Send letters to renoletters@newsreview.com
About time
Fingers crossed
The eyes have it
Sun Valley South
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. Finally, I can stop talking about it! The Daily Show episode aired. If you want to see it, go to http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/v4l2pe/a-shot-in-the-dark. It’s a mixed bag. I personally think my part was truncated because the two hosts, Samantha Bee and Jason Jones took longer with their banter than Jon Stewart would have. I only think that because I know the part of the interview from which that section was taken. I was reading some numbers I’d prepared before the show that compared officer-involved homicides to total homicides in the states for which Fatal Encounters has collected comprehensive data. In fact, the only thing I didn’t like about the segment was where she said we just have counted up to Nevada. Here’s what I said broken down for print. These are 2000-2012 numbers: In Nevada (2.8 million population), there were 2,226 total homicides with 193 caused by law enforcement. That’s 8.8 percent. In New Hampshire (1.3 million), it’s 198 total homicides with 16 caused by law enforcement for 8.1 percent. Connecticut (3.6 million) had 1,500 total homicides with 48 caused by law enforcement for 3.2 percent. Massachusetts (6.7 million) had 2,163 with 69 caused by law enforcement for 3.2 percent. Vermont (600,000) had 146 total homicides with 13 caused by law enforcement for 8.9 percent. Maine (1.3 million) had 276 total homicides with 34 caused by law enforcement for 12.3 percent. These are the most shocking numbers of all the stuff I’ve learned since we started this project. They freak me out so bad that I wish somebody would check my math and where the statistics come from (FBI Uniform Crime Report) and prove me wrong. I’m going to write a story about the whole experience of being flown out to New York City, drinking a lot of Negronis in a very nice hotel bar, etc., etc., because I truly believe more people are interested in my little adventure than they are in the reporting that brought me there in the first place. With a little bit of luck, I’ll be able to make it as surreal as the experience was for one as provincial as myself.
Re “Tesla triumphs” (News, Sept. 18): Thank you for writing about the possible difficulties the Tesla deal may bring. I am reminded of the Hoku plant in Pocatello, Idaho. It was supposed to be a major addition to the economy of Pocatello, Idaho, by producing polysilicon needed for solar panels. The decision by the city to buy the land and lease it back almost free seemed like a bargain given the payoff in jobs that the plant would bring to Pocatello. Unfortunately, the plant went bankrupt. When Hoku went bankrupt they left the city and a long list of creditors with little money in return and many people in a small town with more difficulty in trying to make ends meet. Further, the biggest American creditor has sued in federal lawsuit accusing the company of fraud and racketeering. I truly hope that Tesla is successful in their enterprise. It will raise the property values in Fernley as well as Reno and Sparks. With the expansion of the USA Parkway, it should help the property values in Silver Springs as well. I hope Nevada will be able to provide workers for jobs besides secretary, janitor and truck driver and that the more technical jobs aren’t provided to workers from out of state. Otherwise, the deal leaves the working poor with higher rents and more difficulty managing their lives. I also hope that Tesla has not dreamed too big. Automobile manufacturing is an incredibly capital intensive operation. I truly hope the Gov. Brian Sandoval and the legislature do not end up with a huge black mark for providing Tesla such a lucrative deal and find out that the company has over planned and ends up bankrupt, like Hoku. Stephen Jackson Silver Springs
Re “Recall the Gazette-Journal” (Editorial, Oct. 2): Thanks for the eye-opener on the school board issue. I bought into the RG-J’s recall opinion piece simply because I am so tired of the local dumbass politicians who do stupid things and cost taxpayers the monies used to pay fines. From cops to judges to prosecutors to firemen to the flood control authority to the City Council and beyond, the apparently uneducated but easily brainwashed voters of Washoe County keep electing idiots who keep costing all of us more and more money. What galls me is that people seem to think the dipshits in charge pay these fines. Not so. The taxpayers, you and I, pay. We pay for the stupid mistakes these elected officials make and the school board issue, as presented by the RG-J, had me up in arms. But, enlightened by your editorial that Martinez was a conservative stalwart destined to subcontract our educational system out to the likes of Wackenhut, the prison operator, I realize once again that the RG-J does not represent the best interests of the Reno community but, rather, the RG-J represents the corporate undermining of our freedom and democracy, ala the Koch brothers’ attempt to undermine our social fabric to enslave us all with corporate solutions. Privatization of schools will only produce even more educated idiots to be brainwashed by the Koch brothers’ ultra conservative propaganda and the RG-J’s subliminal persuasion that it will be good for us to allow our corporate overlords to control our thought patterns. The RG-J has nothing to do with journalism and everything to do with brainwashing. Thanks for the wake up call. Fred Jones Reno
Re “A painting worth a thousand words” (Left Foot Forward, Oct. 9): I just find it immeasurably sad that the state’s top preservation officer, sworn to protect cultural resources, allows the utter destruction of the historic viewshed of a National Historic Landmark under his watch and then goes to work for the company. And for what? Chump change. When these small, unsophisticated county governments failed to preserve their cultural resources, the state’s Office of Historic Preservation would step forward and help mitigate, for they understood the national importance of a National Historic Landmark and were not afraid of protecting it. Andria Daley Virginia City
Or falls down it Re “A painting worth a thousand words” (Left Foot Forward, Oct. 9): History of mining in Nevada: “They get the gold; Nevada gets the shaft.” Karl Larson Moab, Utah
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, Eric Marks, 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 Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Design Melissa Bernard, Brad Coates, Kyle Shine Advertising Consultants Joseph “Joey” Davis, Gina Odegard, Bev Savage, Jessica Wilson Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office Manager/Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker
—D. Brian Burghart
Earth power Re “Pagan it forward” (Arts & Culture, Oct. 9): There are also representatives from the pagan community that participate in the Inter-Faith Clergy Association here in the Reno-Sparks community. In this way, we can not only help the larger community, but also work to dispel misconceptions about what pagans are like and what we do. Children of Temple Earth has been doing this for the past four years. We are also licensed and ordained ministers and provide pagan handfasting ceremonies (marriages) and other rituals for the pagan community. Ellyn Darrah Reno
Speaking of lost legacy Re “A painting worth a thousand words” (Left Foot Forward, Oct. 9): Mr. James’ condescending dismissal of Comstock resident’s legitimate concerns about the impacts of surface mining on their property values and quality of life is ugly, but
Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Anthony Clarke Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Steve Finlayson, Debbi Frenzi, Vicky Jewell, Joe Medeiros, Ron Neill, Christian Shearer, Marty Troye, Warren Tucker, 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 Rosenquist
brianb@ ne wsreview . com
OPINION
|
NEWS
|
GREEN
|
FEATURE STORY
|
ARTS&CULTURE
|
ART OF THE STATE
|
FOODFINDS
|
FILM
|
MUSICBEAT
|
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
|
THIS WEEK
unfortunately typical. He once told me that historic preservation was impossible without extra-governmental funding. I guess that explains why he never went to the legislature with a proposal to strengthen the preservation laws and regulations. But it doesn’t explain why as State Historic Preservation Officer he failed to develop a fund-raising program and a wider constituency for preservation. During his tenure as SHPO he could have encouraged the formation of an NGO and foundation for preservation instead of waiting until CMI offered him a sinecure in their PR machine. Robert Elston Silver City
No, I am your father Re “Recall the Gazette-Journal” (Editorial, Oct. 2): Please do us all a favor and don’t write anymore about the Washoe County School District. Your lamebrained editorial from a few weeks back calling for the firing of Martinez because he legally let go of the police chief was totally ignorant. Disclose your connections to the school district instead of spreading lies about what happened. I am sure you must have family members who work there. What happened to Pedro Martinez happens to literally thousands of teachers all across the country and for equally stupid reasons. Why? Because school district lawyers tell them they can in order to force a lawsuit, a settlement and a gag order. It’s a total abuse of taxpayer money and of the legal system, and here you and your rag justify it. The RG-J was absolutely correct going after your lousy, corrupt board. I hope they are all thrown out. If you have no concept of how school districts operate above the law, then don’t write about them anymore. Susan Nunes Medford, Oregon
Business Nicole Jackson, Tami Sandoval Sweetdeals Coordinator Alicia Brimhall Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir 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
|
MISCELLANY
|
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.
Cover and feature story design: Brian Breneman Cover Illustration: Jonathan Buck
OCTOBER 16, 2014
|
RN&R
|
3
