LETTERS: Historian Wright had huge impact on Nevada

So many of us were very saddened to learn of the death of Dorothy Wright, and we thank journalist Christian Bertolaccini for his beautiful tribute ("Historian Wright dies at 67," Friday Review-Journal). Ms. Wright's accomplishments are legendary, with a successful focus on and preservation of individuals, events and landmarks that are so important to Nevada history.

Ms. Wright was very helpful, in countless ways, to those of us working to gather and preserve local history with the Blue Diamond History Committee. She worked with us to provide a village marker with the history of our community, participated in our oral history presentations and shared great ideas at meetings. She was an active and encouraging supporter of our efforts in countless ways.

I also want to acknowledge Ms. Wright's significant help with critical consumer issues in the late 1970s. She was a founding member of the Consumers League of Nevada, a small activist group that worked hard and had great successes. Through research, grassroots involvement, determination and legislative action, we accomplished things now taken for granted, including removing the sales tax on food, obtaining open pricing for prescription drugs and helping establish a state consumer affairs office. Ms. Wright was part of all of that. Much of the Consumers League data is archived in the UNLV library's special collections department.

Ms. Wright did so much to help so many in Clark County. She will be greatly missed, especially by countless Nevadans who treasure the friendship and memories of such a caring and wonderful friend.

Pat van Betten

Blue Diamond

Countering NV Energy

We are among the approximately 14,800 NV Energy net metering residential customers in the Las Vegas area. Because of the new net metering rates, rooftop solar owners now have an incentive to maximize our personal energy usage during the day (while the sun shines and we are producing more energy than we are using) and minimize the energy we draw back from NV Energy at night. There are some simple, common-sense actions that can be taken.

First, if you have a pool pump, run it during the day. You should only run it at night if the temperature is expected to be below freezing. Also, use electric appliances during the day (electric self-cleaning oven, electric dryer, electric water heater, electric stove or oven). If this is not convenient, switch the appliances to natural gas. In the afternoon, use air conditioning to cool down your house well below normal thermostat settings. Then, when the sun goes down, raise the thermostat back to normal settings or higher after your solar system is off.

These actions use your house to store some of that excess solar energy, rather than give NV Energy a free ride from your overproduction of energy. You'll reduce the energy sent to the NV Energy grid during the day and reduce the need for purchasing energy back from NV Energy during the night.

Of course, these actions run counter to the direction NV Energy and the Public Utilities Commission should be taking us, causing more energy demand at absolutely the wrong time — during peak periods of summer usage. Ultimately, NV Energy might need to build more peaking plants, which will be rate-based and lead to higher electricity rates for all customers.

Jim Wunderlin

Christine Wunderlin

Las Vegas

Religious bias

I just want to know why, when people are screaming and disrupting church services, the police can't do anything, but when bacon is placed on a mosque door, it's worth $5,000 from the FBI to find the culprit ("Unequal protection," Jan. 5 Review-Journal editorial).

Evon Smith

Las Vegas