Bob Whitby
Senior Writer
Contact: 868-4521 • Email
The veteran journalist has been working for newspapers since age 11 when he got his first job as a delivery executive for the San Jose Mercury News in Saratoga, Calif. He has put in stints writing for and editing papers in Texas, Wisconsin and Florida, most recently as editor of Orlando Weekly. He has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, and once snuck into Cuba to chronicle the recovery of a stolen boat.
Recent Articles
Sherman’s March
June 2nd, 2011
If you’ve been wondering what erstwhile Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick has been doing with his spare time since his responsibilities at the paper were cut to the bone in November, here’s the answer: forming his own media empire.
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A Tasty Seven-Pack
Our resident beer buff picks his favorites homegrown seasonal brews
May 19th, 2011
Brewpubs shorten the supply line; it’s made in the back, served in the front. That means it’s fresh. And going through the trouble of making your own is a pretty solid indicator that someone at the establishment cares. At a good brewpub, you can taste the love. Hippies can also feel good about brewpubs because they’re serving something made here. Think globally, drink locally. Las Vegas has a lot of locally produced beer to be proud of—I know because I’ve made the rounds. Here’s a seven-pack of homegrown summer beers:
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Mr. Fixit Goes to Vegas
An inveterate do-it-yourselfer settles in Sin City, and finds it utterly helpless
May 19th, 2011
Not only do I mow my own lawn, do my own taxes, paint my own walls, fix my own plumbing leaks and even tackle some light electrical work, I’ve brought more than a few cars back from the grave. But in Las Vegas, anti-DIYism goes way beyond the basics: There are companies that will stand in line at the DMV for you, buy your groceries and put them away, and arrange the clothes in your closets. If I look long enough, I’ve no doubt I’ll come across a firm that will chew your food for you.
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Death Valley Immersion
Experience new heights by biking to the depths of the desert
May 12th, 2011
There are four routes from Las Vegas to Death Valley National Park, and as is almost always the case when traveling by motorcycle, the best way is the slowest. And it also bypasses Pahrump.
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Zapped!
May 12th, 2011
In a city where every visual cue seems meant to sell or warn, it can be unsettling to come across a bit of infrastructure painted to resemble a giant flat-screen TV tuned to the weather and warning of wind. The message resonates, but what the hell is going on? Graffiti? Art? Banksy? No need to call the authorities, they already know about it. In fact, they paid for it. It’s called the Zap! Project, and it started in the Winchester neighborhood in 2005 with 10 electrical utility boxes painted by local artists. With a recent $36,800 grant approved by Clark County, it is moving to the Cambridge area between Flamingo Road and Sahara Avenue.
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Get Your Motor Running
The Nevada Open Road Challenge summons your inner speed demon
May 12th, 2011
The dream: a sports car, an open road, no police. The reality: gridlocked Interstate commutes, cops hiding in nooks and crannies running radar, SUV drivers too busy gabbling on cell phones to pay attention to their driving. What’s the point of buying a fast car at all? That sort of rational thinking has no place in Nevada, because while we have surpluses of all the bad stuff that makes everyday driving an irritating chore, we also have two of the best opportunities in the country to unleash our inner Walter Mitty: the Nevada Open Road Challenge, May 12-15, and the Silver State Classic, Sept. 15-18.
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The Progressive
Chris Giunchigliani isn’t sold on the Goodman regime. And she’s confident that she’s about to end it.
April 28th, 2011
Chris Giunchigliani is 10 minutes late for our interview, and she’s not about to waste time apologizing. “I took one more phone call,” she says, striding into the Clark County Government Center’s nearly empty cafeteria, and she leaves it at that. It’s early on a Monday morning; Giunchigliani’s hair is up high and perfect, her business suit sensible and crisp. She’s currently a Clark County commissioner, and she’s hoping to be elected the next mayor of Las Vegas on June 7, so her plate’s a little full—and if that means running late to an interview, so be it.
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One County’s Trash …
… May be the same county’s treasure
April 21st, 2011
The Apex Regional Landfill is a mystery to most Clark County residents, little more than an exit sign from Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas and a distasteful notion of a wasteful society. “Somewhere back there,” the occasional driver might note as they zip by, “is where all that shit goes.” Out of sight, out of mind.
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Up in Smoke
What if someone gave you the keys to a Jaguar and turned you loose on the track?
April 7th, 2011
I nailed the gas and the rear tires went up in smoke. The rear of the 4,000-pound, grand-touring supercar spun, scattering orange safety cones all over the skid pad, grit and tire smoke filling the cabin like a cloud of suspicion. I wonder if the smell will ever come out of that plush suede headliner. Of course no properly bred XKR owner would subject his or her $96,000 automobile to such treatment. And none will have to, because when you buy an XKR, or the equally beautiful four-door XFR ($79,600), Jaguar throws in a day at the track at one of the four R Performance Academy sessions it holds annually.
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The Law
To Sue or Not to Sue
March 24th, 2011
Post a story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal on your website and you’ll get sued. That’s what the Las Vegas law firm Righthaven says, and there’s reason to think they mean it: as of last week, Righthaven has filed some 250 lawsuits against people who posted content from the Review-Journal and the Denver Post, sites as prominent as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and as obscure as KillerFrogs.com.
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