Week of April 10, 2024

From the editor’s desk

The 104-year-old Fallon Theatre, which shows second-run and vintage movies each week for free, is premiering a new live event on its Art Deco-flavored stage—Heritage of the West, featuring acts such as Nuestra Herencia Mexicana Dance Group, Fallon Paiute-Shoshone dancers, acoustic cowboy music and cowboy poetry, this Saturday, April 13, at noon.

As we were planning the April RN&R, I noticed an unofficial theme. Largely by coincidence, several of our writers had their eyes on different types of local businesses. In addition to the 14 Wells Avenue taco places we highlighted in the cover story, our team told the stories of new or notable business ventures of varied sorts and sizes. I elaborated a bit on what this trend looked like from the editor’s desk in my April Editor’s Note. 

According to Lali Parisa from Reno, around 10,000 families from India, or of Indian descent, live in Northern Nevada. “But generally you don’t see any Indian people anywhere,” she said. That’s exactly why she started the India Arts and Cultural Center in Northern Nevada. 

As much as today feels like spring for real, the weekend forecast might make us want to cozy up on the couch with the remote like it’s January—so Bob Grimm’s streaming picks for this week are perfectly timed. Morgan Neville’s Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces tells the long, winding story of the comedy legend’s life and work, including some parts even diehard fans may not know about. “These docs do a beautiful job of encapsulating a long, amazing career that has plenty of gas left in the tank,” writes Bob. Steve! is now streaming on Apple TV+.

And Road House—the Jake Gyllenhaal remake of the 1989 flick about bar bouncers starring Patrick Swayze—has an issue or two, but it is a rare case of a remake being worth the effort.  It’s streaming on Amazon Prime.

The RN&R’s Hiking column is now the Outdoors column, with a new author, Helena Guglielmino. This month, Helena introduces us to Gear Hut, a local consignment shop for outdoor gear that also hosts events such as trailhead cleanups and skills clinics.

Remember how dismal the air quality was in the summers of 2020 and 2021? Reporter Zoe Dixon talked with some experts to help explain exactly what went well in the following two years—and discuss what we know so far about what summer 2024 may bring.

Looking for some new restaurant dishes to try? Food scribe Maude Ballinger shares the most crave-inducing foods she’s had in recent weeks—authentic French onion soup, sizzling Korean bibimbap (healthy but not too healthy), and a California-style burrito with fries inside. 

In a March meeting, the Washoe County Board of Commissioners selected retired educator Tami Ruf to fill the vacant spot on the Washoe County Library Board of Trustees. Here’s a brief look inside the meeting, in which the commission narrowed down the selection to three finalists, then picked Ruf.

Four years to the date after the COVID shutdown began, RN&R publisher Jimmy Boegle reflects on how, while the lockdowns brought out the good in people, we also saw a measure of  disregard for the plight of others. While a lot of things look brighter in 2024 than they did in 2020—and he sure is thankful for that—the selfishness hasn’t entirely dissipated. 

And now, a word from our readers: The April letters section features an argument for keeping the U.S. Postal Service’s Reno Processing and Distribution Center in Reno and an appeal to help researchers better understand the impacts of rare diseases by filling out a survey. 

Take care,

—Kris Vagner, managing editor