Letters for May 15, 2008

Real numbers
Re “Growing Pain” (Guest comment, May 8):

Sparks Mayor Geno Martini has accused the sustainable growth community of misleading voters by fudging our numbers as we work to qualify a ballot initiative that would address the local penchant of allowing more growth than water resources will allow. He has either been misinformed, or he has not read the text or background information on the initiative, which has been circulating since March 13 and is also posted on our website at http://planevada.org/content/blogcategory/75/446/.

One area where we agree with the mayor is that in 2030, we will have approximately 600,000 people. But the mayor conveniently neglects to mention two additional, critical facts: First, that experts (state and county, public and private) agree that there’s enough water in Washoe County to support a maximum of 600,000 people. Second, Mayor Martini (and Mayor Cashell) approved spending $1 million to fund studies that indeed anticipate 1.2 million people in this region at the build-out of the regional plan. How are the additional 600,000 people supposed to water their gardens?

Bob Fulkerson
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Reno

Down memory lane
Re “Remember when Reno was a great town?” (Left in the Lurch, May 8):

Yes, I remember when Reno was a great town. It was a great town yesterday when I left my office building downtown for lunch and had my choice of several amazing, locally owned restaurants within walking distance. It was a great town this morning when I had a 10-minute commute from home to office, and I could enjoy looking down on a clean, beautiful, sun-lit valley on my way in from the North Valleys. It’s a great town when I gather with other dedicated residents to work on building our community, helping others, and promoting the quality of life that we enjoy. It’s a great town when I enjoy the incomparable variety of cultural and outdoor activities Reno offers. If Mr. Farley is so enamored of small-town life, he should move to a smaller community. Then when he gets forced into an early retirement at the only newspaper in that other small town, there will be nowhere else for him to find employment because the community will not be large or diverse enough to support another publication.

Janet Buckley
Reno

Oh, sure … logic
Re “Illegal immigrants sap our resources” (Know You’re Right, May 8):

I hate to break the news to Amanda Williams and others who whine about “illegal immigrants” but we are all illegal. The first Europeans in this country never applied for residency. They took the land of the Native Americans by force and legal trickery. The point is crying about immigrants’ illegal status is hypocritical for anyone of any heritage except Native American.

Let’s go back to the system in place before restrictive immigration laws were passed. Mexicans would cross the border to work and then return home. When laws tightened and they had no assurance of being able to return to the U.S. they just stayed here. A good guest worker program like Canada has, ensuring the ability to return in the future, would persuade most temporary Mexican workers to return home after job completion.

We do need border enforcement, especially in these days of international terrorism. So let’s enforce existing law and get a better guest worker program. Let’s legalize those who are already here and get them into the system paying taxes. These more recent immigrants are no more illegal than our forefathers were; they just want to live the American dream.

Ronald Miller
Reno

The Fourth St. Whores?
Reno is getting two professional sports teams, and they’ll need names. Don’t expect something clever or catchy, though. Sports owners are about as creative in naming teams as real estate developers are in naming streets.

Reno’s basketball team, which will be in the minor-league NBA Development League, is holding a naming contest and has whittled the field to four: Bighorns, Enforcers, Rangers and Riders. Sigh.

The AAA baseball club will probably succumb to a similarly insipid set of selections. Maybe something like, say, “The Silver Miners.”

Why can’t team owners choose a memorable team moniker that reflects the true character of a city? That commemorates some abiding aspect of daily life?

Here are a few suggestions:

1) The Illegal Landscapers. ("'Scapers” for short.)

2) The Tattooed Meth Fiends. ("Fiends")

3) The Gas Guzzling White Pickup Trucks. ("Guzzlers” or “Pickups.")

4) The Neurotic Strippers. ("Strips.")

5) The Slow Road Crews. ("Crews.")

6) The Summer Wildfires. ("Fires.")

Wouldn’t a colorful name be better for drawing fans to the ballpark? I mean, what would motivate you more as an invitation from a friend:

A) “Hey, Bob, let’s go catch the Silver Miners double-header this weekend.”

B) “Hey, Bob, let’s go catch the Horny Divorcees double-header this weekend.”

I would guess the latter. The team logo would be more interesting, too.

Mike Sion
Reno