Letters

Still time for 95-words

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

D. Brian Burghart and I are going to alternate writing this weekly editor’s note column. Last week, he announced that we’re now accepting submissions for our annual 95-word fiction contest. He wrote a sample story last week, but I wanted a crack at it this year as well, so here’s my offering:

Matt woke up early. He made coffee and sat down at the computer. He wrote his name, his professor’s name and the date. He hit save. Then he got up, took a shower, made breakfast, cleaned the dishes. Then he cleaned the bathroom. He called his grandmother, thanking her for the birthday present. He made lunch. He read the Wikipedia page for the Batman villain Killer Croc. He made dinner, did dishes. He emailed his professor, “I had a family emergency, spent all day on the phone with my grandmother. Can I get an extension?”

These 95 word stories are fun writing exercises. It’s kind of like writing a haiku, because you have to fit an idea into a really small space. It’s a good practice for any kind of writer at any level of experience. My advice is to write it long and then trim down. (My first draft of the story above was about 250 words long.)

The stories should be exactly 95 words as counted by LibreOffice, Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Titles are excluded from word count. We’ll publish our favorite stories. Email entries to renofiction@newsreview.com. Send the stories in the body of the emails, write “Fiction 2015” in the subject line, and be sure to include your name, email and phone number. (We’ll remove the names before judging the stories.)

If you want to read more examples or just size up the competition, you can find last year’s winners here: www.newsreview. com/reno/biggest-little-stories/ content?oid=15843656.

But hurry! Submissions must be received by 9 a.m. on Dec. 16. So you might need to leave the dishes undone. —Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

Gunfight

Something for the gun control lobby to think about: France and Israel have gun control laws we would consider strict here in America, but weapons are somehow procured for assaults in both countries.

But for the sake of argument, what if we could confiscate all guns, leaving mass murderers disarmed? What would they do then? Google Boko Haram. Spoiler alert: It involves machete-wielding thugs entering your home and your family watching you die. Boko Haram, now backed by ISIS. Click or call. We must stand together and fight together, not try to disarm each other and let the enemy win. Gary Gould Reno

Ert?

Re “Potpourri” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, Nov. 26):

Mr. Van Dyke, I generally dig your column, but last week’s sucked.

Yes, there is a candidate who is bringing the country together. He’s getting Greens to register Dem, the young to register their first time, Republicans to re-register, independents doing the same, and he is a fave with millennials. And I heard him with my very own one and a half ears say out loud that he will put down $1 trillion to rebuild our infrastructure. This is that Socialist Democrat fellow who drew nearly 5,000 people to the University of Nevada, Reno a couple of months ago with a mere three days notice. Guess you missed it. Too bad.

And while you slyly suggest Hilly will beat Trumpy, you give no lip service to this wild-haired Senator who is going to stomp on both the Democratic “favorite” (she who tells Wall Street to “Cut it out” and 9/11), and the un-nominated creepy conservative beast—whomever that happens to be.

Bruce, you’ve been smoking a bit too much, or not smoking enough, so please do some research and find out who this miraculous politician is who wants to give us all free public college, medicare for everybody, tackle global warming as a real issue, tax the ugly banksters and billionaire class, and rebuild our infrastructure.

Sorry I can’t tell you who it is, you will have to do some original research. But it won’t be hard. He’s on the cover of the December Rolling Stone, and a candidate for Time’s man of the year. Hint: First name is a combination of Bert and Ernie—surely you remember those two? XOXOXO

Craig Bergland Reno

Talkback

Re “Bernie, Bernie, burning bright” (Letters, Nov. 26):

A thought for Brad (Why Bother?) McKenzie’s letter: The only way Bernie Sanders can’t get elected is the usual—if enough people don’t vote for him. Your letter is in fact a dis-incentive to vote for Bernie Sanders which I hope is not your thought. I think it is fair to say that nothing would make the rich and the powerful more perturbed than Bernie Sanders in the White House, the Man of the Year absolutely. Just speak up for Bernie Sanders at the Feb 20th caucuses, Brad, and keep listening to him right on through as events careen along. Diane Campbell Reno

Rationality on pot?

Re “Marijuana slows achievers” (Upfront, Dec. 3):

There are too many variable factors to point toward different countries’ educational statistics to rationally claim cannabis (marijuana) causes lower achievement, unless, truth be told, Washoe Assemblymember Pat Hickey is a Republican cannabis prohibitionist with an agenda. Further, using Colorado’s example, once government is forced to regulate cannabis, adolescents have less opportunity to acquire the plant than when the black market regulates it. It’s time to stop caging responsible adults who choose to use the extremely popular, relatively safe, God-given plant cannabis. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Co.

War for drugs

The presidential candidates should really be more vocal about the issue of rising prescription drug prices in the United States. Over the last several years, the costs for medications to treat diseases such as cancer, HIV, arthritis, and even high cholesterol have more than doubled. Some medications have even increased in price by over 1,000 percent. Nowhere are the effects of these price increases more evident than in the state of Nevada.

As someone who has worked in the health care industry and is pursuing a master’s degree in epidemiology, I know firsthand how these costs negatively affect many of the residents here. Clearly, we have a significant problem facing our state. Pharmaceutical companies have held a monopoly over the drug market for decades, and their executives have continually sought to increase profits. The problem is that all of us, small business owners and families alike, are paying the cost. I believe that greater competition among drug producers, coupled with the increased availability of generic drugs, would reduce costs significantly. This issue isn’t Republican or Democrat. We need leadership from both political parties to ensure that all Nevadans have access to affordable lifesaving medications.

Nick Terpstra Reno

Correction

Re “An unsurprising ruling” (News, Dec. 3):

In our report on dual ward/ district elections, we ran a list of cities with such systems. Carson City should not have been on that list. We regret the error.

Erik Holland

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