A trashy plan that could create Nevada jobs is raising quite a stink among residents and officials.

Recology, a garbage company based in San Francisco, is looking to build a 1-square-mile landfill in the Nevada desert. Despite the fact that such a landfill would create local jobs, many are opposed to the idea.

The company is seeking approval to build its landfill 28 miles west of Winnemucca as part of its plan for when existing landfills begin to overflow during the near future. Recology would haul up to 4,000 tons of trash per day from the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California by train five days a week for 95 years.

Opponents of the project say workers would spread the trash across the desert in a mound that could eventually grow to 200 feet. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently sent a letter to Gov. Jim Gibbons asking him to reject the plan, calling it a "threat to Nevada's sovereignty and dignity."

Residents in the area close to the proposed landfill site are asking Recology to leave the desert alone and California to keep its own garbage. Nevadans Against Garbage, a group opposing the plan, has already sprung up.

"The notion that Nevada is some sort of wasteland because we don't have Ponderosa pines covering it is repugnant," Jim French, retired wildlife biologist from the Nevada Department of Wildlife and a member of the group, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Can you imagine the reaction in the Bay Area if the people of Western Nevada bought some land in Marin County and wanted to ship their garbage there?"

However, some people are in favor of the proposed landfill project. The Humboldt County Planning Commission has supported the proposal and allowed the company to seek permits from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

Recology has said the landfill would not generate odor or air pollution. If accepted, the proposal would create 25 to 35 jobs and could generate at least $1 million per year in fees.

Labels: Nevada Jobs

Through the leadership of Nevada Senator Harry Reid, more than $100 million could come to the state to create jobs in Nevada, stop foreclosures and improve health care and education through the omnibus appropriations bill currently being considered in Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill today and the Senate will take it up next week.

“Nevada needs this money desperately and I will always do my best to ensure the state’s needs are met on a federal level,” Reid said. “We can create thousands of jobs and support vital services through these projects. We’ve worked with unprecedented transparency in this bill, while still ensuring Nevada gets what it needs to continue moving on the path to economic recovery.”

According to MSNBC, money invested in transportation projects leads to job creation, and the bill includes more than $18.7 million for Nevada roads, highways and mass transportation. Nearly $15 million would go to energy projects, which also create good-paying jobs in areas of Nevada that desperately need them.

Labels: Nevada Jobs

AT&T plans to open two call centers in Nevada that will bring at least 650 jobs to the state. A facility in Las Vegas already employs 80 people with plans to hire upwards of 350 by June. A call center in Reno will open in February that will ultimately employ another 350. These positions pay an average of $20 per hour with full benefits – a move that sets a new high mark for call centers.

AT&T has opened nine call centers in Nevada since 2007, with four more, including the Reno facility, are scheduled to open by the end of 2009.

David Condit, AT&T president of state and legislative affairs, said that the company is committed to bringing jobs back to the United States. The Las Vegas jobs are among 5,000 positions that had been outsourced to offshore locations. While foreign workers cost less to employ, there is often a language barrier that complicates the process and frustrates the consumer.

“Oversees call center workers encounter problems if they aren’t following a script or hear regional slang,” said Somer Hollingsworth, chief executive of the Nevada Development Authority.

Las Vegas is a prime location because of its land space (for large employee parking lots), and telecommunications infrastructure. The company is looking to train people who are interested in technology and customer service.

Though AT&T doesn’t offer its Internet service to consumers in Southern Nevada, it does provide an array of services in the northern part of the state.

Labels: Las Vegas Jobs, Nevada Jobs

Finding a Nevada job is now harder than it has been for the last 23 years, according to the most recent statistics. The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation found that unemployment once again rose, this time showing that 7.1 percent of the population was without work in August.

As of last month, approximately 97,700 residents were unable to find new jobs. These figures also do not take into account the percentage of the population that is underemployed. When jobs become scarce, many people begin to take whatever work they can come by, despite the fact that they may be over qualified or are taking a pay cut.

Currently, Nevada’s unemployment rate is a full percentage point higher than the national average and up significantly in comparison to last years statistics. During August of 2007, only 4.9 percent of residents were claiming jobless benefits.

According to Bill Anderson, who is the department’s chief economist, the struggling housing market, issues with credit and rising energy cost are playing a huge part in the problem. To top it off, area’s such as Las Vegas are being hit hard by the growing cost of travel. Tourist can’t afford to flock to city, let alone gamble away the money they need to fill their gas tanks.

Because of all of this, investors have already put two large Las Vegas casino projects on hold this year. Doing this caused the loss of many construction jobs, which were desperately needed since the high foreclosure rate in state has made demand for new buildings almost nonexistent.

Anderson went on to say that residents now less disposable income than usual, which has caused the demand for a variety of goods and services to decline drastically. Since many businesses aren’t turning the profit they are used, they have less money to spend on their payrolls.

This most recent turn of events has both state and local governments hurting for funding, which has caused them to make serve cuts in the services that they provide. Because of this, there has been increased interest in looking for new sources of tax based revenue for the state.

Despite the need for money, Republican Governor Jim Gibbons does not believe that taxing residents isn’t the answer. According to him, higher taxes “would just elad to more layoffs and hamper Nevada’s economic recovery.”

Labels: Nevada Jobs