Knappster: 'Freebie' monorail starting to get expensive

By George Knapp

Most local media outlets have happily regurgitated whatever self-serving propaganda the PR machine of the Las Vegas Monorail has dished out since its inception. Many have bought into the transparent contention that this sleek doohickey is a miraculous freebie, a gift from the transportation gods, a project that isn't costing taxpayers anything, despite the clear and obvious evidence that taxpayers have already subsidized the so-called private undertaking to the tune of millions of dollars. So it was refreshing to see my colleagues at the Review-Journal take exception to some of the latest offerings from the monorail spinmeisters. It's nice to have a little company.

In a brief Saturday editorial, the R-J expressed reservations about the rhetorical cartwheels and other expressions of glee emanating from monorail headquarters in recent days over the latest ridership figures for the futuristic contraption, figures which unfortunately show the monorail is falling far below its own ridership projections, and far below what it needs to break even. As the R-J sees it, such numbers don't really justify the overt optimism being expressed by yarn-spinning monorail officials.

Then the R-J wrote something that struck me as just a bit odd. The paper commented that we "should not be surprised if taxpayers are eventually asked to subsidize the monorail's expansion to downtown or the airport." We shouldn't be surprised indeed, especially since the downtown leg of the monorail has already sucked up millions of public dollars and is anxiously awaiting millions more.

As the R-J itself reported on July 25, the Regional Transportation Commission, a decidedly public entity, "will oversee the taxpayer-backed downtown extension", which will cost an estimated $453 million. As far back as Feb. 5 of this year, the R-J detailed just where all that money will originate. Of the $453 million needed for the second leg, an estimated $178 million will come in the form of federal grants. Contrary to some opinions, federal grants are not free dollars that simply fall like leavs from the branches of a mythical money tree. Those are taxpayer dollars that otherwise might be spent on Nevada's roads and highways.

Admittedly, roads and highways aren't nearly as flashy and futuristic as a monorail, but for those of who need to travel to a place that ISN'T a casino on the east side of the Strip, which are the only locations served by the monorail, roads and highways can come in mighty handy at times, quaint as they are. I suppose it could be argued that Southern Nevada already has more than enough roads and highways and that we don't really need more federal funds for such antiquated transportation venues. So, in that sense, we might as well siphon off our federal transportation dollars for a shiny, newfangled monorail that will pour gamblers into our needy, underserved megaresorts and nowhere else. (Just for the record, the second leg of the monorail accepted its first $22 million in federal tax dollars back in December. Another $20 million slice will be carved out of the federal Highway Trust Fund this year to be designated for this Disney-esque charitable endeavor.)

The R-J also reported in its Feb. 5 article that another $143 million for the monorail's second leg will come in the form of federal loans, loans that will need to be paid back by...oh, who knows, and who cares? What's more, up to $42 million of the second-leg funding could come from good, old-fashioned local sales tax revenues. That's the same sales tax that you and I pay every day.

Is it any wonder that the RTC board has decided to establish a $500 million line of credit so it can buy land for the monorail's second leg? It happened back on July 9. Maybe you saw the story? That $500 million credit line represents the highest debt limit in the history of the RTC. (Remember the fuss over last year's legislative tax increase? The approval of this spending spree, which is two-thirds as large as the controversial tax package, has generated almost no public outcry, even though these are public dollars.) The RTC freely admits it expects to spend $43 million in the coming fiscal year just to support the monorail. That's public money--your money. It's a lot to pay for a supposedly private monorail.

So, the next time the monorail folks or any of their faithful and well-heeled flock tell reporters or any of the rest of us that this whole shebang is free, free, free, that it isn't costing Joe Sixpack a dime, that none of us has anything to worry about when we see its pitiful ridership figures, and that we should all fall on our knees to give thanks for this charitable public service bestowed upon the unwashed masses by our generous, well-connected benefactors at Monorail HQ, please keep some of these widely reported numbers in mind.

Assorted updates

Talk about timing. Our rant in this space last week about the need to control growth in light of the enduring drought was punctuated by an unexpected exclamation point just one day after that issue of the Mercury hit the streets. A new scientific study has found that the drought we are experiencing is NOT the worst in history, not by a long shot. An examination of tree-ring records shows that there have been several droughts of longer duration in the lower Colorado River basin. The current five-year drought is only the longest one in the past century. The tree ring studies demonstrate that previous droughts lasted two or three times as long as this one has. (Just imagine what a 10- or 12-year dry spell would mean to our grow-at-any-cost economy.) More than two years ago, Knappster produced a series of TV reports about the drought, and I had the opportunity to mention the tree ring records to water officials, who reacted with disgust and contempt, as if I had opened my raincoat to expose my shortcomings. Now, those same officials seem to have embraced the tree ring records, perhaps hoping to use those records as a way to reopen the Colorado River pact so Nevada can get more water, thus allowing for more growth. Funny how things work out. ...

Las Vegas Paiutes are anxiously awaiting the decision of a federal appeals panel concerning membership in the tribe. As noted in previous editions of this paper, the former leaders of the tribe engineered a despicable ouster of more than two dozen lifelong tribal members in what appears to many as a raw, greedy power play. The ousted members have won previous court showdowns and are crossing their fingers that they will prevail, once and for all, when the ultimate decision is issued in the coming weeks. ...

Federal agents in Chicago are stepping up their pressure in a wide-ranging investigation of the remaining Mafia hierarchy in the Windy City. The feds are advising Chicago mobsters to start talking or else face the music when expected indictments are handed down in the near future. The FBI has been able to confirm much of the secret testimony provided by former mob bigshots who are now in the witness protection program. That testimony could lead to prosecutions in more than two dozen unsolved mob murders, including the brutal 1986 slaying of Tony Spilotro, the reputed rackets boss of Las Vegas. ...

A suggestion in this space last week that a summit should be held to consider the many problems facing the Mount Charleston area may be closer to reality than we realize. Current and former county commissioners, backed by interested environmentalists and business leaders, are talking to Sen. Harry Reid about organizing just such a summit, perhaps as soon as the end of this year.

Odds and ends

The wildly successful "Cops" TV show may soon make Las Vegas its home away from home. Cops has been to our town many times in the past. Now, law enforcement sources say the show's producers want to create a spinoff series that focuses entirely on the challenges faced by local crimefighters. The pilot has already been shot, sources say, and producers envision a full 13-episode season. Previous Las Vegas episodes are considered among the best programs the series has produced. ... Soft touch animal lover Janie Greenspun has had to take occasional lumps because of her unflagging support of the Lied Animal Shelter, which understandably has its good days and its bad. But no one can ever question where her heart lies, especially now that she is the proud owner of a pesky chicken that previously took up residence in a storage shed at Casa De Knappster after being abandoned by its owners. Janie not only dispatched an able team of chicken wranglers to rescue the elusive bird, but she then happily adopted the wayward fowl and gave it a home in her personal menagerie of once-homeless critters. Somehow, I suspect the chicken's new surroundings are more comfy than the last. ... Local TV newsrooms were aghast last week after they received mailed packages containing alcoholic beverages. The Miller Brewing Co. mailed out boxes containing bottles of beer. Miller wanted the news folks to conduct their own taste tests to see if Miller Light tastes better than rival Bud Light. As everyone knows, TV journalists don't drink. At least one local newsroom assigned a reporter to find out if the delivery of beer through the mail is illegal. Apparently, it isn't. Still, Miller Brewing should know that if it wants solid results from a proposed taste test, it should mail all future packages of beer to those of us in the print media. ... While driving past the Thunderbird Lodge in East Zion, Utah, I noticed a sign that proclaimed the T-Bird to be "The Home of Ho-Made Pies." That must be quite an assembly line, especially for East Zion.