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EMAIL LETTERS TO RENOLETTERS@NEWSREVIEW.COM.
Local focus Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: A local focus is one of the core values of the Reno News & Review. RN&R editor emeritus D. Brian Burghart used to have a sign that said something to that effect up on the wall in his office. There are plenty of outlets for national and international stories. You can’t point a mouse on the internet without stumbling onto an impeachment story. (“Who still uses a mouse?” you might well ask while thumbing through your screen.) But a story about where the City of Reno might put some toilets? You need to turn to a local outlet. Over the years, a subject of a lot of intra-office debate around here has been how much to collaborate with the journalists at our sister papers in Sacramento and Chico, California. Twenty-five years ago, in the early days of the RN&R, not long after the fledgling Nevada Weekly was purchased by the News & Review company, there was a dedicated effort, among our journalistic ancestors, to distance this paper from its sister publications. Among locals around here, there was, then as now, a fear of California cultural imperialism. If the RN&R was gonna last, we needed to prove that we were a Nevada paper, damn it! Screw a bunch of Golden State. That attitude has mellowed a bit over the years. Our colleagues in Sacramento and Chico do great work, and we’re happy to share some of the best of it with our readers. Especially something like this week’s cover story package. Long after the national media outlets have left to cover the next big-headline disaster, the Chico News & Review has continued its award-winning coverage of the heartbreaking drudgery of rebuilding a community. Still, every once in a while, somebody—often an employee of a larger media corporation—will question the RN&R’s bona fides as a “locally owned” paper. Because, yeah right, a small family-owned regional chain is basically the same as a giant billionaire-backed media corporation with dozens of publications. We’re not a lone fish, but it’s a small school—which is totally different than a shiver of sharks.
—BRAD BYNUM bradb@ n ew s r ev i ew . com
Numbered off Re “Numbers guy” (Letters to the editor, Nov. 7): For a “numbers guy” you sure don’t understand how numbers work. To assume CEOs, complex administration, and other aspects of the current system don’t add value and removing them will not have consequences is just complete ignorance. The complex system we have has evolved to address fraud and abuse in the system over the past 30 years. Removing them will just restore the waste that bore them. Very few people have zero or small out-of-pocket, that is not why people like their plans. If government takes over health care, it will impact what doctors people can see, force tens of thousands to retire, and even more to reduce their hours. We have universal coverage with the VA, and the government has failed miserably. Medicare is near universal and it’s insolvent. For a numbers person, you can’t seem to get any of them correct. Nate Ogden Reno
Cut and dry Re “The old days” (Letters to the editor, Nov. 7): I wish that I could sit down and chat with Charles Wayne Barnman, whose letter appeared in the November 7, 2019, issue of the RN&R. I am writing this letter because there appears to be no opportunity for dialogue with Mr. Barnman. Fundamentally, the following letter presents five indisputable facts, and then poses to Mr. Barnman a single question whose answer depends only upon those facts. Fact no. 1: During Donald Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States Mr. Trump took a solemn oath that he would “to the best of (his) ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Fact no. 2: Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States requires that the president “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Fact no. 3:
Penrose, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Luka Starmer, Kris Vagner, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor Brad Bynum Associate Editor Jeri Davis Special Projects Editor Matt Bieker Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Mark Earnest, Bob Grimm, Oliver Guinan, Andrea Heerdt, Holly Hutchings, Shelia Leslie, Eric Marks, Kelsey
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NOVEMBER 14, 2019 | VOL. 25, ISSUE 40
During the Revolutionary War, before the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, the Continental Congress passed a whistle blower statute, and protected whistle blowers to such an extent that the Continental Congress reimbursed a pair of whistle blowers’ legal expenses totaling $1,418.00 for successfully defending themselves against a criminal libel suit brought by the malefactor that they accused of wrongdoing. Fact no. 4: The whistle blower statute presently enacted into United States law prohibits revealing the identity of a whistle blower. Fact no. 5: Donald J. Trump has repeatedly demanded that the identity of the July 25, 2019, telephone conversation’s whistle blower be revealed. Question: In demanding that the identity of the whistle blower be revealed is President Trump “to the best of (his) ability, preserv[ing], protect[ing] and defend[ing] the Constitution of the United States,” and is President Trump as required by the Constitution of the United States “take[ing] care that the laws be faithfully executed?” Donald Schreiber Incline Village
Rumbling stomach Re “Playing the field” (Feature story, Oct. 31): Let me get this straight. In 2018, a 17-year-old girl escaped from her alcoholic father, by pushing him away from her to break his grip of her arm and ran barefoot with her younger (than 17-year-old) little sister to her grandmother’s house. And she—a 17 year old girl—was arrested by the Henderson Police, strip-searched, processed and put in a cell with no food or water and a broken toilet for over 24 hours. And, when she was released to a social worker, she was told that she was lucky she was only 17, because if she were an adult she would’ve gone to prison? Let this sink in, folks. This happened to a 17-year-old girl who was running away with her little sister from her alcoholic father! And this was matter-of-factly and emotionlessly written by reporter Matt Bieker. Where
Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Bob Christensen Distribution Drivers Alex Barskyy, Corey Sigafoos, Gary White, Marty Troye, Timothy Fisher, Vicki Jewell, Olga Barska, Rosie Martinez, Adam Martinez, Duane Johnson President/CEO Jeff VonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Director of People & Culture David Stogner Director of Dollars & Sense Debbie Mantoan Nuts & Bolts Ninja Norma Huerta Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Hansen Account Jedi Jessica Kislanka Sweetdeals Coordinator Laura Anthony Developer John Bisignano
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I come from, this is called child abuse, plain and simple, committed by both her drunk father and the Henderson Police Department! Really? A policeman arrests a child and puts her in a jail cell but doesn’t arrest the perpetrator of this act, her father? Help me understand this. Do the police in Henderson get any training on how to help a child after that child has been abused by a parent? She takes the fall for her father because she couldn’t go to college and have her father go to rehab because they’d lose their house? I am appalled by the Henderson Police Department’s treatment of this child! And appalled by the manner in which this child abuse was reported in the article, as though she was getting arrested for jay walking. Isn’t the Police motto “To Protect And Serve”? Shame on all of you! Michaelle Van Meter Reno
CONTENTS
05 07 08 11 12 16 18 19 20 21 22 27 29 30 31
OPINION/STREETALK SHEILA LESLIE NEWS TAHOE FEATURE ARTS & CULTURE ART OF THE STATE FILM FOOD MUSICBEAT NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS THIS WEEK ADVICE GODDESS FREE WILL ASTROLOGY 15 MINUTES/BRUCE VAN DYKE
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Harvest of Hope Merry War Theatre Group 5th Annual
Thanksgiving for The homeless
Help us deliver hope for the Holidays Our goal this year is to deliver 1,500 meals, kindness kits, and warm winter clothing to those in need on Thanksgiving. We need your help to get there.
Drop off or mail donated items to Merry War Theatre Group 4020 W. 7th St Reno, NV 89503 OR financially online
You can volunteer with us the morning of Thanksgiving at Liberty Food & Wine Exchange. Find out more at merrywar.com For more information, contact Chase McKenna 775-848-9892 | merrywar@gmail.com 501(c)(3) nonprofit 81-4007417 4
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By matt bieker
Who’s your hero? aSked at the veteranS day Parade, virginia Street. Shama andrewS Behavioral health nurse
The number one person who came to my brain was my grandfather, who was a U.S. senator. He was one of the first Asian-American senators for the United States, and also one of the first, I think, two senators of Hawaii. His name was Senator Hiram Fong.
Jordan Fletcher Realtor
Probably my grandpa. He served as a marine way back when. He pretty much showed me how to do everything: shoot a gun, ride a bike, drive a car—everything.
ava rice First grader
Stand up for women warriors A few weeks ago, this paper published an editorial encouraging the community to embrace its veterans. This week, we’d like to talk about a specific subset of those veterans—women. On Veterans Day this year, NPR listeners of the program All Things Considered heard about Anne Meree Craig, who served eight years in the intelligence community and—after leaving the service—started an organization called COMMIT, which runs workshops for women focusing on a successful transition out of the military. In October, the organization hosted a conference for female veterans in Anaheim. Veterans like Craig know that leaving the military and transitioning to civilian life can be a challenge for any soldier, but listening to the stories of female veterans shared during the conference makes it clear how much harder it can be for them—from dealing with little annoyances to big life hurdles like securing a new career. Take, for example, U.S. Army veteran Meaghan Mobbs, who spoke at the Anaheim event about an experience she had parking her vehicle in a space reserved for veterans when a man in a pickup truck passed by. “He leans out his window,” Mobbs recalled. “He’s like, you know those are for veterans, right? … I wish I could tell you I had, like, some, like, pithy quick response and said something snappy, but I just stood there dumbfounded.” When people think of veterans, they often think of men. They don’t consider that women have served alongside their male counterparts in the nation’s military for
generations now—and do so in increasingly active, often dangerous roles. There are, of course, challenges that affect all veterans—finding housing, a job a sense of community among civilians, but cultural stereotypes and things like the gender pay gap compound these issues for women. Consider things like the average soldier’s conditioning to engage in direct, sometimes curt communication—and most would agree that the societal costs for directness is higher for women than for men. For another real-life example, consider the story of Jodie M. Grenier, a former Marine Corps intelligence analyst, who testified on July 10 before the Committee on Veteran’s Affairs’ Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. “You see, I went from briefing unit commanders on potential courses of action to mitigate imminent threats to our troops to waiting tables,” she said. “My transition support consisted of a lack luster transition class. I navigated college, employment and undiagnosed PTSD alone. I enrolled full-time in a community college under the Montgomery GI bill, balanced two jobs as a waitress and bartender, and lived with my mother because I couldn’t afford rent.” According to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 2 million female veterans in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. More than 30,000 women leave the military each year. And by 2040, the VA expects women to comprise 18 percent of the veteran population. We owe it to them to make sure they have the resources they need to live happy, healthy lives after serving our country. Ω
Daddy, because he helps me get dressed. My mom and dad were both in the Air Force, and grandma, grandpa John—a lot of people.
howard mcField Retired marine
Jesus. I’ve been in situations where even those that didn’t believe, those that claimed to be atheists, when situations got critical, everybody had a faith. Everybody got on their knees.
trinit y dugan High school freshman
Our veterans because they’re good people to inspire and look up to. My master sergeant is kind of an inspiration to me because he’s funny, and he can still be a good person and, at the same time, have a good work ethic.
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BY SHEILA LESLIE
On the house The big boys are starting to get it. As homelessness grows and people are forced to surf from couch to couch, sleep in their cars, or find a home among the bushes, even those who find themselves in more stable circumstances are deeply angry about how our communities are changing. Everyone’s quality of life is diminished by so much suffering. And how can a community maintain a stable workforce when the cooks, the gardeners, the housekeepers, the baristas and the rest of the people who labor long hours for insufficient wages can’t find a place to live? Last week, Apple announced it would invest $2.5 billion in affordable housing projects in California, following similar investments by Facebook ($1 billion), Google ($1 billion) and Microsoft ($500 million). The corporations are using a variety of approaches to spend their money, including partnerships with local and state government to build mixedincome housing on government-owned land, contributing their own unused
property for housing projects and even constructing affordable housing at market rates, the kinds of projects the developers always tell us “won’t pencil out.” Apple plans to direct $1 billion to an affordable housing investment fund overseen by the state to finance very low to moderate-income homes. Another $1 billion will provide first-time home buyers with financing and down payment assistance. The company will donate $300 million worth of land near its headquarters in San Jose for affordable housing projects, give $150 million to a Bay Area housing fund and award $50 million more to a nonprofit in Silicon Valley trying to end homelessness. It’s a lot of money, but experts say it’s not nearly enough in a state where the median home price has risen 75 percent since 2012, to $550,800. California rents are up 40 percent, with an average apartment renting for $2,293. Well-paid tech workers can afford the rent, but their not-so-well-paid colleagues who form the
backbone of any community are being priced out with many resorting to living in tents and RVs or doubling and tripling up in crowded apartments to make their own budgets pencil out. Reno isn’t far behind. During the third quarter of this year, the average monthly rent for an apartment spiked to $1,345, a new record. In East Sparks, which boasts an easier commute to the Industrial Park near Fernley, the average monthly rent is even higher at $1,522. And there’s no relief in sight. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said all the right things when announcing the multibillion-dollar contribution: “Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride. When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.” But the real unsustainability is relying on the good will of the corporate titans to make housing affordable. It reminds me
of the mining companies in Nevada who love to tout their charitable contributions as proof of their commitment to rural Nevada communities while ignoring the misery caused by their boom and bust business model and the environmental degradation they leave behind when the gold runs out. And their charity is a pittance when compared to the taxes they should be paying. Political considerations, including large campaign contributions, have prevented Nevada from taxing these corporate behemoths appropriately or forcing them to mitigate the negative effects their profitable businesses impose on communities while they profit so handsomely. Since companies like Tesla, Switch and Apple refuse to pay their fair share of taxes in Nevada, we should be demanding they at least make a much more meaningful contribution to the affordable housing mess they’ve created in Northern Nevada. I figure $3 billion should just about cover it. □
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BY BOB CONRAD
Garbage, debris and human waste along the Truckee River have raised concerns about water quality.
IS THE DREAM OVER?
PHOTO/BOB CONRAD
It seemed on Tuesday that a bare majority of the U.S. Supreme court would allow the Trump administration to follow through on its plan to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which has allowed around 800,000 young people, often called “dreamers,” to avoid being deported from the United States. The justices heard well over an hour of oral arguments—and hundreds of DACA supporters rallied outside the court. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh appeared likely to agree that DACA was properly shut down by the Department of Homeland Security. However, Chief Justice John Roberts may be the deciding vote in the matter. Last term, he was the deciding vote when the court blocked the Trump administration from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said a greater degree of explaining would be needed to justify the decision to end DACA. “This is about a choice to destroy lives,” she said.
COP SHOPPING According to a report in the University of Nevada, Reno’s, student newspaper—the Sagebrush—the university has announced two candidates to fill the position of chief of police for school’s police department. The announcement was made in an email sent to faculty and staff. The two candidates are Terence Calloway and Todd Renwick. According to the Sagebrush report, Calloway is currently an assistant vice president for safety and parking—and the chief of police—at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee. Renwick is a long-time employee of UNRPD. He’s been serving as the interim assistant vice president and director of the department since previous UNRPD Chief of Police Adam Garcia departed from the position in February.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW In a Nov. 4 press release, KNPB Public Television announced that it was rebranding itself—with a new name and a new look. The station, which has served Northern and Central Nevada and North Eastern California since 1983, will now be called PBS Reno. The change coincides with a rebranding of PBS on a national scale made in response to public broadcaster’s 50th anniversary. In a story on the Fast Company website, Don Wilcox, vice president of multiplatform marketing and content at PBS, is quoted as having said, “We had a flip-phone brand in an iPhone world.”
—JERI DAVIS
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Bathroom break Can an innovative public restroom reduce waste along the river? Officials want to find out. People are pooping in the Truckee Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the river, River. Increasing homeless encampand while the source of E. coli has ments in recent years have led to not been tied directly to a single more debris, garbage and excrement source, human waste is a probable along—and in—the river. contributor.” It’s gotten so bad that TMWA’s Andy Gebhardt, repeated concern has director of operations been raised about water and water quality, said “Homeless quality and general that—despite the camps along the public safety along camps—drinking Truckee River banks Reno’s widely used water quality is scenic and recrenot being affected. are of obvious concern ational amenity. Drinking water is to us as the river is our “Lack of diverted from the primary source of supply.” public restrooms Truckee and subsehas created a quently treated. Andy Gebhardt human waste issue “Homeless TMWA Director of Operations that impacts the water camps along the quality of the Truckee Truckee River banks are River and its terminus, of obvious concern to us as Pyramid Lake,” according to a the river is our primary source document from the Truckee Meadows of supply,” Gebhardt explained. Water Authority. “TMWA and other “Because of that, we have worked agencies regularly record elevated with the local entities, particularly the
City of Sparks, to help ensure that the area around our intake structure at the Glendale Water Treatment plant, as well as the plant itself, are regularly monitored.” TMWA, along with the City of Reno, is also seeking another potential solution: an innovative public restroom that officials hope will reduce waste and subsequent water contamination. The Portland Loo, as it’s called, debuted in Portland 11 years ago, and the public restrooms have since been installed around the U.S. and Canada. The open-air loo is proposed to be installed at Brodhead Park, the green strip along the river just east of the Reno Police Department building. The loos, however, while a potential solution for the needs of people without homes, have generated other problems in communities where they have been installed. National Public Radio reported in 2015 that San Diego’s new Portland Loos were pricey and became havens for illegal activity. “The toilets turned out to be much pricier than expected, and some people complain that they could attract illicit activity—prostitution or drug use,” reported Claire Trageser for the show All Things Considered. Two years after that report, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that, as the region was battling “a massive outbreak of hepatitis A that has killed 16 and stricken 444 people,” the restrooms were filthy and hot spots “for meth and heroin use.” To address those issues, the Portland Loos have blue lights so addicts can’t see their veins. Fans were installed to prevent people from using lighters to cook drugs. The Portland Loos also needed constant human attention—every few hours—to remain clean, something the City of Reno admitted could be a concern for the one it is proposing along the river. “Challenges the City has had with other park restrooms include use of drugs and improper disposal of hazardous materials; use of the building for overnight camping, washing clothes and cooking; setting fires inside the restrooms; and repetitive vandalism and graffiti,” city staff said. Portland Loos are promoted as graffiti-proof, easy to clean and
inexpensive to operate. Grates surround the activity did not increase. San Diego upper and lower portions allow occupancy officials blamed the location, not the loo’s to be visible but still private enough to technology, for the criminal activity. use. Handwashing stations are attached Indeed, one of Portland’s original loos on the outside of the units. They are selfremains in operation after a decade. The contained and operate on solar power. city has six in its downtown core. “The restroom was designed with Reno officials have cautioned that the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Brodhead Park restroom may help but not Design by using high traffic areas and without regular attention. visibility to deter illegal activities “Given the challenging environand generate high usage rates,” ment in this area the restroom the manufacturers proclaim. may become an ongoing They are also not public safety and mainLike many cheap. The city wants to tenance problem which use the voter-approved may outweigh any public attempts to address 2002 Question 1 benefit it provides,” city the county’s growing— conservation bond staff said. and grim—affordable funds to pay for the Nevertheless, the restroom. The restroom government officials housing crisis, a public at Brodhead Park is are proposing to move restroom will not be a anticipated to cost nearly forward on installing the silver bullet. $300,000. restroom. Like many attempts to “By improving public address the county’s growspaces for everyone, restrooms ing—and grim—affordable housbuild community resilience, ing crisis, a public restroom will not be support social cohesion, increase urban a silver bullet. The Portland Loo, while renewal and improve public health,” designed to mitigate inherent problems TMWA noted. “With less human waste with public restrooms, could create other going into the river, everyone will enjoy issues. it more safely and comfortably. Potential San Diego ended up dismantling one of vectors for infectious disease will be their loos. It was called a “notorious finanreduced, and the region’s water quality cial boondoggle” after being in service will improve.” □ for just 13 months. Other loos in the city, however, remained in place where criminal
Marching on
Hundreds of people lined the sides of Virginia Street on Monday for the annual Veterans Day parade, wearing patriotic clothing, waving American flags and cheering in support of dozens of floats and other showings by active military personnel and various veteran’s organizations. The parade began at 11:11 a.m., in commemoration of the end of World War I, when the ceasefire took effect in the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” according to the armistice signed by Germany and allied forces in 1918. However, the war was officially ended by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, making this year the official centennial celebration of the end of the War To End All Wars. Photo/Matt Bieker
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rn&r is hiring
• distribution driver Make extra income by helping us distribute our award-winning paper every Thursday.
For more inFormation and to apply, go to www.newsreview.com/reno/jobs Chico Community Publishing, dba the Reno News & Review, is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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tahoe
by Mark EarnEST
Tahoe City filmmaker Hazen Woolson from Janky Films will be one of the participants in the first Stay Local Tahoe Film Crawl, which takes place this weekend. Courtesy/tahoe Film Crawl
Celluloid heroes Stay Local Tahoe Film Crawl The appetite for Tahoe-centric sports films has never waned, and with a new ski season just underway, a new event sponsored by filmmakers and a local online community and events site aims to bring this film experience to revelers in the popular bars on both sides of the lake. The first Stay Local Tahoe Film Crawl features all local filmmakers that showcase all the outdoor thrills that Tahoe has to offer, but in bite-size doses that are easy to view in a pub-crawl atmosphere. The idea was Jeff Brissette’s. He runs the Stay Local sites on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. This is where people from all around Lake Tahoe can post photos and share experiences about lake life. Through the site, Brissette met Bevan Waite, a Tahoe filmmaker with Mountain Grown Media. “When I first saw the films he was making, I was like, ‘Wow, this kid has some amazing talent,’” Brissette said. As it happens, Waite did a similar, more DIY crawl last year in Tahoe, but not to quite the extent that this year’s Stay Local crawl encompasses. They teamed up after Brissette noticed not only Waite’s work, but also some of the outdoors films that other Tahoe artists were doing. “I started to see these little films sprout up everywhere, so I thought it
would be a great opportunity do something like a film crawl,” Brissette said. The film crawl is split over two days and two venues, fitting in with the all-lake vibes of the parent Stay Local promoter. There will also be raffles from ski and snowboard companies, and the filmmakers will be at the events to speak with attendees. For the South Lake portion of the crawl, Saturday Nov. 16, crawlers can head first to The Hangar, 2401 Lake Tahoe Blvd.; followed by Tahoe Aleworx, 2050 Lake Tahoe Blvd.,; then South Lake Brewing Co., 1920 Lake Tahoe Blvd. For the Truckee portion, Sunday Nov. 17, it starts at the Station, 10095 River St.; followed by Best Pies, 10068 Donner Pass Road; and then Alibi Ale Works, 10069 Bridge St. The same films will be shown at both events. They include several that are five minutes or less: “Color Rush” and “Lel” from the company Verb Cabin, and “Fire and Ice” and “Mountain Flame” from Mountain Grown Media. The rest range from 10 to 25 minutes, and include “Ramen Warriors” and “Range of Light” from Janky Films, “Another Way” from Verb Cabin, and “Our Family” from Mountain Grown Media. Both nights conclude with 7 Stages of Blank, an hour-long feature from the Blank Collective. Brissette said that Stay Local is expanding as well, planning film crawls in other cities as well as more film events in Tahoe. And the organizers are already thinking about next year’s festival. Part of that impetus is the high quality of the films, no matter their running time. “These films are not just guys getting drunk on skis,” Brissette said. “They all have a good narrative. Bevan’s got one called ‘Our Family,’ that’s kind of like a wolf pack of guys, and we’ve seen that kind of quintessential story before, but there’s also an environmental theme to it. A lot of them have global messages that could really work anywhere.” Ω
the stay local tahoe Film Crawl starts at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at venues in south lake tahoe, and on Nov. 17 in truckee. For more details, go to filmcrawl.org.
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ACampwArninG Fire revisited A speciAl report “It’s a warning for other communities.” That’s how Melissa Daugherty, the editor of the CN&R, the RN&R’s sister paper in Chico, California, described this week’s cover story package. “It’s really fucked up here still,” she added. Nov. 8 marked the one-year anniversary of the Camp Fire. Long after national media outlets—and charity organizations—left the region, the CN&R continues to lead the coverage of a community still just barely recovering. For Northern Nevadans, this coverage represents a cautionary tale from a similar community less than 150 miles from Reno.
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Ground zero Historic Magalia church is the epicenter for ongoing, much-needed relief efforts
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he dragon chased Willie Snow out of Magalia, California. That’s the way he remembers the Camp Fire. A ferocious blaze that he said seemed to instinctively track and pursue the living. Snow and his longtime partner, Laurette Smith, both 60, snaked through Paradise in a Nissan Sentra to escape the flames—at times surrounded by fire and pitch black conditions. Vehicles lined either side of the road. Some had people in them. Others were abandoned. “When we left, I remember going through three, maybe four walls of fire, and the only reason we didn’t run off the road is because I knew it was a straight road, and I didn’t want to turn around,” said Snow, whose cadence mirrors that of Sam Elliott’s as the cowboy narrator in The Big Lebowski. The fire destroyed the couple’s home. A recycler paid $35 for their scorched car. In the months that followed, Snow and Smith lived out of a white Ford van—first at the Walmart parking lot in Chico, then at Lowe’s. About five months ago, the pair moved to the campus of the historic Magalia Community Church, a ground zero of sorts for survivor relief efforts on the Ridge,
a residential area, consisting of Paradise and Magalia, that was almost entirely consumed by the Camp Fire. A year after the fire, the property surrounding the house of worship is filled with RVs, including the one donated to Snow and Smith. Since December, it’s also been the site of a recovery center offering clothes, furniture and food. The couple consider themselves lucky. Smith works as a security guard in Chico, clocking 40-plus hours a week. Snow is a former mechanic. He helps around the church, acting as a parking adviser and keeping watch on the grounds. But did they envision being nomads a year after the Camp Fire sparked? “No, man,” Snow said. “I thought we’d be back to normal by now. At least in a different place.” “At least have a permanent home,” Smith added. Pastor Kevin Lindstrom presides over the Magalia Community Church. He landed there eight years ago, after working in the film industry in Culver City as an editor and then earning his master’s degree in education and leadership from the Golden Gate Southern Baptist Seminary. A family friend who attended the historic
Kevin and Sandy Lindstrom of Magalia Community Church jumped into fire-relief efforts as soon as they returned to the Ridge. Photo/Andre Byik
nondenominational Ridge church had told him the former pastor was set to retire. Before the fire, the future of the church was in question. Its congregation was aging and shrinking, Lindstrom said. On Nov. 8, he and his wife, Sandy, fled their home in upper Magalia and traveled to Southern California, where they have another house. The Woolsey Fire was raging at the same time, and the couple’s Simi Valley residence was on evacuation watch. “We said, ‘All right. If the [Magalia] house burns and the church is OK, we’ll move back into the church,’” Lindstrom said. “‘If the church burns and the house is OK, then we’ll come back and rebuild the church.’ We said, ‘If they’re both gone, I guess we’ve got a lot of work to do.’ Our philosophy is that we will be here as long as the need is here.”
About a month passed before the Lindstroms returned to the Ridge. They found their home intact and scorched buildings and burned-out sheds at the church property. But the historic chapel, whose construction traces back to the 1850s, had survived. The couple credit neighbors who fought the fire by throwing dirt on the flames and felling threatening trees. Nearly a year after the fire, the church is greatly needed. But it’s the practical necessities—more so than spiritual offerings—that the region has come to rely upon. Each month, the church serves thousands of fire survivors. According to data collected for September, nearly 4,000 families—323 of which were new to the congregation—used the recovery center. Most reported they either live or had lived in Magalia or Paradise. Others had
traveled from surrounding cities and hamlets. The church also saw a sharp increase in September of survivors living in a house, apartment or rental property. Nearly 600 families reported living in such accommodations, up from about 250 in August. “That is very concerning to me,” said Doreen Fogle, a recovery center volunteer who has been lending a hand since Christmas, “because it says people that have been in homes and haven’t needed help all of a sudden now need help.” More stats from that month: 400 families reported living in an RV, and about 200 were living with friends or family. Fewer reported living in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported housing. Fewer still told the church they live in cars or tents. Willie Snow and Laurette Smith have lived in an RV on the church grounds for about five months. The cost to rebuild or find a new home is a common, significant barrier, Fogle said. That’s true for Ridge resident Michael White. Before the fire, he lived in an RV park in Magalia. When he returned after the evacuation was lifted, he discovered his RV had been vandalized and ransacked. It was moldy and uninhabitable. But because his home on wheels didn’t burn, he received no government assistance, he said. Homeless and jobless, White spent the majority of the past year living in a tent. He says he recently secured an RV in Berry Creek—he’s just had trouble finding a place to park it. A Butte County resident for more than 20 years, he’s determined to stay on the Ridge. “I love it up here,” he said. “I love the people.” White visits the church recovery center once a week and says volunteers have been “extremely helpful.” Life has been rough since the fire, so he takes it one day at a time. “It’s about all we can do,” he said. “When you are surrounded by it all day long every day, it’s hard to put it in the past. … It’s a lot more than just rebuilding ourselves. It’s rebuilding the entire infrastructure of our community.” Sandy Lindstrom recalled the early weeks following the fire, when the Red Cross asked if the church could serve as a distribution center for supplies, including nonperishable food and warm clothes. The
Lindstroms agreed, and the relief organization dumped “tons” of supplies in the church’s hall, said, “Thank you,” and left, she said. “We looked at each other,” Sandy continued, “and said, ‘Um?’” The Red Cross was the primary relief organization immediately after the fire, but the last of its facilities closed at the end of January. The Lindstroms called in support in the form of friends and church members. Other outside relief—such as Operation Blessing, the relief arm of the Christian Broadcasting Network—began coming in as well. After the camp site set up for survivors at the Walmart parking lot in Chico was cleared, the church was asked if it could provide meals and a place for some people to stay. “Basically, our whole response to any question is … if God is leading us to do it, we do it,” said Kevin Lindstrom, adding that the church, which has a commercial kitchen, began serving three meals a day and started allowing church members who lost everything to live on the property. An electric company installed RV hookups on-site. The pastor estimates about two dozen people still live on the property, mostly in RVs. Folks living on the grounds say that number is higher. “Originally, when people asked us how long we’d be here, we thought about other disasters and we said, ‘Well, probably 18 months to two years,’” Sandy said. “Because that’s … pretty much what you hear before people are back on their feet.” But the unprecedented level of destruction wrought by the Camp Fire has upended those expectations. Church officials say the biggest need nowadays is food. People are forgoing groceries to pay for gas to get to work below the Ridge. Survivors can “shop” at the church’s hall once per week, walking away with bread, cereal and assorted canned foods. Toiletries also are available. Everything is free. On a recent Tuesday, a line snaked through the lobby of the food distribution center and spilled outside. Indoors, survivors checked in with Fogle, who was quick to offer a warm smile and help new visitors register. More of the church’s volunteers— many of whom lost their homes in the fire—were waiting in the wings, leading each household through rows of shelves with canned and boxed goods, various toiletries and even
some novelty items: small succulents and LEGO sets. Kaitlin Norton was there with her 18-month-old son, Josh. While her home in Magalia wasn’t destroyed, her family lost it all the same. They were renters, and the owner needed to move back in after losing his home in the fire. For now, they’ve been staying in an RV on a friend’s property—they are looking to buy, but the cost of living is steep, and fire insurance is tricky to secure. “We’re in this gray zone nobody thinks about [after disasters],” she said. It’s been a struggle “just trying to get back to everyday normal life.” Norton said she has felt financial pressure mounting after the fire, with more of her family’s expenses going to rising gas and food costs. “There’s just not enough to cover everything,” she said. The church has been a “lifesaver,” she said. Without it, “there’d be months where we didn’t have diapers or wipes or food.” Carey Livingston can relate. Her husband, Tony, had to quit working because of the toll the fire had taken on his health, she said. That day, they were able to grab a case of water, fresh veggies and fruit, cereal, paper towels and other miscellaneous items. Livingston recalled the first time her family returned to Paradise following the evacuation. Seeing the devastation, each standing home here and business there stood out in her memory. As they cried together, Livingston told her children: “These are little heartbeats. We have a pulse up here that’s not going anywhere.” Until September, the family lived in an apartment in Chico. Recently, they moved into an RV on a friend’s property in Paradise. Their plan is to purchase a lot and build. “We were renters, so we didn’t think we were going to get the option of coming back up here,” she said, her voice breaking and tears welling in her eyes. This past year has been exhausting, stressful and emotionally draining, Livingston said. There have been so many hoops to jump through to re-establish their lives post-fire. But she mostly feels overwhelmed with gratitude because of the kindness she has been shown by her community, like those at the church. “I have cried, I think, more over my blessings than my losses,” she said.
Willie Snow and Laurette Smith have lived in an RV on the church grounds for about five months.
Photo/Andre Byik
Outside in the parking lot, Snow guided cars in and out of a designated area for RVs on the church property. He also talked to motorists arriving at the church to donate items, as well as departing volunteers. “That’s what keeps this place going, bud,” he told one man who had dropped off clothing. “People donating.” There are misconceptions people have about fire survivors, Snow said. Some carry the day-to-day burden of not knowing where basic necessities will come from, as well as a barrage of “what ifs.” In terms of them getting back on their feet, people may ask, “Why don’t they just …” he said. “Well, it ain’t just.” Securing long-term housing has been a challenge for Snow and Smith. They looked into FEMA housing, but would have had to relocate farther from Chico than Magalia, which would mean more wear and tear on the van during Smith’s commute to work. Snow said he’d like to rebuild on the property where his home burned, but he’s been embroiled in an ownership dispute. If the couple are forced to leave the church grounds, it would mean living in the van again. “I do appreciate the volunteers that come in here and help run this place, because a lot of people need it,” Smith said. “And the ones that donate.” Shell Morley, the Magalia Community Church’s office manager, said the facility’s PG&E bill is about $5,000 per month; the trash bill is about $2,000, water runs about $500. And food costs can total about $2,300 per week.
The operation relies heavily on donations, though a $50,000 grant recently awarded through the North Valley Community Foundation will help keep it open during the winter months. Sandy Lindstrom said the church was told early on in community meetings that area churches likely would carry much of the load for ongoing relief. After the news trucks left, she said, many efforts by various other groups evaporated. The Lindstroms maintain they aren’t experts in this type of service, and, a year later, they say they’re still in triage mode. It feels at times like they are putting Band-Aids on survivors, trying to steer them in the right direction, they say. “We’re dealing with stuff that’s way over our heads,” Sandy said, noting a difficult experience she had with a survivor suffering from a mental health crisis. “They’re overwhelmed,” she said. “They don’t know what to do or where to turn.” The church offers counseling services on the property, but more is needed, Sandy said. The Lindstroms’ children ask them how they continue to operate the recovery center. “It’s where the Lord wants us to be,” Sandy said. “And He said, ‘OK, this is here, and I’ll help you if you do what I ask you to do.’” Her husband echoed her. “I basically can’t imagine not doing it,” the pastor said. —Andre Byik And AshiAh schArAgA
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Weighing charges Prosecutors consider felony counts against PG&E
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ore than a dozen environmental activists bowed their heads in silence for 85 seconds last Friday on Nov. 1 at Children’s Playground in Chico, recognizing the people killed in the Camp Fire. The demonstrators also criticized PG&E, whose equipment was found responsible for starting the deadly blaze. Some carried signs reading, “People [over] profits,” “Let’s own PG&E” and “No more profits on electricity.” A year after the Camp Fire, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office’s criminal investigation into PG&E’s role in the fire remains active. District Attorney Mike Ramsey said investigators have collected a large body of evidence, and prosecutors are viewing that evidence with two felony charges in mind: unlawfully causing a fire with gross negligence, and involuntary manslaughter. Ramsey did not disclose whether or when charges may be brought against PG&E. There are several considerations he will take into account, including the interests of fire victims. The company, he said, could buckle under the weight
district attorney. During those three-plus decades, he said, his office has not investigated a case of this magnitude. Billions of dollars in possible criminal restitution are on the line. Eighty-four counts of involuntary manslaughter are being weighed. (The Camp Fire death tolls stands at 85, but one person was found to have died by suicide.) One supervising deputy district attorney—an expert on arson—has been working the case full-time since shortly after the Camp Fire sparked. Two investigators also hav e been working nearly full-time on the probe. Clerical staff has contributed as well. Then there’s the assist from the state Attorney General’s Office, which has provided attorneys to help. “There has never been a case that … we’ve devoted that [many] resources to,” Ramsey said. “We’ve never had billions of dollars on the table before, either.” DA investigators have seized critical evidence from the highvoltage PG&E transmission tower near Pulga—the utility’s equipment,
PG&E was the target of a group of environmental activists that honored victims of the Camp Fire last Friday (Nov. 1) at Children’s Playground in Chico. Photo/Andre Byik
of billions of dollars in potential civil liabilities and possible criminal restitution, leaving fire victims in the cold. In conversations with some survivors, Ramsey said, he has asked what they would prefer: “To be made whole or to kill PG&E?” “Both,” comes the reply. Last month, Ramsey rang in 32 years as Butte County’s elected
according to Cal Fire, failed and sparked the Camp Fire. Specifically, Ramsey said, they collected a broken hook that caused an energized power line to swing into the tower structure, causing an arc flash estimated at 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The result was molten aluminum and steel spewing to the ground and surrounding brush.
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Ramsey said that a piece of broken equipment was sent to the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Va., to be analyzed, and investigators have been looking at the hook with some questions in mind. Should PG&E have known that the piece was worn and could fail? Or did it have undetectable—“secret”—cracks or fissures that no reasonable person or corporation could have known would cause a failure? The district attorney declined to divulge any possible answers to those questions, but he did say investigators collected hooks from other towers in the vicinity of the Camp Fire tower, and found them similarly worn. “We’re happy with the results thus far,” Ramsey said, adding that if the hooks had undetectable cracks the investigation would have been “dead in the water.” Details of the year-long investigation have been teased in the media and during hearings in PG&E’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. One detail, disclosed by a civil attorney, was that a grand jury has been impaneled. Ramsey said he could neither confirm nor deny the existence of such a body. PG&E has been cooperating with investigators, according to the DA. Prosecutors have met periodically with the utility’s “platoon” of attorneys. Multiple witnesses, including current and former PG&E employees, have been interviewed. And prosecutors have been poring over maintenance records and spreadsheets, decoding and interpreting the utility’s corporate language. Most records are digital, and there are a lot of them. “We used to say—on large murder cases—I would say, ‘Oh, my God, we’re going through reams of reports,’” Ramsey said. “Now it’s, ‘We’re going through terabytes of data.’” In a spokesperson’s statement, PG&E said it has been cooperating with the District Attorney’s Office but did not intend to discuss details of Ramsey’s investigation. “We have been open and transparent since the Camp Fire occurred and have been proactive in supplying information about our infrastructure to the [California Public Utilities Commission], Cal Fire, the Butte County District Attorney and the California Attorney General,” the statement reads.
PG&E said its “most important responsibility” must be the safety of the public and its employees. The families affected by the Camp Fire are “our customers, our neighbors and our friends,” according to PG&E’s statement. “Our hearts go out to those who have lost so much, and we remain focused on supporting them …” Prosecutors are looking at individual players within PG&E, in addition to the corporation itself. The challenge, Ramsey said, with charging people instead of a company is responsibilities for decisions can be diffused to the point where it’s difficult to prove individual responsibility. The downside of prosecuting a corporation, he said, is that it can’t be hauled off to jail for misdeeds. (PG&E already was convicted of six felony charges and placed on federal probation in connection with the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion.) A conviction of 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter could result in penalties reaching about $2.5 million, Ramsey estimated. “For PG&E, that’s not much,” he said. “Where they would be hurt in a sense—where the real penalty is—is the criminal restitution. The criminal restitution being that loss of all the property. That loss of all of the income. That loss of the businesses. Those, which right now is obviously estimated into the billions of dollars.” Criminal restitution, the district attorney said, could be ordered if PG&E were charged and convicted of unlawfully causing a fire with gross negligence. However, he said PG&E’s bankruptcy case could add wrinkles into any possible prosecution. There is a “strong line” of statutory interpretation that concludes corporations can have criminal restitution payments discharged in bankruptcy, meaning they would not have to pay. Ramsey said he disagrees with the interpretation but conceded that fighting it would be an “uphill push.” The considerations go back to the additional factors the DA’s Office has been taking into account. “Do you kill PG&E in the bankruptcy court?” Ramsey said. “They don’t come out of the bankruptcy court and then they can discharge their criminal restitution—even if we convict them.” —Andre Byik
Focus on the future Learning from mistakes, preparing for potential disasters
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hen the Camp Fire ignited a year ago, nobody knew how fast it would spread or how many lives it would imperil. In fact, by the time local officials recognized they needed to start evacuating the town of Paradise, people were already losing power and cell towers were burning down. “We relied on technology for notifications and it failed us miserably,” said Jody Jones, mayor of Paradise. Cindi Dunsmoor, the county’s emergency services officer, echoed that sentiment. “You have to look at the topography and the demographics of the area,” she said, referring to not only the Paradise Ridge, where the population was aging, but also to other foothills communities like Forest Ranch and Cohasset, where cellphone and internet coverage is spotty. “We need a system that doesn’t rely on cellphones [to alert people to emergencies].” Dunsmoor has held her position for three years but has worked in the Office of Emergency Management since 2004. She’s tasked with overseeing the hazard mitigation plan, which encompasses the entire county and aims to foresee potential disasters and prepare for them. “We look at fires, floods, these public safety power shut-offs,” she said, “and then we look at our critical facilities and projects like road-widening.”
The county just finished updating its hazard mitigation plan, with input from over a dozen agencies ranging from municipalities and fire safe councils to parks districts and public utilities. In it, they outline projects that could help save people or infrastructure in the event of a disaster. Dunsmoor submitted it to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last month and it was approved, she said, so now it goes to each of those agencies for adoption. Thing is, not every project will be completed, nor are they required to be. So, while the county has set a priority for widening Cohasset Road, for example, the only way in and out of that community, there’s no guarantee it’ll happen. “It’s a wishlist,” Dunsmoor said. Many of the projects laid out in the previous plan, completed every five years, were never realized, she explained. That’s because they tend to be costly—widening a road or executing large-scale tree and brush removal can run into the millions.
But by including those projects in the hazard mitigation plan, they become eligible for annual grant funding, as well as for post-disaster FEMA assistance. “We had more districts join [the plan process] because of the flooding that happened after the Oroville Dam [spillway disaster],” Dunsmoor said. The Feather River Recreation and Park District, for instance, sustained significant damage during that flood, as did facilities owned by the South Feather Water and Power Agency and Lake Oroville Public Utility District. When the water receded, however, and entities like the city of Oroville began applying for FEMA assistance, they weren’t eligible. An albeit dull silver lining of any disaster is the ability to rebuild with more insight. For Paradise, which lost 90 percent of its real estate, that opportunity is huge. While some say the town should not rebuild on its existing footprint because of the vulnerability against future fires, Mayor Jones says new codes
and regulations will protect the community. “Are we better prepared? We’re getting ourselves there,” she said. “The council adopted ordinances above and beyond wildland-urban interface standards set by the state. Couple that with our defensible space ordinance, and I think the town will be a lot safer.” Jones pointed to the destruction of the Camp Fire as an indication they’re on the right path. Fifty percent of the homes built after 2008—when codes were updated to require sprinkler systems in every home, among other things— survived the fire. Only 9 percent of those built before then are still standing, she said. “If anybody’s saying that rebuilding on the same footprint might not be the right idea—they say it about rural areas, but not in big cities. Look at the Getty Fire. It’s hypocritical,” she said. “If you’re going to say people should not live where there’s risk, then there should be nobody living where there are tornadoes, nobody where there are hurricanes, nobody where there
are earthquakes. What we do is we adopt new building standards so they stand up in an earthquake. We build in a smarter, more resilient way. But it doesn’t mean we can’t live here.” She, Dunsmoor and Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea all emphasized personal responsibility in preparing for future disasters. Have a communication plan that doesn’t rely on technology, get to know multiple routes out should a hasty evacuation be necessary, and take the proper precautions to safeguard your home, whether it be from fire or flood or power outage. “I talked to a guy who lived in Paradise. As he was leaving [during the Camp Fire], the road was packed with traffic,” Honea said. “But he knew that the bike path used to be an old railroad bed that went from Paradise to Chico. So, he drove down the bike path and got to safety. You’ve got to be aware and know multiple ways to get out.” The county and the town of Paradise also are working on improving their emergency alert systems. On the day of the Camp
Fire, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office had one person on duty who was experienced with how to send alerts. That person sent them via CodeRED, an opt-in service, but by the time those alerts reached residents, many of them already were evacuating or in harm’s way. The fire moved so swiftly, Honea said, that it knocked out cell towers and power before a lot of people were notified. The BCSO this past summer installed high-low sirens on its vehicles that are to be used only in the case of an evacuation, Honea said. In addition, Dunsmoor said she’s talked with, for instance, a group of people who do ham radio and could, with battery or generator backup, spread the word—assuming people know to tune in. “At least the siren would say, ‘Something is happening,’” she said. “We recognize we need to build out our ability to notify people with methods that aren’t overly reliant on technology.” —Meredith J. Cooper
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n rtable Po s r e m r o r� pe
TMCC faculty create performance opportunities without a venue of their own
by JeSSiCa SaNTiNa
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ll the world’s a stage … especially when you don’t have one of your own.” That’s been the unofficial motto of Truckee Meadow Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts department since the announcement two years ago that the school would not renew its lease on the Nell J. Redfield Performing Arts Center (RPAC) on Keystone Avenue, the venue it had occupied since 2003. Instead, the school would commence plans for its own new theater space on campus, tentatively named the East View Building. But while those plans currently exist in theory only, the department finds itself adrift for performances. Old and rundown the RPAC may have been, but it had been theirs, offering enough space to have allowed the company to earn a reputation for big musicals and extravagant sets. When the curtain fell for the last time in spring, the department began a new, somewhat nomadic existence, and its faculty has pulled out all the stops to create innovative performance opportunities for students.
Scrambling for stages
Though the decision to establish a new, campusbased theater came as exciting news, TMCC leaders made no provisions for a replacement venue. The Visual and Performing Arts curriculum would not change, and the expectations that theater, dance and music students would perform did not change. “I don’t want to gloss over the fact that there have been pretty big challenges associated with us moving out of RPAC,” said Ron Marston, chair of Visual and Performing Arts. “The faculty really stepped up to address those challenges. They had to figure out how we were going to move out of a dedicated space that we’d had for about 15 years and start from ground zero. It was basically left to the faculty to come up with that plan. And, to their huge credit, they did.” Marston’s first idea was to assemble a Performing Arts Task Force, a committee comprised of roughly 10 full- and part-time performing arts faculty, as well as representatives from the TMCC Foundation and staffers in the school’s Marketing & Communications and Facilities Operations and Capital Planning offices. The committee began brainstorming and setting plans in motion. First, a search inward led them to consider a classroom space that had been used primarily for dance instruction. “Red Mountain 240 was our main teaching classroom, but in the wake of the recent opening of the Sports and Health Complex, a new building on campus, and the closure of RPAC, we made the request to take that The Light Burns Blue room over as a dedicated space and runs now through renovate it into a proper classroom Nov. 16 at Damonte and performance lab so that it Ranch High School and features Jump Start could be used efficiently for dance and TMCC theater classes, dance and theater rehearsstudents. als and small performances,” said Photo/Eric Marks
Dayna DeFilippis, instructor of dance, exercise and human movement. The proposal was accepted, and the department has recently been assured of having this dedicated space, which can seat about 50. Additionally, the task force identified the student services center as a potential venue, and on Nov. 22 and 23 the department will present its first production of the fall in that space. That’s Entertainment, directed by DeFilippis and Ted Owens, will be a musical theater cabaret featuring an original program of song and dance from popular Broadway musicals in a cabaret-style setting. The student center also will host a TMCC band concert in early December.
in the cast, allowing them to get performance credit. And in collaboration with Brüka’s Theatre for Children, TMCC students will participate in a touring children’s production visiting schools around Reno and Carson City. Next, they looked at partnerships with local high schools. They turned to the TMCC Jump Start program, in which high schoolers earn dual credit for college. Two of its sites, Reno and Damonte Ranch high schools, had beautiful theaters in which Jump Start students could perform and college students could earn experience as both cast and crew. The first such production is The Light Burns Blue, running now through Nov. 16 at Damonte Ranch High School and featuring Jump Start and TMCC theater students. At Reno High, Spain and Wray made a deal: TMCC students and production crew would work on making renovations to the Smaller shows were one part of the solutheater space, and in exchange the college tion, but it was clear the department would would have access to the space for next year’s need other options for students to have the shows. On Nov. 15, Jump Start students will performance opportunities present Oscar Wilde’s they needed. The Importance of Being “My initial response was, Earnest at Reno High. ‘Wow. We’re going to be on “I don’t want to And on Dec. 6-7, the campus.’ It was a no-brainer, final performance of 2019, 4 gloss over the to go from Keystone to X’mas, a collection of four this beautiful new East fact that there one-act plays by George View Building they’ve got Cameron Grant, and Yule have been pretty planned. But it’s the time in Believe, an original one-act between that we are being big challenges by Spain, will take over very creative,” said Interim the newly updated Red associated with Performing Arts Coordinator Mountain 240. Carolyn Wray. “We’re like The faculty are still us moving out.” those Mickey Rooneys and eyeing other spaces Judy Garlands: ‘Let’s put around the community. on a show in the barn.’ Marston said he’s reached chair of Visual and And we’re finding barns all out—as yet unsuccessover town.” Performing Arts, TMCC fully—to UNR in hopes Longtime local theater of forming a partnership, pro Stacey Spain, a TMCC and DeFilippis said she’s theater instructor, was one interested in perhaps findof the task force participants. “One of the first ing space at the Nevada Museum of Art or things we did was ask, ‘What performance in outdoor venues. They all welcome offers spaces are available in this city?’” she said. from the community for spaces, vehicles and “We went through all the community theaters, donations that might aid in their portable all the spaces. And we thought that anyone production efforts. With ticket sales obviwho’s running a space has the overhead assoously being less than in years past, funding is ciated with that space, and they need to cover even tighter than ever. those costs. We worked diligently, looking for Ultimately, the message from all faculty solutions—where we could go, what kinds of is that though the next few years may involve partnerships we could have. We looked at a some creative solutions (to say the least), lot of different models. Renting a community students should not be concerned that the theater was really cost prohibitive.” curriculum will be watered down or that they The performing arts faculty realized that will not have opportunities to perform. In fact, although they might not have money to rent they may get more real-world experience now spaces, what they did have was a lot of people than ever before. After all, anyone looking for a who could trade their elbow grease for space. If career in the performing arts should get used to they would be willing to roll up their sleeves and creative problem solving, innovative venue use help theaters in the community by loaning their and bootstrap efforts to get on stage. talent and hard work, they might just get “barns” “In terms of looking at how we can become where they could perform in exchange. part of the broader theater community, this is a As director of Reno Little Theater’s great time to do that,” Spain said. Ω production of Harvey, Spain had an opportunity to include four of her TMCC students For more information, visit www.tmcc.edu.
Barn raising
Ron Marston
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by Mark EarnEst
Robin Ruybalid with some of the textile works from her latest show, Die Defunctorum.
Dark into light Robin Ruybalid There’s something to be said for the artist who consistently displays their work and practices their craft. Robin Ruybalid is one such artist who has been featured in either a group show or a solo one every year for the past four. She’s definitely listening to the muses. “Every year, I say I’m not going to do another show this year—it’s too much work,” Ruybalid said. “But, then I have another idea, and I go from there.” Ruybalid has been drawing and making art from the time she was in grade school. “I remember being young and dreaming about something and then waking up in the middle of the night and having to sketch it before I went back to sleep,” she said. She’s a grad from the University of Nevada, Reno, with degrees in both art and criminal justice. Ruybalid said that she is working in criminal justice for her day job, and she did see some parallels between what she does for a living and her art, adding that it’s also a great stress-reliever from her day-to-day life. “In many areas of my life, I’ve always been fascinated by the darker side of things,” she said. “That’s what really spoke to me during art classes. In order to do life drawings, they sent us to the medical school first to draw skeletons, to understand the structure of a human body, and that just clicked with me. The bones, the skeletons, I just loved it.” At the same time, Ruybalid doesn’t want it all to be all macabre or sardonic. “I’m tuned into the idea of why something feels dark,” she said. “That’s why the Day of the Dead spoke to me. It’s a celebration 18
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Photo/Mark EarnEst
of our ancestry and those who have passed, so to take something people normally see as scary or dark or intimidating, instead I want to turn it into a celebratory thing.” To that end, Ruybalid’s latest show, Die Defunctorum at Reno Art Works, features prints on canvas that meld her Dia de los Muertos-style skulls and skeleton parts from Victorian medical illustration books with found objects from books, including fruit and floral motifs. There are also some intriguing textile artworks, including sculptures mounted on wood, a modified suit jacket and embroidery. It’s a style she’s done before, but not to this extent. Ruybalid said she’s started to use more unconventional materials for her art. “Taking something that’s meant for one thing and then making it into something else, that’s what I like,” she said. “I’ve always loved to sew. And, I’ve done a handful of prints that were on mounted on wood instead of canvas. I just like the idea of making materials do something that they aren’t meant to do. I’ve just never felt comfortable with straight paint on a canvas. It’s doing these other things that gets me excited.” Ruybalid is also a big supporter of the entire arts scene in Reno. She’s been featured in a group show at Nevada Fine Arts as well as some of the local coffee shops that feature artwork. Her main venue, though, has been at Reno Art Works, the longtime Dickerson Road space where she has also rented a studio for about six years. “I think that we have a great art community in Reno that’s really growing, and so many people provide the opportunity for us to do things like this show,” Ruybalid said. “Reno Art Works has been so encouraging to up and coming artists over the years.” Ω
Die Defunctorum by robin ruybalid is showing now through nov. 30, which is also small Business saturday, at reno art Works, 1995 Dickerson road. see more of her work at robinruybalid.com.
BY BOB GRIMM
b g ri m m @ne w s re v i e w . c o m
SHORT TAKES
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Dull boy Stephen King fans know he hated Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining for trivializing Jack Torrance’s alcoholism and redirecting the evil powers of the Overlook Hotel. In essence, Doctor Sleep, his sequel to The Shining, almost seems to exist partly to right some of the wrongs that King perceived in Kubrick’s movie. Alas, Mike Flanagan, the man behind the excellent and creepy The Haunting of Hill House, makes the decision to incorporate Kubrick’s film into his own adaptation of Doctor Sleep. The results are a mixed bag of genuinely scary moments and passages that make the film too dependent on the glory of Kubrick. Trying to recreate a Kubrick moment without Kubrick? Not advised. The film starts with Danny Torrance riding around the Overlook on his Big Wheels, and making that dreaded stop in room 237 where the old lady has stayed in the bath tub way too long. The film then jumps ahead to Dan as an adult, played by Ewan McGregor. Dan, like his daddy before him, drinks a lot. He also still has discussions with the now dead Dick Halloran (played by Carl Lumbry here, and Scatman Crothers in The Shining). So Dan not only still “shines”—communicates telepathically—but he talks to dead people. The monsters of this movie are the True Knot, a band of gypsies who look like they’re killing time between Burning Mans. Their thing is to hunt down children who shine. When they find them, they murder them and eat their essence, which leaves the body as steam. So they’re basically vaping vampires who, while not immortal, have prolonged their lives. The Knots are led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), so named because, well, she wears a hat. Rose is the one who rations out the steam for her Knot crew, which they keep in thermoses that have sucked in the essences of the dead. This element of the film, along with Ferguson’s disturbing performance, gives Doctor Sleep some memorably scary
“They still haven’t fixed this door, huh?
moments. A sequence where a young baseball player (Jacob Trembley) encounters the Knots is as harrowing as anything you’ll see in a movie this year. In some ways, which I won’t give away, King gets a chance for some do-overs, as some of the scenes and themes in Doctor Sleep reference parts of King’s original novel, as well as the sequel book. King has long bemoaned the ending of the Kubrick’s film, but I can see why he might like the Doctor Sleep conclusion. As for me, I thought the movie was better when it wasn’t hanging around the Overlook Hotel. The moments in the Overlook, although visually impressive for sure, felt like little more than a stunt, with no real, viable reason for the protagonists to be running around in Kubrick’s nightmare. Doctor Sleep works fine when it’s about a nasty band of soul suckers messing with kids who have special powers. It’s a confused muddle when it tries to do Kubrick. It’s as if this film is trying to provide further relevance and depth to the ghosts and deranged characters that haunted Kubrick’s Overlook. That’s something that can be deemed absolutely unnecessary. What Kubrick accomplished doesn’t need to be monkeyed with, and that’s exactly what Doctor Sleep does, especially in its finale. There’s a sequence near the end that’s supposed to be the scary payoff, but it provided me with unintentional laughs. McGregor is good in the central role, and Ferguson is fine as the villain. At over two-and-ahalf hours, Flanagan could’ve cut out his expensive Overlook finale, and probably would’ve had a better, more cohesive film. Instead, Doctor Sleep winds up being an elaborate imitation, and strange sort of King apology, for a classic Kubrick film. Ω
Doctor Sleep
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Joker
This new take on DC’s Clown Prince of Crime will go down as one of the year’s big missed opportunities. Director Todd Phillips, mostly known for his Hangover movies, apparently got the green light to do whatever he wanted with the Joker mythos. Phillips blows this chance. Phoenix is otherworldly good as Arthur Fleck, a severely troubled clown and standup comedy wannabe—and mama’s boy—with a condition that causes him to laugh uncontrollably at inappropriate moments. He physically and mentally disappears into the part, to the point where you may become concerned for the actor’s well-being. When we first see Fleck, he’s dressed as a clown, spinning a sign and generally having a good time. He promptly gets his ass kicked, and not for the last time. We then see him in therapy and living in poverty with his quirky mother (Frances Conroy). Fleck slowly but surely starts to lose all sense of his humanity as he grows into a criminal monster. Phillips even casts a game Robert De Niro to play a talk show host that winds up being a nod to Miller’s David Letterman riff (David Endocrine) in The Dark Knight Returns. At its most derivative, the screenplay echoes A Beautiful Mind, filmed in a way that feels like a hackneyed Shyamalan twist. In the end, it’s an unoriginal film only partially buoyed by an incredible performance.
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The King
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Lady and the Tramp
Partly inspired by real events and partly by the plays of William Shakespeare, Timothee Chalamet plays Hal, King Henry V of England, and it’s a barnburner of an acting turn. Chalamet has made a name for himself playing complicated, quiet characters before, but this one gives him a chance to rage on occasion, and he’s more than up to the task. Joel Edgerton, who co-wrote the screenplay, is on hand as Falstaff, Hal’s complicated right hand man, and Robert Pattinson, once again, shows that he just might be the finest actor of his generation with a brave and crazy performance as the Dauphin of France. Simply put, Pattinson’s accent in this movie is one of the greatest things I’ve witnessed in a movie this year, as is his final stunt in full armor. Director David Michod stages some fine action scenes, and Lily-Rose Depp makes a nice late film appearance as Catherine, Hal’s bride to be who will not stand for any of his toxic masculinity bullshit. Chalamet and Pattinson impress the most in a period piece film that works, a grand experiment that pays off. I want a sequel. (Streaming on Netflix.)
Disney+, the new Disney streaming service, has this available on day one, a sweet little live-action redo of the classic 1955 animated feature. This works primarily due to the casting of both the actual dogs and their voices. Justin Theroux, a notorious dog lover, is perfect for Tramp, a Schnauzer hybrid living the street life. The dog he provides the voice for is the spitting image of his animated counterpart. Tessa Thompson provides vocals for Lady, a cute-as-allheck Cocker Spaniel. The live-action animal talking is well done, and more engaging than that recent remake of The Lion King. The plot remains simple: rich dog meets stray dog, rich dog becomes stray dog, dogs fall in love. There are some major changes—no “Siamese Cat Song”—but fans will find a lot to remind them of the original (spaghetti scene!). Your kids will love it, and if it’s any indicator of the upcoming quality of the new Disney+ streaming content, things are off to a decent enough start. (Streaming on Disney+.)
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The Lighthouse
Robert Eggers, the man who gave us The Witch, a gesture for which I’m eternally grateful, returns with this trippy, gothic sailor’s yarn about two very strange men (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) working a difficult shift in a lighthouse in the late 19th century. It’s close quarters for the two, with every fart heard loud and clear, and every glitch in each other’s personalities grating on the sensibilities. As the trippy drama plays
out, paranoia degrades into delusional mania, then straight on into psychopathic actions (or not, depending upon whether or not you view the whole thing as a fucked-up dream). Shot in black-and-white with a scope that reminds of old silent movies, the two actors start in a truly intense place, and they ratchet it up from there. Dafoe is all strains of incredible as the weathered sailor restricted to land duty, and possibly in the game of driving his employees crazy, one right after the other. Pattinson matches him every step of the way, with a performance reminiscent of early Marlon Brando. That’s right, I just compared him to Brando. Eggers is two films in, and this guy can direct with the best of them. Both of his films are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The man is a true original, and these actors take the chance to work with him to the hallucinatory stars. I’m still not entirely sure what happened, but I know it disturbed the living piss out of me, and it contains two of the year’s best performances.
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Terminator: Dark Fate
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Zombieland: Double Tap
So, the big thing about Terminator: Dark Fate is that James Cameron has returned to the franchise as a producer and story credit guy, so that means we’ll return to the sort of powerful franchise chapters he directed back in the day, right? Well, actually, no. Tim Miller, the guy who directed Deadpool, is in charge of this mostly bland and banal chapter, with Cameron essentially whispering in his ear from afar. Cameron, apparently, never even visited the set; not surprising, considering ex-wife Linda Hamilton is back and, given her physical superiority, could easily kick the living shit out of him. Cameron’s real attention is on the Avatar sequels, which have mercifully been postponed so many times that I’m currently conditioned to think I will never have to sit through them. One can dream. For the umpteenth time, the future is all screwy because rogue A.I. has essentially taken over the planet and ruled humans unnecessary. This chapter picks up where Cameron’s second chapter left off, with the future changed thanks to the work of Sarah Connor (Hamilton), her boy, John, and a cuddly Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Had things turned out all peachy after Sarah’s handiwork, we wouldn’t have this movie. Some major happenings transpire in the opening minutes here, featuring a CGI de-aged Hamilton that I must say is remarkable. It totally looks like 1991 Hamilton on the screen, and some other characters from Judgment Day show up as well. Things are off to a good start. Then things get, well, routine at best.
Since the release of the first Zombieland back in 2009, much has happened in the entertainment land of the undead. A decade later, Emma Stone has an Oscar for La La Land, Woody Harrelson got his third nomination in that stretch, and Jesse Eisenberg was nominated for The Social Network. Abigail Breslin also had an Oscar nom before the first film for Little Miss Sunshine. With all of this Oscar business, might this crew of performers opt for more snobby fare rather than blowing up ghoul skulls for laughs? Nope, director Ruben Fleischer returns with the whole crew—shockingly—intact for Zombieland: Double Tap, a film that does little to reinvigorate the genre, but still delivers plenty of laughs. It’s basically the same as the first movie, but with some more laughs thanks to a new costar. The zombie killers have taken up residence in the White House, with Wichita (Stone) and Columbus (Eisenberg) in a relationship that requires them to cover up the eyes on the Lincoln portrait when they bed down at night. Tallahassee (Harrelson) is still searching for Twinkies with a new goal to visit Graceland while leaving shredded zombies in his wake, while Little Rock (Breslin) wouldn’t mind having her first boyfriend ever at the age of 22. it all becomes a road trip again, one that eventually leads to Graceland—sort of—and a commune called Babylon. It’s a basic sequel with enough laughs and genre fun to earn a look.
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The Biggest Little City Welcomes The Biggest Little Circus
Looking for something fun and exciting to do this TiCkeTs sTarT winter? Winter Dreams show is coming to Reno and aT jusT $19 offers unforgettable magical experience for the whole kids under 5 get family! Hosted by the best Comedy Magician of 2017, the show will be filled with endless fun and laughter! Free entrance & a sweet mini GiFT Our Day Show offers included for each something special for all age groups. Both kids paid Day Show ticket! and adults will be amazed by performances of our world class acrobats, jugglers, comical clowns, magicians, and aerial dancers! And the little ones will definitely be impressed by clever and graceful acts of the furry dog artists!
by TOdd SOuTh
December 6-22
Both Day and Evening shows will take place inside a cozy heated Big Top dome with a dazzling array of delectable food and drink.
www.magictheatercircus.com
Tickets are also available for purchase at Bazaar european Deli & Cafe 3652 s. Virginia st. suite C1, reno, NV
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Book your tickets NOW and save 10% by using RENOMAGIC promo code
One of Las Trojes chile relleno combination plates comes with a chicken taco and cheese enchilada.
Hot stuffed In celebration of my mother’s 75th birthday, my sister reserved a sizable portion of the back room at Las Trojes Mexican restaurant. The staff was very accommodating and friendly, providing excellent service throughout the meal. Complimentary chips and medium salsa were frequently replenished as we awaited our entrees. A round of margaritas were, of course, in order ($6 each), each heavy on the lime and salt. Most dishes were served with sides of refried beans, Spanish rice and a simple salad of shredded lettuce, tomato and sour cream. A few included a dollop of mild, chunky guacamole. The rice and beans were both pretty basic and lacking in flavor, but they served their purpose. The chile relleno special ($9.95) was just that—with rice, beans and corn tortillas. The stuffed Anaheim pepper was smaller and milder than the poblano I prefer, and a bit mushy and overcooked. But the cheese was melted and plentiful, with a reasonably flavorful sauce. Furthering the relleno parade was a dish featuring a stuffed chile with carnitas taco, and another with a shredded chicken taco (both $11.25). The corn tortillas of the tacos were lightly fried and folded, and the meat in both was moist and well seasoned. In fact, the moisture level and less-thanfirm shell made it imperative to eat the well-stuffed taco first, lest it fall apart in your hands. A tamale combo ($11.95) with shredded beef tamale, cheese enchilada and ground beef taco; and the Trojes special ($12.95) with pork tamale, cheese enchilada and chicken taco were next. The tamales were on the large side and pretty tasty, with a decent ratio of masa vs. filling. The enchiladas included plenty of cheese, though the sauce was somewhat lacking. The beef taco
PHOTO/ALLISON YOUNG
tasted good but suffered from the same “eat it quick,” issue. A taco salad ($9.95) of ground beef, tomato, lettuce, twice-fried tortilla chips and tons of shredded jack cheese seemed a bit blah to me, but the family member who ordered it seemed content. More interesting was a plate of fish fajitas ($13.95). The grilled fish had a nicely seasoned crust, and the veggies weren’t overcooked. The serving seemed a little small for fajitas but was completely enjoyable. A pungent serving of garlic shrimp ($14.95) was long on the “stinking rose.” The tender shrimp were served on a bed of slightly sweet rice with plenty of lime and cilantro, providing a nice balance against the garlic sauce. I found it a bit odd, though, to include a pile of Spanish rice as well. Perhaps the least successful dish was my chicken enchiladas montadas ($11.95), ordered with eggs over medium. In my experience, this refers to a stack of corn tortillas with filling in between (most commonly cheese), slathered in sauce, and occasionally topped with fried eggs. I received a pair of rolled enchiladas with very little sauce, and crunchy, over hard eggs. Pouring a bunch of the medium salsa over it helped, but I discarded most of the rubbery, gristly egg. I’m frequently disappointed when a chimichanga is covered in sauce or condiments, thus ruining the crispy texture that sets apart the deep-fried burrito. Thankfully, our shredded pork chimi ($11.95) was served with accoutrements on the side, a perfectly crispy envelope stuffed full of delicious meat—excellent. □
Las Trojes
5272 Sparks blvd., Sparks, 626-1990
Las Trojes is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Learn more at lastrojesmexicanfood.com.
by MARk EARnESt
Music up close Sofar Reno True listening rooms are hard to come by in any town, let alone the bar-centric Reno music scene. A new series of shows with roots across the pond is aiming to change that, and with a twist that brings some fun mystery to the party. Sofar Reno began on Aug. 30 and has already cultivated a loyal following of music fans willing to go along with its concept. You go to sofarsounds.com/reno and see what shows are coming up. Then you apply to get tickets to the show—all without knowing who the artists are or even the location, which is announced to your email 36 hours before it happens. That sounds pretty elaborate, but Chelsea Rangel, the curator of Sofar Reno, believes it’s part of Sofar’s appeal. “What people find interesting about it, not only here in Reno but all over the world, is that they want an experience,” Rangel said. “They like the fact that it’s invite-only. I love that people trust us with that, with curating shows. Even if you don’t like all the artists, almost every guest finds at least one artist that they like and start following and supporting.” Sofar is actually a loose acronym for “songs from a room.” Rangel said the concept for Sofar started in London 10 years ago, when two music fans were at a bar and couldn’t hear the artist playing, so they decided to host their own show with eight of their friends in their living room. It’s grown considerably from there, with 444 cities worldwide hosting events, and close to half of those cities signed on to the Sofar site within the last two years.
An audience at a home in Reno enjoy a recent show through Sofar Reno, which hosts small venues and house concerts featuring local and traveling bands. COURTESY/SOFAR RENO
Rangel also still runs Sofar in San Jose, California, which she started three years ago. She moved to Reno about a year ago. “I knew that when I moved here that I wanted to start it in Reno,” Rangel said. “It’s such a prime city for it.” The first show, hosted in a backyard in Northwest Reno, featured two local acts— SoSol and Lumbercat—as well as Chief, a Santa Cruz, California, singer-songwriter who is a veteran of Sofar shows in the Bay Area. Rangel said that it was hard to find Reno artists to play that first show, but she’s now receiving about seven requests to play a week from the Sofar Reno site. “I’m not looking for an artist with a big following on a website,” Rangel said. “I want to know, ‘Can you play in a living room or to a crowd of people and hold them in the palm of your hands?’ I’m really looking for raw talent. A lot of people get all flashy with what they present or they have Spotify links, but I always ask for links to them playing live, even if they can just send me something from their phone.” Because it’s a literal worldwide network, it’s possible for a Sofar artist in one town to book a whole tour just of Sofar shows. “That’s one of the main goals, to help the artist use it as a tool for that,” Rangel said. Sofar shows feature a different venue every time, although there may be repeaters in a city over the course of a year. For instance, We Olive & Wine Bar in Reno hosted the September show and was interested in doing another Sofar show down the road, Rangel said. Rangel said she’s been happy with the Reno artists she’s booked. “Everyone has exceed my expectations,” she said. “I truly want to go with that gut, or ear, or whatever you want to call it.” □
The next Sofar Reno show is Nov. 23 at a secret location. If you want to attend a show, host a show or play for Sofar Reno, you can get more information at sofarsounds.com/reno.
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THURSDAY 11/14 1UP
132 West St., (775) 499-5655
40 MILE SALOON
1495 S. Virginia St., (775) 323-1877
Good Riddance
ALIBI ALE WORKS (TRUCKEE)
10069 Bridge St., Truckee, (530) 536-5029
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Dance party, 10pm, $5
Trivia and drag show, 9pm, Tu, karaoke, 9pm, W, no cover
Wild Ginger, 9pm, no cover
Tahoe Dead Project, 8:30pm, $10
Trivia Night, 7pm, Tu, no cover
Absinthe Snowboard Movie Premiere with Easy Giant, 7pm, $10-$15
Backcountry Film Festival, 6pm, $10
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10040 Donner Pass Rd., Truckee, (530) 587-2626
THE BLUEBIRD
Live music, 9pm, no cover
555 E. Fourth St., (775) 499-5549
Good Riddance, Get Dead, Sharp Shock, The Last Gang, 7pm, $20
CARGO CONCERT HALL
Snails, Kompany, Al Ross, 8pm, $30
255 N. Virginia St., (775) 398-5400
CEOL IRISH PUB
538 S. Virginia St., (775) 329-5558
New Wave Crave, 9pm, no cover
Reel Rock 14, 6pm, $17
Atreyu, Whitechapel, He Is Legend, Tempting Fate, Santa Cruz, 6:30pm, $25
The Grups, 9pm, no cover
Kat Heart, 9pm, no cover
Hott Boxz, 9pm, no cover
Karaoke with Nightsong Productions, 8pm, no cover
The Cut Ups, 9pm, no cover
FACES NV
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK viewing party, Queens of Karaoke, 8pm, no cover
Fantasy Friday, 11:30pm, $TBA
235 W. Second St., (775) 470-8590
11.14.19
New Wave Crave, 9pm, no cover Kai Wachi, Sam Lamar, Astrabot, Xalty, 10pm, $20-$25
DAVIDSON’S DISTILLERY 275 E. Fourth St., (775) 324-1917
Stay Local Tahoe Film Crawl, 5:30pm, $15 Sounds of the City: Matt Bushman, Travis Rigsbee, 5pm, no cover
1044 E. Fourth St., (775) 324-5050
BAR OF AMERICA
MON-WED 11/18-11/20
Dance party, 10pm, $5
ALTURAS BAR
Carson Comedy Club, Carson Nugget, 507 N. Carson St., Carson City, (775) 8821626: Rob Sherwood, Fri-Sat, 8pm, $15 Laugh Factory, Silver Legacy Resort Casino, 407 N. Virginia St., (775) 3257401: Bob Zany, Thu, Sun, 7:30pm, $21.95; Fri-Sat, 7:30pm, 9:30pm, $27.45; Harry Basil, Tue-Wed, 7:30pm, $21.95 LEX at Grand Sierra Resort, 2500 E. Second St., (775) 789-5399: Lance Woods, Fri, 6:30pm, $10 The Library, 134 W. Second St., (775) 6833308: Sunday Night Comedy Open Mic, Sun, 8pm, no cover Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St., (775) 322-5233: Jordan Rock, Thu, 8pm, $10-$15; Fri, 9pm, $15-$22; Sat, 6:30pm, 9:30pm, $15-$22
SUNDAY 11/17
Sonic Mass/Dorée’s Birthday Party with DJ Tigerbunny, 9pm, no cover
931 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village, (775) 831-8300
Comedy
22
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
ALIBI ALE WORKS (INCLINE)
Nov. 14, 7 p.m. The BlueBird 555 E. Fourth St. 499-5549
SATURDAY 11/16
Sacha Robotti, 10pm, $15-$25
214 W. Commercial Row, (775) 813-6689
5 STAR SALOON
FRIDAY 11/15
Post shows online by registerin g at www.newsr eview. com/reno. D eadline is the Frida y before public ation. Traditional Irish session, 7pm, Tu, Wed. Night Showcase, 7pm, W, no cover
THURSDAY 11/14
FRIDAY 11/15
FAT CAT BAR & GRILL (MIDTOWN)
140 Vesta St., (775) 448-6500
jUB jUB’S ThIRST PARLOR 71 S. Wells Ave., (775) 384-1652 1) Showroom 2) Bar Room
SUNDAY 11/17
First Take featuring Rick Metz, 7pm, Tu, no cover
Jawstruck, Chain, Illicit Trade, Bug Bath, Street Person, 7:30pm, $5
Girls Rock Reno Open House, 1pm, $5
Mark Battle, DJ Jung 1, 7pm, Tu, $TBA SVP Open Mic & Slam, 6:30pm, W, $3-$5
1) Snow Tha Product, ZP Ratik, 9pm, $25
1) ABK, Big Hoodoo, 7:30pm, $20 2) Captured! By Robots, 9:30pm, $10
2) Ozymandias, Fox Medicine, Ratz on Acid, 8pm, $5
LAUGhING PLANeT CAFe (UNR)
Unplugged Thursdays, 6:30pm, no cover
Bingo w/T-N-Keys, 6:30pm, Tu, no cover Dave Mensing, 6pm, W, no cover
Deception, 8pm, no cover
Biggest Little Band, 8pm, no cover
MILLeNNIUM
Lorenzo Mendez, Alta Potencia, 10pm, $20 before 11pm
Efren David, Grupo La Cumbia, Panchito, Banda Los Sebastianes, Bis Nietos, Sonido Cubaley, 10pm, $30 8pm, free for women before 9pm
PIGNIC PUB & PATIO
New Spell, Schizopolitans, DJ Tigerbunny, 8pm, no cover
Killer Whale, Happy Trails, 8pm DJ EthiK, 10pm, no cover
Boss’ Daughter, 8pm, no cover
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe tribute, 5pm, 8pm, $20-$40
1527 S. Virginia St., (775) 800-1960
2100 Victorian Ave., Sparks, (775) 507-1626
235 Flint St., (775) 376-1948
The POLO LOUNGe
New Spell UNR Student Jazz Jam Sessions, 7:30pm, W, no cover
941 N. Virginia St., (775) 870-9633
MIDTOWN WINe BAR
MON-WED 11/18-11/20
Jeff Crosby, 9pm, no cover
432 E. Fourth St., (775) 409-4431
The hOLLAND PROjeCT
SATURDAY 11/16
1559 S. Virginia St., (775) 322-8864
DJ Trivia, 7:30pm, no cover T-N-Keyz, 9pm, no cover
Ladies Night Out with DJ Bobby G, 8:30pm, no cover
Saturday Night Party with DJ Bobby G, 8:30pm, no cover
RUe BOURBON
Adam Springob, 6pm, no cover
Kat Heart, 8pm, no cover
Michelle Belle, 8pm, no cover
DJ Bingo, 7pm, W, no cover
Divided Heaven, Travis Hayes, 8pm, $TBA
Wednesday Night Country, 6pm, W, no cover
1401 S. Virginia St., (775) 384-6526
The SAINT
761 S. Virginia St., (775) 221-7451
SheA’S TAVeRN
715 S. Virginia St., (775) 786-4774
Thursday Night Salsa/Santos de la Salsa, 7pm, no cover before 8pm
Nov. 15, 8 p.m. Pignic Pub & Patio 235 Flint St. 376-1948
Karaoke, 8pm, M, no cover
Eddie Spaghetti Nov. 19, 8 p.m. Shea’s Tavern 715 S. Virginia St. 786-4774
Eddie Spaghetti, J.D. Pinkus, Chris Fox, 8pm, Tu, $10-$12
Thurs , Nov 2 8:30AM 8
SCHEELS | 1200 SCHEELS DRIVE | SPARKS, NV 89434
Thurs, Nov 28 • 10k-8:30am • 2 MILE RUN-8:30am • 2 MILE WALK-8:40am 11.14.19
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NOV/15:
THE HAUNTED SIDE OF THE TAHOE BILTMORE
Learn about the Tahoe Biltmore’s haunted history and join in an investigation with the stars of the YouTube hit series The Haunted Side. Guests will watch a screening of behind-the-scenes footage of the paranormal investigation show, as well as investigate a haunted location for themselves. The weekend event includes interactive workshops, private investigations, meet-and-greet mixers and a free paranormal vendor fair on Saturday, Nov. 16, from noon to 4 p.m. The event begins at 5 p.m. on Nov. 15, and continues at noon on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino, 5 Highway 28, Crystal Bay. Tickets are $49-$99. Visit www.eventbrite.com/e/the-haunted-side-of-the-tahoebiltmore-tickets-75242477275.
aTlanTIs CasIno rEsorT sPa
Carson nUGGET
CrysTal Bay CasIno
3800 s. VirgiNia st., (775) 825-4700
507 N. CarsoN st., CarsoN City, (775) 882-1626
14 HigHway 28, CrystaL bay, (775) 833-6333
tHE LoFt
CrowN rooM
ESCALADE: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover
SUNSQUABI WITH MICHAL MENERT: Fri, 11/15,
Carson VallEy Inn
TAUK WITH JAZZ IS PHSH: Sat, 11/16, 9pm,
1627 HigHway 395, MiNdEN, (775) 782-9711
ElDoraDo rEsorT CasIno
CabarEt
345 N. VirgiNia st., (775) 786-5700
FUNK ASSASSINATION: Thu, 11/14, 7pm, Fri, 11/15,
brEw brotHErs
CabarEt THE VEGAS ROADSHOW: Thu, 11/14, Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 4pm, no cover
PLATINUM: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 10pm, Sun, 11/17, 8pm, no cover
JOEY CARMON BAND: Mon, 11/18, Tue, 11/19, Wed, 11/20, 8pm, no cover
BooMToWn CasIno HoTEl 2100 garsoN road, VErdi, (775) 345-6000 gUitar bar BROTHER DAN PALMER: Thu, 11/14, 6pm, no cover MIKE FURLONG: Fri, 11/15, 5pm, no cover RAT PACK EVENTS: Sat, 11/16, 5pm, no cover THE LOOK: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover MARK MILLERS: Sun, 11/17, 6pm, no cover TANDYMONIUM: Mon, 11/18, 6pm, no cover JASON KING: Tue, 11/19, Wed, 11/20, 6pm, no cover
9pm, $18-$23 $18-$23
Sat, 11/16, 8pm, no cover
CHRIS TWOMEY: Tue, 11/19, Wed, 11/20, 8pm, no cover
STUDENT BODY THURSDAYS WITH VJ RIZZO: Thu, 11/14, 10pm, no cover
DJ BIRD & RIZZO: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 10pm,
CIrCUs CIrCUs rEno
no cover
500 N. siErra st., (775) 329-0711
DJ MARK TWYMAN: Sun, 11/17, 10pm, no cover LIVE BAND KARAOKE WITH ROCK U ENT.: Mon, 11/18, Wed, 11/20, 10pm, no cover
EL JEFE’s CaNtiNa SKYY HIGH FRIDAY WITH DJ MO FUNK: Fri, 11/15, 10pm, no cover
REVEL SATURDAYS WITH DJ CHRIS ENGLISH: Sat, 11/16, 10pm, no cover
BREW CLUB TUESDAYS WITH DJ MARK TWYMAN & DJ JB: Tue, 11/19, 10pm, no cover
NoVi RED CUP FRIDAYS WITH DJ DUSTIN V & DJ RONI V: Fri, 11/15, 9pm, no cover
CabarEt FAST LANE: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover
LINE DANCING: Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover
roXy’s LiVE PiaNo bar LIVE PIANO: Thu, 11/14, Fri, 11/15, Sun, 11/16, Mon, 11/17, Tue, 11/19, Wed, 11/20, 4:30pm, no cover
We Need
artists! the Rn&R ARtbox PRoject is looking for creative minds to transform our newsracks into functional works of art.
contact robertc@newsreview.com to find out more!
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Post shows online by registering at www.newsreview.com/reno. Deadline is the Friday before publication.
SunSquabi Nov. 15, 9 p.m. Crystal Bay Casino 14 Highway 28 Crystal Bay (775) 833-6333
HARD ROCK LAKE TAHOE 50 HIGHWAy 50, StAtELInE, (844) 588-7625 cEntER BAR
DJ OSCAR PEREZ: Fri, 11/15, 10pm, no cover DJ MO FUNK: Sat, 11/16, 10pm, no cover
LEX nIGHtcLUB THROWBACK THURSDAY WITH DJ SWERVE-1: Thu, 11/14, 6pm, no cover
GRAND SIERRA RESORT
LEX FRIDAYS WITH DJ JIMMY LITE: Fri, 11/15,
2500 E. SEcond St., (775) 789-2000
LEX SATURDAYS WITH DJ SHOWTIME: Sat, 11/16,
GRAnd tHEAtRE BERT KREISCHER: Fri, 11/15, 9pm, $67.50-$77.50
10pm, $10 10pm, $20
WILLIAM HILL RAcE And SPoRtS BAR COUNTRY MUSIC NIGHTS & DANCE LESSONS: Thu,
SILVER BARon LoUnGE
HARVEYS LAKE TAHOE
DJ MOFUNK: Thu, 11/14, Sun, 11/17, 9pm, no cover THE RUN UP: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover
18 HIGHWAy 50, StAtELInE, (775) 588-6611
TAHOE BILTMORE
HARVEy’S cABAREt
5 HIGHWAy 28, cRyStAL BAy, (775) 831-0660
THE NEVADA SHOW: Fri, 11/15, 10pm, $26.83-$36.83
PEPPERMILL RESORT SPA CASINO
cASIno FLooR CHRIS COSTA: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 8pm, no cover
2707 S. VIRGInIA St., (775) 826-2121 EdGE LATIN DANCE SOCIAL WITH BB & KIKI OF SALSA RENO: Fri, 11/15, 7pm, $10-$20, no cover
karaoke
before 8pm
DJ SET: Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover
DJ SPRYTE: Sat, 11/16, 10pm, $20
PooL dEcK
tERRAcE LoUnGE
DOCKED AT HARD ROCK/PRAYING FOR SNOW PARTY: Tue, 11/19, 8pm, no cover
CALIFORNIA FEETWARMERS: Thu, 11/14, 7pm,
HARRAH’S LAKE TAHOE
LIVE MUSIC: Sun, 11/17, Mon, 11/11, Tue, 11/19,
15 HIGHWAy 50, StAtELInE, (800) 427-7247
SILVER LEGACY RESORT CASINO
SoUtH SHoRE RooM RUMOURS OF FLEETWOOD MAC: Sat, 11/16, 7:30pm, $150
Fat Cat Bar & Grill (Midtown District), 1401 S. Virginia St., (775) 453-2223: Karaoke with Chapin, Tue, 9pm, no cover Pizza Baron, 1155 W. Fourth St., Ste. 113, (775) 329-4481: Wacky Wednesday Karaoke with Steve Starr & DJ Hustler, 9pm, no cover
Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 8pm, no cover Wed, 11/20, 6pm, no cover
407 n. VIRGInIA St., (775) 325-7401 GRAnd EXPoSItIon HALL KING OF THE CAGE: Sat, 11/16, 6pm, $27.52-$68.81
cASIno cEntER StAGE
RUM BULLIonS
TUESDAY NIGHT BLUES WITH THE BUDDY EMMER BAND: Tue, 11/19, 8pm, no cover
THE HEIDI INCIDENT WITH DJ R3VOLVER: Fri, 11/15,
The Point, 1601 S. Virginia St., (775) 3223001: Karaoke, Thu-Sat, 8:30pm, no cover Spiro’s Sports Bar & Grille, 1475 E. Prater Way, Ste. 103, Sparks, (775) 356-6000: Karaoke, Fri-Sat, 9pm, no cover West 2nd Street Bar, 118 W. Second St., (775) 348-7976: Karaoke, Mon-Sun, 9pm, no cover
Sat, 11/16, 9pm, no cover
11/14, Fri, 11/15, Sat, 11/16, 10pm, no cover
11.14.19
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A $200 vaLuE!
Contest brought to you by
Enter to win 4 tickets to
PJ Masks LivE! savE thE Day
The Reno Events Center • Friday December 20, 2019 at 6pm • Send an email to contest@newsreview.com
to EntEr
• Put “PJ Masks Live!” in the subject line • Include full name and birth date • DEADLINE to enter is Monday 12-9-19 at 9am • Winner will be notified by email
For more information about the event, go to www.pjmaskslive.com 26
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FOR THE WEEK OF nOvEmbER 14, 2019 For a complete listing of this week’s events or to post events to our online calendar, visit www.newsreview.com. GHOST TOUR: Explore Nevada’s oldest hotel and various sites in and around the hotel with several Northern Nevada Ghost Hunters members guiding the way. Thu, 11/14, 7pm. $25-$40. Gold Hill Hotel, 1540 Main St., Gold Hill, nngh.net.
GREAT FIREARMS—A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: John Byck, assistant curator in the department of arms and armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, explores key aspects of fine historical firearm design. From ingenious mechanisms to beautiful decorations to perfect balance, this lecture will explore key aspects of fine historical firearm design from the 16th century through the modern period. Sat, 11/16, 11am. $5-$12. Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St., www.nevadaart.org.
GREAT GATSBY PARTY: Brain Recovery
nOv/18
: RINK AT THE ROW
Lace up some skates and hit the ice this week when Reno’s outdoor ice skating rink opens for the season at its new location in downtown Reno. The rink opens on Monday, Nov. 18, at the lot across from the Circus Circus Reno, on the corner of Sierra and Sixth streets. The 9,000-square foot ice skating rink will be open seven days a week through Jan. 7. The tentative schedule is 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, noon to 11:30 p.m. on Friday-Saturday, and noon to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, depending on weather and ice conditions. Admission is $15-$18 for adults, $12-$15 for children up to age 12 and seniors age 65 and older, and $13 for military personnel or University of Nevada, Reno students with ID. Visit www.circusreno.com or www.facebook.com/CircusCircusReno.
Assistance Institute Nevada presents a Great Gatsby-themed party in honor of Denny Granata. 1920s attire encouraged, but not required. The evening includes cocktails, appetizers, raffle, silent auction and casino-style games and scavenger hunt for prizes. Proceeds benefit Josh Morros—Because I Can Foundation. Fri, 11/15, 1:30pm. $40-$100. National Automobile Museum, 10 S. Lake St., (775) 440-1234, brainnevada.com.
GUIDED TOUR OF LAKE MANSION: Members of Historic Reno Preservation Society offer a guided tour of the Lake Mansion. Fri, 11/15, 1pm. Free. The Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., (775) 826-6100.
HANDMADE FOR THE HOLIDAYS: More than
EvEnTS A CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA BRUDER: The University of Nevada, Reno Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, in partnership with Nevada Humanities, presents the 2019 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Jessica Bruder. Bruder is an award-winning journalist and author known most recently for her book Nomadland, which documents the lives of nomadic Americans who travel from job to job out of economic necessity. Mon, 11/18, 7pm. Free. Wells Fargo Auditorium, Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-6531, events.unr.edu.
ALPENGLOW’S WINTER SPEAKER SERIES: Join Dave Nettle for a humorous look at many of the different methods he’s used over the years to approach climbs into the mountain ranges of the world and how they were a major factor in the enjoyment, richness and success of the experience. The show will wrap up with an account of his recent trip to East Africa and ascents of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Raffle and bar proceeds benefit Adventure Risk Challenge. Thu, 11/14, 7pm. Free. Olympic Village Lodge, 1901 Chamonix Place, Olympic Valley, www.alpenglowsports.com.
ANIMAL ARK OPEN NOV. WEEKENDS: The wildlife sanctuary will be open on weekends in November, weather permitting. Please call prior to departure to confirm the facility is operational. Sat, 11/16-Sun ,11/17, 11am-3pm. $8.50-$13, free for children age 2 and younger. Animal Ark Wildlife Sanctuary, 1265 Deerlodge Road, (775) 970-3111, www.animalark.org.
BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL: Tahoe Mountain Sports, Tahoe Backcountry Alliance and Alibi Ale Works present the return of the film festival, produced each year by Winter Wildlands Alliance as a celebration of the human-powered experience and a gathering place for the backcountry snowsports community. Sat, 11/16, 6-10pm. $10. Alibi Ale Works, 10069 Bridge St., Truckee, www.facebook.com/ TahoeMountainSports.
BOURNE MORRIS READING AND SIGNING: The author of the Red Queen mystery series will read from her newest book A Woman of Two Minds. Thu, 11/14, 6:30pm. Free. Sundance Books and Music, 121 California Ave., (775) 786-1188.
40 vendors offer a variety of handmade items at the fourth annual holiday craft show. There will be a raffle to benefit the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality. Sat, 11/16-Sun, 11/17, 10am. Red Hawk Golf & Resort Event Center, 6600 N. Wingfield Parkway, Sparks, (702) 480-7813, www.facebook.com/ HandmadeForTheHolidaysSparks.
HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT IN A PRECARIOUS ECONOMY: Sundance Books and Music presents a lunchtime panel on housing and employment in a precarious economy, featuring 2019 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer and author of Nomadland Jessica Bruder. Mon, 11/18, noon. Free. Sundance Books and Music, 121 California Ave., (775) 786-1188.
JOHN BANOVICH ON KING OF BEASTS—A STUDY OF THE AFRICAN LION: John Banovich’s exhibition, King of Beasts, features more than 40 artworks that explore questions about mankind’s deep fear, love and admiration for these creatures. Join Banovich as he discusses his advocacy and love for these big cats. A book signing will follow the talk. Fri, 11/15, 6pm. $5-$12. Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St., www.nevadaart.org.
NEVADA HUMANITIES SALON—STORYTELLING IN THE SILVER STATE: Join Nevada Humanities for an informative discussion about cultural and education advocacy and how the work of public officials and advocates has helped shape the cultural and educational life of Nevadans. Fri, 11/15, 6pm. Free. Sundance Books and Music, 121 California Ave., (775) 786-1188.
NEVADA WOMEN’S FALL EXPO CRAFT FAIR & BAZAAR: Visit with more than 100
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: Oscar
exhibitors featuring one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts from direct sales, local businesses and organizations. Fri, 11/15, 1pm; Sat, 11/16, 10am. $5-$20. Sports Authority, 4813 Kietzke Lane, (775) 7876017, www.nevadawomensexpo.com.
THE POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN RIDE: During this hour-long train ride, characters, entertainment and Santa Claus bring The Polar Express story to life. Riders will receive hot chocolate, a cookie and a souvenir silver sleigh bell. Rides depart at 5pm, 6:30pm and 8pm. The last train departs at 6:30pm on Dec. 24. Fri, 11/15Sun, 11/17, 5pm. $17-$46. V&T Eastgate Depot, 4650 Eastgate Siding Road, Carson City, vtrailway.com.
SECOND THURSDAY TALK: Speaker Rod Smith, who heads the docent program at the National Automobile Museum, will give a 30-minute talk on “The Evolution of Gasoline Quality.” Thu, 11/14, 1:30pm. $5 for talk, free for members. National Automobile Museum, 10 S. Lake St., www.automuseum.org.
THOUGHT ON TAP: The University of Nevada, Reno Core Humanities program, in collaboration with The Laughing Planet and the UNR College of Liberal Arts, presents the second season of Thought on Tap—a public engagement series that brings together diverse faculty, staff, students and community members for important conversations around timely topics. Thu, 11/14, 5:30pm. Free. Laughing Planet Cafe, 941 N. Virginia St., (775) 7844447, www.unr/edu/core-humanities.
OnSTAGE
Wilde’s famous comedy centers on John Worthing, a carefree gentleman and inventor of a fictitious brother, “Ernest,” whose wicked ways afford John an excuse to leave his country home from time to time and journey to London. Fri, 11/15, 7pm; Sat, 11/16, 1pm. $8-$10. Reno High School, Booth Street Theater, 395 Booth St., (775) 333-5050, www.tmcc.edu.
THE LIGHT BURNS BLUE: The TMCC Performing Arts Department and Damonte Ranch High School Drama Department present a production of Silva Semerciyan’s play inspired by the story of the Cottingley Fairies hoax. Thu, 11/14-Sat, 11/16, 7pm; Fri, 11/15, 3pm. $10 adults, $8 WCSD and TMCC students and staff. Damonte Ranch High School, 10500 Rio Wrangler Parkway, (775) 674-7610.
MATILDA THE MUSICAL: The Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company presents the Nevada premiere of the high-energy musical based on the Roald Dahl classic novel. The musical tells of a gifted young girl who develops telekinetic powers to help her overcome the wicked headmistress and save her abused teacher and classmates. Fri, 11/15-Sat,
11/16, 7:30pm; Sat, 11/16-Sun, 11/17,
2pm. $25-$28. Bob Boldrick Theater, Carson City Community Center, 850 E. William St., Carson City, (775) 445-4249.
NEVADA CHAMBER OPERA—ONCE UPON A TIME: Nevada Chamber Opera at the University of Nevada, Reno presents a program of lyrical scenes from musical theater and operas celebrating “The Royal Ball.” Fri, 11/15-Sat, 11/16, 7:30pm. $5-$20. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Building, University of Nevada, Reno, 1335 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278.
NIGHTINGALE STRING QUARTET: The University
COOKING WITH TURF: The Brewery Arts Center’s 2019-2020 Celtic Music Series continues with a performance by this Central Californian band, which performs traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as other classic British, Breton and Galician tunes. Sat, 11/16, 7pm. $15-$25. Brewery Arts Center, 449 W. King St., Carson City, (775) 883-1976.
HANDEL’S MESSIAH: The University Symphony Orchestra, University Symphonic Chorus, University Concert Chorus and University Chamber Singers perform the popular English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. Tue, 11/19, 7:30pm. $7, free for students with ID. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Building, University of Nevada, Reno, 1335 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278.
THE HUMANS: Stephen Karam’s dramedy tells the story of the Blake family’s Thanksgiving dinner where the heart and horrors of the fractured family are exposed Fri, 11/15-Sat, 11/16, 7:30pm; Sun, 11/17, 2pm. $15-$25, pay-what-you-can performance on Nov. 16. Reno Little Theater, 147 E. Pueblo St., (775) 813-8900.
of Nevada, Reno’s resident orchestral career studies graduate student quartet presents its fall semester concert. Mon, 11/18, 5pm. Free. Hall Recital Hall, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278.
SELWYN BIRCHWOOD BAND: With his fiery guitar, memorable songs and gritty vocals, Selwyn Birchwood is a nextgeneration bluesman with a touch of Chicago style, Southern soul and boogie. There will be a free conversation with the artist titled “Pushing Blues into the Future” at 3pm, followed by the performance at 8pm. Sat, 11/16, 8pm. $10-$20. Oats Park Art Center, 151 Park St., Fallon, www.churchillarts.org.
SUNDAY JAZZ AT RLT: Reno Little Theater hosts the monthly jazz series. This month’s featured artist is Tristan Selzler, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator based in Reno. Sun, 11/17, 7pm. Reno Little Theater, 147 E. Pueblo St., (775) 813-8900.
UNIVERSITY PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE FALL CONCERT: The group will present an evening of percussion ensemble music for large ensembles, chamber groups and soloists. Thu, 11/14, 7:30pm. $7, free for students with ID. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Building, University of Nevada, Reno, 1335 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278.
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SPONSORED CONTENT
The # 1 thing we send to the landfill is food
Did you know that the #1 thing that Americans throw away is food? According to the National Resource Defense Council, 40% of the food we buy ends up in the garbage leading to America wasting $165 billion per year. The most common foods that people throw away in the United States, unsurprisingly, tend to have short shelf lives; these items include: • Fruits and Vegetables • Seafood • Grain Products • Meat • Milk Unfortunately, when we waste food we are also wasting valuable resources, including water. To put things into perspective, let us measure wasted water in terms of shower minutes: 1 pound of tomatoes would be equivalent to 5 shower minutes, 1 pound of white rice would be 60 shower minutes, and 1 pound of beef would be a staggering 370 shower minutes!
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How is our food waste in Washoe County?
In order to see what Washoe County residents were throwing away, Washoe County completed a Waste Characterization Report in 2018. After literal dumpster diving, it was found that 55% of what Washoe County residents were throwing away was considered organic materials. This includes food waste, yard waste, and even dry recoverable fiber (also known as paper). Almost half of the organic materials we throw away consist of food waste.
What can I do to reduce my food waste?
Reading, guessing and racing against expiration dates can be very confusing and frustrating, so where should you start? Many people know the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle); here at KTMB, however, we preach the 5Rs! The 5Rs are: • Refuse • Reduce • Reuse • Recycle • Rot The awesome thing about this list is that it tells you where you should start!
ino tel Cas o H k c ro g e Hard participatin h t t a and only te. rvices tlets, hotel, purchase da e s d n the ng ou ods a for go ll non-gami years after e l b a a m ive redee ke tahoe at pires f x e d a r L ca in s. this tenant
30% off
How can I incorporate the 5 Rs into my daily life?
• Refuse food that you already have or that you don’t need • Do you already have this item hidden in your cabinet or fridge? Make sure you take inventory of the food in your kitchen before you buy more food. • Reduce your food waste by using your food before it expires • When you buy your food, read the expiration dates and make an attempt to plan ahead as to when you will eat this food or how you will it before it goes bad. If you notice that the expiration date is soon, eat it up! • Reuse/Recycle your leftover food to enjoy it all over again • Use online resources to find delicious and fun recipes to use up your leftovers. • Rot - give your food a second life through composting • If your food has gone bad and it is compostable, you can throw it in your household compost. If you don’t have a compost bin and are interested in composting, KTMB gives talks to the public and businesses about a variety of subjects including composting! If you have a group that is interested, request a presentation by visiting www.ktmb.org/adult-education
There are simple things we can all do to make a difference, all it takes is remembering that there is no “away”.
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11.14.19
BY AMY ALKON
Once upon a crime I’ve been with my boyfriend for nine years, and I’m still pissed off about stuff from like five years ago. I don’t know how I remember this stuff when I can’t find my keys half the time. I’d like to get rid of these resentments and not keep bringing them up. I know it’s not healthy for me or our relationship, but I don’t know how to let them go. On the other end of the spectrum from endlessly reprosecuting relationship misdemeanors is forgiveness. Evolutionary psychologist Michael McCullough explains in Beyond Revenge that “forgiveness is an internal process of getting over your ill will” for somebody who’s wronged you and then “experiencing a return of goodwill” and “opening yourself up to the possibility of a renewed positive relationship” with the person. Forgiveness appears to have evolved to preserve valuable relationships we have with others, but it seems contingent on our not being made repeated patsies, meaning we need to see that the offender won’t just trample our interests again. In line with this, research by social psychologist Ian Williamson and his colleagues finds that a reluctance to forgive can come out fear, including concerns by the victim “about how offenders will interpret forgiveness.” Basically, there’s a worry that forgiving the perp could send a message that it’s open season for repeat offending. Consider whether there’s reason to believe your boyfriend doesn’t have your best interests in mind. If you stack up his behavior toward you, does it suggest he doesn’t care about you? If this is old stuff and he isn’t repeating the behavior, maybe it serves you best to decide to let it go. McCullough notes that a “lack of forgiveness for close, valuable relationship partners who harmed us in the past is associated with more anxiety, tension and physiological arousal.” McCullough goes cute, writing: “Know forgiveness, know peace. No forgiveness, no peace.” If you feel your boyfriend’s a good guy but needs of yours aren’t being met, bring this out, talk to him about it. That could improve things, or you could decide to leave if things don’t change sufficiently. That said, his changing may take more than one discussion, or at least
a few reminders to get the gears of new and improved behavior grinding into action. If you see he’s making an effort, maybe cut him some slack. Laugh at his human fallibility when he again leaves his toenail clippings in a tiny pile on the bathroom floor.
My fare lady I’ve been dating a guy for just over a month. He’s asked me to go with him to a wedding across the country several weeks from now, but he didn’t mention buying me a plane ticket. I think he should buy it because he invited me. Should you pick up the tab for your ticket? I don’t think so—and not just because the guy invited you as his guest. Destination weddings in exotic places—or simply faraway weddings in dull and unglamorous locales—are not vacations. They are social obligations, big life events that are reinforced by the presence of witnesses. Having the community as an “audience” to a marriage ceremony is thought by Matthijs Kalmijn and other sociologists to help reinforce a couple’s lifelong commitment. The ceremony is typically followed by an open bar, some fancy grub and a Beyoncé cover band so the wedding is attended by more than the bride and groom’s teary-eyed relatives and a homeless guy who snuck in looking for free hooch. Don’t let this question fester in your mind to the point that you’re tempted to snarl at the guy, “Hey, tightwad, you planning to pay for my ticket or what?!” Ask something like: “What’s the transportation situation? How are we getting to the wedding?” Assuming he doesn’t generally seem weirdly stingy, there’s a good chance he’s planning to buy your ticket but didn’t think to make it clear. There are a number of reasons a person spends hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket, and it’s generally not so they can eat free cake with a bunch of strangers on the other side of the country. Ω
ERIK HOLLAND
Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., No. 280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com).
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FRee will astRology Call for a quote. (775) 324-4440 ext. 2
For the week oF November 14, 2019
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ARIES (March 21-April 19): If there are any potential
Aries heroes or leaders or saviors out there, the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to fully bloom and assert your practical magnificence. The lessons you have learned while improvising workable solutions for yourself are ripe to be applied to the riddles that are puzzling your tribe or group or gang. I want to let you know, however, that to achieve maximum effectiveness, you should be willing to do good deeds for people who may not be able to pay you back.
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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’re entering a phase
of your astrological cycle when it’s crucial that your receptivity be as robust as possible. To guide you in this delightful but perhaps challenging work, here are good questions for you to pose. 1. Do you know what help and support you need most, and are you brave and forthright enough to ask for it? 2. Is there any part of you, perhaps unconscious, that believes you don’t deserve gifts and blessings? 3. Do you diligently cultivate your capacity to be refreshed and restored? 4. Are you eagerly responsive when life surprises you with learning experiences and inspirations?
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honest because they fear loss of intimacy and togetherness,” writes self-help author Henry Cloud. But the truth, he adds, is that “honesty brings people closer together,” because it “strengthens their identities.” Therein lies the tender paradox: “The more you realize your separate identities, the closer you can become.” Living according to this principle may not be as easy or convenient as being deceptive and covert, but it’s ultimately more gratifying. Cloud concludes, “Telling loved ones what is really on your mind and telling others what you really think is the foundation of love.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Maturity is having the
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11.14.19
by ROb bRezsny
ability to escape categorization,” said poet Kenneth Rexroth. That’s the opposite of the conventional wisdom. For many people, the process of growing up and becoming a seasoned adult means trying to fit in, to find one’s category, to be serious and steady and stable. Rexroth, on the other hand, suggested that when you fully ripen into your potentials, you transcend standard definitions; you don’t adhere to others’ expectations; you are uniquely yourself, outside and beyond all pigeonholes and classifications. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to practice and cultivate this sacred art.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is there an event from
your past that would be empowering for you to remember in detail? Is there a neglected but still viable dream you could resurrect, thereby energizing your enthusiasm for the future? Are there old allies you’ve lost touch with but who, if you called on them, could provide you with just the boost you need? Is there a familiar pleasure you’ve grown numb to but could reinvigorate by visualizing the original reasons you loved it? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to meditate on these questions.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Catholic saint St. Francis
(1181–1226) loved animals and the natural world. According to one folk tale, he was once traveling on foot with several companions when they came upon a place where the trees were filled with birds. Francis said, “Wait for me while I go preach to my sisters the birds.” He proceeded to do just that. The birds were an attentive audience for the duration of his sermon, apparently captivated by his tender tones. Seven centuries later, author Rebecca West offered a critique of the birdwhisperer. “Did St. Francis preach to the birds?” she asked. “Whatever for? If he really liked birds he would have done better to preach to the cats.” In the coming weeks, I encourage you to do the metaphorical equivalent of preaching to both the birds and the cats.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Every now and then I au-
775-324-4440
thorize you to shed your polite, tactful personas and express the angst you sometimes feel but usually hide. That’s now! To egg you on, read this mischievous rant by Libran blogger Clary Gay (claryfightwood.tumblr.com): “We Libras are constantly thinking about how to make everyone
else comfortable and happy. There’s not a minute going by when we’re not worrying about radiating a soothing and comforting aura so everyone can have a good time. If a Libra is cranky, it’s because they snapped! Because of some non-Libra who doesn’t appreciate them! If a Libra is mean to people, it’s their own damn fault!”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Robert Bly tells us
that the door to the soul is unlocked. You don’t have to struggle through any special machinations to open it or go through it. Furthermore, the realm of the soul is always ready for you. Always! It harbors the precise treasure you need in order to be replenished and empowered. I bring this to your attention because I think that during the next two weeks, you should abide as much as possible in the soul’s realm—the cornucopia of holy truths and ever-fresh riches.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In my estimation,
what you’ve experienced lately has been akin to a fermentation process. It’s as if you’re undergoing a transformation with resemblances to the way that grapes turn into wine or milk becomes yogurt or dough rises before being baked into bread. You may have had to endure some discomfort, which is the case for anything in the midst of substantial change. But I think you’ll ultimately be quite pleased with the results, which I expect will be ready no later than 10 days after your birthday—and quite possibly sooner.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Many books have been written about Joan of Arc, a 15th-century teenage peasant girl whose improbable ascent to military leadership, under the guidance of her divine visions, was crucial in France’s victory over the English. Among the many miraculous elements of her story was the fact that less than a year before she led troops into battle on horseback, she didn’t know how to ride a horse. She learned by riding around her father’s farm astride his cows. I foresee an equivalent marvel in your future. By this time next year, you will have developed an aptitude that might seem unimaginable now. (P.S. There’s evidence Joan was a Capricorn.)
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Divine Comedy is one
of history’s greatest literary works. Its author, Dante Alighieri, was 43 when he began writing the “Inferno,” the first part of his three-part masterpiece. Until that time, he had published just one book and a few poems, and had also abandoned work on two unfinished books. Early on in the “Inferno,” the not-yet-renowned author presents a fictional scene in which he meets with the spirits of antiquity’s most famous authors: Virgil, Homer, Horace, Ovid and Lucan. Those illustrious five tell Dante he is such an important writer that he ranks sixth, after them, in his excellence. I’m going to encourage you to dare indulging in behavior like Dante’s: to visualize and extol—and yes, even brag about—the virtues and skills that will ultimately be your signature contribution to this world.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Latin word for sea
is “mare.” “Flustra” is the calm sea. “Undisonus” means “resounding with waves.” “Caeruleus” is the sea’s deep shade of blue, “aestus” is the tide and “aequoreus” means “connected with the sea.” My hope is that as you meditate on these lyrical terms, you’ll be moved to remember the first lakes, rivers and oceans you ever swam in. You’ll recall your time floating in your mother’s womb and your most joyous immersions in warm baths and hot springs. Why? It’s a favorable time to seek the healing and rejuvenating powers of primal waters—both metaphorically and literally.
You can call Rob Brezsny for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope: (900) 950-7700. $1.99 per minute. Must be 18+. Touchtone phone required. Customer service (612) 373-9785. And don’t forget to check out Rob’s website at realastrology.com.
BY MATT BIEKER
Gangster
$100 to give to campaigns, but only to campaigns, as a sort of way of dealing with the Citizens United ruling without having to overturn a Supreme Court ruling or create a constitutional amendment.
Dylan Coleman
How’d you first come to support Andrew Yang? The second debate was coming in July, and so I figured, at that point, I should check into these candidates. I looked at Kamala [Harris], Pete [Buttigieg], Bernie [Sanders], Liz [Warren], I checked all their websites—basically just kind of everyone but Biden ’cause I kind of know his thing. … To my astonishment, Andrew was the only one whose website had policies on it … all sorts of things I’ve been thinking about for years, like what to do with all the empty malls that have closed in the last 10 years, you know … It was kind of like, he’s very data-driven.
How does Universal Basic Income work, as you understand it?
PHOTO/MATT BIEKER
Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur and philanthropist currently running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. His ideas have earned a few standout moments in the news cycle over the past few months—specifically his idea for Universal Basic Income, wherein every American would receive a monthly stipend to spend on whatever they want. Yang Gang member Dylan Coleman is a musician, originally from Massachusetts, who moved to Reno in 2016. He began volunteering for the Yang campaign in Reno a few months ago.
You mentioned you vote Democratic but don’t really follow the party line. I wouldn’t even come close to considering myself a libertarian, but I know what these people think. I know what their arguments are because I’ve had these arguments with them in my life. So I sort of know what their angle is, you know, and I don’t know if you know this, but Andrew Yang has been on a lot of the conservative and libertarian podcasts. Like, he’s been on Joe Rogan, who’s kind of, I guess I kind of consider him the libertarian side of things. He was on Ben Shapiro, who’s like a crazy, super conservative maniac. And, surprisingly, these people don’t really have a good argument as to why this is such a terrible idea—specifically with the Universal Basic Income—but also some of the other things he’s got plans for. He’s got this “democracy dollars,” which would give everybody
Alaska has a UBI. It’s a very small UBI—it’s about one or $2,000 a year, but they have one, and that’s Alaska—you know, it’s pretty red. I’ve actually seen this graph—the amount of jobs that have been automated in a particular county has a direct relationship with how far they swung from like these Obama-toTrump kind of voters. So there’s a direct correlation between job loss and Trump voting. So one would think that if you’re telling them, “Hey, I know it sounds crazy, but like, just a thousand bucks a [year], you can have that and you can do with it what you see fit,” … I know a lot of Libertarians that really dislike the way that the bureaucracy decides who gets money and what qualifies and the fiscal cliff kind of thing where if you’re getting some kind of benefit, and you decide you want to work 19 hours instead of 20 hours, all of a sudden you lose so many benefits that you end up way worse off. So the UBI disincentivizes all of those issues. … I don’t want to say that it’s a miracle cure, but it kind of hits all of these things. It reduces costs for homelessness services. It reduces costs for mental health. It reduces costs for incarceration. … You have to think about what would that mean for—you know, it’s not just to you. □
BY BRUCE VAN DYKE
Lickety-split Whenever I want solid political commentary that cuts through the fits and the bits and the hits of gaslit bullshit, I often turn to … members of Monty Python! For example, dig this comment from the brilliant John Cleese, who recently noted that Trump is “an extraordinary caricature of an asshole.” Pretty much spot on analysis, John! Second, from the equally brilliant Eric Idle: “He’s stark raving mad. Absolutely mental. He’s a criminal and a con artist and a mob boss.” Democrats, if you’re looking for material for a national billboard campaign, I’m sure Eric would sign off for a reasonable fee. • Republicans recently spent millions on elections in Kentucky and Virginia trying to convince voters that Democrats are godless Socialists—ewww! The S word!—who hate babies, puppies,
Thanksgiving and Yo Mama. The result of their completely issuefree messaging? An absolutely delicious defeat of the Trump lickspittle governor in Kentucky and a complete overhaul of the Virginia legislature, which is now as blue as Tahoe. Hey Republicans, many Americans care about actual stuff, like health care. And most Americans have been paying attention to what Republicans under Moscow Mitch and the Fake President do in this vitally important area. Our inescapable and unbudgeable conclusion? Republicans are to health care what Keith Richards is to teetotalling. • You know all the stonewalling that’s been endlessly perpetrated by Dum Dum and his lackeys? The constant stonewalling of tax returns and testimonies and subpoenas? Doesn’t all this
contentious uncooperative crap look exactly as though the entire Trump Administration is basically pleading the Fifth Amendment? On a damn near daily basis? Hey, even the dimmer bulbs out here in Sixpack City are starting to figure out that this neverending stonewalling is tantamount to basically pleading guilty to everything. • Out next Tuesday, Nov. 19, the blockbuster new book from Anonymous, called A Warning comes out. This one is gonna rock the World. Literally. Political junkies in Nepal and Uruguay will read this and say, “Oh, my. This guy is a fucking imbecile.” I understand this revelation isn’t exactly news. But eyewitness confirmation of just how horrifically horrible Dum Dum Don Don truly is will be unnerving to da max. Perhaps even to Republican Senators voting soon in an upcoming trial? □
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