Is it `Fracking`?: Family ranch being taken over by BLM and NPS

Transcription

More Americans have health
insurance: Why Obamacare
doesn’t get full credit
PAGE 5
Senate extends unemployment
insurance. Why such a tough
sell in the House?
PAGE 11
Working women make
more than their mothers,
but less than fathers
Volume 16, Issue 5
PAGE 12
April 9-15, 2014
Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce Member
Is it ‘Fracking’?: Family ranch
being taken over by BLM and NPS
By Shawn J. Jimenez
Las Vegas Tribune
On Saturday, agents from the
Bureau of Land Management or
BLM and the National Parks Service or NPS, along with contract
cowboys working at their direction,
began rounding up what they call
“trespass” cattle belonging to a
northern Clark County ranch near
the Virgin River which has been
owned and operated by the Bundy
family for several decades.
On Sunday, federal agents arrested ranch owner Cliven Bundy’s
37-year-old son, Dave Bundy, during a peaceful protest along a state
highway in northeast Clark County.
Dave Bundy was released from custody Monday charged with misdemeanors.
Clark County’s Sheriff Doug
Gillespie has made it clear that his
office is taking no action, stating,
“This is strictly a federal operation.”
What is at issue is a relatively
new drilling technology which uses
My Point
of View
By Rolando Larraz
I have decided not to visit a
friend of mine anymore during the
Spanish soap operas in the evenings
for many reasons. First of all, I can
only talk to her during commercial
breaks. And second, the commercials makes me sick to see how so
many lawyers are trying to gain
Latino clients but destroying the
Spanish language.
Last week, I mentioned attorney
Jason Cook who tries, unsuccessfully, to speak in Spanish. Now,
another law firm, Toro Law Group,
yells, screams and talks ghettostyle, as if any Mexican who needs
an attorney in our city is an uneducated, low-class citizen.
I am really surprised that some
of these Latino organizations have
not come forward to tell these attorneys that the Mexican community deserves respect.
I assume that the advertisers are
directing their commercials at the
Mexican community because of the
wide brim Charro hat, the big mustache and the Mexican accent. (Not
all Spanish accents are Mexican accents, for those who think that all
Spanish is the same.)
Before I keep going with my
column, I have a disclaimer to make
to assure that my enemies are not
going to accuse me of being antiMexican—as everything I say or do
is wrong in the eyes of my detractors.
My friend is Mexican, born and
raised in Ixtapa, state of Jalisco. She
is a legal resident and came here by
way of Los Angeles International
Airport and passed through U.S.
Customs legitimately. I am not going to mention her name because
that is nobody’s business, but my
intention is to make it clear that if I
have a personal, friendly relationship with Mexicans I cannot have
any ill feelings against them. I am
not a hypocrite, and many Mexicans agree with my viewpoint and
opinion on this topic.
My point is that these American
advertisers who are under the impression that by trying to speak
Spanish they are going to gain more
clients need to have some “Marias”
in their office to help them to pronounce the few words they are
learning and to help them to stop
looking foolish and insincere in
public. Attorney Eric Palacios is a
good example of someone who is
(See My Point of View, Page 4)
nents in the oil and gas industry who
assert that horizontal fracking is
safe because it’s been around for
more than four decades. Those who
protest the practice say that is simply not true.
Hydraulic fracturing has been
used to drill vertical wells for that
long, but horizontal fracking has
only been experimented with over
the last few years. It’s a new process that uses millions of gallons of
fresh water, sand, many acres of
land, and undisclosed proprietary
chemicals.
The suspicions that the Bundy
family and other protestors have is
that the BLM is using heavyhanded and possibly unconstitutional tactics to clear the land for
future rights to fracking.
Gordon Martines, the “Constitutional sheriff’s candidate,” contacted the Las Vegas Tribune to ex-
press his “shock, horror and disgust” with what he sees as clear violations of the Bundy family’s constitutional rights.” He also said that
based on what the current sheriff,
Gillespie, has said, that office is
“standing idly by doing nothing” to
assist the distraught ranch operators.
The Bundy family believes there
may be more than 900 of their cattle
grazing, just as they have done for
several decades, in the 600,000 acre
area under dispute. The BLM and
NPS have already rounded up and
moved out or “stolen” several hundred head, according to a family
spokesperson.
If the BLM’s motivations for the
questionable interference in the
Bundy’s family business is for using the land for industrial purposes,
this makes it bitterly ironic: The
federal government, in the form of
the BLM and the NPS, has used an
environmental excuse as the pretense for protecting the threatened
desert tortoise; to then proceed with
a land grab to secure future drilling
sites with the potential for huge
fracking profits is disconcerting,
according to Martines, the Bundy
family and other family advisors.
“I am 150 percent behind the
Bundy’s, and they will have my full
support in stopping this government
takeover of their [livestock], livelihood and lives,” Martines said.
As with any industrial activity,
producing oil and gas involves risks
to the air, land, water, wildlife and
communities There has been an increase in the number of complaints
about harmful air emissions, water
pollution and serious problems associated with the disposal of
fracking chemical waste fluids in
communities near fracking sites.
By Rolando Larraz
Las Vegas Tribune
Wednesday was another pivotal
day in the ongoing coverage of a
case in progress in Clark County
Family Court, Department T, Judge
Gayle Nathan presiding. It is a controversy between the court and a
father’s right to visit his minor son
despite the father’s medical conditions; the child’s mother and crafty
attorneys and, of course, somewhere in here there should be ultimate concern for the rights of the
child.
But all that is in question and the
court chose to exclude this newspaper from covering the proceedings in Bersell vs. Patton.
Las Vegas Tribune was authorized by the court to attend the hearing and the newspaper delayed the
publication dateline to cover the
hearing as a follow-up to the March
26 front page article about the lack
of fairness in Nathan’s rulings and
decisions in this case where the father and defendant, Keith Patton, is
JUDGE GAYLE NATHAN
a legal marijuana patient properly
registered with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle as the law
requires.
Patton is an honor student from
Virginia who suffered a traumatic
head injury in 2003 that left him
with severe symptoms for which his
medical doctor prescribed cannabis.
Patton relocated two years ago to
be here with his then 3-year-old son,
Aiden.
The plaintiff and child’s mother,
Erin Bersell, and her two attorneys,
Andrew Kynaston and Edward
Kainen, are apparently using
Patton’s medical condition and prescribed medical marijuana treatment as their primary weapon
against the father’s obtaining visitation rights.
The Las Vegas Tribune has been
covering this story and exposing the
questionable rulings by Nathan and
the health risks to Patton because
of the court’s interference in his
mandated medical care as he goes
through extreme measures to comply with biased drug testing requirements from a judge who has shown
little regard for Patton’s health
needs. As for the plaintiff, who has
admitted to non-medically guided
marijuana use in recent years, no
testing has been required. In fact,
her use is deemed by the judge to
be “not relevant.”
Las Vegas Tribune reporter
Shawn Jimenez arrived on time at
Nathan’s court room only to learn
that Nathan had a change of mind
and directed Jimenez to vacate the
courtroom.
Immediately after Jimenez exited the courtroom, attorneys
Kynaston and Kainen must have
requested the judge to seal the case
because no one could talk to the
reporter. As one person who would
not be interviewed stated, “I don’t
want to upset the other side,” giving the impression that sealing a
case is equal to a gag order, but that
is not so.
In a conversation with Jimenez
at the newsroom he explained that
attorneys for the plaintiff requested
that the judge have media ousted
from the hearing, which is interesting given the fact that Kynaston
argues his client’s case in social
media and has made comments in
the daily newspaper blasting Patton.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the attorney for Patton explained to Judge
Nathan that she has advised her client it was not necessary to be
(See Family Court, Page 6)
By Alexander Cohen
Las Vegas Tribune
Parents are in a good position to
give their children good advice because they are wiser and more experienced, but children are usually
reluctant to take their parent’s advice until they hear that same advice from a stranger.
People like to believe what they
read in the Las Vegas Tribune, but
they somehow believe that this
newspaper is an “anti-government,
radical publication,” which is very
far from the truth, yet some readers
indicate they are afraid or at least
cautious to believe what they read
in this weekly publication.
For a very long time, the Las
Vegas Tribune has been exposing
the modus operandi of Las Vegas
campaign consultant and manipulator David Thomas, and now the
daily paper has come forward with
their own article which says almost
everything that the Las Vegas Tribune has been revealing about him
all along.
Many who read these articles in
this newspaper agree, and in many
cases they have told us, under the
condition of anonymity, about their
own experience with David Thomas.
Now that Jane Ann Morrison,
perhaps one of the most truthful
journalists on the city’s daily paper,
the Review-Journal, has come for-
DAVID THOMAS
ward with a great article on David
Thomas, just maybe the Clark
County voters will listen to our
newspaper’s advice when it comes
to politics and campaign consult-
ants and managers.
In the February 12 edition this
year, the Las Vegas Tribune reported: “During a confrontation at
the Filipino Nurses of Southern
Nevada Yearly Gala at the Gold
Coast Hotel and Casino, prominent
political consultant Johnny Jackson
was verbally attacked by fellow
consultant Thomas. The incident
occurred when Jackson approached
Thomas to welcome him to the
event and was rudely ignored by
Thomas, the husband of District
Court Judge Nancy Alf, who told
Jackson to stay away from his candidates.”
Las Vegas Tribune learned that
(See Thomas, Page 6)
CLIVEN BUNDY
high-volume horizontal hydraulic
fracturing or “fracking” to release
large natural gas deposits just below the earth’s surface. It is controversial in several other parts of
the country, despite many propo-
Children’s best interest should determine
the final outcome in all Family Court cases
Tribune joined by other media in questioning
how Thomas runs judges’ political campaigns
POLITICAL ANALYSIS
It’s time for change and accountability: End
LVMPD’s legacy of lies, deceit and corruption
By Gordon Martines
Before this community can
move forward, better itself and rise
up from its present corrupt abyss, a
complete overhaul and cleaning out
of the present LVMPD administration needs to be and has to be to be
done.
This overhaul cannot be accomplished if anyone associated with
the present police administration is
inserted into the top cop position of
sheriff. By merely changing the
name at the top it will only continue
the legacy of the deeply imbedded
police corruption that currently ex-
ists.
Before honor, integrity, trust and
truth can be reinserted into the relationship between the community
and its police force, past crimes
committed by the LVMPD administration need to be rectified completely; otherwise, a promising,
clean, ethical, constitutional police
department cannot be honorably
established. You cannot build anything on a rotten, corrupt, disease
infested foundation and expect it to
function properly and serve our
community honorably.
(See Political Analysis, Page 2)
Page 2 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 9-15, 2014
Political Analysis
(Continued from Page 1)
Before any real change for the
better can occur, the individual,
who is elected to be your next sheriff, must be qualified and chosen
by the community through a democratic electoral process. That person who will serve you cannot be
simply anointed by a tap on the
shoulder, or advanced by a kissing
of the ring, or ‘divinely’ appointed
by the outgoing sheriff with kneebending ceremony. The person you
are going to elect sheriff must be
willing to accept the responsibility
and powers associated with that
office and understand that his Oath
of Office is absolutely sacred and
must never be compromised —
under any circumstances, including
any and all situations leading up to
physical harm or threats to his or
her own life.
TRIBUNE
VOL. 16, NO. 5
FOUNDER
Rolando Larraz
PUBLISHER
AND
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Rolando Larraz
GENERAL MANAGER
Perly Viasmensky
Before this person can be a sheriff worthy of your vote of confidence, an in-depth examination
must be made of his character, worthiness, morality, past record, individual achievement, experience,
knowledge, common sense, and
most of all, his belief in the principles of Justice, Truth and Value
for the life of a single human being.
Before you cast your vote, this
examination must be accomplished
fully and thoroughly. Las Vegas
citizens and honest law enforcement officials are now realizing
how illusions and trickery were
used to steal our past votes. As an
example, in Germany, the Nazi
Party, using simple imagery even
without substance, came to power
with only 15 percent of the German
population supporting it. Of course,
later on, the rest of the population
— by then abruptly awakened —
found itself experiencing hardships
and suffering under a corrupt police administration, just as we are
suffering our own right now.
Before this election for sheriff,
this community must demand its
right to seek the truth and find any
credibility that is left amongst our
leaders. We must get the facts and
circumstances regarding all of the
following incidents: (1) the Erik
Scott officer-involved fatal shoot-
ing, (2) the Trevon Cole officer-involved fatal shooting, (3) the
Stanley Gibson officer-involved
fatal shooting, (4) the Swayve
Lopez officer-involved fatal shooting, (5) the Daniel Mendoza officerinvolved fatal shooting, (6) the
Phillip LeMenn officer-involved
fatal strangulation death in the jail,
(7) the 2007 beheading murder of
LVMPD Officer Kevin Scott Dailey
in Henderson, Nevada, (8) the omitted evidence and prosecutorial misconduct in the O. J. Simpson case,
(9) the police cover-up of the narcotics informant Alamo Murder
Case, (10) the support and use of
phony narcotic dogs, (11) the mismanagement of seized assets from
narcotics arrests, (12) the police
racketeering activity with local
businesses such as tow companies,
vehicle repair shops, communication radio companies, TV production companies, escort services,
residential clean-up services, liquor
retail stores, and of course, (13) the
home owners association, or HOA,
scheme/scandal (which I might add,
is not over yet and still has more
indictments waiting to be served on
LVMPD administrators and personnel.)
These 13 and other criminal incidents must be cleared up and resolved. And, yes, it will take years,
a lot of money and resources, but it
will all be well worth it in the long
run, as long as we don’t elect to
continue the same trend that this
community has been blindly following for the past several years:
policing with no accountability.
Before you make that vitally
important decision at the ballot box,
consider this: Realistically, where
the LVMPD is concerned, what is
your present quality of life and the
quality of life of your family and
friends. If you like the present corrupted status quo, then so be it, I
will pray for the continued best for
you and your family.
If you want truth and justice for
your community, then remember
the name Gordon Martines, a Constitution Restorationist, on June 10,
the primary election day for sheriff
of Clark County.
Support and defend the Consti-
tution of the United States of
America and the Bill of Rights. In
God We Trust.
*****
Gordon Martines is a former
LVMPD detective who has served
in many capacities over his 39-year
career in law enforcement. He has
been a candidate for sheriff in 2002,
2006, and 2010, is currently running for sheriff with the intention
of bringing integrity and accountability back to the department, and
filed a federal lawsuit against
LVMPD in 2011. Martines now
contributes his opinions and ideas
to the Las Vegas Tribune to keep the
public informed and help improve
policing in Las Vegas. He has also
appeared on the Face the Tribune
radio program several times to
share his plan for a better LVMPD
if he should be elected sheriff.
PRODUCTION
Don Snook
MANAGING EDITOR
Maramis Choufani
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Colleen Lloyd
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
Kenneth A. Wegner
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Quote of the Week:
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than you think.”
— Chinese Proverb
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STATEMENT
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CITY BEAT
April 9-15, 2014 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 3
Opportunity Village Announces
Opening of Kitchen Creations Café
million jobs.
Las Vegas’ favorite charity, Opportunity Village, announced the
opening of their newest division,
Kitchen Creations Café, located in
the Clark County Government Center. The Kitchen Creations Café is
open Monday through Friday from
7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and serves up a
variety of items from sandwiches
to salads, wraps to soup, as well as
a Grab-N-Go selection and daily
specials for both breakfast and
lunch.
“I am truly proud to be part of
an organization that is constantly
evolving to improve the lives of
individuals with disabilities,” said
Ed Guthrie, Executive Director of
Opportunity Village. “Opportunity
Village’s newest endeavor, the
Kitchen Creations Café, will be a
great outlet for our OVIPs to enter
the work force, as well as provide a
service to those who frequent the
Clark County Government Center.”
The Kitchen Creations Café is a
joint venture between Opportunity
Village and Business Enterprise of
Nevada (BEN) that brings people
with intellectual disabilities and
people with visual impairments together. This is just one of the many
business projects Opportunity Village has been involved with that
allows for its OVIPs to have a
source of income.
*****
Room for national parks
in next federal budget?
Fans of Nevada’s national parks
are watching carefully as Congress
puts President Obama’s budget under the microscope in April. The
president is proposing a small increase of $55 million in the National Park Service budget for 2015,
including $10 million as a “Centennial Initiative” to get the parks ready
Red Rock National Park just minutes west of Las Vegas.
for the agency’s 100th anniversary roads and trails, he pointed out that
celebration in 2016.
many are in disrepair.
John Garder, budget and appro“The main cause for the growth
priations director for the National of the deferred-maintenance backParks Conservation Association, log is the decline in Congress’ insaid it is a promising start, after vestment in the construction acyears of budget-trimming have count, which creates so many jobs,”
taken a toll on park maintenance Garder explained. “In today’s doland staffing.
lars, the construction account for
“It’s a modest increase over last the National Park Service has been
year. But it doesn’t get parks back cut nearly in half, just in the last four
to where they were just a few years years.”
ago, before damaging cuts, to enAccording to the National Park
sure that people can have a really Service, more than 280 million park
inspiring and a safe experience out visits nationally last year added
in our parks,” Garder said.
more than $14 billion in spending
According to a U.S. National and supported nearly a quarter of a
Park Service report, Nevada’s national park units attracted more than
4.8 million visitors in 2012. The
report showed that the tourism also
added $200 million in economic
benefit and supported more than
2,000 jobs.
Additional park funding is much
needed, Garder said, for a system
that has put off about $12 billion of
maintenance in recent years. From
historic resources to water and
sewer systems, visitor centers,
*****
“Boots to Business Suits”
Veterans Training Program
at the Academy of Country
Music’s “Party for a Cause”
A compelling new video about
a career training program for U.S.
military veterans is being highlighted this weekend at the Academy of Country Music’s “Party for
a Cause” in Las Vegas.
In a reflection of the ACM’s
commitment to supporting the
troops and veterans, the ACM invited NS2 Serves to present a video
about the training program at the
two-day music festival, which is
taking place on Friday and Saturday at The LINQ in the heart of the
famous Las Vegas Strip. The 1:15
video is also available to the public
at www.NS2Serves.org and
onYouTube.
NS2 Serves is a nonprofit organization established by SAP National Security Services, Inc. (SAP
NS2), a Rockville, MD-based software company, to give back to the
community it serves. Going far beyond most comparable initiatives,
NS2 Serves offers a high-quality
I.T. training and placement-assistance program, leading to globally
recognized certifications and exciting career opportunities in government and business. Seventeen post9/11 veterans, representing all five
service branches, are currently enrolled in the inaugural class.
In the video, Vice Admiral Joe
Kernan (retired), a 35-year Navy
SEAL veteran and chairman of the
NS2 Serves board of directors, says,
“These veterans have done their
part to protect everything we value,
so we owe them opportunities to
thrive after they leave the military.”
“The goal is to employ veterans,
to provide them a skill set that they
can drive to employment,” says
Mark Testoni, President of NS2
Serves.
“We greatly appreciate the way
the country music industry is
partnering with veterans causes like
ours,” Testoni said.
“Coming back and trying to
traverse the job market, it’s tough,”
says Darnell Broadnax, a native of
Frederick, Maryland and a 20-year
veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps
who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It’s going to be easier now for
me to get a job, but that wasn’t the
case before,” says Sam Southall, a
four-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who hails from
Parkersburg, West Virginia.
“Being able to move into a career and have something that you
can say, ‘I did this,’ outside of the
military service, it’s a great opportunity,” said Daniel Griffith, a U.S.
Army veteran from Columbus,
Ohio.
“When I graduate from this program, I’m hoping I can provide a
better future for my daughter,” says
George Kovach, Jr., a native of
Strongstown, Pennsylvania with
two tours of Iraq under his belt. “It’s
not about me.”
The congressional co-chairs of
the program are Sen. Richard Burr
(R-NC), ranking member on the
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
and a member of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence; Rep.
Mike Rogers (R-MI), Chairman of
the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a U.S.
Army veteran; and Rep. C.A.
“Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD),
ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and a representative of Maryland communities
that are home to significant U.S.
national security and homeland security agencies.
An open house for recruiters and
hiring managers will be held on
April 23. Corporate, individual, and
nonprofit sponsors are being sought
to help continue and expand the
program long-term. Contributions
may be made online via a secure
PayPal account.
Further details on the program
and instructions on how to apply for
the next round of classes are at
www.NS2Serves.org.
City Beat is a compilation of
news and views of our editorial and
writing team, along with reader
submissions and topics. Readers
are invited to suggest a local topic
or any other items of interest.
Roger Shuler
released after
5 months in jail
By Michael Rooney
Special to the Las Vegas Tribune
Alabama blogger Roger Shuler
was released from a Shelby County,
Ala. jail on March 26, more than
five months after he was imprisoned on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a court order
to take down allegedly defamatory
articles.
The Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press argued in an
October letter that the order was an
unconstitutional prior restraint.
Shuler had written a series of posts
on his blog, Legal Schnauzer,
claiming that Robert Riley, Jr., son
of former Alabama governor Bob
Riley and potential candidate for a
soon-to-be-vacant U.S. House of
Representatives seat, had an affair
with and impregnated lobbyist Liberty Duke.
Shuler was released from jail
after his wife, Carol, removed most
of the articles about Riley and Duke
from the blog, and from You Tube
and Twitter accounts, according
toAlabama news outlets.
Roger Shuler said that he and his
wife took down the material after
all this time because he realized that
complying with the court was necessary for his own security.
“I saw no other way to get out
of jail. After five months in a very
difficult environment ... I felt my
physical well-being was at stake,”
Shuler said. “I had hoped to get
outside legal representation that
could get my release on lawful
grounds. But that was very slow in
developing, so I just had to make a
move for what I considered to be
my own survival.”
The New York Times reported
in January that Shuler was “unwilling to hire a lawyer” and that he
displayed “self-defeating” behavior
at times.
Shuler said that he plans to seek
legal remedy for the time he spent
in jail, and to challenge the constitutionality of the original contempt
of court charge.
“I am looking at possible legal
remedies,” Shuler said. “I’m not
sure yet what form those might
take, but I think it is essential to
explore those options.”
In July 2013, Riley filed a lawsuit against Roger and Carol Shuler,
alleging that they had posted false
and defamatory stories and seeking
to prevent further articles from being published. Duke also filed suit
against the Shulers.
The court issued a temporary
restraining order and a preliminary
injunction in October 2013, which
ordered that previously posted defamatory stories be removed from the
blog. It also banned the Shulers
from posting further defamatory
statements about Riley and Duke.
ROGER SHULER
However, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, in
its letter, argued that the process by
which the court issued the takedown order was problematic.
“It appears that there was no full
adjudication on the merits or default
judgment ever issued against the
Shulers on the defamation claim,”
the letter states. “As such, the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctions amount to unconstitutional prior restraints.”
After Legal Schnauzer continued to run articles about Riley and
Duke, the two asked the court to
hold the Shulers in contempt for
violating the orders not to publish.
Roger Shuler was arrested on Oct.
23, 2013, and also was also charged
with resisting arrest. Carol Shuler
was not arrested.
The Committee to Protect Journalists had considered Shuler the
only imprisoned journalist in the
Western Hemisphere.
Shuler said he did not take down
the materials sooner because he did
not have adequate information or
resources to purge the contempt.
“At my Nov. 14 hearing, the only
hearing I had in the case, the court
gave me no direction on how I
could purge myself of contempt,”
Shuler said. “I noted that I had no
computer or Web access to take
down the posts, even though I knew
it was unlawful to be forced into
taking them down. The court’s response was more or less that I had
to resolve that problem myself.
With that kind of response from the
court I felt caught between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard place.’”
Shuler also explained that “I also
was limited by that fact that Carol
and I had no experience dealing
with issues related to jail and arrest.”
“Neither of us ever had been
close to being incarcerated before,”
he said. “We simply did the best we
could with an extremely stressful,
unfair situation.”
Shuler has run Legal Schnauzer
since 2007. Before that, he worked
for the Birmingham Post-Herald for
more than a decade and was a university editor for about 20 years.
Re-Elect
My Point of View
sincere: He doesn’t need the help of a “Maria,” as
his ad says, because his Spanish is fluent.
My point is also that these Mexican actors who
are willing to come on television and make their
countrymen look ignorant, low-class and uneducated
are doing a disservice to the country that they are
all so proud of. Furthermore, those who place commercials on the Spanish channels and networks
should be told that the Mexicans are not the only
Latino community in Las Vegas. There are Salvadorians and Nicaraguans and others, with a community as large as the Mexicans.
Salvadorians are a very well-established, rich
community, and there would be more of them if the
Mexican Immigration Service were as “firm” and
“mean” as the ICE in the United States of America
(with the countless Mexicans crossing the border
south of Arizona, California or Texas).
Cox directs all its international commercials to
those from Mexico; Vonage tells its future telephone
customers that with their services they can call
Mexico any time, any day, for whatever little money
they charge. Don’t these companies know that Salvadorians are also human? Don’t they have families in their own country they talk with on a regular
basis? But the television commercials and the lawyers trying to speak in Spanglish are not the only
ones guilty of believing too many stereotypes.
For example, a taco is not the only snack that
exists in the Mexican menu. In fact, not too many
people in Mexico City eat tacos regularly. I eat
pupusas almost on a daily basis, thanks to my good
friend Kelly Williams who introduced me to the
pupusas world (thanks to Esmeralda’s Café being
so close to my office). I am not using Kelly’s Spanish last name because she has a very important position and I want to protect her privacy.
I never hear of Mexico celebrating the Fourth of
July, but the hotels on the Strip go all out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, which is not even the Mexican Independence Day. From one end of the Strip
to the other, the hotels think they are catering to the
Hispanics with Cinco de Mayo events, trying to
bring the Mexican high-rollers to leave their money
on the green felt at their properties.
But however, going back to the local commercials, I might not listen to the Spanish soap operas
anymore because it makes me sick to hear someone destroying the beauty of our Spanish language
for money. When I listen to an American attorney
destroying our language, perhaps not intentionally,
it is not as bad maybe as hearing a Spanish person
making the Spanish people look uneducated, as if
everyone is a ranch worker, which is not the truth.
I hope that some of these Spanish organizations,
Latino groups and political activists pay attention
to what I am saying here and demand that these
people correct these television commercials in a
way that the Mexican people are more respected
than by what is often portrayed.
It’s a shame that the Cuban community (as outspoken as they can be) could not stand up when the
film “Scar Face” hit the movie theaters all over the
nation, as the Italians did when the “Godfather”
films debuted many years ago.
There is nothing they can do about any of that
commercial exploitation, but for the record — as
they say in the legal system — let’s make a formal
complaint and let it stand, for the record.
My name is Rolando Larraz, and as always, I
approved this column.
*****
Rolando Larraz is Editor in Chief of the Las
Vegas Tribune. His column appears weekly in this
newspaper. To contact Rolando Larraz, email him
at: [email protected] or at (702) 6998111.
More Americans have health insurance:
Why Obamacare doesn’t get full credit
The portion of Americans without health insurance has fallen amid the Obamacare registration drive,
two polls find. But the largest source of gains in coverage has been employer-sponsored plans.
By Mark Trumbull
Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON — Two new
polls are finding that the portion of
Americans without health insurance
has fallen amid the drive to sign
people up under Obamacare. But
precisely how many people are
newly insured because of the law
remains unclear.
A Gallup poll finds that the share
of Americans who are uninsured
fell from 17.1 percent late in 2013
to 15.6 percent during the first quarter of this year, as enrollment under the Affordable Care Act ramped
up. A separate survey by the RAND
Corporation survey finds the ACA
having what appears to be a much
larger impact. The poll finds that the
share of adults (ages 18 to 64) who
lack insurance fell from 20.5 percent in 2013 to 15.8 percent as of
late March.
The RAND figure suggests a
much bigger Obamacare effect on
insurance coverage — a swing of
4.7 percentage points in recent
months compared with 1.7 percentage points in the Gallup poll.
That total is significant, because
the RAND survey implies that the
health-care reforms may be bringing the ranks of uninsured down by
about the same percentage as had
been forecast early this year by the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office.
The CBO estimated that the Affordable Care Act would prompt 13
million Americans to become
newly insured in 2014. That comes
out to 4.75 percent of the 274 million non-elderly Americans, essentially matching the gains observed
by RAND.
CBO forecasts aren’t make-orbreak benchmarks of success, but
many policy wonks view them as
important. If the actual results were
to fall far behind those estimates,
the view that Obamacare is failing
to match its aspirations would gain
credence.
The Obama administration did
a kind of victory dance last week
in announcing that enrollment on
the law’s new marketplaces reached
7.1 million Americans by March 31,
essentially matching early projections made by the CBO.
But that number is preliminary,
and it’s not a gauge of how many
Medical Director Liz Sequeira examines a patient during an appointment
at the Discovery Wellness Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Americans have moved from the turing a period prior to the final
camp of “uninsured” to “insured.” surge of Obamacare enrollment.
Many of those 7 million already had
Gallup says the share of unininsurance.
sured among its polling respondents
The polls offer some potentially was dropping as the March 31 deadsignificant clues to the bigger pic- line neared, reaching 14.5 percent
ture. And they come at an impor- in the final two weeks of the month.
tant moment, just after the close of Using that number, the Gallup sura six-month window for individu- vey finds the share of uninsured
als to sign up for Obamacare cov- adults is down by 2.6 percentage
erage.
points since late last year, versus the
The gap between the Gallup re- 4.7 percentage points seen by
sults and the RAND results may not RAND.
be as big as it appears on the surThen there’s the “margin of erface.
ror” inherent in polling, which
The RAND survey captures the means that a totally accurate sample
more recent state-of-play in March, of Americans could look a little difwhile the Gallup poll spanned from ferent than either of these polls.
January through March — thus capAlso of note: The two polls dif-
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fer in whom they count and omit.
Both polls focus on asking adults
whether they have insurance. Neither counts children. The RAND
survey also omits Americans of
Medicare age (65 and up), which
explains why its results show a
higher share of Americans as “uninsured” back in 2013.
If the Gallup poll omitted seniors, that would tend to push up
its measure of Obamacare’s impact
on coverage. (It would find similar
numbers of people becoming newly
insured, but out of a smaller overall pool — excluding people on
Medicare.)
Some other insights from the
polls:
—Gallup found that young
people (age 25 to 34) are still the
most likely age group to be uninsured. The law’s architects envisioned this younger group as being
especially important enrollees, because insurers can cover them at
lower cost than older enrollees. But
the poll found this group gained
coverage in recent months only at
the same pace as people 35 to 64.
—Some of the progress in insurance coverage probably stems from
overall economic conditions or
other factors unrelated to
Obamacare. A surprise finding from
RAND is that the largest source of
the gains in new insurance coverage has been growth in employer-
sponsored insurance, not among
people shopping the Obamacare
marketplaces or enrolling in Medicaid. “Some of these newly insured
individuals may have taken up an
employer plan as a result of the incentive created by the individual
mandate; others may have newly
found a job,” RAND researchers
Katherine Grace Carman and Christine Eibner write in a report on the
poll.
—Among those buying on the
Obamacare exchanges, the RAND
analysts said, “Our estimates suggest that only about one-third of
new marketplace enrollees were
previously uninsured.” That’s about
1.4 million out of 3.9 million enrollees counted in their poll. Although “this seems relatively low,
it is slightly higher than findings
reported earlier by McKinsey &
Company,” they say.
—The RAND researchers say
their poll implies that the ranks of
the uninsured stand at about 31.4
million American adults. Some 7.2
million uninsured people got employer coverage, 3.6 million got
Medicaid. Smaller numbers of
people got other forms of insurance,
while all these gains were offset
somewhat by people losing coverage. When all the changes are netted out, about 9.3 million fewer
adults are uninsured now than last
year, they estimate.
In battle for crucial senior vote,
health care could be decisive
Seniors are expected to account for a significant majority of voters in November elections and both
parties are trying to win support by using health-care issues — often combined with scare tactics.
By Francine Kiefer
WASHINGTON — The 2012
presidential election hinged on
women voters and minorities, but
2014 is the year for seniors. That
explains why both parties are
fiercely competing for their attention — especially when it comes to
health care, both Medicare and the
Affordable Care Act.
Seniors rule in midterms. In
presidential years, other groups
come to the fore. But older voters
are reliable voters who show up in
the off-season, while some of those
other groups tend to stay home. This
year, 57 percent of the electorate
will be over 50 years old, said
Democratic pollster Celinda Lake.
That’s up from 43 percent in 2012.
Ms. Lake is pleased with this,
because Democrats are polling well
on two issues seniors care a lot
about: Social Security and Medicare. In the March Battleground
Poll, which she worked on with
Republican pollster Ed Goeas, older
Americans who are likely voters favored Democrats on Social Security and Medicare by 7 points.
“Our advantage with seniors is
a turnaround” compared with the
previous Battleground Poll in January, Lake said. In 2012, President
Obama lost the vote of those aged
50 and over. In sheer numbers of
seniors likely to turn out, “If President Obama ran in the 2014 electorate, we would have had President
Romney,” she said.
But in this cycle, Democrats
have a perfect punching bag on their
top issues in the Republican budget plan released April 1 by House
Budget Committee chairman Paul
Ryan (R) of Wisconsin. The plan
would repeal the Affordable Care
Act (ACA) and change Medicare to
a system of government-paid premium supports for plans that seniors choose.
“Seniors really get socked,”
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, (D) of
Maryland, said of the Ryan budget,
which has no chance of passing the
Senate but shows Republican priorities. Van Hollen is the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.
Concretely, repealing the ACA
would mean rolling back expanded
free preventive care for seniors, including an annual checkup and
other exams. It would mean reopening the so-called “doughnut hole”
in prescription drug coverage —
resulting in higher drug costs. And
abandoning Medicare’s fee-for-service system for premium payments
removes a guarantee of affordable
coverage. House minority leader
Nancy Pelosi (D) of California
present, but Kynaston and Kainen,
argued that Patton was not present
to avoid another court ordered drug
test, to which the judge said she was
not planning to order him to take
another drug test.
As part of their case, Kynaston
and Kainen, had previously submitted an Instagram photo of a glass
bong Keith had sold to a medical
patient alleging it was evidence of
his “emersion in the drug culture.”
This “evidence” was not in the
pleadings, yet Nathan allowed it to
be entered and ordered the father
to test for drugs knowing well that
if he is a cannabis patient the test
would return positive.
Patton was not allowed to speak
at that point, nor had he entered his
prescription into the record prior to
the hearing; however, listing medications currently in use was not on
any court form and the plaintiff’s
attorney had not placed those allegations into the court pleadings.
Therefore, Patton’s medical treatment involving cannabis should not
have been addressed.
As it was expected, he tested
positive for his prescribed medication and returned to court on December 6, 2012. Patton never denied or tried to hide his prescribe
use of the medicine. After positive
tests, Patton complied with evaluation at a rehabilitation center where
it was determined that Patton was a
responsible patient user of cannabis
medicine.
Photographs showing Bersell
possibly under the influence, with
a marijuana bud tucked neatly behind one ear, were presented to the
court and found to be not relevant.
The request to drug test Bersell was
denied by Nathan showing a display
of unfairness against Patton.
Patton is a college student who
has no criminal record and has limited financial resources out of
which he has paid for the court’s
series of testing and rehab evaluations. The plaintiff’s attorneys seem
more interested in the financial part
of the hearing and using social media against Patton than in the legalities or the welfare and stability of
the child in question.
Judge Bill Kephart had to intervene
in the argument to avoid having the
incident escalate. During a segment
on Face the Tribune radio show,
Jackson explained that several of
Thomas’ unhappy candidates had
been jumping the fence asking
Jackson to run their political campaigns.
Judge Jerry Tao, one of the
protégés of U.S. Senator Harry Reid
on the Democratic side, and police
union puppet of David Roger on the
Republican side, is a client of David
Thomas. Everyone who starts to run
against Tao is persuaded not to run
in that race or seems to develop a
sudden change of mind after spending money for the filing.
“Judge Jerry Tao is such a ‘good’
judge that during the last election
the attorney that ran against him
almost won with less than a two
percent edge without even campaigning, making public appearances or attending political events
or holding fundraisings,” the Las
Vegas Tribune once wrote.
This year, that same attorney
filed again to run against Tao, but
later, inexplicably, withdrew from
the race after playing musical chairs
with Thomas’ clients. The newspaper learned that one of the people
who approached that attorney asking him not to file to run against
Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez was not
Thomas but another sitting judge
who is one of Thomas’ clients.
The Las Vegas Tribune is working on a story about certain judges
who are not allowed to communicate with this newspaper because
they have been ordered by Thomas
not to appear on the Face the Tribune radio show in retaliation for
the newspaper continuing to expose
Thomas’ urge to control and dominate the judicial races. Among them
are judges from Justice Court, District Court and Family Court. Some
of them have been friends with the
Las Vegas Tribune for a very long
time and have even been endorsed
by the newspaper in the past.
Their behavior has prompted the
Las Vegas Tribune to no longer endorse candidates running for office
because the endorsement process
has become a laughing stock among
candidates as well as those who follow the election process.
In addition, we believe that some
unions are trying to gain back some
of the power they once had.
The Las Vegas Tribune has
learned that some of the judicial
candidates who hired Thomas as
their election consultant were promised the endorsements of the unions
with which he has close relationships.
Family Court
Thomas
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dubbed the
GOP budget proposal “millionaires over Medicare.”
But Republicans claim an advantage over Democrats on President Obama’s signature health-care
law, which is still highly unpopular
with seniors. The ACA —
“Obamacare” — hurts seniors, they
insist. Obamacare featured heavily
in the special election in Florida’s
13th district in March, when Republican David Jolly narrowly defeated Alex Sink to win a congressional seat that depended on turnout. One TV ad by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backed
Jolly, warned of Medicare cuts under Obamacare.
“Canceled health plans. Higher
premiums. Medicare cuts. People
losing their doctors. A disaster for
families and seniors. For Alex Sink,
the priority is Obamacare. Not us,”
the narrator intoned.
To make their case, Republicans
focus on an estimated $156 billion
in cuts over 10 years to a program
called Medicare Advantage, which
they have long championed. That’s
a private health insurance alternative to Medicare, regulated by the
government, that often includes
benefits such as hearing aids, eyeglasses, and even health-club memberships. Nearly 16 million people
are enrolled in this program — accounting for 30 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries.
Obamacare aims to bring the
federal dollars spent to subsidize
Medicare Advantage more in line
with what is spent on patients under traditional Medicare. The federal government began reducing
payments for Medicare Advantage
in 2012, and will finish by 2017,
when it expects to reach a rough
parity between the two programs
nationwide.
But Republicans — and worried
Democrats in Congress, as well as
insurers — recently put a lot of
pressure on the administration to
temper the cuts. This week, the government announced it had refigured
an estimated 1.9 percent planned
cut to Medicare Advantage into a
0.4 percent increase in federal payments to the program for 2015.
Republicans, though, continue to
rail against it.
What the messaging from both
parties has in common is that it’s
mostly negative. Because Americans are unhappy with both parties,
it’s hard for either one to run a victory lap. Not unusually, fingerpointing often leaves out context.
For instance, the Ryan budget does
indeed call for a changeover to premium supports, but it’s for those
entering into the system 10 years
from now — in 2024. Meanwhile,
many experts say that, at some
point, Democrats will have to pay
the piper of national debt and seriously rein in entitlements.
At the same time, cuts to Medicare Advantage are — so far — not
as dire as Republicans make them
out to be. One reason is that the program continues to grow in popularity. More enrollees mean more premiums, which mean more profits
for insurers, which mean less pressure to raise premiums.
A study by the Kaiser Family
Foundation finds only a $4 increase
in average monthly Medicare Advantage premiums for 2014, compared with 2013, if someone stays
in their current plan. This year, the
average number of plans being offered is 18 — last year it was 20.
The cap on out-of-pocket expenses
is expected to be more noticeable
this year, though, as it is up by a
national average of $464.
The caveat here is that these are
national averages, and Medicare
Advantage differs from county to
county. Some people are indeed losing their doctors or experiencing
other disruptive changes.
“In January, I sat down with a
group of local doctors to talk about
all this,” said Rep. Bill Johnson (R)
of Ohio, in a March 15 GOP response to President Obama’s
weekly radio address. “One told me
that many seniors in our area who
need to see a specialist will now
have to drive up to Cleveland or
Pittsburgh to receive care. Another
cited hundreds of cases in which
patients were blindsided by these
changes.”
Who is likely to win this healthcare message war? Democratic
pollster Lake believes her party has
the advantage. Every day that goes
by and seniors see the real benefits
of the ACA, is a good day for
Democrats, said Lake.
On the other hand, just 35 percent of those 65 and older support
the new health-care law, while 56
percent oppose it, according to a
March Pew Research Center survey. That’s a lot of proving to do
between now and November.
EDITORIALS
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. — Thomas Jefferson
Our Point of View
We the people
are not for sale
Every respectable American who enjoys and exercises
the right to vote needs to take the time to learn as much as
possible about candidates they may vote for, and voters
need to remember that the U.S. Constitution starts with
WE THE PEOPLE, and that “we” includes voters and candidates alike. It’s important to know the consequences and
the impact all of their decisions may have on their community, city, state and country.
WE THE PEOPLE have the right to look out for and
protect the country that gives us the right to vote. We ought
to honor and respect the founder fathers who fought to
give WE THE PEOPLE the opportunity to have a Constitution.
WE THE PEOPLE should take responsibility for holding elected officials accountable for the errors and mistakes they make because the voters place these officials in
the jobs they now hold. Elected officials should not take
their constituents for granted because their job is assigned
more by a temp agency than an inheritance would mean
they have a permanent placement, such as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid or the administration of the Las
Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, where every outgoing sheriff has named his own successor — up until this
election year, hopefully.
We have been predicting for months now that the people
of the great State of Nevada, during this election, will take
the opportunity to set a precedent and throw out of office
those who not belong there because they don’t have the
best interest of the people of Nevada at heart.
We have been saying for a very long time that judges
who are swayed by campaign contributions and the promises and fantasy dreams of their campaign managers do
not deserve to be on the bench because they cannot control and manage their court rooms properly.
We promise the community that before the early voting
starts on May 24 and before the primary election takes
place June 10, we will publish the names of every one of
these judges who is weak and allows a campaign manager, such as David Thomas, to control and to intimidate
them — by telling these candidates with their black robes
who they can talk to, who they can be associated with—or
run against—and whose radio show they can appear on or
what newspaper they can advertise in or give interviews.
We believe that even one of our own attorneys, who has
political aspirations, is afraid of David Thomas. That attorney has diminished his relationship with this newspaper and is avoiding being seen in public with the management of the Las Vegas Tribune; he is directing his law partner to deal with this newspaper and its founder, despite the
fact that he has always been highly appreciated and treated
respectfully by this newspaper.
The Las Vegas Tribune went all the way to bat for District Court Judge Jessie Walsh during her campaign for
reelection despite opposition from the Review Journal and
from many who opposed her from the district attorney’s
office, as well as many attorneys in private practice.
The newspaper has suffered the loss of many friends
because the Las Vegas Tribune supported and endorsed
Judge Jessie Walsh, and we took this loss as a badge of
honor because we, at that time did believe in her; we did
believe that she was a good judge; we did believe that Judge
Walsh was a person of her own who could not be bought,
controlled or manipulated. But after reading last Sunday’s
story by Jane Ann Morrison on the front page of the daily
paper, we realize that we made a mistake by supporting
Judge Jessie Walsh for District Court Department 10
against Judge William “Bill” Kephart. For that, we have
apologized to Judge Kephart publicly and in private, and
we accept responsibility for our mistake, which we consider an error in judgment on this matter.
After reading Jane Ann Morrison’s story and online Review-Journal post (April 5, 2014) which exposes some of
those who try to buy justice and “friendly judges,” we now
understand Judge Jessie Walsh’s likely motivations for her
terminating all contacts with this newspaper and the owner
of the Las Vegas Tribune, a person who once was invited
to be in her circle of close acquaintances and with whom
she attended the opening of the M Resort.
However, this is the United States of America, and quoting this newspaper’s founder — an “almost free country”
— so we respect that particular judge’s decision to give
her friends the cold shoulder. Sadly, we hope that she realizes that she once had a real supporter and a loyal friend in
the Las Vegas Tribune, but that is now gone for good.
Our door is always open for our friends, but our door
only opens one way, and there is no returning when someone betrays us, is ashamed of us or stabs us in the back.
WE THE PEOPLE won’t stand for injustice either.
Outrageous! The governor
and the DMV do it again
By Perly Viasmensky
The word outrage just doesn’t seem to have the
impact that is necessary to describe the way that I and
others at this newspaper feel about the new Nevada
Drivers Card that allows illegal immigrants to drive a
vehicle legally in this state.
After I waited the customary 2.5 to 3.5 hours at the
Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a new registration for a vehicle, I learned from an employee at the
DMV drivers license section how this category of license works. Illegal immigrants wishing to obtain a
Nevada Drivers Card must produce documentation
from their home country to establish their identity and
residency of origin, along with documentation, such
as power bills or apartment leases, that shows residency in the state in which they currently reside. After
producing these documents, the applicant is required
to pass a written test which requires a score of 70 percent or better to continue on to the physical drivers
test. (I was told that only 40 percent of applicants pass
the test.)
Up until then, the requirements seemed somewhat
reasonable until I learned that the written test is given
in Spanish to those applicants who don’t speak or write
English. This all seems too unreal, in that all traffic
signs, markings, labels or information posted on American roadways are in English!
This poses a rather unique problem because if you
can’t read or understand English, how in the name of
heaven can you safely operate a motor vehicle on
American roadways. No one at the DMV would answer that question; each person referred this newspaper editor to the Public Information Officer of DMV,
who happened at the time to be very busy and unable
to make a statement on the matter.
I further inquired about what happens if the applicant for the Nevada Drivers Card passes the written
test and wishes to proceed to the physical drivers test:
Is there going to be an interpreter to speak Spanish to
the applicants who don’t understand English? The
DMV employee said yes and explained that there are
driver examiner interpreters but definitely not enough
to handle all of the applicants that can’t speak English.
It was important for me to ask another question: Do
these driver examiner interpreters speak other languages besides Spanish and English in order to help
all of the other applicants who are illegal and speak
native languages other than Spanish so they can pass
their Nevada Drivers Card written and physical examinations? The DMV employee said no and confirmed
that the tests are only given in Spanish and English;
everyone else is on their own to get by.
We at the Las Vegas Tribune are almost speechless.
How can our tax dollars support an obvious biased
system that caters only to a select group of people that
are living in and off our state.
We, at the Las Vegas Tribune, support every effort
to establish English as the official language of the
United States of America. If anyone wants to live in
the United States of America, then you are required to
learn and understand the English, whether you are here
illegally or not, especially if you are eligible to obtain
a Nevada Drivers Card to operate a motor vehicle on
American roadways.
When is enough going to be enough?
We all recognize that politicians offer voter grab
incentives to get the support of illegal immigrants’
communities when it comes time for elections, especially Latino voters. What is it going to take to make
our leaders understand that we know what is going on?
Maybe it will take a lawsuit against the governor of
the state after a non-English-speaking, illegal immigrant — a Nevada Drivers Card recipient — fails to
obey a traffic control sign on our roadways and subsequently kills an innocent motorist. It generally takes
something of this magnitude to get everyone’s attention to any obvious systemic political blunder made
by our state leaders.
Let’s ask one last question: Who got paid off for
this illegal immigrant brain-child that puts everyone
in our state in harm’s way?
*****
Perly Viasmensky is the General Manager of the
Las Vegas Tribune. She writes a weekly column in this
newspaper. To contact Perly Viasmensky, email her at
pviasmensky@lasvegas tribune.com.
A Helpful Flower: How Hard is This?
By Shawn J. Jimenez
late capitalism. The subject: medical
I’ve been reading and hearing
marijuana consumers and regulating
about “medical marijuana” since I
commercial access. How did this
arrived here in January. Las Vegas is
happen?
my new (and hopefully last) homeHow did we get here? I kept waittown—but I didn’t come here to die.
ing for someone to shout “April
I’m too curious and love learning too
Fools Day!” Do we all know we’re
much to put myself out to pasture.
only talking about a flower? And will
I became especially interested
someone please tell us what was remedical marijuana when I started
ally going on.
seeing old white guys in ties on my
But no one ever did. So how did
local news talking about how this
we get here?
medicine is better for human bodies
Here’s what I know about the
SHAWN J. JIMENEZ
than other medicines; they said it’s
matter.
better for their own bodies, and stressed how much
Hemp vs. Cotton in History
they need this medicine to be readily available. So I
Thomas Jefferson once declared that no great nawent to the Medical Marijuana Town Hall meeting tion could survive without hemp. (Yep. Same plant,
held on the first day of April, hoping to learn more boys and girls!)
about what’s happening in my new community.
The U.S. Navy relied heavily on hemp for centuI’ve spent the past 22 years living in socialist Eu- ries for everything from sails to ropes to uniforms.
ropean countries where I often talked with people who Everyone understood hemp’s value as a fiber: It’s a
believed they understood capitalism. I’ve spoken pas- better crop than cotton, and we can grow ten times as
sionately about the fact I don’t believe capitalism can much pulp for paper on one acre in one year with hemp
survive in a socialist state and that business needs to than we can on ten acres over ten years with trees.
be unfettered by government regulation in order to
In the early 1930s, cotton was being out performed
grow. I enjoyed telling others why I believe capital- by hemp. Instead of improving their crop or switching
ism can only flourish in a democratically elected re- to a more profitable one, the cotton growers of America
public, such as the one that governs the nation of my hired lobbyist. All of us who remember the ’60s, ’70s
birth—the USA.
or early ’80s (and a lot of us who don’t remember)
Whether I was drinking with Dutch royalty or en- may recall watching “Reefer Madness,” but no one ever
joying a smoke break with a proper English business- told us it was paid for by the cotton lobbyist who
man, I was always delighted when anyone resorted to brought about the “Marijuana Excise Tax of 1936,”
pointing out that the U.S. is such a “young nation” which imposed a tax so great that not only was all profit
and Americans have a rather “juvenile” perspective lost, but it actually cost farmers money to grow hemp.
and resultant problems. This type of commentary al- Cotton effectively killed hemp in the U.S., but only up
lowed me to point out that ours is the oldest, longest until World War II.
running, longest standing, national government anyIn 1942, when cotton farmers failed to produce
where still operating in its original form.
enough fiber for ropes and uniforms to support the war
I find myself back home in the USA, loving Las effort, the U.S. government shipped tons of hemp seeds
Vegas, sitting in an official meeting, listening to city to farmers across the Midwest. The government also
government officials talking about a multiple-page produced the film “Hemp for Victory” (available on
document highlighting their proposal on how to regu(See Shawn, Page 10)
VIEW POINTS
Editors note: The views expressed are entirely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Las Vegas Tribune.
Dear Candidate: You are cordially
invited to oppose tax hikes
lower the sales tax on
By Chuck Muth
goods while imposing a
An open letter went out
new tax on some services
to all Nevada candidates
that broadens the tax base
claiming to be fiscal conbut does not result in a net
servatives.
increase in tax revenue
Sponsored by Grover
going to the government,
Norquist of Americans for
that may or may not be a
Tax Reform, the Taxpayer
good policy idea but it
Protection Pledge has been
would not be a violation
signed by true taxpayer
of the Tax Pledge. It just
champions and fiscally
has to be revenue neutral.
conservative candidates all
So any candidate who
across the country for over
says the Tax Pledge
CHUCK MUTH
25 years.
The Left and the mainstream media (but would stop them from voting for tax reform
I repeat myself) hate the Pledge because it (hello, Becky Harris!), they are simply
hinders their ability to get more money to wrong. The Pledge does no such thing.
grow government.
Another issue that often comes up is this
Moderate Republicans hate to sign the notion of raising “fees.” The Tax Pledge
Pledge because it means they would actu- does NOT prevent you from raising fees,
ally have to vote the way they campaigned. but only if it’s a true user fee and not a tax
These “Gumbies” say they need to be disguised as a fee.
“flexible” — which means they want to be
A true user fee is a fee you can avoid by
able to raise taxes, which is always easier doing business elsewhere. For example, if
than cutting spending or setting spending you want to raise the fee to use the picnic
priorities.
area in a government park for a birthday
And they come up with all manner of party, that’s not a violation of the Pledge
B.S. excuses not to promise their voters in because people can always hold their birthwriting that they won’t raise taxes. So let’s day party somewhere else.
take a look at some of them...
However, a business licensing fee is not
PLEDGE FSE’S
a user fee because you have no choice but
(Frequently Stated Excuses)
to pay it to the government and can’t go
In reality, if you are a true fiscal conser- anywhere else to get the license. This “fee”
vative there is no excuse for not signing the is really just a tax by another name because
Pledge. There are always options to raising there’s no way around it.
taxes and fees, including reducing spendThen there’s the ever-popular “my word
ing and shifting spending priorities.
is my bond” excuse.
Also, the Pledge does not stop an elected
Try using that line the next time you try
official from pursuing tax reform— as long to get a loan to buy a house or a car. Or for
as the tax reform doesn’t result in a net in- that matter, using your Visa or MasterCard
crease in tax revenue to the government.
at Walmart or any other retail store. Good
For example, if there was a proposal to
(See Muth, Page 9)
What do you mean, I
can’t own a Canadian?
By Mace Yampolsky
homosexual lifestyle, for
I attended a seminar in
example, I simply remind
Toronto, Canada. Great
them that Leviticus 18:22
city, friendly people, great
clearly states it to be an
ethnic food and great subabomination. End of deways (tip: If you are sensibate. I do need some advice
tive to spicy food, stay
from you, however, regardaway from Beef Buana at
ing some of the other spean Indian restaurant. It
cific laws and how to folmade my face red, my nose
low them:
run and blew out my taste
When I burn a bull on
buds for a day.) As you
the altar as a sacrifice, I
know, I like to take aim at
know it creates a pleasing
MACE YAMPOLSKY
sanctimonious, stupid and
odor for the Lord —
idiotic comments and preachy, self-righ- Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They
teous and holier-than-thou positions taken claim the odor is not pleasing to them.
by people that I deem clueless, sanctimo- Should I smite them?
nious and idiotic — especially those in the
I would like to sell my daughter into slapublic eye. Well this one is a doozy.
very, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this
Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio person- day and age, what do you think would be a
ality who dispenses advice to people who fair price for her?
call in to her radio show. Apparently she is
I know that I am allowed no contact with
also a biblical scholar and an expert on a woman while she is in her period of men“God‘s law.” (Maybe she has an honorary strual uncleanliness — Lev.15:19- 24. The
degree from a law school?) She said that, problem is, how do I tell? I have tried askas an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexu- ing, but most women take offense.
ality is an abomination according to
(Personally, I find the PMS stage much
Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned more dangerous! However in my office the
under any circumstance.
problem is not PMS but UMS — ugly
The following is an open letter to Dr. mood swings — which can affect anyone
Laura penned by James M. Kauffman, regardless of gender!)
Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of CurLev. 25:44 states that I may indeed posriculum, Instruction, and Special Education sess slaves, both male and female, provided
University of Virginia which was posted on they are purchased from neighboring nathe Internet. It’s funny, as well as informa- tions. A friend of mine claims that this aptive:
plies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can
Dear Dr. Laura:
you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
Thank you for doing so much to educate
(They speak English, are much friendpeople regarding God’s Law. I have learned lier and drink Molson instead of Tecate!)
a great deal from your show and try to share
I have a neighbor who insists on workthat knowledge with as many people as I ing on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly
(See Mace, Page 9)
can. When someone tries to defend the
BEHIND THE MIKE
Five Questions Every Leader
Must Answer About Change Funny License Plates
By Doug Dickerson
change you are considerChange the changeable,
ing in any ways comproaccept the unchangeable,
mises your values then
and remove yourself from
change would not be adthe unacceptable. — Denis
visable. If on the other
Waitley
hand they support and
The story is told of Karl
strengthen those values
Benz, who in 1866 drove
then proceed.
his first automobile
Does the change
through the streets of
compromise your
Munich, Germany. He
integrity?
named his car the
At the end of the day
Mercedes Benz, after his
your core values and indaughter Mercedes. The
tegrity are the two most
machine angered the citiessential things you have
DOUG DICKERSON
zens, because it was noisy and scared the that drive your business and the way in
children and horses.
which you do it. If the proposed change you
Pressured by the citizens, the local offi- are considering compromises your integcials immediately established a speed limit rity then the answer is a no-brainer. Don’t
for “horseless carriages” of 3.5 miles per do it.
hour in the city limits and 7 miles per hour
Does the change add value
outside the city limits. Benz knew he could
or subtract value?
never develop a market for his car and comYour success has been tied in large part
pete against horses if he had to creep along to the value and service you have provided
at those speeds, so he invited the mayor of to others. If this change idea you have is
the town for a ride.
going to subtract value in any way to your
The mayor accepted. Benz then arranged employees or to those you serve then perfor a milkman to park his horse and wagon haps it’s not the best change decision. Is
on a certain street, and, as Benz and the there not a better way to move forward?
mayor drove by, to whip up his horse and
Does the change pass
pass them — and as he did so to give the
the smell test?
German equivalent of the Bronx cheer. The
What is the underlying motivation for
plan worked. He mayor was furious and making this proposed change? Is it primademanded that Benz overtake the milk rily a political one? Has it been hastily prewagon. Benz apologized but said that be- sented? These can be and usually are red
cause of the ridiculous speed law he was flags that should not be overlooked. If it
not permitted to go any faster. Very soon does not pass the smell test then chances
after that the law was changed.
are then the change idea is not a good idea.
We all know that change can be hard to
Does the change inspire and call
implement. One of the most challenging
forth the best from your team?
things you will do as a leader is to lead othNot all change is welcomed, nor is it
ers through changes. It’s been widely writ- easy to execute. But you will know it is
ten about and will continue to be a hot-but- right when the enthusiasm of the buy-in far
ton topic for leaders for years to come. exceeds the negativity of the change. When
Many oppose change because it leads them your team has been inspired, challenged,
out of their comfort zones and because it’s and embraces this change, then you know
something new. Others oppose change be- you have made a good decision. If the opcause of perceived risks. We know that life posite is true then you may want to pivot
is full of risks and can never be fully elimi- and consider other options.
nated. Sometimes you have to walk by faith.
It was George Bernard Shaw who said,
If you want to grow you have to change.
“Progress is impossible without change,
But I’d like to explore the other side of and those who cannot change their minds
the coin with you. What about those times cannot change anything.” Welcome change,
when change is not for the best? How do embrace change, and desire change. But at
you know if it’s the right thing to do or not? the end of the day, make sure it’s the right
Here are five questions to help guide you change.
through the decision-making process.
What do you say?
Does the change compromise
Doug Dickerson is a syndicated columyour core values?
nist. He writes a weekly column for this
Your core values are a reflection of who newspaper. To contact Doug Dickerson,
you are and every decision your organiza- email
him
at
ddickerson@
tion makes flows out of these values. If the lasvegastribune.com.
By Michael A. Aun
IPOLUTE on his old
Over the years, I’ve enbeat-up truck.
joyed collecting bumper
A hot Texas Mustang
stickers and taking pictures
had COPS ME on its
of unusual license plates,
plate. They creatively put
commonly called ego
a heart between the
plates.
words.
I’ve enjoyed having my
A Wisconsin lumber
own plates over the years
yard owner had this plate:
like MIKEAUN or
GOTWUD. A proud piAUNUSC, as I am a big
lot in Kentucky had
University of South CaroAVI8TR as his tag.
lina Gamecock fan. My
In West Virginia a
current
plate
says
plate said BYGDWV and
MICHAEL A. AUN
USCCOXS. Every other
another
read
variation was taken, so I had to create my YEABUDDY.
own. I didn’t realize there were that many
In South Carolina a bacon, lettuce and
Gamecock fans living in Florida.
tomato sandwich fan has BLT42TWO on
My wife used to have a blue Mercedes their plates. Another Palmetto state plate
and hers read BLWBABY. The letter U was said FUN4TWO.
taken by another. Her new car is red so she
A middle aged guy in Illinois confessed
was able to get REDBABI. You think we with M1DLIFE on his tag. NOMURCI was
could find better ways to waste our money. the tag on a Ford GT from California.
I saw a plate in Ohio once that read
A babe from New Mexico advertised
EVILMOM. Okay, I guess she would know. FOXCHSE on her tag.
In Washington, I was behind a plate that
I’m not sure how real the confession on
spelled BLINDMN. If you thought the the back of a KIA was — STALKR. Anowner was blind, the sign on the back of other read INSANE.
the van above the plate explained it all:
One of the most creative plates was a
DAN THE BLIND MAN... I sell blinds.
front plate in Vermont which made this deIn Oregon, a grateful daughter had this mand TI 3VOM, which read MOVE IT in
plate IOU DAD. One bozo that was parked the rear view mirror of the car in front of it.
crooked and taking up two parking places
A Corvette in Kansas had the modest tag
at the Mall of Millennia in Orlando had ATADBAD on its plate. Another in WisIMSTUPD on his plate. You think?
consin said CORUPTR.
Another driver with low self-esteem reA KIA in Orlando had CYANKIA, the
moved all doubts about the issue with this slogan for the local KIA dealer, see ya’ in a
plate: FAILURE.
KIA.
In California, this plate said simply
A female Michigan driver cut to the
TRIPPIN.
chase: MEN LIE was her statement.
In Tennessee, a driver addressed the car
A Delaware tag said simply OBEHAVE.
behind him with HI UGLY.
A Montana chocolate lover had a heart
In Vermont, a driver proudly displayed sticker in front of the letters CHOKLIT.
STOLEIT on their plates.
Montana has all kinds of people. Another
A New Yorker smugly displayed plate said BYTE ME.
FELON on his tag. Another New Yorker
In “the show me” state of Missouri read
bragged of being a SLASHER.
this plate: 100MPH. It was on the back of
A North Carolina driver chose Saturn. In your dreams, buddy.
SWAGGA for his plate.
A New Jersey Mercedes owner had the
A husband and wife team had twin plates tag BMWSUX on his Benz. A BMW owner
2 BE and NOT 2B. LUVRATS was proudly countered with IM2SEXY.
exhibited on the back of some Texas plates.
Another guy is inviting a ticket from the
A Lexus posed an interesting question: local LEO’s. His tag read CYAPIG.
UMADBRO.
In Virginia on a KIDS FIRST sign, the
In New Hampshire, a portly lady cut to tag read EAT THE on it, eat the kids first.
the chase: FATCHIK was her choice. In A California gal had I MU BUT on her tag
Maine, a lady displayed WINNING on her and she put a heart after the word I.
plate.
My favorite of all was a top of the line
In Orlando, on the back of an expensive Mercedes with the tag HIS401K on it.
Mercedes Benz it read WAS HIS.
Michael Aun is a syndicated columnist
On the back of a gas guzzling Cruiser and writes a weekly column for this newsthe plate read 8APRIUS.
paper. To contact Michael Aun, email him
A Utah plate arrogantly admitted at [email protected].
COMMENTARIES
Editors note: The views expressed are entirely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Las Vegas Tribune.
Improvement needed? LVMPD not interested
By Norman Jahn
Part Two of Two
In Part I, in my last column
(April 2, 2014), I wrote about my
first-hand experience with Metro
over my two periods as a dedicated
public servant in order to illustrate
how often the public, including visitors, gets far less efficiency and
much less competency from law
enforcement than imaginable and
why so many crimes are not prevented, tracked and left unsolved. I
spoke in detail about crimes against
tourists. (See that edition for my
ABCs — tips to help guard yourself against crime as a visitor to Las
Vegas and how to report a crime to
get better police response.)
This week, in PartII, I’ll start
presenting specifics of what information was being relayed to Metro
“command” by me and what action
— or lack of action — took place.
I’ll also describe some crimes that
could have been solved, though I
don’t believe that any of them were
investigated properly.
I am sharing my insights and
experience to help the public see
inside the system. Presented in italics below is one of the many memos
I wrote to my former lieutenant
Hans Walters, who also became my
friend. I wrote this exactly four
months before Captain Todd Fasulo
called me into his office, violated
most every provision and protection
of the law — the Police Officer Bill
of Rights — and orchestrated a termination case alleging that I was
“untruthful.”
Written 3/5/11
I spoke with CM this morning.
He told me that they had a SF in
custody on Thursday night’s shift
for a $2,800 trick roll. From what I
have been told, she went to a room
NORMAN JAHN
and ripped off a guy earlier in the
evening. He reported it to security.
They found video. She returned
later in the morning and was recognized. They took her into custody.
Metro was called. Metro responded.
She didn’t have the money any
longer (she was back preying for
more). The victim was married and
supposedly did not want to prosecute (since there was no money to
return... and he was married). I
guess these facts impacted his decision — but I think we better get a
‘bright line’ rule for our officers on
handling money in these circumstances — like DO NOT return it
— impound it!!!
Along with the 5 trick rolls that
I learned about last week (and put
on your desk)... this type of incident still concerns me from a crime
fighting perspective. I loved hearing the captain’s approach to policing the Strip. In line with his direction (and while out on a bike ride
today where I am able to do some
‘thinking’) I came up with the following ideas.
STOLEN MOTOR VEHICLES
We have responded to the MGM
and they have a 411 suspect detained for us. Let’s say that they
luck telling the sales clerk that you
won’t sign the charge slip because
“your word is your bond.”
To paraphrase an old saying, in
God we trust; all others have to sign
on the dotted line.
Then there’s the absolutely
worst excuse you can ever use: “But
if I sign the Pledge, (insert special
interest here) said they won’t give
me money.”
Think about that one for a second.
If you want to sign the Pledge
because you truly believe that raising taxes is the wrong public policy,
yet you won’t sign it because if you
do someone won’t give you money,
what are you going to do when confronted by a major donor asking for
your vote on a bad public policy bill
once in office?
I mean, if you’re willing to sell
out your principles even before getting elected, is there any doubt that
you’ll sell them out after?
And lastly, the Pledge isn’t made
to me or Grover Norquist. The
wording is quite simple and explicit. Candidates who sign the Tax
Pledge are making a campaign
promise to the taxpayers in your
district.
PLEDGE IS A HISTORICAL
WEATHER VANE
Candidates make a lot of campaign promises; often broken. The
only difference here is that you’re
actually signing a document attesting to your commitment, not just
paying lip service to it.
Now here’s the thing...
With the glaring exception of
infamous Pledge-breaker Sen.
Moderate Mike Roberson, candidates who have signed the Tax
Pledge have consistently voted
against tax hikes while in office.
On the other hand, of those who
have consistently voted to raise
taxes, none of them — again with
the glaring exception of Sen.
Roberson — have opted to sign the
Tax Pledge.
Candidates who sign the Tax
Pledge — again with the glaring exception of Sen. Roberson — can
usually be depended upon to honor
their campaign promises not to raise
taxes.
Historically speaking, those who
refuse to sign the Tax Pledge are the
ones who break their campaign
promises and vote for tax hikes.
Oh, and they usually get a lot of
other issues wrong, as well!
And by the way, a vote to extend the “sunsets” is absolutely,
positively a vote to increase taxes.
The “dodge” that extending a tax
hike that was scheduled to expire
isn’t a campaign promise violation
because extending a tax hike is not
a “new” tax is pure, unadulterated
bull. If a tax is scheduled to expire,
and you vote to extend it, that is,
without a doubt, an effort to increase taxes. Period.
When it comes to lame excuses
for not signing the Tax Pledge, I
think I’ve pretty much heard ‘em
all. And if I haven’t, I’m sure
Grover has. For any candidate running as a fiscal conservative there
is simply no argument or circumstance that Grover and I can’t
counter.
Think you have a new one? Give
us a shot. Kinda like “Stump the
Bandleader.”
HOW TO TAKE THE PLEDGE
On the other hand, if you want
the taxpayers of your district —
whether they be Republicans,
Democrats or anything in between
— to know with near-metaphysical
certainty that you won’t raise their
taxes (by the way, Democrat voters
don’t want their taxes raised any
more than Republican voters do,
though they’re often happy to raise
somebody else’s taxes!), then
please join Sen. Dean Heller, Rep.
Mark Amodei, Rep. Joe Heck and
almost every other elected Republican in Congress — along with
thousands of elected state legislators all across the country — in
signing the Taxpayer Protection
Pledge.
Depending on the office you’re
running for, the wording is slightly
different...
THE LITMUS TEST
By the way, Citizen Outreach
PAC will be endorsing candidates
in this year’s elections, including
the primaries; however... Citizen
Outreach PAC will not endorse any
candidate who has not signed the
Taxpayer Protection Pledge. We’ve
been burned by too many candidates who promise they won’t raise
taxes on the campaign trail (hello,
Gov. Sandoval!) but then flip-flop
Muth
even have the theft on video. Security had the suspect in the holding
room when we arrived. We were
able to identify the owner and had
him come down from his room. He
tells us since the car was stopped
before it got out of the valet gate,
and since he got his car back undamaged, he does NOT want to
prosecute. A criminal history check
reveals no wants on the suspect.
Would we tolerate the officers
clearing the call without a crime
report, without any written statements/documents, without any F.I.
on the car thief, and without any
sharing of information on who is
stealing cars by putting it in Patrol
Briefing, calling Auto Theft, sharing information with TCU??? I
think NOT!
AUTO BURGLARIES
We have responded to the Fashion Show Mall and they had an auto
burglar in custody (or maybe we
even caught one ‘in-progress’ and
we were able to contact the victim
by paging inside the mall...) The
registered owner sees the GPS on
the table in the holding room and
realizes that she forgot to lock her
car. Since there is no damage to the
car and she has her GPS back... she
does not want to ‘get the teenager’
in trouble so she does not want to
prosecute. A criminal history check
reveals no wants on the suspect.
Would we tolerate the officers
clearing the call without a crime
report, without any written statements/documents, without any F.I.
on the 406V suspect, and without
sharing of information on who is
breaking into/stealing stuff from
cars at one of our hot spots by contacting TCU or others??? I think
NOT — or at least not if we knew
this was happening.
CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE
If we are going to fight crime
more effectively we need to know
what crimes are taking place (even
if they are not ACTION crimes). We
need to know who is doing the
crimes, where they live, what they
are driving, and when they are out
doing crimes.
I know of numerous opportunities where we could be gathering
criminal intel on theft suspects
preying on our TOURISTS! If we
are trying to have the safest tourist
destination in America we can’t ignore crimes just because they are
not ACTION crimes. Any tourist
crime should be our top priority on
the Strip. I’m pretty sure that our
problems continue and more and
more prostitutes and pimps move to
and break their word once in office.
If you’re not willing to put your
campaign promise in writing, we’re
not willing to take a chance on you.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Branding is important. CocaCola spends a lot of time and quality-control branding Coca-Cola.
Everybody knows what’s in CocaCola. And so you can buy a bottle
of Coke, take it home and you don’t
have to ask what’s in it or read the
ingredients or ask your friends
about. You just take it home and
drink it.
“But what if you get two-thirds
of the way through your bottle of
Coke and you look in and there’s a
rat head in what’s left in your Coke
bottle? “You do not just say to yourself, ‘You know, I’m wondering
whether I’m going to finish all of
the rest of this particular bottle of
Coke this evening.’ Instead you
begin to wonder whether you’ll
ever buy Coke again in the future
and go on local TV and show the
cool rat head. And then Coca-Cola
has a very large problem worldwide. It damages the brand.
“Republican elected officials
who vote for tax increases are rat
heads in the Coke bottle. They damage the GOP brand for everybody
else.”
— Grover Norquist, president,
Americans for Tax Reform
Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public
policy grassroots advocacy organization. He may be reached at
[email protected].
states he should be put to death. Am
I morally obligated to kill him myself?
(Should one wait until the next
day, because killing could be defined as work, unless I do it as a
hobby?)
A friend of mine feels that even
though eating shellfish is an abomination — Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser
abomination than homosexuality. I
don’t agree. Can you settle this?
(Homosexuality usually does
not give you high cholesterol)
Lev. 21:20 states that I may not
approach the altar of God if I have
a defect in my sight. I have to admit
that I wear glasses. Does my vision
have to be 20/20, or is there some
wiggle room here?
(What about Lasik surgery or
reading glasses, would they keep
one from the altar? This doesn’t
seem right, especially if a person
could see the altar better.)
Most of my male friends get their
hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples (sometimes
even ears and noses!), even though
this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die?
(Are barbers and hair stylists coconspirators? Are they subject to
this sanction also?)
I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that
touching the skin of a dead pig
makes me unclean, but may I still
play football if I wear gloves? My
uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.
19:19 by planting two different
crops in the same field, as does his
wife by wearing garments made of
two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends
to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it
really necessary that we go to all
the trouble of getting the whole
town together to stone them? —
Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn
them to death at a private family
affair like we do with people who
sleep with their in-laws? —Lev.
20:14.
I know you have studied these
things extensively, so I am confident
you can help. Thank you again for
reminding us that God’s word is
eternal and unchanging.
Your devoted fan, “Jim”
*****
I would love to take this guy’s
class. I wonder how long it took him
to research the biblical passages. I
think Dr. Laura should look in the
mirror the next time she wants to
condemn abominations. That’s all
for now. — Mace
Mace J. Yampolsky is a Board
Certified Criminal Law Specialist,
625 South Sixth St., Las Vegas, NV
89101; He can be reached at:
Phone 702-385-9777 or fax 702385-300. His website is located at:
www.macelaw.com.
Mace
or circulate through Las Vegas because of how ineffective we have
been. The profits are high. The consequences are very low — especially if they carefully select out of
country tourists.
I think we need to start a log at
the station (or even ask dispatch if
they can log all prostitution-related
theft crimes on the streets or in the
hotels that are clearly not retail
thefts or residential thefts). I don’t
know for sure why we keep track of
people put on the PT for transport
when we are not keeping track of
felony crimes that have taken place
and that have been brought to our
attention. I do actually feel the PT
log has some value... but it is to help
solve crimes by showing who was
(See Jahn, Page 10)
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Ending the wars with grace and dignity
It can be argued — and proven in a court of law— that the United
States does not have legal authority to be overseas. The War Powers Resolution has, in practice, ceded all congressional authority in war-related
matters to the executive branch. This is akin to the president writing an
executive order ceding commander-in-chief duties to the Supreme Court.
The Resolution is a material change in the Constitution, violating the
separation of powers, therefore it is unconstitutional. That makes all overseas kills legal murders, ultimately at the hands of the commander-inchief. If each district attorney in the United States filed charges of murder on each living president, the soldiers would become witnesses. “How
many kills, soldier?” “Four.” “Who ordered you to kill?” “Well sir, ultimately that would be President Clinton/Bush/Obama.” “Thank you, soldier. Defense?”
“Thou shall not kill” is learned early as a child. “Kill, soldier kill” is a
command followed as an adult. Emotionally, the soldier absolves responsibility and assigns it to his commander. However, that also puts the commander in the emotional position of God.
Make each president “a hero” by seating him as a defendant and declaring him guilty of multiple counts of murder.
Andrew Bransford Brown
Staten Island, NY 10304
Shawn
YouTube) to encourage farmers to
plant hemp—Marijuana Excise Tax
be damned. Hemp was the only
crop that could fill the need.
Post-War Wacky Weed
Once the war was won, hemp/
marijuana/cannabis once again became a ‘horrible,’ ‘evil,’ illegal substance in the USA. Attitudes
changed somewhat through the ’60s
and ’70s, eventually reaching a
point in the late ’70s when President Jimmy Carter stood before
Congress with an ounce of dried
marijuana flowers (known as weed)
in his hand, telling elected officials
it was time to reform national marijuana laws.
Mr. Carter stated that he believed
the consequences of the punishment
for a crime should not exceed the
consequences of the crime itself. In
other words, he believed that with
responsible use marijuana was no
more detrimental to society than
alcohol. He added that we should
stop ruining individuals’ lives, taking away their rights and throwing
them in prison, thus destroying
American families for something
that’s no more detrimental to society than possessing a six-pack and
having a couple of beers at home.
A few years later, Holland decriminalized “soft drugs” around
the time we elected Ronald Reagan.
I have nothing but respect for the
late President Reagan as a man and
a president. This is in spite of what
so-called Republicans today would
have me to believe... and never
mind the “Tea Party.” I think all Tea
Party members should join Mrs.
Sarah Palin in Alaska, secede from
the union, and start their own country—as long as we don’t have to listen to them and they keep the oil
flowing to the motherland, we
won’t bomb them.
I remember that for much of his
life, Ronald Reagan was a liberal
Democrat. I remember that prior to
the 1980 election, he had no real
public opinion on abortion and was
not in love with the so-called Moral
Majority or the religious right
wingers who now use our churches
as a campaign forum, despite that
whole “separation of church and
state” thing.
Leading up to the 1980 election,
Ronald Reagan was already old and
rapidly growing older. He’d already
changed parties and was taking a
third swing at the White House; the
race was too close, so he reluctantly
adopted a right-wing, religious platform as his own in order to secure
those conservative, extreme votes
Jahn
and to gain his place in the White
House. But I don’t blame him for
the unholy alliance he made with
the fundamentalist Christians and
the Republican Party. Today, I understand he needed the votes.
‘War on Drugs’
Damns People
My problem lies directly with
his now-deceased wife, Mrs. Nancy
Reagan, who, to the best of my
knowledge, was never elected to
any public office, much less to the
office of president, yet she successfully declared war without Congress’ approval. Mrs. Reagan’s
“War on Drugs”—or “Nancy’s
Jihad” as I prefer to call it—has
caused more American casualties
than all other wars we’ve been involved in combined.
You may say, “But Shawn, it
wasn’t a real war,” but you’ll never
convince the Central Americans
who had US C-130’s spying on
them from the air, and British Special Air Service, or SAS, troops
hunting down marijuana farms and
cocaine manufacturing facilities for
the U.S. to destroy using F-15’s and
F-16’s. I wish you luck convincing
any current or former prisoner of
this war that it is has not been a real
war.
Of course, finding former prisoners of this war may be difficult.
They are effectively no longer “citizens” of this great nation; they have
no rights. Never mind “bearing
arms,” they can no longer vote. A
janitorial job is out of reach for most
parolees.
It’s a bitterly ironic legacy Mrs.
Reagan has left behind.
She started off with the best of
intentions to rid society of its woes
and repair families, while promoting good old-fashioned family values.
The unconstitutional policies
and laws she helped birth have been
used to create a huge population, an
underclass, in every town and city
in America. Those disenfranchised
human casualties are left wishing
they would be granted the civil
rghts that even a Jewish, Southern
Black woman with a Hispanic surname would have had under the
“separate but equal” Jim Crow
laws.
Nancy Reagan’s legacy is that
she was the driving force behind increasing our prison population from
an average of 200,000 through the
late ’70s to an average of more than
2 million today. And I feel no safer
now than I did in 1982, do you?
Most of the people in prison are
victims of her “zero-tolerance”
out that night and when and where, etc...
Please forward my suggestion... that we start tracking these crimes
and getting important suspect information shared and saved so we can
do a better job and catch them the next time. If Ms. F can make almost
$3,000 a night... with impunity... I don’t think it is going to stop and we
are going to stay busier than we need to be.
And so it is... and so it will continue to be with the LVMPD. Unless
you are ‘favored,’ you need to stay in your place — know nothing, have
no opinions, and seek no improvement. Certainly don’t advocate for improved service to victims of crimes or even for fair treatment of our own
employees. I did both, and I paid serious consequences!
Norm Jahn is a former LVMPD lieutenant, who has also served as a
police chief in Shawano, Wisconsin, and has nearly 25 years of police
experience. Jahn now contributes his opinions and ideas to help improve
policing in general, and in Las Vegas in particular, through his weekly
column in the Las Vegas Tribune.
policies; mandatory drug testing
(which is an unconstitutional illegal search and seizure without probable cause sufficient for a judge to
issue a search warrant); mandatoryminimum sentencing practices; and
the good old “three strikes, you’re
out,” just like at the old ballgame.
If we wish to continue with the
illegal mandatory-minimum sentencing, then I suggest we do away
with judges in these cases as they
are obsolete. We can simply feed
the facts to a computer and follow
its recommendation. If we are not
going to allow judges to interpret
the law and apply it to the case before them based on the facts and
circumstances, then why have
judges?
Hemp, Hemp, Hurray!
Furthermore, I believe we
should give American farmers the
encouragement and support to grow
hemp, thus giving them a profitable
alternative to working for corporate
conglomerates that manipulate the
markets and dictate what pays well.
It only makes sense considering that
the United States is this planet’s No.
1 consumer of hemp products, yet
it’s illegal to grow hemp!?
If you don’t believe there’s a retail market for hemp then you’ve
probably never been in a health
food store or paid much attention
to certain sections while there,
never mind the organic items sold
in an earth conscious or “hippie”
clothing boutique; you’re definitely
not a woman or someone with an
interest in skin care ingredients.
We are talking about a strain of
the cannabis plant that provides
zero percent THC (the active ingredient responsible for the “high,”
zero percent CBD, and zero percent
CBN. In other words, absolutely
nothing that makes other strains
good medicine. Be assured that no
one will be giggling and having fun
— even if an entire hemp field were
to burn. Our neighbors to the north
(who to me seem unable to decide
if they are French, British or Canadian) have been laughing at our
hypocrisy for decades.
I believe marijuana is medicine.
I believe that because of the variety of strains available and the different properties they possess, marijuana can be useful in the treatment
of many ailments. Mostly I believe
we should end prohibition and allow our doctors and medical researchers to find the facts to support or try to disprove the anecdotal
evidence discovered in just the state
of California alone over the past 22
years they’ve had a medical marijuana program. It’s time to discover
the truth and end the debate, and
especially the disproportionate
criminalization.
April Fool! It’s a Flower
I know marijuana is a flower.
Call it whatever you like —
hemp, cannabis, Mary Jane, pot—
it’s still a flowering plant with a fibrous stalk. It sprouts the most
beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen, in
all colors, sizes, shapes, with multicolored pistils covered with frosty
sparkling crystals. It is a gorgeous,
sexy flower!
Cannabis is medicinal, but it’s
not a drug. This is a fact. I’m absolutely certain this is true because I
have personally examined hundreds
upon hundreds of pounds of dried
flowers. I’ve seen the descendants
of the “Hemp for Victory” plants
growing wild where I grew up. I’ve
walked through hundreds of acres,
with tens of thousands of plants, 1012 feet tall, being grown for fiber
in Norfolk and Suffolk, England.
I’ve visited the Riff Mountains in
Morocco. I’ve visited Amsterdam
and spent a lot of time in several
other towns and cities in Holland.
(I am a huge fan of the Dutch
people.) I’ve traveled the world
looking, but I’ve never, ever, not
once, looked on any flower, leaf,
stalk, stem or seed and found the
word “Pfizer.” This is how I know
marijuana is NOT a drug!
At the recent town hall about
medical marijuana’s regulation by
the city of Las Vegas, Dr. S. Fry
kindly pointed out that we do not
need the officials to write into law
a provision for the disposal of excess product as there is already a
network in place to deal with that.
I’m not talking about drug dealers
either. If I were talking about “drug”
dealers, I’d call them by name —
CVS and Walgreen’s with a drivethrough window, and of course the
granddaddy “drug” pusher of them
all, the late Mr. Sam Walton’s
Walmart.
I’m talking about state authorized medical marijuana patients
being legally allowed to share a
flower they love for its beauty and
all it does for them. Imagine a
flower that (1) helps people deal
with chronic pain, (2) lifts depression, which often accompanies
chronic pain, (3) minimizes anxiety, (4) helps control seizures for
some patients, and (5) not only
stimulates the appetite of cancer
patients who are subjected to radiation and chemotherapy by modern
medicine but may actually reduce
tumor size or even cure certain
types of cancer, depending on who
you believe. Impossible to imagine,
but many people believe it’s true.
This is why I want people who
are a whole lot smarter than I
am to be allowed to explore
these claims. There are many
people not only in Nevada but in
many other states and countries
around the world who believe in the
benefits of this natural plant. Medicinally, marijuana allows many
users to deal with their bodies and
brains and to continue functioning
as productive human beings in
much the same way that the pharmaceuticals Prozac, Oxycontin and
Lortab enable others to function in
spite of their brains and bodies.
Everyone at the local meeting
about medical marijuana proposed
regulations on sales and purchase
seemed to agree that federal laws,
which still criminalize cannabis
sales and possession, are a concern,
but it’s not a concern anyone wants
to deal with. I believe it is time to
stop acting like children trying to
get away with something and go tell
Daddy what we want to do just to
see what he says. If he says okay,
go play, then we’re free to proceed
with common sense and logic driving a capitalist solution while protecting our children—just as we do
with alcohol, tobacco and all other
drugs prescription and non-prescription.
I hope we can find something
better for our city officials to spend
their time and our money on than
regulating the sale of flowers. I suppose the Las Vegas medical marijuana community may be paranoid,
but I did not see or hear anything at
the town hall that had much to do
with them.
We all know there’s more than
one doctor in town who knows how
to provide a tourist with a “temporary medical marijuana card,” and
it did seem more like the city is
planning to build the infrastructure
we’ll need to deal with the tourist
trade. I don’t have a problem with
that. I’m a child of the ’70s, and if
the real estate agent handing out flyers after the meeting is to be believed, then the city planners definitely remember the ’70s. The agent
claims that there are seven properties listed round the Strip corridor
which were already zoned and preapproved sites for dispensaries.
Every one of them was next to a
topless strip bar or so-called
Gentlemen’s clubs. All Las Vegas
needs to do is mandate a gas station on the opposite corner and
there will be the perfect business
model to franchise to the world fulfilling the 70’s motto: “GAS,
GRASS or ASS—NOBODY
RIDES FOR FREE!”
While perfectly appropriate for
a “sin” city, I think this attitude is
horribly shortsighted, considering
the true potential of this incredible
plant. This city, state and nation
could prosper and profit far more
from the hemp industry alone than
anyone ever could from the sale of
flowers or much less by getting into
the business of regulating the sale
of flowers.
President Obama has already issued directives or signed laws stating that the federal government will
no longer waste federal resources
using the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, to contradict state marijuana laws. Fortunately, our founding hemp farmers
designed this great republic so that
if we, the people, tell the government it is time to change a law that
we’ve outgrown and which no
longer suits our society’s best interest, the government must change
the law. We need only to agree on
what we want and tell Mr. Obama.
Shawn J. Jimenez writes under
his pen name and is a sociopolitical
commentator whose interests are
health and wellness, world events
and political satire.
www.MyCasinoBazaar.com
Senate extends unemployment insurance.
Why such a tough sell in the House?
The Senate voted 59 to 38 to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed. But House
Republican leaders say the measure addresses only symptoms of joblessness, not the cause.
By Francine Kiefer
WASHINGTON — More than
three months after emergency federal jobless benefits expired, the
U.S. Senate Monday approved a
five-month extension. But people
who need those funds to fill their
gas tank or pay their rent while they
look for work are not out of the
woods yet. The bipartisan bill,
which passed 59 to 38 with the support of six Republicans, faces stiff
opposition from Republican
gatekeepers in the House.
Why does the House GOP dislike this idea, which a majority of
Americans support? Supporters say
the federal payments of about $300
per week to individuals are desperately needed to help the long-term
unemployed — nearly 3 million
people, many of them middle-aged
heads of household caring for children and parents. The payments
would be retroactive and go through
May.
Moreover, Senate Democrats, in
a tough negotiation with five Senate Republicans, already met several GOP objections in their bill:
They found offsets to pay for the
extension’s $9.7 billion price tag
and they addressed some concerns
about waste and job training. The
risk for Republicans is that opposing the Senate’s bill simply reinforces their image as uncaring —
an image that Democrats aim to
exploit in an election year when
control of the Senate hangs in the
balance.
Three primary objections nevertheless stand in the way of the
Senate’s measure, although an effort by a handful of Republican representatives could yet sway the
House leadership:
A bandaid, not a cure
House Speaker John Boehner
(R) of Ohio complains, as do many
Republicans in both houses, that the
extension only addresses the symptoms of joblessness, not its cause.
Show me the measures to create
jobs, Boehner said, and maybe I’ll
look at something from the Senate
on unemployment insurance.
Senate Republicans tried to add
job enhancers — things like approving the Keystone XL pipeline,
ending the Obama administration’s
carbon regulations that hurt the coal
industry, and boosting the definition
of the work week in the Affordable
Care Act, or “Obamacare” from 30
hours to 40 hours to remove the incentive for employers to cut hours.
But Senate majority leader
Harry Reid (D) of Nevada said no.
He feared that adding such controversial measures would blow up the
carefully crafted compromise.
The bill’s supporters argue that
jobless benefits not only help families in desperate need, they save
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, here speaking at a recent news
conference on Capitol Hill, said the House is willing to look at extending
unemployment insurance as long as the measure includes provisions to
help create more private-sector jobs.
other jobs in the economy because
of spending by benefit recipients.
For every $1 spent on jobless benefits, $1.55 is returned to the
economy from such spending, according to one estimate.
Difficult for states
to implement
Boehner said the extension is
unworkable in the states. He cites a
March 19 letter written by the president of the National Association of
State Workforce Agencies to the
Senate leadership.
A big problem, according to the
letter, is the time that has lapsed
since the benefits expired on Dec.
28. Having to go back and confirm,
for instance, that individuals were
looking for work every week since
the end of December, would be
“nearly impossible” in many cases,
the letter said.
Supporters argue that states have
been able to handle previous lapses
in extensions, which began with the
economic crisis of 2008 and were
meant to help the jobless after their
state benefits ran out. But the states’
adroitness was due to clear signals
from both the House and Senate that
Congress intended to pass extension legislation. States kept collecting eligibility information while
they waited for the law to be enacted. This time, it was never clear
that Congress would extend the
benefits, so states stopped collecting the information.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of
Labor Thomas Perez — a former
state official responsible for carrying out unemployment insurance —
has since written the Senate leadership to say the Labor department
can help the states. He said he is
“confident there are workable solutions” to all of their concerns.
Time to end this thing
Many Republicans simply believe it’s a mistake to extend ben-
efits yet again. Since the Great Recession of 2008, Congress has extended or expanded emergency unemployment insurance 12 times. A
13th is simply one time too many
in an economy that is growing, and
where the jobless rate has been generally coming down, Republicans
argue. They don’t want a temporary
safety net to become a permanent
hammock.
But supporters of the Senate bill
say the Great Recession was like
none other. And, they point out that
federal unemployment insurance is
issued according to state need —
the duration of benefits decreases
as states recover. It’s no coincidence
that the Senate bill’s two sponsors
— Sens. Jack Reed (D) of Rhode
Island and Dean Heller (R) of Nevada — represent states at or near
the top of the unemployment chart,
9 percent for Rhode Island and 8.5
percent for Nevada. The national
average is 6.7 percent.
“These are real American families trying to make ends meet,” Sen.
Heller said last week, arguing for
passage on the Senate floor. “They
are people who want to get back to
work, want to be self-sufficient,
want to provide for their families.”
Unemployment insurance “is a
critical safety net... especially during periods of high unemployment,
such as we have now,” said the
Nevada senator, whose state had the
unenviable position of holding the
nation’s highest jobless rate for
nearly five years.
Now that the Senate has approved the bill, Heller said he wants
to meet with Boehner just as soon
as he can and express openness to
working with the House. He will
reassure the speaker that the plan
can be implemented, and he hopes
that fellow Republican Sen. Rob
Portman of Ohio, one of the bill’s
dealmakers, can exercise some influence over the speaker, who is
also from the Buckeye state.
The six GOP senators who voted
with Democrats for the bill include
the five negotiators: Sens. Heller,
Portman, Susan Collins of Maine,
Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, along with
Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, seven House Republicans have sent a letter to
Boehner, urging that the GOP leadership immediately move the Senate bill or an alternative. The members come from swing districts or
ones with high jobless rates in New
York, New Jersey, and Nevada. One
option might be to attach a measure
that has appealed to both Democrats
and Republicans in the past, such
as repealing a tax on medical devices that is part of the Affordable
Care Act. Another idea is to drop
the retroactive aspect and simply
extend jobless benefits going forward for five months.
But that assumes House Republicans want to go along with an extension. Many object in principal to
more long-term jobless benefits.
Their gerrymandered districts presumably protect them from any
backlash they may encounter from
constituents.
NPRI welcomes Nevada Legislature into its
case against state’s Catalyst Fund subsidies
Special to the Las Vegas Tribune
CARSON CITY — On behalf of
its client, NPRI’s Center for Justice
and Constitutional Litigation filed
a Non-Opposition welcoming the
Nevada Legislature as a party in its
lawsuit against the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the
State of Nevada and GOED Executive Director Steven Hill.
On March 24, The Nevada Legislature filed a motion to intervene
in the case, and after filing a nonopposition in the First Judicial District Court, CJCL Director and
Chief Legal Officer Joseph Becker
released the following comments:
We welcome the Legislature as
a defendant in our lawsuit, which
seeks to uphold Nevada’s Constitution by stopping the government
from picking winners and losers in
the economy.
For decades the Legislature acknowledged that Article 8, Sections
9 and 10, of the Nevada Constitution prohibited the state from providing subsidies to private businesses. In recognition of the clear
words of the Constitution, the Legislature even tried three times, in
1992, 1996 and 2000, to amend the
Constitution to allow subsidy
schemes similar to the Catalyst
Fund.
Voters, though, overwhelmingly
rejected those proposals.
We look forward to discovering
why legislative officials tried three
times to amend the Constitution to
allow schemes like the Catalyst
Fund, but now insist that the Catalyst Fund is constitutional despite
no change to the relevant constitutional provisions.
Article 8, Section 9, of the Nevada Constitution reads, “The State
shall not donate or loan money, or
its credit, subscribe to or be, interested in the Stock of any company,
association, or corporation, except
corporations formed for educational
or charitable purposes.”
CJCL filed its lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Catalyst Fund on Feb. 19, 2014. CJCL
is representing Michael Little, a
clean-energy entrepreneur, whose
competitor, SolarCity, has received
a commitment from GOED to provide it with a $1.2 million taxpayerfunded subsidy.
“In addition to being unconstitutional, the Catalyst Fund is fundamentally unjust, because it makes
a business owner subsidize his competition,” Becker continued. “Furthermore, history has shown that
companies receiving government
handouts — like Solyndra, Abound
Solar, Fisker and ThromboVision
— often fail, personally enriching
the politically connected but wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.”
[email protected]
Working women make more than
their mothers, but less than fathers
Women in the workforce make more money than their mothers did, on average, but they
still make less than their fathers did at similar stages in their careers, according to a
new study. The father-daughter wage gap was biggest among the wealthiest workers.
By Schuyler Velasco
Women have made significant
inroads into the workforce over the
past few decades, increasing levels
of labor participation, education,
and share of earnings. But an income gap lingers, and not just between women and their male peers.
Working women today earn
more than their mothers did, on
average, but they still make less
than their fathers did at similar
stages in their lives, according to a
study released Tuesday by Pew
Charitable Trusts tracking female
economic mobility across generations. The study compares women
who entered their “prime working
years” (approximately 40 years old)
in the 1970s with their daughters,
who reached 40 in the early 2000s,
by measuring participation rates,
hours worked, and wages earned.
Unsurprisingly, the “daughters”
in the study worked more hours and
had higher wages than the “mothers” — the latter group worked an
average of 24 hours a week and
earned about $10 an hour. The
daughters worked 34 hours a week
at an average of $19 per hour, which
translated to three times more earnings than their mothers.
The explanation is fairly simple:
more women, including mothers,
are working these days. Only 53
percent of the mothers surveyed
earned wages between 1972 and
1986, compared with 85 percent of
the daughters.
Likewise, 85 percent of the
working daughters in the study
earned more than their actual mothers. But less than half earned higher
wages than their fathers during their
prime working years.
The gap grows more pronounced with wealth — among the
highest earners, only 21 percent of
women earned more than their
dads. By comparison, 70 percent of
sons had higher hourly wages than
fathers, and 63 percent of the highest earnings group made more.
“At every rung of the economic
ladder, women’s median wages rose
by 50 percent or more, but daughters continue to earn lower hourly
wages than fathers did on the same
rung,” the study reads. “Daughters
A father and daughter share a seesaw in a park on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Stockholm, on March 9,
2014 (file photo.) Women in the United States make three times more than their mothers did, but they still
make less than their fathers, according to a recent Pew study.
working full time contribute more a wage premium, while employers ket.”
than half of family incomes, are less likely to hire mothers. And
She adds that even high-achievstrengthening financial security. reports say that a majority of moth- ing women have a tendency to
The extent of this contribution, ers are working, but we don’t have make their husband’s careers a
however, varies based on family adequate childcare. All of this puts higher priority, not because they
structure: Daughters who are in a women in a secondary labor mar- want to but purely for economic
couple (either married or cohabiting) supply 45 percent.”
Given a persistent wage gap
(full-time female workers earn
about 77 cents for every dollar a
man earns) and many of the roadblocks that still exist for working
women and especially mothers, the
finding isn’t a huge shock, said
Pamela Stone, a sociologist at
Hunter College in New York.
“Women are underpaid relative
to men even in fields like medicine,
and there are differences in labor
force participation during peak
childbearing years,” adds Stone,
also the author of the book “Opting
out? Why women really quit their
careers and head home.”
In the case of working moms,
she notes, “I tend to think there’s
discrimination at work, fathers get
reasons. “Men often have better
earning potential to begin with for
all the reasons I mentioned, so it
becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Still, the Pew study and others
note that women have more of a
bearing than ever on a household’s
economic mobility. 40 percent of
American mothers, including single
moms, are now the primary breadwinners for their families, up from
11 percent in 1960.
More U.S. women than men
now enroll in college, than men, and
women’s job gains outpaced men
in 2013. But the biggest gains tend
to be at the lowest income levels:
In the Pew study, for example, eight
in 10 daughters of the lowest-earning men make higher wages than
their fathers did, and female job
gains in 2013 were concentrated
among low-wage sectors like retail
and hospitality.
Stone said she’s seen a more
spirited push for wage equality in
recent years, but that significant
changes are still needed for that to
come to fruition. “We’d have to
have a workplace that really takes
gender equity seriously, recognizes
that we need to better accommodate
working families and root out gender disparities in pay, provide more
affordable and secure childcare so
people feel they can use it.”
“But women want to work, and
it’s clear there’s no retreating at this
point,” she adds.
ENTERTAINMENT
Meet Producer/Screenwriter Mylo Carbia
By Sandy Zimmerman
Las Vegas Tribune
Photos supplied by Zohar Films
unless otherwise indicated
Celebrities told their stories as
they walked the Academy Awards
red carpet.
Their involvement onstage, television and films added an interesting depiction of the many facets of
the entertainment industry.
This columnist interviewed Producer/ screenwriter Mylo Carbia of
Zohar Films.
Mylo discussed her films, “I’m
based in New York City and here
on business. Since Variety is a worthy cause, I wanted to support them.
I wrote two independent films,
a revenge thriller called “Black
Acre,” Another, a horror film,
makes my directorial début, called
“Violets are Red.”
I produce my own projects
working with aspiring writers and
helping them move ahead.
There are a lot of wonderful opportunities for new writers, especially on television, which I am
getting involved in for the first time.
My true love is feature films that is
why I am here tonight, the Academy Awards are such a big night for
me.
My films are dark with a lot of
violence. I’m not like that in life.
I’m a fun person.
As a screenwriter, I feel I am the
modern-day storyteller of our tribe.
Although I tend to work in the
horror genre, all of my films that I
write have moral lessons that apply to all cultures, all people; I love
that; If I don’t have a project that
someone walks away in the theater,
feels, ‘Wow, I changed for the better.’ “Then I would not go for that.”
Can a person be changed by a
Producer/Screenwriter Mylo Carbia photo by Sandy Zimmerman
Horror — “Violets Are Red” (2014)
Sci-Fi Thriller — Z.O.O. (2014)
horror film?
Mylo explained, “People can be
changed by a horror film; and learning about human nature. What is the
value and what to be grateful for
even in a horror film; there are so
many ways you can kill a person
and my job is to make it as creative
and fun to watch.
Mylo Carbia’s Films include the
psychological thriller “Black Acre”
(2014), television series comedy
“Dear Luna” (2014), Horror “Violets Are Red” (2014), sci-fi thriller
“Z.O.O.” (2014), historical horror
“Yoruba” (in development) and
more. See www.ZoharFilms.com
Variety - The Children’s Charity participates by raising funds at
the Academy Awards. Variety —
The Children’s Charity is an enthusiastic group of business leaders
who donate their time, resources
and energy to positively impact the
lives of children in their own communities and around the world.
For information about Variety —
The Children’s Charity events during the year, contact Variety of
Southern Nevada, at 3401 Sirius
Ave., Suite 1, Las Vegas.
Tel: (702)-383-8466; Email:
[email protected] Website:
http://onalv.org/
Award
winning
Sandy
Zimmerman is a syndicated columnist featuring Show and Dining reviews, travel, health, spas, luxury
and more. Sandy is talk show host
of the Las Vegas Today Show programs and Discover the Ultimate
Vacation travel specials. If you want
to suggest topics for articles, for
information or to ask any questions
about Sandy’s articles, call 702735-5974 or email her at
[email protected]
SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO:
EarthTalk, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box
5098, Westport, CT 06881; [email protected]. E is a
nonprofit publication. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe; Request a Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.
Dear EarthTalk: What’s going
on with Earth Day this year and
how can I get involved? — Christine B., Boston, MA
This coming April 22 will mark
the 44th annual celebration of Earth
Day, and the focus this year will be
green cities. “As the world’s population migrates to cities, and as the
bleak reality of climate change becomes increasingly clear, the need
to create sustainable communities
is more important than ever,” reports Earth Day Network, the Seattle-based non-profit that helps coordinate Earth Day celebrations and
serves as a clearinghouse for related
information and resources. The
group hopes to galvanize the support of more than a billion people
across 192 countries this Earth Day
for increasing the sustainability and
reducing the carbon footprints of
urban areas everywhere.
By focusing on buildings, energy and transportation issues in
cities this year, Earth Day Network
hopes to raise awareness about the
importance of making improvements in efficiency, investments in
renewable technology and regulation reform in the urban areas where
half the world’s population lives
today. By 2050, three quarters of us
will live in cities, making it more
important than ever to adapt and
adopt policies that take into account
how to support larger numbers of
people with less environmental impact.
Earth Day Network has already
mobilized a network of partners on
the ground in strategically placed
cities and towns around the world
to organize grassroots efforts to improve local codes, ordinances and
policies that will help cities become
models for sustainability, but participation of the wider public is crucial to making the Green Cities
campaign a success. The Green Cit-
ies section of Earth Day Network’s
website features a series of in-depth
tool kits designed to educate the
public about key elements of the
campaign and serves as the locus
of organizing around Earth Day
2014. By making such resources
freely available, Earth Day Network hopes to spur individuals to
take civic action by signing petitions, sending letters to
policymakers and organizing more
events.
Some of the ways to get involved and raise awareness in your
local community about Earth Day
itself and the need to green our cities include: hosting a talk for coworkers or community members on
the topic of local sustainability initiatives; starting a farmers’ market;
organizing a day of tree planting,
park or beach clean-up, or an ecofair; and leading a recycling drive
to collect as much metal, plastic and
glass as possible. Schools can register with Earth Day Network and
get access to many student-friendly
resources, including an interactive
Ecological Footprint Quiz and environmentally-themed lesson plans
tailored to the needs of different
grade levels from kindergarten
through high school. College students can work with dining services
to start a composting program or
switch over to reusable plates and
flatware or start a competition between classes or residence halls to
reduce waste and electricity use.
Those looking to initiate just participate in an Earth Day event need
look no further than Earth Day
Network’s website, where a comprehensive database of Earth Day
events around the world is updated
daily. Even better, keep in mind that
every day is Earth Day and the
planet — and generations to come
— will benefit from every positive
action you take.
Earth Day Network hopes to galvanize the support of more than a billion
people across 192 countries this Earth Day (April 22) for increasing
the sustainability and reducing the carbon footprints of urban areas.
Nevada Conservatory Theatre
UNLV presents “Five Women
Wearing the Same Dress”
By Marianne Donnelly
Las Vegas Tribune
When you have themes of jealousy, lust, gluttony, friendship, insecurity, greed, pride and anger ring
true, evoke humor, and offer an arc
for characters—and not sound like
a preacher — you have an intriguing script, as this is, by Alan Ball.
Soundly directed by Rayme
Cornell, these six characters confront inner frailties and exterior
fronts to bond with each other. The
fact that this happens in the midst
of a wedding reception, secluded in
a bedroom, is a clever ploy.
During an ostentatious wedding
reception in Knoxville, Tennessee,
five identically clad (in bright,
Kelly green, mermaid-shaped
dresses) bridesmaids sequester
themselves in a room — each with
a reason to avoid the reception.
These very different women discover a common bond.
In this funny, irreverent celebration of “women’s spirit.” Tracy, the
bride, and Scott, the groom, are
never on stage but are watched from
the upstairs bedroom window.
Frances , Tracy’s cousin, played
with fervor by Theresa Moriarty, is
innocent, but by the end of this
party, she is exposed to aspects of
the “real world”and she likes it!
Meredith Marlowe, Tracy’s sister, played with spunk and savvy by
Rachel Gilyard, hates this wedding,
and as she smokes pot and drinks,
her tough exterior barely hides the
insecurities that spill out from her
black leather jacket-style.
Trisha, Tracy’s friend, played
with easy command by Jasmine
Mathews, has bad luck with men
causing her to have no faith in relationships. She toys with Tripp, a
cute usher at the wedding with
whom she has engaged before, like
a cat does with a mouse.
Georgeanne Darby, Tracy’s
friend, played with believable
Southern, subtle style by Jennifer
Johnson, is neurotic. Friendship
with Tracy is tense because Tracy’s
former boyfriend got Georgeanne
pregnant; however, Tracy is unaware of this.
Mindy McClure, the groom’s
sister, played by lanky, funny
Samantha Murphy, is a sometimes
clumsy, opinionated lesbian who
constantly eats and has a way of
telling the others the truth of their
inner selves.
Tripp Davenport, wedding
usher, played by Dakota Baker, is a
cute, smooth-talking, coke-toting
debonair who pursues Trisha
against her coy taunts.
Overall, this is a light night out.
The play moves smoothly with a
balanced cast. One note I often give
to young actors is, never sacrifice
crisp pronunciation for speed. Accents may be a strain for older audiences, and rapid pace delivery
without keeping the word-endings
punched is a chore after a while.
The consonants P,S,D,T and B, especially need enunciating. “SpiT iT
ouT.”
Crew: scenic designer Megan
Morey’s beautiful set; perfect lighting by Elizabeth Kline; great costumes by Rose Scarborough; technical director Kaitlyn Johnson;
sound by Kelly Tsadiasi; and stage
and properties manager Jade
Calagawan.
Alan Ball’s prodigious writing
spans plays, TV series and movies,
including “American Beauty,”
“True Blood” and “Six Feet Under.”
His works have earned him an Os-
car, Emmy and Golden Globe.
Alan’s Buddhist beliefs underlie
much of his work, where miracles
are discovered in the mundane. Ball
has been called “a strong voice for
the LGBT community” and lives
with Peter Macdissi in Los Angeles.
On relationships Alan stated: “I
think we have become very adept
at functioning in this fast-paced,
media-driven culture. I have this
persona that I can just fall back into
when I go to meetings or stuff like
that, but not enough of our experience, I think, is real.”
In my final analysis, “Five
Women Wearing The Same Dress,”
is a slice of relationships all too real
for so many of us in the audience.
8:00 p.m. April 10, 11 & 12.
Matinee 2:00 p.m. April 13.
Tickets are $15 pac.unlv.edu
702-895-ARTS (2787).
Deana Martin at Smith Center
This Week
in Las Vegas
By Mike Kermani
By Mike Kermani
Las Vegas Tribune
Internationally Acclaimed Entertainer and Author will be appearing on The Better Show, Access
Hollywood, ABC NewsNow ‘Entertainment Pop’, SiriusXM, The
Artie Lange Show, and HuffPost
Live and more!
Deana Martin, world-class entertainer and daughter of Dean
“King of Cool” Martin, has recently
released her fourth studio album
Destination Moon, has a film based
on her best-selling memoir “Memories are Made of This” in the making, and is celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Dean Martin Variety Show’s last episode to air.
In support of her current
projects, she will be making media
rounds including stops at United
Stations Radio Networks, Taking
Stock on Bloomberg, Premiere Radio Networks, Fox 411, Access
Hollywood, ABC NewsNow ‘Entertainment Pop’ (Apr. 2), Sirius
XM Stars (Apr. 2),The Artie Lange
Show (Apr. 2), HuffPost Live (Apr.
2) and The Better Show (Apr. 3).
Destination Moon’ is Deana’s
fourth studio album which includes
14 tracks: 10 Great American
Songbook classics, 4 new songs,
each interpreted with her trademark
elegance and charm, and a duet,
“True Love,” featuring Deana and
her father Dean Martin.
Destination Moon offers homage not only to her dad’s memorable
musical songbook, but also musical pages shared from performance
greats such as Peggy Lee, Dinah
Washington, Nat King Cole, and
Bobby Darin. Material from two of
her previous album releases
(“Volare,” and “Memories Are
Made Of This”) are available to listeners via deanamartin.com.
High on the 2014 “to do list” is
the film production of Deana’s bestselling memoir, “Memories Are
Made of This” which chronicles her
life and career as the daughter of a
legend.
The transition to the big screen
is set to be directed by “Godfather
III” star Joe Mantegna, and staring
Jennifer Love Hewitt in the role of
Deana.
Dean’s daughter has yet to decide on who will be cast to play her
dad. “It has to be the perfect person
who can portray all the qualities of
my dad.” she notes. “It’s a big role
to fill and as of yet, I haven’t found
that person.”
Apr. 5th, 2014 will mark 40
years since the last episode of the
greatly successful Dean Martin
Show aired. The Dean Martin Variety Show, a legendary TV varietycomedy series, was broadcasted on
NBC from 1965-1974.
The show featured celebrity
guests, most of them being a surprise to viewers and Dean Martin
himself. During the show, Dean and
his guests would perform musical
numbers and humorous skits before
a studio audience.
Since the show ended in 1974, a
number of Best of The Dean Martin Variety Show collections have
been available for sale because of
its on-going popularity. The Dean
Martin Variety Show is a timeless
classic that will keep “The King of
Cool” memories alive for many
years to come.
Deana Martin will appear in Las
Vegas on Sep 13 & 14- The Showroom at South Point Casino and
Dec 19, 20 & 21 – The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
*****
THE CROMWELL
NEARS COMPLETION
Construction continues on The
Cromwell, the new Las Vegas hotel, set to welcome its first guests
beginning May 21, 2014.
With its prime location on one
of the busiest intersections on the
famous Las Vegas Strip, The
Cromwell will feature 188 rooms
and suites, a 40,000 square foot casino, hotel lobby bar, lounge and
restaurant by television personality,
celebrity chef and first-time restaurateur Giada De Laurentiis and
game-changing rooftop pool, day
and nightlife venues by Victor Drai.
The Cromwell will offer an exceptional luxury Las Vegas hotel
experience in an intimate boutique
hotel setting. Guests can now book
reservations
online
at
www.thecromwell.com or by calling 1-844-I-AM-CROM (1-844-426-2766).
The distinctive Porte Cochere
continues to take shape at The
Cromwell. A $185 million renovation and re-imagination of the
former Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon, from the moment guests enter; they will be intrigued with the
luxury appeal and whimsical details
of the boutique hotel.
Among the most noticeable exterior features will be the black Parisian-style awnings and ornate
black railings, repurposed from the
original structure, punctuating each
room window.
The 40,000-square-foot casino
continues to take shape. Architect,
Leo A. Daly and Las Vegas-based
design studio, Tandem Las Vegas,
designed The Cromwell to blend
vintage with modern. The
Cromwell Hotel & Casino will feature 66 table games, 440 slot machines and a reserved gaming salon.
The hotel bar and lounge, Interlude, with its centralized location
and close proximity to nightlife,
will serve as a social-inspired gathering place featuring cutting-edge
mixology. A warm palette of red,
gold and browns will fashion the
sexy, intimate Interlude bar and
lounge.
For additional information, visit
www.TheCromwell.com
*****
THE FRAY AT
RED ROCK RESORT
Red Rock Resort is proud to announce rockers The Fray have been
added to the already-impressive
Sandbar Summer Concert Series
concert lineup. A live summer concert experience unlike any other,
The Fray will perform at Red Rock
Resort outdoor poolside venue on
Saturday, May 31 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for The Fray are $49
plus tax and applicable fees for
standing room only and $99 plus
tax and applicable fees for reserved
seating and go on sale Friday, April
4 at 10 a.m.
Tickets to all Sandbar Summer
Concert Series performances, including Lifehouse, KANSAS, Goo
Goo Dolls, Daughtry and Plain
White T’s, can be purchased at any
Station Casinos Reward Center and
The Fiestas, by logging onto
www.sclv.com/concerts or through
Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or
www.ticketmaster.com.
Doors for all shows open at 7
p.m. and guests under 21 years must
be accompanied by an adult. For a
complete concert schedule, please
visit www.sclv.com/concerts.
Formed by former schoolmates
Isaac Slade and Joe King, The Fray
achieved early success with the
singles “Over My Head (Cable
Car)” and “How to Save a Life”
from their double platinum debut
album of the same name.
Their success continued with the
self-titled second album, which
achieved gold certification and received a Grammy nomination for
“Best Pop Vocal Album” in 2010.
Their third album Scars & Stories
peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the
gold-certified single “Heartbeat.”
Their latest album Helios was released in 2014 and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart.
*****
BLAKE SHELTON MAKES
HISTORY WITH 11th
CONSECUTIVE NO. 1
Blake Shelton, five-time nominee including a nod for ACM
Awards’ most prestigious honor,
Entertainer of the Year, made history with his 11th consecutive No.
BLAKE SHELTON
1 (his 16th overall) “Doin’ What
She Likes,” making him the record
holder for the most consecutive No.
1’s in monitored country airplay
history.
Blake will be performing this
along with other hits off of his
Grammy-nominated album, Based
On A True Story..., on his upcoming Ten Times Crazier Tour 2014,
promoted by LiveNation and sponsored by Pepsi.
The tour kicks off in June, including visits to Wrigley Field in
Chicago, Ill., The Hollywood Bowl
in Los Angeles, Calif., and Madison Square Garden in New York,
Ny. and featuring The Band Perry,
Dan + Shay, and Neal McCoy
Blake will also be returning for
his fourth year to co-host and perform at the 49th Annual Academy
of Country Music Awards airing
live this Sunday, April 6 on CBS at
8pmET/PT.
Additionally, fans can catch him
on the Emmy Award-winning show
The Voice Mondays and Tuesdays
on NBC.
Blake Shelton’s “Ten Times Crazier Tour 2014” will appear October 3, in Las Vegas, TBD.
Mike Kermani is an entertainment writer for the Las Vegas Tribune newspaper. He writes a weekly
column in this newspaper. To contact Mike Kermani, email
mkermani@ lasvegas tribune.com
UNLVino Grand Tasting Event, April 12
By Jerry Fink
Las Vegas Tribune
To celebrate its 40th anniversary
and pioneering visionaries,
UNLVino, Nevada’s original wine
festival, will host the largest Grand
Tasting celebration in its history.
The event will introduce a completely re-imagined, immersive culinary experience that brings together the best of the Las Vegas
community.
The Founders’ Grand Tasting
will take place Saturday, April 12
from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., concluding
four evenings of festivities surrounding UNLVino’s milestone
anniversary. The indoor-outdoor
festival will be held in its new home
downtown at the Keep Memory
Alive Event Center at the Cleveland
Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain
Health and spill out into the breezeway, art garden and under the stars
to accommodate thousands of
guests, hundreds of premium beverages, 20 local restaurants, two
live entertainment stages, a beer
garden, sake village and interactive
community art project.
Founded in 1974, UNLVino has
continued Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada’s (SWS of NV) mission to raise millions of scholarship
dollars for UNLV’s William F.
Harrah College of Hotel Administration. The time-honored tradition
has brought in $1.1-million dollars
in the last 13 years alone, creating
more than 600 scholarships for deserving young individuals.
Tickets for the 40th UNLVino
Founders’ Grand Tasting are available for $125 in advance, $150 at
the door. Guests also can take advantage of UNLVino’s incredible
“Pick Two” package, which invites
them to purchase tickets to their two
favorite UNLVino events for a total of $199 (plus tax + processing).
Use promo code GRAPES at
UNLVTickets.com to purchase a
“Pick Two”
package.
Complimentary valet or selfparking will be available at the
neighboring World Market Center.
Designated Drivers, Inc. will be stationed within the WMC parking lot
at no additional cost for attendees.
For more information, visit
UNLVino.com
or
call
877.413.VINO (8466).
*****
THE NEON MUSEUM
WILL HOST ITS NEXT
PRISM TIMES OF
THE SIGNS EVENT
On Tuesday, April 22, the Neon
Museum will host its next PRISM
Times of the Signs event sponsored
by CenturyLink, “Sign Designers:
Past, Present and Future.” Open to
the public (reservations are required
in advance), Times of the Signs programs take place in the famous
Neon Boneyard and bring illuminating lectures, panel discussions,
presentations or performances to
the community.
Participants in the event, which
will follow a panel discussion format, will be:
—Rick Juleen, vice president,
special projects, Young Electric
Sign Company (YESCO)
—Jim Gietzen, design director,
YESCO
—Brian Henry, owner, Brian
Henry Design
—Rudy Crisostomo, former sign
designer, YESCO
Helga Watkins, associate professor of art, University of Nevada, Las
Vegas, will serve as the evening’s
moderator.
The event will begin with a
meet-and-greet with the panelists
for Neon Museum members only
from 5 to 6 p.m. Doors open to the
general public at 5:30 p.m. and the
discussion, followed by a questionand-answer session, begins
promptly at 6 p.m. A cash bar serving wine, beer, soda and water will
be available.
Space is limited and attendees
are encouraged to RSVP in advance
via
email
to
[email protected]. Admission is free and museum members receive reserved section seating. For more information about
Times of the Signs events, go to
www.neonmuseum.org or call
(702) 387-6366.
*****
FOREVER DOO WOP,
FOREVER MOTOR CITY,
PAWN SHOP LIVE! AND
OTHERS AT RIVIERA
The iconic Riviera Hotel & Casino entertains guests with a wide
variety of award-winning entertainment. All tickets can be purchased
at the Riviera Box Office or through
Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or
www.ticketmaster.com.
Crazy Girls
Crazy Girls Theatre
Wednesday through Monday
(dark Tuesday); 9:30 p.m.
Tickets: $44.95 through $71 plus
tax and applicable fees
Description: Celebrating more
than 25 years, Crazy Girls is one of
the sexiest and most sensuous topless revue shows to ever grace a Las
Vegas stage.
Must be 18 years or older with
valid ID
ILLUSIONS Starring Jan Rouven
Starlite Theatre
Saturday through Thursday
(dark Friday); 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $59 through $99 plus
tax and applicable fees
ILLUSIONS Featuring Jan
Rouven features some of the most
dangerous and thrilling acts and
gives the audience a front-row seat
into the imagination of a master il-
lusionist.
No age restriction; Children 5
years of age & under free admission and must be accompanied by
adult
Men The Experience
Crazy Girls Theatre
Nightly, beginning March 31;
7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $50 inclusive of tax and
applicable fees for general admission. VIP seating is available for
$69 inclusive of tax and applicable
fees
Men the Experience is an actionpacked, 75-minute show performed
by some of the sexiest men in Las
Vegas.
valid ID
Forever Doo Wop
Le Bistro Lounge
Nightly, beginning April 8; 7:00
p.m.
Tickets: $29 all-inclusive for
general admission and $63.70 allinclusive for a VIP package including premium seating
Starring an all-star, eight-person
ensemble of lead singers from some
of America’s most influential musical groups, Forever Doo Wop
takes audiences on an unforgettable
journey through the exciting history
of Doo Wop music.
valid ID
Forever Motor City
Le Bistro Lounge
Nightly, beginning April 8; 9:00
p.m.
Tickets: $29 all-inclusive for
general admission and $63.70 allinclusive for a VIP package including premium seating
Directed by Broadway veteran
Gary Kupper and featuring a cast
of brilliant entertainers and former
members of legendary Motown
musical groups, including The
Jones, Main Ingredient and The
Spinners.
valid ID
PAWN SHOP LIVE!
Starlite Theatre
Nightly, beginning April 21;
4:30 p.m.
Tickets: $39, $59 and $79 allinclusive of tax and applicable fees
PAWN SHOP LIVE! is based on
the story of the world’s most famous and beloved pawn shop, Gold
& Silver Pawn. The production,
which has been fully endorsed by
the break-out stars of the hit television show, includes story contributions from Rick Harrison and the
Harrison family.
valid ID
Gerry Bednob with Penny Prince
Riviera Comedy Club
Monday, April 14 — Sunday,
April 20; 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: $29.99 all inclusive tax
and applicable fees; Tickets for Las
Vegas residents with a valid ID are
$15 all inclusive of tax and applicable fees.
valid ID
Ron Kenney with Greg Vaccariello
Riviera Comedy Club
April 27; 8:30 p.m.
valid ID
Don Barnhart with John Bizarre
Riviera Comedy Club
May 4; 8:30 p.m.
valid ID
The famous Rivera Comedy
Club offers guests the opportunity
to enjoy some of America’s funniest comedians in an intimate, nightclub setting. Voted “Best Comedy
Club” six years in a row, the Riviera
Comedy Club offers laughs nightly.
*****
THE IMPROV AT HARRAH’S:
APRIL 8 — APRIL 13
The world-famous Improv at
Harrah’s Las Vegas is the longestrunning comedy club on the Las
Vegas Strip. The Improv’s ability to
showcase young comedians, as well
as bring in big names, has attrib-
uted to its longevity and success.
Each week, The Improv showcases three of the funniest and
freshest faces in comedy, creating
a show that is always unique and
definitely funny. The comedians
who will perform April 8 –April 13
are:
VINCE MORRIS: Vince Morris uses his charismatic charm and
twisted humor to challenge controversial issues. Morris has been featured on shows such as, “The Late
Late Show” with Craig Kilborn and
Comedy Central. Some may recognize him from the HBO series, “Sex
and the City.” Morris has also been
showcased at the prestigious
Montreal Comedy Festival and U.S.
Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen,
Colorado.
ALYSIA WOOD: Alysia Wood
caught the attention of Bud Friedman, founder of the Improv chain,
when she moved to Los Angeles.
Wood was a finalist in the
“California’s Funniest Female”
competition and was selected as a
“Hot Comedian” by Campus Activities Magazine. Wood’s CD
“Princess,” produced by Grammy
award-winning producer Dan
Schlissel, was selected as a “2012
Top 10 Stand-up Comedy CD” by
The Serious Comedy Site.
CHRIS MANCINI: Chris
Mancini is best known as a comic,
filmmaker and author. Recently
named the winner of Sci Fi
Channel’s “Future of Film,”
Mancini has performed his comedy
all over the country. He has become
a regular in the Los Angeles comedy circuit, frequenting Melrose
Improv, Comedy Store, Ice House
and Laugh Factory.
Shows are at 8:30 p.m. and 10
p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Tickets are $29.05 or $44.95 (plus
applicable taxes and fees) for VIP
tickets that include special seating,
an Improv t-shirt and post-show
meet-and-greet with the comics.
Special two-for-one tickets are also
available for locals for the 10 p.m.
show. Tickets are available at
Harrah’s Box Office (702-3695223)
and
online
at
www.harrahslasvegas.com.
*****
Jerry Fink is an entertainment
columnist for the Las Vegas Tribune
newspaper and writes a weekly column. To contact Jerry Fink, email
him at jfink@ lasvegastribune.com.
&
HEALTH LIFESTYLES
Josh Charles (Will Gardner)
exits ‘The Good Wife’ with a bang
By Sandy Zimmerman
Las Vegas Tribune
Photos supplied by CBS’
“The Good Wife”
The blockbuster critically acclaimed CBS television program
“The Good Wife” shocked fans
Sunday, March 23. Josh Charles
(Will Gardner) decided not to renew his contract with “The Good
Wife” and Josh, his family, friends
and the executives kept this secret
for one year.
It happened suddenly. Shot by
his client (Jeffrey Grant) during a
courtroom scene, Will exited with
a bang.
The television promos hint that
Will Gardner was deliberately murdered and not a random act.
There are so many ways to write
an actor out of a script. Josh could
have moved to Tahiti or sentenced
to prison. Because of all the attention Josh received, his popularity
should soar as an actor.
As the romantic lead. Josh
Charles became an important part
of the drama. Fans, engrossed in the
plot, felt an emotional bond with the
characters.
The fan’s intense reaction was a
surprise.
Josh plans to spend more time
on the other side of the cameras as
director and looks forward to continuing his involvement in “The
Good Wife.” He acted and directed
segments of the program since last
year (2013).
Actors fight and work hard to
make the star status, then they want
more.
After all the effort to become the
character, that inner satisfaction
with their work has different meanings to each person.
Josh appears in the March 30
episode in his dual roles.
There are so many times when a
successful actor/actress decides to
opt out of their hit television program as with Kyra Sedgwick —
“The Closer,” Hugh Laurie —
”House,” George Clooney — “ER,”
Charles Sheen — “Two-and-a-Half
Men,” and many others.
On April 15, Josh appears on
“Inside Amy Schumer” on Comedy
Central portraying a fast food manager.
Josh appears in the independent
film “I Smile Back” with Sarah
Silverman. His other film “Bird
People”, is set in Paris and directed
by Pascale Ferran (“Lady
Chatterley”).
The strong award-winning cast
includes Emmy, Golden Globe and
Screen Actors Guild Award winner,
Julianna Margulies, who has
achieved success in television, theater and film. Julianna is on the
cover of “MORE.”
Emmy Award-winning actress,
Archie Panjabi, currently stars as
Kalinda Sharma.
Josh Charles received a 2011
Emmy Award nomination for Out-
standing Supporting Actor in a
Drama Series for his work on “The
Good Wife.”
Josh Charles co-starred in season one of “In Treatment” as Jake,
the emotionally explosive husband
struggling to save his marriage.
For two seasons, Charles starred
as sports anchor Dan Rydell in
Aaron Sorkin’s critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning
series “Sports Night,” for which the
cast earned a Screen Actors Guild
nomination.
“The Good Wife” airs on Sun-
days.
*****
Award
winning
Sandy
Vacation travel specials. If you want
to suggest topics for articles, for
information or to ask any questions
about Sandy’s articles, call (702)735-5974 or email her at
[email protected]
PLACES TO GO
QUICK GETAWAYS
Following the presentation, they opened the doors and a rainbow of lights flashed in the dark. Sundance Helicopter’s latest EC130 T2 stood there for everyone to see as a finale.
Sundance Helicopters VIP party celebrated
28 years touring the Grand Canyon
By Sandy Zimmerman
Las Vegas Tribune
Photos by Sandy Zimmerman
The invitation reads, “We’ve
spent 28 years taking people’s
breath away. Tuesday, March 18,
will be no different.
Sundance Helicopters invites
you to join us for gourmet food,
cocktails, aerial acrobatics and a
finale that will leave you breathless.”
How could anyone resist this
invitation?
With 28 years in business,
Sundance Helicopters, the largest
and most experienced helicopter
tour operator in Nevada, deserved
this grand event.
Sundance Helicopters CEO,
Bob Engelbrecht announced upgrading their fleet with new EC130
T2 helicopters. The entire fleet conversion to the EC130 T2 by 2018.
In addition, Engelbrecht arranged
a new image branding campaign for
the company.
The EC130 T2, recognized for
its large cabin with the latest technology and safety features. Passengers comfort and visibility are important during the tours
While Engelbrecht spoke, a
mega wall-to-wall video screen told
the story of his company’s progress
through the years.
Guests watched scenes of the
Grand Canyon helicopter tours with
highlights of Las Vegas and the
Grand Canyon West.
The beauty of the Grand
Canyon’s red mountains and stunning vistas is memorable. One of
nature’s wonders, this is an experience.
Ruby Steel, General Manager of Grand Canyon West, represented
the Hulapai Nation Grand Canyon Resort Corporation (GCRC),
wholly owned by the Hualapai Reservation.
Sundance Helicopters CEO, Bob Engelbrecht announced
upgrading their fleet with new EC130 T2s helicopters.
The entire fleet will be conversion to the EC130 T2 by 2018.
Ruby Steel, General Manager of
Grand Canyon West, represented
the Hulapai Nation Grand Canyon
Resort Corporation (GCRC),
wholly owned by the Hualapai Reservation and partners with the
Sundance Helicopters.
Aaron Todd, the CEO of Air
Methods Corp., the parent company
of Sundance Helicopters also attended the event.
Sundance Helicopters is the
longest running helicopter tour op-
erator in Las Vegas, since 1985.
Following the presentation,
Engelbrecht asked the guests to
stand in the center of the ballroom.
They opened the doors and a rainbow of lights flashed in the dark.
Their latest EC130 T2 helicopter
stood there for everyone to see as a
finale.
Sundance Helicopters knows
how to celebrate and spared no expense on this evenings VIP event.
The Tropicana Hotel’s spacious
Sandy Zimmerman is standing at the entrance to the Tropicana Hotel’s
spacious Havana Room, the setting for Sundance Helicopter’s elegant affair.
Havana Room became the setting
for this elegant affair. Walking into
the immense ballroom, the exceptionally large crystal chandelier attracted attention. The circular room
design allowed excellent views
from all areas.
Waiters greeted the guests with
hors d’oeuvres as they entered.
Their choices included Lobster
Poblano Mac and Cheese, Shrimp,
Chicken Skewer, Sushi and more.
The feast continued at the main
buffet table with selections of Kobe
Beef Hamburgers, Beef Hot Dogs,
Beef Tenderloin Mac and Cheese,
Roasted Chicken Mac and Cheese,
fruit and cheese.
The second buffet held some interesting pasta dishes. Then the dessert table enticed the guests with
cheesecake, cake, pie, tarts, choco-
late treats, and truffles.
Aerialists entertained the guests
during the buffet.
Sundance Helicopters offer
daily flights from Las Vegas to
Grand Canyon National Park and
Las Vegas tours. For additional information go to the website
www.sundancehelicopters.com
Award
winning
Sandy
Vacation travel specials. If you
want to suggest topics for articles,
for information or to ask any questions about Sandy’s articles, call
702-735-5974 or email her at
[email protected]

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