Friday, March 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
LIKE MANY PEOPLE in Southern Nevada, Debbie Russino worries about growth.
"I was here when there were 250,000 people and it was no problem to drive across town," says the 39-year-old wife, mother and registered nurse. "I can't stand this that it's getting so big."
The vast majority -- 81 percent -- of Southern Nevadans are thinking the same thing, according to a 1996 University of Nevada poll. Almost half of those surveyed, 46 percent, said they wanted the population to stay the same over the next 10 years; 35 percent said they wanted it to decrease. Only 15 percent wanted more neighbors.
Like many people in Southern Nevada, Russino worries about the traffic and the bad air and the overcrowded schools and the crime.
Especially the crime. Her husband, David, is a crime scene analyst for Metro, so she gets the inside scoop.
"I've seen what he did before and what he's doing now," says the 18-year Las Vegas resident. "It's unbelievable. The crime is getting worse. Most people don't hear or see what I hear and see."
But like many people in Southern Nevada, Russino doesn't have a clue what to do about it.
"This is one issue lately that is really bugging me," she says. "Everybody's talking about growth, but nobody says who you can call to try to stop it."
It's not that Russino is a total political novice. About 10 years ago, she and a group of neighbors banded together to fight off a high-density apartment complex next to their single-family neighborhood in the northeast valley.
"The County Commission all voted it down, except Paul Christensen, of course, and I'm glad he's gone."
In addition, Russino says she "fought like a mad dog" to get the nurses unionized at Desert Springs Hospital.
But when it comes to an issue as huge as trying to slow the Las Vegas growth locomotive, Russino -- and many others -- have a real hard time trying to figure out where to start.
That's a good question, says Ruth Mills, neighborhood activist and president of the Las Vegas Valley League of Women Voters.
Mills says most of these battles are being fought in the neighborhoods over particular developments that nearby residents oppose. But that, she says, isn't going to work.
"We're losing the battle," she says. "We've lost the battle. It's a bigger picture. It's beyond the neighborhoods now."
The problem is, while fighting a particular development proposal on a neighborhood level may be valid and necessary and even occasionally successful, it's essentially a rear-guard action that won't have any effect on the real problem.
It's like trying to stop a speeding locomotive by taking potshots at the caboose.
If you want to stop that runaway train, you've got to get to the levers on the front end. That means getting to the politicians who are stoking the engine.
And basically, that means you have three options:
* Finding, supporting and voting for candidates who promise to take action on the issue.
* Writing, calling, faxing, e-mailing, buttonholing ear-bending and arm-twisting your elected representatives on the issue.
* Joining a group of other people who are also concerned about growth. Because numbers always get a smart politician's attention.
The league is one good place to start, says Mills.
They've formed a 2005 Committee to promote community participation in issues affecting the valley's quality of life.
"If you want grass-roots work, we need people," Mills says. "We've got a committee, but we need more."
You can reach the league at 631-4998.
One of the keys, says Mills, is the regional planning that Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates have been promoting. They've been talking, Mills says, but the league wants to see some action, and they want lots of opportunity for citizens to participate.
Growth, traffic, crime, overcrowded schools: "All of these are uncontrolled," says Mills. "And what are our leaders doing about it?"
People have to start asking that question. Loudly.
Everybody has their own "areas of expertise and concern" to bring to the fight, Mills says.
"Whatever your point of view, you know, pursue it. Put the pressure on."
So there you have it, Debbie. It's not rocket science and it can take a lot of time and effort.
But if enough people start turning the screws, we might just get this monster under control.
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