Reno Gazette Journal
Ribs, Nevada football and Numaga Days
Is Labor Day Week the best week on the calendar in Reno-Sparks and northwestern Nevada? The argument could be made. It has the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, Numaga Days Indian Powwow and Burning Man, and more underthe-radar festivals including...
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Camera backlash
While Northern Nevada law enforcement agencies expand the number of surveillance cameras they use, critics are upping their efforts, too, bringing statistics and horror stories to city council meetings. Nearly 200 automatic license plate reader...
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Colleges confront decline in reading
Anyone who has spent time on a college campus lately has probably heard laments from faculty about their students’ reading habits, or rather nonreading habits. Such complaints are more than an unfounded nostalgia for a bygone age. Reading – not just...
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‘Plan ahead and allow extra time’
The Reno airport is expecting a flood of passengers in the coming week as the one-two punch of Burning Man and Labor Day brings out more travelers. Reno-Tahoe International Airport is projecting passenger counts to reach approximately 20,000 people...
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‘It’s all gone. Everything’
At least 50 times over the past 30 years, Wendy and John Firestone watched smoke rise from Peavine Peak above their home on Mandan Way. Saturday, Aug. 22 seemed no different. There were warnings but no evacuation orders as news spread of the Hawk Fire...
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Nevada sues Interior over new water reduction plan
LAS VEGAS – Nevada filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of the Interior Aug. 24 over new rules that manage how water from the Colorado River is distributed among seven states. The lawsuit challenges an Interior plan, released Aug. 21, that...
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Thousands displaced in Hawk Fire
The Hawk Fire in northwest Reno canceled classes at Washoe County School District schools on Monday, and also forced the closure of Truckee Meadows Community College on what would have been the first day of the fall semester. Investigators were...
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Hawk Fire burns 10,000+ acres
The Hawk Fire grew to more than 10,000 acres over the weekend, prompting evacuation orders for more than 42,000 residents of northwest Reno and the North Valleys. Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve announced Saturday evening that structures had been lost as...
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‘We’ve been well-supported here’
Firefighters working the Bug and Stallion fires spent roughly 12 to 14 hours a day on the line before returning to camp to eat, sleep and shower. Then they went back out to keep the fires from burning toward homes. Truckee Meadows Fire Protection...
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Trump plan could hit science funding
Most Americans don’t read the rules that govern the federal grants funding science. Those rules, called the Uniform Guidance, shape how cancer research is funded, graduate students are trained, clinical trials are sustained, universities stock their...
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Record turnout for Remembrance Run
After leading more participants than ever in the Remembrance Run, Ku Stevens plans to make it even bigger. Steves guided 168 people 50 miles through the desert between Yerington and the Stewart Indian School south of Carson City, finishing the...
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New analyses give edge to Lombardo over Ford
With a bit over two months until the general election, two new analyses show incumbent Republican Joe Lombardo with an advantage over Democratic challenger Aaron Ford in the 2026 race for Nevada governor. One was done by statistician and election...
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DOJ pressed, dropped officer assault cases
Christian Garcia admits that he threw a water bottle toward officers guarding a federal building near Los Angeles during an immigration protest last summer. h The plastic bottle was empty, he said, and hit no one but Garcia himself – the wind blew it...
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Trump threatens Oman over Iran negotiations
blockade on Iranian ports that has sought to prevent Iranian ships from using the strait to transport oil. Trump said last week he’s ready to soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory of the United States.” Trump’s latest remarks came as a 60-day...
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Reno man lost his home to the Bug Fire. He won’t stop looking for his dogs ‘I feel like I failed them’
John Parsons’ voice echoed across the charred hillsides of what had once been his 55-acre paradise in Reno’s North Valleys He didn’t remember ever hearing an echo before when he called their names. But that was before metal from burned-out cars had...
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THE 600K QUESTION
The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimates put Washoe County’s population at 509,366. By the year 2044, the county’s population is forecast to surpass 600,000. That’s about 90,000 more people than we have now, a 15% bump from current levels. Nearly all...
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‘Fake electors’ figure holds White House role
A figure in Arizona’s “fake electors” case continues to have an influential role in President Donald Trump’s White House. Boris Epshteyn, an adviser and personal lawyer to Trump, was accused of working with Arizona Republicans and other Trump allies...
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Duffy touts ‘historic’ push to hire gamers
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration has hired more than 2,000 people as air traffic controllers after launching a recruitment campaign aimed in part at video gamers. Duffy called the effort a game changer in a...
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Reno man saves home
With a shovel and a garden hose, Daniel Bartell has been fighting since just after midnight Sunday to save his 10-acre property, 45 animals and the home his wife loves in the North Valleys. Bartell and his wife, Monique, were among the first Reno-area...
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Fire crews continue ground, aerial attack on wildfires
The Bug Fire and Fred Mountain Fire merged overnight Monday into Tuesday, and firefighters also grappled with the Stallion Fire to the east. The fires have prompted a wide swath of evacuations north of Reno between the NevadaCalifornia state line and...
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Officials seek to stop mail-in ballot rules
Less than 90 days out from the midterms, election officials are pleading with the Supreme Court to block the Trump administration from making changes that would allow the U.S. Postal Service to decide who gets mail-in ballots. And after the Postal...
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UNR head: Mining grants ‘massive benefit’ to Nevada
The University of Nevada, Reno stands to benefit in the wake of President Donald Trump hosting a U.S. State Department meeting on the importance of critical minerals for national security. On Friday, Aug. 7, Trump announced $180 million in grants for...
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9 things to know before school starts in Reno-Sparks
With students returning to classrooms Monday, the Washoe County School District is beginning the new school year with new leadership, new schools and a school bus tracking system. Here are nine things to know before the first bell rings: 1. Tiffany...
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New Trump orders curb birthright citizenship
President Donald Trump is making another bid to curtail birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court ruled his earlier effort was unconstitutional, announcing a pair of executive orders limiting who qualifies for automatic citizenship and cracking...
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Trump returns to Vegas, touts ‘greatest economy’
LAS VEGAS – President Donald Trump returned to Las Vegas on Aug. 5 to make a familiar pitch: that his policies are lowering costs for Americans and putting money back in workers’ pockets. Speaking at Red Rock Casino, Trump highlighted several...
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Democrats say Nevada House seat is ‘in play’
Nevada’s northern U.S. House seat is in play for the first time in many years, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats. The organization hasn’t given much attention in past election cycles to...
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Man arrested for arson in WA wildfires
Authorities in Washington have arrested a man for arson in connection with one of the major wildfires devastating the eastern part of the state, which has destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee. Aaron F. Farinacci, a...
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Blanche scraps Trump’s anti-weaponization fund
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he is rescinding the nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund that stalled a Senate vote on his nomination for attorney general. Blanche announced the news Aug. 2 on X. The heavily criticized fund would...
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Will Hot August Nights allow cars from the ’80s?
The DMC Delorean. The Ferrari Testarossa. The Audi Quattro. The Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z. All five are iconic cars that defined the 1980s. All five cars are also banned from cruising at Hot August Nights — at least, for official events held during the...
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‘WAS I THE TARGET?’
The text messages from Dakota Hawver frightened Zoe Williams. “I got something for u,” he wrote to his ex-girlfriend on July 25, 2025. “I’m excited. Haha. Go to work or stay home either way.” A barrage of menacing texts began hours after a judge...
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Different kinds of justice
WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett likes to note that the black robes she and her colleagues wear show that the nine justices are “united symbolically.” h Despite different personalities, legal philosophies and backgrounds, the robes...
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Behind the barricades
Head north on Terminal Way from Plumb Lane and you’ll see wire fencing and several large columns jutting out from the ground at an active construction site. Work at the site has led to the closure of northbound Terminal Way, with the southbound lane...
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‘Future retail development’
Plans for a new Costco Wholesale store in south Reno are not dead, but they are fluid as a California-based real estate firm looks to develop a major retail center in the area. Lewis Retail Centers, with more than 50 properties and projects across...
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$710,000
The median home price in Reno-Sparks hit new heights in June, with Reno breaking through the $700,000 barrier for the first time. h The Reno residential real estate market set a record median home price of $710,000 in June for existing homes, smashing...
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Lombardo outpaces Ford’s fundraising
There’s no question Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo is dominating Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in the 2026 race for Nevada governor. Lombardo’s campaign has $9.2 million in cash on hand while Ford’s has $2.6 million. Ford’s campaign put a...
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Hot August Nights, Wing Fest, Brew Fest
It’s that time of year on the events calendar when Artown gives way to Hot August Nights. The monthlong arts festival drops the curtain after its annual closing night concert at Rancho San Rafael on Friday, just as the celebration of classic cars revs...
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‘SHE’S PERFECT’
Kasey Thompson can’t wait for his daughter to be old enough to hear about the day she was born. Her arrival came as a surprise — in a temporary city in the Nevada desert during some of the harshest weather conditions imaginable. Aurora Thompson was...
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Daylight saving bill could run out of time
WASHINGTON – Time may be running out for a bill to stop changing the clocks. President Donald Trump has advocated for years to make daylight saving time permanent, ending the twiceyearly practice that forces people in much of the country to lose an...
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EDAWN cites urgency as it rebrands
An economic development organization that helped bring big projects from technology giants such as Apple and Tesla to Northern Nevada is rebranding under a new name. The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, which usually goes by EDAWN,...
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Overcoming student loans
More than a quarter of student loan borrowers in Nevada have defaulted on their payments, according to federal data. Around 9 million people are in default nationwide – a fifth of all student loan borrowers. The number of people who defaulted jumped...
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Lake Tahoe clarity unchanged in annual report
Lake Tahoe's water clarity remained largely unchanged in 2025, but scientists say long-term warming and other environmental pressures continue to affect the lake, according to the annual State of the Lake report. The University of California, Davis...
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Data: Wildfire seasons have grown in ferocity
A new heat wave will bring another round of scorching temperatures as fires in the West continue to grow in what already has been a deadly fire season. The Babylon fire in Utah has spread to 100,000 acres, and the Aspen Acres fire in Colorado is...
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Reno chief could oversee Sparks Fire
Reno’s fire chief may soon provide leadership for the Sparks Fire Department if a proposed agreement gets council approval in both cities. The proposal would allow for strategic cooperation between the two fire agencies. It comes in the wake of talk...
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TIME CHANGE UNCERTAIN
Summer is nearly halfway through, and as Nevadans look forward to autumn, they may be wondering when they’ll have to turn their clocks back. But this year could be when the twice-ayear time change in the United States could come to an end. The U.S....
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U.S., Iran trade infrastructure attacks
DUBAI – The United States struck bridges and an airport in Iran on July 17 and Tehran responded by hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, as the warring foes risked further escalation by expanding their targets to include infrastructure. In...
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Fighting escalates in Persian Gulf
DUBAI – Iran and the United States exchanged intensified fire on July 16 in a weeklong escalation that has all but torn up last month’s truce, but Iran’s release of a U.S. citizen was seen as signaling a path to avert the resumption of all-out...
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U.S. strikes Iran as sides seek control over strait
President Donald Trump’s war on Iran continued to escalate with no end in sight as the two sides vied for control of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces struck Iranian targets again on July 15, the fifth day of the renewed hostilities. The 90 minutes...
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JOINING FORCES?
Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said in a statement Tuesday morning he has been examining a possible consolidation with the Reno Police Department for three years. “Over the past three years, I have been gathering data to develop an informed and...
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McConnell return becomes paramount
WASHINGTON – The death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, has increased the urgency for Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to return to work to cushion the GOP’s increasingly slim voting majority in the Senate. McConnell, 84, has been gone due to...
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Kaiser Permanente, Renown deny merger
A Bay Area-based health care giant and one of Reno’s major health care companies pushed back against talk of a potential merger or acquisition as both companies continued to strengthen ties after inking a joint venture. Whispers of a merger between...
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$36M investor fund launched for former Harrah’s Reno project
The owner of a former downtown Reno hotel-casino just launched an investment fund to raise capital for the property following several snags in its redevelopment. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Madison Capital Group is looking to raise $36 million for...
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Heat waves turn homes dangerous for all ages
Most people know that heat waves can be dangerous. What they may not realize is that the heat indoors can be much worse than outdoors. When the power goes out and air conditioning stops, a house starts to function like a greenhouse. Heat enters...
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Program gives struggling artists $1,000 a month
Though artificial intelligence is making it easier than ever to produce images, music and text, the technology is also making it harder for the people who have traditionally produced this work to earn a living. A photographer who once was commissioned...
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Airport turning overflow lot into extra paid parking
Reno-Tahoe International Airport plans to add hundreds of additional parking spaces as it continues to find ways to alleviate the strain on its parking capacity during busy seasons and holidays. The airport is converting one of its overflow lots into...
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He would not stand for it.
When a work crew arrived with shovels and plans to dig in Lance Van Lydegraf ’s front yard last month, he did the first thing that came to mind. He lay down, positioning his body inside the lines spray-painted on a corner of his yard on Arroyo...
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‘He was so surprised’
Macedonio Lopez of Carson City rarely missed his sons’ soccer games. He introduced all three boys to the sport as soon as they could walk, and for years, family life revolved around soccer. “I just remember him going to everything,” said Israel Lopez,...
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America sets aside divisions for July 4
Fireworks burst above marbled monuments honoring America’s forefathers for roughly 40 minutes as sun-drenched and rain-soaked Americans watched. The past-midnight display sparkled above the National Mall and on screens across the United States, marking...
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SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY
The 56 steps, cut from pink granite, ascend to a neoclassical temple that seems plucked from ancient Greece and deposited on a Kentucky hilltop. One for each year of President Abraham Lincoln’s life. h If the first eight steps, rising amid the site’s...
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Some drugmakers balk at Medicaid pilot
NEW YORK – President Donald Trump has promised to make U.S. prescription drug prices the cheapest in the world, but a closely watched Medicaid pilot program could expose the limits of the buy-in among midsized and smaller pharmaceutical companies. The...
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AI can lead to false arrests and wrongful convictions
In Baltimore County, Maryland, on Oct. 20, a 17-year-old student named Taki Allen was sitting outside his high school after football practice when an artificial intelligence-enhanced surveillance camera falsely identified the Doritos bag in his pocket...
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Many Supreme Court rulings favor Trump
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court’s final decision of the term, striking down President Donald Trump’s attempt to limit who is born American, was not what the president hoped for. But the ruling was surprisingly close, given that birthright citizenship...
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High court upholds birthright citizenship
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on June 30 rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to redefine who is an American, striking down the limits on birthright citizenship that were a centerpiece of his hard-line approach to immigration. The ruling landed...
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New building for WCSD administration likely
The Washoe County School District will look for a new site for its administration building, focusing its search on vacant commercial properties. The district’s administrative staff now is spread across six locations. The school board could consider...
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Should EV owners pay fee for roads?
Electric and hybrid vehicle owners aren’t paying their fair share for road maintenance in Washoe County so they should pay an annual fee comparable to what other drivers pay through gas taxes. That’s the argument behind an advisory ballot question...
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DISASTER CLEANUP
Alan Gubanich, 83, often sees news stories of homes getting burned to the ground or mudslides wiping out entire neighborhoods. “Oh, those poor people. I always wondered how they feel, and how do they live after? What do they do?” Gubanich...
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Death toll rises after Venezuela earthquakes
The death toll after a doublet of devastating earthquakes in Venezuela soared to more than 500 as of June 26 as crews worked to comb through rubble for signs of life. The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, struck within one minute of each other...
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Discipline in motion
What started as a way to try to lose weight has turned into a daily obsession for Dave Zaski. The Reno native recorded his 2,000th straight day running on Wednesday, June 24. And he’s not just running around the block and calling it good. Zaski, 41,...
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Median home price just hit $635K for first time
The median home sale price in Reno-Sparks reached new heights as existing single-family housing inventory continued its downward slide. Reno-Sparks reported a median home price of $635,000 in May, according to the latest data from Sierra Nevada...
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HANG ON THERE
The action continues tonight at the Livestock Events Center when the Reno Rodeo celebrates Nevada Wolf Pack Night, so wear your silver and blue attire. In addition to the competition each night, there’s a carnival; Silver Spurs Mercantile with Western...
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Fire transforming West’s public lands
Wildfires are affecting our public lands at an accelerating scale and increasing intensity. Yet how fire affects recreation has remained poorly understood. Colorado’s two largest fires on record, the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires, burned...
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THRILL RIDES
The 107th Reno Rodeo’s in town, with the action continuing at the Livestock Events Center through June 27. In addition to the competition each night, there’s a carnival; Silver Spurs Mercantile with Western jewelry, clothes, gifts, tack and gear; line...
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State Fair appearance
Nevada’s history from Comstock mining to the Hoover Dam will be celebrated for about two weeks at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C. — with an emphasis on Las Vegas. Reno and Lake Tahoe do not make an appearance in the main exhibits, in...
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Obama Center opens while Trump looms
Remember hope and change? The sun-splashed, star-studded dedication of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on June 18 was designed to echo the sense of excitement and possibility that surrounded former President Barack Obama’s election in 2008 −...
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Bail lowered to $4M for ex-teacher accused of sex crimes
A judge reduced bail by $1 million for former Gomm Elementary School teacher Taji Hillson during a Wednesday hearing that included testimony from her sisters and a friend praising her character. Judge Lynne Jones reduced bail from $5 million to $4...
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Feds: CEO laundered stolen millions through crypto
Federal prosecutors filed 16 new criminal charges against the former CEO of a Reno internet provider, alleging he laundered $6.2 million in stolen money through cryptocurrency exchanges. Stephen Kromer of Uprise Fiber also faces 31 criminal charges...
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