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Thread: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

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    Default Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    I can't imagine why LOL !



    (snip)"NEEDLES, CALIF. -- Depending on their mood and whom you talk to, people in this parched railroad town clinging to the eastern edge of California call it the poor stepchild, the redheaded stepchild, the ugly stepchild of San Bernardino County.

    They grouse about not getting their roads paved, about being 220 miles from the county seat, about being a dumping ground for parolees and sex offenders -- all the while gazing enviously across the Colorado River at boomtowns in Arizona and Nevada.

    The building codes are stricter here, the taxes are higher," said Patricia Scott, a nurse. "I cross into Arizona and it's growing by leaps and bounds. We are the only community in the tri-state area that hasn't grown, and it's probably because we are in California."

    Kohl's, Target and Sam's Club stand like beacons on the not-so-distant shore. Gas is almost a dollar a gallon cheaper across the river. Casinos beckon. Cities mushroom. And Needles slowly fades away.

    "Have you been downtown?" asked City Councilman Richard Pletcher. "It's like little Hiroshima. It's HiroNeedles."

    Resentment has been mounting for years, but the county's decision to reduce the Colorado River Medical Center, the town's once proud hospital, to a small urgent-care facility has sparked open rebellion. Needles is now considering leaving California to join Nevada or Arizona or to create its own independent county.

    "This is not a publicity stunt. We are serious about secession," said former Mayor and Councilman Roy Mills. "Look at Nevada, they are booming. Look at Arizona, they are booming. We want to level the playing field. I was initially skeptical about splitting off, but the more I learn about it, the more doable it seems."

    In many ways, people here have already left; they just haven't moved. They often dine, shop and work across the river. Their schools' sports teams compete against teams in Nevada and Arizona, not California. And for fun they usually head to Las Vegas, Lake Havasu or Laughlin, not west to Barstow.

    "I think leaving California may be our last chance," Pletcher said. "Are we supposed to just dwindle down to a puff of smoke?"

    A city commission is investigating the options. Not that leaving would be easy. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress would have to approve.

    "It will be tremendously challenging, but people don't feel their voices are being heard," said City Manager William Way. "At one time, Needles was the place to be. Now it's struggling to find itself, find its place in the sun, so to speak."

    Founded in 1893 with the arrival of the railroad and named after the pointy mountains south of town, Needles calls itself "The Best Kept Secret on the Colorado River." But the sun-blasted city is struggling.

    A handful of businesses dot old Route 66 as it meanders through the dusty downtown past decades-old burger joints, weathered Craftsman homes and the gritty railroad depot. Shade is scarce, and the temperature can hit 125 degrees.

    Yet this tightly knit community rallies when threatened.

    In 1965, it prevented the rerouting of I-40 through Searchlight, Nev., a move officials believed saved Needles from winding up a ghost town. And in the late 1990s, it helped fight off attempts to put a nuclear waste dump in Ward Valley, 22 miles to the west.

    The 25-bed hospital is the latest battleground. It has treated patients for 56 years and remains one of the few services residents don't need to cross a bridge to use.

    Needles took over the hospital itself. To cut costs, staffers are working without benefits or overtime. Yard sales are being held to raise money.

    "The county of San Bernardino has never liked us. We have always been their ugly stepchild," said Pam Andrade, a respiratory therapist. "They led us to believe they would turn this place around. They are like a lying spouse in a relationship that keeps lying and lying, and eventually you can't believe anything they say."

    Brad Mitzelfelt, a San Bernardino County supervisor who represents Needles, disputes that. The town is home to 11 county offices and benefits from numerous county services, including a library, an airport, a regional park and law enforcement, he said.

    "Needles may be better served in another state, but that's because California has a disadvantageous business climate that hurts them when they try to compete against Nevada or Arizona," he said."(snip)

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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    Hmm, well, I remember in high school (in rural nevada) that we actually played Needles in sports, they were considered part of our league even though they were in a different state. Should be interesting to see what happens.
    I believe you Dottie and you have my support

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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    lol, HiroNeedles.

    Feature costumes for sale!

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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    They helped make the bed everyone must sleep in in California. They can sleep in it too.

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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    ^^^ that is probably true from the standpoint of Needles changing 'states'. However it is decidedly NOT true in terms of middle class residents of Needles ... or any other state / city with expensive social welfare programs, with expensive state environmental regulations, with overbloated 'public sector' employment levels, and with correspondingly high state income taxes and local property and sales taxes.

    The story (re) makes several important points comparing tax rate and cost of living differences between California and Nevada. For a middle class taxpayer, moving yourself across the state line means trading a 6% California income tax for 0% in Nevada, means trading 4.20 per gallon 'designer blend' environmentally formulated gasoline for 3.80 per gallon generic gasoline, means property taxes that are less than half as much, means lower sales taxes, means being able to shop at a WalMart instead of being forced to shop at a more expensive (unionized) grocery store, etc.

    In the specific case of Needles, residents can cross the bridge and achieve a fair number of these advantages. However, more 'inland' residents are stuck paying California taxes and prices. Thus there are now tons of 'inland' residents who have made / are making the move from expensive high tax states like CA or NY or NJ to lower cost lower tax states ... which might be next door or 1000 miles away ! In the case of CA vs NV, the comparative advantage in terms of after tax purchasing power now approaches 15%, and the future comparative advantage would appear to be even higher.

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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    ^^^

    I have no sympathy. A lot voted the fools into power who pulled off this shit or stood by in apathy and unconcerned.

    I know I did my part to try and prevent it when I was living there. Then there comes a time when ya throw up your hands and move (and I took my corporation with me - so I know exactly what you are speaking of.)

    They are creating their own little hell and they are welcome to it.

  7. #7
    Jay Zeno
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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    This is the most alarming news since the Nebraska Panhandle threatened to secede from Nebraska and join Wyoming. (No guarantees that Wyoming would have it, though.)

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    Default Re: Needles, California wants to become Needles, Nevada

    As a lad, we often drove through Needles, on our summer vacations. The last time I remember my dad was outraged over the fact the price of gas in that town was so expensive-77 cents a gallon! From what I remember of the place, Nevada can have it.

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    Thumbs down A little boy

    A little boy of eleven, who had been thoughtfully assisting in the packing, joined the group of men, and as they rubbed their chins he spoke up, blushing at the sound of his own voice: "Aunt have got a great fuel-house, and it could be put there, perhaps, till you've found a place to settle in, sir."

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    Sad Question

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