UNR

With small businesses needing to make many adjustments to their operations amid COVID-19 restrictions and economic challenges, University of Nevada, Reno Extension is offering town halls this Wednesday to introduce small-business owners to resources available to them.

I’m not a fan of toiling in the heat. I do very little yard work when it’s hot. Sure, I could get up at dawn and garden for a couple of hours or stay up late and work in the yard at sunset, but I rarely do. After our COVID19 spring where I put in long hours doing yard maintenance, I have succumbed to the heat and taken my gardening, such as it is, indoors.

The Brewery Arts Center will deliver live music directly to the citizens of Carson City while practicing social distancing once again this week. Miles Construction Company has generously donated the use of a Flatbed Truck and with financial support from The Change Companies, the Nauman Foundation, and Carson Tahoe Hospital, the BAC is proud to bring you Moxy Ruckus this 4th of July holiday from 6 to 9 p.m. in the neighborhood by Eagle Valley Middle School.

With small businesses reopening and needing to adjust their operations amid COVID-19 restrictions and economic challenges, University of Nevada, Reno Extension is teaming up with the Nevada Small Business Development Center to offer an online town hall this week, “The Nevada SBDC and Business Counseling.”

Look under your fruit trees. You might see dozens of tiny fruit on the ground. Don’t worry; it’s the June drop. Since trees often set more fruit than they can support, each June they shed an abundance of underdeveloped fruit.

Moved by the tragedy of the 2018 Camp Fire, a team of engineers and scientists are coming together in a new 5-year project to develop a comprehensive, holistic, computational live, digital platform to predict and monitor wildfire risk that can be used by wildfire managers, emergency responders and utility companies to plan for, respond to and remediate wildfires.

With small businesses reopening and needing to adjust their operations amid COVID-19 restrictions and economic challenges, University of Nevada, Reno Extension is offering three different online programs this week to help small businesses with specific challenges.


Our landscape is fairly wild, partly because we like it that way for the birds, but also because it simply gets away from me. We love the space of our two and half acres, but sometimes I get discouraged that our yard will never be pristinely groomed. I have to stop and remind myself how much we do accomplish.

With assistance for small businesses related to the pandemic constantly changing, many of Nevada’s small businesses are finding it hard to keep up with what assistance is available, as well as the requirements and how to apply. University of Nevada, Reno Extension is offering a free webinar June 19 to help small-business owners learn about one form of assistance, the Paycheck Protection Plan.

I am fascinated with German bearded irises with their frills, color combinations and scent. I’m also interested in the changes that occur to the flowers after a number of years. I have had deep goldenrod ruffled irises lose their ruffles and fade to a lovely light yellow after years in the same location.

Youth Theatre Carson City is thrilled to announce our upcoming Virtual Summer Workshop Series, held exclusively online over six weeks, June 16 to July 23, 2020 as part of their YTCC@Home initiative.

Youth Theatre Carson City is bringing local experts, home-grown successes, and industry professionals from New York, Los Angeles, Boston and beyond right into your living room covering topics from acting and singing to theatrical design and songwriting to building relationships and becoming a successful professional in the arts.

Featured speaker at Monday's virtual Democratic luncheon will be James E. "Jim" Wilson, Jr., presiding judge for Department II of the First Judicial District Court, which serves Carson City and Storey Counties. First elected in 2008, Judge Wilson was re-elected unopposed in the 2014 primary and was re-elected again running unopposed in this year's primary.

RENO — With many of Nevada’s small businesses now reopened or planning to reopen soon, many of them are experiencing cash flow challenges. University of Nevada, Reno Extension is offering a free webinar June 12 to help small-business owners learn about generating reports related to cash flow, and how to anticipate, and prepare for and manage cash flow fluctuations.

My neighbor Mark, now known as “Chip” after Chip Gaines from “Fixer Upper” on HGTV, acquired his new moniker after building an amazing fence to enclose his wife’s garden (with her help of course!). Since we have major animal challenges in our neighborhood — ground squirrels, rabbits, deer and bears — a strong defense system is essential for successful vegetable production. The impressive garden fence that "Chip" built should keep all the critters out.

As a digital media teacher at Carson High School I asked my students if they wanted to do a year in review video. Nick Baggio, who is an editor for the announcements, and Gianna Johnson, who is an anchor on the daily announcements, jumped right on the project.

The Coronavirus has made many people want to grow their own food. At the Foothill Garden, a partnership with The Greenhouse Project and Carson Tahoe Health, Will Pierz, the garden manager and farmer, is growing some unusual, but hardy edible plants.

In addition to the many adaptations local 4-H programs have made in Nevada communities the last couple of months amid COVID-19 to keep 4-H youth engaged, the Nevada 4-H Youth Development Program has developed a variety of activities to engage 4-H youth throughout the state during the summer months.

Farming and ranching is all around in Northern Nevada, and some of those who are doing it may even be your neighbors.

Donna and Bill Murphy-Sharp have been “micro-farming” on their one acre property in Eastlake, Washoe Valley for many years, and became certified producers of produce in the area in 2011.

Besides needing funds available for small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis, small-business owners need additional support and guidance, as well as opportunities to talk with other small-business owners.

My friend Millie is a plant explorer. She experiments getting groceries to grow. When she told me she was growing celery from the butt-end of what you buy from the grocery store, I was fascinated. How? In water? In soil? She went on to say she also grows sweet potatoes. I had tried that in high school, so that didn’t surprise me. But when she showed me a picture of her sweet potato plant I was impressed.

Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District encompasses the northern part of the silver state including Carson City and the counties Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humbolt, Lander, Pershing, Storey and Washoe, as well as a part of Lyon County.

The district has never sent a Democrat to Washington. However, there are currently seven Democrats vying for the job, opposing Republican incumbent Mark Amodei.

The Carson City School District is pleased to announce six high school seniors (four from Carson High School and two from Pioneer High School) who have shown exceptional academic prowess. The valedictorian and salutatorian honors represent the students who have earned the highest and second highest ranks, respectively, among their graduating class.

I have been a grass warrior lately. Grass persists in exploring and establishing in areas I don’t want it: under shrubs, twined in flowers, out of the edges of the lawn, under the trees, in the field and so on. As a grass warrior, I have employed various attack strategies from hand-digging, weed-whacking and mowing with three different mowers — a riding mower, a small area electric mower, a rough area mower and finally, a tractor.

Rick Shepherd, primary candidate for the House of Representatives, District 2, will be the featured speaker at Monday's virtual Democratic luncheon. A native Nevadan, Rick is UNR educated and has operaed a technology company in Sparks since 2002.

Grocery shopping and produce safety have been concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Desert Farming Initiative, part of the University of Nevada, Reno Experiment Station, provides information to help producers and consumers minimize food-safety risks.

RENO — With wildland fires eating up the forests and rangelands of Nevada each summer, and fire season now upon us, University of Nevada, Reno scientists are examining how drought, climate change and land management will affect future fire activity and how fires can in turn influence plant, soil and hydrologic processes.

Western Nevada College has provided Latino students with the opportunity to attend, thrive and excel academically for a decade. Since its inception, WNC’s Latino Cohort has provided support to more than 500 Latino students, empowering them to earn their associate degree before pursuing a four-year degree or entering Nevada's workforce.

RENO — The tools economists use to measure economic activity to predict economic growth or recession across the U.S. are evolving — especially with the rise of online sales. And now, as the pandemic is shifting consumer habits and straining industries nationwide, the need for a timely sense of economic activity is more vital than ever.

RENO — During the COVID-19 crisis, small-business owners need additional support and guidance, as well as opportunities to talk with other small-business owners. University of Nevada, Reno Extension is offering virtual question-and-answer “Coping With COVID-19 Town Halls” for small businesses every Wednesday, and webinars on specific topics for small businesses every Friday.

The weather is warming up quickly across Nevada, making it a perfect time to enjoy the outdoors. Fitness experts recognize how beneficial physical activity is to mental health, especially in light of the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting outdoors is a great way to get active, synthesize vitamin D with controlled sun exposure, improve memory and concentration and promote a general sense of well being.