Surface Appearances

In 2002, he was the highest paid part-time government employee in the notoriously tight-fisted state of Nevada. And his $590,000 public paycheck was less than half his overall income that year... Whoa!

Bill made the lead of a 2003 Las Vegas Review Journal story about how the number of government employees earning more than $100,000 a year had quadrupled in the previous five years.

It's the kind of thing that pisses off radio talk show callers and those who write equally angry & ignorant invectives in letters to their local papers... This year the outrage has turned toward Las Vegas area firefighters who are alleged to manipulate scheduling sick days to pad their paychecks. That investigation has sparked talk of criminal conspiracy indictments and now involves the Feds. Too early to call.

But they aren't the focus here... Let's get back to Bill.

Dr. William A. Zamboni is Chairman of the Department of Surgery, Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery, and a Professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Microsurgery and Hyperbaric Research Laboratory at the school of medicine. He is a fellow in the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the past President of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery.

And with that level of expertise, his base classroom academic salary seems like a steal... The fact that it nearly quadruples with on-the-job training of young surgeons seems reasonable... And when you see the facilities listed at his hospital and realize they treat treat burn victims, repair cleft palates and try to clean up the most visible wounds wheeled into the Trauma Center, his part is priceless.

So what if he makes the rest of his income on tummy tucks, face lifts, botox, boobs and butts. Dr. Bill is also among the biggest donors to his perennially cash-strapped public university medical school.

"My cosmetic practice helps us survive as a department of surgery," Zamboni said. "The state funding for departments is insufficient."

No kidding. It's a 2003 quote, before Nevada's current depression... Whatever is wrong with where you live is probably much worse here.

When I saw the doctor advertising facial resurfacing on local TV, I thought it was hilarious that his last name, Zamboni, was shared by the iconic & ingenious machines that resurfaced ice hockey rinks.

It's an odd coincidence, but I'm not aggravating my laugh lines now.