will help veterans stay and work in California. About 1.4 million veterans live in the state, but many leave due to the cost of living, according to the president of the San Diego Military Advisory Council. From 2000 to 2022, California’s retired military population dropped from 195,000 to just over 141,000, or nearly 28%.

But the tax break might not be enough to keep retirees in California even if it becomes law, reports the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. A Senate bill analysis also argues that the exemption could set a precedent “for other commendable professions,” which “may lead to a slippery slope … eroding the income tax base.”

Read more here.

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, immigration enforcement agents are now allowed to make arrests at schools and other “sensitive locations.” With an estimated 100,000 college students living in California without permanent legal status, students are calling on colleges to do more to shield campuses from immigration enforcement. Find out more from Delilah Brumer of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network.