Labor secretary sees brighter days for LV

Who knew serving as the nation's chief labor-law enforcer could become such a gustatory whirlwind?

That's what the job became on Thursday for U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on her first official visit to Las Vegas as labor secretary. While in town for the afternoon, Solis spent more than an hour at Nevada Partners and the Culinary Training Academy on Lake Mead Boulevard in west Las Vegas.

But Solis wasn't there to taste academy students' spicy shrimp, chicken Parmesan or smoked tomato-provolone sandwich. She stopped by instead for a sampling of how the academy and training agency Nevada Partners combine efforts of both public and private groups, and she talked of more federal funds for similar training programs nationwide as the country grapples with rising unemployment.

As Solis toured the center and observed training areas ranging from housekeeping to sommelier classes, she ticked off new funding priorities that she said would help revive Nevada's economy and provide fresh job opportunities for the population Nevada Partners serves.

In a classroom of 17- and 18-year-olds studying for work life after high school, she remarked that a "big component of our recovery program is focused on you," and talked of a pending boost in summertime youth education programs.

In yet another classroom, a group of local dignitaries met with Solis to discuss green jobs. The Obama administration has allotted $500 million for eco-friendly industries, including contractors who weatherize public buildings and homes and manufacturers who make wind-farm turbines or solar panels.

"We had an Industrial Revolution, and now, for the 21st century, we're going to have a green revolution," Solis told the group, which included Chancellor Jim Rogers of the Nevada System of Higher Education, NV Energy Senior Vice President Tony Sanchez and Nevada AFL-CIO head Danny Thompson.

Nevada, with its abundant sunlight, wind and geothermal hot spots, is perfectly situated to take advantage of the new administration's emphasis on environmentally friendly industry, Solis said.

Steven Horsford, chief executive officer and president of the board of trustees for Nevada Partners and the state senator behind a major bill to create green jobs, said he was especially pleased at Solis's emphasis on green jobs.

"It's huge, because we have so many construction workers who are out of jobs or who will be struggling to keep their jobs as major projects such as CityCenter end," said Horsford, who also led Solis on her academy tour. "To have the opportunity to make Nevada the nation's leader on wind, geothermal and solar is huge, and it really shows there is a bright spot in all of this unfortunate despair we're faced with now. There are opportunities we can focus on."

Solis also said hospitality, health care and information technology will provide substantial jobs for Nevadans in the next decade.

Before she visited Nevada Partners and the Culinary Training Academy, Solis spoke to about 500 members of the Utility Workers Union of America at Bally's. The event was closed to the press, but one attendee said Solis spoke emotionally of her factory-worker parents and said the country must take care of the middle class and protect workers them from harm.

Solis's press secretary wouldn't disclose other stops in Las Vegas, but Mae Worthey, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said Solis visited the agency's Nevada JobConnect office on Maryland Parkway later in the afternoon. There, she spent about 15 minutes meeting with veterans and asking them how they felt about the services they received.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.