California still has advantages over Nevada

To the editor:

A great deal has been said and written about Nevada's economic development efforts. A recent Review-Journal editorial pointed out that only six of the 27 businesses that relocated to Nevada last year came from California. What I haven't heard mentioned are some of the underlying economic reasons why more businesses haven't relocated to Nevada, regardless of which ad campaign we are running.

-- Los Angeles has something Las Vegas never will: ports. While this factor alone may not make Nevada's economic development efforts in Southern California futile, it certainly doesn't require an MBA from Harvard to figure out that having local access to cargo vessels is a huge benefit to business and industry.

-- As a consumer market, Las Vegas boasts about 2 million people with 35 million or so who visit (the overwhelming majority of whom never leave the resort corridor). Los Angeles and Orange counties have closer to 14 million; a significant portion of them far wealthier than the average Nevadan.

-- While Nevada's tax and regulatory climate may seem attractive, they have not caused huge industries to relocate here from southern California. If the tax and regulatory burdens in California outweighed the benefits I've mentioned, industry would have left California a long time ago.

-- We should be proud of the strides UNLV, UNR, the College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College have made, but they don't hold a candle to California's university system. Perhaps our colleges could do more if our politicians would quit shooting them in the foot.

If we are going to produce ad campaigns to attract California's businesses, determine which ones actually can move and market directly to them. Then highlight other companies in the same or related industry that are already here, as opposed to spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on generic ads with smiling celebrities.

JOHN W. BATTENFIELD

LAS VEGAS

Summer breeze

To the editor:

So, where did you go on vacation this year? You didn't? Couldn't afford it? You need a rich uncle. Sam, that is. Then you could go to Martha's Vineyard, Hawaii, Spain, Africa, Hawaii again and Martha's Vineyard again to hobnob with the super rich and those who flew in on their private jets.

Don't worry about a job because a plan for recovery is on its way (meaning there never was an old plan).

If our "leaders" were really concerned about America, they would be in Washington working out the details of this new plan. I'm sure Sen. Harry Reid is sitting in Searchlight working on his plan and tending to his figs and pomegranates as I write this letter.

However, Congress may not have to return to Washington anyway, because King Obama I is changing laws by decree, no debate, no discussion.

Citizenship and voter registration ASAP.

C.E. JACKSON

LAS VEGAS

Road Warrior

To the editor:

Hooray to Adrienne Packer, the Review-Journal's Road Warrior. Her column is so helpful to the motorists in Las Vegas.

Her Aug. 14 column about the difficulties with parking and passenger pickup at McCarran International Airport was so true. I totally agreed with what she wrote.

Thanks, Ms. Packer.

PAT KRAFT

LAS VEGAS

Big story

To the editor:

On Tuesday's opinion page, letter writer Bob Wong asks if anyone agrees with him that the media's attention on Hurricane Irene was not warranted. I would say that I strongly disagree with him.

I do agree that the media are usually very liberal-minded. But in this case, all the attention may have resulted in fewer deaths and damage. Forty people did die because of this event, and if that is not tragic enough for Mr. Wong, think about all the physical damage.

Cities and towns have already been hit hard financially because of the economy, and now they have to pay to clear the streets of all the brush and deal with other issues, such as several days without power for homes and businesses, flooding, etc.

I used to work in an East Coast state Office of Emergency Management, and I can tell you first-hand that hurricanes are one of the few disasters that you can really prepare for. Tracking the storm path allows people to do things days in advance to mitigate the damage and evacuate the area, if necessary.

Mr. Wong would have preferred more coverage about the Joplin, Mo., tornado, but tornadoes happen without much warning, so the news is all after-the-fact. And how much do you need to see of totally destroyed homes and the loss of hundreds of lives when there is nothing you can do about it?

Even though Hurricane Irene wasn't as strong as some experts had estimated, I certainly hope people won't ignore warnings of future hurricanes and will take precautions so we don't have more damage and deaths from the next storm.

If you don't want to watch the news, I'm sure you can find at least one channel with some silly reality show. But I'd rather watch the news and be prepared for real "reality."

Karen Sommer

Las Vegas