Commentary on Vegas and water: Notes on a skirmish, Southern Nevada Water Authority schemes defeated yet again

From the Chance of Rain blog:

“Goliath wasn’t really trying, didn’t really want to win and it never really was a contest. That’s the upshot of the response from the Southern Nevada Water Authority after a proposed amendment provoked by legal troubles to do with its massive haul of water awards out of central Nevada failed to pass during the special session of state legislature, which closed early Monday.

Those opposing the amendment along with the SNWA’s proposed pipeline into the heart of the state claimed a huge victory. Dozens of Vegas lobbyists turned away! A great day for justice, the small man, everything good!

The Las Vegas water authority shrugged it off, saying that it had been working for the amendment in Carson City simply to help a beleaguered state natural resources agency protect thousands of water awards threatened as a byproduct of a nuisance suit brought by the pipeline protestors. … “

Continue reading this post from the Chance of Rain blog by clicking here.

From Las Vegas City Life, investigative reporter George Knapp (Las Vegas Channel 8) delves into more shenanigans:

“If ever there was a guy who fit the political cliché about someone you’d like to have a beer with, it’s Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins. Collins is a likeable, plainspoken cowpoke, not averse to using a four-letter word when appropriate, more than willing to call a spade by its proper name.

And that’s why I’m having trouble absorbing this news about his stint as a paid lobbyist for a company owned by developer Harvey Whittemore. My colleague Steve Sebelius broke the story a few days ago after spotting Collins’s name on the list of lobbyists working the special legislative session. Not everyone knows Tuffy Ranch LLC, the company which paid Collins to be in Carson City, is the business entity used by uber-lobbyist-turned-developer Whittemore, but that happens to be a fact. For Collins to accept a paycheck from Whittemore for anything at all is a pretty serious flaunting of ethical standards, no matter how one parses the words.

In case you don’t know it, Whittemore is trying to develop a multi-billion dollar development out in barren, dry Coyote Springs, a 40,000-acre parcel he obtained several years ago, and got it essentially for free. … “

Continue reading from Las Vegas City Life by clicking here.

Comments

Admin

• Log in

Credits

Powered by Vertigo & WordPress
WordPress Themes by Brian Gardner