Letter: Nuclear waste’s silver lining

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002 | 8:44 a.m.

When the nuclear waste comes trucking in, that is the ultimate test for politicians to prove how much backbone they have to stop a government out of control.

Newscasts are scaring the daylights out of many by warning about lower property values. The cloud over Yucca Mountain may have a silver lining. Lower values means lower taxes! None of us old fogeys got a $5,000-plus cost-of-living adjustment like our servants on the Hill!

For three generations I paid for bigger schools, larger libraries and lunchboxes changed into cafeterias. Much money was wasted on the dumbing-down of society. Las Vegas is subdivided with gated communities. Roads in between are cut in half by blinking wooden horses and orange-colored cones. Traffic lights are out of sync.

The older part of the city has large pockets occupied by illegal aliens with cars on blocks and oil dripping in the gutter. Yet, they are aided and catered to by elected officials counting future votes.

Meanwhile the police seem unable or unwilling to enforce laws and ordinances already on the books. What gives us the assurance that the mayor of Las Vegas can protect the entire state from trucked-in nuclear pollutants? My advice to Oscar is to stay downtown and direct traffic around City Hall.

Whatever shall be, shall be. It's all cut, dry and in the can. You can take that to the bank.

JAN STORM