Trina Machacek I changed the oil in my yellow 1991 Chevy Tracker. After being the “helper bee” for the past 42 years it was time for me to step up to the plate and give this a go by myself. I had no doubt I could do it. No doubt I wouldn’t run over myself. No doubt—if I messed up some kind person would fix whatever I might screw up. With those no doubts I headed out one … [Read more...]
Remembering the Mapes Hotel
Rummaging through some old files recently I came across a number of articles on the Mapes Hotel. The following probably best describes the iconic building that went down almost 20 years ago. The Mapes stood alone as the symbol of what Reno was for more than three decades. She transformed what was once a honkytonk little cowtown with dark and dangerous gambling clubs into a … [Read more...]
Is This You? Listing to Port
By Trina Machacek Quick lesson for today could be how to tell the left side of the boat from the right side of the boat. Because if you are in a listing boat it just might come up in conversation with someone on a phone or radio when you report you are listing, just which way you are listing to. Boat sides are starboard and port. You probably know them better as port and … [Read more...]
Costs of Illegal Immigration Can’t be Ignored
Illegal immigration is one of the most controversial topics of this overheated election season. Suggestions to curb illegal immigration by building a wall or increasing enforcement of existing laws are met with passionate accusations of racism and white supremacy. The Census can’t even ask about citizenship. What is the bottomline cost to the United States and Nevada? That … [Read more...]
Perfectly Nevadian: Joe Conforte, 1925-2019
Joe Conforte deserves his induction among the inaugural six honorees in the Nevada Hall of Fame. Nevada author and publisher David Toll (“The Compleat Nevada Traveler”) announced the lineup last week. Mr. Conforte was the only one of the six still alive. Then came news of his death down in the land of Cariocas and breast reductions. The only other name you might recognize … [Read more...]
Trump Call for Unity Met with Derision, Slurs
The campaign rhetoric is being brandished like a flame thrower, scorching the stump with recriminations, incriminations, insinuations and denunciations. In the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that left 32 dead and dozens more seriously wounded, Democratic presidential candidates unsheathed accusations that President Trump is the prime mover of such lunatic … [Read more...]
Alfred E. Neuman for Washoe School Superintendent
Last week came news of the corporate assassination of another American cultural icon. Mad Magazine will soon cease publication and go into perpetual re-runs. Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury has been there for years save for current work in the Sunday color comics, another endangered species. Believe it or else, I went to high school with a kid who was a real-life double for … [Read more...]
Expect Long Lines Come Election Day 2020
Democracy is a chaotic endeavor. Nevada lawmakers have made it more so. Expect long lines and delayed results come the next Election Day. Assembly Bill 345, which passed on a party line vote with Democrats favoring and Republicans opposed, will allow people to register to vote on the same day of an election rather than several weeks earlier. This will inevitably mean much … [Read more...]