In this episode of The Best Dam Podcast, Jill sits down with Congresswoman Dina Titus, who represents Boulder City and Southern Nevada in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dina shares how a politically active Georgia upbringing, a proud Greek immigrant grandfather, and 35 years teaching political science at UNLV shaped her path to public service.

Dina opens up about the decline of civility in politics and how she finds common ground across the aisle. She discusses the fight to protect Southern Nevada’s share of the Colorado River, the importance of Lake Mead and Avi Kwa Ame, and the need for transparency around data centers on public lands. Along the way, listeners get a personal look at her first jobs, her family, her favorite books, and the lessons her Southern parents taught her.

DISCUSSION

1. From Georgia to Nevada: Growing up in a politically active family, her grandfather’s restaurant that fed troop trains during World War II, and studying political science at William & Mary.
   
   
2. Professor & Legislator: Teaching at UNLV for 35 years while taking unpaid semesters off to serve in the Nevada State Legislature, and how each role made her better at the other.
   
   
3. Civility & Statesmanship: How political discourse has changed, the hidden meaning behind “my most esteemed colleague,” and why both sides must take the high road.
   
   
4. Finding Common Ground: Bipartisan work on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, her friendship with former opponent John Porter, and teaming up with Rep. Brian Mast to end animal testing at the VA.
   
   
5. Colorado River & Water Conservation: Her role as a founding member of the Colorado River Caucus, the lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation’s decision, and why Southern Nevada’s conservation success shouldn’t be punished.
   
   
6. The Mexico Treaty & Desalination: Explaining the “law of the river” and why investing in desalination in Southern California helps keep water in Lake Mead.
   
   
7. Protecting Public Lands: Boulder City as the gateway to Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Avi Kwa Ame, and why conservation protects both lives and livelihoods.
   
   
8. Coke Machines & Jujubes: Her first job stocking a motel Coke machine in Tifton, Georgia, and working as a movie theater popcorn girl.
   
   
9. Family, Home & Decompressing: Over 40 years of marriage, her sister Ro, coming home every weekend, and nightly cocktail hour.
   
   
10. Lessons from Mom & Daddy: “Don’t back somebody into a corner,” Emily Post manners, and bringing social graces back to public life.
    
    
11. What She’s Reading: Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and why she reads a novel set in every country she visits.
    
    
12. Data Centers & Transparency: Why she supports transparency over moratoriums, and the need for clear standards on water, power, local hiring, and community revenue.

LEARN MORE

To learn more about Congresswoman Dina Titus, visit https://titus.house.gov

To learn more about the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, visit their website at https://www.bouldercitychamber.com

KEYWORDS

Dina Titus, Congresswoman, Boulder City, Southern Nevada, Colorado River, Lake Mead, Water Conservation, Avi Kwa Ame, Public Lands, Data Centers, Civility, UNLV, Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, The Best Dam Podcast

#DinaTitus #BoulderCity #SouthernNevada #ColoradoRiver #LakeMead #WaterConservation #AviKwaAme #PublicLands #Civility #TheBestDamPodcast #BoulderCityChamber

Podcast Transcript

Jill: Listeners, I am very, very proud and honored to be able to share today with you Congresswoman Dina Titus. She is, our representative for here in Southern Nevada, here in Boulder City most specifically, and I cannot wait for you to hear some of her amazing story and who and what she is. And so I am thankful that you are here and had the time to visit with me today.

Thank you, Congresswoman. 

Dina: Well, thank you for having me. You know I love you, Jill. You are a force out here in Boulder City. So it's a treat for me to be on your podcast. 

Jill: Well, thank you, thank you. I really appreciate it. And so you represent us in the US House of Representatives. What was it that I guess let's go back.

Let's go back some years. What spurred you to want to serve our great country? 

Dina: Well, I came from a politically active family. I grew up in Georgia. Daddy ran for the city council. He lost, but he worked for the city, and I had an uncle in the state legislature. And my grandfather came from Greece, and he was a proud American.

He had a restaurant, of course, like so many Greeks. Actually fed the troop trains during World War II near 

Jill: Oh, wow 

Dina: Columbus, Georgia. So that was kind of part of my growing up. Then I went to school at William & Mary, which of course is where Patrick Henry gave his famous, "Give me liberty or give me death" speech.

And Thomas Jefferson went to school there, James Madison went to school there. 

Jill: Wow. 

Dina: So there was a lot of American history and culture and politics, and that's what I studied political science. Then I came back and taught that at UNLV in the Political Science department for 35 years. During that time, had an opportunity to run for the state legislature, and I thought, "Well, you know, I've lived this, I've studied it, I write and read about it.

Hell, I might as well run for office." and it was a way to extend what I did in the classroom to a broader audience. You know I talked about policy, and this gave me a chance to actually work on policy and make a difference in people's lives beyond the classroom. 

Jill: You know, I love that, and I imagine your students all love the fact that they learned at your knee, and now they are actually able to see you put it all to work.

And whether they agree or disagree, it doesn't matter. It's just the idea that someone's willing to serve. And I would imagine from the perspective that you are coming from, you probably understand the ins and the outs and the intricacies that happen at, in DC, not only here statewide initially, but in DC. And some of that information, that gives you kind of that foundation that others do not have. They're going in cold, and so I would imagine that has served you well over the years, having that that base. 

Dina: Well, thank you for recognizing that. I feel like it really has. During the time I was teaching at UNLV and I was serving in the state legislature, the, the session is only every other year.

And it pretty much matched up with a semester at UNLV. So I would take the semester off every other year in the spring without pay to go to Carson City. And I felt like being a political scientist gave me a better understanding of policy and the process, and made me a better legislator, and being a legislator made me a better teacher, 'cause I could say, "This is how it really works."

Jill: Right. 

Dina: Not, "This is the practice," not just the theory that you find in books. And I have a lot of students all around this valley, Democrats and Republicans, some in elected office, a lot in government agencies, a number of attorneys now. So it's always a pleasure to see them. They'll come up and say, "Oh, I had your class."

And I always ask them, "Well, did you learn anything?" 

Jill: I bet they were inspired. Even if they didn't learn, I bet they were inspired. 

Dina: Well, thank you. 

Jill: And I was just here at the grand opening just last week. You had somebody come up to you. I was standing there, and they made that statement, "I had you in such and such a class" and it was phenomenal." and so you are right. Thankfully, it is across both aisles. It is something that educational basis gave them the information, the knowledge, the, inspiration, the application for them to be interested and to move forward. and if we didn't... and I love you just said scientist, political scientist.

I never thought about it from that perspective, but that is the degree to which it's important for you to understand our government, and to be able to have that knowledge, have the history, and then have the application of it. It just makes you a very well-rounded politician. Well 

Jill: So thank you

Dina: Well, thank you. Yeah, people who are going into politics now with very little experience, and they say, "Oh, well, I can do that." You know, "Government runs like a business." Well, no, it really doesn't, and there are so many different, ways that the Congress works, or how you interact with the courts, or do you really understand the Constitution?

So that background has proven helpful. 

Jill: I imagine. So you, over the years, have seen a lot of politicians come and go. What is your assessment right now of the decorum, of the statesmanship? It feels like we might be slipping a little bit too far off that cracker, right? So what does that look like to you right now?

Dina: Well, it's very discouraging. You know, when I first started in the legislature, you could never have used a four-letter word on the floor of the Senate. You would have been censored or called out and even like damn, you couldn't say. Now you can say anything practically. People use all kind of four-letter words.

They don't treat each other with respect, and that starts at the top. That starts with the president. And, you know, these awful nicknames that people use. Used to be too, when I first went to Congress, you referred to your colleague as my colleague from Virginia. Now, if you didn't think too much of him, you would say my esteemed colleague from Virginia.

Jill: Really? 

Dina: Now, if you thought they were a real idiot, you didn't say that. You said my most esteemed colleague. 

Jill: Really? 

Dina: So it reflected what you thought, but it kept things on a more polite level. 

Jill: Yes. 

Dina: And I think it has really tainted political discourse because it quickly just devolves into name-calling, finger-pointing, cussing, things that, really aren't that appropriate.

Jill: So solutions. What is the solution? How do we come back from that? You know, we get too far down, how do we come back up that hill to live back in that place where civility really does, help guide us so that we can see that there has to be a negotiation? You have to come to the middle.

Everybody has to give up a little bit of something. How do we get back to that solutions-based, approach and a more civil-minded approach that, yes, not everybody wins every time, but we're all okay and we're still gonna go away from that discussion as friends? 

Dina: You know, that's something that people ask me all the time, "Can't you just get along?

Can't you just get something done?" People get tired of hearing the, just the bickering and the fighting and the not accomplishing anything that has come out of Congress in recent years. It's very difficult. both sides have to do it. One side can't go high and one side go low 

Jill: Right 

Dina: because that's not gonna work.

But, you know, campaigning has gotten so nasty. And there's so much money in it, and you can say practically anything. It doesn't have to be true. You know, regular citizens can sue for libel or slander if somebody says or prints something about them that's not true. It's very difficult for somebody in public office to meet the standard to be able to do that.

So if somebody has just said the most terrible things about you during the campaign, it's hard to turn around the day after the election and work with the other side. 

Jill: Right, right, right. 

Dina: I think what both sides have to do is put aside the ideology, fight on those issues if you have to, but find some common ground issues that don't have to be partisan.

That's why I like the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Everybody needs bridges, roads sewer lines, Democrats and Republicans, so we can kinda work together to accomplish those things without getting into those ideological personal fights. 

Jill: You know, I do appreciate that, and you bring up, a very valid point, that there are many places that you can still find level playing ground.

Those places do still exist. and maybe we need to focus on that because I don't think that the media in general provides us with a lot of information that I see when, going back with the Las Vegas, chamber on their fly-in annually. I love going back because I am so grateful that John Porter can set that up and kinda, coordinates all of that.

And every single time I'm with him, I find myself go, "Oh, you know what? What I'm listening to on a news station is not what's happening. That's right in those halls." Those young staffers are the ones that are... I'm sorry, you're... I love you to death, but I'm pretty sure the staff is running this country.

They are just amazing. They are. And they're running those hallways, and they're working their little bums off. And then, to be able to understand that things are happening behind the scenes, that your chiefs of staff are interacting with other chiefs. That's right. And whether, no matter what their, if it's an R or a D in front of their name, that stuff is happening.

There is a lot of camaraderie. There is a lot of negotiation and a lot of things that are taking place that are very positive that we never hear about, that if I didn't go back, I would not know. And I would... I leave there every time going, "Oh, my gosh, we are in good hands. I'm not so afraid." 

Dina: Well, that is so true.

You know, but it doesn't make good TV. True. It's, they like the explosions and the name-calling and things that, from both extremes. What's happening in the middle that's actually just getting the work done, that's not very exciting for people

Jill: True

Dina: So they don't put it on TV. But, just a couple of things in reference to what you mentioned.

You know, I beat John Porter. 

Jill: I know. 

Dina: And yet now he's one of my best friends. 

Jill: I know, and he respects so much of you. Yeah. And I just, I love that in him and of you. 

Dina: Well, we had known each other before in the state legislature and had gotten along well, and then our paths went separate ways, and then I beat him for this, the House seat.

But, he's a great lobbyist, he's a great representative for Southern Nevada's interest, and we work very well. In fact, my former legislative director now is one of his main employees. 

Jill: I know. 

Dina: Ben Rosenbaltt. 

Jill: We love Ben. Sorry. 

Dina: And he's great, and I feel like I can take some credit for him training him, and now

Jill: You did 

Dina: he works for John. But the other story is, talking about looking for issues that you can agree on. I'll give you a good example. There's a person from Florida named Brian Mast. 

Jill: Okay. 

Dina: Very conservative guy. He's a military veteran, kind of MAGA all the way. I wouldn't agree with him on much of anything.

But we found something that we have in common. like I said, he's a veteran, and he's very... He got little children. He's very much opposed to testing on animals. 

Jill: Okay. 

Dina: And feels like, as I do, I mean, I hate that. I hate that animal testing because it's not really all that accurate. It's expensive.

You can do it now with AI and technology that's much better, and it's just inhumane. So he and I have teamed up to kind of get the VA to move away from testing on kittens and puppies and monkeys, and we've had some successes. 

Jill: Oh, that's great. 

Dina: And we get along really well on that issue. 

Jill: I think that's awesome.

I... You know, and that's an issue that I hadn't really thought too much about. 

Dina: Yeah. 

Jill: But yeah, glad to know that- As technology advances, why do we need that? We don't. You know? We don't. that makes a lot of sense. So thank you for doing that. So let's talk about some of the different issues that I know you are working hard on for us. water. 

Dina: Yes. 

Jill: I know water's one of them. I know you have a water panel coming up. I apologize, I won't be able to attend. I'll be in Greece 

Dina: Oh

Jill: visiting your homeland. 

Dina: Yeah. 

Jill: And so, I think that having eyes on this and knowing that there is a lot of, teamwork that is happening between the other states, the other seven Colorado River, states. 

Dina: Yes. 

Jill: Very important issue, very important for us to be aware of, and very important for us to also let the rest of this, the nation know about so that they're also aware, 'cause they are many of our tourists that are coming here. Let's explain to them what the situation is.

Let's not create fear so we drive tourism away. However, let's make sure that we're speaking the correct language, using the right verbiage, and also un- helping people understand conservation is gonna be the only way that we can really make this happen. So, share us a little bit more about your efforts on that, in that regard.

Dina: Well, I'm a founding member of the Colorado River Caucus, and that's a group of members from the states that are impacted, the seven states along the Colorado River. And so the purpose of that caucus is to educate other members. 'Cause, you know, some come from where they got too much water as opposed to where we don't have enough. So you gotta educate people first who are your colleagues, and then advocate for legislation. Now, here locally, we've done a great job of conservation. We kinda set the standard, but it's one of those awful cases of no good deed goes unpunished. We've saved water, so they think we need less water.

Jill: Right. 

Dina: And so it's kinda like saving money out of the budget, then they take it away 'cause you didn't use it. so what we've done though, we've had a number of projects in trying to get funding for additional conservation efforts upriver. I've worked to do more recycling, worked with Boulder City on a project here. Right now we are just trying to But I've been engaged with the water district about the lawsuit that the Department of Reclamation Has come up with this decision. You know, it's really bad. There's seven states, four upstream, three downstream, us, Arizona, and California.

Now, California's unto itself, and it doesn't get all its water from the Colorado River or nearly as much as we do in Arizona. So I tend to team up with, Mr. Stanton from Phoenix. He was former mayor of Phoenix and he represents that area. And we have worked on some projects that have to do with irrigation, at the Corps of Engineers and things that they are building and working to save water. And so the more information we have, the better. But we've got to try everything from cloud seeding at DRI to potential desalinization in Southern California. That's gonna be expensive and complicated 'cause you got so many jurisdictions, including Mexico

Jill: Right

Dina: involved in that. But we just have to recognize that water is an issue for the future. It is life. 

Now, the recent decision was they could take 70% of our water over the next 10 years. That was the Bureau of Reclamation. We are suing against that, as is Arizona. But if you took 70% of our water, we'd just blow away.

Jill: Right. 

Dina: We'd just dry up and blow away. So we can't let that happen. But one thing that I think we've got to get people to know is that you just can't keep building. You've got to put some restrictions on that building tied to water levels. Because what you're doing is you're not saving water, you're just moving water around.

Jill: Right. 

Dina: You take your water and give it to somebody else. You've got to figure out a way to save water. Don't stop building, don't stop growing, but just do it in a smarter, more sustainable way. 

Jill: And it does feel like there are measures that are being created and new technology, and there are... And you are right.

I truly believe that Southern Nevada is the poster child for reclamation and conservation. and so I would hope that your lawsuit, does end up Finding some way for us to have some kind of a solution. 

Dina: Can I tell you one more thing real quick, Jill? 

Jill: Yeah. 

Dina: The four upper states use a lot of water for irrigation.

That's mostly what they do. And according to this decision, they don't have to make any changes. They don't have to give up anything. They say, "Well, if you wanna give a little, that's fine. That's up to you." But the southern states, us and Arizona especially, we are being forced to give it up, and that's just not fair.

Jill: That doesn't feel right. Yeah, it doesn't feel right. Can you, continue to educate us a little bit more about the, the Mexican water treaty and how that plays into this? Because there have been so many people, I've heard comments from, US citizens that have said, "Well, why are we sending water down there?"

Can you kind of explain the value of a treaty and why we need that? 

Dina: Well, the Colorado River was, the law of the river they call it, was set many, many years ago, and it was done at a time when nobody expected there to be over two million people in southern Nevada. 

Jill: Right. Right. 

Dina: We were a desert so we didn't get a very large allotment.

But that the river runs all the way south, and so Mexico was part of that allocation. Now, if you could get Mexico or even Southern California to do desalinization, you could use that water to replace the allotment that they get out of the Colorado River. and so nobody would lose. You would either break even or come out ahead.

Jill: Right. And so If I remember, Mr. Insinger actually spoke at the DC fly-in. And he made the statement that there are dollars being invested in some of those desalinization programs within the San Diego area so that we're willing to invest in their programming so that they are able to, allow us to have, keep some of the water here in Lake Mead.

Dina: That's exactly right. Yeah. It's a replacement of water. So if you hear, "Oh, you're using Nevada tax dollars to invest in California," that's the reason. You get it back. You know, it's kind of like, the convention authority is trying to get some money to widen I-15- I-15 ... to Southern California.

Now, somebody would say, "Well, don't use Nevada money to widen a road in California." Well, yes, you're widening the road in California, but that's so all those Californians can come up here

Jill: That's right

Dina: to Las Vegas for the weekend 

Jill: Right 

Dina: or Boulder City. 

Jill: Yeah, we definitely need to educate people again more about that as well.

Correct. Yeah. I definitely see value in that. And so we really appreciate all your efforts in helping us recognize some of the value that, you know, you and I have been working on this for quite some time and, you know, the value of the National Park Service and the, interactions that we have.

Boulder City is surrounded by, We're the gateway to two different national recreation areas, whether it's Lake Mead National Recreation Area or Avi Kwa Ame. And so that brings us the opportunity to be able to speak to and remind people of the value of conservation, the value of good stewardship towards these public lands, but also to help people recognize it's part of their quality of life to be able to come to those locations, to understand their history, to be in Avi Kwa Ame during some of the dark sky viewing.

Dina: Yeah. 

Jill: You, I think you've seen some of the amazing pictures that Allen O'Neill has created during night, some of those night photos. Yeah. It's incredible, and we lose that appreciation, and if we don't experience it or we don't tell other people how amazing it is, then we forget the value of it, and it makes it real easy to just build or take away or forget about or not conserve and not appreciate.

Dina: Oh, I think you're right, Jill. You have done an amazing job of, leading the effort to keep Boulder City's, atmosphere like a little small historic town, and at the same time spread its reputation as the jumping off point for these great, natural resources. And so people won't come for that outdoor recreation, which we know is a growing part of the economy if there's nothing to see. 

Jill: Right. 

Dina: So you've got to protect those public lands, protect those petroglyphs, and have water in the lake. And so it's not 

Jill: Right 

Dina: just a matter of lives, it's also livelihoods. 

Jill: Right. Exactly right. Very well said. Thank you. Okay, so let's talk about some fun things about you. 

Dina: Uh-oh.

Jill: What was your very first job? 

“ina: Well, my father had, was kind of a little penny ante entrepreneur, and he had a lot of little different businesses. And one he had was a Motorcourt, they called it in Tifton, Georgia. And my sister and I, Daddy said, "Well, you can be in charge of the Coke machine, and you can get all the profits from the Coke machine, but you have to keep it filled up because if there aren't Cokes in there, we're not gonna make any money 'cause nobody's gonna buy them."

So we had to have the responsibility of filling up the Coke machine, and then we got the profit. And at that time, in the motel you had Coke and ginger ale and club soda 'cause you had travelers going through. They might like to take a little drink at the end of the day, and it cost a dime. 

Jill: Really? 

Dina: Yeah.

Jill: And so did you, put yourself through college on that Coke machine? Well, 

Dina: I don't think I made enough for that. But I worked all through college. I worked at the library, at UNLV and at the University of Georgia. And one job I had was at the, being the kind of candy/popcorn girl at a picture show. And it was a great job 'cause I got to see all the movies, and after everybody went in when the show started, you didn't have too much to do, and, like, you could eat all the popcorn you wanted and pick the little red Jujubes out of the box, and it was dark. Nobody would notice. 

Jill: Oh, that is awesome. What a story. So now we all know you're a Jujube fan. And then did you throw away the green and the clear and the yellow? 

Dina: Oh, yeah, green's the worst. 

Jill: I, yeah, they, I agree with you. I think that's fascinating to know that you built your foundation on entrepreneurial type work though, right?

So I mean, that's the spirit of where you're at today. 

Dina: Well, I learned early responsibility. You know, you had the responsibility of filling it up and, kind of the pride in when you accomplish something. my grandfather, it was of course, like I said, in the restaurant business like all Greeks are.

And, he worked very hard after he came to this country with nothing in his pocket to where he ended up. And I, that inspired me too. 

Jill: Oh, I bet. and is an inspiration to, I'm sure, your family as well. 

Dina: Yes. 

Jill: That is great. And so what about your kids? Tell us about your family. 

Dina: Well, I don't have any children.

Okay. but I say all Nevada's children are my children. 

Jill: Well, you taught so many that- Well, that's true ... I'm sure they all believe that they are your kids. 

Dina: Well, some of them I feel responsible for, some of them I won't take credit for, and some of them just need a little talking to. 

Jill: Put them in time out.

Dina: Yeah, that's right. 

Jill: I love it. Okay, 

Dina: And Now, my husband I met at UNLV. He's in the history department. He was a Latin American historian. 

Jill: Really? 

Dina: And so we've had a great... He thinks what I do is gringo politics. But we complement each other, very well. That- And we've been married over 40 years. 

Jill: Oh my gosh.

That, now see, that's an accomplishment nowadays, right? 

Dina: Oh, for sure. 

Jill: That is impressive. Yeah, very good. Congratulations on that. And so, I've also met your sweet sister. Yeah. I think she's adorable. And so you, have a tight family bond. 

Dina: Very much so. I go everywhere with my sister. And my mother just passed away last year.

Jill: Yes, I'm so sorry. 

Dina: She was 95. And, first I came out here, then Ro came out here, and then when Dad retired, they came out here. And so, we don't She didn't have any children either, but we're very close. And every weekend, she and Mom and I used to go to the movies. That was our kind of activity together.

She's a teacher, too. She's a founding, faculty member at Nevada State. 

Jill: Really? I did not realize that. 

Dina: And she teaches teachers of special ed. 

Jill: Oh, I have a very special appreciation for that, having a daughter and, a nephew and a niece, or excuse me, two nephews that all have special needs. So very grateful to have educators that are willing to do that.

Dina: She has the patience of Job. She's the perfect person for those kind of classrooms. 

Jill: Oh, that's awesome. Well, thank you. I'm glad somebody's willing to do it. All right. So now we've talked a little bit about your favorite, your job. What's your favorite part about what the work that you do? 

Dina: You know, it's coming home.

I enjoy the legislative process, and it's all a chess game, and I find that intriguing. But it's when I go to Smith's and somebody will come up to me and say, "Oh, you know, you helped save my house back 10 years ago," or, "You helped my husband get his VA benefits." It's real people who recognize me.

They all call me Dina. Nobody calls me Congresswoman because they feel like I'm a friend, which is exactly what I want. 

Jill: I feel the same. 

Dina: Well, thank you. and then they tell you how something that you did changed their lives, and that there's nothing better than that. 

Jill: I agree. I think that's awesome.

I have been with you when that has happened. And so you and I have just been wandering through the park, through Art in the Park, and people have come up and 

Dina: That's right 

Jill: shake your hands, and they're just you know, grateful to be in your presence. But how do you handle it when people are not? you know, I mean, we had that experience just this a couple weekends ago. And so how do you handle that? Does that bring you down? Does that... Or how do you keep yourself up? 

Dina: Well, you have to have a thick skin to be in politics today. And, some people you can talk to and you might win 'em over if you explain something that they have some misinformation on.

Some you're never gonna win over, so it doesn't do you or them any good to get into an argument. It just empowers the position that they take. it gets you down. And so that's why I come home every weekend. My husband's here, my sister's here. and that's why I love traveling, to kinda get away from it all a little bit.

But, you know, it's really funny. I can't go anywhere much without running into somebody. I was in Greece, where we were headed on, in the Plaka, and somebody hollered at me, and they were from Henderson. They were over there on a cruise. So you've gotta 

Jill: Oh, wow 

Dina: behave yourself wherever you go. 

Jill: Yeah, that is awesome.

I never really thought about that. But what do you do to decompress? 

Dina: Well, you know, I don't know. I read. I work crossword puzzles. I have... In the evening, Tom and I always take some time just to have cocktail hour and just kinda talk about things that aren't political, memories of trips and plans that we have or just, you know, just kind of

Jill: Enjoy each other.

Dina: Exactly. 

Jill: Yeah, I love that. I can just see that sweet, special moment. That's awesome. Okay, so- What is something that your sweet mom or dad taught you? We know that your dad kind of had that entrepreneurial side. but what is, what's a lesson that your parents taught you that you still use today and hope that others will also try to emulate in their own families?

Dina: Well, Mom and Daddy were very different, very similar, very Southern, both of them. Daddy, I think the main lesson he used to always say was, "Don't back somebody into a corner, because you leave them no choice but to come out swinging." And so I've always tried to remember that. Don't keep pushing, back somebody into a corner.

Leave them a little way out so you can come to some kind of agreement. And I think that works in life as well as in politics. Now, my mother, a Southern belle, you know, we had a copy of Emily Post, if anybody remembers Emily Post. I do. She was a big social commentator, at the house. So you don't wear white after Labor Day.

Jill: Right. 

Dina: You don't wear seersucker before Memorial Day. You know which fork to use. you always write thank you notes. You know, y'all, the manners kind of behavior, social side is what I got from Mama. and I think we need to get back to some of that, 'cause some people may think that's old school and corny, but maybe that would help with some of the etiquette and some of the hostility that people are Showin' that in politics 

Jill: Yes, that social grace.

We've lost that. 

Dina: That's a nice way to put it. 

Jill: Yeah, unfortunately we have. Civility, social graces, and statesmanship, I think are three areas that everybody needs to be focused on, think about, and reminded of, before their interactions with anybody on just a daily level. You're at the gas station pumping 

Dina: That's right

Jill: gas or, you know, you're in, Congress making a massive change to, our daily activities based on- Or 

Dina: internationally too. Think of that. 

Jill: Oh, right, right. 

Dina: Diplomacy fits into that category. 

Jill: Right. Well, I sure appreciate that. Okay, so one of my favorite questions to ask everybody is what book are you reading right now?

Dina: Oh. Well, I'm always reading something, and I try not to read, what I read for work at home at night. I have, was just, I saw the movie Tony about Anthony Bourdain. 

Jill: Oh, yes, yes, yes. 

Dina: I always kind of followed his TV show, and I was reading, Kitchen Confidential. Yes. and that's fascinating because it's behind the scenes look at a restaurant, and having grown up in a restaurant, that's, a lot of things were familiar, including how you value your knives.

Jill: Yes. 

Dina: Knives are something very important to chefs. But I read anything from biography to trashy political detective novels. 

Jill: Really? 

Dina: Whenever I travel, though, I always try to get a novel either set in the country where I'm going or written by an author from the country where I'm traveling. And I find that gives you some insight into wherever you're gonna go, whether it's the history or the politics or the culture, the people, and, I always enjoy doing that.

Jill: So you might need to recommend something to me before I leave for Greece on 

Dina: I do 

Jill: have a Monday 

Dina: I do have a good list. I will email it to you. 

Jill: Okay, very good. I would love to see that 'cause I need to grab it really fast. 

Dina: Yep. 

Jill: And hopefully from my local bookstore. I will do- Hopefully they'll have it.

Dina: I'll find you something. 

Jill: Oh, I really appreciate that. Okay, so is there anything that you would like to share with us that you would like the audience listening to, to hear or know about you? 

Dina: Well, I'm pretty well known. I've been around for a while. But going back to the issue of water, one of the things that people in Boulder City really care about that we're also working on and have worked with you on are the data centers.

Because they are just proliferating everywhere, and if you put 'em on public land like they've been trying to do, then you don't have much of a check on 'em. You don't have transparency, and you can't put in place rules, and you don't get any local benefits for taxes or anything 'cause it's on public lands.

And so, we're trying to make that process more transparent, and part of that transparency is how much water that data center will use. It impacts the electric grid. It's noisy. It's, you know, pollution if they build a power plant or something. But it also impacts water. 

Jill: And so I really think that the educational process, you know, we spoke about the education on the drought issues and, water in the Colorado. I think that education, we need people to be more aware of the concerns and the values and then decide where that middle is, right? 

Dina: That's right. 

Jill: Because we know that it's important, but where, what's the standard? We should be setting a gold bar, a standard that says, "This is what you guys have to do."

Dina: Exactly. 

Jill: We get that there's a lot of investment in this, but by doing this and by educating us at what those, you know, the different, the differences are what does the data center of the, the previous 10 years look like compared to where we can be now? And why would we not wanna hold everybody to a higher standard and have a better understanding so that we can find where that happy middle is so we can find the right location for it, but then we can also know that it's not going to impact us or hurt us or change our quality of life?

Because I... It's not... The idea's not gonna go away, but how do we find, where it's the best placement with the least amount of impact with, it provides the value that they can provide but that we also are protecting, especially our, you know, public lands especially. And so I don't know the answers, but I want to be educated on it, and I think the educational process is probably the most important of all.

Dina: I couldn't agree more. There are several bills that call for moratoriums on data centers. I'm, that's not what I'm doing. I haven't called for that, because they are important. As long as you got a watch or a phone or a TV or everything that uses information, it's gotta be stored somewhere, and we need to be ahead of China, and we need it for national security.

So we might need it out at the test site, for example. But trans- you know, transparency, I think, is the key. So that you gotta know what they're building, know what power they're gonna use, know how much water it's gonna take, know that they're gonna hire locally and know that you're gonna get some revenue back for the local community.

If you put it on public lands, there's no tax revenue that's coming back. That's right. Or if you give big abatements at the state level to draw them to your area, you're not gonna get any kind of revenue back. So all of those things have to be part of the permitting process. Because you're right, not all data centers are the same, and they're not gonna go away.

This is not a partisan issue, but we just need to be smart about it. And the one in Boulder City is the first one on public lands, but they have called, President Trump has called for the Department of Energy to look for other places, and we've got to be sure that gold standard you mentioned is met now, or else you're setting a bad precedent.

Jill: That's exactly 

Dina: Right. And you gotta tie it to water and power. You know, there's some talk about powering these with small nuclear reactors. 

Jill: Yes. 

Dina: Now, if you don't want a data center in your backyard, you certainly don't want a, the nuclear power plant to go along with it in your backyard. So all those questions need to be answered.

Jill: I agree. And so thank you very much for assisting us here in Boulder City and always being a champion for us. We sure appreciate it.

Dina: Well, thank you. 

Jill: And it has been a joy to be able to visit with you today. Thank you so much for taking the time, and I know you are an exceptionally busy person, so you spending a few minutes with us has been a pleasure.

So thank you. 

Dina: Well, it's been my treat. Please have me back on sometime. 

Jill: I would love it. Have a great day. 

Dina: Thank you.