Union leader’s anti-Station rhetoric shameful

To the editor:

D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of Culinary Local 226, compares Station Casinos' treatment of its employees to life in a Middle Eastern police state ("Culinary official slings sharp words at Station," Tuesday Review-Journal).

That is distasteful in and of itself.

Then he really goes off the reservation when he compares Station Casinos CEO Frank Fertitta III and Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ex-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Then the laugh line comes in when Norma Flores, a worker at Fiesta Henderson, states, "We need respect." Do you think anyone respects this kind of character assassination?

I believe the phrase, "Have you no shame, sir," fits quite accurately here. Mr. Taylor's rhetoric confirms the oozing hate and spite unions thrive on. In this case, the Culinary will do anything to try to bring down a great company like Station Casinos.

If the union-stacked National Labor Relations Board sides with the union and the union gets its way, you can say goodbye to very affordable buffets, great low-cost dining, dollar dogs and beer during sports events and smiling, helpful staff members.

Stephen Jacobs

Henderson

Shine on

To the editor:

J.C. Watts' Sunday column on the failed company Solyndra ("The lesson of Solyndra fiasco") misrepresents the facts about the solar energy industry. One company's inability to survive in a highly competitive global market is not indicative of the health of the U.S. solar industry.

The truth is the U.S. solar energy industry is booming. In the past year, U.S. solar grew by 69 percent, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy. The industry comprises 5,000 companies across every state in the country and employs more than 100,000 Americans -- double the number of employees from just two years ago.

Even more telling, in 2010, the U.S. solar industry was a $2 billion net exporter of solar products -- even to China.

Solyndra was an outlier in an otherwise thriving industry. The U.S. solar energy industry is one of the few sectors today creating jobs and working to drive economic growth in America.

Rhone Resch

Washington, D.C.

The writer is president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Quality learning

To the editor:

Before officials with the Clark County School District worry about the "growth model" or testing scores or anything else, why don't they worry about staffing their schools with qualified teachers?

My daughter enrolled in Spanish 1 in high school only to find out that there was not a qualified teacher to lead the class. Instead, the post has been filled with three substitutes in four weeks. Only one of these substitutes actually spoke Spanish.

None of the substitutes has enough classroom management skills to keep the classes from turning into (as my daughter says) complete chaos. Teachers from adjoining rooms have had to be brought in to try to keep things under control. When I asked that my daughter be transferred to another class, I was refused.

I was a long-term substitute myself before I went back to school for licensure, but I picked up only jobs for which I was knowledgeable in the subject matter. Superintendent Dwight Jones wants our kids "ready for exit." Well, then the district has to offer our students the quality learning experiences they deserve.

Wendy Gelbart

Las Vegas

Orange cones

To the editor:

A significant degree of traffic congestion and delay can be mitigated by intelligent placement of cones, barrels, etc. Have you noticed that workers place most of the cones and barrels well in advance of actual highway work? Typically, I see barriers in place days and sometimes a week or more prior to actual road work. This causes needless traffic congestion.

I fully understand the purpose of these safety measures and do not endorse anything that endangers our highway workers. But please, use good judgment and place barriers only when, and where, actually needed. This is a real opportunity to make incremental improvements to traffic flow across the valley.

RICHARD GAISER

Henderson

Ha, ha. Not!

To the editor:

An editorial cartoon in Wednesday's Review-Journal was funny but not funny. The cartoon, by Mike Luckovich of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as suggesting the Palestinians should be relocated to Wyoming and Nebraska as his "two-state solution." While amusing, it distorts the position of Mr. Netanyahu and Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is willing to enter into negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions in order to negotiate an arrangement that will allow both Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

These are difficult times for Israel because its position continues to be distorted by those unwilling to listen to what Mr. Netanyahu is saying and to affix blame where it belongs -- on the refusal of President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to negotiate in good faith with Israel to reach an end to this tragic conflict.

Let's hope this time the Palestinians will not miss the opportunity to make peace.

Elliot B. Karp

Las Vegas

The writer is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.