Disaster, indeed

Because of the Western drought, Nevada will most likely be designated a disaster area for the second year in a row.

If you want to really want me to get torqued, then just get me thinking about water in Nevada.

"We're in the worst drought on record." That's the message on every billboard and ad placed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Turf all over Las Vegas is either being torn out or left to slowly die - and rightly so, considering the shortage. Lake Mead's level is dropping quickly, and we're begging for more water from the Colorado River (most of which is taken for Southern California).

And then you look to the Strip, where Steve Wynn's "Wynn Las Vegas" and Sheldon Adelson's humongous addition to the Venetian are only blocks away from each other, jockeying for skyline space. We've been told that the casino water features (fountains, canals, spitting cherubs) use reclaimed water. Fine. But explain this: thousands of rooms will be opening soon, and each one of those rooms will have toilets, sinks and showers. Each guest will require clean sheets (this is Vegas, after all), clean towels and clean dishes. Plus, every casino worth a damn needs a small ocean out back for all those sunbathers.

And then you look around the perimeter of this valley, where thousands of new homes, office buildings, and malls are replacing every square inch of available desert.

Considering we're in the worst drought on record, logic would mandate that development be slowed or restricted somehow. But our County Commission is rarely guided by logic. Instead, they're guided by zoning attorneys representing powerful developers and casino owners. An acquaintance of mine (a zoning attorney, and a rather good one) once summed it up nicely: "why be a politician when you can own one?"

This year, again, we're officially disasters. I only hope someday our officials will actually do something about it.