Election

a bill that, actually, Assemblyman [Debbie] Smith sponsored last year, and it’s something that the executive branch is implementing. So when we go into the legislative session in 2013, we are going to take a stronger look at a performance-based budget model that will help us make strategic decisions about where we allocate our resources based on the efficacy of the programs that we’re funding.”

He questions the shift in emphasis from examining programs to examining boards and commissions. He said he was less interested in the structure than in the functions being performed within the structure. And he said he never intended the panel to be used to fool with bodies that have statutory functions or are of such scale that the state clearly needs them.

“I was troubled by, frankly, some of the issues that it was dealing with at the start,” he said. “My vision was not to review the necessity of the Wildlife Commission [laughs]. You know, clearly, the Wildlife Commission is something we need. So I’m concerned that it didn’t really get the job done that I had envisioned when I originally sponsored the bill.”

He said that in the case of the Wildlife Commission, he believes some legislators were using the sunset panel to advance their own policy goals. State wildlife functions have been the focus of a war between groups who oppose the agency’s environmental duties required by law—sometimes federal law—and want a return to its traditional hunting and fishing concerns.

“I think that there were some more political agendas that were being brought to bear … particularly as it related to the Wildlife Commission rather than the purpose of the commission, which was to look at the role and necessity of these boards and commissions.”

He still would like to see a body that does what he originally intended.

“Not necessarily [scrutinizing]

agencies, but the programs that those agencies implement. And more than looking to get rid of government programs, I want to make sure that what we’re doing is working. You know, so many times we look at our programs, and we evaluate whether or not they’re being effective by looking at how many people they bring in through the door, how many people we serve—not necessarily whether or not those people are actually being helped. Are we enrolling a lot of people but not effectively meeting their needs? And those are more the issues that I‘d like a sunset committee to explore. Are we actually effectively serving our constituents?” Ω

“We identified roughly 170 entities that must be reviewed.”

Irene Bustamante Adams Clark County Democrat

Moments to air

At KNPB in Reno, U.S. Senate candidates Dean Heller and Shelley Berkley and moderator Mitch Fox (center) prepped in the moments before their televised debate. Independent American Party candidate David Lory Van DerBeek was not included.

Higher education, lower population

by For many Nevadans, the term “higher education” is exclusively characterized by a university rivalry between the two big campuses. When the general elections conclude on Nov. 6, either Ron Knecht or Michon Mackedon, candidates for the Nevada Board of Regents in District 9, will have to represent higher education for Nevada’s more rural communities distant from the big campuses. The 13-member Nevada Board of Regents sets policies and approves budgets for Nevada’s entire public system of higher education, which includes four community colleges, one state college, two universities and one research institute. The district 9 regent represents the Lake Tahoe area of Carson City, Douglas County, Lyon County, Storey County, and southern Washoe County. “For region nine, I don’t think there’s any question that the number one issue is the funding formula and how it will allow rural community colleges to operate,” said Fallon native Mackedon, a professor emeritus at Western Nevada College. Mackedon—author of the 2010 book Bombast, on nuclear testing in Nevada—said she approves of a new funding formula proposed by the board. According to Chancellor Dan Klaich, the new formula was created to focus on student success rather than student enrollment, allocating funding based on course completions and graduating students rather than by raw enrollment numbers. “This new funding formula proposed by the chancellor, Dan Klaich, is an opportunity to address more than just the funding formula itself, it might be an opportunity to stabilize what we might call the ground floor, or budget A,” she said. Mackedon said the old funding formula created a “climate of instability” among Nevada’s community colleges as they waited for the legislature to approve a budget every two years. The new formula, she said, establishes a fixed base budget for core curriculum—a “ground floor,” she calls it. “You don’t have this juggling of resources every two years,” Mackedon said.

Incumbent Ron Knecht, an economist and former one-term state legislator, sees problems with the new Bethany Deines formula. He was the only regent on a board of 13 to cast a dissenting vote. He said northern community colleges are unfairly disadvantaged by the new formula. “All of us should be statewide regents looking out for the broad public interest, not having parochial interests, not being the regent from UNR or UNLV,” he said. “On the other hand, one of the things I’ve observed is that we’re not doing a very good job with our community colleges, and I’ve become almost the community college regent,” said Knecht. The matrix used to allocate funding dollars is, he said, a disadvantage for northern community colleges such as Western Nevada College and Great Mackedon Basin College by placing greater value on high-brow academia. According to the matrix, a doctoral course in agriculture is assigned a value of 8, while a lower division course in agriculture is only valued at 2. Doctoral and master’s courses, not commonly found in community colleges, are therefore given much higher levels of funding. According to a Sept. 17 article by the Associated Press, the new formula has drastic implications in Northern Nevada, cutting deeply from the budgets of community colleges. Great Basin College in Elko would receive only $9.5 million, compared to the $14 million it received in the previous fiscal year. Truckee Meadows Community College would receive $27.7 million, down from $30.6 million. Western Nevada College would receive $10.5 million, down from $15 million. “If reelected I will continue that fight to make sure that we don’t tell people in our small towns and rural areas that opportunity has passed them by, that they have to go to either Reno or Vegas to get any kind of education,” Knecht said. Knecht proposes the board create distance education programs to aid collegiate learning in rural Nevada. “I think we can preserve the community colleges in the rural and small town campuses by focusing on disKnecht tance ed measures,” Knecht said. “If there’s a particular subject that a state is very strong in, students from Nevada should be able to take that course online.” Ω

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River restored

Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful hosted its annual Truckee River Cleanup Day on Sept. 29 with more than 600 people in attendance. According to a statement from KTMB, volunteers cleared more than 13 tons of garbage from the river.

Volunteers on kayaks and members of the Truckee River Flyfishers also pulled out items such as shopping carts and tires from the river.

“Park staff report, due to an increase in park usage, the amount of litter in area parks has increased,” the statement read. The statement went on to encourage the community to be more aware of litter.

Volunteers cleaned more than 20 miles of the river from Crystal Peak Park in Reno to Lockwood Park in Sparks.

Power’s out

A “Stop Smart Meters” demonstration was held on South Virginia Street last weekend, in conjunction with the National Day of Action to Stop Smart Meters held on Oct. 4, organized by StopSmartMeters.org.

An email sent out from Joannah Schumacher of No Smart Meters NV said, “Stonewalled by the system, concerned individuals take to the street! Concerned individuals are attempting to call to the attention of the general public the grave violation of our constitutionally protected First Amendment and Fourth Amendment Rights (of redress of grievances and to be secure in your home respectively).”

Nevada opposition against smart meters started over a year ago (“Gridlocked,” Jan. 5; “Grid lines,” July 19) after residents in California were concerned about the potential health risks of smart meters, claiming that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the devices was making people sick. But many scientists and numerous studies have ruled out any threat to health, noting that any ailments related to smart meters are psychosomatic. The disclaimer on StopSmartMeters.org states, “This website is intended to help advance knowledge and stimulate further research. While all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the validity of the information given, no warranty is given towards its accuracy. It is not intended to substitute for medical or legal advice nor as a final statement with regard to possible prevention and avoidance recommendations or potential biological effects.”

—Ashley Hennefer

ashleyh@newsreview.com

ECO-EVENT

Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute will host a workshop on the farm on Oct. 13. The event will include a classroom lecture and a site visit to the Lattin Farms Fall Festival, including a trip through the corn maze. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., WNC Fallon campus, 160 Campus Way. $35 if registered by Oct. 5, $45 after Oct. 5. Lunch is included. Seating is limited, and registration is required. Visit http://www.wnc.edu/ce/sci/2012_special_events_workshop.php to register.

Got an eco-event? Contact ashleyh@newsreview.com. Visit www.facebook.com/RNRGreen for more.