Local entrepreneur gets no help
6:50 am May 10th, 2012Are any of our current elected officials really “focusing like a laser” on helping local entrepreneurs “create new jobs” in Las Vegas?
Ask Raj Patel.
Snails. Got to preserve the snails.
5:39 am May 6th, 2012First it was tiny fish. Now anti-development extremists hope to use snails no bigger than your little fingernail as cat’s paws to block the Southern Nevada Water Authority plan to pipe groundwater here from east central Nevada.
In March, state regulators granted the authority permission to pump up to 27 billion gallons of groundwater a year from four valleys in Lincoln and White Pine counties.
A nation of thieves
5:58 am April 29th, 2012Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, wrote on April 16 (citing an analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation) “Half of American taxpayers owe no federal income tax, and most of those filers actually net tax benefits from federal income taxes.”
In fact, though, Mr. Thompson is at pains to point out “The majority of households who pay no income tax still pay net taxes to the IRS.” That’s because “workers of all income levels” still pay payroll taxes on their first $106,800 in earnings — levies that actually flow right into the General Fund, despite the purposeful illusion that they’re somehow set aside in “personal trust accounts” for each taxpayer.
Why do the federals control 86 percent of Nevada? And why do they want us off it?
5:41 am April 22nd, 2012The federal Bureau of Land Management has suspended plans to seize the 500 to 750 head of cattle run by Clark County rancher Cliven Bundy south of Mesquite — and 80 milers northeast of Las Vegas — for now.
But Bundy, 65, realizes this is just a truce in an ongoing battle. Both the Mesquite City Council and the Clark County Commission have expressed support for a plan to turn the entire Gold Butte region into a “federal conservation area.”
OK, I finally agree — it’s time to compromise
6:33 am April 15th, 2012Sixty-five-year-old Olympia Snowe, who could only be considered a “Republican” in New England, recently announced she won’t run for re-election to her seat in the U.S. Senate this year, cutting short a sadly abbreviated 39-year career in politics — 34 years as a member of Congress, which means she hasn’t had to live under many of the laws she’s helped enact since the middle of the Jimmy Carter administration.
(Other than Rand Paul, who apparently declines to be “waved through” as a matter of principle, when was the last time you heard of a congressman or senator being hassled about airport parking, or saw one being groped by the blue-gloved goons?)
1, 2, 3, red light
4:27 am April 14th, 2012Authorizing robot cameras to photograph red-light runners and mail out traffic tickets to vehicle owners — sometimes months after the event — is a proposal that regularly resurfaces at the Nevada Legislature. Proponents wave the prospect of millions of dollars in new revenues, as well a promise that the cameras can reduce accidents.
There’s no doubt municipalities that have contracted to install the systems have profited — Chicago alone makes $60 million per year from such robot tickets.
This time, the arms race is domestic
5:10 am April 8th, 2012A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security confirms via email (they don’t like to talk on the phone) that a five-year department-wide contract was awarded this spring to Federal Cartridge, a wholly owned subsidiary of ATK, for the purchase of up to 450 million rounds of .40-caliber S&W 180-grain pistol ammunition, “the quantity projected to be used over the next five years” by DHS, excluding the Coast Guard, which gets its ammunition through the Department of Defense.
It’s “the primary vehicle” for the .40-caliber duty ammo, adds spokesman Matt Chandler.
Grade inflation still rife at ‘turnaround’ high schools
5:04 am April 1st, 2012A year ago, hundreds of Chaparral students gathered outside the local Las Vegas high school, chanting “Let’s go, Cowboys!” and “We are Chap!” — expressing support for teachers and staff who’d just been told they faced being replaced this year for their utter academic failure.
Add one more charge to the indictment: Outside of cheerleading, pep rallies, and “Be True to Your school” cliches, they’d apparently managed to keep these kids unaware of just how badly their teachers and administrators had failed them.
What happened to the mule deer?
4:43 am March 25th, 2012In 1988, hunters bought 51,011 deer hunting licenses (“tags”) in Nevada, and harvested 26,784 mule deer.
In 2008, the Nevada Department of Wildlife sold 16,997 tags. Hunters bagged only 7,025 deer.
Clinging to The Code
5:33 am March 24th, 2012Visiting with the Review-Journal editorial board a few weeks back to discuss his run for the open Ward Two Las Vegas City Council seat, former state Sen. and local businessman Bob Beers declared one of his goals if elected would be to “take down the city’s ‘Not Open for Business’ sign.”
Anyone who’s ever tried to negotiate the codes and regulations necessary to set up shop within the city limits knows what Mr. Beers means.