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Saturday, March 28, 2009
Southern Nevada-Southern California Maglev Will Be Important For Las Vegas Connectivity
By Robert L. Candiotti
Note: A version of this entry was printed as a letter to the editor
in the March 25, 2009, issue of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper.
Whenever I see a headline
with the word "maglev," I read the story. Brian Greenspun's article on March 22 in the Las Vegas Sun,
"Let's get our 30-year-old maglev dream back on track," was no exception.
The maglev (magnetic levitation)
concept intrigues me, and the lack of momentum toward its development concerns me.
These are trains that float.
A magnetic field raises the train above the track and then moves the train forward at 300 miles per hour.
This
seems like science fiction, I know. But it's not. Maglevs operate in China, Germany, Japan and Korea. Spain has a new
high-speed train that runs between Madrid and Barcelona, and is being extended into France. Maglevs are being seriously considered
in Venezuela, Pakistan, India, the U.K. and, of course, the U.S.
Is it out of line for me to wonder if the U.S.
- and especially this part of the country - is falling behind?
Southern Nevada and Southern California are supposed
to be exciting and trend-setting, right? Maglev systems have been built in many parts of the world, and, from what I read,
they are operating successfully. When I look at photos of these breathtakingly aerodynamic trains, I get a feelinig they may
be whizzing right past us.
Am I too unreasonable to look ahead to 2020? That is only 11 years away (about the same
length of time I have lived in Las Vegas which, all in all, has gone by pretty fast). At the risk of sounding overly didactic,
it seems to me if our transportation systems are the same in 2020 as they are now, the fast train will have left the station
and we will be left to plod along.
As I have said previously in IvanpahValley.com, the Southern Nevada-Southern
California maglev will logically have a stop at the proposed international airport -called Ivanpah Valley Airport - near the
border of the two states along the I-15 highway. Maglev stops should also be at other significant airports - LAX, Ontario,
Orange County, McCarran, possibly even Burbank. Such connections would dramatically enhance the maglev's potential for
heavy and constant ridership.
Several months ago at a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, conference I heard Robert
E. Lang of the Brookings Institution say "Las Vegas is a world city due to its connectivity to other cities." To
me, this says a lot in a few words. For Las Vegas to prosper, it absolutely needs to remain easily accessible.
A
maglev train system between Southern Nevada and Southern California would provide an essential aspect of the modern connectivity
that Las Vegas needs for future vibrancy.
10:50 am pdt
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Road To Nevada Toll Roads Can Be Long, Bumpy And Full Of Twists And Turns
By Robert L. Candiotti
As anticipated by this writer, the subject of Nevada toll roads has quickly emerged as a hot item in the current session
of the Nevada Legislature.
Senate Bill 206, proposed by Nevada state Senator John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, would
allow toll roads in Nevada, and would allow private companies to construct and maintain Nevada toll roads.
Yet,
as reported March 20, 2009, in a Las Vegas Review-Journal story by Ed Vogel, state Senator Mike Schneider, D-Las
Vegas, says legislators in other states that have agreed to private companies operating private roads have "nothing but
complaints."
Regarding the future of toll roads in Nevada, according to the Review-Journal story,
there is disagreement about current legality of tolls on Nevada roads, and differing views on whether or not a state constitutional
amendment might be needed to allow for toll fees.
The Nevada Department of Transportation has said it would like
to have a 19-mile "demonstration project" toll road in Las Vegas.
But Schneider says "public-private
partnerships" are being described as "pickpocketing partnerships," and legislators from other states that have
gone ahead with toll roads are "furious."
In a March 19, 2009, Associated Press piece by Rachelle Gines,
titled "Nevada toll road plan prompts questions," Nevada Transportation Director Susan Martinovich is quoted
as saying the Las Vegas toll road project could be completed "with users using it in four to five years." But Schneider
has said caution is appropriate. He reportedly stated, "When you get in bed with the guys on Wall Street, those guys
are sharks and they don't sign that deal till they know that they're pulling hundreds of millions in commissions and
everything else."
What happens with NDOT's proposed 19-mile toll road "demonstration project"
will certainly affect the particulars and possibilities of toll roads connecting Las Vegas and the proposed Ivanpah Valley
International Airport - near the Nevada/California border - which is not scheduled to be open until 2018.
An
extensive article that covers both the history and future of Nevada toll roads can be found at www.IvanpahValley.com/id21.html
6:46 pm pdt
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission Project Being Proposed By Southern California Edison
By Robert L. Candiotti
The first sentence on
the Home Page of IvanpahValley.com, the associated website of this blog, seems to be consistent with the news of this posting:
The winds of change are unsettling
the sands of Ivanpah Valley...
Yesterday, March 10, Southern California Edison Company held
an open house in Primm, Nevada, to publicize their Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission Project.
A company fact sheet,
dated February 2009, states, "Southern California Edison Company (SCE) is proposing to construct the Eldorado-Ivanpah
Transmission Project, which will primarily consist of a new substation and transmission line upgrade to access new solar generation
near the Southern California-Nevada border."
Of relevance to Ivanpah Airport News is that the proposed transmission
line runs very close to the area designated for the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport (which is currently undergoing its
own Environmental Impact Statement process).
Surely, the juxtaposition of the two will be confronted
in the transmission project's formal approval process.
In the information package distributed at the open
house, SCE says discussion of their project will include area residents, landowners and other interested parties. SCE needs
to also receive approvals from California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN),
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as well as Nevada Clark County and Boulder City authorities.
To IvanpahValley.com,
it would also seem appropriate - due to the connection of the transmission project and Ivanpah Valley Airport
in both approval timing and geography - for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be involved in the approval
process.
According to Southern California Edison, the anticipated project time-line for the Eldorado-Ivanpah
Transmission Project is:
2009
SCE expects to file applications.
2010 Approvals from agencies and local jurisdictions.
2012-2013
Project is expected to be operational.
Southern California Edison's website for the project is www.sce.com/eitp
2:25 pm pdt
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Reflecting On Las Vegas Connectivity When The Depression Finally Ends In 2014
By Robert L. Candiotti
The economic doldrums are expanding.
Not only in the U.S., but also around the world, extreme economic
weakness is causing concern and apprehension.
More and more, economists are using the word "depression"
to describe the developing worldwide situation. There are stories from many parts of the world about how economic activity
continues to spiral down.
Though I am no academic expert, I do sense right now that worldwide recovery will take
about five years. Things will begin to look better around 2012, but it will not be until 2014 when robust economic activity
returns globally.
So many countries - especially ones in Eastern Europe and Central Asia - are in precarious positions.
Most of the world's developing countries have entered a state of economic stagnation. Several developed countries are
now being looked at with concern. How much money and time will be needed to bail the world out?
Even Dubai, with
an economy that grew around 16 per cent in 2005, is today experiencing what a February 11, 2009, New York Times article
describes as economic "free fall."
For many people, 2009, 2010 and into 2011 will be unpleasant, difficult
times. It is still, I believe, difficult to grasp the depth and breadth of the current turn-down. It is still sinking
in - slowly.
However, though it may take years, I am sure there is a bright future ahead.
At
a Brookings Institution/University of Nevada, Las Vegas conference in Las Vegas towards the end of 2008, Brookings' Robert
E. Lang stated, "Las Vegas is a world city due to its connectivity to other cities."
When
happy days are finally here again, Las Vegas will need to be positioned and ready with strong, modern, efficient connectivity.
Connectivity will always be key to Las Vegas' success.
This is why plans need to be made
right now, and development needs to begin fairly soon, for both the Nevada-California maglev train and Ivanpah Valley Airport.
Ivanpah Valley Airport will provide connectivity for the most modern commercial jetliners between significant
international cities and Las Vegas. The NV-CA maglev will provide fast and fascinating connectivity for Southern Nevada
and Southern California "cousins." Business travelers and entertainers should be very pleased with the maglev. Of
course, tourists will be enthusiastic about going from the desert to the sea in just a couple of hours (the maglev would travel
around 300 mph).
Ivanpah and the maglev are essential components for Las Vegas' and Southern Nevada's
future connectivity.
Eventually, a major economic turnaround will arrive. Planning and budgeting today
will determine succes or failure with Las Vegas connectivity when the depression finally ends around 2014.
7:36 pm pst
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Erasing Ivanpah Airport From My Mind And Going To Downtown Las Vegas For A Bloody Mary
By Robert L. Candiotti
Sometimes I just need a break from thinking about Ivanpah Airport.
Right now is one of those times.
I crave the present moment and I crave the funky. I crave sincerity and I crave serenity. I crave anonymity and I crave
honesty. I crave mobility and I crave affordability.
Ergo, it looks like it is a perfect day to take the Regional
Transportation Commission's CAT bus from home at The Lakes to the bar at California Hotel for a Bloody Mary.
The CAT 213 eastbound gets me to the 108 northbound on Paradise Avenue. The 108 will take me all the way to the Downtown
Transportation Center (DTC).
The 213, which goes up and down Desert Inn Road, is one of my favorite routes. Smaller
buses, usually pretty new, never too crowded, generally pretty homey. The 213 has several regular riders, some are my neighbors.
The 213 diverts briefly along Pennwood Avenue - north of Desert Inn - a primarily Hispanic neighborhood that
I have always found interesting. Pennwood Avenue has Clark High School, single family homes, nice apartments, as well
as some cheap and deteriorating apartment complexes from the 1950s or 60s. It also seems to have fairly regular
black and white police presence.
Often, I have ruminated over moving to Pennwood.
The intersection
where I catch the 108, Desert Inn and Paradise, is a significant intersection. It is not only where the Las Vegas Convention
Center is located, but also where I can catch the Las Vegas Monorail to get to MGM (where I board the bus to Primm). CAT 108
south goes along Paradise to the Hard Rock and the Clark County Library on Flamingo Road. It continues southbound all the
way to McCarran Airport. Northbound it goes downtown.
North from Desert Inn road, 108 crosses Sahara and St. Louis.
It stops by the Stratosphere where it picks up tons of people heading for the popular Las Vegas Premium Outlets shopping mall.
This is where there becomes a fun (for me, anyhow) combination of tourists and locals.
The bus goes along Main
Street to Charleston. If you don't know the area around Charleston and Main Street, you don't know Las Vegas. When
the bus reaches Las Vegas Premium Outlets on Grand Central Parkway, the tourists pile out.
108 goes right by the
Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, presently under construction, designed by architect Frank Gehry. Take my word for it, it is
very amazing architecture.
The hard core people still on the bus, like me, are going to the end of the line, the
DTC. There is no doubt about it, the DTC is a story unto itself. It is another place without which there is no full understanding
of Las Vegas.
At Ogden and Main is Sam Boyd's California Hotel and Casino. The 108 goes right through
that intersection, but, because I am so close, I want to connect for a few minutes with the DTC. I haven't been there
for several weeks. It is a place that helps me put things in perspective.
But like I say, the DTC is a topic
unto itself. That place is worthy of its very own blog.
From the DTC, I walk the few blocks to California
Hotel. Why do it find the California to be so soothing? When I walk in on the ground floor, the improvement of my
mood and reduction of my tension are obvious to me.
It is a casino that has nothing to prove. And neither do
its patrons. If you go there, you'll see what I mean.
I ride the escalator upstairs, and I take a stool
at Dave's Bar right next to the sports book and the Maile and Obama rooms. Of course, the second floor also has wall to
wall gambling machines. Just around the corner is the casual and cozy Aloha Specialties Restaurant.
The Bloody
Mary is $2.75, one of the best buys I know of in Las Vegas. Today is Sunday. The bartender mentions to me how quiet the day
is at the bar. But we're both thinking the nighttime will be busy because people will be back from today's big
NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
I have always liked California Hotel, from when I first moved to Las Vegas
10 years ago. Tourists from Hawaii also love the place.
The Bloody Mary is delicious. It feels good to be Downtown.
And it is so pleasant to be at the California Hotel. Right now, on this Sunday afternoon, I am comfortable with
the fact that Ivanpah is very far away.
3:34 pm pst
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For a summary of the history of the need for Ivanpah Valley Airport, click here.
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