Brian Kunzi of Nevada’s Attorney General’s office and now a candidate for election for District Attorney of Nye County has launched his campaign website. You can find out a lot about Mr. Kunzi on the site. He lays out his platform in some detail. [See Issues]

His outline addresses his view of:

Improving the Processing of Cases. Specifically he seeks to decrease the time for the review of criminal cases. Like any law office, time is money. Reducing the time it takes to review a case submitted for prosecution and deciding whether to file charges or not in the majority of cases should not be delayed unnecessarily. In the majority of cases the determination can be made within an hour or less, whether felony or misdemeanor, from the information contained in the police reports. Some cases require some legal research before deciding or a request to the police agency for some follow-up investigation.

Nor should opinions be delayed any longer than necessary to render an objective, well reasoned opinion.

Crimes by Youth. Many crimes are committed by teenagers and young adults. A lot of those could be prevented by community programs in which kids will take an interest in. Pahrump isn’t well known for having an array of activities for kids. A wise prosecutor can differentiate juvenile crimes requiring full bore prosecution and those that can be handled with some “curbstone justice.” Some cops can make those kinds of distinctions and straighten out a kid summarily. Mr. Kunzi mentions something about a Trial by Peers Program he co-chairs in Clark County. I don’t have a clue what that program is or how it works. Perhaps he will expand on it during the campaign.

Community Service: A community service program whereby offenders can “work off” their punishment through community service is a good thought. That takes some cooperation from the judges and the police agency.

Equal application of the law: Kunzi brings up some instances of unequal application of law with respect to Preferred Equities. That was before my time in Nye County. Nonetheless, laws should be objectively and evenly applied irrespective of whom the defendant might be.

Honesty: Honest transparency in any governmental agency should be the norm. I don’t know the cases cited by Mr. Kunzi, however, the DA represents the people of the state of Nevada in any prosecution. Honesty should be respected.

So far as I know Mr. Kunzi’s website is the only up for any of the candidates for DA. I look forward to the other three candidates’ websites when they go up. It really helps to know what each think and plan to do, if anything, with respect to operation of that important office.

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PAHRUMP NUGGET
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Pahrump, Nevada

For those of you who may not know, Pahrump, a town of almost 40,000 residents is not incorporated. It has no mayor or any of the other attributes of an incorporated city.

There is been periodic talk in this town of incorporating it. The issue is being debated, the pros and the cons of incorporation.

Last night, February 18, a public meeting was held for the public to voice their views and concerns about incorporation of Pahrump. The meeting is being held by the Pahrump Incorporation Advisory Board.

Last night’s meeting has come and gone but there are four more scheduled.

Pahrump residents can submit their questions and concerns about incorporation to Pahrump Town Manager, William Kohbarger at b.kohbarger@pahrumpnv.org.

[Source: Pahrump Mirror, Front Page, February 18, 2010]

Carl Moore is a candidate for Nye County Commissioner for District 4. He is holding his Campaign kickoff party at the Pahrump Nugget.

Date: Friday, February 19, 2010

Meet and Greet: 6-7 pm.

Entertainment by Marshal Reign: 7-10 pm.

RSVP to Julie Hargis, Campaign Manager, at juliehargis@hotmail.com or phone at 775-513-0960.

Friends and family are invited for the celebration and fundraiser for Carl Moore.

DA Bob Beckett

The office of District Attorney is one of the most important county offices in existence. One for which voters should look for experienced, level headed, mature and competent candidates to fill.

Mr. Beckett is a Republican who has been the District Attorney of Nye County since 1995. His announced opponent in the race is Mr. Ron Kent, former Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney of the Nye County District Attorney’s office.

Today’s Pahrump Valley Times front page announced that Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett terminated Nye County Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney Ron Kent.

I was somewhat shocked by the news. Beckett and Kent have been long-time friends.

Kent had announced last Tuesday he would be running for District Attorney.

[Read more →]

Nevada may give rise to a third political party, joining ranks with the Democratic and Republican Parties. Jon Ralston reports that the “Tea Party has qualified as a third party in Nevada and will have a candidate in the Senate race to battle for the seat held by Majority Leader Harry Reid.” [Las Vegas Sun]

The new Tea Party will need to get 1 percent of Nevada’s electorate to vote for its candidate in November to remain alive. The Tea Party has filed their Certificate of Existence.

So who is the Tea Party’s candidate to run against Harry Reid? Someone named Jon Ashjian says the Sun. Ashjian hasn’t yet declared he is a candidate.

What is the Tea Party’s aim:

“promote this nation’s founding principles of freedom, liberty and a small representative government. We believe that our government under both Democrat and Republican control has led to massive national debt, crushing deficits, increased taxes; while establishing a large and powerful federal government in a direct refutation of the founding ideals of America.”

You can read the Tea Party’s constitution, bylaws and officers here.

So now we can all watch a multitude of political partys compete for election to public office to run the country.

I predict there will be a number of Nye County residents flocking to the new Tea Party. Or maybe the Tea Party isn’t all that new, remembering the Tea Party in the Boston Harbor.

We’ll see how it goes.

Willow Creek Golf Course

Some Pahrump residents with their home ringing around lakefront property and a golf course in your backyard say raw sewage is being pumped into ponds next to their homes.

Ponds at Pahrump’s Willow Creek Golf Course are ringed with dead fish. There is a brown sludge that coats the edge as a thick film. Underneath this slime and the bottom of one pond is suddenly rising. Residents say it is three feet deep in human waste.

“I want to barf. I want to barf,” said resident Richard Cantino.

The owner of Willow Creek went bankrupt, but not before making a deal with the neighboring water treatment plant to let them pump “gray water” into the ponds, mixed in with clean water, to help recycle. [Read more →]

In the local news last week was a story about a $175,000 grant from Senator Harry Reid for courthouse cameras and security systems at the Pahrump Justice Center. It seems that Brian Thelaner, bailiff of the Pahrump Justice Court, secured the grant money but got into some hot water for having done so. The Nye County Board of Commissioners criticized him for not getting the grant through Nye County’s grant administrator and failing to specify what the county could do with the money.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that a man entered and shot to death one of the security guards in a courthouse in Clark County.

I was a bit puzzled as to why Mr. Thelaner was getting so much heat. I am still puzzled. It was reported he said he was asked to get quotes on the cameras and security equipment last January. The article did not say who asked him.

The report indicated Nye County has two metal detectors, one each at the entrances of the two justice courts. Neither District Court is protected nor is the courthouse itself, if I understand the article correctly.

Courthouse security is a matter of public concern. Some judges carry firearms under their black robes. Bailiffs are armed. Probably some who attend the courts as spectators are armed as well, but who knows for sure? Courts daily have appearances by litigating parties, their attorneys, witnesses, and juries. As to the courthouse itself all sorts of people come and go tending to business with the Assessor, Tax Collector, County Clerk, et. al. Wonder how many, if any,  of them are carrying concealed firearms, knives or lethal weapons? That the judges or bailiffs are armed does not protect members of the public or the employees of the various governmental offices in the courthouse.

The daily news frequently carries stories about shootings in courthouses. Nye County’s courthouses are not immune from such occurrences any more than those in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or any other place.

Seems to me that Mr. Thelaner has performed a valuable public service. Most of us just assumed such public facilities were safe and secure. At least I did. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Frankly, the chastising of his effort in securing the grant money does not make sense to me. That he may have secured the grant outside the customary procedures is of little concern, to me. I am more interested in results.

One of these days a tragic event may well occur in one of the county’s courthouses or courts which could be prevented by sensible security measures as envisioned by the grant.

I do not understand why the Commissioners should criticize Mr. Thelaner because he may not have followed bureaucratic procedures in securing the grant money. Looks to me like Thelaner has performed a public service all on his own. He should be commended not criticized.

Maybe the Commissioners, on further reflection, will reconsider their stance. Maybe not. I think they should. After all, one of the primary functions of government is protection of citizens.

In this day and age safety and security is one of the prime goals that must be addressed. Better to plan ahead than to repent at leisure.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has opened a public comment period for a third solar project in Nevada: a 180-megawatt solar plant called the Crescent Dunes project, planned by Tonopah Solar Energy, a subsidiary of Solar Reserve. [Pahrump Valley Times]

Progress in solar energy is slowly inching ahead in Nye County.

“BLM will accept comments on the project until Dec. 24. Public hearings have been scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 17, at the Tonopah Convention Center and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 18, at the BLM Southern Nevada District Office at 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive in Las Vegas. Representatives from the BLM and Tonopah Solar Energy will be present to answer questions.

“Comments submitted in writing have to be postmarked before Dec. 24. They may be sent to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, attention Tom Seley, field manager, Tonopah Field Office, 1553 S. Main St., PO Box 911, Tonopah NV 89049. Comments will also be accepted by fax, at 1-775-482-7810 or by e-mail to crescent_dunes@blm.gov.

“A megawatt is roughly enough to power 200 to 250 homes, meaning the plant could supply power to almost 50,000 homes.”

“Tonopah Solar Energy will use an array of 17,350 mirrors called heliostats that follow the sun and reflect light onto the top of a 633-foot tower with a holding tank of molten salt. The salt liquid, heated to 1,000 degrees, is then routed to an insulated storage tank. When electricity is to be generated, the hot salt is routed to a heat exchanger to produce steam, which generates electricity.”

So, if you have questions or input now is your chance to speak up.