News

Back to down

A summer dip in Nevada home foreclosures is at an end. RealtyTrac reported that notices of default rose 226 percent in August from July. June and July had both shown declines.

Nevada also reclaimed its first-in-the-nation ranking.

Meanwhile, the North Las Vegas City Council put an end to a plan to use condemnation to seize home loans for underwater homes (“Innovative mortgage plan launched,” June 27). The program was approved by the council on June 19 on a 4-1 vote. But after being threatened with lawsuits by bankers, insurers and real estate agents, it was killed on Sept. 11 by a 5-0 vote.

Obituary gets notice

The Marianne Reddick obituary has become a story read around the world.

The Reno Gazette-Journal ran a paid Sept. 10 obituary in which the recently deceased Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick was denounced, allegedly by one or more of her children, as evil and violent. The obituary ran in some copies of the print edition and was posted online but later removed.

On February 15, 1970, the Nevada State Journal—forerunner of the Gazette Journal—reported that Academy Personnel Agency owner Marianne Reddick testified to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission that a local businessperson had chewed out one of her job counselors for sending a black applicant on a job referral. As a result, she said, she followed a practice of printing “whites only” on job referrals to spare African Americans the embarrassment of being rejected at restricted workplaces.

On Sept. 11, Snopes—the online myth-busting site—added the Reddick incident to an already-posted story confirming the existence of a 2008 obituary in which a Dolores Aguilar was similarly denounced by her children. That obit ran in the Vallejo Times Herald. While the unusual language apparently got through unnoticed in the Reno newspaper, the Vallejo newspaper knowingly agreed to run the Aguilar obit after confirming the woman had died.

Reddick’s children have received calls from everywhere, and while there has been considerable humorous treatment of the incident, it has also generated serious discussions of child abuse.

Some readers were critical of the newspaper for not reposting it as an obituary once its authenticity was established. In an essay in the Sunday edition, publisher John Maher did not respond directly to explain why, but said the newspaper is “reviewing its obituary policy.”

Food photos offend

A series of photos have been replaced at the Overlook Restaurant at the University of Nevada, Reno after customer complaints.

It’s hard to know whether the photos were intended as art. At any rate, they generated complaints. They portrayed young people in several poses with food, some of them rather unattractive poses.

One UNR staffer holding a to-go order and gazing at the photos said, “Well, I have only a few minutes each day to get out of the office and bring lunch back, so I don’t have time to go to some other place on campus. If I have to pay these prices, I’d just as soon not have to look at these [photos].”

After initial resistance, the restaurant replaced the photos. That earned managers praise for being responsive to customers. —Dennis Myers

Workers enter the NVEnergy building on Neil  Road. The familiar local company has an alliance  with computer giant Apple on creation of a solar  facility.

Applecart tipping?

Critics claim Apple/NVEnergy partnership will put ratepayers at risk

Critics of an Apple/NVEnergy solar energy project, including at least two labor by unions, say it needs heavy scrutiny

Dennis Myers from state utility regulators because of Apple’s history of secrecy and deception in exchange for financial sweetheart deals paid for by the public. There are plans for Apple to construct an 18 megawatt photovoltaic solar plant in Yerington that will supply power to NVEnergy’s power grid, some of which would be used by Apple in its Reno and Truckee River Canyon facilities. “We believe that we should have more green energy,” said Laborers Union Local 169 business manager Richard “Skip” Daly. “We support Sierra Pacific Power [parent of NVEnergy]. We have no qualms or problems with them. And we don’t have any, really, problems with Apple wanting to build it. We just are concerned about the lack of transparency—gag orders, all secret again. And if we end up with a similar deal through the secrecy and nobody can know what’s going on—that we did with the data center stuff and the $89 million through the governor’s office—that causes us concern.” to read the filings in In June and July 2012, Apple cut the Public service a deal for tax breaks on a data center Commission case on the in exchange for facilities to be built Lyon County solar plant, in Reno and Sparks, a deal which go to http://puc.nv.gov/ Dockets/Dockets/ and search for docket was shrouded in secrecy. Use of code words and deceptive language in 13-07005. Warning: official documents, plus distribution it’s very slow and user of legally required information at unfriendly. the last minute, prevented members of the public and even some public officials who had to vote on the deal from knowing about it until after a consensus had been formed among state and local governments in favor of the project (“Deception,” RN&R, July 5, 2012).

The result was that Apple received the biggest chunk of welfare in state history—$89 million—in exchange for a data center that employs fewer than 50 people in full time jobs. Two hundred other employees are contract workers whose hours and benefits are uncertain. The public never had a chance to be involved.

A filing by NVEnergy with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said the solar plant construction would have no impact on ratepayers. Daly doesn’t think the Public Utilities Commission should take their word for it, given Apple’s history of secrecy.

“Apple’s going to finance it. From what I understand, Apple’s going to cut a deal and get discounted power, which benefits them. Sierra Pacific Power will eventually buy it back from them. And it will be paid for eventually by the ratepayers.”

Plus, Daly said, the plant’s power will count for NV Energy against the amount of alternative energy it is legally required to provide.

Another labor group, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada has petitioned the PUC to intervene in the case.

Apple spokespeople could not be reached for comment, but NVEnergy’s Faye Andersen said there’s a lot of bad information floating around.

“Apple will pay more for their desire to be green when it comes to energy,” she said in an email message. “This is a program that was developed that would allow customers to pursue greener energy outside of what’s mandated by the state’s renewable portfolio standards. Apple wanted to have additional renewable energy for their company’s energy use in Nevada. Apple will pay their full retail rate (no discount) PLUS an additional amount for renewable energy. They are therefore subsidizing the cost of the plant to make sure all other customers are held harmless since renewable energy is more expensive. The structure of the project lowers the cost of the project for all parties and requires that NVE and Apple be involved. Apple takes responsibility for building it and its initial performance. It also allows NVE to operate the facility thereby limiting the impacts of an intermittent resource by optimizing its operation in conjuncture with the Ft. Churchill gas facility.”

The arrangement makes it possible for NVEnergy to acquire the solar plant six years after it is constructed, which raises the question of why the utility isn’t building the plant and leaving Apple out of it.

Would a computer company turn to a power utility to build a computer manufacturing plant?

Daly, who is also a state legislator, said of the power utility, “We wonder why they wouldn’t just build it themselves. … One bill that was down in Carson City—I think it was S.B. 123—allowed them to build more of their own renewable energy.”

The Apple/NVEnergy deal has caused talk among local energy experts. One calls it “inexplicable,” pointing out that NVEnergy has a long history of building its own plants and resisting any other plans.

Since the simplest route to a solar plant is for NVEnergy to build it, bringing Apple aboard must have some effect that benefits someone, Daly suggests. And he suspects there is some financial incentive for the computer giant, which is known for expanding on other people’s money. There is a famous story about the city council in Apple’s corporate hometown, Cupertino, Calif., asking Steve Jobs for free wi-fi, and Jobs threatening to pull out of town and then saying, “Now, if we can get out of paying taxes, I’ll be glad to put up Wi-Fi.” The New York Times once ran an article titled, “How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes.” When Apple came to Nevada, it was arriving in a state with no corporate tax, so it instantly saved California’s 8.84 corporate tax rate—yet it still shook

officials down for the additional $89 million in tax breaks.

According to testimony by Sierra Pacific exec Bobby Hollis before the Public Service Commission, “By partnering with a third party on the project, the company [Sierra Pacific] is able to avoid the normalization impact which would limit the tax credit benefit for its customers under a federal tax requirement. ... By undertaking the [purchase] option in a future year while the solar array is still fairly new, Sierra will be able to take advantage of tax benefits available at that time potentially yielding additional economic benefits.”

Anderson added, “While we have historically built many of our fossil facilities, we typically contract for renewable facilities. Apple is the customer specifically requesting renewable energy, a more costly resource, so it is subsidizing the cost for other customers. Apple has also built several renewable facilities throughout the country for its other data centers. And just as a point of reference, the Valmy plant [a Sierra coal-fired plant built in 1979-1981] from the beginning was and still is a 50-50 partnership between Sierra Pacific and Idaho Power Company.”

Daly still wants to know what’s in it, financially, for Apple. While both corporations emphasize Apple’s environmental commitment, it is not known as a green corporation. Under the subhead “Apple’s Been More Brown Than Green,” Mac WorldNews reported this summer, “Apple has had a spotty record when it comes to being environmentally conscious, however. In 2011, a Greenpeace report listed Apple as being the worst environmental offender in the technology industry.” Incidents in China have led to complaints about Apple’s use of toxic materials.

“The ratepayers are paying for Apple to get discounted power,” Daly said.

But one energy consultant said even if Apple does get discount rates, it does not necessarily hurt ratepayers unless the discount is below cost. And the consultant said that would certainly be examined by the PUC.

Daly wants all questions and implications of the deal explored by the PUC before various players get an economic stake in the project and make it impossible to stop.

“Apple wants to keep it all secret until it’s done and then say, ’Oh, great, here it is—take it or leave it. … Oh, we have the jobs, it’s just wonderful, we have jobs, we have green energy, it’s wonderful that we have green energy.’ Never mind that it may not be the best deal for the ratepayers long term. And that’s the transparency it lacks. … And then it’s all about, ‘You can only have this if you do this.’ … Of course we want the jobs. We need the jobs. It’s great to have the jobs. But how much are we paying for the jobs? We’re paying Apple to take us out on a date.” Ω

SEPTEMBER 21

Finally

Singer Songwriter Showcase

Sept. 19

VERBAL KINT & MY FLAG IS ON FIRE

Mark Sexton Band

Sept. 20 - 21 -Midnight

SPECTACULAR SOUL-FUNK

Tany Jane

Sept. 22 - 25

DUO PLAYING CLASSIC POP & EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN

Soul Night

STAX OF WAX AND DJ DBRUZ

Terrace LOUNGE

PRESENTS

A Spirit Hustler

Sept. 27 - 28 -Midnight

SEXY ENSEMBLE SERVING UP PROHIBITION SWING WITH A MODERN TWIST

Moonshine Muggers

Sept. 29 - Oct. 2

SWINGING, JAZZY, BLUES GUITAR & VOCAL DUO HIGH FIDELITY

It took a while—a long while (years!)—but the spelling on the restrooms sign at the Siena Casino has finally been corrected. For those disappointed at the disappearance of one of the city’s long-running jokes, they can take comfort from a bronze plaque mounted a few yards away from the Siena bathrooms. The plaque, on the Center Street bridge, misspells the name of Nevada suffrage leader Anne Martin.