Fresh Rubble Near and Far
Further advancing into previous motel territory, the gentrification forces of Jacobs Entertainment this week leveled the Castaway Inn where hundreds of our neighbors with no credit or bad credit, low income or fixed income, used to live, including disabled and LGBT members of our community, senior citizens, seasonal workers, veterans, families barely hanging on economically, the formerly unhoused and incarcerated.
Rather than a self-proclaimed “Neon Line District” what we now have is a neighborhood mostly filled with dirt lots, filled shelters, including the Cares Campus, now referred to as a “zoo” by people staying there, and an “unmanageable warehouse” by several staff working there, with countless calls to law enforcement. Boulders were recently added as part of a hostile architectural offensive where people staying near the compound used to have tents. A volunteer outreach group was recently shooed away from the area, so there are hints of being in an economic war zone of sorts here in the Biggest Little City.
In terms of the Ukraine war, there has been an incredible outpouring of local support for victims of that horrible conflict, including Ukrainian colors on landmarks, flowers on the Believe sculpture and communal gatherings.
Here’s an interesting link to a list of where to directly send money to help people in Ukraine, from the fundraiser for Sunflower of Peace for medical backpacks, to Razom for Ukraine, “supporting the people of Ukraine in their pursuit of a democratic society.”
As with any donations, be aware that when sending money to government entities, major organizations, or totally unknown ones, there is always the risk of diversion of your money to overhead, bloated salaries or other corruption. Sites such as Charity Navigator can help inform your decisions. Directly contacting recipients of your generosity can also be a good guide.
Our archive, overarching website (screengrab above) has gotten a redesign for improved functionality and giving more prominence to our recent reporting in our different categories. Within Our Stories, we’ve also expanded the Our Short Docs section which was updated to include films we showed at our recent short docs film festival at West Street Market.
Our podcast this week is with Kyle Isacksen who is running for Washoe County Commission District 3. We also recently reported on Nnedi Stephens kicking off their campaign for the Senate District 13 seat. We plan to interview more innovative candidates in the weeks ahead as filing season closes, and races take shape.
Our #keeprenorad features included one about a Reno duo releasing their first hip hop album, and a local Henna artist with an incredible story of resilience.
Our recommended read took a current look at nostalgia through rereading Sweet Promised Land by Robert Laxalt.
If you’d like to contribute to Our Citizen’s Forum page or our Ideas for Progress, never hesitate to use our contact page to do so. Also if you have photos and/or videos you feel should be more widely circulated, or information that needs to be looked into, never hesitate as well to reach out.