The Rent is (Still) Too Damn High and Karma Box Concerns
Our social media content with the most traction this week was about the Eden Tower Apartments, promising a “new downtown experience” with 600 square feet units going for a base of $1,500 a month.
“People don't want an experience, they want a roof over their head that they can afford. What is this garbage?” asked Darren Archambault on our Facebook page. There were comparisons with other prices including those at the even more expensive Park Lane Mall RED [Reno Experience District] where 500 square feet is over $2,000 a month.
Yesterday, we saw on GuideStar (which publishes tax forms for non profits) that the Karma Box Project had failed to file tax forms for three consecutive years and consequently had had its non-profit status revoked. Its website still has a donation page, which seems to be working, and its about page still indicates it’s a non-profit.
Its location map for its original project of Karma Boxes spins around and doesn’t work. Their Facebook page wrote back to us confirming the setback. “We are working on having it remedied right now and we should have our status back in place within 30 days," the organization wrote when asked about its missing tax forms.
Karma Box Project gets county money to run the safe camp at the Nevada Cares Campus. The county’s media and communications manager Bethany Drysdale wrote back to our email indicating: “They [Karma Box Project] are working to remedy the issue and have been in contact with the IRS and anticipate having the issue being remedied in the next three weeks. They currently hold a valid business license with the State of Nevada as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation. The NV Business ID is NV20191358694. Washoe County currently holds contracts with a number of service providers including both for-profit and non-profit entities.”
Turns out the status was revoked back in September, making several commenters wonder what happened to those who donated for Giving Tuesday in November and how that will affect their own tax returns? Other concerns were raised on social media.
The only time we got to visit the safe camp, our visit was cut short by a county employee after we asked repeated questions about how and why the contract had been awarded to Karma Box. We weren’t allowed to speak to any clients, over “privacy” requirements. The problem with the privacy excuse is that it creates more opacity over a publicly-funded project.
Our Town Reno was started in the spirit of journalist Colman McCarthy who used to sleep at shelters and prisons to offer first-hand reporting. That opportunity is not possible here. We’ve always pushed for City Council members themselves or County Board Commissioners to sleep a few nights at the Cares Campus, but it doesn’t seem that has ever happened. We will check back with GuideStar and Drysdale in a few weeks.
Our Reporting Highlights this Week
We started a new series on What’s that Local Construction Project with one squeezed onto I-580.
We gave an update on Jacobs Entertainment machinations before Reno city bodies.
