Dorr: "They Told Me Not To Include Land Costs"

No. 41 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles

KEN DORR SAYS HE WAS TOLD TO LOWBALL ORIGINAL V&T RECONSTRUCTION ESTIMATES

11/27/09 warning may contain satire and/or cynicism, read at your own risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(EASTGATE SIDING, NV)-- Following the strange turn of events to a perfect day summarized in the previous release (#40), I decided to let Project Engineer Ken Dorr know about the uncivil behavior of his underling, Gary "The Strongman" Luce. That story was already covered in #40.

Once we returned to the Dump Road station, I asked Ken if I could speak to him for just 30 seconds. He and I stepped off the locomotive and I said something like this: "Look, Ken, I know some of you Commission people dislike me, and some of you hate me, but there was no excuse for what Gary just did." I told him about Gary blocking my video shot and hitting my camera.

Ken was having none of it and quickly switched subjects. To summarize, he proceeded to tell me that I had better things to do with my time than criticize the Commission. His top suggestion was that I should raise money for the Commission.

I will ramble on about this further down in this post, but let me get right to the most interesting point. Ken and I began debating the continually unrealistic and low budget estimates for the Virginia and Truckee Railway Reconstruction project long-bungled by the Nevada Commmission for the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway. He brought up the original estimate of $20 million, which has now soared to over $70 million. You can see a rough timeline of these estimates and supporting docs at virginiaandtruckeerailway.com.

When Ken mentioned the $20 million estimate, I pointed out that this estimate was really $10 million. I mentioned that at the time in 1995 then-and-now Commissioner Ron Allen had said that half ($10 million of the $20 million) was for equipment, and the other half was for construction. Ken shrugged that off, saying no one now knows what Ron Allen said back then. I pointed out that it was entered in the record by the Nevada Legislature.

THEY TOLD ME THE LAND WAS FREE!!!

Let me say quickly that at this point Ken was mad at me. People will often lower their guard when they're mad and say what's really on their mind. You know how when a girlfriend gets mad at you and says something mean, then later says, "I didn't mean it?" You can be sure she meant it, and you can be sure Ken Dorr was being honest.

In that unguarded moment, Ken became defensive and said that when he made the $20 million estimate, he was told not to include land costs. He listed a number of assumptions that turned out to be wrong, including the assumption that the land for the entire project would be donated!!!

I asked him, "who told you to do that?" Ken replied that he didn't remember. I asked if it was then-Commissioner and Chairman Greg Smith, and he said "maybe."

As covered more thoroughly in post #39 and the excerpt below ...

Reconstruction -- Then and Now, A Story of Unmet Expectations

many statements made to the Nevada Legislature at the start of the project turned out to be false or were later ignored. My favorite is the claim that no money will be spent until all the money is raised. Another one is the claim that $7 million would come from a professional fund-raiser, and $10 million would come from a phantom private foundation that never materialized.

Beyond that, Ken and I spent nearly 20 minutes where he would tell me to join the Rotary, start a club to raise money for his project, and quit being negative by criticizing the Commission.

I would counter that government criticism and watchdogging is a necessary function of a free republic, and that if all the "negative" criticism of government went away, government would likely be more out of control that it already it.

So when someone criticizes you, do it using the Dorr Method, saying, "they made me do it!"

EXCERPT FROM LINKED NEVADA LEGISLATIVE HEARING TESTIMONY:

Mr. Allard asked if it was intended to delay construction until
the entire $20 million was raised.  Mr. Smith responded
affirmatively and added that none of the money 
will be spent until the entire amount necessary
to finish the project is raised.

Mr. Close asked what the assets of the V & T would total
once the project is completed.  Mr. Smith responded the railroad
cars would each cost from $250,000 to $300,000.  The engines
could cost from $750,000 to nearly $1 million.  Ron Allen,
President of the Virginia and Truckee Historic
Railroad Society, estimated the physical assets
would be at least half of the total project price. 
He noted the estimate would have to include right-of-way,
physical assets and the goodwill of an ongoing business.

If you read this far, take a look at the contradiction in these statements from Dorr and Allen. Dorr says he was told not to include right-of-way (land) costs. Allen says these costs must be included in the estimates. Too bad Dorr won that one or we would have had an honest budget from the start.

History is Made on the V&T Despite Strongarm Tactics

No. 40 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles

A RUN-IN WITH THE POWERS THAT BE: GARY "THE SHERIFF" LUCE, GEOLOGIST

11/27/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (warning, contains satire and/or cynicism, read at your own risk)

(EUREKA MILL, NV) -- Today's historic first passenger run on the first part of Phase 3 of Nevada's Virginia and Truckee Railway Reconstruction Project was marred only by some amazing antics by Gary "Vinnie" Luce, Project Geologist and forceful frontman.

PERFECT DAY ENDS WITH A THUD

Jim Lohse, a well known critic of the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway, was aboard the first passenger train to run past Eastgate Siding onto the new tracks heading to Eureka in the Carson River Canyon.

Lohse is producing The Unauthorized Biography of the Virginia and Truckee Railways. He relates a bizarre incident that marred the end of an otherwise perfect day. For the last two years has shot video of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad as well as the government run reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway.

"I got to Virginia City at 6am and the whole day I got these fantastic shots, stuff that was really icing on the cake of my video collection."

Relating a sudden turn of events, Lohse claims that his last day of shooting before heading into production ended with a thud. Lohse says that project geologist Gary "The Snapper" Luce didn't like him taking video of the train and hit his camera after blocking his shot and intimidating him.

OPPORTUNITY FOR HISTORIC RIDE

"I was already on the train all day, and I planned to go home at 1pm," Lohse recounted. "I found out that at the end of the day the train would run down the new tracks, marking a historic moment." Lohse says he boarded the train at Eastgate Siding and rode with Project Engineer Ken Dorr in the cab of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad's #29. Although Lohse has been a fierce critic of what he sees as "bad governance and straight-up dishonesty" by the government commission, he was surprised that Ken Dorr did not object to his presence in the cab.

"It was really a nice end to the day, here I am in the cab with a person I have accused of a crime and he is high-minded enough to be civil to me. I always felt Ken was one of the good people who can endure political battles and still meet for a beer at the end of the day. Some people take criticism much more personally. We were being friendly and Ken was even explaining highlights of the trip as we went along. I was thankful and told him so."

UNAUTHORIZED VIDEO TAKES LUCE BY SURPRISE

It had just started drizzling a cold rain. The experience took an abrupt u-turn when Lohse got off the locomotive to film the train's movements at the end of the track, at Eureka Siding, near the historic location of the Eureka Mill. Lohse recalls the strange turn of events: "I was making video of Ken Dorr operating the switches. Then I moved up the tracks past the passenger cars to get another angle. Despite Ken's implicit permission for my activities, I was filming when suddenly someone walked in front of my camera and blocked my shot."

Lohse claims that it was Gary "The Hand" Luce. Luce was mad because he recently discovered video posted on YouTube showing video made aboard a ballast train in 2008. Gary was confronting Lohse about this, while Lohse says he demurred. "He had me on a technicality, I posted it, I know the video was a surprise to him, but he was assuming I was the person who filmed it. I wasn't supposed to be on those trains, it was against the construction site rules. For the sake of argument, if I was on that train, it must have been with permission of the engineer, right?"

MAYBE THE WEATHER HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT

Lohse says he assured Luce that no one in charge knew of the effort to capture video on the construction train. "All of a sudden, here we are in a dark river canyon known for criminal activity, and I've got this low-level project employee confronting me about something I posted on YouTube. He knows he's blocking my shot, he accuses me of trespassing, he said some other threatening things."

Things turned worse when Gary "The Hammer Luce" became physical. "Here this thug is simply abusing me verbally, that's OK, I can take that. Then, without warning, he reaches up and hit my camera! It's a good thing I wasn't looking through the viewfinder or I would have got a black eye!"

Lohse says he picked up the camera, walked away and continued filming unmolEsted. Gary "The Body" Luce made no further contact with Lohse, and Lohse reboarded the locomotive for the trip back to the Carson City station.

You might think it would end there, but it didn't. At the end of the trip, Lohse advised Project Engineer Ken Dorr of the incident. Lohse was surprised when Ken engaged in a long argument about wide-ranging subject. "It was quite a shock -- often it's not until people get mad that they really start to tell the truth. Ken let a couple historical facts slip that he never would have told me, except in anger."

TO BE CONTINUED IN POST #41, "THEY TOLD ME TO IGNORE LAND COSTS IN MY ESTIMATES, WE THOUGHT LAND WAS FREE"

Reconstruction -- Then and Now, A Story of Unmet Expectations

No. 39 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles

VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RECONSTRUCTION COSTS/PLANS -- THEN AND NOW

Let's compare claims made in 1995 to today's reality. Way back in 1995 there was a hearing in the Nevada Legislature. A groups of local politicians from Carson City were asking the state to provide a loan of $5 million to help reconstruct the Virginia and Truckee Railway from Carson City to Gold Hill. They also planned to buy out the existing private Virginia and Truckee Railroad, owned by the Gray family. The Gray's have now run their operation without government funding for over 30 years.

Let's take a look at what claims were made back in 1995 vs. today's reality:


SUMMARY OF CLAIMS MADE IN 1995

-- Total costs, soup to nuts, will be $20 million
-- $10 million of this is for equipment
-- Contradictory claim also made that operator provides equipment
-- The railroad's revenues will pay for the project in the long run
-- The V&T Reconstruction project is similar to Colorado's Durango & Silverton RR.
-- Private fund-raiser says he can raise $7 million
-- Private foundation ready to donate up to $10 million
-- State loan would be repaid at $1 per ride, based on $15 ticket price


INITIAL CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATES WERE $10 MILLION

1995 Claim: Total costs would be $20 million. Long-time commissioner Ron Allen said half those costs would be cars and locomotives, making the initial construction estimates $10 million:

Mr. Smith responded the railroad cars would each
cost from $250,000 to $300,000.  The engines
could cost from $750,000 to nearly $1 million.
Ron Allen, President of the Virginia and Truckee
Historic Railroad Society, estimated the physical
assets would be at least half of the total project
price.  He noted the estimate would have to
include right-of-way, physical assets and the goodwill of
an ongoing business.

This was apparently contradicted earlier in the hearing with this statement:

Chairman Marvel asked if the Commission had already
purchased the necessary rolling stock.  Mr. Dini
responded the operation of the V & T would be leased
to private enterprise.

Now, in this Nevada Appeal article, the estimate is over $70 just for construction. They have already raised and spent $40 million, and say $30 million more is needed.

In addition, different camps among the V&T Reconstruction Commissioners differ on who should own the rolling stock. Mayor Marv and Bob Hadfield, long involved in this project, had often claimed that Sierra Railroad would be the operator (covered in another section) and that Sierra would bring $3 million of assets to the project. At the same time, the Ron Allen-John Tyson camp has long lobbied for the Commission to purchase their own trainset. So far the Commission has spent over $500,000 on equipment. Some of this equipment has been abandoned before it's even used.

THE RAILROAD WILL ULTIMATELY SUPPORT ITSELF

In 1995, Greg Smith, Chairman of the Tri-county Railroad Commission, said:

the railroad could break even the first year of operation
and would make money by the second or third year of operation

This is funny, for years (right up through the 2006 Sierra Railroad "business plan") the public line was that the railroad would either "support itself" or "pay for itself."

The idea that revenues would pay for construction has long been abandoned, but now even the idea that revenue would support operations has been abandoned. See the Nevada Appeal article from November 2 and my previous blog post detailing Chairman Millard's claim that "running that train ... will never be profitable."

THE V&T IS COMPARABLE TO THE DURANGO & SILVERTON

Back in 1995 the claim was made that:

The Durango & Silverton Railroad in Colorado is comparable
to the Virginia and Truckee.

Now, this claim is still often made. In this case the message has not changed -- it's just been wrong all along. The Durango and Silverton is quite different from Virginia and Truckee Reconstruction in many ways, including:

-- The D&S right of way was never lost, and did not need to be repurchased
-- The Colorado Rockies are much greener and more beautiful than the proposed V&T route, which includes wrecking yards, a race track, industrial buildings and brothels in Mound House, and the existing and abandoned mining/milling areas of American flat.
-- The Durango and Silverton is over 40 miles one-way and follows a forested river route
-- Silverton is much more cohesive as a tourist destination

A PRIVATE FUND-RAISER WILL RAISE UP TO 70% OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS

In the 1995 hearing Chairman Greg Smith claimed:

Carl Dubois, a nationally recognized fundraiser,
has estimated that approximately $7 million could
be raised through the private sector.

Now, it is clear that this never happened. It's common for Commissioners to claim that private funds can no longer be used because federal funds are involved. This claim has always been invalid, because in 1995 the plan was to use $2 million of federal ISTEA funds.

A PRIVATE FOUNDATION WILL PAY UP TO 100% ($10 MILLION) OF COSTS

In 1995, Chairman Smith tesitifed:

Mr. Smith indicated a private foundation has
expressed the intention to provide up to $10 million

Now, it's not even clear who this foundation was. Although the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation is currently the recipient of more Commission funds than they have donated back, it seems in 1995 the "private foundation" was Ron Allen's secret society, the Virginia and Truckee Historic Railroad Society. This group has never donated a dime to the project, let along $10 million.

In progress, more to come.

Recovery.gov -- Counting Obama stimulus jobs with ABC News

No. 38 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles NOVEMBER UPDATE ON THE VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY PROJECT

ABC News runs story on stimulus spending in places that don't exist

or....

What does .72 of a person look like?

See the ABC News video about bogus reports by the federal government of where stimulus money was spent. This is interesting, but only slightly relevant. I just bring it up to show that recovery.gov does not always present their data and facts in an honest, straightforward way.

I will leave it to people smarter than me to address the big questions. For months the stimulus grant to the Virginia and Truckee Reconstruction project was nowhere to be found on recovery.gov. It finally showed up, and what do you know? 10.72 jobs were "saved or created." Now, I am also an economist, and the idea of a "saved job" is really a joke because it can't be measured. Leaving that aside...

This post is about the claim that 10.72 jobs were created on the Virginia and Truckee Reconstruction project in Phase 3A. You know they aren't reporting straightfoward nubmers. If they really created lasting full time jobs, the number would be an integer!

First a little background is in order.

Phase 3A of the project run by the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway is the stretch of track from the end of Highland Road down into the canyon a couple miles.

For a complete project map see this link on renorailfans.com, and here's a more specific map of the area where the stimulus dollars are being spent. On this map (look at where Phase 2C ends) it's the Phase 3 tracks heading south (to the left on the second map) that go into the canyon which were funded by stimulus dollars.

Now, go to recovery.gov. As of November 16, 2009, there is a section in the middle of the page that says: DATA, DATA AND MORE DATA! Take a deep breath, realize you are entering a propaganda zone, and look below the headings that say BY RECIPIENT and BY REGION.

Click on Grants, for Agency choose Department of Transporation, and of course choose Nevada for state. You will get a map. Click on one of the dots east of Carson City and you get a pop-up window with data about the $2,033,899 the project got from the Feds. When you click on View All Data, you see the (inaccurate) project description saying: "V&T Railroad from Eureka Mill to West Side of Frehner Pit."

Let's look at some facts:

1) $2,033,899 divided by 10.72 means we the taxpayers spent about $180,000 to create "jobs."

2) The project only lasted a few months, in the real world we call that temp work, not a career.

3) The rail subcontractor, H&H Trackbuilders, uses mostly California based employees when spend the bulk of their pay in California on rent, family, etc.

4) Since I personally know these guys, I know for a fact that they send some money back to Mexico. I don't have a problem with that, just realize that your stimulus money was awarded to create 10+ temp positions in Nevada so the money could flow out of state and out of the country.

5) Of course these guys didn't get paid $180K for a couple months work, realize that when "stimulus" money is spent on job creation, the lion's share of the money pays for materials and equipment needed to build infrastructure. The worker gets the short end of the stick. This is NOT FDR having people dig holes and fill them in just to make work.

6) The section of track from Eastgate Siding (aka Dump Road) north over Highway 50 up to the west side of Frehner Pit (aka Road and Highway Builders) was part of Phase 2C and was not paid for by this grant. (Road and Highway Builders is another story.)

7) What does that extra .72 of a worker look like?

IT'S RAILWAY, NOT RAILROAD!

Finally, let me point out that the recovery.gov website makes the same mistake that Ty Cobb Sr. made today. They make the same mistake that the Nevada Legislature made. None of this money goes to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad! That's a private company in Virginia City.

The money goes to the people who are trying to steal that name away, the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway. For more history on how they confuse people about the distinction between the private company and the public effort, read the post about the lawsuit pending between the private company and the government entity. It's toward the end of the post.

And if you ever figure out what .72 of a person looks like, please email me at jim@virginiaandtruckeerailway.com.

Even Ty Cobb Sr. is Confused

No. 37 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles NOVEMBER UPDATE ON THE VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY PROJECT

When is a railroad not a railway? When it's in Virginia City, that's when! Ty Cobb Sr. doesn't appear to know the difference.

Today, November 16, 2009, Ty Cobb Sr. was being interviewed by Bill Manders. I'm going to say right here that I don't listen to Manders often, but I happened to turn the radio on to switch to 99.1 and there he was interviewing Cobb.

Now, in the previous half hour Cobb was speaking in favor of building Yucca Mountain, saying that even (so-called) conservatives like Governor Jim Gibbons were against it. He and Manders were staking out a locally unpopular pro-Yucca position, so you'd think you were talking to two real right-wingers, right?


I decided to do one of my rare radio show call-ins. Usually I save my ammo to call a more high-profile host occasionally, like my call the Rush Limbaugh earlier this year. In this case, here's Ty Cobb Sr., former national security advisor to President Ronald Reagan, and he's on the local radio station where I can call him.

Since the V&T Railway Reconstruction folks just admitted their budget would go over $70 million, I wanted to know what he thought.

It was interesting. First, it's very easy to get on KOH, as long as you make your point quickly. If the call screener picks up and you ramble, he'll say no and hang up on you.

So I asked Mr. Cobb a question like this: "I wanted to know what you think of the railroad reconstruction project, not the private company but the government commission, now that they have admitted their budget will go over $70 million."

Manders jumped in and facetiously suggested that we should just all pay our taxes and shut up. Once he was done having his fun, I interjected, "Their initial budget was $10 million."

Ty Cobb senior then surprised me, sort of. I am getting used to conservatives setting aside their principles (they're called Republicans) and gobbling up public money "because if we don't someone else will."

Cobb said the project was near and dear to his heart because HIS FAMILY HAD GIVEN LAND TO THE RAILROAD. I realize it's a simple slip of the tongue, but he gave his land to the GOVERNMENT, NOT THE VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD.

So for anyone reading this, realize that the Virginia and Truckee RAILROAD is a private entity that has never taken a dime of government money. The Virginia and Truckee Railway is the government commission whose budget has grown seven-fold.

It's also funny, you know about the V&T Lives license plates? The Northern Nevada Railway Foundation claims credit for these, and that's a different story. What's relevant is that the money from the license plates goes directly to the Nevada Commission to Reconstruct the Virginia and Truckee Railway.

Now, getting tongue in cheek myself, not only is the government reconstruction project stealing a name from the private Virginia and Truckee Railroad, they are actually stealing the license plate revenue. If you look at the specific license plate law (also copied at the end of this post), it says the revenue goes to the ... you guessed it ... Virginia and Truckee RAILROAD!!! The Gray's have never seen a dime of this money ;>)

I guess if the Nevada Revised Statutes and the entire Nevada Legislature is confused about the names, it's OK for Ty Cobb Sr. to be confused.

That's all for now,
Jim

PS THE NEVADA REVISED STATUTES ON THE LICENSE PLATES ARE SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE PRIVATE RAILROAD, at least the way the law is written. We all know where it's supposed to go...

NRS 482.37945 Support of reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of Virginia & Truckee Railroad.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Department, in cooperation with the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation or its successor, shall design, prepare and issue license plates for the support of the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad using any colors that the Department deems appropriate. The design of the license plates must include a depiction of a locomotive of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad and the phrase “The Virginia & Truckee Lives.” The Department shall not design, prepare or issue the license plates unless it receives at least 250 applications for the issuance of those plates.

2. If the Department receives at least 250 applications for the issuance of license plates for the support of the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the Department shall issue those plates for a passenger car or light commercial vehicle upon application by a person who is entitled to license plates pursuant to NRS 482.265 and who otherwise complies with the requirements for registration and licensing pursuant to this chapter. A person may request that personalized prestige license plates issued pursuant to NRS 482.3667 be combined with license plates for the support of the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad if that person pays the fees for the personalized prestige license plates in addition to the fees for the license plates for the support of the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad pursuant to subsections 3 and 4.

3. The fee for license plates for the support of the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is $35, in addition to all other applicable registration and license fees and governmental services taxes. The license plates are renewable upon the payment of $10.

4. In addition to all other applicable registration and license fees and governmental services taxes and the fee prescribed in subsection 3, a person who requests a set of license plates for the support of the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad must pay for the initial issuance of the plates an additional fee of $25 and for each renewal of the plates an additional fee of $20, to be distributed pursuant to subsection 5.

5. The Department shall transmit the fees collected pursuant to subsection 4 to the treasurer with whom the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V & T Railway of Carson City and Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties has entered into an agreement as required by subsection 2 of section 8 of chapter 566, Statutes of Nevada 1993, for deposit in the fund created pursuant to that section. The fees transmitted pursuant to this subsection must be used only for the reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.

6. If, during a registration year, the holder of license plates issued pursuant to the provisions of this section disposes of the vehicle to which the plates are affixed, the holder shall:

(a) Retain the plates and affix them to another vehicle that meets the requirements of this section if the holder pays the fee for the transfer of the registration and any registration fee or governmental services tax due pursuant to NRS 482.399; or

(b) Within 30 days after removing the plates from the vehicle, return them to the Department.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 583; A 2003, 6, 499)

November Update on Virginia Truckee Railway Project

No. 36 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles

NOVEMBER UPDATE ON THE VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY PROJECT

Here's a letter to the editor I just submitted.

(ADDED LATER: They printed it on November 7, 2009. See the full post for a link by clicking Read More)

Otherwise I have not been paying a lot of attention. The Commission has really dug their heels in by ignoring public records requests, some up to eleven months. The CCCVB still has not disclosed the costs of the August 14 VIP party, rumored to have gone significantly over budget. Brandeis said sunlight is the best disinfectant, but the V&T Railway powers that be are hiding in the shadows.

The letter was prompted by an article posted twice on the NevadaAppeal.com website, leading to two different sets of comments.

Later article on November 4:
V&T commissioner floats idea of raising room tax in Carson City

Earlier article on November 2:
V&T Commission: We need sustainable income

You know the feature on the cartoon pages where they show you two cartoons and say, "find the difference?" You could play that game with the two articles above. Couple this double posting of the same info with the Computer Vet's comments about the Appeal's RSS feeds and you will see they are having trouble with their website.

Here's the letter:

As printed in the November 7, 2009 edition of the Nevada Appeal

LETTER TO EDITOR

Congratulations to the V&T Railroad, the private company who made this year's runs possible. By working hard and spending smart, Tom Gray is a superstar. He gets most of the credit.

The government commissions involved are more suspect. By spending other peoples money, they've never had a motive to reduce costs and operate efficiently. Despite claims that the high ticket prices were a fundraiser, each full train still lost money. NO money went back to the Commission to help pay for future development.

Now, after a VIP party of unknown cost and a money-losing season, the V&T Commission is going hat in hand to counties they have ignored for years. The enabling law has always required proportional benefit estimates, yet the Commission has never followed that law. They could have forced counties to pay up all along, but instead they wait until governments are truly broke to say, "we need sustainable income."

Meanwhile the gift shop concession, normally a profit center for tourist railroads, is being run by the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation. These lobbyists in fund-raisers clothing have never made a net contribution to the V&T Commission, yet are selling their wares in a gift shop paid for by the V&T Commission.

Now, despite losing a vote last year 61-38, they are patting themselves on the back for a money-losing season. What's the difference between a politician and a drunken sailor? The sailor spends his own money.

Thanks, Carson City, for making this money pit possible! Keep it up!

END OF LETTER