I was fewer than six feet from Steven Simmons on Dec. 7, 2005, when he was within seconds of admitting he robbed the Minden Bank of America. Defense attorney Tod Young had worked out a deal for him to take and Simmons seemed on the verge of accepting it when he shook his head and decided to wait. Nearly 13 months later, the result was the same, only this time 12 people decided his fate for him. I can't say what in his head made him think there would be a different resolution, but that he took it all the way through the system is a sure indication that hope can survive without any basis in reality.
Democrats are fired up for this weekend when not one, but two presidential hopefuls visit Carson Valley on Saturday. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has already announced his intentions to run for chief executive. Gen. Wesley Clark is playing his intentions a little closer to the vest, but was a contender for the nomination in 2004 and hasn't ruled out making another run at the White House. Presidential candidate George W. Bush visited Douglas County for a fundraiser at Lake Tahoe, but we rarely get such attention down in the Valley.
I'm going to give up talking about the sliver of a possibility of a chance that there might be a smidgen of precipitation in the next couple of days. A big chunk of high pressure has taken up residence over Western Nevada and won't be going anywhere in the near future. Lows keep bouncing off of it like bullets off Superman's chest. Highs will stay in the 50s and lows will remain in the teens. It's 17 degrees in Genoa and 9 degrees in Minden.
