Letters for May 21, 2009

Smoke kills, doesn’t it?

Re “Protect your workers” (News, May 14):

Seems like the feds regulate everything else, why don’t they consider tobacco smoke a “hazardous” pollutant? Why doesn’t the EPA Clean Air Act (United States Code as Title 42, Chapter 85) cover this? Wouldn’t it be much simpler to come in, test the air, and if it is polluted—move everyone out and red tag the door? Hell … one dropped mercury thermometer, and they shut down a whole school!

C.L. Dickinson
Sparks

Read my lips

The Independent American Party urges the governor to veto the budget. This budget will require tax increases. Increasing taxes during a recession only makes the recession worse. It hurts business and consumers. Some businesses will close or lay off workers; some businesses will raise prices that will hurt consumers.

The budget committees meet in secret. Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera claims the budget meetings are not secret. He is right, the proceedings are secret! Whatever happened to the Open Meeting Law? The Legislature should work with the governor, not against him.

The Nevada Policy Research Institute has a budget without a tax increase that is different from the governors and has some good ideas, but I do not think that the Legislature has looked at it.

If the RINOs do not defect, maybe we can get a budget without a tax increase.

John Wagner
Vice Chairman, Independent America Party

Green diapers

Re “Babies of the Cloth” (Green, May 14):

Every time I looked at your Green section, I always wondered when you’d do a piece on cloth diapering. What do I see this week? A piece on cloth diapering! I’m so glad to see something about it in print because so many new parents are intimidated to try cloth diapering with fears of it being a lot of work, messy and hard, but really it’s not that bad. Once you get your technique down, it’s simple! I’ve been cloth diapering my year-old son since he was five weeks old with diapers I made from patterns I found online. There’s a whole underground movement of cloth diapering out there, and I’m glad to see it making its way out to the public. Hopefully this will inspire more new parents to join the dark side of us fellow cloth diaperers! Thanks for publishing that article!

Jenny Teague
Reno

Offensive review

Re “For the dogs” (FoodFinds, April 23):

I wanted to reply to the two (somewhat angry) responses your food critic received on his review of Freeman’s Natural Hot Dogs. I, too, have tried this restaurant and found it lacking. I am not vegan, nor a food critic, but I have dined at many a great place across the United States. I have also had much better hot dogs from street vendors in New York City! Now, I’m all for local businesses, and I was really excited about this place since I work in the neighborhood, but my hot dog was nothing special—actually quite bland. I don’t really know what to recommend, but I have eaten better tofu dogs in other places (i.e. I’m not a die hard meat eater). However, I don’t think the people who responded to the food critic (whom I get the feeling are friends of the owners) should be so defensive. Take it as constructive criticism.

Paula Campbell
Reno

What, me worry?

Re “Days of Swine and Noses” (Feature story, May 7):

I enjoyed your article regarding the public reaction and response to the dreaded swine flu—excuse me, H1N1. It seems the climate ranges from mildly concerned to outright panic.

When the media first started touting the latest “pandemic” that would surely mean the end of mankind, I was skeptical. When you hear a number like “300 people in (insert country) have been diagnosed with H1N1,” it sounds scary. That’s the problem with quoting statistics without frame of reference for context: The numbers sound scary, until you stop to really think about them.

As of right now, there have been 5,123 reported cases of H1N1 in the United States. That number sounds big. If it were 5,123 people in, say, Carson City, it would be a significant number. However, in a U.S. population of an estimated 300 million, it is not the “epidemic proportion” we keep hearing about in the media (present company excepted).

For comparison, I looked one step further: In the United States, there are approximately 6,500 active cases of leprosy. There are 200-250 new cases reported every year. Leprosy.

So it is now official. You stand a better chance of contracting leprosy than H1N1.

Now you may panic.

Edy Eddins
Reno

America’s pastime

Woody Barlettani
Reno