Tech industrial hope and fantasy for Nevada

Working the election in Reno, NV in 2018 to snag another Democratic U.S. Senate Seat (that would be Jackie Rosen) and a Democratic governor (that's Steve Sisolak), I necessarily became interested in how the city and Washoe County functioned. The place was obviously changing fast. Once "the Biggest Little City in the World," a pitstop on Interstate 80 for California gamblers and outdoor adventurers, it was growing like mad. When we talked to voters, they complained about crowded schools, rising home prices, downtown construction, and increased numbers of unhoused people.

At the time, I realized I was seeing a new sort of economy, which I thought of as "tech industrial." Its crowning manifestation was Tesla's Gigafactory, touted as expected to add over 20,000 jobs, directly and indirectly. In the nondescript warehouses south of the town and the glitzy casinos, there were mysterious blockchain prospectors and server factories. Something was happening here. 

These days that Democratic Governor we helped elect has become a proponent of "Innovation Zone" legislation which would allow Blockchains LLC to build a new, 36,000 person city in nearby Storey County, current population a mere 4000 desert rats. The county doesn't want to be developed, at least this way. The state sees potential jobs and perhaps eventually revenue; the tech entrepreneurs would get the freedom to experiment, according to CEO Jeff Berns.  

“Now we’re saying to the state: ‘Look, the county doesn’t really want us to do this,'” Berns said. “This is the impact on our whole state of what we’re attempting to do. Yes, there are hundreds of things that can go wrong. But if it goes right, think of what it could mean for the state.” 

With Sisolak’s endorsement, Blockchains is asking lawmakers to establish new laws that would allow wealthy developers with an innovative technology and large land holdings to break away from existing counties and create a new local government, known as an “Innovation Zone.” 

Blockchains, which controls about 67,000 acres of land outside of Reno and recently purchased water rights, wants to build a technology park and new city along the Truckee River that would incubate blockchain technology, which offers a decentralized form of information storage that experts say is more secure and could give individuals more authority over their data.

The new city would set up its own local government, apparently run on the company's blockchain-based currency, and generally promises to be something new -- and profitable -- under the sun. 

Not surprisingly, there are critics. Environmentalists worry about where the new city would get its water. This is, after all, a desert. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe is concerned that the Blockchain project would hinder their restoration efforts which seek to repair the lake. (EARTH FOCUS: The New West and the Politics of the Environment is a wonderful Nevada film that tells that story.)  

And, there's the fact that Berns has been a major political supporter to Governor Sisolak, helping to fund his campaign.

Berns said he approached state officials because the company’s plans, if successful, could have a significant fiscal impact on the state. With plans to launch a digital currency tied to the dollar, Blockchains said it would charge a micro-fee on transactions that could generate revenue.

... “My vision for this is a place where people can come to create,” he said. “In innovating new ideas, you have failing. That’s just the nature of innovation. We have failed probably 50 times already on what we’re trying to develop. So I want to create a place where that’s OK.” The goal with the Innovation Zone is to create a place to develop new blockchain technology.

Whether Berns and his buddy Sisolak have a chance to subject Nevada to this vision remains to be seen. The state legislature has to sign on and Nevada has many competing interests. But in a state whose paradigmatic urban center is Las Vegas (with 85 percent of the population), betting on hope and fantasy comes naturally. Maybe the tech industrial vision being peddled outside Reno will make a go of it. 

Steven Colbert thinks not -- he thinks this scheme is a classic "Uh Oh!" It's worth watching through the intro to get Colbert's take on the story.