Photo Courtesy of Van Woert Bigotti Architects

Parents of middle schoolers rejoice! The opening of the new Marce Herz Middle School (MHMS) will be a huge boon for our community.

Students from the South Reno neighborhoods of ArrowCreek, Montreux, Saddlehorn, Fieldcreek, Mount Rose, Galena Forest and St. James Estates currently have to make the trek 10+ miles to Pine Middle School, which is located near Meadowood Mall off Neil Road. With the first bell at 7:20am, those students taking district transportation often have to hop on the bus as early as 6:30am. In the winter months, this means waiting for the bus before the sun even comes up.  

When MHMS opens this August 2020, it’ll be in a much better centralized location. Situated at 13455 Thomas

Lake Tahoe ski resorts have extended their operations well into the spring following record snowfall in February.

Skiers and riders rejoice! More than 50 feet of snow has fallen so far this season and the mountains could even get a bit more. An extended season has been announced by the area’s resorts, which means more bang for your buck for season pass-holders.

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows will operate lifts in Squaw through July 7, which is just 8 days shy of their latest closing date ever on July 15, 2017. Last year, Squaw closed following Memorial Day weekend. Alpine Meadows will operate into May with its schedule dependent on both weather and the construction of a high-speed chair lift that will replace Hot Wheels.

The serious

The old Galena Lodge welcomes a trio of brand-new businesses, the perfect pit stops before or apres ski!

For 30+ years, the Alpine lodge on Mount Rose Highway was home to restaurants. You’ll find the quaint location just a few minutes beyond Montreux, in the Galena Forest area as the road rises towards Lake Tahoe. The Galena Forest Inn was built and opened in the lodge in 1983 by Reno culinary figures Gaudenz Derungs and Walter Zahnd. Julius Weiss, another Reno chef, bought the restaurant in 1988 and ran it for a decade before it was purchased by Craig Cunningham, another longtime local restauranteur. Later in 2005, Sierra Solitaire set up and wasn’t around for long. The Lodge at Galena followed and was open until 2013.

After five years of

Reno is a unique city because it perfectly captures the mix of big-city attractions and a small-town vibe. A lot has changed in the last few years and there is a new vibe of re-energized ways to eat, drink and play. Here’s our suggestion for a 24-hour, fun-filled adventure.

Saturday afternoon

Kick off at the Grand Sierra Resort with their ice skating rink near the resort pool. Hit the ice with your skates, then grab some apres-skate hot chocolate and s’mores from the bar. You can head inside to warm up, or get toasty by one of the firepits. If you’d rather stay inside, they have tons of great options – bowling, laser tag, an arcade, indoor golf and more.

Saturday evening

Now it’s time for dinner! Reno’s Riverwalk is a great place for a

The U.S. Census Bureau recorded about 45,000 people who left the Bay Area from July 2016 to July 2017.

Many of these folks are making Reno their home. Why? The Reno Gazette Journal interviewed five Golden State transplants about why they were attracted to our area. They all work for tech startups and our quality of life was a major motivation to relocate. Many have been familiar with our region for years and witnessed the city’s RENOvation and improvement after the recession when some of the biggest tech names in the game came to the area.

Here are their stories.

Lindsey Dal Porto

Head of Talent, Bombora

A transplant from the Bay Area, Dal Porto couldn’t wait to escape her stressful lifestyle.

"A lot of people who work in San

Outside Magazine listed Reno as one of its “25 of America’s Best Towns Ever”.

The popular publication is focused on the outdoors and included Seattle, Kansas City, Bend, Austin, Boise, Kona and Fort Collins in the list. Reno was listed as the “best low-key hideout” in America.

Outside Magazine quoted: “Reno is home to the world’s tallest climbing wall (164 feet at BaseCamp, located at the Whitney Peak Hotel), year-round desert mountain biking, a half-mile long downtown whitewater-kayaking park and the 55-degree chutes at Mount Rose Ski Resort, just 25 minutes uphill from the slot machines.”

Here are some of our favorite things about living in Reno.

Water, Water, Water!

Not only is Reno incredibly close to Lake Tahoe (only a 20-minute

Lake Tahoe got so much snow, people are talking about skiing all summer into next season.

Andy Wirth, CEO of Squaw Valley, has proposed that the resort stay open through the Fourth of July weekend – if not all the way into the 2017-18 winter season. After the most snow in more than 20 years, some of the Lake’s ski resorts saw more 700 inches of snowfall.

“I’ll drop something on you that you may not be expecting,” Wirth told Truckee Tahoe Radio on April 15. “We are actually considering staying open through the summer and fall so it becomes the ’16-17-18 season. We’re taking a hard look at that. Maybe we spin Shirley [a lift on the mountain’s back side] through the summer, ‘cause there’s so much snow up there.”

August skiing at Squaw is

Lake Tahoe is enjoying the largest snowpack in 22 years.

Experts say that the snow will last until mid-summer and several of the local ski resorts are extending their season into June – some even to the Fourth of July. This translates to excellent spring conditions and dual days, the term used to describe weather perfect for multiple activities.

Ski in the morning and go kayaking or hiking in the afternoon. While you’re at it, don’t forget to stop at the area’s best and newest restaurants and bars.

North Lake

Mount Rose Ski Tahoe has the most snow in North America with 700 inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service. That equates to the height of the Yerba Buena Tunnel on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Their

Spring is just around the corner and that means hiking is back.

Reno-Tahoe is home to many different landscapes, from high desert flatland to alpine elevations. The warmer weather this spring season is a perfect time to explore the many hiking options that abound in the area.

Image courtesy of RGJ

Hunter Creek Trail

Hunter Creek’s main trail is 5.2 miles long and has an elevation gain of 1,784 feet starting in the high desert just overlooking the heart of Reno and leading you high up into the trees. End this moderate hike at a pristine waterfall and let the icy droplets cool you down after the sunny trek. The trail does allow dogs and horses. If you don’t feel like following the main trail right up the mountain, cut off to the north and

The snowpack of Lake Tahoe is reaching record-breaking numbers.

In just 5 days, Lake Tahoe saw 8 feet of snow. At 7,000 feet, meteorologists say that 237 inches have fallen this month alone. This beats the 1973 record of 159 inches of snow that fell in ALL of January that year. Overall, the snowpack at this elevation has gotten 80% of the season average. Since we’re only 43% of the way through the ski season, snow enthusiasts are excited.

There’s even more snow at higher elevations and the legendary ski resorts that surround the lake on all sides. So far this winter, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is boasting over 461 inches of snow. The average snow that Mt. Rose sees in a season is typically around 350 inches. The resort lies at a base elevation of 8,260