Letters for April 20, 2006

Harvey’s insatiable thirst
I recently read about Harvey Whittemore wanting to buy more water rights to quench his insatiable thirst for his Coyote Springs development in Southern Nevada at the expense of robbing the eastern part of the state of this precious resource. Shame on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for buckling under. I’m sure [he’s done so] with the help of his friend Harry Reid, whose son represents him in this venture. Mr. Whittemore wants to prove that he can not only buy the state of Nevada but now has a powerful ally in Washington.

If he continues this quest, we need not worry about Yucca Mountain making Nevada a wasteland. Whittemore will do the job for us. It is obvious he does not care for Nevada, only the almighty dollar. Shame on Whittemore. Why doesn’t he go down to the Gulf Coast and spend his money helping to rebuild those homes instead of saturating Nevada with 50,000 more homes and 10 more golf courses? Perhaps people would respect him a little more.

Shirley M. Bertschinger
Sparks

Good for Dennis
Re “Then What?” (Cover story, April 13):

I’ve been meaning to drop you a line for some time to congratulate the Reno News & Review for having Dennis Myers on your staff. His articles are always well researched, balanced and historically accurate. Keep up the good work.

David B. Bianchi
Reno

Party on (the bus)
Re “Don’t drink and ride,” (RN&R, March 23):

In response to the “bus etiquette” letter, I would agree with all the writer’s suggestions—save one. If a person is intoxicated, they should take the bus and stay out of their car and off the roads. There is no telling how many lives have been saved—innocent or otherwise—by letting drinkers on the bus. Why do you think they have free bus service on holidays?

So, the next time you fume because you have an intoxicated fellow bus rider, remember he or she could be outside the bus running over your grandchild, or worse yet, your cat or dog.

Mackenzie Moilanen
Reno

An ass’ backbone
Re “Peacemongers, get organized or stay home” (View from the Fray, March 30):

Marching for peace is very good. I remember what we did years ago to protest the war in Vietnam. But there is something extra we can do, and it takes very little time and effort.

When a political party sends you a letter asking for a donation, use the enclosed business-reply envelope to give them your opinion. It will cost you only one piece of paper, a little ink and a few minutes of your time.

You might ask Democrats why the so-called opposition party is showing no opposition to the continuing carnage in Iraq. You might mention that Cindy Sheehan has enough courage to stand up to President Bush, but the Democrats in Washington, with the exception of Jack Murtha, act like they have no backbone at all. You might ask them how they can justify continuing an unprovoked war that has killed more than 2,300 Americans. Don’t be afraid to tell them exactly how you feel.

Be sure to put your name and address on the letter, so they will know that you are sincere. And if they can explain their backbone problem, please share that information with all of us.

Brad MacKenzie
Reno

Sensational headline
Re “Then What?” (Cover story, April 13):

I’d like to express my disapproval of the paper using a phony headline about Roe v. Wade getting overturned to draw attention to the paper. You might think that the large “THEN WHAT?” under it would make it obvious that it wasn’t a real news story, but the way a newspaper is generally displayed, folded in half, all one sees is a very large headline saying “Supreme Court Overturns Roe.” It seems like a fairly obvious attempt to use a headline to draw attention to the paper, only to have people then realize it isn’t a real story.

Joel Croteau
Reno

Corrections
Re: “Better than nothing” (Music Beat, April 13):

Due to a reporter’s errors, several misstatements of fact were made in the story “Better than nothing.” The online version of the story has been corrected to reflect these changes.

The members of the No Nothing Party do not all go by the last name of “Nothing.” Their names are Tim Reeder, Brodie Reeder, Brandon Reeder, Jose Reeder and Adam Schwib, who goes by “Schwib.”

Tim Reeder was an original band member.

Brodie Reeder sings but doesn’t play guitar with the band.

The No Nothing Party went on tour in 2004, not 2005.

Sweeny Todd, the singer of English band The Dead Pets, gave Brandon a tattoo while The Dead Pets were touring in Reno. The other band members did not also get this tattoo with him.

RN&R regrets any confusion caused by these errors.