Good morning, Sparks.

Members of the Sparks community will repaint the iconic S on the eastern hills on Saturday, May 17 at 9 a.m.—volunteers will weed, re-stack rocks and apply fresh paint while supplies are provided.

City Councilman Donald Abbott and coach Gregg Shugar lead the project, which will end with a community BBQ where participants are asked to bring gloves and a chair.

Over the weekend at 10:42 a.m. on the 4700 block of Mesa Meadows Drive in Sparks, a reckless driving crash involving a 16-year-old driver resulted in two juveniles being injured—one suffered major injuries and was taken to a local hospital while the other was treated at the scene.

The Sierra Nevada REALTORS report for April shows northern Nevada’s housing market stayed steady with a median price of $560,000 for single-family homes and $390,000 for condos and townhomes — a sign of rising buyer interest across Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, and Washoe counties. Leandra Carr said the numbers suggest both buyers and sellers are finding common ground as the market gains confidence.

Today, strong winds caused major damage in northern Nevada as over 8,000 customers experienced power outages in Douglas and Washoe County—fallen fences, missing patio furniture, vehicle crashes, and a Sparks resident’s truck crushed by a tree were reported.

At a Monday council meeting, Sparks announced it will freeze positions, lay off employees and use fire station brownouts (temporary station closures) to address an $18M budget deficit after raising Waste Management franchise fees from 8% to 18% to add $1.5M in revenue.

The cuts include 22 frozen police positions, 4 frozen firefighter positions and 7 firefighter layoffs and may lead to longer public safety response times.

At the May 12 meeting, Sparks City Council approved the City Manager’s final budget option 2 that cuts staff by 15%—including 11 layoffs—and raised the waste management fee to 18% of gross receipts while also approving a five-year Capital Improvement Plan and agreements for water reclamation projects and police labor deals with rising costs in upcoming fiscal years. Mayor Ed Lawson proclaimed National Public Works Week from May 18 to May 24, NF2 Awareness Day on May 22, and Salvation Army Week from May 12 to May 18 while the City Manager announced board and commission vacancies with applications due May 30.

Jaywalkers Weekly Meeting

5:30-6:30 p.m. — 1640 Prater Way, Sparks, NV — Free entry — Engage in supportive discussions on addiction recovery in a welcoming environment.

Fishin’ in the Dark Painting Party

1-4 p.m. — Engine 8 Urban Winery — $39.00 — Enjoy a creative afternoon of painting in a lively winery atmosphere.