Still in the Middle
During campaign, COVID — an escape to Nevada
There's no denying it — the past seven months have made me stir-crazy. With all the lockdowns and shutdowns, it's begun to actually bring me down. Like most, I've stayed at home. Any traveling I've done is restricted to daily walks in the...
The only thing we need to fear
This opinion column was submitted by Pat Hickey, a member of the Nevada Legislature from 1996 to 2016. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."...
Turned off by Tuesday’s presidential debate
This past Tuesday's presidential debate was neither "presidential" or a "debate." It looked more like a cable TV clash of "Pardon the Interruption" on steroids. Millions around the world watched as two ancient-looking American...
Friends and foes on the Supreme Court
If ever there was a year that set up a biblical-like scenario for the supposed last days, 2020 would probably take the cake. I'm not just talking about the appearance of a worldwide pandemic and long food lines, along with fires and floods rampaging the...
Students need their teachers in the classroom
"This is the value of the teacher, who looks at a face and says there's something behind that and I want to reach that person, I want to influence that person, I want to encourage that person, I want to enrich, I want to call out that person who is behind...
2020 is the longest year, so how will it finish?
It's been a very long year. Some have even wondered if Lady Luck has abandoned Nevada. Reviewing the state's COVID-19 actions over the past six months, Gov. Sisolak recently told reporters we have "a long way to go" before restoring Nevada's...
What’s in a name? Apparently a lot
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Apparently a lot, when it comes to William Shakespeare's classic prose from "Romeo and Juliet." And, most certainly these days — when it comes to a few...
‘With malice toward none, with charity for all’
'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and...
As Washoe schools reopen, put students first, unions later
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." — J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Ditto that to what new Washoe County School Superintendent Kristen McNeil must...
Is political tribalism, loyalty crippling Nevada?
This opinion column was submitted by RGJ columnist Pat Hickey, a former member of the Nevada Assembly. Out of many, one. The Latin phrase "e pluribus unum," was adopted as the country's first motto. The Founders' idea of pluralism was reflected in...
About Pat Hickey
Pat Hickey was born in Carson City and grew up in Lake Tahoe, the place where his Irish ancestors settled in the 1870s. Pat has been a ski bum, a seeker, a reporter, an assemblyman, an education advocate, and a proud parent and grandparent. His “Memo from the Middle” Sunday column was previolusly carried in the Reno Gazette Journal.
Pat received his Master’s Degree from the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada. His lifelong interest in life after death is matched only by his fascination with the lives he and other Nevadans are currently leading.
