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The Dean's List

   The Dean of Reno Bloggers could very well be Andrew Barbano, self-described "fighter of public demons," who started putting his "Barbwire" columns online in 1996 and now runs 10 sites.

RENO NEWS & REVIEW, 11-9-2006

 

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SITE NAVIGATION TIPS: When all else fails, read the instructions (A favorite John Hanks aphorism I've been using for decades)

Je Suis Charlie
"Our republic and its press will rise or fall together." — Joseph Pulitzer

Back to July-December 2021

Breaking News & Bulletins January-June 2021

BREAKING NEWS —> STRIKE 2!
Continuing Updates
Teamsters Local 533 strikes foreign-owned RTC bus contractor Keolis Transit

HOT AUGUST STRIKE 2.0 ?

Union busters bust bus system
Reno-Sparks-Washoe transit drivers vote to strike
Teamsters Union sues for unpaid health insurance premiums

Last of the Sparks-Reno royals
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from Wednesday 7-7-2021 Sparks Tribune

John Ascuaga: Frycook who ruled the roost
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 6-30-2021 Sparks Tribune

Deus Ex Machinations
Barbwire June 16 and 23, 2021

Regional Union Council Passes Strike Sanction
Bus contractor sued for unpaid health insurance premiums

 

"Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it"— George Santayana 1905, sixteen years before the Tulsa massacre

Accepting acceptable deaths
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 6-9-2021 Sparks Tribune

June 8 2021—>Moonhowlers mob Washoe County School Board meeting
Ongoing coverage at rgj.com / kolotv.com / ktvn.com / mynews4.com

Chickening Out: Study it to Death
The truth can wait another hundred years, right?
Washoe County School District pauses on social justice
"Task force on curriculum forms following backlash" (Unintentionally brutal and ironic subheadline?)
By Siobahn McAndrew / Reno Gazette-Journal 6-8-2021

TOM HANKS: We should all learn about Tulsa
Why didn't schools and the film industry tell us about the 1921 race massacre?
By Tom Hanks / New York Times Guest Commentary 6-6-2021

Family demands Washoe DA reopen Miciah Lee shooting case
By Marcella Corona / Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday 6-6-2021

Keepin' the young'uns moral after school
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 6-2-2021 Sparks Tribune

Republican bills across U.S. challenge teaching of racism's scope
By Trip Gabriel & Dana Goldstein / The New York Times 6-2-2021

When Chinatown was burned to the ground — twice
Unearthing Reno's Chinese immigrant worker pogroms of 1878 & 1908
By Marcella Corona / Reno Gazette-Journal 6-1-2021


BREAKING NEWS OR BREAKING BAD? —>
KTVN TV-2 trucks with The Terminator

 

Harry Potter, he ain't

In a Monday, May 24, Facebook post, longtime Reno media personality and rock musician Steve Funk trashed KTVN TV-2's John Potter for an untrue story Potter reported about Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Steve Funk: To John Potter, CH2 morning anchor: John, you are playing fast and loose with the facts. Dr. Fauci did not say he doubts COVID-19 has a natural origin. He actually said his mind is open to new information about it. That's it. He's a scientist, after all. I wish you would refrain from misinformation about this. Have a splendid day! (Posted at 6:52 a.m. 5-24-2021)

That drew more than 60 responses by Wednesday, all negative, some extremely. Potter's lack of professionalism does not come as news to me or Teamsters Local 533

I added this to the thread: I'm 1 for 2 with KTVN News this year. Not bad but not so good, either. News Director Jason Pasco saw to it that an erroneous mass transit COVID-19 safety story was re-made in a balanced manner. Both the point of view of the for-profit Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) contractor and that of the endangered drivers and passengers were presented. Mr. Potter was involved in neither version.

On Feb. 2, with Mr. Pasco on medical leave, Mr. Potter produced a story that probably had RTC's PR department popping champagne about Channel 2's report endorsing the awesome safety of their bus system. It was all simply untrue — but if you can get major media to publish your unverified press releases, it's party time.

I again contacted Mr. Pasco. He said he would look into the second erroneous and public-endangering story. I never heard back. Mr. Potter is not a journalist, he just plays one on TV.

He does fit another media category. Nevada Press Association Hall of Famer (and former TV-2 reporter) Dennis Myers called such media workers stenographers, typists who take dictation. Dennis is always with us. Alas, so are fields and fields of Potters.

You may view the entire story at NevadaLabor.com or contact me at <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

Be well. Raise hell. Stay safe.

Andrew Quarantino Barbano

 

CASH COW COMPLAINS AS CONTRACT CLOCK TICKS DOWN
Legal confrontations continue between Teamsters & bus contractor
Union contract expiration looms
By Jeri Chadwell / ThisIsReno.com 6-8-2021

MILKING PROFITS: Teamsters protest Washoe RTC bus contractor
By Bob Conrad / ThisIsReno.com + Video 5-21-2021

Teamsters Union Local 533 RTC/COVID-19 War Room

Nominations open for the Doofus Awards
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 5-26-2021 Sparks Tribune

MILK RUN before bus bosses Friday morning
Millions for profit & strikebreakers but no mercy for nursing mothers
This morning brings the Battle of Milk Run to the streets of Reno.

21 May 2021

Click here to read the whole sadly soggy story...
This meme material is blowing in the wind on 9th Street right now — all 12 feet of it. Feel free to print out this version. Suggestions below.
Use as a bookmark, bumper sticker or Internet meme. Potential caption hereinbelow —>

SUCK IT UP, RTC!

RENO, NV (Friday, 5-21-2021) — A lactation brigade will greet public officials at Friday morning's 9:00 meeting of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County. All are welcome. [Read the whole sadly soggy story...]

Hot August Strike: Déjà vu all over again
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 5-19-2021 Sparks Tribune

Nevada State Senate Judiciary Committee kills police use of force bill

It's NOW or NEVER

5-14-2021

Dear Friends:

The chips are down at the biennial petting zoo we lovingly call the Nevada Legislature.
Assembly Bill 268, sponsored by Assemblymember Lisa Krasner, R-Reno, and Sen. Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, faces do-or-die this afternoon in the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee.
If you can, send your comments to the committee members noted hereinbelow and/or to the Judiciary Committee as a whole at <senjud@sen.state.nv.us> Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Melanie Scheible's phone number is (775) 684-1421.
Your consideration and your time are sincerely appreciated.
Be well. Raise hell. Stay safe.
Andrew Barbano
MississippiWestNV.US

For more background, Google NevadaLabor.com + Miciah

Date: Fri, 14 May 2021 15:14:53 -0700
To: Melanie.Scheible@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Scheible)
From: Andrew Barbano <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>
Subject: AB268 -- just one for black moms
Cc: Nicole.Cannizzaro@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Cannizzaro), Ira.Hansen@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Ira Hansen), Dallas.Harris@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Harris), Keith.Pickard@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Pickard), James.Ohrenschall@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Ohrenschall), James.Settelmeyer@sen.state.nv.us (Sen. Settelmeyer)

Dear Sen. Scheible:

The cops and the Reno-Sparks NAACP stand in support of AB 268, which resulted from the killing of suicidal black teen Miciah Lee by Sparks police in January, 2020. I've viewed the video, as has his mother.
Washoe County already had a rapid response de-escalation structure in place but Sparks PD chose not to use it. This bill effectively says "ask questions first, shoot later."
Miciah's mom informed the police of her son's mental state, a call she perhaps now views as a fatal mistake. Please provide her a smidgen of surcease from a double sorrow.
Vote AB 268 to the senate floor with a do-pass.
Be well. Raise hell. Stay safe.

Andrew Barbano
CesarChavezNevada.com
RenoSparksNAACP.org
NevadaLabor.com
SenJoeNeal.org
MississippiWestNV.org


Note: Mr. Barbano serves as editor of the above websites and is a 33-year columnist for the Sparks Tribune. As always, his comments are his own.

UPDATE 5-17-2021: Mrs. Krasner's bi-partisan AB 268 was killed by the Nevada State Senate Judiciary Committee on May 14. Thanks to everyone who wrote and called. Assemblymember Krasner is a member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. Keep up the good work and the good fight.


CWA 9413/AFL-CIO

A brief Nevada history of shootings and choke holds

Choking on the bones of Mississippi West
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-28-2021 Sparks Tribune

Getting paid to choke in the clutch
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-21-2021 Sparks Tribune

Pardon me if I get all choked up
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-14-2021 Sparks Tribune

 

The Terminator sez he'll be back
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 5-12-2021 Sparks Tribune

OBIT: The formerly United States of America
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 5-5-2021 Sparks Tribune

Happy May Day—>which is labor day worldwide save the U.S.

A brief history of shootings and choke holds

Choking on the bones of Mississippi West
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-28-2021 Sparks Tribune

Getting paid to choke in the clutch
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-21-2021 Sparks Tribune

Pardon me if I get all choked up
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-14-2021 Sparks Tribune

Officials risk first bus strike in almost 20 years

Alleluia! Moonhowlers are gunning for you
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 4-7-2021 Sparks Tribune

¡Viva huelga! César Chávez Day 94 returns
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 3-31-2021 Sparks Tribune

Debra Joyce Donlevy
1-16-1959 / 3-4-1978
Remember her kindness

Betty Joyce Barbano
2-7-1941 / 12-27-2005
Remember her laughter

BREAKING NEWS AND THEN SOME—>

Viva huelga! Strike a blow for Nevada workers
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 3-24-2021 Sparks Tribune

Remember St. Patrick for slaves, not snakes
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 3-17-2021 Sparks Tribune

The Piano Players at the Cat House
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 3-10-2021 Sparks Tribune

Superspreading for pun and prophet
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 3-3-2021 Sparks Tribune

Union arbitration with superspreader bus system collapses, manager fired
By Bob Conrad / ThisIsReno.com 2-25-2021
NevadaLabor.com Teamsters/RTC archives

Barnum, Reagan, Rambo, Gingrich & the Czar
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 2-24-2021 Sparks Tribune

Murderous MAGA moonhowlers meander among us
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 2-17-2021 Sparks Tribune

A hard rain falls on the land of the giants
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 2-10-2021 Sparks Tribune

Maskerape: Get COVID-19 & vax on one bus ride
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 2-3-2021 Sparks Tribune

SUPERSPREADER UPDATES


SUPERBOWL SUPERSPREADER: COVID-19 as a religious experience

Facebook 7 Feb. 2021 — On this, America's highest holy day, there be two COVID-19 superspreaders loose in the land — those worshipping at the Tampa Bay Cathedral and those who may be boarding public transit in Las Vegas, Sparks or Reno to participate in the sacrificial rite. Hi thee hence to NevadaLabor.com to witness smoking guns of intentional and/or incompetent dereliction of duty by appointed, elected and hired officials and their minions. Just because the president. the governor and CDC mandate safety precautions doesn't mean the local overlords have to enforce them, right?

Taxpayer-supported public transit serves the least among us: minorities, low-wage workers, the ill and disabled, the young and elderly, the poor and homeless — and people taking the bus to get vaccinated. I hope I never see a headline about someone who boarded a Nevada carrier to get a shot, then died of COVID-19 before the vax could act to ax the tiny bus-born beasties which boarded the person who boarded the bus. Washoe and Clark County Regional Transportation Commission membership lists are available at the NevadaLabor.com war room. Only voter pressure can fix this. So help us make some good trouble.

Be well. Raise hell. Stay safe. — Andrew

 

Skipping the line: The politically powerful get vaccinated first
List includes Regional Transportation Commissioner & Community Health Alliance CEO Oscar Delgado
By Jason Hidalgo / Reno Gazette-Journal main front page story Sunday 2-7-2021

Former Reno-Sparks NAACP president decries unequal vaccine distribution for seniors
By Abel Garcia / KOLO TV-8 / 2-5-2021

All Nevada Labor Mourns

 

Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2021 17:21:27
To: news@nevadalabor.com
From: Andrew Barbano <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>
Subject: Latest loss and renewed fight

To: Nevada trade unionists, NAACP branches & community organizations

Hereinbelow, you will find news of the latest outrages perpetrated by our north/south superspreader bus systems, but I must first convey more transfigurative information.

We are now without our union brother, IATSE Local 720 and A. Philip Randolph Institute leader BJ Thomas who died died last Sunday, Jan. 31. I was informed of his passing by former Nevada State Education Assn. President Christina Giunchigliani from Las Vegas earlier today. Remember BJ, his contributions, his leadership and his warm friendship as we go forward. I will post obituary and memorial information at NevadaLabor.com and SenJoeNeal.org as it becomes available.

BJ now stands with Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, ACLU leader Dr. Richard Siegel and former AFL-CIO President John Sweeney as we mourn their loss and exalt their exemplary lives. We carry on in their honor. Solidarnosc! — AB


Cy Ryan, 88, dean of Nevada capital reporters, dies Feb. 4
Carson City Nevada Appeal / Geoff Dornan
Las Vegas Sun / Ed Koch & Rebecca Clifford-Cruz
KTVN TV-2 / Associated Press

Nevada labor lawyer and lifetime union man Lawrence Yenko dies at 70
Reno Gazette-Journal 2-4-2021

A hard rain falls on the land of the giants
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 2-10-2021 Sparks Tribune

 

 

 

SUPERSPREADER UPDATES

HEX, LIES & VIDEOTAPE
Lives are on the line — the bus line
BUS CRASH: Washoe transit system managers and foreign-owned contractor contradict each other,
then lie to media about CDC virus safety compliance

Maskerape: Get COVID-19 & vax on one bus ride
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 2-3-2021 Sparks Tribune

Fool's gold, a few gems & meat spots
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 1-27-2021 Sparks Tribune

Bus drivers lay to rest one of their own, call on RTC to enforce COVID-19 protections
By Astrid Mendez / KTNV TV-13 (ABC-Las Vegas) 1-22-2021

Funeral today for 2nd Nevada bus driver felled by COVID-19

Capitol punishment and bus station blues
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 1-20-2021 Sparks Tribune


Biden Demands Resignation Of Reaganaut Nat’l Labor Relations Board Lawyer

Washington, DC (20 Jan. 2021) — President Biden on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Peter Robb, the Trump-appointed general counsel at the National Labor Relations board who had earned the ire of union members over the years. Bloomberg News reported the resignation demand, noting it has been decades since the last forced departure from that job. Robb’s term was scheduled to end in November. The bad blood with unions goes back decades: Robb was an attorney on the Reagan administration case against thousands of striking air traffic controllers. The Service Employees International Union, 2 million members strong, wrote to the Biden transition team in December calling for Robb’s ouster, HuffPost reported. Fight for 15, a major labor movement player that wanted Robb gone, celebrated the move Wednesday.

UPDATE: Robb refused to resign and was fired by the president on Thursday, Jan. 21. Like so many Republican appointees before him, a documented anti-worker fox was placed in the chicken coop built to protect workers. Fox Robb performed as expected and got caught with bloody feathers in his whiskers.

 

CARSON CITY, NV (19 Jan. 2021) — In his State of the State Address, broadcast statewide,
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak praised the service and honored the memory of Sen. Joe Neal.

A MUST-READ: Abraham Lincoln, at age 28, predicted the rise of 'mobocratic spirit' and leaders who abet it
Sen. Neal was honored with the Elijah Lovejoy Award, named for the abolitionist newspaper editor murdered by a mob in 1837 and mentioned in the above item
Bret Stephens / New York Times, Seattle Times et al. 1-18, 1-19-2021

Nevada MLK weekend events

Fire is the Devil's Only Friend
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 1-13-2021 Sparks Tribune

JOE NEAL: You can't run from the truth
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the Wednesday 1-6-2021 Sparks Tribune

Trumpist Treason on Joe Neal Day


Sen. Joseph M. Neal, Jr., 1935-2020

Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts:

The best who ever was just embarked on a new journey. At 12:45 a.m. on 1-1-21, Sen. Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, informed me that her father, 32-year former State Sen. Joseph M. Neal, Jr., D-North Las Vegas, died at 10:25 p.m. PST 12-31-2020.

"Hello, Mr. Barbano. Happy New Year. I bring sad news to you. My Dad, after a long-fought battle, succumbed to an illness. He passed away at 10:25 tonight at Dignity Health, Sienna Campus, in Henderson, (where) he received the best care, surrounded by family."

My friend Joe had become ill over the past several weeks and apparently succumbed to multiple system failure after rebounding many times to the surprise of professionals and family surrounding him with thoughts and prayers.

Please monitor SenJoeNeal.org and NevadaLabor.com for details. You may send remembrances to me for posting.

Requiescas in pace, Senatore Maximissimo, frater mei.

Andrew Barbano
First Vice-President & Political Action Committee Chair
NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112

 

GEORGIA ON MY MIND
Please volunteer to do what you and so many others did before November: Sign up to contact infrequent voters before January 5, 2021.

Suicide for citizens but not political careers
Lives are on the line
BARBWIRE BY ANDREW BARBANO / Expanded from the 12-30-2020 Sparks Tribune

Betty J. Barbano
2-7-1941 / 12-27-2005

In memoriam: 62 years ago toward a lonely road

January 16, 1959, brought the births of Debra Joyce Donlevy/Carson High '77 (1959-1978) and Donna Leslie Cline (1959-1999). Their youth was cut in twain on the same night in 1978 within the loneliness of the High Desert Outback of the American Dream. Remember them fondly.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR / Feliz Año Nuevo
Frohe Weihnachten und beste Wuensche fuer 2021

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Betty J. Barbano
2-7-1941 / 12-27-2005
Remember her laughter

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