Opinion
The Latest Thought
Designs on the Creative Class
Can we galvanize a troubled Las Vegas by making it look cooler?
November 24th, 2011
Las Vegas has deep roots in the good-design business: We all know that, as a tourist destination, Las Vegas doesn’t need to be re-branded. The greatest success of this city is not its casinos or even the taming of the Colorado River. It’s the complete mastery of the mechanics of building a brand. That is a necessity in a post-industrial, information-oriented economy, where perceptions and sensations are among the chief commodities. We nailed that from the start—or at least since Betty Willis finished her “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign in 1959. Read more »
Comrade Grumpy
Highs and Lows from the UNR game
November 15th, 2011
High: The message on the back of the T-shirts: “I have to go to Reno every two years for a football game. What’s your excuse?” Low: What happens every two years at those football games. Read more »
Comrade Grumpy
Highs and Lows from the GCU game
November 12th, 2011
High: Justin Hawkins mistaking himself for Rebel legend Fearless Freddie Banks and scoring 25 points to lead UNLV. Low: The shot that the real Fearless Freddie (UNLV 1983-87) took in the Legends (a.k.a. old-timers) game at halftime. Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen. Read more »
The Latest Story
The Arrival
In an excerpt from his new Vietnam War memoir, a Las Vegas writer recalls the day his battle began
November 10th, 2011
The Caribou zipped over the coastal floodplain a couple of miles inland, nine of us packed inside along with a half-dozen pallets, nine footlockers and crates containing food and weapons. The tailgate was down. Already temperatures at ground level exceeded a hundred degrees; a mile above, cool air flowed into the craft. I lay near the edge of the ramp and watched the plane progress. The shadow of the aircraft skated across the shimmering ground. It seemed the plane was stationary and the land was slipping away. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Nights in White Linen
November 10th, 2011
With about 250,000 hotel and motel beds, Las Vegas has a lot of dirty laundry. And it’s vitally important to the city’s success as a tourist destination—not to mention the public health—that all those bedsheets, bathrobes and terrycloth towels get immaculately cleaned, every time. Read more »
Comrade Grumpy’s Peeve of the Week
Hey, Match THIS Pledge …
November 3rd, 2011
It’s that time of year again, when one of my favorite things in the world—National Public Radio—becomes the most irritating. For what seems like all of autumn, one of the smartest, classiest, most progressive media institutions of our time resorts to the fundraising method that’s a blend of used-car salesmanship, church collection plate and Hee Haw. Read more »
The Latest Story
A Fighting Chance
A detective, a victim and the grim satisfaction of justice served
November 3rd, 2011
One spot in my city offers little hope for redemption. This place, so desolate and dreary, is my hunting ground. Souls can sink below view here, lost within the shadows. These are the ones I aim to reclaim. I’m a man consumed by hatred of an uncommon kind, and it only grows. Read more »
Comrade Grumpy’s Peeve of the Week
Wayne’s World
October 27th, 2011
I try to be an informed citizen. So when Las Vegas played host to the Republican debates Oct. 18, I popped popcorn and settled in to watch the national disaster coverage with the hometown bent. I expected an assortment of civic travesties, but not this: CNN interviewed Wayne Newton as “a longtime GOP activist.” Read more »
Green Felt Journal
In the Dining Business, the Plaza Plays Smart
October 27th, 2011
A renovated classic hotel, a veteran casino chef reaching out to locals. The Plaza’s game plan is another example of how downtown has responded to the recession with creativity and a solid instinct for the area’s identity. Read more »
The Latest Thought
A Money Tree Grows in Vegas
If this memo from the future is an indicator, the school district’s budget woes are soon to end
October 27th, 2011
The following post-dated document, hand-delivered to the Vegas Seven offices by a man who identified himself only as “a sworn enemy of Milton Friedman,” was apparently written by an internal committee at the Clark County School District. “Pay special attention to the section on revenue generation,” the shadowy figure whispered as he slipped out our front door. Read more »
