Knappster: Will struggling monorail end up in taxpayers' lap?

By George Knapp

Mercury readers probably weren't surprised in the least when the news broke that the feds will not be forking over millions of dollars to extend the troubled Las Vegas Monorail. After all, we've made a regular feature out of the monorail's ongoing foibles. Just two weeks ago, we commented about the ridiculous exuberance expressed in a monorail press release about ridership figures recorded during the CES convention.

As it turns out, federal transportation officials weren't snowed whatsoever by the goofy announcement. They determined that ridership figures simply do not justify the expenditure of tens of millions of public dollars to build a new leg of the monorail to downtown, a leg that would likely attract an even lower percentage of riders than the current dismal numbers.

This is certainly nothing to gloat about. It would be great to have a high-tech transportation system that really did have a positive impact on traffic and pollution, one that actually carries people to places other than casinos, and one that doesn't disgorge spare parts or break down for weeks at a time. The Las Vegas Monorail isn't such a system. If its well-connected proponents hadn't played so fast and loose with the facts from the beginning, if they had been just a bit more modest in describing what the train could do, and if they had been more forthright in admitting that the public really was picking up part of the tab for the system in the form of unnannounced tax subsidies granted behind closed doors, then maybe the monorail would have more support in its hour of need. I haven't exactly heard a lot of tears being shed.

Maybe it is possible for the monorail to stage a miraculous resurrection. After all, the lengthy shutdowns it experienced last year made it tough to generate a regular, reliable ridership level. If it can somehow stay open for six months or more, and if none of its wheels pops off and bonks a tourist in the head, then maybe it can slowly build its ridership to its projected break-even point. I doubt it, but it's possible. Barring a sudden turnaround, there are some things worth watching in this ongoing drama.

Cynical monorail-watchers have long suspected that the train will one day be dumped onto the public. This supposedly private project morphed into a public-private partnership somewhere along the way. If you ask monorail executives whether there are plans to foist the system onto the public, they will tell you it will only happen if the public "asks" to take over the train. The likelihood that you or I or other voters would ever ask, pretty-please, to assume ownership of the train, with its $650 million in debt, is all but nonexistent. But just as monorail honchos succeeded in getting state and county officials to grant them multimillion-dollar tax breaks--all done in secrecy--they might try to finagle something to get out from under their sleek debacle.

Put it this way: At current ridership levels, the monorail isn't even breaking even. The monorail company admittedly is not taking in enough revenue to make any payments on its bonds. Eventually, the bondholders are going to start putting some pressure on the project. Long before that happens, you can bet there will be quiet backroom overtures that will make it possible for the "public" to assume the debt and take title to the whole shebang. If I'm wrong, so be it. But we should all keep our eyes peeled for this one, because I have a feeling it's already barreling down the tracks in our direction.

Something else likely to happen now that the downtown leg has been canceled: Monorail bosses probably will tell state legislators that there is no need to proceed with plans for a formal public audit of the system's books. After all, there will be no millions of dollars of public money pumped into a downtown leg, so why authorize a costly audit? As monorail spokesmen have told us in recent days, the train will continue to be a vital component of the public transportation system within the resort corridor. If that's the case, I'd say lawmakers would be perfectly justified in finding out about the financial solvency of the system, especially in light of the above speculation about an eventual public takeover.

One other aspect to keep an eye on: Can Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson extricate himself from the monorail mess without too much slime sticking to his skin? Gibson should not be blamed for the troubles that have plagued the monorail. He was brought in to take the helm long after the major decisions about the system had already been made by a cabal of executives who had no previous monorail experience. Their mistakes became his nightmare. The mayor is a capable guy, but not even he could turn this thing around. You'd have to guess that all the negative publicity about the monorail will haunt Gibson, especially if he chooses to run for governor.

If he has any hope of running for higher office, he probably needs to deftly extricate himself from the monorail project sometime soon. Otherwise, the stench will still be sticking to his clothing when he hits the campaign trail.

I hope I'm wrong about the public takeover scenario. Just the same, we should all sleep with one eye open.

Rockin' lawyer

Las Vegas attorney Tony Sgro doesn't exactly have a lot of spare time on his hands these days. Sgro has long been the lead defense attorney for Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo, whose nightclub has been the object of intense law enforcement scrutiny over the past few years. What's more, Sgro is getting married. His wedding to Frances Mae Ryan is slated for late March.

But his real passion, other than the law and his fiancee, is music. Sgro has his own band named Capo Regime, which is a tongue-in-cheek dig at his prosecutorial adversaries. He's just put the finishing touches on an album-length CD called Let It Ride. Sgro wrote all the songs, and on various cuts he plays guitar, drums and keyboards. Vocalist Jamie McGill, who has worked with Barry Manilow and Paul Anka, was talked out of retirement by Sgro and lends her presence to both the album and to live performances by Sgro's seven-piece band.

One of the tracks on the album is a tune that Sgro hopes could become the official theme song for the Las Vegas Centennial celebration. It's an uptempo rock number that mentions all manner of local landmarks, some of which are known only to longtime residents. (Yes, the Crazy Horse gets a plug.)

After watching Sgro in local courtrooms for several years, I have trouble thinking of him as a rock star, but he says he worked his way through law school by playing in a band and that music is in his veins. I don't know what plans he has for the CD, but maybe some local radio station should check it out. It might make for a fun show to hear all the contenders for the Centennial theme song.

Names, faces, places

Locals who care about the fate of wild horses should prepare to speak their minds. A political rally is planned for Feb. 22 at the West Charleston Library. Organizers say they want to draw attention to a sneaky change in federal law that will allow the sale of wild horses to slaughterhouses. Expect to hear the names of Hollywood types, as well as elected officials. The horse lovers are hoping for a big public turnout. More details as they become available. ... I know I promised to examine Gov. Kenny Guinn's plan to cut health benefits for future retirees among state workers in this week's column, but I'm having trouble getting my arms around this issue. Maybe next week. ... Former City Councilman Steve Miller thinks my recent column about the federal investigation of the Crazy Horse missed the point entirely. Miller alleges that the feds had to investigate wrongdoing at the Horse because local officials, including the sheriff's office and the DA's office, have been compromised and have failed to do their duty. If this is the case, as Miller suggests, I'd like to hear the feds say so. Will they make such a pronouncement when the case finally gets to trial or is it possible the local lawmen didn't pursue charges because they didn't think the individual cases warranted prosecution? If federal authorities are going to slam local agencies, that should be some donnybrook. ... Someone from Las Vegas is selling old records from the DA's office on eBay. The 12-page document outlines the county's case against Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who was a major figure inside the mob-tainted Stardust casino back in the late '60s and '70s. The starting bid for the docs is a mere $24.99. ... I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the effort to design a Nevada quarter for the U.S. Mint has whittled down the field to five final design possibilities. Is there a mining scene in there? A bighorn sheep, perhaps? We might find out toward the end of March.