planet

We are humanists and, so, optimists.

Against us in the political sphere stand environmentalists and other anti-humanists. These folks see not progress, but threat, in seemingly everything done by man.

We see man as being born into an uncertain and challenging world. In a state of nature, earthquakes, tornadoes and other disasters combine with infections and shortages of food, shelter and other basic resources to threaten man's very survival. But over centuries, humans have applied their intelligence to shape the world around them.

I volunteer a lot of my time. Every potential client gets 30 minutes on the phone with me. I work with community organizations to support local causes. Advocates to End Domestic Violence is one of those. Each holiday, I usually write something about the importance of volunteerism. Yet, the power and two-way benefit of volunteerism didn’t hit me until I returned home to Carson City.

Thanksgiving is just a few days around the corner and our country is in a ruffle about the election. Yes, I said in a ruffle. Expect some Texanisms in this article as I am visiting where I grew up for Thanksgiving.

We have just elected a new President and a new Congress after eighteen months of bitter mudslinging. Our politicians are so busy assassinating character using; lies, half truths and innuendo that they, and many of the people of our nation, forgot many of the issues that should be matters for adult discussion by serious men and women and their would-be leaders.

Team USA did what they do best in the Olympics....dominate in almost every facet of the games. Swimming, gymnastics, track, field, basketball, and pretty much anything else.

The United States had one of the greatest Olympic Games ever in decades. Dominating not only the overall medal count, but in every color as well.

Happy Wednesday, Carson City. Enjoy America’s pastime tonight at the Aces Stadium and help raise money for the Carson City Library; just pick up your ticket voucher at Browser’s Corner Book Store. Casino Fandango is airing the 1968 classic, Planet of the Apes, today at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Kick off a weekend full of classic cars with Cruise Night at the Carson Mall with food trucks, kids activities, and more. Westside Pour House is the new home of the weekly ‘Geeks Who Drink’ Pub Quiz, so gather your smartest friends for a fun night of trivia, libations, and good food.

After 65 years on this planet, Gail Madison died on June 6, 2016, leaving a family who ...

Sunday is the last chance for celebrity sightings at Edgewood Golf Resort in at south shore Lake Tahoe as the American Century Celebrity Championship tournament comes to a close. Learn about the legacy of Douglas County’s Dangberg family from the rancher’s grandson, author Steve Archard. Locals enjoy a special price on the Virginia and Truckee steam train, or the McKeen Motor car at the Nevada Railroad Museum.

SUNDAY:

I really hope I’m not required to choose a favorite event. I would be hard pressed to choose between the Nevada Day Parade and the annual Taste of Downtown. Luckily, I can adore them both, and for much the same reason. They are a celebration of community, of Carson City, of our historic downtown and all that it has to offer. In addition to 'The Taste', the Brewery Arts Center goes country with the Southern Drawl Band on its outdoor stage, and Madam Curry leads another downtown Ghost Walk. Continue reading for all that our valley has to offer.

SATURDAY:

YouTube is one of the most powerful media tools on the planet today. Yet, many businesses do not use social media of any kind to their marketing advantage.

Western Nevada College is offering the college and community the opportunity to witness a rare celestial event on Monday, May 9. From sunrise, around 5:50 a.m. to noon, the planet Mercury will transit across the Sun, passing between Earth and the Sun.

Dozens gathered throughout the day Friday to see creativity and innovation in action at the TEDx debut in Carson City, held inside the Brewery Arts Center's Black Box Theater.

Sixteen speakers were selected for the 2016 program, ranging in age from 16 to 70 years old. Of those, eleven speakers are local in Carson City, the Carson Valley, Lake Tahoe and Susanville. Five others have local ties to Nevada.

Wendy Calvin has been working on Mars for 12 years. She is the Science Operations Working Group Chair on a team that has been exploring the Martian landscape with the rover Opportunity.

With a theme that takes aim at the future — creating the community you want to live in — TEDx Carson City is an all-day event where speakers from a variety of disciplines share their life's work, passions and concepts through thought-provoking and entertaining talks that run between 10 to 15 minutes.

The Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club takes the opportunity of the closing of the acclaimed art history of Lake Tahoe, Donner, and the surrounding Sierra region to celebrate our connection to this national treasure. If you have not seen the exhibit, this is the last chance; if you have, come enjoy it again, with an optional guided tour.

Science is a process, not a doctrine. It asks questions and sets out to test them for answers. But our culture seems to regard science in an animate form, like a guru seated atop a mountain.

We put science on a pedestal and submit to it as the final authority on all of our problems and important questions. We rely on science to give us the answers.

We even permit science to be the driving force behind public policy, in spite of the fact that science is a search for questions that remain unanswered.

Take the issues of climate change and global warming.

Professor Karl Karlstrom has spent a lifetime studying rocks, including the 225-mile long natural wonder of the world, the Grand Canyon. He will give a lecture at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Discover Science Lecture Series at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 19.

Nevada Highway Patrol troopers arrested a Colorado fugitive Tuesday east of Fernley who was wanted on felony charges, considered armed and dangerous and had made threats to authorities, an NHP Trooper said.

An attempt to locate the suspect, Eldon Lloyd Dick, 55 of Egnar, Colo near Grand Junction was advised statewide.
He had an active felony warrant out of the San Miguel County Court for charges including: first degree felony criminal trespass, child abuse, prohibited use of a weapon, harassment and criminal mischief, said NHP Trooper Duncan Dauber.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from a gentleman who I will call Joe. “Joe” said he has been visiting Carson City for over 30 years and liked it so much that he recently moved here from San Diego. He wanted me to know that now that he is a resident he thinks Carson City cannot continue growing or it will be ruined.

A lot of people are asking themselves and the society in which we live this question hours after a fatal mass killing at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

I’m a native Oregonian, born and raised just an hour or two north of Roseburg. My parents called this mill city, situated between the North and South branches of the Umpqua River, home for a few years a decade back. I know the area fairly well. One of my favorite places to visit was Wildlife Safari just a few miles down the road in Winston.

Simon Winchester is a geologist, journalist, explorer and New York Times best-selling author who writes about the natural forces that shape the earth – earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and tsunamis. He will give a lecture at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Discover Science Lecture Series at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 1, and will have a book-signing session following the lecture.

Learn about the universe, the origin and development of humans on Earth, and the possibility of life on other planets, in two Western Nevada College astronomy classes offered his fall. Planetary Astronomy and Introduction to Astrobiology will offer the opportunity to learn from a scientist with ties to space industry.

It’s a great day for music in Carson City. The Annual Concert Under the Stars at Adele’s is already sold out, but there are still options if you didn't get a ticket. Tonight, check out the Jazz Jam at Sassafras with Rick Metz’ First Take, or bring an instrument to the Jam with Josh and Janera at the Firkin and Fox. Glen Eagles features Terri and Craig in the lounge for some, and you’ll find Lynne and Mick at Living the Good Life for dinner entertainment. Kick up your cowboy boots at Line Dancing lessons in the Eleventh Frame Lounge at Carson Lanes.

WEDNESDAY:

• Free Swim with proof of social media ‘Check-in’ at the Carson Hot Springs (7am-10pm; outdoor pools only)
• NAA Exhibit by artist Nancy Clark at the Carson Visitor Center (8am-5pm)

Pope Francis demanded swift action to save the planet from environmental ruin, urging world leaders to hear “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” and plunging the Catholic Church into political controversy over climate change....

There is no school on Monday, May 11 for Carson High School freshmen, sophomores and juniors as the seniors will be presenting their senior project boards to community members.

CHS Speech and Debate will be holding several fundraisers to help cover the cost of the National Tournament this June in Dallas.

Considered one of the best of its kind in the world, and lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “showcasing music’s future,” the Reno Jazz Festival at the University of Nevada, Reno has been bringing jazz superstars and the finest emerging young artists to town for more than five decades.

Carson ATA Martial Arts - Karate for Kids is providing a free community Women’s Self Defense seminar on Saturday, March 28. The event, starting at 10 a.m at Carson ATA Martial Arts, will cover topics such as situational awareness, defending against a stronger attacker, escaping bear hugs, chokes, wrist grabs, as well as what to do if taken to the ground.

A Multi-faith invocation will launch “Earth Day” celebrations in Reno on April 26. Religious statesman Rajan Zed will direct this special multi-faith invocation; which will include Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Native American and Baha’i prayers focused on healthier environment and respecting the nature of the planet we live on.

This over 20-years old annual all-day (10 am to 6 pm) free event in Reno’s about 40-acres Idlewild Park is expected to attract over 20,000 people from all over the region in Nevada and nearby California.

The ‪Mike Thomas‬ ‪‎Lecture‬ Series presents The Future of Earth on Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. in the Sierra Room of the Plaza Hotel and Event Center at 801 S. Carson St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 and includes appetizers and a no host bar.

The Future of Earth is a highly speculative topic examining the possible scenarios that could spell out the end of our planet. This is a fascinating, and perhaps chilling, presentation.

Western Nevada College’s Jack C. Davis Observatory captured a rare event late last Sunday night, when an asteroid with a small moon entered Earth’s orbit. The asteroid identified as 2004 BL86 was spotted low on the horizon on the observatory’s 12-inch telescope at 10:30 p.m.