Surfing the net and I ran across this interesting trivia:  The very first Google Doodle was a reference to the Burning Man Festival in 1998 (or 1999?).

If there’s one thing I know about water, it’s that hydrology is an exact science, but to really understand it you have to know a whole lot about the studies and assumptions that went into the modeling in the first place.  Still, I hope the latest study reporting that Lake Mead could go dry gives us all pause. And instead of panic, may we turn to PLANNING!

Lake Mead during the 1951 drought:

Apparently (I haven’t verified this - so someone may correct me), Nevada is the only caucus state Senator Hilary Clinton has won.  Which is only to be expected, she notes.  So what does it mean?

One more reason to keep the caucus:  Nevada’s results mirrored the Super Tuesday results … we do look like America.  (At least on the Democratic side.)  On the Republican side, having Nevada and South Carolina on the same day meant that, well, those two contests together look like America.  One thing is for sure, the longer we go without “presumptive frontrunners,” the more people in more states have a chance to weigh in.

No matter what else you think about the contest, you’ve just got to be impressed with a system that hands the reins of power over in a way that includes so many people.

When Truckee Meadows Tomorrow asked people to list an example of a community innovation that represents or exemplifies “quality of life” and has made a profound difference here - #1 on the list is the downtown Reno Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield.  My friend Jim Litchfield, of Fluid, deserves a lot of credit and every single award he earned for turning this dream into a reality.  Myrna the Minx thinks so too!

Catch the 12 Horses Podcast with (some of) the story behind the park.

For next year’s Community Well-Being Report, I’m going to have to nominate the Presidential Caucus as one of the most significant innovations of the year.  Record turnout!  Presidential candidates in Nevada for weeks!  Voters paying attention!  Can’t beat it!

What would you nominate?

Nevada Opera presents … Hansel & Gretel. By Englebert Humperdinck (the German Composer who lived from 1854 to 1921 — NOT the pop singer of the same stage name that local drummer Tony Savage has toured with — but possibly the inspiration for Prince Humperdinck of one of my favorite books of all time, The Princess Bride, by William Goldman.) But I digress.

The opera follows the fairytale bedtime story you remember (although it’s German and Grimm - a bit darker, sweeter and more romantic). A perfect opera for the whole family. Don’t miss it! Performances are Friday, February 8 at 7:30 pm or Sunday, February 10 at 2:00 pm at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Buy your tickets now! Or call the opera directly: 775-786-4046.

And be sure to arrive early for the pre-show talk! Artistic Director Michael Borowitz is AMAZING!!!

It’s been fascinating watching the letters to the editor, after the Jan. 19th Caucus in Nevada. It’s very clear most folks aren’t aware that for the last two decades we’ve had ZERO say in who each of the parties nominated for President. And they were plenty unhappy with the craziness we experienced. So to me - the messy and chaotic RECORD TURNOUT that was the caucus was a massive improvement.

For the record, here are our three options for having a say in the presidential nominee:

1. No say at all. (Which is what we’ve had for the last two decades.)

2. Tax payer funded statewide primary election. (That asks only one question: Who would you vote for for President. And was held in March, pretty much after the nominee had been determined.) And FYI - the first (of two) presidential primary Nevada had in 1976 was projected to cost $100,000 but ended up costing taxpayers over $200,000. Click here for EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about presidential primaries in Nevada.
3. Messy caucus process that is run by each party and its volunteers. (And let’s all agree that many of the problems could be worked out - absentee ballots, military voting, etc.)

I vote for the caucus. Let’s also remember the side-benefits we got out of this: Presidential candidates actually visiting Nevada and sometimes talking about our issues, bonus celebrity sightings, and amazing party building opportunities.