1. Ugh, July heat, amiright?! Perhaps the only thing preventing us from lapsing into our annual Independence Day sweat-coma is the cool praise of our readers. “Really enjoyed your piece this month,” a reader named Megan wrote to staff writer Heidi Kyser, singling out her June story “ Earth change,” about the shifts in leadership among Nevada conservation groups, and how it played out in the 2015 Legislature. (Answer: It’s complicated. Read the piece.) “Spot-on in assessment of where the movement is at,” she judged. Marta Stoepker, of the Sierra Club, added, “fantastic. Wonderful read for sure.” Also effusive: Annoula Wylderich, regarding the June Endnote, a parody roundup of legislative “highlights” by Andrew Kiraly and Scott Dickensheets. “A priceless satire by you and Scott, Andrew! Thanks to you both for this piece. This last legislative session was enough to make us want to cry, so we could all use some comic relief for a change. Keep up the good work!” We will, we will, as long as the state’s politicians keep making it easy — and we don’t spontaneously combust in the heat.
2. The June issue also contained the highlights of our third annual Focus on Nevada photo competition, and you know what that means — party! We did it up right, with a big to-do at the Historic Fifth Street School, where select images from the show were on display. Hundreds of you joined us, and some later gushed about it on social media: “We had such a great time at the event.” (Wendy Goldstein Gelbart) “I was glad I was able to experience these photos in person.” (Shannon Young) “And congrats to Miguel Villegas of Klai Juba Wald (cover photo of this month’s Desert Companion)! YOU be famous now, Miguel!” (John Reynolds Klai II)
3. Elsewhere in the June issue, Desert Companion dropped a little hard truth about the future of high-tech employment in Nevada. As writer Hugh Jackson noted in “About those jobs of tomorrow,” many of them will resemble the service-industry and construction jobs of today. On the website, commenter “dwaynechestnut” chimed in with his own thoughtful take: “A few years ago, I campaigned unsuccessfully for Regent of the Nevada university system. I spent some time digging into the nuts and bolts of the Nevada economy, and pondered the whys and wherefores of a few of the states that have, or did have, great universities (California, Michigan, and Texas come to mind). One thing we don’t have in Nevada is an economic sector that needs highly educated people — there must be a critical mass of the number of immediate jobs available to sustain higher education and create exponential growth for at least a few decades. California had mining (much of the actual mining was in Nevada), which formed the nucleus of UC Berkeley, Michigan had the automobile industry and Texas had oil and petrochemicals. Nevada did not have, and still doesn’t have, a significant industry or other economic sector that really needs highly educated people. This seems to be a classic chicken-and-egg problem.” Alas, as Jackson concluded, a lot of those chickens and eggs will be served by holders of the jobs of tomorrow.
4. One final rearward glance at last month’s issue, this time at our “ Just had to ask” package, in which we queried a number of Las Vegans about how they got here. Las Vegas Sun editorial cartoonist Mike Smith told a rollicking tale that involved spending a day with late Mike O’Callaghan, former governor and executive editor of the Sun. On Facebook, O’Callaghan’s son, Tim, provided further eyewitness testimony of that day: “I remember dropping by my parents’ house after work, where my dad introduced me to a skinny guy with the huge mustache that was fuller than the hair on his head. He was kicked back in the recliner with a giant steak, potato and salad with my mom’s famous buttermilk ranch dressing, on a TV tray. I have liked you from that day forward.” Now that’s cool.