BARBWIRE by ANDREW BARBANO Pirate Laureate of the High Desert Outback of the American Dream

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The firing of local school boss Pedro Martinez hemorrhaged bloody irony.

School board members insist it had nothing to do with Martinez's surprise termination of longtime school police chief Mike Mieras a few weeks ago.

Martinez claimed solo authority to fire Mieras but still consulted with selected members of the board.

This led the Reno News & Review to call for his firing.

Last Thursday, the RNR editorialized that Martinez "made no public announcement of it, though he had surreptitiously planned the firing with secret serial meetings with selected school board members, raising open meeting questions."

Purely by legislative clerical mistake (whad'ya expect?), Nevada's open meeting law became toughest in the nation in the mid-1970's.

Regardless, Reno and Sparks city councils and university regents routinely violated the statute for decades afterward.

Attempting to demonstrate harmony after four years (1971-75) of brothel owner Joe Conforte's influence, Rail City councilcritters would obtain consensus in secret and hold sham unanimous votes in public.

During the tenure of egomaniacal Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin (1994-2002), below-quorum private serial meetings were conducted with developers so that major votes were fixed ahead of time.

The practice was finally banned because of the courageous action of Las Vegas Regent Nancy Price, an outspoken maverick.

Sparks Regent James Eardley faxed his colleagues to obtain a consensus to censure Mrs. Price for the sin of hurting their tender feelings. She filed a complaint.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that obtaining consensus by electronic means was actually an illegal secret meeting. (Attorney General v. Board of Regents, 114 Nev. 388, 956 P.2nd 770, 1998)

Price's protest of her colleagues' temper tantrum made the law relevant to the online era which was then just emerging. She now resides in Sparks.

The law allows intentional violators to be removed from office.

"The Reno Gazette-Journal learned that six of the seven board members voted to terminate Martinez during a public workshop Tuesday, but no agenda items specified such a decision was going to be made during that meeting," the paper posted on its website Tuesday evening, July 22.

It's perfectly legal to discuss personnel matters in closed session. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The latter does not apply to certain select individuals including school superintendents. The open meeting law was modified a few sessions back. —> MORE]

So was the workshop action an actual vote or merely a stylized announcement of a decision legally reached in private? [EDITOR'S NOTE: In 2003, the cockamamie Nevada Supreme Court tightened the screws on the 1998 serial meetings case and ruled that some serial meetings are allowable. (Dewey v. Redevelopment Agency of the City of Reno, 119 Nev. 87, 64 P.3d 1070, 2003) Accordingly, page 49 of the current Nevada Open Meeting Law Manual states "...there can be no deliberation, action, commitment, or promise made regarding a public matter in such a serial meeting." Reno City Attorney and now-Judge Patricia Lynch "told the Reno Gazette-Journal (3-15-2003) she would advise the council it could resume meeting in groups of three or fewer with staff as long as they do not deliberate toward a decision or share what was discussed with the council members who were not present." See also McKay v. Board of County Commissioners, 103 Nev. 490, 746 P.2d 124, 1987.]

Did the trustees fire Martinez to cover their own asses for participating in serial meetings about Mieras? (At least one, Howard Rosenberg, was excluded.) Was it illegal for Martinez to even bring it up outside of a public forum? Why did God make lawyers? Who's on first?

This column has been Nevada's harshest critic of both Martinez and his con-man predecessor, Heath Morrison.

The Barbwire smoked all the state's media by as much as two years in exposing fraudulent graduation statistics.

I've built an entire website documenting wholesale abuse of public trust both here and Gomorrah South.

Only one official (from tiny Esmeralda County) has ever been removed for an intentional open meeting law violation.

The Washoe trustees need to come clean before they get fired, too.

Be well. Raise hell. Esté bien. Haga infierno.

WEB EXTRAS...

—> CONTINUING UPDATES ON THE UNFIRING/RE-FIRING OF PEDRO MARTINEZ

And don't forget Pedro's greatest hits —> TOO LEGIT TO QUIT. The Barbwire's ongoing investigation of phony Nevada graduation rates, now in its third year, just got respectable (See Hiding in Plain Sight by Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 3-27-2014)

Read it and weep, then review the series for yourself.

In several of his many recent media appearances, Mr. Martinez has repeatedly stated that Washoe will again show an uptick in graduation for 2013-14.

TOAST ALERT. Teachers' union gross profits tax petition supporters and opponents would do well to review the Barbwire of Feb. 28, 2013.

Passage of the tax initiative could easily lead to a successful court challenge that would at the same time blow out not only the revenue hike, but also term limits and the state's worst anti-union laws. Something for everybody.

ANTE INTO THE GAME: Support the new season of Barbwire.TV by putting your money where my mouth is.

PayPal monthly subscription software is now operational at the website.

A thousand thanks to those who already responded and keep sending show suggestions. Current frontrunners include (pardon the pun) wild mustangs as canned goods, education and  i-Guns with César Chávez in Nevada recently surging.

Now come queries about ballot questions. The Jan. 30 column brought a surge of inquiries about the Nevada State Education Association corporate tax petition on this November's ballot.

Stay tuned.

  Please forward additional ideas or vote on the above.

  I encourage you to donate to the cause at Barbwire.TV/

The medium that shapes public opinion needs at least one refuge where it is not filtered through the distorted green eye shades of prissy corporate accountants for whom profit is the only priority; where self-censorship is the journalist's normal work environment and where all sins of omission are tacitly encouraged and forgiven with the wave of a balance sheet.

This is important.

We've got work to do.

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Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)

____________
Andrew Barbano is a 45-year Nevadan, chair of the Nevada César Chávez Committee, producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration, first vice-president and political action chair of the Reno-Sparks NAACP, labor/consumer/civil rights advocate, member of Communications Workers of America Local 9413/AFL-CIO and editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org and DoctorLawyerWatch.com/ As always, his opinions are strictly his own. Check local listings for other Nevada cable systems. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988.

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Smoking Guns... Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential Education Dysfunction Part XLIII—> Playing the race card for profit and peril Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 7-31-2014 UPDATE 7-26-2014 10:31 a.m. PDT / 17:31 GMT/SUT — Pedro Martinez filed a wrongful termination lawsuit on Friday, July 25. He also asked for a restraining order to prevent school district trustees from reviewing his tenure or firing at their July 29 meeting because his contract calls for 10 days' notice before anysuch may be convened. At 6:00 p.m. PDT on July 25, WCSD Board of Trustees Chair Barbara Clark issued a statement that the Martinez affair has been pulled from the July 29 agenda and would be rescheduled for sometime in August. The Reno Gazette-Journal has filed an open meeting law complaint with the Nevada Attorney General. A rally in support of Martinez is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. PDT / 18:00 GMT/SUT on Saturday, July 26, at the McKinley Park Recreational Center on Riverside Drive at Keystone Avenue in Reno. Martinez and Republican Washoe County School District Trustee Estela Levario Gutierrez will speak. The event is being supported by religion-based ACTIONN, the recently reconstituted Latino Chamber of Commerce and non-union developer Perry DiLoreto. Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential for updates not available via the mainstream media.   We Don't Need No Education The continuing Barbwire series Statement from the Washoe County School District board chair FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Irene Payne (775) 224-6991 Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:44:11 GMT (4:44:11 p.m PDT) Statement from WCSD Board of Trustees President Barbara Clark Regarding Superintendent Martinez’s Employment Contract: “I have requested that our staff place an item on the next WCSD board meeting agenda, scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, so the Board can consider and take possible action regarding the future of the Superintendent’s employment contract with the school district. In the meantime, Mr. Martinez remains on leave with pay until further notice.” Pedro Martinez unfired RENO 7-23-2014 — Sources tell the Reno News & Review that Washoe schools superintendent Pedro Martinez has not been fired, but has been placed on administrative leave. They say no vote was taken last night. Rather, the board acted by consensus without a vote, whatever that means. School district lawyer Randy Drake said he will be sending out messages to the press to clarify exactly what happened last night. To questions, he said “Again, this [forthcoming statement] will answer that question.” Addendum/1:39 p.m. PDT: Sources say that when members of the school board raised an issue with Superintendent Martinez yesterday evening (presumably the dispute over his CPA credentials reported by [Las Vegas-based commentator] Jon Ralston), he became upset and irate. The board members themselves, in turn, became concerned about what they considered his unprofessional demeanor. — Posted by Dennis Myers @ 2014-07-23 12:38 p.m. PDT Washoe school boss Martinez should resign or get axed Reno News & Review Editorial 7-10-2014   A cold shower for the NY Times Tesla gusher 40 years in the wilderness: Study says Silver State on downhill slide since 1970 Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 7-10-2014 Sparks Tribune Ask Hobby Lobby to take in refugee kids So five uptight old Catholic guys in grim reaper robes don't like contraception. Wonder if they thought that way back in college? Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 7-3-2014 Sparks Tribune The Status Quo Ante versus the Status Quo Uncle Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-26-2014 Sparks Tribune Tesla plants PR slants to get into the public's pants Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-19-2014 Sparks Tribune ...and more ammo...       Nevada Revised Statutes 241.031 — Meeting to consider character, misconduct or competence of elected member of public body or certain public officers.       1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a public body shall not hold a closed meeting to consider the character, alleged misconduct or professional competence of:       (a) An elected member of a public body; or       (b) A person who is an appointed public officer or who serves at the pleasure of a public body as a chief executive or administrative officer or in a comparable position, including, without limitation, a president of a university, state college or community college within the Nevada System of Higher Education, a superintendent of a county school district, a county manager and a city manager.       2. The prohibition set forth in subsection 1 does not apply if the consideration of the character, alleged misconduct or professional competence of the person does not pertain to his or her role as an elected member of a public body or an appointed public officer or other officer described in paragraph (b) of subsection 1, as applicable.       (Added to NRS by 1993, 2636; A 2005, 2245) [Emphasis added.] The hardest and fairest questions yet asked of proponents of the teachers gross profits tax initiative Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 7-10-2014 We Don't Need No Education The continuing Barbwire series Barbwire: Nevada not really a state No, we were not Battle Born in Kenya Top 10 reasons Nevada lives in the 19th Century Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 10-17-2013 Sparks Tribune Low-income penalty: Nevada socks it to the working poor BARBANO: Nevada is one big company town Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013 State of Health National health care comes up against a very sick state. WHAT'S IN IT FOR US? Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013 USA at crossroads: New Deal or new Confederacy? Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 10-10-2013 Sparks Tribune UPDATE—>Bill Moyers: Shutdown is simply secession by other means ...and more ammo yet IMF Head Says Inequality Threatens Democracy. Here Are 7 Charts Proving She’s Right. By Erika Eichelberger / Mother Jones/BillMoyers.com 5-30-2014 “The behavior of the financial sector has not changed fundamentally…since the crisis. The industry still prizes short-term profit.” The Post-Dated Recession: Pay me now or pay me later Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 9-6-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune The Post-dated Recession By Joshua H. Silavent / Daily Sparks Tribune / 5-3-2011 Union decline and rising inequality in two charts by Colin Gordon Economic Policy Institute / 6-5-2012 Used in journalist Mark Robison's extensive Hard Labor: Nevada unions tout role in helping workers, firms, economy (Sunday 2 Sept. 2012 Reno Gazette-Journal, page one, Reno Rebirth section of the print edition). Union men Jim Burrell, Paul McKenzie and Guy Louis Rocha did the movement proud. Not included in the RGJ online edition. WOMEN AND UNIONS — ORPHAN MAJORITIES The Barbwire Labor Day column Reno Gazette-Journal / 9-3-2012 Nevada Press Assn. Better Newspaper Contest HAT TRICK: Barbwire takes first place three years in a row. The winning entries Suing for Schools: The 20-year shuck Expanded from the 2-21-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune Click here to view the show on your desktop RED flags flying low over Sparks Expanded from the 1-10-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune The wrath of self-righteous racism Expanded from the 11-8-2009 Daily Sparks Tribune Government contacts Nev. congressional delegation Nevada Legislature State of Nevada Secretary of State Carson City Clark County City of Las Vegas Douglas County Reno City Council Sparks City Council Washoe County Commission Washoe Registrar of Voters The campaign against forcibly-paid newspaper obituaries And they wonder why the newspaper business is dying?   The Dean's List    The Dean of Reno Bloggers could very well be Andrew Barbano, self-described "fighter of public demons," who started putting his "Barbwire" columns online in 1996 and now runs 10 sites. RENO NEWS & REVIEW, 11-9-2006 The 2009 first-place Nevada Press Association award winners Tony the Tiger & the flaky NFL Barbwire / 11-30-2008 Deregulation is never having to say you're sorry Barbwire / 8-3-2008 Nevada: A good place to visit, but do you want to live here? Barbwire / 6-15-2008 The 2008 first-place Nevada Press Association award winners The price of a piece / 6-17-2007 Boxing Pandora /9-23-2007 The Lady in the Red Dress 10-28-2007 1997 Pulitzer Prize entries The life and times of Travus T. Hipp The best who ever was

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Copyright © 1982-2014 Andrew Barbano

Andrew Barbano is a 45-year Nevadan, editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org; and former chair of the City of Reno's Citizens Cable Compliance Committee, He is producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration and serves as first vice-president, political action chair and webmaster of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us.

Barbwire by Barbano moved to Nevada's Daily Sparks Tribune on Aug. 12, 1988, and has originated in them parts ever since.
Whom to blame: How a hall-of-famer's hunch birthed the Barbwire in August of 1987
Tempus fugit.

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