by Dennis Myers
ThiS ModeRn WoRld
by tom tomorrow
Is winter over? Asked at Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave., Sparks Cy Madrone Architectural engineer
Coming from a place that supposedly has no weather, as in Santa Barbara, the seasons can be subtle. I believe that winter is not over per se. … I live here a hundred days a year, and I come in all seasons. I could never make that assumption, having driven the mountain passes many times. Nature has some surprises in store for us.
Ronnie Ayres Salesperson
Winter never started. I’ve just been enjoying this non-season. It’s pretty amazing.
Tonya Schlattman Business services representative
Grounded
No way. Just as the East Coast was hit so hard, I think we will be, too, eventually.
blogs, message boards, videos, what have you—and A few weeks ago, after the statue of Last Chance Joe making, if not always a living, at least supplementary was moved from in front of the Sparks Nugget to the Sparks Heritage Museum, we learned that a young aspir- income. The notion that the rights of such a large swath of citizens across the United States are suspended for ing photographer named Donald Abbott had shot the move with a drone. We contacted him and offered to run the foreseeable future is troubling. Abbott has started a photography business. Why should one of his best tools one of his overhead photos of Joe at his new home. We be stymied in this fashion? ran it in our Dec. 11, 2014, edition. “As with many new technologies that are unchecked Here’s something that none of our readers likely and untried, our society can have a reflexive compulsion knew at the time. It was legal for Mr. Abbott to take to reach for a straitjacket before letting them loose,” the photo we published. It would have been illegal for the Columbia Journalism Review recently observed. anyone employed by this newspaper to do so. “Bind it until we understand it. That’s In a peculiarity of evolving Civilian drones what we are doing now with civilian federal law, the Federal Aviation drones. And what’s particularly Administration has decreed that can be used for a odd is that the Federal Aviation anyone can fly civilian drones at low Administration is, at the moment, the levels unless they are doing it for a pep rally but not government agency that has turned profit purpose. Thus, as long as they to earn a profit. itself into the arbiter of whether follow regulations, individuals on a journalists should be allowed to use lark can do it, but businesses cannot. drones in their reporting. In other words, an agency What is likely to be a very useful information gathering whose expertise lies in aeronautics and cockpit procetool is being grounded by an issue—profit—that should dures is now the central player in an issue that ought to not be a concern. be about the first amendment. Something’s not right.” We get that this is a consequence of the pace of There are no doubt going to be legitimate grounds modern technology, and of the difficulty of keeping for regulating civilian drone use, but they should have up. In the early years of the internet, Congress avoided something to do with relevant concerns such as safety, legislating in the field because its members—like the not whether the use to which the drones are being put is rest of the nation—didn’t know enough. That was a profitable. laudable caution. We hope the members of the Nevada congressional Nevertheless, it is disconcerting to have First delegation are paying attention to this issue, because Amendment rights being determined by in the halls could well be in their laps sooner or later. Ω of an air service agency. Media is no longer just newspapers and broadcasting. Hundreds of thousands of people are now operating their own online newsletters, OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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FEATURE STORY
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ARTS&CULTURE
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ART OF THE STATE
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Kelly Stoll Restaurant server
Is it over? Did if ever start in the first place? I’d like it to be over. I’m ready for spring.
Matt Forbes Welder
Well, I hope not. I definitely hope we’re going to see some more weather here. I mean, we’ve been in drought for the last three years or so. Tahoe water’s already below the rim. I think we’re in bad shape right now.
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THIS WEEK
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MISCELLANY
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FEBRUARY 5, 2015
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RN&R
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5
