Letters for July 17, 2014

But where’s the party?

He’s young, he’s fashionable, and he probably throws a great party. However, much like Brazil and its scandal-plagued stadium, Chuck Reno aims to plan this city into a disaster with a losing team. Last night, we heard the pained voice of a Washoe County School District representative speak of how close all of our schools are to capacity and of how there wasn’t even any more room for bungalows, and how we were absolutely unable to bond ourselves out of fixing these schools or building new ones. He also stated that the planning commission has already approved 30,000 permits for new units to be built.

As a professional who works for government, he could not come out against the amendment on the table. But his eyes told the story even after he was saying he had to remain neutral. To this disclosure, and to about a hundred pleas from community members asking for slower, smaller development, planning members Kevin Weitzke, Douglas Coffman and Chuck Reno were still able to make findings to approve yet another piece of nasty suburban sprawl into Verdi.

Verdi is not a common suburb. It is exceptional. Many people in Reno proper enjoy the town we have protected. We have four foreclosed commercial spaces in the Sommerset Development above us. There are probably 10 empty commercial spaces from Robb Drive and Sharlands to Robb Drive and Mae Anne. Scolari’s closed its pharmacy and is struggling to keep up with Walmart. Yet these planners think more building with limited tax revenue at a ratio that does not, will not ever match the costs to the existing citizens is just the solution we need. This is why Chuck Reno was the Brazil of mayoral candidates, as my neighbor said to me. This is why many city planners on our commission need to go. They are not planners at all. Planners would value comment and outrage from the community over drought and limited resources, over animals and tourism from open space, and over centralizing and cleaning the heart of the city instead of misguided sprawl that has left most of us broke and foreclosed.

Mickey Skinner

Verdi

Or, do unto others

Re “Corporations are people, just like us” (Left Foot Forward, July 10):

Here’s another great dodge for businesses with religious ideals: St. Paul wrote in Thessalonians, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Bingo! No need for Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers’ comp, optional disability, retirement contributions, 401Ks, etc. Stop working, stop eating.

Fred Hinners

Reno

And so wise

George Washington was 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighed 225 pounds and was a muscle-bound body builder—he could have played linebacker in the NFL. At a low point for the colonists during the war, morale was terrible, and troops were ready to quit. They were camped under a bridge that was 100 feet above the creek. George Washington told them if he could throw a rock over the bridge they would continue, if he failed, they quit. He threw the rock over the bridge, it was really at that moment that represents the birth of our nation. I have always thought this was one of the most inspirational stories ever!

Mike Arp

Reno

Corporations limit options

Re “Corporations are people, just like us” (Left Foot Forward, July 10):

Sheila Leslie’s column continues to spread the lie propagated by the liberal progressive media stating that the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision denies women the use of certain contraceptives. You state, “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to allow Hobby Lobby and other corporations to determine what specific reproductive health care products their female employees can have is appalling and infuriating.” This is what I refer to as a lie. The court’s ruling did not in any way prohibit any woman from purchasing and using any legal contraceptive sold in the U.S. It simply applied religious convictions to be respected by the law as to a company’s health insurance provisions. The “Obama Care” law prior to the ruling required health insurance coverage for all contraceptives, including what the owners of Hobby Lobby consider to be abortion-inducing contraceptives. The company’s insurance will continue to provide coverage for the remaining 16 contraceptive types on the market. The others can be purchased and used by any woman that wishes to do so. This ruling is in fact supportive of religious freedom and not about controlling what a woman wishes to purchase. This entire problem could, of course, be resolved by creating a health insurance program that is purchased by the individual before tax dollars so that the free market would determine the cost and the coverage of health insurance. It is totally irresponsible and false to claim as you do that women are now denied the right to use whatever contraceptives they wish. Under any reasonable interpretation of this ruling, your statements are a lie at worst and a misrepresentation at best. Not really a surprise given your past record of misrepresentations.

Fred Speckmann

Reno

Chad left hanging

Re “Language corrected” (Upfront, July 10):

Some very effective journalism by Dennis Myers. That’s how the world is supposed to work, isn’t it? The press raises a legitimate issue, then an office holder responds and handles it. But we shouldn’t let our registrar off the hook. The County Commission should determine whether she used “Democrat” maliciously or accidentally. Either way it wasn’t acceptable. Conducting elections requires a religious dedication to getting the details right. Remember it was a poorly designed ballot in Broward County, Florida, which put the loser of the 2000 presidential election into office. I would say this atones partially for the overzealous handling of ACORN by Secretary of State Ross Miller. What I’d really like to see from Miller is a hearty promotion of the actual concept of democracy. How about a pilot program of mail-in ballots as in Oregon? We could actually end up as the state with the highest turnout. We could be No. 1 at something that’s good for a change. And he could save the state millions by dumping those idiot voting machines. Sorry—those idiotic voting machines.

C.G. Green

Reno

Make the poor pay

Re “Question 3” (News, July 10):

Neat idea! Make someone else pay for your education! Crafty! Slick! Conniving! Seriously though, why discourage businesses from moving to Northern Nevada by taking a bite out of their profit to solve a problem that isn’t of their own making. Here’s the right fix: Property owners already pay for schools as a portion of their property tax. Enforce a school tax on renters of apartments as well. Also increase the amount of school tax collected from property owners who have children while these children are in school. Applied in this way everyone pays towards schools. You pick up several thousand new school tax payers. Those who have the most vested interest in the program are also required to pay a little more into it, and businesses can concentrate on making money, creating jobs and bringing a prosperous economy back to Northern Nevada rather than worrying about how much of a bite the state is going to take out of them for new programs.

Anthony Mouse

Reno