Reno Street Audio

As part of a series on the Our Town Reno website called the Last Motel Residents of Reno, we interviewed Skyler, a veteran and resident at the Desert Rose Inn. After a nasty separation, he was on parole with a job at Tesla, but then a stroke set him back. He details his life before and ahead, and why for him the motel has so much value on his journey. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.

On this episode, as part of our series of interesting local candidates, Cotter C. Conway makes the case for his candidacy for Reno Justice of the Peace, Dept. 2. Conway has served as a Judge Pro Tem in four courts, including right now on the bench as the Court Referee in Reno Justice Court. He gives a civics 101 lesson on what different local courts do, and what makes a judge election different than others.

Taissa Lytchenko is a grad student at the University of Nevada, Reno, from Ukraine, who survived a difficult childhood, and is now pursuing doctorate studies in brain sciences, while performing as a gogo dancer at night in the Biggest Little City to be able to pay her bills. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.

Taissa Lytchenko worries constantly about Ukraine, but she has to survive in her own journey, here in Reno to pay for mounting bills. She has had to fend for herself since being a teenager in a group home. Now while she pursues a doctorate degree she's a gogo dancer at night. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.

The Ukrainian-Russian war rages on, and for people like Olena Nekrasova, a native Ukrainian living here in Reno, it’s a nerve wracking time for the present and what the future holds. She talks about ordeals faced by her family on the run, local support and difficulties in getting donations into Ukraine. Our reporter for this episode is Matthew Berrey.

While Washoe County has decided to have fewer open meetings about helping the unhoused in our community, Spencer Banda takes the opposite approach, spending as much time as he can to help people struggling. He's a part of several groups doing outreach while also working in after school care. Our reporter Kingkini Sengupta finds out what drives him and how he's able to balance his life while helping so many people.

The peer to peer group at Our Center in Reno provides support for “parents, friends and caregivers of transgender and gender variant youth” on the third Thursday of every month from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. One of the participants is Valerie Lovett who on this episode with reporter Kingkini Sengupta shares her own journey trying to help herself and her child.

Reno is not often considered a home to a vibrant film community. However, one production company Horror Nerd Productions, with almost a dozen films to their credit, is singlehandedly building an indie film community.

“I’ve always been a giant horror nerd,” said Dillon Brown, during a recent interview with Our Town Reno. Having studied English he is a published author but had always wanted to make a film. “I just went for it,” he told us. Listen as he and assistant Jessica Grimaldo explain how they are trying to turn the Biggest Little City into a hotspot for the horror movie genre.

Aaron Sims, an openly gay candidate, accountant for an employers insurance company in Reno and a frequent volunteer for the unhoused, lost a race for Carson City’s mayor position in 2020, and initially launched a campaign for Congress, but then as the puzzle for 2022 became clearer, decided Nevada’s 16th district for Senate was a better race for him. Listen to his interview to find out how he wants to turn housing, education and health as human rights.

Ben Davis has been behind the lens for a long time. His latest project, Reno After Dark, which can be found on Instagram is becoming a living historical document of how Reno is changing. Davis moved to Reno in 2010 for work; however he has always had connections to the Silver State. His family came to Nevada and laid down their roots outside of Ely working at a copper mine. His mom left the state, breaking a multigenerational run, but he returned. He now spends many nights photographing downtown Reno, its people and its signs. This episode is with reporter Richard Bednarski.