14 minute read
News
from Nov. 21, 2013
Harm reduction
Television marketer Kevin Trudeau, whose infomercials appear regularly on Reno television stations, has been convicted of criminal contempt for violating the terms of his earlier Federal Trade Commission consent order. In that order, he promised to stop making misleading claims about his books.
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U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman issued an immediate order for Trudeau’s arrest, pointing to his contempt for the law. Prosecutors believe Trudeau has stashed millions in out-of-country accounts.
Earlier in his career, Trudeau sold merchandise on his infomercials, such as diet supplements for which he made unfounded medical claims. After regularly running afoul of the FTC, he put his claims into books and started selling them instead of merchandise in his infomercials (“Return of a huckster,” RN&R, Dec. 9, 2004). That brought him under the protection of the First Amendment and complicated the FTC’s work.
His books are designed to appeal to the conspiracy minded, with titles like The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About.
The jury reached its verdict in an hour after watching three half-hour infomercials that aired on late night TV in 2006 and 2007. Information from his books was also seen by jurors, including a section where he tells readers that if they receive advice from physicians that Trudeau’s information is harmful, “Find another doctor.”
In past years, some Reno television stations pledged to stop running Trudeau’s programming (“Return of a huckster,” RN&R, Dec. 9, 2004), but it keeps showing up. Infomercials usually are cycled by television stations on a rotating basis from sales agencies, and vigilance is required to know when a Trudeau one is going to air.
Legislators attack selves
U.S. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada and two U.S. House members have sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell demanding a list of proposed national monument designations she is considering recommending to President Obama. An accompanying statement to the press complained about Obama administration “plans to designate national monuments on public lands without congressional approval ... to unilaterally designate national monuments.” The problem for the three Republican congressmembers is that their complaint is with the Congress, not the president. Congress itself has empowered the president to designate national monuments unilaterally, and without JEWELL consulting Congress, much less seeking its approval.
Title 16, section 431 of the United States Code reads in part that the “President of the United States is authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest ...”
If the three congressmembers are impatient with Jewell, she apparently feels the same toward them. In a National Press Club speech on Oct. 31, she said, “If Congress doesn’t step up to act to protect some of these important places that have been identified by communities and people throughout the country, then the president will take action. We cannot and will not hold our breath forever.”
U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Steve Daines of Montana, Republicans like Heller, joined him in the statement.
—Dennis Myers
Sparks City Councilmember Julia Ratti applauds a speaker at a fundraising breakfast in Sparks for Volunteers of America.
No rebuilding ahead
Seven years of recession takes a toll on state’s economy
“I expected to do good work when I ran for office and instead we spend our time by dismantling everything.” Dennis Myers Sparks City Councilmember Julia Ratti’s rueful quip reflects the way a lot of elected officials feel. The recession is generally believed by economists to have started at the beginning of 2007, though in Nevada—hard hit by the nation’s highest foreclosure rate—it may have been earlier. Certainly, it has lasted longer in Nevada. And people who wanted to make an enduring contribution have instead had to spend their time coping, at best. Ratti ran for the council in 2008, so her entire tenure has been in hard times.
Sen. Debbie Smith Washoe County
“Well, certainly as a person who’s been involved in the community all my life, and always looking to build solutions to the problems that we’re facing, getting elected right at the time when the economy was crashing—and really, the first two years were spent tearing things down—we had to discontinue a lot of programs, we had to pull apart some things that other people had spent years building” she said. “And that was certainly not something that I relished. I felt it was important, though, that there be someone on the council who really was invested in quality of life and making sure that we were meeting the needs of all neighborhoods and making sure that we weren’t always just focused on the needs of business, but we were focused on all aspects of the community. And so I just did the best I could to be that voice.”
Ratti, a naturally upbeat person who grew up in Sparks, still enjoys the work and is able to keep an optimistic outlook on city affairs. She said that there have been some “small victories along the way,” and she hopes for a more stable economy. And she says that even the hard times have not been without valuable lessons.
“I think it’s a coin with two sides,” she said. “So I think being forced to trim as drastically as we’ve been has made us more nimble, more creative, more efficient as a local government. At the same time, the service levels we’re providing now are inadequate. They are just frankly inadequate. We’re not investing in infrastructure, we’re not doing anything in terms of prevention, we’re not doing the kinds of things that make a city great. So if what our community wants is to just get by, then our service level is adequate. But if we want to have parks that we’re proud of, if we want to have the kind of community services that, when businesses relocate, they’re looking for in the community because this is where their employees want to live, we have some investment that we still need to do.”
Washoe County Sen. Debbie Smith, who chairs the budget committee and did the same in the Assembly before moving to the Senate, knows state finances intimately, and spent years building public services, even before she got into elective politics. Like Ratti, she is concerned about economic development but is unsure when the state will be able to rebuild enough to be competitive in economic development. And she thinks it’s important to come to grips with difficult facts—that the state economy as it once was is gone for good, and that the state’s unstable, unpredictable tax structure is a hindrance to moving on to a new and robust economy.
“It just doesn’t look like that economy will ever be there again,” she said of the state’s reliance on construction as an economic engine. She said she’s been told that in the construction trades, union apprentices have been told they should not get used to the lifestyle.
“We’re not going to go back to the way it was,” she said. “You hear people talking about the new normal a lot, and that’s what we have to focus on.”
But how does the state build a new engine in accordance with that new normal when it is scraping by, unable to compete with other states for business?
“I think if we don’t look at the tax structure, I don’t know how we’re going to get to where we need to be,” she said. “There’s not enough conversation about where we are and where we need to be.”
Watching the wreckage of programs like higher education and mental health, after she spent years in budget committee sessions, is not easy.
“It’s very hard,” she said. “One of the most difficult ones for me has been class size. I was a parent with the PTA when we passed class size reduction and thought it was one of the things we could be proud of over time. We’ve maintained the requirements in grades one and two, and done something for kindergarten, but what we haven’t done is be able to improve the other grades. For me that’s been the hardest thing, that we haven’t been able to improve class sizes. In fact, it has gotten worse above the second grade. It’s very hard to work at something for a very long time and find that our classes are
much bigger. Two steps forward and three steps back and it can be very frustrating.”
She also said the failure to invest in infrastructure means the state will have major costs down the road.
Nor is there a likelihood of much rebuilding of programs any time soon. In previous recessions, there was a sense of recovery and, eventually, of brisk economic growth, which led to repairing damage and making the state able to vie with other states again.
But in Nevada, at least, the effects of this recession linger on and any recovery is happening at an achingly slow pace, which is why the 2013 legislature was a maintenance session. And repeated political claims that the state is in good shape prevents any sense of urgency as other states pull ahead.
For instance, it took Nevada until 2003 to stop ignoring gambling addicts and create a program for them. It was funded by $2 on the taxes on each slot machine. During the recession, those funds have been cut and also raided to help deal with overall shortfalls. (Gov. Jim Gibbons unsuccessfully proposed killing the program altogether.) There were acid jokes at the 2011 Nevada Legislature when, as the lawmakers were cutting the program’s funding in half, an advisory committee at the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services adopted a five year strategic plan to help problem gamblers.
This program helps demonstrate the consequences of these kinds of budget cuts. Gambling addictions cost the state money in criminal justice, prisons, and social service programs, and sap the state’s economy further—the problem that caused the cuts in the first place. Reducing the problem saves money, and cutting funding adds to the state’s costs at a time when it can ill afford it.
Without a sense that recession is behind, the 2015 legislature will another maintenance session, and members of governing bodies all over the state will have more coping to do. And while the legislature is more or less the legal master of its own house, local governments are at the mercy of rules set by the legislature.
Whether any of the programs damaged by recession cuts will come back again is far from clear for the foreseeable future. Ω
Julia Ratti sparks City Councilmember
Chemistry lessons
Holiday Pies
Get your freshly baked Apple or Pumpkin pie two ways: f hl bkdA l P ki i t Earn 400 points on your One Club account or purchase a pie for just $9.99 at the Americana Café or Main Street Deli and Ice Cream Shoppe.
Complete details are available at the One Club.
Must be 21 or older. Subject to NRS 463.362. Management reserves all rights. Circus Circus Hotel and Casino endorses responsible gaming. If you or someone you know has a problem gaming responsibly, please call the 24-hour Problem Gamblers HelpLine at 800.522.4700.
Holiday Dining
The Steakhouse at Circus Th S kh Ci
Thursday, November 28 | Noon - Close The Courtyard Buffet November 28, 29 and 30 Brunch 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Adults $12.99 | Kids 4-11 $7.99 Thanksgiving Menu 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Adults $19.99 | Kids 4-11 $10.99
Please visit www.circusreno.com to see holiday menus.
Locals circulated through silent auction items in the Wells Discovery Museum last week at a fundraiser for the museum. The event, called “Chemistry of the Cocktail,” featured lessons for participants by bartenders from local lounges.
775.329.0711 CIRCUSRENO.COM
It’ s happening in
ACTIVITIES
SCHEELS RUNNING CLUB
Run with expert pacers and enjoy running in a group as we join the Reno Running & Fitness Tuesday night group runs. Tu, 6:30PM through 11/26. Free. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Dr. (775) 331-2700
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE
Stroll through a holiday wonderland while enjoying snacks and great in-store sales. Great for finding that last-minute decoration or a Secret Santa gift. Sa, 11/23, 10am-5PM and Su, 11/24, 10am-5PM. Free. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551
TURKEY TROT
Scheels and the Sparks Parks & Recreation Department invite you to the Scheels Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day! Register at Scheels. Th, 11/28, 8:30am, $25-$60. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Dr. (775) 331-2700
HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR
Original, handmade art by local artisans will be for sale at the fourth annual Indie Reno Holiday Craft Fair! F, 11/29, 5-9PM and Sa, 11/30, 10AM-4PM. Sparks Heritage Museum, 814 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-1144
WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE TACTICS
Designed to build confidence through the knowledge gained by training in such techniques as Jeet Kune Do and Judo. Tu, 7-8:30PM through 12/31, $25 a month. Osk Training, 636 Greenbrae Dr. (775) 343-2526
CONVERSATION CORNER
Washoe County Library presents a series of English language learning sessions. The group will practice speaking English around various scenarios that the average person encounters. W, 4:30-6PM. Free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200
PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC
ERIKA PAUL
Enjoy Louisiana-style food and the soulful, breathtaking jazz sounds of Erika Paul on keyboards and vocals. No cover. Th, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659
THE KARAOKE BAR
Wi-Fi Jukebox. Karaoke starts at 9PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. doors 6PM. Happy hour from 6 to. F-Su through 12/31, No cover. The Karaoke Bar, 2140 Victorian Ave. (775) 313-2772
COLORLESS BLUE
Colorless Blue performs live jazz for your dining pleasure. Su, 1PM through 12/2, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659
JOHN DAWSON
Join the fun in the Casino Cabaret for weekly live entertainment. There is also Country in the Cabaret weekly. Th, 11/14, 7PM, F, 11/15, 8PM and Sa, 11/16, 8PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
BRINGING ON THE FUNK
Rythym and Blues will save your music soul. So get the funk down here and get your groove on! F, 11/15, 9PM. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030
JJ GREY & MOFRO
The New York Times review reads, “Impassioned singing, riff-based Southern rock, cold-blooded swamp funk and sly Memphis soul.” Sa, 11/16, 9PM, $20. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
JEFF KASHIWA
W, 11/20, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
DUO BRASILEIRO
Th, 11/21, 5:30PM, F, 11/22, 6PM and Sa, 11/23, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 3563300
BUDDY EMMER BAND
Th, 11/21, 7PM, F, 11/22, 8PM and Sa, 11/23, 8PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
SCOTT ALLMAN
W, 11/27, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
ROSENDO
Spend a well-deserved evening out and relax in the beautiful atmosphere of the Orozko Lounge. There is no cover charge and parking is free. Th, 11/28, 5:30PM, F, 11/29, 6PM and Sa, 11/30, 6PM. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
FAST LANE
Th, 11/28, 7PM, F, 11/29, 8PM and Sa, 11/30, 8PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
JAZZ MUSICIAN BONEY JAMES
Boney James has sold more than 3 million records and was Billboard’s No. 3 Jazz Artist of the decade in 2009. F, 11/29, 9PM, $45. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
BLACK AND BLUES JAM
Tu, 8:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030
COUNTRY AT THE CABARET
The Casino Cabaret comes alive with the best in country music and dancing for “Country at the Cabaret” featuring DJ Jamie G. W, 7PM and Sa, 9PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave.(775) 356-3300
LIVE JAZZ
Vocal and instrumental jazz from “The Great American Songbook”, performed by First Take featuring Rick (SAX) Metz. Fridays, 6PM through 12/27, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr., Sparks, NV 89441 (775) 657-8659
LADIES 80S WITH DJ LARRY WILLIAMS
Ladies ’ with DJ Larry Williams, every Thursday! Th, 7PM through 10/4, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
COLORLESS BLUE
Colorless Blue performs live jazz for your dining pleasure. Su, 1PM through 12/2, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659
THis secTion is pRoViDeD as a pUBlic seRVice BY THe Reno neWs & ReVieW anD is noT FUnDeD oR aFFiliaTeD WiTH THe ciTY oF spaRKs
