Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Editorial: County hits home run, city whiffs

Clark County moved quickly after the Legislature decided last week to transfer $3 million into the Nevada Protection Fund -- but only if matched by local governments. Although the county already contributed $1 million last year, commissioners voted 5-2 on Tuesday to pitch in again with another $1.5 million. Government normally doesn't move that fast but this is not a normal time -- it's an emergency. The money is needed to fight the federal government's plan to bury high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. There is no time to waste, as Congress is expected to vote by mid-summer on a motion to override Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto. No one could have asked more of the county. It realized the need, mobilized its staff, publicly debated the issue and a majority of its commissioners voted in the best interest of the state.

The city of Las Vegas, however, showed none of that leadership at its meeting on Wednesday. Mayor Oscar Goodman is quick to talk tough about Yucca Mountain. He says he will file a racketeering lawsuit against the Department of Energy. He says nuclear waste trucks crossing his border will be met by city marshals and that he will personally arrest the first driver. He calls DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham "a piece of garbage." Dozens of other mayors have gotten earfuls of his rhetoric. But what happened during the City Council meeting Wednesday, during the state's most perilous time of need? Goodman and the City Council decided the issue could wait another two weeks.

Yes, the council pledged to contribute some money over and above the $100,000 it has pledged from its next fiscal-year budget. But that budget doesn't begin until July and the Congress may have voted by then. And how much more money can the state count on? That won't be known for two weeks, yet every minute counts. Las Vegas, with a population of 500,000, is put to shame by the city of Mesquite, 80 miles to its north. With only 15,000 residents, it was one of the first to put up money -- $50,000. Nevadans would be better served if the city of Las Vegas would act as big as it talks.

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