McCain no friend of Nevada’s gaming industry

To the editor:

According to a recent Review-Journal article, Nevada casinos saw their May winnings drop 15.2 percent and gaming tax collections in June fell 22.8 percent. The governor warned the news may force further cuts in the state budget.

Hello? This is Nevada. Our entire infrastructure is dependent upon the health of casinos. And GOP presidential nominee John McCain is no friend of theirs or ours.

This is the same politician who led a campaign against betting on college sports. He led it for only one reason: It made him look good to everyone else across the country and it could hurt him only in the eyes of one state.

No matter that only 5 percent of gambling on college sports takes place in Nevada, the only state it is completely legal in, he wasn't out to solve a problem, he was just out to make a name for himself at our expense.

I just hope that Nevada remembers this in the fall and takes a close look at Sen. McCain's position on Yucca Mountain as well!

ALLEN DOHRA

HENDERSON

Sense of community

To the editor:

Periodically the Review-Journal prints a brief story (usually buried in the local section) which bolsters my contention that there still is a sense of community and justice in this megalopolis we call home. I refer this time to the recent article (July 11, "Pedestrian struck and killed by car identified") in which you reported on a pedestrian hit-and-run in which some of the witnesses, ignoring self-interest and safety, actually pursued and detained the fleeing suspect until authorities could reach the scene.

I hope the police choose to praise rather than condemn this community-minded action because with police response time now topping 20 minutes it's going to take citizen involvement if we are ever going to curb the local crime situation.

Call it vigilantism if you wish, but it's going to take the continued sense of common decency and justice to keep us secure.

It is too bad that politicians, local and national, can't seem to be imbued with this same sense of doing what's right instead of what's politically and financially self-serving.

Kent rischling

LAS VEGAS

Dumping grounds

To the editor:

Regarding the July 22 article, "Illegal dump site rediscovered":

I am a strong advocate against illegal dumping. The article by Keith Rogers is so full of holes that the substantial amount of debris in question would not fill them.

Supposedly the material came from a project located at McCarran International Airport. Since I have performed work on numerous projects for the airport, I know what the contractual requirements are to dispose of material off the airport property. Contractors are required to submit written authorization from the property owner. Since this information is public record the documents should be readily available.

These documents would help clear up the foggy memory of the property owner who was "in California buying horses."

The required documents would also help the contractor who dumped the material recollect where they were supposed to dump the debris. This is an example of how contractors enrich themselves at the taxpayer's expense.

This situation also demonstrates how a government agency documents and governs our public assets. According to the BLM representative, it's a mystery why a clean-up plan was never carried out.

Now that everyone is playing the "finger pointing" and "it wasn't me" games, there is only one sad fact that will probably prevail. The taxpayers will most likely pay the cost to clean it up. Isn't that what "administrative remedies" usually means?

Alex Swayze

HENDERSON

Absurd rationales

To the editor:

I have lived in Sun City for 11 years and endorse reader Dawson May's letter pointing out the lack of logic in completing and paying for the Beltway/Lake Mead interchange and then sandbagging it until 2010.

There seems to be a bloc of my neighbors who will automatically be against just about anything. For example, some are fighting the city's plan to put a rescue fire station in our community -- at no cost to us -- and bringing medical care 100 percent quicker to us, and fire help, too.

But the Review-Journal plays a part in this saga. While running the reader's letter is nice, it would be even better if the Road Warrior was a bit more critical of the highway people instead of just recording their absurd rationales.

Again, with all the budget problems government has, why pay for something, complete it and not use it for at least two years?

Robert Lieberman

LAS VEGAS

Road rage

To the editor:

I totally agree with Dawson May's letter of July 23 on the Beltway/Lake Mead interchange. With the valley's traffic as it is, how can anyone justify letting an interchange sit unused for two years? Due to the Interstate 15 work going on, people are encouraged to use Martin Luther King, Lamb, etc. for north-south traffic. Does anyone think that people living on those streets like the extra traffic?

Not using that interchange borders on what -- stupidity, criminal, waste? You decide. I vote for all of the above.

Phillip Mlynek

LAS VEGAS

Helping the disabled

To the editor:

Regarding the July 24 editorial on regulations and the Americans with Disabilities Act, it sounds as if the Review-Journal is among the "skeptics ... who needed reassurance" about the "undue hardships" to businesses that may have resulted from the ADA. Perhaps the editors need to consider the extensive hardships encountered and overcome daily by people with disabilities.

In an era of advanced medical procedures, and wonderful technology, people who were previously limited now have the ability to contribute to the economy through commerce and employment. Would the editors advocate preventing people with disabilities from contributing because their accommodations pose a hardship on the business they are now able to actively support?

The statement about "looking disabled" is naïve and embarrassing. The 2007 movie "Music Within" tells the story of Richard Pimentel, a Vietnam veteran who didn't "look disabled" but was unable to get a college scholarship or employment due to his hearing impairment. Richard overcame the limits imposed by naive administrators and became a leading force in the advocacy for people with disabilities. He was instrumental in drafting the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As our country continues to welcome home injured and disabled veterans from our current war it is especially hurtful that the Review-Journal would criticize the ADA.

As with many governmental acts, some judges may be stretching the provisions beyond the intent of the law. Please, if this was the message of your article then state that rather than criticize essential legislation that has benefited many people and businesses.

Brooke Stratton

LAS VEGAS