Mayoral election offers a dismal choice
To the editor:
The mayoral election is coming up, and I have two choices.
I can vote for Chris Giunchigliani, an avowed pro-unionist who will back all unions as they continue -- with their wage and benefit demands -- to drag our economy into the toilet. Besides having that pro-union baggage hanging over her head, she has pundit Jon Ralston saying that she is a "cutthroat, often polarizing pol whose career has been characterized by hard work and extensive knowledge undermined by unnecessary nastiness and consensus un-building."
We need a positive figure in the mayor's office, one who will try to bring everyone together, who will attract businesses rather than drive them away with her nastiness. So, no, I cannot vote for her.
On the other hand, I can vote for Oscar Goodman again -- oops, I mean Carolyn Goodman. To quote Mr. Ralston again, Carolyn Goodman is a "privileged, isolated dilettante who appears to know little about anything and who is trading on her husband's golden name." I don't always agree with Mr. Ralston, but he certainly nailed this one.
If I vote for Carolyn Goodman, I will be voting for someone who has zero government experience other than having slept with the mayor for the past 12 years. Her inability to address issues due to a complete lack of knowledge of the subject matter means that, no, I cannot vote for her, either.
I have voted in every election -- local, state and national -- since 1960. Sometimes I have voted for a candidate and sometimes I have voted for the lesser of two evils. This is the first election, however, in which I am expected to vote for one of two parties, both of whom are bad for consensus-building, bad for growing our job base, and, in general, bad for the city of Las Vegas.
Either way we lose.
Bob Ashby
Las Vegas
Border change
To the editor:
When I heard President Obama's proposal to Israel, I just thought of one thing: How would we feel if we were asked to change our borders back to what they were before the Mexican war? I know a lot of Mexican nationals who feel they were cheated out of their land and believe the Southwest states should belong to them.
I am sure that this change would give Mr. Obama the Latino vote. Maybe we in Nevada should be learning Spanish.
Bree Wallis
Caliente
Out of energy
To the editor:
Isn't that something. We conserve, and then are billed more to make up for it ("Utility will recover costs for efficiency," Tuesday Review-Journal). That's what you get with NV Energy, a monopoly that is completely out of control. Incompetents run it and soak us for their poor management.
This one company is pricing Nevadans out of their homes, especially seniors who nobody seems to give a darn about. Seniors pay off their mortgages only to be run off by NV Energy and the Public Utilities Commission.
David Viger
Henderson
Power play
To the editor:
I am beginning to see how this works. I replace my appliances for more energy-efficient ones. I replace my furnace and air conditioner for a more energy-efficient one. I replace my windows for more energy-efficient ones. I weatherize my entire home to make it more energy-efficient. I use less and less energy. So now I pay more and more for energy to keep power company revenues up.
It is a vicious circle.
The only question I have: Who does the power company think they are?
Oh, that's right, they think they are the water company.
Jim Hayes
Las Vegas
Save Nevada
To the editor:
In a 5-4 decision this week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided it is better to release 44,000 California prison system inmates from prison than to keep them in overcrowded conditions. Let's see, that's 44,000 felons released at once to prey upon the citizens of California and wherever else they choose to roam.
Years ago, Congress approved a huge amount of money to build a fence along the border. We never built it. I say let's build it here, now, along the California border and save Nevada before it's too late.
Ronnie Garner
Henderson
New tax
To the editor:
I was shocked to see that the Democrats in Carson City want to balance the state budget on the backs of Nevada's small businesses by taxing services.
That means that the woman who cuts my hair, the man who services my pool, the guy who maintains my yard, the guy who services my air conditioner -- all small business people -- will have to subsidize the salaries paid to the likes of Dina Titus, who makes more than $100,000 a year to teach one political science class at UNLV.
I find that unconscionable.
Linda Lovelle
Boulder City
Breathing room
To the editor:
The underhanded attempt in Carson City to overturn the voter-approved Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act could have unintended consequences if successful (Tuesday Review-Journal). To all you smokers -- and their enablers hoping to make a buck off their addiction -- how does a complete ban on smoking indoors anywhere at any time sound? Or let's make tobacco a controlled substance, like heroin, and create 50 million new criminals.
You will only have yourself to blame if you keep ignoring and flaunting sensible smoking restrictions that help safeguard the pulmonary health of workers and the public.
Dale Quale
Las Vegas
