By Rocío Hernández
With busy Spring Break plans and schedules, keeping up-to-date with current events is easily forgotten. The Nevada Sagebrush brings you some of the top headlines featured during Spring Break.
Reno News: TMWA asks Reno-Sparks residents to conserve water
The Truckee River is not what it used to be. Neither is Lake Tahoe. Low water levels are apparent in the Reno-Sparks area.
After a four-year drought, the Truckee Meadow Water Authority has asked its 118,000 clients to use 10 percent less water than they did in 2013. The request is immediate and will be featured in April’s water bills.
Kim Mazeres, TMWA director of customer relations, told the Reno Gazette-Journal that customers should save water in any way possible.
National News: California anti-LGBT initiative: ‘Offenders should die’
Concerned California legislators filed a formal compliant with The State Bar of California on Thursday, March 19 against an Orange County attorney who proposes killing people who have engage in same-sex relationships.
Mathew Gregory McLaughlin submitted his proposal on Tuesday, March 24. The Sodomite Suppression Act suggests “any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.” In this way, McLauglin stated that God would spare Californians.
California State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and five LGBT caucus members have sent letters to The State Bar President Craig Holden asking that he evaluate whether McLaughlin is still fit to serve as an attorney after his “provocative and potentially unethical actions.” An online petition asks that McLaughlin be disbarred. The petition has 15,689 supporters.
The initiative is currently being reviewed by the California Office of the Attorney General. If it passes through the office, the proposal will then require more than 300,000 signatures from eligible voters in order to reach the 2016 state ballot.
International News: Afghan woman massacred for allegedly burning the Koran
Protesters took to the streets in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, March 23 demanding their government take action against the killers of 27-year-old Farkhunda.
On Thursday, March 19, Farkhunda was accused of burning the Koran by a Shah-e-Do Samshera Mosque mullah; the accusation incited violent responses. A video from CNN shows a crowd, mainly composed of men, kicking Farkhunda, hitting her with sticks, flinging rocks at her and throwing her off a rooftop. BBC reported that the mob tied her to a car, dragged her and set her on fire.
According to the Associated Press, 18 people have been arrested and 13 police officers have been suspended for standing idly by idly while the violence occurred. Farkhunda’s death is still under investigation.
Rocío Hernández can be reached at rhernandez@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @rociohdz19.
