Keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em....

July 20, 2007

Launce Rake tried to get an estimate from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) what they now estimate the water grab is going to cost. He points out that however many billions of tax dollars are going down this hole, er pipeline, it is certainly more than the 20-year-old $2 billion figure that is oft tossed about.

The SNWA plan seems to mirror the decades-old plan for the downwinders. The plan then suggested that if the government didn't collect data it couldn't ever be sued to release data under sunshine laws. Apparently SNWA would like us to believe the same of the water grab plans. A staff person for SNWA told Rake that they hope to have a number soon that they can share with the public.

Understanding that the number is a moving target that changes with time is easy. It is harder to understand why SNWA doesn't have a figure. Unlike the downwinder situation SNWA is dependent upon state and local funding for their project. The nominal blank-check of the defense industry is tucked away and not out on the table as it was for nuclear testing during the cold war. So the situation is either that SNWA's mis-management of this project is so great that they don't have a number or that they don't want to share it for fear it will awaken citizens of Nevada to what is going on here. Read more about Keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em....

Las Vegas gets negative press

July 10, 2007

The magazine Fast Company has a list in their July issue of fast cities around the globe. "We scoured the globe in search of placed that best embody economic innovation and opportunity. We found creative-class meccas, R&D hot spots, even cities so fast they're scary. Is your hometown on the list?" says the table of contents page. Unfortunately for the people of Nevada the magazine hits the nail on the head in calling Las Vegas a too fast city and suggests that Vegas is "An environmental pileup in the making. Can the casinos find enough water to fill all those pools?"

Study on water grab available for comment

June 6, 2007

A report to Congress titled "Water Resources of the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah — Draft Report" released last weekend has some in Utah worried. Deseret News reports that the report raises concerns from Utah residents far from the Utah-Nevada state line about whether their area may be dried up by the thirst for uncontrolled growth in Las Vegas.

The report is available on the USGS Website as is a form for submitting public comment in the 60-day comment window starting June 1.

Costs of water grab pipeline mount

June 5, 2007

Marc Jensen, director of engineering for Southern Nevada Water Authority, told the Las Vegas Business Press this week that the costs of the pipeline are likely to be substantially higher than the agency has been telling the public.

[The pipeline's] $2 billion price-tag, meanwhile, is likely to be much higher once it breaks ground, Jensen admits, which could be as soon as 2010. "That was a figure first announced during a 2005 advisory planning meeting, but we've seen significant increases in concrete and steel and labor," Jensen added.

Jensen's comments come in an article about the agency's efforts to cut costs by using a design-build process for contracts in order to speed the construction of projects.

Going home

May 29, 2007

Last weekend we took a trip to Colorado. It was the first time I'd been back since we packed up the house and moved to my native Nevada over three years ago. Colorado is one addicting place. Walking along the Platte River and remembering what an REI flagship store is like were great reminders.

Living in a small town

May 4, 2007

Yesterday the phone rang and the caller reminded me just what a special place living in a rural area is. "Is that your Honda parked at the corner?" a neighbor asked. I thought for a moment and answered that it likely was. Sarah was heading over the hill with a colleague and likely parked near the intersection to save some mileage and pick up the car on the way home. "Do you need help getting it home? Is everything OK?" were the next words from my neighbor.

This is what living in the Rural West is all about. With the engine still warm a neighbor had seen the car and called to see if they could help. In helping out a neighbor recently after their shop was broken into Sarah said "We take care of our own". In rural towns that is absolutely true. It is good to be home.

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