Jolene, Facing Challenges of Helping those with Addictions During a Pandemic

A Welcome Gathering with new Challenges during a Pandemic

International Overdose Awareness Day happens every year on August 31st and this year several community organizations came together and hosted an outreach event in downtown Reno, at Wingfield Park.

These groups were passionate about making this event happen this year, “because so many events have been cancelled,” said Jolene Dalluhn, the Executive Director of Quest Counseling and Consulting. She has been a licensed alcohol and drug counsellor for about 24 years. Dalluhn believes this year, during the COVID pandemic, it was crucial to have this event as many of her clients have had their lives turned upside down.

“Some of them have had relapses but are still engaged in treatment,” Dalluhn said as the park started to fill up with people. “Treatment looks very different. They may not be in person but we will have Zoom meetings.”

Dalluhn said most of her clients have rolled with the punches and adapted well to the changes due to the pandemic. Others, she said, were not so lucky and relapsed. Some patients did not have access to the technology needed for Zoom so Dalluhn’s staff worked to accommodate them either with safely distanced person-to-person meetings or through phone conversations.

Nearly 80 people showed up to support family and friends lost to an overdose or struggling with addiction.

Passing out NARCAN

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention there were over 70,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2019. However Dalluhn remains positive that through events like this, there can be a real impact in the community. “For a while it helped people put a focus elsewhere,” she mentions of how the pandemic sometimes positively affected her clients. However, she is starting to see that as the pandemic continues, more and more people are struggling to gain a new support group. 

Most of the groups present at this Sunday’s event passed out NARCAN, a quick acting nasal spray that temporarily reduces the effect of an opioid overdose. “A lot of people in the community want to make sure it gets out there in the hands of the people that need it; in our neighborhoods, our communities, our business, everywhere,” Dalluhn explained. She said her clinic is working hard to not miss a beat and that none of her counselors have missed a session due to the pandemic. In addition, she said she is making sure people that need access to Methadone, Vivitrol, and Suboxone are getting it. “The medication really helps them have long-term sobriety,” she said.

As more people gathered, more and more tokens of memory were placed around the base of an overarching pine tree.

These flowers have stories, quotes, and messages of hope written on them and are planted in the ground. Each one represents someone lost. It is impactful to see them and inspiring to see the overwhelming support and love their families still have for those lost to addiction.

Dalluhn wants more people to not be afraid of getting treatment. She hopes the community will start “reducing the stigma around seeking help.” Oftentimes people avoid help, she said, because they are scared or think help means they automatically have to check into a residency program. However, that is not often the case, Dalluhn explained. “I think just asking questions and encouraging people to be really supportive of somebody you know that might have a substance abuse is really imperative.”

Reporting and Photography by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

Gabriel, Looking to Make Biking in Reno Safer and More Expansive

Still Riding Despite Being Hit by a Car

As several dozens of local bicyclists prepared for a protest ride around Midtown last Friday, Gabriel Garcia proudly rode up with his blue Mataro fixed gear Aventon, an increasingly popular brand for urban commuters.

“Honestly, more representation for bikes and more bike lanes,” Garcia explained as to some of the reasons for his participation. Garcia says he is hopeful the cycling infrastructure will get better here in Reno, as new construction projects include more bike lanes. “I know that they started doing a project on North Virginia,” he said, talking about current work around the University, which also includes a new bus station. “I think they definitely need to do more stuff, especially in the outer areas like Lemon Valley.” Garcia hit a note that has been resonating throughout the cycling community for some time, as in more bike lanes in the outlying valleys connecting them to the center of the city. 

Garcia says he rides mostly for pleasure and enjoys mountain biking as much as riding along the Truckee River. He believes the cycling community here in Reno is strong, but could be stronger. “You just don’t see many riders in the city,” which he says has maybe lost some of its momentum due to COVID and the hazy air brought on by a raging fire season.

Garcia says he has been hit by a car in the past but took equal blame for the incident. “But people need to slow down and watch for riders and not push riders out of the road,” he said. It is a two-way street Garcia feels is improving. He thinks the multi-use lane is a good idea, like the ones with big bicycle symbols in Midtown “especially when you’re riding with more riders.” He says he regularly uses the existing multi-use lane on Riverside Dr. by Idlewild Park. 

Jeff Carter has been active in the cycling community for a long time and as a business owner wants more awareness and safety for cyclists.

Hoping to Start a New Tradition

Jeff Carter, the owner of the Glass Die, a board game parlour with craft drinks in Midtown, said he hopes to make the protest ride a weekly one, planning to take advantage of the recently completed construction in Midtown. The lane on Virginia street extending from California Avenue down to Mt. Rose Street is now designed to allow cyclists to use the entire space. Before last week’s group ride, Carter talked about the history of the project and how the community can move forward to make it even safer for riders. There was talk about starting a petition to lower the speed limit in that section to 15 miles per hour. 

As the ride began, over 60 cyclists took to the street safely navigating the residential roads up towards Virginia street. When the group reached Virginia street everyone began riding next to one another, while keeping adequate social distance, occupying the entire lane. The group rode down to Mt. Rose Street where the designated lane ends, turned around and continued back up towards California Avenue. This exemplifies the community Garcia talked about. There are several organized group rides in the area during the week and weekends for varying levels and terrains.

Many onlookers and drivers yelled words or praise and honked their horns showing support as the cyclists looped around Midtown.

“I think it’s going to be growing, honestly, booming in the next few years,” Garcia said of cycling’s local growth. He has also works in the cycling industry, with the Reno Bike Project, a local non-profit dedicated to raising awareness and access to cycling.

August 2020 Reporting and Photography for Our Town Reno by Richard Bednarski

Leala, Making Equal Access Masks for Smiles and Much More

Turning a Crisis into Finding a Solution

Leala Lierman, who has congenital hearing loss, was in her final semester at UNR, planning to teach deaf children in the Philippines, when COVID-19 hit. 

Instead, the 31-year-old decided to teach herself how to sew, found a 25-year old machine, and called her mom on FaceTime.  Her initial idea was just to make standard masks for herself and coworkers at the Washoe Public House restaurant where she works. But then it went much further.

“I was proud of my new skill and happy to help until I realized how detrimental these masks were to my communication abilities,” she writes on the About page of her Nevada Smiles website.   “Not only do they muffle sound, but they block visual access for speech and lipreading. When interacting with guests at the restaurant, I found it harder to connect.  My smile and expression become muted and obsolete behind a standard mask.”

She now makes what she calls equal access masks, which have mouth visibility, so smiles can be seen and lips can be read while wearing them.

“Normal cloth face coverings and masks not only lower the overall sound decibel of speech production but also eliminate the majority of spoken language visual cues,” she wrote to us in an email interview, explaining the particular usefulness of the masks she now sells online for $25. 

“Listening takes a tremendous amount of effort in ways people with normal hearing might not consider.  Normal masks leave me feeling lost and left to guess what the person in front of me is saying.”

The Reno High and Western Nevada College graduate also has a special kit for teachers, with four masks with mouth visibility going for $75. Leala’s own educational background is in Deaf Studies, audiology and speech therapy.  “Needless to say, communication (spoken and signed) is near and dear to my heart.  I would have struggled tremendously if my teachers were in normal masks... like probably not passed,” she wrote to us. 

“My masks are a two layer material mask with a clear vinyl window,” she explained to us in an email. “The inside material is 100% cotton and the outside is a patterned cotton blend. Every mask is completed with adjustable ear straps, a metal nose piece and is machine washable.”

Extras Added and Extra Challenges

Masks she sells come in a burlap bag printed with the Nevada smiles logo, an all natural anti fog roller and use/care instructions.

“Why the bag? Two reasons: I want people to have a clean space to store their mask when it isn't on their face - especially in a setting like a restaurant or school… I don't want to set my mask down on a dirty surface.  Additionally, the bags serve as packaging.  I didn't want to use plastic and I was able to source these burlap bags at a surprisingly reasonable cost,” she explained to us.

She says these masks are quite challenging and time consuming to make, but worth it.  “They're soooooo much harder and more complicated than a normal face covering,” she wrote. “ The biggest challenge is working with the vinyl.  We are not pinning anything into place before sewing.  If we were to pin the vinyl to the material, the process would be a LOT easier.  Unfortunately, sticking pins in the front of a face covering leaves holes and therefore defeats the purpose.  Additionally, if the corners of the mask are not folded and sewn correctly, the mask does not maintain shape and you end up with the vinyl pressed against your lips.”

After getting initial help from her Mom, she has now hired one worker to keep up with the demand she is getting.

A similar company called ClearMask, which started before the pandemic, after a deaf patient had gone through a negative surgery experience, lists many other beneficiaries of these types of masks, including older people, people whose first language is not the same as the one being spoken, children, interpreters, people experiencing stress and anxiety, customer-facing employees and workers in noisy environments.

For the hard of hearing and Deaf communities, Leala says it’s a constant battle, which goes beyond masks. “Here's two current examples: YouTube is considering ending their Closed Caption service. The White House is currently being sued by members of The National Association of the Deaf for not providing a sign language interpreter at any of Trump's Covid announcements... or any of his speeches at all for that matter. I had to fight tooth and nail at UNR to get the accommodations I deserved for my hearing loss. We all deserve the right to equal access.”

“For me, the biggest goal, and true motivation behind my business is to start a conversation and raise awareness. Many individuals who are d/Deaf (According to Access Innovation Media, the "uppercase D" Deaf is used to describe people who identify as culturally Deaf and are actively engaged with the Deaf community) and hard of hearing are really struggling right now. However, we are no stranger to this struggle. We fight for communication access allllllll the time,” Leala wrote to us.

The Benefit of Seeing More Smiles

“Honestly, the fact that you can see a smile is a big deal,” the local entrepreneur wrote to us in her email interview.  “Especially right now, living in hard times, a smile can change a lot. There are a number of specific groups that would benefit from a mask style like this:  for example, individuals on the Autism Spectrum are far more likely to withdraw in situations where they struggle to read social cues.  Normal face coverings take away a lot of social cues - pursed lips, smirk, smile, snarl, frown.  Accompanied with sunglasses and all facial cues are erased entirely.  I previously mentioned teachers - in elementary school teachers are a primary emotional model. So, not only do they need these masks for teaching phonetics, but also to show students how to interact socially,” she explained.

Leala also makes custom masks for special orders and has an extensive range of styling. “I have masks in everything from solid black to camo to pink polka-dots,” she said, while also following current recommended standards set by the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She says she’s tired of debating about whether or not masks are needed in the first place. “Our community needed a solution because the masks were here to stay for a while so I decided to create that solution. “

She is optimistic Northern Nevada will finally flatten the curve. “It's just a matter of time,” she wrote. While putting her southeast Asia travel plans on hold, she is trying to stay as safe as she can, while supplementing her mask income bartending, nannying and tutoring in ASL.

“I love our community here.  I think it's very unique, strong and resilient,” she writes to conclude our email interview.

Our Town Reno Email Interview in August 2020

Hannah Branch, A Teenager Organizing Free Local Remote Tutoring During a Pandemic

Getting Ready for Some Zoom Coaching

It’s just a matter of days now before the Washoe County District starts its most chaotic school year on record and Wooster high school senior Hannah Branch, 17, is getting ready to zoom coach some pro bono teenage tutors. She describes the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a health, educational, and economic crisis and felt a calling to step up. 

A few weeks ago, Branch set up an ingenious program called R.A.F.T, an acronym for Reno Alliance for Free Tutoring. The fully remote service has enlisted 50 plus local high school students who will help elementary and middle school students with 45-minute sessions in math, history, English, biology, chemistry, physics and social studies. 

“I call it an Alliance because I think it's genuinely a mutually beneficial relationship for high school students to be helping elementary and middle school students. It's really caught on as an opportunity for my peers to lend their time at a really critical moment for education,” she told us in a phone interview. 

The program is reaching out specifically to low income students, who, she fears “won’t be given the resources they need.”  She says pre-pandemic there were problems in Washoe County schools such as a lack of sanitary products, which does not instill confidence for the current reopening.

“I've had frequent experiences of not having soap and not having toilet paper in school bathrooms,” she said. “The fact that we don't even have the funding or the infrastructure to have those materials in place for students before a health crisis makes me very concerned about the ability of schools to reopen safely.”

But she says she understands the reasoning behind the hybrid reopening model taking place, “given the fact that so many families in our community do use school as childcare. I recognize the fact that as dangerous and as morbid as it is, some families do need to send their students back in order to maintain their livelihood in order to go to work every day. So from a broader perspective, of course, I'd prefer a world in which that kind of inequality and that kind of forcing the students to go back before it's safe was not at all necessary, but I recognize the reasoning behind having a hybrid model as well.”

Branch has already set up a slick Squarespace website with an About page: “We aim to make distance learning navigable for all learners in Reno”, Core Values : “Education. Equity. Service”, as well as volunteer resources.

No Shortcuts while Reaching Out

Branch is putting extensive research into organizing the tutoring, looking closely at best practice models from publicly available tutoring resources such as universities and expert blogs.

“The training itself is going to be twofold,” she said. “The first objective of the training is to establish essentially common sense policies and guiding values just to make sure everyone's on the same page about the goals of our organization, specifically our core values of education, equity, and service. The second goal of the training is to give our tutors essentially tools in their toolbox to be effective at what we do. So we're really just providing them a crash course in how to be an effective tutor with the limited experience we do have as teens,” Branch said of organizing coaching sessions for her team of volunteers.

The tutoring will be available via Zoom, but also phone lines, FaceTime or any technology a student can access. It will be flexible in terms of hours as well, from mornings to evenings, to increase flexibility.

“The pros of doing this online in this specific historical moment are obviously safety. We're providing our students with the opportunity to get education and educational resources without risking their health, which an in person model would not. We do recognize that it's going to be a lot different than an in person tutoring session, just in terms of the dynamic that's created by an online relationship, at least initially,” she said.

She has also started fundraising efforts and reaching out to families who could use this tutoring help. “We've heard a lot of people saying this is something that they haven't seen before and that they'd really enjoy having present in their families and their learning and their community,” she said.

She also reached out to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada to increase awareness. “We are discussing reaching the same populations they serve to the extent possible, whether that's through handing out flyers or doing outreach efforts at their various locations that serve Nevada's youth. We hope to expand those outreach efforts in the coming weeks, because it really is our goal to be reaching students who actually need this program.”

“We're aware that education gaps only get wider because students who can pay for additional economic resources, specifically paid tutoring or other similar models, can more easily stay afloat and even get ahead, while other students are often left behind. So, we modeled our organization off of the idea of service, because we feel that it's important to mitigate the effects of the crisis on traditionally disadvantaged communities. A lot of my peers saw that need as well and wanted to be a resource to younger students because we truly believe that there's absolutely no reason that certain students should have access to educational health and mentorship while others shouldn't.”

Adjusting to School at Home

Branch who calls herself an English nerd will be staying at home herself as school resumes, as the IB program she’s in at Wooster High is allowing students to “work fully remotely.” Her younger teenage sister will also start the school year at home.

“It's certainly been an adjustment,” Branch said of homes now also becoming makeshift pandemic era schools and offices. “I know my parents were concerned at least last semester about making sure that my sister and I were receiving quality education when we were planning our own time. I know that that was a pretty big concern within our family that even if we wanted to learn and we're capable of learning that just the time management aspect is self-paced. What students need, especially younger students is to just have someone sit down and help them structure their time effectively so they can complete the material they've been given.”

She also has tips on setting up an ideal learning space. “You need a cozy space for learning because now your house is also your school. My advice would be to set up somewhere you're comfortable and somewhere you can be for awhile.”

“I think I want to give back to my community because I'm so fortunate to be in a place of having the energy, and the ability to do so,” Branch said. She has also used her own Instagram feed for promotion and posting videos and photos. “It's also not lost on me that I've been very fortunate to have the resources that I've had throughout my education. When I needed tutoring, I was able to get tutoring in middle school. And, I've had access to consistently really strong educational programs throughout my academic career.”

Staying on Message as a Budding Organizer

Branch, who lives in the Caughlin Ranch area but grew up “way up north as a wilderness baby,” says she’s thinking of her own future, including going to university for a political science degree and then moving on to law school. “I hope to be either a politician or a campaign manager or something along those lines. I'm really passionate about organizing,” she said.

While times are dire, she believes the opportunity is also here for positive change, both individually and collectively.

“COVID has really illuminated inequalities and areas of concern in our education system and in our community that have been present for a long time that had never been this extreme. So the need for free tutoring isn't new, but the sort of space to launch such an idea is. The ground is ripe for new ideas like this because we're in a time of such dire need. And I think that when viewed through that lens, we can really see this moment as a moment for progress.”

Always on message, and not wanting to talk about herself too much, when asked if she had anything to add, Branch gave us her new organization’s elevator pitch. “The Reno Alliance for Free tutoring or R.A.F.T is a fully remote student led volunteer tutoring organization. We aim to connect local elementary and middle school students with high school age mentors in their community for regular 45 minute lessons in core subjects. So they can stay afloat and stay home. “

Our Town Reno Phone Interview in August 2020

Lucia Starbuck, an Our Town Reno Reporter Bids Farewell

SK: As we get started, can you share a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with Our Town Reno?

LS: “Last fall I did a documentary called the ‘Anarchist Picnic,’ where I covered a group that hosts weekly potlucks for the houseless community near the GSR. After that, Nico Colombant reached out to me and asked if I wanted to do this kind of reporting. I was really interested in it because that documentary really opened my eyes to the issues that houseless individuals are facing and I wanted to dig into that a little bit more. My background, I'm from Reno. I've been reporting for about two years. I love nature. I love dogs. I love movies and random, interesting facts about movies.”

While reporting about those on the streets and their pets, Lucia Starbuck took this picture of Marilou and her best friend.

SK: What has it been like being a reporter for Our Town Reno?

LS: “It's been chaotic. Everything changes and moves so quickly. So if I hear about something, it needs to be reported on that day. It can all change so instantly. It's been a lot of really early mornings going to police sweeps that are happening of homeless encampments, or really late shooting video of a street photographer in the middle of the night in downtown Reno. So it’s a lot of hearing what's going on in the community and acting instantly, going to it, reporting on it, figuring out what's going on and a lot of listening to folks about what issues they're facing because I wouldn't really know [what it’s like to be houseless], but just taking what I'm told and just running with it.”

While reporting about the point in time count, Lucia Starbuck took this picture of Leanne Duey.

SK: You mentioned that you're originally from Reno. In what ways has working for Our Town Reno changed your perception of the city?

LS: “I think growing up in Reno you just have this feeling of, ‘Oh, I can't wait to get out of Reno. I don't want to be here anymore. I've grown up here, I know everything, I know everyone.’ But reporting for Our Town Reno has changed my outlook completely. I've met so many different people, seen so many different things going on in the community and met really rad people that if I would've left immediately I would have never met. So [my perception has] definitely changed. I have a higher appreciation for [Reno]. I guess also maybe a little anger towards it, figuring out what the city is doing wrong or what the County is doing wrong or the kind of corruption [that exists] in the city. I love it so much more, but I'm also like, ‘Wow, like why are y'all doing this?’ So just those kinds of kinds of feelings. But I've just overall learned so much more about the city.”

A photo Lucia Starbuck took of a donation drive by the Reno Hope Bus before the pandemic shutdown.

SK: As you look back on your time reporting for Our Town Reno, are there any particular stories or memories that stand out?

LS: “I think every single interview I do, every single person I talk to has had an impact on me and on my heart. Some stories that have stuck out to me the most: I've met this really cool person and her name is Lisa Lee. She works at Foundation for Recovery. She's formerly homeless and has also gone through substance use. Hearing from her, it's just so cool because she's just so grassroots and the people that need help and need help now, she’s going to help them right now. I just love seeing that direct action. She talks about the origins of Food Not Bombs, which is basically like going into dumpsters and getting food and making them in big pots at your friend's house [to share with the houseless community]. 

That's one part I love is hearing that there are people who care about Reno and are trying to make a difference. A lot of houseless individuals I've talked to who live on the streets have really impacted me too. One story specifically, LeaRae, who's also going to be in my documentary [about houseless individuals and their pets called “Biggest Little Companions”]. Her story was really special as she just became homeless not too long ago and she also has a dog with her. It's really cool to hear about the resilience she has. I see her a lot now too, so it’s nice to catch up with her as she remembers me, too.

Annette who I met with [you], she also has a dog, Kiekie, and her story is really special, too. When we met her, she was kind of on her own but she's doing a little bit better now. But hearing about how she basically made a family for herself, made a community for herself at one of the parks and just hearing about how she spends her time also looking out for youngsters on the street. It's really special to know that there are these built-in families and see that people do have support on the streets.”

Lucia Starbuck accompanied a downtown Reno ambassador doing his rounds as the coronavirus shutdown took effect.

SK: So you've been working for Our Town Reno for almost two years now. What has it been like to work for a niche media publication like Our Town Reno, one that has a specific topic, compared to some other media organizations that you have experience with?

LS: “I think that's what I love the most about Our Town Reno in that I do get what I guess you can call a beat. It's really nice to be able to look out for these things. If I'm kind of a general assignment reporter, it's like here's the story here and there, but I don't get the chance to really dig into stuff. But with Our Town Reno, which we cover things like homelessness, affordable housing and then we have our ears out in Reno. Those are the folks that are doing good things in the community. So it's like I get to just focus on what's going on in that community and build a lot of relationships with the activist and advocacy groups. I get to touch base with them, see them at meetings and it's nice to just be able to build relationships like this because it’s what I do, it’s what I cover, these are things that I can look out for.

Another thing I really like about Our Town Reno is that before [I started working for] Our Town Reno, I didn't realize how large our homeless population is in Reno and what they face. So I really support the work of Our Town Reno and its topic because when I see other media in Reno covering it, it's kind of like a ‘Here's a quick look at what’s going on,’ but I like being able to say ‘This is my job and I'm going to actually talk to these people that are facing these things.’”

Lucia Starbuck recently reported about Mary Charles who after being on the streets with addictions now conducts peer recovery online.

 SK: For our listeners and readers who only see the finished product, could you share a little bit about your approach to stories and how you go out and find stories?

LS: “Oh my gosh, so much goes into every story I make of course. A lot of it is man-on-the-street, so that's literally grabbing my recorder, my camera and just going to the places where people are. So that's going to parks, under bridges, along railroad tracks, and it can be kind of scary just kind of approaching someone and saying, ‘Hey, we didn't set up this interview but can you share your life story with me?’ 

I have really bad social anxieties, so those kinds of things really terrify me. But once I'm there I'm like, ‘Wait, I love doing this. I love talking to folks.’ So it's also kind of like the lead up when you're getting out of the car [to approach someone] and you're like, ‘Is this crazy?’ Like if a reporter approached me, I don't even know what I would say or do. 

The writing process is a whole other beast. Some of these conversations can be really quick, but other conversations I've had last like an hour and it's like, ‘Oh my gosh, how do I put this amazing story into like a few pages for an article?’ So it's also picking the best bites and trying to do good for them, too, because I think the goal is to shine a light on the things that they're feeling personally.

Then other things like the tip about the huge sweep that we covered, because I got a call from someone who said, ‘Hey, I know you report on this. This is what's going on.’ So it's also a lot of just contacting my people that I know in the community and just really finding out the stories from the people actually experiencing these things.”

Lucia Starbuck covered a protest denouncing sweeps of encampments.

 SK: In what ways has your experience with Our Town Reno shaped you as a journalist?

LS: “[Our Town Reno] has definitely made me the journalist I am today. I've learned the value of reporting quickly and just being there. I also love the experimental factor. Sometimes when I’m on the scene, I don't have the chance to write out this beautifully constructed article. So it's sometimes just a video of me saying, ‘Hey, this is Lucia Starbuck from Our Town Reno. This is what I'm seeing,’ and literally just showing it. I love being able to do that kind of experimental stuff. This isn't super traditional, but what better way for me to communicate this information than showing you a video of it. So it’s different things like that I really enjoy.” 

SK: Since we focus on stories from the streets and homelessness in the community, how has your perception of the homeless community changed since working for our town Reno?

LS: “That's definitely been one of the biggest impacts from this job to me. Now, it’s kind of always on my mind. I'm always worried, especially seeing some of the things since the Covid-19 [outbreak]. I have so much heart for this community whom I've never really interacted with before I worked for Our Town Reno. Now every time it's cold and at night I'm so sad that people are sleeping outside and this is something that is just so prevalent right now. Then when I hear about the impacts of Covid-19, I'm like, ‘But what about the houseless?’ So it’s just engulfed a lot in my mind and I'm also just on the lookout all the time. A lot of my Twitter newsfeed is seeing what's going on in other cities and wondering, ‘Will this happen in Reno?’ Or if something is happening in Reno and seeing it in other cities. I think it's always on my mind now for sure.”

Lucia Starbuck also interviewed people who wished to share their story while staying anonymous, like this man who was living in his car.

SK: You mentioned the Covid-19 outbreak. How has that changed what you've been doing for Our Town Reno and approaching the homeless community?

LS: “I'm really sad because we're being told to stay in our home so I haven't been able to do the man-on-the-street stuff that I love doing. I still did in the beginning and it was really interesting because people just weren't informed of what's going on, especially with all the stuff at the shelter. It's changed a lot because I'm not able to reach that community and some folks don't have phones or Internet access. I usually have to go to their tent, to the parks and where they hang out during the day and halting that really makes me sad because it's hard to report on what's going on if I'm not there. The city can tell us all they want, all the wonderful things that they are implementing to help folks out but it's like, ‘Do they have hand-washing stations? Do they have adequate bathrooms? Do they have water? Do they have a place to go to the bathroom?’ Things like that. So it's really hard to report on this community if I'm not able to be on the streets.”

SK: What has it been like in terms of the community feedback that you get on a lot of your stories that you've done for Our Town Reno?

LS: “It's a mixed bag for sure. I religiously read every single comment, the shares and the comments that are on other people's shares. I'm looking at literally everything all the time. There are a lot of positive comments, a lot of like, ‘I didn’t know this was happening, thank you for sharing their story.’ A few people have reached out to help those folks, so that's really good. A lot of trolls, too, that will say things like, ‘I still don't get why this person is homeless.’ Well, they just explained to you what exactly happened to them in the story, so if you read it you would know why they are homeless, things like that. 

Our Town Reno is a little experimental, so sometimes we just have one voice for a story. But I'm still going into it as a journalist and these folks do not have an incentive to lie or make things up. They are so honest all the time, so people kind of get mad at that. For example, I did a story on a sign in a McDonald's that said you can't be here for more than 30 minutes. I was like, ‘Hmm, I wonder if this targets houseless individuals?’ I went down there to interview folks about the sign and I interviewed someone who was staying in the shelter and she totally approved of the sign and she’s like, ‘I’m trying to eat here. I don't want people hanging out for more than 30 minutes.’ Like, totally honest. We had posted that and there were comments saying, ‘This reporting is so lazy, you asked one person. I eat there and there are people hanging out around the outside.’ But it's like, if you read it, she agrees with you. So it's things like that. But those comments are kind of like whatever, the comments that are really kind and thoughtful responses like asking, ‘Have they tried these resources?’ Those are the ones that I like to keep in mind.

Elizabeth expressed concerns of coronavirus contagion while living in a crowded encampment.

SK: So for our listeners and viewers, we're sad to say that your time with Our Town Reno is coming to an end. We'd like to thank you for all the time and effort that you've put in for our audience, sharing these stories. From a personal level, I'm very grateful to have learned so much from you as a journalist and as a person, as well as a whole lot about Reno having worked alongside you. So for our audience that has gotten to know you and your work over the past two years: What's next?

LS: “So surprise! I'm not leaving Reno yet, so you'll still see me for a bit. I want to continue reporting on this population. I want to cover what's happening to people who are living on the streets. I'm going on to work for This is Reno. The editor just received a grant, so I'll be covering Covid-19 impacts on vulnerable populations and one is the houseless. So I'm excited to continue that reporting there. So I'm really excited. I'm not leaving yet. I’ll be in Reno for at least a little while longer.

A self-portrait Lucia Starbuck took as one of the street photographers for our affiliated Biggest Little Streets Instagram.

 SK: So in closing here with us, what message would you like to share with Our Town Reno’s audience?

LS: “At the end of the day, I think if you're feeling sad or in a bad place, I think you should know there are people in Reno who do want to help. It seems sometimes that everywhere you look there aren't enough resources, but there are individuals who are actively trying to help you get what you need. For the folks in Reno, next time you see someone on the streets say, ‘Hello,’ and ask [them], ‘How's it going?’ It can be something as simple as a nod of acknowledgement just as you would any passer-by. Just be a decent human being. Spread more kindness because there could be some more, but I think there already is some [kindness] in general, too. But those are kind of my messages. Just be nice to people and if you need help, please seek out some of that help.”

SK: Thanks again Lucia for taking the time to speak with me today and share a little bit about your experience with Our Town Reno for our listeners and readers. Thank you for all the hard work and effort that you've put into Our Town Reno for the past two years and good luck on your future endeavors.

LS: “Thank you Scott and thank you, Our Town Reno.”

Our Town Reno Q and A by Scott King

Caitlin Thomas: Being Unapologetically Herself in a Changing Biggest Little City

From Writing Film Reviews to Running a Sex Column

Caitlin Thomas describes herself as a writer, creator, artist, feminist and movie lover. Thomas has lived in Reno for roughly 16 years and said she’s gotten a good dose of what the Biggest Little City has to offer, while also contributing to its uniqueness. She has been writing poetry from a young age but around 2010, she began writing film reviews for the student-run newspaper at UNR, The Nevada Sagebrush, while she was studying. 

Thomas has been a film enthusiast ever since she was a little girl. She got her first taste of cinema when she attended film camp at nine years old. At 16 years old, Thomas began working at Blockbuster Video. However, after working with and writing about movies, Thomas wanted to explore other topics with her sarcastic style of writing. She then became the newspaper’s sex columnist.

"It was like, what can I get away with? To the right, it's like, 'What's your favorite yoga position?," and all of this stuff that just felt boring to me. If you're waiting for your class to start and you have a paper, don't you want to read something where you're like, 'Whoa!'?” Thomas said.

Thomas wrote about religion, sex and stripping. She felt that these topics were important to shine a light on and said they were more taboo to talk about 10 years ago. Thomas also wrote about the abortion she had. 

Thomas’ abortion story was picked up by HuffPost.

"I thought that, not a lot of people are speaking up about that stuff. When I found out I was pregnant, I had to really dig deep, to find out experience stories," Thomas said, "So, you're like, 'Okay, well what's going to happen when I go do it?' It was kind of hard to find stuff, especially things that weren't biased to a pro life agenda. It's just like, what a pain in the ass, you know? So, it really helped that I could be like a voice for someone and I still feel really good about it."

"It's not for money, obviously,” Thomas said of why she writes. “It's not for clout. Is that what the kids say? It's because it's what I need to get out, you know? I've found a way to get it out. Therapy is great, but I also think that sometimes you just have to write it out," Thomas said.

Creating Safe Spaces to Talk about Sex

Thomas also previosuly wrote a handful of stories for the Reno News & Review, before it went on blog hiatus due to the coronavirus shutdown. She wrote about being a controversial feminist and FemSex, a class she helped create, which served as a safe space for mainly women to talk about a broad range of topics on sexuality.

Thomas also wrote about the five kinds of women she observed while she spent four months in jail in 2017 for a drug possession charge from 2014. Thomas made sure to clarify that she doesn’t consider herself a journalist. Instead, Thomas said sharing her own experiences is a form of therapy.

To her dismay, her beloved Blockbuster Video closed shop. Thomas said she gets bored easily so she found herself a new job. On Halloween, at 19 years old, Thomas had her first audition at the Wild Orchid Gentlemen's Club. 

"I feel like, maybe there was a stereotype that brings one into the sex work industry. We can argue all day about sex work, what the definition of that is. But I do think maybe stripping is part of that because it's just in that genre of sexual exhibitionism. But for the record, you don't have sex with them, you just dance on stage. But you know, there was a sexual element to it. I've always loved to dance in my life and I love music. I love playing guitar. I always thought if I had to work, I was either going to work at a video store because I love the film or I was going to dance and have fun," Thomas said.

Defending Strip Clubs She’s Worked At

Thomas said she worked at all of the strip clubs in Reno over a span of six years, while she was still a student at UNR. She said her favorite to work at was Fantasy Girls, but all of the clubs felt the same to her.

Reno’s strip clubs have been feeling heat from the City of Reno. Kamy Keshmiri and his family own three strip clubs in Reno: Wild Orchid Gentlemen's Club, Fantasy Girls, and the Spice House. Members of the Reno City Council have been fighting to force Keshmiri to move his strip clubs out of downtown or to heavily regulate them, according to Anjeanette Damon, the investigative journalist who reported on this conflict for the now also defunct podcast The City. But Thomas, who’s worked at all three of those strip clubs, said they play a crucial role in society.

"There are perverts in society and unfortunately there are pedophiles, and sometimes they need to go to the club to get their energy out, to just be primal for a minute, and just watch a girl dance or have a girl gyrate on their lap, and dry hump, or whatever. If we take all that away, sometimes I get worried that, that might surface, that male rage. Look, I'm a huge feminist and it sucks that this exists because it's like, why do you need an outlet? Go home, watch porn. But some guys, they need that redirection and they need to see someone," Thomas said. "It's controversial, but I think that these things need to exist because I think your average man who goes to the strip club by himself at 2:00 PM might be having some issues sexually, you know? There's nothing wrong with that as long as he's not hurting anyone."

More Rights Needed for Strippers

Thomas said strippers deserve more rights too. Recently, a video of a stripper falling down a 15-20 foot pole went viral. The woman in the video, Genea Sky, had a GoFundMe to pay for her injuries which included a fractured jaw, broken teeth and a sprained ankle. Thomas said the video traumatized her. 

"We're independent contractors and it's just kind of anything goes,” she said. “There's no job security, that sucks. You just have to move clubs if anything happens. It sucks because if you get into any situation where you get into a fight with anyone or someone's being unreasonable with you in the back room, it's always, he said, she said. They don't always believe dancers, you know? 'Oh, you're a drug addict. Oh, you're a liar.' It's like, no, they were just like trying to touch me. You can get 86ed for anything and that really sucks," Thomas said.

Thomas said she would like to look towards unions for strippers and for them to receive hourly pay. She also wants perceptions to change, and for strip club owners to believe women if they say they feel unsafe.  With coronavirus, workers at adult clubs haven’t been getting unemployment benefits because they are considered independent contractors, adding to their difficulties.

For Thomas, that life is in the past, but for her, it was made of fond memories as well. "I got so good on the pole, it sounds dumb, but I got good. I could climb, I could flip upside down. It felt good to get up there and I didn't care what anyone said, I still don't. That was fun, you know, and getting athletic and in shape, it was great," Thomas said.

Writing Thomas published about stripping in Reno.

Shining Light on Difficulties and Pursuing Goals

In addition to shining a light on topics of sex, Thomas would like to see more people pay attention to houseless individuals in Reno.

"It's like they're invisible, you know, it's really terrible,” she said. “There's not a lot of empathy. I think that people are very in their own world. I think you can tell a lot about people by just the way they interact with the homeless," Thomas said. "You don't have to give them money, but I think just talking to someone like they're a human being, is so important. It's like, if you're on a first date and you're walking on the river and they complain about it, that's when you can tell: this is someone who doesn't have a lot of empathy and that's a problem. Who says they're going to be empathetic to you, you know, when you need it? I think it's a good filter for who to date, and who not to date."

Even though Thomas hasn’t been houseless herself, she knows what it’s like to not have stable housing. 

"My lease ended and I was looking for a new place. So, there were two weeks where I was living with my boyfriend and that feeling of like not really having a home is terrible. First of all, you don't want to feel like you are leaning on anyone, you know? You find out who your real friends are, let's put it that way," Thomas said.

Right now, Thomas is currently writing scripts for movies and a book called Romance in the Vice, which is a memoir about her experiences dancing. She also hopes to go to law school in the future.

Reporting and Photography by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Nerd Nite Reno Turns to Zoom and Black Lives Matter

A June 24th Plan Gets Serious

With COVID-19, Nerd Nite has had to go into a Zooming phase. With the George Floyd protests, one of its organizers, Anna Tatarko, felt the need to organize a gathering around the issues of systemic police racism and the need for reform.

“This month in June, what we want to do is focus on more local issues, centered around the issues of racism, institutional racism, police brutality,” she said.

The plan for now is June 24th, 7 p.m., via Zoom, the now widely used video conferencing platform, which the group already experimented with in May with a link: tiny.cc/nerdnitereno and the password: nerd. “We had a lot of people that I've never seen before tune in and people from outside Reno were tuning in,” Tatarko said of the first Zoom attempt. Nerd Nites, tag line “be there and be square”, have been around since 2003, and now take place monthly in over 100 cities around the world.

“I've reached out to some of the members of the local Black Lives Matter Facebook page and the people who lead it and I've been put in touch with three people through that and pitched the idea at them. And I I don't want to tell them here, this is what you have to talk about. We have started having some discussions about, these are the kind of the things that it would be interesting, I think to the Reno community, if we talk about them,” she said of plans for the upcoming June 24th Reno Nerd Nite. On Instagram, it was confirmed the speakers would be Nathaniel Phillipps, Elisha Harris and city councilman at-large Devon Reese.

Taking Part in #SHUTDOWNSTEM

Tatarko took part in the initial peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Reno in late May, and said she felt people’s anger from the outset. She also feels that after the subsequent night of violence, the movement returned to being more focused.

“We hope we can continue having these conversations and that it doesn't just fade away because these issues aren't being addressed and they're still here and that's a problem,” she said.

The Kansas native hasn’t been able to do her usual summer field work due to COVID-19. She says she believes pandemic forced cancellations also explains some of the people’s time to be more active with social issues right now. She recently took part in a #ShutDownSTEM online movement to address anti-Black racism in the realm of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

“In the wake of the most recent murders of Black people in the U.S., it is clear that white and other non-Black people have to step up and do the work to eradicate anti-Black racism. As members of the global academic and STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] communities, we have an enormous ethical obligation to stop doing ‘business as usual,’” the organizers of #ShutDownSTEM said.

On the day we spoke with her, instead of working on her research, Tatarko said she was going to read articles about racism in academia and science, and participate in another Zoom call on the topic with other scientists and grad students.

Our Town Reno Reporting June 2020

Reno Through a Lens: Eric Marks, A Documentarian on the Streets at Night

An Early Start to a Lifelong Passion of Documenting

Dressed in a black hooded-sweatshirt and camera in hand, Eric Marks has become a feature of downtown Reno nightlife. But as the owner of Reno Street Photography and as a documentarian, he’s more in the shadows, documenting what he sees to share with the world what life on the streets of Reno is all about. 

His love for cameras can be attributed to his grandfather, who gave him his first Instamatic in the 1970s.

“My grandfather was an avid photography enthusiast, my father as well. There were always cameras around my house,” Marks said when we caught up with him for an extended interview of what drives him to capture so much of Reno. “My first foray into photography was going table to table after the junior ski program at the Reindeer Lodge, (a former property of Mount Rose highway), popping off family portraits for people and then hustling them out for ten bucks a pop.”

It didn’t take long for the young Marks to realize that what started as a simple side-hustle, could become a whole lot more. 

A Natural Evolution with Trials and Tribulations

“So it was like 1979 and I'm making like $80 profit-margins,” Marks said. “I just thought that was the neatest thing in the world. I expanded that to going door-to-door in my neighborhood and doing the same thing. Then it just was a natural evolution from there.” 

As time went on and he was about to finish high school, Marks decided that he was going to join the Air Force. But those plans got sidetracked when at 19 years old, he went down a toboggan run and broke his back. 

“I ended up with three fractured vertebrae and [receiving] titanium prosthesis,” Marks explained. “The entire trajectory of my life changed. I was literally a centimeter away from severing the nerves in my spine and would have been in a wheelchair.”

Due to his back injury, Marks had to put his education on the back-burner until he fully recovered. Once he did fully recover, he became an entrepreneur and went on to own two of his own video production companies. 

“I owned two video production companies from 2005 to 2012,” Marks said. “One worked in the music industry, which was really fun and [the other] worked in corporate America, which really was not. When the economy took a tank, we had to reevaluate and my partner and I just honestly had enough of video at the time. It was just taxing, so I just got burnt out and decided to go back to UNR.”

Marks went on to become a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he majored in English with a minor in photography and graduated in 2013. To further his education he graduated with an Art Degree from the Church Fine Arts (CFA) program at UNR in 2018. 

During his time at UNR, Marks got an opportunity to become a Teacher’s Assistant for an esteemed local photographer, Jeff Ross. After his semester working for Ross ended, Marks was invited back to continue working for Ross in his studio.

“Jeff was very kind, assisting me and my evolution [as a photographer],” Marks said. “I worked for five years with Jeff and we did everything from shower heads to portraits. So I just obtained this very diverse set of photography skills by accident.”

After closing up shop on his video company, Marks saw an open call as an assistant for a prominent wedding photographer at Lake Tahoe. At first he was turned down, already having too much experience for the unpaid assistant position. But that didn’t stop him from wanting the experience, anyway.

“I [told him], ‘I want to do it,’” Marks said. “I had never shot a wedding before and then afterwards, I thought I was going to never take a photo again. It was literally the most difficult form of photography I had ever encountered. I've got very thick skin and I'm not easy to defeat, but I was defeated. That first season I just thought to myself, ‘I don't even know if I could do photography.’”

As the top of his website indicated, Eric Marks has many specialties.

The Pressures of Wedding Photography

Although Marks works well in high-pressure environments, he admits there’s added pressure trying to manage 300+ people on what is the most important day of his clients’ lives. It didn’t take long, however, before he developed a method to the madness that has enabled him to become a five-star award winning wedding photographer today.

“[Then] it dawned on me the correlations between wedding photography and street photography,” Marks explained. “Once I made that connection, everything just kind of clicked because I was able to utilize my street photography skill set [and apply it] to the weddings. The rapid exposures, the extreme chaos, the noise, the overwhelming visuals, the whole visceral experience of it all, I love it.”

Whether he’s photographing weddings in Lake Tahoe or the streets of Reno, he applies a similar strategy that he shares with his students at Truckee Meadows Community College, where he now teaches.

“I know where my camera settings are and I try not to move my aperture or my ISO,” Marks said. “Then I can just work my shutter and that gives me a little bit of an advantage, and I teach that in the TMCC classes that I instruct.”

Although Marks has done well for himself as wedding photographer and instructor, it’s street photography that aligns with his passions. It’s a passion that began during his childhood spending time with his grandfather in San Francisco. 

“We would just sit there and people watch,” Marks explained. “To this day, I just love to observe people. I love the psychology of traffic and crowds. [My grandfather] taught me one of the most important lessons in my life in terms of photography and that's what I teach my students: look up and look down. Everybody shoots at eye level, so I really try hard to get away from that.”

Back On the Streets, A Sleepless Occupation

For Marks, shooting street photography in Reno also gave him something to do in his free time or when he couldn’t sleep.

“I'm a bit of a chronic insomniac and always have been,” Marks said. “Then after my [back] injury and ten years of intense medication coming out of that, I just really had difficulty sleeping so it's a great form of therapy [for me].”

Shooting street photography in the late hours of the night also gave Marks and his audience a glimpse into the lives of Renoites that not many people see.

“Back then Reno looked a lot different and I was driving my professors at the CFA pretty nuts because I was obsessed with [street photography],” Marks explained. “There's a lot of gritty stuff [in Reno]. Then I started catching a lot of flack from people from photographing the homeless and displaced people. Even my own department heads were saying, ‘You shouldn't be doing this, but I utterly reject that because that’s ‘otherization.’”

Marks considers his street photography all-inclusive, as it’s important to show people what their cities look like when everyone is tucked safely away in their suburban homes and lifestyles. That goes without mentioning, too, that his more controversial images drive the most traffic online.

“I see the analytics on my pages,” Marks said. “I know what images are getting the most views and I guarantee you the more hardcore they are, the photos I take at four in the morning of the transsexual prostitute in a dumpster, get a hundred percent more views than the affluent kid walking through Arlington Park. There's no argument to it and I can prove that data.” 

Some of the images Marks has captured have conjured up doubters as well, where people have even accused him of staging his photos. 

“You know, I'm not a product of any kind of dysfunctionality, I had a great family unit,” Marks said. “But some of the things that I see crawling around these streets will blow your mind and people don't believe it. I've had people call me out and think I stage photos but I couldn't stage some of these if I wanted to. But when you do this 24/7, 365 days a year, you will catch a few lucky ones.”

Although he’s come across his fair share of criticism for the street photos he’s taken, Marks asserts it doesn’t bother him in the least bit. “I've heard the comment that I have portrayed Reno in a bad way and my response is that I don't portray Reno at all,” Marks said. “We're photographers, we’re documentarians, we document what we see, we don't portray. I am documenting things that I see and if you don't like it, don't follow the page.”

Criticism and Praise

Despite some of the criticisms, Marks has received his fair share of support and praise from the community as well.

“It's very humbling and gratifying that over time I've seen other street photographers come out of the woodworks,” Marks said. “People have messaged me and were like, ‘Hey man, thanks for doing this. I always wanted to do it, but I was afraid to do it and then I saw you do it.’ That's the moral conundrum of the individual artist as a street photographer: Do you have what it takes to stick a lens in somebody's face?”

Whether it’s criticism or praise, Marks isn’t necessarily looking for his audience to have any type of particular response to his images. To him, it’s all part of each viewer’s individual experience.

“I have no desire for my viewer to have any reaction,” Marks said. “That's up to them. I don't impose mandates on my art. Whatever natural response that [my photos] invokes in you, that's great. If it angers, terrifies, brings you joy, sadness, wonder, curiosity, whatever it is, that’s great.” 

When it comes to the technical side of photography, Marks will make necessary edits to enhance his images in a certain way. That being said, though, he will never intentionally manipulate them to be something they’re not.

“I am 100% adamantly opposed to people who manipulate their images digitally,” Marks said.

“Introducing or removing an object is against the integrity of street photography. It's in direct opposition to everything that it stands for. If you do that, then you're not a street photographer.”

A recent photo from his street photography Instagram feed.

Compassion for Humans on the Streets of Reno

Street photography is not Marks’ primary source of income, it’s just always been something he’s done for himself and his love for the world around him. The things that he’s witnessed through his street photography, however, has enabled him to understand what’s really important in life. 

“It's not like I'm rolling seven figures off of my street photography endeavors,” Marks said. “I don't engage in [responding to critics] because life's too short. Some of the things I've seen on these streets and now having done street photography in 14 countries, it really makes me have an appreciation for my health and the world around me.”

Marks confirms that about 99% of the homeless and displaced people he encounters on the streets are friendly. He often befriends them, learns their names, and even gives them hugs. 

“People are friendly out there,” Marks said. “There’s this misconception of homeless people and I think that really needs to be addressed. They’re human beings, man.”

For Marks, street photography is his means of trying to understand things that might be difficult for him to wrap his head around and be exposed to something new.

“I have had extensive conversations with homeless people and I'll leave that conversation, give them a hug, walk away, and think to myself not, ‘What's wrong with this person?’” Marks explained. “I think to myself, ‘What the hell is wrong with me? Why have I never done that before? Why am I not doing it more? If every citizen would just do a little bit more, if we could all just do a little bit in our own way, I don't need giving out money or whatever, just do something right because we all live in the society together, right?”

During his first two years of shooting street photography, whenever he encountered a homeless person, Marks would try and do what he could for them. This meant buying food, clothes, and blankets for them. However, he soon realized he was nearly going broke doing it. 

“I had to realize that I can't solve this problem on my own,” Marks explained. “The best thing I can do is to continue to take images and just expose what's out there. I want people to look at things and understand that the world that we live in is not all luxury automobiles. We're not all making six figures and driving Teslas in Reno right now.”

As someone with three degrees and working multiple jobs to make a steady income, Marks understands that he’s fortunate enough just to be in the position he is today. Growing up, he worked as a janitor cleaning toilets and flipping burgers at fast food restaurants. These experiences have helped him develop the work ethic he has today, as well as appreciate the opportunities he has. Due to the suddenness of his back injury in the toboggan accident, Marks also understands that life can change in an instant.

Life Lessons

“What I’ve learned unequivocally is that we're all one step away from [homelessness],” Marks said. “It's not a cliche to say people live paycheck to paycheck. God forbid, if you injure yourself.”

But that doesn’t go without saying that shooting street photography and encountering displaced people hasn’t taken an emotional toll on Marks, too. 

“[Encountering homeless] women and children is really difficult for me,” Marks explained. “Then in 2017, I had a little bit of a moral dilemma because I ran into somebody who I actually knew, that was living between two dumpsters with her dog. It really put me in a head space that I didn't have a reference frame for dealing with emotionally. It was the first time I ever really had to re-evaluate what I was doing and I struggled with it. I didn't post for months and I didn't even touch my camera for weeks. I had to talk to some professional photographers and peers and then I decided the right thing to do was to continue after the advice of a very good friend of mine.”

Recently, Marks has looked beyond the city of Reno to explore and experience the world through street photography. “My latest thing is international street photography and that's where my focus is headed towards in the future,” Marks said. “I’ve gone to other countries and started seeing the impoverishment in Mexico. I did street photography in Oaxaca, Puebla, and Mexico City and it's crazy down there. It's a lot different than Prague because when I'm doing street photography in Prague, it's all castles on the river. It's a whole different aesthetic.”

Sadness and Opportunity with a Changing Reno

Reno holds a special place in Marks’ heart. For a street photographer, Reno provides a unique challenge as a city that is constantly evolving and changing itself. In just the past few years that Marks has been shooting street photography in Reno, he has seen the Biggest Little City change. Unfortunately, he’s not sure it’s for the better.

“Reno is re-defining itself and I have mixed emotions about what's going on in the city, to be perfectly honest,” Marks said. “Lack of preservation, primarily, and the housing issues speaks for itself. But it’s the reality we live in.” 

To Marks, it seems the more downtown is trying to develop, bulldozing motels, moving community meals away from the downtown shelter, the more everything else is getting displaced. 

“Shutting down the Greyhound bus station isn’t really solving anything in my observation. It’s just kind of displacing it,” Marks said. “You can sweep dust under the rug, but there's still dust under the rug and it's still going to come trickling out. I think it’s really obnoxious that Jacobs [Entertainment] comes in here with a $500 million development plan and no preservation [for what was removed], whatsoever. The whole Fourth Street corridor has been completely gentrified. It's crazy to me to just push around homeless people the way we do in order to make way for another brewery. ”

But as a street photographer, the reinvention of Reno provides ample opportunities for Marks. Due to Reno’s comparatively small size for a major city, over the years Marks has gotten to learn the streets like the back of his hand. He knows exactly where the light is going to be in a certain location at any point of the day, any day of the year. But it’s his thorough understanding of Reno’s streets that creates opportunities to recognize and document the changes he sees firsthand. 

“I'm waiting for the proverbial dust to settle and see what kind of scape I have now because for me as a street photographer, it's great,” Marks said. “It's like Inception, the movie, because as the city is reinventing, we’ve brought in all these awesome artists and street muralists and so [the city] never looks the same. I can go out in one summer and shoot the same place and get a completely different look than I did the summer before.”

Reno being such a small city, however, does provide its own set of specific challenges for a street photographer like Marks.

“Over the years I'm constantly developing my style and pushing myself to try to find something new,” Marks explained. “There are some things I try not to shoot too much anymore: the Circus Circus Clown, Manzanita Lake, and the Reno Arch I think should all be on a broad “No Shoot” list, but that's just my personal opinion.”

Another recent series from his Instagram feed renostreetphotography.

Safety First

Whenever he goes out to shoot, Marks’ goal is never to make himself noticed. If he’s seen taking photos, that compromises the quality of candidness in his photos. It’s natural for people to change their demeanor when they see their photo being taken. That’s an example of when street photography becomes street portraiture, and Marks vows never to pass off any of his photos as something it’s not. That being said, safety is his first and foremost priority, especially for his students when he takes them out on a shoot with him. 

“We do what we have to as photographers to get our shots,” Marks said. “But you have to obey the law, 100%. You don't impede a police investigation, block doorways to businesses, and most certainly don't ever go into moving traffic, especially in this town nowadays. There's no image on the planet that's worth getting [attacked] over.”

Everything else, however, is fair game for anyone walking around in the public domain. If he encounters anyone that becomes upset about their photo being taken, Marks does what he can to de-escalate the situation.

“I never purposely aggravate somebody,” Marks said. “The last thing I want to do is disrupt that person any more than that person's life is [already] disrupted. I've never had a physical altercation and have no intention of having a physical altercation. I don't carry weapons. I know street photographers that do and I find that disgusting. That’s a good way to get yourself killed or hurt somebody and I'm not looking to do either one of those two things.”

Street Photography vs. Journalism

When he’s out shooting photos on the street, Marks admits he’s not looking for anything in particular. Most of the time, he’s simply just documenting the things that he finds interesting. 

“I’m honestly winging it out there,” Marks said. “I like interesting characters and that doesn't come from any specific demographic, that just spans the whole gamut for me. I'm also a big fan of negative space, because I think negative space when used properly is an extremely powerful compositional tool.”

Although Marks takes to the streets with the intentions of shooting street photography, his work at times has also adapted to a form of journalism. He encounters a wide variety of people, but he approaches them all the same. 

“I think anybody that knows me knows that I have good intentions,” Marks explained. “There's a video on the street photography page when I made a little time-lapse video between the police, the paramedics, the fires, the hookers, and the gang bangers. Now, they're all the same to me, I don't treat any of them any differently. Obviously I treat the law enforcement with the respect they deserve, but I have also helped them as well.” 

In his time shooting street photography, Marks once accidentally aided in the arrest of three people who committed assault because he happened to photograph it when it happened. Another time, he got trapped behind a dumpster between two SWAT teams as they addressed an active situation. But as an experienced contributor for This is Reno and Reno News and Review, he understands when to classify certain photos he takes as street photography, and when they qualify as journalism. 

“I have to come home and say to myself, ‘Okay, that's not even a street photography image, that's journalism,” Marks said. “[Journalism] is a whole different world. So that [image] goes into this pile, this [image] goes into that pile.”

Marks has also done photography for the local alt-weekly the Reno News and Review.

Grateful for His “Wild, Wild West” Community

By documenting and posting the things he sees on the street, Marks feels as if it’s his way of giving back to the city of Reno. He has a unique relationship with the city, one that he feels has been mutually beneficial.

“I’m grateful for my followers and the city,” Marks said. “They're very supportive of me and I think it's because the art form [of street photography] was never about Eric Marks. It was always about the things that I see on the street.”

Like an itch that can’t be scratched, every day provides another opportunity for avid street photographers to experience and witness something new.

“The world is the best subject studio possible,” Marks said. “It's constantly just in a state of flux every second of every minute. So it's hard to really not to take a good picture if you’ve developed the skills and have the desire to do so.”

Marks hopes street photography encompasses that state of flux in such a concentrated area like Reno. To him, it’s what makes Reno...Reno.

“I absolutely believe that Reno was, is, and always will be the Wild West,” Marks said. “It's kind of cool in terms of a photographer's perspective, at least it is for me.There's history here.” 

Thanks to the work of street photographers like Marks, that history of Reno is being documented every day and night for the world to see.  

Reporting by Scott King for Our Town Reno

Lexie's Gift: Helping People Feel Cute even during Coronavirus and #Maskup

Carrying on a Daughter’s Mission Through a Pandemic

Before the coronavirus shutdown halted everything including donation drives and turned proms into virtual preparations, Lexie’s Gift provided prom attire and children’s clothing to those who needed it.

With in-person proms now canceled, Lexie’s Gift has transitioned to finding other ways to help the community during the pandemic.

Instead of handing out bedazzled shoes and matching handbags, Barbie Marcoe said she’s now working behind the scenes to fund the making of masks and sponsoring meals to feed the community.

Marcoe is running a GoFundMe in partnership with the Northern Nevada Mask Coalition, which is comprised of local businesses, seamstresses, community members and 3D printer operators, to provide funding for the local production and distribution of masks.

“We all have a role in Northern Nevada’s public health and economic recovery. In order to bring our economy back to life, everyone needs to be #maskedup to avoid more crippling shutdowns and to ensure we keep our community and medical staff safe,” the GoFundMe she’s a part of says.

Behind the Scenes

“We are not taking credit for any of that because these are all personal groups that are just getting together and our ideas is just to be behind the scenes and help them keep in supplies and get the disposable masks for the people who need them,” Marcoe said of her #Maskup collective endeavor.

In normal times, Lexie’s Gift provides free prom attire for those who can’t afford all of the luxuries of the special night. Lexie’s Gift also usually distributes gently used clothing and shoes for children, teens and young adults and daily necessity items like hygiene products.

Partners for different donation drives and initiatives in the past have included Volunteers of America, the Veterans Resource Center, Bristlecone Family Resources, The Eddy House, Project 150, Casa de Vida, the Libby Booth Elementary School, Women and Children of the Sierra, Project Sweet Dreams, The Ridge House and Our Center.

“Lexie lost her life in a car accident right before her 30th birthday. She was one of those people who believed that people deserve a gift rather than a handout and that's why we have the name, “Lexi's Gift.” She was doing clothing drives when she was in third grade. She just liked people to be able to feel cute and she thought it was a big thing,” Marcoe said. “We realized that it did make a difference in these people's lives that she was touching. So when she passed, we needed to remember her, but we also needed to make sure that all the good things she had done were continued and that we didn't lose sight of that.”

Current Challenges to Lexie’s Legacy

“[Lexie] would love that this community is doing great things in her name,” Marcoe said in an earlier interview with Our Town Reno. “I think she'd be pretty proud of all of us. “

Marcoe said she’s not able to accept new donations at this time because of the health logistics involved. She said she’s worried because usually around this time of year she’s providing clothing for spring and summer.

"We have a lot of kids at home right now who are used to a lot of organizations, not just ours, that provide, not just clothes but shoes, you know, kids' feet grow. So, shoes and spring things because a lot of these kids don't have clothes from last year because they moved from motel to motel. They don't have a drawer full of last season's stuff. So all of us, not just Lexie's Gift, but all of us are going to be insanely busy when everything opens back up," Marcoe said.

Marcoe usually provides high school students with what she calls a fun and dignified free prom fashion experience, including hundreds of dresses to choose from.

Buying New Clothes Instead of Donations

“I think it's going to be really questionable to be honest," Marcoe said in regards to collecting donations in the future.

She is still using funds and getting others to purchase new clothing though.

"When you see these three dollar t-shirts at Old Navy, that's what we're trying to buy. We're trying to buy up in quantity. We're asking people please buy new stuff. If you can, if you see it, it's on a great sale and you can afford to do it, please buy new stuff, have it shipped directly to your favorite charity so that we're not having to have stuff that's been in your storage. We're all going to be very careful on this kind of stuff because we can't afford for this to come back," Marcoe said.

She urges the community if they are doing spring cleaning, to hold on to and organize their items to donate later.

"We've got to pull together. This is not political. This is just a community and we have seen extreme efforts come out of this community. We have so many mask makers that when you ask me, 'How many masks do you think are going out?' I can't even answer because we have so many people,” she said of current efforts.

“We have people learning to sew so they can make masks. We have businesses who are barely keeping their doors open, making meals for people. I think as a community, we're rocking this. We really are. We just need to be patient. More than anything, this is always my motto: We just need to be kind because everyone is living this a different way. “

A Final Message to the Community

“Some people are fearful of losing their jobs. Some people have lost their jobs. Some people have had their hours cut. We just need to continue to be kind,” Marcoe said as her message to the community.

“We're getting there. We can see things coming together. But we got to take care of these kids that are living this, that are home with nervous parents. As lovely as everything sounds, it's hard being home with your kid 24/7. We've got to do what we can to help these families get through this,” she said always emphasizing families in need.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Robb Dunmore, Still Pursuing a Charge to Make Reno Pesticide Free

Trying to Make All Local Parks Safe from Roundup

Robb Dunmore’s involvement in the Pesticide-Free Reno campaign, which has had many twists and turns, and finally few positive outcomes, began in the summer of 2015. As a high school science teacher and summer camp supervisor, he had taken a group of summer camp kids from Truckee to Idlewild Park for a picnic in Reno.

“As we were eating our sandwiches, a guy came by spraying something from a backpack,” Dunmore said. “It was pretty alarming that he was spraying so close to our kids. I felt like he was spraying whatever he was spraying directly on their sandwiches.”

Dunmore approached the man and found out that he was a city worker just doing his job spraying Roundup, a pesticide commonly used to kill weeds. 

“He didn’t even have a mask on [to protect himself], so there were concerns on a lot of levels,” Dunmore said. “So after I brought the kids back to Truckee, I came back to Reno over the next couple of days and tried to figure out what was going on.”

What concerned Dunmore so much about the use of weed-killer sprays like Roundup is the presence of the chemical glyphosate, which has been found in court to be linked to the development of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Consequently, the use of weed-killers like Roundup has been banned in a number of communities across the country. So on that summer day at Idlewild Park, not only were his camp children being put at risk, but also the city worker himself because he wasn’t wearing a self-protective mask.

A California appeals court has set a June 2 hearing in the case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto, an agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901. In 2018, a unanimous jury awarded Johnson $289 million finding that not only did Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides cause Johnson to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but that the company (which has since been bought by Bayer AG) also knew of the cancer risks and failed to warn Johnson.

Dunmore went on his own quest to make Reno parks free of Roundup after a worrisome 2015 picnic.

An Insufficient Pesticide-Free Program


Dunmore’s concern led him to a simple Google search of the Reno Parks District, where he came across a campaign called Pesticide-Free Parks. He wanted to learn more about the campaign, so he went to find somebody from the Reno Parks Department to talk to. It took a few tries, but eventually he was able to sit down with one of their employees who was upfront with him about the chemicals they use in their policy.

“What I found out was pretty discouraging,” Dunmore said. “The Pesticide-Free Parks program is a little bit of a falsehood in my mind. It turned out that only 12 of the 87 sites that the Reno Parks and Recreation Department manages are actually pesticide-free.”

What Dunmore noticed, however, was that the 12 designated pesticide-free parks were the smaller, less-frequently used ones in the city. To make matters worse, after speaking with the head of the Reno Parks and Recreation Department, Dunmore was told that even the 12 pesticide-free parks were still sprayed with glyphosate a few times a year. It was then Dunmore decided he had to do something.

“I got together with a couple friends that were also pretty adamant about the spraying of glyphosate in our parks,” Dunmore said. “Our main concern is [glyphosate] getting flushed down into the Truckee River, our water supply and livelihood in Reno.”

Canyon Creek Park in Ward 1 was one of the twelve parks which were touted by the city as pesticides-free in September 2015.

Reno’s Director of Parks Points to More Rain, Lack of Volunteers

According to Reno’s Director of Parks and Recreation Jaime Schroeder there can be some confusion between the application of herbicides and pesticides.

“We're still testing some alternative products like pre-emergent herbicides,” Schroeder said. “But because they are alternative products and organic controls, they have limited effectiveness.”

The official transition to pesticide-free measures announced in the fall of 2015, and implemented in 2016, also came at a time with more rain after years of drought. Consequently, Schroeder said in our interview, there was a significant increase in weeds that required attention. Additionally, he says, the city was left with less community support than hoped for.

“When this program was implemented, there were lots of promises about groups volunteering to step forward and assist with weed control at one of our 12 pesticide-free parks,” Schroeder said. “Whenever we had additional help from community service workers, we would try to use that method to be able to tackle some of the weeds. Unfortunately, we did not really get the follow-through from [volunteer groups] but the[ designated] parks went ahead and continued to stay pesticide-free.”

Speaking as a concerned citizen and a naturalist, ecologist, and science teacher, Dunmore also took his fight to City Council. He explained how the Truckee River flows from its source in Lake Tahoe all the way to Pyramid Lake, providing a vital water supply to people living in the otherwise dried-up high desert region. When chemicals like glyphosate are sprayed on our parks, they can be swept into the river by rainfall; contaminating the residents of the greater Reno area’s water supply. Since the Truckee River connects so much of our region, the problem of a contaminated waterway, Dunmore explains, spans three municipalities, two states, several counties, and hundreds of thousands of residents including the Paiute people.

A New Movement Separate from the City’s Initiative

Out of his concern for the well-being of the greater Reno community and its watershed came a Facebook group called “Pesticide-Free Reno.” Separate from the city’s Pesticide-Free Parks campaign, Dunmore’s group of advocates began speaking at city council meetings.

“We addressed our concern to the mayor and the city council,” Dunmore said. “Not with a whole lot of results but enough of a squeaky wheel to get the grease. We were granted a kind of special city council meeting with just the parks department and also the head of public works.”

Dunmore says the city council was open to hearing what they had to say. The city’s main explanation for the use of weed-killing sprays like Roundup was the limits of their budget and cuts to staffing, to the point that they don’t have the manual labor available to pull weeds.

“We suggested all the other alternative ways to deal with weeds, horticultural vinegar and steam treatments,” Dunmore said, citing strategies used by cities like Davis and Fairfield in California that have adopted pesticide-free methods.

He says they then learned from Bryan Heller, Assistant Director of Public Works, that Roundup is used by Washoe County as well, in over 1,300 locations. So Dunmore says Public Works sprays pesticides much more heavily than just in the city parks. Additionally, Dunmore says he found out local authorities had retrofitted trucks to spray weed-killers more efficiently around the 5,000 plus miles of the greater Reno area.

A screengrab for the new Facebook group after disappointment set in with the city’s effort.

Going After Pesticide Spraying Trucks

The pesticide spraying trucks Dunmore is referring to can also pose a risk to Reno residents. One of the advocates in the Facebook Pesticide-Free Reno group became involved after she says she and her dog got inadvertently sprayed directly by one of the trucks. Another resident says they got sprayed by one of the trucks while gardening outside, developing respiratory problems soon after. When incidents like that happen, Dunmore says, the city could lose more money than they are saving by creating opportunities for lawsuits.

“I think [the city is] really lucky she didn't pursue legal action and sue because she had quite the case,” Dunmore said of the gardener. “One lawsuit from something like that would negate their entire plan of pesticide spraying. A couple million dollar lawsuit would wipe out everything that they're trying to do [by saving on] the cost of pulling weeds or hiring people to do it the right way.”

According to Heller, Parks no longer uses truck-mounted sprayers. However, they still use trucks built specifically for weed application and have added cameras to the trucks for record-keeping purposes, to also verify claims made against the truck’s operators and drivers.

One positive Dunmore says that came out of their meetings with the city council was the acceptance by Heller to attend a conference in Bakersfield, CA, about the effects of glyphosate put on by the organization Moms Across America. Yet, Dunmore says he nor anyone else in the group received any follow-up or feedback from his experience at the conference.

“I think that there was some genuine concern [from the city council], but not from a standpoint of a true environmental concern or actual concern for the health of our citizens, kids, or wildlife,” Dunmore said. “I think it was more [the threat of potential lawsuits] that we brought to their attention. Our concerns were never validated and no one ever followed up with our discussions.”

Now, Dunmore and the Pesticide-Free Reno group say they have re-directed their mission.

Trying to Educate the Public Again

“We didn't want to be discouraged,” Dunmore said of the lack of progress. “So we went on to try to confront the problem in a more productive manner because we weren't getting anywhere with the city. To my knowledge today, they're spraying just as heavily as ever …”

Pesticide-Free Reno has now focused on a social campaign to educate and change public opinion on the safest methods to remove weeds.

“The root of the problem is [answering], ‘What is a weed?’” Dunmore said. “So we've done things like launch a dandelion challenge with hashtags on Facebook where people take pictures of dandelions on their lawn and #thisisnotaweed and things like that to try to more change the public opinion of what is a weed and and the health risks [of chemicals like glysophate].”

They’ve also organized Earth Day events and have approached the Washoe County School District about their use of glyphosate products on playgrounds where children play.

“We've moved on to rallying the community behind healthier options of not contaminating our world and especially our watershed with chemicals,” Dunmore said. “I [also] help run a organic garden education program for low income and underprivileged kids in our area.”

Dunmore says he finds more hope in the younger generation, and that even if the battle he is fighting for is long, he is confident his side will eventually prevail.

Confidence in the Next Generation But Worried about Homeowners

“We found that the education work that we do is more impactful to make a change for the next generations,” Dunmore said. “The older generations and some of our city leaders are stuck in their ways and are very resistant to change. But we've found younger people and people that care about their health, their family's health, and the environment are far more open to making positive change.”

In addition to educating the younger generation, the group also seeks to educate private homeowners in the area about the risks of using products like Roundup.

“[Many private homeowners] don't use the recommended guidelines on the back of the application in the first place,” Dunmore said. “Then when weeds don't respond, people normally just spray more. So a bigger problem is actually private ownership and so we are starting to focus our energy there where we could do the most good and [facilitate] the most change.” 

Dunmore says they still have watchdog people making sure that when public workers are spraying that they are wearing respirators and applying it appropriately.

Their overarching goal has not changed.

“We're still fighting to this day to make a true pesticide free parks program in Reno,” Dunmore said. “Our goal was to have all of the park sites managed by Reno to use natural and organic weed control measures.”

Different groups have come into the fray of this debate, and Dunmore looks down on some of the tactics others are using.

“There was an active group before us that we are really careful not to be associated with,” Dunmore said, citing an incident in 2015 where protestors threatened to drink out of a Roundup bottle and spilled hoax substance at a city council meeting. “We want to be on the positive side of the campaign and not associate ourselves with that kind of activism.”

As it stands today, the twelve designated parks remain officially pesticide-free. The Pesticide-Free Parks program was originally implemented as a two-year trial. Their two-year evaluation determined that alternative measures simply aren’t as effective as applying pesticides. However, they decided to continue going pesticide-free in those parks. But there are no current plans to expand the program to other parks.

“The Parks Department is responsible for 87 parks, 19 school sites, 54 restrooms, 78 play structures and 34 miles of trail and 1,700 acres of open space,” Schroeder said. “We only have 35 people to do that and we're down to 22 people from the recession. So it's a very large challenge to be able to maintain everything that we do have to maintain.”

Maintenance and Renewed Hope during Coronavirus

In light of the recent shutdowns and closures due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Parks Division is still operating as usual to maintain their parks.

“Our recreation side is shut down,” Schroeder said. “But on the Parks side, the crew is still coming to work every day and doing maintenance operations that may need to be done in order to maintain all of our parks.”

The pandemic is also allowing for a possible reset on many community challenges, so why not how we handle weeds as well?

“Nevada's been a little behind on environmental issues, but we're usually quick to follow other states like California,” Dunmore said of why he also still keeps his hopes up. “I just don't see any reason that Reno couldn't be a leader in a new green movement and really set the bar for the way we treat our water, our wildlife and the health of our community. Reno could be a shining example and then as a state, Nevada can really take the lead and has a chance to do great things on the issue.”

“It's a great goal to try to go pesticide-free in all of our parks,” Schroeder said. “It's just at this time, it’s not something that we can feasibly do and still be able to manage all of the weeds in all of the parks.”

Reporting by Scott King for Our Town Reno

Tim Mahoney, From Improv to Isolation, Hoping to Bounce Back

Time Travel Backwards

Before the COVID-19 era, walking into the Reno Improv theater, the intimate space was quickly filled with smiles, laughter and greetings, with mutual respect between the audience and performers acting out bizarre and hilarious scenarios.

Now the theater is closed and its affiliated website has a glaring banner that reads “Shows and Classes Postponed”.

Tim Mahoney, a teacher, performer, and board member hopes its success will return, because of its importance to the wellbeing of many.

“What we're really about, is community first,” Mahoney said in an interview over the phone during this period of confinement. “It’s also a place where it's safe mentally for people to come in, be creative without the fear of their ideas being judged or told that they're not good enough or whatever,” he said of the in person experience which is no longer possible right now.

“It’s been a tough, tough few weeks,” Mahoney said. “It feels like a lot longer than that. This is the first time in almost 10 years, that I haven't performed on a fairly weekly basis. Certainly it's the first time in a long time, that I haven't been to a theater in more than a few weeks, so it's been a challenge.”

Missing the Interaction with Live Audiences

Mahoney says one of his favorite parts of performing is showing the audience a good time and, “ keep[ing] everybody's heads up a little bit. And one thing we do at  Reno Improv is try to do that on a weekly basis anyways with providing our audiences a place to come and laugh for a little while and take their minds off things. So not being able to provide that absolutely necessary service of just providing a little bit of levity to people's lives is something that I think we miss as performers, but I think that our audience also misses too.”

Mahoney is also dealing with a sharp loss of income. ”A big part of my income is based through the theater and through teaching classes, so there's been a challenge that goes along with that.  Yeah, it's definitely some unknowns that we're dealing with [during] these strange times,” he said.  “Not knowing when we're going to be back up and running is challenging.”

Mahoney says Reno Improv, which has been around “about five years,” already faced challenges with a rapidly changing Reno. “What we don't wanna do is lose the identity of the community that we're already in,” he said going forward.

Thriving on Diversity

Mahoney said performing and teaching in such a diverse and open place has been eye opening for him and others.

“Getting all the different people of Reno in the same room together and getting them to create things together, be vulnerable and honest… And when we're vulnerable and honest on stage at an improv (show), you know, we find out a lot about the reality of things around us.”

This value gives him optimism for the future. “I'm optimistic that when this all blows over and they will want to come out on the other side that our community will be stronger as in so much that we've had to band together.”

Travel forward now, and foresee how when the performers will take their bow, including Mahoney, there will be roaring applause yet again in a sanctuary for collective expression.

Reporting by Gracie Gordon for Our Town Reno

Nathan Cook: On Solidarity and the Community's Role for Reno's Present and Future

Holding Tight for a Few Months

Nathan Cook runs Reno Pyrate Punx, the local chapter of a national organization that books punk rock shows and provides other support for the punk scene.  Along with booking shows, the Reno chapter focuses heavily on community support. Nathan’s chapter of Pyrate Punx regularly holds benefit shows to support people struggling in the area, such as a benefit show they’ve had to temporarily postpone to cover the legal fees and funeral costs for Miciah Lee, a teenager who was shot and killed by Sparks Police in January 2020. 

During coronavirus, without paid work in the fine dining industry anymore, hoping it will resume in June, he’s been practicing guitar, playing video games he forgot existed, and still preparing for an upcoming wedding.

He says he’s been heartened by the community’s solidarity. “I’ve seen people delivering food to people who might be immunocompromised, giving supplies to the homeless people en masse. I think that this is going to keep a lot of people invested in their community, a lot more than they had been because they have to be. I mean at this point there’s no other option.”

How do self-described anarchists, punks and pirates deal with all this government action? “I want to see communities stepping up doing what we’re supposed to do, not because the government is telling us to do so, but because we value expertise as opposed to authority,” he answered. Cook also says we are seeing “a lot of people that most people didn’t consider essential a few weeks ago are really the people carrying our society at this point.”

He’s worried though if the shutdown lasts more than a month or two, on what that will mean, and hoping the moratorium on evictions could be extended at that point, and that there also will be a suspension on rent payments until the economy reopens.

His group Reno Pyrate Punx is hoping events can resume soon, to build community in person. “We’ll get things back on track, when we’re able to hang out together without fear of contracting some sort of deadly virus,” Cook said.

A Q and A on Poverty, Inequalities and Homelessness

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Nathan sat down with Our Town Reno to also discuss growing poverty in the area, housing inequalities, and homelessness. Note: Parts of this interview were trimmed for conciseness and clarity.

Q: It seems like more people are getting left behind as Reno grows and evolves, why do you think that is?

I think that gentrification is a really big problem…For some reason when we have city hall meetings and things like that, where residents are able to voice their opinions, a lot of developers are in those meetings and it seems like they’re heard a little bit more because they have more money. So that worries me. Something needs to be done to fix that.

Q: What do you think is the city’s responsibility [to people affected by homelessness and lack of affordable housing]?

I don’t think that we can really rely on the city or the state to do much for us.  I think it has to be more of a community effort because they’ve already shown us that they’re going to go wherever the money takes them.  I think the best thing we can possibly do is damage control…I think people can go and try and fight city hall, but…I think it makes more sense to help people that you see who need help immediately rather than try to fight City Hall for months.

Here on Wells Avenue, Cook says the last decade has completely changed the surrounding area. “This neighborhood used to be pretty hood,” Cook says, “Now it’s not. Not by any means.” As developers continue to revamp areas of Midtown and downtown, it becomes harder for low-income residents to find a place to live. “I think maintaining affordable housing is one of the other important things, more than even building more [affordable housing],” he says. “We should be building more [affordable housing] absolutely, but I’m worried about seeing things being torn down.”

Q. Do you have any hope that there can be a major structural change [made by the city to help people experiencing homelessness and poverty]?

 I hope so…I mean with this current administration it seems unlikely…I’d like to be hopeful but at the same time, realistically the way the city is going I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon.

 Q. Why is that?

 [For] the people who are getting left behind…whatever their capital degree is that’s what their voice is worth.  If they’re not going to help the city maintain the capital…[or] bring in new business then why would [city leadership] care? Why should they care?  They absolutely should, but…from their perspective, why would they care?

Q. What do you think the city’s future is if Reno continues going down this path?

I see Reno going the way of San Francisco, some sort of dystopian future.

Q. If you could go to city council meetings, what would you say to city leadership?

Nothing they haven’t already heard.  I’d like to go because I think that it takes enough people saying the same thing over and over to…make it stick.  They have to have enough resistance for them to do the right thing really at this point; I feel like if they don’t people will just do what they want. People are dying, people are freezing, they don’t have clean water…and you’re not doing anything about it, and you should. We should do our best to maintain affordable housing…Like [weekly motels] for instance.  Those weekly [motels] on Fourth Street they’re trying to take down are some of the only affordable places for some people to live at this point.  And to be fair there are drugs or prostitution or things like that, but that’s the last line for a lot of people. That’s the last place for a lot of them to live.  And they’re tearing them down to build condos.

Without faith in city leadership to push for change, Cook and the Reno Pyrate Punx focus on helping those around them however they can with events like these. This event has gone to GoFundMe for now, and might happen after the shutdown ends. “For the most part with our benefits, we try to do things to help the homeless [and the rest of the community]” Cook says. “I do think the most marginalized people and the most easily victimized people in our community don’t have much of a voice and we want to make sure they do, or at least do something for them...I want to help.”

Reporting and Photography by Luke Keck for Our Town Reno

Kayla Sisson, Keeping the Local in Reno's Midtown Coffee Options

Remaining Upbeat

Sisson believes that the ever changing Reno is,  “[b]eneficial. I get a lot of foot traffic, like a lot of tourism that comes through because a lot of people say things like, ‘oh , like let's go to Midtown’.”

Sisson feels a powerful sense of support from the Reno community. JoStella replaced a well-known coffee shop called Dreamers. 

Instead, of there being any resentment for Sisson, she says the transition from Dreamers to JoStella, named after her grandfather Joseph Stella, was easy. “. . . ., people came in and they're like, oh what happened to “Dreamers? In the beginning, actually the owner of Dreamers helped. He was still here so then like people would come in and Jonathan would like to introduce me as the owner. So it was a  really good transition.”

Construction in Midtown has made parking and walking difficult, but Sisson is taking the long view that current struggles to make a wider road and sidewalks will be beneficial in the long run.

Little Improvements

The reviews of Jostella have been overwhelmingly good. Nonetheless, there is still hardship to owning a small business in an evolving environment like Reno.

Sisson says she feels pressure to rebrand and stay relevant due to the other well known coffee shops in the area.

“I try to do little things at a time,” she said. “Like I can't do huge remodels all at once, but like I did the countertops, which was like my biggest one. And then I just kind of add new things to make it look nicer as quickly as I can...I just try to be as unique as possible in my own way.”

Above, a minidoc our sister channel Reynolds Sandbox made following the coffee shop’s opening.

High Hopes

Sisson has high hopes for Reno and hopes that it continues to support local culture and businesses. Sisson’s fear, like for many other small business owners, is that there will be a corporate chain store (“like a Starbucks”) on every corner, rather than the unique and, refreshingly quirky charm that only local businesses bring.  

Reporting by Gracie Gordon for Our Town Reno

Angela Handler, Tile Crazy and Loka for Her Community

A Passion for Giving Back

Apart from being “tile crazy”, the 41-year-old, mother of two, and native of Reno also has a passion for giving back. She’s part of the 39 North Downtown nonprofit to help revitalize Sparks where her business Loka Tile is based, while also managing the all-volunteer Loka Cares initiatives, which recently had a Halloween costume drive for foster families.

“I don't like to take in money. What I like to take in is nonperishable foods, a big bags of couscous or brown rice, healthy stuff like that, or quinoa as a staple. We take in plates and forks because that's what we use the most of. We collect tables, so I don't really like taking money. I'd rather take those things because then the person that's donating knows exactly where it's going to,” she said of also organizing food events.

She said she felt compelled to help even more when she thought one of her children acted spoiled.

“My son at the time was seven, almost eight years old and he was going through how normal kids are with picky eating, not being appreciative,” she remembers. “So we found a place down at tent city. It was a different group that was doing it and we started helping them because it instantly kind of opened his eyes a little bit.”

After a while, she decided to organize her own feeding event. “We just decided to take over every Friday and we instantly just came up with a quick name because they wanted a name, an organization name to put down so they knew who was coming. So we just came up with Loka Cares and then that was almost nine years ago.”

“I just love interior design and I love construction and I've been doing this since I was 18 years old, so I just love it. All aspects of it. I mean look at the titles. They're crazy. They're fun. They are different.”

Leading a Team of Volunteers Rain or Shine

Fridays, in the parking lot of 4th and Record street, at around 5 pm, Handler leads a team of rotating volunteers, church groups and businesses chipping in, with an emphasis on healthy food.

Volunteers, including kids, are welcome to bring a dish or just help serve. Supplies which are most needed include disposable plates, bowls, cups, silverware, napkins, organic canned food and pastas, rice, bottled water and toiletries.

“We're serving outside, rain or shine,” she says. “It's in the trenches, it's grassroots and it's good for kids to see. So when kids do come, I like to put them at the head of the line and have them hand the plates and forks, make that eye contact, make that relationship with people, learn the different signs of intoxication or disability or just that different level of, you know, compassion and communication you have to have with people.”

Early in the month, she says up to 200 people are served, while at the end of the month the number can go up to 400.

She says it seems the affordable housing crisis is having an unfortunate impact. “I've been seeing an increase in the population down there, that's for sure. More families unfortunately are down there due to displacements. With jobs, there's so many jobs right now, there's just not the resources to get people to and from these jobs or to even know about these jobs that are available.”

Handler feels a responsibility as a local businesswoman. “Our motto is we're just normal people who simply give a shit. I use that four-letter word because it's true and it's impactful. I mean we should just be helping period. And there's time and if you don't have the time to do it, you have the means to do it. There's always somebody you can help.”

A Doer Also Working for Sparks and for People Beyond Feedings

Handler is also busy with 39 North Downtown Sparks, but she seems to have no shortage of energy and ideas to make her community better, all the while having fun with it.

“There's some hidden gems in Sparks,” she said. “It just needs a little bit of help, a little bit of something. There wasn't any public art really. There was a lack of vibrancy in Sparks. So we decided to create a group to kind of help with that. And it quickly became a big thing because they all were wanting a non-biased group to come in and kind of help everybody, get everybody excited, put on some free community events, bring public art down there, highlight some of the local businesses which we do.”

She only took one class in college as she wanted to plunge into doing not learning. “I actually took half a semester of psychology, but that was just probably for my own purposes. I think when I was young, I would have two to three jobs. I just like to work. So I quickly got into this and then it became a career.”

Loka Cares also knows no bounds in terms of events, or types of help it gets involved in, from the very small but still crucial to very important life changes. “Basically, we definitely like to help with people getting into apartments and having the proper tools to, to live and not get discouraged and we also do care packs. So we have a lot of high school students that will come because we collect bins of toiletries so they'll come out and repackage those so we can give people care packages to keep in their cars or we'll pass them out.”

Handler does not like seeing the current trend of motels being torn down and families displaced. She also relates it to her tile business. “I think they should revamp them. I don't like any kind of waste of building materials at all. I think they should keep them. I love the old tiles. I think it's just a waste of bricks and that just really gets me. Seeing all the rubbish of a building torn down, it makes me … sick. I hate selling stone because it's cutting up mountains. Like Carrara marble. Yes, it's gorgeous, but that's a mountain in Italy or India that is being destroyed. And a lot of people in my industry know that I feel that way, I do not like it.”

No to New Taxes, But Yes to More Services

Handler is proud in being efficient and getting lots done and lots of people connected to work together to help others.

She says it makes her sad when people are condescending or hyper critical of people she helps, saying they don’t know what their situation is.

She’s against a tax on businesses to help the homeless as was recently passed in San Francisco, but would favor more services, such as a mobile unit going to different parts of town.

“I would like to see a mobile unit that gives showers and basic haircut needs and hygiene products, all in one. Giving some people a chance to feel fresh and clean again, and maybe they have an interview the next day, or that day...The mobile unit can come out and help in that situation, give them clean clothes, suit rentals. That would be awesome,” she said as we concluded our interview.

Reporting by Prince Nesta with Photography by Jordan Blevins for Our Town Reno

Colline DeBray, Transmitting an Ache for Gardening with the Urban Roots "Farmily"

Hands in the Dirt

DeBray, a 19-year-old Elko native, has been a gardening educator at Pine Middle School, where she has been working with special education kids.

“A big thing is just to get them outside, just to have them with their hands in the dirt, pulling up roots in the garden, learning about these vegetables, learning about how good they can be. They think, oh, this salty snack, it's so yummy, but why not try this pepper? That's just as good, you know. I think they just don't have the exposure to it anymore. It's not as important to them. But once they like have the ache for gardening, like oh, how cool this is, I just grew this myself, I think the whole reward thing right there drives it more.”

Urban Roots plays an integral part in the local pilot Prescription Pantry program, whereby medical professionals screen patients to see if they have access to adequate food and if not, writing them prescriptions for healthy food matching their diagnosis.

Try It at Home and In the Future

DeBray says some of the kids want to then try planting at home, but she also sees even more futuristic value.

“They can grow these carrots, these potatoes, they can grow any of that at home and I think that's good in itself,” she said. “They're in such an amazing generation with so many new ways of learning and the technology is amazing, but they're going to find these ways to grow things and they're going to make them better and they're just, they're going to take this knowledge and run with it. So if we can just plant the seed in their brain, they'll grow an amazing flower of what to do with everything.”

DeBray believes teaching out of the classroom is essential. “I think the problem with tests and with scores, you know, is that kids are kind of falling away from school, they're not having the drive anymore, but if you have programs like this that show you can learn through unconventional ways, you can learn through gardening, you can learn hands on, I think that'll drive them to do better and they'll retain the information more through touching things, through growing things, through all of that,” she said.

A Wide Range of Programs, Partnerships and Plants

DeBray has also helped with the Little Farmers program, for younger kids, at Rancho San Rafael Park, which will start again in March. “They're so fun. They just like take watering cans, water, whatever. We have garden beds down there and they'll go and water everything, they'll pick and harvest. They're just little balls of fire,” she said of that experience.

At the Urban Teaching Farm, Jenny Angius, the development director, explains they host regular field trips from the Washoe County school district. They also have farm camps coinciding with school breaks here. She lists all the companies which have helped with different projects, from Lowe’s to Moana Nursery.

Angius also emphasizes how kids bring new knowledge home, which can lead to eating healthier. “They are trying more fresh produce there,” she said. “They're taking care of mother nature, they're starting to compost… If they're learning where their food comes from, that's a beautiful thing. They're learning that it comes out of the ground, not in this package. That's a great start,” she said.

Opening one high tunnel after another, the farm and garden manager Daphnne Ekmanis proudly lists what they grow at the teaching farm. “Arugula, mustard greens, radishes, kale, carrots, beets, what else? Broccoli, spinach, cabbage….”

Many of the plants are wilting as winter is approaching, and cars drive by noisily, but here in this little corner of Reno, it does feel like a much needed haven of green positivity and possibility.

Ekmanis (left), Angius (center) and DeBray (right) are three of the “Heroes of Reno” which Urban Roots vibrant.

Our Town Reno Photos and Reporting in November 2018. For more information on Urban Roots and all its programs visit https://www.urgc.org/. They also have drop in hours for volunteers, Saturdays, 10am-12pm, 1700 E. 2nd St.

Rebekah Stetson, Teaching "Mindfulness Through Organic Gardening"

Better with the Kids

Reno native Rebekah Stetson, 34, one of 11 children, who first became a mom at 18, and then felt responsible for being part of the financial system which led to the Great Recession, has had quite a turnaround as well as an unpredictable journey of highs and lows.

Since deciding a future in investment banking and hedge funds was not for her, she’s started or worked for several different community garden and farm projects, here in Reno and previously in Lyon County.

She says working with kids from diverse communities, to her, feels the most impactful.

“I learned very early on, when I was a community health advocate, trying to help an adult change their behavior is a relatively difficult process. So when I look at how valuable my time is and how valuable other people's time is, it’s always, how can we be most effective? And so it always comes back to … if we can teach kids habits that are more beneficial to them than what they currently have, it's a lot easier to start new habits or change habits in children … than to change the deep roots that are habits once we're adults. And … I think it keeps me young.”

“I started consulting in agriculture probably about six or seven years ago when friends or other people in the community said like, hey, we really want to start growing our own chickens for eggs or we really want to grow own garden, but we can't afford to pay somebody to do it for us and we don't really know what we're doing,” Stetson said. “So at that time I would take on one or two or three families per year or individuals and basically mentor, consult them through the process or whatever they were trying to do in homesteading in their own life. “

A Very Concerned Environmental Consultant

Stetson also works for the National Wildlife Federation, to increase awareness and a love for nature in Nevada. But with hotter and hotter summers, she warns of Reno being a “fast warming city,” lacking trees and an urban canopy.

“As it gets hotter, we're growing so fast that we have less of what we call permeable land. So there's not enough soil to soak up the heat during the day. And then the soil naturally regulates heat, so then it cools it down based on the soil below that. When you have a lot of concrete and pavement, it soaks in that heat and then it doesn't conduct it down lower. It just holds it and then the next day it's already a certain temperature and then it just absorbs more heat and so it creates kind of like a heat layer. So … not enough trees and then too much concrete and pavement and that’s increasing all the time. And that's why for Reno, it's really important that we do urban infill and keep building more housing within our urban areas as opposed to taking up rural land and making that more of a concrete jungle than it already is,” she said.

“I would say I love giving gifts, but my favorite gift to give is when I have grown something all the way to its fruition and then created a meal out of it and to watch other people enjoy it is a really, really something that I take pleasure in,” Stetson said.

An All-Around Approachable Activist

Stetson also does work for the homeless and women empowerment and warns others about the dangers of not only climate change but also gentrification and the lack of affordable housing. She does her work in Nevada, but has inspirational role models from across the world and time.

“Mother Teresa was one lady that I didn't know a whole lot about, but I was like, this lady, she's doing good things. I also really respect the work that scientists who are kind of edgy have done. So Nikola Tesla (a Serbian-American inventor best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system) is someone who I really love what he did. And even so far as human beings like Timothy Leary (who advocated for the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs) who are willing to kind of say, I know that my science is edgy, but I think that I'm onto something and I'm going to do it anyways even though it's not popular.”

Her last words for our interview? “We are always looking for volunteers, and they could contact me at rebekah.m.stetson@gmail.com. Whether they want to get involved in educating kids or in climate change advocacy that will work for either. I would love to help more people feel empowered to change our community.”

Reporting by Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins for Our Town Reno

Cory Dayton and His Local Headlock on Hunger

One Last Fight for the Kids

Cory Dayton, nicknamed “Hard”, who once made it as far as a WWE tryout, says his last wrestling bout will be Saturday night, as part of the Headlock on Hunger benefit, now in its third local edition. He says every ticket purchased will provide 15 meals for kids without adequate food in the Truckee Meadows.

The soon to be 37-year-old (next month) says he hopes to continue to put on this event, but that as far as his own fighting is concerned, “my body is telling me it’s time.”

Other well-known local wrestlers taking part include the notorious Reno Scum, Ryan McQueen, Chocolate Papi and El Chupacabra.  

Dayton, who has two kids of his own, said five years ago there was a time he was unable to feed them, and that after being helped by others, he wants to keep “paying it forward” now that he can.

A screengrab of a video from last year’s edition which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyJ0PjAolZE

Putting it in Your Face

“It’s hard to see in your own community,” Dayton said in a recent phone interview with Our Town Reno about child malnutrition and inadequate access to food. “We want to put it in your face,” he said.

According to recent statistics, over 16 million American kids struggle with hunger each year and lack nutritious food on a regular basis. This means about one in five children go hungry at some point during the year. In Washoe County, over 25-thousand kids are estimated to be what’s called food insecure. “In a classroom of 20 kids, that’s four kids,” said Dayton, smacking the point home.

Interview with Our Town Reno in November 2018

Steven Weidman, Reno's New Black and White Street Photographer

Steven Weidman says he hasn’t considered himself a street photographer for very long, but recently he has been contributing both street portraits and now black and white photography of different alleys, motels, bars, stores and signs of Reno, to Our Town Reno, some of which we highlight in this article. 

Weidman says he got into photography again last winter after helping with the homeless overflow tent at the main shelter on Record Street.  He wrote a previous article about this experience which we published on Our Town Reno with some of his portraits: http://www.ourtownreno.com/our-stories-1/2018/8/23/another-night-on-record-street

Q: You are currently taking pictures of alleyways, old signs and street art. What attracts your lens to these? 

Steve Weidman: I have been taking pictures of alleyways, old signs and street art, on and off for many years. I am drawn to angles, textures, and street art. I started photographing graffiti many years ago when I lived in Indiana. I have photographed old and derrick buildings for years and have not reproduced these photos other than to view them myself.

With OurTownReno.com I now have an outlet for many of my photos and it has rekindled my interest in these subjects. At this time, I am using black & white film to photograph portraits of people, in particular the homeless. I am using digital photography to photograph things.

I have just started experimenting with black & white in the last nine months or so and I am quite fascinated with the results. I have started to convert color digital images to black & white images because the results can become very striking.

Q: What do you think of Reno's current changes?

Steve Weidman: I relocated to Reno in 1986 to help start up a new printing division for what was at that time the world’s largest commercial printer. Reno’s layout hasn’t changed that much in the core portion of the city but the population has grown largely in the surrounding urban areas.

In 1986 there were no rush hour traffic jams on I80 or 395. The population has doubled but the road system has not. When I moved here I lived east in Hidden Valley and there were no housing developments south. McCarran was not complete around Reno at that time.

Reno has gotten bigger but not better. There were few homeless in the 1980s but (the situation) has gotten progressively worse as the years have gone by particularly in the last ten years. Lack of affordable housing and unchecked growth have exasperated the problem. But I still love Reno sores and all. 

Q: What do you think of the Whitney Peak planning to demolish the oldest downtown Reno building (the 1872 Reno Mercantile and Masonic Lodge) to expand its own hotel?

Steve Weidman: I think it was allowed to fall into disrepair so that it could be demolished for new construction. My wife emigrated from Germany and I have made eight trips back there with her and have observed how Germans and Europeans respect their old buildings.

Many buildings and structures are hundreds or even over a thousand years old, to them to allow a building to fall into such disrepair is almost unthinkable. My sister-in-law owns a four hundred-year-old farmhouse in a small village in Germany. They keep it modernized even with the foot thick walls. In the United States developers rule.

Q: Why is street photography important?

Steve Weidman: I use it to tell a story, try to focus on what most people try to avoid, to turn their head the other way. What I did for most of my life, avoid the reality of the streets.  You have to live in a city to really see the streets, you don’t see the streets in small town America as much.

When I photograph people in the street, I engage them in a conversation, I want their permission to photograph them, keep their dignity.  So, I am not the type of street photographer that takes pictures of people without permission. I don’t like to invade privacy.

Photos by Steven Weidman shared with Our Town Reno in October 2018

James Dilworth, Keeping the Unpredictable Going in Nadaville

Not There for the Money

While an explanation of his performance art from both last year and this year is cryptic at best, Dilworth is clear about how he differentiates himself from other artists involved.

"Basically they put up a whole bunch of pictures and they start selling things, and doing it as a gallery and they're not making a happening, you know," he said.  "They're not making an experience. They're not doing something strange because inherently I know I really don't make any money from Nadaville because how can you?  If you're trying to make an atmosphere and experience, you're trying to do something, you're not going to be able to really monetize it inherently."

His last Nadaville seems to have been a metaphor performance on the eviction crisis, while his current plan is going to be tied to being an artist.

"I'm going to have an application to become an artist because you know, a lot of people wonder how they can get into this art thing and this stuff," he said. "So we're gonna figure out how they can and they're going to have some applications and Jack Ryan (featured previously on Our Town Reno) is going to be the art commissar."  

Dr. Dilworth features at the opening of the above video in a typewriting service performance back in 2014, for an event called NadaGras, and the soft opening of what was then the Morris Burner Hotel.

A Long History with NadaDada / NadaGras / Nadaville

"I've always liked doing performance art with typewriters. It is called spontaneous writing improv, improvisational writing because basically you give me a topic, I can write it. I'll write anything, a poem, advice, a mystery story, whatever," he said.

For many years, the NadaDada event took place in motel rooms, but Dilworth felt it was taking rooms away from residents who really needed them for shelter.

"The Wildflower Village (with just the sign remaining) has special resonance for me because this is where I first did NadaDada," he said before taking photos for his current black and white Instagram photo project.  He wonders if the former motel / artist colony will stay vacant or be turned into luxury condos. 

Looking at Reno from Further Afield

Even though he lives in Goldfield, Nevada, now, teaching (“everyone needs a day job and that's mine”), writing ("kind of the past, the present, the future of Goldfield, science fiction fantasy kind of horror stuff") and volunteering at a radio station, he comes back to Reno once or twice a month, and keeps close tabs on what's going on.

Evictions and gentrification?  "You have to live somewhere unless you're dead. A lot of places on the West Coast, for years, they haven't kept up with building affordable housing and housing for people who are middle class, and now all they're mostly building is rich people's houses. And that's a shame, because they're pricing people out, especially here. The people who kept Reno going, kept it awkward, who created history in Reno, they are all being priced out," he said.

He predicts another bust after the current boom, just as bad as ten years ago. "Eventually only the rich people are going to be around. And how are they going to be able to do anything if no one can afford to live anywhere? It's basically a Bay Area situation, you know, people are sleeping in cars, people are sleeping under bridges and they're making, you know, supposedly a good wage."

Dilworth says people don't always see the correlation between national politics and hyperlocal realities, but he says that's a mistake. "The events of the last two years politically should make people more aware of what's happening and what is about to happen. Because if you don't see the writing on the wall, you're going to get screwed. And I think unfortunately things are probably going to get a lot worse before they're going to get better because this is the last hurrah from these people who are doing these things."

Room for Optimism

"We have to figure out ways to make life sustainable because there are ways to live here and have everything for everyone. Why not? That's what I always ask. So I think this is possible and I know it's possible. We just have to get through this rough patch," he said.

He also says there is good coming out of the so-called Renossance for artists. 

"The good stuff that has happened is that people are starting to respect and want art and want to do more with it," he said. "The Burning Man culture and a culture of art and creativity and radical self expression and creating temporary autonomous zones. I mean, that's what Nadaville is all about."

"I hope that people throw some wild flowers on it to make it what it was," Dilworth said at the end of his pilgrimage to the now in ruins WIldflower Village.  

Writings, "Bob" Dobbs and Broken Links

From a section of his Non Creative Garbage web project called Haikus a la Kerouac (without the font or formatting): "Life without sunsets dismally trudging onward, where is the beauty? Visions of what was once the most beautiful thing, now sadness creeps in. Excuses abound when some people lack money, falling like snowflakes. Drop Forevermore Pallas's bust on the Chamber Door, get rid of the bird!"

Past websites he's worked on have broken links but he's not worried about that.  "I do have a website I need to resurrect at some point, " he said. "But, you know, it's time I don't have, I don't have an army of assistants helping me. It's just me right now. So, you know, I have to, I have to kind of triage what I need to do."

"That's J.R "Bob" Dobbs. Who was Bob Dobbs? He is the man who was originally clip art, but he became a man.  I am a subGenius."

Interview by Our Town Reno in June 2018

Muralism in Reno Grows As Part of the Biggest Little City's Downtown Cleanup

Part 2, The Curator's Take with Geralda Miller, a Q and A

Geralda Miller previously worked as a news reporter for the Associated Press and as an arts and culture reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal. She has run Art Spot Reno since 2014 with her business partner Eric Brooks. Miller recently sat down with Robyn Feinberg at Homage Bakery to discuss her current involvement in Reno's art scene, and what art means for Reno in this period of development.

While Reno rebrands, part of its journey is a developing public arts scene, which comes with the risk of artwashing, whereby artists take part in a cleansing effort, and act as "regenerative detergent."  Our Town Reno wanted to find out from those directly inside the evolving art scene what their own thoughts were. We first checked in with one of the major homegrown muralists in town, Bryce Chisholm from AbcArtAttack. Part 2 of this series is with Geralda Miller, the curator at Art Spot Reno.

Robyn Feinberg: Can you tell me about yourself and your involvement with the art scene in Reno? I know you have a background with the arts in Reno. 

Geralda Miller: I got into the arts as the arts and culture reporter at the Reno Gazette-Journal, and I was really excited to see what was going on. The paper really wasn’t covering, it really didn’t do a lot of in-depth coverage of the arts. The previous reporter was into the theater, so he wrote a lot about the theater scene, but I was more interested in really digging into the grassroots movement of the art here, and of finding out exactly what was going on, why was it going on, what were the influencers for what was happening at that time. And that was when Dave Aiazzi actually was city councilman, and he was really big for supporting the arts, and he, he was a “burner,” so he went to Burning Man and he was really close to a group of artists that went to Burning Man. So, he got some of those artists, and they were situated at the Salvagery, they came up with the name (the community art space) Salvagery, and .... their first project was a piano project, where they took old pianos and made art out of them. They were placed around Reno during the month of July, which is Artown, and so that was kind of their first art project, an arts collective project. And then, they became part of the temple in 2011, the Burning Man temple, it was built there at that site at the Salvagery. That was really an exciting time because never before had that large a scale piece of art from Burning Man had been built here in Reno. So, that was really kind of giving Reno entree into the art scene of Burning Man. That was kind of, I think, a pivotal point for the relationship between Reno and Burning Man. And Burning Man is key, a key association here for Reno. It’s an economic driver ... and also I think that since this building of the temple, we’ve seen a lot more artists who have moved here, and want to be a part of Reno’s art scene. So, I think that there is some of that that has been a strong influence on Reno.

Robyn Feinberg: Can you talk about this term that’s thrown around, the “Burning Man effect”?

Geralda Miller: Well, I’m a burner, I’m ten years a burner. This will be my eleventh year out there. And I started going out there as a reporter, I actually wasn’t going as the official reporter for the paper. I went out there and shot pictures, I did like a 'who’s who' out on the Playa, I did a photo thing out there, and I went on art tours out there to see the art, and I wrote about the art and I wrote about local artists who were showing their art out at Burning Man. That was my interest, my interest was more about why do artists want to be out there and build, what is it about Burning Man that all these artists want to build out there, and it’s really impressive, I mean, the art that’s out at Burning Man is such a large-scale, and you can do things out there, you can build something, a project, an installation out there that you can’t in the city, that you couldn’t maybe because of size, because you might want to be using fire effects, flame effects on your piece, different kinds of lighting on your piece that just might keep it from being built in a city. So, it’s a great, I find it to be kind of like this great incubator and kind of like a test lab for the arts. It’s also, what’s happening now, I’ve seen a progression where it’s now become this collaborative movement between science and the arts. You see quite a few artists that are pairing up with different types of techies or scientists and they’re building these really interesting, super-creative art pieces out there on the Playa, which are mind-blowing actually.

What is art and what does it do for society? Photo taken along 4th street in downtown Reno.

Robyn Feinberg: Do you think that more people want to bring their art to Reno because of Burning Man?

Geralda Miller: I don’t think that it’s all because of Burning Man, no I don’t think that, I’ve never been one that says that people are moving here only because of Burning Man, I think that there are some people that see that, it makes sense to move to Reno, and even Burning Man is looking for space, and their considering having an office here. For tax reasons, it makes sense. But there are artists who have moved here because now we have The Generator, which is a makerspace, that makes a lot of Burning Man projects, and we also have Artech which is another warehouse that builds Burning Man art. So, because we have these large makerspaces here now, I think that that has helped, kind of like encourage more artists to come to Reno and live in Reno. But I don’t see this big movement, or the “Burning Man effect,” I wouldn’t call it that. I’d just say that, yes, it is one of these influences, but if you look at Reno’s history, you can go back and you can see that there have been all types of artists here for years.

When I think of the arts too, I don’t think of just visual art, you know you’ve got to think about music, about dance, you’ve got to think about theater. Reno Little Theater is the oldest theater in the state of Nevada, it’s right here in Reno. So, there’s been this theater scene that’s been pretty rich here. You’ve got to think about the influence of the casinos. The casinos, back in the day, they all had these huge house bands, they were bringing in these major performers from around the country to perform here in the casinos. And they all needed bands to back-up those singers. So, they brought in, and Reno attracted, top-notch musicians from around the country, around the world. They came here and lived here in Reno, and actually stayed here in Reno. Reno has a very rich music scene and has some strong musicians because of its gaming history...Reno does have a rich history for the arts. And also, you think about the city of Reno, the city of Reno has been purchasing visual art, fine art, for years. The city has acquired, and owns the amount of public art the size of Oakland. Actually, the city itself believes in art. I think that you have think about all those factors, and look at all of that when you think of Reno and Reno’s arts movement.

Businesses are also hiring muralists to paint street art type murals to promote their businesses.

Robyn Feinberg: Having been a writer for the Arts and Culture section of the Reno Gazette-Journal, how have you seen art evolve in Reno?

Geralda Miller: It’s interesting...we now have a mayor who is embracing the arts, and that’s a first. That’s something that we should really be excited about, finally we have someone, even in city government, that is pro the arts. Her state of the city address this year all was based on the theme of the arts, so there has been, and is there movement. A lot of people, and myself, don’t think that Reno is an arts destination yet, I think that we’re on the verge of becoming an arts destination, we have Artown, which is in the month of July, however, we need to do more year-round. That’s one of the reasons why my business partner Eric Brooks and I, with Art Spot Reno, that’s pretty much our slogan. You know, Reno is the sport for year-round arts, it’s 365 days of the year not just one month of the year. And when I will know that we pretty much have it an arts destination when there isn’t this emphasis and focus on just one month of the year. Right now there’s still that, even within the community, even the residents of Reno, you talk about the arts and they go “Oh well I go to Artown,” well, what else do you do? How else do you spend your time on the arts in Reno? Are you going to the theater? Do you have season tickets? Are you going to different musical events that happen outside of July? Off Beat music festival for example. What else are you doing? When we get people from south Reno...when we get them into our downtown area in another month when they’re not scared of the homeless and walking around, then I’ll know that we’ve become an arts destination. When we get people coming over the hill from the Bay Area and they’re wanting to check out more of our arts and culture scene here, then I will know we are an arts destination. I don’t think we’re that yet.

A mural recently added to the side of a motel in downtown Reno, even as many motels, often the last rung before homelessness, are being bulldozed away.

Robyn Feinberg: So can you explain your business, Art Spot Reno, and how it started?

Geralda Miller: Well, Art Spot Reno was started by a woman named Sam Strummel, and she and her husband owned Sierra Water Gardens... And she decided that she wanted to have this business, she want to start Art Spot Reno, and her whole idea was a 'rising tide lifts all ships,'  that was her thing. She was like 'We’re going to have a business where people fly their flags and say they’re an art spot, and it’s like a membership base where businesses can pay to be a member, get a flag.' It was basically just an online resource for businesses to say 'Hey, we believe in art in Reno.' Because she owned two businesses herself, she really didn’t develop the Art Spot as much. I remember when she started the business, you know, I wrote about it for the paper, and I really liked the idea, I loved the concept. So, when I lost my job at the paper and I was trying to decide what I was going to do next with my life, where am I going to go, what am I going to do, and I thought the only way, and the only reason why I would want to stay in Reno, is if I did something that was affiliated with the arts in Reno. I found this to be, this area, the arts to be the growing, the exciting movement for Reno. I said then, if I’m going to stay in Reno, I’ve got to be a part of the arts. And so I went to Sam and I said 'Hey, I love your whole idea of Art Spot Reno, it’s not been something that you have really been able to build, and to grow, and I’d like to take it over.' And she was like, 'Oh my gosh, Geralda I’m so excited.' So, that’s pretty much how I got Art Spot Reno, and Eric Brooks had just moved to Reno, he had been in Scotland, he’s an artist and he had done a residency in Scotland, and he came here to Reno to manage an art space on 4th street. When he saw that that wasn’t really going to happen, he was looking for something as well, and so it was like, well, let’s do this together. That’s pretty much how it started.

Public art is increasingly becoming a selling point for tourism to Reno.

We decided that since I had been at the paper, I saw that people really wanted and needed a calendar of events, what’s going on in Reno. So, our focus was to have the most comprehensive calendar of events, arts and culture events, for Reno so people would have a place to go find what’s going on in Reno. We started it basically with that, with me blogging about what’s going on in the city, and from there we became arts advocates, we became advocates for artists here, and for their rights. So, we started doing more advocacy work. Then, Eric actually was the one who said 'I really like all the murals here in town,' well I said, 'Take me around and show me all of the murals,' I didn’t really know. What he was doing though, whenever someone would come visit him, whenever his friends would come visit from out-of-town, he would take them on these little mural tours, drive them around and show them all of the art murals in Reno. So, he did that with me and I just loved it...that’s when we decided to, on our website, have google maps of the different areas where you could find murals.

That’s when we decided we are this kind of portal or resource for all things art in Reno. So, we said, we’ve go to start offering these Google Maps so people can go out on their own and see the art here in Reno, so we did the Google Map and then we decided, well, let’s give tours. So, we started giving midtown tours, that was our first tour, on the second Saturday of the month. And there’s so many murals, more than 80 now in Midtown, so we split it up, a northern route and a southern route. We now have a docent that helps us out with the mural tours because they’re so popular. We began an art walk, First Thursdays, we thought that, yes, there’s this Nevada Museum of Art that has First Thursday, but wouldn’t it be great if Reno had a First Thursday, wouldn’t it be wonderful if more businesses, more galleries, just kind of fed off of that and opened up and had a First Thursday night. Some cities do it well, Portland does it and has one, Oakland has one. So, we decided to start Art Walk Reno on the First Thursday, and at first, we would give people maps and let them go around and see the art, and now we lead them, do like a tour, we go visit non-traditional places, coffee shops, businesses that are showing art. We do go to some galleries as well...trying to promote, trying to get more people downtown and trying to promote and show all the different parts of art that are here in Reno.

New murals continuously dot the downtown Reno landscape. 

Robyn Feinberg: With the mural tours, I’ve noticed more and more murals going up, is that something you bring people in for, why?

Geralda Miller: Last October, Art Spot Reno put on the Reno Mural Expo. We decided that murals are a way for a community to be a part of the arts, you know, it’s a free gallery, you know, it’s an outdoor gallery... And also, we know that murals help to fight tagging and graffiti. It’s been proven that they really do keep taggers from tagging your city and your walls, and we know that murals can help with fighting blight. So, because of that, we decided to, we walked, my business partner and I, all around downtown, and there’s a woman here who, she’s very active and is always going to the city about areas where there’s a lot of broken glass...areas that need work. We walked with her, and she knew a lot of people who owned some of these old motels that are closed up, and we’ve identified walls around the city that we thought would be great walls to have a mural.

And so, we contacted a lot of these owners, a lot of business owners, and ended up painting murals around, we ended up with 32 murals, so when you talk about the growing mural scene in Reno, you’re talking about what pretty much Art Spot has helped to do to build the mural scene of Reno. We brought in an artist from South Africa, from the Netherlands, we brought, I think, ten national artists from around the country, and even someone from the Navajo nation (Chip Thomas)...he came and was a part of our three day expo. So, we brought in Sebastian Coolidge, who is a well-known muralist from Tampa, Florida. We brought these muralists, artists, from all over, here to Reno. For three days, we identified walls and we had them paint all these beautiful murals in our city. That was something that we did as kind of like our way of helping to bring more art to Reno. We do have here in Reno we do have some strong muralists, and you should come on a mural tour and see that for yourself. But, there’s one muralist in particular, he was our consultant on the mural project and he paints all around the world, Erik Burke. Erik has been fabulous, when you look around the city and see all of these beautiful works of art that are here, most of them, not most of them, but a lot of them are his. He’s a local Reno resident, born and raised here, and for years he was a graffiti artist painting illegally, and now he’s this well-respected artist who is painting around the world.

Public art is often added to places deemed as blight. 

Robyn Feinberg: You said murals help fight blight, can you explain what you mean by that, or what the idea behind that is?

Geralda Miller: Well, you have these areas that are run-down, that are an eyesore on the city and community, and you put a mural up and automatically you’re bringing color, you’re bringing light to an area or some place that’s otherwise just pretty drab and dreary. When we put the Expo on, we’re painting in alleys, and we’re on 4th street, where there are a lot of homeless. We were giving tours, we had docent-led tours every day, and one of our docents told us about, the story about a homeless man who went on the tour and he went on the tour one day, and was listening and paying attention to all the art. The next day, he brought his girlfriend, you know here’s a homeless man and his girlfriend, he came back, he was so proud of what he saw in his area that he came back. So, what does that tell you?

Robyn Feinberg: There’s this new political watchword, “artwashing,” that generally means a city will start building galleries, museums, and paying for more art, such as murals, as part of gentrification and resurgence efforts, with nicer more expensive areas building up around them and pricing people out. Do you agree with that, is it happening in Reno, in your opinion? Is it an intention with the art scene?

Geralda Miller: Of course it’s not the intention, with the art scene, absolutely not the intention with the art scene. I don’t even know why that would be thought to be the intention of the art scene, of course no artist is thinking like that. Artists don’t think like that, that’s not an artist’s purpose. What happens though, gentrification is a fact of life, I’ve lived in enough cities around the country to see how gentrification works. We know that gentrification is happening, look at Midtown. Midtown is a good example of that. And it is a concern, it’s something we’ve talked about, and we talk about with out city officials, regularly. Our concern is that artists are not going to be able to afford to live in these communities where they’ve built. That’s always the way it is. You have artists come in, it’s always gritty. I remember when Midtown was gritty, when Midtown was this area where more of the artists lived and others, and (some) Reno folks were afraid to even go in... I remember when people were afraid to go to Midtown. Now, because of the development, and it’s not because of the art, it’s the development. Yeah, people feel safer when they see art on the walls, the artists were there and the artists were there not so that white folks from wealthier neighborhoods could come in and take it over, that doesn’t make any sense. That doesn’t make any sense to me. Why would an artist think like that? Artists aren’t thinking like that, that’s developers, that’s the way they’re thinking, 'Ah look, they're in here making this area pretty, we can make it prettier, we can like slick it up.' Midtown is very slick right now, I mean, the grittiness is gone. What made it a really interesting, different community, that’s leaving, that’s leaving the area.

Local artists such as Joe C. Rock are getting more and more opportunities to display their art work in a changing Reno.

Robyn Feinberg: To wrap things up, do you think that art is doing something important for Reno?

Geralda Miller: Art is doing something for the city. Art’s doing something for the city right now. I mean when you walk around and you see sculptures, and murals, you can see where it has made an impact. It could make a better impact, it could make a stronger impact in design. It will be interesting to see who this developer who just bought up all of 4th street (Jeff Jacobs who has been buying properties along parts of 4th street), and is tearing down all of these motels, hopefully he’s teamed up with some very creative design firms and will bring great design here, which is art. And also, hopefully have and incorporate, be it sculptures, murals, mosaics, be it something new, light, hopefully that will be incorporated into design. So, there is a way for the arts to strongly be a part of design of new development, and I hope that that happens. I hope that there is that collaboration between the artists and creatives, let’s bring all of the creative minds together, because I think that that’s key, that’s important.

Note: Some comments and questions were trimmed and edited for clarity with no change to the original content or meaning.

Reporting and Portrait Photo by Robyn Feinberg for Our Town Reno