Reid helps secure stimulus grant to boost rural mining town

Plenty of people on the left and right have complained that President Obama's stimulus packagel hasn't done as much good for the Nevada economy as many had hoped. But you gotta believe the residents of Silver Peak are feeling pretty good about it right now.

A big expansion of a lithium mining operation near Silver Peak, a tiny town in Esmeralda County, is being partially financed by a $28.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The grant for advanced battery development will help Chemetall Foote Corp. add 50 jobs in an area that's been hit hard by recessionary cutbacks.

Silver Peak is about 25 milies west of Goldfield, which is about 170 miles north of Las Vegas. This is not an area of Nevada that is known to be friendly to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is seeking re-election. Just a few months ago, Reid proposed federal historic preservation protections in Goldfield, but many residents there didn't like the sound of imposing federal rules on what they could and couldn't do with their property, and we haven't heard much about it since.

But Reid is credited with helping secure the stimulus grant to expand the lithium mine. I'm looking forward to seeing November's election returns in Esmeralda County to see how Reid fares there.