A Top Three for Cozy, Comfy Reno Coffee Shops for the Holiday Season

With colder weather upon us, beloved holiday drinks are returning to coffee chains like Starbucks and Dutch Brothers. Coffee shops local to Reno also offer holiday drinks that summon the festive season. These are some Reno based coffee shops that provide a welcoming atmosphere and delicious holiday drinks.

JoStella located on South Virginia Street in Midtown offers a cozy, artsy experience and many holiday themed flavors to choose from. Along with holiday drinks they also offer bagels, toasts with plenty of toppings, and pastries. Their iced maple latte has a toasty maple flavor without being overly sweet.

Hand Craft Coffee Company offers a spacious, modern interior and high quality food and drinks. It is centrally located on Wells Avenue and has plenty of room for parking. Their sugar and spice latte is comforting and well made. The sugar and spice is a less common holiday flavor and the latte itself was rich and smooth.

Hub Coffee Roasters located on Pine Street offers a unique experience as it also doubles as a bike shop. Their pumpkin pie latte, a take on the classic pumpkin spice, really tastes like a slice of pumpkin pie. It is a comfortable place to meet friends, work, study, and enjoy a holiday drink.

Citizen’s Forum reporting and photos by Emma Torvinen

Tim Bradley, Struggling Between Reno and Winnemucca

Bradley just lost his car and has been trying to rehabilitate himself out of drugs, while needing medical treatments for a flesh eating virus he says he is not getting right now and facing misdemeanors.

Below in his words how he described his difficult life:

“I’m an old diesel mechanic.

I'm a dad, just things ain't going right.

I'm messing up sometimes just misdemeanors, added up and you know, I just feel like I just sit here.

I feel like sometimes there’s nowhere to go.

I’ve lived in Reno, off and on, since I was about 17.

I normally live out in the Coyote mountain area, towards Winnemucca.

I feel like sometimes there's no way to go.

I got through a program. I made it through a program.

I know my body needs help, but I don't even get help when I go to the hospital. They think I'm some trash that needs like a bottle of some crap…

[In my cart] I got some food, some tape, a little bit of booze, a way to tape over in case it gets wet.

Right now, I got a flesh eating virus, just being poked by a twig cleaning up.

I almost lost my arm within four days.

Then got caught for an open container. Had to go to court again. Kind of gotta go through things. But yeah, it was, it's like weird.

I'm always industrial. I'm a landscaper type, maintenance man, digging in the dirt and everything. But this is the first time I ever got caught struck with this type of virus and it was like weird, you know, I still got my arm.

I'm grateful.”

Our Town Reno reporting by Alex Couraud and Vanesa de la Cruz

Reno's Slow Hour after the Morning Rush

While the Reno rat race starts early here, earlier than in many other cities, with commuters going to work in the early morning hours, a little later in the process, after school kids have already started their classes, the local unhoused population becomes more visible, coming out of parks, to and from the Cares Campus, along the Truckee River, on the steps of churches, at the Circle, along railroad tracks, pushing carts or  pulling other contraptions.

Vagrants, transients, book readers, hustlers, teenagers, the elderly, the disabled, the displaced, the abandoned, the traumatized, the evicted, the injured at work, the abused, the middle aged, the newly divorced, the grieving, the formerly incarcerated, the refugees from conflicts elsewhere in the world, the hoarders, those with just a backpack, the California and Texas transplants, the gamblers, the addicted, the mentally unwell, the lovesick and lovestruck, the saints and sinners, the campers and squatters, the former doctors and never employed, those we have interviewed and photographed over the years in Northern Nevada without shelter run the whole gamut of the human experience.  

A ragged and dusty congregation of frail souls, burdened by their internal challenges and their belongings, the unhoused are often preoccupied with their own pursuits, trying to find a friend, a few dollars, a meal, a hiding place, a spot in an administrative line or in the sun.

Some of them have an appointment in a different part of town, which depending on whether they take buses or have a bike or walk, can take hours to get to.

Their movements are often slow and deliberate, braced against the impending cold, hampered by injuries and disabilities which worsen day by day without proper care. 

Some of them scream into the icy air, to no one in particular or to you standing right next to them. Their eyes can be haunted by the specter of a life full of harm and lack of trust. 

Without shelter to call their own, without easy access to a bathroom or a trash can or a shower, they are vulnerable to the eyes and ears and noses of others, to the elements in general and to a city which keeps growing and gentrifying, with art washing and murals, none of which they painted themselves or got paid to paint, even though this is primarily their environment.

They are the ones who sit on public benches when these aren’t turned into hostile architecture. They are the ones who most enjoy our parks, paths and river, when they aren’t told to move along by ambassadors, police and rangers. 

They are the ones who spend the most time at the downtown library when it isn’t closed for repairs or at the Senior Center when they aren’t told to go to the Cares Campus many still avoid. 

They are the ones who face our wintry weather with a stoicism born from a life lived on the periphery of a society busy with consumption and getting ahead monetarily, that has for the most part forgotten their names, ignored their stories and pleas for help and try to discard them to parts where they are no longer seen.  But they are here among us.  They are humans just like us. They are our neighbors in need.  

Our Town Reno essay and photography, December 2023

What’s that Construction Project? The Cares Campus Keeps Expanding

While Washoe County recently opened a resource center on the Nevada Cares Campus compound, with capacity for extra emergency shelter, construction is starting on the next phase of this multi-phased post pandemic project to help the locally unhoused, which will consist of on site supportive housing, an outdoor area and a training center. 

There are already 150 people reported to be on a list for those in line to get into the compound’s supportive housing, based on needs and a community scoresheet which the county keeps for those poorly sheltered residents it comes into contact with.

These assessments are registered within the HMIS Homeless Management Information System the county keeps, and include questions such as if someone has been the victim of sexual violence or if they are a veteran.

Pricing remains unclear for this step of the process, with county officials indicating vouchers will be available and that some clients may have to spend some of their disability or other fixed income towards gaining entry into one of these future units. At this point it seems, tenants will sign a lease, but not have any timeframe on how long they can stay.

Construction is expected to end in early 2025, with tenants moving in soon after. 

We asked Washoe County Media and Communications Manager Bethany Drysdale questions about the exact number of units, whether pets would be allowed, whether couples would be allowed to stay together, what the training center and outdoor areas will consist of, how much this is costing the County, how much each unit will cost to tenants, how they will be selected, if there will be any barriers to entry, what the security will look like and whether it will be separate from the rest of the compound, but got very of these details answered.

Via email, Drysdale wrote back, “most of your questions will be answered as the project progresses.   They just broke ground on the structure… the application process, the rules on animals, etc., are still to come.”

Drysdale did indicate this part of the overall project was funded by a State of Nevada $21.9 million Home Means Nevada grant.

At an event in November, Nevada Housing Division Administrator Steve Aichroth was quoted as saying the new construction would consist of 50 units of supportive housing, but Drysdale did not confirm the number.

While Reno has gotten positive national attention on helping the unhoused via a recent Wall Street Journal article, that article bases current trends on comparing statistics from year to year point in time counts.

Through our own reporting, we have found the HUD required count to be inaccurate, with many unhoused staying away from events when people are counted or telling us they purposefully hide during the count, preferring to limit contact with anyone working on that day, which will next come around January 25th, 2024. 

Our Town Reno reporting December 2023

Saving Our Sierras, A Team Effort to Conserve and Preserve our Beautiful Local Environment

“​​The Sierras are the longest continuous mountain range in the US. That’s a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of fires,” says Matthew Fonken.

Raised on a horse farm in Arkansas, Fonken has always been an outside person. As a teenager, he and his brother started their own Boy Scout troop. (The local troop was too focused on video games.)

Now, he’s pouring his love for the outdoors into a new organization— Saving Our Sierras. 

SOS wants to restore the Sierras to their wild, natural state, as well as prevent future damages. Four motivated locals– Matthew, Funmi, Joanne, and Zach, have been pouring their time and energy into this project since July. These folks are stitching together their ideas, passions, and skills to create a new Reno non-profit that will bring life back to our local flora and fauna. 

This team is dreaming big and working hard, but they won’t be able to save the Sierras on their own. And they definitely don’t want to keep their knowledge all to themselves.

SOS plans to have a work day every first Saturday of the month, weather permitting. These work days will provide opportunities for community members– not only to spend time in nature and get their hands a little dirty, but also to learn more about the processes SOS is using to restore and re-wild the Sierras. 

This Saturday, December 2nd, SOS invites you to spend a day planting trees, meeting friends, learning skills, and talking about ways that we can collectively care for this local piece of Earth.

If you aren’t able to attend, but would like to participate in Saving Our Sierras in a different way, the organization is accepting donations of many kinds– from boots, to snowshoes, to backpacks, to collapsible tools. Many people who would like to volunteer may be unable to do so due to finances, abilities, or other factors. The more supplies SOS is able to collect, the greater the accessibility for folks who would like to participate. “That's one of my visions,” Funmi says.  “Everybody who wants to help, I want them to be able to help. We need everybody.”

Our Town Reno reporting by Ray Grosser

Chaz Blackburn, an "Emotional, Spiritual Paramedic" in Northern Nevada

“Opening a door for someone and smiling could literally save their life,” local chaplain and single dad Chaz Blackburn, 34, says.  

Blackburn knows what he’s talking about, as in addition to being the Spiritual Care and Director of Volunteer Services at the Circle of Life Hospice, he helps with many other worthy organizations in town including in the teen suicide realm, with organizations such as Forever 14 and The Solace Tree among many.  He’s also lost too many close people to suicide. 

Blackburn describes his current work as being that of an “emotional spiritual paramedic,”  to support those in crisis and provide grief support. “A chaplain is a bridge to resources like a social worker and those different resources that a social worker would provide,” he explained during a recent podcast interview, in between taking calls and preparing community events. “We're a bridge to other people's faith. So no matter your faith or walk, we're not there to judge you or evangelize or push our beliefs. We're there to serve you wherever you're at… I’m here to support and love everybody and be that presence through those difficult times.”  

Stigma is a word he brings up often. “Things that we're afraid to talk about because we think talking about them is going to bring them on or bring them on quicker. I have the honor of sometimes being a substitute for a death and dying class here at UNR. And it's just amazing to see all the social worker students and all these future professionals, and just be able to talk about things like death and talk about suicide and how we can better love each other.”

Blackburn says the same goes for hospice care. “People are afraid to utilize hospice, which offers some incredible services, whether you're terminal and have six months or less to live. People often wait until the last moment to take advantage of those services.”

Grief, he says, is an underlying cause for so many different negative consequences. “Certainly if we had better grief support resources, people would feel more loved and be able to carry on in a better positive manner.”

Blackburn says he likes to encourage people to turn “pain into purpose.”

“It doesn't bring back those that we've lost or other things that we're grieving, but people who are struggling with addictions or just the negativity and not having peace… find your purpose and give back because it really does make a difference. And, everybody can make a difference, right? You don't have to be a social worker… We all have a role to play at appropriate times, but we can all love each other and we're stronger united.”

Blackburn has had his own journey filled with grief, loss and turnaround.

Born and raised Sparks, he became a multi-state market manager for Samsung Telecommunications America based out of Roseville, CA, at a young age, but felt the need to return home and to pivot his life’s work in line with what his father did, as a hospice chaplain.

Seven years ago, Blackburn started volunteering on Record street at the former location of the Good Shepherd’s Clothes Closet. “I was so just blown away by what I saw there. Eventually about four and a half years ago, I became a chaplain … and got credentialed.”

His first “client” while volunteering at the Circle of Life Hospice was his own grandmother, who had been diagnosed with liver cancer.  

“She was crying, and I said, ‘what's wrong grandma?’ And she said, well, I'm dying real serious. I was like, ‘oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.’ And she started laughing and she had her big old smile with tears in her eyes, and she said, ‘I’m just teasing you.’ She said, ‘I’m just so happy. These are tears of joy that I’m going to be your first hospice patient and I know that you're gonna impact people in hospice for probably the rest of your life. And I'm honored that I get to be that first patient.’”

Blackburn says he’s earning less money now than he did previously but that he feels much better about his direction.

“I always had this big gaping hole in my heart,” he said.  “And then when I started serving at the shelter, and then I learned about what chaplaincy really was, I found my purpose, and it's made me such a better father and an individual. I've never met someone on their deathbed that said I wish I had spent more time getting this award or more time making more money. It's always the small things. And small things become the big things like pushing your daughter on a swing or making that sports game.” 

Suicide also affects seniors in Nevada at staggering rates, where in recent years suicides increased by nearly 20% among people 65 and over.  

Blackburn would like to see more support for local senior outreach services and companionship programs, and says Washoe County and Nevada are very low in terms of how much assistance seniors get.

“I’m glad that the county commissioners, they did say next year, the two initiatives they're focusing on is mental health, which we definitely need and our senior citizens,” he said.   

For both teens, young adults and seniors struggling, Blackburn would like to see more cooperation among all the local groups trying to help.  

“If you are interested in getting involved, we need you,” he concluded. “It's going to take everybody to be successful in these initiatives. So please add me on Facebook and I mean that humbly not just to connect with me, but to see what's taking place in the community. You can go to my LinkedIn or ChazBlackburn.com. Let's get involved. Let's find what you're calling is and let's make a difference as a community.” 

Our Town Reno reporting, November 2023

Hi-Way 40 Motel Soon to be Converted into Supportive Housing

“We are actually putting together a press release that will answer some of these questions. We will send it your way once it's finalized,” Ana Bankers, V.P. of Development and Marketing for Volunteers of America responded by email after we wrote asking about an update on the planned conversion of the Hi-Way 40 Motel into supportive housing.

We’ve been watching this development closely as we’ve long advocated for saving and converting motels as an option for neighbors in need rather than tearing them down.

A City of Reno council recap had recently indicated that “in another move to address housing needs for individuals requiring mental health services, the City is joining forces with Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (NNAHMS), securing housing for 12 clients at the soon-to-be renovated Hi-Way 40 Motel.  

With significant financial support from the City,  Volunteers of America (VOA) officially purchased the motel on September 15, 2023 and will soon begin the process of converting it into permanent housing tailored to low-income residents with mental health considerations.

Under the agreement that Council approved, NNAHMS will pay a nightly rate of $85.71 to the City for 12 residents, who will then reimburse this amount to the VOA. The total funding for this initiative is capped at $752,832. “

In a more detailed follow up, City Public Communications Specialist Landon Miller wrote: “Built in 1949, VOA plans to rehabilitate the structure and create 22 single occupancy units. In addition to affordable housing, there will also be a community space on site where community partners can provide on-site services, including mental health support, for residents. 

The location of the building is ideal due to its proximity to not only the RTC bus line, but other resources including the Village on Sage Street, and the future Northern Nevada Hope Springs Clinic, which is under construction at 1920 E 4th St. Reno, NV 89512, and other planned projects. 

The purchase and renovation of the old Hi-Way 40 Motel is the result of a collaboration between the City, VOA, NNAHMS, and the Housing Division of the State of Nevada. During the July 26, 2023 Reno City Council meeting, councilmembers approved a subrecipient agreement with VOA in the amount of $350,000. This is in addition to the $2,000,000 Council approved for the project in February 2022.”

Stay tuned as we keep tracking this motel’s evolution.

Our Town Reno reporting November 2023

Thanksgiving Community Meals Included One with Northern Nevada Brown Berets

At 1:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, members of the Northern Nevada Brown Berets began serving hot holiday meals for local people in need. The Brown Berets are a grassroots community organization with chapters nationwide, born out of the Chicano Movement that began in the 1960s in East Los Angeles and recently revived. 

The local group served turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, pie and more at the dead end of E. Commercial Row near Sutro St., providing the meals in to-go containers with plastic cutlery, a napkin, and a couple pieces of candy as a sweet final touch. Across from the cafeteria-style serving line a cluster of tables and chairs encouraged people to sit and talk with others while enjoying the meal. 

According to the event organizer and Brown Beret Capitana Leti Ramirez, the person to person connection and community building can be as important as nourishment of the warm meal, especially on a holiday where some people lack family to celebrate with.

Ramirez and the other berets spent time in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving walking along the river and visiting with unhoused individuals and letting them know about the holiday meal.

The event had a relaxed and joyful atmosphere despite the chilly temperatures and cloudy skies, with an upbeat mix of music and laughter filling the air along with the smell of turkey, gravy and the kerosene burners keeping everything hot. 

Capitana Ramirez was everywhere at once, texting people directions, showing people to the start of the food line, snapping photos, and chatting with everyone, making sure that all were welcomed and had what they needed. 

The Brown Berets were founded in 1966 originally under the name Young Chicanos for Community Action, in response to discrimination in education and police brutality against Latinos and people of color.

The YCCA rebranded as the Brown Berets in reference to the brown beret hat worn by one of the founding members and the group's military-style structure. 

By 1972, the Brown Berets had 27 chapters throughout California and the west, and were publishing a newspaper called La Causa. Early on, they established the El Barrio Free Clinic which provided medical services to East L.A. residents at no cost.

The organization has always emphasized all people’s right to self-determination and community defense against aggression. Brown Berets stand with and fight for all oppressed peoples of the world, centered in the Chicano tradition. As stated on the Northern Nevada chapter’s Facebook page, the Brown Berets “are dedicated to preserving the past, protecting the present, and creating a future throughout the barrios of Aztlán.”

Central to the Chicano Movement in the struggle for civil rights is Aztlán, or the indigeneity of Chicanos to Aztlán, the ancestral home of the Aztecs, generally thought to include California, Nevada and much of the southwest United States, lands ceded to the US after defeating Mexico in a war for territory in 1868.

The autonomous local chapter of the Brown Berets focuses on direct action and mutual aid throughout Northern Nevada, organizing donation drives for food and school supplies, community education events, and direct assistance to those in need. They also take part in a weekly online Brown Berets education session on Thursday evenings covering topics ranging from basic legal protections, firearm safety, community organizing, mutual aid and more. For more information, contact the organization by email at northern.nv.berets@outlook.com

Reporting by Andrew Zuker for Our Town Reno

New State Law and Local Ordinance Might Translate into Downtown Restriction for Sidewalk Vendors

What was initially advertised as a win for sidewalk vendors in Nevada, by omitting certain requirements to operate, such as background checks, fingerprinting or assigned locations, is getting scrutiny locally due to limitations imposed at the state level by the casino lobby.

This all follows Senate Bill 92 being signed into law during the most recent legislative session, establishing rules and regulations for sidewalk vendors in the Silver State.  

As a necessary follow up, a Reno ordinance concerning their rules to operate locally was introduced earlier this month, with a second reading scheduled for Dec. 6.

Sidewalk vendors need to get a health permit from Northern Nevada Public Health, a business license and respect delineated zones to operate, which is the sticking point.

Initially, sponsors of the bill wanted to allow street vending in all areas, but there was pushback from the Las Vegas casino lobby, so the bill prevents selling within 1,500 feet of resort hotels, event facilities and convention centers, which in Reno, essentially means the entire downtown area.

Make the Road Nevada which has been pushing for change has still expressed satisfaction that street vendors, often known as eloteros in Latino communities, are being legitimized. Council members Naomi Duerr and Jenny Brekhus are among those expressing concerns though on how this applies to Reno specifically and its many downtown special events as the state law appears to handcuff those local business practices.

Our Town Reno reporting, November 2023

WCSD Superintendent Susan Enfield Abruptly Resigns

Washoe County School District Superintendent Susan Enfield, who has gotten high marks from trustees, students, families, teachers and other local officials, and a recent raise which would have put her future salary over $350,000, is resigning abruptly for personal reasons.

Her last day on the much scrutinized job will be Feb. 9, 2024. The WCSD Board of Trustees will have to decide quickly whether they hire a firm for a national superintendent search or appoint an interim superintendent, as will most likely be the case initially.

Enfield took on her duties on July 6, 2022, indicating her priority was student success, after predecessors in the position faced negative media attention over different controversies.

In an email sent out to Washoe County School District families today, Enfield wrote: "After much consideration, I have made the difficult decision to return to Washington to be with my family and pursue other opportunities. As you know I have always preached health and family first, and now as a leader I am modeling that."

Our Town Reno reporting, November 20, 2023

OBGYN Samuel Chacon Pleads No Contest On Prostitution Charges, While Still Trying to Get License Back

This past week, embattled OBGYN Samuel Chacon pleaded no contest in Reno Municipal Court on charges of soliciting a prostitute, getting a plea deal to avoid a trial.

Instead, he is being mandated to complete an anti-prostitution course, pay $200 in fines and obey all laws for a year, after which time Reno will drop the misdemeanor charge.

The deal follows his arrest during a sting operation on homecoming weekend in October 2022 for soliciting an undercover cop posing as a 20-year-old university student.

Chacon, who operated the now temporarily closed Women’s Health Center of Reno on Plumb Lane which was raided in September, has been trying to get his license back. The longtime gynecologist had been licensed to practice in Nevada since 2003.

It was suspended earlier this year by the Nevada Medical Board of Examiners for providing care without hospital privileges at Renown. The investigation determined he had put the health, safety and welfare of his patients at imminent risk of harm.

Chacon who has faced an onslaught of social media criticism, including with the #stopchacon hashtag, also faces an FBI investigation and multiple complaints and malpractice lawsuits over a slew of alleged unnecessary surgeries.

An FBI webpage at https://forms.fbi.gov/drchaconreno is still seeking victim information.

It indicates: “The FBI’s Las Vegas Division, Reno Resident Agency is seeking information in the investigation of Dr. Samuel Chacon of the Women’s Health Center of Reno, Nevada.

Dr. Chacon, a licensed physician, provided OB-GYN care at his office, Women’s Health Center of Reno, Nevada, and operated at local hospitals, including Renown Regional Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno. No criminal charges have been brought against Dr. Chacon at this time.”

The website for the Women’s Health Center includes this message at the top: “Our practice is closed at this time, please send messages or requests to manager@womenshealthreno.com or fax requests to (775) 870-1892,” while its Facebook page hasn’t had a post on its feed since 2020.

Our Town Reno reporting, November 2023

Local Favorite Restaurants Fail Inspections

More local favorite restaurants have failed their initial inspections. What do you think of the system we have in place locally? Is it sufficient and fair, or not?

The Gold N’ Silver restaurant on 4th street, Charlie Palmer Steak at the GSR and Egg Roll King on Prater Way are three of the local restaurants to initially fail inspections by Northern Nevada Public Health in November, with more than six critical violations each.

The violations are of the kind that can be corrected during the inspection.

For example, the three restaurants were all found to have failed to separate raw animal foods from raw or cooked ready-to-eat foods.

Other restaurants which recently failed initial health inspections included Ruth’s Chris Steak House on Virginia Street, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and Mountain Mike’s Pizza.

Under current guidelines, restaurants can remain open before a reinspection to see if problems remain corrected. If critical violations are found that can’t be repaired during the inspection though that forces the establishment to close.

NNPH has a list of over 50 possible violations, with other common ones including having too little chlorine in dishwasher or not having a proper system to dispose of food after being prepared or opened.

Our Town Reno reporting, November 2023

Meeting New People Is The Best And Worst Part Of Working In Bars In Reno

If it weren’t for our jobs in the bar and restaurant industry in Reno, we might not have our friends. We also might not have our enemies.

From creepy old men demanding to see our IDs because they think we are too young to newly graduated drunk students during college graduation week, we see a lot. 

I spoke to my current coworker Sydney Furtado, and a previous coworker, Stephen Stewart, who now owns his own bar, about their experience as young people working in bars and restaurants in the Biggest Little City.

Although Reno is growing quickly the bar and restaurant industry is still the kind of place where everybody knows everybody, and word gets around. 

“The bar industry in Reno is so- you know everybody,” Sydney said. “You know one person, you know everybody.”

Stephen and Sydney agreed reputation is important. When you mess up, people find out.

Bad coworkers and rude customers are impossible to avoid, and at least, they are bonding experiences for us.

We all have many strange experiences.  I once went to use the bathroom and found almost an entire burger in the toilet bowl.

Sydney Furtado works behind the host stand, laughing with coworkers who aren’t pictured. 

“There’s too many weird things that are popping into my mind,” Sydney said. “One time I was standing at the host stand and this dude came in and just screamed and then left.”

She also recounted a time when a regular, double her age, called the restaurant and asked her out.

“There's some bad ones,” she said. “But there are enough bizarre and good people to overshadow the rude people.”

We share our strange work stories with each other every day. Sydney and Stephen are some of my best friends. Both Sydney and I think we might not have any friends right now if not for our jobs.

“I'd probably be very depressed,” Stephen said. “Because I'd be working in insurance. I hate any other job other than this.”

I complain sometimes on my way to work, but this is my favorite job I’ve had. Through all of the upsetting experiences, I leave work every night with a good story to tell. 

Reporting by Emma Torvinen for Our Town Reno

Kimpton Branded Boutique Hotel in Reno Remains Stalled and Mired in Court Disputes

Nevada’s first hoped for Kimpton-branded boutique hotel has been held up by owners of the Frisch house, initially built in 1906, not wanting developers to dig up their adjoining yard to replace an aging sewer line. 

Their resistance is delaying the already COVID slowed down 20-story Reno Kimpton planned to be “a mixed-use project with around 270 rooms, 50 private Kimpton condominium residences, 60,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of meeting space.”

Meanwhile, the City of Reno is seeking “an acceptable sewer realignment plan” from Las Vegas based developer CAI Investments, a partner in the Kimpton project, in that same area.

Court proceedings are getting in the way though as trustees of the Theresa Frisch Trust sued the city in August, trying to get Nevada’s federal district court to prevent Reno from cutting off existing sewer service to the Frisch House, which has several office tenants.  Lawyers indicated to Our Town Reno city officials have replied they’ve offered to pay for a new sewer line.  

Previously, in 2019, the Kimpton project led City Council to change its shade ordinance, loosening requirements to build tall buildings in downtown areas.  The modification came despite opposition from many community members and the long standing Trinity Episcopal Cathedral which took that issue to court, and are still pursuing that matter legally. 

We contacted several lawyers working on these cases but none wanted to be quoted directly for an article.  

CAI Investments already made headlines recently after pulling out from plans to renovate the Harrah’s Reno hotel-casino.

They are being represented by attorney Garrett Gordon who also does work for Jacobs Entertainment. 

At one point, CAI Investments had this blurb on its website concerning the Kimpton Project: “Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ Luxury & Lifestyle Collection, joined CAI Investments, key stakeholders and local officials on Friday, May 13 for a ceremonial groundbreaking event to mark the progress on its new hotel in Reno, Nevada. When it opens in late 2024, the new Kimpton in Reno will become the first newly constructed non-gaming hotel built in the city. With a prime location in the heart of Downtown and across the street from the Truckee River and Wingfield Park, the hotel will become a beacon for boutique hospitality in the “Biggest Little City in the World.””

For now, the location is weeded out and fenced off, a familiar look for many well publicized projects in downtown Reno in recent years.

Our Town Reno reporting, November 2023

Pirate, a Musician Living on the Streets of Reno

“I used to love Reno when it was a little older before everybody started trying to come here. And unfortunately we have way too many homeless people and we just need a little bit more help out here with each other.

If we don't take care of each other, then no one will. And it seems that everybody has been more, just trying to take everything for themselves, you know? That's kind of my view on it.

I think that we need more housing, and the homeless shelters aren't very good, so we just need, I guess, a little bit more help. We need people to go get jobs and stop doing drugs and all that fentanyl that's ruining a lot of people's lives. So we need to stay off of that stuff and smoke weed and be happy.

I've been on the streets probably traveling since I was about 16 years old. I went to all 50 states.

I moved here when I was three years old and I grew up in Cold Springs of all places, so there was nothing to do.

I kind of grew up alone and that's why I just try to surround myself with good people now and, you know, but really Reno needs more care of everyone. Unity.

Boulder, Colorado [is the favorite place I’ve visited.] It's just such a beautiful town and there's this street called Pearl Street and anyone, because I'm a musician, anyone who is playing music or spinning fire or juggling or anything, everything is allowed along the street.

And usually everybody has respect and they'll take turns with each other so that everybody can make a little bit of money.

I've been playing music since I was eight years old. So I'm really a drummer by trade, but I play guitar and banjo and ukulele and harmonica.

Uunfortunately I lost my house and all my drums are over there, but one of these times I'll find a harmonica and yeah, I'll play you Silent Night on Christmas…”

#humansofreno #unhousedinreno #lifeonthestreets #helpeachother reporting and photo by Ember Braun and Joseph Martinez

More Infill, Density, ADUs and Regulations on Short Term Rentals Proposed

When asked by Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve to give Reno a grade on efforts for housing affordability during a special workshop session Wednesday, housing policy researcher and author of the book The Affordable City Shane Phillips, who said he’s studied hundreds of cities, gave us a passing grade, but maybe not what City Council hoped for.

“Probably a C,” he said, “no one gets an A,” he added, before detailing that “30 plus percent of cities are at F.”

He’s produced a 73-page analysis called “Local Strategies For Improving Housing Affordability” which can be found on the City of Reno website or at link below: https://reno.primegov.com/Portal/viewer?id=4214&type=2

Phillips primarily called on Reno to focus on infill projects.

This involves the development of vacant or underutilized parcels of land within existing neighborhoods or urban areas to create cheaper, smaller units.

A contentious issue that regularly returns to discussions but was turned down in 2018 is allowing for “granny pods” in backyards, also known by their technical term accessory dwelling units.

Phillips is in favor of these, as well as increasing the density of multi-family housing zones.

He also said a city is in a dangerous place when short term rentals are more lucrative than normal rentals and said regulations are needed to make sure this isn't the case.

Phillips was hired by the City to do this consultancy and advising work, but council members seemed unconvinced by some of his ideas, including Naomi Duerr who said his suggestion to increase density to much higher levels than what we currently have was “not good” for residents.

Our Town Reno reporting, November 2023

Mark Toomey, An Insurance Agent Helping the “Forgotten and Overlooked” in Northern Nevada

Insurance agents aren’t the first people who come to mind among those helping the unhoused, but in Reno, Mark Toomey, sipping tea and taking calls at Coffeebar in Midtown in a crisp shirt and jacket during a recent post lunch hour, fits the description.

Like others who help, from social workers to volunteers and advocates, he isn’t one to give up, or go halfway.

Toomey was tabling recently at the Washoe County Senior Center when he met Michael, whose name we changed for privacy reasons, in his 70s, with one leg, in a broken wheelchair, barely living off social security benefits, and sleeping at the Cares Campus or in alleyways. 

“So he actually had insurance,” explains Toomey, previously the medical and legal director for a local orthopedic and spine practice and before that part of an investment banking firm. “So I called his insurance company and they weren't the most sympathetic to his needs. And so, because I spent so many years within a medical practice, you know who the durable medical equipment suppliers that are here in town.” 

Having worked with a disabled veterans group, he also knew how to get him an electric scooter quickly, by calling up a warehouse storing donated wheelchairs from veterans who have passed away.

“So the following week I picked up Michael from the senior center and took him to this guy's facility and got him fitted for an electric scooter,” he said.

That wasn’t the end of Michael’s current ordeals though or of Toomey helping him.

“Unfortunately, he got beaten up, robbed and the scooter got taken away from him. So the process starts all over again. And that's what we're going to be doing this week, is finding him another scooter. And I'll be finding him a decent insurance plan as well,” he said.  

Toomey has made it a mission to help those suffering in our community through better insurance plans. File photo from last winter in Reno.

In an email he wrote to Our Town Reno prior to our meeting Toomey wrote: “I met with a client this morning for breakfast who lives at CARES. No alcohol issues, no drug issues, just someone who life dealt some hard blows to and is now a member of the faceless, and too often times, forgotten crowd. I helped him get insured, and found a plan that will put money back in his pocket while we get him on the mend. When I dropped him off back at CARES after breakfast, he looked at me and said, ‘I have no friends, you're the only person who's looked at me, in the eye and saw a person.’ Insurance is a good thing, but there is a bigger market for providing hope to those left behind and discarded. I made it a block down 4th before I pulled over and started sobbing.”

Toomey spent six weeks in the ICU with Covid back in 2021 and seems to have gained in empathy for those struggling among us. 

“I was doing the rounds of the seventh floor pushing an oxygen tank in a wheelchair. And I'd hear people crying. And, you know, you stick your head in the room, ‘Hey, you know what's going on? Can I go get one of the nurses for you?’ And they, to a person, they were all freaked out about whether or not they were gonna be able to pay their medical bills,” he remembers.

“There's a perception that people nowadays have to make a choice between food and medicine or food and care, and there really are so many options available to people, and yet so few know what those options are,” he told Our Town Reno during our in person interview. “And so I thought, well, I'll make the last 10 years of my professional career somewhat useful, and I'll try to hook those people up with what they need.  I just think you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and get a little messy.”  

He says at the senior center he has met many people who don’t like going to CARES or other shelters, and walk the streets at night to stay safe, and then go back to the senior center “during the daytime just to have a safe place to go to sleep.”

Part of our interview was explaining how people on both Medicaid and Medicare can boost their coverage, but he said he didn’t want to bore readers with too many details.

“A lot of people don't understand if, if they make below the federal poverty level income, they qualify for Medicaid from DWSS (Division of Welfare and Supportive Services) here. If they're above the age of 65 and they've worked in the United States for at least 10 years, they qualify for Medicare. If you can get both, the benefits in both of those programs are consolidated through a Medicare Advantage plan where you have to work within a network, but a lot of folks don't travel outside of Reno or this area, so it opens up so many more services that they don't get through Medicare and Medicaid, like dental services or vision care or hearing aids or motorized scooters.”

“Whatever your belief is from a spiritual or religious standpoint, I believe that one day I'll be standing in front of my maker and that walk from wherever I am to him is going to be lined with the people that our society has forgotten or abandoned. I would prefer to take that walk with my head up as opposed to looking down at the ground because quite frankly, those individuals have been forgotten and marginalized for way too long,” Toomey says of wanting to help people staying at the Cares Campus above and others struggling locally.

Toomey says he works with seniors to maximize the benefits they can get and match them up with what they need.  He’s also tabled at Northern Nevada Hopes and for groups working with disabled veterans. 

Another client he’s working with is a woman in her mid nineties whose rent was just raised while she’s paying close to $300 a month for medication.  

“We made a small adjustment to her plan,” he says.  “Not only did it pay for her medication, but it gave her $150 a month back for things like food and utilities. And her son calls me the next day and he said, ‘Hey, you know, my mom hasn't slept for three months since she got that rent increase and she slept last night.’” 

Our Town Reno reporting October 2023

A Wife's Quest to Free Her Husband Found Guilty in Deadly 2011 Freight House District Shooting

Denise Bolanos Heredia is reaching out to journalists, starting Instagram advocacy, collecting court paperwork and trying to get 2,500 signatures on a change.org petition she started to get her husband Arturo Bolanos freed from the Lovelock Correctional Center Facility.

In photo above, Bolanos is seen participating in its 3P “Puppies, Prisoner and Patriots” program pairing abused dogs with inmates who work to rehabilitate them. Bolanos also enjoys making art and visits from family while trying to get released, but struggling the longer he stays locked up.

In 2014, Bolanos was sentenced to a minimum of 54 years in prison after being found guilty of first degree murder with a deadly weapon, as well as three counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery with a deadly weapon. His sentencing and conviction resulted from an October 2011 shooting directed at an SUV in the parking garage south of Greater Nevada Field, which wounded two men and killed Macario Ortiz.

Bolanos, whose bail was denied, has been incarcerated since his arrest in Shasta County ten days after the shooting.  The prosecutor for the case was then Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Hicks, now the Washoe County District Attorney.

Hicks said at the time the arrest was based on eyewitness accounts.  “The level of firepower discharged by the defendant in that parking garage was frightening,” Hicks said, adding in a statement that Bolanos and the targeted men “had just been in a gang-motivated fight with his younger brother and cousin outside the Freight House District.” 

“There was a time where I would go every two weeks to visit him. Life has gotten more expensive, especially lately, I find myself having to hold two jobs. I had three jobs for two months. So it makes it so that I can't visit often. So I try to go as often as every two weeks. But really, it's maybe once a month, once every two months, however, you know, the best I can do basically,” Bolanos Heredia says.

Our Town Reno is trying to sift through court records while reaching out to those who took part in his trial to find out more and whether there was a miscarriage of justice as the Bolanos couple insists.

One of the defense documents shared with us by Bolanos Heredia indicates a forensic investigator with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office testified she collected gunshot residue swab from Bolanos, but that the testing results were never produced, “signaling the GSR swabs were not preserved.” 

There are also defense documents indicating contradictory statements by one of the eyewitnesses, one of the men who was shot at and who cooperated during the Bolanos trial. According to a section of court documents Bolanos Heredia has highlighted, this eyewitness changed his account about one week before being sentenced for hitting a man in the head with a liquor bottle.

The yellow highlighted part reads “a reasonable juror could infer that the promise of a letter from the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office relative to substantial assistance may have influenced [the witness] in dramatically changing his recitation of the facts the evening of the shooting where he went from exculpating Bolanos as the person with the gun to testifying Bolanos was carrying a gun.” 

In the change.org petition, which is signed by Arturo Bolanos, he writes he was “given a 54 to life sentence for a murder I did not commit and have been incarcerated in the Nevada Department of Corrections for over a decade. I know that everyone that’s incarcerated makes that same allegation. I am aware of all the skepticism and stigma that a person who finds themselves in these unfortunate circumstances faces when making such a statement. However, I stand by my innocence as fervently today as I did all that time ago.”

It concludes: “The person responsible is still out there while I remain here. The ultimate tradeoff for not being labeled a snitch is not respect like most of us believed but the loss of everything and everyone you ever loved. Still, I have not lost faith. I know sooner or later justice will be on my side. Help me obtain justice!”

Bolanos Heredia, a digital organizer with Make the Road Nevada, married Arturo Bolanos four years ago when he was already incarcerated.

“We met when we were teenagers,” she says. “Nobody could believe it when he was arrested. Anybody who knew him couldn't believe it.”

They reconnected after she got a divorce.  Bolanos Heredia is also on the board of the Return Strong Nevada non-profit which is “committed to deconstructing the prison industrial complex by unapologetically fighting to center folx of color and people experiencing poverty in all phases of the criminal legal and correctional systems,” according to its mission statement.

She’s tried getting in contact with the Innocence Project but says she hasn’t received a response yet. “They do have certain parameters that they stick to when taking cases,” she said. “Sometimes, it has to be that they've exhausted all their appeals, things like that. And my husband is on his last appeal now, which is taking place in Reno. It is in the federal system. If this doesn't go through, if his appeal is denied once again, then that would be the exhaustion of all his appeals.”

This Instagram page was launched in early October on Wrongful Conviction Day.

Media covered the initial arrest and sentencing, she says, but have lost interest since. 

Both Arturo Bolanos and the man who was killed were “branded as gang members,” even though, she says, both were dads with jobs.  She says both families were upset they were portrayed as gang-affiliated during the trial.  

Bolanos Heredia sees racism at play.  “It has impacted not just Arturo, but so many others from communities of color and low income communities,” she said during a recent phone call with Our Town Reno.

After his arrest, his family hired the late legendary David Houston to try to clear him.  “David Houston was super expensive for them to hire, that came with a cost, I mean families refinanced homes to be able to afford his defense because of their belief in his innocence. And, you know, even that came out. He was portrayed as this scary gang member that was out shooting at people and killed someone,” she says.

Bolanos Heredia says Houston was stunned with the guilty verdict.  "This was not a gang case, was never a gang case and in fact the prosecution had dismissed any relationship to gang allegations in this matter, but rather simply used it to try to explain motive," Houston said after his client was found guilty. 

Houston died in 2021 after a career which included representing Hulk Hogan in a successful jury settlement of over $100 million against Gawker Media.  

Previous appeals for Bolanos have failed.

Bolanos Heredia says she is also doing this for Arturo’s three daughters, all teenagers now.  His late dad who was undocumented was unable to visit him in prison.  

“When he passed away last year, that was a really hard blow knowing that you'll never see your father again,” she recounted. The last time he saw him was at trial. 

“If this appeal fails, we definitely plan to do more, more aggressive outreach to organizations,” she concluded, not knowing when exactly there would be a decision on the current appeal process, but still hoping somehow her husband will have his name cleared soon and be released. 

Our Town Reno reporting, October 2023

A Couple Avoids Shelters due to a Warrant, and Looks out for Others on Streets

Kieran Dazzo and Jaedyn Young recently caught up with Kia and her boyfriend Matt, who have both done time. He says he has warrants out on him so he avoids shelters. They try to protect each other and others living on the streets of downtown Reno.  They shared anecdotes from a recent morning with the two reporters.  Here are their in their own words impressions of their own lives as part of our reporting on unhoused people in our community.  An audiogram version can be found on our affiliated TikTok.

“This is Molly our dog (in second photo).  We’ve had her since April.

We're trying to find like warm, medium shaped sun where we can get warm and then cool off, warm and then cool off. 

Being out here is freedom. I have no responsibilities. I'll be 47 this month. I got three kids. I got two grown daughters. One son that are grown. So, I mean, it's my choice to be out here. I have places to go. I got family around here, but, I choose to be out here. 

You know, we can breathe out here. 

But when we go to jail, we're stuck indoors and we can't get out. And that's the worst. 

I came out to Reno and I became homeless by choice. And then I have been to Parr, which is jail over here four times, five times, because of homeless [stuff]… shopping cart, warrant for not taking care of my open container 'cause I drink What else are we're going to do?

We have fun. Smoke weed, drink alcohol. We obey the laws. That's not fun. That is fun. 

[Today] we went to the co-op and just had a great morning. And then I stashed my stuff up in front of The Eddy over there and it was nice and neat and they already knew it was mine. Everybody knows what my stuff looks like, even the ambassadors. But when I came back, everything was gone. Not a thing was there. Everything. I'm talking blankets, her stuff, my stuff, backpack. Not even her dad's backpack that I'm watching. 

He's in jail. When they take things like that, they just throw it in a dumpster somewhere that we are not told where.  So we can't get our stuff back. 

Everyone steals from everybody. And it's stupid. I don't steal … I don't cheat. The only thing I do is take care of everybody out here. 

We're out here and we see everything. We live out here. So we make sure that we're all safe. We find out some girl is being terrorized. We make sure that that man knows that in no uncertainty or no, no missing words, you touch her again, you better not, you have to leave town.

If you don't leave town after we tell you a few times, you will leave town.” 

In Their Own Words Reporting and Photos by Jaedyn Young and Kieran Dazzo

Students Struggle with Reno Rents while Balancing Work and Classes

College students typically end up living in dorms on campus or nearby apartment buildings. As Ember Braun reports, rent prices in Reno are steep for overworked college students.

AJ Dossey and Emma Staffenburg are both third year college students, getting ready to move into their first apartment.

Currently, the couple lives in a neighborhood near UNR with Dossey’s parents - not their ideal situation.

They’ve been packing up their belongings with what time they have leftover from work, school and other responsibilities.

They’re both elated to have their own place - but the cost of rent, and only being able to work part-time with classes, is proving to be a struggle.

Stauffenberg is a student researcher at UNR and cleans houses on the side. She says she’s excited to be moving out, even if rent prices are intimidating.

“It’s 1150 dollars for a 380 square foot studio," she says. “I think it's going to be ok, but I do think rent is outrageous in Reno and that was one of the cheapest places. Why are we expecting students to pay 700+ dollars?”

Dossey, a student-worker at Truckee Meadows Community College and a part-time tutor at Kumon, is able to laugh at the situation.

“We’re gonna be pretty broke, very broke, but we’re going to donate plasma for food, so it’s gonna work out,” he said.

Some students look forward to working full-time, because of the benefits it comes with.

Olivia Braun is one of those students. She’s a senior at UNR, working at the University Studies Abroad Consortium, or USAC, as a Student Ambassador.

As she drives to campus on a weekday morning, she gets frustrated over the traffic that might make her late for class. Housing further away from the university can be cheaper.

“I’ve been in traffic since Red Rock!” she exclaims.

Braun, my sister, has similar frustrations for the renting situation in Reno.

“I feel like it's harder to find housing for college students in Reno because everything is so expensive, especially if you’re a full time student. Especially if you don’t have roommates. It’s almost impossible,” she said.

She says that when she graduates, working full-time will better support her. 

As for me, I have a 28-hour per week job and pay 536 dollars a month in rent. I get by, but I don’t have extra income that allows me to do things outside of paying bills and buying groceries. Seemingly a common struggle for us college students. 

Even for recent students, challenges remain. 

Elliot Schifferdecker is a graduated Arizona State University student, now working full-time for Perenn Bakery in Reno. 

He and his partner pay 1350 dollars in rent for a one bedroom apartment in midtown. 

Although working full-time has been helpful, he says that rent prices are intimidating. 

“I think working full-time makes it easier for sure, but I could see it continuing to go up. Right now I’m more comfortable than I was,” he said. 

“Once you’re out of school there’s a lot more opportunity to get a place of your own.”

His advice for college students? Get comfortable with having roommates. 

Our Town Reno reporting by Ember Braun