Top Reno News Stories for 2009

In April, the Reno Aces, our new Triple-A baseball team, threw the first pitch of their inaugural season in the brand new Aces Stadium in downtown Reno. The team is the Minor League affiliate of the Major League Arizona Diamondbacks. Reno turned out big time to support their new team, surpassing attendance estimates and making the first season a big success. The stadium is beautiful and the games are great family entertainment. The 2010 home game season begins on April 8.

Despite a sucking economy, developers are forging ahead with the Legends at Sparks Marina project. The official grand opening was in June, attended by a raft of local and state politicians, including Governor Jim Gibbons. In addition to the hugh Scheels store that opened in 2008, around 50 shops, restaurants, and night spots had opened by the end of 2009. It's actually a nice place to shop, with Nevada-themed decor all around the center. Hopefully, it will provide a much-needed shot in the economic arm for the Truckee Meadows.

In another step toward making Reno a "green city," all of those energy sucking incandescent bulbs in the famous Reno Arch were replaced with LEDs. The switch was flipped with great fanfare by Reno Mayor Bob Cashell on a chilly November evening. The greening of the Arch is just one in a series of planned and already built energy saving projects around the city, including a solar array on top of the Parking Gallery and wind generators planned the top of Reno City Hall and various other locations.

After 14 years of steering Reno through some big projects like the train trench (RETRAC) and the Truckee River Whitewater Park, Charles McNeely resigned as Reno city manager to take a similar position in San Bernardino, CA. His last official day was May 31. The Reno City Council appointed his chief of staff, Donna Dreska, as interim manager while a search for a permanent replacement was conducted. So far, another manager has not been hired, but it won't be Dreska - after apparently pondering whether to apply, she finally announced that she will not seek the job. McNeely was something of a controversial figure and his leaving brought a few comments from folks around town.

I've been following this story for some time and it isn't getting any better. The Reno City Council started 2009 in a somewhat hopeful mood, hoping the recession would pass soon and all that would be necessary was a moderate amount of belt tightening. That has turned out not to be the case - there has been less money every month and fewer ways to cut expenses. In 2010, it's going to get worse according to every projection I've seen. Here's the latest as of the New Year - Reno Budget Going Down. Get ready for cuts in city service that everyone is really going to notice.

The second week in December brought a huge snow storm to Reno and northern Nevada, the most since the big New Year's dump of 2005. I had close to a foot at my place and there was plenty more in other areas of the Truckee Meadows. Up in the Sierra and around Lake Tahoe, several feet fell, creating winter conditions not seen this early in a long time. Skiers rejoiced and the resorts opened with powdery slopes for the busy holiday season. Following the snow, temperatures plunged to single digits and lower for a week, with daily highs not topping the freezing mark. Toward the end of December, temperatures climbed back above freezing during the day, but at the end of 2009, plenty of snow was still on the ground in Reno.

All that cold air from the December snow and deep freeze created an inversion layer that trapped air pollution and haze over the Truckee Meadows. Washoe County Health issued the first stage one air pollution alert since 1994 and banned all burning throughout the area. The inversion also contributed to the frigid temperatures - for several days, it was way colder in Reno than up at Lake Tahoe. When fresh winds got the air moving again, the inversion broke up and our normal clear blue skies returned.

After years of what was apparently an unhappy marriage and the exchange of numerous accusations, Jim and Dawn Gibbons reached a divorce settlement in the waning hours of 2009. Had an agreement not been reached, a public trial would have ensued in Reno, possibly requiring the governor to reveal details of his finances and to answer questions regarding allegations of infidelity. So the saga ended with a financial and property settlement and no chance for the public to savor the inside stories. What isn't a secret is the damage done to Gibbons' chances of being re-elected in 2010. He isn't exactly popular as it is and this won't help.