Executive

Waste of the Day: $70K For Temporary Poem In Reno, Nevada

Reno, Nevada spent $70,000 printing a 4000-word poem – temporarily – on the city sidewalks, most of which are neglected.

Published

1 year ago

December 26, 2023

Adam Andrzejewski

A 4,000-word poem was temporarily printed along one-mile of Reno, Nevada sidewalks, at a cost of $70,000.

The poem “Confluence: Stream Science, Handwriting, and Urban Curbs,” is a project by Todd Gilens, a Bay Area visual artist who first had the idea in 2014.

Waste of the Day: $70K For Temporary Poem In Reno, Nevada — Waste of the Day 12.26.23 by Open the Books

“The portioned themes of the composition are based on water, land, science and seasonal motifs and are “expressed in rhythmic prose,” which is meant to be read while walking,” This Is Reno reported.

The lettering, added in October, was expected to last several weeks, depending on weather conditions, the local news site reported.

The Nevada Globe poked fun at the installation – paid for by the City of Reno, Washoe County, Nevada Humanities, and the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation.

“If, God forbid, a pedestrian is distracted by “Confluence,” he might get a closer look at the temporary scrawl if he trips over the cracks in the neglected, uneven sidewalk,” the news outlet wrote. “The City of Reno can’t find the funds or the will to repair a neglected sidewalk, but the bureaucrats can find the funds to temporarily paint it.”

This is also as residents of Reno and the Washoe County School District are facing an additional Storm Water Utility tax proposed by the City Council, averaging an initial $13.49 per month. The tax will have automatic, annual increases based on the Consumer Price Index and there is no cap.

If Reno City Council approves this tax, residents and businesses in Damonte Ranch will have to pay two taxes per month for sewer infrastructure.

But by all means, lets paint a temporary poem on the sidewalks.

As the Nevada Globe put it, “One question we have is why a temporary, mile-long poem (that costs $70,000) is necessary?”

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.

Adam Andrzejewski

CEO at OpenTheBooks.com | Website | + posts

Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.

Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.

The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.

Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.

Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.

Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.

Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.

In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.

Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).

Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.