Scott Schrantz's Blog

Today the Appeal has an article on the Keeley Institute in Carson City, which was a branch of a nationwide chain that promised to cure alcoholism by injecting mystery chemicals into your body. There's also a look ahead to next week's Victorian Christmas Tour, where several west side historic homes open their doors to visitors. The tour is Sunday, Dec. 14 from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets can be had at the Foreman-Roberts House Museum and other locations for $12.

Dullard Mush reports that the Reno Gazette Journal is going through a round of layoffs and downsizing. The big impact for us down south here is that the RGJ will be ceasing publication of their Douglas Times paper. The Douglas Times was a free weekly that the RGJ started a year ago or so, after finding success with the similar Carson Times. Both of these papers are published every Friday and can be had for free in locations all over their respective towns. Both are mostly repackaging of the Carson- and Douglas-specific local content they are already creating. This announcement doesn't say if it means they'll be cutting down on their Douglas County coverage, or if it's just a cost-saving measure to not have to print the Douglas Times every week. They're also shutting down a printing plant in Carson City, but as far as I can tell the Carson Times isn't going anywhere.

Photo by Flickr user RenoTahoe
Photo by RenoTahoe at Flickr

Reno yesterday celebrated the grand opening of the West Street Market. The market is sort of a permanent farmer's market, with bars and eateries in the mix; kind of a mini version of Seattle's Pike Place market. The market was built this year out of a couple of buildings and a courtyard a block away from the river, and it represents an exciting movement to make an area of downtown into a destination. The businesses that spring up in the market can then take advantage of that destination status. This is something that Carson City doesn't have, but desperately needs. This summer we had a good beginning with the Curry Street Promenade, but that by nature was just an ephemeral thing, focused around the Saturday farmer's markets. But there still aren't any real destination spots in downtown Carson, and for the revitalization of downtown to be a success, that's what we're going to need.

The Reno bloggers have done a great job of covering the West Street Market. Downtown Makeover has a slideshow, as does ecoBrand. Ken of The Urban Blog was down from Seattle and wrote a report on the opening. The Reno-Tahoe Blog looks at the opening, and the RGJ wrote a story about it.

The Kremer Lights are back, and better than ever! Long-time readers may remember me writing about this light display in the Carson Valley back in 2005 and 2006. The Kremer family has put together one of the best Christmas light displays in the region. Not only is it an elaborate display, with a steel mega tree, several smaller trees, candy canes, cartoon dogs, and new this year an eight-foot wreath, but it's also all animated and set to music. They have a 20-minute show that runs continuously all night, and the lights dance and flash, choreographed in time with the music. And while this kind of thing is easy to do technically (with Light-O-Rama equipment), there is an artistry at work in the Kremer display that is sometimes lacking in other similar shows.

Here's a sample of one song from the 2005 show to give you a taste.

He took 2007 off, but promised to be back in 2008 with a new surprises. And he sure is. This year the new big thing is a video screen, right in the center of the giant wreath. For each of the songs in the show, he has created a music video that plays on the screen while the lights are dancing all around. Sometimes the video is a big part of the show, sometime it just fades into the background. But it's a fantastic addition to something that was already incredible.

Luckily the Kremers live on a cul-de-sac, so when the show is running their whole street turns into a drive-in movie theater. Cars are lined up side-by-side all the way across the street, sometimes two or three rows deep, to watch. Their neighbors probably have a nightmare trying to get out of their driveway, and backing out of there when you're ready to leave can be tricky without hitting anything, but having so many other cars there enhances the feeling that you're in a theater, with an audience, watching a performance. That's not something you usually get just looking at Christmas lights.

Now, the crowds are usually bad enough as it is, but I urge everyone reading this to set aside one night this month to drive out to Stephanie Way, in the Carson Valley, and see the lights. The house is in the Johnson Lane area, and the address is 1176 Chaparral Court. You can find directions here, or just look at the embedded map below.

Their official website is www.nevadachristmas.com, where you can find hours, videos, and more information on how it works. Plus you can read the interview I did with Wayne Kremer in 2006. They're also again this year collecting food and money for the Carson Valley Community Food Closet, so if you come bring a can or two of non-perishable food or a few bucks for the mailbox. The lights run until New Year's, so you better get out there and watch them!

It's an early Christmas in the Max Baer Jr household. After an entire year of wrangling and arguing and appealing, Max and the Douglas County Commission finally came to a compromise that everyone could agree on in regard to the sign for the Beverly Hillbillies Casino. The news so far has been a continuing series of denials by the county, as first Jethro came to them wanting a 200-foot sign, then started chopping it down in increments. Finally this week they hit on the magic number, 90 feet, with 600 square feet of signage. That was the magic spot for the commission to finally say yes and approve the damn thing.

Now it's time to get building. Work on Riverwood has already been going on right next door, so let's see Jethro finally put in some money to back up his mouth and get a few bulldozers on the site.

The Virginia & Truckee Commission seems to finally be coming to their senses a little, and realizing that they need to work with the Gray family, who owns the current V&T operation in Virginia City, not against them. It's always been the most obvious thing in the world to have the V&T that now runs from Virginia City to Gold Hill just continue on the new track that's being built all the way down to Carson City. But the Commission seemingly has been against that idea from the start, first by buying their own locomotive, then by choosing Sierra Railroad to be the operator of the new V&T, then by threatening to take the current V&T's tracks by eminent domain. This, of course, is lunacy, and the first hints that maybe the Commission is changing their minds seem to be shining through.

This story details how the Commission is considering extending the first olive branch by letting the Grays run regular excursions on the new track next year. Which of course is the only logical thing to do, but the fact that this announcement is news says a lot about the Commission. Maybe they're finally starting to realize that keeping the local operator in place, the one that's been running a successful train business in Nevada for over 30 years, is better than bringing in an outside company to do it. And that actually running regular trains on their new track is better than letting it sit and rust and grow weeds.

Sierra Railroad, of course, is pissed about this, but I think the best thing for the Commission to do would be to kick them to the curb, and fast.

Last night I went to the Carson City "Silver and Snowflake" Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Capitol. There was quite a big crowd of people, filling up the lawn in front of the Capitol Building to watch the governor flip the switch and turn on the official state Christmas trees. Yes, there are two trees, because the big one is due to be retired one of these years.

Choir on the Capitol steps

The "new" state tree.

The festivities included music by the 5th grade choir, appearances by Miss Nevada, Governor Jim, Mayor Marv, and of course Santa Claus arriving in his Model T. His chauffeur for the evening was Beauregard the golden retriever.

Santa's Model T

Santa

Beauregard

Santa makes his getaway

After the ceremony at the Capitol, about 20% of the crowd headed over to the First Presbyterian Church for the lighting of the city Christmas tree. Mayor Marv made a few more remarks here, then lit the tree.

Mayor Marv

The city tree

And then, after that, what little entourage was left made its way down to the Nugget's West Parking Lot, which for the holidays has been rechristened Arlington Square. There the city's new ice rink held its opening night, and quite a crowd turned out to skate under the watchful eye of Cactus Jack's Senator. The Nevada Appeal has a story on the opening of the ice rink.

Arlington Square, former site of the Arlington Hotel.

The brand new ice rink

Skaters

In all it was a fun, if cold, night, and it really marks the start of the holiday season as now all of downtown is lit up. Here are few more pictures from around town last night.

The Capitol with the old tree on the right. This tree was planted by George W. G. Ferris, Sr in 1876, and in 1937 designated the state tree.

Frosty stands guard

Willow Bill's Reindeer

The base of the state tree, with the Capitol in the background.

City Hall gets in on the act.

Free buggy rides

To see more, stop by Flickr.

I got a tip from a reader that the owner of A Syncon Home, who is hopping mad over construction defects in his new house, had put up Christmas decorations. I swung through Minden today, and indeed he did.

Santa says... since Syncon gave us a lemon make lemonade!

Sanata's penguins ask you to visit us at www.asynconhome.info.

Frosty says: Some geese lay a golden egg but Syncon laid our lemon house.

The Christmas lemons.

Supposedly there is more to be seen at night. I'll have to go by after dark and see, maybe after the Parade of Lights on Saturday.

All through the Thanksgiving holiday we kept noticing the folks standing on street corners all over town, advertising the final days of the Carson City Mervyn's. In the last days the signs started proclaiming "All Items Under $12.99!" And the prices dropped, to $10, $5, and finally $2, so we knew we had to stop by. We went in on Saturday, not knowing at the time that it was the store's last day, but the signs out front saying it was the "Last 1 Days!" clued us in.

So I brought my camera in and took as many pictures as I could until the manager came by and said, "You can't take pictures in here, buddy." So we left, partly to get away from the cloud of B.O. trailing behind the manager, but mostly because all the $2.00 merchandise left was ugly as sin and we didn't find anything we wanted to buy.

So here, then is the final record of Mervyn's in Carson City.

Just for old times, here are a couple of pictures from the "good days", before the closeout started.

More pictures, of course, at Flickr.

Work has started on the Sportsman's Warehouse next door to the new Burlington Coat Factory. If you remember, this site used to be taken up by the south half of the old Wal*Mart building, which was demolished while the north half was remodeled into Burlington. Now they're putting the cinder block walls back up that they tore down only months ago. I'm guessing that the size and configuration of the store is going to be different than the old Wal*Mart space, otherwise, why go to all the trouble of demolition?