One Man’s View:
By Tim O'Callaghan (contact)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:29 p.m.
The hot days of summer are finally upon us in the relentless Mojave Desert. Even for a native desert rat like myself the 110 degree temperatures can be tough. It seems just a bit hotter since my return from the Pacific Northwest where temperatures are either pleasantly warm or down right cold.
Things are apparently heating up in Washington DC as well with the opening of the Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor and her honor in the hot seat.
It never fails to amaze me how the parties line up for or against the president’s nominee, to the point where their political colors are unmistakable no matter how qualified a nominee may be.
Seriously, don’t you think the small number of Americans that actually follow the confirmation hearings don’t see through the veil of political partisanship? Or are they also stuck on their own political agendas?
The most honest statement made during the opening day of the hearing was from Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, saying to Sotomayor, “Unless you have a complete meltdown, you are going to be confirmed.”
Then Graham followed up with a jab at her “Wise Latina” comment she had used in several speeches. She would say, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion.” And in one speech she added, “than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
Not the wisest choice of words, however, it does ring with truth, and I hardly find it to be racist or sexist. I do find it ironic because, until my generation, white males pretty much controlled this country in every sense of the word. And by the way, if you haven’t noticed, the country is still dominated by white men.
However, things are changing in America, the “Melting Pot” of the world. If America is to continue the path set forth in the Declaration of Independence, we must accept it wouldn’t always be “all men are created equal” but it would evolve to be all people are created equal.
Yes, America is evolving in many ways as people pursue their happiness, struggle to keep their unalienable rights and for many to simply grasp those rights.
From the time I type this column to when you read it and to the end of the Senate Confirmation Hearing for Sonia Sotomayor, plenty can happen. However, I’m betting with Sen. Lindsey Graham to say Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed, because a meltdown is not likely to happen with one as strong, confident and qualified as she is.
Judge Sotomayor and I may not share all the same philosophies or the same life experiences, but I’m confident she will be a needed balance in the pursuit of blind justice for all.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
After 25 years, she still leaves me in the dust
One Man’s View:
By Tim O'Callaghan (contact)
Wed, Jul 1, 2009 (5:48 p.m.)
Newport, ORE. — It was 27 years ago I first laid eyes upon Donna, affectionately know to readers as my bride, at the Las Vegas Sun, where she worked in the dispatch department. I was an ad runner while cutting my teeth in circulation at the Henderson Home News and Boulder City News.
I remember as though it were only yesterday when I walked passed the department with its fish-bowl appearance — in the old Sun building, almost all departments had glass upper walls so most everything was transparent, as it should be.
Anyway, there she stood with a stack of ads to be shuffled between production, the art department and sales. She was wearing a yellow T-shirt and overalls. Her long blonde hair framed her face with her blue eyes, and a devilish smirk stopped me dead in my tracks. However, her feelings were not exactly mutual, and it took a little time to sway her my way.
We had some common interests in motorcycles and dirt bikes, which led to our first date, which was to repair the flat tire on her Yamaha IT 175.
I was not the greatest mechanic but capable enough to fix a flat tire. Yep, it took three of us and only two hours get it done.
In contrast, today I can do it in 20 minutes.
With the tire fixed, we pursued our goal of going out to Boulder City to ride. It had been a while since I had last ridden a bike, but it’s like riding a bicycle — you never really forget, right?
Well, not exactly!
She had located a nice sized jump where she effortlessly launched into the air and landed with ease. After several jumps, she pulled up to me and said, “Here, you try.” I said, “No problem!” Boy was that an overstatement.
I launched, I flew and I landed on the ground, shredding my new 501s and my knees.
To this day, I’m still picking pebbles out of them — my knees that is.
Fortunately, I had a job so I could pay for any need repairs, like the handlebars, clutch handle and rear fender.
Oh, she has a wicked sense of humor. The only way she could get more laughs out of the situation was to continue dating me and ribbing me for the next 27 years.
Within two years, we would be walking down the aisle, but not without a few bumps in the road.
The first was our drive down to Brea, Calif., where we would let her grandma know we were getting married.
It went something like this: “Grandma, Tim and I are going to get married.”
She said, “Oh! You are? What church are you going to get married in?”
I said, “St. Anne’s in Las Vegas.”
She said, “Isn’t that a Catholic church?”
The soon-to-be bride chimed in, “Well, he is Catholic,” and Grandma said, “Oh no! You’re Catholic!!!”
I was stunned and I said to myself, “Yeah and your granddaughter is converting, to boot.”
As I mentioned to myself, my soon-to-be bride would begin the process of her conversion to Catholicism, which would take about a year.
No worries, except that her family was moving away from Las Vegas and she would have to move in with my mom and dad until the completion of her formation and our wedding day.
Talk about complicating matters. We worked in close proximity. Donna worked at the Sun with my dad. I worked at the Henderson and Boulder City papers with my mom. Donna now lived with them, and my dad had a curfew in his house, no matter how old you were.
By the way, we continued to work together most of the last 27 years.
During those years, we have laughed, played, struggled and cried together.
We have raised three beautiful children, each unique in their own way. I suspect you never really stop raising them.
We have celebrated the lives of three grandparents. We mourned the loss of my mom and dad, but together we also celebrated the accomplishments of their wonderful lives together.
To this day, we share the same interests we had when we first met, but it has come with some compromises, such as trading in her beloved motocross bike, respectfully named E.R., due to the stitches my bride received from their first encounter on Christmas Day.
The Bride cared for her bike as though it were a child, cleaning and primping it all the time. However, we agreed after we reached 45 years of age we would shift from two wheels to four on the dirt.
So as promised, she put E.R. out to pasture and converted to riding a quad.
So today, June 30, we celebrated by going salmon fishing off the coast of Oregon to spend treasured time together outdoors, where we have made so many memories.
For the record, we each caught one fish. Mine was the larger by a scale.
I can’t wait to see what the next 25 years will bring us.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
By Tim O'Callaghan (contact)
Wed, Jul 1, 2009 (5:48 p.m.)
Newport, ORE. — It was 27 years ago I first laid eyes upon Donna, affectionately know to readers as my bride, at the Las Vegas Sun, where she worked in the dispatch department. I was an ad runner while cutting my teeth in circulation at the Henderson Home News and Boulder City News.
I remember as though it were only yesterday when I walked passed the department with its fish-bowl appearance — in the old Sun building, almost all departments had glass upper walls so most everything was transparent, as it should be.
Anyway, there she stood with a stack of ads to be shuffled between production, the art department and sales. She was wearing a yellow T-shirt and overalls. Her long blonde hair framed her face with her blue eyes, and a devilish smirk stopped me dead in my tracks. However, her feelings were not exactly mutual, and it took a little time to sway her my way.
We had some common interests in motorcycles and dirt bikes, which led to our first date, which was to repair the flat tire on her Yamaha IT 175.
I was not the greatest mechanic but capable enough to fix a flat tire. Yep, it took three of us and only two hours get it done.
In contrast, today I can do it in 20 minutes.
With the tire fixed, we pursued our goal of going out to Boulder City to ride. It had been a while since I had last ridden a bike, but it’s like riding a bicycle — you never really forget, right?
Well, not exactly!
She had located a nice sized jump where she effortlessly launched into the air and landed with ease. After several jumps, she pulled up to me and said, “Here, you try.” I said, “No problem!” Boy was that an overstatement.
I launched, I flew and I landed on the ground, shredding my new 501s and my knees.
To this day, I’m still picking pebbles out of them — my knees that is.
Fortunately, I had a job so I could pay for any need repairs, like the handlebars, clutch handle and rear fender.
Oh, she has a wicked sense of humor. The only way she could get more laughs out of the situation was to continue dating me and ribbing me for the next 27 years.
Within two years, we would be walking down the aisle, but not without a few bumps in the road.
The first was our drive down to Brea, Calif., where we would let her grandma know we were getting married.
It went something like this: “Grandma, Tim and I are going to get married.”
She said, “Oh! You are? What church are you going to get married in?”
I said, “St. Anne’s in Las Vegas.”
She said, “Isn’t that a Catholic church?”
The soon-to-be bride chimed in, “Well, he is Catholic,” and Grandma said, “Oh no! You’re Catholic!!!”
I was stunned and I said to myself, “Yeah and your granddaughter is converting, to boot.”
As I mentioned to myself, my soon-to-be bride would begin the process of her conversion to Catholicism, which would take about a year.
No worries, except that her family was moving away from Las Vegas and she would have to move in with my mom and dad until the completion of her formation and our wedding day.
Talk about complicating matters. We worked in close proximity. Donna worked at the Sun with my dad. I worked at the Henderson and Boulder City papers with my mom. Donna now lived with them, and my dad had a curfew in his house, no matter how old you were.
By the way, we continued to work together most of the last 27 years.
During those years, we have laughed, played, struggled and cried together.
We have raised three beautiful children, each unique in their own way. I suspect you never really stop raising them.
We have celebrated the lives of three grandparents. We mourned the loss of my mom and dad, but together we also celebrated the accomplishments of their wonderful lives together.
To this day, we share the same interests we had when we first met, but it has come with some compromises, such as trading in her beloved motocross bike, respectfully named E.R., due to the stitches my bride received from their first encounter on Christmas Day.
The Bride cared for her bike as though it were a child, cleaning and primping it all the time. However, we agreed after we reached 45 years of age we would shift from two wheels to four on the dirt.
So as promised, she put E.R. out to pasture and converted to riding a quad.
So today, June 30, we celebrated by going salmon fishing off the coast of Oregon to spend treasured time together outdoors, where we have made so many memories.
For the record, we each caught one fish. Mine was the larger by a scale.
I can’t wait to see what the next 25 years will bring us.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Summer a good time for teens to volunteer
One Man’s View:
By Tim O'Callaghan
Wed, Jun 10, 2009 (2:52 p.m.)
lassvegassun.com
Graduation week signals the hot days of summer are on the horizon in Southern Nevada. This is the time of year when the excitement and glitter of the Las Vegas Strip lures many local teens with nothing better to do than hang out with friends in the tourist corridor.
The hot topic among local parents is the lack of available jobs for high school teens this year. Kids are finding themselves competing for jobs at most fast food and retail businesses with older job seekers. I've noticed the increase of retired folks now back in the job market to supplement sagging or diminished retirement income.
As a parent, I'm concerned about the amount of free time teens have on their hands this summer, leaving them vulnerable to so many negative influences. Many will infiltrate the adult pool party circuit, keeping resort security teams on their toes. This summer we will see an increase of kids going to the Lake Mead Recreational Area to hang out with friends keeping cool in the lake. A number of young people will head to the cool air of Mount Charleston for hiking, picnics and games of Frisbee on the high meadows.
Except for the resort pool parties, the activities are good clean fun until mixed with drugs or alcohol. This is the time of year we tend to see an increase in alcohol-related accidents involving teens.
There are plenty of things for kids to do in Las Vegas, but most of them are on the Strip. There is the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus, rides at the Stratosphere, the roller coaster at New York New York and other spots on the Strip. All of them require money, which for many is lacking due to the economic crisis and not having a summer job.
Again, all of these places are on the Strip, where there are loads of other temptations and trouble to be found by teens.
Even the price of a movie in the theater is getting out of reach for many. Last week, I took my daughter to a movie and was surprised the price had reached $10.50 per ticket. No surprise the movie industry is booming, but what bugs me is the news reports stating many people are heading to the theaters to escape their troubles for a couple of hours. I may have mentioned that in a previous column.
The rub is with so many folks heading to the theaters, why are the prices so high? Sure, it's good ole American capitalism, but it seems to be leaning toward gouging.
After mentioning this to a few acquaintances, I'm finding many are waiting for major hits to come out on video.
Anyway, what I'm alluding to is the fact that many of our teens will have plenty of time to get into mischief of every degree, magnified by the lack of cash flow.
What I'm suggesting is turning some of that time into something useful, such as volunteering at a local nonprofit, animal shelter, hospice, hospital or church organization.
Volunteering has many benefits, such as building confidence and self-worth. Many young people need to develop interpersonal and communication skills needed in today's world. This can happen by volunteering. Keeping a regular schedule will help your teen establish the practice of discipline.
No, it's not going to put any cash in their pocket today, but it will pay off over time with experience gained.
Interested in getting your teen involved or perhaps yourself? A few places to start looking are:
Opportunity Village
839-4756
6300 W. Oakey Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89146
www.opportunityvillage.org
The Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada
1660 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: (702) 892-2321
www.volunteercentersn.org
Las Vegas Catholic Worker
500 W. Van Buren Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89106
(702) 647-0728
www.lvcw.org
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
By Tim O'Callaghan
Wed, Jun 10, 2009 (2:52 p.m.)
lassvegassun.com
Graduation week signals the hot days of summer are on the horizon in Southern Nevada. This is the time of year when the excitement and glitter of the Las Vegas Strip lures many local teens with nothing better to do than hang out with friends in the tourist corridor.
The hot topic among local parents is the lack of available jobs for high school teens this year. Kids are finding themselves competing for jobs at most fast food and retail businesses with older job seekers. I've noticed the increase of retired folks now back in the job market to supplement sagging or diminished retirement income.
As a parent, I'm concerned about the amount of free time teens have on their hands this summer, leaving them vulnerable to so many negative influences. Many will infiltrate the adult pool party circuit, keeping resort security teams on their toes. This summer we will see an increase of kids going to the Lake Mead Recreational Area to hang out with friends keeping cool in the lake. A number of young people will head to the cool air of Mount Charleston for hiking, picnics and games of Frisbee on the high meadows.
Except for the resort pool parties, the activities are good clean fun until mixed with drugs or alcohol. This is the time of year we tend to see an increase in alcohol-related accidents involving teens.
There are plenty of things for kids to do in Las Vegas, but most of them are on the Strip. There is the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus, rides at the Stratosphere, the roller coaster at New York New York and other spots on the Strip. All of them require money, which for many is lacking due to the economic crisis and not having a summer job.
Again, all of these places are on the Strip, where there are loads of other temptations and trouble to be found by teens.
Even the price of a movie in the theater is getting out of reach for many. Last week, I took my daughter to a movie and was surprised the price had reached $10.50 per ticket. No surprise the movie industry is booming, but what bugs me is the news reports stating many people are heading to the theaters to escape their troubles for a couple of hours. I may have mentioned that in a previous column.
The rub is with so many folks heading to the theaters, why are the prices so high? Sure, it's good ole American capitalism, but it seems to be leaning toward gouging.
After mentioning this to a few acquaintances, I'm finding many are waiting for major hits to come out on video.
Anyway, what I'm alluding to is the fact that many of our teens will have plenty of time to get into mischief of every degree, magnified by the lack of cash flow.
What I'm suggesting is turning some of that time into something useful, such as volunteering at a local nonprofit, animal shelter, hospice, hospital or church organization.
Volunteering has many benefits, such as building confidence and self-worth. Many young people need to develop interpersonal and communication skills needed in today's world. This can happen by volunteering. Keeping a regular schedule will help your teen establish the practice of discipline.
No, it's not going to put any cash in their pocket today, but it will pay off over time with experience gained.
Interested in getting your teen involved or perhaps yourself? A few places to start looking are:
Opportunity Village
839-4756
6300 W. Oakey Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89146
www.opportunityvillage.org
The Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada
1660 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: (702) 892-2321
www.volunteercentersn.org
Las Vegas Catholic Worker
500 W. Van Buren Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89106
(702) 647-0728
www.lvcw.org
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Reid getting ready for next big fight of his life
One Man’s View:
Wed, May 27, 2009 (4:15 p.m.)
lassvegassun.com
Like any seasoned fighter, Harry Reid is in for the fight of his life. That's the way it is in square ring of boxing, and it is no different in the political ring. The next fight is always the biggest fight.
Today, Harry is the champion the crowd loves to hate. Like any good fighter, the Senate Majority Leader has a few scars — I'm sure one or two going back to when he first trained as a boxer under the tutelage of my father, former Nevada Gov. Mike O'Callaghan.
Big Mike, the most popular governor to serve the state of Nevada, saw something in the kid from Searchlight that perhaps others didn't see.
He had plenty of opportunity to get to know Harry well as a youth, both at the Henderson Boys Club, where Mike taught Harry boxing, and in the classroom at Basic High School, where he taught U.S. history and civics.
He saw enough in Harry to ask him to run as his lieutenant governor in 1970. He kept up with the incredible demands of Gov. O'Callaghan, who worked all hours of the day and night, especially during legislative sessions.
Harry Reid is training for the next big fight of his life. He may not be running in front of my dad's car on the dusty road between Henderson and Railroad Pass, as he used to as a boxer, but he is running the tough and demanding campaign trail in Nevada.
This campaign trail will be different from any other he has run before. Today he doesn't have a definitive opponent to speak of; yet, he has more challengers from beyond the state lines of Nevada than any candidate here has ever faced.
A likely challenger will emerge from outside the state of Nevada in the form of a carpetbagger. Don't discount any challengers from within the state of Nevada either, because there are plenty of sacrificial lambs roaming the open ranges of the state who would gladly get slaughtered for a chance at the U.S. Senate or 15 minutes of fame to use as a stepping stone in political gain.
The challengers, carpetbaggers and little lambs are busy building rhetorical land mines to scatter along the trail to VOTE 2010, such as convincing voters Harry is unpatriotic, out of touch or bad for Nevada.
The job of majority leader of the Senate is a thankless job for any member of the Senate no matter what party they are from. The leadership has to pull the entire party agenda no matter how liberal or conservative, leading the electorate at home to believe that is what the leader has become. The national spin begins to weigh heavier than 16-ounce gloves in the 12th round of a prize fight.
The reality is the numbers look bad, and the special interest groups are foaming at the mouth, thinking they have Harry up against the ropes before the first bell has rung. They don't give a hoot about Nevada or the people who live, work, are raising a family or have retired here. Their only concerns are their own agendas and how Harry Reid stands in their way.
Nevada is one of the least influential states in the union without seniority in the Congress of the United States. Without Harry Reid, Sen. John Ensign and Rep. Shelley Berkley, we would have little clout on a federal level. Nevada has a growing influence with Rep. Dean Heller, who would be wise to remain focused on his House seat to continue cultivating his growing leadership in Congress. Rep. Dina Titus is perfectly positioned to accelerate in a Democrat-led house.
Party politics has little influence on me, and it shouldn't on you. Rather, the politics on Nevada should be a main concern.
Although I have known Harry my entire life, I'm no Reid apologist. We have not always agreed on every issue, but when it comes to issues concerning Nevada, Harry is a world-class fighter.
When I said this would be a fight like no other, I meant it. Harry is no longer fighting in the square ring but rather the caged octagon with no rules and multiple challengers in all eight corners.
I can't predict the outcome, but I do know for sure Harry Reid will put up "The Good Fight."
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
Bank bailout does little for those who need help most
Bank bailout does little for those who need help most
Tue, May 19, 2009 (11:13 a.m.)
lasvegassun.com
The big bank bailout does nothing for the ones who need it most.
How does that old saying go? “No good deed goes unpunished.” Perhaps more fitting for today’s mortgage crisis it should say, “No good mortgage payment history will get aid.” The more people I talk to about their mortgages, the more clear it becomes that people were confused about the bank bailout. It was never meant to assist Americans having trouble making their mortgage payments. The idea of saving the big banks was more about keeping them solvent and keeping depositors from making a run on the banks. In the minds of many Americans, it was also intended to stimulate the availability of money for banks to make loans.
It appears many banks that received the money from the government by way of John Q. Public — that would be you and I and heck, who knows how many future generations — won’t even talk to debtors until they fall inescapably behind on their mortgage payments.
I’m not surprised by the number of people telling me their balloon payment hasn’t hit or their adjustable rate hasn’t gone up yet, but will be coming in the next year. Most are unable to refinance because they are too far under water to do so. In other words, the debt on their home is greater than its value. As I mentioned in a previous column, many of these questionable mortgages were still being sold in fourth quarter of 2007 and first quarter of 2008.
One couple I know can’t refinance or get a loan, because one has been laid off and the other is expecting to be laid off soon. They are representative of our state’s double-digit unemployment rate — victims of a bad economy with very little hope in the future. This would be a good time to explore services needed in this time of distress and fill the need with a small business.
More needs to be done to help protect homeowners in bad mortgages who make their payments on time but are struggling to do so. There may be hope on the horizon for some through changes in the federal Making Home Affordable program. The idea is to give lenders incentives to modify loans to homeowners who are upside-down or under water. It’s estimated that 21 percent of homes in the United States were upside-down, loan to value, at the end of March this year.
While on the subject, I suggest reading these helpful tips on avoiding foreclosure rescue scams from Making Home Affordable.
• There is never a fee to get assistance or information about Making Home Affordable from your lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor.
• Beware of any person or organization that asks you to pay a fee in exchange for housing counseling services or modification of a delinquent loan. Do not pay — walk away!
• Beware of anyone who says he can “save” your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house. Do not sign over the deed to your property to any organization or individual unless you are working directly with your mortgage company to forgive your debt.
• Never submit your mortgage payments to anyone other than your mortgage company without their approval.
For more information, go to makinghomeaffordable.gov.
Gas prices
On another economic front, have you noticed the price of gas is making its annual summer price hike up the charts? According to the Energy Information Administration, the average price per gallon of regular unleaded has jumped from $2.138 on March 31 to $2.34 on May 18. I have no predictions of how high it might go over the summer, but my guess is it may remain stable, because so many families are staying closer to home this year, keeping overall consumption down.
Reflective curb addresses
Last week I received an orange flier on my garage door soliciting $20 to have a reflective address number painted on the curb in front of my house.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, and just as before I threw it in the garbage. However, many years ago I did pay to have numbers painted on the curb and a couple of years after that, another group came along and painted over it, covering up the black numbers when I said it didn’t need repainting. Didn’t really matter, because we have large numbers on the front of our house, which are required by CC&Rs.
What is different this time around is not only have they painted addresses on the curbs, but they have painted the street names on the corner curbs, too. Personally, I think the painted street names are ugly as can be in the daylight, but at night they are much better than the street signs.
Heck, for $20 you can paint your own and those of all your neighbors, too.
Living through a parent’s worst fear
Wed, May 6, 2009 (9:56 a.m.)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/staff/tim-ocallaghan/
Parents: Have you ever considered what steps to take if your child was ever missing?
Young people: Have you ever considered the immeasurable pain and worry your parents experience when they don’t know where you are?
Two weeks ago, my bride and I were preparing for an overnight trip to Arizona to take care of some business when I received a text from Carli, our son Sean’s girlfriend. It read, “Hey Mr. O, have you heard from Sean today?”
It was curious, because that is what I usually text her when I’m unable to reach our adventurous, 21-year-old college student.
I said to my bride, “This is a strange text message from Carli. Maybe you should call her.” As I was driving, Donna was calling to find out what’s up.
When she answered the phone, Carli said she was concerned because Sean and his buddy had not returned from a fishing trip to Squaw Creek near Lake Tahoe early that morning. She had expected him around 3 a.m.
Normally, I would have suggested everyone keep calm and give it some time. However, there was a severe storm with high winds and snow the night before. I have been stuck in the snow on an occasion or two. It was certainly possible he may have gotten stuck in the snow as well, I thought.
Our trip would have to wait so we headed home.
First, we needed to confirm he wasn’t in his Reno apartment sleeping off a late night of fishing. We enlisted Pearl Miller, our longtime family friend and my father’s executive assistant when he was governor.
She gladly offered to rouse him out of bed — as she had done to me a few times when I was much younger.
About 20 minutes had passed when she called confirming he and his car were not there. She left a note for him or one of his roommates to call us when they found the note on the door.
A gnawing fear
Our level of concern was growing and amplified by Pearl’s concern about the high winds and snow the night before.
The normal rule is to wait 24 hours before calling out the troops, but as my bride looked across the kitchen table at me with a look of anguish that only a mother fearing for the safety of her child can give, I began to fear the worst had happened.
Parental fear is a force that can crush the strongest of men. I have witnessed it a few times growing up in the eyes of my own mother and father. I never really understood it until now. It’s primeval in nature.
Hunting for answers
My first instinct was to catch a flight to Reno and begin a search, but my better senses kicked in, allowing me to get a grip on the situation. We pulled out the laptop after putting together a strategy that included checking with law enforcement agencies in the area and checking GoogleEarth to get a good idea of what the area looked like.
I called the California Highway Patrol and was referred to the Truckee-area command, where I spoke to a non-emergency dispatcher. He asked me all the details including Sean’s name, date of birth, hair color, weight, Social Security number, car info and license plate number.
Amazingly, the bride had pulled all the details together from her trusty filing cabinet ready to give to whoever needed it.
Lesson one: Parents, keep an updated list of information on your kids, including car license plates.
The very helpful dispatcher said, “You realize he is 21. This is common with kids his age.”
I answered, “Yes, I do, but, there are circumstances here.”
He said, “The good news is we haven’t had any contact with him in the last 24 hours.”
Then I contacted the Placer County Sheriff’s Department with the same results: no contact in the past 24 hours. The helpful female dispatcher asked me for my number, saying she would call me back if she heard anything new.I kept wondering: Why would he head up to that area in the wind and snow to go fishing? What possessed him to do something so foolish?
The worst-case scenario was setting in my heart when the phone rang. It was Carli’s mom, Suzy Portz, asking if there was anything she could do. I was choked up and told her I didn’t think so. She suggested we call Sean’s cell company to see if it could trace or get a location on his phone. She offered to do it for us.
In the meantime I was googling the heck out of “Squaw Creek” when I read the link “Squaw Creek Reservoir, Washoe County, Nevada.” Not a minute later, Carli called with the same information.
Lesson two: Kids, always tell someone where you’re going. Write it down, be exact and tell them when you will be back.
While we were concentrating on the California side of the high Sierra Nevada Mountains, Sean and his fishing buddy were most likely in a remote area near the Black Rock Desert in Washoe County, Nevada.
Carli’s mom, Suzy, got in touch with a relative in Reno who has contacts in law enforcement in Washoe County to see if they could assist or if they had contact with the boys in the past 24 hours.
About two hours after we contacted the Placer County Sheriff’s office, a deputy called to say he had thoroughly searched the area of Squaw Creek, near Truckee, Calif., with no sign of the vehicle or the boys. He was sure they weren’t in his jurisdiction. I confirmed with him that we were now searching Washoe County.
Good news
After about four hours of worry, a Washoe County deputy sheriff from Gerlach called to tell us he had found the boys at Squaw Creek Reservoir in Washoe County.
“I thought you should know I located Sean,” he said. “He is a bit of a hero up here today. He pulled a man out of the cold water, probably saving his life.”
He also told me Sean was confused why anyone would be looking for him this early in the day, because he wasn’t due back until 3 p.m.
Remember lesson two?
We went back through our list of people and agencies we had contacted to let them know we had located him.
Even though we were relieved, we were left drained and numb by this experience. Sean called us to get details of all the fuss before he called Carli — I think he was gauging just how much trouble he was in with her.
He gave us the details how he assisted a 72-year-old man who fell into the frigid water after the man capsized his boat reaching for a dropped oar.
Our advice to Sean was to be specific with time of day, because there is a big difference between 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. when someone is expecting your return. Then as far as gauging Carli, he would have to make that call on his own.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular blog at tocomv.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Finding where Nevada gets revenue is a taxing experience
This first published April 21, 2009 in the Henderson Home News website, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication. Here
Have you ever sat down for a moment to examine where the state of Nevada gets its revenue? I have, and it's slim pickings to say the least.
I downloaded a copy of the Nevada Department of Taxation Combined Sales & Use Statistical Report to explore the budget woes.
I've always looked at income to determine how much I can spend in any given budget year. That's what I set out to do with the state budget, but I got sidetracked by the staggering changes in revenue flow.
There are just over 100 taxable sales and use categories that contribute to the states revenue stream, which doesn't seem like a lot. Some are small contributors and other are enormous. However, I'm sure other categories could be added.
The first two categories on the taxable list may surprise those of you who have not ventured far enough north of North Las Vegas to discover that ranching and farming do exist in Nevada. Those of you living within a breeze of R.C. Farms, the pig farm, are very familiar with the fact we have categories, 111 Crop Production, and especially 112 Animal Production.
What is interesting is crop production was up 15 percent for the first half of fiscal year 2008-09, producing $7.3 million in revenue. According to the state of Nevada Department of Taxation 2008-2009 Personal Property Manual, taxable property "Includes machinery and equipment such as tractors, combines, hay balers, forage harvesters, unlicensed farm vehicles including utility trailers, wagons and utensils used to grow crops mainly for food and fiber. The subsection comprises establishments, such as farms, orchards, groves, greenhouses, and nurseries, primarily engaged in growing crops, plants, vines, or trees (including Christmas trees) and their seeds."
Peri & Sons Farms in Yerington is one of the best producers of onions in the U.S. It produces over 3,000 acres of sweet, yellow, red and white onions every year. Last year while we were visiting family there, I noticed the Peri's were also growing baby greens, too.
In the same period, tax revenue from Animal Production fell 2 percent but is still producing $1.2 million in revenue.
With that said, I'm not surprised revenue from crop production is up and animal production is still relatively stable. It is an indication of how hard Nevada ranchers and farmers must work to earn a living for their families. Farms, ranches and equipment, which are all part of the tax equation, are expensive to buy, operate and maintain.
Then there's Category 722, Food Service and Drinking Places. What I find interesting about this is not the 10 percent decline in revenue statewide, rather, the changes in various counties. For instance, there is loud clamoring from Clark County bars and grills that the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act has, well, cleaned them out. People are not coming in anymore because they can't smoke, drink, eat and gamble at the same time.
I actually bought in to this idea until I started looking at the county-by-county numbers. While Clark and Washoe have bar-breaking declines of 10 and 12.5 percent respectively, many of Nevada's smaller counties had upswings in sales tax revenue. For example, Carson City had a 7 percent gain, on the low end, while Eureka had an amazing 30 percent gain in revenues on the high end.
Although, I can't say for sure, it's likely that the rural county increases can be attributed to the continued boom in mining.
Food Service and Drinking Places provided the highest sales and use tax revenue stream for state coffers at $3.6 billion in the first half of 2007-08 and are down to $3.2 billion for the first half of this fiscal year. If this trend continues, it will lead to more than half a billion of the $2.8 billion budget shortfall facing Nevada. With that said, I'm not convinced this shortfall can be laid only on the back of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act. However, I must admit it didn't help either.
From my own observations, I've noticed the folks who dined at high-end establishment have been eating at Chili's and Applebee's and the folks eating at those establishment are now eating more often at fast food places. In other words Nevadans are notching down a bit and eating at home more often than not.
Even though families may be eating out less, it appears they have been going to the movies more often. The movie industry is booming and ticket sales are way up. That doesn't mean theater operators are doing better, because concession sales are way down. News reports have attributed the gain in ticket sales to the people needing to escape the realities of a bad economy, even if it's for a couple of hours.
In my family's experience, we have gone to the movies more often recently, making sure we catch a movie right after dinner. My bride prefers I get the bag of popcorn as opposed to the bucket and bottled water so she can pour in one of those nifty soft drinks in a packet.
More recently we have been hitting the video store and staying home. Last weekend we had a what we call a date night, when all of the kids are out with friends and we have no one to answer to. We went out, had a margarita, a burrito then stopped at the local theater bought a bucket of popcorn and headed home to watch one of the many unopened DVDs we own.
By the way, the bucket of popcorn was $7.50 — and theater owners are wondering why sales are down.
What does this have to do with the state budget crisis? A lot if you consider the drop in tax revenue, the drop in household incomes, the need to raise revenues to pay for, let's say, higher education and the ability of households to pay for that higher education?
The Nevada Legislature needs to raise taxes in order to get out of this mess. The tough question is whose ox is going to get gored?
There is room in the revenue stream to expand some sales and use taxes in small increments without increasing bureaucracy. I wouldn't suggest a tax on services such as hair stylist, barbers and pool sweeper per se, because that would require an entire agency for collection and enforcement.
Nevada's budget crisis is a vicious cycle, which leaves me to ask: How much of your ox are willing to have gored?
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column for the Home News.
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