Dog food factory vs. brothels -- it's a cat fight

For a live-and-let-live kind of state, there sure seem to be a lot of people trying to get their governments to tell other people how to live.

My favorites are the folks at the dog food factory who don't want a brothel in the neighborhood. Outside Nevada, I can't think of another place this would be an issue.

It shouldn't be here, either.

What if the girls at the brothel decided they didn't want a dog food factory next door to their business?

I can see some guy with the cash from his Friday paycheck in his pocket headed for the cathouse when he spots the dog food factory.

That reminds him he was supposed to pick up a bag at the grocery store for Fido, which reminds him he was also supposed to pick up milk, bread and a dozen eggs, which reminds him he's married, which reminds him he might have some 'splaining to do when he gets home.

So he drives right on by.

Bad for business? You bet.

Newspapers, of course, are the kings of telling people what to do. Since I spend a good deal of my day reading and writing stuff for the Appeal's opinion page that tells people what they should and shouldn't do, I'm acutely aware of that fact.

I still cringe, though, when I see the Reno Gazette-Journal, which has been called the best darn daily newspaper in Reno, telling the folks in Storey County they should get a life.

Here's what a Gazette-Journal editorial said the other day:

"The time has come for Storey County, like a twenty-something faced with choosing between teenage pursuits and getting a real job, to decide what it wants to be when it grows up."

It went on to urge the county commissioners to tell Lance Gilman and the Wild Horse Canyon Ranch and Spa (the name of his proposed brothel) to take a hike. After all, the newspaper said, the industrial development has been so wonderful and promises to bring in so many big bucks to Storey County, it would be a shame to rile up those folks over a house of ill repute.

Maybe the Gazette-Journal should grow up and get over the snicker factor when it comes to brothels.

More to the point, though, is the fact it was Lance Gilman who developed the industrial park -- it's been called the largest in the world outside of some sheep ranch in Australia -- that's bringing businesses to Storey County. As a matter of fact, Gilman is one of the guys who developed a big business park in South Reno, too.

Hmmm. Maybe Lance Gilman knows what he's doing, after all.

Or maybe he merely thought he could rely on the laws of the state of Nevada to buy a piece of property and open a legal business on it.

It seems to me if Storey County wants to get in bed with somebody -- so to speak -- it might be the guy who's actually stimulating the economy. So to speak.

Back home in Carson City, a majority of supervisors are doing their best to stimulate the economy by outlawing casinos.

Well, they haven't exactly done that. They're only outlawing new casinos that don't bring 100 hotel rooms with them.

I've tried to understand how setting a minimum number of hotel rooms actually encourages development, but I left my business degree in my other coat.

I guess it's kind of like setting a minimum bet at the blackjack table of $100. No $2 bettors allowed here. We're gonna stand back and wait for the high rollers to come in.

And wait. And wait.

I will gladly eat my words if a major corporation comes to town to open a big, new hotel-casino, because I agree Carson City needs more high-quality hotel rooms to attract gamblers who will come in and spend their money at the casinos which are already here and are now guaranteed they'll never have any more competition.

Sorry, did I say that?

See, I told you I don't have a business degree. Nor do I have a political science degree. So I'm not really qualified to say that having the local politicians slam the door on competition only greatly increases the value of the existing businesses.

I do have a journalism degree, though. So I'd like to propose to the supervisors that before any competing newspapers move to town, I think they should have to build 100 hotel rooms, too.

That should go for restaurants and car dealerships and day-care centers and grocery stores, as well.

Before long, if this 100 hotel room theory works, we'll have more rooms than we know what to do with. We'll be swimming in hotel rooms. The local economy will boom, and we'll all get rich.

In the meantime, though, it will also be pretty comforting to know nobody else can come to town and take our piece of the pie.

Barry Smith is managing editor of the Nevada Appeal.