Editorial: Howard Cannon: A lifetime of service

Thursday, March 7, 2002 | 8:52 a.m.

Most of us here in the Southern Nevada desert turn on the faucet and take for granted the water gushing forth. We take for granted the capacity of McCarran International Airport and the size and scope of Nellis Air Force Base. We never think twice about getting deals on air fares. We take for granted the strong recourse available if a civil right is violated. There's never been a better time to pause and reflect upon these fixtures of our daily lives. Sen. Howard Cannon, the first Las Vegan elected to the U.S. Senate, helped make them possible. He died Wednesday at age 90.

Cannon, a decorated hero of World War 11, served as a Democratic senator from 1958 to 1982. He secured funding for the pipeline that enabled Nevada to pump its allotment from the Colorado River. He helped build up McCarran. He led the push to deregulate the airline and trucking industries. Resisting pressure, he voted to end a filibuster on the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- 70 votes were needed; the vote was 71-29.

It's a given that had the experienced senator been re-elected in 1982, he would have stopped plans to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. But it's enough to reflect on the good he did accomplish. His place is secure in the history of Nevada and of the country.