The Reno/Casino Airport continues to try to waste America's $$$taxes in its bid to take land away from innocent citizens in Reno. They claim to have FAA "Noise" money. But there is one small catch. Noise money cannot be used to buy land that is zoned Commercial.
And guess what... The South West Reno City Council zoned the entire Rewana Farms area "Commercial" last year and allowed the owners to grandfather their Residential status until they wanted to switch over.
But the Airport refuses to accept the Commercial status of the Rewanians' land and is continuing with the landgrab. They have a terrible feeling of urgency. They know that at any moment the FAA might ask for their "Noise" money back... so they can spend it on a different porkbarrel project.
To thwart this, the Rewanians have decided to become old-fashioned American entrepreneurs.
New businesses could soon be popping up in the area, because Commercial zoning allows: Bed & Breakfast, Escort Services, Adult Book Stores, Radar Scrambling Equipment Sales, Massage Parlors, Fortune Telling, Modeling Schools, Sound Recording Studios, Private Detective Agencies, and of course Casinos.
(The Rewana Farms Gaming Complex - has a nice ring to it. "Watch the airliners as you gamble away your earnings...")
The instant that these licenses are applied for the properties become Commercial. And the folks can still have their residences. They can continue to enjoy their lives and watch the value of their properties go up; instead of being forced out a fire-sale prices by the Airport.
It is very simple. Regular citizens have better solutions to airport problems than the "Authorities". Move the Air Guard out of town. The plan to move the NAG to Rewana Farms is nonsense. Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that another NAG move will be required before long...
The Reno City Charter (Sec. 2.020.2) prohibits council members from having "any interest, directly or indirectly, in any lease, contract or other agreement with the city."
It has come to public attention that this fundamental element of the city's legal structure might not been enforced properly in recent years... if not longer.
This raises serious questions which demand well-researched answers - to prevent the city council from assuming a de facto posture of nonfeasance:
1. For what period of time has the City of Reno failed to properly understand and enforce Sec. 2.020.2 of the City Charter?
2. During the subject period of time, what council decisions involved what votes by what council members who were not legally qualified to be council members per Sec. 2.020.2 of the City Charter?
3. What council decisions should be declared null and void due to their having been decided by council members who were not legally qualified to be council members per Sec. 2.020.2 of the City Charter?
4. What financial liability now faces the City of Reno due to decisions having been made, in whole or part, by council members who were not legally qualified to be council members per Sec. 2.020.2 of the City Charter?
5. Does any council member or candidate assume an indirect interest in any lease, contract or other agreement entered into... by any campaign contributor having such a lease, contract or other agreement with the City of Reno?
Reno Citizens have a right to responsible answers to the foregoing questions at the earliest possible time. Until such answers are researched and publicly reported, wouldn't it seem prudent for the Reno City Council to cease making any and all decisions?
Is the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper "another branch of Government" as some of its representatives have claimed in the past? Examples of how the RGJ can impact government by misinforming citizens:
1. Distorted reports on what really goes on at Airport "Authority" meetings. RGJ reports are distorted by what is left out. (The Reno City Council seems to be either afraid of, ignorant of, or apathetic toward Airport issues.)
2. Continuous reporting of the problems that casinos will face if railroad traffic is increased... while, at the same time, ignoring Airport sprawl and blight.
3. Reporting what happened at the City Council defacto secret meeting at Donner Lake... while leaving out many important decisions that were made - out of sight of the public.
4. Reporting that the City Charter was dusted off for use in figuring out how Reno government is supposed to operate... while leaving out the specific areas where the Charter might have been violated throughout the years. (See related article this issue.)
The list goes on and on... There is a myriad of important issues that citizens are often not properly informed about. As one of the primary newspapers in Reno, doesn't the Gazette have a responsibility to the people to report both sides of every issue? Otherwise, doesn't it just become a defacto fourth branch of government?
On June 20, 1996 the chairman of the Airport "Authority" stepped down and the director was refused his usual pay raise. Authorities might deny it, but the stress of, as Senator Reid called it, "vociferous opposition" from Rewana Farm citizens just might be showing some results.
The Authority has been forewarned time and again that the water they are trying to walk on is getting very thin. USA taxes received from the notorious FAA (which is lately being exposed as a bungling top-heavy bureaucracy) came under obsolete "Noise Study" pretenses. And they know it! Not only should the $$bucks stop here. They must be sent back to Washington - so they can be spent on another Pork Barrel project...
Don't get too excited though. This is just a reshuffling of the same old players. The director will be relegated to a mere $100,000 plus his regular bonuses and perks. The former chairman will become a trustee and still be eligible for up to $85 per meeting (with up to 3 meetings per day) and free airline travel.
This may be the beginning though...
Did you know that every other week the South West Reno City Council alternates between what they call a city council meeting and a study session? If a typical citizen attended she/he would not know the difference. If the council is going to study things, that is all they should do. Otherwise how do citizens know when important action is being voted on?
To wit: Study - "To examine or investigate carefully." Nothing there about making final decisions; especially about important Reno matters.
At just one recent SWRCC study session motions were made and urgent issues were voted on. Some:
1. Two people were appointed to what is fast becoming the South West Reno Planning Commission. (Incidentally there is nobody at all on that vital body from Southeast Reno - despite the fact that decisions are being made to build an entire new city, Double Diamond, in the southeast in the next few years!)
2. An assistant mayor was elected. Guess that isn't very important.
3. A vote was taken to take "no action" to correct the increasing problem of campaign contributions.
4. Important decisions were made about REMSA.
Aren't the misnamed Study Sessions and the ever-increasing use of Caucuses just plain old defacto secret meetings?
Social "street" crime costs American about $25 billion a year. That is a pittance compared to Corporate crime and violence that has been reported to cost America more than $200 billion a year! We're talking about Big Business crime and violence that go basically unpunished. A few examples:
a. Savings & Loan schemes (hundreds of $billions),
b. Asbestos injury and deaths (afflicting about 200,000 citizens each year),
c. Contaminated baby formula (sent overseas - that either killed or maimed thousands of children),
The list goes on and on...
How many on-the-job deaths were there last year? Reports say about 25,000. (Not all of those deaths were the fault of the Corporations. But a lot were.) How many managers went to jail? About 8 - each for an average of 6 months.
Street crime gets all the publicity from the news media. And why? Because it is the big Corporations that either own or subsidize the news media. ABC, CBS, NBC, and others, are owned by multi-billion dollar corporations. They protect each other as they focus on and deflect the crime blame to the poor slob on the street - rarely reporting the stories about Corporations that are guilty of criminal acts themselves.
When are Americans going to get it? When are they going to demand a reckoning and admission of guilt by these Fat Cat Corporations? Until they do, jails will continue to be filled with the wrong people.
(How about comparing those "cheating" welfare mothers, who are just trying to get a little food for their children, to the government subsidized cigarette companies that have killed tens of thousands of people in America and around the world. When will there be a proper reckoning?)
The notorious Contract On America is just a bunch of hooey until it addresses Corporate Crime... AND Welfare. Right now it is merely a Contract FOR Big Business.
And the Congresspeople who support the "Contract" are a bunch of welfare hypocrites - as long as they continue on the government trough with their super perks and retirement bonanzas...
Community Impact Studies should be conducted for all proposed major projects... not just for the railroad. Look at this:
Isn't the increase of poverty kids in Reno directly attributable to casinos and big businesses pulling in more and more minimum wage moms and dads to perform flunky jobs? Reno must take the tax burden off the backs of working citizens and put it where it belongs...
1. As a candidate for Reno city council, I thank the tight-knit group of old time professional politicians and fuddy duddys (Nevada "Non-Partisan" Coalition) that gave me the lowest rating as a politician. They are right. I am not a professional politician. There is no wonder that I do not follow their standards...
2. There is a nightclub (bar) in Reno by the name of Fat Cats. Citizen Gadfly is not referring to that when criticizing Reno's real Fat Cats for the bad things they contribute to. The business of America is business. But a "Fat Cat" is a business that does not pay its fair share to alleviate negative impacts that often result from growth.
3. Does it bother you that old coffee grounds smell like old cigarette butts?
4. Why hasn't there been an uproar against the operators of the Oklahoma City Federal building, or TWA, or Atlanta that were bombed by terrorists? Like there was against Pan Am? How could Pan Am be any more culpable than those entities? If Pan Am's 747 had blown up over the ocean, Pan Am would still be flying.
4a. Sam Dehne walked the strike picket line with the Hilton Security Guards. Two days later the strike was settled...
5.
Baseball managers wear uniforms.
Football coaches dress casual.
Basketball coaches wear suits.
Why the difference?
6. What is going to happen when people get bored with gambling and find a new fad?
7. If Valujet president, Louis Jordan, had been president of Pan Am, Pan Am would still be flying. He's a leader. Pan Am's president had every right, and a duty, to go to congress for help after the war-like terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. He refused to do it... causing the demise of Pan Am and 20,000 loyal workers to lose jobs.
8. You can now buy food in edible bowls. No dishpan hands...
9. The Reno/Casino Airport Authority bought some properties with your USA taxes. Get this. They gave a Hispanic family of renters $11,000 relocation allowance. Is this a great Country Airport, or what?
9a. One property they bought with "Noise" money (ostensibly to protect the hearing of the owners) - was a vacant lot! Whose hearing were they protecting with that purchase?!?
10. When it comes to voting, Americans are usually guilty of either apathy or the "herd instinct"... Are you one of them?
11. Is there a little Bill Clinton in Bob Dole? Is it true that in the early 1940s he was able to join the Reserves and avoid Europe for a long time? By then he was 22, but other young men had been there since their teens. This is not to detract from the fact he was badly wounded, but why did it take so long for him to get over there?
12. Rumors have it that the Sparks City Council requested a Grand Jury Investigation of questionable activities at the Reno Airport. Who squelched this much-needed investigation? Why? Isn't it at least as important as finding out if former councilperson, Jan Dalske, did something wrong with a few thousand dollars? After all, we are talking about appointed Airport people who have almost unlimited use of $$millions of your tax dollars...
12b. Did the Sparks City Council ask for the resignation of the former Chairman of the Airport Board?
13. Six Reno casino suicides... and counting.
14. How can Health Insurance Company HMOs properly protect your health when their number 
one goal is to continuously increase profits for their stockholders (and CEOs)? Didn't our government just tell the FAA they can no longer promote airline travel; since their job is supposed to be to oversee the safety of the airlines? The two are in direct conflict - just like the backwards HMO concept...
15. How does the Airport Board (the male members) get away with talking about women the way they do at their meetings? Reporter, Dennis Myers obtained the tapes of a meeting earlier this year. Taxpayers paid their salaries, hotel rooms, meals, etc at that Lake Tahoe meeting where they said things (about women) like: "I make a point of just stroking them...", and "...it seems to me that most of our problems in personnel tend to come from the female side..." Those people need to change their ways...
15b. Shouldn't the female members of that Airport Board take action against this type of harassment? Don't they have rights?
6. New feature from Citizen Gadfly. Stock Market Bottom Fishing. 
Look for these two companies to make a move upward in the future: CML (exercise equipment at about 3) and XCL (oil at about 1/4). Sure...
17. The Reno City Attorney found the City Charter. She has decided that it says Council Members cannot have any interest, directly or indirectly,... with the city. What does that do to the hundreds of past decisions by Members - that might have violated this vital part of the Charter?
17a. When "dusting off" the City Charter, proper breathing equipment should be worn in keeping with OSHA requirements.
18. The newest member of the South-West Reno City Council said (about her private company): "We haven't had any business with the city for years. It's a strange thing." Then, right after her appointment, "We came up on the top of the list." Surprise...and early Merry Xmas! A city job order was subsequently canceled though...
19. Did you know that Reno City Hall has a better electrical power-backup system than Fallon Naval Air Station? On 2 July a West Coast power failure shut down numerous facilities. But not City Hall. On the other hand, according to the Reno Airport officials, Fallon NAS had a base-wide power failure on 15 June that effected all ATC radios, radar, and other services. That is the excuse given for why those 18 fighter jets were parked by the Reno municipal golf course one weekend... Amazing!
19b. The Reno Airport also reported that the CO of those planes called all nearby military bases for landing and services. And guess what?!? Those military bases denied his request... More amazing!! So they came to Reno...
19c. If Fallon NAS can really lose its power so easily (with no backup system), does that mean the Reno Airport has now really become Reno Naval Air Station? To be used as the standard emergency alternate for Fallon NAS? This is just another important issue that our SWRCC is ignoring...
20. Dumb and dumber department. Football's number ONE draft pick, L. Phillips, who was already on probation for girl-friend abuse (battery), was caught driving with twice the legal alcohol in his system - in his brand new gold Mercedes. Can we safely predict problems ahead?
21. Andrew Barbano and Dennis Myers are two of the most interesting reporters in Reno. It is worth the price of a Sunday Sparks Tribune (very cheap at 35 cents) to read Barbano's Gadfly reports. Myers, you can find in the Tribune, the News & Review, and on Electric Nevada on the Internet. But not in the Reno Gazette...
21b. If you haven't checked it out yet, look for Electric Nevada Internet Newspaper: WWW.NEWSNET1.COM What a great job editor, Steve Miller, does with his articles and fun graphics! Most recently he prepared a rundown on all the congressional candidates - with even a hotlink to the "home page" platforms (of those candidates who have one). A home page, that is...
22. Citizen Gadfly welcomes Erik Espe as the new editor of the Reno News & Review. Keep up the good work... Former editor, RV Scheide, has gone to the Sacramento N & R.
23. Rumors have it that the folks at Rewana Farms are trying to coax a Las Vegas developer into building a casino on their property - before the Reno/Casino Airport can swipe it. You can bet that would get the SWRCC's attention...
24. Has anybody noticed that the SWRCC is doing more and more caucusing? By themselves? Without public citizens being invited? What ever did happen to the open-meeting law?
25. The "P-Bodies of Reno" are the best part of the City Council. Without them, the Council would 
be able to please the Fat Cats with every vote. Nobody is perfect, but Pilzner will be sorely missed. It looks like it might be tough going for the remaining two "P"s after his departure...
26. Don't you think that it is very poor judgment to use eminent domain to take property to build a military complex in the middle of a city?
27. Where do all the people find all the time to watch all those movies? And read all those books? How do they fit this stuff between the Internet, World Wide Web, Little League, TV, and... work?
28. Which industries profit the most from the on-going Reno Airport expansion? Shouldn't they pay for a fair share of it? But instead the taxpayer gets stuck with too much of the bill...
29. Why hasn't anybody questioned the fact that the cost of the new Airport baggage area escalated from an estimated $3.5 million to $13 million while it was being built? Your taxes at work... Your Airport Authority at work...
30. Why hasn't governor Miller demanded that the Nevada Air Guard get some firefighting models of their C-130? Two of them should be on alert all summer. If I was governor, I would insist on such protection. What are our taxes paying for anyway?
31. Life and Death... Shouldn't it be the medical profession's job to help you into this world - and out of it; with as little discomfort as possible?
32. Did you ever wonder why pilots get the medals - usually for being in danger maybe 15 to 30 minutes a mission? How many medals do the "grunts" on the ground get for being in danger 24 hours a day?
33. Why don't airliners taking off from the Reno Airport have to reduce power after reaching a safe altitude? This simple act of politeness would greatly reduce the noise impact on thousands of citizens.
34. Did you know that there was a Grand Jury investigation of the Truckee/Tahoe Airport? Isn't it time to have one at the Reno/Casino Airport?
35. You heard it here first. The people of Orange County got together and demanded that airliners
reduce their power once safely airborne - to reduce the noise pollution to the thousands of civilians who live around the airport. Why don't they do that at the Reno airport?
35a. It is a fact that power shouldn't be reduced when the airliner is fully loaded. But the vast majority of flights out of Reno are very short distance flights, and the planes are usually at very light weights and have power to spare. This would also save wear and tear on the engines. A win - win solution for all...
36. Guess who recommended to the SWRCC that it was one of their duties to ask big businesses for donations so that the Soccer league could continue play. This advice was taken, some businesses antied up, and now Soccer league play can continue... That is an example of use of a "Bully Pulpit".
37. And a big Bravo for the casinos (finally, a chance to do that, and it feels good.). They didn't HAVE to donate the Soccer funds - but they did. Reno citizens would love to see more of this type of participation from its casinos...
38. Did you know that Fallon Naval Air Station, one of the largest military air bases in the nation, does not have an Instrument Landing System (ILS)? This makes Reno an automatic alternate base during bad weather. Not good...
39. So a burglar/rapist breaks in your daughter/wife's house and rapes and kills her... Do you get mad at the rapist - or the company that built the door? That is what the families of the victims of the terrorist attack on Pan Am flight 103 did. They blamed the airline (door maker) and the terrorists (rapists) went free. It drove Pan Am out of business. Will the same thing happen to TWA now?
40. Rather than spending your taxes on much-needed Bomb Detection equipment, the FAA is wasting those taxes trying to grab land away from innocent citizens in Rewana Farms...
41. Dennis Myers does a fantastic job writing for the Sparks Tribune. Each Friday he brings readers up-to-date about the skullduggery at the Reno Airport Authority. The Reno Gazette should request permission to print his last 3 months' articles.
41a. The Reno Airport Board is the only group of appointed people that (apparently) has the power to take your land away from you...
42. How long do you think it will take the Airport director to break in the new Chairman of the Airport Board?
43. It is excellent that citizens outside of Rewana Farms are challenging the Airport landgrab. After all, they are the ones who would be left with the blight - after your taxes are wasted...
44. The mayor of the SWRCC was concerned that a slip of the tongue by citizen advocate, Sam Dehné, had him mispronouncing the word that best describes the landgrab. Didn't Jesus say, "Love your enemas?" As in - eminent domain...
45. It has become obvious that there is far too much coziness between the FAA and the airlines... Now it turns out the FAA and Airport Authority even eat at the same money trough. The FAA has no real understanding of what is being done with large sums of money (your taxes) that they are throwing at the Reno Airport...
46. Does anybody think the live River music on Fridays is too loud? Maybe that's why more people don't show up. Your taxes are paying for the shows...
47. Let's get this straight for the last time... Again! The Southwest Quadrant of the Reno/Casino Airport was NEVER "marked" as a military area by citizens at "several public meetings". The "marking" was done unilaterally by the Airport Authority and the Air Guard - without citizen input...
48. Who said Reno has to grow, grow, grow? The number one priority should be orderliness...
49. The Reno News & Review newspaper has one phenomenal set of writers. It would be a challenge to find a paper with better articles anywhere. And it is free!
50. The Neil Road Plan was approved by the city council so that a community center and a police sub-station could be built there. In a bizarre twist, it is being used to build a giant military complex...
When any government agency lies to the public, it should be held accountable.
In the case of the Reno Airport Authority, it seems clear the only way to curb its abuses would be to clean house...fire the management staff.
Misrepresenting truth is a form of lying. One big lie being shoveled on Washoe taxpayers is that the Airport Authority only wants to buy property from Rewana Farms' owners who are "willing sellers." This is total nonsense. Airport creatures have publicly told the world they intend taking all of Rewana Farms for airport expansion... by EMINENT DOMAIN, if necessary. "Sell us your home now, or we'll take it from you later" produces coerced and intimidated sellers, certainly not willing sellers.
Another misrepresentation was revealed at a recent public hearing, during which the airport's honcho, Bob White, announced that a noise monitor had been placed in an appropriate Rewana location to confirm unhealthy noise levels. When pressed for the monitor's exact location, an airport staff person admitted that the monitor had been placed immediately along side of the airport runway!
It would be good for Reno to have a composed mayor... one who is not given to throwing temper tantrums in public.
Jeff Griffin's recent tirade attacking three members of the Reno City Council because they do not share his agenda is an insult to the concept of diversity in a democracy. Indeed, if all members of the council agreed with Griffin on all major issues, there would be no justification for paying anyone other than Griffin to sit at the council table which could be renamed der feuhrer's table.
Only a short time past, Reno's treasury was hit up for a reported "retreat" at Donner Lake... ostensibly to pave the way for more positive relations between council members, leading to better government. Griffin's public assault on his colleagues destroyed any good that might have resulted from the expensive Donner Party.
Taxpayers have every right to ask Griffin why he should not reimburse them for clearly demonstrating that he benefited naught from the taxpayer financed retreat.
Why don't you write some controversial articles about political issues? G. Hassan
Have you thought about buying a Radio Station so you can tell more people the truth? E. Bockscar
We thank the beejeezuz out of you guys for the role your magazine played in getting quieter military jets in Reno. Now, can you keep those weekend jets out of town? They're driving us crazy. The Airport people don't care. D. & F. Meyersoni
Why don't the owners build a hangar at Rewana and lease it to Southwest or Reno Air? W. Sqwerf
JESSI WINCHESTER has by far the best ideas. She is the one you should vote for to represent Nevada in Congress. No ifs, buts, or ands...
Don't vote just because somebody has the most sign blight. An overabundance of sign blight does not qualify a person for Congress. The more sign blight - the more obligations to Fat Cat interests. Do you want that? No!
Doesn't it irritate the hell out of you to see so much sign blight in beautiful Nevada? People who create so much blight in Nevada would likely do the same thing in Congress.
Use your own good common sense. JESSI is a regular citizen -just like you and me. She thinks like a regular person - not some elitist. What is good for her will likely be good for you. And just as importantly, she has proven she is a fighter.
Check out her poignant, powerful and far-reaching answers to 21 pertinent questions on Electric Nevada (with an automatic, just click, hotlink at the end of The Reno Citizen magazine).
If you have a chance to attend one of her campaign rallies and hear her speak, do it. She is a lady who knows what is happening...
JESSI IS A REAL STRAIGHT SHOOTER - like her campaign slogan says.
VOTE FOR JESSI WINCHESTER
In a move that was not unsurprising, J. R. Reynolds, one of Nevada's best radio talk show hosts, was ignominiously fired. He arrived for work on Friday, was given a tiny check, and told good-bye, adios, sayanara, and don't let the door hit you in the rear end.
Why wasn't the firing surprising? The answer is quite obvious... For 3 1/2 years Reynolds was an outspoken political pundit. In a small town like Reno, his honest expression of opinions was bound to catch up with him sooner or later. It is really too bad; because he almost always did an outstanding job of allowing both sides of an issue to be presented.
This firing proves once again, that it is risky business to appear to portray even a semblance of criticism of the establishment. Look at what happened to former councilwoman Jan Dalske...
As most people know, radio talk shows are in business to pique the interest of (as well as hopefully educate) listeners. Without some controversy, there would be no show. Reynolds generally stayed within the bounds of decorum and had a very interesting, sometimes argumentative, and always stimulating show. Ironically, his forthright honesty proved to be his downfall.
But what specifically caused his firing? (We probably will never really know.)
Was it the recent show when he had Citizen Gadfly as a guest and allowed him to expose the attempted Airport landgrab of Rewana Farms?
Another recent issue that stands out like a sore nose was when Reno mayor Jeff Griffin blasted out in a tirade against the "P" Body members of the Reno city council.
Griffin, that apparent pawn of the elitist establishment, was trying to get the "P" Bodies to tow the line and adhere to his their agenda.
Reynolds had the courage to interview the "P" Bodies, and allowed them to tell their story. That might have been the last straw.
Reynolds had insidiously drifted toward speaking on behalf of the people of Reno. Regular citizens had become important...
And when the Fat Cat interests found out, they called in their radio chips and Reynolds was gone like a bad case of liberalism.
Questions beg answers: Why was Reno's number one talk show host fired? (His popularity was proven by the tremendous increase in numbers of commercials.) How can such seemingly unjustified actions be thwarted in the future? And who will become the spokesperson for the ladies and guys down the street?
Can we look for the resurrection of the J. R. Reynolds Show in a different venue? Reno's radio listeners hope so...
Check out last months issue here!
July 1996, Vol.2, Number 7
June 1996, Vol.2, Number 6
May 1996, Vol.2, Number 5