Letters

March madness

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Is it spring yet?

After the longest, wettest, most apocalyptic winter of recent memory, it’s finally starting to feel like spring around here. The thermostat has floated above 60 a couple of times recently. The change to Daylight Saving Time successfully conjured the illusion of an extra hour of sunlight every afternoon.

And this week I’ve encountered the surest, truest sign of the coming spring: plants trying to fuck my face.

I don’t know what just started blooming around the Truckee Meadows, but whatever it is, it wants to crawl up my nostrils, and tickle me ’til I explode. My sneezes have been loud, messy and gross. People around the office think I’m exaggerating them for comic effect. My girlfriend is annoyed that I lost the Claritin. Earlier today, I sneezed with a mouth full of food and then had to change my shirt. Fortunately—or not, depending on your perspective—nobody was around to witness that particular disaster.

Anyway, I think that extra frisky pollen cozying up to vulnerable, sensitive faces like mine is just one of the many strange side effects we’re going to experience after that wet winter. In this week’s cover story, Kris Vagner talks to some local sports folks about how the wet winter is going to affect their passions.

And, as I’ve said before and will say again, it feels so good, in these troubled times, to think about sports. Only a couple of weeks ’til the MLB opening day!

Oh, and big congrats to the Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball team on winning the Mountain West Tournament title and making the NCAA Tournament!

AAAAATTCHOOOOOOO!

—Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

Join our boycott now

Re “Resist” (cover story, March 2):

I’ve been a long time reader of Reno News & Review, and I’ve always known its a liberal paper trying to disguise itself as hip and trendy. Until now I’ve had absolutely no problem with your paper stating it’s views, whether on the environment or Burning Man, and everything in between. This latest edition with “RESIST” on the cover has ended my loyalty to you. I’ve always promoted your paper to friends and tourists. You have become inflammatory and hateful, which is the last thing this country needs right now.

I’m putting you on notice that I’ll be spearheading a Facebook campaign to boycott your hateful paper, because of its dangerous agenda-driven statements that only encourage violence in the end. You can sugar-coat it however you want, but I will not stand back and let you abuse the first amendment without a fight.

Darren Castellano Reno

More on Oroville

Re “Don’t Damn the Dam” (Let Freedom Ring, Feb. 23): Brendan Trainor trivializes a serious problem with Oroville Dam by politicizing it. He uses the damage to the emergency spillway to indict all government programs from infrastructure development to emergency response.

This anti-government rant deceptively ignores facts. Many nongovernment dams have suffered problems too, including complete failures causing massive damage and loss of life. A partial list of such complete failures includes the Buffalo Creek coal slurry flood. West Virginia (1972, Pittston Coal Co.); Meadow Pond Dam, New Hampshire (1996, private owner), Martin County coal slurry spill, Kentucky. (2000, Massey Energy), Silver Lake Dam, Michigan (2003, private business), and Delhi Dam, Iowa. (2010, Interstate Power Co.). So much for the government being the threat to the environment!

The truth? Oroville Dam was declared safe and has functioned well for its nearly 50-year history. The emergency spillway was damaged by excessive water flow. Any deferred maintenance was most likely due to unwillingness to spend money. State, federal and private dams are all subject to problems. Building dams is a difficult endeavor. Sometimes unexpected floods simply overwhelm the structure. But, in no fair way can problems at Oroville Dam be generalized to demean government.

What about the benefits of government owned dams like Oroville? How could private agriculture have initially afforded to develop the projects that provide irrigation water to the Central Valley when farmers had no viable businesses without the water? And, what would your electric bill be without cheap, efficient hydropower from government dams? This piece exemplifies the deceptive use of incomplete facts to support a political position.

Bruce Schmidt Sparks

The ACA battle

As a result of the Affordable Care Act, Nevada has made great strides in increasing positive health outcomes. Having spent my career in early intervention programs for children with disabilities, I know first-hand that families have better access to care, which means parents can seek health care for their children when needed. This is especially important for parents with a child with special health care needs.

Although the ACA has improved coverage for both parents and children, there are still many children and their families who remain uninsured. These ACA requirements must be retained at the federal level: No caps on lifetime benefits; no premium increases on age or gender; no pre-existing conditions exclusions; ability to cover dependents until age 26; maintain at least the current tax credits; recognize that HSAs are only effective for people with higher incomes and have minimal effect on controlling health care costs; retain subsidies at least at the current level; and continue Children’s Medicaid Expansion Program, block granting and per capita caps are not viable approaches.

Janelle Mulvenon Sparks

ERIK HOLLAND

Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor Brad Bynum News Editor Dennis Myers Special Projects Editor Jeri Chadwell-Singley Arts Editor Kris Vagner Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Matt Bieker, Kelsey Fitzgerald, Bob Grimm, Anna Hart, Ashley Hennefer, Shelia Leslie, Josie Luciano, Eric Marks, Tim Prentiss, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Marc Tiar, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Design Manager Lindsay Trop Creative Director Serene Lusano Art Director Margaret Larkin Marketing/Publications Designer Sarah Hansel Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designer Kyle Shine Sales Manager Emily Litt RN&R Rainmaker Gina Odegard Advertising Consultants Brit Johnson, Myranda Keeley Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager/Operations Coordinator Kelly Miller Distribution Drivers Alex Barskyy, Amanda McPhail, Bob Christensen, Debbie Frenzi, Gary White, Jennifer Cronin, Jennifer Gangestad, Lori Ashley, Lori DeAndreis, Marty Lane, Marty Troye, Patrick L’Angelle, Tracy Breeden, Vicki Jewell President/CEO Jeff VonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Executive Coordinator Carlyn Asuncion Project Coordinator Natasha VonKaenel Director of People & Culture David Stogner Director of Dollars & Sense Nicole Jackson Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Dargitz Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney DeShields Developer John Bisignano, Jonathan Schultz System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Kate Gonzales N&R Publications Writer Anne Stokes

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