Jacobs and Keolis Back in Question
One of our city council members Naomi Duerr previously asked for public “community workshops” to address the Jacobs situation (which succinctly put is a huge buyout dating back several years now, with little to show beyond fenced off dirt lots, a few bright lights, out of place art, and destroyed motels where hundreds of lower income people used to live). For now, it seems we will have a public hearing Wednesday at which time we expect more comments to pour in. Will these make any difference though?
Stated in the public notice sign is this line: “The proposed agreement provides financial incentives to the developer and sets development standards for properties within the Reno Neon Light District.” How did this area get this name and is it one accepted and used by local residents? More broadly, who gets to decide to rename an area? And what are these “financial incentives” we are talking about and why would we give these to a developer?
We have been reporting about this Jacobs project for years, including an investigation into its vast web of influence and close, sometimes paid, connections with Reno’s powerful, as well as on a motel owner resisting to sell. The warnings were the same back then when we wrote those articles three and four years ago, and so were the dirt lots.
The first hint of Council opposition to the contracted Keolis private bus operator came this week, no surprise, from Jenny Brekhus, often a lone voice against the rest of our elected city officials. Brekhus, who has also questioned and been the sole no on votes on parts of the Cares Campus shelter plan and the Jacobs expansion, is asking for an overall reevaluation of how the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County is leading our bus system. The union negotiating a new contract, after the previous one expired in July, wants Keolis, hired by RTC, now fired. After a previous strike over health care turned into a round of federally-mediated negotiations, a new strike is taking place over scheduling methodology. The chair of the RTC board, fellow council woman Neoma Jardon has called the new work stoppage “unacceptable.” Don’t drivers have a right to fight for better working conditions, especially as they’ve been through so much and have been so courageous for our benefit throughout the pandemic?
As part of our heroes of Reno running series, we highlighted the recent work of Heather Carpenter, who has been helping different mutual aid initiatives, and also developing resources to inform the public of the region’s available services, such as where and when different food pantries operate.
Our podcast episode this week is with Robert, and what happens when you slide out of the job market for different reasons, mainly health related, and how people in such a predicament, tragically, can lose almost all hope. Can’t we do better to help those struggling in our community? is one of our tag lines.