Q+A: Hillary Clinton shares stances on Nevada solar shake-up, Bundy saga and Yucca dumpsite

[Alfresco]

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/jan/07/qa-hillary-clinton-nevada-solar-fight-yucca-bundy/
Excerpt:

By Megan Messerly
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Before speaking at the Battle Born/Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner hosted by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid at the MGM Grand on Wednesday, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton swung through the valley, making campaign stops at Sun City Anthem and the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas.

Between events, the former secretary of state and U.S. senator sat down with the Sun for an exclusive interview, talking about the issues that matter most to Nevadans, including the collapse of the state’s solar industry, a hike in the minimum wage, the standoff between federal agents and the sons of rancher Cliven Bundy in Oregon and whether — once and for all — a nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain would be off the table.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. So she couldn't just come out and say that her pal Buffet's push to ban net metering

was flat out wrong.

I don't know all of the public utility rules in Nevada, but certainly people who acted in good faith should be given the benefit of that moving forward. I don't think any change in rules should penalize people who were permitted and encouraged to do what folks have done. They shouldn't see that investment absolutely destroyed. I'm hoping that there can be a sensible recognition of the benefits that this provides and the investments that people have already made.


Then she couldn't manage to take a clear stand against armed terrorists occupying federal buildings.

I understand that the occupiers of the federal land have said that they will leave if the local community doesn't want them, and from what I'm seeing in the news, the local community doesn't want them. They should leave — leave peacefully — but they should be charged for the illegal action they have undertaken, trespassing, breaking and entering and the like.

But when it comes to the working poor, $12/hr is good enough for you, while she pulls in 250K/hr.

I have been guided by experts in this area who've done an enormous amount of research here and around the world, and who are very supportive of a $12 minimum. But, at the same time, I have advocated and supported a higher minimum in many parts of the country, and this would be a perfect example where I think that would be called for.

[Jim Lane]

2. Yucca Mountain remains an intractable problem

Clinton's response to the interview question:

Yucca should be off the table because I think there are enough questions about its suitability as a site, and there is also such organized opposition to its use that it doesn't really make sense.

But there should be a continuing science-based effort to try to figure out what to do about nuclear waste, and I'm open to talking with experts who have been studying this and listening to local communities about what their preferences might be. But I would keep Yucca Mountain off the table.

Given the problems of storing high-level radioactive waste, it's just about inevitable that, for any proposed site, there will be questions about its suitability and there will be organized opposition to its use. No amount of "talking with experts" is going to produce a magic solution.

Nevadans are heavily focused on the Yucca Mountain issue, so that's what the Sun asked her about. A broader answer would be that, given the absence of any long-term plan for storing the high-level waste from nuclear power plants, the federal government should insist on a phase-out of existing plants.