Letters for March 14, 2013

Tahoe truth

Re “Size matters” (Editorial, Feb. 28):

Thank you for your recent editorial about how the Tahoe Daily Tribune and the AP “reported” the senators’ letter and the Sierra Club’s lawsuit against TRPA’s Regional Plan Update.

You captured the essence of the issue in your last paragraph. Anyone presenting evidence that questions the initiatives of local jurisdictions, corporate business interests and government agencies, who have benefited from the $1.3 billion of funding over the last 15 years, is quickly ignored. How can there be any validity to claims that put a chink in their armor or threaten to pop the bubble they have spent literally millions of public dollars constructing over several years?

There are plenty of them. Using the label of “smart growth”—for what is a catalyst for very large, Wall Street-financed resort developments (Boulder Bay and Homewood)—is nothing short of greenwashing. Selling fractional units is the most lucrative real estate development model, and the RPU lays the groundwork for another “gold rush” in the Tahoe Basin.

I hope your paper remains open to printing the real story from the trenches, as it will be an epic battle, a story in our backyard that is a metaphor for what is happening in the economic and political sectors across our nation. Main Street, and appropriate, personal scale, is fighting for its life in a very small and sensitive Basin.

David McClure

Reno

Wither the weather?

Re “Dog days of winter” (Feature story, Feb. 28):

I know I’m a little late to the dance on this subject, but I really thought someone else would make this comment. I lived in Truckee through the ’80s into the ’90s, and before that I lived in Reno. My family saw the sled dog races advertised for years and planned to attend many times. I think mostly they were scheduled in the airport area. The races never happened as far as I know, and it was either due to lack of snow or canceled due to “too much snow.” Truckee is in a very unusual place and can be the coldest and the windiest place in North America. We had minus 51 degree windchill one year. I’ve seen as much as 8 feet of snow at my house, and none at the same time in another year. In January 1986, I was digging trenches around my house to prevent flooding due to a Pineapple Express [warm wind], which wiped out four feet of fresh snow, and rained for five straight days. Just a few years ago we had record snowfalls, and now we’re in a bit of a dry spell. Nothing has changed. In some other year, we will have more snow than some people would like and that will be a problem, then too much rain, or a forest fire and maybe a landslide that closes Interstate 80 down for three weeks! What will we do? All these have happened and will again, people.

M.J. Bender

via email

No dogs for you

Re “Troll dogs” (Letters to the Editor, March 7):

Aww, you sound jaded. Did you get dumped by a former pet for a more interesting neighbor down the road? It’s OK, sweetie, maybe you’re more of a ferret owner. Or, maybe with your personality you should get a pet rock.

Justin Dunaway

Reno

Charles in charge

Re “Make your destiny” (15 Minutes, March 7):

Make your destiny! Such a great article on a movement that was created here in the 775. I will fully support any local-owned businesses with a positive brand and message that can relate to people of all ages. We all have goals no matter how large or how small, and the only way we will reach them is fueled by the strength of our desire to take the steps needed to accomplish our goals. Best of luck to Charles with his company. In my opinion, we need more motivated people like him.

Joshua Brown

Sparks

Preserve freedom

About two weeks ago, several citizens addressed their concerns with the Washoe County Commission about sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act. Those sections gives armed forces power to arrest and indefinitely detain any American. As a “detainee,” you have no rights until the end of the War on Terror. I have to ask, since we are engaged in several wars, how long? I look at Gitmo. Those hooded detainees could be someone you know. San Francisco and 18 other communities have made resolutions to fight the NDAA. San Francisco called theirs “Resolution expressing opposition to the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA.” Support our fight at nvndaa.org and Sen. Don Gustavson’s Nevada Preservation Act. I am a Nevadan, battle reborn. Are you battle born and proud of your freedom?

Valerie Tilson

Reno

No truth for you

Re “Size matters” (Editorial, Feb. 28):

The truth hurts. Fantastic analysis of the boondoggle at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. No one has dared to verbalize the reality on the ground. Thank goodness for the only watchdog group the lake has left: the Sierra Club. In spite of tremendous pressure from all the politicians, special interests and agencies that feed on the trough of federal and state money, the Sierra Club did the right thing. Now the TRPA spin will try to denigrate and marginalize: after all they have four full-time public relations folks.

Reno News & Review, thanks for being an independent news source.

Ann Nichols

Crystal Bay

Justice and truth

Re “Born to be Wild” (Green, March 7):

When I read stories about these beautiful creatures [wild horses], I weep. These horses are more intelligent than humans in more ways than one so treating them like brainless animals is not only cruel and inhumane, but it brands those who do these terrible things as monsters. It is a well known fact that there are monsters among us with human masks, so we really are not in a position to know who is human and who is not, except when we witness the actions of Bureau of Land Management. Then we know! We know that these people are not human in the sense that we recognize humans with love and compassion in their hearts. We must keep on fighting for justice for our beautiful horses because they have no one else to fight for them. All we seek is justice and truth. And if we believe in justice and truth, we will win and get our horses back. Do not forget that persistence always wins. Never give up even when the odds are against us. We will get our horses back no matter what!

Niki Nicholas

West Palm Beach

Taxes and truth

History has repeatedly demonstrated when a people and their leaders lose their virtue, freedom perishes. It has recently come to light that Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey allegedly sponsored and promoted legislation that would benefit a major donor to his political campaign. The legislation in question would have granted special tax credits and grants to a company in which his donor had invested heavily.

This is how entrenched politicians maintain their hold on power. They manipulate the tax code to reward those contributing to their re-election campaigns. Without the income tax they would not have this “tool” to play “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” game.

There is a bill in Congress that would rectify this anti-virtuous system. It is “The Fair Tax Act.” It takes control of taxation out of the hands of politicians. We must eliminate this corrupt system we have in place before we are completely ruined. As another principle stated long ago says, “Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Frank C. Kuchar

Arlington, Texas