Rachel Dahl
That’s interesting, the Stardate is negative. I don’t know what that means but this week would fit that sort of weirdness.
Things with the day job have been heating up with the election coming up – last week I saw somewhere there were 76 days till Election Day. And you can certainly tell.
Working for the federal government, there tends to be a bit of politics involved. In theory there should be a separation, but it does creep in. And depending on the program, sometimes more than others.
The program I’m running is really cool actually. My team goes out into the rural communities of the state and gets to know all the various interests and stakeholders and finds out what the community actually needs; wastewater treatment plant, homeless resource center, utilities at the airport, a law enforcement facility. We then go back to 24 federal agencies that have come together into the Rural Partners Network – a coalition deployed over 11 states get federal resources into communities that don’t typically access federal money and find out what agency has a pot of money that would work for that project.
RPN has existed for a year and a half, and we are finally starting to see some progress. We put together a deal to provide Technical Assistance (support for the project) to several rural communities in southern Nevada that have horrible internet service to help them get to where a provider could come in and connect them to high-speed internet. The project would end up covering 11 communities and we just found out it got funded.
There is also a project to build back up power generation and storage for Dyer out in Fish Lake Valley for when they get cut off the power grid. They are connected and controlled by California so when the California regulators decide, they can shut off power to the whole community and their air conditioners and refrigerators and all their stuff doesn’t work and they suffer, sometime for more than 24 hours at a time.
On Thursday the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture will be in Pahrump to announce the award of the funding that will allow Valley Electric Association to build that huge project – nearly $107 million.
On Wednesday the Administrator for the Small Business Association will be in Laughlin to make some announcements, listen to small business owners, and introduce businesses that have accessed and are using either SBA or USDA funding at whatever level to run their businesses and serve Nevadans.
As we’ve worked to put together both of these events, we’ve been looped in with the White House staff that is involved. We’ve got to meet them and work closely with them, been invited to their virtual meetings, and gotten an inside view into some of the sausage making, first-hand that is our government at work.
And no matter what side of the isle you are on, or if you’re lying in the middle of it or if you’re out on some edge of the spectrum, it’s still really interesting. It’s very formal. It’s very crowded. There’s a lead person and then four people supporting that person. I’m exaggerating, but there really are at least two people doing each job – one as the lead and one as the support. It’s exhausting to keep it all straight and to get the real story. One minute we’re invite only and then four hours later there aren’t going to be enough bodies in the room so it’s all hands on deck inviting anyone who’s ever attended a community meeting.
I’m a little nervous about how it will all come together but super excited. We’re sending Leanna to Pahrump to cover that announcement for the Silver State Chronicle – she’s becoming the statewide, rural expert.
So while we dip our toes into the big world of national politics we’ll still be right here, covering all the local news that’s fit to print and …
…Keeping you Posted.
Rach
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