LETTERS

Dear Damon Hodge,

First and foremost, excellent coverage of the dynamics and history of the "war zone" as you so aptly titled it ("Crime Scene: Inside the Worst Neighborhood in Las Vegas," August 11). From 1975 to 1980, this was my neighborhood —the Parkway Theatre, Boulevard Market, WonderWorld, Ken's Coins and Shelleys Stamps, the Sub shop with the Space Invaders game. I lived with my father and older brother. Dad walked each day to work to the luggage department in JCPenneys and then walked to UNLV across the former desert patch and bridge where the Community Center now stands, to earn his degree after he retired from 21 years of military service. One day on his walk to UNLV from Mark Twain Apartments, a snake almost bit him walking up and down the previously un-bridged Cambridge street. I walked to Ruby S. Thomas and then William E. Orr and no problems other than the security guard at the mall scurrying us kids out of the mall as we passed through each day. I even remember the white-haired Rosie the crossing guard.

I was 12 years old and folding Review Journal papers on the Twain and Swenson past 7-Eleven in the early morning hours. The worst thing I recall was tilting the "8-Ball" pinball machine. It bothers me personally to see a place I once lived in torn apart by rampant drugs and crime. For years as I commuted to UNLV and volunteered in the nearby community, even hearing some of my students talk about the crime they witness in their neighborhood, I have seen the locale fall and remain a blighted area with pockets of good, solid working people strewn about, worrying about their safety coming home each morning, afternoon and evening.

As a UNLV instructor and Ph.D student who grew up for some time in this neighborhood, it concerns me that although it is certainly the persons committing the crimes from petty to murder and everything in between, and selling the drugs who bear the vast amount of culpability, the disjointed responses for much of the past 20 years continue to fail those good people working in between those who are not. Barring a strong effort by Sen. Ensign, HUD, the EOB and the county leadership, in particular, the response of helplessness is unacceptable and borders either on apathy or callousness. Density, transience, law enforcement and evolving procedures, cultural barriers, absent out-of-state ownership and Nevada Revised Statues should have been addressed by those elected officials representing the area. Perhaps apples and oranges at many levels, but large-scale casinos covering similar areas and involving vast amounts of visitors are created in several months; why has it taken two decades to reach this point where crime and insecurity dominate this neighborhood? The increasing and massive statistics accumulated of assault, robbery, larceny, burglary, rape, theft and murder over the past several years are astonishing.

Many of Nevada's elected officials are part-time servants who often conveniently accept credit for growth and refuse to strongly address these difficult issues and policies. Although government cannot solve all of society's ills, public policy cannot allow part of the community to fall into chaos without exception. Scratch that, it must lead the community back from near lawlessness. Certainly, progress in any united form cannot wait for another round of campaign promises that may or may not be acted upon, another budget cycle that may or may not include additional funding or another two-year delay, rather than an optimum year before the State Legislature meets to pass another law that will eventually take effect that will eventually be implemented that will eventually be ... this is a daily strife for many of the residents, not a 10-year plan.

Dear Damon Hodge,

Great story on the worst neighborhood in this week's LV Weekly. I live only a few blocks away by Clark County Library. It would be great if President Harter [UNLV] and Saltman focused their efforts on buying up this neighborhood and urban-renewing it. Thanks again for the story. Have a nice week!

Dear Sir,

I wished to point out that in (last) week's copy of the Las Vegas Weekly, you have spelled the name "Shelby Lynne" incorrectly. In both instances that I saw, the final "e" was dropped from the name.

As a stickler for spelling, I notice these things. As a printed medium, you should be more careful about these things!

Thank you,