Letters to the editor for Friday, Oct. 17, 2014

State Supreme Court needs to gain our trust

The Nevada Supreme Court wants voters to authorize a Court of Appeals. Following are some reasons why voters have rejected this in the past:

1. The Supreme Court maintains offices in Carson City and Las Vegas, which costs the Nevada taxpayers lots of money.

2. Some Supreme Court justices spend a lot of Nevada taxpayers’ money on unnecessary travel expenses just because they do not want to live within commuting distance of Carson City. Some justices have living accommodations in Carson City that they use a few days a month but we taxpayers pay for the accommodation the entire month.

3. The Supreme Court Justices refuse to follow state purchasing rules for competitive bidding.

So what can the State Supreme Court do to gain the trust of the Nevada taxpayers?

1. Require all justices to work from the Carson City Supreme Court office. This would eliminate many travel expenses and be more efficient. If a small administrative office is needed in Las Vegas to receive paperwork, then keep it small with no justices working there.

2. Follow state rules for competitive bidding. Your attitude that rules do not apply to us does not gain voter confidence and avoids the appearance of cronyism.

3. Be transparent with taxpayers about the true cost of keeping offices in Carson and Las Vegas. Maybe you waste more money than a Court of Appeals would cost.

Doyle Hanks

Carson City

Landfill fee should be as low as possible

On a trip to the landfill with mixed garbage (180 pounds), the city charged a fee of $10. We were told this is the minimum. People wonder why our river canyon, trails and hills are littered with trash, why businesses all over town have to put locks on commercial bins.

On Oct. 20, 2011, the Board of Supervisors voted to double the minimum fee from $5 to $10, a 100 percent increase! The charge at the landfill should absolutely be as low as possible to cover the cost of operating the landfill as a true enterprise fund. Instead, the city has and is using the landfill as a cash cow.

When the pitch was made for the city to take control of the landfill, we were told its useful life was 10-15 years and the cost of closing the landfill would be as much as $50 million. For several years, money was set aside to cover the cost of closing it down. The fund had $2.3 million in 2009. That was the year the supervisors transferred the $2.3 million to the general fund and now it’s gone. Spent! Now the city is borrowing money (bond) to purchase equipment for the landfill, which we are paying interest on. We are now told the landfill has a life of up to 50 years and the closure fee would be maybe $8.6 million.

The city has a spending problem not only in this area, but others. It has raised fees and taxes to pay for the addiction. I hope people will respond on Election Day.

Gary F. Hunter

Carson City

Candidates need to research lt. gov. job duties

‘Tis the season for political advertising, and while I shouldn’t be surprised at anything I see, I am surprised to see that the candidates for lieutenant governor don’t seem to have a clue as to what the job entails.

Lucy Flores is admirable for picking herself up by her bootstraps and becoming a lawyer and assemblywoman, but she is touting all she will do for education and “for the kids” in her ads. I hate to tell her the lieutenant governor isn’t able to do anything in that vein — nada, zip, zilch.

“All” politicians are “for the kids,” education, apple pie, Mom, etc., but the job of Lieutenant Governor doesn’t cover that. The job is to preside over the Nevada State Senate when it’s in session, cover for the governor when ill, incapacitated or out of the country, and, on occasion, break a tie vote. Also he/she lures tourism and industry into the state to help bolster our economy. There’s absolutely no way she’s going to help K-12, educational funding, etc., etc.

Mark Hutchison is not far behind. His ads tout education, too. However, he does talk about what he has done, not what he’s going to do as lieutenant governor. What isn’t said, is that he wants to take over for Gov. Sandoval when he runs against Sen. Reid in two years.

So, gang, bone up on what the lieutenant governor does, and tell us what you really can do for the state of Nevada. We’d all be pleased. Thank you.

Maizie Harris Jesse

Carson City

Lt. gov candidate in 1994

Change needed on Board of Supervisors

We need change on the Board of Supervisors. I’m tired of being ignored so the current supervisors can cater to their “people of means” friends.

Let’s remember who keeps voting to spend millions of dollars that we don’t have, who doesn’t let us vote on issues and who doesn’t listen to what the majority wants. We need a change from those that write and vote to approval their own bills to benefit themselves.

Please vote to change the Board of Supervisors with people that will listen to us and vote responsibly to make Carson City better without leaving us 30 years of massive debt. We’ve had four years of our voices being ignored and rejected. We literally cannot afford to keep the same old thing. Don’t be fooled with feel good propaganda. Vote for an honest change. Thank you.

Sunni Enciso

Carson City

Carson City needs McKenna as a supervisor

As a Carson City commercial property owner, homeowner and taxpayer, I would like to encourage voters to vote for John McKenna.

Much controversy has surrounded the 1/8 cent sales tax, which McKenna voted for. Believe me, it was not an easy vote for John. He carefully weighed all sides of the issue before casting his vote.

Most of this controversy has centered on the downtown improvements, but that’s just one of several important issues this tax will address. While the timing of the downtown improvements is perfect ... the privately funded Nugget and Ormsby House projects will happen at the same time, along with necessary infrastructure improvements which must be done, more important to me are the improvements that will be made along the Highway 50 East corridor, which has been ignored in large measure for many years. I often see folks trying to make their way to their jobs, or even just to the market, who have to walk in the highway for lack of sidewalks.

The sales tax will affect every Carson City household to the tune of about $12 per year, and for that we will have improved roads on the north, south, and east major corridors, not to mention the much-needed animal shelter and multi-use athletic center. McKenna’s opponent has stated publicly that she would have voted against the tax and these vital projects, but seems to have no alternative ideas.

John McKenna has a history of doing what’s right, and making hard choices for Carson City. He is thoughtful person with integrity, as well as a fiscal conservative. Carson City needs progressive ideas and McKenna recognizes that. Cast your vote for John McKenna.

Roy Farrow

Carson City

Democrats are the problem

To all the young, undecided voters out there, the Democratic Party is not your friend. The Democrats are represented by Barack Obama. He said, “If you like your insurance plan you can keep your insurance plan.” Liar.

They are represented by Harry Reid. He said recently, “One problem that I’ve had today is keeping my ‘Wongs’ straight,” to an Asian audience. He also said Barack Obama was “a light skinned” black man “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

And then we have Nancy Pelosi, saying about Obamacare, “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.” Genius.

We can also talk about past Democrat leaders, such as Ted Kennedy killing an innocent woman while DUI, or Bill Clinton convicted of lying to a grand jury and impeached during his presidency.

No matter where or when you look, Democrat leaders are liars, and criminals.

And this letter doesn’t even touch on sending guns to Mexican druggies to kill a Border Patrol agent, dead Americans in Benghazi, importing fatal diseases from illegal aliens or using the IRS to carry out personal vendettas.

If you’re young or undecided, know Democrats are a disease on this nation.

Dan Cerda

Dayton

Carson City should have enough money to go around

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? All we need in this small town is a small town government, not big time spending. Questions need to be answered — how much money is the city back charging utilities, sewer, water, landfill and gas tax funds? Any money collected should stay with each agency. This is why towns go bankrupt due to poor management.

The downtown roadwork should wait until after the freeway goes through. This is not a tourist town, and most people shop at the south end of town anyway.

The animal shelter should be a priority so the mayor and the supervisors wouldn’t have to kill animals to save money.

It seems that anyone in charge doesn’t care about our small town. When all the millions of dollars have been spent out of the landfill funds, they will have to float a bond to buy equipment. When supervisors want to start indexing gas tax, makes you wonder if this works both ways. It looks like the supervisors want to dip in our pockets anytime for any reason.

The mayor should be informed on all these fees and how they are spent with a little good old-fashioned honesty. We should get a Nevada proud answer, or maybe we need a new team. It would be better to just pay them and have them show up once in a while then to start doing things without any common sense. By looking at the overall picture there should be enough money to go around.

Rodger Rakow

Carson City

Laxalt relatives weighs in on AG race

The past year has been a trying time for our family — the Laxalt family. Sadly we have been forced to face the loss of several cherished family members. This challenge has made many of us stop and pause about what truly does matter in life. Across our journey we have found a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that best captures the essence of a core value that has guided us throughout our lives — the value of speaking up for what is right. He wrote, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

In the spirit of Dr. King’s words, then, we can no longer be silent as we seek to maintain the integrity of our home state of Nevada.

Therefore, we collectively speak up to support Ross Miller as the most qualified candidate for our state’s Attorney General office during this election season. It is our belief that Ross Miller’s documented history of pulling himself up by his own bootstraps, establishing a well-respected career in law and public service while still maintaining a strong sense of family and community, constitute the critical characteristics needed for Nevada’s highest legal office. We ask that our fellow Nevadans follow our lead by speaking up with their own votes during this election season.

Know that our message does not originate from a Republican or Democrat or even family affiliation. It has to do with the most basic question all voters must ask themselves when they step into the voting booth, “Who really is the best qualified candidate for Attorney General for the state of Nevada?”

Dr. Kevin Marie Laxalt, Dr. Kristin Laxalt, Neena Laxalt, Kevan D. Laxalt, Meggan Laxalt Mackey, Michelle Laxalt, Peter Laxalt