Week of April 27, 2022

From the editor’s desk

In the wake of a massive drop in ridership (2.5 million bus passengers in 5 years) —that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit—the RTC is planning major changes to the region’s transit system. Officials are asking for public comment on proposals to reroute some busses, eliminate some routes and expand other transit services.

The “Space Whale” and her calf surfacing out of the concrete outside Reno City Hall is just one example of the city’s penchant for public art. The Art Signals program commissions local artists to create colorful images on street side electrical signal boxes all around the town.

Photo editor Dave Robert, our Streetalk interviewer, queried tenants who are getting hammered by recent rent increases of up to 100%, thanks to a shortage of rental properties and the profit margins of some landlords.

The return of our Western Lit feature, spotlighting local authors and new books of local interest, begins with an excerpt from Michael P. Branch’s “On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World’s Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer,” a whimsical history of a mythical beast that has some real-world implications.

The always-streaming, all-seeing Bob Grimm posts two movie reviews this week. He gives high marks to “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” a flick that gives Nicolas Cage a full film to poke fun at himself (as well as the industry that made him rich and weird). And Grimm also recommends “The Northman,” a nightmarish Viking epic that rises above its threadbare revenge plotline.

Oh, and one more thing: A month or so from now, you’ll be able to hold the first RN&R print edition since March 2020 in your hands: Watch for our June print edition to start hitting streets over Memorial Day Weekend. But keep watching RenoNR.com in the meantime, as we will keep having amazing online content, as always.

Take care,

—Frank X. Mullen, Editor