Dear Representatives of the City of Las Vegas, Clark County RTC, NDOT, FHWA, and EPA,
Part of Project NEON calls for a connector between Industrial Boulevard and Martin Luther King Boulevard. I am asking again for local, state, and federal agencies to address their strategies to mitigate the potential dangers of placing an inter-city connector that travels through West Las Vegas--a working-class community of color.
I have not received a substantive response from any of your agencies about Project NEON. Even worse, NDOT has refused to acknowledge they have any role in creating a greater danger to West Las Vegas residents.
Given NDOT's and the City of Las Vegas' histories of environmental injustice in West Las Vegas, particularly from 1956 to the present, I hope you will address this issue sooner than later. If you are unaware of the documented history I am speaking of, please let me know.
Please include these comments as part of the F Street Project. Although I have major concerns about the effects of Project NEON and the I-515 Project, I will limit my comments to F Street.
I was extremely disappointed that I was not allowed to speak more than 2 minutes at today's town hall meeting for F Street. The town hall was scheduled for 9am to 12pm, and finished at 11 am. I consider this process undemocratic and consistent with the strategies identified in the book "The Failure of Planning" by Richard Hogan. It's unfortunate that NDOT and the City of Las Vegas continue to use the same failed strategies that got us here.
NDOT and the City of Las Vegas need to address and remedy the past environmental injustices, to include the 1956 plan, the closing of streets in 1968, and the closing of F Street in 2008. I believe this acknowledgment of "EJ" should be part of the TIGER Grant and will strengthen your proposal.
Besides the obvious mention of the value of F Street access to billions in development at Symphony Park, you should also mention that NDOT saved $10-20 million from closing F Street in the first place.
Going back just to 1956, documents indicate that the City and State planned on putting I-15 through West Las Vegas to serve White businesses. The plan appears to have cost more than the two alternate routes which ran east of Downtown. It also displaced 200 African American families.
The City of Las Vegas and the State of Nevada closed streets in 1968, despite public protests. They planned to reopen the street only came after massive protests.
No later than 2006, NDOT was complicit in a plan to close F Street and the only direct access to billions in development at Symphony Park. The City has failed to provide information on who came up with the idea, although Molasky Development may have been involved as early as 2003. Molasky Development is also planning an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Building near the gateway to the Westside.
I also think you need to take a more active role in including young people, Latinos, and others who have been previously excluded in the F Street planning process. I mentioned some ideas to Chris Young today. For example, I believe children at West Prep and the Agassi Boys and Girls Club could be involved in learning about F Street and be taught about progressive planning. But perhaps that's a job we can't trust NDOT or the City to do without adequate community supervision.
Last week Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic sent me several official documents that tell us more about the history of transportation racism, regional inequity, and environmental injustice here. One of the documents, from 1956, showed that the City had three different plans for Interstate 15, and chose the western route. This route, which cut through historically black West Las Vegas, actually cost the most, but was approved in order to provide more convenience to business and the Las Vegas Strip.
Another document from 1970 indicated that civil unrest from October 5-11, 1969 was an important factor in the plan to reopen F Street. On October 8, 1969, the Las Vegas Review Journal posted articles about the events, including comments from young men (including a Vietnam vet) who had been frustrated by the lack of justice in West Las Vegas. I have been unable to locate any of the men involved in these events.
In 2008, people in West Las Vegas took a different strategy when F Street closed, choosing peaceful protests and legal and political pressure. Although the City and State promise to reopen the street, the thoroughfare between West Las Vegas and Symphony Park may not open until 2014 or later.
Click on the picture to get a larger version of the Review-Journal (October 8, 1969) photo.
Project NEON will displace several hundred working-class people and people of color. The connector between Industrial Boulevard and MLK Boulevard will also be "dangerous by design" particularly for children at the Agassi Boys & Girls Club, which is only feet away from MLK.
Mr. Cooke and Mr. Abdalla,
I am concerned that NDOT's responses to my questions about Project NEON did not adequately address Environmental Justice concerns for West Las Vegas. One of these was as a result of my error.
I am requesting an email copy of your responses so that I can share it with other citizens before the next public comment period ends. It would be unfortunate for everyone if these issues are not resolved, and we have another F Street situation.
(1) One of my major concerns in that the Industrial-MLK Connector will be used as a north-south arterial, like Desert Inn Road is as an East-West arterial. This connection could lead to more traffic, higher traffic speeds, more pollution, and more pedestrian deaths of children, elders, and disabled people in West Las Vegas.
Although Project NEON does not physically touch much of West Las Vegas, by tying the Industrial-MLK connector into a widened MLK Boulevard, there may be a large Environmental Justice impact along MLK Boulevard, north of the actual project.
Are you saying that a 6-lane MLK Blvd connected to Industrial Blvd. will continue to have a 30 mph speed? Have you discussed these issues of traffic control with Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and the RTC? How is it possible that you haven't coordinated with the RTC about public transit as it pertains to this project?
Shouldn't public transit be a part of early planning rather than as an afterthought? Many people in the area (at least 25%) are transit dependent and dedicated transit routes could relieve congestion and pollution.
(2) I'm not sure I understand your point about disregarding the survey of potentially displaced people. Does that mean you will not resurvey this population? How does that comply with EJ concerns?
(3) In response #7, I asked about the impact on the Agassi School. I meant to say the Boys and Girls Club (800 N. MLK Blvd), near Washington. Again, my concern is that when Industrial Road is connected to MLK, it will increase traffic, traffic speeds, and air pollution, creating a host of EJ issues.
My name is Dahn Shaulis. I am an alumnus of UNLV (Ph.D. in sociology, 1998), and have taken several classes/taught in the UNLV School of Education. I know that you and others are seeking solutions to the cuts to save the Educational Leadership program at UNLV. Is it too late for the program to survive?
I know that sometimes faculty and administrators can be reluctant to act publicly, but it will take political action and leadership from the department, the media, and your allies (e.g. the Clark County School District, School Board Members, parents, students) to save your program and save the State of Nevada from further decline.
It will also take solutions.
According to the SAGE Commission, SB398 would save $51 million the first year and $281 million over 5 years by diverting non-violent drug offenders from prison into treatment. SB398 was proposed in the 2009 Legislature but did not pass because of its start up costs ($6 million). Existing and underutilized physical structures for these programs already exist (Casa Grande, Jean, Nevada State Prison).
The money saved could be earmarked for long-term prevention, such as Pre-K education for working-class children. It could also be spent on educational leadership, IF educational leadership can be part of the solution for justice in this Valley.
I asked State politicians that the Bill be considered in the last emergency session but all I heard from politicians was that they couldn't consider any new spending. I attempted to contact School Board members but received little input.
The plan has support from both parties: it was sponsored by Senator Steven Horsford (Ms. Horsford's husband) and the Director of Corrections, Mr. Skolnik, has previously supported it in public.
If used for proper education programs, there could be even more savings (along with more justice and public safety) in the long run.
On April 2, 2008, the Las Vegas City Council voted on Agenda Items #82, #83, and #84 to unanimously approve the construction of Inspirado Apartments, two developments totaling approximately 500 residences. This decision came despite community opposition to the project and staff recommendations that the agenda items be denied.
This week, Ms. Sheila Lambert, representing Ward 6 Councilperson Steve Ross, took offense to my questions about the public health hazards of allowing hundreds of people to live so close to Interstate Highway I-95. According to Ms. Lambert, people have the right to choose where they live. Some of the new housing seems to be within distances that would be considered hazardous for human health.1
Nevada Department of Transportation's Civil Rights representative Norma Norman stated that the possible public health and environmental justice issues were local issues only, and that NDOT would continue with its plans to widen I-95. Ms. Norman said, however, that she would ask NDOT's environmental engineers for their input. Other NDOT officials have not yet replied to my questions.
Click on the title to see the City Council Minutes and supporting documents. Click on the image to get a closer look at this project.
Mr. Saul Willis at his home in West Las Vegas, near F Street and McWilliams. Mr. Willis has received no compensation for the damage done to his home and business.
Mr. Cooke and Mr. Abdalla,
I am expressing my concerns to the FHWA and NDOT so they are in the loop about my concerns. I actually have some revisions to the statements I made on this project, but I understand the public comment period has expired. I would like you to reconsider the deadlines and include these comments.
After again reviewing the limited amount of information on the Project NEON survey of potentially displaced people, it appears to me that you may have a major Environmental Justice issue on your hand with Project NEON. You had some of the information buried in a CD that is not even in the paper copy of the Draft EIS.
Given both agencies' track records on environmental injustice from 1956 to the present, I would encourage you to review my concerns. Based on this abysmal record, I do not trust that the Relocation Program will be just or fair or that you have given a reasonable effort in conducting your surveys.
I am letting you know of these concerns so there is not another F Street situation and lots of wasted money and resources to remedy the situation.
According to Executive Order 12898 as well as FHWA guidelines, protected groups include people under the poverty line as well as people of color.
Your "Relocation Impact Study" by Mayo and Associates in 2005 only had 76 respondents for the survey and only 46 respondents for the income portion. The number of people potentially displaced was 852. So that's a 9% response rate (76/852), not a 22% response rate as mentioned on pg 3-14 of the Draft EIS. The percentage of people who answered the income questions was 5% (46/852). (Note: the number of people potentially displaced comes from pg 3-27 of the Draft EIS, FHWA-NV-EIS-09-01-D).
The survey also indicated that of the respondents who did answer, the median income was $32,863 in 2005, versus a median family income of $44,069 of the City of Las Vegas in 2000. Although these may not be poverty-level numbers, you listed 37 of the 46 respondents had income below median levels. You do not mention how many people fall into the poverty category. You also didn't mention whether the survey was also available in Spanish.
I would argue that these response rate may not yield valid results. Income statistics may also have changed dramatically in this area, due to the recession and to the economic damage already created by Project NEON, where those with higher incomes may be leaving the impact area.
I would like to know whether the FHWA and NDOT are compliant with procedures/ guidelines on this type of survey. Is there a standard for response rates? I would also like to review whether there may have been any fraud or unethical behavior involved in gathering and/or publicizing the survey data by Mayo and Associates.
Nevada Prison Commissioners Meeting, April 20, 2010
My name is Dahn Shaulis. I am an instructor at the College of Southern Nevada, a former Nevada correctional employee, and an attender of the Las Vegas Friends Worship Group—the Quakers.
My purpose for being here again is to discuss Nevada’s justice options for the future. In discussing these options, we need to examine where we are and were we have come from in terms of justice and prisons. When I speak of justice it’s about a justice much broader than many people perceive.
The State of Nevada is in crisis, socially, economically, and spiritually. Unemployment in Nevada has been in the double digits for months and has approached 14%. For people of color and the working-class, their struggles for opportunities, including decent and humane housing, education, employment and justice have taken longer. Nevada’s unemployment rate for African Americans is estimated at 20%, but that does not even include discouraged workers and those part-time workers who are seeking full-time work. Unemployment rates for Latinos are not much better and I suspect rates for indigenous peoples are also above the average.
As I mentioned at the January 2010 Prison Board meeting, Nevada has heavily invested in a Prison-Industrial Complex (PIC) for more than four decades. Prison expansion began in the mid-1960s and has continued into the 21st century. Since the 1970s, the State has also chosen to mass incarcerate youth, giving NDOC more potential recruits for prison. Even as index crime rates began to drop in this State in the early 1980s, Nevada continued on the path of mass incarceration. Conditions were so deplorable in Elko that the youth facility required federal oversight. Nevada has also chosen to jail and imprison many women, rather than find alternatives to incarceration or to remedy the situation by understanding the etiology of crime.
Tough on crime legislation has been tough on society, as Nevada leaders chose for decades to disregard human needs: underfunding education, mental health treatment, drug treatment, and decent affordable housing. The State chose to increase sentence structures and to punish probation and parole violators, at the expense of long-term social and economic costs. Prisons in Nevada were supposedly constructed to save rural economies, but they also provided low-wage convict labor--reminiscent of the racist South after the Civil War. Prisons may bring work for some, but the work is often inhumane—it bleeds into all those who are near it.
From the 1980s to the present, Nevada followed the most dysfunctional aspects of the California prison system, and built Golden Gulags, facilities that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to construct, staff, and maintain. Limited efforts were made to rehabilitate prisoners despite increasing knowledge about what works in correctional treatment. Recent attempts to privatize prisons and prison services at Summit View, the women’s prison in Southern Nevada, and the medical services at Ely State Prison (ESP) have been huge failures—yet Governor Gibbons continues to push for more privatization.
In 2007, Governor Gibbons proposed $1.7 billion in new prison construction to include a new death chamber—because he saw no other alternatives. Only a budget crisis and unforeseen drops in crime prevented the Governor and Director Howard Skolnik from continuing this mass incarceration master plan.
So here’s the picture in 2010. According to the US Census, Nevada ranks 2nd in prison spending per capita and 48th in education spending. The State has chosen a path of mass incarceration and a system that promotes violence and ignorance rather than a path of education and innovation. In April 2010, Nevada has been labeled as the most place dangerous state in the US. But this is a pyrrhic defeat for the Nevada prison system, which profits from crime and the fear of crime.
Prisons today function inadequately as drug treatment and mental health facilities, as “the new asylums.” They also serve inadequately as high schools, work houses, and as high-cost warehousing of throw-away people. Nevada’s prisons, frankly, serve as graduate schools and network hubs for organized interstate crime and White Supremacist hate groups.
Little effort is made to help prepare prisoners for work and independent living after they leave the facilities. One of Governor Gibbon’s recent strategies to cut the budget included closing Casa Grande, the state’s transition facility; Mr. Skolnik did not protest the plan to cut Casa Grande. This plan to close Casa Grande should be understood in the context that the Nevada Department of Corrections wins when it receives “repeat customers.” NDOC is an agency that grows in proportion to its failures.
When I publicly made statements two years ago, that NDOC officials were morally corrupt, and reported my experiences in the Justice Policy Journal, prison officials told the media I was fabricating information. They refused to comment on the record, however, because they knew I was telling the truth about prison conditions and the state of justice in Nevada. As a payback perhaps, Mr. Skolnik denied me access into NDOC facilities to teach college courses or to volunteer.
As UNLV criminal justice Professor Randall Shelden will tell you, our prison system is a failed system. Mass incarceration is a drain on society and it’s a dysfunctional strategy to improve public safety. In terms of economic opportunity costs, money spent on prisons means less resources for education, drug treatment, mental health care, and community redevelopment.
So what are our options?
Privatizing prisons does not work. They are not even an adequate short-term fix. No other civilized nations use this failed strategy of punitive justice to this extreme. Our only reasonable option is to think long-term and to think holistically. We need to recognize that resources are limited and that there are opportunity costs. Even US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, questioned this approach as early as 2004.
One of the most obvious short-term solutions would be to pass Senate Bill (SB) 398. This program would divert hundreds of nonviolent offenders from prison and into treatment. The SAGE Commission has estimated a savings of $280 million over a 5-year period—savings that could be used to invest in people rather than in concrete shrines to man’s ignorance and greed.
The ideal situation would be to take the savings from this diversion program to reinvest in communities hardest hit by mass incarceration, “million-dollar blocks,” to be spent on prevention and reentry. Good Pre-K programs, for example, reduce crime in the long run. The Rand Corporation and others have ideas of what programs would be most effective.
I would like to have your support today and am asking that you promise to promote SB 398 immediately--with the courage to promote it publicly. I would also ask you to encourage educators and working-class communities to support this bill.
In my January 2010 statement to the Board I explained several sources to safely plan for the downsizing of prisons—and for long-term community investment that reduces crime. These sources include legitimate authorities: Michael Jacobson and the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments. We also need to train and retrain workers so they don’t have to resort to prison work, as I did, for a decent paycheck. In the long-term, we need to mature as a State, divest ourselves from prisons and sources of crime such as casino gambling, while investing in the People.
Please email me at dahnshaulis@netzero.com to correct errors, make comments or suggestions.
1904-1905: J.T. McWilliams Townsite established. Union Pacific Railroad connection completed in 1905. Townsite grows to approximately (West Las Vegas Plan, 2009, p. 10. http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/WestLasVegasPlan.pdf)
1905: The Las Vegas Land and Water Co. owns most of the water rights in the Las Vegas Valley, forcing McWilliams townsite residents to relocate to the southeast side of the tracks. The result is a rapid decline of the McWilliams townsite. Railroad tracks cut off trade between the two sides (West Las Vegas Plan, p. 10).
1930s: Apartheid to the west side of Union Pacific Railroad tracks results from restrictive covenants. Segregation results in tent subdivisions next to the McWilliams townsite to accommodate growth. Residents lived in overcrowded conditions due to low wage jobs, and the high cost of land on the east side. Many families either shared a house or lived on one lot with several structures (West Las Vegas Plan, p. 10).
1936: Bonanza underpass allows Westside transportation access between both sides of the Union Pacific railroad track (West Las Vegas Plan, p. 10).
1943: Mayor Ernie Cragin refuses to renew business licenses of Black business owners unless they relocate to the Westside. Restrictive covenants and failure to rent to Blacks create defacto segregation (Orleck, 2006, pp. 43-44). African American population increases during World War II (Nellis Airfield, Basic Magnesium). Most New African American newcomers live on the Westside. Westside businesses prosper as hotels, casinos, and bars are built.
1944-1945 Informal urban renewal programs raze 375 homes, causing overcrowding on the Westside.
1945: Reverend Henry Cooke and West Side residents petition Mayor Cragin to pave “E” Street, the main thoroughfare on the Westside. All requests for public improvement are denied (Moehring, 2000, p. 178).
1948: US Supreme Court Shelley v. Kraemer bans racially restrictive covenants in housing. However, this is not instituted into Nevada Law until 1971.
1950: Under Truman’s Fair Deal, $1 million federal housing project approved (Kaufman, p. 360)
1951: Predominantly White middle-class residents of Bonanza Village protest use of the 20-acre Zaug Tract for low-cost housing development. Black residents charge racial discrimination. Bonanza Village hires attorney Harvey Dickerson (Kaufman, LV Sun, 4-24-51).
1951: As a compromise to Bonanza Village residents, a “100-foot wide buffer highway” is constructed (Highland Avenue, later renamed Martin Luther King Boulevard), separating the future housing project from Bonanza Village (Kaufman, p. 361; Moehring, p. 179)
1952: City of Las Vegas blacktops areas on the Westside. Federal housing project now known as Marble Manor completed (Kaufman, pp. 362-363).
1954-1955 Westside Park/Berkley Square subdivision constructed 155 tract houses. Subdivision designed by Paul Revere Williams is “the first subdivision in Nevada built by and for African Americans.” According to Mooney (2005), “the subdivision contributed to the improved living conditions for the community and represented the progress of local civil rights activism.”
1955: City of Las Vegas creates ordinance to drive out parked trailer owners. Six hundred (600) people sign petition to overturn ordinance, but the ordinance is retained (Kaufman, p. 375). Paving district established to fund curbing, guttering, and lighting on the West side.
1956: City of Las Vegas applies for federal urban renewal money, allowing it to condemn property for “better” use. City Planning Department extends slum clearance program by recommending that the federal highway (later known as I-15) be routed through the Westside (Kaufman, p. 375).
1957: Federal Highway plans cut highway through the Westside. Westside residents protest plan. Highway plan tied in with urban renewal plan to placate residents. 200 families displaced with promise that they would be moved to better housing (Kaufman, pp. 375-376)
1959: Las Vegas Review-Journal describes plan by State Engineer and city officials to extend Highland Avenue, which had ended at Charleston Blvd. Plan states that Highland Avenue may be extended all the way to San Francisco (LV Review Journal, 10-15-59).
1960: 160 family dwellings completed. This does not meet demand for housing (see 1957 entry). Advisory Urban Renewal Committee suggests that further low-income projects should be built outside the Westside, but this suggestion was ignored by planners. Dr. Charles West suggests that this is an attempt to create a ghetto (Kaufman, p. 378). See LULU.
1962: Plans for widening I-15 include a cul-de-sac at F Street.
1964: Civil Rights Act. Title VI prohibits racial discrimination on any projects involving federal funding.
1968: Seven streets closed on the Westside. Led by Ethel Pearson, hundreds of people of the Westside community protest street closures, but streets remain closed.
May 1968: NAACP files lawsuit against Clark County School District to integrate schools. Ninth Circuit Court decides in favor of NAACP. (see 1972 entry).
October 5-11, 1969: Protests framed as "civil disturbances" prompt the City to reopen streets in West Las Vegas (City of Las Vegas documents, 1970)
1970: Las Vegas Rescue Mission established on West Bonanza Road.
1970-1980: Population of the Westside declines from 15,857 to 15,122, while County population increases from 273,268 to 463,087. Some Westside businesses fail as they are patronized less (1994 West Side Plan, p. 15, 22).
1971: In response to Westside protests, F and D Streets reconfigured to access Downtown.
1971: State of Nevada passes law prohibiting restrictive covenants and housing discrimination. (Moehring and Green, 2005)
June 4, 1971: Hotels and casinos sign consent decree to end racial discrimination after NAACP filed a federal lawsuit.
1972-1992: Clark County School District buses Westside children in grades 1st to 5th and 7th to 12th for racial integration. Westside schools serve as 6th grade centers for busing Whites.
1974: Sherman Gardens (public housing) built.
1978-: State of Nevada invests in significant prison building projects to include Southern Nevada Correctional Center (1978), Southern Desert Correctional Center (1982), and High Desert State Prison (2000). See Opportunity Costs and Prison-Industrial Complex. http://www.doc.nv.gov/facilities/index.php?idnum=0
1980s: Growth of Green Valley suburb in Henderson. As a bedroom community for Las Vegas it accentuates urban sprawl and White flight from Las Vegas. Mandated school busing does not apply to Henderson (Moehring and Green, 2005, p. 228).
1980s-1990s: “Homeless Corridor” built in area adjacent (to the east of) Westside (Borchard, 2005, p. xxiii). See LULU/PIBBY.
1980-1985(?) A,B,C Streets closed at Bonanza to build food warehouse
1986: Las Vegas Redevelopment Authority (LVRDA) established to redevelop blighted areas under State of Nevada law (NRS 279). Westside is excluded. In 1988, only portions of the Westside are included in the RDA. Other parts of the Westside continue to be excluded.
1990: Construction of Summerlin suburb by Summa Corporation expands wasted land use (i.e. sprawl) and White flight in Las Vegas Valley (Schumacher, 2004, p. 120, 125; Alan Berger, 2007, p. 32)
1991: Intermodal Surface Transportation Act (ISTEA) becomes law. Under ISTEA, Interstate Highway I-15 is labeled the “Economic Lifeline Corridor.”
April 1992: Creation of the West Las Vegas Neighborhood Advisory Board to address the needs and disparities of the community. Members appointed by Las Vegas City Councilman Frank Hawkins. http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/WLVcomposite.pdf
1992-1998: US Environmental Protection Agency orders Union Pacific Railroad to remove petroleum and lead contaminated soil. Site to be remediated as a brownfield for city redevelopment. Unable to find information on the health effects of decades of railroad air, water, soil, and noise pollution to Westside residents. http://ndep.nv.gov/bca/brownfield_union-park.htm http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/21/symphony-parks-dirty-little-secret/
1994: First West Last Vegas Plan by City of Las Vegas. One of the goals is to “ensure that planning for West Las Vegas is done with the residents rather than for the residents.” (1994 West Las Vegas Plan, p. 19). The plan recommends that highways I-15 and I-95 should not be used to impede traffic. The plan also calls for a college branch campus at Washington and D Street. http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/WLVcomposite.pdf
1994: Executive Order 12898 orders federal agencies to develop environmental justice guidelines and lists people of color and poor people as protected groups.
1994-1997: Half of Gerson Park (public housing) remains vacant due to a virus. More than 1500 people remain on waiting list for public housing. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1997/sep/29/housing-agency-moves-slowly-on-gerson-park
2002: Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission reports on infill issues in Las Vegas noting what Scott Adams, Operations Manager for the LVRDA calls “the donut hole” in West Las Vegas (Amy Kingsley, LV City Life, 2-26-09).
September 2, 2003: V-Point Planners, a representative for Paradise Development (associated with Molasky Group), requests that a portion of "F" Street be renamed Parkway Center Drive "because it deems more appropriate with the Parkway Center Development."
September 15, 2003: City Parkway IV A., Inc. “a nonprofit organization and subdivision of the State of Nevada”, petitions the Las Vegas City Council to have “F” Street renamed “City Parkway” on the east side of I-15.
November 18, 2003: In an email from city employee Melanie Dobosh to City of Las Vegas Planner Thomas Burkart, Ms. Dobosh calls the name change from F Street to City Parkway "a very bad idea" and expresses major concerns about public health and safety.
2004: Nevada Department of Transportation and City of Las Vegas plan expansion of Interstate Highway (I-15) through the Westside. F Street renamed City Parkway on development side of I-15. Government agencies claim they have followed policies by notifying the four residents who live within 400 feet of the closure. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/28/fight-over-closing-f-street/
2005: NDOT holds hearings for I-15 widening to Apex. According to NDOT, the closing of D and F Street are not in the plan.
2006: Second West Las Vegas Plan completed by City of Las Vegas. http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/WestLasVegasPlan.pdf
January 18, 2006: Las Vegas City Council votes to close F and D streets as part of I-15 highway expansion. The provision is part of one agenda item 87 of 147 listed agenda items. Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly later claims he did not know the plan would include street closings. According to Bart Anderson of Public Works, The F Street connector was intended to "provide additional access to I-15." Mr. Anderson also stated that "additional public meetings would take place."
August 2, 2006: NDOT (Jeff Hale) asks the City of Las Vegas for a “resolution of support” to close F Street as part of the I-15 to Apex Widening project. The video from the January 18 and August 2 council meetings posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-JVRX4Zik
2006: Clergy and Las Vegas Metro Police reach out to local youths to reduce crime. According to Captain Patrick Neville violent crimes decreased 35% from 2006 to 2007 and an additional 17% from 2007 to 2008 (Sonya Padgett, Las Vegas Review Journal, February 15, 2009, p. 4J).
2006: “Economic Opportunity Board [EOB], the area’s oldest and largest nonprofit that offered programs such as child care and Head Start closed.” In 2003, it faced allegations of misuse of funds. A federal audit of The Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board also showed millions of mismanaged funds, with lucrative contracts going to nonprofits with close ties to the board. (Adrienne Packer, Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 26, 2009, p. 4B)
May 2007: Environmental Assessment (EA) of “I-15 Improvements to Apex” published. The study (p. 32) finds that the proposed project is in non-attainment for Carbon Monoxide, Particulate Matter, and Ozone. However, the EA claims a “finding of no significant impact” and therefore no Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is completed. The authors (p. 21) also report “no adverse, disproportionate, environmental justice impacts.” According to the report (p. 24), “the proposed area includes a larger proportion of African Americans (28 percent) than the County (nine percent). “ The Paiute Indian Reservation is also in the impact zone (p. 24). http://www.nevadadot.com/divisions/pdfs/013/EA_06_01.pdf
2008: Native Son bookstore (Sam Smith) closes.
2008: Third West Las Vegas Plan published by City of Las Vegas. Plan notes that 24% of the lots on the Westside remain vacant. http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/APA_Report_2008.pdf
2008: Concrete wall built across F Street which cuts off only direct access between the Westside and $16-24 Billion Downtown redevelopment zone. City Council members claim they know nothing about the closure.
September 7, 2008: F Street closed (Les Pierres Streater, Las Vegas Sentinel Voice, p. 1, December 25, 2008).
September 2008: Las Vegas Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce stages a protest at the F Street underpass. The sign read "Don't Shut Us Out". Katie Duncan, Katherine Joseph (Black Historical Society),Nevada Assemblyman Harvey Munford, Gene Collins, Anthony Snowden, Cedric Gay, Sharon Jamerson, Irma Walker, and Stan Wilkerson participated. The media and Oscar Goodman notified. Channel 3 and City Life covered the story. Construction was temporarily halted. NDOT official Jeff Hale states that the closing of F Street would cut construction costs of the I-15 expansion by $14 million. http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2008/10/06/news/local_news/iq_24228234.txt
October 2008: Stop the F Street Closure Coalition formed
December 24, 2008: Ora Bland, Estella Jimerson, National Action Network and Stop the F Street Closure, LLC file a Federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Las Vegas and Nevada Department of Transportation for the F Street closure.
January 7, 2009: Westside residents conduct protest march on Las Vegas City Hall.
February 2009: After political pressure from Westside residents, City agrees to reopen D Street.
April 18, 2009: Protest march by F Street Coalition held on Las Vegas Strip.
May 2009: Assembly Bill 304 approved in Nevada Legislature. AB 304 provision sponsored by Assemblyman Harvey Munford and Senator Steven Horsford requires reopening of F Street and participation of two residents on the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community Board.
2009: College of Southern Nevada ends its sponsorship of the A.D. Guy Center at 817 North "N" Street.
2009: West Prep passes No Child Left Behind standards after receiving increased funding. Las Vegas Sun (8-12-09) reports from UCLA researchers that Westside elementary schools (“Prime Six” schools) are in danger of triple segregation (race, poverty, language) due to influx of large Spanish speaking population. Approximately 1/3 of all students are limited in English language. Booker and Wendell Williams schools, however, show adequate progress.
September 3, 2009: Nevada Department of Transportation submits Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Project NEON (I-15 Corridor Improvements and Local Arterial Improvements). In the plan, MLK Blvd would be connected to Industrial Blvd to have a high-speed arterial between Henderson and North Las Vegas. The NEON project would take 6-20 years and is based on county population growth from its current count 1.9 million residents to 3.3 million residents in 2030. According to the Draft EIS, more than 850 residents and approximately 1800 employees will be displaced. Many of the displaced residents are living near Martin Luther King Boulevard (Between Charleston and Desert Lane). A survey of potentially displaced people results in a 22% return rate. Based on this limited data, there is a Finding Of No Significant Environmental Justice Impact (FONSI). http://www.ndotprojectneon.com/Text.pdf
October 5, 2009: At the SNEC meeting, NDOT/City of Las Vegas report an estimate of mid-2014 reopening date for "F" Street.
November 2009: City of Las Vegas (City Parkway IV-A) and PHI (affiliated with Molasky Development) sign an exclusive agreement to construct a building to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement Building at 301 West Mesquite. Las Vegas City Council approves the contract. http://www5.lasvegasnevada.gov/sirepub/cache/2/pzmvmwqooln3ea55inayva55/273541811222009082432203.PDF
November 2009: National Park Service designates Berkley Square for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/20/berkley-square-neighborhood-national-historic-regi/
April 12, 2010 At the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community (SNEC) meeting, The City of Las Vegas annnounces they will not fund a public outreach prgram for the F Street reopening Project. F Street members state that they were not informed of this development. Ricki Barlow claims that the decision was made so that he could be more directly responsible for the F Street Reopening Project.
Key Terms: EA=Environmental Assessment EIS=Environmental Impact Statement FONSI=Finding of No Significant IMpact LULU=Locally Unwanted Land Uses NIMBY=Not In My Back Yard PIBBY=Put in Black’s Back Yard Opportunity costs Quality of Life (QOL) indicators Inequities (procedural, geographic, social) Prison-Industrial Complex
If legislators have the vision and courage to pass SB398, the State of Nevada would have millions more for public education and community reinvestment. I am asking Nevada voters to call or write their state lawmakers about this legislation.
According to the SAGE Commission, which approves of this measure, the State would save an estimated $51.2 million in the first year by diverting non-violent probation violators from prison to treatment. The SAGE Commission also estimates a $280 million savings over five years. Substance abuse treatment would be provided by the Department of Health and Human Services. The heads of Corrections and Parole and Probation have already publicly stated that they approve of this measure.
I speak to you not only as a concerned citizen, but also as an alumnus of UNLV, a CSN educator, and someone with considerable time working in and studying the Nevada justice system. As a case manager in high security mental health units at two state prisons, I have seen this waste of resources, where prisons have become “the new asylums” and where high security prisons serve as graduate schools for organized crime.
For 45 years the State of Nevada decided to invest in adult and youth prisons instead of communities, public education, and human services. Crime grew as a result of the growing casino culture, racial segregation and discrimination, and the refusal to treat people for substance abuse and mental health problems. Overall index crime peaked in Nevada in 1980, yet the fear of crime enabled lawmakers to push for more prison funding, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in capital expenditures. Currently, some lawmakers want to build prisons even as one facility lies vacant (Jean) and others face closing (Nevada State Prison, Summit View, Casa Grande).
Prisons in Nevada do little to habilitate prisoners, providing them with few opportunities to get the skills and resources they need to make it on the outside. It is appalling to see that Governor Gibbons proposes to close its only restitution center in Southern Nevada, while waves of low-level probation violators flood the high security High Desert State prison.
Let’s have the courage to start the savings now. The time is now to downsize this dysfunctional and costly part of government—and to replace it with community reinvestment and public education.
My public comment is about the future of the Nevada Department of Corrections and the State of Nevada. I was an employee in the Nevada Department of Corrections from 2000 to 2007 and am currently an instructor at the College of Southern Nevada where I have taught correctional classification and sociology. Prior to my state service I received my Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I have spent considerable time observing and analyzing the justice system in Nevada. These are my observations and recommendations.
1. From the mid 1960s to the present, the State of Nevada has chosen to imprison people at the expense of dealing with the root causes of crime: economic injustice, ignoring mental health concerns, casinos, and the war on drugs.
2. By spending on prisons rather than public education, mental health care, and drug rehabilitation, the State has found itself in a 40-year cycle of mass incarceration.
3. Mass incarceration and fear of crime have been used as political and economic tools for politicians and judges, winning conservative votes and creating an unhealthy form of rural development.
4. During my service in NDOC, I saw a department that could not adequately deal with mass incarceration, and have personally observed or received credible information on waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and patterns of sexual harassment.
5. The last Nevada prison budget was based on the premise that prison growth would increase 61% in the next ten years, to 22,000 inmates by 2017.
6. The NDOC, however, has seen an 18% drop in its women’s prison population since 2007 and a 3% drop in its men’s prison populations since 2008.
7. NDOC and some government officials have had a vested interest in generating fear about public safety.
8. As we develop a future vision of Nevada, there are effective ways to simultaneously downsize prisons and improve public safety. Failure to plan comprehensively could result in what Jeffrey Reiman calls a “pyrrhic defeat”, that is NDOC and some government officials will benefit if crime or the fear of crime increases.
9. Credible information and guidance on downsizing prisons has been available for years but has largely been ignored by the State of Nevada. One good source is Michael Jacobson’s book, Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration published in 2005. Mr. Jacobson was the budget director for NY City before becoming head of probation and corrections.
Recommendations:
1. The NDOC budget is unsustainable. State monies must go into investment of its people, particularly in the form of public education. I would suggest that NDOC carefully look at salaries, benefits, and work schedules of its managers before reducing the salaries, benefits, and work schedules of prison staffers. Nevada currently has a dangerous staff to prisoner ratios.
Efforts to privatize prisons or prison sectors do not work; Nevada's previous attempts have been failures.
2. The 2007 study by Justice Center of the Council of State Governments titled Increasing Public Safety, Generating Savings, provides us with some clear initial guidelines on downsizing prisons and improving cooperation between various agencies. I would like to know what the State of Nevada and NDOC have done to implement these guidelines.
3. The Justice Center study also points us in the direction of more thoughtful and courageous strategies that could help Nevada’s future.
4. As the report states “any strategy to reduce crime and manage the growth of prison population should focus on improving conditions in the neighborhoods to a disproportionate number of offenders will likely return.”
5. These plans should include investment in education and decent work opportunities in areas that have typically been ignored or damaged by governments and businesses. There should be clear indicators and benchmarks for progress in improving conditions in these neighborhoods. Public officials should be held accountable to help improve the quality of life in these neighborhoods.
