Renoites

In recent years, Reno has been making efforts to brand itself as an arts city. We are close to Burning Man, we've seen an explosion of public art and murals, a growing music and theater scene, but what about film? Emily Skyle-Golden is the co-founder and executive director of the Cordillera International Film Festival and is working to bring both film events like Cordillera to the Biggest Little City, as well as actual film studios and production to do their work in the region. On this episode of Renoites, Conor and Emily discuss film festivals and how they work. What's a grand jury and special jury? How are films selected to be screened during the festival? How does the Cordillera Film Festival also work as a marketing tool to bring film production to the area. What economic impact does film bring to areas that provide tax incentives? What's so special about film as an art form? Conor and Emily discuss all this and much more! Thank you so much for listening! You can learn more about Cordillera and buy tickets at http://www.ciff.org and be sure to send Conor any feedback or guest suggestions at conor@renoites.com If you enjoyed this episode, please consider signing up on Patreon to support the podcast financially. The "tip jar" tier is only $3 a month and a great way to say "keep up the good work" on an automatic monthly basis. Thanks as always for your support!

One of the most important challenges cities face right now is the growing cost of housing. The cost of a home is at record highs in the Reno area, apartment rents continue to increase well beyond the point of affordability for many working people, and barriers to building new residential units lead to a constrained supply that continues to put upward pressure on prices. This week on Renoites, Conor welcomes Tabitha Mueller, housing reporter for The Nevada Independent. Tabitha and Conor discuss the affordable housing crisis in the Reno area, including the root causes of increasing home prices and rents, proposals like rent control to control costs and ADUs to increase residential inventory, the "hot potato" back-and-forth between the city and state government about who is responsible for addressing the issues, and so much more! Thank you so much for listening! If you've been affected by the housing crisis and want to share your story with Tabitha, she can be reached by email at tabitha@thenvindy.com Thank you for listening! If you have feedback or guest suggestions please email me at conor@renoites.com If you'd like to support the show financially, please sign up to be a patron! By signing up at http://www.patreon.com/renoites you can contribute as various levels to support the show. I hope you'll consider signing up even at the $3/month level. I call that one The Tip Jar- at about a dollar an episode it's a great way to say "thanks for taking the time and doing the work to make this podcast" Support from listeners means the world to me. Thank you!

The Truckee River is the lifeblood of the Reno/Sparks Area. It provides 85% of our drinking water, is a vital recreational feature throughout the city and our parks, and it takes a lot of work and energy to keep clean and usable for today and for future generations. Thankfully, there is an organization that is working to bring all the important parties together and make sure we are doing what's needed for the Truckee. One Truckee River (OTR) is a collaboration of public and private partners focused on the implementation of the OTR Management Plan, Phase I. Most of the Truckee River and corridor is managed and regulated by federal, state, and local agencies. OTR seeks to coordinate existing agency’s efforts and documents and operates under the 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, Truckee River Foundation. This week's guest on Renoites is Iris Jehle-Peppard, the executive director of One Truckee River. Iris and Conor discuss the importance of the Truckee River to the Reno/Sparks area, and some of the initiatives that have been put in place to protect it. Topics include installation of new restrooms, vegetation management efforts, balancing the needs of various users of the river, coordinating between various public agencies with different priorities, clean-up and litter management, preventing accidental pollution by area residents from their yards, and much much more! You can learn more about One Truckee River at their website, https://www.onetruckeeriver.org Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you have guest suggestions or feedback, please send Conor an email at conor@renoites.com 

Psychedelic compounds have had a fascinating history in the United States (and worldwide). From the 1960's and the hippie era with common recreational use, while also being studied in legitimate clinical trials, through the decades of the drug war and propaganda efforts, all the way to a recent resurgence in medical studies and usage for conditions like anxiety, depression and addiction. Kate Cotter is co-director of the Sierra Psychedelic Society, an organization working on legislative and other educational efforts around psychedelics. On this episode of Renoites, Conor and Kate talk about various psychedelics and how they work, the history of psychedelics and how public perception has changed over the years, the modern medical uses of various psychedelic compounds, legislative efforts like legalization and decriminalization, how some psychedelics actually function in the brain, the growth of "microdosing" in tech culture, and so much more! The Sierra Psychedelic Society meets monthly at The Studio (https://thestudioreno.com) in Midtown and offers book clubs, integration circles, speakers and other educational programming. Learn more about the Sierra Psychedelic Society on their website at https://www.sierrapsychedelic.org Thank you for listening! Do you have suggestions for guests or topics? Email me any time at conor@renoites.com

As Reno continues to grow, is it getting better for families? Emily Lee thinks so. She is the creator and Editor-in-Chief of Growing Up Reno-Tahoe, a new free quarterly magazine geared towards parents and kids in the Reno area. On this week's episode of Renoites, Emily joins Conor to discuss the ways Reno has changed over the years in terms of opportunities for family activities, the importance of print media in the age of constant internet and screens, rediscovering and falling in love with Reno after living elsewhere, breaking out of the suburban bubble to visit downtown and midtown, the benefits of Reno's proximity to amazing nature, and so much more! The summer issue is out now so be sure to check out the website at https://www.growinguprenotahoe.com to find pickup locations (they're all around town). You can also follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/growingup.renotahoe/   Thanks so much for listening! Send topic and guest suggestions any time to conor@renoites.com 

Who better to talk to about the city of Reno than the mayor of Reno? This week's guest on Renoites is Mayor Hillary Schieve. Mayor Schieve joined the city council in 2012, has served as mayor since 2014, and is currently running for re-election to a third term. The top two candidates from the nonpartisan primary in June will go on to the general election in November. On this episode, Conor and Mayor Schieve discuss a wide range of topics related to the operations and priorities of the city and Mayor Schieve's experience as mayor so far. Topics include managing communication with constituents through social media and other formats, affordable housing challenges and strategies, the Nevada CARES campus, mental health initiatives and facilities, executing large projects like the new public safety center and Moana pool, election season and electoral reforms, and so much more! If you enjoyed this episode, please help spread the word about this podcast! It's a completely independent grassroots project intended to provide information from a wide variety of guests to the people of Reno, but those people won't benefit from the podcast if they've never heard of it. Tell your friends! If you have guest or topic suggestions, or any feedback, please email me any time at conor@renoites.com Thanks for listening!

This week's guest on Renoites is Zach Cage, one of the owners of The Brewer's Cabinet, a local craft brewery with a whole family of bars and restaurants here in Reno. Their properties include the Brewer's Cabinet Brewpub and Taproom on California and Arlington, their production facility just off West 4th Street, and the local bars Sierra Tap House, Old Bridge Pub, and Shim's. Zach and Conor talk about the history and growth of the Brewer's Cabinet, the various influences on beer culture both generally as well as specifically in Reno, BC's nonprofit Reno Rebuild Project which provides loans to other small businesses in Reno, the culture of home brewing, ideas for walkable districts centered around breweries, the upcoming Strange Brew Festival, and so much more! Thank you so much for listening! If you have feedback or guest suggestions, please shoot me a message on social media (I'm on Instagram and Facebook) or email me at conor@renoites.com

One of the most essential elements of our infrastructure in the United States, for moving freight across the country, for getting travelers and commuters to their destinations, and for addressing the challenges of a changes climate is railroads. There are about 140,000 miles of railroad track in the United States, much of it being severely under-utilized for various reasons. On this episode of Renoites, we welcome Ron Kaminkow. Ron is an Amtrak Engineer based in Reno, Nevada who serves as co-chair of the Nevada Rail Coalition, a "citizen-based initiative that brings together organizations, groups and individuals, including unions, environmental organizations, passenger and freight rail advocacy associations, social justice organizations, and neighborhood and community associations for the purpose of building an expanded and more robust rail system" Ron and Conor discuss the history of the rail network in the United States, the reasons for declining freight and passenger rail (and solutions to reverse the trend), the project of building an industrial union in an industry dominated by smaller craft unions under the banner of the Railroad Workers United, the impact of the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill on passenger rail, plus local issues like passenger connectivity between Reno and the Bay Area and the legacy of the downtown trench project. Thank you so much for listening! Be sure to follow Renoites on Instagram and Facebook and if you'd like to support the show financially visit patreon.com/renoites to become an official patron. Send any comments, feedback or guest suggestions! My email is conor@renoites.com