The Local Newsroom
Seven Questions
Jon Ralston
Nevada’s foremost political pundit on our Legislature’s biggest problem, why he’d make a poor candidate and the billionaire he believes would be a great public official
October 25th, 2012
For most of the American electorate, Nov. 6 can’t get here soon enough. The unsolicited marketing phone calls, the junk mail, the attack ads—it’s like the 12th round of a grueling heavyweight boxing match, and we’re up against the ropes, signaling for the trainer to throw in the towel. For political columnist/commentator Jon Ralston, though, this time of year is nirvana. Read more »
The Latest Thought
Fifty Shades of Halloween
Somewhere along the way, adults swiped the holiday right out of the kids’ goodie bag
October 25th, 2012
Surely I can’t be the only one who waxes nostalgic for the time when Halloween was mostly about kids taking over neighborhood streets, filling pumpkin buckets and pillowcases with candy until they tore a rotator cuff. I can’t be the only one disturbed by the over-commercialization of yet another holiday. Read more »
Big League or Bust
October 25th, 2012
It comes as no surprise that the United Football League suspended operations Oct. 20 midway through its fourth season. Players in the four-team league haven’t been getting paid, attendance in each city has been dismal and former Virginia Destroyers coach Marty Schottenheimer just sued the league for $2.3 million in unpaid compensation, following a similar suit by ex-Sacramento coach and general manager Dennis Green. Read more »
Tourism
With PBR, Rodeo’s Heart Will Go On
October 25th, 2012
We’re used to early December being rodeo time in Las Vegas; that’s when the National Finals Rodeo takes over the town. But NFR’s not-so-little cousin, Professional Bull Riders’ Built Ford Tough World Finals, shakes the ground at the Thomas & Mack Center through Oct. 28—and it’s become a local institution in its own right. Read more »
The Greatly Profitable Outdoors
October 25th, 2012
Like it or not, we live in a service and experience economy. You might think of open space and trails as peaceful getaways, but big thinkers on the great outdoors are increasingly describing it like part of a Wall Street portfolio. Read more »
Design
LEEDing the Way
How a small Las Vegas business fits into a big national narrative
October 25th, 2012
The Fishers also expect their new $3 million facility to attain Zero Energy Building status after its first year in operation, when it will be eligible. The U.S. Department of Energy lists only 10 buildings in the nation in this category, which requires structures to produce as much energy as they use. As part its goal of being the first Nevada company to make the list, Escape Adventures/Las Vegas Cyclery plastered its south-facing roof with solar panels and is the Valley’s first owner of a vertical wind turbine. Read more »
Seven Questions
Lamar Marchese
Nevada Public Radio’s founder on his passion for photography, the importance of persistence and hanging with President Carter
October 18th, 2012
It’s been more than five years since Lamar Marchese turned off the lights in his KNPR office for the final time and waltzed into retirement. Had Marchese started this relaxing phase of life by plopping on a recliner and grabbing the remote, nobody would’ve blamed him—not after he spent nearly three decades growing the state’s first public radio station from a figment of his imagination to a multi-station network with more than 100,000 listeners across four states. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Music to Your Ears
October 18th, 2012
Here’s the funny thing about music in public places: If it’s working the way it should, you don’t even notice it on a conscious level. There’s just an extra spring in your step or, if you’re in a casino, pep in your poke as you hit the “bet again” button on your favorite slot machine. It’s the backbeat to your night out, or day at the spa, pushing you along without getting in your face. And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. Read more »
A Legend Forged in Neon
October 18th, 2012
Brian “Buzz” Leming has only one regret about his 50-year career as a sign designer: that historic preservation of his beloved neon art took so long. “The Dunes … they just knocked it down and threw it away. It was horrible,” Leming says. Read more »
Real Estate
The Last of the Worst?
October 18th, 2012
Analysts are still cautious with their words—they’ve been burned before—but Las Vegas’ commercial real estate market seems to be heating up. Recently, one of the largest office building sales in Las Vegas history saw Fashion Show mall owner General Growth Properties unload 32 office buildings to an out-of-state partnership. Read more »
