Today’s struggles with food security; tomorrow’s digital ‘RN&R’
Welcome to the November RN&R!
As we sent this issue to press, it did not look like the government shutdown was likely to end anytime soon. I’m concerned for the furloughed workers. Finances are so tight for Transportation Security Administration employees around the country that, in Las Vegas and other cities, airports now have impromptu food banks and donation bins.
I’m also worried about the half-million Nevadans who almost certainly are not getting their SNAP benefits in November. But I do appreciate Mark Earnest’s cover story on Page 12. He spoke with people who provide food aid and other services in our region about exactly which services they’ve had to cancel as a result of federal budget cuts and executive orders.
In other news: The next RN&R, the December issue, will be our last regular print edition. You can read more about the details in Jimmy Boegle’s Note from the Publisher on Page 4.
I’m wistful to bid farewell to the actual, IRL, hardcopy newspaper, but I also know that the way news is disseminated has always been changing. Remember the Gutenberg press? Remember town criers? OK, I don’t either. But I do remember the days before cable news and the 24-hour news cycle shook the Earth. (I was 9.) Things have changed a lot since then. But independent, local news is still here. At RenoNR.com, we will keep bringing you news and perspective, along with the most comprehensive arts and culture coverage you’ll find in these parts. We’re going to need your help, though. To-do list item No. 1: Please sign up for our email newsletters at renonr.com, if you’re not already getting them.
And when you’re done reading this issue, put a note on your calendar to pick up the December issue in a month. We have something special planned for you, and it’s going to be a keeper.
—KRIS
VAGNER krisv@renonr.com
LETTERS
Introducing a new news literacy group
Email letters to letters@renonr.com
Today’s media landscape is increasingly difficult to navigate. It’s challenging to distinguish news from opinion, or truth from falsehood, or to spot outright propaganda. It’s the same for political coverage, science, the environment or medicine. Many legacy media outlets are no better than social media. All of that has led to deep divisions in our society, and a growing distrust of all media and of each other.
Gallup reports that only 28% of U.S. adults have “a great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media. Pew Research found majorities in both parties say Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on basic facts. Pew Research Center notes, “Among this group, 67% say a major reason is that partisan voters are interpreting the same information differently. And 53% say a major reason is that Republican and Democratic voters are getting different information altogether.”
It’s enough to make one want to just give up. But a vibrant, functioning democracy requires all of us to be well-informed and engaged in the process. How do we bridge these gaps? If we do not agree on basic
facts, how can we have productive conversations and make meaningful decisions?
Fortunately, there is a new local nonprofit project tackling those issues. Citizens from a variety of professions and viewpoints have formed the News Literate Community Initiative (NLCI), which is fiscally sponsored by AHA Projects, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It is my honor to serve as NLCI’s organizing chair. We invite you to join us.
To learn more and help us design strategies to fight “truth decay” contact me at Jody@ nlcwashoe.org.
Jody Baden Reno
Symptoms of fascism
Regarding “The Trump administration has declared all-out war on the First Amendment,” RN&R, October 2025: Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over the Kamala Harris interview. Trump pulled funding from NPR and PBS. Trump may have had Stephen Colbert cancelled (as of May 2026). Trump and Brendan Carr tried to have Jimmy Kimmel cancelled. Trump called for the cancellation of Seth Meyers. Trump called for the cancellation of Jimmy Fallon. Trump stated he wanted the licenses revoked for any network that says something
bad about him (on Air Force One coming back from United Kingdom, as reported by the BBC and CBS). Trump and Pete Hegseth implemented a new rule: News media with Pentagon press credentials can’t publish Pentagon news without prior approval.
This is an all-out war against the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment carried out by those who want America to have a fascist government.
Keep in mind that there are GOP senators and congresspeople that are horrified by this behavior, too.
Mining must adhere to environmental requirements
Regarding “Opponents say new mining-permit process is shutting out the public,” RN&R, October 2025: This is outrageous!
This mining project mustn’t be exempted from due National Environmental Policy Act requirements regarding its effects upon the natural ecosystem, plant and animal species, and our own human lives!
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Contributors
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GUEST COMMENT
BY B AND CATHY FULKERSON
Fellow boomers, join the resistance
This is the darkest moment for our country and our planet in our lifetimes—by a large margin. We’re watching our democracy flicker and falter. We’re seeing our planet on the brink of irreversible climate chaos. As older Americans who are closer to the exit than the entrance, we have very little time to waste.
Three years ago, Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Many of the images from that decision appropriately featured young women, since their lives would be upended. But for us older folks, it was a profound psychic shock, because the right to choose was a fundamental aspect of our lives for five or more decades.
As Baby Boomers, we were raised with vivid lessons on the dangers of totalitarianism and autocracy. Watching Trump usher in authoritarianism, enabled by the likes of Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei and Gov. Joe Lombardo, goes against our deep-seated beliefs that American values, which our father fought for, are fundamentally opposed to fascism.
Older people have been turning out in massive numbers at anti-Trump protests like Hands Off! and No Kings. We speak out against anti-trans hatred, because a hallmark of democracy is equal dignity and equal rights. And we are practicing allyship to stand up for our immigrant neighbors.
We need a new president and a new governor who respect the rule of law and govern as if climate change were real. Almost immediately after taking office, Gov. Lombardo appointed a lobbyist for Southwest Gas to run the state energy office, pulled Nevada from the U.S. Climate Alliance, and gutted the state climate plan to make it more compatible with the profit motives of his rich donors at NV Energy.
We also saw a new environmental awakening with passage of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and other bipartisan efforts to ensure our grandkids and future generations had a shot at a healthy planet. We assumed progress would continue. As we witness Trump’s unprecedented, merciless assault on the environment and public health, we are shocked and saddened.
It would be easy to grow bitter or to numb ourselves to cope with these catastrophic reversals. But we are not going gently into that good night. We’re finding community and hope through shared purpose and collective action.
Anyone who has listened to John Prine’s “Hello in There” knows about the epidemic of loneliness that affects older people. That’s why we appreciate joy and relationship-building. We also use ridicule and humor to mock fascism. When Trump sidekick Steven Miller boasted about using military force against U.S. citizens in our nation’s capital and said, “It’s all going great, except there’s all these elderly hippies out in the streets protesting us, and they should go home and take a nap,” we joined scores of seniors from Third Act, a national progressive organization of people 60 and older, to post videos of us awakening from our naps and heading to a protest.
STREETALK
How have rising grocery prices affected you and your decisions?
BY DAVID ROBERT
Asked at McQueen Crossings Shopping Center, 1640 Robb Drive, Reno
In 2024, then-candidate Donald Trump told oil oligarchs that for a billion-dollar campaign donation, he would give them anything they wanted. They ended up ponying up about a half-billion. They’ve gotten more than they could ever dream of. This year in August, the Trump administration halted construction on a wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that was 80% completed—a federal judge overturned the order in September and cancelled one of the world’s largest solar projects, right here in Nevada, without a peep from Lombardo.
Ten thousand Americans turn 65 every day, according to the AARP, and on average, we’ll live another 23 years. There is no known force on Earth that will keep us from voting. And you can bet we’ll do all we can to keep Amodei, Lombardo and Trump’s successors from getting elected!
We’re active in and support many worthy organizations, from the Sierra Club to Indivisible to PLAN. We’ve found a home in Third Act, founded in 2021 by Bill McKibben to organize older Americans into a force for progressive change.
Nevada is in desperate need of more ordinary people rising up to wrest our state and country from the forces of authoritarianism and climate denial. The actions taken by those of us who are alive today will impact hundreds of generations to come. Find a group that is working on solutions—and dive in.
The Fulkerson siblings, born in 1957 (Cathy) and 1960 (B) and raised in Reno, are proud Army brats who deeply love their country, planet and community. Cathy is the facilitator of Third Act Nevada, and B is Third Act’s national organizing director.
Tish Lopez Cosmetologist
Being a single mom, rising prices have been a challenge. The costs are adding up more and more each week. I pay $180 a week in daycare, and I also have to send food with my child to daycare. There are strict dietary guidelines that I have to follow, so I can’t cut back on the healthier foods that are more expensive. I mainly work for tips, and I don’t know how someone could work for just wages and no tips in this economy.
Elliot Ferris Plumber
I have a wife and family. We have two kids, and the cost of food has risen dramatically. We eat a lot of eggs and beef for our protein. We’re always looking for deals, and that’s nearly impossible. Costs are over the top. Each political party has said that they’re going to fix the problem, but I don’t see a chance anytime in the near future.
Jonathan Dixon Table games dealer
The prices make it tough. Some food products are coming in smaller packaging with smaller quantities at a higher price—shrinkflation. And wages aren’t keeping up with the difference. At a casino in Vegas, a small bottle of water now costs $9!
Chloe Barraza Medical assistant
Prices directly affect the way I choose to spend my money. I don’t shop at a major grocery store anymore, even though it’s closer to my house. I’ll drive to shop at discount stores even though they’re farther away. My girlfriend gets a discount at the grocery store where she works, and I have roommates, which helps out with costs. But without them, I’d have to move back home. I don’t want to do that; I value my independence.
Dena Kelati
Cashier/stocker
It’s changed my budgeting, and I’m now more mindful of how I spend my money. I’m buying fewer groceries and less nutritious food. It’s easier to go get a quick, cheap fast-food meal. I still buy groceries for my house, but I’m buying more processed foods that will last on the shelf longer—less healthy, but more cost-effective.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Farewell to the monthly print edition. Long live the ‘RN&R’!
Our next print edition, the December issue, will be the last regular RN&R in print.
Newspapers have a habit of trying to spin negative developments—layoffs, getting acquired by profit-hungry corporations, frequency decreases, etc.—as positives. While there is positive news about the RN&R that I’ll get to in a bit, I’m not going to spin the end of our monthly print edition: It stinks. We still print 25,000 of these each month, and almost all of them are picked up, throughout Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Gardnerville, Minden, Truckee and all around Tahoe.
To those of you who depend on our print edition for a monthly dose of news: I’m sorry. But due to increased costs, a decrease in print advertising and various other factors (like the absence of a web printer in Northern Nevada since 2022), the monthly losses are increasing—and I don’t have deep pockets. In fact, to overextend the metaphor, my pockets are rather shallow, and we’ll lose at least $4,000 on this issue you’re holding in your hands. Given the situation our country is in right now, I don’t see the economic conditions getting better before they get much worse. Having said all that, this isn’t entirely the end of print for the RN&R. Our current plan
is to continue printing our Best of Northern Nevada issue each September, with the Best Of content and more. We may also do an occasional themed print edition here and there; time will tell. And, hey, if someone wants to write us a big check to stay in print regularly for another year or two, we’re game—and we can take tax-deductible donations via our fiscal sponsor!
Now, for the aforementioned positive news: While our regular print edition will end after next month’s edition, the RN&R will continue online, at RenoNR.com and via our newsletters.
While our print advertising has been decreasing, digital revenue is on the rise. It’s nowhere near where I’d like it to be, or where we really need it to be, but it’s way up from where it was when we were digital-only before resuming print in mid-2022. That revenue, combined with reader support—and I thank each and every one of you who has sent us money,
as we have truly needed it, and will now need it as much as ever—will allow us to continue publishing.
After we put the December issue to bed, Kris and I will start making adjustments. We will make some tweaks, but most of our regular features will remain the same, and most of our fantastic writers will remain part of the RN&R We’ll adjust some deadlines to make sure there’s a steady flow of amazing local news published at RenoNR.com.
On the newsletter side, we’ll continue sending (and publishing at RenoNR.com) longtime RN&R calendar editor Kelley Lang’s events roundup, 11 Days a Week, each Wednesday. We’ll keep sending our newsy Editor’s Newsletter every Thursday. In the new year, we’ll add at least one more weekly newsletter, maybe more.
In other words: The Reno News & Review is not going anywhere. In the not-to-distant fu-
| BY JIMMY BOEGLE
ture, we hope to do even more local news, arts/ music coverage and food writing than we’re doing now—it’ll just all be published digitally. To continue doing so, we’ll need support from you, dear readers; learn more renonr.com/ support-our-publication, or scan the QR code in the center. The more advertising and reader support we receive, the more local coverage we can do.
I know there are a lot of you out there who don’t read the RN&R, or any other news publication, online. To all of you: If there’s anything we can do to help you transition to reading us online, call us at 775-324-4440, or email me at jimmyb@ renonr.com. Again, I am so sorry, but we did the best we could to stay in print for as long as we could—and we will still be in print at least once a year. I am proud that we were able to make one of the best post-COVID-19 newspaper comebacks in the country, to give Northern Nevada, as of the December issue, 43 more print editions.
Thanks to all of you read us in print, and a huge thanks to all of the longtime print advertisers who have stuck with us throughout multiple years. I hope you all will join us at RenoNR.com.
Welcome to the November 2025 Reno News & Review print edition. Thank you for reading.
ON NEVADA BUSINESS
A year of growth
Three local startups we profiled in 2024 share their success stories
For nearly three years in this column, I’ve shared stories of Nevada businesses and the people who operate them. This month, I’m revisiting some of the founders and businesses I previously profiled to see what has gone as predicted—and, more importantly, how they’ve pivoted.
Locally, fellow entrepreneurs are looking for ways to cut costs and maximize revenues, believing that growth may be slow until the current negative economic factors ease—including but not limited to tariffs, the government shutdown, interest rates, private investment, IPOs and the cost of capital.
Let’s start with Forml, which I profiled in April 2024. The brother/sister team of Satchel and Shaine Hirsh—University of Nevada, Reno, grads—have built a system that uses your data to create customized models that can solve whatever problem you throw at it. (See “A new generation of entrepreneurs: A Reno brother-sister team’s new business is making AI more customized and user-friendly,” RN&R, May 2024.)
Recall that they were focused on banking. “Our whole goal is to let anyone fully understand, analyze and get the most out of their data,” Satchel shared back in our 2024 interview. “We’re commoditizing (machine learning) and letting people who otherwise couldn’t reap those cool benefits access them in the best way and easiest way.”
So, what’s up with them now? “Our product has evolved and expanded quite a bit, and that has led to more long-term enterprise customer deals,” Satchel said. The high-level description is as follows: Operate and scale your enterprise while reducing costs. Use artificial and real intelligence to drive adaptive operations. This is how you dominate.
According to Satchel, “Forml unifies all of your data, across all sources and types, consolidating and understanding business context to run workflows and execute custom actions end-to-end. Leaner teams can operate and expand efficiently.”
The company’s features and benefits have grown along with the team. Forml now has a deep-learning engineer, 22 years old, who came from NASA. He also went to UNR for his undergrad! The other teammate, who is 20, is from the University of California, Berkeley, with an econ background, who is assisting with go-to-market initiatives and other growth tasks. That makes Satchel the old guy at 23, and Shaine is now a seasoned 20-year-old co-founder!
They have recently raised another round of funding, led by VC firm Draper Associ-
ates, and Boost VC participated again after an earlier round. They helped Forml launch back at the beginning with their early investment round back in 2024.
So, what’s next for Forml moving into 2026?
According to Satchel, “Right now, we’re seeing explosive traction with business lenders, banks and other similar financial institutions. But recently we’re also getting deal inflow and requests from companies wanting to use Forml in other sectors, such as mining operations companies and mining financiers, logistics, insurance, recruiting firms, healthcare and more.”
Next, let’s look at the guys SLEKE. In June 2024, they were building a local startup dedicated to the building “dumbphone movement.” (See “A phone that does less: As young users develop an appetite for “dumbphones,” a Reno startup designs an operating system to power them,” June 2024.) Since that column, I have begrudgingly caved in to allowing my twins to have their own smartphones, albeit with limited apps and no social media. I still know that there’s no going back, but there is hypervigilance. So, what are the founders of SLEKE up to?
I just found out from co-founder Austin Boer that this past year has been a whirlwind of growth. He reports, “We are currently hosting three interns from UNR, so we have enjoyed keeping the relationship with the Career Studio strong. We now have over 200 users spanning 10 countries. Most importantly, we have been able to save our users about a day in screen
time (mobile, at least) a week. That’s time they are spending with their families and friends, and doing hobbies they had or have wanted to start. We are still trying to talk with as many users as we can throughout the month.
“We have worked out all of the critical bugs, so we have moved on to the last couple features that will help get us to full release. … They have proven stubborn but are necessary to help the user experience. All that being said, we have grown a lot over the year and are excited to see where 2026 takes us!”
Austin said his team is also looking at possibly moving into different markets such as phones especially for kids or older adults. “We are listening to what people would like,” he said. Finally, how are the nicest co-founders in the candy biz—Andrew and Danielle Fitzgerald, from Tahoe Treats freeze-dried candy and ice cream? Recall they had the complicated issue of high growth and sloooow cashflow? (See “A sweet local startup: Tahoe Treats is learning lessons about rapid growth that your company can learn, too,” July 2024.) That’s common for small business owners, and it’s frustrating.
According to Andrew, “The journey since your last article has been an incredible mix of explosive growth and the challenges that come with it. Our retail footprint has expanded dramatically. Locally, we’ve launched a sweet partnership with Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, placing us in all their locations. Regionally, our successful pilots with leaders like Jacksons Food Stores and Golden Gate Petroleum have
unlocked opportunities for chain-wide rollouts. “Most significantly, our talks with a national travel retailer have accelerated, with their goal being a full West Coast market launch. This, combined with interest from another major travel retailer, has put us on the verge of a national breakout.
“The primary challenge remains the one you originally highlighted: managing the working capital crisis created by this success. Every new partnership requires a significant upfront investment in inventory, and the 30- to 90-day payment cycles strain our cashflow, creating a bottleneck to growth. Our focus now is securing the right financing to finally solve the growth puzzle you so accurately described.”
I wish Tahoe Treats their due success. My family buys their treats regularly, and you should too!
All of the above founders are on the journey, and they’ve all made it through to this point. Well done, each of you! With every passing month a startup stays in biz, it learns from the marketplace and the usual missteps. With every small win, the businesses are another day, week or month closer to customers, breakeven, profits and ultimate sustainability.
These are the folks who drive the local economy, hire our students, and keep the local economy chugging along, while others struggle. Let’s all support our local businesses and continue to create the diverse economy that Northern Nevada needs to weather the building uncertain economic factors.
Since the RN&R’s business scribe last checked in with Tahoe Treats, the freeze-dried candy and ice cream company owned by Andrew and Denielle Fitzgerald, their footprint has grown dramatically. Photo/David Robert
UPFRONT
‘Trauma-informed’ justice: Reno Justice Court opens a new court for women
Reno Justice Court opened a new specialty court, primarily for women, called HER Court (Hope, Empowerment, Recovery) on Oct. 13.
Emily Ruff, Reno Justice Court’s specialty court program coordinator, explained that an existing specialty court for youth offenders wasn’t being fully utilized, and that docket’s existing grant funding was reallocated to HER Court.
“It’s tricky for women in the justice system,” said Ruff. “Sometimes they’re arrested, maybe on possession of substances, or even domestic-battery charges, but then you’ll speak with them, and they will end up articulating or divulging a history of trauma, or even being prior victims themselves.”
HER Court may refer people—including some men, as the court is not exclusive to women—for trauma-informed medical care. Ruff gave an example: “A lot of our women may have a history of sexual assault or sexual victimization. So it’s really important that when they see a medical provider, that provider approaches them in a trauma-informed way when they’re doing exams.” The court partners with Renown Women’s Health.
Ruff said HER Court employees will receive training specific to abuse and exploitation issues. “Awaken (a faithbased, anti-trafficking organization) is going to be performing some training on sex-trafficking patterns and ways for intervention. Then, the same with the Reno HEAT Team (the multiple law-enforcement-agency Human Exploitation and Trafficking team). They’ve partnered with us to provide some of that education and training on some of the trends that are occurring.”
Judge Ryan Katherine Sullivan oversees HER Court.
“What we’re trying to do is really focus and create an environment that’s based on safety and respect, and to not re-traumatize people through the process, basically,” she said.
One of HER Court’s main goals is to reduce recidivism.
“There’s about a 40% reduction in recidivism for people who graduate (specialty mental health) courts in comparison to the general population, so that’s significant,” said Ruff. —Kris Vagner
NEWS
The queen of No Kings
Behind the scenes of what’s believed to be Reno’s largest-ever protest
Kimberly Carden is the leader of Indivisible Northern Nevada, the all-volunteer, grassroots group that organized the No Kings protest in Reno on Oct. 18—one of more than 2,600 on that day, in all 50 states.
Carden is a retired Army colonel who was on active duty for 26 years.
“Based on the Hatch Act (which limits federal employees’ political activities), nobody knew what my political leanings were for my entire career,” she said.
But when she was stationed in places like Panama, Korea, Germany and Italy, she was always civically involved. “I made sure that we had a voting table to make sure all the soldiers and civilians had an opportunity to register to vote, because they were not living in their home state,” she said.
After she retired, she joined the Nevada Gun Safety Coalition, a group that promotes effective gun safety legislation. It was through that group’s former chair, Chip Evans, that Carden connected with Indivisible Northern Nevada. At first, she said, she was one of the “worker bees.” In time, she took on more leadership duties.
“For the last couple years, I kind of took the manager role in corralling the cats,” she said.
Beginner-friendly protests
Since November 2024, the month in which Donald Trump was elected for a second time, Carden has led about 50 protests on behalf of INN. Most of them have been “Tyranny Tuesdays” gatherings—weekly, hour-long protests in front of the Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse and Federal Building that draw between 40 and 120 people.
The group hosts the weekly protest for three reasons, Carden said. “One, we wanted folks who were maybe a little bit shy about attending a large protest; they could end up coming into a much smaller event, and then also start making friends and seeing that we’re not scary people.”
Two: to highlight a specific issue each week. “The crap hits the crap fan about all kinds of different things,” she said. “Lately, it’s obviously been about the budget bill, and also putting some pressure on Sen. (Catherine) Cortez Masto to buck up and vote against the bill the next time that bill comes up.” (The federal government shutdown was ongoing as of our press deadline.)
Three: “To let the senators know that we’re
|
BY KRIS VAGNER
Kimberly Carden, leader of the grassroots activist group Indivisible Northern Nevada, was the main organizer of the Oct. 18 No Kings protest in Reno. The group is allvolunteer. Carden said that in the weeks leading up to the event, she was putting in 80-hour weeks. Photo/Kris Vagner
paying attention,” said Carden. “When they do something that matches our values, we give them a petition that says, ‘Hey, you know, we appreciate you; thanks for everything you do.’ But if they do something that goes against our values, then the petition says, ‘Hey, we need you to step up and vote yay or nay on a particular bill.’”
So, what are the values she’s talking about? INN’s website says it is “dedicated to making sure our public servants work for the people.”
One INN member (whose name we are not using because their job prohibits them from speaking publicly about political matters) added: “We’re not an anti-anything group, but we are very much pro-democracy. That means that when any of our elected officials votes out of alignment with what is democracy, they will hear from us. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle they are going to be on. We are welcoming to everyone—independents, Republicans, Libertarians, whoever wants to be a part of this and save democracy.”
Event planning
Word that another day of No Kings protests would be organized around the nation began to spread in mid-September. Two days after INN volunteers heard the news, Carden said, they began planning to hold one in Reno.
The first order of business was to invite partner groups to participate. These included the Northern Nevada Central Labor Council, the national grassroots protest group #50501, the new Biggest Little Action Group, Third Act and Indivisible Carson City.
Of course, INN had to get the word out to potential attendees. They used the usual channels—their newsletter and social media pages.
On Oct. 10, about a week before the event, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called the planned Washington, D.C., No Kings rally the “hate America rally.” The Reno organizers were not concerned; in fact, they had learned by then that such pronouncements are among their best recruitment tools—and immediately after Johnson made his claim, signups for the Oct. 18 protest in Reno surged.
Next, the INN members considered a location.
“Safety is our No. 1 concern,” said Carden. Reno’s June No Kings rally took place outside of Rep. Mark Amodei’s office on Kietzke Lane. For that event, the organizers got around 1,700 signups, and an estimated 9,000 people showed up. Protesters lined the sidewalks, and the street remained open. She said that having drivers honk as they passed by was a welcome
part of that event, but this time around, she wanted protestors to be less exposed to vehicle traffic, for safety’s sake.
INN applied for a free-speech permit from the city of Reno, which allows the use of a public plaza and the closure of streets at no cost to an organization.
The fatal shooting that had occurred at the No Kings rally in Salt Lake City in June was also on her mind, and it had her thinking about safety even more than she usually does. To prepare for large events, INN leaders keep in touch with the Reno Police Department, keeping law officers apprised of the anticipated crowd count. For the October event, they predicted maybe 10,000 to 12,000 attendees, and they had a stretch goal of 15,000.
“If anything pops up into our radar that is considered a threat or a safety issue, we immediately let (RPD) know, and vice versa,” Carden said. “And then, on the day of the event … we request to meet with whoever’s going to be the onsite lieutenant. … We have a very good relationship.”
INN members undergo training from the ACLU of Nevada on deescalation and running safe events. They’ve also received training to keep protestors safe and “what to do as far as (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is concerned” from Movement Catalyst, a support organization for social movements.
Signs of the times
A record turnout
On the morning of Saturday, Oct. 18, Carden oversaw the arrival of volunteers, about 100 between INN and the partner groups. The Northern Nevada Labor Council ran a food drive. For a while, Carden was on bullhorn duty, leading chants. Then, she briefly addressed the crowd from a stage. An orchestra played “America the Beautiful”; a mariachi band played; and there was a sage blessing.
Carden said there were a couple of small medical incidents. Someone’s walker broke.
REMSA was on the scene to help.
“There were no security concerns,” she said. “Law enforcement was very supportive, and we appreciated that.”
An estimated 18,000 people attended. Here’s how the organizers came up with this number: First, they estimated, based on the crowd count from the Women’s Protest in 2017, that Believe Plaza can hold around 10,000. (This event extended from the plaza, a few blocks south down Virginia Street, to the federal building.) Then they ran their own photos and drone videos from the Oct. 18 protest through Chat GPT a few times and concluded that Chat GPT’s best estimate was 20,000. Then they factored in the RPD count, 15,000, which they say is typically low.
“When we figured out that it looked like it was 18,000, it just blew our mind,” Carden said.
The large, blue awnings and the white bricks have been removed from the Byington Building at North Virginia and Second streets, revealing a faded green, blue and red sign for the long-gone Ginsburg’s Jewelry Store.
A Historic Reno Preservation Society post on the building by local historian Alicia Barber reads, in part: “Located on one of the first lots on the original Reno townsite to be sold in 1868, it is sometimes said to have been Reno’s first brick building, surviving two major fires. The brick edifice constructed in the 1870s remains at the heart of this building, which in many ways embodies the trajectory of Reno’s ever-changing downtown.”
According to another HRPS post, Ginsberg’s moved to this location in 1921 (it had opened sometime before then) and closed in 1971. The Ginsburg Clock that is now at the corner of First and Virginia streets, near the Believe Plaza, was initially installed by jeweler Harry Ginsberg, in front of his store in 1935.
A sign currently taped to the window of the building reads, “Bodega Reno, coming soon.”
—Kris Vagner
Photo by David Robert
At the No Kings protest on Oct. 18, the crowd, estimated at 18,000, filled the Believe Plaza and the Virginia Street Bridge, extending down Virginia Street to the federal building. Photo/courtesy of Indivisible Northern Nevada
“It was the largest protest in Nevada.
“I am so proud of my team with Indivisible, and so proud of the partners and all of the work that we put toward this—they showed up, and they showed up big. You have no idea how hard we worked. And the grandmas and grandpas who were out there, the 5-year-olds who were out there, the high school teachers, those who
are in our marginalized communities—it wasn’t just a bunch of old, white retirees. It gave us hope that we can make a difference, that we will be able to stand up to the regime.”
To learn more about Indivisible Northern Nevada, visit indivisiblennv.org.
The University of Nevada, Reno’s bilingual student news outlet, Noticiero Móvil, celebrated its 10-year anniversary in October. (The name is a rough translation of “pop-up newsroom.”)
During a celebration on campus on Oct. 23, Kari Barber, associate dean of UNR’s journalism school, said its founder, Vanessa Vancour, mentioned her dream for Noticiero Móvil during her job interview in 2015.
Vancour was hired as a faculty member, and she launched Noticiero Móvil with a $35,000 grant from the Online News
Association Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education, earmarked for bilingual multimedia news coverage of the 2016 presidential election.
“When I founded Noticiero in 2015, we did not know what we were really building,” Vancour said during the celebration. “But what I did know is that Spanish-speaking communities deserved to see themselves reflected in local news, and I also knew that our students deserved the chance to report in both languages, and to be taken seriously for their work.”
Since then, Noticiero Móvil has trained more
| BY KRIS VAGNER
Claudia Cruz, Noticiero Móvil’s director since 2020, led the ceremonies at the group’s 10-year anniversary party on Oct. 23. Photo/ Kris Vagner
than 100 UNR students in reporting, multimedia news, graphic design and public relations. Some are native English speakers; a few are fluent Spanish speakers. Many are somewhere in between.
“Most people here may have a pretty good understanding of Spanish, because they probably grew up in a Hispanic household, but they’re not totally fluent,” said Maria Palma, who moved to Reno from Chile to study at UNR. She was one of several former Noticiero reporters who spoke in videos played at the anniversary event.
Claudia Cruz, a journalism faculty member who has been Noticiero Móvil’s director since 2020, said that part of the challenge for student reporters has been figuring out how to make Spanish content that’s accessible to speakers at different levels. She said that when the group needs a news article translated, she’ll sometimes call in a Spanish 400 student.
Cruz noted that collaborations have been a critical part of Noticiero Móvil from the outset. In addition to the Spanish department, the group has worked with local news outlets including The Nevada Independent. Alumni have gone on to work with various news outlets, both local and beyond, including NBC Bay Area news and The Washington Post. Palma, who graduated with a master’s in journalism in 2022, is now a full-time reporter at KUNR, where she reports on Lake Tahoearea news and also hosts the weekly Spanishlanguage news segment Al Aire. Noticiero Móvil reporters have earned major awards in student journalism, most notably alum Stephanie Serrano’s regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her coverage of Reno 1868 FC, the area’s professional soccer team at the time; the story was broadcast on KUNR in 2017. “I typically describe it as, like, the Emmy for broadcast news,” said Cruz.
In March, a group of Noticiero Móvil reporters went to Costa Rica to delve into multimedia science reporting. Another group traveled to Paris and interviewed Telemundo anchors at the 2024 Olympics.
In 2026, Noticiero Móvil will be featured as a case study in two forthcoming journalism textbooks.
Senior Electrical Engineer (Reno, NV). FT. Design algorithms for analyzing human biometric signals. Create machine learning pipelines. Create core desktop apps for EmotiBit biosensing platform. Design advanced HW systems that integrate highspeed digital logic. Analyze scientific lit. to inform the strategic roadmap. Supervise ownership of overseas PCB manufacturing processes. Create automation for testing & deployment. Req: Master’s degree (or foreign equiv) in Elec Engg or a closely rltd degree; 5 yrs exp as an Elec Eng., Staff Eng. or closely rltd position; Must have 5 yrs ex w/ Analog & Digital Circuit Design. Must have 3 yrs exp using C++. Must have exp w/ Python, Digital Signal Processing, machine learning, human biometric signal processing & any electronic design automation SW. Res. to: S.Montgomery, Connected Future Labs LLC, sean@connectedfuturelabs.com
Think free!
To learn more about Noticiero Móvil, watch the 16-minute video, “¡No Me Digas! Special Edition: Noticiero Móvil 10th Anniversary Documentary Film!” on YouTube. Read the group’s published news at noticieromovil.com.
When darkness descends
Advice from those who know how to cope with short, winter days—Alaskans
A soft orange emitted from my windowsill, prompting me to open my eyes. This wasn’t the sun, though—this was an artificial light. Its glow crescendoed to a bright yellow, and birds began to chirp from it. This alarm clock promises to “make sleep easier than ever” by mimicking a sunrise in the otherwise black abyss of shortening days, in an effort to help regulate the circadian rhythm. I rolled my eyes at the cheerful machine; a few watts of light is far from the reprieve of waking to natural sunlight. But sunlight is a waning luxury as winter brings workdays bookended with darkness.
When I contemplated what to write this month, all I could think about was the experience of too-short days, the stress of needing to walk the dog before and after work but being terrified of wandering in the dark and turned off by the thought of stinging cold. So, what now? Couch-potato season starts? Life outside is relegated to weekends if the lines at the ski resorts aren’t too long, and the hangovers aren’t too bad?
So I decided to lean on the expertise of those who live with far less light than we have during winter. I reached out to Alaskans and other northern-dwellers in an outdoor-focused professional group called Basecamp Outdoor for advice. Strangely, the consensus was that while winter can be hard, it is the time of year some anticipate most eagerly.
The general recommendations are to stock up on vitamin D supplements, invest in high-powered headlamps, and get outside every day “even if it’s -40 degrees!”
“You have to make time to go outside every day, even if it’s just a walk on your lunch break,” Michelle Beadle wrote. “Having a winter sport that you enjoy such as skiing, skating, dog mushing, etc. is also a must.”
Jaz Jones recommends shifting work schedules around sunlight, if possible, to get some time outside—like an Alaskan siesta of sorts, but instead of sleep and wine, it’s skis and snowshoes.
“Vitamin D tablets are a must,” Tony Waters wrote. “Caffeine for when you feel sleepy at 3
p.m., and cardio after work.”
Most who responded to my query see the severe lack of light as a challenge to make the most of the sunshine. “Honestly, I think I spend more time outdoors in the winter because of how limited the light is in Alaska,” Carlee Christensen wrote.
That said, many also recommend shifting expectations and exploring at night. “The darkness is not a problem if you’re active,” Adam Rubin wrote. “You have to see it as an opportunity for exploration.”
Something hidden in these comments kept ticking at me: Am I too hesitant here to expose myself to the adverse elements that these Alaskans seem so ready to embrace?
I’m guilty of being a fair-weather adventurer. I snowboard on bluebird days after storms. I shorten walks from a few miles to a few blocks when it’s too nippy outside. I tell my dog that rain will melt us both to avoid walking under a drizzle. When the sun isn’t up, the only appealing adventure is sleep.
I was staying with family on the other side
| BY HELENA GUGLIELMINO
Nightfall comes earlier in winter, but if you take a page from the Alaska playbook, there are actually a couple of bright sides to winter outdooring. Photo/Helena Guglielmino
of the Sierra Nevada as I sorted through the Alaskans’ comments. It rained that day from morning to night—a total of 1.4 inches. Instead of our morning walk that day, I pulled a cheesy romance book close to me while my dog grumbled and sighed at my feet. I told her (and myself) it was too miserable out there, anyway, and that we would go later, when it dried up. However, as the afternoon ticked away, guilt replaced the relaxation of reading. The rain was not letting up. I finally decided to leave the house, only at the behest of my dog.
“Ten minutes only,” I said to her as we started onto our path.
Ten minutes into the walk, things were as predicted: Water splatters on my glasses jumbled my vision; my clothing (none of it waterproof, of course) was soaking through; and my dog was cruising through muck that would leave a smell in my car for days to come.
But also, my mood lifted. The day felt lighter, and a mental flow state pushed through the current bout of writer’s block. “Keep going?” I asked my dog. She jetted ahead.
Now, I’m inspired. What if we embrace the weather instead of running from it? If we take a note from the Alaska playbook and just get out there, even if it feels uncomfortable?
One way to ease into this is with a supportive community. “Community, a very tight knit community, was especially important,” Charlie Fischer wrote. “The routines of regular activities and get-togethers, plus the little spontaneous moments of helping a neighbor shovel out or something similar, really helped me weather winters.”
If you don’t speak to your neighbors, and none of your friends are crazy enough for moonlit snowshoeing, there are local groups you can tap into during winter. Silver State Striders, a trail running group, meets every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Facebook groups like Women Who Explore: Lake Tahoe/Reno Area are full of members looking to link up for outdoor activities. Adult sports leagues, like coed volleyball through the city of Reno, run through winter. Biggest Little Trail Stewardship hosts trail-work volunteer days and clean ups. The Lahontan Audubon Society hosts birding field trips.
I’m not saying that we should go climb Peavine at 7 p.m. every night, but I am encouraging you to consider the benefits of getting outside when it’s uncomfortable for the sake of your mental health—if not for your immediate gratification, for its ability to make life a little bit brighter during some of the darkest days.
Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight
For November, 2025
ASTRONOMY
This sky chart is drawn for latitude 40 degrees north, but may be used in continental U.S. and southern Canada.
November’s evening sky chart.
Illustration/Robert D. Miller
of evening twilight, Saturn and faint Neptune will appear near the 84 percent waxing moon on Nov. 1, and the 91 percent moon on Nov. 2. The full moon, the closest of 2025, occurs on Nov. 5, at 5:19 a.m. The Pleiades star cluster will appear 8° to the lower left of a 99 percent waning moon on Nov. 5, and 7° to the upper right of a 96 percent moon on Nov. 6. By two hours after sunset on Nov. 6, Aldebaran will have risen 10° to the lower right of the moon. Wait until the moon moves on, or rises later, for the best view of these objects and their surrounding fields.
On the date of the full moon, Nov. 5, the “Supermoon” will rise around sunset, and then moonrise occurs later on each successive evening. On the next four evenings, Nov. 6-9, moonrise will still be fascinating to watch, as it will clear the horizon at a point farther north than the sun ever does. The northernmost moon of the current lunar month rises after nightfall on Nov. 7, climbs highest in the sky in the early hours of Nov. 8, and sets far north of west, in daylight about four hours after sunrise, on Nov. 8.
November skies
The month brings earlier sunsets, a meteor shower, and a lot of bright objects around the moon
At dusk on Nov. 1, the bright first-magnitude “star” in the east-southeast to southeast, about 4° to the lower left of the 83 percent waxing gibbous moon, is actually Saturn Binoculars or a telescope will reveal impressive details in the surface features along the moon’s terminator, or day-night boundary, where sunrise is taking place. Look again the next evening, Nov. 2, when the terminator will have moved about 12°, or 1/30 of the way around the moon’s sphere, and additional moonscape will have emerged into sunlight. Saturn will appear 11° to the moon’s upper right.
Point your telescope toward Saturn in early November, and you’ll see the rings tipped less than 0.6° from edge-on, giving an appearance of a ball of yarn pierced by a needle. Later this month, from Nov. 21-26, the rings will appear only 0.37° from edgewise—the
closest to an exact edge-on view we’ll get until 2038-2039.
The other bright objects at dusk are two zero-magnitude stars, golden Arcturus, low in the west-northwest, visible only early in month, and blue-white Vega, nearly 60° higher; and the first-magnitude stars Altair and Deneb, completing the Summer Triangle with Vega; Fomalhaut, mouth of the Southern Fish, within 30° to the lower right of Saturn; and Antares, very low in the southwest.
Other bright stars noticeable during evening twilight in November are zero-magnitude Capella, the “Mother Goat” star, already risen in the far northeast at mid-twilight at the start of November; and red-orange first-magnitude Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the Bull, rising to the lower right of Capella, and 14° below the Pleiades.
When the moon is bright, it’s not good for observing faint objects near the moon. At the end
If you go outside to look when the moon is highest in the sky on the early morning of Nov. 8, you’ll catch it as it passes just south of overhead, some 5° higher than the greatest altitude attained by the summer solstice midday sun. The moon will be surrounded by a ring of brilliant objects. Steady, yellow-white Jupiter, shining at magnitude -2.4, is the brightest, 28° to the moon’s east-southeast. Blue-white twinkling Sirius, of magnitude 1.4, ranks next in brightness, and is nearly twice as far to the moon’s south-southeast. The zero-magnitude star Capella is to the north-northwest of moon, far enough to pass north of overhead.
Going clockwise around the oval beginning with Jupiter, we encounter the “Twin” stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor, 4.5° apart; next, Capella; and then down to Aldebaran, 20° to the lower right of the moon; next, 26° to the lower left, is Rigel, Orion’s foot; and then on to Sirius. Just east of a line back to our starting point, Jupiter, we encounter Procyon, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog. The reddest of the stars of first-magnitude or brighter, the supergiant Betelgeuse, lies inside the oval of stars. Regulus, heart of Leo, the Lion, lies well outside the oval, in the eastern sky 35° to the east of Jupiter.
The star Sirius will reach its highest point in south about an hour after the moon does so on the morning of Nov. 8.
The entire ring of stars, the Winter Hexagon described above, can be observed at a wide range of times of night through November. Look for it in the eastern sky, by around 11 p.m. on Nov. 2, backing to 9 p.m. by month’s end. Procyon and Sirius are the last of its stars to rise.
Even brighter than Jupiter is Venus, of
| BY ROBERT VICTOR
magnitude -3.9, but the inner planet is heading toward superior conjunction on the far side of the sun in early January, so look soon! At the start of November, Venus is still easy to spot, very low in the east to east-southeast about an hour before sunrise. The Big Dipper is then standing on its handle in the northeast. On Nov. 2, follow the arc of its handle to Arcturus, low in the east-northeast, and on further to Venus, with first-magnitude Spica 3.5° to the planet’s lower right. Follow the waning moon in morning twilight daily for two weeks, beginning with the full moon of Nov. 5 and continuing through Nov. 18. For three mornings, see the moon appear in Taurus: closely west of the Pleiades on Nov. 6; widely north of Aldebaran on Nov. 7; and east of Elnath, tip of the Bull’s northern horn, on Nov. 8. On Sunday morning, Nov. 9, Castor, Pollux and Jupiter, 9°, 11° and 13° from the moon, form an arc east of the 78 percent waning gibbous moon. On Nov. 10, the 68 percent moon is 4°-5° from Jupiter and Pollux, and 9° from Castor, while Venus will be 10° to the lower left of Spica. On Nov. 12, the 47 percent moon, just past last quarter phase, will be within 6° west of Regulus. On the next morning, Nov. 13, the 37 percent crescent will appear 7° east of the star. In the predawn darkness hours on their peak date of Monday, Nov. 17, Leonid meteors are expected to increase in number as their radiant in Leo rises higher in the sky between midnight until the first light of dawn. Meteors can light up anywhere in the sky, but the trails of shower members, extended backward, will seem to radiate from a spot within the Sickle of Leo.
The new moon occurs on Nov. 19 at 10:47 p.m. Uranus and the Pleiades are both at opposition to the sun on Nov. 20. On Nov. 21, 25 minutes after sunset from Southern California, a 3 percent crescent moon might be visible with binoculars in a very clear sky, only 3 degrees up in the southwest. On Nov. 22, an hour after sunset, a much easier 7 percent crescent moon would be visible very low in the southwest, near the tip of the spout of the Teapot of Sagittarius.
On the next evening, Nov. 23, the 13 percent crescent will appear in the Teapot’s handle. On Nov. 27, a 48 percent, nearly first quarter moon will appear well up in the southern sky, 22° to the lower right of Saturn an hour after sunset. On Nov. 29, Saturn appears 6° to the lower right of a 69 percent moon. On the last evening of November, the 79 percent moon appears 20° to the left of Saturn.
The Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar is available by subscription from www. abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar. For $12 per year, subscribers receive quarterly mailings, each containing three monthly issues.
Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps produce an occasional issue.
Stereographic Projection Map by Robert D. Miller
mid-twilight occurs when the Sun is 9° below the horizon.
Aldebaran
Capella
Arcturus
Altair
Deneb
Fomalhaut
heart attack. What was once management of a condition is now a costly, lifelong ordeal.”
Despite these worries, Chamberlain said HOPES is planning to expand services that are still receiving federal funding, such as Medicare-based geriatric care, which she said is “a huge need” in the region. She added that HOPES is also continuing to raise funds to keep providing as much care as possible.
Chamberlain has also seen patient care affected this year by the crackdown on immigrants.
At-risk populations in Northern Nevada are more at risk than ever.
Through executive orders, policies and legislation, the Trump administration has cut budgets for health and relief services that were fully funded mere months ago—and people in our region are feeling the repercussions. Federal budget cuts have decreased the abilities of Northern Nevada organizations to provide mental health, food security and health care services.
A policymaker and three service providers spoke with the RN&R about who is being affected, and how. Spoiler alert: It’s a much larger chunk of the population than you may think it is.
Health care programs for opiate users and trans youth were cut
Northern Nevada HOPES is a community health center that cares for underserved and vulnerable patients and their families. According to the HOPES website, 45% of its patients live at or below the federal poverty level, and 10% are homeless.
Federal reimbursements and grants make up a substantial part of HOPES’ funding. For instance, Medicaid makes up 15.5% percent of its revenue, while Medicare makes up 5.7%. HOPES CEO Sharon Chamberlain and her staff had to discontinue some programs completely when President Trump issued executive orders that resulted in federal Health and Human Services Department (HHS) policies that defunded certain initiatives.
One order that supposedly addressed “crime and disorder” ended funding for “discretionary grants for substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery (that) fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use.” Chamberlain said this order ended HOPES’ Change Point program for safe injection services, including rehab and detox, for people addicted to opiates.
Another Trump order under the rubric of “protecting children” defunded federal grants to “medical institutions” that offer gender-affirming care, which the order terms as “chem-
ical and surgical mutilation.” HOPES, as a result, ended its gender-affirming care program for people under the age of 19, Chamberlain said.
She said the clinic is also awaiting the results of already approved cuts to Medicaid via Congress. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, 11.8 million people on Medicaid could lose their health insurance by 2034 due to these cuts. In addition, more than 4 million more people may lose coverage if the Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies go away, which is the major sticking point of the government shutdown that was, as of press time, still ongoing.
“Medicaid is one of the largest populations that we serve (at HOPES),” Chamberlain said. “What (news reports) are saying about community health centers like HOPES is that more than 40 percent of community health sites across the U.S. are going to close, and that is obviously not just a policy shift, but would destroy years of hard work to provide care to more people.”
Chamberlain gave a real-world example of how people may be affected: “Patients with high blood pressure come in to regularly adjust their medications. Without Medicaid, they would miss appointments, and their condition would worsen silently. And, with high blood pressure, you are also at risk for a stroke or a
“We are hearing a lot of things from our undocumented population, with a lot more noshows for appointments, or people being afraid to come in or pick up life-saving medication,” Chamberlain said. “We have other individuals on the exchanges express a lot of concern about the increase in premiums. There are a lot of folks dealing with a lot of unknowns.”
Medicaid and SNAP cuts will have a domino effect
Dr. John Packham, policy director for the Nevada Public Health Association and an associate dean at the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine, believes we are in the early stages of experiencing the consequences of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, the congressional spending package that went into effect in July.
The bill includes the aforementioned cuts to Medicaid and cuts to other health-focused programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Two federal agencies in particular, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration, provide a significant amount of health funding in Nevada—$66 per person, according to a recent report from the American Public Health Association.
“The state Legislature, through the general fund, appropriates dollars for public health services roughly at the same level as the federal level,” Packham said. “So any federal funding is going to affect what we as a state can provide, because the Legislature is pretty unlikely to make up the difference.”
Packham pointed out that Nevada is especially susceptible during tough economic times.
“Nevada just has a history of being the first to go into recession and the last to get out of it,” he said. “Compared to other states, we have relatively high unemployment rates that I expect to go up next year. We also have a 10 to 11 percent uninsured rate when the national number is about 8.”
Packham is concerned that a lot of facets of health care will get worse over the next decade. He predicts that it will become harder for hospitals to recruit staff and keep fragile service areas open, such as emergency departments, obstetrics and mental health.
To that end, Packham believes a special session could do some good if it deals with some
Volunteers prepare food to hand out at the Second Baptist Church during one of the many distribution events the Food Bank of Northern Nevada hosts each month. Photo/David Robert
incomes are not keeping up with expenses, and food costs are high.”
This increase in need is happening at a time when the amount of food the organization can provide has decreased—to the tune of around 3 million pounds a year.
Lantrip said the Food Bank first faced cuts earlier this year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture informed the organization that both the Local Food Purchase Assistance program and the Home Feeds Nevada program would not be federally funded. She estimates that almost 1 million pounds of food were not received as a result.
“The state did get $800,000 from the (Nevada) Legislature for the Home Feeds Nevada program, and we were very happy to have that, but that is significantly less than we’ve had before,” she said.
But that’s not the only decrease in aid from the USDA. Its Community Credit Corporation fund slashed the Emergency Food Assistance Program. This decreased the amount of food the Food Bank can distribute by an additional 2 million pounds. Lantrip said the group distributes about 26 million pounds of food per year.
LGBTQ+ youth services were cut
Our Center, Reno’s LGBTQ+ community center, received notice from the Nevada Bureau of Behavioral Health, Wellness and Prevention in September that the federal government would gut some of its programs for LGBTQ+ high school and middle school students.
This HHS cut included the end of two funding sources: a Partnership for Success grant that would have totaled $240,000 a year for the next four years, to be used for programs addressing suicide prevention, mental health, anti-vaping and prescription drugs abuse prevention; and a $129,000 Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant to support alcohol, cannabis and nicotine prevention.
Stacey Spain, executive director of Our Center, said the cuts led Our Center to end two of its youth programs, involving prescription drug abuse and vaping prevention. She added that two of the programs will continue without the grant funding—those for suicide prevention and mental health support.
“We know and understand that the most at-risk demographic group for teen suicide is LGBTQ,” Spain said. “… ‘Special audiences’ are groups of people who need (assistance) more. Not only LGBTQ+ youth, but veterans and racial minorities. Some people don’t even consider women to be a universal audience.” Spain LGBTQ+ youth make up “a much higher percentage of children in foster care than their representation in the overall population. And LGBTQ+ youth experience homelessness at a much higher rate. They may be told to get out if they come out, and sometimes even when they haven’t finished high school. They can be suddenly homeless. So the consequence for being queer can have lasting repercussions in a young person’s life.”
This need is why Spain believes that support and programs strictly for an underserved group can be so impactful.
“We know what the risk factors are, so we think about what we can do to offset those, and that includes protective factors,” Spain said, “things like having a strong community or being able to participate in programs which uplift and help folks with a sense of belonging.
File photo/David Robert
of the issues that surround care for Nevada residents.
“I think the Legislature should be getting together immediately to start deciding how to address Medicaid revenue shortfalls,” he said. “Those were timed (by Congress) to take effect after the 2026 election, which is about as cynical as you can get, but there is a storm cloud on the horizon.”
Even if these issues aren’t addressed immediately by state lawmakers, Packham said there are some things that people can do to help.
“It’s going to take people pressing lawmakers on this, and I think you are seeing a little of that with events like No Kings,” he said. “It’s taken some time, but there is a growing recognition that this legislation and the wave of policies from eight or nine months ago is going to hurt people. We know it’s going to happen.”
Food assistance has been cut, and is being cut further
More and more local seniors have needed food assistance in recent months, said Jocelyn Lantrip, director of marketing and communications at the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.
“They’ve seen their cost of living go up, while their incomes are not,” she said. “And health care costs are going up. So, anecdotally, a lot more seniors have been reaching out for help, and frankly, (so are) a lot more working families, all because of the same reasons— they are supporting children, perhaps, and their
“We’re also helping absolutely record numbers of people this year: 160,000 people every single month,” Lantrip said. “That’s about 76 percent higher than before the pandemic.”
More residents may be affected depending on how the aforementioned SNAP program will be funded, or not, after the government shutdown. The USDA wrote state governments in October to warn that SNAP recipients may not receive their allotments on Nov. 1 due to the shutdown. Lantrip said that the Food Bank estimates for every meal it provides, SNAP can provide nine.
“That would have a significant impact in our area,” Lantrip said of possible SNAP cuts after Nov. 1. “The current estimate that we received would be 147,000 people that would be affected. The SNAP program is very important to what we do as a food bank, because we can’t make up that much food if those (missed allotments) take place.”
Lantrip said the Food Bank is continuing its food sourcing and fundraising strategies, and asking more grocery stores, distribution centers, manufacturers and farmers to provide food.
“We’re trying to get as much in the door as we can,” she said. “We have a lot of food drives going on right now, too, as we head into the holiday season. We really need the staples for every day.
“Some people may receive SNAP as a supplement to income, and that is what has made them food secure. They may not be accessing resources from food banks, pantries or our partners like Mobile Harvest, so we want to reach out and let them know that we are available for help.”
When Our Center received the notice, the organization had already been working for six months to set up the programs, including developing resource guides, making print materials and visiting area school groups to let them know the suicide prevention and mental health support groups were available. Spain said the group already has a connection to LGBTQ+ student groups at many area schools and often speaks with counselors and teachers to let them know what Our Center has to offer.
“That won’t change,” Spain said. “We’ll give them all access to our youth mental-health resource guide, which we developed as part of the grant. But we won’t be able to do this at the same intensity level, and not with the same amount of staffing.”
In its letter, the state’s behavioral health bureau suggested to Our Center that state or federal funds can be used for their programs, but they would need to be “open to expanding the scope of work to serve the broader youth population, rather than focusing solely on the LGBTQIA+ community.” Spain said this policy undercuts getting help to at-risk populations that are considered “special audiences” by current federal and state leaders.
“Programs which are tailored to a specific population do not cause harm. Sometimes when you are in a program that doesn’t let you be yourself authentically or let you be your whole self, you are not able to say your whole truth. And when you are editing yourself and not being accepted when you walk in the door, you’re not able to fully participate in any kind of group.”
For now, Our Center is exploring various sources for more funding, including program fees when appropriate, private foundations, its own membership and donations from the community.
Stacey Spain (right), executive director for Our Center, talks with volunteer KJ Scott and KJ’s dog, Reno, at the group’s offices. Photo/Mark Earnest
Northern Nevada HOPES CEO Sharon Chamberlain said two of the health center’s programs have been canceled after federal funding was pulled. She worries that once already approved cuts to Medicaid take effect, HOPES’ ability to help patients with treatable conditions like high blood pressure will be compromised.
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Ready for our close-up
The grassroots efforts to grow a Nevada film scene
A couple of years ago, Reno-based cinematographer Bryon Evans was working on a low-budget film with his friend, director Mitch Yapko, in Los Angeles.
“I just wanted to go outside and get a quick shot of this building,” Evans said. “(Mitch) said, ‘Stop. You can’t put your tripod on the sidewalk.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean? It’s just a quick shot. It’ll take me five seconds.’”
Lawmakers in L.A. know the industry—and that location fees can be lucrative for local coffers. But in Nevada, few such barriers exist.
“Then we come up here, and we’re filming a short film … with kids riding bikes in Carson City,” Evans said. “I put my tripod on the sidewalk, and I say, ‘Mitch, look what we can do.’”
Affordability and ease are among the many benefits Evans and other filmmakers appreciate about Northern Nevada, which is why many of them are collaborating to grow the Silver State’s film industry by making their own films here, advocating for more tax incentives, and fostering local talent.
Evans is collaborating in an as-yet-unnamed
Bryon Evans and Shannon Balazs are part of a new (but not yet named) local film production company that is working to grow Nevada’s film industry. Photo/courtesy of the Cordillera International Film Festival
by George, a University of Nevada, Reno, graduate, starring Zucker and Christian, and supported by the others in their areas of specialty. Their budget is $300,000, and they’ve raised more than one-third of that. They aim to begin production in February. All bring impressive levels of film cred. George’s own short film won Best International Film at the Whistler Film Festival. Evans’ short horror film Inflatio has earned numerous film festival awards. Balasz’s credits include set dresser for Jeremy Renner’s Rennervations. Oakley’s own film, Mimics, shot in Reno and starring Kristoffer Polaha as the lead and director, along with the likes of Chris Parnell and Stephen Tobolowsky, premiered to rave reviews at the recent Cordillera International Film Festival in Reno and is scheduled to open in theaters nationwide on Feb. 6, 2026.
Cordillera’s founder, screenwriter and producer Emily Skyle-Golden, explained: “To get major players to come to the region, you need a world-class film festival, so that’s how Cordillera was born.”
She added that the 2026 festival will be its ninth. “On the fifth day of the festival, we do Film (N)NV Day. We take studio heads, executives and filmmakers who are at a point in their careers where they can make decisions as to where they’re going to film around the region, from Tahoe to Carson City, to prisons and the Reno Aces stadium, trying to excite them and get them to want to come back here. And it’s working.”
production company composed of his wife, production designer Shannon Balazs; husbandand-wife duo Sandra Dorst and Cody Hamilton, producers and founders of the team; writer/ co-producer Marc Oakley; writer/director Stephen George; and actors Arianne Zucker and Shawn Christian, a couple known best for their longtime roles in NBC’s Days of Our Lives, who relocated to Lake Tahoe six years ago. All are based in the Reno-Tahoe area, and each of them had been in the others’ orbits for a while when they finally decided to pull together in the same direction—toward creating a groundswell of filmmaking opportunity for themselves and others in Nevada.
“We were all working in our own silos, doing our own projects, getting our own things off the ground, and this is what we’d like to see as the beginning phase of us all coming together to get all of that experience and knowledge onto one project, and bring as many of the filmmakers, cast and crew onto the set, to start to really build this industry in Reno,” said Dorst.
They’re starting with An Anniversary, written
The region sells itself, she said. After all, Nevada offers every location imaginable, from ghost towns to neon lights, deserts and mountains, pine forests and playa, all of which make for movie magic. And it’s only a short flight away from L.A.
Cordillera is one corner of the triangle she said is the foundation for a filmmaking destination. The others are the Film Northern Nevada Initiative—a team including Skyle-Golden, her husband, Ryan Golden, and others involved in the industry who work to provide infrastructure and support for local productions—and the Future Filmmakers Foundation, which brings in aspiring filmmakers to learn the craft from mentors and gain experience that propels them into work opportunities.
What also helps is tax incentives—a major draw for film studios. Currently, the state offers a maximum film-tax credit of $10 million. With strong support from Warner Bros. and Sony, who have committed to bringing major work to Nevada, a new proposed $120 million tax break is up for debate in Nevada’s upcoming special
| BY JESSICA SANTINA
legislative session. Skyle-Golden said that while some Nevadans are averse to the idea of tax breaks for filmmakers, such an incentive can pay major dividends to us all.
“We have examples of one series that came in and had a $56.3 million financial impact,” she said. “It served 83,000 meals. It had an unfathomable amount of hotel room nights and heads in beds, from crew and teams that were coming in. … I think $9.7 million went to 40 local vendors, and that’s just one production. I think what people don’t understand is that when you’re doing Tesla or Apple statistics, you’re looking at the employee who is hired and the economic impact, dollar per dollar, of that individual. The difference with film sets is that they’re always growing. … You’re always hiring electricians and painters, and there are hotel room nights and incentives being brought in. And there are per diems that they burn through while they’re here.”
Of course, to meet tax-incentive requirements, studios must hire locally, which means many good-paying jobs.
“The amazing thing is that with just a single film, even one with a small budget like ours, you’re talking about funding 40 artists,” said Dorst.
Evans added that while there is considerable talent here—in all aspects of filmmaking, from writers and actors to photographers and makeup artists—there’s demand for more, particularly if the proposed tax incentive is passed. There currently is no film school in Northern Nevada. That’s where mentorship to grow our talent pool is key. Evans, Dorst, Zucker and Christian are all committed to mentoring young talent to prepare them for bigger jobs in the industry, here and elsewhere.
“The more films being made, the more crew everyone’s going to need, right?” Dorst said. “Because right now, many of us are all pulling from the same pool, so as this industry becomes more and more successful, the more crew everyone’s going to need.”
Skyle-Golden said there are several film projects headed for the Reno-Tahoe area, including her own film, Tuna; My Friend Jim, which began filming at Reno’s Virginia Lake in October and features Rob Lowe; a Warner Bros. skiing comedy; and an action film shooting in Carson City starring Ruby Rose, of Orange Is the New Black fame.
There’s room for locals to benefit, too: Register a location you own as a film location, or register your business as a vendor or supporting service with Film Nevada at film.nv.gov, and you may just play a role in this booming industry yourself.
Learn more about these and other upcoming local film projects and news by visiting the Cordillera website at www.ciffnv.org or www. ananniversaryfilm.com.
ART OF THE STATE
| BY KRIS VAGNER
Friends in the field
Painters Phyllis Shafer and Ahren Hertel see the same landscapes through different lenses
Have you ever happened upon the perfect colleague or collaborator—and heard your world expand with a cosmic click? That’s exactly what happened to two well-known local landscape painters, Phyllis Shafer and Ahren Hertel.
Shafer, who lives in South Lake Tahoe, has been painting Sierra scenes—the less-traveled ones that local outdoorsy types know, not so much the picture-perfect influencer haunts— since she arrived in the West in 1994, already an experienced artist by then. Her creeks seem to babble; her wildflowers seem to sway; and her perspectives are enchantingly distorted. Think a wide-angle lens or iPhone panorama, although when she paints, she stands outside with her easel for hours, and no camera is involved.
Hertel lives in Reno. He also paints landscapes—the hills and sage we know and love around here—using muted versions of every yellow, green and gray you’d spot in a
wide, Nevada valley, and then some. His scenes are heavy with stillness. His brushstrokes are more abstract than realistic, but the feeling they convey—that of an overcast, high desert day (even if he’s painting on a sunny day)—lands with precision.
Shafer taught painting and ran the gallery at Lake Tahoe Community College until 2021 and is now retired. She said that her sense of time is different post-retirement, and that has changed the look of her paintings: “There’s more information, and the brushes are getting smaller.”
Hertel teaches painting full-time at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is the father of a 3-year-old, so he has less studio time than he used to. His paintings typically start with a photo as source material, and he paints indoors, filtering the image through layers of memories and ideas.
Here’s why Hertel admires Shafer’s work: “I really like things that feel like they border on the magical and the real”—like Gabriel García Márquez novels or Día de los Muertos.
Here’s why Shafer enjoys Hertel’s work: “He has a real feel for the land, and specifically the Nevada high desert, rugged kind of landscapes. But I really love his understanding of color theory. It’s so different than mine. He works in a smaller range, and I just think it’s exquisite. Somehow, the paintings almost feel like they’re about to evaporate.”
All of this is why Shafer, who has long been on Stremmel Gallery’s calendar for a November show, asked the gallery to invite Hertel to be part of the show as well.
To prepare, the two decided to embark on a couple of field trips to paint together this past summer. They ventured to Hope Valley—in Shafer’s Sierra stomping grounds—on one day, and Fort Churchill State Historic Park, typical of Hertel’s Nevada locales, on another.
“People come from all over and wait for the opportunity to be able to paint outdoors with Phyllis,” Hertel said. (She teaches summer workshops at UNR’s Lake Tahoe campus.)
Said Shafer: “I think we talked about three-quarters of the time and painted about one quarter of the time. We get so excited when we’re talking together that I think we keep interrupting each other, because we get excited to kind of jump in. There’s just been such a great kind of collaboration on all levels.”
Experienced as they are, both artists said they learned something from these outings. For Shafer, the solitude of retirement is a two-sided coin: As nice as it is to have the additional painting time, she misses the daily interactions with students and peers.
“I miss having an intellectual dialogue with someone who I trust and I admire and I respect,” she said. “It’s just been really great to hear how Ahren thinks, and how he deconstructs things.” She sounded positively buoyant describing how Hertel puts “a very intellectual spin” on the paintings that she just makes intuitively, without analyzing as she works.
Shafer’s attitude toward painting rubbed off on
Ahren Hertel and Phyllis Shafer on a painting excursion at Fort Churchill State Historic Park in September. Photo/Chris Lanier
Hertel in the opposite way: Talking with her inspired him to apply less intellect, not more. He’s prone to thinking a lot about how to approach a subject “that’s been painted so many times by so many people” and deeply analyzing its ramifications and meanings. But painting while chatting with Shafer? Five stars. Would do again.
“We’ve talked about thinking of it as an amazing subject that doesn’t come loaded with all this history and all this other stuff, and that we get to engage in it in the way that we want to,” Hertel said. “It was really cool to see how Phyllis has been doing that for longer than I have. … It was amazing just sitting there talking and sort of soaking it all in, and it was different than my normal practice.”
Confluence: The Landscapes of Phyllis Shafer and Ahren Hertel will be on view at Stremmel Gallery, at 1400 S. Virginia St., in Reno, from Thursday, Nov. 6, through Saturday, Dec. 6, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, and an artists’ talk at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 8. For more information, visit stremmelgallery.com.
These paintings by Ahren Hertel and Phyllis Shafer, rendered on the same day, in the same spot in Hope Valley, will be on view as part of their exhibition at Stremmel Gallery.
ART OF THE STATE
Art and sound
In the Lilley Museum’s current show, piano wire and smashed guitars are reconfigured into fanciful new
instruments
The art that Naama Tsabar creates is both striking and approachable. This artist-in-residence from New York City has two such works in To Hold a Form, the current exhibition at the Lilley Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno.
One of her pieces, “Work on Felt,” is just that: a large piece of felt, with carbon fiber giving it the malleability to become its own large instrument when Tsabar uses a single piano string to contort its shape. The piece makes sounds when bowed or hit. And it’s OK if you pluck on the massive string; Tsabar said she encourages that.
Her second piece, “Melody of Certain Damage,” features guitars she’s smashed and broken. She screwed the pieces in place on a large board that is flat on the gallery floor, and restrung them with piano wire in varied shapes that make sounds when struck or bowed.
“I feel like the broken guitar is where a musical instrument can reflect contemporary music, rock ’n’ roll, where the history of music is left on the floor after a violent
act,” Tsabar said. “My motivation is to put new elements into place and use piezo microphones to reinvent them as working instruments. It’s a landscape of debris, and it changes the relationship of how you act with your body when playing these.”
Tsabar took the re-creation of these instruments one step further for two October performances at the Lilley. She spent a week composing and then performing new music with two musicians from the university—biochemistry and music major Sophie Duvall, and philosophy master’s graduate Karlie Watson—and three other musicians: Ruby Barrientos, Jonesy and Sarah Strauss.
Tsabar described the performance as ranging “between more minimal music to things that are almost classical-feeling, and parts that are more structured like pop or rock. It was quite a vast sonic landscape to find and perform in. And, because I work with local musicians, they basically write with time. It’s a complete collaboration.
“In our performance, there were real moments of fragility and intimacy between us and
Musicians played music on the artwork “Melody of Certain Damage” by Naama Tsabar for a live audience at the Lilley Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, To Hold a Form. Photo/ courtesy of the Lilley Museum
Jones, also from New York City, uses electrical wires from headphones and soundproofing sheets used in recording studios, among other elements of her minimalist art.
“She’s working with the remains of music production, and I find that fascinating,” Gibson said.
The foam used in Jones’ sculptures “absorbs sounds, voices and odors, and it’s set to a musical score that she remixed that’s also in the gallery,” Gibson said. “So over time, her sculptures take on the life and the times of the galleries themselves. It looks very austere and unemotional, but it really has a lifetime of stories and narrative and emotion.”
Rogers is from Charlottesville, Va. Among the elements she uses in her work are unplugged microphones.
“I see it as a form of resistance,” Gibson said of the implied silence. “We’re not fully privy to this narrative. I thought it communicated how silence can be as effective and as strong as sound, and who gets to hear the narrative.”
Rogers uses a variety of different media—repurposed porcelain, actual sugar-plant skins, video displays—to create these powerful works that bring history to present-day discussions.
the instruments, and I think there is something radical in that, to share that with an audience.”
Stephanie Gibson, executive director and chief curator at the Lilley, was particularly struck by those live performances.
“The entire museum was its own concert hall,” Gibson said. “People were strumming on the paintings and trying to make a tune. They were working so hard to use the drumsticks and bows. It was so melodic, so beautiful. It really took your breath away. I’ll never forget that experience. I love how it pushes against conventions.”
That tug-of-war with what constitutes gallery art was a big motivator for Gibson to choose Tsabar and the other two artists in the exhibition, LaRissa Rogers and Jennie C. Jones. She said it changes, in some ways, how people move through the space and even what the function of a museum exhibit represents.
“It’s the spoke of a metaphorical wheel, where we bring a lot of different discussions around performance, around feminist art production, and what stories they can share,” Gibson said.
“I’m interested in the ability of a symbol or an object to be removed from its violent history, and then to be reinstated through a place of belonging, so it’s actually reparative,” Rogers said. Possibly the most striking work Rogers built for the exhibition includes images and video of the Jesse White Tumblers, an African-American acrobatic group based in Chicago. That media is set into a large sculptural installation that also has two small trampolines right in front of it.
“I was thinking about the act of jumping, the up and the down, the groundedness and then the flight or weightlessness, only to hit the ground again,” Rogers said. “I saw it as repetition as a practice of hope, and in a time that can feel hopeless.”
Said Gibson: “It’s really hard to make museum art relevant to everybody. It’s been amazing to see people and especially musicians, whether they are in a garage band or a major in music at the university, recognizing what is being created. It’s so gratifying to see people automatically feeling a connection to these pieces.”
To Hold a Form is on display at the Lilley Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno, through Saturday, Nov. 15. Admission is free. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Learn more at unr.edu/lilley.
FILM & TV
Funny family
Ben Stiller gives
his parents the documentary they
deserve; ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ lacks life
I would often see this funny couple on variety, talk and game shows while I was growing up—and I was astounded by their brutal brand of comedy.
They would-lovingly rip into each other, playing themselves or a variety of characters. Their skits would often end on happy notes, but they were marbled with inspired comic anger and gravitas.
I would ask my dad who they were, and he’d reply, “Stiller and Meara,” consisting of married couple Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. They also had multiple roles individually, in films including The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Jerry) and TV shows like Seinfeld (Stiller) and Archie Bunker’s Place (Meara). They were instantly recognizable, a reliable source for laughter and proof that a celebrity couple could stay together.
One Saturday night in the ’80s, my brother and I saw a hilarious Tom Cruise lookalike on Saturday Night Live parodying the Color of Money in a short film, substituting bowling for billiards. We dug in on that guy, eventually finding out it was a dude named Ben Stiller, son of the great Stiller and Meara.
Stiller and Meara: Nothing Is Lost is
a wonderful documentary directed by Ben, a beautiful testament to his parents. It takes a loving look at their storied careers, their determination (and tribulations) as celebrity parents, and their effect on Ben’s life.
The world lost Anne in 2015, and Jerry in 2020, but thanks to photos, film and audio tape recorded to a large extent by Jerry, Ben is able to compile a thorough history of his parents’ lives together, on and off screen. My only complaint is that this film isn’t 10 hours long.
Given Jerry’s love of recording and photographing, it probably could’ve been.
On top of their historic run as an act on The Ed Sullivan Show, the two would often appear on talk shows like Dick Cavett, and those appearances often played as brutally honest (and always funny) open-air therapy sessions. The two didn’t hold back on bringing truth into their public relationship. They also managed to stay together in their New York City apartment for 60 years.
Much of the documentary takes place in that apartment as Ben and his sister, Amy, go through Anne and Jerry’s belongings, readying the place to sell. Ben also gives time to his relationship with his own children (son Quin and daughter Ella) and his wife of 25 years, actress Christine Taylor. All offer entertaining and candid insights into the lives of Jerry and Anne, and their ultimately positive and enriching influence on their lives.
This is the sort of documentary that Stiller and Meara deserved: It’s entertaining and honest, further cementing their hallowed status in
A photo from Stiller and Meara: Nothing Is Lost.
comedy history. It’s also a glistening portrait of the appreciation their family had for them, and the resulting generational talent born of their genius and commitment.
Stiller and Meara: Nothing Is Lost is streaming on Apple TV+.
The new Bruce Springsteen biopic is a dull, substandard watch—and I am saying that as a longtime Springsteen fan.
I was pretty young during Springsteen’s initial run to fame, ranging from 7 to 16 years old from the release of Born to Run (1975) through his blast into superstardom with Born in the U.S.A (1984).
Nebraska (1982), the album before Born in the U.S.A., was a curveball from The Boss with demos of himself doing stark, mostly acoustic tapings in his very simple home studio. I remember the surprise that surrounded its initial release—and its mammoth critical acclaim. Then Born in the U.S.A. came out and reshaped Springsteen’s public persona. He was a stadium rocker with an established, respected and perhaps darker depth.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere tries to capture that period while he was recording Nebraska, when Springsteen bucked the trends of his own rising fame to release something personal, quiet and somber, stalling
BY BOB GRIMM
his mega-stardom for a couple of years.
While Jeremy Allen White delivers a good performance as Springsteen, and often does his own singing, it’s also a bit too one-note in that his Springsteen is almost completely devoid of joy and humor. Nobody would want to hang out with this guy.
No doubt, there’s a darker side to Springsteen’s emotional makeup. The songs of Nebraska were influenced in part by the terrible life of spree killer Charles Starkweather. Springsteen is depicted in Deliver Me From Nowhere viewing Badlands, a film by Terrence Malick loosely based on Starkweather.
Sadly, I would have to recommend a viewing of Badlands and a couple of passes through Nebraska on Spotify over viewing Deliver Me From Nowhere. You’d get the gist of what Springsteen was feeling and doing at the time without having the life bored out of you.
White does a commendable job of capturing the essence of Springsteen in the moments that feature his voice. Generally, when we see White singing, that’s him, and when we hear the Nebraska tracks without White visibly performing them, it’s the real Bruce. I must stress: Nebraska is a great album, and this part of the movie is strong.
But beyond the music, the picture lacks life. White broods through most of his screen time, which includes a romance with Faye (Odessa Young), a composite character representing multiple people Springsteen dated before he
continued on next page
Jeremy Allen White in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
FILM & TV
married. This part of the film is as stereotypical as you can get.
The depiction of The Boss created by White and director Scott Cooper is just too dour. Yes, this film depicts a dark, conflicted stretch in Springsteen’s life when he was battling depression, but it’s not entertaining to watch somebody mope through a flat two hours of screen time. I’m sure he was bummed out during the Nebraska sessions, but I’m also guessing he, a man of significant depth, cracked a smile, told a few jokes and ate a few candy bars during the rough stretches.
Bruce Springsteen’s recordings, even the dark Nebraska, are full of life. This movie lacks the dimension he deserves.
I criticized the original The Black Phone for being too derivative. It was a typical hostage story peppered with some decent performances and a gimmick that was meant to make the movie original, but instead, it felt a little silly.
2
Some credit goes to director Scott Derrickson for trying to do something completely different with his sequel, Black Phone 2. The follow-up takes the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), the serial killer from the original film, and tries to turn him into the new Freddy Krueger, stalking people in the dream world.
In other words … while Derrickson gets
continued from Page 19
some credit for trying to do something different, he also deserves criticism for basically ripping off the Nightmare on Elm Street films.
The script includes some of the same plot gimmicks as in the original—that dead phones that start ringing with supernatural incoming calls. Some of the characters from the original, including Finney (Mason Thames); his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw); and their dad, Terrence (Jeremy Davies) wind up in a new setting.
This time, they are at a wintry Utah Bible camp where the Grabber’s killing spree started years before with the deaths of three campers. Gwen continues to have strange dreams that reveal clues to the murders, but this time, the Grabber is in those dreams, chasing her and even causing real life bodily harm.
There are a few scenes in which the Grabber is messing with somebody in a dream, and that somebody is thrashing around in the “real” world, à la Elm Street. If you have never seen a Freddy Krueger movie, I suppose this could strike you as genuinely chilling. For me, it was “been there, done that.”
The movie looks good, as did the original, but this supposedly new take on a familiar premise brings little to nothing new to the proceedings.
While Hawke is in the movie, you never really see his face. His face is bashed in (thanks to injuries from the prior movie) under his mask. It’s most definitely his voice, but it could easily be a stand-in under the mask for some of the scenes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he literally phoned in this Black Phone performance.
Thames and McGraw are decent once again, with McGraw’s clairvoyant character taking a more central role. Davies, whose character was a major ass in the first film, gets a more redemptive role this time out. Another actor, Miguel Mora, returns from the original, even though his character died in round one. This time, Mora plays the brother of the deceased character—the old “twin brother” trick.
Hawke (even though we never really see his face) makes the film almost watchable. He’s a genuinely creepy monster, although his performance was most definitely deeper in the first movie.
The new setting provides some decent visuals involving snow and frozen lakes, including some creepy scenes involving submerged bodies coming to life. Again, there are individual moments of legit creepiness in the movie, but the concept doesn’t hold together. Besides Elm Street, it blatantly borrows from Friday the 13th and The Thing, too.
There will more than likely be a third Black Phone, with Grabber phoning in from hell or purgatory or something like that. Whatever happens, I hope Derrickson finds a way to make things a little fresher. The Grabber is a good, original monster. He needs an original movie surrounding him.
THE DISH
Marvin Kinney Owner, R Town Pizza
Marvin Kinney, owner of R Town Pizza, didn’t just bring Detroit-style pizza to Reno—he brought a mission. Growing up in the restaurant industry—bussing tables, working the line and managing by 17—Kinney saw firsthand what was broken: kitchens run on chaos, harsh management and staff treated as disposable. So, he built R Town differently—with fair wages, intentional hospitality and a genuine welcome for all. As a single father of two children on the autism spectrum, he created what he’d wished for as a kid: a place where people are met without judgment. It’s a vision that’s resonated far beyond Reno—R Town landed on Yelp’s Top 100 U.S. Restaurants list and regularly tops local “best of” lists. Kinney’s mantra, “We have to stay human,” runs through everything. Detroit-style? Yes—but he is Reno in heart and soul. R Town Pizza is located at 180 W. Peckham Lane, No. 1100, and online at www.rtownpizza.com. Photo by David Robert
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten locally in the last month? It wasn’t in the last month, as I do not get out much, but Arario has a mean beef tar-
| BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ
tare that I find myself reminiscing about every so often.
Your kitchen is on fire— metaphorically! What are you cooking?
My dad’s clam chowder that he made at Gracie’s Sea Hag in Depoe Bay, Ore. I wish I had more of his recipes, but this one is always one I love making when I need to remind myself where I come from.
Who is/was your strongest culinary influence?
I am not sure I could say I had an influence in one way or another overall, but my friend Rick Boyd always showed me there is a lot out there just beyond my comfort zone. I tend to think about things I have never made before when I am trying to do something new.
What is your go-to midnight snack? Cold tortillas and habanero salsa.
Which local restaurant deserves more attention, and why?
Man, there are so many great small places, but one I think gets overlooked a lot is Clary’s. The staff there is wildly efficient, and the roasted red pepper soup is rad.
How does food contribute to our community? All of human history has been handed down over the food table. Every story told was done while breaking bread. It is the most basic of needs and can be so profound at the same time.
What is the most unusual thing in your refrigerator right now?
Achiote paste, because I just learned about patatas bravas.
Please share your favorite food memory from growing up
Every year, we used to throw a huge party for our friends and family called Pigout. Always a ton of food. For a while, I got to help run the food side, but as time has gone on, we do not do it anymore. It’s a bygone time when things felt a lot easier, for sure.
What is the one kitchen tool you can’t live without?
My knives.
If you could have dinner anywhere in the world tonight, where would it be, and why there?
Overlooking the ocean on the Oregon Coast eating clams, Dungeness crab and cod that I went and caught myself, off of a pile of newspapers spread out across a giant table. My happiest memories are on that part of the coastline.
TASTE OF THE TOWN TASTE OF THE TOWN Happenings
Passport to Dining will celebrate North Tahoe’s culinary talents and feature samples from more than two dozen Tahoe-area restaurants, breweries, caterers and other culinary purveyors, from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6. The event features a silent auction and live music by Jenni and Jesse from Dead Winter Carpenters. The venue is the North Tahoe Event Center, 8318 N. Lake Blvd., in Kings Beach, Calif. Tickets, which include unlimited tastings, are $75. For tickets and information, visit www.tahoeeventscalendar.com/ passport-to-dining.
The Fall Crab Feed will take place starting at 4 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8, at the Atlantis. This dining event includes unlimited crab in various presentations, as well as other seafood dishes, sides and desserts. Escalade, a local Reno band, will perform live. Tickets are $154.11 and include an open bar. Attendance is limited to guests 21+. Purchase tickets at atlantiscasino.com/ more/events/dining-events/ fall-crab-feed-c. The Atlantis is located at 3800 S. Virginia St., in Reno. Fantasies in Chocolate is back for another year of showcasing local chocolatiers at a formal celebration of craftsmanship and creativity, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Summit Pavilion entertainment space at Grand Sierra Resort, at 2500 E. Second St., in Reno. This year’s theme is “Chambers of Magic,” and attendees are encouraged to dress accordingly. Several different ticket packages are available, starting at $177.73, including VIP options and an after party at LEX Nightclub. Must be 18+ to attend. Part of the proceeds will go to support Family Respite Care of Nevada, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mason Valley, and the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada. Details and tickets are at fantasiesinchocolate.com.
LIQUID CONVERSATIONS
Time to pivot
T. Duncan Mitchell knows when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, and when to buy an Irish bar
The hospitality industry is struggling. Every single part of owning a small bar or restaurant has gotten more expensive, at staggering rates. The median cost of opening a restaurant in 2018 could range from $175,500 to $750,500, and in 2025, the average cost could be as high as $2 million, according surveys cited in Food & Wine magazine.
Expenses aside, owning a bar or restaurant is a laborious and time-consuming endeavor that saps every aspect of your life. Sometimes, your labor of love can also be a drain on your family. So what happens when one of Reno’s most innovative business owners sees the writing on the wall and decides to close one business and redirect his creative energy toward something new?
T. Duncan Mitchell has been a part of the food and beverage landscape of Reno for decades. He started his career at legendary dive bar Mr. O’s, then opened the award-winning bars Chapel Tavern and 40 Mile Saloon. He sold those bars and, in 2019, opened the
ambitious German restaurant Von Bismarck, which continued to grow his reputation for quality and taste. Von Bismarck has been home to inspired German dishes, a rotating list of curated German beers and wines, and a cocktail menu inspired by Germany but rooted in Reno. But the world of 2019 was a significantly different one from today. Now those German ingredients are expensive or impossible to find, and the cost of staffing a restaurant is higher than it has ever been.
“It was the Indiana Jones trap,” Mitchell said. “The walls just kept closing in slowly. Costs just keep incrementally going up; labor keeps incrementally going up; and it’s harder to source things. I can’t even get the really cool, direct-from-Germany beers anymore.”
The Von Bismarck team is no stranger to hard work and a changing landscape. They’ve been through COVID-19 closures and pivots, and as a restaurant with mostly outdoor seating, they adapted to the Northern Nevada weather. (Outdoor heaters and lap blankets made the patio cozy and comfortable.) But in light of continued
| BY MICHAEL MOBERLY
Owner T. Duncan Mitchell has closed Von Bismarck; Oct. 26 was its last day in business. Photo/David Robert
cost hikes and the recent product-availability issues, Mitchell started thinking differently.
“I thought of a ton of ways to adapt, like, maybe we need to just pivot, right?” he said. “I thought, what if we scrap the whole concept and could do something completely new? But what if that doesn’t work, right? Like, what if that does not fix the problems? I would have to sacrifice so much personally that it just came to where it just wasn’t worth it anymore.”
With a building that features two massive patios, wood-fired grills and a smaller dining room, the options for changing the concept were not tenable to Mitchell.
“The squeeze is on full-service sit-down restaurants—and if something doesn’t change, they’re going to keep disappearing,” Mitchell said. “It just is too hard. There’s not enough margin to make it worthwhile for most people.”
He announced in early October that the restaurant would close, with Oct. 26 its last day in business.
“I was always a bar guy,” he said. “I was always a bartender, and that’s what I’ve done, and that’s what I know. I’ve been looking for a long time to get back into bars.”
Two years ago, an opportunity came across Mitchell’s desk. Leigh and Ian Stafford, the owners of Ryan’s Saloon and Broiler since 2018, were looking to sell. After two years of back and forth, Mitchell purchased Ryan’s, and with the closure of Von Bismarck, he will be able to focus his energy and talent on the longstanding Irish bar, which opened in 1974.
“It’s going to remain Ryan’s Saloon,” Mitchell said. “I will inject my influence while keeping and respecting as much of the history as possible.”
Over the decades, Ryan’s has become more famous for its burgers than its Irish heritage, falling closer to the category of dive bar than Irish bar.
“I want to bring back that Irish-pub feel to it,” Mitchell told me. “I think it’s something that the community needs.”
The drinks will get an update, with a focus on Irish coffees and classics. The kitchen will also get an update. “The menu’s going to be super simple, quick-serve, but definitely with more of an Irish and British feel,” he said.
I have always said that the people who make the best drinks are those who are the best editors—those who trust their vision enough to know that it can change, and where you started, more often than not, is not where you end up. As hard as it will be to say goodbye to Von Bismarck, I know that as long as Duncan is creating things in Reno, where he will end up will be much better than where he began.
Hide the good stuff
A sommelier’s survival guide to Thanksgiving wine
Every November, food and wine writers across the country dust off the same old advice column about what to pair with turkey. You know the one: “Pinot noir and cranberry sauce are a match made in heaven,” or, “Riesling cuts through the richness of gravy.” Cute. True. Heard it.
This year, I’m skipping the pairing talk and tackling the real Thanksgiving wine challenge: how to protect your good bottles from your family. Because somewhere between the turkey carving and the football game, that bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape you’ve been saving for years is about to meet its worst enemy: Uncle Bob, who thinks “Brunello” is a new electric car and describes all red wine as “nice and dry.”
So instead of wine pairings, here are a few tried-and-true industry tricks from my sommelier friends and me to help you enjoy your favorite bottles—without sharing them with the masses who think “chablis” always comes in a three-liter jug.
1. The Bathroom Wine Strategy
This is one of my personal go-to moves. It’s simple, elegant and effective: Pour yourself a glass of “bathroom wine.”
Stash your favorite wine glass and a bottle or decanter of your good stuff in the bathroom—on the counter, next to the bathtub, or even in the shower, whatever works. Then, when Aunt Margie starts mashing the potatoes with the same vigor she uses to recount her bunion surgery, politely excuse yourself. Step away from the chaos; lock the door; pour yourself a splash; enjoy five glorious minutes of peace. Listen to the hum of family life muffled through the walls while you savor the fine structure and balance of your secret glass.
The beauty of “bathroom wine” is twofold: Not only do you get to enjoy your special bottle without interruption; you also get the rarest Thanksgiving luxury of all—solitude.
2. Dresser Wine: A Pre-Game Ritual
My friend Chris, a fellow sommelier and general wine genius, swears by what he calls “dresser wine.” It’s the bottle he and his wife open while they’re getting ready for the day’s festivities— before the guests arrive, before the oven timer starts dinging, before the turkey panic sets in.
“It’s always Champagne,” he told me, with the reverence usually reserved for sacred rituals. “It sets the tone. We pour two glasses, finish getting ready, and share a toast to surviving the day ahead.”
There’s something beautifully civilized about this—a little pre-game sparkle before the doorbell rings. It’s a reminder that Thanksgiving is supposed to be fun, not a triathlon of gravy boats, side-eye and small talk.
And if you think about it, Champagne goes with everything—especially getting dressed. So yes, keep a cold bottle of bubbles in your bedroom, and start your holiday on a high note.
3. The Laundry Room Cellar
If the bathroom feels too obvious and the bedroom too sacred, allow me to suggest another prime hiding spot: the laundry room. It’s the Switzerland of the household—neutral territory. No one lingers there unless something’s on fire or the dryer has eaten a sock.
You can, however, casually “check on the dryer” as many times as you like. Pour a small glass, and revel in the hum of the spin cycle while sipping something that puts a smile on your face. There’s something poetic about enjoying a wine with finesse while surrounded by Tide pods and lost buttons.
Plus, if anyone wanders in, you have a perfect alibi: “I’m just making sure the tablecloth gets dry in time.”
4. The Decoy Bottle Trick
Sommelier Blair—an industry veteran and unflappable host—takes a more tactical approach to holiday wine survival: the decoy bottle. Here’s how it works: Instead of leaving your
| BY KATIE FINN
prized 2008 Barolo out for anyone with no sense of shame, grab a few empty bottles from your recycling bin—the cheaper-looking, the better. Clean them thoroughly, and then refill them with your good stuff. If you’ve got an unlabeled “shiner” bottle lying around, even better. Write “cooking wine” directly on the glass with a marker, and set it on the kitchen counter next to the gravy pan.
To the untrained eye, it’s just another sad bottle destined for the saucepan. But you and Blair know the truth: That humble decoy is quietly housing a masterpiece. While everyone else is busy topping off their glasses with the practical “value” wines you selected, you’re savoring a perfectly aged Barolo that’s finally opened up— because, bonus, pouring it into another bottle has essentially decanted it.
This trick has everything a sommelier could want from a covert operation: discretion, efficiency and plausible deniability.
5. BYOW (Bring Your Own Wineglass)
If you can’t hide your wine, hide your glass. Seriously—a discreetly labeled glass can save your favorite pour from turning into a communal tasting flight.
A piece of washi tape with your name on it, a colored marker on the stem, or even a little wine charm can make all the difference. This way, when Cousin Derek walks by holding a Solo cup and says, “What’re we drinking?” you can smile sweetly and point him toward the open bottles on the bar.
Meanwhile, your personal glass stays topped with your favorite Bordeaux—untouched, unshared and undiluted by melted ice cubes.
6. Redefine “Sharing”
Before you call me selfish, let’s get one thing straight: This isn’t about hoarding. It’s about curation. You wouldn’t serve white truffle risotto to someone who puts ketchup on their steak. So why pour your $80 bottle of aged Burgundy for the same person who once told you their favorite wine was “the blue one with the kangaroo”?
If you genuinely want to share, pour your special bottle for the few people who will appreciate it—your wine-curious cousin, your foodie friend, your favorite aunt who once taught you how to swirl. Create a little side-tasting moment before dinner. A secret club, if you will. This way, you still spread the love—just selectively.
7. The Postgame Pour
Finally, save a splash for yourself for later. When the dishes are done, the leftovers are packed, and everyone’s fighting over the remote, sneak back to your stash.
Pour one more small glass of the good stuff, and toast yourself for surviving another holiday with grace, humor and a memorable bottle.
In the end, Thanksgiving isn’t about perfect pairings or impressing anyone—it’s about finding joy in the small, delicious moments. Like a secret sip of wine behind a locked bathroom door.
TASTE OF THE TOWN TASTE OF THE TOWN
continued from Page 22
Openings
Elixir Superfood and Juice, the gluten-free, fast-fresh restaurant in Midtown, celebrated a soft opening of its second Reno location in Rancharrah on Oct. 19, with an official grand opening scheduled for Nov. 2. The menu is the same, featuring the “superfood” bowls, salads, smoothies and juices for which Elixir is known. Elixir Rancharrah is located at 7300 Rancharrah Parkway, Suite 130. For information, visit enjoyelixir.com.
Good Days Cafe, owned by Derek Sornson, who also owns Dubs Sports Lounge, celebrated its grand opening the weekend of Oct. 24-26. The casual spot serves specialty coffee and hot beverages including a caramel banana latte, a strawberry matcha latte, sandwiches, pastas and gluten-free options like shrimp ceviche and a roasted balsamic vegetable grain bowl. Good Days is located at 941 N. Virginia St., Suite A, at the former location of Laughing Planet Cafe, across from the University of Nevada, Reno. Learn more at www. gooddayscafereno.com.
A new Sprouts Farmers Market opened in Carson City on Sept. 5. Located at 3193 Market St., Suite 110, the grocery store purchases produce from local Nevada farmers such as Peri and Sons Farms in Yerington. For more information, visit sprouts.com/store/nv/ carson-city/market-street.
Closings
Von Bismarck, at 805 S. Wells Ave., known for its German-inspired cuisine, closed on Oct. 26. In an Oct. 8 Instagram post, owner T. Duncan Mitchell cited a desire to spend more time with family. Malaya Eats, the Malaysian food truck, posted on its Facebook page that it will take over the former Von Bismarck location on Nov. 1, and that an opening date is pending. Mitchell has purchased Ryan’s Saloon and Broiler at 924 S. Wells Ave. “The menu’s going to be super simple, quick serve, but definitely with more of an Irish and British feel,” he told the RN&R. For more details on the transition, see Liquid Conversations on Page 22. Swill Coffee and Wine, 3366 Lakeside Court, in Reno, announced in an Oct. 13 Facebook post that it would close permanently on Oct. 31. The owners wrote, “With the rising cost of rent, we can no longer afford to keep our doors open.”
Have local food, drink or restaurant news? Email foodnews@renonr.com.
—Alex Cubbon
MUSICBEAT
The end is indeed near
Iconic punk band X is performing less—but the group is coming to the Silver Legacy with Los Lobos
Ever since their debut album Los Angeles birthed punk-rock anthems in “Nausea” and “Johny Hit and Run Paulene” in 1980, X has been a huge presence in the punk-rock world. Impressively, the band’s “core four” members remain in the lineup, and after releasing what is said to be their final studio album in 2024, the band embarked on “The End Is Near,” a “farewell” tour. Vocalist/ bassist John Doe told The Guardian, “As for touring, I never want us to be a shadow of what we were. I want us to go out on top.”
X, alongside co-headliner Los Lobos, will perform on Friday, Nov. 7, at the Silver Legacy.
“I look forward to seeing what the gentrification of Reno holds,” John Doe said during a recent phone interview. “I went to Reno several years ago, and it was kind of what you’d expect, and I thought that was very literary. You could get holed up in Reno and write a hard-hitting novel or some short stories.”
X and Los Lobos were set to embark on a two-month tour throughout the U.S. and Canada, but shortly before the first date, the vast majority of the tour was cancelled. A statement on both bands’ socials read: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, X and Los Lobos will be unable to embark on the 99 Years of Rock ’N’ Roll Tour. Both bands and our crews worked hard and were looking forward to this tour. We love and value our fans and are extremely disappointed at this turn of events. … We hope to see you in the near future.”
we still like each other,” Doe said. “That’s why we continue to do it. Proof positive is putting out that record in 2024: We still have the creative juice to be able to do that, and not just to play songs that are 40 years old.”
The now two-date X and Los Lobos tour was being billed as the “99 Years of Rock ’N’ Roll” tour.
“We’re celebrating the 48th year of X, and they’re celebrating the 51st year of Los Lobos,” Doe said. “They’re one of the greatest bands ever. Because we always play second, we have to get out there and show we’ve got it, because they’ve got it. They’ve got the songs; they’ve got the musicianship and energy and singing and all that stuff. They’ve got everything, plus they have a community like we do—a different community, but similar, who’s followed them for many years, and it’s multi-generational. That’s a real testament. That means something.”
After he mentioned Los Lobos’ legacy, I asked Doe if he had put any thought into the legacy of X.
said. “We were trying to give you some warning, and now we’re telling you, ‘You’ve got to go.’ I think people are just so used to seeing us, they don’t think we’re ever going to stop. We may play a show next year or something. We’re always looking like, ‘Hey, if there’s a festival,’ or we’ll play the Orange County Fair almost every year, something fun like that. We’re not getting in and out of the vans every day to go play and stay in hotels and all that.”
Cervenka reflected on being in a band with the same people for nearly 50 years.
Doe explained: “Reno and Riverside are the two shows that got saved from this entire tour that got canceled, because the evil corporation that came in as a third-party promoter blew it and canceled the entire tour. But it’s no big surprise that corporations don’t care about people’s livelihoods or people’s plans, so that’s what they do. I’m glad to be playing Reno and Riverside, two places that are off the beaten track, and people will be all the happier, because everybody doesn’t stop in Reno, and everybody doesn’t stop in Riverside, California, so I will be excited.”
Many fans were surprised to see the announcement of another X tour after “The End Is Near” was billed as the band’s farewell.
“X never said we were hanging it up,” Doe said. “We just said that 2024 was the last time we’re going to tour in just clubs—but we may have to eat our words on that.”
Doe explained why many bands are unable to stick to the promise of a farewell tour.
“Because you never made enough money to quit,” he said. “Have you ever been on tour? It’s grueling. … Our job is to bring joy to people and to get them together and create a community for one night or two, if you’re lucky. I’m still friends with Shirley Manson from Garbage, and she’s making a very public announcement during their shows on their most recent tour that they probably won’t do full United States headlining tours anymore, because they don’t end up making any money.”
A love for performing also makes it hard to say goodbye.
“We are good when we play, and that’s what we’re good at, so doing that is still joyful, and
“I don’t care,” he said. “I know what we’ve done, and what everyone else might think; that’s their choice. I’m not going to get into hoping and wishing that they do this or do that. I know that, just like Los Lobos, we have a place in history and musical history. Journalists can argue about that, but I know that our songwriting is good, and our sound is unique. We have an original sound and poetry and tell good stories.
“There are some younger bands who say that we’ve inspired them, but it’s just freedom. People say, ‘What is punk rock all about?’ It’s about freedom. It’s about doing what the hell you want, not worrying about your virtuosic musicianship and a bunch of pretense. It’s just playing from your heart, like good country music. That’s where outlaw country and X overlap, and a lot of punk rock bands. … We wanted to do what we felt in our heart, rather than trying to chase some money, and that’s why we’re still not ready for prime time for some people, but for other people, we’ve saved their life or changed their life. That’s very rewarding.”
Part of what makes X so unique is their vocal capabilities. Through bits of punk-rock mayhem and crunch-guitar riffs, Doe and Exene Cervenka trade off vocal duties. Layered and different vocal tones add an element of pop, blues and call-and-response energy to X’s discography.
During a recent phone interview, Cervenka said that 2024’s “The End is Near” tour was a warning—and that instead of saying goodbye, X is scaling back.
“I tell people, ‘You’d better come see us; we’re not going to play anymore after this,’ and people are like, ‘Wasn’t last year your last tour?’ and I said, ‘No; we said the end is near,’” she
“If you’ve ever had a relationship with another human being, you know how hard it is,” she said. “For me, it’s really hard, because I love being onstage. I love playing shows. I love the fans, and I’ve always felt that way. …I just would like to keep playing, because I love doing it, but it’s physically really challenging. What’s really hard about it, honestly, is the traveling and the physical stuff people don’t understand. … It does take a toll on you if you’re going for four weeks, and you’re doing every day, driving to a different city. You get older; things get harder, but I still love it, and I love being onstage. That part never gets old.”
Cervenka said she first visited Reno in 1976.
“I was stopping on the way to California, when I was moving out here, and I put in a quarter in the slot machine, and I won $5 and then I went, ‘Wow, this is great,’” she said. “I got back in the car, and I had five more dollars when I got to California, which was a big difference then. It was the cutest little town, the Biggest Little City in the World.”
Cervenka said she was happy the Reno performance was one of the two shows salvaged from the cancelled tour.
“We hardly get to play there,” Cervenka said. “Because of Burning Man, a lot of people have resettled in Reno, and as they’ve traveled through, they’ve fallen in love with it, and it’s grown quite a bit. I’m excited to spend a minute there so I can look around at all the galleries and restaurants and the way it’s changed. It just seems like such a beautiful town now, so I want to go explore it a little bit.”
Cervenka noted the irony of a punk-rock band performing at a casino.
“In the early days of punk, we would have hated that,” she said. “But here’s the thing: If a band could play anywhere, they should. A backyard party, we’ll play that; this benefit, ‘Sure, why not?’ … You can’t be fussy about that stuff, and you can’t be judgmental about that stuff. You’re just going to play wherever you can play.”
X and Los Lobos will perform at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, at the Silver Legacy, at 407 N. Virginia St., in Reno. Tickets start at $50.72. For tickets and more information, visit www.caesars.com/ silver-legacy-reno.
X. Photo/Kristy Benjamin
MUSICBEAT
Melting point
Two pairs of musicians, from Brazil and Minnesota, have become the Reno metal powerhouse Giant Skunk
If you have a hankering for a local band that’s doing something distinctive—something hard to describe and place in one basket—Giant Skunk should fit that quest.
There are definitely early punk influences, vibes from the best ’90s alternative rock— they all cited Melvins as a mutual band they love—and modern metal riffs galore. And there are some surprising Brazilian rhythms and musical structures as part of Giant Skunk’s sound, which speaks to the one-ofa-kind melding of backgrounds within this four-piece.
“It’s a ton of different influences in every song,” guitarist Rhett Lila said from the band’s practice space. “We’re all coming from somewhere different, and it’s just kind of meeting in the middle. I think all of us are like, ‘Whatever comes to be, comes to be.’ There’s no goal for a sound.”
This diversity is reflected in a Spotify playlist they’ve curated that has a whopping 26 hours of tunes from many different musical pathways. “If you want to peek inside
of our heads, that’s a good way to do it,” said drummer Brayden Tripp. “Hit shuffle, and see what happens.”
Giant Skunk is basically two duos smashed together. Lila and Tripp moved to Reno last year from Duluth, Minn., and were in a band called The Hermits while in the Midwest. Singer Daniel Zulian and bassist Edson Junior last played music where they lived in Aracaju, Brazil, which Junior said was the equivalent of Brazil’s “biggest little city,” and were in a band for decades before both moving to Reno earlier this year.
The way this band of pairs was formed, on a snowy Reno night this past March at a local metal show, was “totally by happenstance,” Tripp said.
“I go outside after the show’s done, and these two guys are standing out there, and they’re waiting for their truck to warm up,” Tripp said. “I was just going to hang out for a second, just said something offhand like ‘sick show,’ and as I’m talking to these guys, they’re saying that they’ve been looking for a band for a while, and
I’ve been in Reno for a while, and I’ve been looking for a band, and they were looking for a drummer. So we decided to jam sometime.”
Tripp brought his Minnesotan bandmate to that jam, and the rest is Giant Skunk lore. Zulian said that while all four members have different visions and come from different cultures, the love of music makes it work.
“I think when you meet the right person, and the right chemicals start, everything will happen,” he said. “We’ve haven’t even played a year together, and we have more than 10 songs, and a lot more songs we can start. So we’ve got that connection.”
Said Junior: “When (Daniel and I) played when we were young in Brazil, we listened to bands from Seattle, Chicago and a lot of places. So that’s why I think we can connect with the music, because even though I didn’t understand the words in English, I felt the energy and how it works. And that’s making me love that music.”
Giant Skunk plays this willfully wild music on bills that reflect its shifting sound. The band has shared the stage with death metal combos,
| BY MARK EARNEST
acoustic groups, straight-ahead rockers and even DJs. It’s not so much a deliberate thing, but it’s definitely a drive they want to maintain.
“For me, it’s always been really cool to play on bills with people where you wouldn’t normally fit,” Tripp said. “Just because (when) you get exposed to new stuff, you talk to new people.”
Zulian added this telling comment about the chaos factor of being such a diverse group: “A lot of times, we go to the limit of what we can do. It sounds good, or it sounds bad, it doesn’t matter. We are Giant Skunk, and we’re going to do the same thing for the next show, or forever. We just love playing and love starting new songs.”
That songwriting has evolved in the short time Giant Skunk has been together. At first, Zulian brought in completed songs, but after a while, it was jamming that led to full group compositions, something that everyone agreed they preferred.
“For the last few songs we’ve written, we just find the parts we like and just keep playing the jam until it forms into a structured thing that we actually have parts for,” Lila said.
Tripp added: “We like playing jams live, too, for songs we don’t quite have written down. Usually that’s an idea we had here, but it goes somewhere different every time we play it. It’s a really fun way to try stuff on people.”
Going out on a limb in front of people is what Giant Skunk is all about, and some band members are still a bit flabbergasted that they’ve reached success so soon.
“The first time we got paid in Reno, Daniel and I were like, ‘Bro, they pay us?” Junior said to chuckles all around. “We got $43? What is that? Why do we have that money? I didn’t understand this, because in Brazil, you just have to play outside somewhere, or sometimes you have to pay somebody to play.
“Another show, we made a hundred bucks, and I thought, ‘Why do people keep paying us?’ In my mind, it’s unacceptable. We’re just having fun.”
Giant Skunk will open for Soulfly at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, at The Alpine, at 324 E. Fourth St., in Reno. Tickets are $34.61; visit www. thealpine-reno.com. The band will also play with Out of Character, Decline to State, Cl!t, Denim in Yellow and Longjump at the Second Annual Rock for Tots 2025 show at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, at Club Underground, at 555 E. Fourth St. Tickets are $18.53; visit ticketweb. com. For more details, follow @giantskunk on Instagram.
Giant Skunk at its practice space, where one wall is festooned with used Christmas albums. From left: Edson Junior, Rhett Lila, Daniel Zulian and Brayden Tripp. Photo/ Mark Earnest
| BY MATT JONES JONESIN' CROSSWORD
“On and On”—two things follow on. By
Matt Jones
of news
Leave off
Sponsored product used only for testing purposes?
19. Ship’s mast
Jukebox choice 21. ___ États-Unis 22. One-named “Queen of American Folk Music” 24. Ancient Egyptian bird 26. Pair count
Rocket’s deviation 28. Weak excuse
region
Alleviates
43. Tomb Raider protagonist Croft
44. Joints that may get shaky
46. It’s a crowd, so to speak
48. Letters that used to follow CD
49. Land holdings
51. Result of brushing against wet ink
53. Seer’s skill
55. 30 Rock star
56. Man-goat creature
57. Purple flower
59. May honoree
60. You, to Quakers
64. Highlight of some musical performances
65. Intermission of a play?
68. Refuse to authorize
69. Bunch
70. Heart stat
71. Docs that use endoscopes
72. Follow
73. Cheesy sandwiches Down
1. Racetrack trans-
THE LUCKY 13
Edith Grace Caufield
Member of Eleusis, Mountain Warlock, Raumfahrer, Woodlander, Kneipegeist and Wolf Lichen
Few musicians in the local scene are as prolific and dedicated to atmospheric metal wizardry as Edith Grace Caufield. Under her various aliases (Demonizor, Dire Wolfkin, Die Komische Kneipegeisterin des Walds), the artist has crafted black metal tunes that swing from instrumental trance in projects like Mountain Warlock and Raumfahrer, to ballistic noise and lo-fi heaviness with Eleusis, to doom-filled mania with Kneipegeist. You can find music from most of these projects on BandCamp. Photo by David Robert
What was the first concert you attended?
actions
2. “___ Atardecer” (2022 Bad Bunny track meaning “Another Sunset”)
3. Archaeological site
4. Slow movement, in music
5. Hebrew for “hill”
6. Gets stuck
7. Airline approximations
8. Hobby room 9. “Sounds fun” 10. Garden shed implement 11. Chess game with no pieces?
Find the answers in the “About” section at RenoNR.com!
The first one I can say with full confidence I saw and went to intentionally was seeing my then-guitar teacher’s band Sinister Scene play at the music store where I got lessons over in Sparks. I remember the show was VERY LOUD for my little ears, but it kicked a lot of ass.
What was the first album you owned?
Metallica’s … And Justice For All on CD. I have fond memories of listening to it in the car with my dad.
What bands are you listening to right now?
A lot! Most notably and frequently, Mortuary Drape, Steröid, Running Wild, and Witchfynde.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? Hardcore.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
In Solitude, from Sweden. That band exhibited so much musical genius and dark, occult passion that it’s mind-blowing. It’s tragic that they broke up.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? I try not to treat any of my pleasures as “guilty”! It helps maintain personal integ-
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rity. The pleasure that I guess my musical milieu (metal, rock, punk, etc.) would consider most guilty is disco, which sucks, because disco is awesome and fun.
What’s your favorite music venue?
The Holland Project! I’ve been attending and/or playing shows at the Holland for the past 12 years and would be nowhere near the musician or music fanatic that I am today without the space that the Holland and all of its tireless employees and volunteers over the years have provided. The variety of bands that Holland books, and the styles of music they play, is unmatched in the whole state of Nevada.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
One that has been with me for a long time is from Iron Maiden’s “The Evil That Men Do”: “And I will pray for you / Someday, I may return! / Don’t you cry for me / Beyond is where I learn!” I think about it a lot in the context of my father’s death, as it was his favorite Iron Maiden song on his favorite Iron Maiden album, and they’re maybe my all-time-favorite metal band.
What band or artist changed your life? How? As much as it pains me to say, Dissection! I could say a lot about some of the actions taken by a certain deceased member of that band, but I won’t burden you with that here. Hearing their song “Night’s Blood” for the first time in high school broke down the final barrier between me and extreme metal.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? I think I’d ask Tony Iommi how the hell Black Sabbath wrote their first album!
What song would you like played at your funeral? If I have to choose ... something grand and pagan, like Scald’s “Sepulchral Bonfire” or something.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Falls of Rauros, The Light That Dwells in Rotten Wood. Nothing comes close!
What song should everyone listen to right now? “In League With Sauron” by Barrow Wight. It’s like Venom and a prog rock band had an evil love-child in Mordor. Amazing!
Bailey Anderson
Co-organizer of the ‘Desert Biennial Project,’ now excerpted at the Holland Project
Bailey Anderson is an artist and a co-organizer of the Desert Biennial Project, a temporary outdoor exhibit that drew around 400 visitors to Apex Dry Lake, about 20 miles north of Las Vegas, on Oct. 18. An abridged version of that show, Selections From the Desert Biennial Project, is on view at the Holland Project, 140 Vesta St., in Reno, through Nov. 29.
What was the Desert Biennial Project? What did it look like?
It was between two solar fields in the stunning Apex dry lakebed, where the mountains surround this “blank canvas,” where 107 artists each had their interpretation of “gravity” (this year’s theme), with sculptures sprawled out all across the landscape—bright colors, and sculptures that changed over time. The work had a great conversation with the sky and the power lines on Interstate 15.
How big was the event’s footprint? It was a quarter-mile in each direction.
Afterward, you brought the artworks to Reno? Laura Esbensen (another Las Vegas artist) threw together a really fantastic selection of artists from the Biennial. That show came up, I think, a day after the actual event ended, so we shoved Iulia (Filipov-Serediuc, another artist) in a U-Haul, and she drove all the way up to Holland and essentially erected all of that almost instantly with the help of the fantastic Holland Project people.
Are there any Reno artists in this show? Absolutely! Tanja Hester is a new artist
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who I’m really excited to meet and bring on board. There’s also Isabel Whitlock, who is an emerging artist I think is really fantastic, along with several others.
There were so many different styles and vibes at the actual Desert Biennial. How did you decide which parts of it to put indoors, in a gallery?
Laura was inspired by the by seams—like sewing seams—and how works come together, material-wise. (Reno artist) Aiyana Graham’s shattered ceramics and pill bottles are fused together with grout. Eva Shipley’s work is sewn together with panels. An artist who goes by “_gmikz” made a massive door that fuses all of these assumptions about femininity together in an almost-abject-pink sparkling door with spray foam and palm fronds and the whole works. It’s really a cool piece.
Can artists sign up to participate in future versions of this project?
Our call for curation for the next project will open up, I believe, sometime early March, if any curators or artist groups are interested in designing the theme for the next Desert Biennial. That information will be on our Arts Community Coalition Nevada website, accnv.org. Also, desertbiennialproject.com, and then both of our Instagrams, @accnv_org and then @ desertbiennialproject.
What types of art are you looking for? What are the parameters?
Some of the sculptures really made an incredible impact in the landscape. More specifically, work that played off of the natural or manufactured features in the region were really stunning. So, Abney Wallace’s piece worked with the slight breeze that was happening across the landscape, and Sarah Odom’s teardrops look stunning against the backsplash of where the solar fields are. … This is a unique opportunity to not have the security of the white walls and silence of a gallery.
Do things need to be weatherproof? I recommend it. Otherwise, be OK with things having permanent damage to them, like dust or wind or things like that. … In the future, we won’t be accepting 2-D works on temporary walls. It will be completely specific to contending with the landscape, and the works and the proposals that do that will be the ones that are selected.
A merry little adventure with the whole family
Take a festive train ride with Santa and write him a letter filled with your Christmas wishes. And if you’re on the nice list, don’t be shy— Santa loves a photo op!
First three weekends of December
December 6–7
December 13–14
December 20–21
The Santa Train is a long-standing tradition for Nevada families. Get your tickets before they sell out!
