Reporters’ Notebook

The questionnaire for Census 2010 seems to start out sensibly enough.

Question 1 is: "How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment or mobile home on April 1, 2010?"

Then comes question No. 2, complete with added emphasis to make it read even more like an accusation: "Were there any additional people staying here April 1, 2010 that you did not include in Question 1?"

Hey, Census Bureau, take it from someone who interviews people for a living: It's usually a good idea to wait until the end of the interview to accuse someone of being a liar.

HENRY BREAN

A state water workshop held Tuesday in Carson City drew a host of water managers, attorneys and regulators, including two former state engineers.

Hugh Ricci, who was state engineer from 2000 to 2006, prefaced his comments with a disclosure that got a laugh from the crowd.

"I'm retired. I'm a consultant with no clients, so therefore I'm representing no one," Ricci said.

HENRY BREAN

The other former state engineer at Tuesday's workshop was Michael Turnipseed, but Chief Hearing Officer Susan Joseph-Taylor didn't realize it at first, even though she used to work for him.

She came to the embarrassing realization as she read from the list of people who signed up to speak.

"I can't read my former boss's signature. I'm thinking, 'Who is this?'" Joseph-Taylor said. "Sorry, Mr. Turnipseed."

HENRY BREAN

At his weekly news conferences, Mayor Oscar Goodman goes over his schedule, which last week included stopping by the "Pawn Star$" pawn shop on Las Vegas Boulevard to present the owners with a key to the city.

City Life editor Steve Sebelius didn't miss a beat: "Did they pawn it?" he asked.

ALAN CHOATE