Letters

Down by the river

Welcome to this week’s Reno

News & Review.

I want to give a quick shout-out to everybody who gave us recommendations of local bands to play this year’s Rollin’ on the River. That’s the RN&R’s summer concert series that takes place every July during Artown.

For the last couple of months, we were asking readers to submit the names of some of their favorite local groups to play the series, and we got a lot of responses. The field was more wide than deep—which is to say, there were many, many groups that only received a couple of votes and only a few bands that received large support. That’s sort of to be predicted—we could tell some of those single votes came from band members themselves, but it was still fun to go through and see some of the local bands that garnered attention for themselves to one degree or another.

And we didn’t conduct this informal readers’ poll as a contest, but just as an advisory guide. So, there were some groups that seemed to organize massive email campaigns to play but were still disqualified for one reason or another—often geographic. We want this to be a celebration of local music.

Anyway, the eventual lineup includes some established local favorites, some of whom have played the series before, as well as groups that readers suggested, and a couple of RN&R favorites that we think y’all will enjoy.

Big thanks to the following groups for agreeing to play: The Sextones, Jelly Bread, Hellbound Glory, Bazooka Zoo, Guitar Woody & the Boilers, Rigorous Proof, the Umpires, Spike McGuire, Canyon White, and Jake Houston & the Royal Flush.

This is an eclectic, eccentric, electric lineup. And we’re stoked to present it.

Thanks to everybody who sent us recommendations. See y’all out and about this summer.

—Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

Try, try again

Do you ever feel like Don Quixote?

You try and try and try to do what is right, but nothing comes of it. But you won’t stop doing right, even though your efforts look like a waste of time.

Take politics, for example. You study and argue and work and fight and donate a vote for the good guys, but they always lose. In the general election, you vote for the lesser of two evils, but that usually turns out to be the bad one.

Yes, I’ve had that experience, year after year. So now I’m going to try something new—I’m going to look around, close to home, for some good, honest people, and try to find someone who thinks like I do.

I’ll introduce myself by saying, “I could never vote for Donald Trump. How about you?” (Even when I try, I can’t get away from politics.) Brad MacKenzie Reno

Attn: Nevada Check-Up

What has happened to Obamacare? Near the end of 2015, rumors floated that insurance would be getting cheaper, and like any responsible family, we made sure to sign up for our new plan early. We filed in November and found our new insurance bill to be $160, down from $210 in 2015.

Then in February, our submitted tax documents we filed to Healthcare.gov came through just in time for our February bill, and our insurance bill increased from $160 to $260.

Shocked at the new price, as it was not cheaper, we still did our best to deal with that and continued to make our payments. However, in March we had to move, and when we made our address change to Healthcare.gov something happened. We were told that our child qualified for Nevada Check-Up and that they would be applying for us. However, our bill never changed. Two weeks later we are notified we do not qualify, and Nevada Check-Up would alert Healthcare.gov.

Fast forward to May, and our insurance calls us to ask why we have no coverage on our daughter. So now my two-year-old daughter, who needs new glasses, to see a dentist, to get shots, and a chance to grow up strong, has no insurance. What happened?

Michael Moran Reno Dumb as a post

Accusations and a couple of bucks get you a cup of coffee

The Democrats who actually think that it wouldn’t be a good idea to put forth a candidate who has been openly accused of lying, murder, sedition, treason, lying, husband’s girlfriends’ character assassinations, lying, Benghazi, Whitewatergate, corruption and, oh, did I mention lying—have a bit of a problem on their hands come November. With the electioneering slogan “Monika Lewinsky’s boyfriend’s wife for prison.” potential Democratic voters of conscience (or for that matter—with more than two brain cells in semicongruity) now have to decide if they want to hold their noses (and vomitus) and pull the switch for Hillary, or stay home.

While this writer recognizes the perpetually incorrect moniker of “party first above all else” in elections; potential “in the bag” Democratic voters with a scintilla of morality or sense of justice are rightfully confused. The cause of your “progressive” confusion, dear readers? Just look in the mirror for a few moments. You brought this phenomenally weak Democratic candidate upon yourselves. Whether you stay home or not on election day, it doesn’t matter. There is a “vast Democratic Conspiracy” of voters who simply are not enamored to Hillary. They will stay home in droves to erase the potential stain on their homeland. K. R. Kollman Reno Re “Lost in the Post” (cover story, May 5):

The D. Brian Burghart story is a clear example of the duty and responsibility of the Fourth Estate to research, document, publish and distribute information relative to any subject for public consumption.

In this case, Burghart discusses at length the need for and development of the Fatal Encounters database on police shootings and “who the victims are most likely to be.” At the heart of the issue is the premise that “the federal government had been misrepresenting the number of people who were killed by law enforcement for decades,” and the more important issue that Congress has written a law prohibiting any federal agency from keeping any statistics or conducting research on weapon accidents or fatalities.

This includes the CDC, which may not study the morbidity and mortality as a regular course of researching reasons of injury or death, commonly referred to as morbidity and mortality.

That’s the issue that must come before the public’s eye and attention so that we better understand why and how injuries and death occur due to weapons. Thank the NRA for pushing Congress into this terrible piece of legislation. Press Clewe Reno Erik Holland

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