An opportunity for cooperation

The bill coming due for Douglas County over bus service provided by Jump Around Carson illustrates once again the importance of working together.

At issue is JAC's service across the county line to the stores near Topsy Lane. It's a great service for shoppers - including Carson City residents who choose to patronize those stores, and for people living in Douglas County who have jobs in Carson City.

Carson City will likely ask Douglas County to pay for the service. Should Douglas County refuse, the city may withdraw service into Douglas County. We hope that doesn't happen. Instead of creating a spirit of unity, it would continue to foster divisiveness between the two, with the bus riders as the real losers.

The two counties have had plenty of opportunities to butt heads, mostly while competing for businesses, but we see this as an opportunity to foster a spirit of cooperation that could potentially carry over into other areas. It's an opportunity to show leadership toward the regional state-of-mind that analysts say is the key to long term economic stability.

In this case, the two sides should probably be discussing if there are opportunities to broaden the bus service even farther into Douglas County, which houses thousands of people who work in Carson City. Some of them might choose to use public bus service, especially as gas prices rise.

Rivalries are healthy in sports, but often counterproductive in other fields of endeavor. When it comes to providing public services and attracting businesses, it just may make more sense to weaken the strength of those boundary lines.