In their own words: Even as we stayed home for most of 2020, it was an eventful year worth talking about

As the calendar turns, the Sun offers quotes, tweets and other comments on the highs and lows of 2020 in Southern Nevada. May 2021 be a much kinder year.

“The Southern Nevada Health District is announcing the first presumptive positive case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Clark County resident. The patient is a male in his 50s who is hospitalized and currently in airborne isolation.” — Excerpts from a March 5 tweet by the SNHD.

“We are in uncharted territory.” — Gov. Steve Sisolak on March 12, declaring a state of emergency over the pandemic.

“People are dying. It’s incumbent upon the citizens of this state to take this seriously.” — Sisolak on March 17, ordering the closure of all nonessential businesses for 30 days.

“I offered to be a control group and I was told by our statistician, ‘You can’t do that, because people from all parts of Southern Nevada come in to work in the city.’ We would love to be that placebo side so you have something to measure against.” — Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, in a nationally televised interview with CNN’S Anderson Cooper on April 22.

“Wow, OK, that’s really ignorant.” — Cooper, reacting to a comment by Goodman suggesting that the coronavirus wouldn’t spread the same way in Las Vegas as it did in China.

“Nothing we are doing is going to eliminate the risk of transmission. Everything we do is a risk. There is nothing in life that is perfectly safe. What we are trying to do is reduce the risk as much as possible.” — UNLV epidemiologist Brian Labus in July, discussing a proposal by the Clark County School District to return to partial in-classroom instruction during the fall.

“When you’re silent, that means you’re not with us. Because you have a voice. Others don’t have that voice so you need to speak out.” — Alexander Melchor, explaining why he participated in a Black Lives Matter protest May 30 in Las Vegas.

“What has occurred is utterly unacceptable. I hope the community sees it that way too.” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo after Black Lives Matter protests June 1. That night, Officer Shay Mikalonis was critically wounded in a shooting near Circus Circus, and officers shot and killed 25-year-old Jorge Gomez, outside the downtown Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse. A 20-year-old man, Edgar Samaniego, was arrested and charged in the shooting of Mikalonis.

“People have a right to peacefully protest. These men are agitators and instigators. Their point was to hijack the protests into violence.” — Nicholas Trutanich, U.S. attorney in Nevada, to the Associated Press after the May 30 arrests of three men who allegedly were plotting to attack law enforcement officers with Molotov cocktails to trigger mass violence during Black Lives Matter protesting. The men — Stephen T. Parshall, 35, Andrew T. Lynam Jr., 23, and William L. Loomis, 40 — reportedly have ties to the Boogaloo Bois movement.

“In Nevada, we have just put together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition, which is going to not only win in Nevada, it’s going to sweep this country.” — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., in his Feb. 22 victory speech after winning the Nevada Caucus.

“I have been an attorney for over two decades, and I was the attorney general of Nevada for eight years. And I keep coming back to what I learned in the courtroom. The law is a technical field, but it’s also based on common sense. You don’t have to study the law for years to know that stealing and cheating are wrong. It is one of the first things we learn in our formative years. And you don’t have to be a law school professor to realize that a president should not be using the job the American people gave him to benefit himself personally.” — Sen. Catherine Cortez-masto, D-nev., on Feb. 5, explaining her vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump’s wall fell over.” — one of seven mocking messages that appeared Feb. 21 on the massive video billboard at Harmon Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The messages, which coincided with a Trump rally, were purchased by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

“In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-in Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court!” — tweet by Trump on Aug. 3 after Nevada lawmakers approved expanded mail-in balloting and other pandemic-related emergency voting measures for the November election.

“I don’t know what a clubhouse governor is. It is extremely important to me that our citizens do not have to decide between their health and their right to vote.” — Sisolak, in response to Trump’s tweet.

“We will soon have a president who cares more about our country than he does about himself, who listens to medical experts instead of fighting with them, and who will seek to expand access to affordable health care rather than restrict it,” Rep. Dina Titus, D-nev., after Biden was declared the winner of the Nevada vote Nov. 7. The Associated Press also declared Biden the winner in other key states that day, giving him the victory in the presidential race.

“I get to breathe a little better today. I get to sleep a little better today.” — Las Vegas resident Maria Nieto Orta, also Nov. 7. Nieto Orta is a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

“I don’t want to man-speak but I will have to if you continue to child-speak, so please stop.” — Dean Gould, chief of staff for the Nevada System of Higher Education, speaking to Nevada Regent Lisa Levine on Aug. 7 during an open board meeting. Gould’s comment, which went viral online, prompted numerous calls for him to be disciplined or fired.

“It’ll be a little awkward, but we’ll get through it. Like meeting an ex, old girlfriend, or something that didn’t end well.” — Pete Deboer on Jan. 15 after being hired as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights following four and a half seasons coaching the team that became Vegas’ most heated rival, the San Jose Sharks.

“I’m pleased to announce that Las Vegas will host the 2022 NFL Draft, where we look forward to holding an even bigger and better event than we could have ever imagined this year.” — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on April 23.

“We all feel like this is a wasted opportunity.” — Vegas Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith after the team was eliminated from the NHL playoffs Sept. 14. After a 7-2 start in the playoffs, the Knights lost six of their final eight games.

“This is the finals: The two best teams in the league going at it.” — Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson after the Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun on Sept. 29 to earn a trip to the WNBA Finals. The Aces lost to Seattle, but Wilson was named league MVP.

“The fact that we can bring some excitement to Las Vegas during a year that nobody will ever forget, that’s what has me the most excited.” — Derek Stevens, remarking Oct. 28 on the opening of his Circa resort. The $1 billion, 35-story property was the first major ground-up construction project downtown since 1980.

“(Siegfried and Roy) invented, created, pioneered the very idea that a magic show could be a full evening in Vegas. If not for S&R there would be no P&T in Vegas. He was so full of life, wild, and unpredictable. We will miss him.” — Penn Jillette in a May 8 tweet after the death of iconic Las Vegas entertainer Roy Horn.

“We believe there is a high level of pentup demand to have a nonsmoking casino, especially here in Las Vegas.” — Anton Nikodemus, president and chief operating officer of Park MGM, announcing Sept. 13 that the 3,000-room resort would become the first smoke-free casino on the Strip when it reopened later in the month.

“President Trump tried to shove nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain down our throats for three years. We beat him badly and he knows it.” — Titus, tweeting Feb. 6 after Trump reversed his support for reviving the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository.

“I treasure every conversation I ever had with Tony Hsieh. He was fascinating, brilliant, and inspiring, and his unwavering efforts to spread happiness — and enthusiasm for mentoring young entrepreneurs — touched countless lives for the better.” — Former President Bill Clinton in a Nov. 30 tweet following the death of the Zappos founder and Downtown Las Vegas entrepreneur.

“I have been a cop for 22 years. I just retired last month from Metro Police and I have seen stuff obviously as a police officer, public service, but when it is your friends ... I have never seen that. I don’t even know, it was the worst thing I could see in my life.” — Michael Anderson, a survivor of the Dec. 10 crash in which five bicyclists died on U.S. Highway 95 in the Southern Nevada desert. The fatality victims were Erin Michelle Ray, 39; Gerrard Suarez Nieva, 41; Michael Todd Murray, 57; Aksoy Ahmet, 48, and Thomas Chamberlain Trauger, 57.

“When you look back at what this team has been through and what they’ve endured, it’s pretty amazing. I think most companies probably would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.” — Eric Grenz, vice president of operations for the joint build team of Mortenson and Mccarthy, remarking in early August about the timely completion of construction on Allegiant Stadium.

“Even in the most trying of circumstances in 2020, people have come together to support one another. I’ve seen large and small organizations put together teams to pack and deliver food to those in need; watched colleagues recommend job opportunities to those seeking new employment; saw Facebook groups formed that raised funds to donate PPE gear to hospitals; witnessed friends reaching out to one another to ask how they can help with a specific situation; learned about a neighbor helping another neighbor take care of her elderly father, and the list goes on.” — Ashley Farkas, executive director of PR at MGM Grand, who was diagnosed with leukemia this year. Farkas’ remarks appeared in Las Vegas Weekly’s “What We’re Thankful For” cover story during Thanksgiving week.