Harry Reid's Pork for Nevada Will Have Everyone Squealing

I thought I should ream my own Senator and state over the garbage pet projects included in this new spending bill. I'm not saying some of these aren't worthwhile, I just keep hearing Obama's promise that he would reject any bill put before him with pork in it. How's that promise working out for you Obama? Let me introduce you to your puppet masters: Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. Then again, you had to know how it would be, when a junior senator with no experience was sold to the People.  I suspect Obama would have at least tried to prevent some of this pork if he actually had the power...which of course he doesn't. Let's just look at this new $410 billion Spending Bill, and what Give 'Em Hell Harry secured for us Nevadans. Just a warning, hang in there. It's a looooong list. $807,500 for the Nevada Fair Housing Foreclosure Effort to prevent foreclosures in southern Nevada $571,000 for the Access to Healthcare Network, a comprehensive network of hospitals, clinics, primary and specialty care physicians, and ancillary health care professionals offering their services to uninsured Nevadans at reduced rates. $523,000 for the Southern Nevada Health District to assist the health district’s response to the hepatitis C crisis. The bill also provides $5 million for the CDC to address this problem in Nevada and to work to prevent future outbreaks in Nevada and elsewhere. $951,000 for the Nevada System of Higher Education for the University of Nevada Health Sciences System to support efforts to increase nurses and other health care professionals. $856,000 for the Clark County School District for school counseling and dropout prevention efforts. This program would fund new counselors to assist 5,200 targeted youth who have dropped out of school or are at risk of dropping out. More than $7 million for road improvements, including work on 215 and SR 160 in southern Nevada and on the Pyramid Lake Highway Corridor and the I-580/US395 Meadowood Interchange in northern Nevada. $376,000 for the University of Nevada, Reno for the Nevada Arid Rangeland Program (with Sen. John Ensign) $275,000 for the University of Nevada, Reno research initiative on Western crops and livestock through the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) $211,000 for the University of Nevada, Reno for the Great Basin Environmental Initiative $269,000 for Carson City Erosion Control as the City continues its rehabilitation of land destroyed by the Waterfall Fire of 2004 $235,000 for the Nevada Department of Agriculture for the Cooperative Weed Management Program to fight invasive weeds Funding for Nevada Dairy Producers through the national Dairy Indemnity Program. This funding will help compensate farmers in the Lahontan Valley for milk that was contaminated by toxins in well-water. $750,000 for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police to purchase police technology and equipment, including a Total Containment Vessel for biological threats $754,000 for Clark County Nevada to establish a KidsPeace therapeutic foster care center in Las Vegas $850,000 for the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office to equip a DNA lab and pay for DNA analysis. (With Sen. Ensign) $600,000 to the Boulder City Police Department for a Regional Law Enforcement Training Facility $500,000 for the City of Henderson Police Department to purchase a tactical robot and equip a training facility $300,000 for the City of North Las Vegas to update their records management equipment. In FY08, Senator Reid secured $399,500 for phase one of this project. $400,000 for the City of Las Vegas to reduce incidents of copper wire theft. It is estimated that copper wire theft costs the City in excess of $1 million per year. $400,000 for the Carson City Anti-Meth Initiative to combat meth and related drug crimes in Northern Nevada. (With Sen. Ensign) Last year, Senators Reid and Ensign secured $312,550 for this effort. $250,000 for the Nevada Department of Public Safety for a pilot program to treat probationers diagnosed with substance abuse. $200,000 for OliveCrest therapeutic foster care in Las Vegas to treat at-risk youth $300,000 for the law enforcement equipment for the City of Fernley. (With Sen. Ensign) $200,000 for the Grant Sawyer Center at the University of Nevada, Reno to continue their work in training judicial personnel $200,000 for Boys Town of Las Vegas to expand services for at-risk youth. (With Sen. Ensign) $800,000 for the National Judicial College in Reno to continue judicial training and education for the judges throughout the nation. (With Sen. Ensign) $1,800,000 for the Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in Reno for Judicial Education, Research, and Technical Assistance. $920,000 for the Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in Reno $3,000,000 to fund operations at the Regional Climate Centers throughout the nation, one of which is located in Reno. (With Sen. Ensign) $1,189,375 for the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation’s Alternative Energy School of the Future. Funding is for a solar photovoltaic system that will provide the school with clean renewable energy and to teach students about renewable energy. $1,189,375 for the Clark County School District to develop and install a novel solar thermal system that will provide cooling for a high school to educate students about renewable energy and help the school system save on electricity bills. $951,000 for the University of Nevada – Las Vegas Urban Sustainability Initiative to research energy and water sustainability. $1,427,250 for the University of Nevada – Las Vegas Electronic Records for Worker Safety and Health project to digitize Nevada Test Site workers’ records. $1,024,167 for the University of Nevada – Las Vegas to develop a low cost method of producing biofuels. $523,325 for the University of Nevada – Las Vegas to investigate a promising hydrogen storage technology for use in vehicles and renewable energy systems. $682,778 for the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy for advanced work on assessment and development of geothermal energy, and for workforce training. $951,500 for the University of Nevada- Reno’s Integrated Sustainability Initiative, to promote campus sustainability and reduce energy waste. $2,560,410 for the Nevada System of Higher Education for virtual renewable energy integrated development center to coordinate and integrate research and development activities at Nevada’s research institutions. $475,750 for the Department of Energy to perform renewable energy planning at the Nevada Test Site. $1,066,841 for the Desert Research Institute’s Nevada Water Resources Data, Modeling and Visualization Center to conduct research on Nevada’s water resources. $713,625 for the Desert Research Institute to demonstrate the feasibility of producing algal-based biodiesel using carbon dioxide emissions as a feedstock $475,750 for the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization to accelerate bringing renewable energy research and technologies to the marketplace. $380,660 for Nevada State College’s Carbon Neutral Green Campus initiative, to incorporate environmentally sustainable components in the construction of its new campus. $142,725 for the City of Las Vegas to demonstrate plug-in electric vehicle technology by converting part of its fleet of hybrid vehicles into electric plug-ins. $475,750 for the Desert Research Institute to establish a Renewable Energy Center to coordinate all of the Institute’s work in the area of renewable energy, collaborate with industrial partners, and provide educational and outreach opportunities related to renewable energy. $761,200 for the Clark County School District to implement a Solar Lighting Demonstration Project, utilizing technology designed to provide high quality day-time lighting much more efficiently than artificial lighting. Included a provision that will allow $5.5 million in already-appropriated funds for Washoe County’s Hydrogen Fuel Project to continue work on a renewable energy-powered hydrogen production facility. $4,780,000 for the Truckee Meadows Flood Control Project, which will provide flood damage reduction, ecosystem restoration and recreation along the Truckee River. $2,500,000 for Truckee Canal Reconstruction to perform an analysis to determine the extent of rehabilitation needed. $119,000 for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for wastewater infrastructure and watershed sustainability. $500,000 for coordination of Lake Tahoe restoration activities. $3,000,000 for Lake Tahoe restoration, including urban storm water treatment, environmental research and water resource protection. $18,000,000 for Rural Nevada water infrastructure and water quality projects. $2,700,000 for the Las Vegas Wash/Lake Mead Program for restoration, habitat enhancement and water quality improvement activities. $2,750,000 for the City of North Las Vegas to construct the Water Reuse Facility - a wastewater reclamation facility. $2,500,000 for the WateReuse Foundation for advancement of water recycling and desalination technologies. $300,000 for the Desert Research Institute to utilize Light Detection and Ranging technology to supplement water rights research for the Walker River Basin. $300,000 for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to assess and monitor habitats in west central Nevada lakes. $92,000 for Lake Tahoe regional wetlands development and restoration. $15,048,000 for the Water for America Initiative, of which the Desert Research Institute is a partner, to perform collaborative planning and joint operations to reduce tension among multiple water users. $608,000 for the City of Wells, Nevada to provide assistance after their earthquake last year. Funds will help pay for downtown redevelopment. $1,500,000 for the California Trail Interpretive Center through the Bureau of Land Management in Elko, Nevada. $650,000 for a mineral assessment of northern Nye County conducted jointly by UNLV, NV Bureau of Mines and Geology and the US Geological Survey. $150,000 to restore St. Augustine’s church, in the Austin Historical District, through the Save America’s Treasure’s program. $250,000 to continue Lahontan Cutthroat Trout restoration and habitat work in the Lake Tahoe Basin and the Truckee, Carson, and Walker River Basins. $263,000 for the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act Implementation to hire staff and distribute the $160 million settlement fund. $350,000 for the Nevada Biodiversity Research and Conservation Initiative at the University of Nevada Reno, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. $500,000 for the Reno Water Quality Improvement Program through the Environmental Protection Agency. Funding would be used to help convert low-income homes in the Reno area from septic systems to the City’s system. Senator Reid secured $394,000 for this project last year. $500,000 for the Third Water Intake at Lake Mead, to protect Boulder City and Southern Nevada's access to this vital water source. $400,000 to improve wastewater improvement systems in the City of Henderson. $300,000 for the City of Goldfield to improve their wastewater treatment facility. $300,000 for improvements to and maintenance of the Reno-to-Tahoe Trail $571,000 for the Boulder City Hospital to support the construction of a new, updated, higher capacity emergency department that would improve both access and quality of emergency care in the area. $381,000 for the Nevada Cancer Institute to fund NVCI’s Hope Coach “mammovan” that provides cancer screening services to women living in rural and frontier communities. $571,000 for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute in Las Vegas to purchase equipment for a pilot program dedicated to detecting and assisting with mental health problems in the rural elderly via tele-health technologies. (Joint with Sen. Ensign) $143,000 for WestCare, Nevada Inc. to expand its community triage center so that it may continue to help to divert non-emergency cases away from already crowded hospital emergency departments. $571,000 for the Center for Molecular Medicine at UNR to purchase equipment for the Whittemore-Peter Institute. $381,000 for Touro University, Nevada to support the construction of a gerontology center would conduct research and provide medical and preventive health services to Nevada’s older adult population, along with education for seniors and their families about nutrition, exercise and long-term health. $951,000 for the Nevada System of Higher Education for the University of Nevada Health Sciences System to support efforts to increase nurses and other health care professionals in the state of Nevada. $856,000 for the Washoe County School District for dropout prevention and intervention services, with a focus on Latino and Native American students. $618,000 for the Elko County School District for technology upgrades to enhance distance education capabilities. $285,000 for Nevada State College for distance education teacher preparation programs targeted towards Nevada’s rural counties. $476,000 for Acelero Learning, the new Clark County Head Start grantee, to support Head Start and early childhood education programs. $476,000 for Nevada Partners for the Build Nevada Initiative, a public-private partnership that prepares students and adults for success in construction sector occupations. $285,000 for Truckee Meadows Community College to recruit, mentor, and tutor first-generation, low income students at the college. $143,000 for the Nye County School District to expand career and technical education programs. $24,000 for the Lincoln County School District to expand early education services for low-income students. $409,000 for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, to develop K-12 arts education programs for teachers and students (Joint with Rep. Berkley) $190,000 for the Pollard Foundation to improve science, math, and literacy instruction at the Rainbow Dreams Academy charter school in North Las Vegas. $95,000 for the Nevada Retired Senior Volunteer Program, to train retired seniors to assist low-income homebound seniors with basic needs. $95,000 for the Western Folklife Center in Elko to provide cultural and educational programming for rural communities in Nevada. $95,000 for the Black Mountain Institute, an affiliate of UNLV, to expand educational programs and public speaking forums. $143,000 for the Las Vegas Natural History Museum to expand educational programming related to Nevada’s natural history. $238,000 for Nevada Volunteers to expand service learning projects at Nevada’s colleges and universities. $143,000 for Nevada Humanities to continue the development and expansion of their online encyclopedia on Nevada history. $24,000 for the Nevada Speech and Hearing Association to recruit and train special education teachers in Nevada. $2,850,000 for the RTC of Southern Nevada for the continued construction of interchanges on the Clark County Beltway (With Sen. Ensign) $2,612,500 for the Nevada Department of Transportation to widen SR-160 Blue Diamond Highway to Pahrump (With Sen. Ensign) $1,187,500 for the Starr Road Interchange and Extension to St. Rose Parkway in Henderson $950,000 for the RTC of Southern Nevada for the Central City Intermodal Transfer Terminal to improve mass transit alternatives (With Sen. Ensign) $855,000 for the Boulder City Bypass Improvements in Boulder City $475,000 for the I-15 Sloan to Apex Interchange in Southern Nevada $475,000 for the City of Las Vegas to convert Bonneville Avenue and Clark Avenue roadways to an east/west one-way couplet system and improve downtown mobility $237,500 for the City of Henderson for Phase 2 of Lake Mead Parkway $1,425,000 for the Pyramid Lake Highway Corridor in Sparks (With Sen. Ensign) $1,254,000 for the I-580/US395 Meadowood Interchange in Reno $950,000 for the Nevada Department of Transportation to conduct the I-80 Intermodal Corridor Study $475,000 for the Regional Transportation Commission of Northern Nevada for the Reno/Sparks Bus Terminal. $475,000 for Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization for Lake Tahoe Bus Facilities $475,000 for the City of Carson City for additional construction on the V&T Railroad $237,500 for the City of Reno for RETRAC Project Enhancements (With Sen. Ensign) $1,425,000 for the Nevada Department of Transportation for Statewide Bus Facilities (With Sen. Ensign) $570,000 for Opportunity Village for the Southwest Employment and Training Center (With Sen. Ensign) $190,000 for the City of Reno for the Oliver Montello Affordable Housing Project $190,000 for Nye County for the Amargosa Valley Community Center $807,500 for Wind Hazard Detection Equipment at McCarran International Airport (With Sen. Ensign) $237,500 for an Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (With Sen. Ensign)