Editorial -- Analyzing Spin To Determine The Truth

spin

To provide an interpretation of (a statement or event, for example), especially in a way meant to sway public opinion.

A state of mental confusion

Comments are used here and presented under Fair Use Laws regarding Editorial.

An outstanding article in this past weekend's Press, by Ryan Randazzo, in Reno's local newspaper, the Reno-Gazette Journal. The piece provides some very interesting, first-hand information about how the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) and the Airport Authority of Washoe County (AAWC) operate, and further, just how stupid they think you in the Reno and Air Racing Communities are.

The article can be found at this URL and I suggest you read it fully before proceeding with this Editorial:

Future of Reno Stead: Expanded Runway,
Landing System Among Improvements

Much of this Editorial has to do with the Commercial Development planned for Reno-Stead Airport by the Airport Authority of Washoe County (AAWC) and the so-called "effort" to preserve the Reno Air Races, as outlined in the RGJ article.

Folks, there is no such effort, as clearly indicated by the comments of RARA and AAWC personnel in that article. They're just telling you what you want to hear on one hand about the pending end of the Reno Air Races, i.e., that it "ain't gonna happen:"

"Any tenants the airport signs for the land must be willing to shut down for the event each year; Finding such tenants will be a challenge; It certainly is going to narrow our market; The community won't stand for it!; We will not propose anything that would hinder the Air Races; The plans are unlikely to affect the event; The businesses wouldn’t be operational during the races and pylon training; We are certainly not going to propose anything that would hinder the Air Races,"

...then telling you what they plan to do anyway whether the community will stand for it or not and regardless of what happens to the Reno Air Races in the end!

This is what is called "Spin" and it's just a rather polite way of them saying to you:

"Morons, we'll do as we damned well please! AND! -- We'll not only do it right under your very noses, we're right in your face about it! PLUS, we have Federal funds, Eminent Domain and the Attorneys to back us up! TRY AND STOP US!"

-- XXOO Krys and Mike

Truly, they are committing these acts right under your very noses; right in your trusting, believing, faces. You know -- the face's they visualize with "Stupid" written all over them!

In other words, it's past time to wake up, people. You're already late for the battle. RARA and the AAWC are ten jumps ahead of you right now and about to close the deal!

RARA and AAWC got some headlines in Reno and Las Vegas out of this piece, in order to try and counter what SSNS and its Editor have been reporting to you all along. And, just the same, the article clearly spells out their plans and the fact that these idiots are indeed, right in your face -- bold, in other words -- with their lies and deceipt, as they have been all along.

Believe it or not, they have told you the truth as to their intentions, while simultaneously lying to you that they intend to "Preserve Air Racing."

Of course, you say, "Wait a minute, Bear...they 'clearly' stated they were trying to preserve Air Racing as we, the Community and the fans, would not stand for anything interfering with the operation of the Air Races."

Well, right, that's precisely what they said. However, they were lying to your collective face. You know, the one they will always visualize with the word "Stupid!" written all over it.

Like I said, they were telling you what you wanted to hear, i.e. that the "Air Races are safe! The Air Races are not going anywhere! We shall run those Air Races for you until the end of time..."

They're just not telling you that the "End of Time" for the Reno Air Races is roughly two years from now, give or minus a year, i.e., 2004 - 2005...they could end in 2004 or they might end in 2006. And it's not the timetable for construction at Reno-Stead that would drive them to end the Air Races early...more importantly, it's the timetable they have for moving the races to another location in order to compete with the "New Kid in Town," i.e.:

Bob Avery and his World of Wings (WoW), which have established, if not entrenched themselves, in a very large, warm and welcoming, Las Vegas community. A Community complete with everything that the City of Reno does not currently have...massive amounts of money, tourism, employees, volunteers and hotel space. Soon, they will even have a "Scolari's," at least, according to SSNS sources.

Avery could practically run year-round down there, if it weren't for the oppressive summers. More importantly, the hot thin air is where Air Racers like to fly, thus, "Air Conditioning," the modern marvel that can keep pilots cool, the cockpits cool betweeen races and a tented pit cool for mechanics to work on their aircraft without burning themselves on the hot metal, is most assuredly called for.

Covered (overhead awnings, as with horse racing tracks) grandstands, pavillions and vendor's areas, along with misting devices placed in different locations for body cooling, plus vendors hawking hats, cold drinks and sun tan oil, could easily protect the crowds in the place where the Devil goes when he's feeling cold and needs to warm up.

The City's population alone can support an Air Race -- the massive influx of tourism is some serious icing on "Entertainment Capital of the World's" multi-tiered cake. Methinks Mikey H likes icing! Loves to stick his fingers right into the cake and Good Lord, what a cake is Las Vegas!

Hell, who wouldn't!? If money were to equate to sweets, Las Vegas is a diabetic coma waiting to happen. And that's whether or not you are currently diabetic.

Yes, Avery could easily run a year-round operation in Las Vegas and so too, could this suddenly migrating Albatross (i.e., one that lands, takes a dump, gorges itself to extinction, then hasn't the ability to figure out why it can't take off again...aka, "Competitor, Predator, et al") to the North -- RARA (Editor's note: Rhymes with "HA HA" for you novices just arrived...).

Which is to say, the only vision the leaderships of RARA and the AAWC have at present, is to make a buck by leeching off others "ideas" and "assets," but not actually going out and earning their own in the Private Business Sector.

The Reno Air Races rightfully belong to Reno, not RARA nor the AAWC. That land belongs to the people, regardless of whether RARA or the AAWC own it. So, what's the deal here, that RAH! RAH! and the AA of WC are forcing their actions down the Public's throat without regard for the Public's wishes for that property?

Well, as Aesop once said, in his moral to the fable The Wolf and the Lamb -- "The Tyrant Will Always Have A Pretext for his Tyranny." However, unlike the fable, RARA and the AAWC have had their pretext established well in advance of meeting with the lambs (local and Air Racing communities), and not only do they have other wolves out spinning this tale for them -- they actually have other sheep in the herd spinning it, too!

Or, in some cases, wolves in sheep's clothing.

The ability of RARA and the AAWC to spin, to doubletalk or "doublespeak," is the only thing RARA/AAWC (one and the same) have going for them at this late date in a time when they're trying to kill the Air Races to occupy 3,000 acres of Reno-Stead Airport land with a competitive Industrial Manufacturing and Warehousing site.

With Reno-Stead, we see encroachment from the inside. Why? Simply because, much of the neighboring lands have already been purchased and are owned by communities of buyers who planted themselves on the fringe of Reno-Stead Airport -- just to watch the Air Races. Also, the rules are different on County lands where certain fees are not charged, prices can be lowered to compete with outside Private companies -- particularly in the Reno-Stead Airport area, where Commercial Warehousing is already offered with plenty of space still available off Airport Grounds -- and Tenant contracts and approvals can be placed on the fast track.

Which raises the question: what is the AAWC, a Government Agency, doing by competing with the Private Business Sector? We all know the old quote: the Business of Government is Business...why is that not applied here? Further, one of the established rules of Government involving itself in the Private Sector is to create business interest there when there is none, then once interest is established -- as it has been for hundreds of years when it comes to Commercial Manufacturing and Warehousing facilities -- why not pull out and leave the Business to the Private Sector?

If the lands on Reno-Stead Airport are there for Preserving the Air Races, why build such a complex right smack in the center of them, thereby threatening the event with large concrete buildings, thousands of workers and multiple Power Sub Stations with 50-foot structures? At times, those Air Racers have been forced to set down on the sage in the infield area, conduct Maydays to closed runways and taxiways -- massive Warehousing and Manufacturing buildings would severely interfere with the ability to do that, and thus, the safety of the Racers and the Air Races.

The Air Races bring in money; they even make a profit; however, and unfortunately, they don't make a profit like an Industrial Manufacturing and Warehousing Business Center can -- and the Air Races only run one to two weeks a year (Main event, PRS) at present.

An Industrial Manufacturing and Industrial Warehousing Business Center runs 52 weeks a year. Further, they are even more profitable than an Air Race could ever hope to be, especially since they run 24 hours a day. That's right: 7/24/52/356. That's the combination to unlock the secrets of "What the hell is going on at Reno-Stead Airport!? What the hell are they doing to our Air Races!?"

7 = seven days a week.

24 = 24 hours a day.

52 = 52 weeks a year.

356 = 356 days a year, and remember, this is Leap Year! One more day to make a profit, every four years.

What are they trying to do to your Air Races, Reno?

Simple: they're killing them. RARA and the AAWC intend to terminate the Birth Certificate of the Reno National Championship Air Races. They're trying to murder Reno Air Racing. They don't care if they kill Air Racing along with it.

THEN, they're going to try a new start up under a different name at Las Vegas, Nevada, because that's where the money is, as they know now thanks to their new competitor, Bob Avery's World of Wings. They know that if they don't move right now, Avery will entrench himself and shut them out. So the move has got to come soon, without regard to wishes of the people in the Biggest Little City in the World.

Even if you step up the Reno schedule to four events minimum per year, the financial draw into the community is only $220 million at best, provided that each race does as good as the present race at Reno-Stead Airport. You could also increase the time a racing event occurs over, since realistically, the Reno Air Races are not a "one week" event as claimed in the newspapers and Aviation Press, but rather, a two week event because of the time it takes for the Racers and the Public to travel to and gather in Reno.

Just the same, you could add more classes, more events, more flip flops (Aerobatics), more entertainment (night pyrotechnic shows, fireworks, concerts, dinners, Fan Fests, et al), and stretch an Air Racing event out for two to three weeks easily.

You could also add a major Aerospace trade show on the grounds, as they did at Transpo '72 in Washington, D.C., and as they were looking to do in San Diego, where the Brown Field Air Races were once held. In that way, you would create a month-long festival out of what was previously a single week event -- if you wanted. If you wanted to do it right. If you had the initiative and motivation. If you had the entreprenurial skills and the backers...

...like Avery does in Las Vegas.

Wouldn't that be great? Four races at Reno-Stead in one year -- minimum? And just one of them a "month-long celebration of Air Racing and Aviation!?"

No it isn't -- not when you're an Industrial Manufacturing and Industrial Warehousing site that doesn't want to even shut down for one week a year, nor two weeks, nor four, nor eight, etc. Could you just imagine the owners and leasees of such buildings, with their multi-million dollar productivy and community funding, shutting down such buildings for even a week a year, just to watch airplanes go 'round in circles.

I mean even if they were Air Racing fanatics, what would the stockholders at UPS or Amazon.com have to say if their Presiden/CEO and Board of Directors decided to shut down every time an Air Race could be held, just to watch airplanes fly real fast...

...at an "Invitational," of all things, a relatively non-competitive event (optimistically speaking).

One must analyze the "Spin." One must do the math to see what AAWC/RARA are up to. One must visualize Reno-Stead Airport in terms of size and see what the Airport is presently committed to, understand how much land is left, and why every square foot of Reno-Stead targeted for development is not only the infield area, but also, the racecourse grounds themselves.

This is Corporate Raiding at its best. One Corporate group steals the land and sells it to the other, then shuts the races down. The other Corporate Group, in collusion with the first, builds their Industrial site while allowing the second to steal the races and the prestige away from Reno, taking them southward to the sister city that everyone in Reno loves to hate -- Las Vegas.

Also known as, "Lost Wages," though it will be for a new reason soon -- the moneys RARA will take from the Reno Community will eventually wind up in Las Vegas hands, along with the prestige of the title known as: "National Championship Air Races." RARA has it trademarked and even copyrighted. They'll take it with them.

Eventually, the Airport will be shut down by the AAWC since, after all, 5,000 acres are more profitable than 3,000. And of course, they'll say: "Look at that empty ramp! No longer filled with racing planes twice a year, only big BLM tankers when fires are burning -- but they don't stop long enough to spend money in the community -- and virtually empty the rest (50 weeks) of the year! What a great site for an Industrial Manufacturing and Warehousing Business Center to expand into..."

...just like a creeping cancer!

Fact: The racecourse land was originally intended to be safeguarded to protect the racecourse and infield grounds for what was once known as the Reno National Championship Air Races. Source: Mike Houghton's remark in the RGJ, posted at the top of this page.

The racecourse land was subsequently sold by AAWC personnel in RARA back to their parent organization, the AAWC.

In other words, the AAWC infiltrated RARA, took the organization over, and transferred assets to the parent organization in a "Land Grab." Their excuse in selling the property -- "to put the Air Races back in the black."

Unfortunately, they lied in the process, with Houghton indicating that RARA maintained the race course lands to preserve the Air Races while AAWC only purchased enough for a small Industrial Manufacturing and Warehousing site.

Another Fact: the BLM -- as evidenced by the map featured at the BLM Carson City Field Office Website for the Tracy - Silver Lake Power Line proposal, in Chapter 2, Figure 2-2, and by their comments during my recent visit to their Carson City, Nevada, office -- have made it very clear that the AAWC owns all the land, not just a portion, and that RARA owns none. The BLM has two patches of land in the area of Cheapskate Hill that remain protected. Period.

The BLM has no control over the Industrial Manufacturing and Warehousing facility, and frankly, they don't own the land that Sierra Pacific, RARA and the AAWC collectively want those power poles placed on.

Here's another fact for you: the mission of RARA is as a non-profit Corporation, for the Public Interest and the Preservation of Air Racing. You don't preserve Air Racing by selling all the racecourse and infield lands at a site so that a Developer (the AAWC, in this case...) can build Industrial Manufacturing and Warehousing buildings on it, then allow thousands in to work in and travel through the infield area.

Facts: Air Racing planes are not allowed to overfly buildings on a race course. Air Racing planes are not allowed to overfly personnel on the course. In regards to the latter, us in the Press Corps, along with the wannabes in the Reno Air Race Press Corps (Editor's note: a mythical beast believed to have taken a bullet in the back of the head, execution style, and is now featured currently On Sale as Tri-tip at the Lemon Valley Scolari's...) would be out there in the sage and sand with "Stupid!" written all over our faces, while the racers flew Nap-of-the-Earth over our heads or made us dive with the pending introduction of a wingtip into our personal space, if not our improvised "Depends."

(Editor's note: Once was underwear...why do you think the sage grows so well in the Valley of Speed? BTW, do you know what the difference is between an Air Race photographer and a Automotive Racing photographer!? With the Auto Racing photographer, the crack in his ass is vertical, as God had intended. As for the Air Race photographer, Howie Keefe had other ideas.).

They might crash into those buildings at high-speed and kill a lot of people, not to mention the pilot who might have a better chance of surviving if those large, concrete structures, aren't in his way. Or, they might need that open sage for an emergency landing.

Fact: AAWC personnel are or have been on the Board of Directors of RARA, while simultaneously on the Board of the AAWC, in clear and obvious violation of State Law. Tom Gribbin is still on the Boards of AAWC and RARA, and has been in violation of State Law throughout that time.

Fact: AAWC possessed two Board Directors on the Authority Board and the RARA Board, not to mention the Airport Manager of Reno-Stead Airport, in the same time-frame as the land was being sold by RARA (AAWC led) to the AAWC. Houghton is the current AAWC liason to Reno-Stead Airport and was on the Board of Directors at AAWC while running RARA. Skip Polack indicates having left his position due to "conflict of interest." Other "former" AAWC personnel are salted throughout RARA.

Boys and Girls, can you spell:

"L-A-N-D F-R-A-U-D!?"

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