by MAtt BiEKER
Accidental beekeeper
about five years ago, we had an incident where one of our employees was allergic to bees and they wanted to remove that hive. And it became pretty political, and it actually went to the commissioners, and they said, “No, the beehive is going to stay right where it’s at.” It’s still there today.
Duke Renslow
So, how long have you worked at the courthouse? I moved to Reno in 1967 and lived at Pyramid Lake for 25 years, and I’ve been with Washoe County for 20 years. I’ve been there this past time for five years.
What’s the story with the hive on the front of the building? I was assigned to the courthouse originally almost 20 years ago. It was all intact. It was a really thriving beehive at the time. ... You can see a big chunk of it missing, and that happened probably about four years, five years ago. And when that big part came missing, that’s when I started noticing that the bees
PHOTO/MATT Bieker
For years now, the historic Washoe County courthouse, 117 S. Virginia St., has hosted thousands of live-in residents on the building’s roof. A large beehive hangs off the courthouse’s southeastern cornice— where hives have been located since the building’s construction—but its health is in visible decline. Less known is the thriving second hive, located on the roof proper, which has been monitored by Facility Maintenance Technician Duke Renslow for the last five years.
kind of relocated to the back side of the courthouse, up on the roof. … It started out just a few little bees, and then every year, it just grows more and more. It has more members, it looks like, than the one in the front of the courthouse now.
Not many people know about the second hive. How big would you say it is? I don’t know off the top of my head right now. I’d say at least three feet tall, maybe three feet wide.
How have the bees been received by the courthouse staff? They’ve always been a welcome addition to the courthouse. However,
You probably have the most interaction with the hive. How do they respond to you being there?
Well, I’m allergic to bees also, but as noted when we took the picture, I’m two feet away from them, and I do all the maintenance and set the equipment right by them. I’m not deathly allergic. When I’m working on all the equipment and stuff, they just leave me alone. I leave them alone. They leave me alone.
I didn’t know you were allergic. Maybe I wouldn’t have asked you to stand so close for the photo. Oh no, I’ve never been bothered by them.
Is a giant beehive the craziest thing you’ve seen in your years at the courthouse? Oh, I’ve seen some crazy things at the courthouse besides the bees there, but I don’t want to discuss that. Ω
by BRUCE VAN DYKE
Dondoo ron ron Looking back, I gotta say, one of the most significant quotes I’ve heard in my time on This Rock came out of the mouth of a man who had literally gotten the shit kicked out of him by a crazed pack of racist L.A. cops. When St. Rodney asked the eternally powerful, if somewhat naive, question, “Can’t we all just get along?” I have to acknowledge that he boiled it down quite nicely. • More reality about Humans Humans Humans Babies Makin’ Babies. In 1970, the number of people living on this beautiful planet numbered 3.7 billion. In 2020, that number will reach 7.6 billion, a very tidy doubling that will occur in a mere 50 freaking’ years. Where oh where will it all stop, if ever? Best guess—Gaia is expected, sometime this century, to take charge of the situation. Expect her response to be significant. •
Well, here we are, mired in the most corrupt political swamp since Nero was blowing Caligula, and we’ve grown absolutely numb to its overall total horror. Scandals that would’ve been administrationthreatening in the Obama years are now run-of-the-mill in Trump Bizarro World, occurring on a weekly, if not daily, basis. This blizzard of Outrageous Nonstop Dondoo has, predictably enough, bludgeoned many into a comfortably numb stupor. Trump told Congress to piss up a rope? Yawn. Trump was the shittiest businessman in the History of Money? Yawn. Trump is doing to subpoenas what he did to that bed in the Moscow Ritz? Crickets. Trump used Barr to get his pedophile pals (Nader, Epstein) into a country club prison? Zzzzzzz. The good news is that there’s plenty of time to shake off this numbness. We’re just sorta rest-
ing right now. Want more good news? Well, as long-time conservative David Brooks of the New York Times wrote recently about Republicans, “Young adults hate them.” Dave, you sweet talker you! Do go on. He cited the voting realities of the past November, when the under 30’s voted for Dems over Repubs by “an astounding 67 to 32 percent,” and that in a 2018 Pew survey, “57 percent of millenials called themselves liberal, while only 12 percent called themselves conservative. This is the most important statistic in American politics right now.” • Finally, where are the hell are the leakers? The people in the Justice and Treasury Departments who, in the mischievous spirit of the great Daniel Ellsberg, just flat out leak the unredacted Mueller Report and Trump’s taxes to the NYT/Wapo? Ω
06.06.19
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