The Nevada Appeal's "Silver Dollar" and "Wooden Nickel" feature recognizes positive achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out others that missed the mark.
Wooden Nickel: The ongoing saga involving Sen. John Ensign's affair with a married staff member took another turn this week. First it was learned the woman received more than $25,000 in severance when she left her job with Ensign's office. Later in the week, Ensign announced his parents gave his mistress and her family nearly $100,000 "out of concern for the well being of longtime family friends during a difficult time."
In recent years, the conservative Christian lawmaker has been critical of other national political leaders who admitted to affairs. His comments included calls for the politicians to resign.
Silver Dollar: Federal stimulus funds are making their way to Carson City and Douglas County in the form of five new public transit buses.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced this week that by February $1.1 million in stimulus funds would go to Carson (four buses) and Douglas (one bus).
Wooden Nickel: For the 17th consecutive month, the Gaming Control Board reported that the gaming win for Nevada casinos declined. In May, the win was down 8.3 percent compared to May 2008.
In addition, the report also notes state tax collections for the fiscal year that ended June 30 totaled $655.4 million, down 15 percent. The fiscal-year tax total was nearly $8 million lower than the figure projected only two months ago by Nevada's Economic Forum, whose estimates were used by state lawmakers in approving the state's budget.
The win was down during May in most major markets in the state. Casino winnings in the Reno-Sparks-North Tahoe area of northern Nevada were down 8.6 percent. It was the 23rd consecutive month of declines for that area. In Carson and the valley portion of Douglas County, the gaming win was down 16.3 percent. Elsewhere in northern Nevada, resorts on Lake Tahoe's south shore reported a 25.5 percent decrease in May compared with the same month a year earlier. Clubs in Elko County, in eastern Nevada, were down 5.7 percent.
Silver Dollar: Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Michael Hohl Honda and Subaru dealerships on South Carson Street were conducted last week. The activity puts the city closer to having all of Carson's new car dealers in the same area.
The move allows the Hohl Honda and Subaru dealerships to work with their nearby GM dealership, so they can more easily share employees and move inventory. Earlier this year, Hohl combined Valley Chevrolet with his existing GM dealership on South Carson.
Longtime Carson auto dealer Dick Campagni recently broke ground on his new car lot in the same area.