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Still encountering
What would Jesus do?
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. How about an update on Fatal Encounters? Fatal Encounters was part of our project last year to look at the various issues regarding officer-involved homicides. I now tend to call them “officer-involved deaths,” since so many people equate homicide with murder, but I’m still a little irritated that I have to modify my own language so as not to upset the ignorant. Anyway, part of the project was the database I was building, which eventually became a 501(c)3. In the database, fatalencounters.org, I attempt to track 17 details of incidents of law enforcement-involved deaths. We get our information through a combination of crowdsourcing volunteers, public records requests and paid volunteers who cull through media accounts. (I call them “paid volunteers” because there’s no way they’re being fully compensated for their time. It’s more of a stipend.) In the four months since the newspaper’s part of this ended, we’ve added nearly 2,000 entries, putting us up to 6,200 records. We figure at our current rate, we’ll be finished with the database in about 99 weeks. We’ve gotten love from around the world for our efforts. Here’s a story that ran in the Netherlands last week: www. volkskrant.nl/opinie/hopelijkkan-obama-zwart-en-blankverzoenen~a3986497, which I think is cool because I can’t read a word of it except my name. I’ve got an on-camera interview with China Central TV’s flagship talkshow, The Heat, tomorrow, and producers from Real Money with Ali Velshi coming to Reno to watch our process at the house. The New York Times had us on the front page on May 1. http://ow.ly/Mmmm9. They were pretty generous, saying among other things, “Fatal Encounters, maintained by D. Brian Burghart, the publisher of the Reno News & Review, may be the most meticulous aggregator of reports of killings by the police.” That Times piece bought us some credibility. People are quoting from it, using the Times’ analysis of our data as proof of legitimacy: http://ow.ly/MrQ2o. But get ready, we aren’t going to rest on our laurels. There are always a few new things in development.
Re “Faculty, students and staff” (Editorial, April 2): Guns on campus. What would Jefferson do? Or Madison? There’s no need to argue or guess—both men banned guns at the University of Virginia—Jefferson as founding rector (president) and Madison as his successor. Given that Thomas Jefferson was something of a tyranny buff, and that James Madison more or less wrote the Second Amendment, their position was pretty solid. In fact, it wasn’t even controversial. The reason for the founders’ campus gun prohibition was no different from our own. They wanted to create a safe atmosphere conducive to academic life. Guns smuggled onto the Virginia campus proved to be a distraction and a hazard. One professor was shot by armed pranksters and later died. Where there are guns, people get shot, and it’s no different today. There should be a learning moment with this issue in our own time. College campuses, with strict gun control and very few guns, are among the safest places in America. In fact, there are twice as many homicides just in Michele Fiore’s home city of Las Vegas as there are on all 4,700 higher ed campuses combined. We should be exporting the campus gun control model to our states, not importing guns to campus. I think the founders had no idea that the Second Amendment would end up being twisted into a pretext for vigilantism. If AB148 ends up on Gov. Sandoval’s desk, he ought to side with those two U.Va. presidents, and keep guns out of our schools. C.G. Green Reno
The viciously ignorant I am astonished at the uncompromising ignorance some people exhibit while speaking (or writing) on a topic they know absolutely nothing about. The subject matter of concern to me here is marijuana, and more specifically, the plant itself. The hemp plant has been around for millennia, and has provided humans with benefits still being discovered to this very day.
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.
The discovery of the New World was powered by hemp sails and rigging. With modern technology, we are learning we can use the hemp plant in many ways to take advantage of this natural gift of the earth. Hemp seed, as an example, is nature’s perfect food product, containing proteins and essential fatty acids. Only recently have we talked about the medicinal benefits contained in marijuana. Some state legislators have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana, including our very own state of Nevada. Others have begun the process of legalizing the plant for recreational use. Why aren’t we using hemp today to save our environment? Deforestation is slowly killing our planet! Have you considered how much paper we consume in any given day? Constitutionalists should know that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written on hemp paper. Why aren’t we doing that today? The answer, of course is simple—greed! Big money interests want to keep this plant illegal for all the obvious reasons. And so, you see, I could go on and on about benefits to humanity, not to mention the buds can give you a buzz. But seriously, we’ve known about this for decades and we haven’t really done anything about it until recently, as in sporadic legalization. And that’s not good enough. We need to educate ourselves about marijuana and hemp so we may eradicate the ignorance about this plant. I try not to sound mean about this, but some of these self-proclaimed drug warriors need to understand the harm this idiocy (the drug war) has caused our great nation. We need people to stand up against this every chance they get. It’s the only way we have a chance to stand up to the big money interests—our voices. J.R. Reynolds Reno
Certified Nevada organic Re “Battle grown” (Green, April 9): Thank you for covering this issue, as it is hugely important for our community and local economy. Austin Koontz Reno
Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Special Projects Editor Georgia Fisher Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Eric Marks, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young
Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Associate Art Director Brian Breneman Ad Design Manager Serene Lusano 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 Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker Kelly Miller
—D. Brian Burghart
brianb@ ne wsreview . com
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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FOODFINDS
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MUSICBEAT
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Long memory Re “Alive and well in Lockwood” (News, July 10, 2003): This statement is incorrect: “It was [Charlie] Cheramie who called the first meeting of park residents back in 1999. The cooperative was his idea. And he nominated Edna to be president.” It was Cheramie, Brent Tyler and Bret Tyler who called the first meeting to present their idea to the residents. A second meeting was scheduled so the residents could think about their proposal for a week. At the second meeting it was voted to form a co-op. A call for nominations was then placed and Edna Cudworth was nominated. Faith StClair Lockwood
Think before you vote The current legislators were voted in to represent the hard-working Nevada majority, but instead, they are spending their time destroying anything that resembles democracy! Their attacks on the middle class include bills related to voter suppression, collective bargaining, prevailing wage, health benefits, women’s rights (ERA), and all rational gun regulations. They truly have redefined Nevada as “The Wild West.” I hope that the next election will reclaim Nevada for “We The People.” I urge all voters to be cautious about who you put into office and to select people who are responsible citizens and who represent the issues that protect the concerns and the rights of average middle class citizens. Gale Audia Reno
Not a literal reading Re “Thou shalt not pack” (Letters to the editor, April 16): I respect people’s right to their religious views. However, using your religious scripture to justify a ban on guns or guns on campus is a bit spurious. Rabbi Blair states, “Normalizing murder does not make for a safer or more compassionate society. Moses taught us that thousands of years ago…”
Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Anthony Clarke Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Steve Finlayson, Debbi Frenzi, Vicky Jewell, Angela Littlefield, 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
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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The Bible is such a great place to find peaceful and compassionate ideology. Let’s start with Moses. In Exodus 2:12 he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, so he kills the Egyptian and hides his body in the desert. Exodus 11:5: Now, in order to free the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, he conspires with God to murder the first born of everyone in Egypt even those born to slaves. Moses isn’t like, Lord, this is a bit much, how about give them all chicken pox or AIDS? Nah, we’ll just kill them all. Numbers 31:18: Once free of Egypt, he doesn’t lead the Hebrews to an empty land where they can raise their children and live in peace. No, he goes on a genocidal rampage through Israel. Supposedly, the Lord tells him to kill every male, even the little kids, and every woman who’s not a virgin. What about the virgins? Well, you can take them as booty prize. Moses isn’t like, Say what, Lord? This is just not right. At least we can spare the women and children. Whether it’s supporting disproportionate unjustified violence, discrimination against women, or hatred of gays, the Bible is not the best reference guide. So don’t use the Bible to justify your dislike of guns. They didn’t have guns back in the days of Moses, but I’m pretty sure if the Midianites had guns, Moses would have used guns as well to wipe them off the face of the Earth in addition to the other tribes of Israel. In fact, the Egyptians would have banned all Hebrews from owning weapons to enslave them, and that my friend, is why governments like to ban guns. Ed Park Reno
Correction Re “Love and skate” (Arts & Culture, April 30): We incorrectly reported that Classic Skateshop owner Eric Lantto was born in Gardnerville. He’s actually from Florida. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion.
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THIS WEEK
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MISCELLANY
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Website 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: Priscilla Garcia
MAY 7, 2015
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