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Contributors
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EDITOR'S NOTE
Credit where credit is due
Welcome to the April print edition of the RN&R!
How did DEI become such a dirty abbreviation? Diversity, equity and inclusion were never about denying white people (or anyone from any group) opportunities in favor of underqualified people from any other group.
DEI programs are about our governments, institutions and corporations taking responsibility for the oppression, cruelty and economic disadvantage foisted upon many Americans for too many centuries—and the lingering hurdles that so many people still face as a result of this oppression, cruelty and economic disadvantage.
sure our most vulnerable K-12 and college students can achieve their best. (See “‘A misinformation attack’—Local education advocates react to the Department of Education closure order” on Page 8 if you’d like to hear from the ones who can talk on the record.)
Ask any Black parent about the conversations they’ve had with their teens about interacting with law officers submissively during routine traffic stops. Ask any local Indigenous family about the trauma that still lingers, decades after their grandparents’ time in Indian boarding schools. Racism in America is not over. Systematic efforts to combat it are still very much in order. Yes, some of these efforts are ineffective, or inefficient, or characterized by counterproductive, liberal virtue signaling. We can certainly talk about that—but the Trump/Musk chainsaw method of destroying DEI altogether is going to cause incalculable damage and undermine countless milestones of progress.
This year, large companies like Target have rolled back their DEI initiatives, and the U.S. Department of Defense now backhandedly “honors” people like Jackie Robinson and the Navajo Code Talkers by insisting that the racial barriers they overcame should not be mentioned on official channels. (See “A Note From the Publisher” by Jimmy Boegle on Page 4 for more details.)
The list goes on. But you know what else goes on? The list of local people and organizations who refuse to cave in to the Trump administration’s moral gymnastics in the name of undermining civil rights, and who bravely stand up for the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Kudos to the many local educators who are forbidden from talking to the press on the record, but tell me stories by email, via text and at the dog park about their ongoing efforts to make
Kudos to the artists who eloquently record and process their experiences of otherness in the name of discussing what it’s like to be one individual human who is different from another individual human. Whether they come in the form of films, memoirs, podcasts or other storytelling vehicles, these accounts are important building blocks of a more compassionate society. One of these artists is Reno’s Dani Putney. At a moment when I would not fault any transgender or nonbinary person who wants to stay under the radar for their own safety, as they’re being villainized and dehumanized by the federal government, Dani is not hiding. They have processed the complicated story of coming to grips with their identity
into a new volume of beautiful, thoughtful, hopeful poetry. Dani: I’m proud that Reno can call you one of its own! RN&R contributor Max Stone tells their powerful story on Page 22.
Kudos to the Nevada Museum of Art and Judith Lowry, the Susanville painter whose work the museum is now showcasing. Judith comes from a family with European, Indigenous and Australian ancestors. Many of her paintings show powerful moments from those ancestors’ stories. Judith sees these moments in hi-def 3D, in all their nuance, with an incredibly finely tuned emotional radar. Her paintings are among the most moving and compassionate works of art I’ve ever seen, and the museum did an incredible job of contextualizing them. (For more, see Chris Lanier’s review of the show on Page 20.)
Educators, artists, Dani, Judith and the museum are engaged in exactly the acts of hope that we need right now—and you can count on me and the rest of the RN&R team to continue to keep their stories in the spotlight.
—KRIS VAGNER krisv@renonr.com
BY PAULA DOLAN
Abolishing the Department of Education is a slap in the face to Nevada’s future
On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
If this order cannot be stopped, $119 billion, or 13.6% of federal aid, could be cut from the education of American students from grades K-12. The most important job of the Department of Education is funding low-income school districts and special education. Without this funding, schools will not be able to attain equal access to education for all students.
Ninety percent of U.S. students and 95% of students with disabilities learn in our public schools, and 63% of those schools benefit from federal funding that supports programs such as Title I, which provides resources to schools serving low-income students.
President Trump, however, maintains that the department is a “bloated and radical bureaucracy” and “a big con job.” He makes it sound like he’s dismantling a deviant bureaucracy, and that the Department of Education’s demise would be a big win for the American people. The real effect would be to decimate vital funding and crucial programs upon which students in every school district rely. It would abandon the department’s founding mission to level up opportunity in education.
already stretched; a loss as large as $161 million will hurt many students in Nevada and will have a devastating impact on working- and middle-class families. Residents who think this isn’t a worry for them, think again. Cuts in funding will increase property taxes for every homeowner in Nevada.
IDEA—the Individuals with Disabilities Act—is another essential program. The Department of Education’s IDEA funding went to 13% of Nevada students in 2022-2023. Can Nevada afford to lose funding for 13% of students? If your child relies on special education services to succeed in school, are you willing to let that go, because the government doesn’t care?
For the students and families of Nevada, this means the inevitable deterioration of our state’s public-school system.
States and local districts are the major sources of funding for public schools, but the department is an essential secondary source. Title 1 is the largest funding program administered by the department. It provides money to states for their lower-income schools. This money is essential to ensure equal access to quality education for all students regardless of family income.
Nevada received $161 million in Title I funding in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, or 16.2% of the state’s funding for education. Every county in the state receives Title I funding; seven counties receive more than the 16.2% average.
Can the state of Nevada afford to potentially lose 16.2% of school funding? Can state and local funding make up the difference?
Any gap in funding will fall to the state and local budgets. It will cause confusion, and there will be no oversight as to where these funds are directed. School budgets are
STREETALK
Have you ever had buyer’s remorse?
Asked at Sticks retail plaza, 701 S. Virginia St., Reno
Another essential function of the department is its support of higher education through student grants and loans for academic, career and technical degrees. Pell grants are a critical and widely used source of funding for students seeking a college or university education, and 41,130 Nevadans are eligible for Pell grants; they received $173 million in 2023. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 33% of students received Pell grants, and at the University of Nevada, Reno, 28% of students did. The graduates of our state colleges and universities provide Nevada with a solid foundation for the future of the state with degrees in medicine, engineering, public health, vital research, education and the liberal arts. The removal of funding for higher education would deny Nevada’s students the opportunity to pursue degrees that are essential for their personal growth.
This is not a partisan issue. It is a question of personal and civic values. The citizens of Nevada cannot, financially or morally, support any attempt to deny the funding of public education for its children.
Kids can’t vote; they depend on adults to make decisions for them, and those decisions have a profound and lasting effect on their futures.
If you care, call your state and federal representatives and let them know. Rep. Mark Amodei, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Steven Horsford are all graduates of Nevada’s public schools and universities. Tell them that you want today’s students to have the same opportunity for future success that they had.
Paula Dolan is a retired schoolteacher currently residing in Reno after teaching at American schools in London, Qatar, and Chennai, India, for 25 years.
BY DAVID ROBERT
Benji Gumagay Mechanic
It was a vehicle purchase at the end of COVID. I purchased financing at the time, and I thought it was a pretty good deal, a pretty good rate. But after I made the purchase, I found a far better rate. The rate that I originally had was overwhelming. I eventually refinanced my vehicle at a much better rate.
Nozomi Hallberg Day care teacher
Yes, it was a tattoo. I was the stereotypical, 18-year-old, rebellious teenager. One day, my friends decided to go get tattoos, and I said, “Sure, I’ll get one, too.” I got a tattoo of a snake, which I just picked out … and went for it. Well, it has aged terribly and has bled out. I guess now that it’s a homage to myself from those days. I’ll probably get another tattoo, but it won’t be of a snake.
Carissa Gonzalez-Tomlin Hospitality
I bought a guitar, and I never even use it, except for decoration. Actually, I bought an acoustic and an electric guitar. I wanted a new hobby, but I got busy with work, and I wanted to focus more on photography. I eventually sold my electric guitar, and the other guitar is still on the wall as a decoration. But it’s an option if I want to play it.
Kennady Pine Retail manager
Totally. Having an Amazon account is a dangerous game. I buy stuff, and I don’t even remember what I bought until it comes in the mail. I bought a lot of holiday-themed cat toys once. Be mindful of your purchases. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. But if you do, may it bring you joy and make you happy!
Seian Youngblood Musician
I bought a stapler, a double-sided stapler! I needed to staple up some documents. I bought it at a thrift shop, and then I went and bought staples at Staples. I loaded it up, and it didn’t work. I learned my lesson. To begin with, I should have just bought a stapler at Staples and not at a thrift shop.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
| BY JIMMY BOEGLE
The details of Trump’s DEI purge prove it’s all about white supremacy
For the last couple of decades, a Jackie Robinson poster has been on the wall above my desk. In addition to a photo of the Brooklyn Dodgers/civil rights icon, the poster includes the definition of courage: cour•age n. 1. The mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. 2. Valor.
In elementary school, I read a biography about Jackie Robinson—and to say it left an impression would be an understatement. He’s one of my heroes, and the story about him breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier, in part, led me to become a moderately fervent Los Angeles Dodgers fan.
Today, more than 54 years after his passing, Robinson is helping illustrate the pettiness and discriminatory nature of the Trump administration’s DEI purge.
As reported by CBS Sports: “The United States Department of Defense has restored an article on its website honoring Jackie Robinson after having removed it in an effort to purge ‘DEI’ (diversity, equity and inclusion) content. As explained on the now-restored page, Robinson served in the military during World War II. He later broke the color line in Major League Baseball,
becoming the first Black player in MLB in 1947. The DOD page honoring Robinson was taken down recently, and its removal (along with removal of other articles) caused backlash online.”
To make matters even worse, the Department of Defense issued this appalling statement:
Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others—we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop. We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like every other
American who has worn the uniform. DEI—Discriminatory Equity Ideology does the opposite. It divides the force, erodes unit cohesion and Interferes with the services’ core warfighting mission.
We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed— either deliberately or by mistake—that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period.
This is a load of white-supremacist bullshit. First: DEI actually stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. You’ll rarely hear Trump administration officials actually use those three words
together, because the vast majority of people believe diversity, equity and inclusion are good things. Instead, the administration uses the term “DEI” and claims, as in the above statement, that it’s a bad thing.
Second: The contributions of Jackie Robinson, the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen and others can’t be fully appreciated and understood without the context of diversity, equity and inclusion. Jackie Robinson is so heroic because he had courage and was willing to do what needed to be done to stand up to systemic racism and break MLB’s discriminatory color barrier. That is part of United States’ history—like it or not.
The word “whitewash” comes to mind. Here’s one of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of the word: to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people.
That’s exactly what the Trump administration and its anti-DEI crusade are doing right now. This has nothing to do with discrimination; it has to do with the belief in white, Christian, male supremacy—period.
ON NEVADA BUSINESS
Local launchpad
The Sontag Business Competition helps fund innovative entrepreneurs with a $50,000 award
It’s that time of year here in the Biggest Little City, where University of Nevada, Reno, students are about to wrap up the spring semester, and the 14th annual Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition—with its $50,000 winner-take-all prize—is well under way.
Any full-time student or graduate from the previous semester can apply with a simple letter of intent in January. By February, the 30 or so entrants are whittled down to 15 or so contenders, as judged by 20 community entrepreneurs, investors, business execs and a few professors—myself included. It is one of the most fun things I do each year.
The competition was established in 2011, thanks to a generous endowment from alumnus Rick Sontag, a successful entrepreneur and business leader. Sontag, who graduated from UNR in 1966, envisioned a program that would encourage entrepreneurship among students and foster a culture of innovation within the university. His endowment of $1 million has been instrumental in ensuring the continuity and success of the competition for decades to come.
I had the honor and privilege to be on the original Sontag Steering Committee in 2011 and am proud to have been a founding mentor and judge, setting up the rules and goals all those years ago. A whole bunch of dedicated volunteers (featured in my very first RN&R column in February 2023) have helped shape this competition and the incredible startup ecosystem that we have now. I wanted to use my 40 years of experience building startups to guide and support UNR’s smart young people, and to keep them here in the region, building their own startups. Then, we let the rest go back to California. (I’m just kidding! Please don’t twitch, Californian friends.)
According to a statement that current Sontag director Dr. Armina Karapetian sent by email, the competition is important to the university, but more important to the Reno/Tahoe community: “The Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition is a cornerstone of innovation at our university. It gives students the chance to take real business risks, learn from mentors, and gain the confidence to turn ideas into real companies. But its impact extends far beyond campus. The Reno-Tahoe region is rapidly evolving into a hub for entrepreneurship, and Sontag plays a critical role in fueling that momentum. By equipping young founders with the skills and connections to launch their ventures locally, we are strengthening the regional economy, fostering job creation, and reinforcing a culture of innovation that
benefits the entire community.”
This year, seven semi-finalists pitched their plans to various judges three times over the last two months—twice live, and once on Zoom during the quarterfinals. I’d proudly like to introduce them, and then I’ll tell you who the finalists are, and where you can see them compete:
Atlas is a mobile app created by Chad Sherf and Jonathan Berrien that connects you with top certified personal trainers for in-person training here in Reno. The team believes there’s no substitute for face-to-face training—your trainer is there to correct your form, push your limits and adapt your workouts as needed.
Charm the Change is a customizable charm-accessory company that connects self-expression with giving back. It offers charm necklaces, carabiner charm necklaces, anklets, bracelets, bag charms and keychains—all customizable and at various price points. Onethird of every sale is donated to a charity of the customer’s choice.
GlamNGo is a women-founded technology platform that connects clients with licensed beauty professionals who deliver on-demand services where and when they need them, eliminating the hassle of salon visits. The app aims to make beauty more accessible for busy professionals, seniors and homebound clients, while providing independent stylists with tools for financial growth.
Kent Weber is introducing Breiter Beer, a low-alcohol brewery. Launching with a lager and a pale ale, Breiter Beer offers a balanced alternative to full-strength beers at around 3% ABV, catering to those who enjoy high-quality beer without the effects of higher-alcohol
options. While the U.S. beer market has embraced non-alcoholic options, the low-alcohol category remains underdeveloped—despite its popularity in Australia, where mid-strength, low-strength and zero-alcohol beers account for nearly a third of sales.
Sails of Conquest is redefining board games by blending strategy with hands-on action. Its innovative, pirate-themed board game combines tactical decision-making with physical dexterity, featuring real projectile-firing cannons and high-quality plastic components. Designed for both casual and competitive players, it offers multiple paths to victory, rewarding skill and strategic planning.
Dogwood Terra Dynamics is using 3-D concrete-printing technology in an effort to combat the housing crisis by building high-quality, affordable, sustainable housing developments. It is a service-disabled-veteran-owned small business that plans to seek
partnerships with local businesses and developers to help secure government contracts, build in underdeveloped communities, and participate in disaster relief efforts.
Power Axis is a new, safer version of a Smith machine, designed to safely allow weightlifters in professional gyms to incline and angle their lifts while varying their grip spacing, for optimal muscle isolation. (This is Matt’s definition, because the founders didn’t make deadline—so my disclaimer is that inaccuracies likely exist.)
The finalists, in no particular order, are Dogwood Terra Dynamics, Sails of Conquest, Breiter Beer and Atlas. They’ll compete in what I am sure will be a very close final on Wednesday, April 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the National Automobile Museum, located at 1 Museum Drive, in Reno. The event is free to attend.
For more information on how to attend and/ or support our future entrepreneurs, please email Armina Karapetian at akarapetian@unr.edu.
Matt Westfield (right) meets with semifinalists Kent Weber, founder of Breiter Beer; Felicia Sarcletti, founder of Charm the Change; Dulce Ordonez and Kristine Cambunga, founders of GlamNGo; Jonathan Berrien, co-founder of the Atlas fitness app; and Dalton Weese of Dogwood Terra Dynamics. Photo/David Robert
Psychedelic therapy
Nevada patients, doctors and lawmakers push for a legal pathway
In 2019, Gehrig Tucker, now 29, joined the Army. While he was going through the Special Forces Qualification Course, he suffered two traumatic brain injuries that drastically impacted his cognitive ability.
“I had to write down the steps on how to change my oil,” he said. “Something I’ve done a thousand times, and I would have to write that down.”
Tucker, a Carson City native, was also diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress. His first attempt at healing took place at a traumatic brain injury clinic in Boston called Home Base. There, he tried SSRIs.
“It shows great results for some people— but for whatever reason, it did not help me,” said Tucker.
After a personal experience with MDMA (often called ecstasy or molly) allowed Tucker to feel, for the first time in his life, compassion for himself, he obtained a sponsorship from the Sierra Psychedelic Society to try ibogaine—a plant-based psychoactive drug—at the medical facility Beōnd in Cancun, Mexico.
“I went down there with two guys, and they heard about ibogaine from the Joe Rogan podcast,” said Tucker. “They both said that they went down there knowing how effective it was so that when it didn’t work for them, they could go home and kill themselves, and not feel guilty, because they tried the most effective thing. I heard both of those guys in the same week say, ‘I love myself,’ and, ‘I forgive myself.’”
For Army veteran Gehrig Tucker—who suffered traumatic brain injuries and did not find conventional treatments effective—the therapeutic use of the psychedelic ibogaine provided profound relief. Spending time outdoors hunting and fishing has also been an important part of his healing process, and today, he is co-leader of Heartland Harbor Foundation, which supports the mental health of military members, veterans, first responders and their families by providing hunting experiences.
Photo/courtesy of Gehrig Tucker
The treatment lasted nine weeks and was the most challenging and profound experience of Tucker’s life.
“I saw God,” said Tucker. “I went to heaven. I experienced what infinity was. I experienced a love beyond what I could previously comprehend, and it helped to restore my soul, and it helped physically restore my brain. I truly believe that medicine (ibogaine) is a gift from God.”
Nevada lawmakers discuss legal reforms
Other veterans—as well as doctors, therapists, researchers and politicians—in Nevada who share Tucker’s sentiment are taking action to legalize psychedelics for therapeutic use.
On March 11, the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections held a hearing in Carson City, with participants also attending virtually from Las Vegas, to discuss Senate Joint Resolution 10 (SJR 10), a landmark initiative to reform psychedelic medicine policy. The resolution has garnered significant bipartisan backing, with 27 sponsors, including 20 Democrats and seven Republicans, supporting the measure.
“Today, there are a total of 28 states that have active or recently passed legislation advancing psychedelic therapy,” said Jon Dalton, Navy veteran and president of the Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicines, an advocacy organization. Of those 28, he said, 14 are red, and 14 are blue. “They all recognize these alternative treatments have profound benefits to cure our most challenging mental health disorders.”
Dalton also said that the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly stated, “My mind is open to the idea of psychedelics for treatment.”
Kate Cotter, executive director of the Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicines, as well as the Sierra Psychedelic Society—a nonprofit that provides education and promotes risk management around psychedelic medicines—said that SJR 10 urges Congress to:
• Increase federal funding for research into the therapeutic applications of psychedelic compounds
• Establish a streamlined process for approving and conducting research
| BY JASON SARNA
• Create a pathway for terminally ill patients to access investigational treatments
• Reschedule psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline and MDMA to reflect their therapeutic value
• Establish legal protections for individuals and entities complying with state and local laws for psychedelic use
Said Nevada State Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, from Clark County: “Give us guidance on how we can go forward with this. Allow us to do research. Allow us to come up with regulatory structures. Give us some more guidelines so we can do this lawfully, and we can protect our communities, and we can give these needed medicines where we already have the beginnings of research on this to our first responders, to our veterans, to people struggling with addiction.”
The federal government currently classifies these “needed medicines” (psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, etc.) as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning they have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Dr. Sarah Henry is a licensed clinical psychologist in Reno specializing in treating PTSD, depression, anxiety and post-concussive syndrome. She said this classification is outdated and actively harms those who need it most. Henry said our present mental health tools are inadequate.
“The best medications that we can legally offer help only an estimated half of patients and
Nevada lawmakers met on March 11 to discuss SJR 10, a landmark initiative to reform psychedelic medicine policy. Photo/courtesy of Blaire Zika
often come with intolerable side effects,” she said. “Psychotherapy, while it is effective, it is also time-and resource-intensive, and it requires sustained effort that can feel impossible to those who are in need of immediate release.”
Addressing safety, concerns, Dr. Dustin Hines, associate professor of neuroscience in UNLV’s psychology department, said, “Decades of control studies affirm that psilocybin is a favorable safety prototype. It’s non-addictive. It actually promotes anti-addictive properties. Physiologically, it’s well-tolerated and carries minimal risk of overdose.”
Some of those who need help the most are, like Tucker, veterans. “Health disorders pertaining to depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidal ideation and PTSD particularly affect Nevada’s veteran population, where the suicide rate, as indicated in committee meetings, is 50.7 per 100,000, which is significantly higher than
A new dental clinic for veterans
the national veteran suicide rate of 33.9 per 100,000,” said Marla McDade Williams, administrator for the Division of Child and Family Services in Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Delvin Bourn, an Army veteran and the founder and president of Bourn Free Foundation—a nonprofit dedicated to veterans’ mental health—and John Henry Parker, a Marine veteran and adviser to the Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicine, were in attendance to speak on behalf of service members.
“I have gone through a lot of therapy through the VA, but psilocybin has single-handedly been the most effective treatment to address my PTSD and anxiety,” Bourn said.
Parker suffered from severe PTSD until his introduction to psychedelics about 15 years ago. He was the son of a Marine Corps Korean War and Vietnam combat veteran who never sought
The Adopt a Vet Dental Program opened a new dental clinic for veterans with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 21.
Dental assistant instructor Irene Juarez and dental assistant student Angele Capurro examined Army veteran Joseph Libbee.
“I’ve had a broken tooth for a few months now,” Libbee said. “I didn’t know about this program until I went to the Veterans Town Hall and Resource Fair yesterday. And now I don’t have to pay out of pocket.”
The 10,288-square-foot clinic—operated through a partnership with New York University Langone Health’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency program—will also serve as a national training center for future dentists.
According to an Adopt a Vet press release, 93% of veterans are ineligible for dental care through Veterans Affairs.
The clinic is located at 1885 S. Arlington Ave., No. 111. Veterans seeking treatment are encouraged to visit www.adoptavetdental.org.
—David Robert
help. In 2009, he lost his son, Danny, a Purple Heart recipient and Army combat veteran with two deployments to Afghanistan. Due to the severity of his PTSD, Danny did not survive his transition from military service.
“I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of struggling veterans, one-on-one, who suffer from treatment-resistant PTSD, depression, substance abuse disorders and suicide ideation, and I can tell you that progress is slow, arduous and, at times, heartbreaking,” said Parker said.
Next steps
When Sen. James Ohrenschall, who presided over the meeting, asked if anyone in Carson City or Las Vegas opposed or wanted to voice neutrality on SJR 10, no one spoke.
The next step is for the committee to hold a work session on the resolution, after which it may head to the Senate and Assembly floors.
“This may seem like it’s an innocuous SJR, where we’re sending a letter, but it is super important that we, as a state, send a message to the federal government, send a message to Washington, D.C., that we need to start helping our community,” said Sen. Nguyen. “We have a mental health crisis.”
Gehrig Tucker, who supports SJR10 and runs the Heartland Harbor Foundation—a nonprofit that supports the mental health of service members and veterans by leading hunting trips—agrees.
“What we’re doing is not working for the majority of people, and if you just look at the data, psychedelics provide much more effective treatments with much less side effects,” Tucker said. “This needs to be researched effectively so we can understand these things on a deeper level, and then provide effective treatment to as many people as possible.”
‘A misinformation attack’
Local education advocates react to the Department of Education closure order
President Trump, in a March 20 executive order, called for the federal Department of Education to be closed—after he’d already fired about half of the department’s approximately 4,000 workers nine days prior.
On March 24, two lawsuits were filed in federal courts—one in Massachusetts, and one in Maryland—challenging the legality of the move to shutter the department. In the interim, Nevada education experts weighed in on what’s at stake.
Many conservatives praised the move to close the DOE, including Gov. Joe Lombardo. He wrote in an editorial that ran at Breitbart.com and in the Reno Gazette Journal: “By returning curriculum to the state and district level, we will finally be able to teach common sense instead of Common Core.”
He called the order “one of the most influential reforms yet” of Trump’s presidency.
Beth Smith, a Washoe County School Board trustee, talked to the RN&R over the phone. She pointed out that curriculum is already determined at the state and district level.
“The federal Department of Education has never been in control of curriculum or state-level decision-making for the education of students,” Smith said, specifying that she was speaking on her own behalf, and not on behalf of the board or the district.
According to the American Federation of Teachers: “The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that is not part of No Child Left Behind, and adoption of the standards is in no way mandatory.” Nevada is one of 40 states that use Common Core standards.
The RN&R reached out to Gov. Lombardo’s office to request clarification on how curriculum control would be returned to states and districts, but did not receive a response by press time.
Said Smith: “The No. 1 thing that I have been doing—and that I encourage people to do—is to understand that we are under a misinformation attack about education and the Department of Education. Right now … each state has 100% state control over the standards of their school, children’s education, and what it is that they’re learning. … The states have always had the authority, and it’s very important to understand what an attempt to dissolve the Department of Education really is. The Department of Education is primarily responsible for protecting, feeding and then funding certain children who have specific needs.”
The DOE provided the Washoe County School District with about $37 million this fiscal year in federal grants for initiatives for English learners, family violence prevention, after-school programs, school improvements and other needs. In addition, the district has
federal revenue in reserve for its Nutrition Services Fund (under the National School Lunch Program) in the amount of $29.5 million.
“Right now, the lion’s share of (Department of Education funding) goes to Title I schools,” said Smith. (Those are schools with a high concentration of low-income families. Washoe County has 52 of them.) “And it provides those schools directly with money that they need to create an equitable learning environment for those students.” She added that this includes children who are homeless and/or living with other risk factors.
What would be lost?
On March 21, the Nevada State Democratic Party held a press conference in which politicians and educators stated their opposition to Gov. Lombardo’s stance and discussed what would be lost should the DOE be eliminated.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said that special-education funding would be cut for 60,000 students with disabilities, and Pell Grants for 41,000 college students would be eliminated.
“Bottom line, this isn’t leadership,” said Ford—who credited some of his own success to having participated in Upward Bound, a DOE-funded program, as a high schooler. “This is neglect. This is a governor who would rather cozy
| BY KRIS VAGNER
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford: “Bottom line, this isn’t leadership. This is neglect. This is a governor who would rather cozy up to Trump than stand up for Nevada’s kids.” Photo/courtesy pf the Nevada State Democratic Party
up to Trump than stand up for Nevada’s kids.”
Said State Sen. Angie Taylor: “These are students with amazing potential (who) need the extra support. This is extra support they stand to lose because of this administration’s recklessness.”
Also potentially on the chopping block in Nevada: Programs for gifted and talented students, $1.4 million for rural education programs, and $38 million for career and technical programs, known as CTE.
Tomas Macaluso, principal at North Valleys High School, said during the press conference that CTE programs are important not only for the career education they offer, but also as a tool to help combat absenteeism.
Macaluso elaborated in a phone interview: “If you’re having kids pick courses that, one, they really enjoy, and two, they see the relevance of for the future, they’re far more likely to come to school to engage in that work.”
According to WCSD data, the graduation rate for CTE students in the district in 2024 was 94%, whereas the overall graduation rate that year was 81.9%
Are the cuts legal?
Following Trump’s executive order, many expressed doubts about whether the president could legally shutter the DOE and withhold education funds.
According to Alexander Marks, deputy executive director of field and communications for the Nevada State Education Association, “Congress is the only body that can get rid of the Department of Education.”
The National Education Association—the NSEA’s parent organization—is one of the plaintiffs in the Maryland lawsuit.
Marks explained: “The argument is: You fired half the staff, which was reckless, and then you basically signed the EO, which is unconstitutional. The effect is they’re trying to get rid of the Department of Education without having to go through Congress.”
He likened Trump’s layoff strategy to “death by a thousand cuts without having to go through the proper channels.”
What if the DOE were to end up closing despite the two lawsuits? Dawn Etcheverry, the NSEA’s president, speculated: “I believe the states will be scrambling to pick it up, because you’ll see our lowest economic schools, our special ed students, our rural districts who receive that funding, all of a sudden have no funding for their educators or their classrooms.”
Never-ending fire season
All the factors that led to the Los Angeles-area wildfires exist in the Reno-Tahoe area—so it’s time to prepare
When asked whether the Reno-Tahoe area could experience a firestorm similar to the devastation the Los Angeles area endured in January, Christine Albano’s short answer: an unequivocal yes.
She should know: The associate research professor at the Desert Research Institute co-authored a new study that, as DRI puts it, “examines how a warming climate is creating an atmosphere more prone to extreme weather. The researchers introduce the idea of an ‘expanding atmospheric sponge’ to describe how higher levels of greenhouse gases create an atmosphere more prone to both extreme rainfall and intense droughts.”
As for her longer answer about the possibility of a Los Angeles-like firestorm here: “We have very similar sort of precipitation regimes here in Reno, as seen in Southern California, with atmospheric rivers driving the wetness of the winter—and then we’re otherwise relatively dry,” Albano said during a recent interview with the RN&R “We also have wintertime down-slope wind events here that are not quite as severe as Santa Ana winds, but that is definitely an
ingredient that we can experience here. … We have development in the wildland-urban interface, so all the ingredients are there for similar patterns here.”
A climate-change-caused “hydroclimate whiplash,” as Albano and her fellow scientists call it, is creating conditions where the atmosphere—and, therefore, plants and the earth—are incredibly dry. Add in winds that can send embers long distances, and the result is unprecedented fire conditions.
“We have variable precipitation here in Reno, and that will likely always be the case,” Albano said. “The difference now is that with that warmer atmosphere, the drier times are getting drier. On any hot, dry day, the atmosphere is going to be pulling and sucking as much water as it can from the plants and the soils, and that is what’s setting us up for higher wildfire risk—having those fuels be drier. With warming temperatures, we can also get more extreme precipitation storm events, but even in the absence of that, it’s the warming, drying side that’s really driving the key differences we’re seeing now.”
So what can local governments and residents do? Albano and Maureen McCarthy, a DRI
colleague, are working with local emergency-management agencies to come up with a worst-case firestorm plan, much like they did with a worst-case winter-storm hypothetical called “ARkStorm.”
| BY JIMMY BOEGLE
More than 18,000 structures—mostly homes— were damaged or destroyed in the Los Angeles fires in January. Photo/Cal Fire
“About 10 years ago, we had an effort in the Tahoe, Reno, Carson area where we presented this extreme winter-storm scenario to the emergency management community and the business community, and said, ‘OK, this is what happens over the course of a month. What keeps you up at night? What are you concerned about?’” Albano said.
The goal is to create and identify better evacuation routes and emergency-response plans should the worst-case firestorm scenario come to be. Albano also said local governments should work on mitigation strategies regarding both where and how homes and businesses are built.
She recommended that homeowners consider “hardening” their structures by using more fire-resistant materials, replacing roofs made of flammable materials, and changing landscaping to include as much defensible space as possible.
“Our houses have a lot of fuel,” she said, adding that taking such measures can be important to fire-weary insurance companies. Albano said she lives in Truckee, and recently lost her homeowners insurance.
As the Los Angeles area recovers from the fires that took at least 29 lives and destroyed or damaged more than 18,000 stuctures in January, Albano said Reno-area residents would be wise to learn some lessons from the unprecedented firestorm.
“It was a reminder that fire seasons are getting longer,” she said.
I asked a follow-up question: Is it ever not fire season now? Albano paused for a moment—and then shook her head.
Off to the Hunt!
Sierra Nevada Hounds brings a humane version of the traditional English fox hunt to Northern Nevada | BY
Pickup trucks pulling horse trailers kick up clouds of dust as they approach. Soon, riders prepare their saddles and adjust their distinctive red and black uniform coats—and then enjoy a traditional toast with Port wine.
After the preparation is complete, floppy-eared hound dogs are released to run alongside Raina Robrahn, the master of foxhounds and huntswoman, as she leads her team into the vast, wild countryside. Behind the group are Jeeps carrying everything from binoculars to ice-cold ale.
Sierra Nevada Hounds (SNH) is Northern Nevada’s newest fox-hunting group, with facilities north of Lemmon Valley. Fox hunts originated in England as a method of rural pest control, but today, SNH members meet regularly at various locations on Nevada’s public lands for a day of horseback riding, eating and off-roading.
“We have different positions in our hunt. We have the huntsman; that person is on a horse and in charge of all the hounds,” explained Tess Opferman, SNH’s board secretary.
Opferman is a “whip,” who ensures the hounds stay within range. As the field—the group of riders—and whip trail behind Robrahn, the group remains silent to avoid distracting the dogs as they focus on tracking a scent. When a coyote is spotted, “Tally-ho!” is called into the network of walkie-talkies. The chase has begun.
Hound dogs begin darting toward the
coyote as it quickly slinks through boulders and shrubs. The horses gallop in chase, and the support vehicles accelerate as they drive across rocky, uneven terrain.
Opferman emphasized the distinction between the historic English fox hunt and what SNH does. “We chase coyotes in the traditional form of fox hunting. … It’s not a true hunt; we’re not killing anything,” Opferman said.
When a coyote is sighted, the hounds will begin chasing, and do so until the animal has hidden or escaped. Riders will then announce that the coyote has “gone to ground,” which marks the end of the pursuit. Roger Merriam, a former rider and SNH board member, said that Robrahn has meticulously trained the hounds to chase, but not attack.
Opferman said Northern Nevada’s arid environment makes it challenging for hounds to pick up a coyote’s scent, and not every hunt ends with a successful chase.
“We don’t need to catch the coyote to have a successful day,” she said.
Fox hunting in the American West differs from many East Coast hunts due to the use of sighthounds. In Eastern states, Opferman said, hunts are often held on private lands with dense, grown-out greenery, and therefore limited visibility, meaning only scent hounds are used. But in Nevada, with miles of vast, public lands, SNH can combine the strengths of both sight and scent hounds to track coyotes.
SNH’s sighthounds are crossbreeds of Salukis and Greyhounds, which are adept at looking
While groups that practice traditional fox "hunting" on the East Coast often use private lands, Sierra Nevada Hounds has access to plenty of public open space. Photo/Beatrice Bashibyukyan
you wouldn’t normally get to see on horseback. It’s just so much fun.”
Roger Merriam agreed that fox hunting in Northern Nevada is a special experience.
“We talk in miles; they talk in acres,” he said. “People from the East come over to hunt with us, and they just love it.”
Sierra Nevada Hounds was established in 2023, and since then, the group has fostered an ardent and tight-knit community of riders from various ages, backgrounds and experience levels.
“There’s love in this group. … There’s helpfulness; there’s whatever you need. I’d really like for people to know what a great community this is,” said Robin Keith, who serves on SNH’s advisory committee representing.
across distances and scanning the horizon for movement. Running alongside the Saluki-Greyhounds are Walker, English and American foxhounds.
Gwendolyn Clancy is a SNH field rider (and Opferman’s mother). “It’s wonderful, open country,” Clancy said. “Back East, everything is overgrown, so you can’t see what’s happening. … (In Nevada), you get to see all this country
Keith used to be intimidated by horses, but started fox hunting after her daughter and granddaughter encouraged her to take weekly riding lessons. Hearing stories about her family’s hunts sparked a curiosity that motivated her to pursue English riding as a way to share a hobby with her family. She discovered her place within the SNH community.
“This is, to me, a model of intergenerational groups,” Keith said. “It’s powerful and wonderful.”
For more information about Sierra Nevada Hounds, visit www.sierranevadahounds.org.
Hunting hounds help the riders track and chase coyotes—but are trained to not attack them. Photo/ Beatrice Bashibyukyan
Springtime safety
Before you hit the trail, take simple steps to avoid disaster
I heard the helicopter, but I busied my focus on the green on top of the light grey bark of a desert peach bush—a sign of spring. The trail was filled with hikers, mountain bikers and trail runners enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. Soon, I thought, the hillside here along the Evans Canyon Loop trail would be pink with flowers.
I craved silence to enjoy this subtle beauty, which is normally granted in this spot, just under the landmark “N” on the hillside at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park. However, the pap-pap-pap-pap of the mechanized beast grew louder, and I could ignore its presence no longer.
I turned to watch the helicopter circle a few times, then land along the double-track trail—wide enough for an ATV or two bikes riding abreast, but narrow for an aircraft. A team of first responders
jumped from the helicopter and met with a group of EMTs already at the scene, and they disappeared down a trail that meets with Evans Creek. Soon, they carried a person out from the trail on a stretcher and loaded them into the helicopter.
I was shocked. I’d never before witnessed a helicopter rescue, or, frankly, any accident requiring emergency rescue while hiking. This is not, however, what you’d assume if you listen to the myriad people (my mother at the forefront) who chirp about the dangers of the very outdoors into which they don’t venture. They tell me to worry about bears, snakes, coyotes and, sometimes, other people. More than a few times, I’ve been called crazy.
I usually laugh. I’m not afraid of bears; coyotes don’t spook me; and I’ve never seen a mountain lion or rattlesnake on a trail. In fact, I’m more terrified of driving on the highway than spending a night alone 20-plus miles
from civilization. However, I understand their concern. Wilderness feels beyond our control. There are no doors we can lock, no barricades, no police down the street. There aren’t fridges stocked with food or faucets to let out a never-ending stream of drinking water. The wilderness shows us our fragility.
It isn’t inherently dangerous, though. The real danger? Ourselves. When we don’t come to the trail prepared, we risk injuring ourselves or making dangerous situations worse.
I once got caught in a lightning storm at the peak of Mount Lola (about 12 miles north of Interstate 80 off the Pacific Crest Trail) because I didn’t check weather reports before leaving. Bolts struck so close that the light and thunder were simultaneous. I’m still surprised I wasn’t electrocuted.
When I started my through-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail, I became dehydrated on an exposed section of trail during one afternoon
| BY HELENA GUGLIELMINO
Photo/Helena Guglielmino
in the midst of a week-long heatwave, because I only carried only two liters of water for a 13-mile section. Another time, I suffered acute hypothermia, because I had to hike seven miles through a snowstorm in shorts. I’ve come very close to serious falls in places with no cell service on days where no one knew where I was going or what I was doing.
All of these instances were preventable. You can’t stop snow from falling or create a spring of water, but you can evaluate the weather reports and analyze the area before you start exploring. You can—and should—pack a bag with extra layers, water, food and first aid. You should always listen to the needs of your body instead of trying to push past them. That peak will still be there tomorrow. The likelihood that you’ll make a bad decision that leads to injury is higher when your body is tired, hungry, dehydrated, cold or depleted of salt or sugar.
A basic rule to follow when going into the backcountry is to carry the 10 essentials. This list—which you can find on many sites, including the National Park Service and the American Hiking Society—includes navigation, sun protection, insulation (layers), illumination, first-aid supplies, fire (or a way to stay warm), a repair kit and tools, food, water and emergency shelter. I’d also add a power bank to charge devices and a satellite communication device (like the Garmin inReach).
Before you leave for a trip, study a map of the area, and download one to your phone through an app like AllTrails. Check the weather before you go, but be prepared for changes, too. Neighboring canyons might pull in different weather or temperatures, as will the peak compared to the base. Go through your equipment and first-aid supplies to familiarize yourself on how to use them. While animal encounters are seldom, make sure you understand what to do. The Nevada Department of Wildlife is a great resource for those looking for advice specific to this area. Finally, always let someone know your plans, even if you’re going for a day hike close to home.
Last year, I got my wilderness first-aid certification and discovered that search and rescue teams might not always be able to help us get out of situations in the backcountry. Emergency rescues might not be possible depending on the weather, terrain or other safety concerns for the rescue team. If rescue is possible, it might be hours and hours before help gets to you. It is your responsibility to ensure your safety.
As springtime beckons us to the trails and backcountry, come prepared for—and humbled by—the wilderness around us. Whether you hike a route that starts in town or spend a few days in the wilderness, a little forethought goes a long way toward keeping you safe.
Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight
For April, 2025
This sky chart is drawn for latitude 40 degrees north, but may be used in continental U.S. and southern Canada.
ASTRONOMY
April skies
As always, the month brings a bevy of bright stars in the western half of the sky
Planets and astronomy captured my interest at an early age. It began 75 years ago, when I was in sixth-grade, in the 1950-51 school year. My science teacher had our class do a huge mural of the solar system, showing the planets’ relative sizes and distances from the sun. Our then-rural Long Island, N.Y., school district had no schools serving students beyond the sixth-grade, so in the following years, I attended secondary school in a neighboring district. I thank my lucky stars—literally—that the school librarian kept some timeless, inspiring books on the shelves. The Friendly Stars, by Martha Evans Martin, published in 1907, associated the delicate blue hepatica wildflowers blooming in the early spring with April’s arrival of the similarly colored star Vega above the northeast horizon. Another early favorite of mine was A Dipper Full of Stars:
April’s evening sky chart.
Illustration/Robert D. Miller
Its brightest star, not as bright as Jupiter, is Sirius, the Dog Star, in the south-southwest. Going clockwise around the oval, we encounter Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor, the Little Dog. Next, in quick succession, we find Mars, Pollux and Castor. (Castor, of magnitude +1.6, doesn’t quite make the cut as a first-magnitude star.) Next, high in the northwestern sky, we find Capella, the “Mother Goat” star, the second-brightest and northernmost star of the oval, a distant 66° from Sirius. The next star, below brilliant Jupiter, is Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the Bull, and “follower” of the Pleiades star cluster nearly 14° to its lower right. The last star in the oval is Rigel, Orion’s foot. Note the striking row of three second-magnitude stars, the belt of Orion, above Rigel, and the reddish supergiant star Betelgeuse, above the belt and inside the oval.
There are four additional bright stars visible in the eastern half of the sky before any of the bright stars in the western sky drop below the horizon. The Big Dipper in the northeast can help locate three of these. Extend the familiar line of the Pointer stars backward, away from the North Star, to find Leo, the Lion, with its brightest star, Regulus, high in the southeast. Extend the curve of the Big Dipper’s handle into the eastern sky to “follow the arc to Arcturus and drive a spike to Spica.” The last star to appear before Rigel sets south of west is Vega, rising in the northeast after nightfall for much of April. Once Vega has risen, 11 stars of first magnitude or brighter are visible simultaneously, or 13 objects if you include the two planets!
On the first evening of April, we find Mars 4.1° south of Pollux on a line toward Procyon, and we find Jupiter nearly 8° above Aldebaran, and nearly on a line toward 1.7-magnitude Elnath, tip of the Bull’s northern horn.
A Beginner’s Guide to the Heavens, by Lou Williams Page (published in 1944, part of the old California State Series of textbooks for students).
By nightfall at the start of April each year, there is a huge collection of bright stars in the western half of the sky. It includes seven stars of first magnitude or brighter, nearly half the total of 15 such stars visible over the course of the year from the latitude of Reno.
During evenings in April 2025, there are two bright planets visible. The departure of Venus has left Jupiter, in the west at dusk, as the brightest evening “star.” Mars is high in the southern sky in evening twilight as the month begins, not far from the noticeably fainter “Twin” stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor.
The bright stars in the western half of the sky are arranged in a huge oval, sometimes called the Winter Hexagon, or Winter Ellipse.
On the evening of April 1, the 19 percent crescent moon appears 3° above the Pleiades cluster. On the next evening, the 29 percent crescent will pass 5° north of Jupiter. At dusk on April 4, the moon will be at first quarter phase, half full, and 90°, or a quarter-circle, east of the sun. On the evening of April 5, the 61-percent gibbous moon is 4° east of Mars and forms a compact gathering with Mars and Pollux.
On April 7 and 8, the waxing gibbous moon skips past Regulus, moving from west to east of the star on consecutive nights. On the evening of April 11, the 99 percent moon is 10° to the upper right of Regulus. On April 12, the evening of the full moon, our natural satellite appears 1°-2° to the lower right of Spica.
Visit the online version of this column for a morning mid-twilight sky map depicting the sky when the sun is 9° below the east-northeast horizon. By far, the sky’s most dominant feature is the planet Venus, shining at magnitude -4.3
| BY ROBERT VICTOR
to -4.8, reaching peak brilliance on April 22, but with barely a change for a week before and after. Venus shows a crescent, resolvable even in binoculars, 4 percent full and 57 arcseconds across on April 1, filling out to 28 percent and shrinking to 37 arcseconds across by April 30. Also noteworthy is Saturn, appearing ringless, because Earth passed through the plane of the rings on March 23, and we have since been observing the unlit south face of the rings, until Saturn’s autumnal equinox on May 6.
Mercury, unlike Venus, has no cloud cover, and it appears quite dim when in crescent phase early in its morning apparitions. Mercury attains magnitude +1.0 on April 10, when it’s 6.5° to the lower right of Venus and 2° left of slightly fainter 1.2-magnitude Saturn. Despite Mercury reaching its greatest angular distance for this year, 27°, on April 21, Mercury reaches its greatest altitude of only 1.6° up in mid-twilight in Reno from April 14-20. This is the worst morning apparition of Mercury this year for northern hemisphere sky-watchers. After April 10, Mercury appears increasingly farther to the lower left of Saturn, by 2.9° on April 14, to 17° on April 30, when Mercury has brightened to magnitude +0.1. The waning moon in the morning sky appears near Spica on April 13. The moon occults the star Pi in the head of Scorpius in the early morning of April 16, from 12:35 to 1:55 a.m. in Reno. Later, as morning twilight brightens, find Antares, heart of the Scorpion, to the upper left of moon. On April 17, Antares will appear to the right of the moon. On April 18, an unusually low, southern moon reaches its high point in the south only 21° up, 70 minutes before sunrise in Reno.
On April 24, the 15 percent crescent moon is 9° to the upper right of Venus. On April 25, the 6 percent moon is surrounded by three planets! They are Venus and Saturn, about 6.5° to the moon’s upper right, and Mercury, about 5.5° to the moon’s lower right. One last morning chance for the moon: On the 26th, in bright twilight half an hour before sun-up, try for the 3 percent crescent 21° to the lower left of Venus, and 10° to the lower left of Mercury.
New moon occurs on April 27 at 12:31 p.m., so the moon can’t be seen on that date. The moon will appear in the west-northwest in Taurus the next three evenings, in very favorable view. On the 30th, the 16 percent crescent will appear 7° to the upper right of bright Jupiter, and 4° to the upper left of Elnath.
These events, and other gatherings of the moon, planets and stars, are illustrated on the Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar. For $12 per year, subscribers receive quarterly mailings, each containing three monthly issues; learn more at www.abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar.
Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps produce an occasional issue.
Stereographic Projection Map by Robert D. Miller
Evening mid-twilight occurs when the Sun is 9° below the horizon.
sunset.
Dig Smart, Stay Safe: Calling 811 Before Digging Is Essential
Spring is in the air, and for many of us, that means tackling outdoor projects—whether you’re planting a new tree, installing a fence, or upgrading your landscaping. But before you grab that shovel, there’s one essential step you can’t afford to skip: calling 811. April is National Safe Digging Month, and Southwest Gas is reminding everyone that safe digging doesn’t just protect your project—it protects you, your family, and your community. By making a quick call to 811 or submitting an online request at call811.com, you can help avoid dangerous accidents, costly damages, and major service disruptions.
Homeowners and professionals alike should submit their request for line-marking at least two business days before digging. Utility professionals will visit the property and mark the locations of underground utility lines using color-coded paint or flags. These markings serve as a guide, helping to prevent accidental damage and ensuring you avoid potentially dangerous surprises below the surface.
More People Are Digging Safely —and It’s Paying Off
The good news? Calling 811 is working! In the past year alone, calls to 811 have increased by nearly 10 percent, contributing to a 7 percent reduction in underground utility damage throughout Southwest Gas’ tri-state territory compared to 2023. These improvements underscore the effectiveness of proactive safety measures and the role they play in protecting communities. However, despite this progress, the Common Ground Alliance’s latest DIRT report reveals that the leading cause of damages continues to be the failure to notify 811.
Promoting Safe Digging Across Industries
While homeowners play an essential role in calling 811 before digging, Southwest Gas is also working to educate professionals across multiple industries about safe excavation practices.
To prevent accidental damage to gas lines and underground utilities, Southwest Gas offers specialized damage prevention training. These free trainings are offered for excavators, plumbers, landscapers, DIYers and anyone planning to conduct underground work throughout the utility’s service territory. The training provides a comprehensive overview of state-specific excavation laws, outlines the steps for conducting a safe excavation, explains the process for requesting utility line markings and highlights critical emergency considerations before starting a project. For more information about damage prevention training, visit swgas.com/ damage-prevention-training.
Recognizing and Responding to a Natural Gas Leak
Even with the best precautions, accidents can happen. If you hit a natural gas line or suspect a leak:
such as using a lighter or an automated garage door, or turning on or off electrical switches
• Once you’re at a safe distance, call 911, and then notify Southwest Gas at 877-8606020
• Leave the area immediately and do not to attempt to fix the damage or inspect the leak yourself
• Avoid actions that could create a spark,
• Stay clear of the area until professionals confirm that it’s safe to return
A natural gas leak can be identified by a few key warning signs:
• A sulfur-like odor similar to rotten eggs (since natural gas is odorized for safety)
• A hissing or roaring coming from the ground, above-ground piping, or a natural gas
appliance
• Environmental changes such as bubbling water, dirt blowing into the air, or unexplained dying plants
Being aware of these signs and reacting quickly can help prevent a dangerous situation.
A Safer Future
Starts with One Call
Whether you are a homeowner, landscaper, or contractor, safe digging begins with one simple but critical step—calling 811. Taking this precaution helps prevent accidents, service disruptions, and costly repairs, ensuring that projects can be completed efficiently and safely. For more information on safe digging practices and natural gas safety, visit swgas. com/dig-safe.
The public’s right to access government information is constantly under siege across the United States, from both sides of the political aisle. In Maryland, where Democrats hold majorities, the attorney general and state Legislature are pushing a bill to allow agencies to reject public records requests that they consider “harassing.” At the same time, President Donald Trump’s administration has moved its most aggressive government reform effort—the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—outside the reach of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), while also beginning the mass removal of public data sets. One of the most powerful tools to fight back against bad governance is public ridicule. That’s where we come in: Each spring, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, MuckRock and AAN Publishers team up to publish The Foilies. This annual report—now a decade old—names and shames the most repugnant, absurd, and incompetent responses to public records requests under FOIA and state transparency laws. Sometimes the good guys win. For example, last year we highlighted the Los Angeles Police Department for using the courts to retaliate against advocates and a journalist who had rightfully received and published official photographs of police officers. The happy ending (at least for transparency): LAPD has since lost the case, and the city paid the advocates $300,000 to cover their legal bills. Here are this year ’s “winners.” While they may not all pay up, at least we can make sure they get the negative publicity they’re owed.
The Exorbitant FOIA Fee of the Year
Rapides Parish School District
After a church distributed a religious tract at Lessie Moore Elementary School School in Pineville, La., young students quickly dubbed its frank discussion of mature themes as “the sex book.” Hirsh M. Joshi from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a lawyer representing a parent, filed a request with the Rapides Parish School District to try to get some basic information: How much did the school coordinate with the church distributing the material? Did other parents complain? What was the internal reaction? Joshi was stunned when the school district responded with an initial estimate of $2 million to cover the cost of processing the request. After local media picked up the story and a bit of negotiating, the school ultimately waived the charges and responded with a mere nine pages of responsive material.
Assessing huge fee estimates is one way agencies discourage FOIA requesters.
Illustration: Hannah Diaz/EFF
While Rapides Parish’s sky-high estimate ultimately took home the gold this year, there was fierce competition. The Massachusetts State Police wanted $176,431 just to review—and potentially not even release—materials about recruits who leave the state’s training program early. Back in Louisiana, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s office insisted on charging a grieving father more than $5,000 for records on the suspicious death of his own son.
The Now You See It, Now You Don’t Award
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sports reporter Daniel Libit’s public records request is at the heart of a lawsuit that looks a lot like the Spider-Man pointing meme. In 2023, Libit filed the request for a contract between the University of Wisconsin and Altius Sports Partners, a firm that consults college athletic programs on payment strategies for college athletes (“Name, Image, Likeness” or NIL deals), after reading a university press release about the partnership. The university denied the request, claiming that Altius was actually contracted by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3). So, Libit asked the foundation for the contract. The foundation then denied the request, claiming it was exempt from Wisconsin’s open records laws. After the denial, Libit filed a lawsuit for the records, which was then dismissed, because the university and foundation argued that Libit had incorrectly asked for a contract between the university and Altius, as opposed to the foundation and Altius.
The foundation did produce a copy of the contract in the lawsuit, but the game of hiding the ball makes one thing clear, as Libit wrote after: “If it requires this kind of effort to get a relatively prosaic NIL consultant contract, imagine the lengths schools are willing to go to keep the really interesting stuff hidden.”
The Fudged Up Beyond All Recognition Award
Central Intelligence Agency
There are state secrets, and there are family secrets, and sometimes they mix … like a creamy, gooey confectionary.
After Mike Pompeo finished his first year as Trump’s CIA director in 2017, investigative reporter Jason Leopold sent a FOIA request asking for all of the memos Pompeo sent to staff. Seven years later, the agency finally produced the records, including a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” message recounting the annual holiday reception and gingerbread competition,
A CIA official's grandma's fudge recipe was too secret for public consumption. Illustration: Hannah Diaz/EFF
which was won by a Game of Thrones-themed entry. (“And good use of ice cream cones!” Pompeo wrote.) At the party, Pompeo handed out cards with his mom’s “secret” recipe for fudge, and for those who couldn’t make it, he also sent it out as an email attachment.
But the CIA redacted the whole thing, vaguely claiming it was protected from disclosure under federal law. This isn’t the first time the federal government has protected Pompeo’s culinary secrets: In 2021, the State Department redacted Pompeo’s pizza toppings and favorite sandwich from emails.
The You Can’t Handle the Truth Award
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin
In Virginia, state officials have come under fire in the past few years for shielding records from the public under the broad use of a “working papers and correspondence” FOIA exemption. When a public records request came in for internal communications on the state’s Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, which provides tuition-free college to spouses and children of military veterans killed or disabled as a result of their service, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office used this “working papers” exemption to reject the FOIA request.
The twist is the request was made by Kayla Owen, a military spouse and a member of the governor’s own task force studying the program. Despite Owen’s attempts to correct the parameters of the request, Youngkin’s office made the final decision in July to withhold more than two folders worth of communications with officials who have been involved with policy discussions about the program.
The Courts Cloaked in Secrecy Award (Tie)
Solano County Superior Court, Calif., and Washoe County District Court, Nev.
Courts are usually the last place the public can go to vindicate their rights to government records when agencies flout them. When agencies lock down records, courts usually provide the key to open them up.
The No Tech Support Award National Security Agency
In 1982, Rear Adm. Grace Hopper (then a captain) presented a lecture to the National Security Agency entitled “Future Possibilities: Data, Hardware, Software, and People.” One can only imagine Hopper’s disappointment if she had lived long enough to learn that in the future, the NSA would claim it was impossible for its people to access the recording of the talk.
Except in Vallejo, Calif., where a state trial court judge decided to lock his own courtroom during a public records lawsuit—a move that even Franz Kafka would have dismissed as too surreal and ironic. The suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union sought a report detailing a disturbing ritual in which officers bent their badges to celebrate their on-duty killings of local residents.
When public access advocates filed an emergency motion to protest the court closure, the court denied it without even letting them in to argue their case. This was not just a bad look; it violated the California and U.S. constitutions, which guarantee public access to court proceedings and a public hearing prior to barring the courtroom doors.
However, one local judge was not to be outdone by the aforementioned judge. Washoe County District Court Judge Kathleen Sigurdson has twice barred local nonprofit Our Nevada Judges from filming hearings concerning a public records lawsuit. As reported by our friends at This Is Reno, the request sought records of an alleged domestic violence incident at former Reno City Manager Doug Thornley’s house.
Despite the Nevada Supreme Court rebuking the judge for prohibiting cameras in her courtroom, she later denied the same group from filming another hearing. The transparency group continues to fight for camera access, but its persistence should not be necessary: The court should have let them record from the get-go.
Hopper is undoubtedly a major figure in the history of computing whose records and lectures are of undeniable historical value, and Michael Ravnitzky, frequent FOIA requester and founder of Government Attic, requested this particular lecture back in 2021. Three years later, the NSA responded to tell him that they had no responsive documents.
Befuddled, Ravnitzky pointed out the lecture had been listed in the NSA’s own Television Center Catalogue. At that point, the agency copped to the actual issue. Yes, it had the record, but it was captured on AMPEX 1-inch open reel tapes, as was more common in the 1980s. Despite being a major intelligence agency with high-tech surveillance and communication capabilities, it claimed it could not find any way to access the recording.
Let’s unpack the multi-layered egregiousness of the NSA’s actions here. It took the agency three years to respond to this FOIA. When it did, the NSA claimed that it had nothing responsive, which was a lie. But the most colossal failure by the NSA was its claim that it couldn’t find a way to make accessible to the public important moments from our history because of technical difficulties.
But leave it to librarians to put spies to shame: The National Archives stepped in to help, and now you can watch the lecture on YouTube.
For a version of the 2025 Foilies with links to sources and stories, visit RenoNR.com.
Vallejo Police Department officers are caught in a scandal over transparency and “badge-bending” to celebrate kills.
Photo/Geoff King,Open Vallejo
The NSA claimed it didn’t have the obsolete tech needed to access a lecture by military computing pioneer Grace Hopper. Photo/U.S. Navy
The Most Infuriating FOIA Fee
U.S. Department of Defense (2016 Winner) Under FOIA, federal agencies are able to charge “reasonable” fees for producing copies of records. But sometimes agencies fabricate enormous price tags to pressure the requester to drop the query.
In 2015, Martin Peck asked the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to disclose the number of “HotPlug” devices (tools used to preserve data on seized computers) it had purchased. The DOD said it would cost $660 million and 15 million labor hours (over 1,712 years), because its document system wasn’t searchable by keyword, and staff would have to comb through 30 million contracts by hand.
Runners-up
City of Seattle (2019 Winner): City officials quoted a member of the public $33 million for metadata for every email sent in 2017, but ultimately reduced the fee to $40.
Rochester (Michigan) Community Schools District (2023 Winner): A group of parents critical of the district’s remote-learning plan requested records to see if the district was spying on their social media. One parent was told they would have to cough up $18,641,345 for the records, because the district would have to sift through every email.
Willacy County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office (2016 Winner): When the Houston Chronicle asked for crime data, the sheriff sent them an itemized invoice that included $98.40 worth of Wite-Out—the equivalent of 55 bottles—to redact 1,016 pages of records.
The Most Ridiculous Redaction
Federal Bureau of Investigation (2015 Winner)
Brad Heath, who in 2014 was a reporter at USA Today, got a tip that a shady figure had possibly attended an FBI retirement party. So, he filed a request for the guest list and pictures taken at the event. In response, the FBI sent a series of surreal photos of the attendees, hugging, toasting and posing awkwardly, but all with polygonal redactions covering their faces like some sort of mutant, Minecraft family reunion.
Runner-up
U.S. Southern Command (2023 Winner): Investigative journalist Jason Leopold obtained scans of paintings by detainees at Guantanamo Bay, which were heavily redacted under the claim that the art would disclose law enforcement
In the year 2015, we witnessed the launch of OpenAI, a debate over the color of a dress going viral, and a Supreme Court decision that same-sex couples have the right to get married.
It was also the year that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) first published The Foilies, an annual report that hands out tonguein-cheek “awards” to government agencies and officials that respond outrageously when a member of the public tries to access public records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or similar laws. A lot has changed over the last decade, but one thing that hasn’t is the steady flow of attempts by authorities to avoid their legal and ethical obligations to be open and accountable. Sometimes, these cases are intentional, but just as often, they are due to incompetence or straight-up half-assedness.
Over the years, EFF has teamed up with MuckRock to document and ridicule these FOIA fails and transparency trip-ups. And through a partnership with AAN Publishers, we have named and shamed the culprits in alternative newspapers and on indie news sites across the United States in celebration of Sunshine Week, an annual event in March raising awareness of the role access to public records plays in a democracy.
This year, we reflect on the most absurd and frustrating winners from the last 10 years as we prepare for the next decade, which may even be more terrible for government transparency.
information that could “reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”
The Most Reprehensible Reprisal Against a Requester
White Castle, Louisiana (2017 Winner) Chris Nakamoto, at the time a reporter for WBRZ, filed a public records request to probe the White Castle mayor’s salary. But when he went down to check on some of the missing records, he was handcuffed, placed in a holding cell, and charged with the crime of “remaining after being forbidden.” He was summoned to appear before the “Mayor’s Court” in a judicial proceeding presided over by none other than the same mayor he was investigating. The charges were dropped two months later.
Runners-up
Richlands, Virginia (2024 Winner): Resident
Laura Mollo used public records laws to investigate problems with the 911 system and, in response, experienced intense harassment from the city and its contractors, including the police pulling her over and the city appointing a special prosecutor to investigate her. On separate occasions, Morro even says she found her mailbox filled with spaghetti and manure.
Jack White (2015 Winner): One of the rare non-government Foilies winners, the White Stripes guitarist verbally abused University of Oklahoma student journalists and announced he wouldn’t play at the school anymore. The reason? The student newspaper, OU Daily, obtained and published White’s contract for a campus performance, which included his no-longer-secret guacamole recipe, a bowl of which was demanded in his rider.
Worst Federal Agency of the Decade Federal Bureau of Investigation
Bashing the FBI has come back into vogue among certain partisan circles in recent years, but we’ve been slamming the feds long before it was trendy.
The agency received eight Foilies over the last decade, more than any other entity, but the FBI’s hostility toward FOIA goes back much further. In 2021, the Cato Institute uncovered
Some agencies will make you wait a ridiculously long time for records. Illustration: Hannah Diaz/EFF
WBRZ Reporter Chris Nakamoto was cuffed for trying to obtain records in White Castle, La. Image/WBRZ-TV
records showing that, since at least 1989, the FBI had been spying on the National Security Archive, a nonprofit watchdog that keeps an eye on the intelligence community. The FBI’s methods included both physical and electronic surveillance, and the records show the FBI specifically cited the organization’s “tenacity” in using FOIA.
Cato’s Patrick G. Eddington reported it took 11 months for the FBI to produce those records, but that’s actually relatively fast for the agency. We highlighted a 2009 FOIA request that the FBI took 12 years to fulfil: Bruce Alpert of the Times-Picayune had asked for records regarding the corruption case of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, but by the time he received the 84 pages in 2021, the reporter had retired. Similarly, when George Washington University professor and documentary filmmaker Nina Seavey asked the FBI for records related to surveillance of antiwar and civil rights activists, the FBI told her it would take 17 years to provide the documents. When the agency launched an online system for accepting FOIA requests, it somehow made the process even more difficult.
The FBI was at its worst when it was attempting to use non-disclosure agreements to keep local law enforcement agencies from responding to public records requests regarding the use of cell phone surveillance technologies called cell-site simulators, or “stingrays.” The agency even went so far as to threaten agencies that release technical information to media organizations with up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, claiming it would be a violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
But you don’t have to take our word for it: Even Micky Dolenz of The Monkees had to sue the FBI to get records on how agents collected intelligence on the 1960s band.
Worst Local Jurisdiction of the Decade
Chicago, Illinois
Over the last decade, The Foilies have called out officials at all levels of government and in every part of the country (and even in several other countries), but time and time again, one city keeps demonstrating special antagonism to the idea of freedom of information: the Windy City. In fact, the most ridiculous justification for ignoring transparency obligations we ever encountered was proudly championed by now-former Mayor Lori Lightfoot during the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020. She offered a bogus choice to Chicagoans: The city could either process public records requests, or provide pandemic response, falsely claiming that answering these requests would pull epidemiologists off the job. According to the Chicago Tribune, she implied that responding to FOIA requests would result in people having to “bury another grandmother.” She even invoked the story of Passover, claiming that the “angel of death is right here in our midst every single day” as a reason to suspend FOIA deadlines.
If we drill down on Chicago, there’s one particular department that seems to take particular pleasure in screwing the public: the Chicago Police Department (CPD). In 2021, CPD was nominated so many times (for withholding records of search warrants, a list of names of police officers, and body-worn camera footage from a botched raid) that we just threw up our hands and named them “The Hardest Department to FOIA” of the year.
In one particularly nasty case, the CPD had mistakenly raided the home of an innocent woman and handcuffed her while she was naked and did not allow her to dress. Later, the woman filed a FOIA request for the body-worn camera footage and had to sue to get it. But CPD didn’t leave it there: The city’s lawyers tried to block a TV station from airing the video and then sought sanctions against the woman’s attorney.
For a version of this story with complete links to sources, visit RenoNR.com.
GOOD TIMES AND …
WELL, THE PANDEMIC
Pioneer Center executive director Dennyse Sewell reflects on her first 20 years at the organization
The first time Dennyse Sewell walked into the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts—the gold, geodesic “turtle” building in downtown Reno—she was 10.
She watched a Reno Philharmonic concert with her music class. The teacher asked the students to write a one-page essay about the experience.
“I went margin to margin … front and back for multiple pages,” Sewell said. The other kids razzed her for being teacher’s pet. “I was genuinely so affected by it that I wanted to try to describe all of the feelings and thoughts and emotions, and all the colors I could see in my brain while the music was playing,” she said. “I never in a thousand lifetimes thought, ‘Oh, that’s going to be my life.’”
A few months ago, Sewell celebrated her 20th anniversary working at the Pioneer Center,
where, for the last six years, she has been the executive director.
A ‘quarter-life crisis’ and a big leap
As a University of Nevada, Reno, student, Sewell began working at the Pioneer as a ticket seller in 2003. She graduated with a degree in conservation biology and watched most of her peers move on to grad school.
“I just wasn’t sure that was my calling,” she said, describing her post-graduation quandary as a “quarter-life crisis,” during which she had no idea which path to take.
The Pioneer moved her to an administrative assistant job, where she had a particularly encouraging supervisor—Willis Allen, then the executive director, the type of boss who would say things like: “Hey, Dennyse, do you want to learn how to write grants?” “Do you want to learn how to do the outreach programs?”
Dennyse Sewell became the executive director of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts at the start of 2019. Photo/David Robert
tionships with resident companies, rental clients, volunteers and board members all had to change in scope. The immense trust the organization had placed in her felt like a lot of pressure. That first year, Sewell got to work on one of her big goals—expanding the Broadway Comes to Reno series.
A blow to the performing arts industry
On the first day of 2020, Sewell wrote herself a note: “Wow, going into work this morning wasn’t quite as scary as the first day in 2019. Yay, one year under my belt as the leader!”
In March 2020, the city of Reno and the state of Nevada issued shutdown orders, hoping to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“Lo and behold, we were not legally allowed to gather people together in an enclosed space— and that’s what we do for a living,” Sewell said. According to National Endowment for the Arts data, the value of the performing arts industry nationwide fell 73% that year. An Americans for the Arts report estimated a loss of 557 million ticketed admissions at U.S. venues due to the pandemic shutdowns.
There were, Sewell said, “a lot of really dark nights of the soul during the pandemic, of, ‘How do I ensure that this legacy cultural institution doesn’t go bust under my watch?’
“So many really valuable, really significant cultural anchors in cities all around the world are gone post-pandemic,” Sewell said. “It was a very real risk—that any one of us could literally not survive it. There’s no way to overstate how terrifying that was. The only sort of weird cold comfort was that I was very keenly aware, in that moment, that I wasn’t alone.”
“Attend this meeting with me?” “Pinch hit as box office manager while we look for our next candidate?”
Sewell soon became a supervisor and mentor herself. “You get an opportunity, and you say yes,” she said, “and then you figure out how to make good on the thing you just said yes to.”
Early in 2019, Sewell was promoted to the executive director position. “You go home Dec. 31 as their co-worker; you come back Jan. 1 as their boss,” she said. It felt like a big leap.
“It is a really strange internal metamorphosis,” she said. “My original goal, when I stepped into the leadership role, was to really assess— how’s the rest of the team doing? How can I support them? The change was hard for me and also probably a little bit weird for them.”
She tried hard to remain accessible and genuine to the former peers who were now her employees. Meanwhile, her longstanding rela-
The Pioneer sent its staff home, canceled shows and refunded tickets, including the credit-card fees.
“We have to take care of our community first and foremost,” Sewell said. “If we lose the confidence of our friends and neighbors, there’s no point.”
The staff remained employed and fully paid. Her rationale: “We don’t know when we’re going to get green-lit to reopen, and I can’t reopen a performing arts center by myself. And these people have such a specific skillset. You can’t just find, on any street corner, somebody who can be a theatrical stagehand to the level that my team is.”
The weekly staff meetings, held on Zoom, were sad and strange. Sewell tried to be inspiring. She quoted Brené Brown. The staffers recommend Netflix standup comedy specials to each other.
When the shutdown rules eased up a bit,
some theaters experimented with things like spraying disinfectant on employees or considering hazmat-like suits. As Sewell watched other venues experiment, she thought, “We’re going to sit tight and see how this shakes out.”
Because the Pioneer gathers large crowds— up to 1,500 people at a time—she figured they’d be among the last to open.
“We didn’t end up buying a bunch of strange gizmos or implementing a bunch of bizarre policies that weren’t actually proven or helpful,” she said. “We got to dodge a lot of those kind-of experimental curveballs that other industries were having to do.”
The staff worked remotely from February 2020 through the summer of 2021. Sewell credits the Pioneer’s survival largely to Willis Allen, her predecessor, who she called “a very, very, very careful steward of nonprofits assets.” He had left the theater with ample financial reserves.
Emerging stronger
In fall 2021, the Broadway series resumed with a run of Hamilton. To comply with government regulations, everyone wore masks. The staff sanitized their hands. Patrons stood in longer lines and showed their vaccination cards.
“We had probably nine or 10 of us staff members to wrangle two sold-out weeks of people who didn’t quite remember how to gather together in public—tense times with big feelings and lots of conflict,” Sewell said. “But we were back. We were finally back. … That feeling of finally being able to celebrate being alive on the
April 4 – 1 3, 2025
Dennyse Sewell climbed the ranks from ticket seller at the Pioneer Center for the Arts to executive director—and then the pandemic hit.
ART OF THE STATE
The eye of history
The Nevada Museum of Art opens its expansion with a show by Judith Lowry that probes the seams of Native sovereignty and assimilation
The show that the Nevada Museum of Art is presenting to open the first phase of its expansion—The Art of Judith Lowry—is a big show, in a number of ways.
It’s big in terms of scope, covering more than 30 years of work by Lowry, a painter whose father was of Mountain Maidu, Hammawi Band Pit River, Washo and ScotsIrish descent, and whose mother was an immigrant from Australia. It’s big in terms of context. Lowry’s work probes the seams of Native sovereignty and assimilation, and there are two related exhibitions: one showcasing her collection of work by contemporary Native artists, which she has donated to the museum; and a collection of basketry by Native artists from the Great Basin, Northern California and the Southwest. And it’s big, most immediately, in terms of the scale of Lowry’s work itself.
The figures in most of her paintings— some of them Lowry’s family and friends, others fantastical beings from Maidu stories, and yet others equally fantastical figures from pop culture and history—meet you at a life-sized scale. You’re not just looking into their worlds through the modest window of a typically sized picture frame.
The paintings that illustrate figures and scenes from Maidu stories, passed on to Lowry through her father and grandmother, are links in a chain of storytelling that reaches back through generations. One painting, “Dao-Lulelek,” from 2012, about cataclysmic fire, makes a rather terrifying first impression. Maidu fire spirits dominate the canvas in fierce reds, oranges and yellows. There’s no break from the conflagration, and no exit or pocket of oxygen to be found. The heads of these figures have been painted with meticulous deliberation, with every lick of flame laid down carefully by Lowry’s brush, the flying sparks shining upward. Raggedly arranged needles of flame surround the black mouths like serrations of spiny fangs.
But when one regards the trio’s full figures, it’s apparent they aren’t posed in gestures of berserk rage: They are, in fact, dancing through and among the flames. In their hands, rather than weapons, they hold ceremonial staffs with bristling tufts of fire at their tips. The dancing looks purposeful, choreographed, sacred—not movement for movement’s sake, but movement to connect the body with the world. Through this image, it’s possible to think of wildfire as a ritual the Earth performs upon itself, when conditions demand it.
Alongside the paintings of Maidu story characters, Lowry makes paintings of family members and friends, referenced from snapshots and sitting portraits—the sorts of images that might be fixed behind a sheet of protective cellophane in a family photo album or framed atop a bureau.
The scale of the paintings gives the subjects the stature of kings and queens in court portraits. They’ve been monumentalized with respect, but
| BY CHRIS LANIER
In Judith Lowry’s painting “Welgatim’s Song” (cropped), the figures are close to life-size. Courtesy of the Nevada Museum of Art
not saddled with sainthood. In the 1966 painting “Beautiful Dreamers,” Lowry’s father, Leonard, is at a bar with friends, celebrating New Year’s Eve in 1945. He looks sharp in his military uniform, his hair slicked back and glistening. His friends are faintly glamorous in the costume of the era. They are a handsome group, but in the space around them, five cupid-like demons spread fire. Rather than being ambassadors of love, they appear like malicious imps of disaster. Lowry has identified them as demons related to alcohol—the humans in the painting are unaware of their existence, but you wonder if, in a moment, they’ll realize that the hem of their dress or their pant leg has begun to burn.
Lowry’s technique is careful and fastidious. All the details in the paintings are laid out clearly, without any impressionistic shorthand. She delineates every tassel at the end of a scarf and every rectangle of the military ribbons attached to her father’s uniform. When she paints beadwork, each bead sits beside the next one, as if the joining thread was sitting right there at the surface of the canvas.
Lowry isn’t just capturing the details of regalia, clothing or costume. She’s taking inventory. When this is coupled with the scale of her subjects—her community members—as they turn themselves to the camera, it is as though they are addressing themselves to the very eye of history. Through Lowry’s painterly composure and attention, this is precisely what they are doing.
The Art of Judith Lowry is on view at the Nevada Museum of Art, at 160 W. Liberty St., Reno, through Sunday, Nov. 16. For more information, visit www.nevadaart.org/art/exhibitions/theart-of-judith-lowry.
This article was originally produced by Double Scoop, Nevada’s source for visual arts news.
Judith Lowry. Courtesy of the Nevada Museum of Art
ART OF THE STATE
Sequins of events
Through her sequin-studded sculptures, Beck Baumann strives to make art that’s accessible, affordable and joyful
Like a lot of artists, Beck Baumann didn’t really think the art she turned to as a hobby could be the makings of a business.
The sketches she made in her lap while taking calls for her remote tech-support job at a software firm and the occasional beaded or sequined craft made in her free time were the extent of her artistic endeavors. But after she lost that job in the economic crisis of 2008, Baumann, a stay-at-home mom, decided to take advantage of a chance at a true artistic second act. Now, she has several exhibits and sales of her work under her belt, including her current show, Fun & Games, at the Oats Park Arts Center in Fallon, as well as a following of customers and a head full of ideas for future pieces.
Baumann went back to school in her 30s and earned a degree in graphic communications at Truckee Meadows Community College. “I was like, ‘I’ve denied that part of myself for so long,’” she said. “Whenever I would take an art class, it was always the happiest I’d ever been.”
Looking to earn a predictable income, she went into commercial illustration and graphic design work, and did a bit of cartooning, but she quickly discovered that she didn’t have much creative say over client-driven work. Meanwhile, she had amassed a stockpile of textiles, beads and sequins, and their
Beck Baumann’s “Gummy Cluster Girl” is inspired by a real candy, Nerds Gummy Clusters. Much of her work depicts candy and other treats.
Baumann’s basement studio in her south Reno home is a sparkling rainbow. One wall is lined with every imaginable color of sequins on 100yard spools, beside another wall of shelving lined with sequin-studded fabrics, all organized by color. Unlike other textile artists, whose work often is meant for utility, Baumann’s vibrant sculptures are things of beauty, conveying themes of whimsy and nostalgia, often focusing on childhood and antiquated technology. Take, for example, the pieces found in her studio: a sequin-coated, Seymour-like potted plant munching lollipops; her grandma’s TV set; a black-sequined pay phone; and a banana duct-taped to a wall.
Other prominent images include body parts—tongues, eyes, brains—and food of all sorts. Candies, cookies, cakes, fruits and even salads pop up in many of her pieces. Her latest effort to create small, affordable art is a series of palm-sized, pink-sequined tongues, onto which gummy bears, lollipops, gumdrops and even pizza slices have been laid. These, as well as a cacophony of candy-covered creatures, cartoonish eyeball pieces and a whole host of other works inspired by childhood memories of games and food, movies, toys and fun constitute the Fun & Games exhibit.
resulting artwork was overflowing her closets.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got to get back to making things with my hands,’” she said, explaining that she had continued making art for herself with tiny seed beads and sequins as a casual hobby. So much so, in fact, that it was move-itor-lose-it time.
“It just brought me joy,” she said. “But my husband finally looked at me and said, ‘Honey, you need to find a way to get rid of this artwork. I hate to tell you, but we can’t just keep housing your art collection.’”
She joined Sierra Arts Foundation’s roster of arts vendors at the 2023 Brew HaHa event and learned, much to her surprise, that people loved her whimsical pieces as much as she enjoyed sharing and talking to people about them. Without expecting to, she had launched her own business as an artist making sculptural sequined art. Her first solo exhibition, All That Glitters, opened in August 2024 at Reno City Hall, and in February of this year, she opened Fun & Games, a collection of 47 pieces that will be on display through May.
Early into the effort, she put aside the intricate seed-bead work in favor of sequins, which are larger and easier to work with, to complete more projects. “I knew that was the key to improving myself,” she said. “And I don’t know—I just love sequins. I don’t love to wear them, but I do love to look at them.”
Baumann insists she doesn’t sew; a selftaught artist, she assembles pieces out of painted wood backings, Styrofoam (much of which she has gathered “dumpster diving”), fabric, sequins
| BY JESSICA SANTINA
and tiny pins. Many of her materials are upcycled cast-offs. The resulting fascinating colors and textures are almost impossible to resist touching—a temptation Baumann now allows.
“When I first started making my work and displaying it, I really didn’t want people touching it,” she said. “Because if your hands are greasy, you can leave residue on the sequins. I would even put out ‘Do Not Touch’ signs. But when I started working with sequin fringe, I realized that I was asking the impossible, because when I had a piece hanging up that was fringe, they had to touch it. People would beg me. … So, I reached this turning point where I was like, ‘You know what? Touch it.’”
Baumann enjoys the fact that fine art and craft are increasingly merging, incorporating unusual materials like sequins or ropes and nets, and becoming more accessible. Art doesn’t have to neatly fit inside one box anymore. Besides, she’d probably just cover the box in sequins and hang it on the wall, anyway.
Beck Baumann’s solo exhibition Fun & Games is on display at the Oats Park Art Center, 151 E. Park St., in Fallon, through Monday, May 5, with a reception scheduled for 5 p.m., Saturday, May 3. The gallery is open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by appointment. To book a visit, call 775-423-1440. Baumann will also have a booth at the Punk Rock Flea Market at the Futsol Sports Arena, at 1580 Hymer Ave., in Sparks, on Saturday, April 12. Learn more at www. beckbaumann.com.
This article was originally produced by Double Scoop, Nevada’s source for visual arts news.
In Baumann’s “Candy Land” (cropped), the tongue is a Candy Land board game.
A complicated legacy
Dani Putney, the non-binary child of a mailorder bride, comes to peace with a fractured identity
Dani Putney is a mixed-race Filipinx, non-binary poet who grew up in Sacramento and Fernley, and now lives in Reno. Their second full-length poetry collection, Mix-Mix, set to be released on April 8 by Baobab Press, is a fearless excavation of their heritage, their personal history, and the history of colonialism as they’ve searched for selfhood and belonging.
Putney’s father was a white American man, and their mother was a mail-order bride from the Philippines—with a 33-year age gap between them.
“I do feel displaced being a mixed-race person growing up in America who did not have access to the languages my mom
Dani Putney estimates that around a quarter of their latest book of poems comes from family and historical documents. One example: the “Asian Romance Guide to Marriage by Correspondence,” a 1989 guidebook for prospective husbands of mail-order brides, offering advice like, “very few ladies know how to drive we recommend that you send your special Filipina to driving school.” Photo/David Robert
English translation of halo-halo, a layered, frozen desert from the Philippines that works as a metaphor for Putney’s intersectional identities: “I see myself in the cup’s crushed / ice, scattered like islands / throughout an archipelago.” Food, the only connection they were allowed to Filipino culture growing up, becomes an entry point for exploring their personal history, intertwined with the violent history of imperialism.
The bedrock of Mix-Mix is a series of documentary-style poems titled either “Footnotes to Marriage by Correspondence” or “Asian Romance Guide to Marriage by Correspondence,” the latter the title of a 1989 guidebook for prospective husbands.
“I discovered the guidebook after my dad passed away in 2016,” Putney said. “It was heavily annotated, with bank wire-transfer numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, things circled and highlighted.”
The “Romance Guide” poems feature letters from American men who had married mail-order brides. One—from a 36-year-old Californian dentist—reads, in part, “Jasmin, I am serious about finding a Filipina wife, heaven knows I could use help around the house. …”
The “Footnotes” poems serve as a manual for acquiring a bride, offering advice on matters such as stationery, conversation topics and preparation for life in America: “Drivers’ Education: very few ladies know how to drive we recommend that you send your special Filipina to driving school.”
Asian women by American men appears in the book, sometimes in sexual situations: “I’ve been called a global / citizen, but I prefer exotic / I only sleep with dirty-blond, / blue-eyed boys / because I / can’t forget I’m special.” Putney has internalized the impact of this history: “I read in a textbook once / that Asian American women / marry white men, whether / deliberately or subconsciously, / to assimilate.”
“It’s never about the actual sex,” Putney said. “Rather, it’s about everything around the sex— power dynamics, internal struggles.”
The climax—or perhaps the denouement—of Mix-Mix comes in “Multitude,” a personal essay interrupting the poems near the book’s center. Here, Putney self-psychoanalyzes their relationship with their father, who was emotionally and physically abusive to their mother, and ponders that relationship’s impact on their queerness and sexuality. The essay’s entry point is Putney’s discovery, at age 24, of Walt Whitman’s infamous nude photo series. Putney found the photos of an older man arousing, an experience that eventually led to them exploring some complex daddy issues in the essay.
Putney weaves together their father’s history—he once confessed to having loved a man in the Air Force but “got over it”—with Whitman’s homoerotic poetics, also touching on the history of daddy-type gay male figures in poetry like Allen Ginsberg, who wrote a poem imagining a sexual tryst with Walt Whitman in a supermarket and pursued boys under the age of 18. These elements serve as a lens for Putney to unravel their own sexual identity, leading to a turning point in their selfhood.
spoke,” they said. “My dad forbade her from teaching my brother and me Tagalog, because he wanted us to be more American.”
In the first poem, “Heritage,” Putney writes, “home only makes sense if I say colonialism.”
As the book unfolds, Putney navigates the placeless intersections of their identities. In “Ani-mimetic Body,” they self-create through representations of masculinity—“can’t separate the urge to fuck / & to become”—and femininity—“laws of nature disappear to align / my flat chest with spiked rose … .” Ultimately, neither of those two gender expressions fully encapsulates their experience: “no, I’m yellow & more yellow, / infinity in the cosmos of my marrow.”
The book title, Mix-Mix, comes from the
“This book is quasi-documentary,” said Putney, adding that around a quarter of it is composed of found material.
The documentary style, blending personal and historical narratives, is influenced by Putney’s study of Filipino-American poetics and Southeast and East Asian art history during their time pursuing an English Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University. “List of Illustrations” consists of poems with empty boxes and captions, mimicking museum labels.
“I studied a lot of Filipino history through art,” Putney said. “The captions reference objects from the speakers’ or their parents’ lives. The redacted images reflect historical and personal absences—things intentionally hidden from me growing up.”
The troubling history of the fetishization of
Ultimately, the journey isn’t about their father, Whitman or Ginsberg, but about understanding their parents’ relationship and its impact on their own identity. Though their parents’ union was fraught, Putney recognizes their mother’s agency: “Ma chose to advertise herself in the Asian Romance catalog ... immigrating to California as a 24-year-old picture bride. She was an agent, my dad her collaborator.” Eventually, Putney acknowledged, “She and I have the same type.” In the end, Putney finds empowerment in their sexuality and non-binary identity, rejecting the cycles of harm and choosing transformation: “I refused to grow up, so I became non-binary. As a not-man, I avoid replicating my dad’s abuse. Instead of wielding violence, I transform it into cosmic energy. I’d rather be haunted than haunt.”
Dani Putney will be reading from their new book of poetry, Mix-Mix, at Mountain Music Parlor, 735 S. Center St., at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 24, as part of the National Poetry Month Reading Series. (Full disclosure: Max Stone will also be reading at the event.) Copies of Mix-Mix will be available at the Radical Cat and the Baobab Press webstore at bookshop.org/shop/ baobabpress.
FILM & TV
Dumb Disney
The live-action ‘Snow White’ is ill-conceived and poorly executed; nobody cares about the fun,
new Looney Tunes movie
animated characters). Now I have this new one, with its freaky animated dwarves, to give me nightmares.
The whole thing ends with, of all things, a Diddy-style white party. Seriously, Disney: You’re so paranoid about old-timey mannerisms in your movie that you completely rewrite the narrative, and you then end it with everybody dancing around in all-white clothes in a manner that will have everybody thinking “Diddy white party? How blind are you? Do you just want people to make fun of your movie at this point?
You can’t remake Snow White unless it’s a snarky, modern retelling, without the people with dwarfism, and with Amanda Bynes. (Actually, that didn’t work, either.) This Snow White is a grotesque, useless remake and money grab that is going to wind up being quite the opposite of a money grab: It’s a money pit, and Disney deserves to take its lumps.
That said, I’m still going to Disneyland in a couple of months. The blue milk in their Star Wars land is to die for.
There’s a new Looney Tunes movie. There’s a good chance you didn’t know that.
3
After significant postponements, the inevitable live remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (because Disney can’t leave well enough alone) is finally in theaters, simply titled Snow White. They don’t want you to be focusing on the likes of Sneezy and Dopey!
This is a movie they should’ve never touched. The original story simply doesn’t play well in modern times. No matter who you cast in a live action remake of Snow White set in the same time period, the whole thing is going to look and sound stupid.
Rachel Zegler, who plays the title character, is a fine actress and a great singer, but her hairdo and getup in this version of Snow White is hilariously lame. The dress looks like something you’d grab off the rack in one of those Disneyland souvenir shops, and her hairdo, which is missing the iconic red ribbon from the animated film, looks like somebody at her salon did her bad. Real bad. Are these petty complaints? Sure, but I cannot deny that the dress and hair made it hard for me to enjoy the film—and it’s not just the Snow White character. Everybody looks ridiculous, like they are in a spoof.
And these are the least of my gripes.
As for the dwarves (who do appear despite being left off the poster and marketing), they are presented here in CGI … bad, bad, bad CGI. They look monstrous, like somebody asked Chat GPT to make some Disney dwarves at the last minute. Dopey looks very much like Alfred E. Neuman of Mad Magazine.
After some comments from Peter Dinklage a few years ago, “and the Seven Dwarves” got dropped from the movie title, and Disney almost seems to be hiding the characters, like they are embarrassed about them. Hey, if you are that concerned about the dwarves in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, here’s a grand idea: Don’t do a live action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves! Yeah, you started filming it, but you could’ve sent it to the scrap heap before finishing it, just like HBO did with Batgirl. Disney can take that sort of financial knock.
Gal Gadot gives it her all as the Evil Queen, and you can’t help but feel bad for her. Her scenes are the most grounded in the film, and she’s got a nice singing voice. She’s having fun while we groan and roll our eyes. Zegler and Gadot’s decent voices can’t mask the fact that the new songs are conveyer-belt crappy confections.
The original Snow White used to scare the fucking shit out of me. Not because it was genuinely scary; I got creeped out by Snow White’s voice and was always turned off by rotoscoping (the art of painting over a live actor to create
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is the first fully animated, original Looney Tunes movie to get a theatrical release. It’s true! The other theatrical releases were either compilations of prior cartoons, or live-action/animated mixes like Space Jam
So, there you go: A full-blown animated Looney Tunes movie starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck (the crazed, classic version of Daffy Duck) is playing on the big screen. Of course, virtually no one is going to see it.
The set up is a little wacko: Porky and Daffy go up against alien forces who have polluted a popular bubble-gum brand with a mind-altering
BY BOB GRIMM
drug that turns the world’s population into zombies. Daffy, an unapologetic conspiracy theorist, is the only one who knows the truth, and it’s up to him to convince the world that the gum is dangerous. It’s all very silly, in a welcome sort of way.
The film looks great, with old-school-style animation that captures the classic Looney vibes. Porky and Daffy are always a solid screen pairing, and the approach here actually feels a little like classic Ren and Stimpy at times. The film is rated PG, and the humor ranges from juvenile fart jokes to downright sneaky, surprisingly vulgar adult humor.
The pacing is frantic, perhaps to a point where it becomes a little much and tedious in stretches. The patches where the film flattens out a bit are always rescued by a funny sight gag or an effective plot twist. It’s an overall good time, a cartoon parents will enjoy as much as kids. Fans of Looney Tunes won’t be let down.
I sat in a virtually empty theater on a Sunday afternoon, although there were a couple of young kids in the back row who laughed uproariously whenever somebody farted or there was a cartoon butt on the screen.
Originally intended for streaming on Max without a theatrical release, the film was sold to a different distributor by Warner Bros. during their recent shakeup. The movie probably should’ve stayed on home screens. It’s fun to see it on a big screen, but the smallish new distributor didn’t have the resources to market the movie properly. It sort of snuck into theaters quietly, at a strange time of year.
It looks like Warner Bros. is faced with the same dilemma Disney faces in trying to make the Muppets a big deal again. There have been some new Looney Tunes cartoons on Max, and this film was an attempt to go a notch bigger, but the public simply doesn’t seem very excited. This comes after the infamous abandonment of some other Warner Bros. films, including the live-action/animated combo Coyote vs. Acme.
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Rachel Zegler in Snow White.
A scene from The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.
RENO’S GRANDEST ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP
Cypress Hill with Reno Phil
Apr 4
Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium
Apr 5
Hollywood Undead & Tech N9ne
Apr 6
Meshuggah Apr 10
Kraftwerk Apr 11
Steel Panther Apr 12
Jordan Davis Apr 13
Naruto: The Symphonic
Experience Apr 16
Yachtley Crew Apr 18
Tony Hinchcliffe Apr 19
Kraftwerk Apr 21
RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles
Apr 24
Morrissey Apr 26
Sevendust Apr 27
Nikki Glaser May 1 & May 2
Brett Young May 3
Yelawolf May 9
Billy Currington May 16
Chris Isaak May 17
Lord Huron May 22
Eden Muñoz May 30
Drive-By Truckers & Deer Tick June 8
Felipe Esparza June 13
Little Feat & Pure Prairie League
June 15
St. Paul and The Broken Bones & The Wood Brothers June 19
Adam Ray Presents Dr. Phil Live
July 12
Brit Floyd ft Alan Parsons July 15 & 16
Alison Krauss & Union Station July 18
David Foster with Chris Botti July 20
Maoli July 22
Death Cab for Cutie July 24
Dropkick Murphys & Bad Religion
July 26
311 Aug 10
Luis Ángel “El Flaco” y Luis Antonio López “El Mimoso” Aug 22
Bailey Zimmerman Sept 12
The Princess Bride in Concert with Reno Phil Sep 24
RuPaul’s Drag Race Werq The World Tour 2025 Oct 4
Ninja Kidz Oct 26
Think Free!
FILM & TV
Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17. continued from Page 23
That film is virtually completed but remains in limbo. It stars Will Forte and John Cena, and is said to be quite good, but it has been shelved as a tax write-off. Batgirl (which featured another Michael Keaton return as Batman) and a Scooby-Doo movie were also scrapped despite being near completion.
It’s a shame. Daffy, Porky, the Coyote and the Roadrunner—all cartoon legends—are not catching any breaks. Has anybody younger than 15 even heard of Bugs Bunny?
It’s not just Daffy and Porky suffering; movie theaters as a whole continue to slump. This is not shaping up to be a good year, with Marvel movies underperforming, and films like Snow White being terrible. The summer has some good-looking stuff lined up, but Hollywood will definitely be playing catch-up for a good part of this year.
Director Bong Joon Ho follows up his 2019 Oscar triumph Parasite with an often-delayed weirdo of a movie in Mickey 17, a sometimes-funny sci-fi mess that feels like a bunch of ideas that never quite came together.
The movie is basically Duncan Jones’ Moon meets Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers, with a pinch of MAGA hate thrown in. The futuristic yarn stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey, a failed businessman who chooses to leave Earth as an “expendable,” meaning he will be a worker who will continuously die in the name of science and be reprinted as a clone.
He winds up on some sort of colony ship lead by Marshall, a Trump-like politician, and his wife, played by Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette. This allows the film to be both a clone comedy and political satire. That winds up being not such a great thing.
When one of Pattinson’s clones survives elimination, and another is printed, that leads to two Pattinsons onscreen. The two Mickeys are a little different, making them easy to tell them apart and allowing Pattinson to attempt to spread his acting wings. The complexities of having two slightly different versions of a person are glossed over due to the movie’s overstuffed plot.
The Starship Troopers vibe is due to the ship encountering a hive of bug-like creatures at its destination. The MAGA angle has a bit of fascist lean to it, also like Starship Troopers. OK, so Mickey 17 might be a misguided remake of Starship Troopers more than anything else.
The scenes Pattinson does with himself range from ingenious down to catastrophically bad. Ruffalo, a well-documented Trump hater, clearly has the man in his sights when concocting the maniacal, insecure Marshall, with Collette being a less obvious (but definite) nod to Melania. It’s alternately amusing and confusing.
Steven Yeun offers a slightly amusing performance as Mickey’s unreliable friend. The two share the first scene of the movie—which proves to be the best in the movie. The rest of the film does not deliver on the promise.
All of these vibes, nods to other films and directors, and the crazy performances get pushed into the editing room, and what comes out is something that has no center. It’s as if an editing contraption was fed a bunch of wild ideas; its stomach got upset; and it puked this movie all over the screen.
At times, the film plays like Kubrick sci fi, and at others, it feels like Brian De Palma’s The Bonfire of the Vanities. Yes, that’s a semi obscure reference, but I assure you: If you took the time to watch Mickey 17 and then chased it with The Bonfire of the Vanities, you’d know what I’m talking about. This film has ton of talent and has everything going in its direction, yet the result is totally whacked.
To say this is a disappointment would be an understatement, as Mickey 17 was one of 2025’s most anticipated films. Bong Joon Ho, and most everyone else involved, will recover from this, but you can bet studios will take a look at the results and tighten their purse strings when Oscar-winning directors come to the table with wild ideas. Get ready for more Pretty Woman remakes and that 15th Disney reboot of The Lion King
The movie was delayed nearly a year before it finally hit screens. Producers cited the various strikes as the reason, but whatever it was, Mickey 17 has all the markings of a troubled production lacking unity between writing and execution.
THE DISH
Mark Estee Founder of Local Food Group
In nearly three decades in the culinary world, Mark Estee has gone beyond the traditional role of chef to become a leader in Northern Nevada’s food scene. A Johnson and Wales University graduate, Estee first planted his culinary flag here in 2002. He co-founded Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats in Truckee and later established the Local Food Group, a company that includes Reno’s Liberty Food and Wine Exchange and Gardnerville’s Overland Restaurant and Pub. Great Basin Brewing Co., which Estee purchased in 2021, has initiated a “closed-loop food system” in partnership with Minden-based Park Ranch Meats, in which spent brewing grains feed locally cattle raised cattle. The goal is to create a sustainable, farm-to-table ecosystem that supports local ranchers, generates jobs and yields premium meats. Learn more at www.renolfg.com.
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten locally in the last month?
Beef tartare at Brasserie Saint James. There is something about raw beef and a great cocktail that gets me rolling.
Your kitchen is on fire.
(Metaphorically!) What are you cooking? Zampone, or cotechino—incredible sausages made from pork trimmings, cooked skin and warm spices, stuffed back into a boned pig’s foot, then braised for eight hours at a low temperature until it’s ready to crispy up and serve for the table.
Who is/was your strongest culinary influence?
Being from Boston, I always loved chefs who cooked with heart, soul and passion like Todd English and Jody Adams. As I moved West, I admired great chefs like Alice Waters and Paul Bertolli. But for me, the standard bearer has always been Thomas Keller (of the French Laundry) as
| BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ
a chef’s chef, one who takes on hospitality as a whole and not just cooking.
What is your go-to midnight snack?
Back in the day, I was up at midnight a lot more than I am now, and I was very fond of opening my fridge and making any version of chilaquiles—a quick, Mexican-influenced dish of eggs, tortillas, sauce and whatever else I could find in the fridge and pantry.
Which local restaurant deserves more attention, and why?
Thali is pretty badass. Serj (Johal) and his family use organic, local produce and products whenever they can. It is a very chill vibe over there, and the food is delicious!
How does food contribute to our community?
Food is the language of all. There are so many ways to answer this question and so many issues to discuss, but having access to great local food can lift a community. This means that we have access to local farmers’ markets, local produce in our grocery stores, and local products in our restaurants. Any amount, even a few items here or there, can make an impact.
What is the most unusual thing in your refrigerator right now?
Tie: a variety of piperade peppers that my friend Pam Zamora gave me, and three cans of tinned fish. The best news is that those two things on a piece of Liberty toast is my new favorite midnight snack.
Please share your favorite food memory from growing up
Cooking Sunday sauce with my dad. It’s hands-down my favorite memory, as he is a great cook, and he taught me the sauce recipe at a very young age. The smell of garlic and onions cooking brings me back to that memory all the time.
What is the one kitchen tool you can’t live without?
I love a good spoon and have many types for many reasons: a wooden one for sauces and risottos, Gray Kunz-style spoons for sauces and plating, and generic large share spoons that can twirl pasta and flip a steak!
If you could have dinner at any restaurant in the world tonight, where would it be, and why there?
Via Carota in New York City, with my wife, Kimberly. We would sit at the bar and eat and drink our way through the entire menu, then head over and see a Broadway show. The food there is gutsy, simple and exactly what we love to eat!
TASTE OF THE TOWN TASTE OF THE TOWN
Around town
In celebration of Easter, Noble Pie Parlor has invited Peter Rabbit to participate in an interactive pizza-making workshop for families. The event will take place on Saturday, April 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 777 S. Center St., Suite 100. Tickets start at $35 and include a personal pizza and beverage for one child and one adult, with alcoholic options available for adults 21 and over. Complimentary parmesan garlic fries will be served. An egg hunt and photo shoot with Peter Rabbit will add to the festivities. For more information or to purchase tickets, find “Peter Rabbit’s Pizza Workshop at Noble Pie Parlor Midtown” on Eventbrite.
Bubbles and Brews Reno Tahoe is a mobile bartending business owned and operated by Christine “CJ” Johnson, who runs her service out of a 1984 Toyota FJ45 Land Cruiser long-bed pickup named Farrah Faucet. The service is available for hire and offers beer, wine, cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages. Get all the details at bubblesandbrewsbar.com.
The Brewer’s Cabinet, the well-known brewpub located at 475 S. Arlington Ave., in Reno, has a new executive chef, Ryan Andrews, who brings with him more than 15 years of culinary experience. Follow the Brewer’s Cabinet at instagram.com/ brewers_cabinet, or view the full menu at thebrewerscabinet.com.
What’s new?
Ruby’s Shake Shop—a retro-themed diner chain serving American classics such as hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and milkshakes—opened on March 6 at 1703 N. Virginia St., across from the University of Nevada, Reno. Read more about the history of Ruby’s, founded more than 40 years ago, and browse the menu at rubys.com/shake-shop.
Pure Country Canteen, the country bar and dance hall formerly located in Sparks, celebrated its grand opening at 1537 S. Virginia St., in Reno, on March 21. Owner Cindy Peterson and her team welcomed guests to the new 8,100-squarefoot location, which caters to country music fans who enjoy a honky-tonk experience. The new space boasts a larger dance floor, a larger bar, an outdoor patio and the celebrated mechanical bull from the Sparks location, “Sir Loin.” Learn more at facebook.com/purecountrycanteen.
LIQUID CONVERSATIONS
| BY MICHAEL MOBERLY
Jered Caudle, general manager at The Eddy, pulls a pizza out of the oven. This year, the seasonal, outdoor bar in downtown Reno will add more options to the pizza menu and hire more staff to speed up production. Photo/David Robert
rate of 90% each season. A few years ago, they decided to focus on hiring the best barbacks they could, to support the bartenders contending with The Eddy’s large crowds. They found that the barbacks who flourished in this environment had the strong work ethic they were looking for in bartenders.
“We needed to focus mainly on our barbacks so they grow up to be better bartenders,” Caudle said. “If you’re going to work hard, and you’re fun to be around, you’re going to mix well with our staff, and with our return rate, we need you to mix well with our staff.”
As much as the community may view The Eddy as a college party from afar, Buckheart and Caudle corrected me when I referenced it as a college bar. “I could serve a 21-year-old’s birthday party and then a 60-year-old’s birthday party right next to each other,” Caudle said. “On any given day, the vibe is so different and unique here.”
Seasonal to perfection
The staff at The Eddy works hard each spring to spruce up after a winter hiatus
For the past nine years, The Eddy, located on the Reno riverwalk, has opened its doors as close to March 17 as possible—and closed them again whenever the weather becomes untenable. Any given Saturday afternoon in between, scores of people wait in line for a drink and a hang at what has become downtown Reno’s surrogate “best friend’s backyard.”
Guthrie’s Chicken, a chain known for its hand-breaded chicken fingers, opened in Carson City at the beginning of March. Located at 480 Old Clear Creek Road, Guthrie’s offers a menu with Southern-incontinued on next page
It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to transform this haven of chill from its winterized, dormant state (after closing in December) into the bustling beer garden beloved by locals. I caught up with co-owner Phil Buckheart and general manager Jered Caudle during a cleaning session to chat about what it takes to get the Eddy open, what it is like to staff and run one of Reno’s busiest bars, and how it feels to be the kings of chill for nine years running.
“We lay out our early February timeline
of what needs to happen to be open right during March; our goal is always Paddy’s Day weekend, rain or snow, no matter what,” Caudle said. Opening a dormant bar is not as simple as just opening the gates and turning on the music. More than 350 working hours are needed to get the place up and running for the season. The Eddy is home to three separate bars, bocce ball courts, cornhole courts, astroturf lawns and seating that all needs to be cleaned, inspected and painted.
“Every year, we get better and better,” Buckheart said. He attributes part of the bar’s success to the team’s collaborative nature. “Management has good ideas, and our bar staff crushes that, where our bar staff has good ideas, and we can take those and crush those, too,” he said. “It just trickles down the whole way, and without that, I don’t think it would be the success that it is.”
The Eddy staff keeps returning for more. The managers report an employee retention
But wherever there are warm summer nights, young people will be out partying, and The Eddy has a reputation with college kids. “Since day one, we’ve fought fake IDs,” Buckheart said, boasting about how large their collection of fake IDs is at the end of each season. “Even the city acknowledges it. The police acknowledge it.”
In its ninth season, The Eddy has no plans to slow down. This year, the managers will add some new things in an effort to bring folks downtown. They have acquired the pizza restaurant located in a shipping container in the corner of their space, which a third-party operator previously ran.
“We are targeting all the complaints we have heard about the pizza in the past to make service faster and the pizza better,” said Caudle, who has previous pizza experience. The new pizza concept will have an updated menu and more staff to ensure customers get their pizza hot. The Eddy will also be debuting new, ticketed live music offerings, focusing on popular regional acts people request.
Things may change in downtown Reno, but The Eddy will continue to strive to bring the undeniable Northern Nevada summer feeling to the people. Caudle said it best at the end of the day: “You’ll feel a cool vibe with good music and sunshine with people hanging out with a beer in their hand. Not much else matters more than that, right?”
The Eddy is located at 16 S. Sierra St., in Reno. Learn more at theeddyreno.com.
California dreaming
The Lincoln Wine Fest highlights the Sierra Foothills’ burgeoning wine industry
The greater Reno area has several fun and exciting wine events, among them the Reno Wine Walk, the Carson City Wine Walk and Tahoe Wine and Feast. I enjoy all these events, but I also love going to wine festivals where I can sip and savor wines from various participating wineries. Reno is positioned perfectly to allow us the beauty, activity and peacefulness of high desert living—while living within short drives to world-class wine regions.
Spring is coming, but as we know here in Reno, spring comes slow, in bits and spurts. I noticed a daffodil blooming in mid-March, and I’m looking forward to the
warmer days ahead. But in Lincoln, Calif.— just a short, two-hour drive from Reno—spring is already in full bloom, and there is an April wine festival there.
For more than a decade, the Lincoln Wine Fest has been the toast of Placer County, bringing together wine enthusiasts, regional artisans and community spirit in a celebration that’s as vibrant as it is vintage. Lincoln Wine Fest is a Rotary Club of Lincoln-sponsored community event. The hope is for attendees to discover a new favorite spot and experience the charm of historic downtown Lincoln.
The festival was started to highlight the region’s burgeoning wine industry. Placer
| BY STEVE NOEL
Proceeds from the Lincoln Wine Fest, produced by the Rotary Club of Lincoln, Calif., support community initiatives.
County boasts an array of award-winning wines that showcase the best of the Sierra Foothills from wineries in Auburn, Newcastle, Loomis, Lincoln, Rocklin and Granite Bay. The festival’s early years saw a modest but dedicated following, with wine tastings, music, local restaurants, boutiques and other retailers.
As the years passed, the festival grew in popularity, attracting visitors from across the region. Today, it’s a sell-out event that brings hundreds of people to downtown Lincoln, eager to sample the latest vintages from local wineries—and breweries, too.
Beyond the wine, the festival is a showcase for local artisans and businesses. Visitors can browse through shops offering everything from handmade crafts to antiques. The event also features live music and a wine garden in Beermann Plaza.
Proceeds from the festival support local initiatives, underscoring the Rotary Club of Lincoln’s mission to give back to the community. The event’s popularity has also helped boost local businesses, with many retailers reporting increased foot traffic and sales following the festival.
“A long-time retailer told me at a previous event, ‘This is by far the best event for Lincoln businesses,’” said Joann Hilton, of the Lincoln Rotary. “This event brings people in through the doors, and that is what we’re trying to do. That’s why we do it. We do it as a community service, not a fundraiser. Our desire is to have people visit and enjoy our wonderful historic downtown.”
As organizers prepares for the festival’s 12th edition on April 26, excitement is building. This year promises to be bigger than ever, with new tasting spots and an expanded lineup of wineries and breweries. VIP tickets offer early access and exclusive perks. This is a must-attend for both curious and serious wine enthusiasts.
In the spirit of community and camaraderie, the Lincoln Wine Fest invites all to join in the fun. Whether you’re a seasoned oenophile or just looking for a unique day out, this event has something for everyone. Mark your calendars; grab your friends; and get ready to sip, shop and savor the best of Placer County.
The Lincoln Wine Festival takes place from 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 26, Beermann Plaza, 640 Fifth St., in downtown Lincoln, Calif. VIP access starts at 12:30 p.m. Advance tickets start at $55.20, with military and designated-driver discounts. For tickets and information, visit www.lincolnwinefest.org.
TASTE OF THE TOWN TASTE OF THE TOWN
continued from Page 26 spired items such as Texas toast, coleslaw and sweet tea, alongside its chicken and dipping sauce. In addition to its dining hall, the drive-through is open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week. Read the story of Guthrie’s at guthrieschicken.com. Off Center Bagels opened inside Lillo Eatery at 3594 W. Plumb Lane, in Reno, at the beginning of March. Off Center prepares a wide variety of hand-rolled, maltboiled bagels, an assortment of cream cheeses and a variety of pastries and café beverages. For the latest information and updates, follow on Instagram at www. instagram.com/offcenterbagels, or visit offcenterbagels.com.
Father-and-daughter team Jeremy and Lyric Morrow hosted the grand opening of their new restaurant, Bayou Bites, on Feb. 22. Located inside the Grid Market and Brewery at 2030 Reno Highway, Suite B, in Fallon, Bayou Bites is a Cajun-influenced eatery featuring menu items such as po-boys (the fried green tomato po-boy is puctured above), poutine and beignets. For more information, call 775-423-0408, or find their page on Facebook.
With an established presence on Los Altos Parkway in Sparks, Flour Bakery recently opened a second location at 9570 S. McCarran Blvd., Suite 109, in Reno, where its bakers create custom cakes and cake by the slice. In particular, Flour is known for its Basque cheesecakes— chocolate, vanilla and matcha being their signature flavors. To inquire about custom preparations, call 775-470-5866, or visit flourreno.com.
Have local food, drink or restaurant news? Email foodnews@renonr.com. —Alex Cubbon
MUSICBEAT
Orchestral hip-hop
Cypress Hill gets an assist from the Reno Philharmonic for a show at the Grand Sierra Resort
The Reno Philharmonic is gearing up to perform with … legendary rap group Cypress Hill.
Yes, you read that right! Cypress Hill is headed to town to perform alongside the Reno Philharmonic for an evening of classically-elevated hip-hop. Classics you know and love like “How I Could Just Kill a Man” and “Insane in the Brain” get in touch with their orchestral side, and audiences are in for a treat of nonstop musical transformations.
Cypress Hill and the Reno Philharmonic will perform at the Grand Sierra Resort at 8 p.m., Friday, April 4.
“We have been doing selective symphony shows,” said Cypress Hill percussionist Eric “Bobo” Correa during a recent phone interview. “We’ve done four so far in the States, and now, starting off this year with Reno, we have a few lined up. It’s not exactly a full symphony tour, but … the cities that we have been performing in, we perform with the symphony of that town.”
Correa had high praise for each orchestra with which the rap group has performed, as rehearsal time is very limited.
“I think that we’re going to meet earlier that day of the show and run through things really quick,” Correa said. “If we’re able to get a rehearsal beforehand, that would
be great. That’s always a plus. Usually … they just run through it with us the day of the show, and we get it down, and everything is pretty, pretty straightforward.”
Orchestra music has always been on Correa’s radar, but these symphony collabs have increased the percussionist’s appreciation.
“In college, I was in the symphonic band and wind-ensemble things,” he said. “I dabbled in it, and from then on, my appreciation for classical music has grown. When I’m traveling, I’m learning about different composers and things like that. To do something like this was just another level up, because these are the serious players right there. They could play through everything. When you get a chance to play with some pristine players, it makes you get on your A-game. I definitely love the performing part of it, and my appreciation for classical music has now grown extensively.”
Of course, I had to bring up The Simpsons tie-in: In 1996, the episode “Homerpalooza” featured Cypress Hill. During a backstage moment at a music festival, a crew member says, “Somebody ordered the London Symphony Orchestra. Possibly while high. Cypress Hill, I’m looking in your direction.” The group then performed a symphonic version of “Insane in the Brain.”
“I’m not going to say that it never would have happened (if not for the joke on The
Simpsons), but it definitely was a seed,” Correa said. “If we watered it enough, the possibility would be there. When conversation between us and the London Symphony Orchestra was going on via Twitter in 2017, that’s when the idea started to get a little bit more serious than just the Simpsons thing.”
Cypress Hill tweeted The Simpsons quote back in 2017, and soon after, the London Symphony Orchestra replied. What followed was a short back-and-forth on Twitter about working together, leading the members of Cypress Hill to begin serious talks about a musical collaboration.
“‘What if we did this? How would we do it? How would we approach it? What would we do?’” Correa said. “Who knows if we would have really done it to this magnitude (if not for The Simpsons joke)? But it’s been something great for us.”
On July 10, 2024, Cypress Hill took the Royal Albert Hall stage and finally performed with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Correa said the orchestras add to Cypress Hill’s music in a “cinematic way,” and explained how the group’s music, specifically hit album Black Sunday, fares in an orchestral setting.
“It was always a dark album, and I think that we were able to get that through the arrangements,” Correa said. “(Conductor/arranger) Troy Miller really transformed the mood and translated
BY MATT
it into a classical format. After that, we thought, ‘What other songs could we do?’ In some of our songs, the original versions already lend themselves to strings and orchestral kind of stuff, so it was a meeting-in-the middle solution.”
Some of Cypress Hill’s hits will take on new arrangements in this unique concert setting, but the staple melodies and beats of the hip-hop classics will remain.
“Classical music has been used in the sampling of hip-hop forever, so it’s not that it’s anything too new, but it’s the thing of taking these songs and making these different arrangements, which is a different twist,” Correa said. “We’ve taken key sounds and key elements of the songs, so when you hear a song, you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s the sound.’ It’s not all that different. I think that with hip-hop, we’re used to some of the sounds that are there, and without them, it can get lost, so we made sure that we were able to not have that happen.”
Of course, Cypress Hill’s symphony shows are very different from the usual orchestra experience.
“It’s not uncommon to see people dancing in the aisles,” he said. “It’s wild, because at a traditional symphonic concert, you’re sitting down, and you’re chilling. It’s been a great reception so far. People are tripping out on how the music is translating, and if you have video or lights going on with it, it can set a mood. If you’re feeling a little stone-y, it helps for the elevation.”
The boom-bap sounds of 1996 hit “Illusions” has been a particularly special song to get transformed by the symphonies.
“We’ve been doing that song in a few different ways,” Correa said. “The way that it was translated made me think, ‘This is a beautiful thing that we’re doing.’ The whole lot of songs are great, and plus, I get to perform in a suit. I’ve been onstage and done it the grunge way, and now I get to do it in a really nice, threepiece-suit way.”
Correa invited “musically open” folks to experience Cypress Hill and the Reno Philharmonic.
“If you’re a hip-hop purist, this might not be your bag,” he said. “If you want a certain feeling like that, that’s cool, but be open to how this translates. This can even become a new genre—putting together orchestra and hip-hop and coming up with new music like that.”
Cypress Hill will perform with the Reno Philharmonic at 8 p.m., Friday, April 4, at the Grand Sierra Resort, at 2500 E. Second St., in Reno. Tickets start at $49.50. For tickets and more information, visit www. grandsierraresort.com.
Cypress Hill. Photo/Eitan Miskevich
| BY MATT JONES JONESIN'
“It’s Free Real Estate”—a themeless expanse.
By Matt Jones
Across
1. Sgt.’s superior
5. Lost and trying to find a way out, maybe
12. 2025 Best Picture Oscar winner
14. Counter offers?
15. “Broadway Joe”
17. Rhapsodizes
18. Something to run for
20. Not entirely
21. Lab enclosure
23. Graham McPherson, in Madness
26. Like tougher steaks, maybe
28. Syllabus segment
29. “Too much excitement!”
31. Girls5___ (Busy Philipps sitcom)
32. Grand Theft
Auto: ___ Andreas
33. Stannic metal
34. Station where you scan your own groceries, for short
35. Hideaway
36. ’70s hoops grp.
37. M
40. Middle range
42. Temperance, e.g.
43. Preserves
45. Episode I villain
47. “Getting to Know You” musical locale
49. Mount acrobatically, as a horse
50. Being
53. Actress Reeves of Slow Horses
54. Pretty close
55. Obsolescent
56. Workplace of 2024 sitcom character Dr. Ron Leonard
57. Distress signals, plural (and yeah, it’s the preferred spelling but looks weird)
Find the answers in the “About” section at RenoNR.com!
Sophie Woodhouse makes fairy music. Her reverb-soaked falsetto evokes siren-like melodies, and the dreamy yet alluring quality continues through slightly crunchy guitars, slow drums and ethereal production. The artist has been exploring more new-wave sounds recently, and her latest single, “Backyard,” mixes her patented, haunting vocals with gloomy ’80s bass and drums. Her unique mix and distinctive voice have led to viral attention, with almost 150,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Her songs have been used in more than 100,000 TikToks as of this writing. For more information, visit www.instagram.com/doll.wings.
What was the first concert you attended? It was definitely Blondie, opened by The Cars! I still hold the excitement I felt when my dad told me he’d gotten tickets. The former was my first favorite group, so (for it) to have been my first show is special!
What was the first album you owned? In a perfect tie-in moment, my first CD was Blondie’s Plastic Letters at Christmas when I was, like, 7. My first vinyl record was the bright-blue punk classic, the self-titled Adolescents. Perfection.
What bands are you listening to right now? Lately, I’ve been on a huge Chet Baker, Billie Holiday and Françoise Hardy kick. Haunting melancholic genius in such simple, elegant ways.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? I like to believe there are far more things I like rather than dislike, but I just can’t get behind any variation of Taylor Swift, or the “modern” version of country music. Those worlds aren’t for me! Even ironically, I just can’t do it.
| BY MATT KING
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? How deeply I’d have loved to witness David Bowie, especially during his Ziggy era! Elvis in his prime would be naturally unforgettable, also.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? I’m not too shy about what I like, but the closest thing might be in moments spent revisiting music I loved as a pre-teen, like Lily Allen. I still know all the words to her first two albums, many of which I probably wouldn’t sing too loudly in public!
What’s your favorite music venue?
Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, or The Fonda in Hollywood—they’re so ghostly! Around these parts, you’ll find me happily head-bobbing at the Holland Project, Midnight Coffee and Lo-Bar! I can’t get enough of live shows.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
“I won’t hurt you, I won’t hurt you,” from the 1967 song of the same name, by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. It’s a lullaby on repeat!
What band or artist changed your life? How? I grew up loving Nancy Sinatra and still credit her artistry for offering endless inspiration to me. Embracing my femininity, being playful, and using songs and fashion as storytelling—it’s like living in a movie, full of film grain and edgy softness.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? To Björk: What did you last dream about, and what did the dream sound like?
What song would you like played at your funeral? How about “Desire Lines” by Deerhunter? That’d be a warm little funeral tune, wouldn’t it? An ethereal build and otherworldly fade, like how life and sleep should be.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? This hurts. There’s so many! Keep the weapon there, because I’m gatekeeping my No. 1 … with a smile!
What song should everyone listen to right now? “It’s Too Much,” by FKA Fingers. They are the best-kept secret of a rising gem here in Reno, and I hope they make it into everyone’s ears, everywhere. Do yourself a favor!
Megan Andrews
Commercial horticulture program coordinator at the University of Nevada, Reno, Extension
Megan Andrews—the commercial horticulture program coordinator at the University of Nevada, Reno, Extension— was born in England and spent her early childhood there. Her family then moved to Michigan, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in entomology from Michigan State University. She moved to Reno about three years ago and says that she loves the mountains here. This April, the Extension is offering free “Grow Your Own, Nevada!” classes on growing food in our region. The classes are held online Tuesday and Thursday evenings and cover topics including drip irrigation, fruit tree care and “Growing the Best Tomatoes.” Beginners and experienced gardeners are welcome. To register, visit extension.unr. edu/grow-your-own/default.aspx.
What are some of the challenges that surprise our new residents?
Our soils here are one of the most challenging parts of growing here. We are a desert state, and due to this, we don’t have the lush soils that can be found on the East Coast. We are typically missing the organic matter in our soil that our plants need to grow. We have a lot of clayrich and sandy soils here, both of which benefit from having organic matter mixed into them. And you have to be pretty consistent in watering your plants in this hot and dry climate.
What advice would you have for somebody who has a green thumb? What advice would you have for somebody who doesn’t have a green thumb for growing here in Northern Nevada? A lot of our new residents are finding that the green thumbs that they previously had are now struggling due to our desert climate. When it comes to starting a garden, it’s important to get the basics
| BY DAVID ROBERT
down and learn about how to properly water your plants. I would say to all of our gardeners—to those who have a green thumb, and those who don’t—that they’ll tend to have issues with irrigation here. We will be teaching a drip-irrigation class this year so that those who have come from a rainier state can learn about how to properly irrigate their plants, while also going through maintenance for our long-standing residents.
One thing that I’ve noticed about living here in Northern Nevada for many years is that there are little microenvironments. You can grow certain plants in the Old Southwest neighborhood that you can’t up in ArrowCreek, and vice versa. Absolutely. We deal with a ton of microclimates here. There are some areas here with lovely soil, like near the Truckee River, and then there are some areas here that you’re going to have to amend your soil, and it’s going to be a labor of love to do that, so it depends a lot on what you’re growing. Also, the wind is a factor, too. We aren’t able to teach to everyone’s specific gardens, but we will teach the groundworks for the gardeners to then take home and be able to apply to their gardens. A lot of learning how to garden here is trial and error. It’s a rough process, but it really does pay off.
What other challenges are there to growing vegetables and plants in the high desert?
I’m an entomologist, and I have both my undergraduate and master’s degrees from Michigan State in entomology. I get a lot of questions, and I have to say that what I get the most complaints about is squash bugs, and how they’re just such a persistent pest here. There aren’t many chemicals out there that will kill the adults. Everyone loves being able to have their pumpkins in the fall, but squash bugs are a menace to that dream. Pest problems can be very localized, and your control methods will depend on your own values and as well as the environment that you live in. You just have to have really good sanitation practices growing your pumpkins and your cucumbers, which sucks, because everyone loves to grow pumpkins. You have to implement sanitation methods such as finding and killing egg patches. It can be really tough to get rid of them. Also, there are other pests that thrive in dry environments, such as white flies, spider mites and Mormon crickets. I will talk more about solutions to these pests in my class. But this goes back to the point we were talking about earlier about irrigation: A well-irrigated plant is often much better at fending off other pests and problems.
THE COUNTDOWN TO THE EGGSTRAVAGANZA HAS BEGUN
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 28 | Event on April 19–20
Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes one of our favorite annual traditions — the Easter Eggstravaganza! Bring the whole family for the ultimate,
Tickets sell fast hop to your calendar and mark it for March 21! Scan or visit CarsonRailroadMuseum.org to buy tickets.
