Renoites- The Podcast about Reno Nevada

Education has been one of the most prominent political and social issues in recent years, including during the recent primary elections when voters had the chance to make their voices heard. Some of the issues that we hear a lot about are chronic absenteeism, underfunded schools, the battle between public schools and for-profit charters, and diversity and representation in the classroom. On this episode, I am happy to welcome the president of the Washoe County School Board of Trustees to talk about these issues and more. Beth Smith was recently re-elected with a huge margin, large enough that she has secured her seat and won’t have to compete in a general election in the fall. On this episode we talk about the important issues I mentioned, as well as the recent superintendent selection process and Beth’s own story of getting involved in local education politics. Please VOTE for Renoites as Best Local Podcast in the Reno News and Review's Best of Northern Nevada. You have until July 21 only. This episode was recorded at LCD Modern in Reno, Nevada. Go check out the store near the corner of Moana and Lakeside!

There have been a lot of changes in our understanding about how we talk about neurodivergence in recent years and it can be hard to keep up. With social media driving a lot of the conversation, it’s easy to get incorrect information about things like autism and ADHD. One of the leading experts in Reno, and our guest on this week's episode of Renoites, is Cady Stanton. Her organizations Facilitate Joy and the Autistic Resilience Network work to provide a variety of services from individual and group support to education, resources and more. In our conversation in this episode, we talked about the changes in how we define autism, the under-reported challenges autistic people face both culturally and medically, the upsides and downsides of social media in spreading information about neurodivergence, and much more! Thank you for listening! Renoites is a listener-funded program that can't exist without support from listeners just like you. You can learn how to help make this project financially sustainable by visiting http://patreon.com/renoites Please be sure to also follow us on social media and subscribe wherever you get podcasts. Thanks again!

Kris Vagner has been writing about the arts in Nevada for a long time. She worked as the arts editor of the Reno News and Review beginning in 2004 and has either been on staff or doing freelance writing there and in countless arts publications for most of the years since. She earned her master's degree in Media Innovations from UNR in 2019 and launched her own statewide arts publication Double Scoop. And as of 2023, Kris has returned to the News and Review to now serve as the managing editor, as it has returned from a brief stint as online-only back to print (now in a monthly format available at hundreds of local businesses). On this episode of Renoites, Kris joins Conor to talk about her career in arts journalism, and her experiences of the art community in Reno. Some of the topics include the opportunities (and sometimes lack of opportunities) for working artists, the challenge of an iffy "career ladder" and limited exhibition spaces in our mid-size city, the impacts of Burning Man on our public art and access to international artists and culture in our own backyard, and much more. In the conversation about media itself, Kris talks about the difference between arts and news reporting, the history of the News and Review and it's changing formats, the reason Double Scoop is a statewide publication and she considers art from a "statewide community" perspective, and much more on those topics as well! You can find Double Scoop at http://doublescoop.art and the Reno News and Review at http://renonr.com . Be sure to also follow those publications on social media and sign up for the Double Scoop newsletter to stay in the loop on arts events throughout the state. Thank you for listening! If you enjoy the show, please help spread the word about it, and consider becoming a financial supporter at http://patreon.com/renoites to help the show become financially sustainable (it costs money and time to make this thing!) If you have feedback or guest suggestions, email me at conor@renoites.com or send me a message on Instagram at http://instagram.com/renoites p.s. I made a joke in this episode about not caring what listeners think about the conversation but that isn't true and I always think about how to make the show the best it can be! -Conor

We've done a lot of episodes of Renoites about how Reno is growing and the ways we can reduce the likelihood of people being priced out as the costs of housing increase. Public housing has an important role to play, and for 80 years the Reno Housing Authority has owned and operated public housing units, administered housing choice vouchers (formerly known as "Section 8"), and continue to work to build a portfolio of public housing units of diverse types in diverse neighborhoods. On this week's episode, we are joined by the Executive Director of the Reno Housing Authority, Dr. Hilary Lopez. We discussed the way that public housing funding works, battling dated stereotypes of what public housing looks like, the process of working with landlords to accept housing vouchers, how changes in the economy affect public and private developers differently, and much more! The organization has several projects in the works currently, and recently announced a deal with Jacobs Entertainment to build additional public housing in the downtown area. We didn't discuss that deal on this episode because it was recorded before the announcement, but I encourage your to read about it from other local journalists who have done a great job of covering that deal. See this article from Downtown Makeover Thank you so much for listening! You can learn more about the Reno Housing Authority at http://renoha.org and be sure to follow Renoites on Instagram at http://instagram.com/renoites Please consider supporting Renoites on Patreon! This is a LISTENER-FUNDED program, and can't survive without the financial support of listeners like you. Learn more and contribute as little as a dollar an episode at http://patreon.com/renoites Send feedback and guest suggestions to conor@renoites.com

Some of the most important years of our development, when we're learning communication skills and how to navigate the world, are spent in the jungles of the elementary school or middle school playground and classroom. It can be very easy to learn the wrong lessons, struggle with friends, and end up carrying those challenges into the future. All of this is especially true for girls, who face a unique set of challenges on top of everything else. Girls on the Run Sierras is working to help fill that social and emotional learning gap by teaching girls from 3rd-8th grade important skills for self esteem, choosing friends, talking about emotions and relationships, and much more during an after-school program based around (but not actually focused on) running. Over the course of a 10-week season, girls might learn about how to choose the right friends for them and how to let the wrong friends go, how to properly name their emotions and the healthiest way to deal with them, what steps they might take to move towards their dreams, and they do it all while preparing for a 5k run with no clocks, and where every girl's race bib is number 1. On this episode, Executive Director for Girls on the Run Sierras Joy Heuer joins the show to talk about the GOTR programs and philosophy, the importance of inclusion for all girls, creating equitable access to after-school programs, how the lessons learned in GOTR are brought back to the classroom and into the home, and so much more. GOTR has Spring and Fall programs, as well as a summer camp, and more information can be found at https://www.girlsontherunsierras.org/ Thank you so much for listening! Renoites is an independent, listener-funded, and community-oriented project. Please consider contributing to this work at http://patreon.com/renoites to help it become financially sustainable. Patrons also receive benefits like bonus segments, Renoites merchandise, and more! If you have suggestions or feedback please email me at conor@renoites.com and be sure to follow me on Instagram!

Oscar Delgado served as a member of Reno's City Council for a decade before resigning last year to focus on his work as CEO of the Community Health Alliance, a Federally Qualified Health Center providing care to many of Reno's lower income families. On this week's episode of the show, Oscar sat down with Conor to discuss the role that FQHCs play in our health care system, both locally and nationally, the issue of stigma around lower income clinics, the importance of providing primary care and reducing the use of urgent care for all medical issues, the model of providing a variety of services under one roof (dentist, mental health, nutritious food, and more), the rollout of COVID vaccines in the early days of the pandemic, and a lot more! On an extensive bonus segment (available for all patrons of the show), we talked more about some local political issues, including the upcoming election year, the process of appointing a replacement for his seat rather than holding a special election, redistricting and elimination of the at-large seat, the toxicity and invasion of privacy that has plagued our politics in recent years, and more! Thank you so much for supporting the work I'm doing with Renoites! This month marks 3 years of bringing conversations like this one to the people of our community. I'm very proud of the work I've done and it wouldn't be possible without you listening and sharing. If you have suggestions or feedback, email me at conor@renoites.com and follow me on Instagram at http://instagram.com/renoites

Career education in Washoe County Schools isn't just "shop class" like it was when I was in high school. Across the country and here in Northern Nevada, rebranding vocational education to "career and technical education" has brought about a lot of changes including programs focused on business, culinary arts, medical professions, and much more. Here in Washoe County, some of those programs are housed in "Signature Academy" schools with a special focus, but every high school has CTE opportunities of some kind. On this episode of Renoites, I welcomed Josh Hartzog, the Director of Career and Technical Education and Signature Acadamies for the Washoe County School District. We talked about what CTE is and how it has changed over the years, how the district determines what programs and focuses to offer, the importance of having programs for less exciting but more in-demand professions but also for uniquely interesting or engaging ones as well, how CTE programs are funded, the challenges of creating equitable access to these programs, and so much more! There is also a bonus segment EXCLUSIVELY for patrons from this episode and most others this season, so please be sure to check that out too! On that bonus segment, we delve into the politics a bit, discussing the search for a new superintendent (again), the results of last year's legislative session, and the politicization of school boards. You can find that segment and more information at http://patreon.com/renoites Thank you so much for listening! As always if you have suggestions or feedback please let me know! You can always email me at conor@renoites.com and be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe wherever you get podcasts!

This episode of Renoites was recorded in front of a live audience at Black Rabbit Mead in Reno, Nevada on January 28, 2024. People choose to abstain from alcohol for a host of different reasons. We often associate sobriety with alcoholism and "recovery" but in recent years there has been an increasing awareness of the "sober curious" movement. Maybe you're doing Dry January as part of a New Year's resolution. Maybe you're training for a physical event like the Reno Tahoe Odyssey. Or maybe you just want to go out with friends but don't feel like having a drink tonight. Whatever reasons you have to not drink, the food and drink industry is starting to adapt and create better options. Recently at a non-alcoholic drink tasting and live podcast taping at Black Rabbit Mead, I sat down with Sarah Bear Rively, founder of Curious in the City. Sarah has abstained from alcohol for several years, after deciding that the party culture of Reno from her younger years and the "wine mom" culture of motherhood weren't the right fit for her. She's launched Curious in the City, which is aimed at creating more options for people who are choosing not to drink (for whatever reason). On this episode, we talked about the different reasons that people choose to abstain from alcohol, the difference between sober and sober-curious, the increasing options for non-alcoholic beverages, whether there is a generational component to these decisions (Sarah and I are both about 40), how Reno compares to other cities that are embracing non-alcoholic as a trend, and so much more! Curious in the City is hosting a non-alcoholic dinner with Chef Jonathan Chapin on March 8. The event will include a 5-course meal with non-alcoholic wine pairings by Jøyus Wine. Tickets can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/savor-the-moment-a-five-course-dinner-with-chefs-chapin-butterfield-tickets-817381579307 You can find Curious in the City on Instagram and Facebook Thank you for supporting local media! Be sure to subscribe to Renoites wherever you get podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and show your financial support at http://patreon.com/renoites

Reno is experiencing a massive housing shortage, resulting in much higher rents than we have seen in the past. We aren't alone! In much of the country, following the financial crisis of 2008, development just kind of stopped and hasn't kept up with the changing population in high-demand cities like Reno. On this week's episode of Renoites, I talked about housing development and much more with Batuhan Zadeh, owner of Marmot Properties, a local development firm that has worked on many residential projects around Midtown, historic buildings like the Santa Fe and Coca Cola bottling plant (more recently the home of Junkee), and many others. We talked about what goes into the development process and how it is determined which projects go forward and which ones don't, why downtown is doing so much worse than Midtown when it comes to revitalization efforts, the process of saving historic buildings not through tight restrictions on superficial changes but by activating them and making them financially viable, the difference between local and out of state developers, the lessons learned from starting small businesses himself, and much more! Please consider supporting Renoites on Patreon! Patrons get bonus content, early access to episodes, Renoites merch, and more! Most importantly, you get to know that you are helping make LOCAL MEDIA FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE. You can learn more at http://patreon.com/renoites Send guest suggestions or feedback to conor@renoites.com and be sure to follow me on Instagram and subscribe wherever you get podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Please consider supporting Renoites financially at http://patreon.com/renoites I have long wanted to do an episode of Renoites focused on the Basque history and culture of Nothern Nevada, but for some reason it kept ending up on the back burner. This week on the show, I am so grateful to finally share an episode all about this history of the Basque people both in the Basque Country as well as the Basque diaspora and it's impact and relevance in the West. My guest on this episode is Iñaki Arrieta Baro, head of the Jon Bilbao Basque Library at UNR. It holds the largest collection of Basque materials outside of the Basque Country and is among the largest collections in the world. The library serves an important part of the Basque Studies program at UNR and continues to preserve texts, photographs, audio and video recordings, journals, and even records of Basque tree carvings (arbor glyphs), an art form unique to the Basque in the West. Thank you for listening and enjoying early access to this and other episodes. I hope that if you're enjoying the show you'll tell friends and family about it and help spread the word! Your support is invaluable and so very appreciated! If you have comments, suggestions or feedback send me a message on Instagram @renoites or email me at conor@renoites.com

Renoites is a listener-funded project. Please consider signing up to support the show at patreon.com/renoites The Potentialist Workshop on 2nd Street has long been a hub for artists in Reno, and recently opened their new interactive exhibition, Upside Down Land. Upside Down Land is based on bedtime stories Pan Pantoja (Executive Artist at the Potentialist) has told his son over the years. It begins in a child's bedroom and a journey through the closet takes visitors into a fascinating world with over 200 sculptures, hidden rooms, and endless fascinating details. A number of notable artists from Northern Nevada have come together to contribute works to the exhibit, which visitors can explore and interact with. Pan has been a very important member of Reno's artistic community for 20 years, with involvement in organizations like the Holland Project, Spoken Views Poetry Collective, Reno Art Works on Dickerson Road, The Generator, and much much more. On this episode, we talked about the importance of art in helping people see things differently, how all the rules are made up, Pan's journey in Reno's art community and stint as Poet Laureate, and a whole lot more. You can learn more about the Potentialist Workshop and buy tickets to Upside Down Land at their website, potentialistworkshop.com If you have suggestions or feedback, please send me a message on Instagram (@renoites) or email conor@renoites.com Thanks for listening!

Renoites is the weekly podcast for Northern Nevada. Listen free wherever you get podcasts and please consider supporting the show at patreon.com/renoites to help it become financially sustainable! Restaurant work has long had a... certain reputation. The professionalism you see in the front of house isn't always matched by the drugs, sex and rock n' roll environment frequently found in the kitchen. Reno chef Jonathan Chapin knows it well, having began his food career in one of the few work environments tolerant of tattoos and partying, but then getting sober and growing his career and honing his skills. Torn between the kitchen and Reno's punk rock music scene, Chapin also owned and managed music venues and booked local and national acts. After 14 years of sobriety and shortly before the COVID pandemic, Chapin lost it all. Through drugs, alcohol, depression, and jail, he burned most of the bridges and was forced to rebuild his life and career in recent years. In that time, he got sober once again and began a series of fundraiser dinners for local non-profits, launched his brand Reno Recipes, become the host of a weekly cooking segment on KOLO's Morning Break, and established himself as a fixture on Reno's ever-growing food scene. On this episode of Renoites, Conor and chef Chapin talk about the path his life has taken to bring him to where he is now, the importance of fostering talent in young chefs, creating a kitchen environment with less shouting and egos than you see on TV, the deal he made with the universe after a suicide attempt, and much more. If you or somebody you know needs help, there are people you can call. Call 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline or Crisis Support Services of Nevada at 775-784-8090 If you have guest suggestions or feedback, please email conor@renoites.com and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

It takes a lot of work by a lot of people to provide over 1,000 hot meals a day to people in Reno at the St. Vincent's Dining Room and the Nevada CARES Campus. It also takes a lot to manage an endless stream of items donated by our community that work their way into new apartment kits or onto St Vincent thrift store shelves. And the pantries! It definitely isn't easy providing hundreds of boxes of food to families across Northern Nevada every single day. Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada does it all and more, and has been a primary provider of these type of services in the area for over 80 years. On this episode of Renoites, we're joined the CEO of that organization, Marie Baxter. Marie has been with CCNN for 8 years and has a long history in the Reno non-profit sector, including a decade with the Reno Rodeo Foundation. Conor and Marie talked about the variety of services that CCNN provides to the community, and how those services work to address both immediate and long term needs of people experiencing poverty. Some of the topics on this episode include: Renoites is a weekly interview show hosted by Conor McQuivey and featuring guests from Northern Nevada. Topics include news and politics, social issues, arts and culture, businesses and nonprofits, and much more! Be sure to subscribe wherever you get podcasts. If you would like to support the work of independent, local media, please consider signing up on Patreon. For as little as 3 dollars a month, you can help make this show financially sustainable! Patrons receive benefits including early access to episodes and exclusive bonus segments! Learn more at http://patreon.com/renoites If you have feedback or suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Find Renoites on Facebook or Instagram, or send an email to conor@renoites.com This episode was recorded at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. You can learn more about the NAM and buy tickets here!

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Black Rabbit Mead in Reno, Nevada on October 26, 2023. Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that borrows from other team sports like soccer and football and is played on a 100-yard field. Players try to move the frisbee down the field to an endzone while avoiding interceptions and missed passes, and the sport has long been a popular one on college campuses. On this episode of Renoites, recorded live at Black Rabbit Mead, several members of the team Black Ice from the University of Nevada, including the founders and several coaches, joined the podcast to talk about how the game works, their experience in the sport, it's unique features like a "spirit of the game" instead of a referee, how the team has grown and changed, their most embarrassing and most rewarding experiences on the field, and so much more! If you enjoy this episode and want to support Renoites, please consider signing up at http://patreon.com/renoites as a financial supporter of the show! Patrons get benefits like early access to some episodes, exclusive patron-only video newsletters with updates about the show, free or discounted Renoites merch, and more! Send guest suggestions for future episodes or other feedback to conor@renoites.com Learn more about Black Ice on their Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/unrwomensultimate/ and donate to help fund team expenses at https://unr.imodules.com/s/1949/cf21/interior.aspx?sid=1949&gid=2&pgid=1943

One of the very first episodes of Renoites was with Ben Castro of RISE, the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, in which we talked about homelessness in the Reno area. That episode was recorded shortly after the opening of OUR Place, the designated area shelter for women and families. Recently, a listener reached out asking for an update on OUR Place. On this week's episode of the podcast, we deliver exactly that! Kim Schweickert has worked with unhoused individuals in Northern Nevada for many years, and is currently the Human Service Coordinator at OUR Place, under the Washoe County Human Services agency. Conor and Kim talk in this episode about the services that OUR Place provides and how it fits in the to ecosystem of homeless services in Washoe County, the different models of addressing homeless and terminology like "shelter resistant" and "housing first," the challenge of making an exit plan from a shelter environment when there isn't much affordable and accessible housing in the area, untreated mental illness and it's connection with substance use, and a whole lot more! This is the last normal episode of this season of Renoites, though there are still a couple live episode recordings to come, so keep an eye out for those. We'll be back with new regular episodes in the beginning of 2024, so please reach out and let Conor know what you'd like to hear! Who would make a good guest? What topics are important to you that we should cover? Send your emails to conor@renoites.com Thank you so much for listening! Please consider supporting Renoites on Patreon at http://patreon.com/renoites

Recycled Records is Reno's longest-surviving record store and a staple of the small business and music communities here in the Biggest Little City. Many of us bought our first cassette tapes, CDs, or records at Recycled Records. We've seen them move locations a handful of times over those years, including moving into Midtown before it was cool, and recently leaving Midtown now that it's expensive. On this episode of Renoites, Conor sits down with longtime former owner of the store, Paul Doege. Paul purchased Recycled Records shortly after it opened and began running the business at the age of 23. He spent almost 40 years as the owner and manager before retiring in 2019 and selling the business to some of his long-time employees. Conor and Paul talked about the business model of used records and how it helped Recycled Records survive both the rise in digital piracy of the early 2000s and the advent of streaming in more recent years, the different locations of the store throughout the years as landlords regularly raised rents by impossible amounts, the early days of Midtown where Paul was an active member and one-time president of the merchant's association, the impact of TV, radio and print advertising in establishing their brand, Paul's plans to travel to Antarctica now that he is retired, and much more! Recycled Records is currently located at 4048 Kietzke Lane in Reno and can be found online at http://www.recrecreno.com Thanks for listening! If you have feedback or guest suggestions, please email conor@renoites.com and consider supporting the show financially at http://patreon.com/renoites

Dancing is one of those activities that is good for our mental and physical health, as well as a social activity that requires communication and cooperation. Some of the most popular dance events in Reno are for latin styles like salsa and bachata. On this week's episode of Renoites, we welcome William "BB" Flanders, one of the driving forces behind Reno's latin dance scene for the last 15+ years, including the Reno Latin Dance Fest, a 4-day festival celebrating it's 16th year from January 4-7 at the Silver Legacy. BB and Conor talked about the history of latin dance events in the Reno area, the nonverbal communication involved in leading or following in social dances, the rise and fall of various dance trends, the impact of dance contest TV shows, ways for absolute beginners to get started, and much more! You can learn more about latin dance events in Northern Nevada at http://www.salsareno.com and the Reno Latin Dance Fest at http://www.renolatindancefest.com Thank you for listening! Please consider supporting Renoites on Patreon at http://patreon.com/renoites and send any feedback or guest suggestions to Conor at conor@renoites.com

This episode is a collaboration between Renoites and Vibrant Voices, a diversity-focused and student-run newsroom at the University of Nevada, Reno. It was produced by Conor McQuivey and Kathleen Leslie. Guillermo Bert is a multimedia artist originally from Santiago, Chile and is now based in Los Angeles, California. His artwork provides an in-depth exploration of the resilience and struggle of immigrants. In this episode, Guillermo explains his process of creating art along with his incorporation of new experimental forms of media. He also describes how his work highlights and preserves Indigenous and Hispanic cultures that have often been erased. His artwork provides a commentary on how the United States addresses immigration and other various issues in a creative and bold way. He currently has two exhibitions in Reno, Nevada: Groundwork at the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art and The Journey at Nevada Museum of Art. Groundwork will be shown until January 7, 2024 and The Journey will be shown until February 4, 2024. Thank you so much for listening and be sure to follow @renoites and @vv_unr on Instagram. You can also visit http://www.renoites.com and https://www.vibrantvoicesunr.com to listen and learn more!

Do you know what a city manager does? Most people don't! While our elected officials may have more name recognition because they have to go out and campaign, Reno's form of government puts a lot of responsibility on a city manager, someone whose role is similar to a CEO for the city organization. Today on Renoites, Reno's city manager Doug Thornley sits down with Conor to discuss what a city manager actually does and how he came to be in that role, the competing visions of what Reno should be as a city, how various economic trends have affected the area over the recent decades, what different neighborhoods are doing to improve their livability and reputation, and more. We also talked about a few recent news topics, including the recently announced billion dollar expansion at the Grand Sierra Resort, the regional approach to homelessness including the CARES campus and the now-closed Record Street shelter, and the upcoming changes to Reno's streets to accommodate different modes of getting around downtown. If you have feedback or guest suggestions, please email me at conor@renoites.com Renoites is a listener-funded project and only remains viable through contributions from listeners like you. Learn more and help this show continue to exist by visiting http://patreon.com/renoites Thank you for listening and for your support!

Do you know how animal control and pet adoptions work in Northern Nevada? If there is a stray animal, who picks it up and what happens next? On this episode of Renoites, Conor speaks with the executive director of the SPCA of Northern Nevada, Jill Vacchina Dobbs about how the system works and much more. Jill and Conor explore how the animal control process works in Northern Nevada, and what happens when parts of that process fail (spoiler alert: it means overflowing shelters and animals at risk of being euthanized for space), how COVID affected animal adoptions, bans of specific dog breeds here and around the world, the challenges of finding pet-friendly housing in a tight market, and much more! Adopt a pet! You can learn more about the SPCA of Northern Nevada at their website, https://spcanevada.org/ Thank you for listening! Learn more about how you can help Renoites become financially sustainable by visiting http://patreon.com/renoites and send guest suggestions or feedback to Conor at conor@renoites.com