Today is the last day of 2020. I know I am not the only one who is eager to see this year end.
mc-opinion
A few years ago, many readers commented how much they enjoyed my column about holiday baking and requested that I make this an annual tradition. As you read this, I will be at home, enjoying the fruits of my labor after spending a week’s vacation knee-deep in flour, sugar and spices, in the true spirit of this message.
What do the library, post office, police department and public schools have in common? They are all owned by the citizens. All are open for business except, of course, schools. Schools in particular were built using funds collected from taxes that all of us paid. All of the expenses to run these institutions along with teacher’s salaries are paid by us as well.
As I write this, a picture comes into my mind. It’s a Sunday in December, 22 years ago, when I wrote my first holiday piece for the Boulder City News and the Henderson Home News. It was the day after the Boulder City Christmas parade. It was 7 a.m.; I was sitting at my desk typing and a light snow was falling.
I find that the formation of the city’s municipal pool ad hoc committee, chaired by Mayor (Kiernan) McManus with Councilman (James Howard) Adams serving as the vice chairman, to provide recommendations to the City Council regarding the proposed three ballot questions associated with a new aquatic center can easily lead to a violation of the open meeting law.
I love this time of year. There’s a nip in the air. The leaves on trees glow in shades of red, yellow and orange. Families and friends gather for festive meals. And Hallmark airs countless Christmas movies.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that 2020’s word of the year is pandemic.
A long, difficult year for many of us is coming to close. The COVID-19 pandemic came on early in the year and has remained with us. In so many ways the virus has disrupted lives. The early attempts to ease the shock of the rapid spread of the disease were not continued as the months wore on. We have seen the spread increase quickly at times and then subside as people worked to limit their exposure and the exposure of others.
How would you react to paying up to 266 percent more at the local Albertsons for the same items sold at any other Albertsons in Clark County?
I generally don’t believe in conspiracy theories. I actually find most of them silly and baseless. The John F. Kennedy assassination in 1964 was likely the place where these alternate conspiracy theories were born. Along came the moon landing and the conspiracy theories questioning the authenticity of the event abounded. Then we have 9/11, one conspiracy advocate suggested the Twin Towers were rigged by the government to fall down.
Peoples’ statements and written words to me are always amazing and fascinating, sometimes sad and depressing. There’s so much to take in coming from all directions. What’s true? What’s a lie? What do we believe? Do we take it all in?
Yesterday, I couldn’t help but shed a tear or two as a small, private ceremony was held at the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home to thank veterans for their service.
It is incredulous that a confused, frail 36-year United States senator and two-term vice president (who began his political career during Nixon’s first term) with an anemic political record, who rarely ventured more than 75 miles from his basement after 9 a.m., garnered almost 75 million votes.