Letters for March 12, 2009

Go away, GOP

Re “Son of Romney v. Reid” (Upfront, March 5):

I could not care less if Romney ran against Reid. First of all, he wouldn’t get my vote. Neither would I vote for any other Republican; they are just a bunch of angry white men and women who just don’t get it when it comes to people of color or the poor. The Republican Party is full of it. They haven’t a clue as to how to fix the economy or anything else for that matter. They are responsible for the mess we are in today. Oh one thing for sure, they can kiss big bad drug-addicted Rush Limbaugh’s ass. Michael Steel made me sick just listening to him suck up to a radio host.

I’m sick of the Republican Party and their old ways of thinking with no fresh ideas except try to defeat and embarrass the president. I, for one, have the president’s back and will support him. I feel safe with him in office but never a Republican. They are just a party of people who can’t stand to see progress.

Gloria Malone
Milwaukee, Wis.

Nevada’s the place

As a resident of Reno, I am proud to see our city embrace renewable energy technology. The fact that we’re using geothermal power, a naturally occurring source of energy from deep underground with minimal environmental impacts and no greenhouse gas emissions, makes me thankful for the vision shown by our city leaders.

Contrast that vision with plans to build a huge 1,600-megawatt coal-burning power plant near Ely, and I have to shake my head in wonder. We live in a state that has world class solar activity, some of the highest geothermal potential in the country, as well as huge wind resources. And we have no coal. Yet we want to build the White Pine Energy Station, a plant that will burn millions of tons of coal railed in from Wyoming every year, will emit over 13,000 tons of air pollutants every year, and will send out over 12 million tons of CO2 every year. Does this make sense?

Robert Beetle
via email

Another dirty secret

Re “You’re screwed!” (Feature story, Feb. 26):

I think the article “You’re Screwed!” is missing a Dirty Secret No. 7. That secret is that the article’s author totally misleads the readers on what qualifies a real estate agent to successfully process short sales. In the article, the author infers that the only agent qualified to handle a short sale is one that is a certified Default Resolution Specialist (CDRS). She goes on to say that this coveted designation has been awarded to only seven agents in the country and there is only one in the Reno/Sparks area. This sounds good … but only if you say it fast.

First, let’s talk about the CDRS designation. As of this writing, this designation is not recognized by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In fact, there are no national entities that recognize this designation. This could be one reason why there are only seven CDRS agents in the country. What is the value of receiving a designation that only looks important on your business card? The fact is, the CDRS designation is the brainchild of an Austin, Texas, housing consulting company that, since 2007, has touted their short sale courses and training materials to real estate agents nationwide. According to their website, agents, or anyone, can buy short sale tools ranging from a “Short Sale Calculator” software program for $79 to a short sale instruction guide (binder) for $395.

While the above referenced RN&R article stressed the importance of working with the lone CDRS-designated agent in Reno/Sparks, the mentioned agent was involved in listing only one of the 46 homes that sold in Reno for the period from January through February 2009. Another agent represented the buyer of that house. More importantly, what this really means is that a non-CDRS-designated agent represented the remaining 45 sellers and all 46 buyers. So, it seems that process-intensive short sales are being handled quite handily by real estate agents without this designation. Let’s not cloud the basics of how to choose an agent to sell or help you buy a short sale house: Hire an agent that has a successful history of processing short sales and one with whom you feel comfortable working with. Period. End of story.

Mike Ramos
Reno

Mitt’s on

Re “Son of Romney v. Reid” (Upfront, March 5):

I was thrilled to read your article. Wouldn’t be wonderful if Mitt Romney actually moved to Nevada and ran against Harry Reid? He would win hands down—no question about that. Many people love Mitt and would be happy to see this move take place. I say go for it Mr. Romney—make our day! Dirty Harry needs to be shut down, as does Pelosi, and we need someone with honesty, brains and guts to fight the fight for us. What better man for the job than Mitt Romney?

And think what a great asset he would be, to the people of Nevada. Those who have had the chance to meet Mitt, here in California, just love him. They say he is down-to-earth and very nice. He also has a nice family, and I have a great respect for his faith. (I am a Catholic.) He would make a great U.S.A. president, would he not? I guess, now, that we know who our candidate for the GOP should have been in 2008, do we not?

He was the peoples’ choice, but in the primary, we actually did not get a choice; McCain was forced upon us by the GOP and the media, and we were very disappointed. The outcome was a disaster, wasn’t it? Look what is happening to our country now—and none of it is American, is it?

Joann Ashton
Brentwood, Calif.

Nevada is not a dump

Trash is an eyesore and harmful to the environment. That is not up for debate. So why are so many of us still littering? Every time I go out, I see trash. It’s in yards. It’s on the roads. It’s on the ground in parking lots—mere steps away from a trash can. Fast food wrappers, cigarette butts and drink containers get tossed carelessly aside when their owner is done with them. You know who you are. You disgust me, and you should be disgusted with yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to walk or drive down the street and not feel like we live in a garbage dump?

We should recycle aluminum, glass, plastic and paper, but it seems baby steps are necessary. There are trash cans at home, at work, at school, at every store, gas station, and park. I implore everyone to hold on to your garbage—keep a grocery bag in your car, for instance—until you reach one of those places. We need to work together to keep our city clean. Keep your waste to yourself and let others know it’s not acceptable when you see them littering. How beautiful Reno will be when we all pitch in.

Eli Lyon
via email

Correction

Re “Editor’s choices” (Best of Northern Nevada, Oct. 16, 2008):

In an item about Zephyr Books, we noted that there was at least one employee of the store that previously worked at Black and White Books, but that B&W’s store cat, Rex, had not made the transition to Zephyr. Memory failed us: The B&W store cat was actually named Jacob, known as Jake to many customers. We also regret to report that Jake has died.