Ex-railroad town, Sparks braces for Tesla, Switch boom

SPARKS — Not since the Southern Pacific railroad rolled into this sleepy high desert town in Nevada more than a century ago has there been such excitement — Tesla Motors and other technology companies are coming, and along with them thousands of jobs. Long dwarfed by Reno, known as the Biggest Little City in the World, Sparks is anticipating an economic boom. “We’ve always been in their shadow, but we are moving to where we have our own identity now,” said Sparks Ma