Around the Arch Blog

Reno Municipal Court is holding a “clean up” day for anyone who has an outstanding ticket or other unresolved issue.

The Court is offering citizens a deal: clean up old warrants, traffic tickets, failures to appear or comply, and other court problems – at a discount, and without being arrested or assessed additional warrant fees.

On Thursday, September 15, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Judge Dorothy Nash Holmes will be available to resolve any case that comes in, no matter how old it is. Most fines will be reduced by 50% (except those set by NRS) and must be paid in full that day by cash or credit card. Spanish-speaking staff will be available to assist people who have limited English proficiency.

No court hearings were scheduled for the “dark” week of September 12-16, so the four judges could attend the annual American Judges Association conference. This year, however, the judges decided not to attend the conference in order to save money.

In an effort to “clean up” thousands of old warrants and unresolved cases, Judge Holmes and staff have volunteered to hold open court on Thursday of that week to resolve any old or non-compliant case presented. “It’s an offer you can’t refuse,” says Judge Holmes.

The City’s Fire Department is hoping to get through this holiday weekend without any fires. Reno Fire Marshal Joan Presley says exploding rifle targets have started several fires in this area in the past six weeks. She is warning residents to avoid using the exploding targets while fire conditions are critical this Labor Day weekend. “The exploding targets are dangerous because when you mix the packet into the target and shoot it with a high powered rifle, it detonates. Although the detonation is a pressure wave explosion which cools immediately, area conditions – low humidity and low moisture content of vegetation – are such that it doesn’t take much to spark a brushfire” says Presley.

The reactive targets, “Star Targets”, are sold locally. They only cause an explosion when they are shot with a high powered rifle.

The Truckee Meadows is in a high fire danger. “By the end of the summer everything is very dry and the area tends to get very windy, which can lead to critical fire conditions.” says Presley. She warns residents to be careful with anything that can start a spark in the outdoors.

Presley also notes that, “If someone accidentally starts a fire they should immediately call 911. Suppression costs are not charged for accidental fire starts,” says Presley.

You do. If you live in Reno, the general fund pays for the streetlights. In the last couple of years, the City has been performing retrofits to lower its energy bills. In May, the energy bill for all city buildings, parks and other facilities was less than the roughly 10,000 streetlights in the City. Should the City look to reduce the number of streetlights?

Look up next time you are at a stop light. In February 2010, the Nevada State Office of Energy started a streetlight retrofit program with funds from ARRA. The City of Reno was awarded $568,700 to retrofit the streetlights above 1/3 of its intersections. The streetlights will save 1,997,766 kWh per year and save the City’s general fund at least $195,816 per year.

The City of Reno Renewable Energy & Energy Efficency Initiative continues to reap benefits. This year the City used 16, 145,851 kWh. That is down from the 17, 502,179 kWh used last year and well below the 2003-2008 average of 20,605,596 kWh. That is a 22% reduction and we haven’t finished the energy retrofits or installing all of the solar photovoltaics.

Reno is hosting the National Geothermal Energy Summit on Aug. 16-17. Actually, we’re co-sponsoring the event because we feel strongly that Reno is one of the most important geothermal energy centers.

When we say ‘geothermal energy’, we mean all the energy generated by the natural heat of the earth. And Reno is definitely a hotspot!

Each July the City of Reno celebrates Parks and Recreation Month by offering free activities. This year, free swimming will be hosted at Traner Pool on Saturday, July 16th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Traner Swimming Pool is located at 1600 Carville Drive, Reno. For more information, please call (775) 334.2269 or visit reno.gov/parksandrec.

The City of Reno Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department’s Summer Program Brochure is now available! 

You can also download a copy at reno.gov or pick one up at any Reno recreation or administrative facility. Because the brochure is packed with 40 pages of information, the download file is about 7MB.

Mission Statement
To provide excellent parks, recreation, and cultural opportunities which enhance the quality of life within the Reno community.