George Vancouver, the man probably best known for his naming rights to the island in British Columbia, was attempting to sail around the world, until he ran into California in April 1792. Vancouver was heading east from the Sandwich Islands, now known as Hawaii, when he first encountered the state, just south of Cape Mendocino.…

Initially, I started writing a series of articles on the war between a band of Modoc Indians and the U.S. Army after reading Terry Johnston’s 1991 novel, “The Devil’s Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872-3.” It was an interesting subject as my step-dad and I used look for arrowheads in those lava fields and outside what he…

A meteorite causing severe damage and injuring 1,200 people in the Russian Urals, has created a stir, especially since it took place as an asteroid zipped by Earth within 17,000 miles. However, it’s not the first time a meteor has made itself known as it slammed through the atmosphere. Henry Cutting was living in Candelaria,…

New Jersey Democrat Senator Frank Lautenberg’s decision to retire from the Senate in 2014 election means the upper chamber will soon say good-bye to its last veteran of World War II. However, the war lives on in the House, as Congressman Ralph Hall, a Republican from Texas, and Democrat John Dingell of Michigan, are still…

As a rule I try to keep things simple when it comes to gift-giving holidays. But at times, the snowball-effect takes control. Every holiday, my wife says, “Don’t get me anything.” And every holiday, I go look at the bathroom mirror to see if the word ‘stupid,’ is stenciled on my forehead. It’s not. This…

The outage began Monday evening and left thousands of AT&T customers in Northern Nevada without internet, cell phone and some landline phone service. Calls to 911 were also among those affected. The effected area stretched from Ely to Reno and Sparks. The company says a computer software problem in AT&T’s Reno central office triggered the…

Melancholia is the label often given to the state of a person’s lingering sadness in the 19th century. In fact, it’s said President Abraham Lincoln “dripped of melancholy.” This lingering sadness was common as intelligence, confidence, honesty or a lack thereof. Both Mark Twain and O. Henry lived with the condition. And they both used it…

Before Colin Kaepernick, there was Glenn Carano. The Reno Silver Legacy’s Director of Marketing was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys for seven seasons, from 1977 to 1983, including two Super Bowls and a championship ring. Carano was with the Cowboys when they pounced on the Denver Broncos, 27-10 during Superbowl XII January 15, 1978.…

He was born William Arnold Schneible, but people across the U.S. knew him better as “Wild Bill Cody.” He passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack at his home on Christmas Day 2012. Born in Denver, February 8, 1949, he graduated from Cathedral High in 1967. Bill served honorably in the U.S. Coast Guard for nine years as…

While meeting with the radio station’s program director, I also met our newest staff member whose taking on the massive task of bringing the station into the 21st century as our social-media specialist and consultant. She and I had only known of each other through blogging and Facebook. As we shook hands, she questioned, “Oh,…