Letters

Broken

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I feel as though I’m drowning in death. One of my best friends has end-stage pancreatic, liver and lung cancer. I didn’t intend to write about it, but we had a couple of big parties at my house over the weekend, and I was tagged dozens of times on Facebook, which pretty much launched the cat from the bag. We’ve been friends since 1987, and she ’s really my only long-time close friend left in Reno. Her name is Carmen Garcia. She’s 47 years old. She was recently curriculum director at the Davidson Academy.

Carmen defies description. Brilliant mind, hard-working, beautiful, audacious and profane, she’s been a hero and inspiration to me for all these years. She was the first out of our little group to get a graduate degree, pounding through it by tending bar in places like Doc Hollidays. I would never have achieved my modest levels of accomplishment without her blazing the path. Her first diagnosis in July was Hep A, because she’d turned yellow, and nobody looks for cancer in somebody so young and vibrant. Hep A is curable, but then we learned it was Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and because of her youth, the prognosis was six months to two years. Then a week ago, on Sept. 11, the hospice nurse said two weeks. We’ll see. Carmie has always broken expectations.

I’m fortunate to be able to be around for her in emergency situations and to have house for the family and friends who are coming to say goodbye. It’s beyond bittersweet, more like inside out.

I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of a world without Carmen in it, and therefore, I can think of nothing else. I’ve been through this before. One of my best friends died of viral meningitis, and the friend I moved to Reno with died of AIDS. Since I’m six years older, I always thought she’d always be around. For years, I’ve pictured her as one of those cantankerous, gray-haired writers into her 90s. If one of the strongest can get put in the express checkout lane, what’s that say about the rest of us? —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

Don’t answer the racists

Re “All the hate in one letter” (Letters to the Editor, Sept. 10):

Your response to Jane Peterkin’s letter from Milwaukee regarding what is happening in her school system and, no doubt, around the country was not appropriate nor serious.

She wrote to share with you what she sees happening in her community and all you can do is call her names? Illegal immigration into our country is a serious matter to most citizens and invites a serious discussion from all parties. Instead of engaging her in a thoughtful, mature exchange of ideas, all you can do is be crass. I realize your paper has a liberal/left wing perspective, but a community newspaper should be able to engage in a meaningful dialogue about issues that concern the country. Just because you have a different opinion, doesn’t mean other people don’t have valid arguments and viewpoints.

Calling people names and belittling their opinions doesn’t help our country get any closer to resolving problems.

Paul E. Johnson Carson City

Editor’s note: I have a knee-jerk reaction when someone cherry picks a line from a religious text in order to encourage racist hate and bigotry. Why would someone claiming to be from Milwaukee send a letter to a weekly newspaper in Reno? Are we supposed to assume they don’t have the internet in Wisconsin, and therefore the distance protects her from being stigmatized back home? Sometimes we print distasteful letters so that readers will see the quality of the discussion out there, but it doesn’t mean we have to treat it as anything but what it is.

Where’s the coverage?

What happened to coverage of the U.S. Open Women’s final?

The little I could find on Yahoo sports had me believing it was Vinci and Penetta playing in the semis. Nay! It was the two fantastic Paisan girls playing for the cup! The final! The championship! And not a word on TV.

Not a clip. The little I saw of Penetta, who won, was incredible. And Vinci had to beat Serena Williams just to go to the final! So much for equal pay—coverage—for equal work. I get more and more sick and fed up with the entire media. And what about the Women’s National Basketball Association? Those girls put up almost as many points in their All-Star game as what the men used to. 229 this year. I love basketball, and I love women. What could be better than the WNBA?

C’mon people, try to pick it up! Jon Obester Reno

Feel the Bern!

Re “Vote No Evil” (Feature story, Sept. 17):

In the article “Vote No Evil,” the staff of RN&R discuss what they consider to be the most important issues that need to be brought up during the primaries and the election in 2016. Whether by intent or a misguided sense of being fair and balanced, it seems that there were some glaring omissions in this article’s cry for substance from our candidates. 1) Brian Burghart decried Citizens United and said “there’s no hope.” That’s depressing, but he doesn’t even mention that Bernie Sanders has, at every public engagement and most of his interviews, argued vehemently to undo the mess created by Citizens United. In fact, Sen. Sanders advocates public financing of elections in order to remove the influence of money at the source. 2) Rachel Leibrock says, “Immigration reform proposals must center on how all lives, undocumented or otherwise, can be improved.” Sanders has stated he would not only establish a path to citizenship, but insure that immigrant labor gets fair treatment, protection, and living wages. 3) Bruce Maiman suggested that the campaigns of presidential candidates “shuts out the average citizen who can’t cut a check for $10,000 to buy his ‘free speech’.” Sanders has refused to accept PAC money, and his biggest “price tag” events have been a $25 dinner. 4) Food insecurity = income inequality. Janelle Bitker has pointed out that 49 million Americans are food insecure. When he was here at the University of Nevada, Reno, Sanders pointed out that same problem. He advocates living wages, investment in public works jobs, free education, universal childcare, and national health care to get more people to work, more people healthy, and put more money in the pockets of our citizens. 5) Just a pollution tax, Nick? Pollution taxes alone can’t be the answer. If every corporation simply takes that tax as a cost of doing business, we reduce pollution zero. Sanders has said that bold action is required. That means moving away from fossil fuels, funding building upgrades to 86,000 buildings to go solar, stopping the Keystone pipeline and yes strict carbon taxing to help pay for the stimulus in sustainable energy. 6) Kel Munger pointed out that Sanders responded to Black Lives Matter by issuing a statement on reforming institutional racism. But this included addressing our militarized police, pursuing aggressive prosecutions of police officers who break the law and election reform to make sure minorities have a strong voice in how the government works in all matters. 7) Bruce Maiman says, “put up or shut up” on the issue of women’s reproduction rights and the care of poor children. Does it need pointing out? Sanders has strong policy on women’s rights across the board. The right to choose, protection from domestic violence, and closing the pay gap. Plus, as I said before, he wants to quality childcare available to all Americans.

Maybe RN&R was concerned with appearing biased toward one candidate. But it’s worth noting that every key issue the writers presented as important and ignored, has been a key plank in the Sanders campaign from the beginning. Even more importantly, if you look at his record, they’ve been a key part of his whole political life. So maybe the RN&R should take a longer look at one candidate since he appears to answer all their questions. And remember, a key part of this article was the power of the media (that’s you) to influence what (or who) is and isn’t discussed this campaign. Felix Danger Reno

Erik Holland

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 Contributors Amy Alkon, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Eric Marks, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Kris Vagner, 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 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 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 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.