Once a natural history museum, the Barrick Museum on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus has changed its focus to art in an attempt to fill the void left when the Las Vegas Art Museum closed its doors in early 2009.

If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard somebody suggest Nevada needs to diversify its economy, I’d have enough cash to build a major-league stadium, a high-tech video poker server farm, a solar energy plant big enough to power the entire West Coast and a high-speed train to Anaheim.

Confession: I find it hard to be optimistic about the state’s future.

There’s a lot to chew on in a 178-page report presented to the Economic Development Board on Monday, but that one stood out to me for its short- and long-term benefits.

Nevada’s most substantial look yet at economic development has produced an ambitious road map for diversifying the economy.

A new report aimed at guiding Nevada out of its economic abyss delivers the bad news first.

The applause portion of the Barrick Museum auction was still underway. Some of us were lined by the payment table, credit cards in hand, when a young reporter for the college newspaper was soliciting information on the benefits of benefit auctions, particularly this one.

For all the talk of economic diversity, consider that there is a nondescript warehouse in town with contents so vital to the operations of American businesses and government that it is protected by guards armed with assault rifles.

Ten clusters consisting of 23 “megapolitan areas”—networks of metropolitan centers fused by common economic, physical, social, and cultural traits [Eds. see attached map]-- are the emerging economic engines of the U.S., with substantial growth predicted in population, construction and jobs in the next 30 years.