20/20 Vision: As a new decade begins, the Sun looks 10 years ahead

Mike Smith

Nevadans can accept status quo, or we can learn, innovate, change: 2020 Vision:; Dec. 27, 2009; Las Vegas Sun; We can’t start 2010 soon enough. It’s the year, we’re told, when we can begin to pull ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin our recovery from a terrible few years that brought us to our knees.

Where I Stand: Today, a forum for visionaries: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; By Brian Greenspun; Visionaries are only as good as the people who pay attention to them. As we look to 2010 — that in itself is a mouthful to a fellow who, as a very young man, used to wonder what kind of spaceships we would use to take us to the moon in the 21st century — it is helpful to pay attention to what our community leaders think will happen in the next 10 years.

Still the destination resort of the world: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Harry Reid; I think that Nevada is going to remain — Las Vegas is going to remain — the destination resort of the world. There will be new transportation measures to get people to Las Vegas — by then we’ll have a high-speed train between Las Vegas and Southern California.

To predict 2020, hindsight from 2010: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Rob Lang; It is hard to imagine in these heady days as we enter the third decade of the 21st century how grim conditions in Las Vegas were just a decade ago. After a half-century boom, the region found itself in its biggest bust. Sure Las Vegas had seen bad times before, but this downturn seemed to challenge its whole business model.

State of water depends on the Colorado River

State of water depends on the Colorado River: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Pat Mulroy; In the coming decade our primary water source, the Colorado River, will have more years with less water than years with more water. Still, I’m optimistic that Las Vegas will be ready for whatever nature throws our way. If the drought gets very severe in the Colorado River Basin, water should become a national topic, and we’ll be talking about retooling the nation’s water supply as a whole.

Urban planner: Dreams for Nevada rest on waking change

Urban planner: Dreams for Nevada rest on waking change: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Robert Fielden; Futurists are always the first to tell you anything can happen. But the likelihood of change generally follows one of three paths. The first track is the status quo. The second potential track is downward. The third future option is the track I support — the path upward.

Elaine Wynn: Better teachers, better leadership for our schools: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Elaine Wynn; My hope is that over the next 10 years we will become more enlightened about education. I’ve been very disappointed for a very long time about our direction. We have teachers and principals, dedicated education professionals, who have tried their hardest to deliver quality education to our children, but they haven’t had the leadership and resources they need to be successful.

Energy office director: Renewable energy industry will see explosive growth

Energy office director: Renewable energy industry will see explosive growth: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Jim Groth; By 2020, solar and alternative-energy-related businesses will surpass gaming and mining as the state’s growth industries. Nevada currently produces 100 megawatts of solar energy. Over the next 10 years that will multiply by 1,000 percent.

Analyst: Health care to ascend to top industry: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 VIsion:; Jeremy Aguero; By the year 2020, the hospitality and tourism market will no longer represent our top industry. Health care will likely surpass it in size. Nevada will again be the leader in terms of population growth, but it won’t be Clark County leading the surge. Investments in solar and renewable energy in rural parts of the state will mean smaller communities growing at a more substantial pace than Southern Nevada.

Superintendent Walt Rulffes: Schools need plan of action for success: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Walt Rulffes; Nevada needs to start looking further ahead. If I had the opportunity to help draft a blueprint, here’s what I’d do: The Legislature, with extensive statewide input, would develop a long-term public education plan that sets goals for five and 10 years from now. The plan would include funding for appropriately carrying out those goals, monitoring and supporting schools and correction remedies for failing schools.

Pastor: If connected, West Las Vegas can thrive

Pastor: If connected, West Las Vegas can thrive: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; S.S. Rogers; We would hope West Las Vegas would be more like Summerlin. We want to have businesses, black-owned businesses, restaurants and even shopping centers in our remote area. We want a community that is viable, that is livable, and one where any person can live without fear.

Labor leader: Unions will flourish after recovery from recession: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; D. Taylor; I’m a very optimistic person. I think Las Vegas will come back, but not with the kind of growth we’ve had over the past 20 years. In any place that has steroid growth you ultimately have to adapt to a more realistic growth pattern, and frankly you get real muscle. You’re not as bloated and you’re more efficient. I think that will happen here.

Bankruptcy attorney: Hoping for recovery, but recession's lessons will be forgotten: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Candace Carlyon; We’re definitely going to see more bankruptcies in the next year or two and then it will taper off. I don’t think we have finished the bad news when it comes to commercial property. You’re going to have a lot fewer people standing at the end of this cycle.

Environmental activist: Rise in appreciation for state's natural splendor

Environmental activist: Rise in appreciation for state's natural splendor: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Jeff Van Ee; We’re at a crossroads, economically and certainly environmentally. This is the point where we have a choice: Do we go forward with more responsible and efficient use of our resources while diversifying the economy? Or do we wait for the economy to rebound and simply pick up where we left off?

Smith Center board chairman: Arts and culture will change us

Smith Center board chairman: Arts and culture will change us: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Don Snyder; One of downtown’s highlights will be the Smith Center. History tells us how important world-class facilities like these have on the culture of the city’s residents. So it’s not just going to be a fabulous building, it’s going to change lives. Culture and the arts change lives. What’s happening here will forever change our children.

UNLV president: Economic diversity key to meaningful education reform: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Neal Smatresk; Our most urgent priorities over the next decade are to address the things we’ve identified with the Brookings Institution as our highest-need areas for the state: economic diversification, building our human capital and creating an infrastructure that supports those.

Latin Chamber official: As Latino community grows, clout must mature

Latin Chamber official: As Latino community grows, clout must mature: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Rene Cantu Jr.; One of the most noticeable changes that will occur in the next 10 years will be the increase in the number of Latino children in the educational system. Right now, about 40 percent of the students in Clark County schools are Latino and we’re going to have continued growth of Hispanics to the point where they will be the majority.

UNLV professor: What if we were a three-shift town, had schools in casinos?

UNLV professor: What if we were a three-shift town, had schools in casinos?: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Dave Hickey; In 20 years, Las Vegas will be an enhanced three-shift town or it will be nothing. Imagine what would happen if Las Vegas suddenly became an 8-to-5 town. With that pressure on the infrastructure, we would drown ourselves. The real future of Las Vegas is its three shifts. I think we exploit that.

Larry Ruvo: Vegas will draw visitors, residents who want high-quality health care

Larry Ruvo: Vegas will draw visitors, residents who want high-quality health care: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Larry Ruvo; Las Vegas will be a Mecca for health care and it will happen before 2020. I just came back from spending time in Cleveland, where the excitement was the annual board of directors and trustees meeting. There, the Ruvo Center was officially donated to the Cleveland Clinic. We all know that Cleveland Clinic is going to expand its facilities in Las Vegas.

Steve Bottfeld: Builders will change strategy as supply of land dwindles: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Steve Bottfeld; I think you are going to see major changes in Las Vegas over the next decade. Our concept of what the suburbs are is going to change dramatically. The limited supply of land will dictate that by 2020. We are an island, and it is surrounded by Bureau of Land Management and Native American land. There is little place to expand.

Ex-state archivist: With its libertarian streak fading, Nevada will stagnate

Ex-state archivist: With its libertarian streak fading, Nevada will stagnate: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Guy Rocha; I’m not hopeful for 2020. Some think CityCenter is the start of a return to the heyday, but those people are living in the past. By 2020, the casino business will no longer be the state’s cash cow for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that the number of competitors in the legalized gambling business just keeps growing.

Phil Ruffin: Strip will remain king, but downtown will suffer

Phil Ruffin: Strip will remain king, but downtown will suffer: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Phil Ruffin; I bet three-quarters of a billion dollars that things will be good on the Las Vegas Strip by 2020, so I hope I’m right. I figure the Strip is going to continue to be the place in Las Vegas, and there’s only one Las Vegas so people from around the world will continue to come here.

Dana White: UFC will rule the world — and bring Vegas along for the ride: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Dana White; UFC will be the biggest sport in the world by 2020. People were saying I was a lunatic 10 years ago when we first got this going, but the stuff we’re working on right now on so many levels is mind-boggling.

Thom Reilly: With less growth, decisions must be more selective, efficient

Thom Reilly: With less growth, decisions must be more selective, efficient: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Thom Reilly; My concern is that a lot of people still think we’re just going to rebound and do it all over again in the next 10 years. But we’re going to have to adjust because population growth is going to be flat or negative. That means weaning ourselves off this growth, off this need for mass-production suburban homes and big-box stores.

Official: Las Vegas can be transport hub of the West

Official: Las Vegas can be transport hub of the West: Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2020 Vision:; Tom Skancke; By 2020 we’ll see major transportation improvements to meet the needs of this community as we continue to grow, with the Regional Transportation Commission leading the way. Interstate 15 will get a lot more congested because of growth.