July 24, 2022 • 30 mins
A man in a chicken outfit was recently protesting at U.S. Congressman Mark Amodei’s Reno office. He was one of about 20 who gathered in protest of an amendment by Amodei to the defense authorization bill in Congress.
The protesters said more than 350,000 acres transferred from federal ownership would devastate wildlife habitat and amount to a land and water grab. In this episode show we hear from some of those protesting – as well as from the Congressman.
We also hear from Dayo McIntosh, who brought her new business to Reno. Yateo, the business, features beauty products and a robot that blends essential oils.
Reno City Manager Doug Thornley joins us to answer questions about the Virginia Street bike and micro-mobility project. There have been a number of questions and allegations about how the Virginia Street micro mobility changes came to be in recent months. Bike advocates for years have been pushing for similar bike amenities on Center Street, one block to the east. Thornley tells us what’s next for the project.
Listen to This Is Reno radio on KWNK 97.7 Community Radio on Sunday mornings.
Sponsor: Truckee Meadows Water Authority is a podcast sponsor of ThisIsReno in support of locally focused journalism and to promote conservation in our community. To view summertime watering days and other important water resource management topics visit smartaboutwater.com.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:01):
Also this bill authorizes the Dixie Valley
Water grab. And my organizationhas been fighting to protect the
Dixie Valley Toad for fiveyears. We're currently in court
trying to fight to save theDixie Valley toad and this Dixie
Valley Water grab would suck.
The aquifer of Dixie Valley dry,Potentially driving the Dixie
Valley towed to extinction.
A man in a chicken outfit wasrecently protesting at US
(00:24):
Congressman Mark Amadeus Renooffice. He was one of about 20
protesters speaking out about anamendment by Amadeus to the
defense authorization bill inCongress. The protesters said
that more than 350,000 acrestransferred from federal
ownership would devastatewildlife habitat and amount to a
(00:44):
land and water grab.
Are we going to suffer fromamnesia about the history? Let's
talk about where we've been. Andlet's talk about where we're
going.
In today's show, we hear fromsome of those protesting as well
as the congressman. We also hearfrom Reno city manager on the
Virginia street bike track andfrom a new business in Reno with
(01:08):
a robot that blends essentialoils. With this week in Reno
news I am your host Bob Conradwith this is reno.com.
(01:30):
First a note from our sponsor,Truckee Meadows Water Authority
is a podcast sponsor of the thisis radio show in support of
locally focused journalism andto promote conservation in our
community to view summertimewatering days and other
important water resourcemanagement topics. Visit smart
about water.com.
(02:00):
Yes, so I found it yet, so aboutfive years ago. Yes, so means
exceptional, and we're very muchabout empowering people to
embrace the authenticity andinvest in their well being.
This is dyo Mackintosh, whorecently moved to Reno. I met
her at the Midtown Artwalk inearly July, after seeing and
(02:23):
smelling what her business hasto offer. I also witnessed her
robot Addy inaction,we believe that there's no one
size fits all when it comes tobeauty and wellness. And so we
have a platform that encouragespeople to fully invest in in
their individuality and how thatpertains to wellness and
personal care in general. Thename is derived from the Yoruba
(02:46):
tribe in Nigeria. And so that'sjust just like an overview, a
quick overview of USA and whereit came from. We are a
sustainable, clean beauty andwellness brand. We create 100%
All natural vegan cruelty freehaircare skincare and
(03:07):
aromatherapy products that, youknow, people can utilize in
whatever way to promote theirpersonal care and wellness.
I we met last week at theArtwalk. And I was very
intrigued with your robot.
Please, please tell us aboutthat.
(03:30):
Yeah, when I started this, whenI looked into starting the
business, actually, this was Ifelt compelled to start this
company, out of my personalfrustration, the lack of safe
and inclusive products in themarket. And so as I was on this
journey, my love of innovationwas something that I wanted to
(03:51):
bring in. I've always beenfascinated by innovation by tech
in general. And I wanted tocreate something that would
stand the test of time. Thebeauty industry, as you know, is
completely saturated. And Ididn't want to do something that
everyone else was doing. I'mcreating something really
unique. And the robotics angleof that just takes that to the
(04:12):
next level. Addy, our robot isvery much a part of the team.
And the idea is that people willbe able to engage directly with
the robot to personalize andcustomize products that are
geared specifically for whateveragain, haircare skincare
aromatherapy needs or solutionsthey're looking to solve. So
(04:37):
it's just so it's a novelty,definitely a way of getting the
conversation started of engagingpeople. And again, getting
having a conversation about thekind of products they're using
the ingredients and the efficacyof the products. Those all keep
people coming back. Whenyou say you were prompted,
(04:58):
because in this industry, itwasn't inclusive. What do you
mean by that? And can youelaborate on that a little bit?
Yeah, so I am a black woman, Iam originally from Nigeria, I
moved to the US when I was 12.
And growing up, it was always itwas a huge pain point in trying
to find products in a marketthat worked for my hair and skin
(05:21):
types. And because I didn't looklike this, I didn't feel good.
And that, of course, affectedmy, my self esteem. And it's
something that I carriedthroughout my life until
adulthood. About five years ago,I started seeing myself in a
different light after goingthrough a series of, of loss.
And so that prompted thisjourney of wanting to take
(05:45):
better care of myself of investin my well being. And I just
learned that a lot of theingredients and chemicals and
the products out there arereally toxic. Besides the fact
that there aren't too manyproducts for people like me,
that's changing now, but thatwas sort of, I guess, the
catalyst for this journey ofwanting to create my own
(06:09):
products, I started creating myown products in my kitchen with
all natural ingredients, safeingredients, and that blossomed
into what is yet so today.
And who is your target marketfor your products.
So we target women between theages of 18 to 45. And it's
(06:29):
across the board because we canthe street of yes, so is
customized and personalizedproducts. Back to the point
about there is no one size fitsall, when it comes to beauty and
wellness. So what might work foryou might not necessarily work
for me. And so we have thisplatform that is inclusive, and
empowers people to really searchto experiment to have this self
(06:52):
discovery journey to find outwhat works for them. And so it's
we welcome anyone and everyonelooking to do better looking for
natural products, productswithout chemicals, products that
are sourced responsibly andethically. And, yeah, that is
(07:12):
what we're offering.
We'll talk about the robot andwhat you aim to achieve with
that, combined with the productsthat you are offering.
Yes, so the robot is I wouldn'tsay it's the is the star of what
we're doing. Because again, it'sa novelty. And I fully expect
that that that excitement thatdraw will fade as people become
(07:37):
familiar with it. But it's sortof like our marketing, our
marketing strategy, and again, away to engage consumers so that
they are forced to reflect andbe have that. Very, I guess self
seeking conversation, internalconversation about what they're
(08:01):
doing to elevate the quality oflife. Our products are all
natural, premium grade products.
So it's not anything you'd findin the store or from any of
these large, you know, companiesthat are doing the same thing.
We're very intent andintentional and purposeful about
everything that we do. From youknow, our packaging to the
(08:25):
product itself. Everything issustainable, it's good for the
planet. And so whatever yousmell, and it's just again, the
quality of the products, we havea broad array of essential oils
of carrier oils of extracts anddifferent natural products and
ingredients that we utilize toto create the products that we
(08:46):
have.
Oh, so yeah, my question wasgoing to be with with specific
to the to the robot, can youtalk a lot about what it does
and what you want it to do? Ithink we talked about how it
might serve as perhaps a kioskfor people to self order your
products with that through anapp or something like that.
Yes, that is a long term play. Iguess I started this about five
(09:11):
years ago, I was able to buildthe robot in 2019. And we did a
beta test at fgtech in 2019,November 2019. And since then,
you know, we had the lock downsand it was locked up for a
while. But again, it sort of ourmarketing strategy overall for
(09:33):
the business. But the ideabehind it was this experiential
retail. It's the ability forpeople to own their wellness and
their and their personal careand create something that would
work specifically for them. Soright now we have Addy built
into a box truck. And we're ableto take it out to different
(09:56):
festivals and events and thePlanning so that people will be
able to walk up to a screen andplace an order or customize a
product for whatever their,their target personal care is,
for example, someone might say,oh, I want a product that will
help my hair grow. And we havethis handholding test of prompts
(10:20):
that will help them create aproduct geared specifically
towards them. And so for now,it's very rudimentary because
I'm building this myself. I'mbootstrapping this company and
have been since I started. ButI'm hoping to raise money and
that will help us fully realizethe or realize the full
(10:41):
potential of this. I think thereal opportunity here is our
ability to monetize ourapplication, which is patent
pending. So fully see this beingat a kiosk at a mall at an
airport. We're looking intofranchising. So there are
different avenues that we cantake this once we have the
(11:02):
resources that we need tocompletely build this out.
Fantastic. And you're a recenttransplant to Reno, is that
correct?
I am Yes, I moved here about twomonths ago. I was here last year
for about six months and justfell in love with Reno. Love the
people love the community lovehow supportive people are. And
(11:26):
the tech ecosystem. The up andcoming tech ecosystem was just
really exciting for me. And sothe combination of all those
things was so compelling. Icouldn't resist moving here.
Yeah, wewish you the best of luck.
Please keep me updated,especially as your business
develops. So maybe we canrevisit where you're at in
another six months or a year orso.
(11:48):
Thank you, I really appreciatethis.
groups opposed to a federal landtransfer Senate amendment to the
defense spending bill woulddevastate wildlife and natural
resources. Among those whogathered recently at Congressman
(12:11):
Mark Amadeus office were theprogressive leadership alliance
of Nevada, the Center forBiological Diversity and the
Great Basin Water Network. Theysaid the land transfer would
expand the boundaries of theFallon Naval Air Station, making
some 350,000 acres of publiclands subject to bombing runs
and military warfare training.
It would also extend militarycontrol over as much as 400,000
(12:34):
acres of other public lands.
We're here today because of anamendment proposed by
Congressman Amadei to theNational Defense Authorization
Act.
Here's what Kyle rink with theGreat Basin Water Network had to
say,this amendment, it's 186 pages
long. And it includes scores ofprovisions that would expand the
(12:57):
Navy's footprint near Fallon, itwould expand it by hundreds of
1000s of acres, largely to domore bombing operations and, and
other training missions outthere. One of the reasons that
I'm here and representing theGreat Basin Water Network is
(13:19):
that in this sweeping amendment,there is a provision that would
help facilitate what I call theDixie Valley Water grab. Fallon
and Churchill county have foryears since the mid 1980s, had
been proposing exportinggroundwater out of Dixie valley
to serve sprawl. There areprovisions in this in this bill
(13:42):
that would help advance thatcause. And so we are here to
say, you know, take thatlanguage out of this. We know
that the National DefenseAuthorization Act is a bill that
is going to pass but you don'thave to put a water grab.
(14:02):
And this is Patrick Donnellywith the Center for Biological
Diversity. You know,wildlife is gonna lose in that
deal. Stillwater nationalwildlife refuges, the densest
concentration of wintering rangefor bald eagles in the state of
Nevada. There are hundreds of1000s of shorebirds and wading
birds who come out to Stillwaterevery year and their migratory
(14:24):
trip up the Pacific Flyway. Thisproposal will dramatically
increase overflights overStillwater National Wildlife
Refuge disrupting breeding birdsdisrupting the bald eagles. They
will also lower the supersonicfloor. Right now they have to
stay above 30,000 feet ifthey're going to break the sound
barrier. This proposal will letthem go down to 11,000 feet
(14:44):
almost 1/3 the height. TheCongressman
Mark Amadei said he has beenworking on this plan for five
years. It did not pass throughthe house on the day of the
protest. But here's what he hadto say in response to those who
were there demonstrating againstMeasure?
Well, we submitted an amendment,it went to the Rules Committee
with about 1000 others and itwasn't made in order, which
(15:06):
means it wasn't accepted forinclusion in the bill on the
floor. It's not the first timeit's happened. It's part of a
five year ongoing process. Andso there's not really a bunch of
blood and guts to talk aboutthey, they didn't make it in
order along with about, I don'tknow, four or 500 other bills,
(15:30):
unless I missed it. And I don'tthink I did. There wasn't one
where they brought it upspecifically and argued the
merits or whatever, they justissued a report saying, These
are the ones that are already inorder. And this was one of them.
Okay, not not much on how muchmeat on the host there. But
anyhow, there were also therewere also groups that said they
thought it was a pretty goodbill, Sharon Netherton, with the
(15:52):
Nevada Wildlife Foundation, Ithink, are friends of Nevada
wilderness, that there wereother folks, you know, counties
that are responsible forplanning and zoning throughout
the area. So that's great, ifthat's their opinion, they're
entitled to it. I think a a readof the proposal, as it's
developed over the last fiveyears, would leave one at a loss
(16:15):
for creating about a millionacres of wilderness area, an
unprecedented Cultural ResourceProgram, put the federal
government in charge of safetyand habitat with with the
budgets that go with that, asopposed to BLM budget, which is
almost nothing for that. Soyeah, I think it would take land
(16:37):
management in some in some areasinto more protected status, and
also provide more resources tomanage that stuff. I think the
bill overall was supported bymany, many wildlife and resource
organizations, which is why it'spretty close to consensus. But
(16:57):
you know, if those three groups,if plan with its extensive land
use experience throughoutcentral Nevada and the great
bass and thinks they've got abetter view of it, than they're
entitled to it.
(17:23):
There have been a number ofquestions and allegations about
how the Virginia street micromobility changes came to be in
recent months. Bike advocatesfor years have been pushing for
similar bike amenities on CenterStreet, one block to the east, I
checked in with Reno citymanager Doug Thornley about the
Virginia Street project, andwhat's next,
(17:44):
take center T Street as aseparate issue, right. So Center
Street got to 30% of design withRTC, and a number of fatal flaws
were uncovered. And, you know,from the loss of loading zones
behind the Pioneer theater, tothe loss of parking spaces,
along the road that made itextremely difficult to just sort
(18:08):
of, you know, the high speednature of Center Street, and,
and so the space, some of theintersections, were determined
to be a little dangerous. And sowhen we got word that, hey, you
know, this ain't gonna work. Ourthought was, well, you know,
sort of contrary to what youread on the internet, we really
(18:30):
do want people on bikes, wereally do want people on
skateboards really do want, youknow, people walking around in a
in a safe environment. And sohow can we at least replicate
the intent and, and try to, youknow, get people between the
university and midtown and fromKeystone to Evans. And so, the
(18:55):
first set Alright, well, what'swhat's, what's next? What can we
do to accomplish this goal? Theteam at RTC, the engineering
team at the city came up withsort of conceptually, hey, we
could try this with VirginiaStreet. And and, you know, there
(19:15):
was money in to do what we'vebeen that pilot project. And of
course, you know, is it workingperfectly? No. Are there lessons
learned? Yes. Hopefully, youknow, the survey from deal will
uncover some things even thoughmaybe we haven't noticed. And we
can make sort of a morepermanent, more attractive, more
(19:39):
functional facility. And so, youknow, the timing of it. I don't
know. I don't know that if in aperfect world, we would do it
all at once. But, you know, theopportunity was there. And I
think, as an organization, we'retrying to be less of fraid of
(20:01):
failure in spaces like that, wewant to make sure people are
safe, but want to try things sothat we can we can move that
part of the community forward.
The survey, you know, is sort ofstep one in that in that
placemaking work. And I've seensome of the criticism that maybe
it's it's too high level, it'snot specific enough. But like I
(20:23):
say, it's step one, right? It'sthe jumping off point for the
conversation and step two andstep two, and beyond our more
direct interaction with withfolks. So it's my hope that as
we drill down into the specificsof what people want to see,
that'll occur a little furtheralong in that process.
(20:44):
Okay, so I seem to recall thatthe study was the entire
process, the survey, putting allthat work into Virginia Street.
And fifth is, Am I incorrect tous, and that,
you know, so the Virginia streetplacemaking, I don't know that
(21:05):
it necessarily extends into intofifth and Evans, Virginia State
virgin history placemaking, weuse a talked to the consultants
and said, Hey, we really do wantto include the three downtown
parks, and sort of that corridorthat runs right there through
the river and to the plaza. Wethink that's important. But, you
(21:27):
know, the survey is, is stepone, the direct outreach and
more interactive processes arestep two. And from that, we
should start to have aconversation where we start to
see real design come out of thatinformation. And that's the
(21:48):
product that should show up inits final form.
Okay, so the study is, all ofthese components combined?
Well, the study, it's all ofthem, and none of them, it's
sort of a Schrodinger stat ofplacemaking. But the bike lanes,
right, that the multimodal,either project is distinct,
(22:12):
right? It's that's a distinctthing from the Virginia
placemaking study. And so, youknow, ideally, the placemaking
study, we'll come up with somesuggestions on how if that sort
of multimodal space were to bemade permanent, how we can do a
better job of it. But it's notthey're not intertwined, except
(22:38):
to say they're in the same placeat the
same time. Okay. So SenatorStreet by track is off the table
due to these fatal flaws thatcame out after it was already in
the 30% design phase. That Yes.
Okay.
I mean, when you say after itwas at the 30, spring phase,
(22:59):
that's sort of when you start tofind like, the less glaringly
obvious things that are fatalflaws in any sort of project,
which is why we do design it30% 50% 90%.
Okay, is it normal for a projectthat far into its design phase
to be halted like that? Doesthat happen before? That you're
(23:22):
aware? And theyhappen before? I wouldn't say? I
don't want to say it's normal,because I don't want to say, I
don't want to suggestaccidentally, through my own
poor word choice that it that ithappens a lot. That doesn't
happen a lot. But it certainlyhappens enough that you wouldn't
say it's a typical,what stakeholders were
supportive of the VirginiaStreet project?
(23:49):
Well, I think the RTC was you'regonna see here on the 20th.
Tomorrow, that there's areimbursement I think it might
be to 20. There's areimbursement deal where they're
gonna give us $400,000 towardsthe cost of that project. Our
engineers and our planning folksare in terms of, you know, we
(24:13):
know that this sort of mobilityis a thing that we haven't
traditionally done enough for.
And it's something that we dowant to focus on, particularly
in, in the downtown Midtownuniversity area. I don't know
that we necessarily did not sayenough, but we didn't do a full
(24:34):
on like we've talked about, wedidn't do a full on outreach
campaign. On it, because it's,like I said, it's just the pilot
project. And so we knew itwasn't necessarily going to be
permanent. And we wanted to seewhat worked and what didn't, and
figured that people would use itand provide feedback in real
time. And we'd end up with awith a better product for it
(24:55):
because it was something thatpeople could use in Excel. And
and not just sort ofhypothetically draw it on a
sheet of paper.
Okay, what? What what are thedowntown businesses saying about
it as they've been supportive?
Or? I mean, the row wanted it,obviously. Well, I don't you
(25:16):
know, the row was okay with it.
I don't know that they wantedit. There's a pawn shop that's
pretty unhappy. But that's, asfar as I am aware, from the
business side, it's really justthe one pawn shop that's
unhappy. My understanding isthat the feedback we received,
(25:40):
has sort of said, this is fine.
A lot of the feedback we've hadis from people driving cars,
saying, you know, the signage isconfusing, or we don't like that
we lost the lane, or you have todrive slower and people don't
like that. I will say, you know,you sent me that picture. It's
funny, because I was walkingsomewhere. That day, I was
(26:07):
walking somewhere that day. AndI saw two people on bikes, both
on the sidewalk, neither one inthe bike lane.
It is weird. I will. I mean, Ilike it. But it's weird. And the
number of bird scooters that getdropped into that bike lane are
just hilarious. I mean, it'sjust That's the funniest part. I
(26:29):
think, bird scooters, Imean, the bird scooters are sort
of another thing, right? Like,the thing we're trying? I think
they're going better than theline bike. But man, you find
them places, right? I mean, I, Ifind them on the corner at Plum
and Sharon, right, right byJesse back. And I'm like, Man,
this thing's a long way fromhome.
Oh, they're all over myneighborhood.
Yeah. So I mean, I think, youknow, we're getting
(26:51):
incrementally better. I agreethat before any of these bike
lanes become permanent, we need,we need to, we need a better
solution for signage, we need abetter solution for you know,
sort of keeping large vehicles,I saw Porsche drive down the
bike lane a couple of weeks ago.
You know, so we need a bettersolution for keeping large
(27:14):
vehicles out of them. Which, youknow, frankly, just feels like a
bollard. But the there arethings that we can do better
there. And so, you know, we'resitting down as we go through
this year, and in conjunctionwith the results of the
placemaking study to say,alright, so if we wanted to make
this permanent, how would wemake this interface more
(27:36):
friendly for people on bicyclesmore usable for people in cars,
and frankly, just lessconfusing, particularly on
Virginia Street? I mean, I thinkthere are some areas where we
could improve on Fifth, but Ithink Smith does a better job
than that. Virginia is is sortof the way I've lean right now.
(27:57):
Yeah, overall, it's, I will tellyou, it's very nerve wracking to
get to the end as you're headingtoward Keystone and did to get
split right into a right handturn. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I've
written it twice. Now on ascooter and once on a bike, and
I was just like, oh, this can gosouth really easily.
(28:20):
I can, I can understand that.
Reading thetea leaves, what do you what do
you anticipate happening for forthis project? Is it going to
stay or?
I think I think some iterationof it will say yes, I think we
are. I mean, when when we've hadconversations with the RTC as a
(28:41):
staff, we've made clear thatthat Micromobility and bikes
scooters, walking are all thingsthat we want to prioritize in
road design and andfunctionality, particularly
inside the inside McCarron.
(29:02):
Yeah, I'm not seeing anyscuttlebutt about people saying
the city doesn't want or RPCdoesn't want by me. I would, I
would argue that I see the exactopposite. It's how it's been
implemented that I think wherepeople have, you know, raised
some concerns for Yeah. Well,I mean, I think, you know, the
particular administration at thehelm of the federal government
(29:24):
right now, when they talk aboutroad design, they sort of talk
about it holistically, and theytalk about it in terms of
community health and everythingelse. So I think, you know, to
the extent we're competitive forfederal money for rehab and
design for our local streets androads, that's a that's a key
component part of thediscussion.
(29:49):
That's it for this week in Renonews, please visit us online at
this is reno.com. And if youlike this show, and podcast
please give us a review on yourfavorite podcast app.
Also this bill authorizes the Dixie Valley
Water grab. And my organizationhas been fighting to protect the
Dixie Valley Toad for fiveyears. We're currently in court
trying to fight to save theDixie Valley toad and this Dixie
Valley Water grab would suck.
The aquifer of Dixie Valley dry,Potentially driving the Dixie
Valley towed to extinction.
A man in a chicken outfit wasrecently protesting at US
(00:24):
Congressman Mark Amadeus Renooffice. He was one of about 20
protesters speaking out about anamendment by Amadeus to the
defense authorization bill inCongress. The protesters said
that more than 350,000 acrestransferred from federal
ownership would devastatewildlife habitat and amount to a
(00:44):
land and water grab.
Are we going to suffer fromamnesia about the history? Let's
talk about where we've been. Andlet's talk about where we're
going.
In today's show, we hear fromsome of those protesting as well
as the congressman. We also hearfrom Reno city manager on the
Virginia street bike track andfrom a new business in Reno with
(01:08):
a robot that blends essentialoils. With this week in Reno
news I am your host Bob Conradwith this is reno.com.
(01:30):
First a note from our sponsor,Truckee Meadows Water Authority
is a podcast sponsor of the thisis radio show in support of
locally focused journalism andto promote conservation in our
community to view summertimewatering days and other
important water resourcemanagement topics. Visit smart
about water.com.
(02:00):
Yes, so I found it yet, so aboutfive years ago. Yes, so means
exceptional, and we're very muchabout empowering people to
embrace the authenticity andinvest in their well being.
This is dyo Mackintosh, whorecently moved to Reno. I met
her at the Midtown Artwalk inearly July, after seeing and
(02:23):
smelling what her business hasto offer. I also witnessed her
robot Addy inaction,we believe that there's no one
size fits all when it comes tobeauty and wellness. And so we
have a platform that encouragespeople to fully invest in in
their individuality and how thatpertains to wellness and
personal care in general. Thename is derived from the Yoruba
(02:46):
tribe in Nigeria. And so that'sjust just like an overview, a
quick overview of USA and whereit came from. We are a
sustainable, clean beauty andwellness brand. We create 100%
All natural vegan cruelty freehaircare skincare and
(03:07):
aromatherapy products that, youknow, people can utilize in
whatever way to promote theirpersonal care and wellness.
I we met last week at theArtwalk. And I was very
intrigued with your robot.
Please, please tell us aboutthat.
(03:30):
Yeah, when I started this, whenI looked into starting the
business, actually, this was Ifelt compelled to start this
company, out of my personalfrustration, the lack of safe
and inclusive products in themarket. And so as I was on this
journey, my love of innovationwas something that I wanted to
(03:51):
bring in. I've always beenfascinated by innovation by tech
in general. And I wanted tocreate something that would
stand the test of time. Thebeauty industry, as you know, is
completely saturated. And Ididn't want to do something that
everyone else was doing. I'mcreating something really
unique. And the robotics angleof that just takes that to the
(04:12):
next level. Addy, our robot isvery much a part of the team.
And the idea is that people willbe able to engage directly with
the robot to personalize andcustomize products that are
geared specifically for whateveragain, haircare skincare
aromatherapy needs or solutionsthey're looking to solve. So
(04:37):
it's just so it's a novelty,definitely a way of getting the
conversation started of engagingpeople. And again, getting
having a conversation about thekind of products they're using
the ingredients and the efficacyof the products. Those all keep
people coming back. Whenyou say you were prompted,
(04:58):
because in this industry, itwasn't inclusive. What do you
mean by that? And can youelaborate on that a little bit?
Yeah, so I am a black woman, Iam originally from Nigeria, I
moved to the US when I was 12.
And growing up, it was always itwas a huge pain point in trying
to find products in a marketthat worked for my hair and skin
(05:21):
types. And because I didn't looklike this, I didn't feel good.
And that, of course, affectedmy, my self esteem. And it's
something that I carriedthroughout my life until
adulthood. About five years ago,I started seeing myself in a
different light after goingthrough a series of, of loss.
And so that prompted thisjourney of wanting to take
(05:45):
better care of myself of investin my well being. And I just
learned that a lot of theingredients and chemicals and
the products out there arereally toxic. Besides the fact
that there aren't too manyproducts for people like me,
that's changing now, but thatwas sort of, I guess, the
catalyst for this journey ofwanting to create my own
(06:09):
products, I started creating myown products in my kitchen with
all natural ingredients, safeingredients, and that blossomed
into what is yet so today.
And who is your target marketfor your products.
So we target women between theages of 18 to 45. And it's
(06:29):
across the board because we canthe street of yes, so is
customized and personalizedproducts. Back to the point
about there is no one size fitsall, when it comes to beauty and
wellness. So what might work foryou might not necessarily work
for me. And so we have thisplatform that is inclusive, and
empowers people to really searchto experiment to have this self
(06:52):
discovery journey to find outwhat works for them. And so it's
we welcome anyone and everyonelooking to do better looking for
natural products, productswithout chemicals, products that
are sourced responsibly andethically. And, yeah, that is
(07:12):
what we're offering.
We'll talk about the robot andwhat you aim to achieve with
that, combined with the productsthat you are offering.
Yes, so the robot is I wouldn'tsay it's the is the star of what
we're doing. Because again, it'sa novelty. And I fully expect
that that that excitement thatdraw will fade as people become
(07:37):
familiar with it. But it's sortof like our marketing, our
marketing strategy, and again, away to engage consumers so that
they are forced to reflect andbe have that. Very, I guess self
seeking conversation, internalconversation about what they're
(08:01):
doing to elevate the quality oflife. Our products are all
natural, premium grade products.
So it's not anything you'd findin the store or from any of
these large, you know, companiesthat are doing the same thing.
We're very intent andintentional and purposeful about
everything that we do. From youknow, our packaging to the
(08:25):
product itself. Everything issustainable, it's good for the
planet. And so whatever yousmell, and it's just again, the
quality of the products, we havea broad array of essential oils
of carrier oils of extracts anddifferent natural products and
ingredients that we utilize toto create the products that we
(08:46):
have.
Oh, so yeah, my question wasgoing to be with with specific
to the to the robot, can youtalk a lot about what it does
and what you want it to do? Ithink we talked about how it
might serve as perhaps a kioskfor people to self order your
products with that through anapp or something like that.
Yes, that is a long term play. Iguess I started this about five
(09:11):
years ago, I was able to buildthe robot in 2019. And we did a
beta test at fgtech in 2019,November 2019. And since then,
you know, we had the lock downsand it was locked up for a
while. But again, it sort of ourmarketing strategy overall for
(09:33):
the business. But the ideabehind it was this experiential
retail. It's the ability forpeople to own their wellness and
their and their personal careand create something that would
work specifically for them. Soright now we have Addy built
into a box truck. And we're ableto take it out to different
(09:56):
festivals and events and thePlanning so that people will be
able to walk up to a screen andplace an order or customize a
product for whatever their,their target personal care is,
for example, someone might say,oh, I want a product that will
help my hair grow. And we havethis handholding test of prompts
(10:20):
that will help them create aproduct geared specifically
towards them. And so for now,it's very rudimentary because
I'm building this myself. I'mbootstrapping this company and
have been since I started. ButI'm hoping to raise money and
that will help us fully realizethe or realize the full
(10:41):
potential of this. I think thereal opportunity here is our
ability to monetize ourapplication, which is patent
pending. So fully see this beingat a kiosk at a mall at an
airport. We're looking intofranchising. So there are
different avenues that we cantake this once we have the
(11:02):
resources that we need tocompletely build this out.
Fantastic. And you're a recenttransplant to Reno, is that
correct?
I am Yes, I moved here about twomonths ago. I was here last year
for about six months and justfell in love with Reno. Love the
people love the community lovehow supportive people are. And
(11:26):
the tech ecosystem. The up andcoming tech ecosystem was just
really exciting for me. And sothe combination of all those
things was so compelling. Icouldn't resist moving here.
Yeah, wewish you the best of luck.
Please keep me updated,especially as your business
develops. So maybe we canrevisit where you're at in
another six months or a year orso.
(11:48):
Thank you, I really appreciatethis.
groups opposed to a federal landtransfer Senate amendment to the
defense spending bill woulddevastate wildlife and natural
resources. Among those whogathered recently at Congressman
(12:11):
Mark Amadeus office were theprogressive leadership alliance
of Nevada, the Center forBiological Diversity and the
Great Basin Water Network. Theysaid the land transfer would
expand the boundaries of theFallon Naval Air Station, making
some 350,000 acres of publiclands subject to bombing runs
and military warfare training.
It would also extend militarycontrol over as much as 400,000
(12:34):
acres of other public lands.
We're here today because of anamendment proposed by
Congressman Amadei to theNational Defense Authorization
Act.
Here's what Kyle rink with theGreat Basin Water Network had to
say,this amendment, it's 186 pages
long. And it includes scores ofprovisions that would expand the
(12:57):
Navy's footprint near Fallon, itwould expand it by hundreds of
1000s of acres, largely to domore bombing operations and, and
other training missions outthere. One of the reasons that
I'm here and representing theGreat Basin Water Network is
(13:19):
that in this sweeping amendment,there is a provision that would
help facilitate what I call theDixie Valley Water grab. Fallon
and Churchill county have foryears since the mid 1980s, had
been proposing exportinggroundwater out of Dixie valley
to serve sprawl. There areprovisions in this in this bill
(13:42):
that would help advance thatcause. And so we are here to
say, you know, take thatlanguage out of this. We know
that the National DefenseAuthorization Act is a bill that
is going to pass but you don'thave to put a water grab.
(14:02):
And this is Patrick Donnellywith the Center for Biological
Diversity. You know,wildlife is gonna lose in that
deal. Stillwater nationalwildlife refuges, the densest
concentration of wintering rangefor bald eagles in the state of
Nevada. There are hundreds of1000s of shorebirds and wading
birds who come out to Stillwaterevery year and their migratory
(14:24):
trip up the Pacific Flyway. Thisproposal will dramatically
increase overflights overStillwater National Wildlife
Refuge disrupting breeding birdsdisrupting the bald eagles. They
will also lower the supersonicfloor. Right now they have to
stay above 30,000 feet ifthey're going to break the sound
barrier. This proposal will letthem go down to 11,000 feet
(14:44):
almost 1/3 the height. TheCongressman
Mark Amadei said he has beenworking on this plan for five
years. It did not pass throughthe house on the day of the
protest. But here's what he hadto say in response to those who
were there demonstrating againstMeasure?
Well, we submitted an amendment,it went to the Rules Committee
with about 1000 others and itwasn't made in order, which
(15:06):
means it wasn't accepted forinclusion in the bill on the
floor. It's not the first timeit's happened. It's part of a
five year ongoing process. Andso there's not really a bunch of
blood and guts to talk aboutthey, they didn't make it in
order along with about, I don'tknow, four or 500 other bills,
(15:30):
unless I missed it. And I don'tthink I did. There wasn't one
where they brought it upspecifically and argued the
merits or whatever, they justissued a report saying, These
are the ones that are already inorder. And this was one of them.
Okay, not not much on how muchmeat on the host there. But
anyhow, there were also therewere also groups that said they
thought it was a pretty goodbill, Sharon Netherton, with the
(15:52):
Nevada Wildlife Foundation, Ithink, are friends of Nevada
wilderness, that there wereother folks, you know, counties
that are responsible forplanning and zoning throughout
the area. So that's great, ifthat's their opinion, they're
entitled to it. I think a a readof the proposal, as it's
developed over the last fiveyears, would leave one at a loss
(16:15):
for creating about a millionacres of wilderness area, an
unprecedented Cultural ResourceProgram, put the federal
government in charge of safetyand habitat with with the
budgets that go with that, asopposed to BLM budget, which is
almost nothing for that. Soyeah, I think it would take land
(16:37):
management in some in some areasinto more protected status, and
also provide more resources tomanage that stuff. I think the
bill overall was supported bymany, many wildlife and resource
organizations, which is why it'spretty close to consensus. But
(16:57):
you know, if those three groups,if plan with its extensive land
use experience throughoutcentral Nevada and the great
bass and thinks they've got abetter view of it, than they're
entitled to it.
(17:23):
There have been a number ofquestions and allegations about
how the Virginia street micromobility changes came to be in
recent months. Bike advocatesfor years have been pushing for
similar bike amenities on CenterStreet, one block to the east, I
checked in with Reno citymanager Doug Thornley about the
Virginia Street project, andwhat's next,
(17:44):
take center T Street as aseparate issue, right. So Center
Street got to 30% of design withRTC, and a number of fatal flaws
were uncovered. And, you know,from the loss of loading zones
behind the Pioneer theater, tothe loss of parking spaces,
along the road that made itextremely difficult to just sort
(18:08):
of, you know, the high speednature of Center Street, and,
and so the space, some of theintersections, were determined
to be a little dangerous. And sowhen we got word that, hey, you
know, this ain't gonna work. Ourthought was, well, you know,
sort of contrary to what youread on the internet, we really
(18:30):
do want people on bikes, wereally do want people on
skateboards really do want, youknow, people walking around in a
in a safe environment. And sohow can we at least replicate
the intent and, and try to, youknow, get people between the
university and midtown and fromKeystone to Evans. And so, the
(18:55):
first set Alright, well, what'swhat's, what's next? What can we
do to accomplish this goal? Theteam at RTC, the engineering
team at the city came up withsort of conceptually, hey, we
could try this with VirginiaStreet. And and, you know, there
(19:15):
was money in to do what we'vebeen that pilot project. And of
course, you know, is it workingperfectly? No. Are there lessons
learned? Yes. Hopefully, youknow, the survey from deal will
uncover some things even thoughmaybe we haven't noticed. And we
can make sort of a morepermanent, more attractive, more
(19:39):
functional facility. And so, youknow, the timing of it. I don't
know. I don't know that if in aperfect world, we would do it
all at once. But, you know, theopportunity was there. And I
think, as an organization, we'retrying to be less of fraid of
(20:01):
failure in spaces like that, wewant to make sure people are
safe, but want to try things sothat we can we can move that
part of the community forward.
The survey, you know, is sort ofstep one in that in that
placemaking work. And I've seensome of the criticism that maybe
it's it's too high level, it'snot specific enough. But like I
(20:23):
say, it's step one, right? It'sthe jumping off point for the
conversation and step two andstep two, and beyond our more
direct interaction with withfolks. So it's my hope that as
we drill down into the specificsof what people want to see,
that'll occur a little furtheralong in that process.
(20:44):
Okay, so I seem to recall thatthe study was the entire
process, the survey, putting allthat work into Virginia Street.
And fifth is, Am I incorrect tous, and that,
you know, so the Virginia streetplacemaking, I don't know that
(21:05):
it necessarily extends into intofifth and Evans, Virginia State
virgin history placemaking, weuse a talked to the consultants
and said, Hey, we really do wantto include the three downtown
parks, and sort of that corridorthat runs right there through
the river and to the plaza. Wethink that's important. But, you
(21:27):
know, the survey is, is stepone, the direct outreach and
more interactive processes arestep two. And from that, we
should start to have aconversation where we start to
see real design come out of thatinformation. And that's the
(21:48):
product that should show up inits final form.
Okay, so the study is, all ofthese components combined?
Well, the study, it's all ofthem, and none of them, it's
sort of a Schrodinger stat ofplacemaking. But the bike lanes,
right, that the multimodal,either project is distinct,
(22:12):
right? It's that's a distinctthing from the Virginia
placemaking study. And so, youknow, ideally, the placemaking
study, we'll come up with somesuggestions on how if that sort
of multimodal space were to bemade permanent, how we can do a
better job of it. But it's notthey're not intertwined, except
(22:38):
to say they're in the same placeat the
same time. Okay. So SenatorStreet by track is off the table
due to these fatal flaws thatcame out after it was already in
the 30% design phase. That Yes.
Okay.
I mean, when you say after itwas at the 30, spring phase,
(22:59):
that's sort of when you start tofind like, the less glaringly
obvious things that are fatalflaws in any sort of project,
which is why we do design it30% 50% 90%.
Okay, is it normal for a projectthat far into its design phase
to be halted like that? Doesthat happen before? That you're
(23:22):
aware? And theyhappen before? I wouldn't say? I
don't want to say it's normal,because I don't want to say, I
don't want to suggestaccidentally, through my own
poor word choice that it that ithappens a lot. That doesn't
happen a lot. But it certainlyhappens enough that you wouldn't
say it's a typical,what stakeholders were
supportive of the VirginiaStreet project?
(23:49):
Well, I think the RTC was you'regonna see here on the 20th.
Tomorrow, that there's areimbursement I think it might
be to 20. There's areimbursement deal where they're
gonna give us $400,000 towardsthe cost of that project. Our
engineers and our planning folksare in terms of, you know, we
(24:13):
know that this sort of mobilityis a thing that we haven't
traditionally done enough for.
And it's something that we dowant to focus on, particularly
in, in the downtown Midtownuniversity area. I don't know
that we necessarily did not sayenough, but we didn't do a full
(24:34):
on like we've talked about, wedidn't do a full on outreach
campaign. On it, because it's,like I said, it's just the pilot
project. And so we knew itwasn't necessarily going to be
permanent. And we wanted to seewhat worked and what didn't, and
figured that people would use itand provide feedback in real
time. And we'd end up with awith a better product for it
(24:55):
because it was something thatpeople could use in Excel. And
and not just sort ofhypothetically draw it on a
sheet of paper.
Okay, what? What what are thedowntown businesses saying about
it as they've been supportive?
Or? I mean, the row wanted it,obviously. Well, I don't you
(25:16):
know, the row was okay with it.
I don't know that they wantedit. There's a pawn shop that's
pretty unhappy. But that's, asfar as I am aware, from the
business side, it's really justthe one pawn shop that's
unhappy. My understanding isthat the feedback we received,
(25:40):
has sort of said, this is fine.
A lot of the feedback we've hadis from people driving cars,
saying, you know, the signage isconfusing, or we don't like that
we lost the lane, or you have todrive slower and people don't
like that. I will say, you know,you sent me that picture. It's
funny, because I was walkingsomewhere. That day, I was
(26:07):
walking somewhere that day. AndI saw two people on bikes, both
on the sidewalk, neither one inthe bike lane.
It is weird. I will. I mean, Ilike it. But it's weird. And the
number of bird scooters that getdropped into that bike lane are
just hilarious. I mean, it'sjust That's the funniest part. I
(26:29):
think, bird scooters, Imean, the bird scooters are sort
of another thing, right? Like,the thing we're trying? I think
they're going better than theline bike. But man, you find
them places, right? I mean, I, Ifind them on the corner at Plum
and Sharon, right, right byJesse back. And I'm like, Man,
this thing's a long way fromhome.
Oh, they're all over myneighborhood.
Yeah. So I mean, I think, youknow, we're getting
(26:51):
incrementally better. I agreethat before any of these bike
lanes become permanent, we need,we need to, we need a better
solution for signage, we need abetter solution for you know,
sort of keeping large vehicles,I saw Porsche drive down the
bike lane a couple of weeks ago.
You know, so we need a bettersolution for keeping large
(27:14):
vehicles out of them. Which, youknow, frankly, just feels like a
bollard. But the there arethings that we can do better
there. And so, you know, we'resitting down as we go through
this year, and in conjunctionwith the results of the
placemaking study to say,alright, so if we wanted to make
this permanent, how would wemake this interface more
(27:36):
friendly for people on bicyclesmore usable for people in cars,
and frankly, just lessconfusing, particularly on
Virginia Street? I mean, I thinkthere are some areas where we
could improve on Fifth, but Ithink Smith does a better job
than that. Virginia is is sortof the way I've lean right now.
(27:57):
Yeah, overall, it's, I will tellyou, it's very nerve wracking to
get to the end as you're headingtoward Keystone and did to get
split right into a right handturn. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I've
written it twice. Now on ascooter and once on a bike, and
I was just like, oh, this can gosouth really easily.
(28:20):
I can, I can understand that.
Reading thetea leaves, what do you what do
you anticipate happening for forthis project? Is it going to
stay or?
I think I think some iterationof it will say yes, I think we
are. I mean, when when we've hadconversations with the RTC as a
(28:41):
staff, we've made clear thatthat Micromobility and bikes
scooters, walking are all thingsthat we want to prioritize in
road design and andfunctionality, particularly
inside the inside McCarron.
(29:02):
Yeah, I'm not seeing anyscuttlebutt about people saying
the city doesn't want or RPCdoesn't want by me. I would, I
would argue that I see the exactopposite. It's how it's been
implemented that I think wherepeople have, you know, raised
some concerns for Yeah. Well,I mean, I think, you know, the
particular administration at thehelm of the federal government
(29:24):
right now, when they talk aboutroad design, they sort of talk
about it holistically, and theytalk about it in terms of
community health and everythingelse. So I think, you know, to
the extent we're competitive forfederal money for rehab and
design for our local streets androads, that's a that's a key
component part of thediscussion.
(29:49):
That's it for this week in Renonews, please visit us online at
this is reno.com. And if youlike this show, and podcast
please give us a review on yourfavorite podcast app.
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