R-2012-05-10 by News & Review

Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Opinion/Streetalk . . . . . .4 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Arts&Culture . . . . . . . . .14 In Rotation . . . . . . . . . . .16 Art of the State . . . . . . .17

Foodfinds . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Musicbeat . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Nightclubs/Casinos . . . .22 This Week . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Free Will Astrology . . . .30 15 Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Bruce Van Dyke . . . . . . .31

DA DOO RON RON See News, page 6.

HIPPIE REPLACEMENT See Green, page 9.

MARIANARCHY:

FRIENDS, BANDS, FANS AND FUNDS See Arts&Culture, page 14.

MODERN FAMILY

See Spring Family Guide, inside.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS Angels in need

Tub o’ guts Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. I’m getting sick of repeating myself, but I turned 50 in March. That’s the trigger for many rites of passage, not the least fun of which is the colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is a medical procedure where the doctor shoves a camera up your ass like four or five feet. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. I was on a liquid diet (no red or purple fluids) for 36 hours before the procedure. The night before, I had to drink two quarts of the laxative MoviPrep, which made me go big potty in ways that were both wondrous and disgusting. The next morning, bright and early, my friend took me to meet the proctologist. I guess the only thing that was less than routine was I refused anesthetic. I didn’t even know refusal was an option until the nurse mentioned it to me in passing. Then, full-court press: Two nurses and the doctor all tried to talk me into going to sleep. Instead, I was awake through the whole thing. I got to watch the journey to the center of the Brian on a screen directly in front of my face. Totally cool and fascinating. It was about as uncomfortable as having crampy diarrhea. Absolutely no reason to go under. I asked if I could video on my phone, and they told me I could not. Weird. It wasn’t a technical issue. It wasn’t for my safety. The fact that they were so insistent I should be asleep in combination with the refusal to let me video or even passively record brought out the skeptic in me. It’s to protect the doctor in case something goes wrong. That’s the only thing I can figure. Insurance companies (or doctors) don’t want a record or even a lucid witness if a bowel gets punctured or an obvious polyp is missed. Colonoscopies save lives. They cut the death rate from colorectal cancer by 53 percent in people whose physicians removed adenomatous polyps. My guts were clean, polyp-free and fresh as a spring rain.

Angels in the Community, Inc. is a Nevada non-profit group, dedicated to serving the most basic needs of our community and run entirely by volunteers. We are a “new concept” food bank in one of the most povertystricken parts of Reno-Sparks. In April, we served 2,006 hungry men, women and children. An example of the need was last week, when a family came to us so hungry that we fed them right here at the office before sending them away with a care package. Packages typically contain fresh fruits and vegetables, generously given by Bonanza Produce. We also include frozen meat when we have it, packaged foods and cans, personal care items, milk and eggs from Model Dairy. Packages meet a family’s needs for several days, and they may return once every two weeks. Angels believes food that we receive free can be redistributed to needy families at no charge. We receive very generous donations from food suppliers, stores and individuals who believe in this system and want their gifts to go straight to those people in need. However, we do have transportation, utility, office supply and other expenses. So far we have had no formal fundraising, but we must soon start paying rent and other costs. We also have to pay minimal charges for some foodstuffs from time to time. To date, we have operated on less than $1,800 per month—not much, to feed 2,000 people. Without these funds, we cannot operate, and those in need must be sent away empty handed, and with empty bellies. Angels are seeking likeminded friends who agree that food given in charity can be distributed in charity. We need to raise funds to cover our expenses. These funds will be used purely and simply to feed hungry families, no frills. Will you please help us? To donate, please see www.angelsinthecommunityinc.com. Darlene Fox Reno

KNPB’s in the black Re “I’m A Wonderer” (Letters to the editor, April 19): Richard Pugh references what he calls the “increasing number of com-

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mercials” on KNPB when the station is “so heavily federally funded.” Let me clarify: Federal funding makes up only 23 percent of KNPB’s operating budget this year. In fact, federal support for public radio and TV stations works out to a lavish $1.35 per taxpayer per year. Our station must raise the remaining 77 percent, which amounts to $2.7 million. KNPB is honored to have support from local entities whose announcements are seen in between programs. Those announcements are not commercials. Unlike commercials, PBS sponsor announcements may not contain cost/price information, calls to action or comparative/superlative language. KNPB also raises money through other avenues such as production work, onair membership drives, direct mail, special events and even our vehicle donation program. Thanks to our great community, KNPB is debt free and does not operate at a deficit. Kurt A. Mische President and CEO, KNPB-TV

Trouble at Tahoe Re “Political science” (Green, May 3): There is a serious conflict at Tahoe, but it is not between Nevada and California. It is between people who view Tahoe as a special natural area, to be conserved for the benefit of all according to the best available science, and people who view Tahoe as a great place to demonstrate the application of sustainable urbanization growth principles to casinos, ski areas and second-home development. The TRPA is fully aligned with the development community in supporting sustainable urbanization even if it negatively impacts conservation of the area’s natural values. The Compact, however, has prevented the agency from adopting its plan for taller and denser buildings, more roads and other paving, larger urban areas, etc. That is why TRPA is more than five years behind schedule —not to mention millions of dollars over budget—on its “Pathway 2007” process, which was supposed to be done by December 2006. And that is why John Lee’s campaign contributors put him to work eviscerating the Compact. When these supposedly “green” casinos, resorts, condo/apartment/timeshare complexes and

Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Special Projects Editor Ashley Hennefer Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Photographer Amy Beck Contributors Amy Alkon, Megan Berner, Matthew Craggs, Mark Dunagan, Marvin Gonzalez, Bob Grimm, Michael Grimm, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, K.J. Sullivan, Bruce Van Dyke

—D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com OPINION

NEWS

GREEN

FEATURE STORY

ARTS&CULTURE

IN ROTATION

ART OF THE STATE

Design Manager Kate Murphy Art Director Priscilla Garcia Associate Art Director Hayley Doshay Editorial Designer India Curry Design Brennan Collins, Marianne Mancina, Mary Key, Skyler Smith, Melissa Arendt Art Director at Large Don Button, Andrea Diaz-Vaughn Advertising Consultants Gina Odegard, Matt Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office/Distribution Manager/ Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke

FOODFINDS

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MUSICBEAT

subdivisions, etc. actually start getting built, people who love Tahoe will be appalled. The ensuing long-term deterioration in the natural resources of the area will waste public investments that have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars over the past twenty years. Unless Lee Drozdoff and John Laird can lead a meaningful change in direction before it is too late, Lake Tahoe may well become just another casualty of America’s current political dysfunction—especially its campaign financing system. If we really care about sustainability and the interests of future generations, we should be reducing, not growing, the human footprint at Lake Tahoe. Rochelle Nason Albany, Calif.

Ready for November? About six months ago the City Council assured all of us that the baseball stadium payments that come from the special improvement district would not impact the general fund. Several Council members stated publicly that, in the case that there would not be enough revenue to make the payments, the taxpayer would not be forced to contribute and no money would come out of the general fund. Now we see in the news that the Council has authorized $75,000 from the general fund to make up for the missing payments. Would you please take to task the City Council for their new agreement on this issue and making the citizens liable for the failure of revenue with the downtown special development districts? The last time I looked the city was out of cash and nearly broke, but suddenly they can find $75,000 to pay the colleagues of councilmembers Dortch and Gustin? In the Council meeting, the mayor and Dave Aiazzi both stated that if there was not enough money generated that it was a gamble that the ballpark took on. It now seems that with the conflict of interest of Dortch and Gustin and the other business interests that the councilmembers and their families have in the downtown area, we the taxpayers are being held financially hostage for their poor management decisions. Making the promised payments out of Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker Assistant Distribution Manager Ron Neill Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Jesse Pike, John Miller, Martin Troye, David Richards, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach, Neil Lemerise, Russell Moore General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley

NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS

the general fund will have impacts on city operations, and if the money generated by the district wasn’t enough, and the original agreement stated that the ballpark would have to wait for the business to pick up, then they should be made to hold up their end of the lucrative deal they signed, just like you or I would have been made to do. Todd Melcher Reno

This kind of blight I will be very surprised indeed, if this letter makes it into to your liberal-leftleaning-rag-mag, but nonetheless it’ll make me feel better submitting it. I live in northwest Reno, not too far from the Reno branch of the Welfare & Supportive Services Office, located in the Viewcrest Plaza shopping center. Unfortunately, I have to pass it each day on my way to work. And although I probably should be immune to this by now, it still never ceases to amaze me on how the entire parking lot is bursting at the seams whenever the office is open for business. Not only does this present an absolute nightmare to any of the other businesses that have the misfortune of sharing the shopping center parking lot with this bloated welfaremonstrosity; but hard-working, tax-paying public must contend with either parking far away on a side street or dodging cars that are spilling out onto Kings Row and weaving through throngs of mostly overweight and/or expectant mothers running across McCarran Boulevard to stand in line to get their free entitlements for the week. Now all the aforementioned I could (forcibly) stomach. After all, this is the new Obama-America we live in, even though I still secretly wish they’d relocate the entire office to—I don’t know —Sun Valley, maybe? But what truly ignites the fire in my belly is the amount of garbage, graffiti and general filth that surrounds the facility during its off hours, when the parking lot becomes an empty ghost town. This kind of blight should not be tolerated. L. Bonito Reno

Credit and Collections Manager Renee Briscoe Business Zahida Mehirdel, Shannon McKenna Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 708 North Center Street Reno, NV 89501 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds & Talking Personals to N&R Classifieds, Reno Edition, 1015 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or e-mail classifieds@newsreview.com

THIS WEEK

MISCELLANY

Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form. Cover design: Priscilla Garcia Cover photo: Allison Young Feature story design: Priscilla Garcia

MAY 10, 2012

RN&R

by Dennis Myers

THIS MODERN WORLD

BY TOM TOMORROW

What’s the appeal of biking? Asked of bicyclists around Reno John Oliveria Golf store worker

The good thing about it—saves gas money and no one’s in charge of where you go and what you do. I don’t have a car, but I prefer a bike anyway.

Amy Collins Bike shop owner

The appeal of bicycling is independence from always having to jump in your car. You can plan your trips appropriately on a bicycle and still do your grocery shopping. ... There are more bike lanes in town, it’s a little more bike-friendly town, more awareness going on in Reno with the RTC. And the other advantage is you meet other fun people on bikes like yourself.

John Bail

Sonic adults Reno’s local music scene is probably the most vibrant it’s ever been. It seems to be reaching a point of critical mass, where we could finally have a nationally respected scene. We could even become a tourist destination for music akin to Seattle or Nashville. But city laws are hampering this potential by excluding adults under age 21 from most of the city’s music venues. Often, the most creative and passionate musicians are under 21. Reno’s message to them is, “Stay home.” by I was 19 years old when I first got into the Jon Cornell Reno music scene. I once drove an hour to Jon Cornell is a local musician and lifelong Tahoe to listen to a local band, but I was turned away because the venue was not all-ages. So I Reno native. listened to half the show with my ear pressed against the window, until the bar decided to break the law by letting me pay the cover charge and sit in the back. That should never have been illegal in the first place! Today, I play in two local bands with underage fans. They genuinely Have a comment? want to hear a home-grown alternative to manuExpress your views factured corporate radio. They aren’t looking for in 475 words on an excuse to drink. But they’re excluded from, I a local topic estimate, at least 80 percent of our shows. of interest. Reno laws bar “minors” aged 18 to 20 from Send entering almost any establishment that sells an e-mail to brianb@ alcohol. These laws were supposed to prevent newsreview.com. underage drinking but have been abject failures. Most minors drink. One study reports that 70 percent of underage University of Nevada, Reno

RN&R

MAY

10, 2012

Retiree

students are drinkers. The drinking age is controversial, but exclusionary laws targeting adults under age 21 are another issue. This exclusion forces them into their own subculture, one that is, by necessity, criminal. It’s a subculture where drug and alcohol consumption takes place secretly, in dangerous environments. It is a subculture that fosters a distrust of law enforcement, often extending into adulthood. What else can you expect when police drive people from something as innocuous as a music performance? When young people are told that they can’t participate? Thankfully, there are a small but growing number of Reno venues that are supportive of music for all ages. Several cafes and venues work hard to provide all-ages shows. But even many of these are hamstrung by our curfew laws. Reno is a late-night town; shows rarely start before 9 p.m. The city could extend the downtown curfew for minors by one hour, to midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends. Reno also needs new laws that allow any bar the option of letting minors come in and watch a band play. If we ever want Reno to be a tourist destination for music fans, the city should do everything it can to encourage local music. Despite its best intentions, though, by banning adult minors from anywhere alcohol is sold, all the city actually encourages is delinquency. Ω

Mainly good health. It’s great to be out in the middle of nowhere. And you eat a lot of food [on long rides].

Archie Ervin Student

Exercise and the enjoying the nice weather. I don’t own a car. The bike serves a purpose, transportation. I enjoy it. It’s great to get out.

Antony Glaesma Laminator operator

Saves a lot on gas. You can take your bike on the bus. This is my regular form of transportation. I get myself to work, get myself to all the things I have to do. It’s kind of inconvenient if I need to go grocery shopping or something like that, but other than that ...

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OPEN MIC

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OPINION

NEWS

GREEN

FEATURE STORY

ARTS&CULTURE

IN ROTATION

KIDS ACTING

PAUL COVARELLI

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SMILE EMPTY SOUL

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SCHEELS BIKING CLUB

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FOODFINDS

05.10

FILM

MUSICBEAT

SCHEELS KIDS’ TRIATHALON (July 28th)

NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS

THIS WEEK

Judge Barbara S. McCarthy - Dept. 1, Judge Jim Spoo - Dept. 2, Chet Adams - City Attorney. Mayor and Council members can be reached at 353-2311

SPARKS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 745 Fourth St., Sparks CITY OF SPARKS WEBSITES: www.cityofsparks.com www.sparksrec.com www.sparksitshappeninghere.com CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 1420 Scheels Drive, Ste. 108 775-358-1976 www.thechambernv.org

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ARTS IN BLOOM (July 21st)

LADIES 80’S NIGHT

ART OF THE STATE

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Sing for fun or compete for prizesódepending on the number of contestantsówith DJ John Graham every Thursday and Friday night. Th, 9pm and F, 9pm, No cover charge. Anchors Bar & Grill, 325 Harbour Cove Dr., Sparks, NV 89434-7859 / (775) 356-6888

GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY!

Geno Martini - Mayor, Julia Ratti - Ward 1, Ed Lawson - Ward 2, Ron Smith - Ward 3, Mike Carrigan - Ward 4, Ron Schmitt - Ward 5, Shaun Carey - City Manager, Tracy Domingues - Parks & Recreation Director.

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MAY 10, 2012

RN&R

PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS

Veterans: Berkley over Heller Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, founded by vets from those wars, has consistently found Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Shelley Berkley stronger on veteran issues than her Republican opponent Dean Heller. In “report cards” issued in 2008 and 2010 representing their votes as members of the U.S. House, IAVA found Berkley more supportive of veterans than Heller. In 2008, the group ranked House members on 14 votes involving veterans. Heller received a “B” grade compared to Berkley’s “A.” Heller lost points particularly for his reluctance to fund veteran services. He was faulted for failing to cosponsor the Post-9/11 GI Bill of Rights, for voting against a 2007 veteran’s health care measure, and for his votes on the new GI Bill. Berkley lost points only for a vote she missed. In 2010, Berkley’s grade fell to a “C” but it was still higher than Heller’s “D.” He and Berkley both lost points for voting against additional pay for servicemembers forced to stay in war zones past the ends of their enlistment contracts and for failing to cosponsor measures dealing with veterans’ disabilities, a veterans employment bill and the proposed new GI Bill. In addition, Berkley was faulted for failing to vote for homeless veterans legislation, while Heller was faulted for twice failing to vote for Veterans Administration funding, and for failing to vote for sexual trauma counseling. (There have been numerous rapes in the war zones.)

Site fight In arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., circuit, states and municipalities seeking to dump their nuclear waste in Nevada made their case for a court ruling to re-start the Yucca Mountain suitability process, shut down after Congress failed to fund it. The scientific suitability search process for a dump site was ended by Congress in 1987 in favor of a political designation of Nevada as the only site, followed by what the New York Times calls a “thin veneer of science” to make the process look good. More recently, President Obama canceled the Yucca project, and Congress then ended funding for it. The states that are suing point to a 1982 federal law that requires the suitability process. The hearing focused on whether an existing law enacted by Congress can be effectively voided by Congress failing to fund it. “Isn’t the writing on the wall?” asked Judge Brett Kavanaugh, pointing to Congress’s inaction. He noted that while courts can issue orders stopping governmental actions, court orders that require governmental actions are more complicated. “Millions of hours and billions of dollars have been spent to research the safe disposal of our treated high-level waste and that of other states at the Yucca Mountain facility,” said Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, representing localities that want their locally generated waste removed to Nevada. “In the meantime, the people of Washington and South Carolina continue to face the risk of exposure due to temporarily storing untreated waste at sites within their borders. These people have made their sacrifices for this county and they deserve a federal government that follows the law.” “We don’t have funds to use on this project,” said Nuclear Regulatory Commission lawyer Charles Mullins. The NRC stopped seeking congressional funding after it became apparent Congress will not approve it. Although nuclear power corporations have contributed to a fund for the dump, that money has never been used and still rests in the fund.

Dennis Myers

RN&R

MAY 10, 2012

Libertarian weekend In Reno and Las Vegas, a third way advances The Republican state convention in Sparks was dominated by the passionate followers of the presidential candidate who came in third in the Feb. 4 GOP caucuses. by Dennis Myers It was a settling of scores that was four years in the making, prompted by Republican leaders in 2008 who suddenly adjourned that year’s state convention to avert a similar takeover by the same faction. After the February caucuses, which began this year’s process, supporters of libertarian Ron Paul—who In the latest New York received just 18.7 percent of the cauTimes tally, Mitt cuses vote—did a better job of getting Romney has 847 his people first to the county convennational convention delegates, more than tions and then to the state convention three times as many than did the supporters of Mitt as his nearest com- Romney, who won the caucuses with petitor, Rick Santorum, 50.1 percent of the vote. and about 11 times as Last weekend, it all came together many as Ron Paul, who is in fourth place with as Paul won in convention the victory 80 delegates. Romney he could not win in the caucuses. The is just 115 delegates Paulists easily unseated two of short of the nomination. There are 117 Nevada’s three members of the unelected “superdele- Republican National Committee— gates,” 40 of whom Robert List and Heidi Smith—and already support swept all 22 elected national convenRomney and 71 who tion delegate seats. have not yet commitWhile perennial presidential candited. Paul has one unelected delegate. date Paul was triumphing in Sparks, at the other end of Nevada, at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, the Libertarian National Convention was also meeting to choose its presidential nominee.

Many members of the Libertarian Party view Paulist libertarians in the GOP the way science fiction fans regard Trekkies. But they also see the Paulists as potential backers if the Republican Party mistreats them, as happened in 2008. In that year, when the Paulists won control of the Nevada Republican Convention and were poised to elect a Ron Paul delegation to the national convention, party leaders who feared embarrassment to Romney—who had also won that year’s caucuses—and to expected nominee John McCain called off the state convention halfway through and chose national delegates later in a party committee.

“I wouldn’t consider it belligerent.” Heidi Waterman Ron Paul supporter This year, Republican regulars hoped to be ready for the Paulists, without the necessity of shutting down the convention. Just before the Sparks state convention, a letter from a national GOP counsel named John Phillippe seemed to spell out a way to legally hold down Paul influence. Phillippe warned that under national party rules, presidential candidates could veto state selection of delegates ostensibly pledged to themselves. “If a prospective delegate’s

Keegan Steele adds more stock to a sales rack of Romney buttons at the Nevada Republican Convention. His brother Collin also worked the booth.

name … has not been approved by an authorized representative of the candidate he or she professes to support, grounds for a contest may exist.” In other words, even if the Paulists again won a state convention majority, Romney’s campaign could veto its selection of his delegates. Romney is entitled to a first-ballot vote from the delegates pledged to him, and if they are Paul backers, that vote could be threatened. Moreover, if his delegate seats are not filled with bonafide Romney backers, his campaign would be weakened in other ways—such as on credentials challenges, platform fights, and any second or later ballots. While delegates were allocated to Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Paul, in fact, all 22 elected Nevada delegates are Paul supporters. Phillippe went so far as to warn the Nevada GOP that electing too many Paul delegates to the national convention delegation could result in “jeopardizing the seating of Nevada’s entire delegation to the national convention.” The Paulists also encountered problems with another alleged party rule. The Paulists, who in 2008 mounted a fierce contest against the way the state convention was aborted, were told that this time any taped evidence for any challenge had to be recorded by people with “press passes.” Since those with press passes were unlikely to step outside their role as observers to aid a party faction, this was essentially a way of making sure that there was no valid record. (Both the Reno Gazette-Journal and Reno News & Review were approached about recording for the Paulists and both declined.) There was no way to enforce the Phillippe opinion at the convention, particularly since even some of the regulars reacted in a “Who asked him?” way. But that did not reduce the regulars’ dismay at Paul’s policy positions or their resentment toward what they considered the self-righteous posture of the Paulists. “I’m trying to educate them,” said one delegate who submitted to a taped interview but then declined to give her name. “They better be a lot less noisy than they were at the February [county] convention, because I’m going to have some head on head arguments with them if they’re as noisy as they were in February. They were obnoxious. They were deceitful. And at the central committee meeting they cheated. They took flyers and claimed that every name on that flyer

On the convention floor, delegate Heidi Waterman chatted with former U.S. House member Barbara Vucanovich.

While all this was unfolding, in Las Vegas the Libertarian Party smoothly went about nominating former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as their presidential nominee on the first ballot with 74 percent of the vote over online publisher R. Lee Wrights. Johnson, who LP leaders had tried to recruit in earlier years, began this campaign running for the Republican presidential nomination but withdrew on Dec. 28 after being excluded from most of the GOP television debates. Libertarianism is a difficult-topredict wild card in both political parties and in general election campaigns. It can cut across partisan lines, appealing to Democrats on issues like abortion and drug prohibition while drawing support from Republicans on removing restraints on business. Though Paul represents libertarianism within the Republican Party, his 1980s attacks on President Reagan have undercut his credibility in the GOP, and his racist and gay-bashing views would hold down his vote in a general election. But depending on how he and his supporters are treated in the GOP, they could migrate to Johnson. In a general election, Johnson is a less flawed messenger than Paul, who was the LP presidential candidate in 1988 (Paul received less than a percentage point of the national vote). Johnson is currently pulling about 7 percent of the vote in national Obama-Romney-Johnson survey matchups. In a year when rank and file Democrats and Republicans are less than enthusiastic about their likely candidates, even half that percentage could be important in a close race. Ω

Fame Two school board candidates contend with big name rival Any teacher will tell you there’s a big difference between an educator and an administrator. Cody Johnson will tell you there’s a similarly big gap between a by James DeHaven school board member and a politician. He and fellow first time candidate Diane Nicolet are facing the very high name recognition factor of David Aiazzi, who jumped into the school board race after serving three Reno City Council terms. Johnson, 32, is one of three candidates running for Washoe County School Board in District E. A former UNR football player, he’s now a father of two and heavily involved in the local parent-teacher organization, which he said inspired his first bid for public office. PHOTO/JAMES DEHAVEN

was a central committee member. Well, they weren’t. Fifteen of them were Ron Paul people … claiming that they were incumbents to help them get reelected.” She said Paul’s positions in favor of drug legalization, legal prostitution and reduced military activity are “completely opposite to the Republican platform. They’re libertarians.” A delegate seated next to her compared Paul to Ross Perot. Heidi Waterman disagreed. In some ways, Waterman is a Republican dream come true—a convert. She came to the GOP with a sterling Democratic lineage—a onetime Young Democrats figure herself and the daughter of a former Clark County Democratic chair. She is the Republican candidate in Assembly District 24 against Democratic incumbent David Bobzien. On the other hand, party leaders might regard her as an unreliable Republican who cares more about issues than party. She switched to the GOP because of her interest in Ron Paul’s opposition to incessant wars. As a newer Paulist recruit, she arrived without a 2008 history. Her impression this year was that if there were underhanded doings, they were not just on one side. “We had somebody in a Ron Paul shirt—it was a Romney person—pass around a false slate telling what to vote for,” she said. “He got thrown out of the convention. … These [Paul supporters] are very principled people that are very passionate about what they’re doing. I wouldn’t consider it belligerent, but we’re not going to sit down and let somebody run all over us.”

“Now that I’m running, everybody asks me if I’m going to be a politician,” Johnson said, “I don’t have any plans to go anywhere outside our community. I’m running for my children and other’s people’s children. That’s where I like to be, is in public service. To me, it’s important.” Johnson may not spend time thinking about a political future, but he dedicates plenty to programs like Care Chest, Community Compact and Say Yes to Kids. “These are a few of the best ways to bring parents on board,” and one of our problems is parent involvement, Johnson said. “We have good parent teacher organizations in some places, so the ones who are involved are very involved, but that doesn’t happen everywhere.” The school district will cleave $40 million from their budget this year alone. In a county that’s already subsidizing full-day kindergarten programs with money saved through early retirement packages, Johnson fears that a “lack of accountability” among parents and educators could further endanger services. Nicolet agreed. She’s hopeful that Washoe’s County’s Parent University can provide the district a better way to bring parents into the fold. “Over the years parents have had less and less involvement in their child’s education,” Nicolet said. “I personally feel that they’re the child’s first and only teacher. A lot of people had terrible experiences in school, and they don’t necessarily want to be involved, but we have to get them reengaged.” Nicolet said budget constraints in the district only amplify the importance of community

Diane Nicolet seeks the youth vote.

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involvement in education. She thinks her years of experience as director of the child care center at Truckee Meadows Community College would provide a boost to budget-wrangling efforts. “To understand the whole, you have to identify the pieces,” Nicolet said of the school district’s budget. “I’m very good at identifying the pieces, at finding efficiencies.” The school board is primarily responsible for adopting budgets and curricula, though they also oversee staff and student progress. A superintendent carries out the administration of those broad goals. The current superintendent, Heath Morrison, is leaving the district this month. There were substantial gains in K-12 state test scores and high school graduation rates during Morrison’s tenure, though some critics say they were a product of a new method of calculating rates, not of actual gains. Nevertheless, the current school board is very high on him, and he was recently named best superintendent in the nation. His is a high bar, but Nicolet thinks the county can clear it: “[Morrison]’s leaving behind what I call a legacy leadership model,” Nicolet said. “He put systems in place that are enduring.” “Can some of it be undermined?” she asks. “Absolutely. It takes you years to build things that can fall apart in a week. I don’t think that’ll happen, because we have a great plan. But we still have a long way to go. I mean we still have to talk about where were going to find $40 million.”

Aiazzi said he hasn’t even thought about using the school board seat as a spring board. Taking on a lighter budget, heavier performance expectations and the hiring of a new superintendent seems like a pretty thankless job, especially since trustees get a fraction of what Reno City Council members earn. That makes it hard to say why anyone would to want to be a school board member, much less Dave Aiazzi. A school board gig would help the term-limited city councilmember remain in the public eye, though Aiazzi said he hadn’t even thought about using the post as a springboard for a different office. “I’m just looking for another way to contribute,” Aiazzi said. “I looked around at what I could do in the community with what I know, and I thought I could bring something to the table for the school district.” “I certainly know how to deal with budgets, staff members and with the public. I’m not going to throw all that experience away just because I’m term-limited.” A public-first approach is just fine by Aiazzi’s opponents. They, too, seem to put the school district ahead of personal ambitions, something that has made for a refreshing lack of politicking in District E. No one’s volleying ad hominem attacks or questioning credentials. No one seems to be maneuvering for a state office or worrying about his or her hair. But a lack of political drama doesn’t mean a lack of competition, as Cody Johnson is quick to point out. “I hate to lose,” the burly UNR linemanturned-PTA member said with a smile, “You can put that in your story.” Ω |

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MAY 10, 2012

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Gift certificates make great gifts! Visit www.newsreview.com

GREENSPACE League endorses candidates The Nature Conservation League released its full list of endorsements for this year’s election cycle. NCL released early endorsements back in March, which included Debbie Smith, Senate District 13, and Sheila Leslie, Senate District 15, both of whom were selected as Legislators of the Year by the NCL in 2011. According to the NCL newsletter, “Each of these candidates either has a strong record on environmental issues or has proven through our interview process that they will place a high priority on protecting our state’s natural resources. These endorsements follow our early endorsements that were issued in March. Endorsements were not considered for candidates running unopposed.” Several of the legislatures endorsed by NCL scored 100 percent on its 2011 scorecard, which graded each Nevada legislator for their commitment to environmental issues (“Nevada representatives get schooled,” Feb. 16). These include Assembly District 11 Olivia Diaz, Assembly District 3 Peggy Pierce, Assembly District 24 David Bobzien, Assembly District 31 Skip Daly, and Leslie. Assembly District 30 candidate Lauren Scott expressed disappointment not to have NCL’s endorsement. On Scott’s Facebook page, she posted a link to her endorsement questionnaire and wrote, “The Nevada Conservation League decided not to endorse my candidacy. … Apparently, using legislative mandates to force utility customers to pay higher energy costs (by expanding the RPS) and gutting tax revenues for local communities (by subsidizing green energy projects through tax incentives) is considered the best way to make Nevada a better place to live by some.” Scott is a member of the Nevada Conservancy and faces Democratic opponent Mike Sprinkle, who received NCL’s endorsement. View the full list of NCL’s picks on the RN&R Green with NV blog at http://bit.ly/J5brf0.

Wind energy debate heats up A team of scientists from the University of Albany, led by Liming Zhou, released a study in the journal Nature Climate Change after observing the impact of wind turbines on the atmosphere. The team’s findings indicated that wind turbines contribute to the warming of air. Unsurprisingly, this was quickly interpreted to mean that wind turbines can cause global warming, according to Fox News, which ran a headline that stated just that. The headline read, “New research shows wind farms cause global warming.” Washington Post environmental reporter Brad Plumer then wrote a rebuttal, titled “No, wind farms are not causing global warming.” In a question and answer portion of the published research article, Zhou states, “Very likely, the wind turbines do not create a net warming of the air and instead only redistribute the air’s heat near the surface, which is fundamentally different from the large-scale warming effect caused by increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.” Plumer cited Stanford environmental engineer Mark Jacobson who researches the impact of wind turbines on temperatures. Jacobson calculated the amount of energy consumed by the world and equated that to the amount of wind energy needed to support that amount, and found that 72 terawatts of wind energy have potential to be harnessed. “The key thing to note is that, for now, humanity doesn’t use anywhere near enough wind power to make a big difference to global wind patterns,” Plumer writes. Read Jacobson’s research at http://bit.ly/WindStudy and Plumer’s blog at http://wapo.st/J5bg3j.

—Ashley Hennefer

ECO-EVENT Learn how to assess your home’s energy usage at the “How to Conserve Energy—One building at a time” hosted by the Great Basin Group’s new Energy Conservation Committee. University of Nevada, Reno energy consultant Peter Millar and Mary Winston of Energy Masters will discuss energy audits and give a tour of what to look for in your home. May 10, 7:30 p.m. Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada building, 605 Washington St. For more information, contact Jeff Hardcastle, 313-8442 or jeff.hardcastle@sbcglobal.net.

Got an eco-event? Contact ashleyh@newsreview.com.

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MAY 10, 2012

ashleyh@newsreview.com

GREEN

Participants from last year’s Symbiosis Gathering work at a dish washing station to prevent waste from disposable materials.

Biopunks Symbiosis Gathering The word “symbiosis” has roots in ancient Greek—“sym” means “with,” and “biosis” means “living.” It’s a pretty straightforward word that refers to the interaction between unique biological species, and it’s a fitting metaphor for the phenomeby non of many people coming together to celebrate the Earth and its artistry. Ashley Such a phenomenon will occur on May 17-21, when hundreds of people Hennefer will spend five days under the sun and moon near Pyramid Lake to listen to ashleyh@ music, watch the solar eclipse, and immerse themselves in the environment. newsreview.com According to spokesperson Paul West, this type of festival attracts two different crowds. “Eco-festivals emerged around electronic music scene and the green scene,” says spokesperson Paul West. “A lot of folks come out for the eco, and others come out for the techno. Some of them will get exposed to environmentalism for the first time.” West says the Symbiosis Gathering is unlike other similar festivals because it follows an international approach to festivals, which means that it changes location each year. “These kinds of festivals tend to move around from one beautiful place to another beautiful place,” he says. “They go wherever there are extraordinary events, like the eclipse.” This year’s gathering is a zero waste, no plastic event and will have a multitude of environmental activities and stations, such as renewable energy power For a full list of stations and dishwashing areas for attendees to use in place of disposable events, workshops plates, cups and utensils. One tree will be planted for each ticket sold. and performances, “An area for green awareness is not having trash receptacles—focusing on visit www.pyramid eclipse.com recyclable, reusable, biodegradable instead,” says Symbiosis Events spokesperson Karen KoChen, who heads many of the environmental projects. “There will be recycling stations for patrons. We are procuring our products from a variety of criteria. Everything is reusable or by a material that is easily biodegradable. Vendors, too, have to comply with these rules.” KoChen says that these efforts are successful because attendees are dedicated to decreasing waste. “We’re going on an initiative for no plastic, like no plastic bags for ice, no water bottles,” says KoChen. “People will have to learn to work under a different mindset, like the convenience of using plastic and figuring out how to live without it.” This goes for the food, too. “All the food has to be local, organic and fresh,” says West. “Everything we’re bringing in is organic.” Besides an extensive lineup of bands and performers, workshops will also be held, led by environmental activists such as Chris Paine, director of Who Killed the Electric Car? and Revenge of the Electric Car. The festival applied for a Greener Festival Award (GFA), which evaluates sustainable efforts and habits of large festivals. Judges will be on site during the gathering. In 2011, only a few U.S. based festivals were given GFA honors. KoChen notes that the festival is largely about community, and the festival is made possible by the Paiute tribe allowing the use of the land around Pyramid Lake. In return, volunteers are collaborating with the tribe to set up compost bins on the reservation. “We’re building the bridge of this ecological concept as well as a community model,” she says. “We’ve always tried to figure out ways to bring this mindset to the forefront of this experience so when people come to this event, they are transported to a different kind of reality.” Ω OPINION

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field and in the office. You must have experience with prospecting/lead generation, business-tobusiness cold calling, and superb closing skills. Successful reps will have a sincere desire to help our clients assess their needs and work together to create marketing campaigns that increase their business. Media sales experience in the Reno/Tahoe market as well as business relationships in the local market preferred.

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equal oppoRTuNiTY eMploYeR

5635 Riggins Ct., #21 East on Neil Rd. exit from 395. 1/2 mi. R on Meadow Wood Ln, 1st R on Riggins Ct.

Somehow, I ended up biking down

Fourth Street on a Wednesday afternoon with a miniature Critical Mass of nearly a dozen cyclists. The group included volunteers from the Reno Bike Project, an urban planner, and a Reno City Council member. The bike ride was a rolling roundtable discussion about a proposal to add bike lanes to Fourth Street, bicycle culture in general, and the future of Fourth Street, one of Reno’s major thoroughfares.

NUM BRADn eBwYs re v ie w.c o m b ra d b @

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The ride was organized and led by Scott Hall, a public health specialist who’s on the board of RBP, and Jeff Mitchell, RBP’s programming director. Riders included Reno City Council member Dave Aiazzi, RBP volunteers Meagan O’Farrell and Justin Zabriskie, and RBP executive director Noah Silverman. Also along for the ride was Andy Durling, an urban planner from Wood Rodgers, the consulting firm contracted by the Regional Transportation Commission to ana|

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incrementally over the next 25 years or, if a recent federal grant application is approved, much more quickly beginning next year. The area covered by the study follows the corridor from Keystone Avenue in the west about seven miles to Northern Nevada Medical Center, near the eastern terminus of Prater Way. Our ride began in the parking lot of Gold-N-Silver, at the corner of Fourth and Vine streets, just one block from Keystone and, incidentally, less than six blocks from my house. My quick ride to the Gold-N-Silver was a nice warm-up. I’m a lapsed bicycle commuter. I rode every day, or at least most days, for about seven years in my late teens and early 20s, including a 10mile, round-trip work commute and a cross-country bike tour. But in recent years, I got a driver’s license, fell out of the cycling habit, and got fat. In fact, that quick ride over to Gold-N-Silver was the first time I’d been on a bike in over a year. As the group gathered outside the Gold-N-Silver, I chatted with some of the other cyclists. “More bike lanes equals more bike ridership,” Hall told me. “If you can visually designate, or separate

lyze and make recommendations about the future of Fourth Street and, as the street is known is Sparks, Prater Way, and Andy TenBrink, a geologist and alternate member of RTC’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). Representing RN&R was me and photographer Allison Young. And, last but not least, there was Shoki, Scott Hall’s 7-year-old son. For the Reno Bike Project, the purpose of the ride was to raise awareness and support of the Fourth Street-Prater Way Complete Streets Project, and, more to the point, their contention that, as the primary eastwest cycling route though the Truckee Meadows, Fourth Street is ideally suited for bike lanes.

FOURTH & VINE FOURTH AND VINE The 4th Street/Prater Way Corridor Study, currently being conducted by RTC and Wood Rodgers, is examining Fourth Street for problems and solutions in regard to “multimodal” transportation—that is, autos, mass transit, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The findings and recommendations that come out of the study will be implemented in renovations either

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them by space or elevation, then people will know what it is and people will ride on it. Then they have their space for little kids, fast commuters, whatever. … Increasing bike ridership, and the slowing of the traffic, creates more of a community atmosphere, and it increases business.” The closest thing to a current east-west bicycle route is the Truckee River bike path, which runs through the southern end of downtown Reno and eventually follows the river to the southeast. “It’s more natural, friendly, slower paced. It follows the river,” said Hall. “The river path is great for naturewatching or calmer cycling. For efficiency of commuting, directly east-west, with more speed and less stops, bikers can make a lot faster trip. The river path has multi-use, so that’s pedestrians, dogs. More accidents happen on multi-use, so if it’s a dedicated cycle track or bike facility, then that’s more efficient. Also, you know, there’s bikers riding around here all the time right now.”

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Andy TenBrink and RBP volunteer Meagan O’Farrell make cycling look cool.

continued from page 11

like Lincoln Lounge, a bar that’s popular with cyclists, and the Reno Bike Project itself, are already on Fourth Street. “We realize the constraints, but we just don’t like it any better than a car driver would if you rerouted them.” Cutting center turn lanes could slow down traffic enough to force car drivers to change their habits, possibly take an alternate route, like Sixth Street. “If you look at Virginia Street, they went down to two lanes, and people went down Sierra and Center,” said Hall. “So they’ve created a traffic pattern that doesn’t put all the impact on the … main street.” “They’ll take the path of least resistance,” said Durling. “So they could conceivably [change driving routes], but will they? That’s behavior modification at that point.” Hall pointed out that I-80 is a continuous east-west route for drivers, but not for cyclists.

ACESBALLPARK BALLPARK ACES After a few minutes of chatting, we mounted up and rode out. As we pulled out of the Gold-N-Silver lot, there was in incoming rush of traffic as the signal light changed. We had a large enough group that, riding en masse, we had some security in numbers and took up the whole right lane.

FOURTH & RALSTON

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“It is a lot different for one, because you have to stay in the gutter,” said Aiazzi, after we had stopped near the corner of Fourth and Ralston streets. “And this street has been overlaid so many times, there’s a big lip to where if you have to move over some of the grates, like if you have a 10-speed, the wheels fall off. So you can’t just speed up, because you’re worried your tires are going to slip out, because you have a curb on both sides, because it’s been overlaid so many times.” The safest option in that section of Fourth Street is currently to ride in the gutter, not a romantic notion, nor a comfortable one. “What we’re looking at is five lanes of traffic: a center turn lane, and two lanes on either side [and bike lanes],” said Mitchell. “I guess the big question is, is this the kind of transportation that we want in Reno? It’s a question we have to answer as a community. Do we want the kind of city that facilitates all these massive car populations moving through the city? Or do we want to slow it down and get people to get out of their cars and actually experience the downtown area?” For Mitchell and other cyclists, bike lanes are key for a strong, community-oriented downtown Reno. “This is happening in Detroit, 12

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Chicago, all around the country, all these cities with a lot of urban sprawl are starting to come back to the urban core,” he said. “It has to do with a lot of stuff—the housing economy, gas prices is another, just wanting to be closer to your job. With moving back to the urban core, people realize they don’t need their cars.” Or, at the very least, they don’t need them as much or as often. Even dedicated cyclists might want to drive the car to the grocery store, if they plan to stock up, or take the car for a daytrip out of town, but the bicycle might serve just as well for a short work commute or, even better, riding out to eat, drink, or see a movie, play or baseball game. “With the regional plan, we’re planning for transit-oriented development,” said Aiazzi. “And that’s along Virginia Street and along Fourth Street, and the purpose of transit-oriented development is to have higher density by bus stops, so people don’t have to drive a car. What people have to understand is that transit is not just car or walk. It could be a bike. It could be a motorcycle. It could be a scooter. It could be anything. It’s not just, ‘I either walk or I drive my car.’”

FOURTH & WEST

FOURTH AND WEST We rolled down Fourth Street for a couple of more blocks, but because of the current street renovations on and around Virginia Street, we took a right and headed south down West Street for half a block before regrouping. We had to avoid the area of Fourth Street from Sierra Street to Center Street, particularly the block beneath the Silver Legacy walkway between

Sierra and Virginia streets, which could be an obstacle to the possibility of having a continuous bike lane for the corridor. That area is very heavily trafficked with pedestrians, casino shuttles and other traffic. “There’s not a lot we can do there,” said Durling. “Besides taking out center turn lanes. … It’s a challenge.” An important concept in planning bike lanes is connectivity, ensuring that bike paths link up and that bicycle commuters can plan the routes safely. A block or two here and there with no connectivity doesn’t much help cyclists, and it would be a major problem if the bike lanes on a major commuter route were to suddenly disappear for three or four blocks in the most congested portion of the route. Durling suggested that another option for the downtown area would be to route cyclists through bike facilities on Sixth Street. “Sixth Street could be another option,” said Durling. “It just hasn’t been analyzed real in-depth, but Sixth Street is viable because it spans the entire downtown. … One of our recommendations in the long run would be to look at Sixth Street as an alternate route through downtown for bikes.” This option didn’t sit well with many of the other cyclists present. “It’s an industrial wasteland,” said TenBrink. “No one wants to ride there. There, I said it.” He added that many destinations

Because of the street closures, we took West Street to Commercial Row, crossed Virginia Street near the Reno arch, and continued down Commercial Row to Aces Ballpark. “If you want to rebuild the city to be what everyone wants it to be— where it’s fun to be downtown, and you want to be in downtown Reno,” said TenBrink. “You have to have things like this that are draws for the masses.”

More bike lanes equals more bike ridership. Scott Hall, public health specialist

And though everyone in the group seemed to agree that the ballpark was a great addition to Reno, a fun community attraction, there’s a problem with it: no bike lane access. “You have to build the infrastructure and build the attractions,” said TenBrink. “It’s not just one or the other. We have to just keep pushing so that they follow through with the … non-vehicular infrastructure.”

“The owners … saw the development potential around the stadium as much as they saw the stadium, and then the market collapsed,” said Aiazzi. “And that’s what happened.” “If you look at real estate values downtown, they’ve gone down, but they’ve been very moderate,” said Hall. “Whereas in the fringes, the suburbs and whatnot, it’s been catastrophic. In our lifetimes probably, some places won’t come back. And they don’t have any of the cultural resources. We have the museum, downtown theater. We have everything here. If you were to buy a house or a condo here, you could basically do whatever you want as well as work, and only travel by foot or by bike.”

FOURTH & VALLEY

FOURTH AND VALLEY

We rode from the ballpark down Evans Avenue back to Fourth Street. The main downtown Reno RTC bus station is there at Fourth Street between Lake Street and Evans Avenue. The proximity to the bus station is another reason that Fourth Street could be ideal for an emphasis on multimodal transportation. Bikes can be clamped onto buses for long routes. We then rode down Fourth Street a few busy, action-packed blocks to the Reno Bike Project’s shop, a few doors down from the intersection of Fourth Street and Valley Road. “That’s why we care about this street,” said Mitchell. “One is that we have the time and resources now to finally dedicate to some legitimate advocacy work, so that’s what we’re doing, but ultimately we have a vested interest in this street. … We own a bike shop in front of a road that has no bike lanes. So it’s dangerous for our clientele to be riding bikes down here.” Standing outside of the Reno Bike Project, Durling and I talked about possible funding sources for Fourth Street renovations. RTC has applied for a Transportation Investment Grant for Economic Recovery (TIGER). “It’s a federal highways grant,” he said. “There’s a few billion dollars out there, and obviously it’s very competitive. … They have a very compelling grant. ” In addition to extensive bike lanes along Fourth Street, the grant also calls for eight new RAPID bus stations, as well as revamped sidewalks, lighting, trees and other amenities. The grant lists the total cost for the Fourth Street/Prater Way Complete Streets Project as $26.3 million. Local fuel tax funds will account for $10 million of that, and the TIGER request is $16.3 million. “We have a really strong project, I

think, because of all the community input that we’ve received and the community support that we have for the project,” Amy McAbee Cummings, RTC’s director of planning, told me a few days later. “I guess the downside is that for that program—the funding requests—I think there were 700 or 800 submittals that were made across the country. I think they had about 40 times more requests for funding than they actually had funding available, so it’s really competitive.” The grant application, which Cummings emailed me, includes letters of support from various local

organizations, including the Reno Bike Project, the University of Nevada, Reno, the mayors of Reno and Sparks, and a letter from U.S. Sen. Harry Reid to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in support of the grant. According to Cummings, they’ll know if the grant has been approved by June or July. “If we don’t get the funding from this [TIGER grant], it will be incorporated into our long-range plan, and we’re going to do a funding analysis as part of that long-range plan, and that’s something that we’re going to be working on through this fall,” said Cummings. “There is some local funding available, but it would have to be phased incrementally. Most likely, we wouldn’t expect to be able to fund the entire project without the grant at this time. If we do receive the grant, we would be able to start construction next year.” “This kind of redevelopment project can do a lot for Reno,” said Mitchell. “We all kind of remember what Wells Avenue was before they started that redevelopment project. It looked a lot like this. There was no interest in bringing new business

Bike lanes are key for a strong, community-oriented downtown Reno.

#1 - Reno News & Review- 05-10-2012

there. Now, there’s all kind of cool stuff happening.” “That really changed Wells,” said TenBrink. “It was more like this”—he gestured toward the traffic on Fourth Street. “Four lanes, kind of fast going, and now it’s mellow. You can ride on it, it’s not sketchy. You’re not pushed off the road.” Though he acknowledged most local motorists still don’t know how to use the roundabouts.

Andy TenBrink, Noah Silverman and Shoki Hall take a break during the Fourth Street ride.

FOURTH & SIXTH FOURTH AND SIXTH From the Reno Bike Project, we rode down a few more blocks to where Sixth Street merges with Fourth Street. At this point, the pedestrians and businesses are fewer, and the blocks are longer. “Here we are at Sixth Street, going back a couple of decades,” said Hall. “Maybe the ’50s? Maybe the 1850s? But there’s so much that could be approved here, even a sidewalk could be nice. A bike lane would be nice. There’s so little truck traffic. It’s mostly just straight through.” Wood Rodgers and RTC have conducted open house forums, to address public concerns about the future of the corridor. “There’s definitely a sentiment for bike lanes,” said Durling. The TIGER application mentions “The addition of bike lanes … has been the most frequently raised

need at community meetings for the project study.” Is anyone actually anti-bike lane? “The general public can be if you tell them you’re going to take away a lane of traffic,” said TenBrink. “But if it’s done properly and goes through the open house process, what you find is that they’re often not really against it.” “If we keep doing the same thing, then this place is not going to change,” said Hall. “If people see it as changed, then they’re like, yeah, I went to live down there. I want to build a building down there. It’s wide open. You could do whatever you wanted on this corridor. For the future, it would just show how much more impact we could

have. We have Virginia Street and Wells, but there is no great east-west corridor.” “What we’ve heard, general consensus,” Durling said, “is not to necessarily make it a real polished corridor, a glitz and glamour kind of thing, but still a little pretty and much nicer place to be, where the sidewalks are nice, we have street trees, bike facilities—a complete street.” Ω The 4th Street/Prater Way Complete Streets Project will be discussed at the next Regional Transportation Commission board meeting on May 18, at the RTC Board Room, 2050 Villanova Drive, at 9 a.m. The next Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting is May 23, also at 2050 Villanova Drive, at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.4thprater.com.

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Marianarchy is a music show. Marianarchy is a remembrance of Marianne Psota, who died in 2004 at the age of 37. Marianarchy is a benefit for the family of Gary Setzer, who died of throat cancer by D. Brian Burghart on March 7. brianb@newsrev iew.com Marianarchy is a wake. Marianarchy is a celebration of life. Marianarchy is recognition of tragedy. It’s booze, it’s art, it’s friends, it’s family. Marianarchy is an unusually rich cultural event for Northern Nevada. This year, the benefit show will be held May 18-19 at Jub Jub’s Thirst Parlor, 71 S. Wells Ave. It will feature some 26 bands. Two of Reno’s most iconic bands from the ’90s will headline: Phat Couch on Friday night, at 12:30 a.m. (technically Saturday morning); and GunShot Licker at 11:45 p.m. on Saturday night. Nick Ramirez is Marianarchy’s point man, although truth be told, there are many heads to this spear. And while he was a member of Phat Couch, and many other noted Reno bands in the years before and since, he was also Marianne Psota’s partner, so he has seniority there. But he wasn’t one of those Reno artists who developed a certain notoriety and/or fame and moved to Portland or Nashville or Los Angeles or Gary Setzer, another long-time musiinto some obscure apartment to chase his cal Renoite, was perhaps best known demons. No, he’s been in Reno, making as GunShot Licker’s drummer through new bands and glorifying and edifying the the ’90s. Reno music scene with his and his part“I’d rather not have these parties,” ners’ podcast “The Worst Little Podcast in Ramirez said. “Fucking cancer, man. the World,” www.worstlittlepodcast.com. Nobody’s immune. Cancer’s kind of These days, he plays with—not includtaken over [as the disease fought by the ing Phat Couch and Gunshot benefit]. We’ve had some successes, Licker—Candyshoppe, Hella A Capella, Chris Tenniere and Stacey Spain’s kid are Liverscars and Present. His YouTube chanboth cancer-free. We’ve had some setnel can be found at astronot69. backs.” Ramirez freely acknowledges that this But even for Ramirez, it’s a party. A show means a lot of different things to a lot big, big party with a heart. of different people. At this moment, in “It’s a celebration of the music that addition to the nuts and bolts of putting on Marianne loved,” he said. “Marianne a show of this magnitude, he seems loved local music.” focused on the soul of the show, the When Psota was suddenly taken ill, benefit. Ramirez said many people came out to “We had planned on doing it for Gary love and help her. She was well known before he passed away in March,” he said. throughout the community for her music “We decided to go with that and to give promotion and as a bartender at venues Jules [Setzer] the money for all the medical like the Blue Lamp and the Zephyr Bar. expenses.”

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MAY 10, 2012

Two of R eno’s big gest ban the ’90s ds from will join some tw new ban o dozen ds to pe rform at year’s M this arianarc hy benef it.

GUNSHOT LIC

KER

she said. GunShot Licker headlined a benefit in December at Davidson’s Distillery. “Gary was real sick. I was hoping he’d be well-enough to play with us, but … all of our fallen soldiers.” There’s a Reno cliché that says people can never get away from Reno—they can leave, but they’ll always return. Rosa, while she’s looking forward to the visit, doesn’t necessarily subscribe to that theory. “I miss the time when I was there more than I miss the town,” she said. “Everything was so easy and so fun: bartending in great bars, playing in a great band. But I don’t really miss the city itself. People here are so proud of their city. It’s just so much healthier without the 24-hour lifestyle. There’s just so much music. You can see a great band any night of the week, but it still has a rural feel.” But of course, no story that mentions the words “Phat Couch” would be complete without a parting shot from the indefatigable singer Steve Foht: “I feel a lot of things, but mostly I’m just looking forward to playing a show with my favorite people, to play in front of my favorite people to play for, and more importantly, being myself when I do it. It has been a long time since that has happened.” Ω

CH PHAT COU

For a time, the Blue Lamp was the cultural medulla oblongata of Northern Nevada. The first Marianarchy was for her. “It’s the people and the music and the love and support,” he said. Psota died of a seizure after years of battling epilepsy. “For me, it’s cathartic every year. It celebrates her. It’s not like it ever goes away. I like it. It’s cool. The first few years after Mary was gone, it was really, really sad. It still really hurts, but when we do this, I kind of feel like she’s still around. For those who never knew her, it’s like they’re being introduced to her, and we won’t let that fade away. “Plus, it’s a great excuse to get a bunch of cool bands together.” GunShot Licker with Stacey (Tolle) Rosa will be one of the cool bands that will be getting together to help out a stricken comrade’s family. She’s in Austin, Texas, where she runs a restaurant and plays with the band The People vs. De La Rosa. “The last one was bittersweet as well,”

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NOW OPEN! Marianarchy will be held at Jub Jub’s Thirst Parlor, 71 S. Wells Ave. Here’s the lineup. There will be a potluck and barbecue Friday from 4-8 p.m. On Saturday from 3-8 p.m., there will be an art and services raffle and silent auction. For more information, check out www.facebook.com/marianarchyreno.

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Friday, May 18 12:30 a.m. Phat Couch 11:45 p.m. Elephant Rifle 11 p.m. Memory Motel 10:15 p.m. Merkin 9:30 p.m. Red Mercury 8:45 p.m. Present 8 p.m. Big Remote 7:15 p.m. Walk of Shame 6:30 p.m.The Kanes 5:45 p.m. Candyshoppe 5 p.m. Betty Rocker 4:30 p.m. Jonie Blinman 4 p.m. Mallory Mishler Saturday, May 19 11:45 p.m. GunShot Licker 11 p.m. The Shames 10:15 p.m. Blunderbusst 9:30 p.m. The Gunner’s Daughter 8:45 p.m. Pinky Polanski 8:15 p.m. Aversion Therapy 7:30 p.m. The Harvest and the Hunt 6:45 p.m. RenoWeHaveAProblem 6 p.m. The Firebombing 5:15 p.m. Hella A Cappella 4:30 p.m. Tom Plunkett 4 p.m. Matt Waage 3:30 p.m. Spike and Jackson

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Last to Leave Fare Thee Well

In the Mix is a monthly column of reviews of albums by musical artists local to the Reno area. To submit an album for review consideration, send a physical copy to Brad Bynum, Reno News & Review, 708 N. Center St., Reno NV 89501 or a digital link to bradb@news review.com.

One way to classify albums is by time of year. Pavement’s Slanted and Enchanted always sounds like midJuly. Songs of Leonard Cohen is perpetual November. Another way to classify records is by time of day. Bob Dylan’s New Morning, appropriately enough, sounds best around 9 a.m. The Stooges’ Fun House sounds best around midnight. Fare Thee Well, the new album by Reno folk band Last to Leave, nails the feeling of 6:30 p.m. on a Friday in late August. The sun is low in the sky, the weather’s starting to cool down, a bunch of friends are sitting on somebody’s back porch, picking out tunes, drinking spiked lemonade. There’s a bittersweet quality to these songs— the feeling that summer’s almost over, so enjoy FOLK it while it lasts. It’s that feeling of being a couple of drinks in, where you feel warm and happy, and you haven’t done anything regrettable yet, but you feel yourself moving in that direction. The music has an agreeable homemade quality. It feels a little loose. Some of the mixes don’t sound quite right— like they aimed for spacious but landed on hollow—and there’s a ramshackle quality to some of the playing. But these rough edges actually enhance the songwriting in a way a more polished sound wouldn’t. Many of the lyrics are about travel. “I’ve driven more hours than anyone I know, and I’ve seen so many things. Everyone sings about never coming home, but home is

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MAY 10, 2012

Knightfall

Heavy Metal Revival

the place for me” is a good bit from the album opener, “Roll Away.” “One of Those Long Name Traveling Songs” has one of the best count-ins this side of Springsteen. Then, over bouncy bass, mandolin and banjo, and plaintive saxophone, vocalists Luke Knudsen and Skye Evans trade lyrics, sometimes singing remarkably quickly, other times slowing down to emphasize the melody. Though some of the lyrics are a little angsty, the singing is never aggressive or punk, nor is it some smilewhile-you-sing “Kumbaya” nonsense. Instead, the voices have a relaxed, almost neutral quality that fits the bittersweet music and lyrics. The instruments move with locomotive energy, but the songs never go off the tracks. And the songwriting is excellent. Here’s another memorable couplet: “Do you remember when I last wrote to you? I said some things I can’t recall, but it all was true.”

“Epic” is the operative adjective for Knightfall, a local metal band that veers toward Scandinavian-style symphonic black metal. Melancholy keyboards open the band’s new record, Heavy Metal Revival, which builds up to monstrous guitar riffs, rapid-fire drums, and vocals that sound like a Viking warrior amped for battle. There’s a lot of movie soundtrack-style sweep, scope and grandeur to the music, and songs like METAL “Upon Your Grave” and “Mars 9” have thrilling, nail-biting guitar solos, where it sounds like something important, like the future of Middle Earth, is at stake—saving realms through fretboard wizardry. Music with this much drama might sound cheesy to some ears, but there’s enough classical sophistication to lure in attentive listeners, who will be led on a mythic journey, through foreboding, menacing, terrifying wildernesses to moments of triumph and glory.

—Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

PHOTO/AMY BECK

Playing dirty

Actress Kristin Moffitt, in God of Carnage, can say a thousand words by just furrowing her brow.

The God of Carnage Two 11-year-olds, Benjamin and Henry, were playing one November day at Cobble Hill Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. Benjamin picked up a by stick and hit Henry, breaking two teeth. Jessica Santina Now, Henry’s parents, Veronica and Michael, have invited Benjamin’s parents, Alan and Annette, to their home so that the two families can get to the bottom of the boys’ dispute. We learn all this in the first minute of Yasmina Reza’s The God of Carnage, The God of Carnage by which makes its Nevada debut at Brüka Yasmina Reza, Theatre this month. Reza’s play, under translated by Christopher Hampton, the direction of Tony DeGeiso, is a and directed by Tony wickedly dark comedy that tells the story DeGeiso, is at Brüka of how that one little stick broke a lot Theatre, 99 N. Virginia more than just poor Henry’s teeth. St., 323-3221, on May Veronica (Mary Bennett) is an 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 at 8 p.m., Africaphile and writer working on a and May 20 at 2 p.m. book about “the tragedy in Darfur.” Her Tickets are $18; $16 husband, Michael (Gary Cremeans), is a for students, seniors rough-around-the-edges working man and military; all tickets are $20 at the door. who owns a store that sells “household

For more information, visit www.bruka.org.

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goods”—frying pans, toilet fittings and the like. Their home bespeaks a certain liberalism, with its piles of art books and vase of fresh tulips purchased from “the Korean market down the end.” Veronica, or “Ronnie,” and Michael welcome Alan and Annette into their home, serve them espresso and Ronnie’s special apple-and-pear clafouti, and, using what Ronnie calls “the art of coexistence,” initiate a dialogue about what happened at the park. Meanwhile, Alan (Bradford Ka’ai’ai) and Annette (Kristin Moffitt) couldn’t be more different in their tailored suits— Alan’s a corporate attorney with a cell phone fetish, and prim, proper Annette is “in wealth management.” All this is just the backdrop for what’s bubbling under the surface. It seems that when Benjamin wielded that stick, he also cracked the shiny veneers of both marriages and the expected niceties of polite adults meeting over coffee. As Veronica continues probing Alan and Annette about

how they intend to discipline their son, the cracks grow and grow, exposing the ugliness within—ugly truths about what happens in a marriage behind closed doors, ugly lies told by attorneys and corporations, and the ugly ways in which adults handle their stress. Each family’s vigorous defense of their son reveals much about what may have led to the events at Cobble Hill Park. It turns out that neither the two boys involved nor any of their parents can play well with others. At least Benjamin and Henry have the excuse of only being 11. As the discussion gets dirtier and dirtier— literally, about halfway through the

SUBLIMEDON’T MISS

90-minute show—jackets come off, names are called, espresso is traded for rum, alliances shift, and nothing is held back as the four adults begin to reveal what they really think of each other. They’ve opened a can of worms, and now those worms are everywhere and impossible to put back. But the beauty of the show is all in the subtext. It’s never really about what’s being said, but how. Each character is, by turns, both lovable and completely abhorrent. While each actor’s performance is uniquely wonderful, I was struck particularly by Moffitt’s genius with facial expressions. That woman can say a thousand words by just furrowing her brow. Throughout the story, the looks exchanged, the body language, the tones of voice—they say everything we need to know about what Benjamin and Henry come home to each night. But if you’re looking for satisfactory resolutions, a tidy red bow wrapping everything up, you won’t find that here. The God of Carnage is too much like real life for that. Ω

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cooked in vegetable oil. Again, a small portion with a savory flavor, both very tasty and nice appetizers. Tandoori is the most popular Indian food among Americans. A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking. The heat for a tandoor was traditionally generated by a charcoal or wood fire, burning within the tandoor itself, thus exposing the food to live-fire, radiant heat cooking, and hot-air, convection cooking, and smoking by the fat and food juices that drip on to the charcoal. I went with the chicken tandoori ($8.95), marinated in a flavorful mild sauce with freshly ground piquant spices, then roasted in the Tandoor served with sliced onion and lemon. The crimson color of the meat accented with light, charcoal hue, was succulent with a pleasant spicy taste, not overwhelming but flavorful and distinctive. Curry is a must. Chicken vindaloo ($9.95) is chunks of chicken cooked in a specially hot and spicy sauce. This is a rush for the taste buds. Garlic, onions, ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, heatâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; your mouth explodes with flavors, not to mention the uncontrolled blush in your face from the spice-orama heater. They make all curry dishes to your taste, mild to hot. I had some garlic naan bread ($2.50) to help curb the heat, cooked in the tandoor, light, leavened bread stuffed with some onionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;great complement to all the food. Modest cocktails are offered, some wine and beers including Kingfisher from Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not a bad lagerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and a few domestic beers. A lassi is a traditional drink, and I chose a sweet lassi ($2.50), a popular yogurt-based drink, to cool my mouth. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slightly sweet and creamy and has that yogurt finish, a little tart. Dessert was kulfi ($2.25). Kulfi has similarities to ice cream in appearance and taste, but unlike Western ice creams, kulfi is not whipped, resulting in a solid, dense frozen dessert. It was refreshing with some texture and a nice vanilla flavor. Intricate, fascinating, different, delicious and unpretentiousâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a foodie, then you need a taste of India. ÎŠ PHOTO/AMY BECK

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F.S. Zubar opened Taste of India in 2003. The modest room will seat about 40, and the dĂŠcor is a bit eclectic with the walls of salmon and turquoise. Comfortable tables and booths with the proper touch of linen napkins for dinner complement the experience, and the staff is efficient. The menu has traditional names with English translations, but the hurry-up mentality Americans have about eating makes it more challenging to order if you have to study the menu rather than just say â&#x20AC;&#x153;medium rare or over easy.â&#x20AC;? I decided to stick with foods that had a myriad of flavors and played a little more to the American palate. However, this menu is a treasure trove of remarkable foods with flavors to challenge and educate the senses and delight and satisfy. From the vegan to the meat eater, there is something for everyone, and everything is made in-house. Papdam ($2.95) was served with a sweet savory sauce. These are paper thin lentil crackers with black pepper. The sauce compounds the flavors of salt, sweet and savory. Simple, but it got those taste buds going. A vegetable pakora ($2.95) is a thinly sliced eggplant deep fried with a seasoned, light batter

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every week while still in season Lights. Camera. Foolishness.

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Reno

Sparks

5525 S. Virginia St. 775.284.7711

846 Victorian Ave. 775.355.7711

greatbasinbrewingco.com OPINION

NEWS

GREEN

FEATURE STORY

ARTS&CULTURE

IN ROTATION

ART OF THE STATE

FOODFINDS

FILM

MUSICBEAT

NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS

THIS WEEK

MISCELLANY

MAY 10, 2012

RN&R

Rated “arrrr!” The Pirates! Band of Misfits From the producer of Wallace and Gromit comes something a helluva lot funnier than Wallace and Gromit! I’ve always found Wallace and Gromit amusing, but The Pirates! Band of Misfits excels in a brand of weird, random comedy that had me laughing out loud often. Not so much a pirate movie than a fictional goof about what a jerk Charles Darwin could’ve been in his younger days, it has a lot of laughs that come out of nowhere, and make no sense, and that’s by something I happen to love very much when Bob Grimm done right. Hugh Grant most entertainingly voices the bgrimm@ newsreview.com Pirate Captain, trying his best to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award, which usually goes to Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven). Determined to score a lot of booty and increase his chances for victory in the contest, he sets out to pillage a bunch of boats and gather the gold.

This is how Bob Grimm sees himself.

Things don’t go well. He attacks a ghost ship, a plague ship and an elementary school field trip ship, none of them bringing monetary awards. With his fat parrot Polly in tow, he invades the science ship of Charles Darwin (David Tennant), who has never kissed a real girl, and happens to notice that Polly is, in fact, a Dodo. The film then becomes about The Pirate Captain trying to get the Scientist of the Year award, which, as Darwin tells him, brings untold riches. He would then add those untold riches to his yearly loot, and finally win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award.

POOR

FAIR

GOOD

RN&R

MAY 10, 2012

4 VERY GOOD

5 EXCELLENT

The film’s villain is—you guessed it— Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), who hates pirates and likes to eat rare species, much like Marlon Brando’s clientele did in The Freshman. The Claymation technique is fun to watch in 3-D, although it isn’t absolutely necessary to pay for the glasses. A 2-D viewing would be just fine. I was especially impressed with the look of the stop-motion foamy beers (cotton, maybe?). While the film is a visual treat, its biggest asset is its nutty sense of humor. Its best running gag is a chimpanzee, who’s the subject of a crazy Darwin experiment. He’s forced to wear a suit to prove that he will eventually start acting like a dude—more specifically, a butler. The chimp communicates with index cards that always seem to say exactly what the moment calls for. Other strange touches include Pirate Ham Night (the Pirate Captain’s weekly gift to his loving crew), Black Bellamy’s mode of transportation (the inside of a sperm whale) and strange crewmember names, like the Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (voiced by, of course, Al Roker). Other characters include Anton Yelchin as the Albino Pirate, Brendan Gleeson as the Pirate with Gout, and Ashley Jensen as the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate. Those character names give away just how goofy this film really is. Grant is almost unrecognizable in the lead role. When I see these movies, I like to avoid seeing the names of voice talent beforehand so I can guess while watching. I got about halfway into the film before I gave up and checked IMDB. (I was the only person in the theater, so I disturbed no one with my phone use.) Which gets me to my next point. It’s sad that I could watch this at prime time on a Friday night and sit alone in the theater. Mind you, I don’t really like people sitting too close to me at movie theaters—I HATE THE SOUND OF MOUTH-OPEN CRUNCHING POPCORN!—but I would’ve liked a few more people to laugh along with. I would also like to see the story of the Pirate Captain continue in further chapters. The movie isn’t doing all that well in the states, but it’s scoring some decent international business, so all hope is not lost. Ω

The Avengers

Everything good about the last bunch of Marvel superhero movies comes together for one massive, excessively entertaining party. Director Joss Whedon hits all the right notes as Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the Hulk (newbie Mark Ruffalo) all get equal time in this well balanced, often funny, and completely satisfying cinematic experience. I wasn’t sure if they would pull this off, but they did, with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) once again bringing the fun as the villain. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) contribute mightily to the process, as does Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Good luck to all the rest of the summer movies in trying to top this one’s fun factor. And let it be said that this contains the best Hulk action put to film ever! Joss Whedon is a god.

The Cabin in the Woods

This crazy rule-bender comes from writer/director Drew Goddard and cowriter Joss Whedon, the father of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and hero to many a geek. It’s quite clever, maybe even a little too clever at times. The setup sees a typical sampling of college students getting ready for a vacation at the lake. They are Curt the Jock (Chris Hemsworth, a.k.a. Thor!), Dana the Almost Virgin (Kristen Connolly), Jules the Whore (Anna Hutchison), Holden the Hot Nerd (Jesse Williams) and Marty the Wisecracking Stoner (Fran Kranz). At the same time, we see two working stiffs (Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) reporting to their very peculiar jobs, the details of which will not be given away. The film works as both a straight-up horror film and a funny homage to the genre, with plenty of great reveals and twists along the way, including an awesome final cameo. It sat on shelves for three years, and we finally get to see it. Yay!

Chimpanzee

While watching DisneyNature’s latest effort, I was reminded of some of the shows I used to catch as a kid during TV’s Wonderful World of Disney. I remembered being wowed by the cool nature footage that Walt’s army used to catch, and I also remembered that the narration would bore and/or annoy me in contrast. Such is also the case with this movie. The footage of a little chimpanzee orphan dubbed Oscar is amazing stuff. Oscar, an energetic 3-year-old, is a cute little shit, and I could watch hours of footage featuring his adorable eyes and natural sense of mischief. I’d say I’d like to pinch his cheek, but he would probably tear my arms off. As for listening to Tim Allen narrate the story of Oscar and his predicament (“Power tools … grr!”), I was longing for the voice of Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones. Or perhaps even the famous primatologist Jane Goodall, who served as an advisor on the flick.

Damsels in Distress

Writer-director Whit Stillman, who did a disappearing act after his fun 1998 film The Last Days of Disco, makes a funny return with collegiate comedy starring Greta Gerwig as a student who wants you to know the healing powers of really good hotel soap. Gerwig plays Violet, the leader of a small group of female students intent upon preventing suicide, avoiding acrid odors, and starting a new dance craze. Stillman has a great gift for absurd, random humor mixed in with meaningful, surprisingly deep life observations. The cast is full of colorful, funny supporting players like Thor (an extremely funny Billy Magnussen), who doesn’t know all of the colors but pledges to hit the books and learn. There’s also Frank (Ryan Metcalf), the dumbass Violet has a crush on, who really wants his bean ball back. Throw in Analeigh Tipton as the normal girl and Adam Brody as a guy with a fake name, and you have one of the year’s greater casts. Look for the always-funny Aubrey Piaza in the aptly titled role, Depressed Debbie. Sure to stand as one of the year’s funniest movies.

Reno Century Park Lane 16, 210 Plumb Lane: 824-3300 Century Riverside 12, 11 N. Sierra St.: 786-1743 Century Summit Sierra 13965 S. Virginia St.: 851-4347 www.centurytheaters.com

The Five-Year Engagement

This one feels more like a 50-year engagement. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star as a couple who get engaged but wind up postponing their wedding for career considerations. While Segel and Blunt have some decent comedic chemistry, the movie just drags on and on and on. What’s more, while they work as a comedic team, they don’t really click as a romantic couple, making it all seem a little strange that they’re together in the first place. Directed by Nicholas Stoller, who co-wrote the screenplay with frequent writing partner Segel, the two fail to capture the magic that made their prior effort Forgetting Sarah Marshall so funny. The humor here is mostly flat, peppered with occasional laughs, which mostly come from Segel’s character trying to adjust to life in Michigan after living the big life in San Francisco. Segel says he won’t be in the next Muppet movie because he wants to do human movies. As this movie shows, humans can be really boring.

The Hunger Games

For a big blockbuster based on an extremely popular novel, director Gary Ross’ film looks mighty cheap. Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, forced to represent her district in a televised contest where young people must battle to the death. While Lawrence is a great actress, she doesn’t fit the role of starving teen very well. Josh Hutcherson plays her fellow district rep, Peeta, and he suits the role just fine. I just couldn’t get by the drab look of the movie, and the horrible shaky cam that manages to destroy the action visuals instead of enhancing them. Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson are all saddled with silly getups for their roles, which might’ve played OK had another director filmed them. The movie is just a strange clash of tones, never has a consistent feel, and is surprisingly boring considering the subject matter.

The Raven

While John Cusack gives it his all as the film’s central character, Edgar Allan Poe, this cinematic attempt at making the author some sort of super sleuth during his dying days is a little silly. As history has told us, Poe was found in bad shape on a Baltimore park bunch shortly before he died. This movie comes up with the fictional device that Poe was running around looking for a serial killer copying his stories, 1849’s answer to Saw’s Jigsaw. The premise is too goofy to overcome despite a decent performance from Cusack and a goodlooking movie from director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). By the time this movie reveals its mysteries, you could care less, although having Alice Eve in your cast can easily make things worth watching at times. There have been a number of Poe films kicking around for years now. I’m kind of bummed this is the one that actually wound up getting made. Cusack is still a god, even if this movie is beneath him. Just had to say that.

Think Like a Man

Comedian and radio talk show host Steve Harvey wrote the bestselling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy and Commitment in 2009. Even though it’s an advice book, with no plot, somebody has managed to make a movie out of it anyway. The film follows four couples as the women read and take the sage advice of Steve Harvey, who strikes me as an arrogant asshole. So I don’t buy that the characters in this movie would give two shits about what Steve Harvey has to say. Harvey appears occasionally in the film, spewing his nonsense straight at the audience, appearing on talk shows in the film, etc. A winning cast makes things sporadically tolerable, with fun performances from Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara and Gabrielle Union. They are good. Steve Harvey the douche can suck it, as can Chris Brown, who appears in a lame cameo.

Grand Sierra Cinema 2500 E. Second St.: 323-1100 Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St.: 329-3333

Carson City

Sparks

Horizon Stadium Cinemas, Stateline: (775) 589-6000

Century Sparks 14, 1250 Victorian Ave.: 357-7400

Galaxy Fandango, 4000 S. Curry St.: 885-7469

Tahoe

Flock together The Feather Merchants “Feather Merchant” was a term coined during World War II in the U.S. Army to refer to a person who shirked by Kelsey Bauder responsibility and avoided hard work or leadership positions. In the personal life of Josh Yelle, vocalist/guitarist of The Feather Merchants, it was also a nickname given to him by a youth pastor who knew Yelle to be consistently slow and late. Despite these connotations, The Feather Merchants are anything but apathetic about their music. PHOTO/BRAD BYNUM

The Feather Merchants, Josh Yelle, Lloyd Clark and Ken Shepherd, are students of music.

The Feather Merchants play at Strega Bar, 310 S. Arlington Ave., on May 12 at 9 p.m. No cover. For more information, visit www.reverbnation.com/t hefeathermerchants.

OPINION

NEWS

The Feather Merchants played at this year’s Earth Day Festival at Idlewild Park. It was hot as hell, and the band’s positive attitude stood out among the crowd. The effort and energy they exuded in a 20-minute set was inspiring. “We try to work through positive efforts,” said Yelle. “There’s really no need to be negative, we’re just trying to share.” The newly formed trio—guitarist/vocalist Josh Yelle, bassist Ken Shepherd, and drummer Lloyd Clark—met over a lunch table at Truckee Meadows Community College. As music students with similar aspirations, they were a perfect fit for each other and formed The Feather Merchants six months ago. The three have an interesting aesthetic. They’ve all been musicians since childhood, and they found themselves in multiple music classes together. Through their music studies, they continue to learn and progress as individual musicians and as a band.

GREEN

FEATURE STORY

ARTS&CULTURE

“The series of music theory classes at TMCC helps us keep on the same plane in a way,” said Shepherd. The Feather Merchants experiment with a variety of different twists on classic blues rock. Influenced by traditional delta blues artists as well as infamous power trios like Cream, the band members work to create a sound that is all their own and melds their musical tastes together. A few of the songs off their new four-track demo have a distinctly Southern feel to them. Others incorporate pop punk riffs and bluesy bass variations. The Feather Merchant’s are not afraid to push the boundaries of a genre. Yet, Yelle’s gravely, vaguely Tom Waits-like vocals and Shepherd’s solid bass lines give nearly all their songs a blues undertone. “I like the idea that we’re a multi-genre band,” said Yelle. “We’re not too worried about playing one type of music specifically.” Lyrically, many of the band’s songs are witty and comment on just about everything from nuclear warfare to cross country roads trips and Reno nightlife. The Feather Merchants are more inclined to assemble their songs instrumentally and then go back and write lyrics that seem suiting. “We put words around sounds,” explained Yelle. “We have the songs pretty well developed before the lyrics even ever come into play.” The Feather Merchants have a willingness and ability to experiment with their sound and incorporate aspects of many genres of rock into their music. With goals to start working with more electronic sound variations and synthesizers, this band will continue to evolve. The Feather Merchants play on Saturday, May 12, at Strega Bar for the TMCC Portfolio Emphasis Student Exhibition. The artist reception will encompass the works of six aspiring artists from both TMCC and the University of Nevada, Reno and showcase almost 50 pieces. The Feather Merchants will be playing around 9 p.m. and will be debuting some of their latest material. Ω

IN ROTATION

ART OF THE STATE

FOODFINDS

FILM

MUSICBEAT

NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS

THIS WEEK

MISCELLANY

MAY 10, 2012

RN&R

3RD STREET 125 W. Third St., (775) 323-5005

THE ALLEY

906 Victorian Ave., Sparks; (775) 358-8891

THURSDAY 5/10

FRIDAY 5/11

Blues jam w/Blue Haven, 9:30pm, no cover

Drinking with Clowns, 10pm, no cover

Alias Smith, 9:30pm, no cover

The Air I Breathe, Hands Like Houses, Palisades, My Ticket Home, 6:30pm, $10

Sinister Scene, Burn Halo, Forever We Are, Tallboy, 7pm, $10

Hellbound Glory, Liver Scars, 8pm, $5

BAR-M-BAR

BIGGEST LITTLE CITY CLUB THE BLACK TANGERINE

9825 S. Virginia St., (775) 853-5003

CHAPEL TAVERN

Sonic Mass w/DJ Tigerbunny, 7pm, no cover

Good Friday with rotating DJs, 10pm, no cover Steven Hanson and Friends, 7pm, no cover

COMMROW

Chuck Garric’s Schools Out for Diabetes, RBS Spring Dance w/The Wired! Band, 7pm, $8-$25, DJ Max, 11pm, no cover Schall Adams Band, 7pm, $15-$35

255 N. Virginia St., (775) 398-5400

COTTONWOOD RESTAURANT & BAR 10142 Rue Hilltop, Truckee; (530) 587-5711

3rd Street, 125 W. Third St., 323-5005: Comedy Night & Improv w/Wayne Walsh, W, 9pm, no cover

THE DAILY GRIND

Catch a Rising Star, Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia St., 329-4777: Mike Vecchione, Th, Su, 7:30pm, $15.95; F, 7:30pm, 9:30pm, $15.95; Sa, 7:30pm, 9:30pm, $17.95; Tommy Savitt, Tu, W, 7:30pm, $15.95

Reno-Tahoe Comedy at Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St., 686-6600: The Utility Players, Th, 7:30pm, $11, $16; Hynopt!c with Dan Kimm Relay For Life fundraiser, F, 7pm, $16, $21; Ladies of Laughter, F-Sa, 9:30pm; Su, 2pm, $12, $16

Curt Yagi Trio, 7pm, no cover

Danny Sturtevant, 7pm, no cover

275 E. Fourth St., (775) 324-1917

Jason and the Punknecks, 8pm, no cover

Dust on the Bottle, 9:30pm, no cover

The Shivering Denizens, 9:30pm, no cover

EL CORTEZ LOUNGE

Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke with Nick, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke with Phil, 9pm, no cover

FREIGHT HOUSE DISTRICT

Livitz Livitz, 10pm, no cover

Glimpse Trio, 10pm, no cover

FRESH KETCH

New World Jazz Project, 7pm, no cover

FUEGO

Live flamenco guitar music, 5:30pm, no cover

235 W. Second St., (775) 324-4255 250 Evans Ave., (775) 334-7041

2435 Venice Dr., South Lake Tahoe; (530) 541-5683 170 S. Virginia St., (775) 322-1800

GREAT BASIN BREWING CO.

Open Mic Comedy, 9pm, no cover

THE HOLLAND PROJECT

John White, Whitman, Ezra, Parker, 8pm, $5

JAVA JUNGLE

246 W. First St., (775) 329-4484

4th Street Revival - Come Support the Effort! E-4 MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION PRESENTS

THUR MAY 10TH

Music with

Jason & the Punknecks

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Winner gets $100 Bar Tab

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, Victor Krummenacher, 9pm, Tu, $12-$30

Karaoke, 9pm, Tu, no cover Open mic, 9pm, W, no cover Karaoke with Phil, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, M, karaoke with Nick, 9pm, Tu, W, no cover

Sunday Music Showcase, 4pm, no cover

Java Jungle Open Mic, 7:30pm, M, no cover

Smokin’ Bulldogs, 8pm, no cover

Surprise Mom! Make your Mother’s Day Brunch or Dinner reservations at Reno’s BEST restaurant!

35 Years of Making Mom’s Happy She’ll love you, more.

Americana Western Rock

FRI th MAY 11

Large Bills Accepted, noon, M, no cover

Emily Tessmer, 7pm, no cover

DAVIDSON’S DISTILLERY

140 Vesta St., (775) 742-1858

Traditional Irish session, 8pm, Tu, no cover

Mark Castro Band, Phat Jackie, 9pm, no cover

1805 W. Williams Ave., Fallon; (775) 428-5800

846 Victorian Ave., Sparks; (775) 355-7711

Open mic comedy night, 9pm, no cover

Post show s online by registering at www.newsr eview.com /reno. Dea dline is the Sunday be fore publication .

COMMA COFFEE

312 S. Carson St., Carson City; (775) 883-2662

The Improv at Harveys Cabaret, Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, (800) 553-1022: Allan Havey, Chris Mancini, Th-F, Su, 9pm, $25; Sa, 8pm, 10pm, $30; Scott Kennedy, Flip Schultz, W, 9pm, $25

Contraband, 9pm

Blarney Band, 9pm, no cover

1495 S. Virginia St., (775) 324-2244

Comedy

Metal Echo, 9:30pm, $5

Pub Quiz Trivia Night, 8pm, no cover

538 S. Virginia St., (775) 329-5558

DG Kicks, Jakki Ford, 9pm, Tu, no cover

Open Mic Acoustics, 7pm, no cover

Jack Ruby, 9:30pm, no cover

CEOL IRISH PUB

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 5/14-5/16

Moon Gravy, 8:30pm, no cover

Drag Me Under, Our Devices, 9pm, $3

188 California Ave., (775) 322-2480

May 11, 8 p.m. Studio on 4th 432 E. Fourth St. 786-6460

SUNDAY 5/13

Fire spinning performance, 8pm, no cover

816 Highway 40 West, Verdi; (775) 345-0806

Claude Bourbon

SATURDAY 5/12

Custom Tattooing :: Body Piercing Clothing walk-ins welcome 11am-10pm 7 days a week

(775)786-3865

www.evolutiontattooreno.com

We promise!

DUST ON THE BOTTLE

Call Today for Reservations!

SAT th MAY 12 Killer

ly Rockabil from e Seattl ISS DON’T M W! O THIS SH 2TH Y1 SAT. MA 9:30

TUES 9PM

Karaoke RN&R

MAY 10, 2012

WED 9PM

OPEN MIC

THESE DON’T MIX THES 1555 S. Wells Ave. Reno, NV

www.Rapscallion.com

775-323-1211 • 1-877-932-3700 Open Monday - Friday at 11:30am Saturday at 5pm Sunday Brunch from 10am to 2pm

Think you know your limits? Think again. If you drink, don’t drive. Period.

Think you If yo

THURSDAY 5/10 JAZZ, A LOUISIANA KITCHEN

FRIDAY 5/11

Jazz Jam w/First Take featuring Rick Metz, 6pm, no cover

1180 Scheels Dr., Sparks; (775) 657-8659

SATURDAY 5/12

Live jazz w/First Take featuring Rick Metz, 6pm, no cover

JUB JUB’S THIRST PARLOR

SUNDAY 5/13

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 5/14-5/16

Live jazz w/First Take featuring Rick Metz, 6pm, no cover

Bourgeois Gypsies, 10pm, $3

71 S. Wells Ave., (775) 384-1652

KNITTING FACTORY CONCERT HOUSE 211 N. Virginia St., (775) 323-5648

Andre Nickatina, Prof, Mumbls, The Halve Two, 9pm, $15-$45

Billy Seal, Eliki, Johnno The Rhino, Miss Cooper, Erik Lobe, 9pm, no cover

Open mic, 9pm, M, no cover JELO, FM Marc, Dr. Jones, Just J, Coop da Loop, 9pm, $12-$100

KNUCKLEHEADS BAR & GRILL

Open Mic Night/College Night, 7pm, Tu, no cover

405 Vine St., (775) 323-6500

NEW OASIS

Smile Empty Soul, The Veer Union, Ionia, 7:30pm, $7

2100 Victorian Ave., Sparks; (775) 359-4020

PLAN:B MICRO-LOUNGE

Open Mic Night w/Tom Miller, 7pm, no cover

Keyser Soze, 8pm, no cover

Reno Jazz Syndicate, 8pm, no cover

Open jazz jam, 7:30pm, W, no cover

THE POINT

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 7pm, no cover

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 7:30pm, W, no cover

Johnny Lipka, 9pm, no cover

Corky Bennett, 7pm, W, no cover

Lady and the Tramps, 10pm, no cover

Jay Goldfarb, 7pm, W, no cover

318 N. Carson St., Carson City; (775) 887-8879 3001 W. Fourth St., (775) 322-3001

POLO LOUNGE

1559 S. Virginia St., (775) 322-8864

RED DOG SALOON

76 N. C St., Virginia City; (775) 847-7474

RUBEN’S CANTINA

Pigeon John, Tanya Morgan, Playdough, 9pm, $10

1483 E. Fourth St., (775) 622-9424

Hellbound Glory May 12, 8 p.m. The Alley 906 Victorian Ave. Sparks 358-8891

Hip Hop Open Mic, 9pm, W, no cover

RYAN’S SALOON

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Blabbermouth, 9pm, no cover

Live jazz, 8pm, M, blues/open mic, 8pm, Tu, live jazz, 8pm, W, no cover

SIDELINES BAR & NIGHTCLUB

Last Stand, 9:30pm, no cover

Strangeworld, 9:30pm, no cover

Black and Blues Jam, 8:30pm, Tu, no cover

924 S. Wells Ave., (775) 323-4142 1237 Baring Blvd., Sparks; (775) 355-1030

SIERRA GOLD

Jamie Rollins, 9pm, no cover

680 S. Meadows Pkwy., (775) 850-1112

ST. JAMES INFIRMARY

Strange on the Range, 7pm, M, no cover Tuesday Night Trivia, 8pm, Tu, no cover

445 California Ave., (775) 657-8484

STREGA BAR

310 S. Arlington Ave., (775) 348-9911

Le Group de Gypsy Pop, 9pm, no cover

Feather Merchants, 9pm, no cover

STUDIO ON 4TH

Claude Bourbon, 8pm, $10

Chris Pureka, Jonie Blinman, K. P., 7:30pm, $12

1) 4th Annual Who Got Purple Party, 10pm, $10 in purple, $12 not in purple 2) Le Josephine Burlesque, 8pm, $5

1-2) Battle of the DJs, 6pm, $7, $10

Ryan James, 7pm, no cover

Reno Music Project Acoustic Open Mic, 6:30pm, no cover

432 E. Fourth St., (775) 786-6460

THE UNDERGROUND

1) Origin, Cattle Decapitation, Decrepit Birth, Aborted, Rings Of Saturn, Battlecross, 4pm, $18, $20

555 E. Fourth St., (775) 410-5993 1) Showroom 2) Tree House Lounge

WALDEN’S COFFEEHOUSE 3940 Mayberry Dr., (775) 787-3307

Sunday Night Strega Mic, 9pm, no cover

Local Band Listening Party, 9pm, M, Dark Tuesdays w/Stefani, 9pm, Tu, no cover Karaoke w/Steve Starr, 8pm, Tu, no cover Musicians’ Jam, 8pm, W, $5; free for women

WILD RIVER GRILLE

JELO May 12, 9 p.m. Knitting Factory 211 N. Virginia St. 323-5648

Sunday jazz, 2pm, no cover

17 S. Virginia St., (775) 284-7455

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NEWS

RYAN’S SALOON

& BROILER GREEN

FEATURE STORY

924 S. Wells Ave. Reno 323-4142 ARTS&CULTURE

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ART OF THE STATE

FOODFINDS

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THIS WEEK

MISCELLANY

MAY 10, 2012

RN&R

ATLANTIS CASINO RESORT SPA 3800 S. Virginia St., (775) 825-4700 1) Grand Ballroom Stage 2) Cabaret

THURSDAY 5/10

FRIDAY 5/11

SATURDAY 5/12

SUNDAY 5/13

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 5/14-5/16

2) Palmore Brothers, 8pm, no cover

2) Palmore Brothers, 4pm, Chili Sauce, 10pm, no cover

2) Chili Sauce, 8pm, no cover

2) Shake, Rattle & Roll, 8pm, M, Tu, W, no cover

2) Hellbound Glory, 10pm, no cover

1) See-I, 9pm, $15, $18

1) Man in the Mirror, 8pm, $19.95+ 2) Audioboxx, 10:30pm, no cover 3) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover

1) Man in the Mirror, 7pm, 9:30pm, $19.95+ 1) Man in the Mirror, 7pm, $19.95+ 2) Audioboxx, 10:30pm, no cover 2) Audioboxx, 10pm, no cover 3) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover 3) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover

5) Buck Ford Band, 9pm, no cover

4) Baila Latin Dance Party, 7:30pm, $5 5) Buck Ford Band, 9pm, no cover

2) Arthur Hervey, 8pm, no cover 3) DJ/dancing, 10:30pm, $20

1) Rick Springfield, 7:30pm, $65 2) Arthur Hervey, 8pm, no cover 3) DJ/dancing, 10:30pm, $20

CRYSTAL BAY CLUB

14 Hwy. 28, Crystal Bay; (775) 833-6333 1) Crown Room 2) Red Room

ELDORADO HOTEL CASINO

1) Man in the Mirror, 7pm, $19.95+

345 N. Virginia St., (775) 786-5700 2) Audioboxx, 10pm, no cover 1) Showroom 2) Brew Brothers 3) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover 3) Roxy’s Bar & Lounge 4) Cin Cin Bar & Lounge

See-I May 12, 9 p.m. Crystal Bay Club 14 Highway 28 Crystal Bay 833-6333

GRAND SIERRA RESORT

2500 E. Second St., (775) 789-2000 1) Theater 2) 2500 East 3) The Beach 5) Buck Ford Band, 9pm, no cover 4) Xtreme Sports Bar 5) Mustangs Dancehall & Saloon 6) Summit Pavilion 7) Grand Sierra Ballroom 8) Silver State Pavilion

HARRAH’S LAKE TAHOE

15 Hwy. 50, Stateline; (775) 588-6611 1) South Shore Room 2) Casino Center Stage 3) VEX

Karaoke Bottoms Up Saloon, 1923 Prater Way, Sparks, 359-3677: Th-Sa, 9pm, no cover Elbow Room Bar, 2002 Victorian Ave., Sparks, 356-9799: F-Sa, 7pm, Tu, 6pm, no cover Flowing Tide Pub, 465 S. Meadows Pkwy., Ste. 5, 284-7707; 4690 Longley Lane, Ste. 30, (775) 284-7610: Karaoke, Sa, 9pm, no cover Red’s Golden Eagle Grill, 5800 Home Run Drive, Spanish Springs, (775) 626-6551: Karaoke w/Manny, F, 8pm, no cover Sneakers Bar & Grill, 3923 S. McCarran Blvd., 829-8770: Karaoke w/Mark, Sa, 8:30pm, no cover Spiro’s Sports Bar & Grille, 1475 E. Prater Way, Sparks, 356-6000: Music & Karaoke, F, 9pm; Lovely Karaoke, Sa, 9pm, no cover Washoe Club, 112 S. C St., Virginia City, 8474467: Gothic Productions Karaoke, Sa, Tu, 8pm, no cover

RN&R

1) Man in the Mirror, 7pm, Tu, W, $19.95+ 2) Live Band Karaoke, 10pm, M, DJ Chris English, 10pm, Tu, Alias, 10pm, W, no cover 3) Live piano, 4:30pm, W, no cover

HARRAH’S RENO

1) Nathan Owens: Motown After Dark, 8pm, $25, $30, Huck Flyn, 10:30pm, $20, $25 2) Karaoke-Trivia, 6pm, DJ/dancing, 10pm, no cover

1) Nathan Owens: Motown After Dark, 8pm, $25, $30, Huck Flyn, 10:30pm, $20, $25 2) DJ/dancing, 10pm, no cover ;4) Reno’s Downtown Showdown #5, 7pm, $30-$100

1) Nathan Owens: Motown After Dark, 8pm, $25, $30, Huck Flyn, 10:30pm, $20, $25 2) Karaoke-Trivia, 6pm, DJ/dancing, 10pm, no cover

JOHN ASCUAGA’S NUGGET

2) Felix and the Nightcats, 7pm, no cover 3) Rosendo & Cecelia, 5:30pm, no cover 5) Ladies ’80s w/DJ BG, 6pm, no cover

2) Felix and the Nightcats, 8pm, no cover 3) Rosendo & Cecelia, 6pm, no cover 5) Paul Covarelli, 5:30pm, DJ BG, 10pm, no cover

2) Felix and the Nightcats, 8pm, no cover 3) Rosendo & Cecelia, 2) Felix and the Nightcats, 6pm, no cover 5) Paul Covarelli, 5:30pm, 7pm, no cover DJ BG, 10pm, no cover

219 N. Center St., (775) 788-2900 1) Showroom 2) Sapphire Lounge 3) Plaza 4) Convention Center 1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks; (775) 356-3300 1) Showroom 2) Cabaret 3) Orozko 4) Rose Ballroom 5) Trader Dick’s

MONTBLEU RESORT

55 Hwy. 50, Stateline; (800) 648-3353 1) Theatre 2) Opal 3) Blu 4) Cabaret 5) Convention Center

PEPPERMILL RESORT SPA CASINO 2707 S. Virginia St., (775) 826-2121 1) Tuscany Ballroom 2) Cabaret 3) Terrace Lounge 4) Edge 5) Aqua Lounge

SILVER LEGACY

407 N. Virginia St., (775) 325-7401 1) Grand Exposition Hall 2) Rum Bullions 3) Aura Ultra Lounge 4) Silver Baron Ballroom 5) Drinx Lounge

MAY 10, 2012

1) Nathan Owens: Motown After Dark, 8pm, $25, $30 2) Karaoke-Trivia, 6pm, DJ/dancing, 10pm, no cover

3) Darren Rahn, 6pm, W, no cover

1) Dev, Whitney Myer Band, Young L, Starting Six, 9pm, $22, $25 2) Groove City, 7pm, no cover 3) Joe & Danny, 7pm, no cover 4) Bad Girl Thursdays, 10pm, no cover charge for women

2) Groove City, 8pm, no cover 3) Maxxt Outt, 9pm, no cover 4) Salsa dancing , 7pm, $10 after 8pm, Models & Bottles Party, 10pm, $20

2) Groove City, 8pm, no cover 3) Maxxt Outt, 9pm, no cover 4) Rogue Saturdays, 10pm, $20

2) Groove City, 7pm, no cover 3) Milton Merlos, 7pm, no cover

2) Groove City, 7pm, M, no cover 3) Milton Merlos, 7pm, M, Tu, W, no cover

2) DJ I, 10pm, no cover 3) Ladies Night & Karaoke, 7pm, no cover

2) Steel Breeze, 9pm, no cover

2) Steel Breeze, 9pm, no cover 3) Dance party, 10pm, no cover

2) DJ REXX, 10pm, no cover 3) Salsa Etc., 7pm, no cover

2) DJ Tom, 9pm, M, DJ I, 10pm, Tu, W, no cover 3) Dudes Day, 7pm, Tu, Mix it Up!, 10pm, W, no cover

For Thursday, May 10 to Wednesday, May 16 FIRE SAFETY DAY: Meet Smokey Bear and learn his story. The U.S. Forest Service will be there on one of their fire engines so you can get an up-close look at how they fight fires. Roy Bain will give a fire safety presentation on how to prepare for an emergency and what to do if a fire breaks out at home. Pre-registration required. Sa, 5/12, 1-3pm. $5 suggested donation per person. Galena Creek Visitor Center, 18250 Mt. Rose Highway, (775) 849-4948.

To post events to our online calendar and have them considered for the print edition, visit our website at www.newsreview.com/reno and post your events by registering in the box in the upper right of the page. Once registered, you can log in to post. Events you create will be viewable by the public almost immediately and will be considered for the print calendar in the Reno News & Review. Listings are free, but not guaranteed. Online and print submissions are subject to review and editing by the calendar editor. For details, call (775) 324-4440, ext. 3521, or email renocalendar@newsreview.com.

SMALL WONDER WEDNESDAY: Families with chil-

The deadline for entries in the issue of Thurs., May 17, is Thursday, May 24.

Events

SPRING ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR: Local artists and crafters offer their wares at this spring-themed fair. Sa, 5/12, 9am-4pm. Free. Center for Spiritual Living, Reno, 4685 Lakeside Drive, http://cslreno.org.

ART AFTERNOON: WORKSHOP & SOCIAL FOR SENIORS: Expand your interests with a docent-guided tour and studio art class. No art background necessary. F, 5/11, 1-3pm. $12 general;$10 NMA members. Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St., (775) 329-3333, www.nevadaart.org.

STRESS, THYROID AND IMMUNITY: CONNECTING THE DOTS: Nevada Health Forum and Everlasting Health Center present chiropractor Michael Nelson, who will discuss how stress affects the thyroid and the body’s immunity system. M, 5/14, 6:307:30pm. Free. Council Chambers, Reno City Hall, 1 E. First St., (775) 324-7382.

DRYLANDS PERMACULTURE: WATER HARVESTING AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES: River School Farm’s resident farm manager Tim Fender will instruct this course exploring ways to take advantage of natural rain and snowfall patterns in your landscape. Topics to be discussed include contour swales, water harvesting, earth works, greywater usage, cisterns and extensive use of mulch. Sa, 5/12, 10am-noon. $15 preregister; $20 drop in. River School Farm, 7777 White Fir St., (775) 747-2222, www.riverschool.info.

WOMEN’S HEALTH AWARENESS DAY: Whittemore Peterson Institute and the University of Nevada School of Medicine’s Student Outreach Clinic are hosting a kick-off day to National Women’s Health Week and the 20th anniversary to ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia International Awareness Day. The free clinic will offer blood pressure screenings and pre-diabetes screening, health lecture, free five-minute massages, door prizes and giveaways for the first 150 women. Please bring a canned food donation to help Stamp Out Hunger. Sa, 5/12, 9am-1pm. Free. Whittemore Peterson Institute, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 682-8250, http://wpinstitute.org.

GREAT TRUCKEE MEADOWS COMMUNITY CLEANUP: Join Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful for their seventh annual Great Truckee Meadows Community Cleanup. Volunteers are needed to help clean open spaces and pull noxious weeds. Free lunch for volunteers after the cleanup. Sign up online to volunteer. Sa, 5/12, 8:30am-noon. Fifteen different sites throughout the Truckee Meadows, (775) 851-5185, www.ktmb.org.

dren 5 years old and younger are invited to play, explore and listen to stories read by the museum’s educators. Only children age 5 and younger are admitted to Small Wonder Wednesdays, which start at 9am, an hour before the museum opens. Older siblings may join at 10am. Third W of every month, 9am. $8 per person; free for members and babies under age 1. Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, 490 S. Center St., (775) 786-1000, www.nvdm.org.

Art ART SOURCE GALLERY: The Art of the Matter. More than 540 original works of art in all media are on display and for sale. Safe Haven Rescue Zoo will benefit from the purchases. M-Su, 2-5pm through 5/26. Free. 9748 S. Virginia St., (775) 828-3525.

ARTISTS CO-OP OF RENO GALLERY: It’s A Small World. Artists Co-op of Reno Gallery presents work by Mary Chadwell, Harriet Uhalde and Ralph and Cheryln Bennett. Guest artists are Heidi Reeves, Tricia Poulous-Leonard and Chikako McNamara. M-Su, 11am-4pm through 5/31. Free. 627 Mill St., (775) 322-8896, www.artistsco-opgalleryreno.com.

BACKSEAT GALLERY AT COMMA COFFEE: Abstract Portraits, New work created by Deana Hoover is on display. M-Su through 5/31. Free. 312 S. Carson St., Carson City, (775) 883-2662, www.commacoffee.com.

BRUCE R. THOMPSON COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING: Local Artist’s Watercolor Display. Work by local watercolor artist

All ages BARNES & NOBLE STORYTIMES: Staff members and guest readers tell stories to children. Sa, 10am. Free. Barnes & Noble, 5555 S. Virginia St., (775) 826-8882.

Donna Chouteau is on display. M-F, 8am5pm through 5/30. Free. 400 S. Virginia

Museums

St., (775) 742-6339, www.sierrawatercolorsociety.com.

NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM (THE HARRAH COLLECTION): Mutant Rides: Origin of a Species, M-Su through 7/25. $10 adults;

JAVA JUNGLE: BURDEN. Artist Eric Endy takes a different take on burdens found in our everyday society through his paintings. There will also be art by local artist Nikki Kelly. Through 6/6. Free. 246 W. First St., (775) 385-8152.

$8 seniors; $4 kids ages 6-18; free for children 5 and younger. 10 S. Lake St., (775) 333-9300.

NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Reno: Biggest Little City in the World, W-Sa, 10am-5pm.

JOE WINTER POTTERY STUDIO: Spring Show. Joe and Shiso Winter show their latest ceramic art. Sa, Su through 5/19. 16620 Fetlock Drive, (775) 969-3394.

$4 adults; free for members, children age 17 and younger. 1650 N. Virginia St., (775) 688-1190.

SHEPPARD FINE ARTS GALLERY, CHURCH FINE ARTS BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO: MFA Thesis Exhibition: Manual

SPARKS HERITAGE MUSEUM: Celtic Heritage Exhibit, M-Su through 5/27. $5 adults; free for members and children age 12 and younger. 814 Victorian Ave., Sparks, (775) 355-1144, www.sparksmuseum.org.

Alfaro. Alfaro’s drawings and paintings consider the serious issue of organized crime in Mexico. His artwork connects the present-day drug cartel violence to the pre-colonial history of the Aztecs through color palette, symbolism and iconographic imagery. The artists work explores the reality Mexico is experiencing today. Through 5/11, 10am-5pm. Free. 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-6658, www.unr.edu/arts.

WILBUR D. MAY MUSEUM, RANCHO SAN RAFAEL REGIONAL PARK: King Tut: Wonderful Things from the Pharaohs Tomb, W-Sa, 10am4pm through 5/23; Su, 12-4pm through 5/20. $8-$9. 1595 N. Sierra St., (775) 785-5961.

Film 3-MINUTE FILM COMPETITION AND SCREENING:

SIERRA ARTS GALLERY: AIR: Artists in

Young filmmakers put their skills to this test in this local competition for short independent films. Th, 5/10, 6pm. $5. Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St., (775) 329-3333, www.nevadaart.org.

Residence. In collaboration with Renown Health Foundation and the University of Nevada, School of Medicine, Sierra Arts Gallery presents work by University of Nevada Medical residents Erika Frank and Momina Razaq. This exhibition is a showcase of artwork made in conjunction with medical practice. There will be an artists’ reception on May 17, 4-7pm.

BAD ASTRONOMY: MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS: The full-dome digital planetarium show is based on the popular book and website Bad Astronomy by author Phil Plait. Starlight Express, a short overview presentation of current space news that changes monthly, accompanies Bad Astronomy and is included in the ticket price. M-Su, 2 & 4pm through 5/28; F, Sa, 6pm through 5/26. $7 adults; $5 children ages 3-12, seniors age 60 and older. Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, 1650 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4812, www.planetarium.unr.edu.

M-F, 10am-5pm through 5/16; Th, 5/17, 10am-7pm; F, 5/18, 10am-2pm. Free. 17 S. Virginia St., Ste. 120, (775) 329-2787, www.sierra-arts.org.

V. JAMES EARDLEY STUDENT CENTER, TRUCKEE MEADOWS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: TMCC Spring Architect Exhibit. Students have the opportunity to learn through hands-on projects which require the development of an architectural concept based on the increasing need for adaptable architecture and flexibility in design. After developing the concept, students are then required to successfully construct and spend the night in the habitat. Th, 5/10, 4-8pm. Free. 7000 Dandini Blvd., (775) 673-7000.

NORTH FACE: Artemisia Moviehouse presents this adventure drama based on a true story about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Tu, 5/15, 7-10pm. $7 general; $5 members, bicyclists, students. Good Luck Macbeth Theater, 119 N. Virginia

St., (775) 355-0332.

THIS WEEK

DOWNTOWN RENO LIBRARY: Hope. Sierra Watercolor Society presents its 11th annual exhibit. M-Th, Su through 5/30. Free. 301 S. Center

continued on page 26

Virginia City will experience a heat wave of sorts this weekend during the Fire on the Mountain ICS Chili Cook-off and Beltane Festival. The 29th annual cook-off, formerly known as Chili on the Comstock, is an International Chili Society-sanctioned event in which cooks from across the region compete for the best red and green chili recipes and best salsa. Cooking begins at 10 a.m. and $5 tasting kits will be sold to the public starting at 11 a.m. Public tasting will take place after cooks have turned in their entries to the judging tent. In addition to the chili tasting, there will be games and activities for kids, fire demonstrations and shows and Celtic booths, displays and entertainment in celebration of Beltane, an ancient Celtic festival marking the start of summer. Fire on the Mountain takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 12-13 in downtown Virginia City along C Street. Admission is free. Call 846-1130 or visit www.nvshows.com.

Where there’s

SMOKE …

—Kelley Lang

OPINION

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VOLKSWAGEN OF RENO

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continued from page 25

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SHIELDS OF LOVE FILM PREMIERE: Reno Tahoe Comedy and Pioneer Underground present a screening of this documentary produced by Wanyee Leonard that follows the Herbst family as they fight to keep their home from going into foreclosure despite growing medical expenses. Sa, 5/12, 3pm. $12 advance, $15 day of show. Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St., (702) 502-6786.

Poetry/Literature JULIE D. HUNTER BOOK SIGNING: Hunter will sign

*EPA estimates. Your mileage will vary.

her book The ABC’s of Positive Parenting: A Creative Approach to Raising Children. Sa, 5/12, 11:30am-1pm. Free. Grassroots Books, 660 E. Grove St., (775) 828-2665.

KRISTEN SIMMONS READING: ARTICLE 5: The author signs and presents her young adult debut

Article 5. F, 5/11, 6:30-8pm. Free. Sundance Bookstore & Music, 121 California Ave., (775) 786-1188, www.sundancebookstore.com.

Music ALAN JABBOUR AND KEN PERLMAN: The fiddle and banjo duo present a program of old time tunes. W, 5/16, 7-10pm. Free. Sparks Heritage Museum, 814 Victorian Ave., Sparks, (775) 355-1144, www.sparksmuseum.org.

CARPENTERS MUSIC WORLD MONTHLY MUSIC PROGRAM: Every second Thursday of the month, Carpenters Music World hosts a themed music program. May’s theme is “A Touch of Broadway and A Taste of Opera.” Performers are to call and reserve space in advance. Th, 5/10, 6-8pm. Free. Carpenters Music World, 2700 S. Virginia St., (775) 852-7618, www.carpentersmusic.com.

CARSON CITY MUSIC CLUB: This is a forum for musicians and music lovers to gather and share their love of music. The club offers opportunities to perform individually and to participate in collaborative events and expand musical knowledge. Second M of every month, 7pm. Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall, 511 W. King St., Carson City, (775) 882-9517, http://breweryarts.org.

THE COMPOSER IS DEAD!: In Lemony Snicket’s musical murder mystery everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. Join the inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. There will be a surprise guest appearance by one of the greatest composers of all time as the Reno Pops

THIS WEEK

continued on page 28

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After my girlfriend and I split up, I wrote a creative nonfiction piece about our breakup (changing some identifying details). I published it on a popular blog and linked to it on Facebook. We’re back together, and things are great. However, she saw the story and was humiliated. I explained that what I wrote was beautiful and vulnerable and true, and many people were moved by it. She really wasn’t down with that and told me to consider her off-limits in my writing. This seems unfair. I write nonfiction. What will I write about if I can’t write about my life? As lame as some creative writing exercises sound— “Write a haiku about what you had for lunch!”—a thinly veiled portrait of your chicken salad will cause way less relationship stress than “Turn your fight with your girlfriend into a blog post!” And no, you can’t just change her name from Molly to Holly so nobody but your 546 Facebook friends will know it’s her. Yes, I’ve heard—privacy is reportedly dead. It was pronounced dead in 2006 at an internet security conference. This doesn’t mean it’s actually dead or should be—just that lots of people are finding their dirty laundry uploaded to Instagram and their private conversations turned into content. Like websites, relationships these days seem to require a privacy policy—one agreed upon in advance and maintained in the event of a breakup. Clearly, your preferred policy would be “By sharing your life with

me, you agree to share it with anyone with an internet connection.” Sorry, but the more private person gets to set the standards, and sadly, this woman only wants to be your girlfriend, not your cure for writer’s block. Yeah, I know, you’d think it’d be any woman’s dream, sitting with you in some out-ofthe-way Paris café as you chronicle her shortcomings on your netbook. But, wait—if you and your girlfriend have a fight and nobody comments on it on Facebook, how do you know your lives are worth living? The answer is, decide which you want more: this girlfriend or an audience. This isn’t to say you have to stop writing about her; you just don’t get to hit “publish.” Try to see this as an opportunity to expand your writerly horizons. Go do things you can write about: Climb something. Fish for marlin. Drop in on the Spanish Civil War. And remember, everybody’s got a story, and lots of people are just dying to have theirs told. Seek them out, look deep into their eyes, and say, “So, tell me the horrors you experienced as a prisoner of war, and would you mind not leaving any participles dangling?”

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., No. 280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com).

Online ads are free. Print ads start at $6/wk. www.newsreview.com or (775) 324-4440 ext. 5 Print ads start at $6/wk. www.newsreview.com or (775) 324-4440 ext. 5 Phone hours: M-F 8am-5pm. All ads post online same day. Deadlines for print: Line ad deadline: Monday 4pm Adult line ad deadline: Monday 4pm Display ad deadline: Friday 2pm

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*Nominal fee for adult entertainment. All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. Further, the News & Review specifically reserves the right to edit, decline or properly classify any ad. Errors will be rectified by re-publication upon notification. The N&R is not responsible for error after the first publication. The N&R assumes no financial liability for errors or omission of copy. In any event, liability shall not exceed the cost of the space occupied by such an error or omission. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

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Any Service w/coupon expires 6/30/12 Orchestra introduces some of everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite â&#x20AC;&#x153;deadâ&#x20AC;? composers. Features Eric Kao as soloist in Rachmaninoffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Piano Concerto No. 2. Sa, 5/12, 7:30pm. Free. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Complex, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 673-1234, http://.renopops.org.

and Spiral Ballet present an evening of dance, comedy and music. Proceeds will be donated to support the Wounded Warrior Project. F, 5/11, 2pm & 5pm. $10. Reno Little Theater, 147 E. Pueblo St., (775) 750-5642. Yasmina Rezaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dark comedy that asks what happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with the unruly behavior of their children. The play is recommended for mature audiences. There will be talk back with the company following the May 20 matinee. Th, 5/10, 8pm; F, 5/11, 8pm; Sa, 5/12,

Closing the Argenta Concert series will be an evening of chamber music featuring clarinetist David Shifrin and a performance of Olivier Messiaenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Quartet for the End of Time.â&#x20AC;? F, 5/11, 7:30pm. $20 adults; $5 UNR students. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Complex, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278, www.unr.edu/arts.

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THE LARAMIE PROJECT & LP: 10 YEARS LATER: TMCC

country singer closes the Carson Valley Arts

Performing Arts presents alternating performances of The Laramie Project, a play by MoisĂŠs Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., and its companion piece, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later. Call for show details.

CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda Ave., Minden, (775) 782-8207, http://cvartscouncil.com.

FAITH, HOPE AND LAUGHTER: Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choir Bella

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all on display at the

Nevada Junior Livestock Show and Sale May 17-20

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Reno Livestock Events Center Pavillion 1350 N. Wells Ave ee these Ä&#x2122;ne eÂĄaÂ&#x2013;ples oÂ? eÂ&#x;ada liÂ&#x;estoÂ&#x152;Â&#x201D;Ç° all raised Â&#x2039;y loÂ&#x152;al Ĺ&#x161;ČŹ Ç° and ranÂ?e yoÂ&#x17E;thÇŻ atÂ&#x152;h the shoÂ Â&#x2013;anship Â&#x152;oÂ&#x2013;petitions and the liÂ&#x;estoÂ&#x152;Â&#x201D; saleÇŻ or Â&#x2013;ore inÂ?orÂ&#x2013;ationÇ° please Â&#x152;ontaÂ&#x152;t the Â&#x17D;Â&#x;Â&#x160;Â?Â&#x160;Čą Â&#x17E;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x203A;Čą Â&#x2019;Â&#x;Â&#x17D;Â&#x153;Â?Â&#x2DC;Â&#x152;Â&#x201D;Čą Â&#x2018;Â&#x2DC;Â Čą Â&#x2DC;Â&#x160;Â&#x203A;Â?Čą Ä&#x153;Â&#x152;Â&#x17D; Ĺ?Ĺ?Ĺ&#x203A;ČŹĹ&#x2122;Ĺ&#x203A;Ĺ&#x2122;ČŹĹ&#x2122;Ĺ&#x153;Ĺ&#x2014;Ĺ&#x2013;ÇŻ r Â?o to the Â eÂ&#x2039;site hÄ´pÇąČŚČŚaÂ?riÇŻstateÇŻnÂ&#x;ÇŻÂ&#x17E;sČŚadÂ&#x2013;inČ? r iÂ&#x;estoÂ&#x152;Â&#x201D;ÇŻhtÂ&#x2013;

5/11, 7pm; Sa, 5/12, 4 & 7pm; Su, 5/13, 4pm.

$10general admission; $8 for seniors, students; $5 for ages 4-12. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Museum of Northern Nevada, 813 N. Carson St., Carson City, (775) 887-0438, www.wildhorsetheater.com.

STAGE FRIGHT: TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada will present Charles Markowitzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drama involving a kidnapped metropolitan drama critic whose career of devastating reviews may cost him his life. F, 5/11, 8pm; Sa, 5/12, 8pm; Su, 5/13, 2pm. $12 general; $10 students, seniors. McKinley Arts & Culture Center, 925 Riverside Drive, (775) 284-0789, www.twnn.org.

iors, students, military; $20 at the door. BrĂźka Theatre, 99 N. Virginia St., (775) 3233221, www.bruka.org.

Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2nd Friday Concert Series. F, 5/11, 7-10pm. $25 in advance; $30 day of show.

Beef! Sheep! Goats! Rabbits!

Theater presents the Tony Award-winning musical comedy and mixed-up fairy tale. F,

8pm; Th, 5/17, 8pm; F, 5/18, 8pm; Sa, 5/19, 8pm; Su, 5/20, 2pm; W, 5/23, 8pm; Th, 5/24, 8pm; F, 5/25, 8pm; Sa, 5/26, 8pm. $18 general; $16 sen-

AN EVENING WITH LACY J. DALTON AND FRIENDS: The

Swine!

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS: Wild Horse Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

THE GOD OF CARNAGE: BrĂźka Theatre presents

AN EVENING WITH CLARINETIST DAVID SHIFRIN:

Also Available:

www.showtix4u.com.

Voce and menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choir Orfeo present a program of new, as well as familiar, music that celebrates all joys of life. F, 5/11, 7:30pm. $15 general, $12 seniors, $5 students with ID; free for children age 12 and younger. Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 501 California Ave., (775) 359-1533; Su, 5/13, 4pm. $15 general; $13 students, seniors; $10 BAC members. Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall, 511 W. King St., Carson City, (775) 883-1976.

THE WORLD GOES â&#x20AC;&#x2122;ROUND: Good Luck Macbeth

Th, 5/10, 7pm; F, 5/11, 7pm; Sa, 5/12, 3 & 7pm; Su, 5/13, 3 & 7pm. $10 per show in advance; $15

presents this musical revue of the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb, spotlighting songs from Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, New York, New York, Funny Lady and more. F, 5/11, 7:30-9:30pm; Sa, 5/12,

7:30-9:30pm; F, 5/18, 7:30-9:30pm; Sa, 5/19, 7:309:30pm; Su, 5/20, 3-5pm. $14-$20. Good Luck Macbeth Theater, 119 N. Virginia St., (775) 322-3716, www.goodluckmacbeth.org.

per show at the door; $15 two-show package in advance; $18 two-show package at the door. TMCC Redfield Performing Arts Center, 505 Keystone Ave., (775) 789-5671,

LATIN MUSIC WORKSHOP AND CONCERT: Carson City Symphonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Strings in the Schools will hold a workshop and concert. The workshop is open to string players of all ages. Following the workshop at 3pm, the public is invited to a Latin Music Concert at Empire Elementary School featuring workshop participants and leaders. Sa, 5/12, 3pm. Free. Empire Elementary School, 1260 Monte Rosa Drive, Carson City, (775) 540-5584.

PIPES ON THE RIVER: The Friday lunchtime concert series features guest artists performing on the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Casavant pipe organ. F, noon. Free. Trinity Episcopal Church, 200 Island Ave., (775) 329-4279, www.trinityreno.org.

RBS DANCE PARTY: The Reno Blues Society holds its Spring Dance featuring The Wired! Band with The Schall Adams Band. Sa, 5/12, 7-11pm. $15-$35. Cargo at CommRow, 255 N. Virginia, (775) 398-5400, www.renoblues.org.

RENO WIND SYMPHONY: Reno Wind Symphony will present a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Witches Brouhahaâ&#x20AC;? program featuring macabre melodies and creepy classics, including Bachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor, Dukasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sorcererâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Apprentice,â&#x20AC;? SaintSaensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Danse Macabreâ&#x20AC;? and music from Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom of the Opera, Harry Potter and Wicked. F, 5/11, 7:30pm. Free. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Complex, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278, www.unr.edu/arts.

Onstage AN ELEGANT AFFAIR: Marc Anthony at the Organ

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THE FUR WILL FLY. SPLASH DOGS

BIGGEST LITTLE DOG JOG

Dogs compete for distance in Open and Lap Dog classes, diving from a dock into a 40 foot pool.

Come down and jog for a cause! For $25 you and your dog can participate in the Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first fun run along the river. Your furry friend will even score some swag! Partial proceeds will benefit the SPCA of Northern Nevada.

FRIDAY, JUNE 15SUNDAY, JUNE 17

46/%": +6/& s ".

3&(*45&3 0/-*/& "5 3&/03*7&3'&45*7"- $0. Only dogs that are registered participants are allowed in the park. All dogs must be in designated areas and kept on leash when not competing. Reno River Festival reserves the right to search and seize contraband items.

renoriverfestival.com 30

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MAY 10, 2012

Save up to 75% on Gift Certificates! Visit www.newsreview.com

June 15-17,

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In one of your

past lives, I think you must have periodically done something like stick your tongue out or thumb your nose at pretentious tyrantsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and gotten away with it. At least thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one explanation for how confident you often are about speaking up when everyone else seems unwilling to point out that the emperor is in fact wearing no clothes. This quality should come in handy during the coming week. It may be totally up to you to reveal the truth about an obvious secret or collective delusion. Can you figure out a way to be relatively tactful as you say what supposedly canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t or shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be said?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus actor

Daniel Day Lewis will star as American president Abraham Lincoln in a film to be released later this year. Hollywood insiders report that Lewis basically became Lincoln months before the film was shot and throughout the entire process. Physically, he was a dead ringer for the man he was pretending to be. Even when the cameras werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rolling, he spoke in the cadences and accent of his character rather than in his own natural voice. It might be fun for you to try a similar experiment in the coming weeks, Taurus. Fantasize in detail about the person you would ultimately like to become, and then imitate that future version of you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The idea of a housewarming party comes from an old British tradition. People who were moving would carry away embers from the fireplace of the home they were leaving and bring them to the fireplace of the new home. I recommend that you borrow this idea and apply it to the transition youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making. As you migrate toward the future, bring along a symbolic spark of the vitality that has animated the situation youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re transitioning out of.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): My friend

Irene has a complicated system for handling her catsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; food needs. The calico, Cleopatra, demands chicken for breakfast and beef stew at night, and all of it absolutely must be served in a pink bowl on the dining room table. Caligula insists on fish stew early and tuna later. He wants it on a black plate placed behind the love seat. Nefertiti refuses everything but gourmet turkey upon waking and beef liver for the evening repast. If itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not on the basement stairs, she wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touch it. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m bringing your attention to this, Cancerian, because I think you could draw inspiration from it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in your interests, at least temporarily, to keep your loved ones and allies happy with a coordinated exactitude that rivals Ireneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pale glow

shimmers on your face as you run your fingers through your hair. In your imagination, 90 violins play with sublime fury, rising toward a climax, while the bittersweet yearning in your heart sends warm chills down your spine. You part your lips and open your eyes wide, searching for the words that could change everything. And then suddenly you remember you have to contact the plumber tomorrow, and find the right little white lie to appease you-know-who, and run out to the store to get that gadget you saw advertised. Cut! Cut! Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s do this scene again. Take five. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible, my dear, that your tendency to overdramatize is causing you to lose focus. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trim the 90 violins down to ten and see if maybe that helps.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all need a

little more courage now and then,â&#x20AC;? said poet Marvin Bell. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I need. If you have some to share, I want to know you.â&#x20AC;? I advise you to adopt his approach in the coming days, Virgo. Proceed on the assumption that what you need most right now is to be braver and bolder. And consider the possibility that a good way to accomplish this goal is by hanging around people who are so intrepid and adventurous that their spirit will rub off on you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the Byrdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

1966 song â&#x20AC;&#x153;5D (Fifth Dimension),â&#x20AC;? the singer makes a curious statement. He says that during a particularly lucid state, when he was simply relaxed and paying attention, he

saw the great blunder his teachers had made. I encourage you to follow that lead, Libra. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, now would be an excellent time for you to thoroughly question the lessons youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve absorbed from your important teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even the ones who taught you the best and helped you the most. You will earn a healthy jolt as you decide what to keep and what to discard from the gifts that beloved authorities have given you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What are the most beautiful and evocative songs you know? What are the songs that activate your dormant wisdom and unleash waves of insight about your purpose here on earth and awaken surges of gratitude for the labyrinthine path you have traveled to become the person you are today? Whatever those tunes are, I urge you to gather them all into one playlist, and listen to them with full attention while at rest in a comfortable place where you feel perfectly safe. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you need a concentrated dose of the deepest, richest, most healing emotions you can tap into.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Tourists rarely go to the South American nation of Guyana. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly because much of it is virgin rain forest and there are few amenities for travelers. In part itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also due to the reputation-scarring event that occurred there in 1978, when cult-leader Reverend Jim Jones led a mass suicide of his devotees. Last year, after travel writer Jeff Greenwald announced his trip to Guyana, his friends responded with a predictable joke: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drink the Kool-Aid!â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a reference to the beverage Jones spiked with cyanide before telling his followers to drink up. But Greenwald was glad he went. The lush, tangled magnificence of Guyana was tough to navigate but a blessing to the senses and a first-class adventure. Be like him, Sagittarius. Consider engaging with a situation that offers challenging gifts. Overcome your biases about a potentially rewarding experience.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): â&#x20AC;&#x153;You

have more freedom than you are using,â&#x20AC;? says artist Dan Attoe. Allow that taunt to get under your skin and rile you up in the coming days, Capricorn. Let it motivate you to lay claim to all the potential spaciousness and independence and leeway that are just lying around going to waste. According to my understanding of the astrological omens, you have a sacred duty to cultivate more slack as if your dreams depended on it. (They do!)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve

been tuning in to my horoscopes during the past months, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re aware that I have been encouraging you to refine and deepen the meaning of home. You know that I have been urging you to get really serious about identifying what kind of environment you need in order to thrive; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been asking you to integrate yourself into a community that brings out the best in you; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been nudging you to create a foundation that will make you strong and sturdy for a long time. Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to finish up your intensive work on these projects. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got about four more weeks before a new phase of your lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work will begin.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Is your BS-

detector in good condition? I hope so, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about to get a workout. Rumors will be swirling and gossip will be flourishing, and you will need to be on high alert in order to distinguish the laughable delusions that have no redeeming value from the entertaining stories that have more than a few grains of truth. If you pass those tests, Pisces, your reward will be handsome: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll become a magnet for inside information, valuable secrets, and unusual but useful clues that come from unexpected sources.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsnyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at (877) 873-4888 or (900) 950-7700.

by D. Brian Burghart PHOTO/D. BRIAN BURGHART

Closer Mary Gaynor is the owner of Amethyst Salons, one at 190 California Ave., and a new one at 1960 N. Sierra St. Just as the university is wrapping up classes, I noticed one of my former students Facebooking about the salon: “Awesome new nail/tanning/waxing salon right by campus. Great deals for students this week during finals!” That struck me as an interesting topic to be thinking about as finals and deadlines loomed, so it must be news. At any rate, for more information about the salon, check out www.facebook.com/amethystspa or call 322-2251.

What do you guys do? I’m not that familiar with salons. I’ve never had a mani-pedi, let’s put it that way. That’s terrible, Brian.

It’s terrible? Do men come in and get mani-pedis? They do, once you have it done, then you’ll understand what you’ve been missing.

I’ll have to keep that in mind. What else do you do at the salon? The one on North Sierra is spray tans, Brazilian waxing, vajazzling, pedicures, manicures, nails.

I’m not sure that’s safe for work.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m fine with all that. Well, men, especially, should get pedicures. When you get old, you get those thick, nasty toenails. If you start getting pedicures as a younger man, then you won’t get those raunchy feet when you get older.

•

I was listening to raving libertine Randi Rhoads the other day. She posed the question, “How can there be such a thing as a gay Republican?” An excellent question. How can any person who is sexually attracted to persons of his/her own gender voluntarily align with a political party that will cough up the money and hit the streets in a hummingbird’s heartbeat to make damn sure you’ll never be allowed to hold hands and make googoo eyes at Pop’s Malt Shop? First, I gotta ask, are there still gay Republicans? What were they OPINION

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Eyebrows and eyelashes.

I am getting an education. So you think there’s a market near the school even with students being broke?

It’s classy; it’s on the pelvic bone. There’s nothing showing.

What is a Brazilian exactly? I know it’s along these lines, but is it whole body or is it just the pubic area?

Here in Amethyst 1, we do about 50-plus Brazilians a week. And 70 percent of them are students. Students make up a huge part of my clientele with waxing. Not facials and peels and microderms, they don’t have the money for that. Plus, they don’t need it, they’re too young. But no, they find the money for their waxing. They do. They want those waxings. They find the money, maybe they don’t tell their parents. Ω

∫y Bruce Van Dye

A day to vent All these mugs on the tube who rave about “There’s nothing like Game 7 in a hockey playoff series!!!!” Oh, really? Gee, how about, oh, I don’t know— game 7 in a basketball playoff series? I mean, really, does the Tense-o-Meter register tectonically higher numbers just because the competitors are on skates? This is hockific flapdoodle at its most delusional and self-puffering. And I’m here to put a stop to it.

What do you tint on skin?

And how do you do that?

No. Well, do you like to be touched? Some people don’t like to be touched. Do you like massages?

Well, we have a student special for our Brazilian waxing, our brow waxing and the spray tanning. We give a student discount for those. Students these days seem to have a lot more money than when I went to college. I went to college 20 years ago, and I was broke. We do try to make it affordable for the students, and we’re also going to be giving back to the students as well as soon as the fall semester starts.

An aesthetician is a licensed professional who can do facials, waxing, spray tanning, tinting. Anything to do with skin care.

OK, you’re going to get educated here. Vajazzling is the decorating of the pubic area on a woman.

Really? Isn’t it kind of gross?

When I was a student, I couldn’t afford the premium top ramen. How do students do this?

You are an aesthetician. What is that?

What did you say, vajazzling? What is that?

That is with jewels or like glitter tattoos. You can go to the website page, and you can see.

It’s pubic hair, front and back for females. For males, it’s called a boyzilian.

brucev@newsreview.com

called—Log Cabin Republicans? And actually, yes, there still are, if one is to believe the current Log Cabin web site. So if there is ONE gay Republican reading this column, I’d ask you to directly answer Ms. Rhoads’ query. Because the whole concept of gay Republicanism seems about as plausible as cows eating snakes. If you’d like to help me understand, just explain via a letter to this paper. I realize that our world is composed of many shades of gray, but this is a hue that seems to come straight from Bizarro planet. Any explanations received would be instructive and illuminating. I’ll predict we’ll receive exactly zero letters in response. In fact, while I’m chatting with you GOP types, I’d like to press on and ask, Why are you so sputteringly hacked off at our president? I mean, OK, sure, you may not agree with the man and his policies, and that’s of course the nature of this beastly, brutish game we call politics. But, jeez, what is up with this Nugentic, spittle-all-caked-up-in|

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the-corner-ofthe-mouth hatred of the guy? From what dark ventricle of the Republican heart did this vitriol slither forth? You wanna enlighten me? Write the letter. I’ll tell you this. I don’t think you have anywhere near the case of justified righteous enmity that I do. I’m still a tad bit perturbed, even a touch steamed, at that wicked little wedgie your guys—Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and that whole twisted Wolfowitz cabal of creeps—gave our country with that monstrously misguided and miscalculated misadventure known as Iraq. You guys gambled big. Real big. And came up way short. We’re still scraping some very hot dogdoo out of our national Nikes on that one. You sold us a condoleezey briefcase full of nukes, and it was a gigonderously bad scene. As in mucho BADissimo!!! So I got a case. I got a beef. What the hell is yours? Ω

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Spring awakening Welcome to the 2012 spring Family Guide Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spring, and despite a warm winter, the trees and flowers in bloom are a welcome sight. What strikes me most about this season is the array of colors and the variance of nature. Biology makes plants unique, and it also impacts the way we as humans choose to live and create our family units. Long gone are the days of the standard â&#x20AC;&#x153;nuclear family.â&#x20AC;? And here in Reno, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re pretty familiar with unique lifestyles. With that in mind, we hope to share with you stories and information relevant to whatever form your family takes. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a techie, technology should be fun and functional, so weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve put together a list of helpful apps for new parents. Want to use technology to share your family with the world? Casey Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Lear investigates the phenomenon of mommy bloggers and chats with Lauren from RenoSparksMom.com. Tim Hauserman shares the importance of extracurricular activities for young people, including testimonies from Destynee Howell with La Cirque Vagabond, and Maya Dunlap, a young actress. But raising children is not always fun or easyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Caitlin Thomas shares activist and mother Melanie Lopezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; story. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also plenty to keep young minds engaged throughout the next few months with Urban Roots Garden Classrooms environmental summer camps for kids and teens, and Geoff McFarland provides a round-up of storytelling programs throughout the city. Enjoy the coming months and the colors that abound, and the uniqueness of the people and families you meet. Cheers, Ashley Hennefer Special projects editor, RN&R

3 5 6 7 9 10 11

TABLE OF CONTENTS Appy family: Ten apps for new parents The write stuff: Mommy bloggers Balancing act: La Cirque Vagabond Stage light: Mya Dunlap, child actress Story time: Reno storytelling programs Get your hands dirty: Urban Roots Garden Classroom summer camps Woman warrior: activist and mother Melanie Lopez

General Manager John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Director of Human Resources Tanja Poley Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart Special Projects Editor Ashley Hennefer News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Photographer Amy Beck Designer Marianne Mancina Contributors Tim Hauserman, Casey Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Lear, Geoff McFarland, Caitlin Thomas Design Manager Kate Murphy Advertising Sales Gina Odegard, Matt Odegard, Bev Savage Office/Distribution Manager Karen Brooke Exec. Assistant Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker Assistant Distribution Manager Ron Neill Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Russell Moore, John Miller, Jesse Pike, David Richards, Martin Troye, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach

2 | SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012

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Credit and Collections Manager Renee Briscoe Business Jane Corbett, Shannon McKenna, Zahida Mehirdel Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 708 North Center Street Reno, NV 89501 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available.

Appy family 10 apps for new parents

vaccinate

Ashley Hennefer ashleyh@ newsreview.com

ew parents know that despite the research you do before your child enters the world, babies don’t come with a manual. Luckily, technology often does, and there are many free and inexpensive apps to help make your transition into parenthood a little bit easier.

BabyPhone Deluxe

Lullaby for Babies

Instead of spending money on baby monitors, use your smartphone. Set your phone near your sleeping child, and the app will dial the configured phone number—say, your partner’s phone—when the baby’s noises go above the volume you set. This app also comes with a recorder to record and download your baby’s babblings. Available for Android is Baby Monitor, a free app that texts or alerts you when your baby is crying. BabyPhone Deluxe is available for iPhone, $2.99; Baby Monitor, Android, free.

If you’re tired of singing, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” for the hundredth time, let this app to take over for you. Choose a song and set it to loop. Available for Android, free.

White Noise Subtle ambient sound can help calm babies and lure them to sleep. The White Noise app plays sounds on repeat at various volumes. Based on the reviews, adults seem to like it, too. Available for iPhone, $0.99, and Android, free for Lite version.

Baby Connect Track your baby’s eating and sleeping patterns, as well as doctor appointments, medications, habits and more with Baby Connect’s timeline interface. Several alternatives are available, including Baby ESP (Eats, Sleeps and Poops) and Feed Baby Pro. Available for iPhone, iPad and Android, $4.99. A free web component syncs with the app.

Baby Learns Shapes This app is part of a series of learning apps created by Baby Bus and are made for infants and children up to 6 years old. Games and lessons cover numbers, letters, shapes, animals and more. Just be ready for sticky baby fingerprints all over your screen. Available for Android, free.

100+ Baby Food Recipes If you plan to make your own baby food, this app is a handy mobile cookbook. A Lite version is available, but for nutritional information and specific cooking guidelines, the paid version is more thorough. Available for Android, $1.99

Kid Care

before you

graduate

BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH You already know that keeping yourself healthy includes eating right, getting enough exercise and

While an app should never be used in the place of legitimate, professional medical advice, Kid Care, created by the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, is a good option for new parents who may have trouble identifying a serious ailment. Parents can search by symptoms, and the app will provide information on illnesses or injuries that match. It will also indicate level of severity. Available for iPhone and Android, free.

sleep, and avoiding drugs. But keeping yourself

Baby Brain Development

as you get older.

This app uses scientific studies to help you track the brain development of your child. Like the Kid Care app, it should not be used in place of medical advice, but it’s a good quick resource to see how your child is progressing. Available for iPhone and Android, $1.99

healthy also includes making sure your shots are up to date. Do you know that the protection provided by some of your childhood vaccinations may be wearing off? You are at higher risk for some diseases

Learn more at VaccinateBeforeYouGraduate.org Find us on Facebook

I Love Potty Training Help ease the transition into potty training through the games and features offered with this app. Created by a children’s book author, I Love Potty Training has an interactive story and reward system. It will even send your child a diploma once potting training is complete. Comments from iTunes and parenting websites have mentioned its usefulness with children on the autism spectrum. Two different versions are available for girls and boys, as well as English and Spanish versions. Available for iPhone and iPad, $0.99.

Parenting Ages & Stages This app serves as a newsfeed on important news for parents. Enter your child’s information to get relevant information, or search for specific topics. Available for iPhone, iPad and Android, free. Ω

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I Love You Mom!

Lauren Sunderland and her daughter, Gwyneth.

gers g o l B y Momm

Casey O’Lear caseyo@ newsreview.com

The write stuff ome were professional journalists. Others worked in accounting. Others were traditional Mormon housewives. But these women are all taking part in an increasingly popular online community of bloggers—mommy bloggers.

Recent statistics have shown that, as of March 2012, there are about 4.2 million moms blogging in some form online. Some big-name mommy bloggers, such as The Pioneer Woman, Motherlode and Scary Mommy have gained everything from corporate sponsorships and internet notoriety to lecturing gigs at blogging conventions for their work. The rise in popularity of such blogs is evidence that the market for stay-athome mothers’ stories and advice has been undervalued, according to one local blogger, Lauren Sunderland. “Once you become a stay-at-home mom, you lose your credibility, basically,” she said. “It makes it even harder to tell your story. All of these women are leaving their careers and staying at home, and their story gets lost in the background. … We’re all sitting at home thinking, ‘I wonder if my life’s like anybody else’s.’ And then, all of a sudden, you find these stories that you relate to, and they’re interesting and intriguing.” While the culture of mommy blogging is alive and well in all crevices of the internet, its presence is not as tangible in places like Reno. Many of blogs tend to lean on the religious side. Sunderland’s blog, The Reno-Sparks Mom, aims to provide an online presence for mothers in Northern Nevada. In addition to sharing personal stories about her life with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, Gwyneth, Sunderland’s blog is intended to connect other area moms to local resources and to each other. “It was really frustrating that there were no resources for moms or how to meet moms anywhere that I could find,” she said. “Going on the internet and researching stuff took a lot of time, so I just kind of looked around and thought, ‘OK, well, I can use my blog for that.’ I just kind of combined my creative blog with local resources. I kind of

made a go-to spot that moms can come to look at and find the resources I was looking for.” The Reno-Sparks Mom’s topics range from marriage and parenting to personal stories and do-it-yourself tutorials. Although she enjoys providing resources, such as information about Reno-area moms’ clubs and special events, Sunderland finds that both she and her readers seem to prefer entries about her everyday life. “We made our own fingerpaints the other day, and it was fun to share pictures of my daughter playing in her fingerpaints and our story with the fingerpaint,” she said. “Then, I discovered that my readers actually respond to those posts as well. They enjoy the day-to-day life things, too. I think they can relate to something, and there are not many things out there showing the daily life of real stay-at-home moms.” And, while the blog is generally cheerful, Sunderland has found that it isn’t all as easy as some of the more picture-perfect mommy bloggers would lead readers to believe. She recently had to resign from regularly updating a calendar featuring parent-and-child events in Northern Nevada due to the amount of time involved in both parenting and blogging. (“It works well as long as she’s napping,” Sunderland said, laughing.) She is also unafraid to show some of the more unglamorous aspects of motherhood, including her struggles with depression, despite pressure she feels from the blogosphere to cover only the most aestheticallypleasing elements of her life. “I pride myself in that I kind of keep it real,” she said. “My house isn’t always clean. I put pictures of my dirty home in the background. … Sometimes I’ll take a picture and be like, ‘Oh, geez, that’s just dirty in the background’ or I’ll sit down to write a story and realize that it was crappy, and I have nothing good to write about. There’s definitely a pressure, but I think people actually relate to the realism.” Although mommy blogs have been considered frivolous by some, the popularity of the phenomenon is an undeniable indicator that there is an audience that craves the advice, reassurance and entertainment they can provide. “It’s really easy to just discount these mommy bloggers and all of us as just women talking about their stay-at-home, boring lives,” Sunderland said. “But, really, we have backgrounds, and we have a voice, and it’s pretty awesome that we’re able to share that from our home.” Ω

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SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012 | 5

g n i c n a l a B

act Le Cirque Vagabond, Reno’s Biggest Little Circus Troop

...it really is all about a small group of locals, mostly young people, who have dedicated themselves to perfecting their crafts.

Tim Hauserman

t the Le Cirque Vagabond Dreamaire shows earlier this month at the Reno Little Theater, the Vagabond’s performers flew through the air tied to thin pieces of fabric, kept five hula hoops spinning at once, turned incredible martial arts into dramatic works of art, and created hand-to-hand acrobatic balancing acts that seemed to defy the laws of gravity. Yep, it was quite a show. While Le Cirque Vagabond is entertaining, it really is all about a small group of locals, mostly young people, who have dedicated themselves to perfecting their crafts. It’s 16-year-old Louisa Lopez, who practices silks at least three times a week, so she can tie herself up in knots and hang upside down 10 feet off the ground, or fly around in circles with one little foot wrapped precariously around a piece of fabric. Or 10-year-old Brandon Venzon, a precocious little sprite who dazzles with what he can do while spinning a bo—a martial arts weapon that will remind some of a pool cue—or with his efforts during a practice session to jump onto those silks and see if he can do it as well as Louisa can. It’s also Brandon’s Sensei, Mark Cancino, owner of American Tae Kwon Do Association Black Belt Academy on Kings Row in Reno, who, with several of his students, delivers crisp martial arts moves that turn self defense into rhythmic dance. And then there is 21-year-old Destynee Howell, who does seemingly impossible things with hula hoops and then a few minutes later is held precariously in the air by Le Cirque Vagabond founder Ben Pierson, as part of an elaborate double balancing acrobatic act. If training for these feats was not enough, this little group of performers also does flag spinning, sword whipping, cube juggling, Chinese pole dancing and lots of dancing. The man behind it all is Pierson. His fellow performers call him “the Maestro.” With an extensive background in martial arts and acrobatics, Pierson founded Le Cirque Vagabond as a place to “set an example of what can be accomplished if you set your mind to it.” A performer himself, he is out there spinning, flying and acrobatting with the rest of the vagabonds. Pierson finds performers at the Boys and Girls Club, where he is a volunteer, or by getting out into the community looking for people who are interested in dedicating themselves to their art. He added the name “Vagabond”

6 | SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012

because it fits with the historical tradition of circus acts being a group of vagabonds traveling around the country providing entertainment. While he works very hard to put on a great show, when you talk to him you realize what is most important is to give performers the opportunity to shine. “The main benefit I see for the performers is they learn perseverance,” says Pierson. “The shows are very hard and it is hard to see how it will come together. We break through that and it becomes spectacular.” Pierson, who was looking for someone to train as a hula hoop artist, found Destynee Howell practicing with a local hula hoops group. “He liked some of the things I was doing, and invited me to start training if I was interested,” Howell says. “Ben taught me new and challenging things, things that could not be mastered without a measure of discipline. I began practicing for hours every day to master new techniques. This changed my life drastically. “I had never been exposed to such discipline, or to someone so skilled and hard-working. Ben has really been an inspiration to me. He makes the most of every situation, and whatever he has to work with. I was partying all the time, putting myself in dangerous situations, and hanging around dangerous people. “Since working with Le Cirque Vagabond, I have found strength in myself, and confidence in what I can achieve if I throw myself into something full force. I would go as far as to say Le Cirque Vagabond has saved my life.” Le Cirque Vagabond’s mission statement sums up what it is working toward: “To be a positive influence in the community. To use our skills and strengths to give a place for children to build their own skills, while providing performance and job opportunities. To be an example of self-discipline, respect, inner and outer balance to youth, as well as to others in the community. To show that hard-work has a reward of confidence and success. Our message is a message of words and of actions, as success is not only achieved through thought and desire, but by taking action. We hope to show the community that with strong will and perseverance, we can make truly remarkable things happen.” For the audience, it is a joy to watch these performers fly, throw weapons around, or execute flawless acrobatics that seem impossible to most of us. To the performers, however, this little troop has provided the opportunity to dedicate themselves to perfection. To work really hard to obtain a challenging goal, and then be rewarded when they do so, not just by the cheers of the audience, but more importantly, by the personal satisfaction of accomplishing something truly challenging. If you talk to Destynee Howell, you will quickly realize this is a group that can truly can changes lives. Ω

| MAY 10, 2012 | A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE RENO NEWS & REVIEW

“The main benefit I see for the performers is they learn perseverance,” says Ben Pierson, Le Cirque Vagabond’s founder.

Le Cirque Vagabond will perform regularly in the Reno area. To keep track of future performances, check out its website www.lecirquevagabond.com or friend its Facebook page. It is also always on the look out for those who might want to become future stars, or for venues for future events. Contact Ben Pierson at ben.pierson@lecirquevagabond.com or (775) 527-3733 for information.

Part of the fun and challenge of raising children is

Stage

light

Mya Dunlap

Her mom looks at me, shaking her head, still in shock that her little daughter has somehow transformed before her eyes into a composed actress. It’s a good thing Mya has a fire for acting, because if you are going to be in the theater, you need it. There are long hours of rehearsals, sometimes 12 hours over a weekend, and lots of lines to memorize—which she says she would rather do then homework. But perhaps all this juggling of work and getting Mya to practice sessions is worth it for Shannon when her smallest kid proudly exclaims, “I love being on stage. My light can shine. It all really happens up on stage.” What does a young actress do for fun when she is not practicing? Aside from playing with her brother and skiing, she watches every musical she can get her hands on and listens to Broadway show tunes “24-seven.” Shannon shrugs, smiles and says, “It’s her thing.” Torn between incredible pride in her daughter, and an eagerness to protect her from a passion that is challenging, competitive and often leads to heartbreak, all she can do is what the rest of us are doing: watch in amazement and wish her the best. Ω To see Mya Dunlap or the rest of the talented young actors and actresses of the Sierra School of Performing Arts in action, be sure and catch one of their performances. Learn more at www.sierraschool forperformingarts.org.

PHOTO/TIM HAUSERMAN

that we parents are constantly reminded that, despite the fact we pass on our genes to these little people who spend years under our roofs, our children develop their own passions, which are often very different from our own. A perfect example is 8-year-old Reno resident Mya Dunlap. Last year, just for fun, Mya auditioned for a part in a performance of the Sierra School of Performing Arts. Her mom, Shannon Dunlap, who owns the Soak Nail Spa and Lounge in Reno, has never been interested in being on stage, and Mya’s twin brother Jay doesn’t express any interest either. But that audition ignited a passion in Mya. The audition garnered Mya the role of Gretl, the youngest daughter in The Sound of Music, in SSPA’s performance of “Broadway Bits” last year. According to Sierra School of Performing Arts Director Janet Lazarus, “She stole the show. Not only can she sing, dance and act like a professional, she is adorable and loaded with charisma.” After watching her in her Broadway Bits performance this year, I have to agree. Since I had never met her before seeing the show, I was curious whether I would be able to identify her among the crowd on stage. I didn’t by need to worry. Right away it was clear that she was the Tim Hauserman little sprite with the gap-toothed ear-to-ear grin. While she was the shortest person on stage, she was so full of spunk and energy that she could not be missed. A stage is not required to light up this kid. During our interview after the show—and just the fact that you can interview an 8-year-old and actually still call it an interview is surprising enough—she was so full of energy and light that the dark hallway outside the theater seemed brighter. After telling me that she has been taking voice lessons and will perform at a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald Houses, she proceeded to belt out a few lines from a song from Darn Yankees, before moving into a nice rendition of “Feliz Navidad.” “I take acting seriously,” Mya says. “I really like it. Someday I want to play Maria in The Sound of Music. And then maybe American Idol.”

“I love being on stage. My light can shine,” says Mya Dunlap.

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SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012 | 7

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Story time Local storytelling events foster early reading, family learning With shelves full of picture books beside a sunny window, all the snug children’s room at Sundance Books and Music is missing is a grandparent reading stories. But every first Friday of the month, they have just that: children’s book author and illustrator Joyce Rossi, who sings songs, draws pictures and reads books to a group of enthralled youngsters. For Christine Kelly, co-owner of the independent bookstore, those kids may be the best show in town. “I just lean against the door jam and see that they’re rapt,” says Kelly. “They can’t wait to hear what she’ll read next.” Reading to children has been linked to higher test scores, stronger families, and accelerated speech and literacy skills. But being read to in groups may have its own benefits. “Of course introducing kids to books is important,” says Beate Weinert, head of Community Collaborations for the Washoe County Library System. “But storytimes also introduce our younger patrons to group dynamics, [like]

KING TUT

by Geoff McFarland how to be social and behave around a lot of other kids.” A lot is right. A library storytime occurs almost daily in Washoe County, and the most popular Spanish Springs and South Valley events—often featuring songs and craft projects—can draw more than 60 kids, plus assorted guardians. “It’s very much a room in motion,” laughs Weinert. Meanwhile, at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, story time is a break from the motion that usually electrifies the boisterous space. On Small Wonder Wednesdays, parents with children under 6 may enter the museum one hour early to explore the facilities without having to keep up with the older kids. While programming coordinator Sarah Gobbs-Hill describes how younger visitors might not yet have the motor skills to traverse the museum’s three-story model of the water cycle. “We’ll read a book about hot air balloons and launch a tissue paper balloon so they can still see an idea in action,” she says. Parents get to see an idea in action, too, when they see a master reader perform a book. By watching, parents learn how to better read aloud at home, how to create a character, pace a story, incorporate a craft. And make a friend, says Barnes & Noble community relations manager Caddie Dufurrena. While she considers the Reno store’s weekly Saturday storytimes “a great way for little ones to meet new friends,” she adds that “parents also greatly appreciate the chance to interact with other parents who have children in the same age group.” Storytimes remind kids to be social while sitting quietly, to listen hard and to love books. We adults might do with a reminder too. Ω

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Sundance Storytimes with Joyce Rossi are held 10:30-11:15 a.m. every first Friday of the month at Sundance Books and Music, 121 California Ave. Structured for children 3-6 p.m., but open to all ages. Free. www.sundancebookstore.com

Washoe County Libraries preschool and family story times are held at multiple branches across the county. Specialty Toddler Times are offered at South Valleys, Northwest Reno, Spanish Springs. Sparks Library’s Saturday storytimes at 1 p.m. alternate between Bilingual (for ages 0-6) and Princess Days (for grades 13). Free. Ask at your local branch library desk for a schedule of storytimes, or go online to the Kids Zone Kid Events Calendar at www.washoecounty.us/library/kids_events.html. Small Wonders Wednesdays are held the third Wednesday of every month at the Terry Lee Wells Discovery Museum, 490 Center St., at 9 a.m., one hour before the museum opens to the public. Limited to family with children 5 and under. Members are free, nonmembers are charged $8 for all day admission. www.nvdm.org

Barnes & Noble Storytimes at 5555 S. Virginia St. occur every Saturday at 11 a.m. Special children’s events are listed monthly in the B&N printed calendar of events, available in-store at the Customer Service Desk or online. Free. www.barnesandnoble.com

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SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012 | 9

Get your hands dirty

Ashley Hennefer ashleyh@ newsreview.com

Urban Roots Garden Classroom

“Science ... should still be fun,” says URGC’s Lauren Gonce.

10 | SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012

Science is a subject that often evokes excited responses from young children—until they reach their teen years, when it starts to become a subject for those who can and those who can’t. “Something seems to happen when kids transition into older ages,” says Lauren Gonce, development coordinator for the Urban Roots Garden Classrooms. “Science becomes more challenging, but it should also still be fun.” URGC hopes to keep science interesting and relevant for kids and teens with their summer camps in an effort to encourage STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—education outside of a school setting. “There’s a lot out there for little kids, but we wanted to make sure there were opportunities for preteens to explore gardening and learning about plants and animals,” Gonce says. The focus of this year’s camps is cooking with homegrown ingredients. Gonce says kids will study the process of gardening and farming, and will then learn how to cook using the ingredients they’ve studied. “Cooking is a great way to be creative and scientific,” she says. “It’s part of our ‘seed-to-table’ mission.” Art projects will also give kids a chance to experiment with

| MAY 10, 2012 | A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE RENO NEWS & REVIEW

nature—both using nature to create art, and using it as inspiration. URGC is in the process of building its farm on west Fourth Street, near the River School Farm. Some classes will be jointly taught by instructors from both URGC and the River School Farm. URGC is also launching a program throughout the next few months to bring gardens into area schools. Gonce hopes that kids will find a passion for the environment through gardening. “Most kids—and adults, too—like to play in the dirt,” says Gonce.

Sprout School Day Camp – ages 3-5 Campers will engage all of their senses through nature explorations and play. Activities include animal meet-and-greets, garden art, mudpies, tea parties, garden harvests and lots of cooking. Urban Roots Farm. Camp dates include June 1822, July 9-13, and July 23-27. Camps run 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Farm Kids Day Camp – ages 6-8 Campers will learn how a garden grows by recording plant growth, feeding the farm animals, playing games and making pizzas for a pizza party. Urban Roots Farm. July 30-Aug. 3. Camps run 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Garden Club Day Camp – ages 9-12 Campers will become garden scientists for the week by conducting scientific studies of plant growth, animal behaviors, chemistry of soil and water, and creating new scientific tools. Urban Roots Farm campers will be immersed in creativity and science by learning about nature through art, movement, music, games and scientific study. Kids will use multiple intelligences to explore plants, animals, soil, seeds and food, and will also have the chance to work with chickens, goats, ducks and honey bees. River School Farm. July 16-20, Aug. 6-10. Camps run 9 a.m.-3 p.m. To RSVP, visit www.urgc.org to fill out the registration form and a registration packet will be sent to you.

Woman warrior

Caitlin Thomas

Melanie Lopez, activist and mother

hen Melanie Lopez found herself pregnant at the age of 17, she knew she was facing a difficult road. “Being a teen mom was challenging,” says Lopez.“People think you’re stupid. They automatically look down on you.” No doubt, the stigma against teen moms can be venomous. But a Latina teen giving birth to a black baby can sting even harder. Lopez felt an unfair shadow cast on her when she gave birth. “The doctor told me to be quiet,” Lopez says. “I was yelling in pain. They had zero compassion for me at that hospital. They just saw a teen mom and assumed the stereotype.” Lopez was no stranger to the issue of diversity and acceptance. Growing up in Milpitas, Calif., gave her a strong lesson in race politics. “I grew up in a diverse area,” she says. “Milpitas was one-third Asian. We had one of everything.” In addition to a multicultural environment, Lopez took an interest in reading books revolving around intense themes. Her grandmother was always quick to share opinions on the topic. “I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X when I was 15, and it had an effect on me,” says Lopez. “My grandmother would sit me down and talk to me about race and identity. She warned me about not letting that get in the way of really seeing a person.” Lopez came to her own conclusions at a young age. “Racism is implicit bias,” she insists. And still today, these themes are at the forefront of her family values. The mother of two is drawn to educating others about the assorted social imbalances in the world. It’s no surprise the mission starts with her own children—Marcus, 17, and Tyla, 9. “We have the hard talks in this household, about society and gender and race,” she says. “When Marcus was younger, he didn’t exactly fit into the typical boy model. He really liked the singer, Selena. He would imitate her singing and her style. I remember having talks with him about this stuff at 3 or 4 years old.” Once her son was stopped by a bike cop downtown. The offense? Running across the street on a no-walk signal. “They thought he stole something, they kept questioning him, wanting to search him,” she says. The reality was Marcus was late for a church function where he was scheduled to volunteer.

Family values were rocked harder when the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin hit the media. Martin was the 17-year-old, African-American who was shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman was not arrested for 44 days, and the shooting raised questions about Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Lopez and Marcus attended a local rally together, both of them speaking out on the tough subject. “My son looks like Trayvon,” Lopez states flatly. She prepared a speech elaborating on the feelings she had on the subject, spanning from anger to sadness to hope. “Michael Vick was arrested and imprisoned for torturing and killing dogs,” she wrote in her speech. “Is my son’s life worth less than a dog’s? Is Trayvon Martin’s life worth less than a dog’s? My heart goes out to Trayvon Martin’s family, and though I know they will probably never find peace in the senseless murder of their son, I hope they find justice.” Marcus was on News Channel 8 later that evening providing his point of view on the subject. One of his mother’s proudest moments, she tells me. When it comes to her daughter, Lopez expresses less comfort about the topic of safety. “Being a girl is hard,” she says. “I worry for her more than my son. Tyla is definitely not shy about saying what is on her mind. She is who she is. She’s just like me.” On Halloween, Tyla dressed up as hardas-rocks Joan Jett, one of her idols. “She looked great,” says Lopez. “I want her to be comfortable with who she is. I don’t want her to feel less because she’s a girl.” When Tyla visited the Reno Roller Girls on her birthday, the girls made her a black poster with green glitter words sprawled across it. It read, “Dyin’ ain’t much of a livin’, girl.” Protest speeches and girl-power feminism aside, what makes the family so unique is its no-nonsense approach to family issues. Lopez is the first to admit struggles in her life. “I want them to know I’ve made mistakes too,” she says. Lopez has struggled with ADHD, depression, and bipolar disorder her entire life. Her philosophy is to be open about it. “When it’s bad, it’s really bad,” she says. “Marcus has helped me a lot with it. Tyla comforts me in bed.” Lopez has done her fair share of activism in Reno, from feeding the homeless on Record Street every Thursday night to bringing anti-racism speaker and writer Tim Wise to her church. Lopez serves as a glowing example for her children, a statement to march to the beat of their own drum. “I don’t want my kids to follow the status quo,” she says. “I want them to question things.” And the rebellion runs true through the bloodline. Ω

Melanie Lopez’ children, Tyla and Marcus.

Lopez with anti-racism writer and speaker Tim Wise.

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE RENO NEWS & REVIEW | MAY 10, 2012 |

SPRING FAMILY GUIDE 2012 | 11

Kids Cafe Free Dinners for Children and Youth Ages 1-18 Weekdays at Many Schools in Our Community Call 331-3663 or visit www.fbnn.org for locations and times

5x6 (1/2 H)

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