Send letters to renoletters@newsreview.com
Officer down
Can’t evolve
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Carson City deputy sheriff Carl Howell, who was killed by a criminal with a gun. It’s horrible, and everyone who knew Howell is going to be sad for a long time. There are no words to express our community’s loss. Because of my association with FatalEncounters.org, I’m often asked to talk about police-linked violence. More often, it’s violence in the other direction, but reporters also ask me to comment on violence against police. After looking at more than 8,000 incidents where a police officer killed someone, I can tell you, the vast majority of these deaths are a bad guy with a gun who forces the officer to defend himself or herself. And of the 20 police officers who’ve been killed this year, they’re all victims in situations where they went in to do the job that society demands they do. There are just so many seemingly random acts of violence committed against police because they’re there, trying to do a job but vulnerable to instantaneous situational changes for which they could not prepare. I couldn’t do it. I could not go to work under that kind of stress. These situations are not as portrayed in the movies, where there’s some appearance of fair play, like a gunfight at the OK Corral. Time and time again the officer pulls somebody over, a simple traffic issue, and the driver or a passenger pulls out a gun and starts shooting. There’s no warning, no preparation. It’s a vicious cycle in this country. Cops I know all support the Second Amendment; it’s the law. The NRA tells us that we’ll be safer when there are guns everywhere. But in so many of these incidents where the law enforcement officer gets gunned down, the gun was only in the criminal’s hand because guns are ubiquitous. There are already 310 million guns in a nation with 319 million people. The facts aren’t out, but I know in my heart that it’s going to turn out that Jonathon Pope should not have had a gun because of earlier violent or drug or alcohol-related issues.
Re “Loaded argument” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, Aug. 6): Bruce Van Dyke’s “Loaded Argument” hit the nail on the head! Some people just can’t move on. They are destined to be living in the past until the day they die. So sorry for the rest of us. Marcia Cuccaro Carson city
Express gratitude When we talk about health care, it’s important to remember that even though more Americans have health insurance coverage these days, millions of people still struggle to find a place to go for regular preventative care. A key part of the solution lies in our nation’s Community Health Centers, which have provided quality, affordable care for 50 years. In 2014, the Silver State’s Community Health Centers saved Nevada’s health care system $98.2 million in reduced overall costs from preventable hospitalizations and avoidable emergency room visits. Sustained federal investment is critical to our success and survival. Earlier this year, health centers barely averted a massive funding cut. Were it not for the broad bipartisanship support from Congress, 15,000 to 18,000 Nevadans would have lost access to care. This would have affected hundreds of families in our community. Today, we are grateful for their support and used National Health Center Week 2015 (August 9-15) to thank them for their hard work. All too often we have been cynical about government and our leaders in office. We are grateful because there are working families in our health center waiting rooms getting affordable health care thanks to their vote. Nancy Hook 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.
Getting better all the time I lived at the South Shore of Tahoe from ’61 to ’71, and I’m embarrassed to say I was a “Tahoe snob” working at Harveys. Once a month, my wife and I would come down to have her shop at the Wonder ladies shop and then go to the Roundhouse Room at the Nugget. Aside from that, I looked at Reno as “The Skid Row of the Sierra.” It was pretty filthy and not too inviting. However, in ’71 I was forced to move to Reno and went to work at the Mapes. From that day to this one, my love for the Truckee Meadows sprouted and has continued to grow. We’ve got it all now (good and bad). But for the most part, it seems to keep getting better. We’re a few minutes away from the Lake and the desert and only an hour’s flight to San Francisco, Los Angeles or Las Vegas. We just need to make sure that we don’t outgrow our air and water. Our next generation will solve those problems as we dealt with ours. For a wonderful history of our area read Tough Little Town on the Truckee by John Townley. Mike Strem Reno
Green machines
Re “Energy plan debated” (Upfront, Aug. 6): Joe Heck’s comments show why he is not suited to step into Harry Reid’s shoes: Heck’s vision is small and old. The Obama plan is one that Nevada is now investing in with considerable positive return already being felt through increased jobs, additional industries moving into our state, and a cleaner world. It appears that Heck wants to govern a constituency that is small and extreme—the T-Party. Nothing they have supported thus far has moved our country forward economically or served to unify us as a country. Why does Joe Heck want to hold we Nevadans back rather than propel us to bigger and better things? Rex Stock Reno
Re “Charging electric cars” (Upfront, Aug. 13): The introduction of electric vehicles does change how road maintenance is to be funded. It is odd that EVs should be taxed by a different method than gasoline cars. If taxing by miles driven seems a fair way to tax EVs, then why not scrap the gasoline tax and have all cars taxed by miles driven? That would eliminate the need to tax different fuels differently and avoid having two administration methods to manage and pay for. Another oddity regarding the Oregon scheme is tracking the cars with a device that poses privacy concerns and is expensive to establish and complex to administer. Why not use the instrument that records miles driven that is in every car on the market, the odometer. Many states already record car miles as part of the annual emissions check. The capture of the data necessary to administer miles driven already exists. JP White Hendersonville, North Carolina
Everything is one Re “Spiritual experience” (Art of the State, Aug. 13): For the record, there’s a slight misquote that’s extremely important to us to fix. In the third paragraph about metaphysical churches, it should not read that people are hoping to “avoid references to God,” as that could not be further from the truth. What I meant is that oftentimes people who attend metaphysical churches come from strict Catholic or Christian backgrounds, and now attend metaphysical churches hoping to avoid Christ-only doctrine. Metaphysical churches, in my experience, have always embraced references to God, Supreme Being, Divine Spirit, The Great Mystery, etc. Much love to all! Rev. Jessica Levity Reno
Power and money NV Energy is nothing but a scammer and a fraudster. I was one of the ironworker foremen who built the coal storage (dome alongside the freeway going to Fernley off Interstate 80 East). To this day, not one lump of coal has been stored in this facility—not one ounce. It cost millions of dollars to build, and it has a complete conveyor system to transport the material from this storage unit to be fired up and used, not to mention the furnace and support buildings and equipment. I don’t know the total value of the project, but it was in the tens of millions, and these costs were all past on to us the consumers. Joseph Benenati 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
Heck no!
Editor’s note: We’ve changed the online story to read, “avoid references to Christ-only doctrine.”
Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Associate Art Director Brian Breneman Ad Design Manager Serene Lusano Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Design Kyle Shine Advertising Consultants Joseph “Joey” Davis, Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Operations Coordinator Kelly Miller
Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Anthony Clarke Distribution Drivers Tracy Breeden, Alex Barskyy, Denise Cairns, Steve Finlayson, Debbi Frenzi, Vicky Jewell, Angela Littlefield, 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
—D. Brian Burghart
brianb@ ne wsreview.com
OPINION
|
NEWS
|
GREEN
|
BEST OF NORTHERN NEVADA
|
ARTS&CULTURE
|
ART OF THE STATE
|
FOODFINDS
|
FILM
|
MUSICBEAT
|
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
|
Corrections Re “Educator” (News, Aug. 13): The A-minus we quoted from RateYourProfessors.com was not a grade given by readers to Prof. Lafer. Rather, it reflected the average of grades reviewers said they had received from him. Re “Biggest Little Best of Northern Nevada” (Goods & Services, Aug. 6): Due to an editor’s error, we failed to publish the results of Best Tattoo Parlor. We regret any confusion our omission caused. BEST TATTOO PARLOR 1. Aces Tattoo 681 S. Virginia St., 333-0915 2. A Toda Madre Tattoos 1465 S Wells Ave., 622-8189 3. Battle Born Tattoo 1717 S Wells Ave., 327-4465
Business Nicole Jackson, Kortnee Angel Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney deShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin 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
THIS WEEK
|
MISCELLANY
|
Website www.newsreview.com Printed by Sierra Nevada Media 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 design: Brian Breneman Cover illustration: Christopher Friedman
AUGUST 20, 2015
|
RN&R
|
3
