LV chamber president to participate in White House jobs forum

WASHINGTON -- Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce president Kara Kelley departed for the nation's capital today where she will be the sole Nevada participant Thursday in a White House forum on job creation.

Kelley is among roughly 130 representatives from business, organized labor and academia who will brainstorm ways to pull the nation's unemployment rate below double digits. In Nevada, the jobless rate in October was 13 percent, with 175,300 people out of work.

President Barack Obama, who is being pressed to do more to create jobs, is expected to sit in on most of what is scheduled to be a 3 1/2-hour session at the executive office building on the White House grounds.

Kelley was uncertain what might emerge from the session, but she expected Obama will get an earful.

"I am not sure there are any great new ideas here, but I think people in Washington, just like they do in Carson City, get to be a little isolated from what is happening to day-to-day Americans and to the day-to-day small-business person in Southern Nevada who is struggling to stay alive."

Kelley will be the only Nevadan in attendance, the White House confirmed. A spokesman could not say how the invite list was put together. Kelley's invitation was arranged by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"Given the challenges facing our state, I wanted to make sure that Nevada’s voice is heard as the president talks about creating jobs," Reid said in a statement.