Nevada

Nevada Supreme Court decides important water rights case

The Nevada Supreme Court published their opinion in Bacher v. State Engineer on Wednesday. The case speaks to several critical areas of Nevada water law and incorporates the "anti-speculation doctrine" in interpretation of Nevada water law.

The court also gave indications of a number of items around beneficial use like the following footnote:

Some projects, including the theme park, had contingencies attached to them. In other words, the projects may be speculative in nature. Although we do not reach whether contingent projects may be considered in evaluating a need for water under NRS 533.370(6) because we conclude that the State Engineer abused his discretion on other grounds, we note that speculative evidence of development projects is not sufficient to survive a substantial evidence inquiry on review.

Three tab night

Tonight is a three tab night. Three tabs kept open in Firefox keep me up to date on the election returns. The three are:

So far so good. Things don't look good in Nevada's govenor's race but hopefully the early voting shows a different result than the final result.

McCarran Airport is great

I've written in the past about how exceptional McCarran airport is. Watching the rosy reflection of the sun on the pre-sunrise clouds outside I'm again prompted to take note. From parking to the gate, even with a throng of people at the security line and deep queues at the ticketing counter it took about thirty minutes to go from the car to sitting at the gate. Sure there are the things that don't make sense at any airport, like the announcement at the gate about not checking baggage from strangers... though presumably the people sitting here have already checked their bags.

Flying out of Las Vegas on Friday morning is great. What Nevadans who travel frequently know, however, is that flying home on Friday evening is a real drag. After a time on the road you're tired and just want to get home, put your feet up and relax. However, chances are very good that the plane is filled with more than a hundred people who are going to Vegas baby. For them the party is just getting going and they're happy to share their high-energy joy with everyone else. Of course it is a good thing as tax-adverse Nevada would have nothing to pay its workers with if it weren't for the donations of our out-of-town guests. All and all its a win-win but it doesn't always feel that way on Friday night.

LAS...DEN....IND

An early morning travel day today. McCarran in the early mornings is one of the best places to be flying from. It doesn't hurt that I'm out at the newest gates, the D-Gates, which are easily the nicest at the airport. Today also brings an layover in Denver. It seems I haven't been back to Denver International Airport since March of 2004 when I went through on the way back from a friend's wedding. Oh how time flies when life is busy.Today's mile-high stop is just a stop over on the way to Inidanapolis en-route to Bloomington, Indiana for a meeting. As always the free WiFi network is great. I used the EvDo last night for the town meeting in Sandy Valley and it was good but the wireless here is great. Of course without it I'd still not know about my breakfast choice but it could have been considerably worse.

Snowy spring

The first night of Spring 2006 brought snow to the desert southwest. At lower elevations the snow took the form of rain more frequently than snow but it was beautiful and refreshing all the same.

A series of accidents on Columbia Pass and the closure of Columbia Pass as well as State Route 160 near Mountain Springs meant a morning spent at home. The sights of the first day of Spring in Sandy Valley are much better than those from my office.

Pages

Subscribe to Nevada