Contentious Debates over Numbers of Unhoused and on Future Voting at our Library Board Persist
Highlights of our Weekly Reporting plus Bonus Content.
There’s been continued debates of late on social media on the numbers of unhoused locally and which direction we are trending overall.
While elected officials and county staff keep touting what we view as inherently faulty point in time count data, and a 40% reduction in homelessness, others point to at near capacity bigger and bigger shelters or over capacity ones such as the Eddy House for youth getting record numbers of occupants.
The eye test also suggests many people are still hiding out in tents, parks and vehicles along the Truckee River and railroad tracks further east.
Meanwhile, the still being perfected Homeless Management Information System indicates a decrease from a high of nearly 2500 people being assisted in Washoe County in February 2023 to a much lower total last month of 1723 individuals registered in an eligible support program.
Also highly divisive in our community are the library wars which will be coming to a head in 2024, with former Library Board President Frank Perez recently stepping down to run for Reno council in the redrawn downtown Ward 1.
The next board president will be Gianna Jacks, a home-schooling tax and business consultant from the San Fernando Valley who following excellent reporting in the Reno News and Review was found to be a favorite of the Northern Nevada hard right.
Example from Charlie Kirk supporter Schayden Gorai who is “preserving liberty” according to his bio links: “As the lone advocate for reason, common sense, and genuine family values on the board, we are excited about the future of our library system. This appointment signifies a pivotal moment for our Children and a shift in direction for our Library Board,” he wrote on X.
The reporting by Delaney Uronen also indicated Jacks recently appeared on the Nevada Radio Roundup talk show with a member of Wake Up Washoe County and a representative from the Washoe Patriots discussing removing books from local public circulation.
How another new member of our Library Board Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce CEO Ann Silver keeps voting and who is nominated by the County Commission to replace Perez will go a long way toward determining if our libraries allow the hysterics to have their say in banning books and eliminating drag queen story hours.
The trend is going that way as Jacks initially defeated Lea Moser and Al Rogers 3-1 to become the board’s vice chair, which after Perez stepped down put her in the chair seat.
During a late December meeting, Jacks unsuccessfully tried to have Library System Director Jeff Scott resign or be terminated. Maybe the three who voted for her have now read Uronen’s reporting, or maybe it was others who have been fooled in this process, with the future direction of our local libraries at stake.
Highlight of our Weekly Reporting
Melody, Between Tents and Motels, Hoping her Belongings Wouldn't Disappear
Jake Jacobson is Country Rising with Reno EP
A Mother’s Endeavor to Destigmatize Drug Addiction and Create Awareness
