Here are your local news headlines for the morning of Thursday, June 10, 2021.
Median Sale Prices For Reno/Sparks Homes On The Rise
By Isaac Hoops
Housing prices in the Truckee Meadows have reached a new all-time high. The latest data from the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors show the median price for an existing single-family home in the Reno/Sparks market is more than $500,000. In Reno, the median price is closer to $550,000.
That’s based on May’s home prices, which are roughly 29% more than this time last year. Realtors say a lack of inventory continues to drive the increase.
Housing Study Being Conducted To Address The Needs Of Incline Village And Crystal Bay Residents
By Isaac Hoops
A study is underway to understand the housing needs and concerns of Incline Village and Crystal Bay residents. It’s the last section of Lake Tahoe to get a housing analysis. The Washoe-Tahoe Housing Partnership says information from an online survey will help define and address housing needs in the area.
Rise Of Accidental Overdoses In Nevada
By Isaac Hoops
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is urging residents to avoid taking pills that do not come from a pharmacy. That's because between 2019 and 2020, Nevada experienced a 37% increase in accidental overdose deaths, according to the newest info released by the Nevada Overdose Data to Action program, and last year, the number of overdoses related to the opioid, fentanyl, nearly tripled.
Health officials say fatal overdoses are avoidable in Nevada, because Naloxone can be obtained without a prescription. Naloxone is a medicine that quickly reverses opioid overdose.
Nevada’s Good Samaritan Overdose Law protects individuals from prosecution for many narcotic-related offenses when seeking medical assistance for a drug-related emergency.
Reno City Worker Attacked During Outreach Operation
By Isaac Hoops
A City of Reno employee was attacked Wednesday while conducting outreach for houseless individuals. A man holding a metal pipe and a two-foot-long machete charged at the worker. The suspect is 29-year-old Reno resident Cristian Arana-Godoy.
Once police arrived, the suspect threatened them as well before running back to his encampment. After an hour-long negotiation, he surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody. The status of the city worker is currently unknown.
Vaccine Hesitancy Remains Key Concern In Mountain West
By Robyn Vincent, Mountain West News Bureau
Nationwide, 42% of people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In the Mountain West, New Mexico and Colorado are a few points ahead of that. Other states in our region sit in the 30% range.
Sean O’Leary studies infectious diseases at University of Colorado. He points to the role the media can play in vaccine hesitancy. He cited a newspaper article from several years ago that equated the view of a scientist with that of an anti-vaxxer.
"That’s a real problem that we see to this day, quoting the scientists and then quoting, say, a parent who’s anti-vaccine, and many parents are going to be much more likely to identify with the parent than they are with the scientist," O'Leary said.
O’Leary wants parents who are on the fence about getting the shot to follow public health recommendations, but that’s a battle, he said, because in recent years people have increasingly conflated science with opinion.
Nevada Supreme Court Denies Defense Motion In Guzman Case
By Isaac Hoops
The Nevada Supreme Court has denied an appeal to delay the murder trial of Wilber Ernesto Guzman. The 20-year-old is accused of killing four people in Northern Nevada in early 2019.
Lawyers for Guzman wanted more time to prove he is intellectually disabled. In Nevada, those who are intellectually disabled cannot face the death penalty. Guzman’s trial is slated for September.
