We understand that NBA Commissioner David Stern is going to talk to the capitalists today about the branding of basketball at a luncheon put on by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. We want to hear all about it, since branding apparently makes the capitalist machine go ’round. But before we slip over to the Four Seasons, let’s do a a few Quick Hits!

» Herr Weasel, who sometimes goes by the code name "Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki," has found something new to bitch about: The size of his staff. According to a story in the Nevada Appeal, Senor Comadreja says that his six staffers are paid less money than employees in other constitutional offices. (Krolicki himself took a $20,000 annual pay cut when he was forced out of the state treasurer’s job by term limits and elected to stay in politics with a bid for lieutenant governor.)

Chiefs of staff for the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and state controller are all paid more than $100,000, but the lieutenant governor’s chief of staff gets but a mere $66,830. (Then again, the attorney general employs 230 people, the secretary of state employs 139, the controller employs 45 and the treasurer 22.)

We don’t want to be disrespectful here, but … oh, hell, of course we want to be disrespectful here! Krolicki is a guy who whines and bitches about everything, from where his office will be located to what furniture he can have! No wonder even members of the GOP think he’s a putz. But could we suggest that the lieutenant governor doesn’t have much in the way of staff because it’s a part-time job with no real duties? The taxpayers need an AG, a secretary of state, a controller and a treasurer (although those last two jobs could be combined, we think). They don’t need a lieutenant governor. Although we do have to say Krolicki has managed to get more people to church during his short tenure: They’re praying for the health of Gov. Jim Gibbons.

» No sooner does the city of Pahrump excise it’s ugly English-only law than state Sen. Bob Beers says he’ll pick up a bill sought by defeated congressional candidate and former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle to make English the state’s official language. Look, we think Beers is a fine-looking man, probably the most handsome guy in the state Senate, but good looks can’t cover this. There’s no reason to make English the official language of Nevada.

We can debate border security, national ID cards, and employment policy when it comes to immigrants. (We at Various Things & Stuff happen to believe that if somebody wants to come here and work, they’re welcome to do so, as long as we can ensure national security.) But English only? It doesn’t address any of the real problems surrounding immigration, and it makes immigrants feel singularly unwelcome. This bill should have died with Angle, but let’s hope the Senate rightfully entombs it this time around.

» When is a tax increase OK? When the voters say it’s OK, says Gov. Jim Gibbons, in a remarkably cogent remark quoted by the Review-Journal. "I always said the public runs this state," the governor said. "They elected me because I oppose tax and fee increases. If the public wants to implement a tax on themselves, that is up to the voting public. A vote of the public will supersede a governor’s reluctance to raise taxes."

At issue is a $3.8 billion shortfall in the state’s transportation budget, which officials in Carson City are struggling to fix. Although a blue-ribbon task force appointed by former Gov. Kenny Guinn and a transition team appointed by Gibbons recommended — among other things — indexing the gas tax to inflation and other taxes to fund the shortfall, Gibbons has been resolute in opposing tax increases. The question up to now has been: would Gibbons oppose a ballot question about taxes? Now that he’s said he wouldn’t, expect for that to be part of the Legislature’s buck-passing solution.
But will the public go for it? Transportation expert Tom Skancke said recently that if the public is told exactly what the tax money will be used for, and if the benefits of the spending are made clear, the public will say yes. But a statewide vote, in which residents of rural areas are asked to tax themselves so that drivers in urban Las Vegas and Reno can experience smoother commutes? That might be a tough sell. And in the meantime, road projects that need to be started go unfunded.

In a perfect world, lawmakers would stand up and say that expecting to keep up with growth without spending more money is like presenting yourself at the corner bakery and demanding a bagel for free. They’d pass a tax, which Gibbons would veto, which the Legislature would then override, cementing the executive irrelevance that’s been taking shape over the last two months. But this is no perfect world; it’s Nevada.

» Speaking of transportation, what the hell is MGM Mirage thinking? A master planned community of affordable housing in Jean, halfway to the California border? Talk about your leapfrog development! Then again, we at Various Things & Stuff aren’t exactly known for our real estate skills, and MGM Mirage is developing a $7 billion mixed-use project in the middle of the Strip. So, that that as you will.

You know, it reminds us of the time, long ago, when we were shopping at the William Sonoma outlet store in Primm. There, on the wall, was a business license with the address: 32100 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Someday, we realized then, the Strip will extend all the way out there. And this looks to be a big step in that evolution. And let’s not forget that sometime in the next decade, we may see a full-fledged airport between Jean and Primm, too.

» Call us crazy, but we are big believers in the city’s Union Park plans. We’ve written before that Mayor Oscar Goodman should get credit for the changing face of downtown, and the 61-acre, city-owned parcel is the centerpiece of it.

We do disagree somewhat with the assertion in today’s Review-Journal that development of offices, retail shops, the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a new city hall, etc. "…could also help restore luster to the stagnant Fremont Street casino district." In fact, it will have the opposite effect: The new development will make the careworn Fremont Street casinos look even worse by comparison.

But consider this: There’s new money going into the Golden Nugget, so perhaps the new development west of the existing downtown will inspire owners to put some money into their flagging properties. That may be a pipe dream, given that downtown casinos actually declined in revenue while every other casino district in Nevada was posting record gains. But it’s the only way the "new" downtown will restore any luster to the old.