Letters to the editor for Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

Library leadership’s spending shows it’s time for a change

After three years of following the Carson City Library’s activities, recent reporting masks the sad realities of how this public library actually operates.

For five years, library management and its oversight board pushed the City Center Project, gratuitously spending hundreds of thousands in consulting expenses and thousands of city staff hours. Voters resoundingly rejected the unnecessary project, especially irresponsible when we needed that money to make major, long-ignored repairs to our water and sewer systems.

Whey does our small library need deputy director and marketing/outreach coordinator positions?

Why was $600,000 expended to duplicate exciting, publicly-funded computers for the untenable reason that residents of modest means had no other digital access opportunities?

Why won’t library management and its board objectively and comprehensively consider seamless integration of four local library systems to better serve the community?

Why has $2.5 million been spent to create, house and operate a business development center when over a score of other entities offer the same capabilities? No documented new jobs, new businesses or new tax resulted from the enormous expenditure.

Why was $161,000 spent for a library materials vending machine at the Boys & Girls Club when the club provided daily bus service to the full library for four preceding years?

The library’s former deputy director (now interim director) had no formal training or work experience in library management or operations. Given the poor judgement exercised by those charged with overseeing this public asset, material management/board change are overdue at the city library.

Fred Voltz

Carson City

Federal Reserve manipulation should result in prosecution

We have again to thank Carol Perry for the heads up, this time on how the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have flooded the market with paper issued on gold they may or may not possess to artificially drive down the price of gold and force people from their positions. She stops short of calling this act illegal. I will not. This flagrant manipulation of the market because they have the might and to the sole benefit of themselves and the ultra-wealthy is nothing short of criminal.

The question is, who will hold them to task for it? Not the government. They are all in league with these racketeers and scoundrels.

Kelly Jones

Carson City