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Okay, now there's a post

 
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Can downtown Reno be saved?
Yes, if the city would take it seriously.
42%
 42%  [ 3 ]
No, nobody has given a *&%$ before, why should they now??
14%
 14%  [ 1 ]
Anything's possible/Wait and see
28%
 28%  [ 2 ]
Hope and spare change, anyone?
14%
 14%  [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 7

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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Mar Thu 12, 2009 11:43 am    Post subject: Okay, now there's a post Reply with quote

I could have sworn we had material in here, but the main menu says "No Posts" - so it has apparently fallen on me to name the current worst, which would be...drumroll, please....the downtown.

I have long been a huge fan of Reno, and even the downtown, even as it began its precarious slide into the dismal state it occupies today. My Hope-and-change mantra for the downtown has come to naught, as commerce as well as government have essentially bailed on the area. Very sad, but what can one do? Unless the city takes the whole thing more seriously, it will sink into a state of irreperable decline. Yes, the train trench was much needed, and well done - but it was so long in coming that it was really too late once it arrived.

Reno, please stop allowing this degradation and decay - put in more foot patrols, discourage loitering and panhandling, and take the whole thing more seriously, for crying out loud!

Thus end's today's lamentation.
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jerry



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 759

PostPosted: Mar Thu 12, 2009 1:59 pm    Post subject: Tho change is good for the soul, it is better for the pocket Reply with quote

I voted for spare change cause I always need a bit more whilst in reno.
I even have been propositioned at the Eldo bar by front door.

The only thing I go downtown for now is the Eldo. Pretty sad.
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remano



Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 717

PostPosted: Mar Sat 14, 2009 11:05 am    Post subject: Re: Okay, now there's a post Reply with quote

stan_allen wrote:
...the current worst, which would be...drumroll, please....the downtown.]

Stan,

I realize you're stating your opinion here and I appreciate your input, but if the downtown is the worst Reno has to offer then we're in pretty good shape. Yes, it has changed from what it used to be but it still beats most other cities in the nation, in my biased opinion. Downtown still has a solid casino base, more entertainment than you will find in any other comparably sized city and enough restaurants so you could eat at a different place each day for a month and not repeat yourself. Despite the appearance I still feel safe downtown with a little common sense, which I couldn't say about, say, Chicago. The last time we were there, the doorman at the blues bar we visited wouldn't even let us leave the building until there was a cab for us out front. Reno isn't even close to that point.

[... as commerce as well as government have essentially bailed on the area.]

Not to mention the West Street Market, which opened last Fall with 6 new stores and restaurants renovating some older buildings, and many more committed to the outdoor spaces in the courtyard once the summer season gets going, the whitewater park which looks like it will be expanded, the former Mapes plaza/rink on the river which is still in the process of developing retail and restaurants, the post office renewal, the AAA ballpark which is on schedule to open next month, the 3 new nightclubs and 3 new restaurants associated with the ballpark which the City Council just made possible with new financing, the planned entertainment district around the ballpark including the Freight House, the new non-gaming Hyatt hotel scheduled to break ground next month, the new Events Center and new Ballroom, moving the bus plaza to the East which will open up an entire block for development, the train trench plaza which you mention and which has yet to experience its first summer season, and a few other projects which are more speculative but hardly "bailed on." For details see www.downtownmakeover.com

[...put in more foot patrols, discourage loitering and panhandling,


I can't dispute this point. The problem is that America is a free country, and people are free to be bums as long as they only annoy but do not harm other people. But, as I have said here before, do not complain about Reno until you have spent a week in San Francisco, a city I love to visit but which has a homeless/panhandler population that makes Reno look like Disneyland. Heck (strong language from me), we like to go to Ashland, Oregon for their Shakespeare Festival, a lovely town of just under 20,000 people surrounded by beautiful mountains, with great restaurants and the theater productions are first rate and include modern plays in addition to Shakesteare (aside: it's worth the trip). But, when we go to the beautiful riverside municipal park for a walk, guess what?.... we are accosted by bums and panhandlers, in this small, idyllic town.

So if that's the worst of Reno, I say ALLRIGHT!!!

End of rant.....
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Mar Mon 16, 2009 12:24 pm    Post subject: I'm taking off my legal briefs so you can kiss my rebuttal Reply with quote

All points are very well taken, and I'm really glad to see a proponent of optimism - if this were a debating society, I'd have my hands full trying to offer a rebuttal to that laundry list of good projects.

As a follow-up, I would have to counter the notion that Reno is in good shape when compared to other major cities. San Francisco in particular is such a flagrant example of totally over-the-top obnoxiousness when it comes to bums and panhandlers, that saying another city is better than it is hardly saying anything at all. I have run out of patience with bums (which is why I use that term rather than the warm-and-fuzzy "Homeless"), and as such, my views are appropriately slanted.

But it is true that there is much good to be said about other projects in the area, and that pont is well taken.

Thanks for attempting to counter my cynicism!
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jjwmobey



Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Mar Tue 17, 2009 5:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its kinda funny the sidewalks are nice now. The train is no longer an issue, and the casinos are mostly closed. People in the Portland area went to Reno to gamble, not visit a whitewater park or a minor league baseball park. The Oregonian newspaper had a 2 page ad for Reno every week for years. It stopped in the late 90's. If Reno wants to be a tourist town open up those vacant buildings and get some gaming going. Be the anti vegas with free rooms, cheap food, and good comps. No more 6/5 on blackjack and tight slots. How about some cocktail service and enough slot personel so it doesnt take 30min when a machine malfunctions or you need a hand pay.

And lastly, why are these people closing casinos and building condos. Reno has a small downtown surrounded by a large combat zone. Just because you build them dosent mean the yuppies will come plop down a couple 100k. The fact that the Reno mayor and his son havent been investigated amazes me.

Ok thats my Reno rant. I feel better now. Hope to see you all this weekend at the Eldorado for the saturday night fever casino royale 100,000 all cash giveaway
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Mar Tue 17, 2009 10:20 am    Post subject: The Prosecution rests - at the Fireside Lounge! Reply with quote

And there's the rebuttal. It's the glory days I miss, with its proliferation of downtown casinos, large and small, and the ascendancy of Reno to premier gaming destination for the region, especially when compared to Vegas's bloated, scattershot, non-gaming centric, hyper-development.

And those who laugh at my notion of the "Glory Days" have the better argument, as apparently the mini-boom of the 90's that I lament was itself far inferior to the pre-Harrah's era - but I would take the 90's deal any day over what we have now.

Come back, gaming!
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hawk



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 508

PostPosted: Sep Sat 21, 2013 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

eldo is the only game for me downtown. I don't even walk thru the others.
I may donate a few bucks to them in the very near future.
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Sep Mon 23, 2013 11:29 am    Post subject: It's a winning hand... Reply with quote

And a fine choice it is, though I'll still take the walk down to Cal-Neva for my Blackjackery, as I see naught but "Stupid Single Deck", er, I mean, "Super Single Deck" at the Leg-Eldo-Circus triumvirate of crummy Blackjack.

But keep those gaming dollars coming into Reno! Looking back on this thread, I can see a pretty despondent version of myself, and I would actually argue that the downtown is looking better than it did at the time I wrote it - maybe that means even the bums have given up on Reno, but I can't deny that my wishes to some extent came true - I guess I should acknowledge that sometimes these rolls of the dice come out in our favor.
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