SILVER STATE CONFIDENTIAL 04/24/2015

IF YOU’RE GOING SOLAR, GO SOLO Nobody is saying they hate solar power.  And nobody is saying it’s a bad thing to put solar panels on your roof.  What many of us ARE saying is that neither the government – meaning you, the taxpayer – nor the power company – meaning you, the ratepayer – should be subsidizing the choice made by rooftop solar users. For example, if the power company can buy or generate electricity during the day for a nickel, why should it be forced by the government to purchase excess electricity generated by rooftop solar users for, say, a dime? Look, if you don’t need to buy electricity from NV Energy on a sunny day because you’ve installed a rooftop solar system…vunderbar!  But just because you’ve generated more electricity than you need doesn’t mean the rest of us should be forced to buy your excess electricity at a rate higher than could be obtained by other means. If you want to save money or feel good about “saving the planet” by putting solar panels on your roof…GREAT!  Just don’t expect the rest of us to help you pay for it. THE RACE TO REPLACE REID Apparently Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R&R-Partners) has finally and formally informed the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) that he will not seek Harry Reid’s U.S. Senate seat.  Sandoval was considered, in DC circles anyway, to be the party’s #1 draft pick.  But now that he’s taken himself out of the running, Rep. Joe Heck popped up as the NRSC’s #2 choice, even though Heck declared no interest in the seat weeks ago.  So Heck is now giving the NRSC the courtesy of giving the race a second look. But don’t expect him to change his mind.  Sources tell me he is very happy and comfortable in his congressional seat.  Which will leave us right back where we were last week… The non-establishment GOP conservative candidate/Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers vs. a mushy-moderate establishment candidate to be named later – either Lt. Gov. Tax Hike Mark Hutchison or Senate Majority Leader Tax Hike Mike Roberson or former Assembly Minority Leader Tax Hike Heidi Gansert. No date has been set for when political consultant Mike Slanker will announce which of the three it will be. HICKEY’S TANGLED WEB OF WHOPPERS I really didn‘t think my opinion of Assemblyman Pat “The Appeaser” Hickey could sink any lower.  Then I read his blog post Wednesday morning where he outright lied through his teeth about conservative Assemblywoman Michele Fiore being called and read the riot act by Gov. Brian Sandoval after session Tuesday night. And then, after the media called Hickey’s bluff and confirmed with both the Governor and Fiore that no such meeting or conversation took place, the Reno RINO lied AGAIN by claiming his blog post was just a “spoof.” And get this: Liberal blogger Jon Ralston (D-UI) fell for it AGAIN.  Either that or he’s auditioning for the job of “Bagdad Bob” (Google it) in Hickey’s office. Later Wednesday afternoon Hickey doubled-down on his double-lie.  Not only did he falsely claim that Fiore and Sandoval had a conversation, and not only did he then falsely claim that his blog post was a “spoof,” he then told Reno Gazette-Journal reporter Ray Hagar that he told Fiore that he was going to “spoof” her after the floor session Tuesday night. No such conversation between Fiore and Hickey took place.  Nor did Hickey email, text or carrier pigeon her. Another complete and total fabrication.  Ah, what a tangled web he’s weaved. DRIVE-BY MUTHINGS An honest political commercial?  Check this out and tell me you wouldn’t vote for this guy: CLICK HERE *   *   *   *   * Assemblyman Pat “The Appeaser” Hickey’s Thursday blog post included easily recognized (but still lame) spoofs about last night’s Democrat vs. Republican basketball game in Carson City, suggesting that Assemblywoman Michele Fiore was going to form a separate GOP team and that yours truly was going to be the coach. Actually, it’s true.  But it’s not a separate team based on philosophy.  We simply put together an all-girls team featuring Assemblywomen Fiore, Jill Dickman, Vicky Dooling, Shelly Shelton and Chris Edwards.  And we recruited Sen. Tax Hike Mike Roberson to join the squad as our water-boy due to his extensive experience in that arena working for the governor. *   *   *   *   * Nevada is the ONLY state in the country where employees get overtime for working more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period rather than in a 40-hour workweek.  To their credit, the GOP-controlled state Senate introduced a bill changing the work rule to align with the federal 40-hour workweek rule on overtime. But for some reason, Republican Sen. Patricia Farley-Roberson decided to mutate the bill in committee by adding an amendment that would also raise Nevada’s mandated entry-level wage to $9.00/hour.  Why would a Republican and business owner serving in the majority in the Legislature foolishly and unnecessarily sacrifice such an important limited-government principle? *   *   *   *   * Las Vegas is no longer #1 in the number of homes “under water” - meaning the homeowner owes more on his mortgage than the home is worth.  Lakeland, Florida, has dethroned us.  We’re #2!  We’re #2!  I guess this will be added to the success story tied to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s “New Nevada” PR gimmick.  Could somebody hand me a new Coke, please? FAMOUS LAST WORDS “The government shouldn’t have to do more with less.  It should do less with less.” – Chuck Muth HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Silver State Confidential is an email newsletter on Nevada politics, public policy and current events published (usually) daily by Chuck Muth, Nevada's #1 Renegade Conservative and the man voted "Most Likely to Irritate Liberals!"  Click on the link below for subscription information…