2006
Barbwires

2005
Barbwires

2004
Barbwires

2003
Barbwires

2002
Barbwires

2001
Barbwires

2000
Barbwires

1999
Barbwires

1998
Barbwires

1997
Barbwires

1996
Barbwires


2007
Barbwires

2008
Barbwires

2009
Barbwires

2010 Barbwires
BARBWIRE
by
ANDREW BARBANO

2011 Barbwires

2012 Barbwires

Pulitzer
Entries

Pre-Web
Barbwires


2013-14
Barbwires

 

"If you can't say anything nice about someone, sit right here by me."

— Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth  

2015-20 Barbwires

2020-5/22 Barbwires

May-Dec.
2022
 

6/22-11/23 Barbwires

12/23-12/24
Barbwires

Breaking News

Andrew Barbano Editor/Publisher
Photo: Debra Reid, Sparks Tribune

NEW BARBWIRES—>Stay tuned

An e-mail from God
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 9-16-2026

9-9-2026: Inside Petula T-Rump's Closet:
T-RUMP'S ULTIMATE COHN-JOB—> Lust among the vampires
+9/11 IMPEACHABLE AND UNFORGIVABLE: BUSH THE LESSER & A.G. JOHN ASHCROFT SHOULD HAVE GONE TO PRISON

9-2-2026: How Green Was My Valley
8-26-26: Going to Heaven in a Flash of Fire

Instant Replay—>Top 10 Cures for What Ails Us
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 8-19-2026

NVEnergy tries to fry your grandma
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 8-5-2026

The Mid-'26 Barbwire Blue-footed Booby Prizes
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 7-29-2026

The 10th Commandment and the 10th Amendment / 7-22-2026

AT&T's License to Kill / 7-15-2026

Fixed fights bite fixers in the ass / 7-8-2026

Father, forgive them / 6-24-2026

Teach your children well
Lost Horizons
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 6-10-2026 Sparks Tribune

What did Emperor T-Rump do to deserve this?
A very private island
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 6-3-2026 Sparks Tribune / Updated 6-5-2026 GMT

The Shoes of the Fisherman
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 5-27-2026 Sparks Tribun

Election Ebola and other viruses
Emperor Donnie went to show them Commies the error of their ways.
He came empty-handed when he landed and the Xi-man was amazed.
Xi picked his pocket, kept his wallet, put them in the Great Hall,
With a Ming Dynasty pickle jar containing Donnie's balls.
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 5-20-2026 Sparks Tribune

Reno City Hall: the asylum abides
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano 5-13-2026

Goat dressing, goat polo & Amex horsethieves
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 5-6-2026 Sparks Tribune

Grandma files action vs. Amex horsethieves
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 4-29-2026 Sparks Tribune

X-Rated Amex flips the bird to customers
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 4-22-2026 Sparks Tribune

The Pope and Rope-A-Dope
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 4-8-2026 Sparks Tribune

 

As ye sow, so shall ye reap.

"What profiteth it a man if he would gain the whole world but lose his own soul?" — GOD

"So, we have a deal, right?" — Donald Trump

Margaret Dumont and Groucho Marx
Still crazy after all these years.

"Thou shalt not kill." — God

Don't say I didn't warn you as far back as 1992

The naked truth about war

How to Live Forever
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 4-8-2026 Sparks Tribune

My Golden Girl
50 years ago today
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 4-1-2026 Sparks Tribune

From the den of iniquity to the holy of holies
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 3-25-2026 Sparks Tribune

Vote to get Pope Leo on Colbert's show
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / Expanded from the 3-18-2026 Sparks Tribune

WORLDWIDE LEADER? ACT OF GOD OR JUST A GARDEN-VARIETY IMPOSSIBLE DREAMER? ALL OF THE ABOVE? VERY POSSIBLY. Was Andrew Barbano the only advocate for an American pope? Google apparently says YES! At minimum, the Barbwire stumped and broke Google trying to find out. See for yourself. And please lemme know what you think.

Welcome to FantasyLand boys and girls
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbano / Expanded from the 3-11-2026 Sparks Tribune

 

Under the Blood Moon —> Little Boys Playing with War Toys
Barbwire by Andrew Barbano / from the 3-4-2026 Sparks Tribune / Harry Ron Hu photo

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential
The Underbelly of the News—>TOP SECRET, HUSH HUSH!

Under the Blood Moon —> Little Boys Playing with War Toys
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 3-4-2026

Judge not or judge tenderly
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 2-25-2026

BARBWIRE BY ANDREW BARBANO
Expanded from the 2-18-2026 Sparks Tribune
Melt ICE —> Mask up!

BARBWIRE BY ANDREW BARBANO
Expanded from the 2-11-2026 Sparks Tribune
B-Movie: Bad Bunny, Ballgame, Bernstein and Barbano's Beethoven Brunch

BARBWIRE BY ANDREW BARBANO
Expanded from the 2-4-2026 Sparks Tribune
We don't need no stinking badges!

BARBWIRE BY ANDREW BARBANO
Expanded from the 1-28-2026 Sparks Tribune
What if you knew them and found them dead on the ground?

War is peace, right?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-21-2026

Is the light breaking through at last?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-14-2026

Venezuela is Spanish for Vietnam
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-7-2026

The 2025 Barbwire Blue-footed Booby Prizes
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno/ Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 12-31-2025

Three Wise Men: What would Jesus do?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 12-24-2025

The Storm before the Calm
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 12-17-2025 / In 6 languages

The shining city on the hill goes dark
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 12-10-2025

Balm to soothe and warm your cockles
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 12-3-2025

Happy Thanksgibleting, fellow suckers
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 11-26-2025

WORLDWIDE LEADER? ACT OF GOD OR JUST A GARDEN-VARIETY IMPOSSIBLE DREAMER? ALL OF THE ABOVE? VERY POSSIBLY. Was Andrew Barbano the only advocate for an American pope? Google apparently says YES! At minimum, the Barbwire stumped and broke Google trying to find out. See for yourself. And please lemme know what you think.
UPDATE: Pope Leo Ramps Up His Trump Feud With Order to American Bishops
By Leigh Kimmins / Reuters via The Daily Beast 10-8-2025

Now, from the Holy of Holies to the Den of Iniquity—>


CLINGING TO THE LEDGE: MONSTERS BALL
RAPE AND PILLAGE IN CARSON CITY—>Nevada lawmakers juiced to pass worst corporate welfare bill since 1872 Mining Law

Selena Warrior Princess vs. the Zoompa Loompas
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 11-19-2025

UPDATE—>BIG BEAUTIFUL CORPORATE WELFARE BILL FAILS
ALLELUIA!

Beware the Ides of November

Hanging by a Thread: Nevada Hollywood Corporate Welfare Scam breathing harder than porno film
Nevada State Assembly tied 21-21 / By Ben Margiott and crew / KRNV TV-4/KRXI TV-11 / 11-14-2024


Barbwire Tragic Trilogy
Count Dracula sucks eternal / 11-12-2025
Rail City Rat-trap rent-traps / 11-5-2025
Lady in Red: Raped Again / 10-29-2025

The End Continues
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 10-22-2025

When death is nobody's fault
Bullied 12 year-old commits suicide

2012-2024

I warned of danger 13 years ago. Who will answer?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 10-15-2025

 

First We Take Manhattan
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 10-8-2025

Defrocking the dictator
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 10-1-2025

Where are the holy men?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 9-24-2025

Who will answer?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 9-17-2025

1984 in 2025
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 9-10-2025

Cupcakes in CasinoLand
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 9-3-2025

Windy City Showdown: Pope Leo vs. the American Mad King
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 8-27-2025

Lampoons & harpoons for poltroons, dragoons and buffoons
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 8-20-2025

Blame Nevada for T-Rump cancer
37th anniversary Barbwire
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 8-13-2025

The Confederacy has finally won the Civil War
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 8-6-2025 / Updated 8-10-2025 GMT

Nevada Press Assn. Hall of Fame
BREAKING NEWS—> 5 down, 3 to go
7-31-2025 Barbwire Winner
Congratulations to Barbwire nominee & Pulitzer Prize winner Norman Cardoza
Reno Gazette-Journal

Ignore the jesters and you fester
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 7-30-2025

Payback Time: Colbert to PBS
Never gonna happen? Neither was an American pope. See above.
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 7-23-2025

Monsters of our own creation
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 7-16-2025

T-RUMP TRAVESTY TRILOGY HAT TRICK TRIPLE PLAY
Lisa Murkowski got publicly porked
And hit us with chops on July the 4th
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 7-9-2025

T-RUMP TRAVESTY TRILOGY PART DEUX
We become what we despise
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 7-2-2025

T-RUMP TRAVESTY TRILOGY PART 1
We don't need no stinking badges!
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 6-25-2025

ANGELS FOR AMERICA
Pope Leo-14 and President Lech Walesa for the good guys
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 6-18-2025

That's great TV!
"It's interesting when people die" — Don Henley, "Dirty Laundry" 1982
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 6-11-2025 / Expansions in blue
 Updated Friday the 13th 2025. Chainsaws optional. Don't tell Freddie Krueger.

ORPHANS OF THE STORM
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 6-4-2025

Never, ever forget that name
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 5-28-2025

UPDATE: WORLDWIDE LEADER? ACT OF GOD OR JUST A GARDEN-VARIETY IMPOSSIBLE DREAMER? ALL OF THE ABOVE? VERY POSSIBLY. Was Andrew Barbano the only advocate for an American pope? Google apparently says YES! At minimum, the Barbwire stumped and broke Google trying to find out. See for yourself. And please lemme know what you think.

Confessions of an altar boy
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 5-14-2025

Let it Be: An American Pope Francis2
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-23-2025

Spring chickens and old buzzards
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 5-7-2025

Conniving Corruption Contortions, Conniptions & Contradictions
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-30-2025

Let it Be: An American Pope Francis2
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-23-2025

Twin terrorists run tax-paid American gulag
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-16-2025

Toxic sludge is good for you
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-9-2025

Pinky & the Brain taking over the world
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-2-2025

Send back the Statue of Liberty
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 3-26-2025

Donald Trump's Death Sentences
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 3-19-2025

How to become a Nevada welfare queen
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 3-12-2025

March comes in with a lion —> from Ukraine

Red Scares and Nobel Red Flags
Warnings from Walesa and Ressa
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 3-5-2025

Zelenskyy for President!
Washington DC 2-28-2025 —> So refreshing, heartening and energizing to see a leader with brass balls in the Oval Office as opposed to the Russian traitor with three gold balls hanging in his pawn shop
Be well and raise hell, President Volodymyr / America is with you and our democracies

Let's kick some ass! Sign up at BallotBoxing.US

Stay tuned for much more!

Down there among the swamp critters
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 2-26-2025

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 2-19-2025

Rise of the Reptilian Brain Trust
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 2-12-2025

The Spaghetti Wall
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 2-5-2025

Dastardly depredations of Czar Dastardo
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-29-2025

Inattention abstention on coronation day
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-22-2025

The Goats of the Ides of January
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-15-2025

Dark depredations & golden opportunities
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-8-2025

A walk thru the Wayback Machine
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 1-1-2025

¡Sí se puede!

¡Union diga si!

Hope you and yours enjoyed Happy High Holly Days
Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Festivus/Chanukah/Thanksgibleting
Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad
HAPPY NEW YEAR / Feliz Año Nuevo / Felice Anno Nuovo
Frohe Weihnachten und beste Wuensche fuer 2026
MELT ICE —> Mask up! Get the latest boosters, protect yourself and your family and continue praying for the oppressed, unenlightened and unvaccinated as well as Popes Leo and Francis, the Dalai Lama, new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, and the world's more than 160 currently war-torn lands, including ours. May we survive WW3 perhaps coming soon to a polling place near you. Stay safe.

Betty J. Barbano
2-7-1941 / 12-27-2005
 Remember her laughter

My Golden Girl
50 years ago today

On January 16, 1959, two babies were born.
They became sisters in both life and death.

Larry Barbano, Frater Mei
12-18-1947 / 10-18-2023

 

War in moderation?
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 4-13-2022

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential
The Underbelly of the News—>TOP SECRET, HUSH HUSH!

BOXCARS!
Barbwire wins 12th Nevada Press Association award
6 of 12 gold
Tribune editorial page voted 2020 best

Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame

Dennis Myers 2nd Barbwire nominee elected to NPA Hall of Fame

Jake Highton & Guy Louis Rocha 2024 Barbwire-nominated winners

BREAKING NEWS—>
5 down, 3 to go

7-31-2025 5th Barbwire Winner
Congratulations to Barbwire nominee Norman Cardoza
1977 Pulitzer Prize winner, Reno Gazette-Journal
BUENO!

Support Don Dondero & David Toll & Foster Church & Ed Pearce next.

Please send endorsements

The Barbwire Molly Ivins Memorial Columniator Hall of Flames

Site Map
SITE NAVIGATION TIPS: When all else fails, read the instructions (a favorite John Hanks aphorism I've been using for decades)
Je Suis Charlie

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

We Don't Need No Education: The Neverending Series
BARBWIRE BLASTS FROM THE PAST
Site Map

Required Readings

The Lady in the Red Dress
The award-winning Barbwire classic Nevada Day column written in 1983
The compleat history of the Silver State in 500 words
SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
DAILY SPARKS TRIBUNE 1-3-2011 & 10-31-2018

Liberal reasons to oppose liberal positions and policies
Guaranteed to irritate all points of the political spectrum
DAILY SPARKS TRIBUNE 12-26-2010 / Updated 7-12-2017

Guest Columnists

Travus T. Hipp
Feb. 20, 1937 — May 18, 2012

BREAKING NEWS 10-24-2014: Travus and Lynne Hughes' longtime home, the old church in Silver City, burns to the ground with the loss of one life. Say a prayer and treasure the memories. Sean Laughlin promises to rebuild. Victims were Travus' first wife, Sandy, and her dog.

The Bullfrog Times-Picayune
Sticky Stones: Last blast from the past

Love ain't free: Evelyn Kerr's remembrances of the life and times of Travus T. Hipp from the pages of TimeMazine (CD available)

We put the state on life support for another two years
Assemblyman Richard "Skip" Daly, D-Sparks / Reno Gazette-Journal Guest Editorial / 7-17-2011
Editor's note: Alas and alack, the 2013 session provided instant replay.

Prof. Jake Highton, 1931-2017
Travus T. Hipp, 1937-2012
Dennis Myers, 1948-2019 [Remembering Dennis]
Orland T. Outland, 1923-2000
Labor Leaders

David Farside 1936-2014
The Farside Chronicles
Harry Spencer remembers David Farside
Tribune Editor Dan Eckles: Farside a class act

17-year investigative series

PUMPING PROFITS — Why does gasoline cost so much?
Read the awful truth in the Barbwire Oilogopoly Archive

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

BLASTS FROM THE PAST
Some of the Barbwire's Pre-Internet Greatest Hits

Return of the Lost Boys —> KCBN's last day
Barbwire / Sparks Tribune / 9-29-1989 (.pdf)
Whoever promised me a CD of all 13 hours and never sent it, now would be a good time. People are waiting. Please e-mail me.
Uploaded on the occasion of the passing of Big Daddy Chuck Harper, 1934-2014
Barbwire / Sparks Tribune / 12-23-2014

John F. Kennedy's 2013 inaugural address
Excerpted from the original full text from 12-29-1991 (.pdf)
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-22-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune

Lynne Hughes and Barbara Bennett: Energy Again [.pdf]
Uploaded on the occasion of the passing of Travus T. Hipp, 1937-2012
Barbwire / Sparks Tribune / 3-21-1993

1995 Washoe Med (Renown Medical) Grand Jury Report
Additional columns just uploaded from our archives + the 3-18-2012 Barbwire
Grand Jury report available for the first time on the web

The fairy tale power of 35 pennies
From the 12-22-1991 Daily Sparks Tribune / .pdf format
Presented to my granddaughter as a university graduation present on 5-27-2011
and referenced in the 5-29-2011 Barbwire

Gail Bishop: We harvest the fruit of his labor
From the 2-20-1994 Daily Sparks Tribune (.pdf format)
Velma Bishop, 1928-2010
From the 10-3-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune

Doug Davies: Rum & Ragtime Renaissance Man
Daily Sparks Tribune 11-14-1993 (.pdf format)

Diss me, father, for I have sinned
Daily Sparks Tribune 7-16-1995 / Reprinted 7-15-2007

Merle Brennan: The Last American Sportsman, 1-7-1996
Updated with vintage photos, restored race cars and a visit from Il Comendatore himself
UPDATED 10-4-2008
Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004
A memoir from Nevada's undercover Reagan-Bush PR man
Slightly updated 6-6-2004 from the 8-2-1992 Daily Sparks Tribune original

History
Labor Day '94: People vs. Corporate Con-Job
A brief history of neo-con PR and the roots of corporate propaganda
Tragedy
Come, follow me: A walk with the grateful dead
A visit to Nevada's first AIDS leper colony
The award-winning second Tribune Barbwire
From the 8-19-1988 and 7-10-1994 Daily Sparks Tribune

BEASTY BOYS—>Did Naval Air Station Fallon bury live animals after a huge fuel spill?
From the 1-19-1990 and 1-22-1990 Daily Sparks Tribune

Barbwire Diplomacy
Revisiting the fourth Tribune Barbwire: "Chilé took Nevada for a sucker" 9-2-1988
Breadlines in boomtowns: the American plantations
Expanded from the 7-19-1998 Daily Sparks Tribune / Updated 12-12-2006
Comedy
Theme casinos, Spuds MacKenzie & Brigitte Bardot
The first Barbwire
Originally published in Reno, LV and Sunworld Airlines magazines, August, 1987

Continuing Tragicomedy
Judge Clarence Thomas meets Prof. Kingsfield
Reprinted in the San Francisco and Los Angeles Daily Legal Journals, 1991
Updated 6-27-2013

More sucker punches from Lush Rambo
Barbwire by Barbano/ Expanded from the 3-11-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune
Includes links to two freshly-uploaded 1992 columns. I warned you.

Insanity from the eye of the newt
From the 5-20-1990 Daily Sparks Tribune / .pdf format
UPDATE: So what else is newt?
The great ones died but Newt's like Dracula
Happy High Holly Days anyway!
Barbano by Barbano / Expanded from the 12-25-2011 Daily Sparks Tribune

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em
The reasons behind the failure of Nevada's first non-smoking casino
Barbwire 3-2-1990

Recently uploaded blast from the past for MLK Day —
I was a teenage racist
Expanded from the 1-12-1990 Daily Sparks Tribune
This column also appeared in the 1-19-1990 Comstock Chronicle
Updated and modified versions in the Fresno Bee, Daily Sparks Tribune and Reno Gazette-Journal
Jan. 14-15, 2012


Below, right: The Nevada University Scandals of 2010-present
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Click here.

Below, left: The Nevada University Scandals of 1996-1997
Please let us know if much has changed.
1997 Barbwire Pulitzer Prize entries are noted with *asterisks*
Category 4 — Explanatory Journalism
Category 9 — Commentary

Janet MacDonald 1941-2012: The beautiful face of honor
The Barbwire fondly remembers the courageous university system treasurer who dared tell the truth
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 1-29-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune

UPDATE: Let there be Rosenbergy again
Term limits or not, vote for Howard Rosenberg anyway, dammit!
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 7-27-2008 Daily Sparks Tribune


Shunting Nevada work to out-of-state carpetbaggers is nothing new

University just won't learn—>
The smoking gun: UN,R subcontractor hires and exploits undocumented workers
Dennis Myers/Reno News & Review/9-26-2013

Just like old times: UN,R and Hot August Nights
Barbwire by Barbano/Sparks Tribune/9-26-13

Marginal contractors on UNR job draw Laborers' Union ire and picket line
U-News / 9-19-2013
UPDATE: UNIONS PROTEST UNR GIVEAWAY ON STUDENT HOUSING CONSTRUCTION
Reno Gazette-Journal front page/9-24-2013

State of the Unions —>
Non-Nevada contractors, including Apple, continue to plague local workers
Reno Gazette-Journal 9-1-2013

Bullfighting in Tonopah —>
Billion-dollar tax-subsidized solar array goes to shady contractor from sunny Spain
Barbwire / Sparks Tribune 8-11-2011

Nevada workers march to UNR for Nevada jobs
U-News / 5-20-2010

Con jobs by charlatans in the name of our children
Originally published 5/4/97
Slavery, sweatshops and shell game education
Originally published 4/27/97
New evidence in the university financial shell game
Originally published 4/20/97
All university regents face ouster, TMCC chief quits
Originally published 3/9/97
The question no one asked Howard Rosenberg — till now
Originally published 3/2/97
The buckaroo kangaroo court hangs Rosenberg Thursday
Originally published 2/23/97
Only embrace the tar baby when DNA proves it's yours
Originally published 2/2/97
Emperors, educators, pregnant paupers & presidents
Originally published 1/26/97
*Secret university audit catches chancellor lying!*
Originally published 1/19/97
A watered down education for Mother Nevada's kids
Originally published 1/12/97
Both Nevada and its university open 1997 lost at sea
Originally published 1/5/97
The 1996 Grateful Deadhead and Chia Butthead Awards
Originally published 12/29/96
*Shadowboxing Jello, yahoo kangaroos & Downsize This!*
Originally published 12/22/96
*EXTRA! Barbano endorses environmental jockocracy *
Originally published 12/15/96
*University Scandals 1996: The Empire Strikes Back *
Originally published 12/8/96
*Howard Rosenberg: the most powerful man in Nevada *
Originally published 12/1/96
*Howard Rosenberg: unlikely David vs. Philistine Elite *
Originally published 11/24/96
*Clark Santini: still watching over his university*
Originally published 11/17/96
*Protected pianists at the Casablanca College Casino*
Originally published 11/10/96
*Ghost Professors, Gold Mines and Shell Games at UNR*
Originally published 11/3/96
*Slam-dunks: fun follytix up at the U*
Originally published 10/27/96

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Oct. 27, 1996, Barbwire began a six-month investigation into the labyrinthine intrigues of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN), now called the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). At the suggestion of chess grandmaster and author Larry Evans, most of the 1996 installments, as well as one involving university issues in the following year, were entered by the Sparks Tribune in two categories of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize competition. That ongoing interest in the affairs of higher education has never waned. You may use the NevadaLabor.com search engine to do a keyword search on the occasional treatment of university issues. You will also enjoy the ongoing comments of longtime University of Nevada-Reno journalism Prof. Jake Highton (1931-2017). Be well. Raise hell. — Andrew

Current Barbwire Index

 

Gov. Dudley Do-Right's Greatest Hits
Dudley Do-Right, Snidely Whiplash and Nell Fenwick cartoon characters © Jay Ward Productions. May their tribe increase.


2006
Barbwires

2005
Barbwires

2004
Barbwires

2003
Barbwires

2002
Barbwires

2001
Barbwires

2000
Barbwires

1999
Barbwires

1998
Barbwires

1997
Barbwires

1996
Barbwires


2007
Barbwires

2008
Barbwires

2009
Barbwires

2010 Barbwires
BARBWIRE
by
ANDREW BARBANO

2011 Barbwires

2012 Barbwires

Pulitzer
Entries

Pre-Web
Barbwires


2013-14
Barbwires

 

"If you can't say anything nice about someone, sit right here by me."

— Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth  

2015-20 Barbwires

2020-5/22 Barbwires

May-Dec.
2022
 

6/22-11/23 Barbwires

12/23-12/24
Barbwires

Breaking News


NevadaLabor.com | U-News Archives | NevadaLabor.com Front Page Story Archives
Breaking News + Bulletins + Almanac
Casinos Out of Politics (COP) | Sen. Joe Neal
Guinn Watch | Deciding Factors | BallotBoxing.US
DoctorLawyerWatch.com | Barbwire Oilogopoly Archive
Barbwire Nevada Corporate Welfare Archive
The Barbwire Molly Ivins Memorial Columniator Hall of Flames
Annual César Chávez Celebration
War Rooms: Banks, Cabbies, Cabela's/cabellyup, Cable TV, Cancer Kids/Mining, Energy, Health Care,
ReSurge.TV/consumer, Starbucks, Wal-Mart
We Don't Need No Education

In Search Of...

Back to the top of this page

SITE NAVIGATION TIPS: When all else fails, read the instructions

© 1982-2026 Andrew Barbano, all rights reserved

_______
Andrew Barbano is a 57-year Nevadan, was longtime executive producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration and first vice-president and political action chair of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. He is a longtime labor/consumer/civil rights advocate, member of Communications Workers of America Local 9413/AFL-CIO and editor of NevadaLabor.com and BallotBoxing.US and SenJoeNeal.org and DoctorLawyerWatch.com and Rentvolution.org and ConsumerCoalitionv.org and MississippiWestNV.org/ As always, his opinions are strictly his own. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988 and received its 12th Nevada Press Association award in 2025. (That trophy and about six bucks will get you a Latte Mocha Cotsafracas Chingade at just about any Starbux worldwide, guaranteed.) The Northern Nevada Central Labor Council/AFL-CIO inducted Barbano into the Nevada Labor Hall of Fame on April 5, 2024.

Be well. Raise hell.

Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.) / être bien, élever l'enfer (And my French.) / Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)

2013: The Barbwire's Silver Anniversary in the Silver State
Aug. 1988-Aug. 2013 —>Now we go for gold
Barbwire by Barbano moved to Nevada's Daily Sparks Tribune on Aug. 12, 1988, and has originated in them parts ever since.
Whom to blame: How a hall-of-famer's hunch birthed the Barbwire in August of 1987
Tempus fugit.

Join the campaign to bring community television back to Reno-Sparks-Washoe.
Donate at our PayPal-enabled ReSurge.TV Consumer War Room

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

BOXCARS!
Barbwire wins 12th Nevada Press Association award

NevadaLabor.com Site Directory

Hope you and yours enjoyed Happy High Holly Days
Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Festivus/Chanukah/Thanksgibleting
Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad
HAPPY NEW YEAR / Feliz Año Nuevo / Felice Anno Nuovo
Frohe Weihnachten und beste Wuensche fuer 2026

We Don't Need No Education: The Neverending Barbwire Series

Get ahead of the corporate news wave—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

Site composed and maintained by Deciding Factors
Write here for mailing list inclusion.