No reproduction of any part of this issue for commercial purposes without written permission
EDITOR'S NOTE
School-meals messaging is incendiary, not informative
Nevada’s pandemic-era mandate for universal free lunches in schools ends on Sept. 9. The arguments in favor: Kids need a good meal in order to perform well in school. (I have taught elementary school, and I’ve seen enough kids skip lunch and then spend the afternoon too spacey or grumpy to participate, so I’m nodding my head to this one.) Free meals help reduce the stigma of poverty. The money spent administering an application process is better spent feeding kids.
The arguments against are mostly about cost. One frequently made point is that the state should not be spending money to feed children from wealthy families. Nevada was reportedly planning to spend $43 million on school meals during this school year, until Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed the bill. Disappointingly, the conversation quickly became less about the merits of each argument, and more about how the governor is supposedly an evil monster who hates your children.
A Nevada Dems press release from Aug. 26, headlined “Republicans Say Feeding Students is a ‘Waste of Money,’” is more incendiary than informative. The Dems linked to a post from the Nevada Assembly Republican Caucus on X (formerly Twitter) that said no such thing. It actually reads, “Those in need are already eligible and have access to free and reduced meals.” This is true—80% of Nevada’s kids will still have access to free school meals.
As Nevada Current editor April Corbin Girnus pointed out in her clear-headed editorial, “Democrats, Lombardo both deserve detention for their free lunch food fight,” Dems on the forefront of this issue are ignoring the fact that the majority of Nevada’s kids do still qualify for free lunches. If you’d like to cut straight to the facts, April’s editorial is a great place to start.
Meanwhile, here’s one more thing I learned in the classroom: When kids were spacey or grumpy after skipping a meal, there were usually remedial lessons, additional communication with parents, and added disciplinary issues. The added time and energy it took to meet these kids’ needs definitely had a cost.
—KRIS VAGNER krisv@renonr.com
LETTERS
Yes on open primaries for Nevada
The two major political parties in Nevada claim that Ballot Question 3 (which would allow for open primary elections) will reduce our choices in the general election. That claim is wrong. Question 3 increases the choices that Nevada voters will have during the elections.
Nevadans who are not registered as Democrats or Republicans have been locked out of the state’s closed caucus and primary system. Question 3 expands voter choices by allowing them to rank and choose their top five candidates regardless of political party. Once a candidate receives a majority of the votes, they win. This system gives the power of choosing political candidates to the voters and limits the power of political parties.
Political parties, while an important First Amendment right, are the reason we have such deep divisions within the electorate. The parties often nominate the most ideological candidates to run for office. Democracy works best when representatives answer to the voters and not a political machine.
James Madison warned American voters about the danger of “factions” and the chaos they could cause in “Federalist No. 10.” He argued that factions could be controlled but should not be eliminated. In his “Farewell
Address” to the nation, George Washington warned Americans of the dangers that political factions posed for the new nation. Political parties do play an important role in educating voters about their platforms, in promoting freedom of speech and assembly, in nominating candidates, and in checking the opposing party’s message; however, voters deserve the right to select a candidate based on their own views and not the party’s.
I voted for Question 3 in 2022, along with 53% of the voters. I will vote for Question 3 in 2024, and I encourage my fellow Nevadans to support the ballot measure as well. Now is the time to shift the power to the voters and away from the political factions!
Farrell Vaughn Reno
Abortion rights are not in danger
In response to “Abortion issue looms over Nevada’s Ballot” (RN&R, August 2024), Frank X. Mullen misrepresents the current Nevada law that does allow abortion up to 24 weeks (that’s six months) with few restrictions. It is Nevada Revised Statute 442-240-270, and it will not be repealed. It protects the life, physical health or mental health of a pregnant patient. Parental involvement is not required in Nevada. If you’re younger than 18, you can consent to an abortion
and do not have to notify a parent to get an abortion in Nevada.
The constitutional ballot initiative has several flaws: abortion up to fetal viability and prebirth; and abortions may be administered by a loosely described “health practitioner”—that could be any health person but not a licensed physician, and could be unsafe and dangerous for women of all ages. I urge you to read our established law and understand that abortion rights are not in danger in Nevada.
Lynn Nielsen Reno
Racism is being fueled by ‘leaders’
It’s so important to keep on top of that which proves that racism is as much a problem now as it has been in the past (“Reminders of the country’s racist past—and present—are all around us,” RN&R, August 2024), and that it is not only growing rapidly here and elsewhere, but being fueled by our “legitimate” political leaders, particularly those of the Trumpian, right-wing Republican Party. What they are reacting to is properly humane movements to liberate millions and millions of people from domination by others whose only basis for their claims to superiority is their race.
Stephen Lafer via RenoNR.com
Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263, Cathedral City, CA 92234 • 775-324-4440 • RenoNR.com
Publisher/Executive Editor
Jimmy Boegle
Managing Editor Kris Vagner
Editor at Large
Frank X. Mullen
Photo Editor
David Robert
Cover and Feature Design
Dennis Wodzisz
Distribution Lead
Rick Beckwith
Contributors
Matt Bieker, Maude Ballinger, Owen Bryant, Bob Grimm, Michael Grimm, Helena Guglielmino, Matt Jones, Matt King, Kelley Lang, Chris Lanier, Michael Moberly, Steve Noel, Dan Perkins, Carol Purroy, David Rodriguez, Jessica Santina, Carly Sauvageau, Max Stone, Delaney Uronen, Robert Victor, Matt Westfield, Leah Wigren, Susan Winters
The RN&R is a proud member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the Nevada Press Association, and the Local Independent Online News Publishers. Coachella Valley Independent, LLC, is a certified LGBT Business Enterprise® (LGBTBE) through the NGLCC Supplier Diversity Initiative.
GUEST COMMENT
BY KY PLASKON
Reform the special-events process to eliminate backroom deals, misinformation, debt and garbage
The city of Reno’s special-events application policies are unnecessarily producing tons of garbage, astronomical public safety costs and unapproved events—ultimately hurting our community’s ability to connect.
Let’s start with garbage. The special activity alcohol service permit that must be completed for special events with alcohol says vendors are “prohibited from serving alcoholic beverage(s) … in any container they (the vendor) did not provide.” According to police and the city, that rule is not rooted in law, city code or health code, nor is it supported by public-safety statistics— it’s just special-events application language that someone made up.
Even though vendors could sell reusable cups, they choose single-use plastic; they blame health codes. But Northern Nevada Public Health regulations state: “Consumer-owned, personal take-out beverage containers … may be refilled by employees or the consumer if refilling is a contamination-free process.” Agency representatives recently told vendors they can refill personal cups. NNPH Senior Environmental Health Specialist Olivia Alexander-Leeder confirmed in an email to me: “Increasing and improving the use of reusable containers is an ongoing topic in our community, and that might include correcting some misinformation floating around out there.” She added that promoting sustainability is a goal. So, who is standing in the way of sustainability in the city of Reno?
special events committee on how many police are needed. They get paid overtime costs by the event producer—I know, I went through the process. That is a conflict of interest.
One promoter privately told me it costs $15,000 to close Virginia Street under the Reno Arch for a 15-minute photo opportunity. Some event promoters even face massive debt as a result of public-safety costs. Event producers are afraid to speak up. This is their livelihood. The cost is forcing healthy, community-oriented events underground. I know; I ran an unpermitted bicycle event last year, and briefly shut down Virginia Street for a picture under the Arch. City of Reno staff members know the costs are prohibitive. “Just do it quietly,” they told me.
This year, I decided to get a permit for a two-hour family bike event. The families would ride one mile on a sidewalk. Sparks police wanted us to pay for nine officers at a cost of more than $5,000. They wanted $3,000 more for giant lighted signs to warn drivers that kids are on the sidewalk. We didn’t have enough money. I asked for justification and was denied. To meet the police requirements, I had to call in favors with friends of friends to work back-room deals with three different governments to get the officers for free. Taxpayers ended up on the hook for the police costs. Kids will ultimately suffer if we can’t afford to have events.
Some communities don’t oppress bike events. San Jose’s Bike Party draws up to 4,000 riders (according to Content magazine) with no permits needed.
STREETALK
BY DAVID ROBERT
If you could have unlimited, free access to any goods or services for life, what would they be?
Asked at Starbucks, 690 Keystone Ave., Reno
“If people are bringing glass, and it is getting broken, it could pose a threat to individuals if that glass is broken,” said Officer Christopher Johnson of the Reno Police Department, adding that people might leave events with alcohol and violate open-container laws. But Johnson could not provide any police reports about how reusable cups at events ever led to such crimes.
How much less garbage could events produce with reusable cups? According to Beth Macmillan, the executive director of Artown, the event is producing 25 percent less garbage since its organizers started selling reusable cups. “Waste is one thing, but plastic is another,” Macmillan said. “Why would we want to do that to the planet?”
Next, let’s talk about the oppressive cost of arbitrary public-safety requirements. Artown events have few or no police. Meanwhile, Food Truck Friday is required to have a half-dozen police. Who decides how many police are needed at events? Police advise the
Prohibitive costs, backroom deals, a lack of transparent decision-making and piles of garbage are not what the public want from special events. Now, city code changes are being considered. Write to BLCode@reno.gov before October with your suggestions. Please steal mine:
1. The city should make free bike events exempt from special-event permits.
2. Require special events to offer reusable cups, and ban single-use cups.
3. Require vendors to use compostable and/ or reusable food containers and utensils.
4. Eliminate ambiguity. Develop a matrix for how many officers/security personnel are needed for special events, proportional to the size of the event.
Ky Plaskon is the host of Bike Life Radio on KWNK 97.7FM and is a board member of the Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance and Nevada Bicycle Coalition.
Carolina Higareda Nursing student
If I was to be completely selfish, I’d pick a bookstore. More practically, I’d pick a grocery store like Whole Foods. They have all kinds of healthy choices, and it’d all be free. The first thing I’d get would be what’s on the weekly grocery list. I’d fill up the cart with food to feed my family.
Vanessa Ceja Clinic supervisor
I’d pick Costco. Costco has a wide range of items. They have clothes, groceries and gas. I’d go and get meat, snacks and drinks for my kids, and for a big item, I’d get some electronics like a TV. They also have tires and a brakes service. I wouldn’t know where to begin if it all was free.
Frank Bausa Retired trucker
I’d love to have unlimited access to a garage to fix my vehicle forever. It’d preferably be a garage that specializes in Dodge Rams. To have a free place to go would be marvelous, either a dealership or a local garage, but I’d prefer a local repair shop. I could sure use a front suspension job, from the tie rods to the struts. My first service would be an oil change, and if it’s free, then I’d do every 4,000 miles rather than 5,000.
Tyler Holmes Student
Chipotle for sure. My friends turned me onto Chipotle about 10 years ago. I used to go to a different place; it was good, but Chipotle is the best. I’d get a big, chicken-loaded burrito and a large drink, and I’d get the same thing to take home for breakfast, because it’d be free!
Brittany “Poppy” Taylor Outdoor director, Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada
Great Full Gardens. They are a great local place to go and eat. I take all my friends and family from out of town there. My favorite drink there is the magical mushroom (blend) latte. I’d go twice a week so I wouldn’t get burned out. I want to keep loving it. The first thing that I’d get would be the chicken tinga tacos and take home the Great Full benedict for breakfast—and, of course, a magic mushroom latte.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
| BY JIMMY BOEGLE
A look behind the scenes of this year’s Best of Northern Nevada issue
Some assorted thoughts on this, our annual Best of Northern Nevada issue …
• Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote in our annual readers’ poll. I realize that facing down a ballot with nearly 230 categories can be daunting—yet every year, thousands of you take the time to vote. You’re awesome, and I thank you.
• To those of you who feel compelled to complain—to RN&R staffers, on social media, wherever—about the results of this readers’ poll … just don’t. Really.
If you don’t like some of the results, well, I don’t, either. I think In-N-Out Burger is just fine, but there are a lot of far better places in Northern Nevada to get burgers or cheap eats, in my humble opinion.
But that’s the thing about the Best of Northern Nevada poll: Staff picks aside, the RN&R doesn’t decide on the slate of the finalists and the winners; our readers do. We RN&R folks just run the contest and publish the results.
• That said: We do put up guardrails in the form of rules—like requiring email verification and asking people to vote only once per round—and fraud checks, in order to make the poll as fair and meaningful as possible.
Regarding fraud checks: I’ve been doing Best Of readers’ polls now for a quarter-century, and this year, we dealt with one of the biggest ballot-box-stuffing attempts I’ve ever seen … and the attempt, while impressive in its scope, was executed rather poorly.
Our balloting system tracks the IP addresses of voters, and logs when more than one ballot is submitted from an IP address. There can be perfectly legitimate reasons for multiple ballots coming from one IP address … but not, as we saw this year, 315 ballots, all with email addresses from the same foreign domain, all with votes for just one business.
“The extra advertising in the issue pays for a whole lot of our other coverage. The RN&R publishes at a loss 10 or 11 months out of the year.”
All told, we found 700 fake ballots cast on behalf of that business. (Ironically, those votes would not have been counted anyway according to our rules, because they didn’t meet the 10-category-vote minimum.) When we reached out to the business to ask what was going on, management claimed they had no idea about the fraud efforts. It’s plausible that
a competitor could have submitted the fake ballots in an effort to get the business thrown out of the competition, or that the fake ballots were submitted by a rogue employee without management/ownership permission, so we will refrain from revealing anything else.
To anyone out there who is tempted to game the system in the future … don’t. It almost certainly won’t work.
• We do the BONN poll for three reasons: 1. People really, really enjoy it and learn about great new businesses, organizations and professionals. 2. Winners and finalists enjoy the recognition, which, in most cases, is much-deserved. 3. The extra advertising in the issue pays for a whole lot of our other coverage. The RN&R publishes at a loss 10 or 11 months out of the year; the Best of Northern Nevada issue helps us fill in most of those financial gaps.
• Finally, a note about the artist who did this year’s Best of Northern Nevada illustrations,
Nathaniel Benjamin.
These illustrations, in a way, have been four years in the making: In early 2020, he was hired by the RN&R to do that year’s BONN. Well … then came the pandemic, and the former owners shut both down the print edition and the readers’ poll in 2020 and 2021.
When my company took over the RN&R in January 2022, we resolved to rebuild the publication by bringing back writers, adding content, rebuilding the website, returning to print (as a monthly) and relaunching the Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll and issue. We did all of that, producing great BONN issues in 2022 and 2023.
However, I didn’t know about Nathaniel’s agreement to do the art in 2020. Fortunately, Kris Vagner, who became the RN&R’s managing editor just after we published last year’s BONN issue, did know about it. When we started discussing this year’s BONN plans months ago, and we decided to bring back our tradition of hiring talented local artists to do the illustrations, Kris suggested reaching out to Nathaniel—and I am glad I did.
You can learn more about Nathaniel Benjamin in this month’s 15 Minutes interview, on Page 59.
Alexander Van Alstyne, Artistic Director
Music by Joseph Horovitz
Laura Jackson, Conductor
ON NEVADA BUSINESS
Local and global
Startups to convene in Reno; a Ukrainian startup helps war-displaced kids learn in their own language
There’s a relatively new business event to add to the list of those that have already made Northern Nevada a great startup destination: The second annual Reno Startup Week is happening Sept. 16-20, with a bunch of free events.
My longtime friend and colleague, Doug Erwin—the senior vice president of entrepreneurial development for the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN)—and his team have assembled what are arguably some of the most extensive and diverse startup and founder events in Nevada history. Doug and his team at EDAWN have been great partners to my Entrepreneurs Assembly (now BizAssembly.org) over the last 15 years and instrumental in helping build and create the thriving startup economy we have now.
“Reno Startup Week is about more than just launching businesses—it’s about fostering a community where innovation thrives,” Doug said. “We believe in the power of collaboration, and by bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders, we’re creating an environment where ideas can flourish, and new ventures can take root. This week is a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives Reno forward.”
I’m registered. If you are at all interested in meeting likeminded entrepreneurs, taking your business to the next level, or quitting that nasty jobby-job to take command of your own future, then register for free at www. renostartupweek.com. As a warmup, come to the free BizAssemly.org founders workshop at 9 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, at The Innevation Center, where founders will share challenges and define strategies in confidence.
Let’s explore a startup with a lot more challenges than you could ever imagine or have to deal with.
For starters: This one operates amid a war.
Ukraine are education and child welfare. Should Putin win, Ukrainian education, language, legacy and heritage will face major threats. This does not account for the loss of loved ones, assets, businesses, land and the human identity of every Ukrainian fighting this fight. Now, while these women are contending with all of those factors, they’re building companies.
I am working with Tsvit, an international, online school of Ukrainian language and culture for children abroad. The school was founded six months after the war started in 2022, when 2 million children were forced to leave Ukraine. The founder is Lesia Duda, a linguist and preserver of the Ukrainian language, and a lecturer at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
who are learning Ukrainian from the basics; Ukrainian as a heritage language, for those with an intermediate level of Ukrainian; and Ukrainian as a native language, mainly for children who were forced to leave Ukraine and already have experience in the Ukrainian educational system. The school also offers free, online classes every Saturday to learn about Ukrainian traditions, meet with Ukrainian children’s authors, and celebrate Ukrainian national holidays. Last academic year, 300 children from all over the world attended 50 Saturday classes.
In May, I was asked by the U.S. Department of Commerce to mentor one of 10 Ukrainian female founders who are building companies. Some are located in Ukraine. Other are refugees who’ve fled the war-torn country to save their families while their husbands, brothers, fathers and grandfathers (yes, grandfathers!) have stayed to fight for their homeland. These women’s companies are filling voids in the economy, voids in wartime needs, voids in everyday necessities, and voids in the supply chains—all eviscerated since Russia invaded Ukraine 2 1/2 years ago.
Among the most crucial things disrupted in
Tsvit currently has students in 16 countries including Japan, the United States, Canada and some European countries. This means that all the school’s teachers, who are now in Ukraine, work during early morning and late-night hours to ensure children’s access to Ukrainian education. The school operates under wartime conditions, facing constant threats of missile strikes, frequent air raid alerts, and six to eight hours of power outages daily.
However, the need to fulfill the school’s vital mission—to help children maintain their connection to Ukraine for a better future—gives the team the strength to continue working.
The students range in age from 4 to 16.
The school offers three educational programs: Ukrainian as a foreign language, for children
The school provides scholarships for 30% of its students, including those living abroad, children of soldiers and others. The school psychologist helps the children with certain challenges, including finding new friends of the same age with whom they can speak their native language.
The mother of one 4-year-old student, Eleonora, whose family fled from Ukraine to Germany, reported that her daughter finds the material interesting, the teacher attentive and kind, and the teacher’s assistant—a cat named “Baton”—most appealing, adding, “The child spoke Ukrainian in her native language!”
Now you see why I have become personally involved with helping Dr. Duda and her team continue the incredible work that they are doing to keep Ukrainian culture alive. The school is currently looking for benefactors. If you’d like to make a donation or sponsor a child, please reach out to me at mwestfield@unr.edu.
Eleonora, 4, originally from Ukraine, fled with her family to Germany, where she studies online through Tsvit, a school founded specifically to keep young refugees in touch with their language and culture. Matt Westfield is a mentor for the school.
Sashaying away
After Washoe County officials banned Drag Queen Story Hour at libraries, Our Center announced the event will continue at three new venues
The Washoe County Library Board of Trustees on Aug. 21 voted to overturn the suspensions of two of the three people initially banned from the library system following a Rainbow Fest and Drag Queen Story Hour event on June 15.
The trustees determined Sandee Tibbett and Fred Myer could again go to Washoe County libraries as of midnight that night. Drew Ribar—who ran an unsuccessful campaign against P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) this year for the Nevada Assembly District 40 seat—remains suspended until June 15, 2025.
Ribar’s suspension will end one year after his actions at the Rainbow Fest and Drag Queen Story Hour—a reading program that originated in San Francisco in which a drag artist reads age-appropriate books to children—at the North Valleys Library on June 15 resulted in a librarian reportedly getting injured. After the event, Washoe County cancelled all future Drag Queen Story Hours in the library system.
Drew Ribar speaks at the Aug. 21 Washoe County Library Board of Trustees meeting, during which his one-year suspension, for allegedly injuring a librarian at a June 2024 Drag Queen Story Hour event, was upheld. Photo/Carly Sauvageau
from Washoe County Manager Eric Brown.
“Despite ongoing efforts by library staff and volunteers to enhance safety measures, including increased security presence and de-escalation training, the committee concluded that the risks posed to county employees have reached an unacceptable level,” Brown wrote.
Brown was not made available to the RN&R for an interview.
Viewpoints from the library
Washoe County Library System spokesperson Brad Bynum told the RN&R that the decision did not come from library staff or the library board, but the county alone.
“(Library director) Jeff Scott didn’t make that decision,” Bynum said. “Stacy McKenzie, our assistant director, did not make that decision. None of the branch managers made that decision. We really value these events; the Washoe County Library System values our partnership with Our Center. We value our LGBT+ patrons … and want to continue to serve that part of our community.”
Bynum said that while he can’t speak for everyone on staff, because there’s a diversity of views throughout the library system, the staff members with whom he has spoken about the cancellation “all expressed a high degree of disappointment.”
This is all part of an ongoing culture war that has been playing out not only in the Washoe County Library System, but regionally and nationally for the past several years.
According to library staff and others present during the Rainbow Fest and Drag Queen Story Hour on June 15, library staff monitored who was coming in and out of the event. Every child needed to have an adult with them to enter.
Ribar did not bring a child and was not let into the Drag Queen Story Hour. However, as people entered the room, Ribar placed his foot in the space between the door and the doorway, keeping the door open.
“My foot was definitely in there,” he said during the Aug. 21 meeting of trustees, adding that he placed his foot there so he could get into the library. Library staff attempted to keep him out, and the altercation led to the reported arm injury of the librarian.
As a result, Washoe County’s Workplace Violence Committee unanimously voted to discontinue Drag Queen Story Hour over staff-safety concerns, according to a letter to library staff
“There’s a lot of LGBT staff, and this feels personal to them,” Bynum said. “And it feels like a capitulation to bullies. And it’s a small group of five or six patrons. Most of them don’t even have library cards. They’re just people who show up to disrupt these events.”
Ribar said at the Aug. 21 trustee meeting that he does not utilize library services but visits libraries to “record government.” Bynum said this is common among the people who protest Drag Queen Story Hour, and most of them do not have library cards.
Tibbett and Myer are among the people who have regularly protested Drag Queen Story Hour. During the June 15 Rainbow Fest, Tibbett brought a child with her and received a bracelet to be let into the event. According to a video obtained by the Reno News & Review, Tibbett held up a sign during the story hour, but it was unclear what it said. In the same video, library staff asked Tibbett where her child was, and she told them it was “none of their business.”
McKenzie told the library trustees at the Aug. 21 meeting that what Tibbett had held up was “insulting and child-inappropriate signage, including the logo of a known LGBTQ hate group.”
| BY CARLY SAUVAGEAU
North Valleys Library Manager Jonnica Bowen said at the Aug. 21 meeting that Myer had harassed library staff and called Bowen a pervert. Myer denied this happened.
Suspensions overturned
The library board voted on Aug. 21 to overturn Tibbett and Myer’s suspensions. Tibbett was granted the appeal because the board said a one-year suspension was too harsh for what she had done. Myer was granted an appeal after his wife, Victoria Myer, showed the board a video of Fred Myer staying outside the boundaries of the event and not exhibiting confrontational behavior.
Bowen said the video showed just one part of an entire day.
“This board is very conflicted because we want to show the utmost respect to the jobs undertaken by our library staff,” Library Board Chair Ann Silver said before the vote. “But I would entertain either to forgo ... or reduce the suspension.”
Victoria Myer thanked the board for watching her video but said there was still a lot of work to do to change the library system. This was echoed by Fred Myer, Ribar and others in the audience who said the librarians were liars.
Victoria Myer also said the librarians locked an 11-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl in the library during one of these events. McKenzie said the librarians didn’t let the girls out because children could not attend the event without an adult—and could not leave without the adult with whom they came.
“We keep hearing that we’ve done something unlawful, and yet no police officers have contacted us. There is nothing going on,” McKenzie said. Others during the public comment period after the meeting criticized the library board for its decision to overturn the two suspensions.
“Shame on this library board for their lack of support for our librarians. They deserve better than what you gave them tonight,” citizen Cate Salim said.
Tara de Queiroz commented: “I assumed that the library board would look at this matter and come in from the point of view of supporting library staff. Library staff were put in the position of defending a library event from people who were there to spread anti-LGBTQ hate and slander. Instead, the library board seems to take the view that there are two equal sides to this issue. This is not an issue with two equal sides.”
Stacey Spain, the executive director of Our Center, a nonprofit that supports Reno’s LGBTQ+ community, told the RN&R the county was treating the two sides of the issue with false equivalency.
“What I would say is no one asks the NAACP to sit down at the table with the Ku Klux Klan,” Spain said. “That is an exaggerated kind of continued on next page
continued from Page 7
comparison, but it could shake some folks up to think about the fact that LGBTQ individuals and families for two years had to sit in a room with folks who denied their humanity, who said they should not exist, who called them pedophiles.”
Ribar told KOLO 8 that he does not have a problem with the LGBTQ community.
“They’re free to have whatever sexuality they want to have; that’s up to them. It’s a free country,” Ribar said in the interview. “The issue I have is when you bring children into it.”
Similar sentiments are often expressed by those who have protested Drag Queen Story Hour and books in the Washoe County Library System they say are inappropriate for children. The counter-arguments to these protests are typically that people do not have to attend Drag Queen Story Hour and should monitor their children’s media consumption if they don’t feel it is appropriate, rather than banning books from the entire library system.
Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, said protests toward LGBTQ+ programming and content have been increasing, and the protests in Washoe County are part of a greater movement happening nationally.
“I think this unfortunately fits pretty neatly in the broader context of anti-drag mobilization efforts which have targeted LGBTQ
people in the U.S. over the last couple years,” Lewis said in an interview with the RN&R. “When we look at data from research organizations and nonprofits to study this, we see a very concerning rise in this type of local level, unaffiliated political violence and threats to public officials.”
Just a couple of examples: In Lake Luzerne, N.Y., a library was forced to close after simply announcing a drag queen story hour last year. Last October, protesters in San Fernando, Calif., physically blocked the door of a drag queen story hour event so people could not go inside.
Though some residents criticized the county for giving in to the protestors, Lewis said the jurisdiction is being met with a challenge that goes well beyond Washoe County, and there is no real handbook on how to deal with the moment in which we find ourselves.
“I think what’s tricky is there aren’t really many other tools in the toolbox that we can point to as good off-ramps, right?” Lewis said. “That’s the tricky balancing act. What is the other side of that coin? Because we have a very strong and unique set of protections when it comes to speech and assembly.”
The future of Drag Queen Story Hour
Though Washoe County libraries are no longer hosting Drag Queen Story Hour, the events will continue at non-government venues in Reno
including Reno Little Theater, Brüka Theatre and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada, an inclusive faith group. “Very rarely do we get to create spaces of
queer joy,” said Nathan Bakken, the director of congregational life for the UUFNN. Bakken said the church wants to host Drag Queen Story Hour because of the mistrust
During the Aug. 21 Washoe County Library Board of Trustees meeting, trustees voted to lift the suspensions of two Drag Queen Story Hour protesters, Sandee Tibbett and Fred Myer. Photo/ Carly Sauvageau
LGBTQ+ people may feel toward faith communities.
“We’re excited for this opportunity,” they said.
Christopher Daniels, who uses they/them pronouns and performs as Ginger Devine for Drag Queen Story Hour, said they had been anticipating that Drag Queen Story Hour could be canceled for the last six years, as that’s the amount of time people have been protesting at school and library board meetings.
Still, when the event was canceled, Daniels said they felt gutted.
“What message has the county sent? Anytime that there’s an important event that (people) don’t like, do they just need to show up and use violence, and then the county is going to go, ‘Oh, well, this is unsafe’?” Daniels said.
Daniels said it is typical for the LGBTQ community to rise to the occasion and stand up for themselves. They said the community has shown that through the support and organizing that allowed Drag Queen Story Hour to persevere and expand.
The library system held Drag Queen Story Hour three to four times a year before the cancellation, Bynum said. Now, the events being held at venues other than the libraries are slated to occur nearly once a month, according to a schedule provided by Spain.
“We’re going to do it everywhere,” Daniels said. “So, if you’re tired of hearing about Drag Queen Story Hour, I’m so sorry, honey, because you’re about to hear a whole lot more about me.”
Northwest Reno blaze serves as a reminder of fire danger
A crew extinguished a fire that broke out on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 18, behind the Walgreens on North McCarran Boulevard and Mae Anne Avenue.
The fire was visible from nearby homes, but Fire Marshall John Beck told the RN&R on Aug. 26 that, while some damage occurred to a fence, no buildings were damaged.
The Reno Fire Department advises homeowners to maintain “adequate defensible space” by clearing dead or flammable vegetation and making it easier for emergency responders to locate you by having your house number clearly visible from the street.
—Kris Vagner
Photo by David Robert
Stacey Spain, the executive director of Our Center, said that Washoe County was treating the two sides of the Drag Queen Story Hour protests with false equivalency. “No one asks the NAACP to sit down at the table with the Ku Klux Klan,” she said. Photo/David Robert
Wanna be newsy?
The RN&R is looking for new freelance writers—especially talented writers/reporters who have a nose for
Interested in making a difference in the community—and getting paid to do so? Email a resume and clips/writing samples to krisv@renonr.com!
Combatting ‘mass distraction’
A Carson High teacher reacts to the district’s cell phone ban
Will Houk is starting his 21st year teaching at Carson High School. During his first year of teaching, 2004, when the most popular cell phone was the Motorola Razr, students using phones during class wasn’t the problem it is today, he said.
“It’s been a kind of a slow process … of just mass distraction, of it becoming more of an issue over the years,” Houk said. He called it “a really significant management issue in the classroom.”
The 2024-25 school year is the first in which the Carson City School District is requiring students to put their cell phones in locked pouches during the school day. The pouches are produced by the San Francisco-based company Yondr. In the cell phonefree area, the pouches remain locked and can only be unlocked once people exit.
Houk, who currently teaches social studies and has taught U.S. history, world history and psychology throughout his career, said
he had forbidden cell phone use in his classroom before the administration implemented the districtwide ban.
“In my classroom last school year, before school, I did a DonorsChoose—it’s kind of a GoFundMe for teachers—and raised money from community members to get cell phone lockers in my classroom,” Houk said. “(Cell phone use) just kind of reached a fever pitch for me.”
Houk’s breaking point came when one of his students answered a phone call during class, and it was from a parent.
“I was just dumbfounded that a parent would call in class, not just send a text,” Houk said.
“What a massive disruption to the class that is.”
Houk is not alone in his struggle to keep students engaged in class. In a survey conducted this year by Pew Research Center, more than 70 percent of high school teachers said student phone distraction is a “major problem.”
As a result, Carson City is far from the only district banning cell phone use in schools. The
| BY CARLY SAUVAGEAU
Carson City students are now required to keep their phones locked in Yondr pouches while class is in session.
trend started in Florida, which passed a law last year banning personal wireless devices, like smartphones and earbuds, during class time. Indiana, Louisiana and South Carolina have passed similar laws, according to The New York Times
In Nevada, the Clark County School District also began requiring students in grades 6-12 to keep their cell phones in signal-blocking pouches this school year.
Houk, speaking with the RN&R four days after school started, said he has seen mixed reactions from parents online but has not personally felt any significant resistance since school has been back in session.
“Obviously, the students, they’re not a fan of it, which is understandable,” Houk said. “If I was a teenager, I probably would hate it. But I personally haven’t received a lot of pushback from students directly about the whole thing.” Reducing cell phone use not only helps with reducing distractions; it can improve students’ mental health, according to one study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal
However, some criticize studies like these for not addressing the root cause of students’ distress associated with social media and technology. Critics have also expressed worry that cell phone bans disproportionately harm students with adult responsibilities such as after-school jobs or taking care of family members.
In an age when school shootings are increasing, people have also expressed worry that cell phone bans could limit communication between students and parents in the case of an emergency. Houk said he has two children and understands the desire to reach out to your kids, but, in the case of an emergency, multiple students texting their parents could have a negative outcome.
“Actually, the students having their phones out, it becomes an issue with cell phone towers, because if they’re all calling, texting and whatnot, it makes communication more difficult for the emergency responders who are trying to come to the school,” Houk said.
He also wants parents and students to know that teachers have students’ best interests in mind, whether they’re in an emergency situation or not.
“I honestly think that our school district is trying to not approach this from a punitive way, but more … what’s the best for education overall,” Houk said. “I think that they—the teachers and the administrators—all have the best intentions for kids. And the best intent is with learning in mind. And I think people should keep that in mind, you know, as we adjust and try to figure out the same situation.”
Queer through the years
A timeline of LGBTQ+ history in Northern Nevada
Queer history is Reno history—from internationally known events like the Reno Gay Rodeo to the establishment of local institutions like Our Center, the Silver Dollar Court, and any number of queer bars and clubs.
However, centuries of pervasive homophobia and legal discrimination have kept much of Northern Nevada’s queer history out of the public eye. But in September, which is when our area celebrates Northern Nevada Pride, we’re spotlighting a few historical milestones with the help of some locals—a scholar, an activist, a publisher and a volunteer.
This timeline draws on insights from Jeffery Auer, creator of the Nevada LGBT Archive; Paco Lachoy, founder of the Reno Gay Page newspaper; Meredith Tanzer, who works in Northern Nevada HOPES’ philanthropy department and is a co-director of Northern Nevada Pride; and Janet Mackie, a volunteer for Our Center whose work on chronicling the LGBTQ+ history of Nevada
The Reno Gay Rodeo, founded in 1976, ran until 1984. This photo is from 1979. Photo from the personal collection of Phil Ragsdale, courtesy of Robert “Bubbles” Douglas
1930s
1931—Belle Livingstone’s Cowshed opened. Belle Livingstone, a former speakeasy owner, socialite and rumored “mob girlfriend” moved to Reno from New York to take advantage of the town’s freshly ratified legal gambling. The Cowshed, or “Belle’s Barn,” hosted drag performances.
spurred the RN&R to create this timeline. This list is by no means comprehensive, but in the service of sharing the true history of Northern Nevada, it’s a start.
Precolonial era
Actual historical records are sparse, but, like many tribes, the Paiute and Shoshone people recognized what is now known as a two-spirit identity in some individuals—people who embody both masculine and feminine qualities. Before colonization, two-spirit individuals held respected community roles, often serving as healers, spiritual leaders and warriors.
“The very beginning is the Native American tribes that lived here, and they would have had some degree of sexual and gender identity—what we would characterize today probably as similar to LGBTQ+. But you can’t always say it’s the exact same thing, because it was so long ago and in a different context.” —Jeff Auer
“She had a friend of hers who was a drag queen, a female impersonator named Ray Bourbon. And Ray played there in 1935, and it was part of something that was big at that time called the Pansy Craze, which was female impersonators, usually men doing drag, but sometimes women dressing as men as well.” —Jeff Auer
1960s
1969—The University of Nevada, Reno, hosted “Sex Week,” featuring speaker Rita LaPorte (pictured in next column), an out lesbian. The event was covered extensively in local media.
While “Sex Week” itself was primarily focused on broader sexual education, the inclusion of discussions about lesbianism reflected the expanding visibility of queer issues on college campuses at the time.
“Rita LaPorte was interviewed in all the major papers and on the news stations, and she seems not to have been protested. That certainly would have brought awareness to the city of Reno of, at the very least, lesbianism in a way that had never been seen before.” —Jeff Auer
| BY MATT BIEKER
1970s
1970—The first nationwide lesbian magazine in U.S. history was published for two years out of Reno.
Published by the lesbian organization the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), The Ladder began in either 1955 or 1956, depending on the source, and was originally the organization’s newsletter, covering lesbian issues and interests. In 1970, LaPorte, then the president of the DOB, along with Barbara Grier, took the mailing list and printing plates of The Ladder to Reno as a result of internal turmoil within the DOB. They published it as a bimonthly magazine until 1972, when they shut down due to funding issues.
Several of the city’s prominent gay bars were founded in the early part of this decade.
Before the emergence of public LGBTQ+ organizations in the 1990s, much of Reno’s queer culture centered around bars and clubs that served as welcoming spaces to meet, socialize and organize.
“Pops 1099 Club was probably one of the first in-town gay bars, which is now Chapel, and then I think in late ’71 or early ’72, Five Star started, which was called Paul’s Lounge at the time. And so that brought gay bars kind of into town.” —Paco Lachoy
1974—The Silver Dollar Court, a prominent LGBTQ+ organization, is founded in Reno.
The Silver Dollar Court was founded as a chapter of the Imperial Court System—a network of “royal courts” across North America, each led by elected “emperors” and “empresses,” who perform in drag and hold events to raise money for various charitable causes.
The court became a central part of LGBTQ+ life in Northern Nevada, hosting events like drag performances, pageants and fundraisers continued on next page
continued from Page 11
that supported both LGBTQ+ and broader community initiatives.
1976—The Reno Gay Rodeo was founded. Phil Ragsdale and Keith Ann Libby (pictured above), the first emperor and empress of the Silver Dollar Court, founded the Reno Gay Rodeo as a space where LGBTQ+ identities could be celebrated in a context that merged the city’s rural roots and queer traditions. It was perhaps one of the most impactful events in the region’s LGBTQ+ history.
The rodeo’s success was transformative, drawing thousands of attendees annually despite facing violence, bigotry and resistance from conservative groups. This widespread popularity helped inspire similar events nationwide and eventually led to the founding of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) in 1985, which unified gay rodeos under a single umbrella.
“Reno’s claim to fame in the gay community is that the gay rodeo started in Reno, Nev., in 1976, and it ran until 1984. They tried in 2004 to bring back the rodeo. They were successful in doing a rodeo in 2004, 2005, and then the Finals Rodeo in 2006, which was a 30th anniversary.” —Paco Lachoy
1980s
1985—The Gay Student Union was founded at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The formation of the Gay Student Union was a significant advocacy milestone on campus, despite being heavily protested at the time of its inception. It served as the foundation for later groups and became the Queer Student Union during the 2000s.
1987—The first Gay Pride event was held.
The first local Gay Pride festival was held in 1987 at Rock Park in Sparks. It was a relatively low-key event compared to modern pride celebrations and included a small parade with decorated shopping carts.
1990s
1994—The Reno Police Department met with LGBTQ+ leaders to improve community relations.
After several high-profile hate crimes were perpetrated against LGBTQ+ individuals in the area, the RPD and local members of the queer community met informally to improve the long-standing culture of mistrust between the two groups.
“We set up the meeting—you know, candles in the dark, ‘We’re not telling anybody this is happening.’ And then we met at what’s now Sierra View Library. They had about 20 police officers there. They had refreshments; they talked about issues; and, you know, ‘How can we fix things?’”
—Paco Lachoy
1999—The first Gay Pride Parade was held.
The first official Gay Pride Parade in Reno took place in 1999, organized in large part by Kaye Crawford. Held in downtown Reno, the event attracted participants and spectators alike, setting the stage for larger and more inclusive celebrations in the years that followed.
2000s
2000—A Rainbow Place was founded.
A Rainbow Place was founded in large part by gay activist Ben Felix as the community’s first purpose-built community center for LGBTQ+ citizens. The center served as a physical meeting space for the community to gather beyond the city’s gay bars and clubs and offered youth outreach services, a vaccination clinic, HIV/AIDS testing and sexual education.
2009—The organization that would become Our Center was founded, beginning the process of establishing a dedicated LGBTQ+ community center in Reno after A Rainbow Place closed in 2007.
“(The year) 2009 is when Build Our Center was founded. So that’s the beginning of filing for nonprofit status.” — Meredith Tanzer
2010s
2011—Sexual orientation and gender identity were added as protected classes in Nevada’s anti-discrimination laws.
This law made it illegal for employers to discriminate against individuals based on their gender identity or expression, joining existing protections against discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability and other factors. The legislation also required that employers allow employees to dress and groom themselves according to their gender identity.
“We’re one of only 14 states that have that special protection. We’re a fairly progressive state, and it’s important to know that should be the lens that we’re looking at community and society with.” —Meredith Tanzer
2014—Nevada’s ban on same-sex marriage was overturned by a court ruling.
In 2012, eight local same-sex couples filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriages violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The district court upheld the ban, ruling that Nevada had a legitimate interest in preserving traditional marriage. However, the decision was overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2014, paving the way for marriage equality in Nevada. 2015—The Reno Equality Rally took place in Downtown Reno.
Approximately 200 people marched and gathered near the Reno Arch in support of marriage quality after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage nationwide. Mayor Hillary Schieve addressed the crowd in support of the decision.
2016 Our Center opened its brick-andmortar location on Wells Avenue, filling the need for a physical community center left by the closing of A Rainbow Place.
“We didn’t have any overtly welcoming community spaces that worked in honor and support of the LGBTQ+ community.
So unless you were over the age of 21 and patronizing bars, there was really no other place to go other than a few businesses that just happened to be welcoming and supportive of the gay community.” —Meredith Tanzer
2016—A community vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting was held at Our Center.
A shooter killed 49 people at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016. That night in Reno, nearly 400 people gathered—under increased police protection—at Our Center, including community leaders, religious figures and local officials.
“Everyone was in shock, in mourning, but it really felt like the community came together at that point. It was a good showing of solidarity in the face of a horrific attack. Even though it wasn’t in our state, any LGBTQ+ people are going to feel attacked by something like this.” —Jeff Auer
2020s
2020—Same-sex marriage was codified into the Nevada state constitution.
In 2020, Nevada voters approved a new measure that removed the ban and explicitly enshrined the right to same-sex marriage in the state Constitution. The amendment, which passed with more than 60% of the vote, made Nevada the first state in the nation to affirmatively protect same-sex marriage rights in its constitution.
“We are the only state in the country where it’s in the Constitution that same-gender marriage is allowed, and we are protected. So no matter what the Supreme Court decides, they can’t change our law.” —Paco Lachoy
2022—Northern Nevada HOPES receives a $1 million donation from Dr. Barry Frank, which the organization says will be used to expand its Gender and Sexual Healthcare Clinic.
“There’s elevated help available to (people) to make sure that they are staying engaged in all areas of their health. So that includes (hormone replacement therapy) and behavioral health support, day-to-day living; It could mean housing support. I would venture to say that is the largest single gift given to the LGBTQ+ community.” —Meredith Tanzer
Ray Bourbon photo from the Digital Transgender Archive. Rita LaPorte photo from University of Nevada Reno Special Collections and University Archives. Keith Ann Libby and Phil Ragsdale photo courtesy of Robert “Bubbles” Douglas.
The 1099 Club on New Year Eve 1990. Photo courtesy of Robert “Bubbles” Douglas
Bears in the city
Black bears and humans are meeting more often these days
On Aug. 2, a Reddit user posted a video of a black bear and three cubs on Reddit. That person was driving at night near Lakeside Drive and Holcomb Ranch Lane in south Reno when their headlights illuminated the four bears sprinting across the road.
I’ve seen bears in Tahoe before, on trails and in town. But a bear sighting in Reno gave me pause; it made me confront a natural world that normally feels boxed out by the neon, freeways and strip malls of our urban environment. How often do we think about Reno as being close to wilderness, or the animals within it as needing protection?
The presence of bears actually signifies a conservation success story. Ashley Zeme, public information officer for the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), explained in a recent interview that black bears are
here because they follow the lush vegetation along canyons and waterways down the Carson Range and into town. This behavior is not new. Historically, bears lived across much of northwestern Nevada and near Tonopah, Austin, Elko and Winnemucca. Zeme said that mining and unregulated hunting in the early 1900s nearly killed the populations off, but recent improvements in the bears’ habitat in the Reno/ Tahoe area have increased population numbers. According to NDOW estimates from 2023, the state is home to around 700 bears.
“The bears’ population has been growing, but that’s just been decades and decades in the making,” Zeme said.
Biologists at the department don’t believe that presence of bears in and near the city is simply due to increasing numbers of bears. In the drought year of 2022, for example, more
bears had to wander farther for food. But today, a combination of bear repopulation and Reno’s rapid growth means that the humans and bears are crossing paths more often.
Each year, the NDOW receives an average of 500 to 700 bear calls. Washoe County (which includes Incline Village) accounts for 46% of these; Douglas County accounts for 29%; Carson City 15%; and Lyon County 8%. On the day before my call with Zeme in early August, she said the department had received a few calls that week about bears around Plumb Lane.
“It is pretty common, especially at night,” she said.
Zeme said to expect bears in the communities surrounding and built onto the Carson Range— including Caughlin Ranch and Galena—and that they might travel as far east as Damonte Ranch. “We’re not shocked when we see that,”
| BY HELENA GUGLIELMINO
Bears are adept at accessing trash containers. Photo courtesy of the Nevada Department of Wildlife she said.
Bears cross the threshold between open and urban spaces via waterways that meander through neighborhoods, like Alum Creek and the Steamboat Ditch. They rejoice in the stockpiles of human-placed food sources like fruit trees, bird feeders and garbage cans—especially before hibernation, around late August and early September, when they need about 20,000 calories a day.
“That’s, like, equivalent to 60 cheeseburgers,” Zeme said with a chuckle.
“A fed bear is a dead bear” is a common saying around mountain towns like Truckee. This means that when humans leave food or trash available to bears, bears begin to associate humans and human spaces (cars, houses, etc.) with food. Their fear of humans decreases, and they become bolder, opening the door to bear-human conflict and possible euthanasia for the bear.
“We get public-safety incidents in Reno from time to time,” Zeme said, noting that the department does its best to capture and release these so-called problem bears. “But ultimately, we need the community to live responsibly in bear country by securing all attractants.”
Ninety percent of the bear calls the NDOW receives involve bears getting into unsecured trash bins at private residences; a simple solution is to secure trash. Waste Management offers bear-proof garbage cans. Existing customers qualify, and there is no waitlist to get a new container.
NDOW stresses the importance of minding bird feeders and fruit trees as well as trash. While bird feeders might get you a front-row seat to a blue jay or warbler sighting, they provide bears with a cache of high-density fat and calories. The department recommends taking bird feeders down at dusk and replacing them at dawn, as most Reno bear visits occur at night.
“Another option is to actually scatter the seeds on the ground,” Zeme said, “because the birds will still get to them and pick them up, where a bear wouldn’t take time to find every little seed if it was scattered on the ground.”
Lisa Nunley, general manager of Caughlin Ranch Home Owners’ Association, noted that residents are prohibited from planting fruit trees in their yards. The NDOW also discourages the planting of fruit trees, but if you already have one, the department recommends cleaning ripe fruit immediately from branches and the ground below.
If you see a bear in the city, Zeme recommends calling the NDOW bear hotline at 775688-BEAR (2327).
Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight
For September, 2024
ASTRONOMY
This sky chart is drawn for latitude 40 degrees north, but may be used in continental U.S. and southern Canada.
September’s evening sky chart. Illustration/Robert D. Miller
oriented east-west, it’ll be easy to notice the changes! Along with these shifts of the sunrise and sunset points, the midday sun of Sept. 30 is 11° lower than on Sept. 1—and the days are getting shorter.
Saturn is at opposition on the night of Sept. 7. Find Saturn appearing as a bright 0.6-magnitude “star” low in the east-southeast at dusk, high in the south in middle of night, and low in the west-southwest at dawn. As our faster-moving Earth overtakes Saturn, telescopic viewers will get an improving view of the rings, which appear 4° from edgewise on Sept. 15, resembling a needle piercing a ball of yarn.
The best lunar occultations of stars and planets in the Western U.S. in September are morning events, requiring a telescope for viewing, because the moon is bright: Saturn on Sept. 17; and stars in the Pleiades cluster on Sept. 22. From Reno on the morning of Sept. 17, Saturn disappears behind the moon’s narrow dark side at 4:08 a.m. and reappears along the bright sunlit edge at 5:07 a.m. On the morning of Sept. 22, the 2.9-magnitude star Alcyone, the brightest member of the Pleiades cluster and mother of the Seven Sisters, is covered by the moon’s leading sunlit edge at 3:13 a.m. and uncovered at the dark edge at 4:27 a.m.
September skies
The month brings a Harvest Moon eclipse, an approaching comet and many close encounters
Follow the moon at dusk from Sept. 4-5 through Sept. 18. Catch a slender 4 percent young crescent moon within 4° to the lower right of Venus on Sept. 4, and an 8 percent moon within 8° to the left of Venus and 8° to the lower right of Spica on Sept. 5. Venus is very low, so start looking early, about a half-hour after sunset, from a place with an unobstructed view between the west and west-southwest. Binoculars will help you spot Spica as the sky darkens. The star will be 4° to the lower right of the 14 percent crescent moon on Sept. 6. On Sept. 9, the nearly 40 percent fat crescent moon will appear 6° to the lower right of Antares, heart of the Scorpion. On the next evening, the nearly first quarter (half-full) moon will appear 7° to that star’s upper left. On Sept. 11, this month’s southernmost moon passes due south 20
minutes after sunset, only 21° up as seen from Reno. As the sky darkens, you’ll find the moon near the tip of the spout of the Teapot of Sagittarius.
A partial eclipse of the Harvest Moon on the evening of Sept. 17 is shallow. At best, not quite 9 percent of the moon’s diameter will be immersed in the umbra, or dark central core of Earth’s shadow, at maximum eclipse at 7:44 p.m. The moon’s encounter with the umbra lasts for just more than an hour, from 7:13 p.m. until 8:16 p.m. This full moon, the fourth one of this summer season, occurs 58 hours before the start of autumn, marked by the sun’s passage from north to south across the equator, on Sept. 22 at 5:44 a.m. Observe the sunrises and sunset this month, and note how the places along the horizon where they occur are progressing farther south. If you live in a neighborhood where some streets are
After its encounter with the Pleiades, the waning moon passes widely north of Aldebaran, brilliant Jupiter, and Mars on the mornings of Sept. 23-25; on Sept. 24, the northernmost moon of this month reaches its highest point only 11° south of overhead eight minutes before sunrise in Reno. It’s no coincidence that the moon is at last quarter phase, half full, that morning. That’s because the last quarter moon—90°, or one quartercircle west of the sun in the zodiac—reviews the sun’s position three months ago, near the beginning of summer, when the midday sun was high. Similarly, the first quarter moon of Sept. 11 previews the sun’s position in the zodiac three months hence, near the start of winter, when the midday sun will be low.
After passing the high point of the zodiac, the moon passes closely south of Pollux, the brighter of the Twin stars of Gemini, on Sept. 26; 3° to the north of the Beehive star cluster on Sept. 27; and 3° to the lower left of Regulus, heart of Leo, on Sept. 29.
Watch for other morning encounters, especially worth following in days before and after, when the event involves two planets or a planet and a star. Use binoculars to see Mercury-Regulus 0.5° apart, very low in the
to east-northeast in twilight on Sept. 9.
| BY ROBERT VICTOR
Mars, creeping eastward in Gemini on Sept. 11 and 14, passes 1° north of the third-magnitude stars Eta and Mu in the foot of Castor. On Sept. 22, Mars passes 1.7° south of thirdmagnitude Epsilon Gem. On Sept. 27, Mars forms an isosceles triangle with the “Twin” stars Pollux and Castor, 12° from each.
Jupiter is currently the brightest morning “star.” Next in brilliance is the “Dog Star” Sirius, crossing due south in mid-twilight by early in October. Note the three-star belt of Orion, extended southeastward, points toward Sirius. Extended in the opposite direction, the line of the belt stars points past Aldebaran toward the Pleiades.
While Jupiter slows in Taurus, the MarsJupiter gap increases from 9° on Sept. 1 to 23° on Sept. 30. In Saturn’s constellation of Aquarius, locate 3.8-magnitude Lambda nearly 10° southeast of 3.7-magnitude Zeta, the central star in the asterism of the Water Jar. Next, locate 4.2-magnitude Phi Aqr, 5.6° eastnortheast of Lambda. On the night of Sept. 27, Saturn is equidistant from Phi and Lambda, 3.2° from each and just south of a line joining them. As Saturn continues retrograde for another seven weeks, watch for changes. Saturn will end retrograde in mid-November, 1.9° from Lambda and 4.9° from Phi. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), whether or not it performs up to early expectations, is almost here! On Sept. 27, it reaches perihelion, 0.3914 a.u. (36.4 million miles) from the sun, and will pass closest to Earth on Oct. 12, at a distance of 0.472 a.u. (43.9 million miles). It may be visible Sept. 22-Oct. 4, rising in morning twilight, 7°-8° south of east. Try with binoculars! The comet will be 14° to the lower right of the 5 percent waning crescent moon on Sept. 30, and 12° to the upper right of a very low 1 percent crescent on Oct. 1. A most intriguing possibility is for a forward-scattering brightness surge as it passes halfway between Earth and the sun, within 4° to the upper left of the midday sun on Oct. 9, and a favorable appearance climbing in western evening sky in the following days. We’ll have more in our October column. Also, watch for updates on the Sky Calendar Extra Content Page, www. abramsplanetarium.org/msta.
The Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar is available by subscription from www. abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar. For $12 per year, subscribers receive quarterly mailings, each containing three monthly issues.
Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps produce an occasional issue. He enjoys being outdoors sharing the beauty of the night sky and other wonders of nature.
Stereographic Projection Map by Robert D. Miller
Welcome to the RN&R’s 2024 Best of Northern Nevada issue, and a heartfelt thank you to all 7,500 of you who voted in the final round! This is the highest voter turnout we’ve had since the pandemic, and we’re psyched that you’re helping us regain the momentum.
So … how do we vet if something is the “best”? We don’t. The Best of Northern Nevada poll is a chance for readers to voice their opinions. We do our best to make the results as legitimate as possible (by asking people to vote only once per round and requiring email verification), and we step in if we see fraud or apparent ballot-box stuffing; other than that, we just conduct the poll and publish the results.
The community has spoken, and now it’s time to give props to the banks, barbers, bars, bistros and hundreds of other establishments, people, places and things that make Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Minden, Gardnerville, South Lake Tahoe, Incline Village and Truckee great places to live.
This year, we added a few profiles to spotlight some local-culture makers that you, our readers, picked as the best—Reno Poet Laureate Jesse James Ziegler and his crew, who host Open Mic Poetry night at Shim’s; Renoites podcast host Conor McQuivey; and everyone’s favorite ’80s cover band, New Wave Crave.
Mostly though, we stuck to tradition. As usual, the RN&R team pointed out a few of our own favorite businesses and outdoor spots, and one particularly welcoming bartender who we thought you'd want to know about. And we rekindled the pre-pandemic tradition of contracting with a local artist to illustrate the issue. Nathaniel Benjamin—the muralist who also runs Laika Press, Reno’s community printmaking studio—made us laugh out loud several times with his cheeky, satirical, zeitgeist-distilling drawings of beloved Reno icons being overrun, B-horror-movie-style, by giant insects.
Here’s your chance to savor the opportunities to cheer for your favorites; disagree with your friends and neighbors’ votes, if need be; and celebrate the many elements that make up our region’s own distinctive flavor.
—The Editors
FOOD FOOD & &DRINK DRINK
BEST LOCAL FARM/PRODUCE
Andelin Family Farm Runners up:
2. Ferrari Farms
3. Reno Food Systems
4. Prema Farm
BEST LATE-NIGHT DINING
Gold ’N Silver Inn Runners up:
2. Noble Pie Parlor
3. Homegrown Gastropub
4. Café Milano at the Peppermill
5. Vistro
BEST SUSHI
Tokyo Sushi Runners up:
2. Atlantis Oyster and Sushi Bar on the Sky Terrace
3. Ijji 1
4. Ohana Sushi
5. Kuma Sushi
6. Umi Sushi
BEST SOUPS
Süp
Runners up:
2. Great Full Gardens
3. Manhattan Deli at Atlantis
4. Ijji Noodle House and Poke-Don
BEST DESSERTS
Josef’s Vienna Bakery and Café Runners up:
2. Dorinda’s Chocolates
3. Black Rock Desserts
4. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
5. The Recipe Box
BEST VEGETARIAN FOOD
Great Full Gardens Runners up:
2. Laughing Planet
3. The Fix
4. Thali
5. Elixir Superfood & Juice
BEST CARSON CITY RESTAURANT
Red’s Old 395 Grill Runners up:
2. Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint
3. The Fox Brewery & Pub
4. The Basil
5. Duke’s Steak House at Casino Fandango
BEST SPARKS RESTAURANT
Western Village Steakhouse Runners up:
2. BJ’s Nevada Barbecue Company
3. Sparks Water Bar
4. Sparks Coffee Shop
5. Duke’s Steak House at Legends Bay
BEST MARTINI
Roxy at the Eldorado Runners up:
2. The Emerson
3. Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill
4. Wild River Grille
5. Midtown Spirits Wine & Bites
BEST CATERING COMPANY
Roundabout Catering Runners up:
2. Cherry Bomb Catering
3. Aloha Shack
4. Marcolino’s Italia
5. Reno Recipes
BEST FRENCH FRIES TIE
Noble Pie Parlor
The Fix Runners up:
3. Ryan’s Saloon and Broiler
4. Slater’s Ding-a-Wing
5. Wing King
6. Silver Rush Grill
BEST BARBECUE RESTAURANT
BJ’s Nevada Barbecue Company Runners up:
2. Brothers Barbecue
3. TIE
Butcher’s Kitchen Char-B-Que Famous Dave’s
5. Carolina Kitchen & BBQ Co.
BEST TRUCKEE RESTAURANT
Squeeze In Runners up:
2. Jax at the Tracks
3. Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats
4. Great Gold
5. Pianeta
BEST FINE DINING
Western Village Steakhouse Runners up:
2. Johnny’s Ristorante Italiano
3. Beaujolais Bistro
4. Atlantis Steakhouse
5. Lulou’s
6. Duke’s Steak House at Legends Bay
BEST BRUNCH
Stone House Cafe Runners up:
2. Two Chicks
3. The Shore
4. Toucan Charlie’s Buffet & Grille at the Atlantis
5. Smith and River
BEST MINDEN/ GARDNERVILLE RESTAURANT
JT Basque Bar & Dining Room Runners up:
2. Great Basin Brewing Company
3. Minden Meat and Deli
4. Overland
BEST GREEK RESTAURANT
Niko’s Greek Kitchen Runners up:
2.Nick’s Greek Deli
3. Claio
4. Wrap It Up
BEST HAWAIIAN RESTAURANT
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Runners up:
2. Lili’s Restaurant & Bar
3. Kenji’s
4. Aloha Shack
5. Loco Ono
6. Kika’s All Kine Grindz
STAFF PICK
Severely limiting the consumption of sugars and starches helps people lose weight, but low-carb or low-calorie diets can get boring, prompting some dieters to declare a “cheat day”—when they gobble up whatever the hell they want.
Don’t waste those breaks by munching Big Macs or grazing on a family-size bag of deep-fried chips. Instead, experience the decadence of the L.A. Bakery in Carson City, where dough, sugar and icing are an art form, and the breakfast and lunch offerings are handcrafted.
The restaurant has a wide selection of deli sandwiches, sweets, pastries, wraps, salads, breads, bagels, croissants, soups of the day and a full breakfast menu. A long glass-front case displays rows of fresh muffins, cookies, sticky buns, cream puffs, toffee and baklava. Pies (OMG, try the chocolate cream!) and custom cakes for all occasions are available via the online store. The shop also sells acid-free coffees made with beans from Reno’s Hub Coffee Roasters, as well as espresso, cappuccino and smoothies. It’s real food, real fresh.
The family-owned business started out in 2009, selling pastries and other sweets to area restaurants and grocers and directly to consumers at local farmers’ markets. The business expanded from there. The Curry Street location has been a magnet for Carson City residents for a decade, and the owners are now planning franchises.
The restaurant also offers vegan and gluten-free menu items and plenty of “healthy choices.” But if you are on a strict diet and want to maintain it, bring your willpower, and sit with your back to the display case. If you decide to throw caution—and calories/ carbs—to the wind, you’ll feel so guilty that you will resolve to remain on your diet for the next 30 days … as long as you stay away from L.A. Bakery.
—Frank X. Mullen
Manager Elizabeth Chadwick and her family have owned L&L Hawaiian Barbecue for eight years.
Photo/David Robert
to our loyal customers for once again voting us
BEST DELI
FOOD & DRINK FOOD & DRINK
BEST SANDWICH SHOP
Full Belly Deli
Runners up:
2. Deli Towne USA
3. Michael’s Deli
4. Capriotti’s
5. Rubicon Deli
BEST MIDDLE EASTERN/ AFRICAN RESTAURANT
Aladdin’s Market & Kitchen Runners up:
2. Zagol Ethiopian
3. Suri’s Mediterranean Kitchen
BEST JUICE/JUICE BAR
Keva Juice Runners up:
2. Jüs
3. Jamba Juice
4. Nekter Juice Bar
5. Elixir Superfood & Juice
BEST GLUTEN-FREE DINING
Great Full Gardens
Runners up:
2. Wild River Grille
3. Haven on Earth Bakery & Deli
4. Noble Pie Parlor
STAFF PICK
BEST CHEAP CHINESE
Taiwan Restaurant
5150 Mae Anne Ave., No. 208, Reno
BEST WINE LIST
Whispering Vine Wine Co.
Runners up:
2. Bistro Napa at Atlantis
3. Blackrock Wine Co.
4. Marcolino’s Italia
5. Mo’s by the River
BEST JAPANESE RESTAURANT
Ijji 2
Runners up:
2. Ichiban Japanese Steak House
3. Kauboi Izakaya
4. Tokyo Sushi
5. Haru
BEST BAGEL
Truckee Bagel Company Runners up:
2. My Favorite Muffin
3. Desert Sun Bagel Co.
4. Einstein Bros. Bagels
BEST ROMANTIC RESTAURANT
Beaujolais Bistro
Runners up:
2. Bricks
3. Atlantis Steakhouse
4. Wild River Grille
5. Duke’s Steak House at Legends Bay
This Northwest Reno strip-mall Chinese place, adjacent to Safeway, runs an “all day special” for less than $10 that includes, along with your main dish, a choice of hot and sour soup or egg flower soup; steamed white rice or fried rice; and an egg roll. Wow, what a deal!
Taiwan has lightning-fast service and is efficient with orders, which are bagged and tagged with your name, and are usually waiting for you at the counter as you walk in. When you call ahead for takeout, they have your last order on file in case you need to jog your fried, dinnertime-brain as to what you have had before.
Taiwan offers standard Chinese fare and some interesting items such as Singapore rice stick, bubble tea, and ho-fun wide rice noodles with protein. The decor is colorful and bright, with the obligatory aquarium full of fish at the front entrance. Lucky fortune cookies, of course, accompany your order—but don’t feed them to the fish on the way out, as the fish may not want to know their fortunes.
—David Robert
BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Johnny’s Ristorante Italiano
Runners up:
2. Casale’s Halfway Club
3. La Famiglia
4. Marcolino’s Italia
5. Mario’s Portofino
6. The Kitchen Table
BEST FOOD TRUCK
Daddy’s Tacos NV
Runners up:
2. 775 Eats
3. TIE
Slater’s Ding-a-Wing NOLA Sliders
5. Marcolino’s Italia
6. Silver Rush Grill
BEST COFFEE
The Human Bean
Runners up:
2. TIE
Coffeebar
Hub Coffee Roasters
4. Lighthouse Coffee
5. Magpie Coffee Roasters
6. Midnight Coffee Roasting
BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT
India Kabab & Curry
Runners up:
2. Taste of India
3. Thali
4. Bawarchi Indian Cuisine
5. Royal India Cuisine
6. Haveli Indian Cuisine & Bar
BEST HOT DOG
Costco Runners up:
2. Sinbad’s Hot Dogs
3. Bam!Dog
4. TIE
Coney Island Hot Dogs & Burgers
Reno Aces/Greater Nevada Field
BEST FARMERS’ MARKET
Riverside Farmers Market
Runners up:
2. Shirley’s Farmers’ Market at the Village on California Avenue
3. Sparks United Methodist Church
Farmers’ Market
4. Carson Farmers Market
BEST RENO RESTAURANT
Wild River Grille
Runners up:
2. Arario
3. Atlantis Steakhouse
4. Kauboi Izakaya
5. The Shore
BEST OUTDOOR DINING
Wild River Grille
Runners up:
2. Stone House Cafe
3. The Shore
4. Noble Pie Parlor
5. Smith and River
BEST MARGARITA
Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant Runners up:
2. Bertha Miranda’s
3. Murrieta’s Mexican Restaurant
4. El Adobe Cafe
5. Rum Sugar Lime
BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT
Beaujolais Bistro Runners up:
2. Le Bistro
3. Belleville Wine Bar
BEST BLOODY MARY
Two Chicks
Runners up:
2. PJ & Company
3. Chapel Tavern
4. Noble Pie Parlor
5. Ryan’s Saloon & Broiler
FOOD & DRINK FOOD & DRINK
BEST SALAD
Great Full Gardens
Runners up:
2. Süp
3. Liberty Food and Wine Exchange
4. Wild River Grille
5. Noble Pie Parlor
BEST TAHOE RESTAURANT
Gar Woods Grill & Pier
Runners up:
2. Jake’s on the Lake
3. Lone Eagle Grill
4. Soule Domain
BEST WHISKEY/BOURBON/ SCOTCH SELECTION
Death and Taxes
Runners up:
2. Chapel Tavern
3. Grafted Whiskey & Wine Bar
4. Ceol Irish Pub
BEST BAKERY
Perenn Bakery
Runners up:
2. Josef’s Vienna Bakery & Café
3. House of Bread
4. Dolce Caffé
BEST CHEF
Mark Estee
Runners up:
2. Sean Munshaw, The Shore
3. Colin Smith, Roundabout Catering
4. Kassandra Tomasevic, Marcolino’s Italia
5. Kevin Ashton
6. Jonathan Chapin, Reno Recipes
BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT
Kwok’s Bistro
Runners up:
2. Palais de Jade
3. P.F. Chang’s
4. CJ Palace
5. Egg Roll King
BEST CHICKEN WINGS
Noble Pie Parlor
Runners up:
2. Wingstop
3. Slater’s Ding-a-Wing
4. Pizza Plus
5. Wing King
BEST BREAKFAST
Two Chicks
Runners up:
2. Peg’s Glorified Ham and Eggs
3. Squeeze In
4. PJ & Company
5. Josef’s Vienna Bakery and Café
BEST CENTRAL AMERICAN
El Paisano
Runners up:
2. Sabrina’s West Street Kitchen
3. A La Parrilla
4. Asi es Mi Tierra
BEST PIZZA
Noble Pie Parlor
Runners up:
2. Smiling With Hope
3. R Town Pizza
4. Eclipse Pizza Company
5. Pizzava
BEST BURGER
In-N-Out
Runners up:
2. Royce Burger Bar
3. Beefy’s
4. Juicy’s Giant Hamburgers
5. Ryan’s Saloon and Broiler
BEST TACO
Daddy’s Tacos NV
Runners up:
2. Jimboy’s Tacos
3. Anna’s Taqueria
4. Mexcal
5. Estella Tacos y Mezcal at the Jesse
6. Taco Shop
BEST STEAK
Western Village Steakhouse
Runners up:
2. Atlantis Steakhouse
3. Biggest Little Steakhouse
4. Anthony’s Chophouse at the Nugget
5. Duke’s Steak House at Legends Bay
BEST VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
Golden Flower
Runners up:
2. Pho 777
3. SF Kitchen
4. 999 Pho
5. Sip of Saigon
BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT
Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant
Runners up:
2. Los Compadres
3. Anna’s Mexican Grill
4. El Adobe Cafe
5. Daddy’s Tacos NV
6. Mexcal
Ding Guo fires up the wok at Golden Flower. Photo/David Robert
BEST VEGAN FOOD
Great Full Gardens
Runners up:
2. Laughing Planet
3. The Fix
4. House of Mexica
5. Noble Pie Parlor
BEST SMOOTHIE
Keva Juice
Runners up:
2. Jüs
3. Jamba Juice
4. Nekter Juice Bar
5. Elixir Superfood & Juice
BEST THAI RESTAURANT
Bangkok Cuisine
Runners up:
2. Thai Lotus
3. Moo Dang
4. Thai Chili
5. Sawasdee Thai
FOOD & DRINK FOOD & DRINK
BEST COFFEE ROASTER
Hub Coffee Roasters
Runners up:
2. Coffeebar
3. Magpie Coffee Roasters
4. Midnight Coffee Roasting
5. Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee Company
BEST RESTAURANT
WORTH THE LONG WAIT
Two Chicks
Runners up:
2. Western Village Steakhouse
3. Bistro Napa at Atlantis
4. Wild River Grille
5. Marcolino’s Italia
BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT
Arario
Runners up:
2. Ijji 4 Korean Bar-B-Que
3. Hana Garden
4. Step Korean Bistro
STAFF PICK
BEST SEASONAL COFFEE DRINKS
Old World Coffee Roasters
5020 Las Brisas Blvd., Reno
104 California Ave., Reno
6500 Longley Lane (in the Sierra Medical Center), Reno 301 N. Curry St., Carson City
Some days, plain-old lattes or Americanos don’t cut it for die-hard coffee lovers. Old World Coffee Roasters can solve that craving for something more exotic with a changing slate of seasonal drinks. This summer, Old World in Northwest Reno has offered the jamberry latte made with coffee, white chocolate and blueberry simple syrup; and the Cubano latte with sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon. Non-coffee-drinkers could try the poolside, a mix of chai tea, grapefruit juice and ginger beer topped with
cardamom bitters.
The special menus change with the seasons. The year-round coffee menu includes vanilla-lavender latte and mocha dragota with chocolate, cinnamon, allspice and cayenne pepper. There’s also a yearround menu of non-coffee drinks such as cocoa, matcha green tea latte and other teas. Try them iced when the outdoor temperatures spike. The shops offer a number of packaged coffees as well.
—Frank X. Mullen
RENO’S GRANDEST ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP
Pancho Barraza Aug 2
Rick Springfield & Richard Marx: An
Acoustic Evening Aug 3
Dweezil Zappa Aug 6
Charley Crockett Aug 8
The Dead South Aug 13
Cesar Lozano Aug 15
Mike Epps Aug 16
Michael Franti & Spearhead Aug 22
Luis Ángel “El Flaco” y Luis Antonio
López “El Mimoso” Aug 23
Diana Ross Aug 24
Christopher Cross Aug 25
The Struts Aug 27
Marca Registrada Aug 30
Marilyn Manson Sept 1
Rodrigo y Gabriela Sept 5
Teddy Swims Sept 6
Lindsey Stirling Sept 7
Queensrÿche & Slaughter Sept 8
Stephen Sanchez Sept 9
Coheed and Cambria Sept 11
Testament and Kreator Sept 12
Ben Folds Sept 13
Banda MS de Sergio Lizzarraga
Sept 14
The Mavericks Sept 19
The Temptations and The Four Tops Sept 20
The Smashing Pumpkins Sept 21
Experience Hendrix Sept 22
Jungle Sept 24
Walker Hayes Sept 27
Goth Babe Oct 1
Godsmack Oct 10
Juvenile and the 400 Degreez Band Oct 12
Judas Priest Oct 13
The Used & Taking Back Sunday Oct 15
Black Violin Oct 17
Intocable Oct 18
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert Oct 24
Codiciado Oct 26
Marca MP Nov 1
Earthquake Nov 2
The Psychedelic Furs & The Jesus and Mary Chain Nov 3
KC and the Sunshine Band Nov 8
Joe Bonamassa Nov 9
Andrew Schulz Nov 15
BEAT - Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Steve Vai & Danny Carey Nov 21
David Spade Nov 23
W.A.S.P. Dec 11
Franco Escamilla Feb 22
STAFF PICK
MOST HUMBLING FISH AND CHIPS
Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips
Silver Legacy Resort Casino
407 N. Virginia St., Reno
I’m a pretty good cook, so if I don’t find a stellar example of a favorite food at a restaurant near my house, I learn to make it myself. Until this summer, I could reasonably confidently say, “You want great fish and chips? Just come over.” No joke: My beer-battered cod, fried to deep-gold perfection, has turned a few heads.
Enter my nemesis. The famously cantankerous celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay opened a branch of his Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips chain in the Silver Legacy in May. I generally avoid loud, bright, chain restaurants tied to a theme or a brand, favoring indie eateries, local chefs and nutritionally balanced meals. But by July, I was a regular at Ramsay’s, and I am suddenly a person who doesn’t mind driving up nine stories of the casino’s garage on a busy summer night to eat a dinner containing no vegetables from a cardboard tray. The “custard powder batter” fried fish is utterly perfect; the fries are divine; and the fried lobster and shrimp add-ons have made me a full-on fangirl. Game recognizes when game has been blown out of the water. Hats off to you, Mr. Ramsay. (But now that I know your online batter recipe contains egg whites, I think I have perhaps unearthed a clue to your extraordinary, home-chefhumbling fish chunks—and I will not stop striving.)
—Kris Vagner
BEST DOUGHNUTS/PASTRIES
DoughBoys Donuts Runners up:
2. Perenn Bakery
3. Jelly Donut
4. Donut Bistro
5. Sprinkle Donuts
BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Atlantis Oyster & Sushi Bar on the Sky Terrace Runners up:
2. Oceano at the Peppermill
3. Nugget Oyster Bar
4. Smee’s Alaskan Fish Bar
5. Mr. Crab Seafood Boils
BEST CHEAP EATS
In-N-Out Burger Runners up:
2. Gold ’N Silver Inn
3. Jimboy’s Tacos
4. Noble Pie Parlor
5. Aloha Shack
6. Vistro
BEST WINE BAR
Whispering Vine Wine Co.
Runners up:
2. Craft Wine and Beer
3. Midtown Spirits Wine & Bites
4. Blackrock Wine Co.
5. Mo’s by the River
BEST SALAD BAR
Toucan Charlie’s Buffet & Grille at the Atlantis Runners up:
2. Churrasco Brazilian Steakhouse
3. Saladworks
4. Sabrina’s West Street Kitchen
BEST BASQUE RESTAURANT
Louis’ Basque Corner Runners up:
2. J T Basque Bar & Dining Room
3. The Fe
4. Villa Basque Café
Robert
Most weeks, Conor McQuivey sits down with another Reno citizen for an informal yet educational conversation on the Renoites podcast. Guests have included event coordinators, school-board members, journalists, teachers, government officials, artists and many others.
RN&R readers selected Renoites as the Best Podcast in the Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll this year. During a recent phone interview, McQuivey was excited to hear the news.
“I put a lot of time and a lot of energy into making a show that, I think, has broad appeal and is potentially interesting to a lot of folks in town,” he said. “It’s really kind of validating and rewarding knowing that enough people are paying attention to it and have learned about it in the last couple of years for it to be making a connection.”
Podcasts that are both educational and interesting are hard to come by, especially when you add in the local niche.
“The reason that I started the show initially was that I didn’t think there was anything quite like it in our local media market,” said McQuivey. “I’m a fan of longish interview podcasts, and we didn’t have a general-interest, long-form
interview show.” Local podcasts tend to be specific to politics, news or events.
“I don’t think that we really had a something-for-everyone show. I think that I’ve done a pretty good job of having a wide variety of guests of different backgrounds and different topics.”
With each episode, McQuivey tries to strike a balance between a casual chat and a wellresearched interview. He aims to come in prepared, but not overthink and over-plan.
“I like to come into the conversation with good questions and some understanding of what I’m talking about, but again, my show is geared for the everyday person who may or may not know anything about the guest who I’m having on the show,” McQuivey said. “Even if I do have some familiarity with the topic, I generally ask a lot of very basic questions that a random Joe Schmo might ask if they were to meet this person.”
“I definitely don’t want to alienate a huge chunk of our local population by being too explicitly political in a way that will turn people off or turn people away,” he said. “I don’t want to shy away from important or controversial topics, but at the same time, I don’t want to come into those episodes in a way that I clearly have an agenda. … I think that there’s enough really contentious and aggressive or in-yourface media nowadays. I follow the news, so I know who’s controversial, or what people are saying about whoever, so that definitely crosses my mind, but I don’t like for that to shape what my show looks like.”
However, that doesn’t mean Renoites is completely opinion-free.
“If there are things that I strongly agree on, I’m definitely going to agree with my guests,” McQuivey said. “LGBTQ issues are really important to me, so when I have guests on, and we’re talking about discrimination and things that are happening that are of a concern, I’m definitely going to weigh in on those things.”
Nor does he require himself to state an opinion.
“There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t really know enough about to have a qualified, strong opinion,” McQuivey said. He cited homelessness as an example.
“I’ve had several guests who work in or around that space, and I follow the news, but I’m not the expert on those things, so I tend to not participate in the debates about what’s the right way to do things,” he said. “I’m happy to have guests on who can share their experience and their knowledge on those topics. Those are fun ones for me, because I know it’s an important issue. I know enough to have a substantive conversation, but I’m also enough of a listener and thoughtful enough to take a step back myself and let the audience hear the guests for what they have to say.
McQuivey said he’s not a “trained reporter,” but he thinks carefully about the role of an interviewer.
“I understand there is a lot of conversation about the responsibility that journalists have to take a stand on certain things,” he said. “Sometimes, if you’re trying to stay in the middle, or stay out, or make it a both-sides kind of conversation, then you’re really favoring people who are already in power. I’m conscious of the kind of responsibilities that journalists have, but I try to keep a step back from that, or have a little bit of separation between the concept of myself as a conversationalist and a podcast host, versus being an activist or someone who’s trying to directly influence what happens.”
“ I’m a fan of longish interview podcasts, and (local media) didn’t have a general-interest, long-form interview show. ”
— Conor McQuivey, Renoites Podcast Host
The Renoites podcast sometimes features guests who invite difficult discussions—with the police chief, the city manager and school officials, for example. McQuivey, in an attempt to ensure his podcast is for everyone, tries to stay neutral in these conversations.
McQuivey is proud of what Renoites has accomplished since he started it in March 2021.
“A lot of people are not going to read long-form journalism, and the substance that you get out of an hourlong conversation—that’s the equivalent of a very, very, very long article,” he said.
The transcript for a full-length Renoites interview can run around 20 pages.
“No one’s going to sit down and read for that long, or at least a lot of people won’t, so it’s filling in that gap for people who like the format, who like the amount of time, who like the depth of the conversation,” McQuivey said.
Learn more at www.renoites.com.
Photo/David
CULTURE CULTURE
BEST SPECIAL EVENT IN CARSON CITY
Nevada Day Parade
Runners up:
2. Carson City Ghost Walk
3. Rockin’ Rib-Fest at Casino Fandango
4. Mark Twain Days Festival
5. Levitt AMP Carson City Music Series at Brewery Arts Center
BEST SPECIAL EVENT IN DOWNTOWN SPARKS
Best in the West Nugget Rib
Cook Off
Runners up:
2. Hot August Nights
3. Hometowne Christmas Parade
4. 39 North Pole Village
5. Star Spangled Sparks
BEST SPECIAL EVENT AT LAKE TAHOE
Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival
Runners up:
2. Harveys Summer Concert Series
3. Fourth of July
4. American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament
5. Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance
BEST LOCAL PODCAST
Renoites
Runners up:
2. Worst Little Podcast
3. Ballot Battleground: Nevada
4. A Book & Its Author
5. Test Those Breasts
6. Community Cares Podcast
BEST SPECIAL EVENT IN DOWNTOWN RENO
Artown
Runners up:
2. Hot August Nights
3. Northern Nevada Pride
4. Great Italian Festival
5. BBQ, Brews & Blues Festival
BEST ART GALLERY
Nevada Museum of Art Runners up:
2. Potentialist Workshop
3. Sierra Arts Gallery
4. TIE
Artists Co-op Gallery of Reno
Stremmel Gallery
6. Savage Mystic Gallery
BEST MONTHLY EVENT
Food Truck Friday Runners up:
2. Drag Brunch With the Twampsons
3. First Thursday at the Nevada Museum of Art
4. Drag Brunch at The Emerson
5. Ferrari Farms Barn Dance
6. Reno Wine Walk
7. Ritual at Dead Ringer Analog Bar
BEST NONPROFIT GROUP
Eddy House
Runners up:
2. SPCA of Northern Nevada
3. Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation
4. Note-Able Music Therapy Services
5. Karma Box Project
6. Northern Nevada Sons and Daughters of Erin
BEST OPEN MIC
Open Mic Poetry at Shim’s Runners up:
2. Red Dog Saloon
3. A to Zen
4. Cypress Open Mic with Greg Gilmore
BEST LOCAL DANCE COMPANY
Reno Dance Company Runners up:
2. Sierra Nevada Ballet
3. A.V.A. Ballet Theatre
4. Tiempo Latino Dance Company
5. ConfiDance Arts
6. Embrace Dance Company
BEST SPECIAL EVENT IN MINDEN/GARDNERVILLE
Genoa Candy Dance Arts & Crafts Faire
Runners up:
2. Parade of Lights
3. Carson Valley Days
4. BackCountry Festival
BEST LOCAL BAND
New Wave Crave
Runners up:
2. Rick Hays & American Steel
3. Decoy
4. Sierra Roc
5. JeNes N the Juice
BEST DOG PARK
Rancho San Rafael Regional Park
Runners up:
2. Sparks Marina Dog Park
3. Link Piazzo Dog Park at Hidden Valley Regional Park
4. North Valleys Regional Park
BEST CHARITY RACE OR WALK
Moms on the Run
Runners up:
2. Dirty Wookie Run
3. Reno-Sparks Walk for ALS
4. Leprechuan Race
5. Walk MS
STAFF PICK
BEST LOCAL THEATER COMPANY
Reno Little Theater
Runners up:
2. Brüka Theatre
3. Good Luck Macbeth Theatre
4. Restless Artists Theatre
BEST MOVIE THEATER
Galaxy Theatres Legends
Runners up:
2. Cinemark Century Summit Sierra
3. Cinemark Century Riverside 12
4. Galaxy Theatres Victorian
BEST RADIO STATION
Alice 96.5
Runners up:
2. KUNR Public Radio
3. 105.7 KOZZ
4. K-BULL 98.1 FM
5. KWNK 97.7
BEST LOCAL TV NEWS
KOLO 8
Runners up:
2. 2News (KTVN)
3. News 4 (KRNV)
4. Telemundo Reno
BEST ANIMAL SHELTER
Nevada Humane Society
Runners up:
2. SPCA of Northern Nevada
3. Kitty Kisses Cat Café
4. Canine Rehabilitation Center & Cat Sanctuary
BEST SECRET PLACE TO SEE CITY LIGHTS
Arrowcreek Park
2950 Arrowcreek Parkway, Reno
While the Windy Hill Scenic Overlook is justifiably popular for nighttime views of the downtown Reno skyline, there is an even better (and more private) place to take in the after-dark city views.
High up on Arrowcreek Parkway, just before it crosses Thomas Creek, is Arrowcreek Park. Pulling into a parking space, one comes across a slightly hidden trail heading up the small hill, adjacent to the street. After ascending maybe 20 feet, the hill flattens out, and two hidden benches sit among the rocks and sagebrush. Get out your blanket; turn on your favorite music (as long as it’s not bothering others); and take in the urban constellation glowing hard against the Northern Nevada night.
—David Rodriguez
Expect Exceptional
Nevada’s longest-running community theater What an honor
Grant Denton
Best Local Activist 2024
CASINOS CASINOS GAMBLING GAMBLING
BEST CASINO-HOTEL FOR A ROMANTIC GETAWAY
Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Atlantis
3. Grand Sierra Resort
4. Silver Legacy
5. Eldorado
BEST SPORTSBOOK
Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Grand Sierra Resort
3. Atlantis
4. Caesars Race and Sportsbook at Silver Legacy
5. Circa at Legends Bay
STAFF PICK
BEST CASINO BARTENDER
Larry “The Legend” Ciccarelli
BEST CASINO
Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
3. Grand Sierra Resort
4. TIE
Eldorado
Legends Bay
6. Silver Legacy
BEST CASINO RESTAURANT
Western Village Steak House
Runners up:
2. Atlantis Steak House
3. Roxy at Eldorado
4. Bistro Napa at Atlantis
5. Duke’s Steak House at Legends Bay
6. Atlantis Bistro Napa
Legends Bay Casino, 100 Legends Bay Drive, Sparks
I don’t usually go to casinos, but when I do, I go to Legends Bay Casino in Sparks. I like to play a little nickel poker at the sports bar and listen to the various live bands that play there. I discovered Legends Bay when it opened up in 2022, and I saw an ad in the RN&R touting indoor food trucks, live music and fine dining. Sounded great!
Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Grand Sierra Resort
3. Atlantis 4. Silver Legacy
It’s a nice place—cozy with a very modern decor. I found a little niche at the sports bar and met Larry Ciccarelli, bartender extraordinaire. Larry, as I learned, is an avid photographer and artist, so we have a lot to talk about while he supplies me with ample bottles of Guinness. Larry can read my mind and my body language, and he often has another dark, silky bottle waiting for me as I take my last sip, before my empty bottle hits the bar. Also, Larry is a true professional—he often comes out from behind the bar, wipes it down, and tidies up the chairs. As the old song goes: See ya soon, Larry; it’s been a while!
—David Robert
BEST POKER ROOM
2. Grand Sierra Resort
4. Silver Legacy
BEST CASINO BAR
Peppermill Fireside Lounge
Runners up:
2. Roxy at the Eldorado
3. Atlantis Cocktail Lounge at the Atrium
4. Peppermill Terrace Lounge
5. Silver Legacy Silver Baron Lounge
BEST ECO-FRIENDLY CASINO Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Grand Sierra Resort
3. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
4. Eldorado
5. Silver Legacy
BEST CASINO-RESORT POOL
Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Grand Sierra Resort
3. Silver Legacy
4. Atlantis
BEST CASINO BUFFET
Toucan Charlie’s Buffet & Grille at the Atlantis
Runners up:
2. The Grand Buffet at the Grand Sierra Resort
3. The Buffet at J Resort
NIGHTLIFE NIGHTLIFE
BEST COCKTAIL MENU
Rum Sugar Lime
Runners up:
2. The Emerson
3. Death and Taxes
4. Roxy’s at the Eldorado
5. Chapel Tavern
BEST PLACE FOR A FIRST DATE Press Start
Runners up:
2. The Emerson
3. The Glass Die
4. Beaujolais Bistro
5. Piñon Bottle Co
BEST CRAFT COCKTAILS
Death and Taxes
Runners up:
2. 1864 Tavern
3. Rum Sugar Lime
4. The Emerson 5. Chapel Tavern
6. Midtown Spirits Wine & Bites
BEST DIVE BAR
Abby’s Highway 40 Runners up:
2. 40 Mile Saloon
3. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub
4. Alturas Bar
5. Ryan’s Saloon and Broiler
6. Shea’s Tavern
BEST ALL-AGES SPOT
Coconut Bowl at Wild Island Runners up:
2. Reno Public Market
3. The Holland Project
4. South 40
5. Press Start
6. Pure Country Canteen
BEST STRIP CLUB
Men’s Club
Runners up:
2. Peppermint Hippo
3. Wild Orchid
4. Fantasy Girls
BEST ROMANTIC BAR
Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill
Runners up:
2. Roxy’s at the Eldorado
3. Amari
4. The Emerson
5. Piñon Bottle Co
BEST BEER SELECTION
Piñon Bottle Co
Runners up:
2. Sierra Tap House
3. Craft Wine and Beer
BEST CONCERT VENUE
Grand Sierra Resort
Runners up:
2. Harveys Lake Tahoe
3. Nugget Event Center
4. Cypress
5. Cargo Concert Hall
BEST DISTILLERY
10 Torr Distilling and Brewing Runners up:
2. Frey Ranch
3. The Depot Craft Brewery & Distillery
4. Verdi Local Distillery
5. Underworld Distillery
4. Beer NV
5. IMBIB Custom Brews
6. Parlay 6
BEST TRIVIA NIGHT
10 Torr Distilling & Brewing Runners up:
2. TIE
Lead Dog Brewing
Sierra Tap House
4. Pignic Pub & Patio
5. Piñon Bottle Co
BEST BAR
The Emerson Runners up:
2. Pure Country Canteen
3. Death and Taxes
4. Rum Sugar Lime
5. Chapel Tavern
6. Piñon Bottle Co
BEST COMEDY CLUB
Laugh Factory Runners up:
2. Reno Improv
3. Polo Lounge
4. Alturas Bar
BEST GAY HANGOUT
Five Star Saloon Runners up:
2. The Emerson
3. Carl’s The Saloon
BEST DANCE CLUB
Pure Country Canteen
Runners up:
2. Ritual at Dead Ringer Analog Bar
3. NoVi at the Eldorado
4. Club Sexy Movimiento
5. Latin Vibes at Rum Bullions
Island Bar
BEST SPORTS BAR
Bully’s
Runners up:
2. Coach’s Grill and Sports Bar
3. Brew Brothers at the Eldorado
4. Circa at Legends Bay
5. Dubs Sports Lounge
BEST LOCAL BREWERY
Great Basin Brewing Company
Runners up:
2. Revision Brewing Company
3. Lead Dog Brewing
4. IMBIB Custom Brews
5. Parlay 6
STAFF PICK
BEST KARAOKE
West 2nd Street Bar
Runners up:
2. The Library
3. Coffee N’ Comics
4. Abby’s Highway 40
5. Cypress
BEST BOWLING ALLEY
Grand Sierra Resort
Runners up:
2. Coconut Bowl at Wild Island
3. National Bowling Stadium
4. High Sierra Lanes
5. Homegrown Bowl
BEST QUEER DANCE PARTY
Pink Pony Club at The Emerson
955 S. Virginia St., Reno
A magical thing happens when the vibe, ambiance, music and crowd align—you have the perfect dance night. The Pink Pony Club originally popped up in the spring of 2023 at The Emerson. The bar’s fun, funky vibe and delicious cocktails and mocktails make it a fantastic venue for a queer dance party. Pink Pony Club takes it to the next level with stellar DJs spinning all your favorite old-school queer anthems into fresh mixes, plus a plethora of new hot jams that get the crowd singing along and dancing. The cute outdoor patio is the perfect place for a cooldown from the dance floor and a nice spot to connect with friends. The crowd is full of queer joy and self-expression, creating a wonderful, accepting environment for all.
Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without Chappell Roan’s megahit “Pink Pony Club” followed by a bar-top dance number of “Hot to Go!” by some of Reno’s most vibrant drag performers. If you ever wanted to scream-sing “Pink Pony Club” with a couple hundred radical folx, there’s truly no better place in town.
—Jessi Sprocket Janusee
THANK YOU FOR VOTING US BEST SPORTS BAR!
Bully’s is proud to once again be named Best Sports Bar in the 2024 Best of Northern Nevada readers poll. Thank you to all our fans for voting for us as your favorite neighborhood sports bar!
Among the Grand Sierra Resort bowling alley’s offerings are 50 newly resurfaced lanes, blacklight bowling featured on select weekend nights, and league bowling Monday through Thursday.
Photo/David Robert
In the winter of 2021-22, Shim’s Surplus tavern owner Zach Cage and manager Nick Bealer were looking for a way to bring in customers on traditionally dead Monday nights.
Meanwhile, poets Jesse James Ziegler and Iain Watson had been looking for a place to hold an open-mic night for spoken-word poetry. It all felt like kismet, so they called Cage and Bealer and asked for a meeting.
“I was like, ‘Really? Poetry? Not comedy or music?’” Bealer laughed, recalling the discussion. “But we were like, ‘OK, fair enough, we’ll give it a go. Why not?’ And Jesse jumped in, took it by the reins and is doing a phenomenal job of running it.”
When Ziegler moved to Reno about 10 years ago, he sought out spoken-word poetry events and discovered Spoken Views Collective, a community for spoken-word artists and poets, and its founder, Iain Watson. Though SVC staged monthly open-mic events at Good Luck Macbeth Theatre, Ziegler thought there should be more. This thought returned to him several years later, after applying twice, unsuccessfully, to be the poet laureate for the
city of Reno. He saw he’d have to up the ante to get noticed.
“I wanted to do even more and essentially show the city of Reno and the Reno Arts and Culture Commission that nobody was going to work harder than me at uplifting this art form,”
Ziegler said.
It was the same assurance he gave Cage and Bealer when he made his pitch. With their blessing, and with himself as the host, the first Monday night Open Mic Poetry event at Shim’s took place on Jan. 3, 2022. Ziegler’s hard work helped him earn the title of poet laureate for 2024-2025.
below Shim’s small stage. Interested poets sign up—sometimes not until the very last minute—and at 6:30 p.m., the host welcomes guests, usually with a poem, and then begins making their way down the list of poets, invoking the call-and-response: “Where they at? Where they at?”
“ The first time I came (to the open mic), it felt like coming home. ”
— Camilla Downs, Shim'sOpenMic Poetryregular
And true to his word, he’s made the open mic a success, earning the first-place spot in the Best Open Mic category of our Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll.
“When we first started, there were maybe five or 10 people here,” Bealer said. “Now pretty much every seat is full. … It’s not just a bar on Mondays; it’s a way of life. We have some people who turn up every single week.”
Each Monday around 5 p.m., Ziegler places a clipboard containing a signup sheet just
moved to Reno from Sacramento in 2022. “I was very lonely,” they said. “I Googled poetry in Reno, and bam! Shim’s Open Mic.” They showed up and immediately found what they’d been looking for—a welcoming community. Having done a few open mics in Sacramento (“Definitely failed, definitely made a fool of myself,” they laughed), they felt there was little to lose by hopping onstage that first night. The openness and honesty seeping through each Monday event encouraged them to keep at it, even seeking out a hosting spot.
“I was eager. I was very much, ‘Hey, Jesse, you need help? I love poetry. I write every day! You see my work; you know I’m there every week. Let me get up there. Give me one week.’”
2Schae’s persistence earned them a regular second-Monday-of-the-month hosting spot. (Caleb W. is the fourth-Monday host; Ziegler retains the remaining Mondays.) While 2Schae works at Tesla during the day, they consider themselves a poet first and foremost.
For Camilla Downs, a published author and single mother of two kids with special needs, open-mic Mondays were life-changing. A selfconfessed introvert who was driven further inward by COVID-19, Downs said she had essentially walled herself and her family off for years. But in May 2023, finally ready to get out of the house, she discovered the open mic event online and decided to give it her one free hour.
“The first time I came, it felt like coming home,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to come back here, because I just love the energy.’”
“We do 10 slots, a brief intermission, then another 10 slots,” Ziegler said. “Most nights fill up before intermission.”
Some people perform one poem; others do several. Some are original; some aren’t. Some are new, to which the audience shouts, “New shit!”; others are not (earning the crowd’s “Old shit!”). Newbies are welcomed with raucous applause.
Lines that resonate provoke snaps. Some read off paper or phones; others freestyle. Subject matter ranges from confessional to silly, highly sexual to comedic, or even violent, inspiring trigger warnings. It feels like a sort of group therapy.
The event I attended kicked off with a freestyle poem by host 2Schae, a poet who
The second time she came, she performed her poetry aloud for the first time in her life. “I’ve been coming every Monday since and getting up and reading every time. I love it,” she said. For Downs, it’s not only a great catharsis, helping her to process parts of her life with a supportive community; it’s also ideal for networking with other like-minded folks.
2Schae said the open mic allows people to vent. “It’s a space to be reckless, to fall down, to wonder why,” they said. “Where everyone gets to say something. Where everyone’s paying attention. ... Just sign your name on the list.”
Open Mic Poetry takes place each Monday at Shim’s Surplus, 125 W. Third St., in Reno. Signups begin at 5 p.m., and the event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Learn more at shimssurplus.com.
Above: Jesse James Ziegler, who was appointed Reno’s poet laureate earlier this year, hosts the weekly Open Mic Poetry night at Shim’s. Photo/David Robert
GOODS GOODS & &SERVICES SERVICES
BEST BANK
BEST VETERINARIAN CLINIC
Klaich Animal Hospital
Runners up:
2. Mountain View Animal Hospital and Holistic Pet Care
3. Peavine Animal Hospital
4. Kings Row Pet Hospital
5. Fantasia Pet Resort and Veterinary Hospital
BEST PLACE TO BUY VINTAGE CLOTHES
Junkee Clothing Exchange
Runners up:
2. The Nest
3. St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop
4. Bad Apple Vntg
5. FreeStyle Clothing Exchange
BEST CREDIT UNION
Greater Nevada Credit Union
Runners up:
2. Great Basin Federal Credit Union
3. United Federal Credit Union
4. Mountain America Credit Union
5. One Nevada Credit Union
6. Sierra Pacific Federal Credit Union
Runners up:
Greater Nevada Credit Union
2. Wells Fargo
3. Great Basin Federal Credit Union
4. U.S. Bank
5. Nevada State Bank
6. Heritage Bank of Nevada
BEST PLACE TO GET AN AUTO SMOGGED
The Smog Place
Runners up:
2. Smog Monkey
3. GK Smog Inspection
4. Spanish Springs Smog
5. A Master Mechanic
BEST PLACE FOR MUSIC LESSONS
It’s All About Music
Runners up:
2. One Stop Guitar
3. Mountain Music Parlor
4. Play Your Own Music
5. Step Into Music
BEST CANNABIS DISPENSARY
The Dispensary
Runners up:
2. Mynt Cannabis Dispensary
3. Rise Dispensary
4. SoL Cannabis
5. Jade Cannabis Co.
BEST OUTDOOR GEAR SELECTION
Scheels
Runners up:
2. REI
3. Bobos Ski Board Patio
4. Cabela’s
5. Gear Hut
BEST CLOTHING STORE
Junkee Clothing Exchange
Runners up:
2. Dillard’s
3. Home Means Nevada Co.
4. JaDa Loft Boutique
BEST SKATE SHOP
Classic Skate Shop
Runners up:
2. Sierra Nevada Skateboards
3. Zumiez
4. Blissed Out Skate Shop
BEST SELECTION OF LOCAL ART
Sierra Arts Gallery
Runners up:
2. Reno Art Works
3. Potentialist Workshop
4. Pitch Black Printing Co.
5. Pixels & Ink
6. Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery
BEST PLACE TO BUY SEXY UNDERWEAR
Chocolate Walrus Runners up:
2. Victoria’s Secret
3. Adam & Eve
4. Walmart
BEST OPTICAL SHOP
Costco
Runners up:
2. Family Eyecare Associates
3. Downtown Vision
4. DeMers Family Vision Group
5. Eyemart Express
6. Optic Gallery
BEST PRINT SHOP
Pitch Black Printing Co. Runners up:
2. Reno Type
3. Silver Screen Printing and Embroidery
4. The Club Customs
5. DynaGraphics
6. A.Carlisle Printers
BEST BARBER SHOP
D’s Cutz Runners up:
2. Derby Barber & Supply
3. The Dream Barbershop
4. Commonwealth Barber Company
5. Heyday Barber Co.
BEST LANDSCAPING COMPANY
All Seasons Lawn & Landscaping Runners up:
2. Cory’s Lawn Service
3. Afuera Outdoor Living
4. All City Lawn & Landscaping
5. Longhorn Landscaping LLC
BEST PLACE TO GET PIERCED
Black Hole Body Piercing Runners up:
2. Evolution Tattoo
3. Under Your Skin Tattoo & Body Piercing
4. Black Widow Ink
BEST PLACE TO BUY A FIREARM
RAC Guns & Ammo Runners up:
2. Scheels
3. Cabela’s
4. Reno Guns & Range
5. Willey Brothers Firearms
BEST TANNING SALON
Pacific Sun Tanning Runners up:
2. Sunless Silhouettes
3. TIE
Element Tanning Shaded
5. Mist Connection Spray Tanning
BEST PLACE TO BUY PLAYA GARB
Junkee Clothing Exchange Runners up:
2. The Melting Pot World Emporium & Smoke Shop
3. SPCA of Northern Nevada Thrift Store
BEST JEWELRY STORE
Michael and Son’s Jewelry Co. Runners up:
2. Midtown Diamonds
3. BVW Jewelers
4. Natasha’s World Jewelry
5. Trademark Jewelry & Repair
BEST ADULT THEMED STORE
Chocolate Walrus Runners up:
2. Adam & Eve
3. Suzies
BEST FLOWER SHOP
Sparks Florist Runners up:
2. Bumblebee Blooms Flower Boutique
3. The Garden of Reno
4. The Frugal Florist
5. Abloom Floral Design
BEST BICYCLE SHOP
Reno Bike Project Runners up:
2. Great Basin Bicycles
3. Sierra Cyclesmith
4. College Cyclery
5. Free Lap Collective
BEST VIDEO GAME STORE GameStop
Runners up:
2. Cap’n Games
3. Retro Replay
BEST BEAUTY SALON
Caliber Hair & Makeup Studio
Runners up:
2. Eye Candy Salon
3. Spellbound Beauty
4. Siren Salon
5. Jessie’s Salon
6. Beautiful Nails
BEST WORKOUT WEAR SELECTION
Scheels
Runners up:
2. Lululemon
3. Patagonia
We’re like a bank, only member-owned and clearly, member-loved.
4. Reno Running Company
BEST BRIDAL SALON
Swoon
Runners up:
2. David’s Bridal
3. La Di Da Beauty Salon
4. Studio Inspire Bridal
GNCU thanks you for voting us best bank and best credit union!
Jessica Barnwell and Josh Cook from The Smog Place. Photo/David Robert
THE SMOG PLACE
GOODS & SERVICES GOODS & SERVICES
BEST PHARMACY
CVS
Runners up:
2. Costco
3. Walgreens
4. Sierra Compounding Pharmacy
5. Integricare Rx
BEST PLACE TO BUY CDS OR VINYL
Recycled Records Runners up:
2. Sundance Books and Music (closed)
3. A to Zen
4. Discology
BEST CAR WASH
Sierra Express Car Wash Runners up:
2. Buggy Bath
3. Hutch’s Car Wash
4. The Wave Car Wash
5. Jimmy’s Express Car Wash
BEST USED CLOTHING STORE
Junkee Clothing Exchange Runners up:
2. SPCA of Northern Nevada Thrift Store
3. Savers
4. Plato’s Closet
5. Freestyle Clothing Exchange
BEST THRIFT STORE
SPCA of Northern
Nevada Thrift Store Runners up:
2. St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop
3. Junkee Clothing Exchange
4. Savers
5. Assistance League Thrift Shop
BEST ANTIQUE STORE
Junkee Clothing Exchange
Runners up:
2. Midtown Antiques
3. Somewhere in Time
4. Reno Antiques
BEST MORTGAGE COMPANY
Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group Runners up:
2. Guild Mortgage
3. United Federal Credit Union
4. Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG)
5. Barrett Financial Group
BEST TATTOO PARLOR
Evolution Tattoo
Runners up:
2. Aces Tattoo
3. Seven Swans
4. Lasting Dose Tattoo & Art Collective
5. Midtown Tattoo
BEST GARDEN NURSERY
Moana Nursery
Runners up:
2. Rail City Garden Center
3. Old Stone House Gift and Garden
4. Greenhouse Garden Center
5. Truckee River Rock & Nursery
BEST WINE SHOP
Whispering Vine Wine Co.
Runners up:
2. Total Wine & More
3. Craft Wine & Beer
4. Ben’s Fine Wine & Spirits
5. Engine 8 Urban Winery
6. Blackrock Wine Co.
BEST WEDDING RECEPTION SITE
Lavender Ridge
Runners up:
2. The Elm Estate
3. Tannenbaum Events Center
4. The Virgil
5. Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa
BEST USED CAR DEALERSHIP
CarMax Runners up:
2. Dolan Toyota
3. Bill Pearce Courtesy Honda
4. Mercedes-Benz of Reno
5. AutoMax
BEST MOTORCYCLE DEALER
Reno Harley-Davidson Runners up:
2. Big Valley Honda
3. TIE
Reno Cycles & Gear
Michael’s Reno Powersports
BEST BOOKSTORE
Grassroots Books Runners up:
2. Sundance Books and Music (closed)
3. Barnes & Noble
4. The Radical Cat
BEST CHILDREN’S CLOTHING BOUTIQUE
Once Upon a Child Runners up:
2. The Children’s Place
3. Little Red Wagon Children’s Boutique
BEST SPA
Peppermill Spa Toscana Runners up:
2. Spa Atlantis
3. Steamboat Hot Springs
4. Dolce Vita Wellness Spa
5. SoulSpa
6. The Refuge Spa
BEST HOUSE CLEANING SERVICE
Molly Maid Runners up:
2. Lupe’s House Cleaning
3. L&M Professional Cleaning
4. All About Cleaning Service
5. Pristine Cleaning Solutions
BEST HARDWARE STORE
Home Depot Runners up:
2. Carter Bros. Ace Hardware
3. Lowe’s
4. Shelly’s True Value Hardware
5. North Valleys Ace Hardware (formerly True Value North Valleys Hardware)
BEST PLACE TO GET A CAR REPAIRED
Greg’s Garage Runners up:
2. Reno Vulcanizing Auto Care and Tires
3. Low Boost Performance
4. Sunshine Service Brake & Alignment
5. A Master Mechanic
6. Avila’s Auto & Truck Repair
BEST MOVING COMPANY
Two Men and a Truck Runners up:
2. Wolf Pack Moving
3. O’Brien’s Moving & Storage
4. Carney’s Full Service Movers
5. B & G Moving LLC
BEST YOGA STUDIO
Juice Box Yoga Runners up:
2. The Studio Reno
3. Temple Yoga
4. Yoga Pod Reno
5. Satori Yoga Shala
BEST VAPE SHOP
Sunny’s E Cigarettes Runners up:
2. Cloud 9 Liquor & Smoke
3. Pyramid Vapory and Art Studio
4. Knuckle Dusters
5. Slushees Vapor
6. Cloud City Smoke & Vape Shop
BEST LIQUOR STORE
Total Wine & More
Runners up:
2. Lee’s Discount Liquor
3. Ben’s Fine Wine & Spirits
4. Craft Wine and Beer
BEST GROCERY STORE
WinCo Foods Runners up:
2. Trader Joe’s
3. Raley’s
4. Great Basin Food Co-op
5. Sprouts Farmers Market
BEST CARPET CLEANING COMPANY
Evergreen Carpet Care Runners up:
2. Stanley Steemer
3. Robin’s All Out Carpet Cleaning
4. Sterling Carpet Care
GOODS & SERVICES GOODS & SERVICES
BEST EVENT PROMOTER
Amplified Entertainment Runners up:
2. Liquid Blue Events
3. Heather Hughes
4. Megan Gisi
BEST HOME FURNISHINGS STORE
RC Willey Runners up:
2. Consign Furniture
3. The Find
4. Scandinavian Designs
5. Mor Furniture
BEST SHOE SELECTION
DSW Runners up:
2. Scheels
3. Dillard’s
4. Hype Tea Market
5. Macy’s
BEST PET BOARDING/DAY CARE
Charlie’s Place Runners up:
2. Adventure Pet
BEST YOGA & PILATES
STUDIO
3. Fantasia Pet Resort
4. Pet Play House
5. Animal Oasis
BEST HEAD SHOP
2. Nevada Fine Arts
3. Eagle Framing & Art Gallery
4. The Framery
5. Pixels & Ink
BEST PET SUPPLY STORE
Pet Station Runners up:
2. PetSmart
3. Petco
4. Healthy Tails
5. Natural Paws
6. Pawsitively Pets
The Melting Pot World Emporium & Smoke Shop Runners up:
2. Art Dogs & Grace
3. Sunny’s E-Cigarettes
4. Pyramid Vapory & Art Studio
BEST GYM
Planet Fitness Runners up:
2. South Reno Athletic Club
3. Sports West Athletic Club
4. TIE American Iron Gym Orangetheory Fitness
6. Fitness Connection
This year, owner Eric Baron and his staff at the Melting Pot World Emporium sold paper Burning Man tickets, which, since 2011, had been available only online, not from in-person retailers. Baron announced in July that the store would close after 28 years in business. As of press time, a closing date had not yet been set. Photo/David Robert
Molly Maid of Reno Sparks
BEST PILATES STUDIO
Juice Box Yoga
Runners up:
2. Club Pilates
3. Tremble
4. Infinity Fitness Studios
BEST SPECIALTY FOOD STORE
Trader Joe’s Runners up:
2. Great Basin Community Food Co-op
3. Whole Foods
4. Sprouts Farmers Market
5. The Wheyfarer
BEST DRY CLEANERS
Bobby Page’s Dry Cleaners
Runners up:
2. Mia’s Professional Cleaners
3. Peerless Cleaners
4. Lakeridge Cleaners
5. Champion Laundry Center
BEST NEW CAR DEALERSHIP
Dolan Toyota
Runners up:
2. Audi Reno Tahoe
3. Dolan Lexus
4. Bill Pearce Courtesy Honda
5. Lithia Hyundai of Reno
BEST PLACE TO BUY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
Bizarre Guitar and Guns
Runners up:
2. Guitar Center
3. Absolute Music
4. Mountain Music Parlor
5. Play Your Own Music
STAFF PICK
BEST GYM
RESURRECTION
Parkway Athletic Club at Saint Mary’s 645 N. Arlington Ave., Reno
When Saint Mary’s Fitness Center shut down in February 2023 after 18 years in business, its patrons scattered to other local gyms, many of which lacked a pool and other amenities present at the Saint Mary’s facility.
It seemed the three-story, 55,000-square-foot fitness center would be shuttered permanently. But in November, the gym reopened, thanks to the Parkway Athletic Club, which has a fitness center in South Reno at 9400 Double Diamond Parkway. Prime Healthcare, the previous owner, hadn’t quite kept up with maintenance, a situation corrected by Parkway.
Today, the facility has even more amenities, and includes exercise machines, a track, steam rooms, a sauna, childcare, a warm water therapy pool and junior Olympic pool. Fitness classes and swim lessons are back as well. The facility is clean and well-maintained and boasts a friendly and knowledgeable staff.
The reopening was particularly good news for seniors who are covered by Senior Care Plus, Renown’s Medicare Advantage program, who are eligible for free memberships. Parkway also offers memberships to patrons who are signed up with Renew Active, Silver & Fit (Premium), Active & Fit (Premium), Silver Sneakers, and Prime with proof of eligibility. The gym gives discounts on membership fees to first responders, teachers, students and seniors, and it has a corporate membership program.
We didn’t know what we had until it was gone. And now it’s back—better than before, and free for hundreds of locals, depending on their health insurance.
—Frank X. Mullen
NEVADA
You won’t find someone who loves the ’80s more than New Wave Crave co-founder, lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Doerr, at least according to the band’s drummer, Bishop Bautista
Doerr, better known by his stage name “Ducky,” is the only original member of the ’80s cover band, which was voted Best Local Band in this year’s readers’ poll. He bases his stage persona on Duckie Dale, Jon Cryer’s character in Pretty in Pink. At a recent show at the National Automobile Museum, he wore dark sunglasses, a blazer over a floral buttonup and a fedora adorned with a colorful pin.
“I really have a big crush on Molly
Ringwald,” Doerr said.
Two other band members also base their looks on ’80s icons. Laura Rocke, also known as “Miss X,” is the band’s lead vocalist. As she belted out songs like “Material Girl” and “Love Shack,” she wore a bright purple tulle skirt, black lace tights and dark, chunky accessories reminiscent of Madonna or Cyndi Lauper.
The band’s bassist, Jesse James-Dillano Cruz—called simply “Jesse James” while performing —bases his look after ‘80s rock stars like Axl Rose, with blue, metallic sunglasses and a bandana pulling back his long hair.
The only band member who doesn’t have an avatar is Bautista.
“I’m just me—Bishop Bautista is Bishop Bautista,” he said, dressed for the August heat in the current decade’s casual activewear.
Doerr, along with former members Damian Janssen and Silas Bunce, started the band as a tribute to new wave bands such as Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure—some of which still make appearances in New Wave Crave’s set lists, though the band now also prioritizes pop hits from the likes of Madonna, the B-52’s and A-ha.
Bautista said he hopes New Wave Crave is an escape for people.
“Good friends. Great dancing. Great music,” he said. “Get away from everything that may have made you unhappy that week for a couple hours with New Wave Crave.”
Added Rocke: “Then we’ve done our job.”
Much of the band’s success can be attributed to Doerr’s love for the ’80s.
“We’re passionate about these songs. We like the songs, and I think people feel that vibe off of us,” he said.
Though the band’s nostalgic look and highenergy performances might look lighthearted,
New Wave Crave’s members said creating that vibe is far from effortless. It takes hours of practice to master the styles of the dozens of musicians they cover.
That practice just isn’t typically done together.
“A lot of people think we rehearse nonstop,” Bautista said. “They think we’re practicing three times a week. … We don’t rehearse. We all studied on our own. Everyone’s very professional and knows their craft. Like, our bass player—I know he’s got to nail these baselines. Our singers are going to nail the singing lines. … The accountability that every individual in the band has, it’s remarkable.”
After a show, New Wave Crave will gather at one of the band members’ homes and watch the recording of a concert like a professional sports team, analyzing where they could have improved. Their study doesn’t stop at just sound, either.
“We used to mute it,” Doerr said. “And if we were bored, we knew we were performing it wrong. It’s got to be entertaining to watch, even without the music.”
Doerr added: “If you lived through the ’80s, and you remember how great it was, we want to re-live it with you again. If you have kids who never experienced the ’80s, we want to still share that experience with them.”
Learn more at newwavecrave.com.
Above: New Wave Crave played at the Grand Sierra Resort as part of Hot August Nights on Aug. 8. The band members, from left to right, are Jesse James-Dillano Cruz, Laura “Miss X” Rocke with drummer Bishop Bautista just barely visible behind her, and Justin “Ducky” Doerr.
Think Free!
KIDS & FAMILY KIDS & FAMILY STAFF PICK
BEST PLACE FOR FAMILIES ON A BUDGET TO BEAT THE SUMMER HEAT
BEST KID-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT
Red Robin
Runners up:
2. Scoopers
3. Chuck E. Cheese
4. South 40
5. Texas Roadhouse
BEST PARK
Idlewild Park
Runners up:
2. Rancho San Rafael Regional Park
3. Pah Rah Mountain Park
4. Damonte Ranch Park
5. Wingfield Park
BEST LIBRARY
Downtown Reno Library
Runners up:
2. Spanish Springs Library
3. Northwest Reno Library
4. South Valleys Library
5. Sparks Library
BEST INDOOR ACTIVITY FOR KIDS
The Discovery Museum
Runners up:
2. Coconut Bowl at Wild Island
3. Fly High Trampoline Park
4. Roller Kingdom
5. KidScape Productions
6. South 40
North Valleys Water Splash Park
8085 Silver Lake Road, Reno
Keeping kids entertained all summer long is not only exhausting; it’s expensive. Luckily, the North Valleys Water Splash Park is an awesome, inexpensive resource for all. Located in North Valleys Regional Park, the water park—open in mid-June through Labor Day— has a Reno Stead Airport theme, perfect for airplane-obsessed kiddos. Features also include bungee swings for littles, an airplane statue with water propellers, an air traffic control tower fountain, water cannons and the crown jewel of the park, a structure styled after Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon with slides and a giant bucket that dumps.
The best splash-park hack is to visit on a weekday and bring your lunch. Entry is only $5, and it’s free for kids 2 and under. Outside food and drink is allowed, as long as you don’t bring glass containers. A small snack shack sells bargain snacks for 50 cents, ice cream for $1.50, and drinks for $2. At those prices, the splash park is great for a little afternoon adventure, and you don’t have to stress if your toddler has a meltdown, or if you find that your wonderful parent self is completely
BEST WEEKNIGHT ACTIVITY
Reno Aces
Runners up:
2. Coconut Bowl at Wild Island
3. Magic Carpet Golf
4. Swift Sportsdome
BEST TOY STORE
Toys N More
Runners up:
2. Learning Express
3. Target
4. Kelekia Toys and Gifts
BEST FAMILY OUTING
Lake Tahoe
Runners up:
2. Coconut Bowl at Wild Island
3. Reno Aces
4. The Discovery Museum
5. Magic Carpet Golf
BEST ARCADE GAMES
Coconut Bowl at Wild Island
Runners up:
2. Press Start
3. Circus Circus
4. Round1
5. South 40
6. Peppermill
PERSONALITIES PERSONALITIES
BEST TATTOO ARTIST
Melissa Varney
Runners up:
2. Tony Medellin
3. Jon Potter
4. Ron Rash
5. Jason Dugan
BEST NAIL TECHNICIAN
Devon Biancalana, Look Nook Salon
Runners up:
2. Adina Pearl, Shear Pearl Salon
3. Laura Potter
4. Serena Mulock, TresImage
5. Tasha Bronneke
BEST PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeramie Lu
Runners up:
2. Neil Lockhart
3. Tyler Aguilar
4. Shayna Vincent
BEST LOCAL POLITICIAN
Hillary Schieve
Runners up:
2. Donald Abbott
3. Angie Taylor
4. Naomi Duerr
5. Devon Reese
6. Joseph Rodriguez
BEST PLASTIC SURGEON
Dr. Tiffany McCormack
Runners up:
2. Dr. LaDawn Talbott
3. Dr. Louis Bonaldi
4. Dr. Phillip Dahan
BEST LOCAL ATHLETE
David Wise
Runners up:
2. Krysta Palmer
3. Anna Costello
4. Virgil Green
5. Ray Kerr
3. Jessica Davis, FiveWest Studio and Designers
4. John Ludwig. Hedwig Ludman Interiors
5. Chrystelle Musquin, Ethan Allen
BEST BARBER
Vincent Gravallese, Derby Barber & Supply Runners up:
2. Derrick Smith, D’s Cutz
3. Bryson Bowles, Bob the Barber
4. Chris Bonde, Derby Barber & Supply
5. Damon Watson, Downtown Barbershop
BEST PERSONAL TRAINER
Sherilyn Cabanting Allen Runners up:
2. Mena Spodobalski
3. Ralph Rodriguez
4. Carey Kytle
BEST LOCAL ACTIVIST
Grant Denton
Runners up:
2. Lily Baran
3. Stacey Spain
4. Kentot Allen
5. Hannah Hoobyar
BEST LOCAL RADIO DJ OR DJ TEAM
Chris Payne, Rock 104.5 Runners up:
2. JJ Christy, K-Bull 98.1
3. Max Volume, 105.7 KOZZ
4. Bill & JLynn in the Morning, Alice 96.5
5. Kevin Smith and Jay Slater, 105.7 KOZZ
BEST ATTORNEY
Washoe County District
Attorney Christopher Hicks Runners up:
2. Joey Gilbert
3. Samantha Amato
4. TIE
Richard Davies
Jesse Kalter
6. Cliff Young
BEST MASSAGE THERAPIST
Tony Avila
Runners up:
2. Keisha Curtis. Sol State Massage
3. Cami Luc, Metamorphosis Salon and Day Spa
4. Nancy Kellogg, Galena Sport Physical Therapy
5. Mike Fronk, Haven Salon Studios
BEST LOCAL TV NEWS ANCHOR
Kristen Remington, 2news (KTVN)
Runners up:
2. Joe Hart, KRNV
3. Rebecca Kitchen, KOLO 8 News Now
4. Ryan Canaday, 2news (KTVN)
5. Taylor Burke, KOLO 8 News Now
6. Alejandra Falconi, Telemundo Reno
BEST LOCAL SONGWRITER
Rick Hays
Runners up:
2. Greg Gilmore
3. April Higuera
4. Canyon White
5. Jenes Carter
BEST WEDDING PLANNER
Mikayla Slack, Amplified Entertainment
Runners up:
2. Kayla Lewis, That Blissful Moment
3. Martin Gunderson Events
4. Trista DeWeese, Blushworthy Events
5. Event Planning by Annie
BEST HAIR STYLIST
Sarah Vohland, Haven Salon Studios
Runners up:
2. Amy Edmonds, Cactus Water Studio
3. Tres Benzley, Caliber Hair and Makeup
4. Jessica Harvey, Eye Candy Salon
5. Mario Valenzuela, Saku Salon
BEST CHIROPRACTOR
Todd Stevenson, Peak Performance Chiropractic
Runners up:
2. Joe Day, Day Chiropractic
3. Bryan Hansen, ProSpinal
4. Reid Brecke, Brecke Chiropractic Center
5. Brent Roelofs, Apex Chiropractic Center
BEST DENTIST
Dr. Scott Futch
Runners up:
2. Dr. Drew Champagne
3. Dr. Jason Sala
4. Dr. John Bocchi
5. Dr. Eric Escobar
Tattoo artist Melissa Varney. Photo/David Robert
BEST ORTHODONTIST
Dr. William O’Gara Runners up: 2. Pitts Orthodontics
3. Dr. Kevin Andrews
4. Dr. Adam Welmerink 5. Dr. Anika Rodgers
BEST DANCE INSTRUCTOR
Sara B Dancin’ Runners up: 2. Vaquera Vikki
3. Kelly August
4. Dustin Valcalda
5. Jenes Carter
BEST LOCAL AUTHOR
Alicia Barber Runners up:
2. Marie Navarro
3. Michael Branch
4. Charles Wellington II 5. Jeffrey Matucha
STAFF PICK
BEST AESTHETICIAN TIE
Lisa Manss, SoulSpa
Stephanie Butler, Plumb + Pine Runners up:
3. Brandi Myers, Arosa Asthetics Med Spa
4. Sara Love, Renovation Medical Spa
BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT
Tammie Cox Runners up:
2. Nicolle Gust
3. Ginger Marphis
4. Liliana Loera
5. Kaila Bailey
BEST LOCAL ACTOR/ACTRESS
Jeremy Renner Runners up:
2. Luis Galvez
3. Jessica Coxxx
4. Mary Bennett
5. Bradford Ka’ai’ai
As a sober person, when I am at a drinking establishment, I am often relegated to a limited selection of non-alcoholic beer at best, and, at worst, just a soda. But at Craft Wine & Beer, owner Ty Martin and his team treat their selection of NA items with the same care and thoughtful curation they apply to anything that lines their shelves.
Craft’s extensive collection—from canned NA cocktails to bottles of award-winning NA spirits—is plentiful and constantly changing, with new and surprising sober tipples to satisfy even the dorkiest beverage enthusiasts. As with their enormous selection of alcoholic beverages, the team at Craft has recommendations galore to ensure that your house parties are inclusive and tasty.
As part of the growing sober population, it is lovely to walk into a place like Craft and feel like what you prefer is not just a token dusty item in the back of the
know
Among the many murals around town (and in Carson City, Fernley and Elko) that Joe C. Rock has painted is “The Wings of Burlesque,” on the exterior of The Theatre in the Keystone Square shopping center. Photo/David Robert
BEST LOCAL MUSICIAN
Rick Hays Runners up: 2. Rick Metz
3. April Higuera 4. Jenes Carter
BEST GYNECOLOGIST
Dr. Susan DiGrazia Perry Runners up: 2. Dr. Sara Working 3. Dr. Sherrie Hald 4. Dr. Peter DeKay 5. Dr. Iolanda Edsall
BEST CLUB OR EVENT DJ Vaquera Vikki Runners up:
DJ Jeremy McGuigan 3. DJ Drewski
Dustin Valcalda 5. 2 Amazing Mobile Events
BEST VISUAL ARTIST
Joe C. Rock Runners up:
2. Pan Pantoja
3. Blair Latos
4. Tharon Green
BEST FAMILY DOCTOR
Dr. Andrew Pasternak Runners up:
2. Dr. Thomas O’Gara
3. Dr. Amber Hayes
4. Dr. Jennifer Hornback
Voted Best Plastic Surgeon
I’m deeply honored to have been voted Best Plastic Surgeon for 2024 by the readers of Reno News & Review! This recognition reflects the incredible support from the Reno and Lake Tahoe communities, and on behalf of our entire team, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude. We are excited to continue delivering exceptional care and outstanding results to meet all of our patients’ aesthetic needs. Thank you! THANK YOU RENO! Reno Tahoe Plastic Surgery & MSpa 5530 Kietzke Lane | Reno, NV 89511 | (775) 284-2020 plasticsurgeryrenotahoe.com
Dr. McCormack, a Stanford-trained and board-certified plastic surgeon, is committed to creating elegant, naturallooking results that enhance your existing features. Her surgical specialties include: Tiffany McCormack, MD
Our practice is also home to the award winning MSpa, the premier choice for high-quality medical spa services in the Reno and Lake Tahoe areas.
BEST PLACE TO SWIM
OUTDOORS OUTDOORS
BEST PLACE TO SKATE
Roller Kingdom
Runners up:
2. Believe Plaza
3. TIE
Locomotion Plaza
Panther Valley Skate Park
BEST PICNIC SPOT
Idlewild Park
Runners up:
2. Rancho San Rafael Regional Park
3. Mayberry Park
4. Davis Creek Regional Park
5. Oxbow Nature Study Area
BEST GOLF COURSE
Red Hawk Golf and Resort
Runners up:
2. Montrêux Golf & Country Club
3. Lakeridge Golf Course
4. Sierra Sage Golf Course
5. ArrowCreek
BEST SNOWBOARDING
Lake Tahoe
Runners up:
2. Sand Harbor
3. Wild Island
4. Pyramid Lake
5. Truckee River
BEST BICYCLE RIDE PATH/DESTINATION
Truckee River Bike Trail
Runners up:
2. Tahoe East Shore Trail
3. Incline Flume Trail
4. Rancho San Rafael Regional Park
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
Runners up:
2. Heavenly Ski Resort
3. Northstar California Resort
4. Kirkwood Ski Resort
STAFF PICK
BEST SKI RESORT
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
Runners up:
2. Heavenly Ski Resort
3. Northstar California Resort
4. Sugar Bowl Resort
5. Homewood Mountain Resort
BEST LOCAL HOT SPRINGS
Carson Hot Springs
Runners up:
2. David Walley’s Resort
3. Steamboat Hot Springs
BEST HARVEST FESTIVAL
Andelin Family Farm
Runners up:
2. Sierra Nevada Lavender and Honey Festival
3. Ferrari Farms
BEST HIKING TRAIL
Hunter Creek Trail
Runners up:
2. Tahoe Rim Trail
3. Galena Creek Trail
4. Thomas Creek Trail
5. Brown’s Creek Trail
BEST HIKE FOR WHEN YOU JUST NEED TO SCREAM
Deadman’s Creek Trail
5972-6008 Eastlake Blvd., New Washoe City
Boss, sister, husband, ever-increasing bills, lifted white truck that cut you off on the freeway? It doesn’t matter what you need a release from—the Deadman’s Creek Trail at Washoe Lake State Park is the place to go to shout out all frustrations.
This hike is short (about 1.2 miles out and back) but gains a pretty little nugget of elevation, about 300 feet in six-tenths of a mile. The trek to the top gives you just enough time to ruminate on your righteousness between belabored breaths. At the peak, a lovely gazebo stands like an altar for your laments. Best of all, the incessant Washoe winds overpower all other noises, giving you a welcome shelter from judgement as you scream to your heart’s content.
Once you’ve had your fill, enjoy the absolute beauty of Slide Mountain reflected in the calm waters below. Zigzag your way down from the peak, enjoying the wildflowers growing along the water during early spring, or the contrast between dusty sagebrush and iron-rich rock any time of the year. If that didn’t quell your bad day, contemplate the trail’s name—and be glad you are not the dead man in question.
—Helena Guglielmino
William and Gianna Russell play at one of Idlewild Park’s two playgrounds. Photo/David Robert
Pulling back the curtain
Your guide to this fall’s local theater happenings
I’ve written this local theater guide many times through the years, and the lineup has never been as heavily influenced by an election as it is this fall. In interview after interview, artistic directors shared with me that their fall programming was driven by a desire to lighten the mood, unify people, comfort during a contentious time— and address what’s at stake for the future.
This fall’s lineup is bursting with shows that speak to this historic moment, from a head-on confrontation about what really goes on in the White House, to cathartic explorations of today’s relevant issues, to pure escapism.
While we always try to provide comprehensive coverage, at press time, several companies still had not finalized or shared their schedules with us. Be sure to visit individual companies’ websites for updates and ticketing details.
RENO
Ageless Repertory Theatre
A partner of Reno Little Theater, ART presents staged readings of well-loved plays. Performed at 1 p.m. on a Tuesday and Friday every month, shows are free (donations are always welcome), and seating is open.
ART’s fall lineup starts with A.R. Gurney’s Labor Day, about a playwright whose penultimate work proves difficult for a young director’s purposes—and downright uncomfortable for the playwright’s unsuspecting family. It runs Sept. 24 and 27.
On Oct. 15 and 18, ART will present two one-act comedies by resident playwright Cleb Maddux—A Good Day for a Jackalope, which explores how going to a high school reunion is
like a vasectomy, and Luck, about a man who benefits from a financial windfall that forces him to choose between money and love. Then comes I Remember Mama, on Nov. 19 and 22, which recounts the everyday life and economic struggles of a Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco in the early 20th century.
ART closes out 2024 with Robert Harling’s beloved ode to Southern women, Steel Magnolias, on Dec. 10 and 13.
www.renolittletheater.org/art-at-rlt
Brüka Theatre
Brüka’s transcendence-themed season features a lineup of out-there stories and original creations. Speaking of “out there,” Oct. 4-26 brings us a play based on a bizarre 1973 cult-classic film,
BY JESSICA SANTINA
Actors rehearse POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a comedy about women who work at the White House, opening Friday, Sept. 13, at Reno Little Theater.
Photo/David Robert
The Baby, about a social worker’s encounter with a 21-year-old man who behaves as if he’s an infant.
Close Encounters of the Human Kind, by local playwright Bob Gabrielli, runs Nov. 8-10. This one-man show is a compilation of five short, comedic and bittersweet plays that Gabrielli has submitted to Brüka’s Biggest Little Theatre & New Works Festival.
Next, Buttcracker is back, from Dec. 1-22! This year’s original spoof of The Nutcracker is Little Miss Buttcracker, which producing artistic director Mary Bennett describes as “Little Miss Sunshine meets Dance Moms.”
Finally, Brüka Theatre for Children returns with the Wildly Ridiculous History of Nevada—a remix of last year’s version that focuses on Nevada legends. The show will tour schools as part of the Pioneer Center Youth Programs. www.bruka.org
Good Luck Macbeth
Despite the recent loss of Sarah Hinz as GLM’s executive director, the company is moving full steam ahead, with artistic director Bill Ware at the helm and a Halloween-inspired, comedic blockbuster on the schedule: Night of the Living Dead Live, running Oct. 4-26, a hilarious, campy version of another cult classic, George Romero’s ’60s-era horror film. Romero’s film broke ground for its inclusion of a Black actor as a horror-film protagonist. In that spirit, director Jovani Lugo and associate director Lily Perez have made diversity and inclusion a priority for this production, collaborating with and featuring BIPOC artists in both the play itself and with work that will be on display at GLM.
GLM’s much-loved holiday staple The Golden Girls will return Dec. 5-21, featuring four of our favorite GLM actors in drag (Christopher Daniels returns as Blanche, of course!) performing three episodes of the ’80s sitcom (not to mention commercials).
www.goodluckmacbeth.org
Reno Little Theater
RLT’s 90th season begins in September, on the heels of what was its biggest-selling show ever, The SpongeBob Musical. To celebrate, RLT will present two complementary shows in repertory, on alternate weekends, from Sept. 13-Oct. 20. First is POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a comedy about seven women who work at the White House for a certain clueless (fictional) president.
On alternating weekends is the perfect complement, Support Group for Men, about a regular Thursday-night men’s support group meeting, and the small and large (and hilarious) issues they discuss. As Eric Boudreau, RLT’s community engagement manager, explains, “We’re trying not to get too dramatic during this really tumultuous time we’ll be in from now through November.”
Next up, it’s We Are Monsters, a production of Broadway Our Way, RLT’s youth-education program. This 45-minute show, running Oct. 24-26, is the story of human kids who enter a cabaret of monsters.
RLT’s final mainstage production of 2024 is The Three Musketeers, Ken Ludwig’s comedic take on the swashbuckling classic. Finally, enjoy some extra laughs at improv shows by Crocodile Nixon Improv and Comedy (formerly known as Midtown Improv Jam), once a month at RLT. renolittletheater.org
Sierra School of Performing Arts
SSPA is fresh off its big summer production of Bye Bye Birdie, and now the company is settling in to its new lineup of classes for all ages in its more comfortable space at the brand-new Northern Nevada Performing Arts Collective.
Meanwhile, the team just finished holding auditions for its production of Beauty and the Beast Jr., slated for the last two weekends of January at Damonte Ranch
The Proscenium Players at a cast readthrough.
Concert Hall. Between instrumental pieces performed by the orchestra, TMCC students will perform scenes and soliloquies from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Finally, there’s Nearly, Washington by J. Chavez, running Nov. 14-23. In this world premiere, we meet the inhabitants of Nearly, Wash. (“north of Vancouver and south of Vancouver”), which include bears, puppets, demons and bee costumes.
University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Theatre & Dance
Bill Ware is playing double duty, both at Good Luck Macbeth and as director of UNR’s The Laramie Project, running Nov. 1-10. Written by Moisés Kaufman in 2000, it’s an important and relevant show that deals with the reactions of locals to the 1998 torture and murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.
www.unr.edu/theatre-dance
SPARKS
High School. www.sierraschoolofperformingarts.org
The Theatre
They say don’t mess with a good thing, so Kevin and Caruso, the dazzling magical duo behind Magique, are keeping it going every Saturday night. wethetheatre.com
TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada
TWNN will hold its fourth annual Seasons Past Fall Festival fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 19. Enjoy carnival games, food, a costume contest, dancing and a haunted house themed around the company’s recent shows—Shrek’d: A Musical Parody and The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. Admission is ticketed by activity. From Dec. 6-15, look for TWNN’s production of A New London Christmas Carol, a musical based on the Dickens classic. twnn.org
Truckee Meadows Community College Performing Arts
At our local community college, the focus is on challenging students and exploring brand-new works. On Friday, Nov. 1, they will present a staged reading of The Dimmest Stage Light, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story written by TMCC student Caitlin Hopkins. That’s followed by a collaboration with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Orchestral Hamlet, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 9 and 10, at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Nightingale
Proscenium Players, Inc.
PPI, one of Northern Nevada’s oldest theater companies, is celebrating its 59th season. This fall, it will present Jim Leonard Jr.’s The Diviners, opening Friday, Nov. 8, at the Brewery Arts Center. In the show, set during the Great Depression, an ex-preacher named C.C. Showers arrives in Zion, Ind., to start life anew and has major impacts—good and bad—on its residents.
PPI also will continue its Improv at the BAC workshops every Wednesday evening. www.prosceniumplayersinc.com
Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company WNMTC brings the exuberant musical Legally Blonde to the Carson City Community Center Nov. 8-24. Like the film, the musical follows Elle Woods, who heads to Harvard to win back the law-student boyfriend who just jilted her, and winds up finding herself. The show’s poprock score is performed by a full, professional orchestra.
www.wnmtc.com
Wild Horse Productions
Restless Artists Theatre
RAT is dusting off a returning hit: Out of Sterno, Sept. 7-9, in which Dotty, a woman whose husband forbids her to leave the house, receives a mysterious phone call that forces her to venture out into a harsh world.
Next up is Distant Music, a comedy about three people who are transformed by being stuck together in a pub during a blizzard. It runs Nov. 1-11.
From Dec. 6-16, RAT presents What Is “Murder”? A Mystery/Comedy, about four Jeopardy! champions meeting to prepare for the Tournament of Champions, until one is killed. rattheatre.com
CARSON CITY/ CARSON VALLEY
Carson City Ghost Walk
Brüka’s own Mary Bennett lights up fall nights as Madame Curry, who leads 90-minute walking tours of famous haunted spaces in the capital city. This year, Bennett will present Madame Curry’s Penny Dreadfuls—short, sensational stories about crimes or the supernatural— written by Bennett herself.
Flashlight tours take place Saturdays from Sept. 7-28. Bennett and her team of “spirit wranglers” also will host a full day of tours on Saturday, Oct. 19. Make your reservations on the website.
carsoncityghostwalk.com
Wild Horse’s children’s programming always impresses and delights with rich visuals and ambitious staging. This December’s production, Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka Jr., running Dec. 6-15, tells the story of poor young Charlie Bucket, who finds a golden ticket that grants him access to his chocolate dreams. It features a monster-sized cast of 130 young people (the show is double-cast), and set design will, of course, be an extravaganza of colors, lights and candy. www.wildhorsetheater.com.
Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company’s Legally Blonde opens Nov. 8 at the Carson City Community Center.
FILM & TV
Lights, camera, opportunity!
The Cordillera International Film Festival brings the world to Reno—and springboards local filmmakers’ careers
The Cordillera International Film Festival, in its seventh year, not only sets the stage for filmmakers from 83 countries to screen their feature and short films; it also opens doors for local filmmakers.
The event boasts five days of film screenings, and select screenplays receive table readings by professional actors. At PitchFest!, 10 hopefuls have three minutes (only talk, no audio or visual tools) to pitch their projects before a panel of judges and a live audience. The public gets a peek behind the scenes, and filmmakers get valuable exposure and opportunities to connect with people in the film industry.
“The Cordillera Film Festival has helped with networking,” said Reno filmmaker Bryon Evans, who first submitted his work to Cordillera in 2018. Last year, he directed
and cast actors for roles at a table reading.
Evans fell in love with comic-book art and its sequential style of storytelling while watching Tim Burton’s Batman on the big screen. He sketched comics of his own, a skill he would later utilize in storyboarding for films. While producing more than 300 30-second commercials in five years for Charter Media, Evans learned the many facets of film production, from the initial client contact to the final edits. When his position narrowed in scope to writing and directing, he was reluctant to relinquish his work in cinematography. Instead, he launched Bryon Evans Films in 2013.
“Every project is a little different,” he said about his leap to freelancing. “I get to learn so much about so many different subjects.”
He continued producing commercials and expanded his offerings to music videos, docu-
mentaries and narrative films, flying to Eastern Europe and South America for travel-TV pilots. He’s journeyed to 14 different countries to date. In 2016, Evans brought on board his wife, Shannon Balazs, an experienced photographer with solid artistic chops, to assist with production.
In 2018, Evans entered his short horror film Inflatio into Cordillera. It was his first foray into film festivals, and he didn’t know what to expect. He was the writer, director and cinematographer, and he storyboarded each scene. He refers to the darkly comic thriller short as his “baby.” Balazs oversaw costumes, makeup and production design. She created intricate spiderwebs, and even mold to capture the gritty vibe of the desolate cabin where a desperate man pleads with his silent, brooding captor. Upon Inflatio’s nomination for Best Nevada
| BY SUSAN WINTERS
Reno filmmaker Bryon Evans, seen here filming in Virginia City, is the cinematographer for Un Homme and a Lady, one of more than 150 films that will be screened at the 2024 Cordillera International Film Festival. Evans credits his participation in the festival over the years with helping to propel his career.
Short, a pair of Los Angeles directors recommended that Evans submit it to other festivals. The film was well-received at a variety of genre film festivals, scoring honors at Horrible Imaginings, Crimson Screen, Nightmares Film Festival, Highlands Film Fest and the Short. Sweet. Film Fest.
Evans took home an Audience Choice Award in the 2020 installment of Cordillera (which took place pandemic-year-style—virtually and at the West Wind El Rancho Drive-In theater in Sparks). This accolade was for Art Within Nature, a 22-minute documentary about Trails & Vistas, an annual, organized, three-mile hike with stops along the way for viewing art installations, musical performances and spoken-word readings. Evans and his crew filmed the 2019 event, which took place in Tahoe City, Calif. The shoot presented some unusual challenges. So as not to interfere with the hikers’ experience, the crew of four often hid, shooting from a distance, and quickly interviewed performers once the hikers had moved on.
Though he’s not on a panel this year, Evans is looking forward to the 2024 festival. He and Balazs supplied their respective talents as cinematographer and production designer to two entries in this year’s festival, Un Homme and a Lady, a black-and-white French new wave film; and Watching Walter, a drama based on a true story about a holocaust survivor. Los Angeles-based director and Cordillera veteran Mitch Yapko directed both short films.
“For my filmmaking career, CIFF is an important experience for me,” Evans said. “It showed me a place where filmmakers, new or seasoned, are treated with respect and celebrated, and their work is showcased with the highest regard. I consider Cordillera Film Fest, and film festivals in general, as a necessary venue to help propel new and upcoming narrative work and celebrate new artists.”
The Cordillera International Film Festival, featuring 150-plus films, celebrity panels, red-carpet premieres and parties, will take place Thursday, Sept. 26, through Monday, Sept. 30. The main events will take place at Galaxy Theatres Legends, 1170 Scheels Drive, in Sparks, with other events at venues around Reno. For tickets and information, visit www. ciffnv.org.
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| BY BOB GRIMM
Social satire
Channing Tatum gets a great showcase in ‘Blink Twice’; Apple TV+’s ‘Bad Monkey’
Is a perfect vehicle for Vince Vaughn
Zoë Kravitz makes a watchable—and appropriately unpleasant—directorial debut with Blink Twice, a caustic and vicious social satire that gives Channing Tatum a massive showcase. The movie doesn’t completely hold together and unravels a bit as it plays out, but it packs enough wallops to earn a watch … a tense, unsettling watch.
Frida (Naomi Ackie) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) are servers at a fundraiser led by Slater (Tatum), a billionaire trying to atone for some recent sins. The two unexpectedly wind up on his plane flying to his private island. There, they wind up partying hard with a league of other privileged guests, including minor celebrity Sarah (Adria Arjona), who was in some survival/challenge shows on TV. Other guests include Tom (Haley Joel Osment), Vic (Christian Slater), Cody (Simon Rex) and Lucas (Levon Hawke, another talented Uma Thurman/Ethan Hawke offspring).
The vaping, smiling Slater seems to be a generous host, and the partygoers all seem harmless, but some strange happenings involving snakes, perfumes and drugs are
hints that something sinister may be afoot. Kravitz (who co-wrote the twisty script with E.T. Feigenbaum) interweaves themes of therapy and trauma as the stay on the island starts to get long and spooky.
Tatum gets some moments to truly go off in what winds up being one of his best performances, while Ackie and Shawkat shine as they negotiate some difficult and progressively unpleasant material. While things start off as a bit funny, you probably won’t be laughing too much in the final act.
This is a movie where the less a reviewer says, the better. Kravitz plays with some heady themes here, and it is a bit much at times; that results in a slightly uneven vibe despite the good elements. Still, Blink Twice is a daring debut, and I can’t help but be curious about what she does next.
With each passing year, I’m happier and happier about the emergence of Apple TV+ as a top streaming service. It was a bit of a joke at first, but it’s putting together a great roster.
The latest triumph is Bad Monkey, a miraculously great vehicle for Vince Vaughn that allows him to inhabit a character that will have you eagerly awaiting each weekly episode. This is one of those shows where a weekly release of episodes is preferable to a one-time release of all episodes and a weekend binge.
Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie in Blink Twice.
Vaughn plays Andrew Yancy, a suspended detective who can’t help but continue investigating things, especially after somebody hooks a severed arm on a fishing trip. That arm provides the basis for what will become, hopefully, the first of many mysteries for the nosy Yancy to solve in the years to come.
The show plays like a modern-day The Rockford Files or Magnum, P.I., only this time, everybody is allowed to swear. Vaughn’s mastery of snappy dialogue reminds of his past triumphs that made him a great comedic and dramatic actor over the years. It’s as if somebody synthesized all of his great qualities into a perfectly suited script and character and set him loose.
The surrounding cast, including Meredith Hagner, Michelle Monaghan, L. Scott Caldwell, Rob Delaney, Alex Moffat and the monkey in the title surround Yancy with worthy allies and adversaries.
There are some rumblings out there that Ted Lasso, which was co-created by Bad Monkey creator Bill Lawrence, could be returning for a fourth season on Apple TV+. That would be fun, but after watching the first three episodes of Bad Monkey, I’m thinking this Vaughn-starring vehicle will be the show that has me more excited.
Bad Monkey is streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes being released on Wednesdays through Oct. 9.
Seven years after director Ridley Scott’s effort to make three Alien prequels died with the second chapter in that proposed trilogy (the underappreciated Alien: Covenant), the franchise has gotten another reboot with Alien: Romulus. Director Fede Alvarez, who attempted to spark the Evil Dead franchise with a credible remake in 2013, endeavors to do the same with Alien, and the result, Alien: Romulus, is sometimes solid, and sometimes clunky and choppy. It has various elements that are throwbacks to prior films, but it also tries some new stuff out by throwing a bunch of bloody, gooey visuals at the space-station wall to see what sticks. Quite a bit does stick, and it’s super-gross at times.
Set between the events of the first Scott-directed Alien (1979) and James Cameron’s Aliens (1986), in the year 2142, the film owes a lot to the original look of Alien (the suits, the ships, the computer graphics), which makes sense with the film set just 20 years after the original.
Rain (Cailee Spaeny of Civil War and Priscilla) is living in a dark mining colony (offering echoes of Aliens and Alien 3) with her android “brother,” Andy (David Jonsson), and is seeking a way out. Some of her friends hatch a plan to board a derelict space vehicle and snatch some equipment that can help them hibernate and travel lots of space miles. The vehicle is owned by the same company that controls the colony, the villainous Weyland-Yutani.
After boarding the vehicle … well, there’s a Xenomorph problem, of course. Rain and pals must dodge massive loads of face-huggers and,
Vince Vaughn in Bad Monkey
eventually, the bigger suckers we’ve all come know, love and dread. Alvarez knows how to set up a legit scare, and some of the carnage scenes in this one rank among the franchise’s best. The film lacks originality, but it makes up for that in sustained tension, dread and a sense of impending doom. As with past Alien films, nobody is really safe here, and characters who seem to be driving the plot are dispatched one after the other. There are times when it feels like the movie is more “fan service” than its own thing, with dialogue callbacks that make little sense and some completely copied plot points. There is a sequence involving a big cocoon that looks like a vagina which stands as the film’s most original concept—and it’s most yucky. Spaeny is good here, giving us a character to root for, Ripley-style. But it’s Jonsson who offers the film’s best performance as he shifts between being a damaged, sensitive android and an emotionless, steely company drone, morphing in and out of different programs forced into his skull. There have been some great android performances in the franchise (Ian Holm, Michael Fassbender), but his might be the best. Even with the great performances, solid
special effects and effective pacing, the film still comes off as a bit forgettable—a non-important chapter in the series. Scott’s most recent films (Prometheus and Alien: Covenant) had a sense of grandeur and offered something new, despite their missteps. This one feels like enjoyable fast-food Alien, but it’s not substantial enough to rank it high in the series. It’s way better than Alien Resurrection, but nowhere near the excellence of Scott’s original or James Cameron’s Aliens. I’d rank it about even with Covenant
This was originally meant to go straight to Hulu (like the quite-good Predator movie, Prey), but producers wisely chose to put Romulus on big screens—and it’s a hit. That sets us up for more Alien movies and, soon to come, a TV series. Alien: Romulus shows us that there’s life in them slimy Xenomorphs a good 45 years after their first screen appearance. Will Ridley Scott use the momentum of this film to resurrect and conclude his trilogy? Will Alvarez keep the baton and continue that momentum? Will Ridley Scott ever make that Bee Gees biopic? Who knows—but we know that Alien will be back, this time on TV, with Alien: Earth, in 2025.
Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson in Alien: Romulus.
BEST 3 THINGS
Luscious lunches
Yellow
curry, pepperoni pizza and Hawaii BBQ chicken!
I recently started an office job and now get to experience the joy of a lunch hour. While this concept might not thrill everyone, for me, it’s an opportunity to explore an entirely new range of food options that never mattered much to me before: lunch specials.
What are the good, centrally located spots that make for an efficient outing? Which places are good for groups with a range of dietary restrictions? What about when you’re pressed for time and need something delicious to take back to the office for a solid desk lunch? These are the hard-hitting questions I’ve been asking myself.
Here are the results of my research should you be in need of a good midday pick-me-up.
What: chicken yellow curry lunch special
Where: Thai Lotus, 6430 S. Virginia St., Reno
Contact: Thailotusreno.com; 775-852-5033
Price: $12.95
If you feel like sitting down to lunch outside of the office yet need to get back in time for a meeting, Thai Lotus is a great option with quick service for a work lunch. Featuring a special lunch menu with a variety of dishes from curries to noodles, it’s a great place to pop in, either alone or with a group, and know
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that there are plenty of options to satisfy the party. If you order from the lunch menu, each entrée is served with an appetizer, salad and rice, and most combinations are less than $15, depending on your choice of protein.
I recently opted for the yellow curry with chicken and found it to be delicious—a perfectly light option for the middle of the workday. I also enjoyed the gyoza appetizer and side salad, which came with a peanut dressing. This meal is best eaten at the restaurant.
What: pepperoni lunch pizza
Where: South Creek Pizza Co.,
| BY MAUDE BALLINGER
45 Foothill Road, Reno
Contact: southcreekpizza.com; 775-622-1620
Price: $12
South Creek Pizza Co. recently started offering its lunch menu again, which is great news for anyone who needs an afternoon pie. Pepperoni is usually my go-to, and the version at South Creek never disappoints due to its crispy pepperoni cups, oozy melty cheese, and crisp, bubbly crust.
South Creek’s lunch pizzas are smaller than its regular pizzas, which makes sense, because it’s hard not to finish the entire pie here, and it’s never fun to want to take a nap when you are back at your desk to work. A side salad option automatically makes the entire meal healthy, in my book.
What: Hawaii BBQ chicken plate lunch
Where: Kenji’s, 3940 Spring Drive, Suite 6, Reno
Contact: www.kenjisfoodtruck.com; 775-384-9022
Price: $13.95
If you’re looking for a quick pick-up lunch that you know will travel back to your desk well, a food-truck-turned-brick-and-mortar place is always a good choice. Enter Kenji’s, a Hawaiian joint off Longley Lane and McCarran Boulevard that has a great plate-lunch special. It’s filling and delicious, with two scoops of rice, protein and a side. I love Kenji’s Hawaiian BBQ chicken for the protein and the macaroni salad as the side, but carb-conscious guests can opt for slaw or spring-mix salad instead.
Two pro tips: While Kenji’s service is often quick, they can get pretty busy at lunch, so, if you’re really in a pinch, I recommend ordering ahead for pickup. Also, during the sriracha shortage this past year, Kenji’s decided to make their own hot sauce in-house—and be sure to try it, because it is an absolutely delicious addition to whatever you order.
Kenji’s BBQ chicken plate comes with a range of side options, including a creamy macaroni salad. Photo/Maude Ballinger
Wine train
A historic V&T Railroad passenger car doubles as a tasting room in motion
All aboard—and cheers!
I know that isn’t the traditional call made by a train conductor, but I hope to hear it one day soon on the Virginia and Truckee Railway’s wine train, called the Toast of the Canyon.
The V&T, as it called colloquially, is one of the most famous short-line railroads in American history, and an important part of our history in this area. Back in 1868, when the V&T was incorporated to transport the ore from Virginia City to the mills along the Carson River, Virginia City’s population was just under 7,000 people. Carson City had fewer than 3,000 people, and
Reno, having just been founded that year, had fewer than 1,000.
In 1873, Virginia City’s population was booming along with the Comstock bonanza. The population of Virginia City at that time was around 25,000, with more than 100 saloons. The V&T boomed along with Virginia City, running more than 40 trains a day with 24 locomotives, bringing silver ore to Carson City and alcohol back to the saloons in Virginia City.
When the mines went bust, the V&T started a slow decline, ending rail service from Virginia City to Carson City in 1938, when it filed for bankruptcy, and making its last run between
| BY STEVE NOEL
The Virginia and Truckee Railway’s Toast of the Canyon wine train excursions, back after a five-year hiatus, turned out to be a hotter ticket than anyone predicted.
Carson City and Reno in 1950.
In the 1970s, a Virginia City railroad enthusiast Robert C. Gray wanted to rebuild the V&T as a tourist railroad. Work began, and slow progress was made, but it wasn’t until the 1990s, when the nonprofit Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway was created to raise money for the project, that significant progress was made.
Now the V&T runs several train excursions, including 24-mile-long roundtrips from Carson City to Virginia City. These excursions are fully narrated and describe the scenery and sights along the way, which includes the 566-foot-long Tunnel No. 2 and a 3 1/2-hour stopover in Virginia City. These trips are made with one of two engines, either a diesel engine, or a 1916 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive.
There are also two special excursions offered: the Polar Express from mid-November to just before Christmas, and the Toast of the Canyon, the restarted wine train.
The Toast of the Canyon excursion is a 45-minute trip that leaves Carson City’s Eastgate Depot and travels through the Carson River Canyon over 2 1/2 miles of new track. Scenic highlights include the historic locations of some of the stamp mills that processed the ore from Virginia City, like the Comstock Mill, Eureka Mill, Santiago Mill, Vivian Mill, Merrimac Mill, Brunswick Mill and Morgan Mill.
There will also be wine—Francis Coppola 2022 Diamond Collection Chardonnay, Coppola 2023 Diamond Collection Pinot Grigio, and the Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs—and hors d’oeuvres, along with music and narration along the way.
“The passengers will have an opportunity to photograph the steam engine as it reconnects to the passenger car, and they will be able to hear the steam whistle echoes in the canyon,” said the V&T Railway Commission’s executive assistant, Cherrie Bailey.
This sounds like an amazing adventure. I have said often that wine is liquid history. Being able to taste history while seeing, smelling and hearing history in the form of a steam locomotive sounds like a perfect event.
The remaining wine train for this season is scheduled for Sept. 21—and, alas, tickets have sold out already. Each train can hold 140 people, and tickets went much faster than anticipated. Bailey said that the V&T plans to schedule four wine-train excursions in 2025. To be among the first to know when the dates are announced, follow Virginia & Truckee Railroad on Facebook or www.instagram.com/ vtrailroad.
TASTE OF THE TOWN TASTE OF THE TOWN
Happenings
Reno’s first Celtic Cultural Day takes place Sunday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., at and near the University of Nevada, Reno. Guests can delve into the heart of Celtic culture while enjoying a full day of immersive experiences such as stargazing and a Celtic treasure hunt at the planetarium, and a fish-and-chips dinner at the Little Waldorf Saloon. A portion of the event proceeds will support the Nevada Society of Scottish Clans, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting arts, science and cultural education. An all-day pass is $50, while individual events are $10, with discounts. For tickets and more information, head to www.nvssc.org.
Cafe Whitney is hosting its third annual Drag Brunch after the Northern Nevada Pride parade, on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Whitney Peak Hotel, 255 N. Virginia St. Highlights will include performances from the Haus Does Moore, and bottomless mimosas for purchase. Tickets are $20 (food and drink not included); get them and more information via Eventbrite.
The Reno Rodeo Foundation presents Rhythm & Rawhide Reimagined, where country charm meets a festive fundraising atmosphere. From 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, the event blends music, culture and community at the Silver Legacy’s Grand Exposition Hall with performances by local country artists Patrice, Huckleberry Road and Carson Chandler; pre-party cocktails; light appetizers; and music. This year, the Reno Rodeo Foundation is introducing an exclusive, limited-ticket cigar lounge featuring premium cigars and a top-shelf bar. For tickets, which start at $100, and more information, head to RenoRodeoFoundation.org.
The Fall Harvest Festival is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 22, at Bartley Ranch Regional Park, 600 Bartley Ranch Road, in Reno, with carnival games, a petting zoo and a variety of fallthemed foods. The event is free, and proceeds from games/experience purchases benefit the Nevada Youth Empowerment Project. For more information, find the event page on Facebook.
Eight restaurants at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport will be recognized as members of the Green Dining Nevada network, a statewide initiative for sustainable dining. Participating restaurants include Liberty Toast, Reno Draft House, Tap & Pour, Wild Garlic Pizza, Timber Ridge and three Peet’s Coffee & Tea locations. These establishments are the first at the airport to undergo comprehensive audits to minimize food waste, reduce
continued on next page
TASTE OF THE TOWN TASTE OF THE TOWN
continued from Page 55 single-use disposable containers, and explore other sustainability solutions. Learn more at www.greendiningnv.com.
Urban Roots is taking applications for its Gardening for All program until Friday, Sept. 20. Participants receive comprehensive gardening support, including materials such as redwood, soil, seeds, seedlings and irrigation materials.
“At Urban Roots, we see gardening as a powerful tool to educate and unite our community, but not every individual or entity is equipped to successfully start,” said Jenny Angius, executive director of development and operations. “We are honored to have grown this program and look forward to awarding and building more gardens in Northern Nevada this year.” To apply or get more information, head to www.urgc.org/gardening-for-all.
Openings
Madein, pronounced “made-in,” has opened in the Mayberry Landing shopping center, at 3882 Mayberry Drive, in Reno. It’s a hub for locally made artisanal goods including Forged Coffee Roasting Company, Beloved’s Bread, Dorinda’s Chocolates and Black Rabbit Mead. Madein also offers food for dine-in and takeout during lunch and dinner hours, featuring items like salads, sandwiches, flatbreads and pasta. Get details at www.madeincollective. co, and read our recent piece by Michael Moberly to learn more.
Superstitions Java has opened a second location near UNR at 1385 N. Virginia St., Suite 101. Known for its creative menu with drinks like Love Potion #9 and Unicorn Tea, the coffee shop is a favorite for those who enjoy more than just a simple cup of coffee. Get more information at www.facebook.com/superstitionsjava.
4th Street Brewery/Coffee Bar opened at 1126 E. Fourth St., in Reno, in late June. The concept includes being a “safe, clean, and sober space that offers all a bar would except alcohol.” Guests can enjoy non-alcoholic beverages in a lounge space that features a pool table, vinyl records, VHS tapes and more. The under-construction website is 4thstbrewery.com.
Have local food, drink or restaurant news? Email foodnews@renonr.com.
—Maude Ballinger
LIQUID CONVERSATIONS
Bitter sensations
The cult of Underberg among bartenders, examined
If you go to bars in Reno regularly, you have probably at one point seen a group of people, including the bartender, grab a tiny, paper-covered bottle by their teeth, tilt their head back, and drink.
You have just witnessed the ritual of drinking an Underberg. That iconic, paper-wrapped 20-milliliter bottle has become beloved by bartenders and has earned its place as one of Reno’s official bartender handshakes, a drink commonly bought by members of the beverage industry for one another. Today, let’s dive deeper into this tiny but mighty bottle.
Underberg is a German herbal digestif, a category of spirits that is part distillation and part old-world medicine. Digestifs go back as far as the creation of alcohol itself, because as long as we have been drinking, we have wanted something to soothe our tummies. Almost every culture has a version of a digestive tonic. Some use teas and shrubs, but most use alcohol to extract a botanical’s wellness benefits. Monks in the Middle Ages made these digestive aids; in the Renaissance, world travel gave way to more spices finding their way into new
digestifs; and in the 17th and 18th centuries, distillers were creating products specifically to be consumed after meals.
Hubert Underberg founded his namesake brand in 1846. Originally opening a small pharmacy and distillery in Rheinberg, Germany, Underberg focused on creating medicinal and digestive remedies. He developed a formula that combined various herbs, which he believed improved the drinker’s digestion and overall wellness. This formula was the basis for the Underberg digestif, which now uses a secret blend of botanicals from more than 40 countries. To this day, Underberg is still made by a family-owned company using traditional methods, leading to a classic flavor that can be polarizing.
When you ask bartenders what Underberg tastes like, you get a lot of answers.
“It tastes like you just walked into your neighborhood bar,” said Brian Mandio, a bartender at Cosmo’s Snack Bar.
Anna Vetter, owner of the mobile bar Ramblin’ Libations, describes Underberg’s flavor as “if a mouthful of dirt was a cocktail.”
In reality, Underberg is lightly sweet, wickedly bitter and incredibly herbaceous, with massive notes of clove and cinnamon. The bitter flavor
| BY MICHAEL MOBERLY
aids digestion; when we taste bitter things, our bodies respond by salivating and digesting. This feeling can be off-putting—but wonderfully bracing once you discover a love for bitters.
So how did this wild-tasting, weird little bottle become popular with bartenders? Due to its niche nature, and because it’s considered bitters, which has different rules for sale than traditional alcohol, Underberg was long found only in German restaurants and at a select few locations.
“I remember Underberg being only at Corrigan’s and behind the bar at Bavarian World back in the late ’90s,” legendary bartender Dave Serna told me. “When we first opened Chapel Tavern (where 40 Mile Saloon is now), we would do ‘dial-a-Berg’ with the folks at Corrigan’s. One bar would call the other, and staff and regulars would walk outside of each bar, stare at each other down Vesta Street, and raise a Berg.”
This tradition led to a new generation of bartenders and regulars learning about the bitter bottle and creating their drinking rituals with the “Berg.”
Every bar has its own rules for drinking Underberg. Some places require you to lift the little bottle with your teeth without using your hands. Some bars require you to place your empty bottle on its side, or be punished by having to buy the next round. One thing is always certain— once one Underberg is drunk, more follow.
“The first one you drink for them; the second is for you; and all the rest after that is out of camaraderie,” said Joey Parazo, bartender at Royce.
This feeling of ritual and tradition fuels Underberg’s cult—but the little green cap keeps some hardcore bitters lovers coming back for more.
“A lot of Underberg’s intrigue lies in its unique packaging and the lore surrounding its bottle caps,” explained Nick Hogan, owner of Mover and Shaker, a bartending apparel and lifestyle company. On top of the little bottles are tiny green caps that can be sent to the distillery for exclusive branded merch. Prizes like the coveted Underberg toy truck and a bandoleer attract the most die-hard bitter aficionados.
“What other spirit rewards you for punishing yourself with its slow drip and uber-abrasive taste?” Hogan said.
Love or hate it, Underberg is a rite of passage for those who have spent long hours in Reno bars. While the flavor may be bold, nothing is quite like the quiet instant when an entire bar top worth of folks has their heads tilted back, Underberg gripped in their teeth, together in a bitter moment.
Serna said it best: “I consider it a form of self-flagellation of my taste buds—penance for living my life in a bar.”
Bartender Sam Burns from Poor Devil Saloon visits his buddies at Royce for an Underberg. Photo/David Robert
Sentimental sludge
Weight of the Tide is heading to Cypress Reno to celebrate the release of their new album, ‘What Pale Victory’
Since 2012, Reno band Weight of the Tide has been pulverizing listeners with heavy-handed doom metal—that takes on extra depth when one listens to the lyrics.
The drop-tuned riffs and slow-paced songs are filled with passages that intend to ease listeners as they headbang. Newest single “Void” includes the introspective lyrics: “Be careful thoughts betray you / With the stories that they tell / And your soul is on the line / But the truth just won’t align / All the worries that enslave you / Hide the life that’s come to save you.”
The band is set to release a new album, What Pale Victory, on Friday, Sept. 13. That same day, they will host an album release show at Cypress Reno.
During a recent phone interview, guitarist and vocalist Mark Moots explained how the journey to releasing What Pale Victory was filled with hardship.
“When we released (All Told, the band’s last album), our other guitar-player and sing-
Marcus Mayhall, Jes Phipps, Mark Moots and Jason Thomas are Weight of the Tide.
based in the U.K., Undergroove Records, and they’re kind enough to continue supporting us and putting this stuff out. The album was finished just about a year ago, but we’re now just finally ready.”
For a band that already deals with emotionally charged lyrics, their experiences since the last album have only added more fuel to the songwriting fire.
“Generally, our band does have kind of a vibe, which is rather doomy and melancholic, but there are definitely a few songs that are more pointed and direct,” Moots said. “As far as speaking to the experiences of the last few years, some of it’ll be really apparent, and some of it might be a little more vague, which is usually our forte, but I think it’s important. I think it’s a good way to tell this story and propel it out there and let it live in the past, where it should stay.”
That said, Weight of the Tide’s music isn’t all heavy, all the time. Moots explained that a few positive moments appear on What Pale Victory
“We often describe our stuff as doomy, but there is this sort of, poetically, silver lining on the black cloud,” he said. “It’s always kind of sad and resigned and morose, but there is this spirit of hope that permeates through it. It’s weirdly positive for being as dire and down as it comes off.”
Through health scares and global crises, Weight of the Tide’s brand of doom picked up speed.
Moots said he and his bandmates are making the most of every moment, including their upcoming release show.
“We’ve all been playing in bands since forever around this area, so we are kind of, I suppose, scare quotes, ‘veterans of the scene,’” Moots said. “It’s kind of a big deal for us, especially at this stage in our lives, to be releasing a new album on vinyl and CD, on a record label from the U.K. again, so I wanted it to at least appear as if this is an event, and that you should not miss this. Speaking to that without sounding too arrogant: I tried to pick the best bands that I could think of that would make a really compelling bill, and it turns out that we’re friends with members of all of these bands.”
Moots said there’s something in the show’s lineup “for anybody who’s interested in hard rock or heavy metal or loud rock or whatever the fuck you want to call it.”
“Changing the Design leans into more of the radio-rock listener, and it’s very melodic and big and bombastic,” he said. “Kanawha is this grungy, doomy-sludgy thing, and then Cyanate is like Lamb of God, and the more extreme end of mainstream metal. It provides a really cool cross section of what Reno does offer, as far as that musicscape. The fact that it’s all ages is going to be fun, because we don’t often see younger folks at our shows, because we’re a bunch of old men, but I’m hoping that the youth still love heavy metal as they should— and the Cypress is a great room.”
The What Pale Victory release party is coming at a great time for DIY in the Reno music scene, Moots said.
er, Jes Phipps, had been diagnosed with cancer, so we entered into that album with him quite literally fighting for his life,” Moots said. “He’s good; he’s healthy, and we’ve been working on this music since then, but kind of at a measured pace, because there’s treatment, surgeries and all those things. We stuck together and worked through it—and then obviously there was this thing that happened in 2020. The world basically shut down, so we didn’t see each other.”
What Pale Victory came to fruition after struggles both inside and outside of the band. The record finally crossed the finish line due to support from the community and the band’s record label, Undergroove Records.
“We finally decided over a year ago that it was time to finally record these songs, and we enlisted the help of some local folks, and recorded drums with Zac Damon, of ZOINKS!, Screeching Weasel and Big in Japan fame,” Moots said. “The rest of it was all done with a guy named Billy Romeo who has a studio in town called Lumberyard. Our record label is
“I think the previous two records are a bit more sludgy, but we have some more up-tempo material and slightly more aggressive stuff on this one,” Moots said. “That wasn’t a conscious decision; it’s just how things were coming together. It fits the feelings that we were having, where there is this sort of urgency to some of it. That probably took more of a back seat on the previous material. It sounds like us, but it definitely is a little more amped up.”
While different, “Void,” the aforementioned debut single off What Pale Victory, still fits in the band’s canon.
“There are times where, in the past, I’ve sat down and been like, ‘All right, we’ve got to write a fast song,’ but then it doesn’t work,” Moots said. “… I’ve never been good at sitting down to be like, ‘OK, I’m going to write a Motörhead song,’ because that’s Motorhead. I can emulate it, but it’s never going to be as good as it would have been if I just sat down and thought, ‘Well, I have this riff, and if it comes out sounding a bit like Motorhead, awesome.’ I think honesty is the most important thing. We sound how we sound, and we know that we’re not going to reinvent the wheel at this point.”
“It seems like the Reno scene is actually doing fairly well, better than it has been in quite a while,” Moots said. “I think that a lot of local bands are really embracing this sort of DIY spirit that is 100% necessary in today’s landscape, because record labels and things like that aren’t as important in a lot of ways. You can do it yourself, so I do see a lot of young bands who are booking DIY tours and making videos and playing and promoting, and that breeds a strong scene, because you have to feed it. You can’t just sit back and hope people show up. It takes work and blood and sweat and tears and effort, and I see people doing that—not to mention promoters and venues that are open to allowing this loud bullshit into their rooms. Maybe there’s something even better coming along, but I think it’s far better than it has been in a long time.”
Weight of the Tide will host the What Pale Victory release show at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 13, at Cypress Reno, 761 S. Virginia St., in Reno. Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 on the day of the show. For tickets and more information, visit cypressreno.com. For more on Weight of the Tide, visit weightofthetide.bandcamp.com.
Photo/David Robert
| BY MATT JONES JONESIN' CROSSWORD
“Hassle-Free”—it’s themeless time! By
Matt Jones
Across
1. Appropriate phrase for 1-Across?
10. Digital party notice
15. Question of camera-readiness?
16. Type of colony
17. Longer shift, maybe 18. Speechify
19. ___-Ball (arcade game)
20. 1959 Günter Grass novel with narrator
Oskar Matzerath
22. Perfume base
24. Coworker of Knope and Swanson
25. John Lee Hooker blues classic of 1962
28. Key in the corner
31. Willing to speak up
34. Golf equipment
35. Mil. address
36. “Hey there, sailor!”
37. Culotte-like portmanteau
38. Singer Jason, or punctuated differently, his 2005 album
39. Title for Arthur Conan Doyle
40. Ancient bread grain
41. Precipitous
42. Approximate weight of a newborn gray whale calf
43. “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” band
45. Poet Gil ___-Heron
47. “When I was a lad I served ___” (navalbased Gilbert & Sullivan lyric)
50. Commences nagging
54. Unaltered, in a way
56. Rentable
57. Almost
59. Playground marble
60. “Yes, that’s my answer, 100%”
61. Foreshadowed
62. Pop star who recently tweeted “kamala IS brat” Down
1. Some PC hookup systems
2. Actress Henningsen of Hazbin Hotel
3. 2020 Christopher Nolan (or is it Nalon?) movie
4. Magnolia virginiana,
THE LUCKY 13 12
Lucinda Williams Performing at the Silver Legacy on Sept. 21
Singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams is truly one of a kind, mixing a range of sweet, bluesy and rockin’ jams across a long and historic career. Her legendary album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is a work of alt-country art. Enjoy an evening of her stinging yet soothing country tales and tunes on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno. For tickets and more information, visit www.caesars. com/silver-legacy-reno. (This feature normally includes 13 questions, and it is the one RN&R feature we normally do via email. However, Williams’ PR team asked us to do the Q&A via the phone—and I forgot to ask one of the questions. As a result, welcome to the first, and hopefully last, Lucky 12.)
alternately
5. Ventured
6. It’s not “esto” or “eso”
7. ___ gallop (rhetorical technique with rapid-fire dishonest confrontation)
8. Jazz vocalist Anderson who worked with Duke Ellington
9. Neighboring 10. Nachos and sandwiches, for example
11. Salsa ___ 12. Owing
13. 2000s Russian music duo who teased onstage kisses
14. Silver or gold, for short
21. Words of refusal
23. CompuServe competitor, once 26. Meathead’s real name
27. Footage that’s not the main action
29. Small quarrel
30. Subgenre of mystery books usually set in a small community
31. Colossal
32. State that means “weird,” in Gen Z slang
33. Side that may involve elote
37. Acne, outside the U.S.
38. Quattroporte maker
40. Like some serving spoons
41. Very in
44. Friendly talk
46. Zeus’s island birthplace
48. Unwind
49. Like the acid in apples
50. Movie franchise within the “Scream” movie franchise
Find the answers in the “About” section at RenoNR.com!
What was the first concert you attended?
One of the first ones I know would have been Peter, Paul and Mary, when I was living with my family in New Orleans, and I think they were playing at Loyola University.
What was the first album you owned?
It probably would have been one of the Beatles albums, like Beatles ’65 or Meet the Beatles.
What bands are you listening to right now? It depends on the mood I’m in and everything. I’m still listening to some of the same people I was listening to 30 years ago, like Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Occasionally I stumble across a new artist who I really like, and there’s a guy named Steve Gunn I’m really into. He’s based in New York, and I’m just really digging his album right now. There’s a girl named Sharon Van Etten who I think is a really, really good singer/ songwriter, and when I just want to show out and groove and stuff, I love to listen to Thievery Corporation.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
I have seen them live before, but they don’t perform that often, so the Thievery
| BY MATT KING
Corporation, or The Pretenders. They’re still really going strong. I just saw them recently at a little club in Nashville, and they were great.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? Not a guilty pleasure, but I know what people mean when they say that, so I guess I would have to say the Carpenters. Occasionally I listen to Frank Sinatra, and I love some of the Tony Bennett stuff, because I love those vocals from that style and from that era. It’s great, but I don’t feel like I have to hide it from my friends.
What’s your favorite music venue?
I really like First Avenue in Minneapolis. I love the people who run it, the people who work there. It’s a fun place to play.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
This song that came on the radio one day recently, and it just got stuck in my head: “We’re still having fun, and you’re still the one … still the one who makes me laugh, still the one, we’re still having fun.” (Orleans, “Still the One”).
What band or artist changed your life? How? Probably Bob Dylan. When I heard Highway 61 Revisited, it just blew my mind. I was only 12 years old, but somehow, something in me connected, and I just remember getting obsessed over that record, listening to it all the time, every day. I went back and discovered his other albums that I hadn’t heard yet, and I just became a Dylan fanatic.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? Leonard Cohen: Explain “Hallelujah” to me.
What song would you like played at your funeral? “Amazing Grace,” or anything by Mahalia Jackson. She’s got some pretty great gospel-type stuff that she recorded, and maybe this Mississippi Fred McDowell song “Just a Little More Faith.”
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? I was going to say Highway 61, but I’ve already given that one so much attention. Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan). That’s one of those that the whole record is great. At one point, Rubber Soul (Beatles) was my favorite album. Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, is another one I used to listen to all the time.
What song should everyone listen to right now? “Hallelujah.” It’s such a heavy, intense, incredibly gorgeous song.
Nathaniel Benjamin
Best of Northern Nevada illustrator
Reno artist Nathaniel Benjamin mostly works in screen-printing, block-printing and mural-painting. He has lived all over the U.S. and has been in Reno for a little more than 10 years. He started studying forestry—before the creative community here inspired him to take a detour into art. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, and now runs the community nonprofit printmaking studio Laika Press (136 Vesta St., in Reno) where people can learn and practice printmaking. Nathaniel did the phantasmagoric illustrations for this year’s Best of Northern Nevada issue. You can see more of his work at www.nathanielbenjamin.com.
What makes you unique as an artist?
I think that different artists explore different subject matter, and I’m always looking into things that are not necessarily the mainstream iconography that you usually see. … So, I try to talk about things that are really going on right now that are constantly shifting. Technology is evolving every day, and right now, I think it’s important for me to maintain and highlight my imprint on my work. Handmade art has the thumbprint of the artist in every line, and that’s something that AI doesn’t have, at least not yet anyway. I try to use this and bring in imagery that speaks to that difference to critique our culture.
You did the cover and inside illustrations for this year’s Best of Northern Nevada for the RN&R. There are things and places all over Reno that are being menaced by terrifying insects, and the cover has intensely vibrant colors. What inspired these illustrations? I chose to use local icons. People are very familiar with landmarks and the monuments that we have around here. And I thought about: What if local bugs mutated and turned into monsters that were invading our landscape? Because it’s just, like, a wild idea, and I thought it would be a lot of fun. Godzilla Minus One came out recently and was a big inspiration. I thought that the movie was great, and the idea of monsters being mutated by human activity and then coming back to haunt us is interesting to me. These are things that we deal with every day, or we’re around all the time, but I wanted to make it fun. In the illustration of the Gold ’n’ Silver, the Gold ’n’ Silver is now the Dust ’n’ Rubble, because that’s a reference to the owners of the J Resort just obliterating downtown, basically, and it’s something that’s
| BY DAVID ROBERT
ongoing and continues to happen, and it’s hard to know what to do about that, because it is like a very large, overbearing organization just taking over a town and doing what it wants.
How do you feel about the state of the world today?
It’s a little chaotic. I think that imperialism and U.S. domination of the world have led the world to a dark place. We’re not adjusting to current circumstances very well. I think money and politics often get in the way of coming to constructive solutions for the problems we’re facing.
Do you have any shows or events in the future?
I will have an exhibition for these illustrations at Pitch Black (700 E. Fourth St., Suite A, in Reno) on Sept. 14, and those prints will be up and available for sale. As for my next project, I got a grant from the Nevada Arts Council to do three large linocuts. I might end up doing a few more, but I’m going to be doing an exhibition of those block prints after they’re completed.
Will you be making any prints about the impending election?
I don’t know yet. The printing press has been a historically political thing. It was originally a way to get the word out about things, and a lot of that is motivated by politics and local issues, so I think … we’ll probably be doing something around that. I can’t say what, as we don’t have anything specific planned yet. No matter how the election goes, we’re still going to face most of the same issues.
THREE WAYS TO EXPERIENCE NEVADA HISTORY
Three unique Nevada State museums, three great cultural experiences, all close by.
NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1650 N. Virginia St, Reno
Wednesday–Saturday, 10am–4pm
NEVADA STATE MUSEUM, CARSON CITY
401 N. Carson Street, Carson City Tuesday—Sunday, 8:30am—4:30pm
Plan your adventure and learn about all seven Nevada state museums at NVMuseums.com
