🌱 Talkspace/Reno Partnership Ending + Housing Crisis Solutions

Welcome back, Reno! Let's get you all caught up to start this day off on an informed note. Here's everything happening in town today.

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First, today's weather:

A bit of morning snow. High: 39 Low: 15.

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Here are the top 3 stories today in Reno:

1. The partnership between the online therapy platform Talkspace and the City of Reno ends on Dec. 31. Mayor Hillary Schieve said more than 3,000 people used the service and for 48% of them, it was their first time seeking mental health help. It cost the city $1.3 million in CARES Act funds for the subscription making sessions available to any Reno resident for free this past year. The Mayor hopes to transition users to local therapists, as well as to find a way to make these sessions just as accessible and affordable as the Talkspace platform. (KRNV My News 4)
2. Reno officials are preparing initiatives to address the city's affordable housing crisis, including potentially spending their entire allotment of federal pandemic recovery funds on housing. According to City Council member Devon Reese, conversations have included remodeling existing hotels or motels into housing, taxing property owners who hold vacant land, and reopening a recently closed shelter to alleviate overcrowding at a new campus for the unhoused. Reese expects the city of Reno will announce its plans next month. (Reno Gazette Journal)
3. Starting Dec. 15, aha! Airlines will launch service between Spokane International Airport and Reno. The inaugural flight from Spokane is scheduled to take off at 3:15 pm and arrive in Reno two hours later. Aha!, which stands for "air-hotel-adventure," is a new airline from ExpressJet Airlines. (KREM.com)

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From my notebook:

• The Reno County Museum has over 100 old-fashioned salt dough Christmas ornaments for families and children to decorate at Christmas in the Courtyard tonight. (Facebook)
• "Ho Ho Ho: The Santa Claus Chronicles" opens at the Reno Little Theater this weekend. (Facebook)
• The Nevada Humane Society received donations of homemade dog treats from Pantry Products to give to their shelter pups. (Facebook)

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That's it for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with your next update.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.