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CARSON CITY — Dennis Hof, owner of the world-famous Bunny Ranch legal brothel, star of HBO's hit series "Cathouse," and best-selling author of Judith Regan's "The Art Of The Pimp: A Love Story" is adding the title of "job creator" to his resume with the announcement that he is now hiring a team of "brothel testers" to oversee "quality" control at each of his seven Nevada legal brothels.

"The job is exactly what it sounds like," says Hof. "You get paid a full-time salary to have sex with beautiful girls--and then evaluate their performance."

Carson City residents have two more chances to chime in about the city's strategic plan. You can fill out a survey here or attend the last public open house, Monday, March 30, at the Carson City Community Center Sierra Room, 851 East William Street from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.

Over the past year, the Board of Supervisors, management, and staff of Carson City have developed a draft strategic plan to help guide future investments and priorities.

Carson City residents have three chances to chime in about the city's strategic plan. You can fill out a survey here or attend two public open houses. The first is Thursday, March 26, noon to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. at Fuji Park Exhibit Hall.

The second open house is Monday, March 30, at the Carson City Community Center Sierra Room, 851 East William Street from noon to 2 p.m.

Below is my article that was published in Nevada Appeal (3/22/2014), although it is titled: Become educated, involved in local government.

For this column I will state personal views on a few topics: education, city employees, the Sheriff Department, the Board of Supervisors, ending with a little insight about Jim Shirk.

Join KNPB Channel 5 for a PBS KIDS Writers Contest workshop at the Discovery Museum on Saturday, March 21 at 10 – 11 a.m. Get tips on how to write a great story, generate new ideas and give constructive feedback. The contest celebrates the art of creative writing and encourages children grades K – 3rd to submit their own original pieces. Contest winners will be selected in late April 2015 and will be published as well as featured in an on-air recording of their story. The workshop is free with the purchase of museum admission.

For more information call 775-784-4555 or email tony@knpb.org

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of March 11, 2015 and beyond.

Committee appointments by the Board of Supervisors has been a much talked about subject the last few weeks. Here’s my take:

Carson City has many boards, commissions and committees (BCCs) that typically include one or two city supervisor representatives in addition to city staff and representatives from the public, who may be appointed or apply for their positions. A complete list of Carson City’s boards, commissions and committees (BCCs), and information about each, may be found here:

Carson City Public Works Director Darren Schulz announced Wednesday that after reviewing proposals and finalist presentations, a city review and selection committee has selected Lumos & Associates to lead the Downtown Carson Street Urban Design Project.

The committee will enter into contract negotiations for a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors will then approve, disapprove or modify the contract. The contract is anticipated to begin February 5, 2015.

The success of the pilot program for fire cameras at Lake Tahoe has prompted the University of Nevada, Reno’s Nevada Seismological Laboratory to pursue funding to build out its fire camera network that rings the majestic mile-high lake.

“We’ve seen the system avert potentially large fires this summer at Tahoe, even with its minimal presence,” Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, said of the prototype system with its four cameras. “It makes sense to build this system out now to help protect the basin from devastating fires.”

This weekend, I was blessed to have someone be wonderfully, brutally but, at the same time, respectfully honest with me. At first, pure honesty can be jarring. It’s almost like we have been trained to expect a candy-coated version of the truth or no honesty at all. I was reminded of what a gift communication is and how, when it doesn’t take place, resentment, negative self-talk, and assumption can build up like a bad round of Tetris.

WNC has student internship opportunities available. In preparation for students that are seeking employment, Western Nevada College will be hosting The Art of Interviewing: A Integrative Workshop on Interviewing & Resume Building. Free pizza & soda will be served to all who attend. It will take place on the WNC Carson City Campus inside the Reynolds Building in Room 103 starting at 6:00pm and going until 8:00pm.

Resume Building

•Introduction: The purpose of a resume
•Resume formatting

The Nevada Department of Transportation is inviting the public to comment on planned transportation projects and improvements outlined in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

The STIP is a fiscally constrained, four-year planning document containing all transportation and transit projects which are federally funded, state funded through the state highway trust fund or regionally significant and funded through local dollars in accordance with Title 23 of the Federal Aid Highway Act and the Federal Transit Act.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is refining design of a key element of the upcoming Phase 2B3 of Carson City Freeway construction to include a free right turn lane between southbound Carson Street and westbound U.S. 50 to Lake Tahoe.

Original design for the last leg of the freeway called for southbound Carson Street traffic to stop at the traffic signal located at the Carson Street/U.S 50 Spooner junction before making a right turn to Lake Tahoe.

Beginning Oct. 1, boat inspections at Lake Tahoe will move to select launch ramps and winter hours will begin. Tahoe RCD inspectors will be stationed at the Cave Rock boat launch from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, weather permitting.

No inspector will be stationed at Lake Forest boat launch from Sept. 8 through Jan. 2, 2015 due to a rehabilitation project. Inspections will be available at Lake Forest once the project is complete. Please call the hotline for availability of alternative inspection options.

With a packed house and lots of questions, Carson City residents had a chance Tuesday to see what enhanced downtown landscaping, street and sidewalk improvements would look like in a planned redesign of downtown.

The Carson Street improvement project is part of an overall plan to revitalize the commercial corridors throughout Carson City. The improvements, made public during two workshops at the Carson City Community Center, will be funded through sales tax revenues, one-eighth of a cent, approved earlier this by the Carson City Board of Supervisors.

The community is invited to join Carson City Supervisor Karen Abowd for her monthly walkabout Friday, Sept. 12 at noon in Mills Park.

Abowd has conducted these events as a way to gather input from constituents on issues and challenges facing Carson City and to gather their feedback and hear their ideas.

"Our walkabouts have been a wonderful way to hear what people think and feel about what is going on in our community in real time,” she said. “Everyone is invited to come out and share their perspectives with me or ask questions they may have.”

At the Aug. 28 meeting of the Carson City Board Supervisors, the District Attorney’s Office presented its newest component to its Victim Witness Services unit.

DAWG, which is an acronym for District Attorney Witness Guide, was introduced by District Attorney Neil A. Rombardo, along with Subaru, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever.

Youth Theatre Carson City will hold an audition for Annie Jr., the classic musical this Saturday, Sept. 6 beginning at 10 a.m. in the gym at the Carson City Community Center located at 851 E. William Street.

Auditions are open to all boys and girls grades K-12. Auditioners should prepare a one minute song and be prepared to learn a dance. For information, please contact Youth Theatre Carson City at (775) 882-0358 or visit www.youththeatrecarsoncity.com.

Proposed 2015 health insurance for individual and small group markets in Nevada are now available online, state Insurance Commissioner Scott J. Kipper announced Thursday. The proposed rates are for plans sold both on and off Nevada’s health insurance exchange.

Nevadans who wish to view proposed health insurance rates for plan year 2015 can go here. The Division has made proposed rate information available in two different formats.

Michelle Hale has been named Greater Nevada Credit Union’s new Member Outreach Supervisor. She will oversee both community relations and member outreach.

Her community relations responsibilities will entail acting as liaison between Greater Nevada and the organizations it supports, including the University of Nevada Marching Band and Wolf Pack Athletics, Special Olympics Nevada, and the Truckee Meadows Habitat for Humanity. She will also coordinate Greater Nevada’s financial literacy efforts through local schools and other groups.

Café at Adele’s in Carson city recently received a Certificate of Excellence as one of TripAdvisor ‘s 2014 winners and was also recognized in the Don’t Forget to Share category, which recognizes a business that has made significant contributions to the community and prides itself on giving back, in Nevada Business Magazine’s 2014 Family-owned Businesses Awards, sponsored by Nevada State Bank.
TripAdvisor awards are given to businesses worldwide and are based on the quality of reviews and opinions they have earned in the preceding year.

Many college students seek to enroll in summer classes to stay on track for graduation, or learn a new skill. At Western Nevada College students can choose from a variety of classes in the upcoming eight-week summer term. Classes begin June 9 and continue through August 2, unless otherwise noted.

More than 40 courses are scheduled for the summer, including writing, communications, art, music, theater, accounting math, and more. Over a dozen online classes are also available, providing students the flexibility of earning college credit while enjoying their summer activities.

There was a prom king and a queen to be crowned yet again at the 2014 Friendship Ball this last Saturday. The event took place from about 6:30-9 P.M. at Carson High School’s Senator Square.

The annual friendship ball is the prom made exclusively for the special needs students within Carson High School. One of the biggest disabilities that affect the students is Autism.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto observes National Crime Victim’s Rights Week, which began April 6th, reminds Nevadans of their rights, and promotes the Victim Information Notification Everyday (VINE) program.

Western Nevada College will offer a hospitality skills workshop on Saturday, May 3, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Carson City. Participants can learn guest service skills in the Guest Service Gold Workshop, to become a more valuable employee in today’s competitive job market.

Completion of the three-hour workshop can lead to a Certified Guest Service Professional designation. For employees in the hospitality industry, CGSP is recognized worldwide and is the highest designation of award-winning guest service.

“The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo famines – hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death …”

So began The Population Bomb, a 1968 advocacy book by Dr. Paul Ehrlich. He indicted American affluence and uncontrolled procreation as key parts of the over-population apocalypse he foresaw and thus as pernicious problems to be solved by Draconian public-sector and even international action.

The following was read at the Feb. 20, 2014 Board of Supervisors meeting. I said the following:

A Better Plan for Carson City

Now is the time for courage in leadership as we seek to secure financing and determine the timing of projects through a cooperative effort which will bring together the community, city staff and elected officials.

The Brewery Arts Center, known as the capital city's epicenter for the arts since 1977, has developed a survey for Carson City residents to take that will help BAC board members determined future needs and what locals expect from their arts center.

The survey is only 22 questions and accessible through the live link here and will remain live until the end of February.

Three basic principles of leadership are: to willingly place the needs of others above your own; make decisions for the betterment of the majority, and have the courage and self discipline to stay the course regardless of the consequences.

As an elected official serving Carson City I would like to share my thoughts on the Mayor’s “State of the City” report which gave the status of the City’s financial stability, showed major accomplishments of the past year, and provided an overview of forthcoming projects.

Playing to the beat of your own rhythm comes from years of watching how others do it and then improvising to set a course of your own.

When it comes to making perfect pitch, where melody and harmony fit together organically, Vince Gates has turned his Carson City music store into the equivalent of a six-piece power band that customers can't seem to get enough of.