Week of Jan. 4, 2023

From the editor’s desk

Before gaming spread throughout the country and mega-casinos walled off their high rises from Virginia Street’s sidewalks, the downtown district was Reno’s beating heart. In our January cover story, we take a long look at the city’s “placemaking” effort and what it will take to bring vitality back to the city’s core, a topic also addressed in my Editor’s Note. And we talk to Renoites who recall the days when downtown was the place where locals wanted to be.

Family, friends and fans gathered in December to say farewell to the late Bruce Van Dyke. Our report about the event includes links to: KBVD, a digital radio station that archives Bruce’s shows; a collection of BVD’s Notes From the Neon Babylon columns in the RN&R; and a YouTube video that showcases testimonials and stories about Bruce recorded by Steve Funk at the event.

A herd of his fellow movie critics panned Babylon, but Bob Grimm found a lot that’s good in writer-director Damien Chazelle’s ode to Hollywood. The film, he writes, “plays like debaucherous, hard-R-rated take on Singin’ in the Rain.” Grimm praises performances by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Tobey Maguire in the flick that piles up so much weirdness “it ultimately collapses upon itself.” Our movie critic also praises Brendan Fraser’s work in The Whale, but says the “clumsy” film doesn’t live up to its star’s performance.

Music writer Matt King spotlights Too Close for Comfort, a Reno-based band—performing next week at the Holland Project—that proves metalheads can produce a fantastic pop-punk record.

For this month’s Streettalk feature, photo editor Dave Robert asked folks about their predictions for the new year. Three of five respondents had positive predictions for 2023, which we hope doesn’t turn out to be a triumph of optimism over experience.

Stargazer Robert Victor’s celestial predictions, based on the clockwork of the cosmos, are a sure bet, however. Victor foresees a month whose nights are illuminated with a lineup of four glowing planets and an unusually large number of bright stars.

These and many more local stories also are featured in our January print issue, available free, as always, at 700 markets, shops, restaurants and other venues across Northern Nevada.

I’ll see you in the funny papers.

Take care,

—Frank X. Mullen, Editor