City Of Las Vegas Reaches New Heights Of Stupidity

Transcription

Penny Press
Las Vegas, NV
Volume 4 Number 35
City Of Las Vegas
Reaches New
Heights Of Stupidity
See Story Page 3
MAY 24, 2007
THE PENNY PRESS, MAY 24, 2007 PAGE 2
www.pennypresslv.com
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Contributing Editors:
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Al Thomas
Doug French
Bill Here
John Getter
Pat Choate
Joyce Meyer
Wyatt Cox
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16 PAGES
VOLUME 4 NUMBER 35
MAY 24, 2007
A Stupidity Abatement Issue
By WYATT COX
Contributing Editor
If you have a barking dog next
door, you call the police. If your
neighbor won’t turn down his stereo,
you call the police. Excessive noise
is certainly a legitimate reason to
request government intervention.
Commentary
But how much noise can a flapping American Flag make?
Apparently too much for some
people.
Flying the American Flag falls
right up there with Mom, Apple
Pie, and Baseball. At its core it is
as American an activity as you can
undertake.
But according to the City fathers,
mothers and Mayor Godfather of
Las Vegas, only certain people can
fly the Stars and Stripes.
And only so big.
Towbin Hummer out on West
Sahara sought and got City Council
approval for a huge flagpole to fly a
30 by 60 foot American Flag. Why
the Council’s approval was needed
in the first place is certainly silly.
But last week at a review of the
permit, Towbin Hummer was told to
take the flagpole down.
It seems their neighbors were
complaining about the noise the
flapping in the breeze flag makes.
Make no mistake about this, it
isn’t a Noise Abatement issue, it’s a
Stupidity Abatement issue.
Why would the city of Las Vegas
feel the need to regulate the place-
The Conservative Weekly
Voice Of Las Vegas
Inside:
Liberal Brit Tells It
Like It Really Is
See Editorial Page 6
ment of a flagpole on private, commercial property?
Is it an aviation hazard? If
so, that’s what the Federal Aviation
Administration is all about. It isn’t.
Is it a public safety hazard?
Towbin would be damaged more
by a problem with the flagpole than
the neighbors, and if the neighbors
or others ARE damaged, that’s what
the civil courts are for. It’ll be interesting if this stupidity ultimately
gets in front of one of our judges to
see how the neighbors think they are
being damaged. This is actually a
case for Judge Judy.
The issue that strikes me here is
one of determining exactly WHO is
entitled to fly an American Flag and
who isn’t. That decision shouldn’t
rest with the City, who has previously attempted to impinge on Towbin’s
rights by attempting to force them
Penny Wisdom
Only two things are infinite,
the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about
the former.
—Albert Einstein
to remove small flags from the cars
on their Infiniti lot in 2004. City
Code Enforcement claimed they
were unlawful “attention gaining
devices.”
Funny, there were an awful lot
of those unlawful “attention gaining
devices” being flown from automobiles in late 2001 and early 2002.
Were they illegal then? Or is it
alright for stores to sell the flags so
that private individuals can fly them
on their cars, but not for a business
to fly them?
What strikes me as even more
illogical is the argument that businesses shouldn’t be flying flags or
“profiting from patriotism”.
Funny, I thought every American
profited from patriotism. It is our
patriotism that makes this country
great.
PAT CHOATE
FRED WEINBERG
DOUG FRENCH
BILLHERE
AL THOMAS
JOYCE MEYER
JOE TARTARO
PET OF THE WEEK
Continued on page4
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
PAGE 7
PAGE 8
PAGE 10
PAGE 12
PAGE 13
PAGE 15
Isn't It A Good Thing That An American Flag Sells?
Continued from page 3
The arguments that a big flagpole stops being a patriotic symbol and
becomes a landmark is also specious. If the city is out to ban large flags,
where does this leave Terrible Herbst? Most of their gas stations are displaying huge flags. Will they be a target next? Or are they exempt from
the city’s ire because of some political patronage? Our esteemed publisher,
when shooting the photographs for this story, counted six other large flags
along West Sahara, three of them at Herbst locations. Can you say “selective enforcement”?
Those who believe that only a selected few should be permitted to display the flag should take heed that free speech is a right, not a privilege. It
is the responsibility of those engaging in free speech to remember that with
the right comes responsibility.
Towbin Hummer is within its right to display the American Flag in what
it feels is an appropriate manner.
The neighbors are also entitled to make their specious and illogical arguments as to why the flag bothers them.
The bigger question is, why does a successful auto dealer not have the
right to display the flag?
In point of fact, isn't it wonderful when showing the American Flag is
good for business?
Why does the city feel the need to suppress free speech? (And stupid
city positions on the exercise of free speech—almost all of them losers in
court—litter the Nevada legal landscape.)
That is, after all, the purview of the Federal Government.
The only question that I wish I could have asked a representative from
Towbin, who didn’t return email requests for comment, is why they promised to build a Veteran’s memorial and didn’t? I know that it certainly
shouldn’t be a requirement to attach conditions to something like this, but
the fact remains that when you say you’re going to do something, you
should do it. Car dealers and politicians included.
The publisher of this newspaper had it right. This issue is much ado
about naught and begs the use of the title of Penn and Teller’s Showtime
program, Bullshit.
www.LasVegasCrooks.com
Lien Sales
NOTICE OF SALE - 004
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Larry’s Towing & Transport on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest
bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 6800 W. Gary Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89139, whereby the advertiser reserves the right
to bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000895 99 CHEV PRIZM VIN# 1Y1SK5286XZ445038 R/O: CASPER, RICHARD RYAN
Log# 000933 85 GMC 1 TON VIN# 1GDHK34W8FV604349 R/O: B&C PLUMBING INC L/O: DESERT FIRST
CREDIT UNION
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Mr. Pac-Man Auto Body on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest
bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 3865 N. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89115, whereby the advertiser reserves
the right to bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs
performed:
Log# 000939 00 MITS MONTERO VIN# JA4MT31H8YP015065 R/O: EMILIO GONZALES L/O: GO AMERICA
AUTO INS 51001008114C
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Saturn of West Sahara on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest bidder
on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 5325 W. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89146, whereby the advertiser reserves the right to
bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000958 97 SATU SC2 VIN# 1G8ZH1277VZ360394 R/O: FRANCES MARIE RYAN L/O: NISSAN MOTOR
ACCEPTANCE CORP O/P: BOB RYAN
Log# 000959 98 SATU SL1 VIN# 1G8ZF5287WZ226508 R/O: COLLEEN B SCRANTON L/O: CLARK COUNTY
CREDIT UNION
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Purrfect Auto Service #108 on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest
bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 5035 S. Decatur Blvd. Ste 104 01, Las Vegas, NV 89118, whereby the advertiser
reserves the right to bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical
repairs performed:
Log# 000960 00 CHEV CAVALIER VIN# 1G1JC5248Y7180008 R/O: MAURICE M HINTON L/O: CNAC
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Best Auto & Transmissions on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest
bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 1266 N. Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89110, whereby the advertiser reserves the
right to bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000962 97 VOLV 960 VIN# YV1KS9604V1115243 R/O: MARTINEZ RUDY L/O: RPM AUTO SALES
INC
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the fol-
lowing vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by European Motor Cars Service Ct on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the
highest bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 3440 Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89102, whereby the advertiser
repairs performed:
Log# 000963 99 BMW 323I VIN# WBAAM3330XKC59926 R/O: WILLIAM R KNIGHT L/O: WFS FINANCIAL
INC
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Caballeros Tire Shop on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest
bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 4580 E. Lake Mead Blvd. #101, Las Vegas, NV 89115, whereby the advertiser
repairs performed:
Log# 000967 66 FORD MUSTANG VIN# 6R07T113899 R/O: ANTHONY JASON RUSH O/P: MIKE MILLER
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Motorcycle City on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest bidder on
06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 6350 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV 89122, whereby the advertiser reserves the right to bid,
in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000968 06 HOND PS250 VIN# JH2MF09176K100547 R/O: JOE RAIZIN L/O: HSBC BANK NEVADA
N.A.
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Purrfect Auto Service #111 on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest
bidder on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 2050 E. Craig Rd., N. Las Vegas, NV 89030, whereby the advertiser reserves the
right to bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000974 86 HOND ACCORD VIN# JHMBA5344GC047329 R/O: DIEDERICH JON WESLEY O/P: NIESHA
WALTON/DEON
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Autoville Auto Repair on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest bidder
on 06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 3060 N. Nellis Bl. #5, Las Vegas, NV 89115, whereby the advertiser reserves the right to
bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000975 94 FORD EXPLORER VIN# 1FMDU34X7RUA94765 R/O: HEATHER E HURD & JOSHUA W
CSUKKER
Notice is hereby given to the last registered and legal owner(s) as well as other financially interested parties, the following vehicle(s) will be sold at an AUCTION by Advance Muffler on an ‘as-is,’ ‘where-is’ basis to the highest bidder on
06/09/07 at 10:00 AM, at 3216 E. Fremont St. Suite #3, Las Vegas, NV 89104, whereby the advertiser reserves the right
to bid, in order to satisfy lien(s) for towing, storage, add-ons, vehicle supplies, and/or mechanical repairs performed:
Log# 000980 98 FORD EXPEDITN VIN# 1FMRU1769WLA71549 R/O: CRUZ SALVADOR JR & EDEZA
MARTIN L/O: WESTAMERICA BK O/P: GUILLERMO REA
Commentary: Pat Choate
Bono said, “what more is there to
say?”
Actually, a great deal.
The Government of Mexico is
actively working against the laws of
the United States by opening more
and more consulates in the United
I am for legal immigration.
States. As of today they have 47 and
I am against illegal immigra- more are on the way. These diplotion.
matic offices are part of Mexico and
The American people and their they are issuing identification cards
government control legal immigra- to citizens of Mexico known as the
tion. We set limits and qualifica- “matricula consular.”
tions as to who we allow in our
These ID cards are honored in
country.
this country by police departments,
Illegal immigration is illegal.
banks, and employers. The banks,
Those who come here without of course, want to help the ID holdour permission are breaking our ers send money back to Mexico.
laws. They do not respect our wish- The employers want cheap labor.
es. As the late Congressman Sonny
As for the police departments,
Having A Little
Bit Of Mexico
Here
The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To:
Governor Jim Gibbons for standing firm on his plan to pay for highway construction with new room taxes in the face of the most ridicules bleating from
the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority. Despite what the well
paid bureaucrats at the LVCVA would have you believe, room tax money
is actually tax money which belongs to the taxpayers and spending it on
something other than their ridicules salaries will not cause the sky to fall.
The Nevada Supreme Court for telling Judge Elizabeth Halverson to go
back to work despite an order from Chief Judge Kathy Hardcase banning
Halverson, her former law clerk from the courthouse. This is what we're
paying for. Who are these people?
The Penny Press Sends A Bronx Cheer
And A Bouquet of Weeds To:
The Public Utilities Commission for approving an 11 per cent rate increase for
Nevada Power thus rewarding them for getting sucked into a scheme by Enron
for raising electric rates in the West and some of the poorest management ever
seen in a regulated utility. We think utilities should be allowed to make money,
but should not be rewarded for stupidly allowing their ratepayers to be raped by
others.
they want to identify people.
What seems to be missing in all
this is any awareness that someone
from Mexico who is here legally
does not need such an ID card. A
passport or green card is more than
sufficient identification.
The Mexican ID cards are for
illegal immigrants.
Please, let me restate this so it is
really, really clear.
Illegal immigrants are not supposed to be in the United States.
People who use these Mexican ID
cards are most likely illegal immigrants. They should be arrested and
returned to their home country. That
is our law.
Instead of demanding enforcement of our laws and building the
fence that it authorized and partially
funded, the U.S. Congress is again
trying to enact amnesty legislation
that will grant U.S. citizenship to
the 11 million or maybe 20 million
illegal immigrants now here.
Congress calls this a pathway
to citizenship, but in reality it is
amnesty.
The two lead sponsors of this legislation are Senator Edward Kennedy
of Massachusetts and Senator John
McCain of Arizona.
Do you ever wonder why wages
are not going up in the United
States?
Well, in large part, wages are
kept low by the massive influx of
immigrant labor who will work for
less. It’s really simple to understand.
As for Senator Kennedy, the
question that never gets put to him
is why are you so working so hard
to cut the wages of American workers?
As for Senator McCain, I wish
someone would ask him whether
he really thinks that the people who
own this nation want an additional
11 million foreigners made U.S.
citizens, none of who respected our
laws? If his answer is yes, I suggest
that the Senator remain in the Senate
until his term expires, at which point
I hope the voters of Arizona will find
someone who represents their view.
If his answer is no, then, Senator,
why are you sponsoring this legislation?
And as for the U.S. Immigration
Service, I have a hint where its
officers can find thousands of illegal immigrants to arrest and deport
every day – outside the 47 Mexican
Consulates.
PAT CHOATE
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OPINION
From The Publisher...
It Took A Liberal Brit To Explain Freedom
Let’s not beat around the bush.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair is a liberal buddy
of Bill Clinton’s.
His personal politics are slightly to the left of Ted Kennedy.
Which makes it all the more amazing that it was Blair, last
week, who said the following words to the combined British
and American press corps as they were trying to stick it to
both he and George Bush over the subject of Iraq at a joint
press conference:
You can debate about the mistakes and the issues and you
can debate about Iraq, whether we should have done this or
we should have done that. But, actually, what is happening
in Iraq today is that our enemy is fighting us, and, therefore, if what happens when our enemy fights us is that we
drift away from our friends, that we kind of make the little
accommodations so that we don’t escape some of the difficulty and the responsibility and occasionally an opprobrium
of decision-making — if we do that, our enemy takes heart
from that, they watch that. They watch what we’re doing the
whole time. They ask, are these guys standing up for what
they believe, or if we carry on, is their will going to diminish
and they’re going to give up, because it’s just too difficult,
because the public opinion is too difficult, because the opinion polls tell them it’s too difficult?”
ly, people, anytime they are given the choice, choose
to have.
And what we should be about, our two nations, is giving as
many people in the world as possible that choice and being
proud of it.
Yes, these words came from a leader of the British Labour
Party which makes our own Democratic Party look almost,
well, Republican by contrast.
A man who set politics aside to support an ally – both a president and a nation – in trying to squelch radical Islam before
it is able to kill any more people in both our nations.
It may have shortened his political career a bit.
Or it may well have turned him into the Winston Churchill of
his generation. George Bush put it best when he answered
a question about historical perspective that he had just read
three histories of George Washington and if they are still
evaluating our first president, it will be a long time before
they write the final words on number 43.
My point is this.
There seem to be an awful lot of people on both sides of any
question who want to reduce everything to a political calculation and that calculation usually involves a certain hatred
Now, that is the decision of leadership. And it’s not just a for the other side.
decision for me and him; it’s a decision for everybody who’s
engaged in politics. And people run down politics and say it’s As we approach Memorial Day, when we honor those who
all just a series of positions and attitudes and sound bites died to allow us to have those arguments, maybe we ought
and occasionally even lies and all the rest of it. Actually, to think about what a liberal buddy of Bill Clinton’s said
what politics is in the end, when it’s done in the right way, about when we consider our uniquely Anglo-American phiwhen people stand up for what they believe, is it’s about losophy.
public service. And there’s nothing to be ashamed of in that.
And the fact is, the decisions are difficult; of course they’re He’s right.
difficult.
This IS a finer way of life than anything the Taliban or Al
And we took a decision that we thought was very difficult. Qaeda or Saddam Hussein have or had to offer the world
I thought then, and I think now, it was the right decision. and we should stop acting like it isn’t.
History will make a judgment at a particular time. But one
thing I know is that what we represent coming here You can argue your political positions for political gain all
today, speaking in the Rose Garden to you people and you want.
getting your questions and being under your pressure, that is a finer and better way of life than either But that basic truth is not going to go away.
a brutal, secular dictatorship or religious extremism.
It’s a better way of life and it’s the way of life, actualFRED WEINBERG
Commentary: Doug French
Opponents Of Gibbons’ Highway
Funding Plan Overstate LVCVA’s
Worth
The same folks who have been pounding the table demanding Gov. Jim
Gibbons fix the highway funding problem in (especially Southern) Nevada
are now calling his funding plan “dead on arrival,” “not based upon sound
policy” and “phony.”
The principal criticisms are that he didn’t raise taxes to find the money
for roads, and that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
(LVCVA) would over time have less money — to produce and buy air-time
for ever-spicier “What Happens Here Stays Here” commercials, and to offer
3.2 million square feet of convention space at money-losing, below-market
rental rates.
The Governor’s plan re-directs four percent of the LVCVA’s room-tax
revenue to road construction this year and increases the share going to transportation by four percent per year until it reaches 32 percent.
Some Sunday paper pundits believe that Las Vegas would dry up and
blow away if not for the LVCVA spending money to promote the city. They
honestly believe that without this government-funded marketing, all those
neon lights would be on, but nobody would be home.
These columnists believe that prosperity comes from government, and
that only enlightened bureaucrats can make the important decisions that create that prosperity. Never mind the brilliance and guts of Sheldon Adelson,
Steve Wynn and George Maloof. Apparently the city’s future is now in the
hands of LVCVA President Rossi Ralenkotter, a guy who’s received a check
from taxpayers for the last 31 years.
But the tail does not wag the dog. The LVCVA is budgeted to receive
$214 million from room taxes in 2007, comprising 80 percent of its budget.
The other 20 percent comes primarily from renting 3.2 million square feet of
convention space. However, since it’s not pressed to operate profitably, the
convention authority leases its space for 25 cents per usable square foot per
convention day and zero cents per day for set-up days up to the number of
convention days leased. It hasn’t raised its rates since 2002 and won’t raise
its rates again until 2009. These rates vastly undercut private operators such
as Mandalay Convention Center and Sands Expo.
The common view is that room taxes “soak the tourists.”
Which would be okay.
But do they? Economist Murray Rothbard explained in Power & Market
that: “No tax can be shifted forward. In other words, no tax can be shifted
from seller to buyer and on to the ultimate consumer.”
Most people believe that tourists pay the room tax because the tax is on
tourists’ bills when they pay for their rooms. This view sees the tax as merely another increase in the cost of production (like labor or supplies) which
is just passed on to tourists as an increase in room rates. But room rates are
not determined by the costs of making room nights available. Daily room
rates are determined by the demand schedule for those rooms and the supply
of rooms available. The room tax does not affect the demand schedule. As
Rothbard points out, “[t]he selling price is set by any firm at the maximum
net revenue point, and any higher price, given the demand schedule, will
simply decrease net revenue. A tax, therefore, cannot be passed on to the
consumer.”
Each room night is unique. Although the hotel room may be the same
on different nights, the demand for that room will vary depending upon the
date and the availability of other similar rooms. That’s why room nights are
priced much higher during convention season or New Year’s Eve than on
an average 100-degree August night with few conventioneers in town. If the
hotels could have passed along the room tax in the form of higher room rates
they would have raised rates already without the room tax.
An excise tax, Rothbard summarizes, “cannot be considered a tax on
consumption in the sense that the tax is shifted to consumers. The excise
tax is also a tax on incomes, except that in this case the effect is not general
because the impact falls most heavily on the factors specific to the taxed
industry.”
So instead of hotel corporations and entrepreneurs collecting $214 million for their shareholders, suppliers, lenders, employees and marketing,
they are forced to hand that money over to the LVCVA to lease more space
to existing conventions at the expense of private competitors, instead of
marketing new convention business.
Considering all this, re-directing some of that money to the building of
roads doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all.
DOUG FRENCH
www.LasVegasCrooks.com
www.choateweinbergreport.com
The Best Vegas Calendar BAR NONE!
By Billhere
The FREE, e-mailed, VegasResource.com Newsletter and complete index of
Las Vegas coupons for shows, buffets and attractions is available on the internet at:
www.vegasresource.com
LAS VEGAS OPENINGS 2007:
++++++++++
Sometime in the summer of 2007, SANTA FE STATION will open
a new poker room, two restaurants named Tides Oyster Bar and
Salt Lick BBQ and a Center Bar concept similar to the ones at
Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock Station.
++++++++++
Sometime during late summer or early fall of 2007,FIESTA
HENDERSON will open a Food Court, Arcade and 12-screen movie
theater operated by Regal Cinemas.
++++++++++
Sometime in 2007, the new HOOVER DAM bypass and bridge
opens. Major visible construction has started and with security
vehicle check points, there are some lengthy delays. Internet site
is at:<http://www.hooverdambypass.org/>
Sometime in 2007, HARMON AVENUE EXTENSION opens that
would link the street with Frank Sinatra Drive and The Strip.
Sometime in 2007, Station Casinos will start construction on its
DURANGO STATION CASINO complex. Phase I of the project will
include 400 hotel rooms, a 120,000 square-foot casino and amenities. Phase II will add a 600-room hotel tower, entertainment
center and other expansions.
Sometime in 2007, Station Casinos will announce plans for a
mixed-use project (condos, retail etc.) on 52-acres near their
Palace Station.
Sometime in 2007, Construction is scheduled to begin on THE
WORLD JEWELRY CENTER by a California developer called Probity
International Corporation as part of the city’s development of
its 61-acre Union Park site, vacant land just west of downtown,
across from the $2 billion World Market furniture center. The
$500 million World Jewelry Center would occupy 5.4 acres, be 57
stories tall, and have a million square feet of commercial space
designed to bring together jewelry manufacturers, wholesalers,
retailers, and consumers. Roughly 800,000 square feet would be
devoted to exhibition and meeting areas, gem-grading laboratories, classrooms, a jewelry and gem museum, a café, and a private club. A 125,000-square-foot retail center, consisting of up to
50 stores, would be open to the public. Up to 25 residential condos would occupy the top floors. The World Jewelry Center would
be competing with established jewelry centers, such as New York
City’s 47th Street Diamond and Jewelry Center, L.A.’s Hill Street
Diamond District, and Miami’s Seybold Jewelry Building. It will
take three to three-and-a-half years to complete.
Sometime in late 2007, the famous CROBAR Nightclub will open
where the Rita Rudner Theater was located - New York-New
York.
++++++++++
2008
Sometime in early 2008, Apollo Management Group and Texas
Pacific Group will close on their $17.1 billion purchase of HARRAH’S
ENTERTAINMENT.
++++++++++
Sometime in early 2008, the LAS VEGAS MONORAIL is planning
to start construction of an extension from the MGM GRAND to
McCarran Airport. The extension will run north from the MGM
Grand to Harmon, east to Swenson Street, south to Russell Road
and east to the site of McCarran’s future Terminal 3. Monorail
stations along the extended route are planned at the site of the
planned “W” Resort Hotel on Harmon, at the Hard Rock Hotel and
on Swenson near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to serve
events at the Thomas & Mack Center. Two stations would be built
at McCarran, one near the planned Terminal 3 and another at
Terminal 1 on the north side of the airport’s baggage claim area.
Projected completion date is three years later.
Apr.??,2008 = Opening of Phase 3 of the WORLD MARKET CENTER.
It will be a 16-story, 2.1 million-square-foot showroom along with
an adjacent nine-story parking garage. Construction costs for this
Phase of the project are estimated at $500 million. Most of this
Phase is already rented!
+++++++++++
Apr.??,2008 = Opening of Phase 3 of the WORLD MARKET CENTER.
It will be a 16-story, 2.1 million-square-foot showroom along with
an adjacent nine-story parking garage. Construction costs for this
Phase of the project are estimated at $500 million. Most of this
Phase is already rented!
www.lasvegasmarket.com <http://www.lasvegasmarket.com>
++++++++++
First quarter of 2008 = Opening of the $365 million, TRUMP
INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER LAS VEGAS is a 64-story hotel
condominium project located west of Las Vegas Blvd on Fashion
Show Dr. behind the New Frontier.
The project is modeled after the successful New York venture at
One Central Park from $600,000 to $6 million and feature 1,282
condominium hotel units ranging from studios to multiple room
suites.This will be the tallest residential tower in Las
Vegas. “The Donald” promises his project will shake up Las Vegas’
already thriving high-rise residential market: <http://www.lasvegashighriseprojects.com/TrumpInternational.html>
++++++++++
Sometime in 2008 construction will start on The world-class
SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS on a vacant 61-acre
former railroad yard west of downtown. The Center is expected
to cost up to $250 million, with an endowment of $50 million or
more for expenses. Completion is for 2011.State, county and city
governments have approved a car-rental tax to pay almost half
the estimated cost. Completion is for 2011.The Center’s main hall
will have more than 2,000 seats for large touring productions and
concerts. The Center will also have anelegant theater with more
than 600 seats for intimate performances and a Studio Theater
with more than 300 seats for children’s performances, jazz, cabaret, rehearsals and community events:<http://www.lvpacfoundation.org/>
++++++++++
Sometime in 2008, Station Casinos will open ALIANTE STATION
CASINO in the master planned community of the same name in
North Las Vegas at I-215 and Aliante Parkway. The property will
have 2,000 slot machines and 200 hotel rooms and will cost up
to $600 million.
++++++++++
Sometime in the fourth quarter of 2008 The VILLAGE AT
QUEENSRIDGE opens and will have over 700,000 square feet of
boutique shops, cinemas, restaurants and office space. This project is located on the southwest corner of Rampart Boulevard and
Alta Drive, across the street from the Suncoast Hotel & Casino,
on the south side.
+++++++++++
Sometime in late 2008, the first homes will be occupied in Olympia
Group’s massive new 6,000 residential unit project in North Las
Vegas. The homes in the master-planned community, called Park
Highlands will have a price range from $250,000 to $1 million+.
====================================
Please e-mail errors, omissions and additions to:
[email protected]
Commentary: Albert Thomas
Where Do You Want To Live?
Every once in awhile I get so discouraged with the stupidity and greed
of our elected officials that I consider moving to another country.
But which one? Can their government be any better than ours?
Here are a few basic requirements for any place that might considered:
1. They must speak English or at least have it recognized as their second
language.
2. Their legal system should be based on British law and their court
system must honestly enforce it. That’s a tough one.
3. The temperature should be warm to mild; I hate cold weather. That
kind of rules out Canada, but it could become a place of residence with
another home in Florida.
4. A big plus would be a lower cost of living with good medical system.
Immediately we have almost all the British countries. England and
Ireland are OK, but the weather is terrible. The Isle of Man is just on the
Southeast coast and is very nice because of the warm sea current. It is also
very expensive. Ireland has many advantages and is business oriented. The
weather isn’t that good.
India has a lot going for it, but their court system even though based
on British law is terribly corrupt. You must recognize that bribery is a way
of life in most foreign countries. Nothing gets done without a little grease
(money) to speed things along. The educated population almost all speak
English.
There are large colonies of Americans living in Central and South
American countries, but I don’t know enough about them. Belize was a
British protectorate. The British Air Force still has a base.
When considering moving anywhere (even in the U.S.) it is a good idea
to rent for while. After 6 months you will have a pretty good idea of their
legal system and if the natives are friendly. Then plans can be made to buy
if desired.
A local attorney should be engaged almost immediately to be sure you
are complying with all the country and local laws. Especially study the
monetary situation and the protection of capital. An Internet bank might be
preferable.
Communication is very important. With computers it will be instantaneous from any part of the world. This will become better and faster in the
next 5 years. Small countries like Aruba are Internet friendly. As Internet
connection gets cheaper and cheaper it will be used to attract businesses and
business oriented tourists. Today there is a small town in the U.S. where a
video can be streamed while driving along in a car. This will become common in many cities and even countries.
We don’t have any politicians today who can fill the shoes of either
Harry Truman or Ronald Reagan. As poorly as the current crop remains
I guess I will be sticking around for a while as there isn’t another form of
government that looks better.
That’s why everyone wants to come here.
AL THOMAS
Al Thomas’ best selling book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” has
helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his
simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at no charge and receive his
market letter at www.mutualfundmagic.com to discover why he’s the man
that Wall Street does not want you to know. THE PENNY PRESS, MAY 24, 2007 PAGE 11
Commentary: Joyce Meyer
Confident Talk,
Confident Walk
Have you ever noticed that people who are confident seem to be
more comfortable with who they
are than those who lack confidence?
Confident people have stopped striving to be someone else. They’ve
learned to capitalize on the strengths
and talents they do have instead
of worrying about what they don’t
have.
If you are stuck in the trap of
constantly comparing yourself with
others, you are destined to be insecure and lacking in confidence (see
2 Corinthians 10:12). Comparison
only erodes your confidence and
dooms you to failure. There will
always be someone you perceive as
better than you are. But you need
to celebrate the fact that God made
you! God knew what He was doing
when He put you together. God said
the same thing about you as He did
when He created the world: “And it
was good!”
So many times our outward
appearance shows the way we’re
feeling inside. But it can also work
the other way. When we look confident on the outside, we can feel
more confident on the inside. When
you walk, stand upright. Don’t slump
your shoulders and hang your head
down. You are full of the life of God
so you should act like it!
Let’s start with your face. It only
takes seventeen muscles to smile but
forty-three to frown. In other words,
you work a whole lot harder to look
sour than you do to look happy.
So make it a point to smile more.
In fact, smile a lot! The more you
smile, the better you feel. Your smile
not only makes you appear and
feel more confident, it gives other
people confidence as well. They feel
approved of and accepted when we
smile at them.
Now what about the words that
come out of your mouth? According
to the Bible, the power of life and
death is in the tongue, and we often
have to eat our words. Proverbs
18:21 says, Death and life are in the
power of the tongue, and they who
indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it
[for death or life] (The Amplified
Bible).
If we really understood the power
in our words, I think we would
change the way we talk. Our talk
should be confident and bold, not
fearful. Fearful talk not only affects
us in an adverse way, but it also
affects those around us. If you can
change the way you talk, I believe
you will immediately begin to feel
stronger, bolder, more courageous,
and less afraid.
Changing the way you talk is
hard work. It takes help from God to
make really lasting change. It seems
we’re so accustomed to saying things
without any thought to what we’re
saying that we need God’s help just
to recognize the fearful, silly, foolish
and sinful things that come out of
our mouth.
When you say things like, “I
just don’t have any confidence,” or
“I’m so scared all the time,” you are
only reinforcing that type of attitude
in your life. Your words become a
self-fulfilling prophecy, and you will
continue to lack confidence and be
scared all the time. That’s the power
of the words you speak. The things
that are in your heart will come out
of your mouth (see Matthew 12:34).
And the things you say affect your
heart—the way you feel and think.
It’s a cycle with each word having
an affect on the other. If you struggle
with feeling or thinking you have
no confidence, take a hard look at
the words you are saying. It could
be that you need to change the way
you talk.
Live with passion, zeal and enthusiasm. Don’t be satisfied with just
making it through the day. Celebrate
the day! Put good words in your
mouth to help change the way you
feel. Say, “This is the day that the
Lord has made. I will rejoice and
be glad in it!” (See Psalm 118:24.)
Don’t dread the day. Instead, determine to look forward to it. Know
what you want to accomplish today
and go for it!
JOYCE MEYER
For more on this topic, you may
order Joyce’s 272-page book, The
Confident Woman, which is available by calling 1-800-727-9673 or
visiting www.joycemeyer.org.
Virginia Tech Shooting Rekindles Long Debate Over US Gun Policy
By Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor, Gunweek
Special To The Penny Press
Unfortunately, the mass murder that took place at Virginia Tech on the
morning of Apr. 16 has reignited the perennial national debate about firearms policy in the United States instead of a debate about public safety in
general and how a society and its individual members should respond to the
rare instances of so much hatred and evil.
The massacre took place as we were flying back from St. Louis, MO,
and the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meetings and exhibits.
We didn’t know about it until later that day, but there was a steady stream of
information available through the traditional media and the Internet.
As was to be expected, around the world the media spotlight was immediately turned on guns and gun laws. By the following day, almost everyone
connected to either gun rights or gun control organization got one or more
radio, television or newspaper reporter’s invitation for “comment.” Early
that morning, among my media invitations, was an early afternoon stint with
a British television news show out of London. You know, one of those splitscreen talking head in a window box things, of which television is so fond.
Mine was a pretty brief appearance, but it quickly became apparent
that the international media drift was that America’s firearms laws, policy
and Constitution were being blamed for the unexplainable. That view was
confirmed later as I saw clippings and transcripts of news stories and commentaries from all over the world.
The key to international enmity for guns and gunowners was embodied
in the rhetorical question posed by one Brit on the show where I was a guest
when he closed with, “How many more such incidents must there be before
you Americans do something to prevent more such deaths?”
Like so many people in America and around the world, the British question focused on the wrong aspect of the Virginia Tech story. The issue isn’t
so much about preventing the wrong people from getting guns to wreak
havoc by passing more gun laws. We’ve tried all of that, and so have other
countries.
US Not Alone
Despite the most repressive firearms laws anyone can imagine, similar,
though not as large, mass murders have been perpetrated in Canada, in the
Netherlands, in Germany, in France, in Switzerland—and maybe several
other places I can’t recall at the moment. In Canada, it’s happened more than
once. And most of those international incidents, like those in the US, have
been in a schools, places that proudly claim to be “gun free zones.”
Such horrendous, isolated multiple murders can’t be prevented by passing more gun laws to reduce the number of guns available for defense. We
should remember, too, that there have been other mass murders in which
guns were not the instruments of death: a bomb in a school claimed 27 lives
in the US years ago, and a gasoline fire claimed 87 lives in a Bronx, NY,
dance hall.
As some commentators have put it: The problem isn’t too many guns;
it is too few. Gun-free zones are a clear and present danger because the
predators know that they are killing zones, free of resistance, deterrence or
retaliation from any intended victim. Even if all of the schools, colleges and
universities had armed security patrols, which many of them don’t, because
they don’t even want trained security forces armed, the prospect of meeting
resistance or deterrence is pretty remote—particularly on campuses that are
larger and more populace than many small cities, like Virginia Tech. That
school has a 2,400-acre campus and almost 25,000 students, 9,000 resident
on campus.
Professor Fired
An Emmanuel College professor in New England has been fired after reenacting the Virginia Tech massacre in his classroom in order to air a progun viewpoint that offended students at the Catholic liberal arts school, the
professor was charged on Apr. 20, according to The Boston Herald.
Nicholas Winset, 37, said he was terminated and permanently barred
from campus following a midweek lecture in which he dramatized the
massacre to show that deranged gunman Cho Seung-Hui could have been
stopped if another student had been carrying a gun.
“If there were more guns in society, the response time to the (rampage)
might have been much faster,” said Winset, an adjunct professor of financial
accounting. “Someone might have been able to do something to stop it.”
Maybe not! The Virginia Tech students appear to be typical of today’s
multi-tasking college students all over the USA, largely unconcerned with
anyone besides themselves, and unaware of what is happening around
them.
Unlike the high school students in Oregon a few years ago who were
familiar with firearms and tackled an assailant while he was reloading, most
college kids today have little knowledge of firearms.
Worse still. The students are advised against resistance. And I guess
instructors are too.
The Virginia Tech “Crisis Resolution Management” policy manual provides this advice for what to do when violence occurs:
Do not physically touch an outraged person, or try to force them to
leave.
Calmly ask the person to place any weapons in a neutral location while
you continue to talk to them.
Never attempt to disarm or accept a weapon from the person in question.
Weapon retrieval should only be done by a police officer.
However, Virginia Tech officials admitted that it was impossible to provide an armed policeman or security guard for every classroom.
Ohio Sheriff
A local sheriff has asked Ohio state officials to press for legislation that
would place guns in schools, according to WLWT in Cincinnati.
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones sent letters on Apr. 18 to Ohio
Gov. Ted Strickland and state Rep. Courtney Combs calling for mandatory
armed personnel in all public and private Ohio schools.
Jones said his plan is intended to prevent a school shooting such as the
one at Virginia Tech.
Jones suggested assigning law enforcement officers to each school or
training select school officials to handle weapons and enforce laws, and
commissioning those officials as Ohio Peace Officers.
Jones admitted his plan would likely be expensive and would not prevent school shootings, but he said armed personnel would limit the number
of casualties in such an event.
“The safety of all Ohio students is paramount,” Jones said. “These students are our children; they are our future. We must do anything we can to
protect them as much as possible.”
I’d like to emphasize that the sheriff suggested training selected school
officials to handle weapons. If that sounds a little like the Armed Flight
Officer program, it should. It’s the same principle.
I have suggested that while it may be difficult to convince people right
now that allowing any person qualified and/or licensed to carry concealed
to do so on campus is good public policy, we should heed Sheriff Jones’
advice. Let’s train and arm teachers, administrators and even housekeeping staff at schools and colleges so that they can respond as a last resort. If
nothing else, help is likely to be available much faster than a call to 911. For
another, it would make today’s students much less fearful of meeting and
greeting people that are legally armed every day. The gun is not the problem. Lack of practical knowledge and what we used to call “street smarts”
years ago would also be a big help.
Perhaps we should print the schools, churches, businesses and institutions which want to be “gun free” some free signs and posters. I’d propose
that they include the text “Danger” in big letters, with a red skull and crossbones, the universal symbol for caution. Underneath the skull and bones
would be the legend: “Gun Free Zone.”
That should convey the real message.
Pet Of The Week
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702-361-2484
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130lbs. but he will be eating some lite food and getting his daily exercise to
take some of the weight off. He is microchipped, neutered, and up to date
with vaccines. He loves to chew on rawhides and play with squeaky toys.
He had an incident with a shepherd who bit his ear and does not like his
ears rubbed as a result. He does not like rough play, so he would be best in
a home with a fenced yard, no other dogs, and older children. A couple that
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City Of Las Vegas Reaches New Heights Of Stupidity

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