State Issues

Pinnacle Entertainment , operating casinos in regional U.S. markets, posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, due mainly to costs related to opening a new casino, while Harrah’s, which operates Las Vegas Strip resorts like Caesars Palace and the Flamingo, posted a fourth-quarter loss, burdened by impairment charges and losses at its properties in Illinois and Indiana.

Gary Loveman, Harrah’s chief executive, said on a conference call that results at regional casinos were “mixed,” while in Las Vegas “the gaming business has held up well, but room rates are off a bit.”

Boyd Gaming Corp , which owns and operates 17 casinos in seven states, posted a 45 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit.

Boyd, which is building Echelon on the Las Vegas Strip, said net income fell to $31.2 million, or 35 cents per share, from $56.3 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.
From All Bets Are Off: Casinos Feel Economic Pain

Posted by Zounds Off at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

District Judge Elizabeth Halverson, who has been suspended with pay for eight months, has announced she will run for office again if forced from her post by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, which finally filed formal charges against her. Halverson, as a judge, has been accused of falling asleep in court, abusing employees, mishandling jury trials and general incompetence, and as a citizen, keeping a filthy yard.

At the same time, the Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the commission to justify why it took so long to bring formal charges against Halverson.

Is it any surprise? Another judge in Clark County who has been accused of behaving like a pig wants to continue to wallow at the government trough. And why do bad judges and lawyers continue to practice–or in this case paid–for so long after problems begin to appear leaving the public exposed and vulneralble to a legal system voted one of the worst in the country? Perhaps the oversight committees are part of the problem?… Or the fact the legal system basically polices itself?…Do you think?

Or another question to ask the public…do you care?

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Judicial Hellholes are places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an inequitable manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits. In this sixth annual report, ATRF shines the spotlight on six areas of the country that have developed a reputation for uneven justice.
1 South Florida
2 Rio Grande Valley
and Gulf Coast, Texas
3 Cook County, Illinois
4 West Virginia
5 Clark County, Nevada
6 Atlantic County, NJ

From pg. 22 of the report:
The Los Angeles Times conducted an in-depth report on the Clark County judiciary entitled, “They’re Playing With a Stacked Judicial Deck.” As the paper reported: “A common perception among a dozen out-of-state lawyers interviewed about their experiences in Nevada
courtrooms is that justice in Las Vegas is just another form of legalized gambling.”
Lawsuit shenanigans have increasingly tarnished the reputation of Clark County’s
civil justice system. Clark County “courts are clogged with frivolous litigation and
the rolls of the state bar are spotted with unethical and incompetent attorneys.”
“Indeed, frivolous class action lawsuits know no boundaries in a city that sings to
lawyers in siren song fashion.”
…

As I have written before, it is so nice to know that the Times reports more on our corrupt legal system than Nevada’s own media. Our newspapers seem to enjoy relaying and replaying our scandals but seem reluctant to upset the party by actually uncovering corruption, unless the players aren’t part of Nevada’s favorite sons and daughters club, such as former Chicagoan Lacey Thomas.of UMC “fame.”

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In the Las Vegas Sun:
Two years ago, after learning that each of 23 tennis courts at the new Washington Buffalo Park was cracked even before it opened, city staff did not want the city to work again with Asphalt Paving Corp., the courts’ general contractor.

The City Council ignored that recommendation, however, and allowed APCO to bid for $19.1 million worth of work on the Centennial Hills Community Center. APCO did not win that contract. But shortly after, APCO filed a $7 million claim against the city over the $29.7 million Washington Buffalo Park job.

During the past year, APCO has bid twice on city projects and both times the City Council awarded the contracts – worth a total of $13.2 million – to the company, unanimously and without question.
…
Mayor Oscar Goodman holds a 4 percent stake in Apex Business Park, which is partly owned by APCO employees.

‘m sure readers can do the math.

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Nevada’s largest teachers’ union has launched its initiative targeting the state’s gaming industry in an effort to get more funding for public schools.

The Nevada State Education Association submitted its petition to the secretary of state Monday. The proposal would raise the gaming tax on Nevada’s largest casinos to 9.75 percent, from 6.75 percent. The union estimates that an additional $250 million per year, although others contend $400 million is more accurate, could be used for public schools and teacher raises.

The higher tax would apply only to casinos that make more than $1 million a month in gaming revenue.
…
The union’s next step is to gather 58,628 signatures by May. 20.

How much would you like to bet that the initiative will be rejected just hours before the deadline to place on a ballot leaving no time for a re-write?

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The Sun has reported that Regents are joining Chancellor Jim Rogers in rejecting budget cuts.

“A week after Gov. Jim Gibbons got a letter from higher education Chancellor Jim Rogers rejecting Gibbons’ request to plan for 5 percent budget cuts, some regents got into the act.

Regents Bret Whipple and Stavros Anthony sent a message Oct. 29 telling Gibbons they “were unaware of — and disappointed by — the tone and content” of Rogers’ letter.

…

Anthony, who’s planning to run for Las Vegas City Council, said he didn’t have enough information to give an opinion on Gibbons’ suggestion. He said the point of his and Whipple’s letter “wasn’t to slam anybody,” but to ensure state and higher education leaders continued communicating.

Regent Steve Sisolak said although Anthony and Whipple are entitled to an opinion, ‘I disagree with them very strongly. I think the chancellor presented a well-thought-out, pointed, direct letter to the governor.”

As I pointed out in an earlier posting, complete with excerpts, Rogers’ letter was a rambling, often confused, and grammatically deficient letter. One would have hoped that someone in Rogers’ position would have reviewed his letter before sending it to the Governor, but apparently he is so convinced of his intellect that he doesn’t need to proofread. Therefore, I also have to wonder if Sisolek actually read the letter before praising it. It would also be nice if newspaper headlines actually reflected the content of the stories within, since the headline from the Sun suggests the Regents support Rogers, but the article has two Regents separating themselves from Rogers’ letter. But of course, I am simply asking too much of publicly educated Regents, educators, politicians, reporters, and other Nevada citizens to write what they mean, when they barely teach writing and critical thinking in Nevada schools.

Posted by Zounds Off at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s longtime relationship with a powerful Nevada real estate developer has given rise to a lawsuit by a public interest group.
Judicial Watch wants to know if the Nevada Democrat and other state politicians exerted undue pressure on the federal government on behalf of his friend.

Mr. Reid was at the head of the Democrats’ campaign against the “culture of corruption” in Washington. But for years, the Los Angeles Times reported, Reid was active in clearing hurdles to the development.

Judicial Watch is suing the Bureau of Land Management for documents related to the 43,000-acre Coyote Springs housing and recreational development northeast of Las Vegas, now in its early stages. The lawsuit alleges the bureau failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request of March 8.

Lawyer and lobbyist Harvey Whittemore, a shareholder in the law firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins, is the driving force behind the project and a political contributor to Mr. Reid. Mr. Whittemore has employed Leif Reid, a son of the senator, as an attorney.

I wonder just how many politicians and atttorneys are going to get rich from this, especially after the glowing support by Senator Reid, Senator Ensign, former Governor Kenny Guinn, President and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority Somer Hollingsworth, Joe Pantuso of the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association, and Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority to name a few.

For more on Coyote Springs see
Water for new town flows to lobbyist: Whittemore gains water rights for development without contention seen in other parts of Nevada
Huge development under way in Nevada desert

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The Clark County School District lost $2 million in funding because a federal survey underestimated the number of Nevada students whose primary language isn’t English.

Local and state education officials say the Las Vegas district will receive slightly more than $4.4 million from the federal government this school year, down from $6.4 million last school year.

Is it the fault of the Feds that the estimate is low or did our state and local education officials forget something? When students are enrolled, officials know the ethnic background of the students and the language spoken at home, so that information would be available if local officials passed it on to the appropriate Federal level. My guess…the mistake was at the local level.

Posted by Zounds Off at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The recent articles on the Nevada sex scene have given bloggers plenty to post the last few days, so why not go with the flow; hopefully, the attention will keep Oscar saying stupid things, his stock in trade, giving bloggers continued blogisms…or is that blogasms.

New York Times, September 8, 2007
Escape From Las Vegas
By Bob Herbert

Amber is 19 years old and on Sunday she caught a flight out of Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport and went home to a small town in Minnesota, not far from the Iowa border.

I’m rooting for her. She’s low on funds (“I’ve got my ticket, that’s about all,” she said), and she’s at a crucial turning point in her life.

The question is whether she will go off to college in Florida, and stick with it, which she insists is what she wants to do, or whether she will slip back into her life as a stripper and lap dancer, which is so often the start of the descent into the hell of prostitution.

“I hate the dancing,” she told me. “Sometimes I think I don’t have a strong enough mind for it, because of the way people treat me.”

I met Amber in Las Vegas last week. I was with Melissa Farley, a psychologist and researcher who was asked by the head of the U.S. State Department’s anti-trafficking office to do a study of the sex trade and its consequences in Nevada.

(She published the book-length study this week under the title, “Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connections.”)

Continue reading “I guess Bob Herbert didn’t take Oscar’s baseball bat threat too seriously” »

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In the Las Vegas Sun today key state legislators are differing over the meaning of proposed rules designed to reduce the $900 million in tax breaks that Nevada businesses can get for building environmentally friendly buildings.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, says businesses seeking sales and property tax breaks must adhere to the criteria for “green construction” buildings set out in AB621, passed by the 2007 Legislature.

But Senate Commerce and Labor Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, says some companies got opinion letters supportive of their building projects from the state Tax Commission before the new law was passed.

Because of their reliance on a 2005 law governing tax breaks for green construction, they should get tax breaks regardless of what was stated in the 2007 law, Townsend said.
…
During the June 1 floor vote on AB621, Townsend said the legislation eliminated sales tax breaks for all buildings except the CityCenter project being built by MGM-Mirage; Fontainebleau; the Venetian’s Lido-Palazzo Resorts projects; the Molasky Corporate Center; the Echelon Place project by Boyd Gaming, and the Panorama Towers project. All are in Clark County.

Legislators revised the older green construction law after learning it would result in more than $900 million in sales and property tax breaks, reducing funding for local government and public schools. The new law is expected to cut the tax breaks in half.

Yep, there just might be a law suit in there somewhere; hasn’t Buckley heard of ex post facto? Probably not since education isn’t big in Nevada and UNLV students are more noted for hotel management than government but wasn’t that Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona supposed to cover that? Just a thought.

For those who might have forgotten an ex post facto law (from the Latin for “from something done afterward”) or retrospective law, is a law that retrospectively changes the legal consequences of acts committed or the legal status of facts and relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law.

Now if they had repealed the original statute so that it “never existed” they might have been in a better position, but that would have involved “real” thinking which legislators didn’t use when they first came up with their “50 percent” plan, or expert legal advice, which also seems sadly lacking.

But strangely, all the changes haven’t affected the biggest projects being built by the most powerful corporations in the state, which just happen to be the ones the legislators most want to keep happy so that they get to keep their “50 percent” positions in Carson City. Frankly, my dear, I am amazed.

Posted by Zounds Off at 3:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Excerpt of article, Tax Panel Slammed For Secrecy, in the Las Vegas Sun:

When the Nevada Tax Commission awarded a $40 million tax refund to the Southern California Edison Co. in 2005, it did so behind closed doors — after not even bothering to inform interested parties that the case was pending.

When the Legislature in 2005 decided to reward those who constructed environmentally friendly buildings, the Tax Commission developed such generous guidelines that large casino companies and other mega-projects stood to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks for investing in “green” facilities.

And when the Legislature the same year set caps on a property tax relief measure, the commission was accused of undercutting legislators’ intent by adopting a regulation that allowed large landowners to divide their property into smaller parcels to qualify.

Although each of those decisions spawned controversies, public protests to Tax Commission rulings typically come after the fact, when it is too late to influence the outcome. That’s because in contrast to most other states, Nevada’s Tax Commission operates largely in secret, making it difficult for average taxpayers to participate.

Exactly! I think we should have a more open commission, like the Las Vegas City Council, which openly supported Rick Rizollo and the Crazy Horse Too; and the Clark County Commissioners, who openly voted to give Vinnie Faraci favored employee status so he can run a strip club when he gets out of prison; and the former Clark County Commissioners who freely discussed bribes over the telephone so the FBI could record the conversations on wiretaps. Really, unless you are committing a federal crime, you might as well be openly crooked as the Nevada media seems unusually pathetic at following many stories–see how many stories are broken by the L.A. Times first when it involves corruption in Nevada–and how seldom city and county prosecutors get involved in corruption cases; although if you make fun of prosecutors on your MySpace page, District Attorney Dave Rogers will go after you, then. See Substitute judge in North Las Vegas loses job over MySpace blog.

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On LasVegasNow Brian Atkinson Turner, son of former Commissioner Yvonne Gates, and his wife, Katherine O’Gara, were taken into custody on drug and child endangerment charges.

Police arrived at the home in Southern Highlands because they received reports that O’Gara was driving erratically, possibly under the influence, and with her three-year-old in the car, unrestrained. Inside the house, they found filth and garbage and more, including marijuana and a hydroponic growing system favored by indoor pot farmers. A loaded handgun was in the glove box of the car, just inches from where the child had been.

Law enforcement are still tracking down leads about Gates and has long suspected that some of the money paid by Gates to her family members– more than $400,000–for her campaign made its way back into her own pocket.

So far, Turner is only charged with possession with intent to sell marijuana and was released Wednesday evening on $10,000 bail.

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Some interesting excerpts of a Tony Cook colunm in Las Vegas Sun Politics:

Clark County hired Josh Griffin and Tim Crowley in February 2006 at a rate of $5,000 a month until the session began, when the monthly rate jumped to $10,000. Overall, the county paid the pair $105,000. Griffin and Crowley also represent gaming giant MGM Mirage.

The county stood to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue because of the tax breaks and wanted them reduced as much as possible. MGM Mirage, on the other hand, had expected to save about $395 million on its $7.4 billion CityCenter thanks to the tax breaks and wanted to keep as much as possible.

The issue pitted the interests of one Griffin-Crowley client against another.

“They couldn’t forcefully advocate for the county because in doing so they would have been forcefully arguing against another client,” one county official complained privately. “They weren’t able to help us.”

The issue highlights a common problem.

The state’s most talented lobbyists often boast more than a dozen clients. Indeed, 67 lobbyists in Carson City this year each represented more than 10 clients, making occasional conflicts inevitable.

The client lists of some lobbyists include local governments and special interests that they regulate. When it comes to which client will bear the burden of a tax shift, lobbyists can suddenly find themselves in sticky situations.

Sometimes, the ironies are rich. For example, R&R; Partners, one of the state’s lobbying powerhouses, represents the Indoor Tanning Association and the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Conflict of interest means disclosure and withdrawal in most places…in Nevada it just means that you get paid for not being able to do the job. Great work if you can get it, but you have to be part of the corrupt network of politicians, developers, attorneys, courts, and corporations to have a chance.

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U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada today introduced legislation that establishes a conservation program that helps ranchers prevent the occurrence, spread of, and damages caused by wildfire to rangeland.

“Nevada, along with other Western states, is facing unprecedented threats to the rangeland,” said Reid. “In the past, Nevada wildfires have devastated our rural families and ranches. This legislation will help prevent wildfires and mitigate damages from ones that occur. This is a good step forward in addressing the conservation and environmental concerns of Nevada and the Great Basin.”

Meanwhile in Carson City, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons joined with Senator Maurice Washington (R-Washoe), Senator Barbara Cegavske (R-Clark), Clark County Superintendent Walt Rulffes, Clark County Assistant Superintendent Dr. Karlene Lee, and others to sign a bill providing for the establishment of 29 empowerment schools across Nevada and provides an additional $400 in per pupil spending at those schools.

“By signing this bill, we are taking that next big step toward providing our children with an education that will better prepare them for the future,” said Governor Gibbons. “Who better to assess and meet the needs of students than the principals, teachers, and parents who spend time with these children each day?”

Maybe juvenile corrections officers? And who paid for two Clark County Superintendents to make the trip to Carson City?

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A $1 billion plan to cover part of the projected $5 billion shortfall in funding for highway projects was signed into law by Governor Jim Gibbons.

The bill takes $20 million annually from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and part of the existing rental car tax and property tax revenues for capital projects in Washoe and Clark Counties.

The money should finance $1 billion in bonds for improvements to Interstate 15 and U.S. 95 in the Las Vegas area and Interstate 80 in the Reno area.

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Harry Reid of Nevada, who in the past three years has blamed Republicans for being soft and beholden to big oil, has finally noticed that gasoline prices are at record prices already this year.

CQ Today reports that Energy legislation and the annual defense authorization bill — including an amendment to begin a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq — will dominate the Senate floor between now and the Fourth of July recess, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Senators returned this week from their Memorial Day recess, during which they got an earful from constituents. Reid said, “There are two issues that are foremost in their minds: No. 1 is the Iraq War and No. 2 are gas prices. We’re going to deal with that as soon as we finish with this immigration legislation.” In non-political without posturing words what Harry means is: Which we will never finish because both sides are more interested in creating more voters than closing borders and dealing with criminals so your gasoline prices will be high all summer unless something happens to depress prices which is beyond our control but that we will take credit for.

Reid, a Democrat who represents Nevada, was referring to a comprehensive immigration overhaul that has been offered as a substitute amendment to a shell bill (S 1348). The controversial bill has attracted numerous amendments, and Reid may try to force an end to the debate later this week — a move Republicans will resist. Or not, as politicians determine how many political miles can be forced out of posturing for the public. If we could just get as many miles per gallon from our vehicles as politicians get from empty posturing we would have a world-wide oil glut.

Reid said that once the immigration debate ends, there will be an effort to proceed to a “no confidence” vote on Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. But that attempt is unlikely to garner the 60 votes needed. I thought after immigration the Senate was going to tackle gasoline prices. In ordinary speak this means by the time we are done with the small stuff oil companies will have two more record breaking quarters and the economy will be in a real recession that even the media might recognize.

The energy legislation could prove contentious, even though its pieces commanded broad bipartisan support in committee. Much will depend on the amendments offered on the floor. PORK!!!

Reid said the legislation (S 1419) is an amalgam of bills approved by four committees: Energy and Natural Resources (S 1321); Environment and Public Works (S 992); Commerce, Science and Transportation (S 357); and Foreign Relations (S 193). Oh no. If one committee is bad, think what four committees have done to the bill.

He said he did not think the legislation was the “appropriate time” for a floor fight over efforts to address global warming. But he acknowledged that battles are likely over moves to toughen fuel efficiency standards and to set a national renewable-portfolio standard requiring 10 percent to 20 percent of electricity to be produced from renewable sources by 2020. While at the same time there is Democratic Congressman, Alan Mollohan, from West Virginia trying to put restrictions on wind generated power which just might affect his state’s coal industry. He claims the blades kill bats. My experience is that bats are smarter than congressmen. Naturally, miners vote and bats don’t so I am sure his concern for the bats is “real.” The question of how to have wind turbines and protect birds and bats has been the subject of articles for the past few years with several solutions being tested. Perhaps the Congressman simply wants the wind farms built on the land he purchased with the head of a small defense contractor that had won a $2.1 million contract from funds that the congressman added to a 2005 spending bill.

Or maybe we could consider reopening the clean burning coal field in Utah which former President Bill Clinton made into a park (the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument) so that there was no competition with the Indonesian coal field mined by a corporation run by the Lippo Group, owned by Moctar Riady, who was found by Senator Thompson’s committee in 1998 to be involved in Chinese espionage, and for which I believe Al Gore Sr. was honorary chairman at the time.

As for global warming, will someone please explain why temperatures on the other planets have also risen–is our global warming so powerful that we can affect Mars? And has anyone actually considered how much pollution is created by China, India, Mexico, etc.? Even Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is aware that China is bringing on-line a 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant every 10 days. Are they going to stop?

Posted by Zounds Off at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons joined with Assemblyman Joe Hardy (R-Boulder City) May 30 during a ceremonial signing of AB 6 sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Hardy, which reaffirms the legal authority for local governments to offer prescription discount cards, such as the one offered by the National Association of Counties (NACo). The Prescription Drug Discount Card can provide as much as 20% in savings on each prescription and is available to the insured, underinsured, and non-insured.

The Governor stated, “I am pleased that all 17 counties will now have the opportunity to provide residents with the savings option provided through the Prescription Drug Discount Card program or other similar programs. The costs of prescription drugs can often create a significant burden for those living on a fixed income.”

I wonder how it affects those of us on a flexible income. Mine keeps getting smaller every year.

For further details on this program contact www.NACO.org/drugcard.

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The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that the Nevada Senate voted 20-1 to approve Assembly Bill 478, which Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said was needed to close a loophole in the state’s 2005 payday loan law.

Several small payday loan companies opposed the law, insisting they were “installment lenders” who should be regulated differently. Buckley noted the companies changed their contracts when the 2005 law took effect. Those changes allowed them to charge interest rates ranging up to 900 percent for over a year.

Under AB478, any company charging more than 40 percent interest on a loan must limit the term of the loan to 35 days. If a borrower can’t pay the loan back after that time, the interest rate must drop to the prime rate plus 10 percent, or 18.25 percent in the current market.

Within a week after the proposed 2005 law change was announced, attorneys were advising their payday loan clients to basically create contracts that are executory in nature, meaning it is like signing a rental agreement for six or twelve months. As soon as you default, the whole amount of the contract becomes immediately due. By the time the law went into effect, the loan companies already had their new business plan in effect, so they never missed out on their loan shark returns; plus they had another two years to invest in new enterprises as they had to know the law eventually would be reworked. Also, their attorneys have had two more years to think of possible ways to continue collecting exorbitant rates from the segment of our population who can’t qualify for bank loans in the midst of our booming economy…for some. And I wonder if the legislature is looking at how a credit card company owned by Illinois residents incorporated in lNevada–I am referring to HSBC–can, through penalties and fees and other clauses, pump interests rates to 120 percent or more? But hey, as long as “corporations” file their fees to incorporate, Nevada remains a scam friendly state. Spend a day on the Secretary of State website and you might be amazed how many corporations are formed and then sort of vanish before they comply with furnishing a list of officer which they have at least a year to do, or corporations which are managed by other corporations which further searching shows don’t exist

Posted by Zounds Off at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As reported in the Sun, Nevada lawmakers heard last-minute pleas this week for several tax breaks supporting the film industry, seniors, and nonprofit medical providers.

Lobbyists for the movie industry and unions asked the Senate Finance Committee to pass SB321, a bill containing sales and fuel tax breaks for companies that make films in Nevada.

Movie companies are spending much less money in Nevada, mostly because other states have aggressively competed for their business, according to Tim Rubald, director of the state Commission on Economic Development. Spending on feature films in Nevada has dropped from $44.8 million in 2000 to just $14.3 million last year.

State tax officials estimate the tax break will take about $35,000 from state coffers each year.
However, supporters say that is vastly outweighed by film companies’ contributions to Nevada’s economy, and that the breaks will create jobs and spark millions of dollars in investments. To get the tax break, film companies must hire at least 30 percent Nevada employees, in full-time positions.

The committee also heard testimony on SB179, a bill sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, which would expand eligibility for a property tax break for low-income seniors.

Finally, the committee considered SB501, a proposal to give sales and fuel tax breaks to nonprofit organizations that provide ambulance or air ambulance services.

Plus legislators may be moving toward revoking “green building” tax breaks (See “Tax break pulled ‘out of the air’ could cost state $900 million”), which they hurriedly passed in 2005.

In 2004 Chris Giunchigliani, then a state assemblywoman, was listening to a NPR show on building green and tax incentives while working on “smart growth” bills to introduce the next year and came up with a tax break plan of her own tax of 50 percent. If a business met a certain green standard, it would get a 50 percent property tax break for 10 years. And if a business applied in the fourth quarter of 2005, it could qualify for a 50 percent sales tax break on construction materials. It sounded so good that lawmakers rushed it right through.

Did the 50 percent number come from careful research and debate?

“I just pulled it out of the air,” said “Chris G.

More and more builders were already going green because building green can save a lot of money in utility costs, even before tax breaks are considered. With the 50 percent tax break developers may save three times as much in taxes as they invest in building green. MGM Mirage, for example, estimates it will spend an additional $125 million to $225 million to make its $7.4 billion CityCenter a green development, which may net as much as $390 million in tax breaks.

The number that Chris pulled out of her hmm… turns out not to be an incentive but a lucrative gift to the big developers, while possibly costing the state nearly one billion dollars in revenue over ten years. I wonder who will have to make up this deficit in budget revenue while the legislature presides over statewide infrastructure shortfalls? Let’s see: I’m not a casino, a developer, a senior, or a movie maker. Oh yeah, it must be me.

Posted by Zounds Off at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Casino City Times reported that the Nevada problem gambling bill is expected to pass

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to discuss legislation this week that would make state funding of problem gambling treatment and research permanent with a vote on Senate Bill 453 following. The bill passed out of the Senate on May 7 following a 20-1 vote approving the measure.

Former Gov. Kenny Guinn appointed the advisory committee in 2005 to make recommendations on disbursing the state funds.

The money is diverted from the state general fund through an existing tax on slot machines, with an allocation equivalent of $2 per machine.

William Bingham, Bellagio’s vice president of table games and an advisory committee member, said the measure seems to have the support of the entire gaming industry. “We’re just waiting to have this renewed and to continue to monitor the programs that are being funded,” Bingham said. Of course, because anything else would be bad publicity for an industry that generally feeds indiscriminately, I mean provides us with quality entertainment.

Six percent of Clark County’s approximately 11,000 homeless listed problem gambling as their primary reason for being homeless, a Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission’s Committee on Homelessness survey released in April shows.

Gee whiz, oh gosh, my my–six percent works out to 660 homeless persons who blame gambling problems for their homelessness. I wonder if we could compare that to the two million residents who are affected by the lack of Clark County and the state ever developing a real transportation plan; or well over 200,000 Clark County students getting one of the worst educations in the country while legislators dicker over all day kindergarten–which is simply a disguised plan to get Mexican children out of their non-English speaking homes a little more and leading to the need to build a thousand more classrooms and hire a thousand more teachers for a program which has no lasting benefit past second to fourth grade. A more effective plan would be to give existing teachers a raise and extend the school day one hour, giving students benefits over the whole twelve year experience. But then, maybe giving our children to Clark County schools for extra time isn’t the best idea either…I went to their website for information on just how many students and teachers there are in the district and found on the ccsd website some of the following headings:
School Links
Back to School Information
Important Dates for 2004-2005 (PDF)
School Directory (PDF)

Important dates for 2004 in the year 2007–yep, these people are surely the ones I want educating our children. Now I know why our legislators are so knowledgeable and wise. They must all have had a Nevada public education.

Posted by Zounds Off at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who also chairs the Regional Transportation Commission has threatened that growth in Las Vegas might have to be slowed If the Legislature fails to address a state highway funding shortfall of $3.8 billion. Apparently, Woodbury recently threatened residents of Boulder City, which has growth restrictions, that they better vote to open part of the Eldorado valley to development or approve a land swap with Henderson to benefit a particular developer, or the County would vote to take control of the land itself.

“It’s just inconceivable to me that the state would not act responsibly to address this issue in a decisive way,” said Woodbury. Of course, it was just inconceivable to me that Commissioner Woodbury would vote to give convicted felon, Vinnie Faraci, who is on his way to prison, a liquor license so he can manage a strip club when he gets out of prison.

“The question will at least need to be asked whether the community wants to continue with the explosive resort corridor growth without an adequate transit infrastructure,” he said. Do you mean we haven’t even asked the question yet?

The highway construction funding is needed to fund 10 “superprojects,” which include widening Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95 in the Las Vegas valley, and a Boulder City bypass road.
Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine notes the county, through Question 10, is already solely underwriting the $1.1 billion Las Vegas Beltway; helped pay for the $35 million U.S. 95/Beltway “Henderson Spaghetti Bowl” interchange and a renovated I-15/Blue Diamond Road junction; and took over maintenance responsibilities from the state for the Strip. All are projects or tasks normally handled by state, not local, transportation agencies.

Woodbury said he doesn’t have a specific growth-slowing proposal, but such a scheme would likely involve limiting new hotels and condos in the resort corridor, since growth there is what’s attracting tourists, workers and other newcomers that are adding to congestion.

“I don’t think the Legislature is going to appreciate Bruce Woodbury threatening them,” said state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas. “Implementing growth control? That is not going to happen.”

Of course, growth control won’t happen in the next ten years. We still have a few miles of valley which haven’t been paved over with new developments; we haven’t completely drained Lake Mead; and we are still the fastest growing city (cities) in the country which has such a nice sound to it–the clinking sound of coins to casinos, developers, and our local politicians. Plus, if growth limits were implemented, the sudden unemployment of construction workers would be disastrous for the reputations and pockets of our politicians. Oh, and also to the economy of the valley, unemployment funds, housing market, etc. But don’t worry…by the time the residents here are finally in total traffic gridlock, out of water, and really angry, the current group of politicians who failed to act will have collected their payolas from sweet deals and moved to areas which haven’t been overrun with uncontrolled growth.

Posted by Zounds Off at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LasVegasNow reports that the governor’s proposed plan using Clark County room tax money to help pay for road construction is considered a sure failure according to republican sources.

Below are a few bills which have passed committee and a Friday deadline:

Assembly Bill 383 would make it a Class B felony to smuggle people into Nevada.
Assembly Bill 127 will allow you to record phone conversations if a debt collector harasses you.
Assembly Bill 421 will add prison time for retail theft rings. They work in tandem to steal thousands of dollars in merchandise in a matter of minutes.
Assembly Bill 212, a high school reform bill, will increase the drop out age from 17 to 18. It will also create a clear path for graduation for incoming freshman.

Posted by Zounds Off at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada Power is preparing for rate increases that would send residential bills through the roof. If state regulators approve this increase, it will go into effect beginning June 1.

UNLV’s Rebel Yell reports the increase can widely be attributed to programs initiated in the early 1990s that failed to take the long-term electrical needs of Nevada into account.

Record untility bills, gasoline prices, beef and pork prices, home foreclosures, personal debt, and the list goes on. While the top one percent of this country are getting extremely rich, most of us are getting less each year. If we put the “volatiles” back into the equation, we are suffering higher inflation than we have in decades and for almost all wage earners we fall farther behind. Exxon-Mobile record profits are not going to benefit the U.S. population–any dividends will most likely be invested in markets overseas at this time. And although the Iraq war is forefront on everyone’s mind (And how can it not since, along with several months of Anna Nicole Smith stories, it has been the media’s primary story. But if we look back to before the war started, though, the media pushed as hard for this war as did George Bush, apparently all for ratings.) what we really have is two sides–Democrats and Republicans–posturing for position and votes for 2008. If a Democrat is in the White House in 2009, and the Iraq war is still being fought, the likely outcome will be the new Democrat President will find it’s suddenly irresponsible or dangerous to abandon Iraq just yet. Lucky for our politicians, the American public doesn’t pay attention except to sound bites and most don’t vote. Give ’em their SUV, a credit card, cable TV, and a drug of choice be it tranquilizers, alcohol, or illegal, and many will treat tomorrow the same as today. Problems other than Iraq are mentioned, sometimes discussed, put in committee, and eventually anaethesized. It’s time for voters to stop returning incumbents to office, thinking “oh, my Senator has been there so long he is now a “Very Important Person.” Your Senator is now a “Very Rich Person,” having parleyed position and votes that reward the Senator and his friends, not the rest of his constituents, because today is just like yesterday.

Posted by Zounds Off at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently read an article in one of the View newspapers where Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has earmarked 2 million dollars for the landscaping and beautification of three roads as long as the communities involved also pony up a matching amount. Two of the roads are in the Boulder City area, including 8 miles of U.S. 93 from the Lake Mead Recreation Area to Railroad Pass and U.S. 95 from the California border north while the third is Mojave Desert Vista running from Kyle Canyon Road to the Nye County border. This has the approval of the Regional Transit Commission (RTC), also.

Fortunately, one of the communities involved, Boulder City, appears to have passed on the idea citing such obstacles as who will be expected to maintain any landscaping done, including watering. I would think in the desert no one should throw a few million at a project which would require using more of our limited water so that tourists streaming to the Las Vegas Strip can have some plants, which will die from the fumes of trucks, busses, and cars, along with some more stones and fake turtles to ignore on their way.

Another waste is the project of putting up those pretty sound walls along the expressways – I mean slow-ways. Just looks to me like they will come down in a couple of years if our politicians and NDOT ever get the message – hopefully by trying to drive somewhere – that those roads are too narrow by a couple lanes per side while the interchanges in the valley are abysmal. If there is a just God, please let the architects of our road system spend eternity driving them. Plus, I can’t wait until more towers are built in this valley so that when everyone leaves their homes, condos, and high-rises in the morning, traffic will stop dead forever. Lucky for us we have the LAS VEGAS MONORAIL!

Posted by Zounds Off at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I saw this story in over a thousand places today, and, I’m honestly not that surprised by either the incident or the attention. Las Vegas has some rough areas and attracts some less then stable people. It’s a shame that school security isn’t taken more seriously, of course, according to some “this was not a school shooting. It was a road rage incident that occurred a couple of blocks from the school and just happened to end at the high school.” This is according to the Police Officer Jose Montoya. It also just happened to involve a student, so a student on school property isn’t a school shooting how exactly?

Las Vegas Police are looking for a male in a blue Ford Mustang.

That this receives National attention shows how rare incidents of this type continue to be.

Posted by pokerprof at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Federal District Court Judge Hendon ruled that no one should be arrested and jailed for violating the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act by smoking and people caught smoking in banned areas should be cited by law enforcement (health district officers instead of Metro police) with a civil offense, similar to a traffic ticket with a cap of $100 on penalties. According to Judge Herndon the smokers will be the ones fined, not the owners, at least for now. Teams of lawyers are awaiting the appeal opportunities created by this issue.

Could the Nevada smoking ban be unconstitutional because of vagueness or perhaps because of the discriminatory nature of the statute which treats major properties (casinos with unlimited gaming licenses) apart from small business? These are the major arguments employed by the small business tavern owners in an attempt to strike down the new voter passed law. Unfortunately for the tavern owners the major properties are throwing their influence to enforcing the law. They filed their own 27 page brief outlining their support for the law.

So, it looks like the small business owners, the entrepreneurs, are caught in a public interest vice with those citizens demanding the ban squeezing from one side while the major corporations use their weight to ‘back the public good’ and squeeze from the other side.

Of course, I never supported either Question 4 or 5 since both seemed destined to lead to the same conclusion, expanding government powers without careful scrutiny .

See Also:
Original Question 4 & 5 Article.
LVRJ
Nevada Appeal
Vegas Pundit (all the court filings in .pdf)

Posted by pokerprof at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Citing the Israeli model of education, because, after all how different could a major U.S. city be from a theocracy in the most second most war torn region of the Middle East possibly be… Give teachers guns, a better idea might be to take all that money for guns and give the teachers a raise.

Bob, to say “…insane people don’t go on shooting sprees around people who have weapons,” overlooks the argument that insane people don’t go on shooting sprees because they don’t have a gun handy, instead, they resort to fists or a handy object like a pen.

If you clicked that last link a concept of “insane people” should be fresh in your mind, and I just can’t see knowingly putting a gun near someone like that. Be it the student or the teacher.

Of course, Bob’s not alone, other States have similar ideas.[LVN via LVG]

Posted by pokerprof at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While researching some of the agreements and statutes that govern the Silver State I read the Nevada State Online Privacy Policy. I found it rather disturbing to read this clause…

6.1.2. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001 Nevada websites directed to children under 13, that knowingly collect information from children, must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001. However, visitors are cautioned that the state has no way of determining the age of a person volunteering personally identifiable information online or by email. As such, this information will be treated the same as information given by an adult, and may be subject to public access. [emphasis mine]

So, you have to follow the act with reguard to children; however, we treat all information as coming from an adult… so, it becomes a moot point.

Full text of the Nevada State Privacy Policy.

Posted by pokerprof at 1:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Should a casino in Hungary be able to call itself the ‘Las Vegas Casino’ without sanction from the great City of Las Vegas, Nevada, which I, as a resident have a vested right to the use of? More abstractly, should (Nevada,Federal,International) Trademark law prevent non-citizens of a (district,state,country) from unlicensed use?

To answer yes, is an interesting theoretical extension of trademark law, which historically doesn’t protect geographical names; and as such fails to protect the public from indiscriminate use, such as a recent video game with terrorists set in Las Vegas.

I suggest we first prohibit those not in a given area (e.g. Vegas) from unlicensed use and second, allow citizens of that area to use the name as a vested right of being a resident, including corporations, of course.

This would allow me as a resident of Las Vegas to have a business/brand that incorporates the name Las Vegas, e.g. The Las Vegas Blog while those who are not of the city must seek license with an authority representing the area.

It boils down to allowing major destinations and landmarks a method of protecting the established brand and goodwill that’s the vested interest of its citizens, would should enjoy use themselves. Las Vegas Gleaner? Free Use, Las Vegas Blog? Free Use, Hungary Casino? Pay Up!

Posted by pokerprof at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I’ve had a couple of people asking about the removed ballot Question 3. It was spending limits for the Nevada State Govt.

Due to a technical error that kept surfacing during the submission process, namely, the calculation for the budget kept switching from a two year span to a four year span the Nevada Supreme Court decided to throw out the question.

This is one of the times when I question the motives and the methods of the Judicial Court; after all, the intent of the question and the lack of technical expertise of your average American in matters of budget planning make the two year/four year calculation error an insignificant one, . In addition it would have been a simple matter to have the correct version of the question (the one the that was filed with the Secretary of State) placed on the ballot.

Alas, the Nevada Supreme Court determined that the error was substantial and Question 3 has been erased from the public record.

A somewhat in depth analysis of this and the Supreme Courts decision are both solid follow-up for anyone seriously interested; however, this Question is a mute point.

Posted by pokerprof at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the most confounding issues before Nevada voters this election is the issue of modification to our existing tobacco laws by amending them to include either Question 4 (the Responsibly Protect Nevadans From Second-Hand Smoke Act) or Question 5 (the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act).

The only place I’ve seen Yes on 4 is from establishments that reap the benefits of that law – bars, restaurants, casinos.I suggest, if you don’t want a ban vote NO on both and if you want a smoking ban, vote no on 4 and yes on question 5. Now for the why… Our existing law in Nevada is in Chapter 202 of the Nevada Revised Statutes. The area were most interested in is 202.2491, in particular section 1 (a-g) which I’ll paraphrase as:

Smoking tobacco is unlawful in certain public places including… elevators, public building, any medical facility and doctor offices, child care facilities, buses and arcades.

We already have a law on the books with some (small) teeth. Now we have two questions related to this law and only one can pass. If they both pass the one with the most votes passes into law.QUESTION 4. – Responsibly Protect Nevadans From Second-Hand Smoke Act

Section 2 now permits smoking public places including, all gaming establishments, bar, clubs, Retail Stores, any establishment with gaming devices… which is Nevada includes most neighborhood drug and grocery stores. In other words Question 4 adds more public smoking areas and more importantly it also adds “section 5 – All power over the regulation of smoking of tobacco shall be exclusively vested in the legislature of the State of Nevada” [emphasis added]. In other words pass this and Nevada will have to find a way to wrest the new-found power away from the easily seduced local politicians who will undoubtedly be influenced by the powerful gaming, tobacco, restaurant etc lobbies, it’s an expansion of Govt. power plain and simple.

Question 5 – Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act

Question 5 is the real smoking ban and it’s a harsh one, this is the only question of importance in my mind, Question 4 shouldn’t pass, weather people want a smoking ban or not, if not leave the existing law in place and if so it’s Question 5 that should get your yes.Question 5 greatly expands the scope of our existing tobacco laws to basically prevent smoking any places that isn’t 21 and over (a simple summary, but you can read the full law by clicking on the Question above). It doesn’t try to take the power away from citizens to impact this area of the law as Question 4 does. It expands the power of Gov’t, but is not nearly the egregious slap on the face that is Question 4.

Yep, it’s no on both for me, but for those that want an expanded smoking ban it’s yes on 5.

Posted by pokerprof at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)