Best of times

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Did you vote yet?

Voting has begun for this year’s Best of Northern Nevada contest. This behemoth contest is one of our biggest annual undertakings. We act as the conduit for you, the fine folks of the local community, to express praise for your favorite local businesses, activities, personalities and more. Vote for your favorite restaurants, bars, TV newscasters, barbershops, grocery stores and every-freaking-thing else. There are more than 300 categories in which to vote.

And if you own a local business or you are some kind of self-important local personality, feel free to rally your friends and family to vote for you. We like seeing a hard-fought campaign.

That said, in reaction to some of the more infuriating results of the last couple of years, we decided to tweak the rules a bit. There are now two rounds of voting. The first round, an open primary, runs through June 7. The second round of voting—from a pool of nominees—will run from June 28 to July 26. Only one ballot per email address per round. We also monitor IP addresses and watch for other signs of ballot-stuffing, so don’t even try it.

Also: Beware of cheap knockoffs! There are a few imitation contests out there. Don’t waste your time voting in contests that nobody cares about. We host the contest that awards the plaques that you see around town at Reno’s best businesses.

Check out the promo ad on page 6 for more details. Or head straight on over to www.bestofnorthernnevada.com.