Joey Gilbert Back in the Ring, a Lonely Desert Rose Inn and Looking into our Local Foster Care System
In the end, there was no red wave, barely a red trickle. Catherine Cortez Masto guaranteed the Senate remains under Democratic Party control with a late batch of votes from Clark County. At the state level, we will have an already lame duck Republican governor, while election denialists seeking other positions were defeated. Locally, Meghan Ebert might bring new perspectives to a City Council which has all too often gone 6-1 in favor of any developer, and Kendra Bertschy, a favorite of local progressives, had a resounding victory for Reno Justice Court, Dept. 2
Democrat Angie Taylor won her race for Assembly Seat 27, after a much more tepid Fall election battle following a fierce primary, which means she will step down as Washoe County School Board Trustee for District E, two years into her third term. Seven candidates are now vying for that now open position, including failed gubernatorial Republican candidate Joey Gilbert. Other school board members are expected to dwindle down that list at a meeting Tuesday, before taking a decisive vote at a future gathering.
Colleen Westlake, another Save our Schools, cultural warrior type, is already in, with an election victory over incumbent Ellen Minetto for District B, joining Jeff Church, who represents District A. Hard right activists have made it one of their goals to take over school boards across the county, turning public schools into combative political playgrounds.
Meanwhile, in gentrification news, over on 4th street, there is currently bulldozing all around the Desert Rose Inn, which so far has resisted to be bought out by Jacobs Entertainment. Down the block, the Venice Manor, which had on the cheaper side lodging, is all fenced off and boarded up.
Reporting wise, we are looking into our local foster care system and how to better help kids who are dealt very difficult hands. If you have interacted in any way with how we try to help current and former foster kids we’d love to hear from you on our contact page. Information can be provided on the record, or anonymously if you’d prefer.
Our Reporting Highlights this Week
We keep interviewing the unhoused around Reno, and more and more of them are telling us that after initially trying the Cares Campus, they are refusing to go back, such as this elder member of the community who told us he’d rather “die on the streets.” Many feel the current warehouse option local authorities decided to go with is unsafe and unwelcoming.
Our podcast this week is with Francesca Martinez, the owner of Bad Apple Vntg in Midtown, as part of a series we are doing on small, locally owned businesses: https://ourtownreno.simplecast.com/episodes/vintage-in-reno-with-the-bad-apple-entrepreneur
