Summer is definitely upon the southwest. Not quite 11 AM and the thermometer is already crawling past the 100-degree mark. Some will hit eject to get to a cooler place. There seem, however, to be plenty of people who are happy with the heat. Phoenix, described earlier this year as a place where"the heat is intolerable in the summer, and the city has no defining cultural tradition or obvious reason for existence" just bumped off the city of brotherly love as the 5th largest city in the country. They must sell a lot of real estate in January when it's only 90-degrees outside.

By now few in the West are unfamiliar with Las Vegas' water grab plans. The efforts to defoliate the rest of Nevada in favor of unrestricted growth are the subject of an article in this week's US News and World Report. Nearly twice as much water is what Las Vegas water grabber Pat Mulroy tells the magazine when she is not explaining why long showers aren't wasteful. There is a number to think about. Twice as many people in the Las Vegas metro area. Take your lot and divide it in half. Double the number of cars on the road.

The Las Vegas marketing slogan says that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. If Mulroy continues unchecked it will literally be true as nobody will be able to go anywhere else. Residents won't have to worry about taking out their sod to support the over-the-top evaporation from Lake Las Vegas, rather they will just move into their cars and live on the roads. And of course the Governor has a plan for the roads too. Between Mulroy's pipe dreams about what population Las Vegas can support and the Governor's road-funding-without-taxation fantasy Vegas and the rest of Nevada have a long road ahead.

Today's news includes the story that our country's experienced military leaders fear the effects of global warming may be a threat to homeland security and our security interests around the globe. Closer to home Southern Nevadans are being asked to support a plan that could crush their security. The Southern Nevada Water Authority's risky plan for exploiting the resources of rural Nevada, if allowed, will upset the delicate balance of life in the desert.

Unfortunately there are operatives, formerly known as newspapers in league with the Water Authority. Instead of educating Nevadans and those who might visit here about the devastating effect such a plan would have on the area these papers run off the wall editorials when a commissioner is not afraid to stand up for what is reasonable. It is difficult to decide where to start when addressing the problems with SNWA's suspicious scheme. To begin with SNWA and its partners routinely state a cost figure of $2 billion. Independent experts place the cost at between $12 billion and $20 billion. Even at the high end these estimates don't address that the deep water aquifers may have dissolved salts and require desalination.

A group of twenty businesses are trying to overthrow the will of the voters of the state of Nevada.

Whether the businesses are ultimately successful in their attempt to prevent clean breathable air, Nevadans need to vote with our feet. The facts do not support the business owner's claims. Business owners at a few, unscrupulous businesses are threatening their employees with loosing jobs because of the measure. Other localities that have passed similar measures find that restaurant business often goes up after enacting smoke-free laws.

These businesses, however, would rather prey on the fears of their employees instead of complying with a law that a majority of the state. Quite simply the time has come for Nevadans to tell these businesses we don't appreciate their antics. We need to take our business to establishments that respect all Nevadans not just those who smoke in restaurants.