Letters

Don’t hesitate

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Last Friday, June 13, I went over to the 3rd Street bar to catch a stand-up comedy event. My friend P. K. Hutchinson was one of the performers. The comedians were great— and many of the local jokers were just as funny as the touring headliner. After the comedy was over, a few of us hopped into a cab and headed over to Lincoln Lounge to catch the Funk Assassination, the fellas from the Mark Sexton Band and some players from the local jazz scene laying down nasty grooves as a very receptive audience danced, hooted and hollered.

Next morning, we went down to the Positively Fourth Street block party, and had a great brunch at Mark Estee’s pop-up restaurant in Cuddleworks. We goofed around at Reno Instagrammy’s photo booth in the Under the Rose brewery, and then chatted with friends at the Reno Bike Project and the Holland Project’s temporary record store.

All of these were fun events, with lively, not-giving-a-fuck crowds, and just a sampling of the many events going on around downtown Reno that weekend and every weekend— way more fun than whatever the people who think downtown Reno is a dead, scary place are doing with their miserable, sanitized summers.

Don’t forget to vote in our Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll: www.newsreview. com/reno/ballot/bestofreno14. And if your pick for the best, say, hot dog or tequila selection or whatever doesn’t appear in the autocomplete list, don’t hesitate to write it in.

Of course, try your best to spell correctly. We here at the RN&R understand better than most that spelling errors happen, but it can affect the results if, say, no one notices that the "New Ma Tick Dinner" is probably supposed to be the "Pneumatic Diner."

Vote! We’re hoping for better participation in our readers’ poll than last week’s piddling turnout for the actual primary election.

—Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

Secrecy of independents

Re “Ready for my tax breaks, Mr. Nevada” (feature story, June 5):

While incentives are a good idea to spur on the film industry here in Nevada, there is one caveat that will kill it for indies—the public hearing. As an indie filmmaker, I rely on the kindness of vendors, the passion of actors, and ability to shoot on a dime. Having to publicly share what I pay cast and crew is not an option. In fact, it’s specifically forbidden in our contracts.

That is one reason why I moved my reality TV show, designed to showcase Reno as an awesome place to film, to Los Angeles. Budget-wise, without the incentives and local support, it made no sense to force the production here, when shooting in LA was far easier. Reno lost a great branding opportunity because of this little snafu with the rules.

Will I bring the show back to Reno if they fix the issue? At this point, we are now firmly entrenched in LA. The way to get projects here is to welcome and nurture them. That is not what I have experienced since living here. It feels as if the only films that are welcome are from big studios and that local filmmakers are only in the way.

Adryenn Ashley Reno

Word from Kansas

What would make someone still support embryonic stem-cell research seeing how it has failed greatly over the years? Not only this, but it is unethical in that it kills human embryos in the process. What adds to this utter madness is that adult stemcell research, which is ethical, has proven fruitful, yet for some reason, is not supported by many! Michael Rachiele Prairie Village, Kan.

Missing case

Re “Top 10 worst Supreme Court decisions” (feature story, March 8, 2012):

This list is a joke for its partisanship. Any list that does not include Buck v. Bell is just not serious. Daniel Duckworth Scottsdale, Arizona

Editor’s note: Buck v. Bell was a ruling that approved forced sterilization of the unfit and disabled. The majority opinion was written by Oliver Wendell Holmes. In the issue immediately at hand, the object of the proposed sterilization, Carrie Buck, was a rape victim and it is a subject of debate whether she was actually mentally disabled.

Story idea

A lot of the time, the Reno News & Review is more geared to the younger/ college aged community, so I was wondering why there have not been any stories on that lawyer who did the Eddie Lorton case? There have been articles on Lorton and candidates and stuff but not really anything about the lawyer. I am interested because I think she is like 20-something years old. I saw an article in a Los Angeles newspaper that said she wasn’t even 30. I thought that was interesting. Can you even be a lawyer that young? Anyway, that may be inaccurate information but we have heard very little about the person or people who believed in Mr. Lorton enough to take his case. If it is someone who is very young, then I think we should hear about it. Stuff like that motivates other young people like myself and others. I talked about this stuff with friends, too. Or maybe if the Best of Reno is coming up that could be a way to talk to her? Or however you guys do that. Alysha McNaughton by email

It’s Clive’s fault

I was curious why the letters from May 22 are not online as I cited one “Bundy has a point” in a paper for my TMCC class and now have no proof. I would appreciate it if this was resolved and posted. Thank you.

Al Pink by email

Editor’s note: The problem is now corrected. We apologize and will happily write a note to your teacher if needed.

Bush still takes the rap

Re “Change in the weather” (Right Hook, Sept. 15, 2005): [On columnist Michael Lafferty’s column on Hurricane Katrina:] OK, I agree with everything you said. True, people should’ve left when they were told to evacuate, but you have to remember we have been down this road a few times—hurricanes Betsy, Camille, Andrew—that we were told to evacuate and stayed. My mother and sisters evacuated, but my dad and brothers stayed. It scared the crap out of my brothers and myself, but we stayed because of looting afterwards. I was too young to know any better or I would have gone with the girls.

What I didn’t appreciate was Bush calling us refugees on national television. Refugees, if I’m not mistaken, are from another country. My mom and dad, brother and sisters, were born and raised in New Orleans and yes, we have some incompetents and imbeciles for politicians in Louisiana and Washington, D.C. And to let people set out in a blistering sun for four days without water or anything was totally incompetent. Thank God for Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee. They came to the rescue before the government could ever respond. Now, that’s sad. We respond quicker to other countries’ needs than we do to our own needs.

Don Puzzio Murrieta, Calif.

Go-carts vs. health care

Re “Health care isn’t free” (Letters, May 29):

I first paid FICA tax when I was 14. So I was giving “free” health care to old people, when I could have been acquiring private property with that money—Mad Magazine and go-carts. I’ve been paying FICA and/ or self-employment tax ever since. I’ve never felt resentful that other people benefit from my contribution. Are you jealous when someone else hits the cancer “bingo!” and gets to collect on your premiums?

Our health care system has long been a convoluted mess. Providers and payment schemes of every size and kind, working at less than 50 percent cost efficiency and with second-rate outcomes. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act added some access for those on the outside, and made private insurance slightly less predatory. That’s progress, and yes, it is constitutional per the wildly conservative Roberts Court. We can tax ourselves! Is that news to you?

In Sweden, government pays for 97 percent of all health care. There’s local control and a modest co-pay. Better outcomes with less than half our spending, and no one’s left out. And they still manage to have more billionaires per capita than we do. Are they magic? Maybe they just have a natural immunity to Ayn Rand’s Disease.

C.G. Green Reno

Review of Grimm review

Re “Cruising for a bruising” (Film, June 12):

Yo, Bob. With few exceptions, you haven’t steered me wrong yet! Heading for the multiplex this weekend. There’s just something about enjoying a flick on the ginormous screen, with superb sound and the company of other movie enthusiasts! And if you keep a sharp lookout, you can occasionally score the better part of one of those big containers of popcorn. Don’t know why folks buy them if they aren’t going to eat it all. Just be sensitive to the feelings of your companions. For some reason, many people find this disgusting.

Finally, your Bill Paxton reference cracked me up! Does anyone even remember Aliens anymore? BTW, I find my crazy eyes are safer in the underwear drawer. Steve Walco Carson City

Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages people to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Staff writer Sage Leehey Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Design Melissa Bernard, Brad Coates, Serene Lusano, Kyle Shine, Skyler Smith Advertising Consultants Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office Manager/Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Anthony Clarke Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Joe Medeiros, Ron Neill, Andy Odegard, Clayton Porter, Christian Shearer, Marty Troye, Warren Tucker, Matt Veach, Gary White, Joseph White, Margaret Underwood General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Ronsenquist Business Nicole Jackson, Tami Sandoval Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalinn Jenkins 405 Marsh Ave., Third Floor Reno, NV 89509 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds to classifieds@newsreview.com Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form.