* Business provides the jobs and the economic impetus for the fiscal resources which allow government entities to function.
Someone must continue to represent local governments to the business community and the business community to local governments.
* Since the " business community" will be blamed by the media and others for trying to run everything, it ought to organize itself and do so.
It will be blamed, regardless.
* There are too many business organizations in this region, often getting in each other's way.
A guiding principle should be that if one such organization is working on an issue, the others should support, not compete with its efforts.
* No business organization in this region will be successful in the public policy arena unless it includes both the gaming/tourism leaders and those from other key business sectors.
* This region's media "problem" is not Reno Gazette Journal editorials, which in recent years have shown an understanding of the challenges confronting this region.
The problem is that most key stories have been written by the same person with the same biases as her sources, making Sue Voyles by far the single most influential individual on local public policy issues during the last 12 years here.
The lack of any balance of views early in these "news" stories causes them to be headlines in very distorted ways.
It is these headlines that form people's opinions because headlines on local government issues are all they read.Worse, there are no other independent local news sources, so these headlines get read on KOH and other radio stations, while providing the basis for most local TV coverage.
* Washoe County is now first among Nevada's "cow" counties, as Clark County has a veto-proof majority in the State Legislature, whenever it chooses to use it.
Nevada not only no longer has a monopoly on gaming, Northern Nevada is struggling to compete with Northern California for regional gaming dominance.
Some local elected officials and their staffs seem to think that suing each other is an effective response to these threats.
They don't understand that cooperation is this region's only hope for the future.
* A simple way to improve coordination between local governments is to change their meeting schedules.
Reno, Sparks and Washoe County meetings currently conflict with each other on Monday and Tuesday each week.
Having Sparks meet on Monday, Reno on Tuesday and Washoe County on Wednesday would allow each to have key staff members and interested elected officials attend each other's meeting on key issues.
Adhering to "time certains" for these agenda items would further enhance mutual understanding.
Right now, each local governments know so little about what the others are doing that they are like ships passing in the night.
* Current activities by the Washoe County Commission seem intended to give the Regional Planning Governing Board (RPGB) less authority, even over land-use planning.
As the one statemandated entity involving elected representatives of all three local governments, Reno, Sparks and Washoe County, the RPGB should have more authority over regional activities, not less.
It should confine itself to regional policy matters and get away from specific land use issues.
It should be expanded to include voting representatives from the School Board, Regional Transportation Commission, Regional Water Planning Commission and District Health Board.
* Reno is currently an extremely well-run government.
However, its reputation locally and statewide is still of "pothole Pete and the gang who couldn't shoot straight." Altering that perception to conform to current reality is crucial to advancing this region's interests in Carson City.
* Downtown redevelopment is important.
No great region exists without a regional center.
Reno and the region cannot prosper as suburban bedroom sprawl or as retirement communities.
ReTRAC should provide the vehicle for real downtown redevelopment.
* The convention strategy is a good plan to revive the region's gaming and tourism economy.
It will succeed if everyone stops looking for another, better plan and devotes all their efforts into making this good plan work.
* Fortunately, it is not possible for Pete Sferrazza to have wives or children fast enough to get them elected to every seat on the Reno Council and Washoe County Commission.
* A concerted effort must be made to change thinking people's perception of the ReTRAC project, not so much to win a legally inconsequential advisory ballot question in November, but to protect those courageous elected officials who have supported it in the face of an organized disinformation campaign which was never effectively challenged.
