Business and Economy

Lawmakers are inching closer toward a tax package today aimed at luring electric carmaker Faraday Future to North Las Vegas.  One key component to the package is a revamped workforce development program.

Reno Public Radio’s Julia Ritchey is in Carson City with the latest.

While top lawmakers have been working all Friday to resolve some sticky water rights issues, the assembly has had the even less sexy task of tackling workforce development.

No deal has emerged yet as lawmakers enter their third day negotiating a deal to bring electric carmaker Faraday Future to Clark County. 

While state officials say the plant would kick-start development in a hard-hit area, lawmakers have several issues they want ironed out.

Our reporter Julia Ritchey has been camped out in Carson City and has the latest.

Many lawmakers predict the tax incentive package will eventually pass, though they're less certain of when.

State officials spent Thursday trying to sell lawmakers on a bill that would lure electric carmaker Faraday Future to southern Nevada with more than $200 million in tax incentives. Reno Public Radio’s Julia Ritchey is in Carson City and has more.

Lawmakers spent last night studying two bills aimed at sealing the deal with Faraday, which is planning a $1 billion plant to recession-battered North Las Vegas.

Nevada lawmakers will soon decide whether to grant extensive tax breaks for electric car company Faraday Future, which is planning a $1 billion factory near Las Vegas. Their special session kicked off Wednesday night and comes just a year after rival carmaker Tesla was lured to the state with its own lucrative incentives. 

Reno Public Radio's Julia Ritchey is in Carson City and tells us that many legislators have serious questions about the deal.

In the next two decades, the City of Sparks is expected to grow from about 93,000 residents to 120,000, which makes it a really good time to update the city's master plan. Reno Public Radio's Michelle Bliss has the details.

The master plan will shape a uniform vision on maintaining and improving critical services like transportation, public safety, and utilities. Some components of the current plan haven't been updated in 25 years, and a lot's changed in that time

Reno City Council is considering outside legal review on its franchise agreement with Waste Management. It's a messy situation right now with council members criticizing the company on multiple fronts.

There's also a lawsuit, filed by a competing company, that's in litigation now.

All this week, Reno Public Radio has been examining overcrowding in Washoe County Schools for our series Bursting At The Seams. So far, we've talked a lot about the problem; we turn now to one possible solution: a potential ballot question that would ask voters to approve tax hikes for school infrastructure.

To learn more about that uphill battle, our News Director Michelle Bliss spoke to Tray Abney. He's with the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, which sits on the local committee in charge of that ballot question. 

A local business that aims to be the world’s largest milk bank won what’s called the InnovateHer startup pitch competition in Reno last month. 

InnovateHer is a national competition, sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Association, for businesses that have a meaningful impact on women and families. 

Co-working spaces are usually devoted to tech startups, but The Design Hub, in MidTown Reno, is different. 

Local graphic designer Pattie Sennert opened The Design Hub earlier this year when she realized there was a need for salon workers to have easy access to space.

“We rent space by day, week, and month to cosmo students who are just out of school, or people who are in between things, or just moved to the area and don’t know where to go yet.”

The outdoor industry is increasingly bucking the Black Friday trend. We caught up with one local company to find out more.

On Black Friday, in 2011, outdoor retailer Patagonia took out a different sort of ad. Running a full page, with a photo of a Patagonia jacket, it read "Don't Buy This Jacket." The accompanying paragraph explained Patagonia's anti-consumption stance, but ironically the campaign sent the company's sales through the roof.

It also sparked something of a trend in the outdoor industry.

As part of our look this month at female entrepreneurship in the Reno-Tahoe area, Reno Public Radio's Amy Westervelt sat down with Lauren Klein, CEO of Girlmade. Girlmade hosts various events and workshops around the area aimed at creating a network of support for female entrepreneurs. The company also hosts the annual Girl Empire event, which brings together local middle and high school girls with successful female entrepreneurs for a day of mentorship and skills building.   

As the startup boom gains steam in Reno, some female business leaders are working to ensure that women-led businesses are an important part of the scene. Reno Public Radio's Amy Westervelt joined them at a recent networking event to find out more.

“So thank you for being here and what we’ll go ahead and get started is have each of you introduce yourself, tell us what you’ve been up to since the last brekkie, and also ask for help. So what can we do to help you with an event, a product, service or endeavor so that you can play big?”

A controversial development plan goes to the Truckee Planning Commission Monday. Reno Public Radio's Amy Westervelt has more.

Canyon Springs, a 203-home development, has been on the books in Truckee for close to 30 years now, but is moving closer to reality than it’s ever been. The development’s final environmental impact report – or EIR -- will be presented to the Truckee Planning Commission during an unprecedented two-day hearing.

The Reno-Tahoe International Airport’s reach got bigger today due to the addition of a new non-stop flight to Boise, Idaho. Reno Public Radio’s Marcus Lavergne reports.

Alaska Airline’s sister carrier, Horizon Air, will now fly passengers back and forth from Reno to Boise on a 76-seater aircraft.

Airport officials celebrated yesterday’s opening with a dance battle between the University of Nevada, Reno’s mascot, Wolfie, and Boise State University’s Buster Bronco.

Cryotherapy is under new scrutiny in the state after a Las Vegas spa employee was found dead last month in a chamber chilled by liquid nitrogen. Reno Public Radio’s Marcus Lavergne reports that Nevada officials are expanding their oversight of the industry.

The controversial treatment involves entering a chamber and spending two to four minutes in temperatures ranging from minus-166 to minus -319 degrees Fahrenheit. Supporters say the procedure can treat pain, inflammation, blood flow, weight loss and even ward off aging and depression.

  One of Nevada's tribal reservations is diving into the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry. Reno Public Radio’s Julia Ritchey reports.

The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe of Nevada and Oregon are planning to open a medical cannabis cultivation facility, and there’s only one reason why…

“Jobs…”

That’s tribal chairman Tildon Smart.

“…to bring our people out of poverty, to create the jobs that we can better our community. And the profits would be used for helping out with programs.”

A national startup competition is coming to Reno next month. Reno Public Radio’s Amy Westervelt reports that its goal is to support businesses that benefit women and families.

Hundreds of companies throughout the country are pitching their businesses at dozens of local events next month for a new competition called InnovateHER.