(Ever since it was first born, it's been declared "dead". Yet after every attempt to schedule a funeral and bury it, The Education Initiative [TEI] has somehow chugged on. Can it happen one more time? Will more people finally start turning out for TEI?
Here's a gem from the Nevada Progressive archives, all the way back from November 2012. Maybe TEI can come back from the "dead" one more time?
If you want to prove the pundits wrong, you need to vote. Check out our "one stop voter shop" for all the 411 you need to be a good citizen and exercise your right to govern. Early voting continues through the 31st.)
[The Education Initiative] has more than 100,000 signatures of voters on its initiative petition and they will be presented Tuesday to the counties for verification of the names, says Nick Di Archangel, director of communications for the Nevada State Education Association.
Di Archangel says he thinks the petition has a good chance of gaining legislative approval.
The law requires 72,352 signatures on the initiative to be filed by the Tuesday deadline. And there must be 18,008 signatures in each of the four congressional districts.
So now, The Education Initiative has more than enough signatures to go to the Legislature next spring. And even if Nick Di Archangel is wrong and the Legislature does not want to approve it, that just means voters can approve it in 2014.
However, the path forward is not completely clear yet. The Education Initiative still has to overcome the legal challenge.
At the same time, the Nevada Supreme Court has decided to speed up an appeal by the union over a ruling by a lower court that the petition is invalid.
The Supreme Court Wednesday filed an order that it will hear oral arguments on the first available date and all seven justices will be sitting on the case. The court said it will not be necessary for the union and its opponent, Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs, to file briefs, a normal procedure.
The court, in expediting the process, will examine the record in the case before Carson City District Judge James Wilson, who ruled the petition was faulty, misleading and could not be presented to the Legislature.
The initiative would impose a 2 percent margins tax on businesses with more than an annual income of $1 million. It is expected to raise $800 million a year to go toward funding the public schools.
So "The Supremes" (of Nevada) must render their final verdict before we know for sure if The Education Initiative will go to Carson City next spring.
But at least for now, this initiative lives on. And at least for now, progressives can keep hope alive for meaningful tax reform. Already, the usual suspects in Carson City are working to silence all talk of tax reform. But as long as teachers and their fellow union activists keep turning up the heat with The Education Initiative, this issue will not go away.
And at this point, even a final ruling against the initiative may not be enough to silence activists demanding real solutions for better schools and a fairer tax code. Simply put, progressives are mad as hell and they won't take it any more. So expect more sound and fury from a typically unexpected source during next year's legislative session. And regardless of the final fate of this specific initiative, progressive tax reform is far from dead.
We had a feeling this was coming. In his "Sunday Column" yesterday, Jon Ralston moaned about the difficult choice he has regarding Question 3. Dare we say the typically very opinionated pundit hasn't yet made up his mind?
We understand this is difficult for him. He wants to believe. He wants to believe the Governor & Legislature will magically reach "The Deal" that Las Vegas Sun publisher Brian Greenspun alluded to in his column announcing his opposition to The Education Initiative (TEI). If we just give the "bid'ness establishment" just a little more time to "bring everyone together", can't we all just get along and praise the glorious arrival of "The Deal"?
However, Ralston has seen this same s--tshow play out so many times that he can sense "The Deal" is just a mirage. And when we say mirage here, we're not talking about the Strip casino resort with the volcano.
There's a reason why the very "bid'ness establishment" that's promising to usher in "The Deal" is spending so much to kill TEI. Every time anyone has suggested some kind of comprehensive and progressive tax reform, it's gone in to kill reform. Not even then Governor Kenny Guinn (R) could succeed at that front in 2003.
So why are we to believe "this time will be different"? And why are we to believe this time they will actually behave differently? We don't even know what's in this "Deal". And to be completely honest, we don't know if there will ever be a real "Deal".
However, we have the real deal on our ballot now. The No on 3 campaign offers a beautiful mirage of a miraculous "deal". But as with all mirages, this one is simply an illusion. Even Ralston seems to understand this.
As we've said before, our choice on Question 3 truly comes down to this: Something or nothing. We can either agree to the real deal for Nevada schools by saying yes to Question 3, or we can just say no and eventually realize there's no deal behind "Door No on 3".
We understand this may actually be a dilemma for Ralston and some other Nevada voters. Why must we be stuck with this decision? Why must we have to decide tax policy at the ballot box?
We just don't see this as a dilemma any more. That's because we're sick and tired of being offered nothing but enticing mirages and ficitious "deals" by the Carson City "bid'ness establishment". We want the real deal, and we now know exactly how to achieve it.
(They did it again. Of course, they did it again! They're the powers that be who happen to run the state's largest [absolute embarrassment of a] "newspaper". Today, they published another in-house anti-TEI ad. But this time, they posted it on the front page and right under a story boasting about how much money the No on 3 campaign has raised!
Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
So we figured today is the perfect day to take a trip down the Nevada Progressive archives and back to June 2012. Let's review why we now have Question 3 on our fall ballot. Let's examine the truth behind the lies being propagated by opponents of The Education Initiative. And let's remember how this whole Question 3 campaign began.)
As we noted yesterday, the corporate margin tax is finally going live. And already, it's making a big splash. And already, the radical right is making noise on how "dangerous" this is.
Anti-tax reform groups, like NPRI, feeling like they have duped and confused middle class citizens go on to state that “research shows there’s little to no correlation between $ and student achievement.” The facts are not on their side though. As the Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project and the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) project have shown, “Research concentrating on class size is important because the findings have largely concluded that smaller class size leads to increases in student achievement, helps to close the minority-majority achievement gap, and has several other long lasting benefits.” Class size reduction though isn’t possible without an increase in the number of teachers in classrooms within a district. Logic tells us that these increases in teacher counts will cost money. Thereby showing that increased financial investments in schools most certainly does increase student achievements, as well as providing other socially relevant benefits.
For decades, the likes of NPRI have deceived Nevadans into thinking we could get something for nothing. But in the last decade, we've had to learn the hard way that we really can't get "money for nothing and chicks for free". Instead, our penchant for rewarding tax evasion has only caused us unnecessary pain and suffering as we've failed to invest in the public infrastructure (like public schools) necessary for growing a sustainable and diversified economy.
Even Ralston, who sometimes wants to like NPRI almost as much as he hates the initiative process, couldn't stay mum on NPRI's idiotic attempt to stifle reasonable discussion on badly needed tax reform. And that's what has "Tea Party, Inc." running scared. The frustration is real, the need for reform is real, and now the first step in building a lasting solution to our chronic budget AND economic development woes is real. They're trying desperately to stifle this, but their days of bullying Nevada into remaining a failed state (just so their corporate patrons can reap the rewards of our suffering) are numbered.
Perhaps you've been reading about the scary new attack ads bombarding our TVs, radios, and even internet enabled devices. They've all been spreading the same message: "WE'RE DOOMED!!!"
Here's the problem: They have nothing. They literally offer nothing. And that's deliberate, as these "big bid'ness" types are the same folks who have always fought any & every effort to properly fund public education in this state. What makes anyone think they actually now "believe the children are our future"?
Here's what really scares them: More & more Nevadans are finally realizing what they're truly up to. And now that TEI is on our fall ballot, We the People finally have the opportunity to do what they've been preventing in Carson City for far too long.
Here's the truth behind their scary attack ads: They can't prove what they're claiming. If TEI is so "job killing", then why isn't Nevada doing better under the "no tax" status quo? Why are states with higher "tax burdens" seeing better job growth and balanced budgets while we lag behind?
Here's the truth behind all the media spin surrounding Question 3: Our schools are "grossly underfunded". And as long as they remain "grossly underfunded", our economy will suffer. But if we break this cycle of underfunding and failure, we can retool our economy so that it's no longer reliant upon "bubbles" and "winnings". TEI gives us the chance to invest in a stronger economic foundation instead of relying upon quicksand.
That's the truth that TEI's opponents don't want you to hear. So instead, they load up on scary attack ads featuring slick political insiders preaching a frightening message of "DOOM!" Don't fall for their crap. Just look behind the curtain to uncover the truth.
After so much anticipation and so much "controversy", it finally happened. And surprise, it raised money for UNLV! Who could have guessed?
Oh, yes. That's right. We've been saying all along that the Hillary ClintonUNLV fundraiser will raise money for UNLV. And whaddya know, the event itself turned in at least a $10,000 profit for the UNLV Foundation. In addition, the announcement was made of a $12 million gift to the school outside the Bellagio fundraiser.
Of course, speculation is running rampant today about why Hillary Clinton came and what she will be doing next time she returns to Nevada. Ironically, hardly anyone is talking about the reason why this event occurred in the first place.
Why, oh why, did UNLV (Foundation) have to pay Hillary Clinton to show up at some fancy Bellagio fundraiser? Look no further than Governor Brian Sandoval (R), Former Governor Jim Gibbons (R), and the severe budget cuts that UNLV endured in 2009 & 2011. And even before then, UNLV and the other public colleges in Southern Nevada were underfunded.
So what are public colleges supposed to do when confronted with severe state budget cuts? Ironically, they've been turning to private donors to try to fill as many gaps as possible. And due to rising tuitions and dwindling financial aid resources for poorer students, we're seeing a growing education gap exacerbate the already alarming inequality crisis.
Keep this in mind today as you read commentary from certain media pundits on the "optics" of last night's UNLV Foundation fundraiser. If you hear from someone who's "disturbed" by Hillary Clinton's visit, ask that someone if one truly believes public institutions of higher education should serve the public. If so, then shouldn't those institutions receive better public support? If so, shouldn't our public colleges receive better finding from our state & federal government?
If UNLV could count on better public funding, it wouldn't have to do so many of these private fundraisers.
(Surprise, surprise. The local "newspaper" decided to run another in-house ad against The Education Initiative [TEI, aka Question 3]. This time, the "newspaper" ran a "myth busting column" that actually did nothing but propagate long ago debunked myths.
So today, let's take a trip into the Nevada Progressive archives. Let's go back to May 2013 and remember just how "grossly underfunded" public education is in this state. FYI, this is why TEI is on the ballot.)
At first glance, yesterday's Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce luncheon seemed like the typical chamber of commerce luncheon. It was full of glitz and glamour... And many who are part of Nevada's ruling gaming-mining-lobbying industrial complex. Let's just say this typically isn't the kind of event where long held social injustices are bemoaned... Or even uttered aloud.
Yet yesterday, newly minted Nevada State Board of Education President Elaine Wynn did just that. She uttered aloud what's been a glaring injustice here in Nevada. And she bemoaned it. After mentioning the typical "reform" talking points that Governor Brian Sandoval (R-Denial) would happily say himself, Wynn pivoted to declare this.
However, not enough is being done, especially for minority students — which constitute the majority of students in Nevada, Wynn said.
"Our melting pot is curdling," Wynn said. "The achievement gap between the haves and have-nots is widening. … There is a sense of urgency to break the cycle of poverty, and we know it can only be done through education." [...]
However, Nevada must change, Wynn said. To effectively reform schools, Nevada lawmakers must allocate more funding for education, she said.
"Conceptually speaking, we are grossly underfunded," she said, to applause from the audience.
Wynn recalled a dinner she recently had with education philanthropist Eli Broad, founder of the Broad Superintendent Academy and the Broad Prize for Urban Education. Broad asked Wynn what Nevada's annual per-pupil expenditure was.
"When I told him, he just shook his head," Wynn said. "And he said, 'You'll never get anywhere with that.'"
How often does this happen at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon? No really, think about that. At a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Elaine Wynn laid it all out for the audience to see.
And think about this. We're now reaching the point where hardly any one can avoid the painful reality of Nevada's shortchanged schools. I've said it before, and I'll say it again today: We have been incredibly penny wise and pound foolish by failing to fund public education.
We've been neglecting our schools for far too long. And really, we've been neglecting the entirety of our public infrastructure for far too long. And without that foundation, we can never achieve a stable economy.
How many more years must we wait before we do something? Remember when we discussed this in May 2011?
Silicon Valley is the epicenter of hi-tech and e-commerce because of the presence of Stanford and UC Berkeley. San Diego has become the epicenter of biotech and medical research because of the presence of UCSD. And similar stories can be told in other western locales, such as Salt Lake City, Denver, and Tucson, where the strong presence of strong universities has led to stronger economies with more stable job markets.
But because Nevada hasn't invested as much in [...] education, we in turn have lagged behind. We mistakenly thought we could "grow our way" out of this problem by the way of artificially inflated real estate development fueled by personal debt. Now we are paying the consequences of that huge mistake. Simply put, we can't expect another "bubble" of "irrational exuberance" to "grow" us out of this crisis. The only realistic long-term solution to Nevada's economic problems involve developing the [...] educational opportunities we desperately need to grow the workforce new industries will want, leading to a more stable and diversified economy.
I stick by those words today. And I'll add PreK-12 to the mix. We can't keep ignoring this gross mistake. That's just grossly unacceptable.
The way some media pundits tell this story, it's the greatest love story ever told. And perhaps it is for Carson City's top corporate lobbyists. In fact, we won't be surprised if they read this column by the fireplace tonight with a nice glass of vintage port paired with some luscious dark chocolate.
But for the rest of us, another column on the many wonders of Tesla's extra sweet sweetheart deal is just another reminder of all that's wrong with Carson City.
Down here in Southern Nevada, Clark County School District (CCSD) hit a new record high for enrollment last month. And up north, Washoe County School District (WCSD) is about to receive the rude awakening that Tesla isn't offering any kind of free lunch. Instead, the deal blew an immediate $195 million hole in the state budget and threatens to place an additional strain on state government by encouraging more demand for public infrastructure (such as schools, roads, and health care) without providing needed funding for it.
Boulder City High School and Rex Bell Elementary School are just two examples of our crumbling public infrastructure in this state. Kids attend these and other CCSD schools. And this is what they and staff must endure every school day.
When we take a closer look at the decaying state of our public infrastructure, the very foundation of our economy, "The Great Tesla Giveaway of 2014" makes less and less sense. How can we afford to subsidize a multi-billion dollar corporation while telling teachers and students we can't afford school repairs? How can we afford to continue shortchanging our roads, our health care programs, and our other basic community building blocks while we keep doling out corporate welfare hand over fist? It just doesn't make sense.
There's a reason why we had such a visceral reaction yesterday to the two Southern Nevada newspaper columns opposing The Education Initiative (TEI). They just don't make sense. They and their friends at the No on 3 campaign like to scream about impending doom & gloom every chance they get, yet they can't produce any tangible proof that TEI will hurt our economy. Instead, even their own studies have suggested that TEI will help Nevada's economy by providing our schools with the funding they've been going without for far too long.
It's been a time honored love story here in Nevada. The "bid'ness establishment" types have loved their legal tax evasion schemes and corporate welfare handouts. And why not? It's been a very sweet sweetheart deal for them.
But for the rest of us, we've been told for far too long to "do more with less". We've been told for far too long that "we can't afford" even basic fixes for our schools. We've been told "we can't afford" to take care of our own people while multi-billion dollar corporations continue laughing all the way to the "erotic gift shop" with gift cards that we essentially paid for.
This may be their "greatest love story ever told", but we the people have a chance to close this chapter of our state's history. And really, can we afford to keep buying them all that chocolate & wine?
Here's what you need to remember about the most important race in this very important election: Something or nothing. That's the choice we have this month. We can do something, or we can continue to go along with nothing.
This is what you need to remember about Question 3. The Education Initiative (TEI) gives us the opportunity to finally do what our elected "leaders" have failed to do in Carson City for far too long. But if voters say no to Question 3/TEI this fall, there's no guarantee we'll see any of the changes TEI's opponents are now promising.
This is why we laughed yesterday. For some reason, Las Vegas Sun publisher Brian Greenspun wants us to believe LVGEA's horrifically pathetic Whitney Houston lip sync is somehow indicative of them "trying to craft a plan that will grow our public school system into what we need to be a 21st-century competitor". Huh? So now, we're supposed to believe the same people who've opposed every attempt at progressive tax reform and strengthening public education are now "finding common ground" with the very people they've been fighting tooth and nail all this time? While we're all for legal marijuana, perhaps Mr. Greenspun needs to put down the "magic brownies" before taking calls from anyone at Wizard of Oz Global HQLVGEA.
This is why we laughed yesterday. For some reason, the local "newspaper" (of ill repute) decided to do an in-house ad against TEI. No really, the "newspaper" went there... Again! Now, we're just wondering when the "newspaper" will start slut shaming TEI proponents and publishing teachers' home addresses.
It's a shame we have to rely on "news media" like these newspapers. One publishes the classic "bid'ness establishment" fantasy, while the other is so desperate to fill ad space that it has to publish its own ads. While both still employ numerous great reporters, the leadership of both continue to value access over enlightenment.
Today is one of those days when we wish CityLife was still around to read both of the newspapers to high filth. But since that paragon of true journalistic virtue is no longer with us, it's now up to us to state the obvious. And what's obvious to all thinking Nevadans today is that both Southern Nevada newspapers looked like pathetic imitations of their former selves with their craptastic editorials.
The only thing more pathetic than these newspaper editorials of questionable value is No on 3's campaign of half-@$$ed fearmongering and laughable distortions. In fact, this may ultimately prove to be valuable... To the Yes on 3 campaign. If this is truly all No on 3 has, this says everything about why TEI landed on our ballots in the first place.
Earlier this month, Carson City was in ecstasy... Or was Carson City on Ecstasy? We're still trying to figure that one out.
We're also still trying to figure out what we can actually expect of our state government's giant wet kiss to Tesla. Already, Northern Nevada "tourism executives are salivating" over magically full airplanes and wondrous conventions popping up all over Reno. And already, Southern Nevada must endure yet another round of navel gazing over "why we didn't get Tesla" and "what Reno got right that Las Vegas gets wrong".
But what if the navel gazing that's considered "analysis" today is wrong? What if it's not based on actual facts?
Last week, the Los Angeles Times' Chris Kirkham interviewed some actual economists who have done some real analysis on what Governor Brian Sandoval (R) and the Nevada Legislature gave Tesla. Here's some of what they had to say.
"To assume that the economic impact is $100 billion assumes that everybody who was ever going to work at that battery plant was unemployed," said Enrico Moretti, an economics professor at UC Berkeley.
Choosing a 20-year time frame to analyze also makes the projected economic effect look huge compared with any benefits given to Tesla. But that's misleading, said [David] Swenson, the Iowa state economist.
"It doesn't mean anything," he said. "Let's assume I made $50,000 over the last 20 years. Therefore, I'm a millionaire, right?" [...]
"They're treating all this revenue as if it's free profit that's just going to be sent back to everyone as a rebate," said Dan Rickman, an economics professor at Oklahoma State University who specializes in regional economic analysis and reviewed the Nevada studies for The Times.
Further, Tesla will collect benefits upfront, which could starve local governments of vital revenue, said Peter Fisher, an Iowa expert on tax incentive programs.
"They're giving back 99% of Tesla's direct taxes in the first nine years, yet there are going to be all these new workers with families and children," said Fisher, research director of the Iowa Policy Project and a professor emeritus of urban and regional studies at the University of Iowa. "One way or another, I think the locality is going to find themselves with a strain on local government services."
Hmmmm... We wonder where we've heard this before. Oh, yes. That's right. The Atlantic's Richard Florida and the LA Times' Michael Hiltzik were among several actual economic thinkers who were warning us not to buy into #Teslamania. And there's a reason why Good Jobs First has been criticizing the Tesla deal. While Tesla and its technology hold plenty of promise for the future, there's no guarantee that the State of Nevada's $1.2 billion corporate welfare gift card to this company will magically wash away all of Nevada's economic woes.
But hey, what do public policy think tanks and top-grade columnists (who actually know what they're talking about) know about any of this? According to certain local media pundits, they just don't know how to "play long ball" because they refuse to sit back and enjoy the bright & sunny "optics" emanating from The Governor's Mansion.
Even some local officials in Reno & Washoe County are now admitting there are indeed high costs to the Tesla deal. After all, this deal was never truly "free". Roads, schools, mass transit, and water infrastructure will be needed. And last we checked, those are never free.
And we'll eventually discover how much economic benefit the state will gain from this. Hopefully, it will eventually be enough to make this trade-off worthwhile. But now, it's becoming increasingly obvious that the Governor's rosy projections were way too rosy.
Economists often like to joke that there's truly no such thing as a "free lunch". Here in Nevada, it looks like we'll have to learn that lesson the hard way. Again. Even after we took a bite out of that rotten Apple.
(In light of this latest round of navel gazing, we figure now's a good time to revisit this piece from March 2012 analyzing the truth behind the "Reno is the new Silicon Valley!!!" hype. And by the way, we'll have more on Tesla later.)
“The number one choice of why we're in Northern Nevada is quality of life,” says co-founder of Noble Studios, Season Lopiccolo.
For the diverse group of tech-savvy professionals at Noble Studios, Reno has something for everyone.
“Some snowboard, some like to dress up and pretend to be someone else, we have musicians, people with their own bands, all different walks of life,” says Lopiccolo.
Downtown Reno is in the midst of an image makeover, shifting from a place known for its bright lights and casinos to a world-renowned high tech hub.
And the supportive and entrepreneurial friendly environment within the biggest little city is making a big difference.
“One of the main reasons why we moved to Northern Nevada is that a handshake means something here,” says Lopiccolo.
I'll do my best to answer.
Is it possible? Sure. Is it probable? Perhaps when we get serious about investing in public infrastructure.
And to their credit, folks at UNR have been doing a great job in partnering with the greater communities around the Reno-Carson metropolitan area to work on economic diversification. This at least partially explains why Northern Nevada's economy hasn't been as devastated by continuing weakness in the gaming & tourism sector as Southern Nevada was when "The Great Recession" first hit.
And again, we in Southern Nevada can't depend on fickle gamblers for our future, either. We also have to face the reality staring us down as Macau continues to grow, online gaming goes live, and new casino projects are being proposed everywhere from South Florida to Baja California (Mexico). While gaming will likely always be in our blood, there's no reason why we shouldn't look beyond physical casinos to start attracting new gaming technology companies, online gaming innovators, as well as infrastructure support and consulting services.
But as long as our schools suck and as long as the rest of our public infrastructure continues to lag, Southern Nevada will continue to suffer our addiction to the extreme highs and extreme lows of "the bubble based economy". I'm sure I sound like a broken record sometimes, but I nonetheless feel the need to continue talking about this until we finally see some real action and real solutions. We really do have the potential to bring more high tech jobs into this state, especially in sectors like gaming and renewable energy where we have natural strength, but we'll never realize that potential if we don't invest in our "human capital".
Reno is already seeing some success in bringing in new high tech jobs. They just need to finish the job in diversifying the economy up there. And Las Vegas still has plenty of catching up to do in that department. And ultimately, both ends of the state need more investment in public education to ultimately be successful.
(In light of recent events, we felt it necessary to revisit this. We dug through the cavernous Nevada Progressive archives to find this gem from May 2013. How is it we can afford corporate welfare for Tesla, but not taking care of our own people? And now, we risk losing federalSNAP funds because we can't get our act together.
Maybe we should consider taking care of our own people's needs before we cater to every whim & fancy of any multinational corporation that whispers sweet nothings into our politicians' ears?)
So Former Assembly Member Steven Brooks is back in the news today. Brooks was supposed to be at a court hearing in Las Vegas today. He couldn't make it... Because he was at a court hearing in San Bernardino County, California.
Here's what's happened so far.
The lawyer for a former Nevada lawmaker charged in a car chase and a police confrontation is asking that his client go through a mental health court program.
Ex-Assemblyman Steven Brooks appeared in a San Bernardino County, Calif., court Tuesday after pleading not guilty to charges stemming from his arrest March 28. Prosecutors say there could be a decision Friday on whether he's eligible for mental health court.
Mental health courts divert people into treatment programs and hold them accountable along the way.
Late in March, Steven Brooks was arrested in Victorville following a dispute with a tow truck driver in Barstow and a dramatic car chase with police. His attorney is now requesting for the California case to be transferred to mental health court. This way, he can finally obtain the treatment he needs.
At least there's a chance of Brooks obtaining the treatment he needs in California. Just before his latest arrest, Brooks sounded eerily prophetic in his final interview with Jon Ralston.
In four brief, surreal conversations, alternately heart-wrenching and frightening, shortly after he was expelled from the Assembly, Steven Brooks said he is "the assemblyman of sorrow," wondered why his colleagues "hate me so much" and declared he was going to "break the state" with a lawsuit worth at least $10 million.
Brooks was alternately angry, with expletive-filled rants directed at Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Majority Leader William Horne, despondent, weeping and saying he was checking himself into Seven Hills, a Southern Nevada treatment facility, and suicidal, saying he had no other recourse. [...]
"I'm the assemblyman of sorrow," he declared. "Why do they hate me so much? Fill in the blank: I'm so angry I could (blank) myself."
Brooks told me he was "on my way to Seven Hills to check myself into the hospital. He began weeping when I asked why, adding, "I have no other resort. I'm going to kill myself if they keep this up. I have nowhere to go. I'm the assemblyman of sorrow." [...]
"You know why they hate me? You know why want to kill me because I know all of their secrets."
No one expected what was coming next, probably not even Steven Brooks himself. Yet in an incredibly bizarre way, he warned us. Just days after Brooks was sent to jail in San Bernardino County, another former Nevadan emerged in California.
After The Sacramento Bee began investigating the mysterious Greyhound bus trip that landed James Flavy Coy Brown in Sacramento, the Nevada patient dumping scandal steadily grew. Now, there's a strong chance of Nevada facing law suits soon over improper discharge of mental health patients and transport of them out of state.
And now, outrage is spreading to a new state. Last weekend, ABC 15 Phoenix looked into the 100 cases of Rawson-Neal mental health patients bussed into Arizona. And while investigating, they may have uncovered yet another horrifying scandal in the making.
Mark Holleran, CEO of Central Arizona Shelter Services, says it's hard to track those patients down. He says "patient dumping" happens more than you might think.
"It just shows you how it's very easy to do this, and it's sort of under the radar. It's hard to detect," he said.
Holleran says a few years ago, former prisoners from Nevada got dumped at the shelter.
"They had been provided a bus ticket, a small amount of cash, a print out of a Mapquest that showed them how to get to CASS. And written on it was, 'ask for Howie,'" he said.
Holleran says these cases often end in chronic homelessness. He says that stretches resources in other states, like Arizona. And it passes along the problem, instead of fixing it.
"That might be something we might want to take a look at. Because if we can solve it for one place, I think we solve it for all the places," Holleran said.
So now, Arizona officials are reporting cases of Nevada patient dumping. And not only that, but we may have also dumped former prisoners on them as well! How about that for being a "good neighbor"?
One would think this would light a fire under the behinds of the Governor and legislators to fix this glaring crisis. Come on, we're now facing law suits and loss of federal funding! But no, they were too busy kissing the behind of Nicholas Cage. No, I'm not even making this up. And Ralston was downright revolted by today's lurid display of misplaced priorities.
James Flavy Brown can be shipped out of Las Vegas, leaving with barely his wits about him, some meds and peanut butter crackers. But the star of “Leaving Las Vegas” can be treated like royalty, with the mayor of Las Vegas as his sidekick, and an offer pending of enough taxpayer money to buy a peanut butter cracker factory.
These are the Legislature’s priorities – cut mental health funding, ignore English Language Learner money but give tax breaks to those who need them least. Brown gets a bus ticket to anywhere while Cage gets a national treasure trove worth of goodies and Apple gets a 90 percent tax break negotiated by the governor. That is tax policy in Nevada.
This is the state we are in.
I wonder if anyone stops to think: We may get Cage ghost-riding on the Strip, with his production company soaring and a Vegas backdrop for movies. But what does it say if that fake scene is juxtaposed a few miles off-camera in either direction with real tableaus of packed emergency rooms, overcrowded classrooms and jammed thoroughfares.
If this is part of a master plan, I’d like to see the drawing because it seems like a blueprint for disaster to me. What exactly is the policy articulated by this approach that allows $80 million to be cut from mental health services in five years but in one bill lawmakers are willing to give half of that amount [$35 million] to prospective Nevada-based filmmakers?
Lest you think my heart’s bleeding cuts off circulation to my brain, I get the job-creating argument, the economic diversification argument, the image-changing argument. But why is it a good idea for government to give incentives to anyone – movie producers, renewable energy companies – if offcials don’t provide incentives for people to really want to live here by supporting the quality of life, a culture that values higher and lower education, a political class that leads rather than follows?
He's right about this. It simply doesn't make sense.
Honestly, there may be some merit to encouraging more film production here in Nevada. But when we can't even take care of our own, who wants to risk shooting a movie here? Think about it.
Why is it that we always hear that "we can't afford" proper mental health care, decent schools, and repaired roads, yet our Governor and Legislature always seem to be able to afford corporate welfare to shower upon multinational corporations like Apple that neither need the help nor deserve it? Think about that as well. How on earth does this lead to a stable economy for our state? And how on earth does neglecting the most vulnerable in our society lead to a healthy economy?
It doesn't. That's precisely the problem. Our "leaders" in Carson City keep chasing after mythical economic unicorns while failing to provide the most fundamental building blocks of a sound economy.
Sure, luring Hollywood to Las Vegas sounds sexy. But ultimately, that won't mean shit for economic development if our schools keep bursting at the seams, our hospitals keep stuffing patients onto Greyhound buses heading out of state, and our roads are clogged with commuters while paved with just as many potholes. We seriously need to pay attention to the rude awakening we're now receiving. We must get back to basics, and we must do so before it's too late.
Yesterday was the first day of school for Clark County School District (CCSD). We actually stopped by Gibson Elementary School in Henderson to check out the scene. We also stopped by there to hear local residents who had something to say about The Education Initiative (TEI).
We've heard plenty in recent days from the usual suspects screaming "DOOM!" over TEI every chance they find. They've even suppressed data showing how TEI can help Nevada's economy grow.
They can go ahead and continue suppressing UNLV studies. They can't, however, suppress local business owners like Ron Nelsen. He's the owner of Pioneer Overhead Door, and he's anything but afraid of TEI.
Electra McGrath is actually looking forward to TEI. She's a parent of a CCSD student. And her neighbors send their children to CCSD schools. Unlike TEI's well heeled opponents, Electra and her neighbors actually live the reality of public education in Nevada. This is why Electra supports TEI.
For far too long, we've heard endless rhetoric from Carson City followed by the constant lack of results. This is why Nevada schools are "grossly underfunded". And this is why grassroots education activists drew the paperwork for TEI.
At Gibson Elementary School, we caught a glimpse of Nevada's future. We noticed all the potential waiting at Leisure Circle. And we couldn't help but think of how much more potential could be realized if we were to just invest in schools like Gibson.
This is our future. These kids are our future. Why shouldn't we actually invest in our future? TEI's opponents can suppress economic studies, but they can't suppress this potential for a better future.
Today is the first day of school for the Clark County School District (CCSD). When we stopped by Gibson Elementary School in Henderson this morning, we witnessed dozens of parents dropping their children off as teachers were preparing for class. Everyone seemed to be ready for the school year.
Yet as parents, students, and teachers were ready for the new school year, the state and CCSD didn't seem to be. CCSD now has a teacher shortage. And on top of this, not all students have the materials they need. Textbook shortages have been reported across the valley. Many of the textbooks that are available are outdated. And English Language Learner (ELL) programs remain limited.
At Gibson Elementary School, local business owners and educators shared the reasons why they're supporting TEI. GymCats owner Cassie Rice stated her business is among the 13% of Nevada businesses that will have to pay the corporate margin tax under TEI. And she's perfectly fine with that, as she knows the value of public education to our community and our economy.
Lisa Muntean and Tom Wellman are CCSD teachers. They experience firsthand the challenges of educating so many kids on a shoestring budget. They know our kids need the extra $800,000,000 per year TEI will provide Nevada public schools. And they know our economy will benefit greatly (to the tune of at least $630 million added to Nevada's GDP in 2016 alone) from the additional investment in public education.
TEI's opponents have thrown just about everything (including the kitchen sink) at it. They tried to spin it away at Four Seasons. They tried setting up the "Esmeralda Straw Man" against it. They even tried various parliamentary tricks to stop the Nevada State Democratic Party from endorsing it. Yet each time they try to spin TEI away, they reveal something about themselves.
Have they been to any CCSD schools lately? Do they know anyone in a local public school? Don't they realize just how "grossly underfunded" Nevada schools are?
It's easy for them to make their philosophical case against TEI from their guard gated and gold plated bubble. And it's easy for them to complain about TEI's "flaws" when they've repeatedly failed to provide a realistic alternative. What seems to be incredibly difficult for them to admit is that they have no real alternative to TEI. They offer Nevada nothing but the same hot air and empty rhetoric that have failed this state for far too long.
At Gibson Elementary School this morning, we saw children going to school. We saw them enter a place where they encounter new ideas, new knowledge, and new opportunities. For far too long, we've been failing these children by failing to maintain public education. It's long past time for us to stop failing them.
And the upshot? Nothing. No really, the best the anti-TEI coalition's commissioned UNLV tax study could produce was inconclusive garblety-goop.
Yet in the mean time, TEI proponents commissioned their own UNLV tax study. And the result of that? Surprise, better education funding means a better economy.
►TEI actually will increase economic activity and create jobs, including as many as 13,000 in 2016 and 10,400 jobs in 2017.
►The positive impacts from new government spending more than offset the negative impacts from the tax.
►Overall, the study concludes: Nevada’s GDP would be boosted by $630 million to $1,020 million in 2016 and $480 million to $790 million in 2017.
Now of course, this seems confusing. How can two studies from the same institution produce completely different results?
Actually, the results here aren't all that different. Even the anti-TEI study conceded that TEI will generate $800 million annually for Nevada public schools if passed. And it didn't offer any definitive findings on economic impact. So that doesn't really challenge the results offered by the pro-TEI study showing actual economic benefits to passing TEI.
Here's what we already know: The status quo is failing us. For all the talk of Nevada's "pro-business climate", our economy hasn't benefitted from it at all. In fact, we're consistently ranked as having one of the worst business climates in the nation.
And why's that? As Elaine Wynn once described Nevada's public education system, "We are grossly underfunded." And as long as we continue underfunding our public schools, we're missing out on economic opportunities. As long as we're shortchanging our schools, we're sabotaging ourselves.
This is why TEI opponents have resorted to silly spin and even sillier straw men. After decades of empty promises, they've failed to provide any real solutions for public education and longer term economic development. But now that TEI (aka Question 3) is on the ballot, they're going all in to kill it... Because they simply don't want to pay their fair share like all the rest of us must.
It's doom, all right. It's doom... For nothing but the status quo. Keep this in mind whenever you hear the usual (corporate lobbyist) suspects scream "DOOM!" over that horrible, evil, no-good margin tax that can actually end the gross underfunding of K-12 public education in this state.
Must we do this again? Apparently, yes. While one local media pundit continues to beat this dead horse, national G-O-TEA media spinners have begun beating the "ZOMG!!! Hillary Clinton is a rich b---h!!!!" dead horse of a "scandal".
What Fox "News" talking heads call "rock star diva outrageous demands" are actually considered standard operating procedure for high profile politicians. If Hillary Clinton is a "rock star diva" making "outrageous demands", then so are George W. Bush, Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich.
No really, the UNLV Foundation relies on private donations to fund its efforts to raise private money for UNLV (since the public college doesn't receive enough public funding). Since Hillary Clinton's speech will be for the UNLV Foundation, her speaking fee came from private donations. Already, there have been more than enough private donations to cover the fee. She has already donated that fee to charity. And the October event will likely raise a hefty sum... For the benefit of UNLV and its students.
So where's the "scandal"? Where were all these media pundits when politicians like Rudy Giuliani cashed in on big speaking fees? And where were they when Governor Brian Sandoval (R) pushed for more UNLVbudget cuts in 2011?
Ironically, one of the most vocal critics of Clinton's UNLV Foundation gig accepted a for-pay speech at UNLV herself. And she's not alone on the list of high profile individuals UNLV and/or the UNLV Foundation paid to give a speech. So why are we still wasting so many characters arguing over this Hillary Clinton speech?
Whenever a Clinton runs for President, strange things happen. Extramarital affairs become "impeachable offenses". A money losing land deal becomes some horrifically sophisticated money laundering scheme. A tragic attack on a US consulate becomes some bizarre mass murder conspiracy. And a speaking fee becomes some heinous crime against higher education.
Perhaps if Republican political operatives and their media enablers were to spend less time hyperventilating over fictitious "scandals" and more time preparing better policies for their preferred Presidential candidates to espouse (along with decent candidates for them to prefer), they'd actually have a viable 2016 alternative to Hillary Clinton.
Not again! Yesterday, we had another round of technical difficulties.
And yes, those technical difficulties were again due to incredibly slow internet while we were out. This is nothing short of embarrassing. We sincerely apologize for the brief post this morning.
But hey, we might as well bring this up again. The internet is too damned slow. And it's long past due for us to do something about this.
It's about to get very real up in here. We're about to reveal why we're posting this instead of the usual Monday morning policy dig.
We had technical difficulties again. This time, we were roaming all around the neighborhood in search of a stable LTE signal. We had to keep roaming because the signal would constantly drop.
Obviously, we became very furious very fast. Why is this happening to us? Why is it so hard to find fast internet? Why is American internet so damned slow?
There are so many policy FAILs here that it's hard to keep track of all of them. Federal regulation of the telecom industry has not kept up with technological innovation. Internet service providers (ISPs) are increasingly prioritizing price gouging over improving their networks. And the giant telecom corporations are pressuring the federal government to give them even more leeway to limit consumers' internet speed and create "online toll roads" for content providers.
So why is the internet so much faster in other developed nations? Unlike America, they fully regulate the telecom industry. And unlike America, they've been investing in developing state-of-the-art fiber networks that deliver blazing fast speed.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering changing the definition of "broadband internet" to prod the telecom companies to fix their dilapidated, slow networks. While this may be a promising start, so much more is needed to fix these technical difficulties. We need hard commitments to real infrastructure investment to update our outdated internet connections. And we need real net neutrality to guarantee fair play and high speed for all.
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) has endorsed a strong net neutrality standard, and so has President Obama. But now, it's up to the FCC to decide new net neutrality standards. And ultimately, it's up to us to urge Congress and/or the telecom companies themselves to finally bring our communications infrastructure into the 21st century and bring these obnoxious technical difficulties to an end.
Hey, someone had to it. Fortunately for us, Jon Ralston did it. Last Wednesday, he attended the glitzy & glamorous Four Seasons premiere party for "Las Vegas Perspective". And what is "Las Vegas Perspective"? Why, it's the ultimate Southern Nevada insiders' cheat sheet to all the inner workings of Southern Nevada's economy and society.
So what's in the actual publication? It turns out that it's a collection of what we already know. The gaming industry is as erratic as ever. Our unemployment rate is down, but it's still above the national average. The housing market is improving, but many local homeowners are still struggling to stay above water. Our economy is improving, but the fundamentals of our economy still point to epic dysfunction and continued missed opportunities.
This is what was so ironic about last Wednesday's posh premiere party for "Las Vegas Perspective". Even as the uber-insiders of the "Gaming-mining-lobbying Industrial Complex" slapped each others' backs and sang the praises of Nevada's hallowed status quo, even their own sacred cheat sheet couldn't completely deny that the status quo keeps us stuck in a "bubble based economy" that hasn't even fully recovered from the bursting of the last bubble.
Funny enough, one of the sponsors of "Las Vegas Perspective" happens to be none other than the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA)? Remember them? They've gone from "Kiss Your Assets Goodbye" to "Say Hello to Our Esmeralda Straw Man". And they're still running scared from the solution to our core economic problem.
The uber-insiders who attended last Wednesday's Four Seasons shindig did not want to discuss The Education Initiative (TEI)... Just as they didn't want to acknowledge our continuing economic difficulties. After all, if they were to acknowledge the unhealthy truth of our "bubble based economy", they'd also have to acknowledge the need for a realistic solution to this problem. And that would completely undercut their rather "sunny" case against TEI.
Last Wednesday's Four Seasons event was supposed to be about "perspective". Perhaps it was... In that attendees celebrated their perspective of Nevada. But what about ours? Fortunately for us, they're not the only ones who will make the final decision on TEI this fall.
Our perspective also matters. Our struggles also matter. And our future also matters. And we should keep this in perspective.
Let's just get this out of the way now: Outgoing Assembly Member & current Lt. Governor candidate Lucy Flores (D) kicked @ss on "Ralston Reports" last night. She drove the narrative. She generally answered Ralston's questions in the best way possible. And she came off far more polished than the two other candidates running in the other major party's primary for this race.
Yet with all this being said, there was one moment that gave many progressives at least a little heartburn. Of course, that was when Lucy Flores proposed an alternative to The Education Initiative (TEI). She said she has problems with TEI...
And she's not alone. Many state legislators do. Yet when it was in the Legislature last year, none of them proposed an alternative... Until it was too late. And even then, that supposed alternative was still very half-baked.
So now, the choice is this: TEI or nothing. And the choice is not Lucy Flores' to make for us. In fact, the choice is no longer in any one legislator's hands. It's now in our hands. The choice is now ours to make.
For years, this issue has been studied. Eventually, it became studied to death. We know our schools are "grossly underfunded". We know our business climate does suffer due to our gross underfunding of public education. We know our 19th century tax system is in dire need of 21st century reforms. And we know our Legislature has dragged its feet on tax reform for far too long, as it's only succeeded in delivering broken promises of reform.
This is why TEI happened. And this is why TEI will be on our ballot this fall. After seeing the same cycle of FAIL spin around for far too long, many thousands of Nevada citizens decided enough was enough. These citizens decided to break the cycle of #NVLeg #nved #FAIL by turning the decision of tax reform to "We the People" to make.
We're sick & tired of too late & half-baked alleged "alternatives". We're sick & tired of absurd straw men standing in the way of reform. And we're sick & tired of the long string of broken promises from Carson City. We're sick & tired of waiting for reform. TEI is now here, and it's the only tangible option for real reform now.
While we understand why Lucy Flores, Jon Ralston, and various other politicians & pundits have problems with TEI, we also recognize that the decision of long awaited & badly needed tax reform is no longer solely theirs to make. It's now ours to make. It's either TEI or nothing, and that decision will be made by all of us later this year.
This shouldn't be such a pungent punchline. Our founders probably didn't mean for it to be this way. But alas, it's now this way.
We can't personally remember a time when Congress was a respected institution, but we know it occasionally used to be that way. And technically, it's supposed to be that way. After all, Congress makes laws. And the law is supposed to be respected.
So we could understand initial reactions to NV-04 candidate Niger Innis' assertion that he's making "the ultimate sacrifice" in running for Congress. Where's the sacrifice? He's running for a position that offers a six-figure salary in an institution that's become notorious for its agenda of nothing. Where's the sacrifice in competing for for what's essentially become a glorified paid vacation?
But then, we thought about it some more. Theoretically, Congress is supposed to be a body of public servants. They're supposed to sacrifice for the public good. And they're supposed to be a part of a respected institution.
Sadly, that's not the case. And sadly, the recent unfortunate remarks from Niger Innis will probably just be treated as another "stupid gaffe" rather than a call for serious introspection from his own party's "leaders" on Capitol Hill. Think about it. If they're not there to make any kind of sacrifice or offer any kind of public service, then why are they there in the first place?
