Help improve funding and care for Parkinson’s patients
This past February, I lost my father to Parkinson’s disease. As a family physician, I have cared for patients with Parkinson’s. But walking beside my dad as he faced the daily challenges of this disease made it deeply personal.
Right here in Northern Nevada, an estimated 5,000 people live with Parkinson’s. Their families, friends and co-workers are affected, too. Parkinson’s doesn’t always shorten life, but it changes how you live—from the tremor that makes holding a cup of coffee difficult to the stiffness that makes walking across a room exhausting.
Parkinson’s is now the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease in the world, and in the next decade, the number of people living with it is expected to double. Nationally, the cost already is estimated at $62 billion annually, from medications and medical care to lost work and caregiver strain.
Sept. 9 is the National Day of Action for Parkinson’s. I urge our community to use this moment to speak up. Contact your representatives in Congress and ask them to expand funding for the National Institutes of Health. Encourage Nevada lawmakers to make Parkinson’s a priority when they return to Carson City in 2027.
Your story matters. Together, we can show lawmakers that the Parkinson’s community in Nevada is strong, united and ready to be heard.
Dr. Mindy Lokshin
Founding chair of Parkinson Support Center of Northern Nevada
Reno
Tax-aide volunteers needed
The Nevada AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is looking for volunteers to provide tax preparation for anyone, free of charge, with a focus on taxpayers 50 and older, and/or low to moderate income. Tax-Aide is the largest free, volunteer-based tax assistance and preparation program in the U.S.
Why does this matter? The U.S. tax code is complicated. Many taxpayers overpay, use services they can’t afford, or don’t file—missing out on earned credits and deductions. Our goal is to help change that.
For the 2024 tax season, Nevada Tax-Aide’s 250 volunteers prepared more than 9,600 tax returns, providing Nevada citizens with upwards of $7.6 million in federal tax refunds. We need volunteers to provide tax preparation and filing services, as well as welcome taxpayers for their appointments, provide tech support, recruit volunteers, translate and more. Anyone interested can visit nvtaxaide.org or aarpfoundation.org/taxaide for details.
Volunteers are trained in January for the upcoming tax season. Volunteers come from a variety of industries, ranging from retirees to college students, and do not need to be AARP members. During February through April, volunteers will assist taxpayers at one of Nevada’s 26 sites. The time commitment starts at only four hours per week.
Tax-Aide volunteers make a meaningful difference in the lives of vulnerable older adults. Even modest refunds have an impact, especially for low-income taxpayers. This is an excellent way to give back to your community. Please consider giving us some of your time. Thank you.
Ann Conlin
Reno
Urge officials to deter Trump’s authoritarian actions in D.C.
In his relentless march toward authoritarian rule, President Trump has again invoked the Emergency Powers Act and sent federal officers (National Guard, FBI, Secret Service) to clear out the homeless people in Washington, D.C.
Under Section 740, the president’s action cannot exceed 30 days without Congress’ approval. Congress has stood by for too long and allowed free rein of a lawless president. It is time to reassert congressional power. Please call or write Rep. Mark Amodei and urge him to re-assert congressional oversight and decline any requested extensions. Call his Reno office at 775-686-5760.
Wendy Buxton
Reno
The U.S. needs to stop sliding into dictatorship
The firing of agency professionals because the president doesn’t like bad or contradictory news is the kind of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
Replacing checks and balances within government with loyalists is the kind of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
Media companies bending the knee to the government because of real threats to their existence coming from the government is the kind of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
Prisons created and designed for maximum cruelty are the sort of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
Easily disprovable lies about trivialities (example: My crowd was bigger than your crowd!) becoming official dogma is the kind of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
The military and a masked army of special police patrolling our city streets and given the power to abduct with zero due process is the kind of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
Official policy designed to make everyone, including law-abiding citizens, fearful of their government is the kind of thing that happens in Russia and not in America, except that now it does.
Please stop making America like Russia.
Mike Rottmann
Virginia City Highlands