At transit opening: Shelley’s comedy show
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, D-Caesars Palace -- two shows nightly, dark on Monday -- is without doubt one of the funniest public speakers we have. And that counts for something in my book.
At Monday’s grand opening ceremony of the sparkling Centennial Hills Transit Center and Park & Ride with its handsome ACE buses, Berkley wore uncharacteristically casual clothing as she addressed the crowd.
“Forgive my appearance,” Berkley said. “Later this evening is the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. This is the only thing I’m doing today. Because I have matzo ball soup bubbling over in my kitchen, and I’ve got brisket burning in my oven. And I just couldn’t imagine this taking place without me.”
She then explained, “It’s meant so much to me through the years. I was here at the beginning, and I wanted to be sure I was here at the end as well. This is just the most remarkable project, and it’s remarkable for a whole host of reasons. One of them is it was paid for by stimulus dollars, and I know there are still some people in this community and in this state that don’t fully appreciate the importance of those stimulus dollars, and how not only do they put people back to work, keep people working, but also help us to provide services for our fellow citizens that are going to be in use long, long, long after this economic slowdown.”
Later she added, “I kind of feel like I’m the mother of the ACE bus system.”
Then she confided, “Serving for many years I would come to these ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings and take an extraordinary amount of credit for something I had very little to do with. But I have to say that I have finally been here long enough that I have projects that I actually started, participated in, and I’m here to see them come to fruition.”
Now that’s comedic candor.
It was a good day for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who could point to a tangible asset of the stimulus bailout and his own appropriations efforts. For more, see today’s column in the Review-Journal.
From the speeches:
Congresswoman Dina Titus: “How great it is to come back and see the finished product. And it is beautiful. It looks like it’s built from the local stone and fits right into the neighborhood and is the perfect kind of facility we need.”
Clark County Commissioner and Regional Transportation Commission chairman Larry Brown: “I’ll go off script just for a moment because I want to emphasize the biggest thank you here today to Senator Reid and Congresswomen Berkley and Titus. They do not get the credit they deserve, for not only this project, but for what they’ve accomplished over the tough recession we’re in.
“… But if you look at the tens of millions of dollars that our delegation has delivered for the state of Nevada, we should be very proud of what they have accomplished here, and certainly the thousands of jobs that they have either created or kept working, and the scores of businesses that have been able to keep their doors open because of their efforts.”
Mayor Oscar Goodman: “When you walk through this terrific facility and you see the great craftsmanship, gentlemen, it gets no better than this. It just makes you very proud to live in a community where the workforce is able to create something that’s this beautiful.”
RTC member Goodman also regaled the gathering with his latest sports betting results: 0-for-4 in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Sen. John Ensign: No show. He did send a representative.
