STATE OF THE CITY |
The Trouble with Harry The trouble with Harry Reid is visible in the troubles of the state's Democratic Party. Team Donkey couldn't field a viable contender in the last gubernatorial race. Its candidate for the new congressional seat, Dario Herrera, went down in spectacular defeat, while its candidate for lieutenant governer, Erin Kenny, fared no better. And now those two are tangled in an embarrassing scandal that makes us wonder how thin the Democratic talent pool is if those are its best and brightest. Why lay this at Reid's feet? As alpha donkey, and the man at the apex of pretty much any chart of political power in this state, he bears a lot of the responsibility for the lackluster party stewardship. Democratic loyalists grumble that he cares about Nevada every six years, come re-election time, and that's it. Reid gets a lot done at the national level, but his legacy as a state powerbroker won't be complete until he leads a shoring-up of Nevada's Democratic structure. |
The One-Minute Book Critic: A New Volume With a Chapter on Vegas
Scott Dickensheets recently swung by Barnes and Noble: Regarding the Nevada chapter in These United States, a new anthology of essays from each of the 50 states, I suppose it's appropriate that an LA guy wrote it. We're all about the visitors, no? But Marc Cooper, frequent Vegas habitue and author of a forthcoming book on the city, The Last Honest Place in America (due this spring), settles for a thumbnail history already familiar to readers of travel-supplment articles on Vegas. Reading the book's other western chapters, it's dispiriting to note that Arizona has a strong entry by longtime resident Charles Bowden, who connects the state's tawdry history to its bleak future; that Utah gets resident Terry Tempest Williams writing vividly and anecdotally about the character of its people; that resident Walter Kirn does the same for Montana; that California merits two solid chapters by writers who live there. I get that these pieces weren't meant for those of us who live here. And it's precisely on that score that I'm disappointed. I wanted to see this state portrayed Out There in a way that got a bit more toward the real meaning of the place. Nevada deserved something less cursory than Cooper's rehash, and yeah, maybe I am in a mood to be peeved that the publisher couldn't pick a writer with some state cred—H. Lee Barnes, maybe, or William L. Fox, who's written perceptively about Vegas, Reno and the big empty in between, or John Irsfeld. Or, and call us obvious, Dave Hickey. Or—whoops, minute's up.
Newbie Quote of the Week, or Lady, the Mall Is the Culture Here
"'Me being in a mall is somewhat of a culture shock,' she said with a little giggle. 'But we're on the cultural side of the mall.'"
—Michelle Quinn, director of the new Godt-Cleary Gallery at Mandalay Place, quoted in the Los Angeles Times.
Overheard at the Big City Council Meeting
Last week's special city council meeting was supposed to deal with double-dipping, Wendell Williams and Sharon Segerbloom. The real result was reiterating the fact that the city had no rules or regulations that the two violated, and it might be a good idea to establish some. Plus, a bonus! Some entertaining blurbs during the public-comment session.
On race: "This was more of a lynching than it was a hearing."
On race: "[Wendell Williams spent] 42 days on the front page of the Redneck Journal? That's a problem." The same man also made reference to the Halfbaked Sun and Adolf II at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
On sin: "Let he or she who is without sin cast the first stone. ... There was only one immaculate conception that I heard of."
On, er, double-dipping? "I listen to you at the City Council talking about legalizing prostitution. Does that mean you're gonna legalize pimpin' and pandering as well?"
On race: "It's attack out there. It's attack on black people. And I do not play the race card because I love everybody."
On mayoral husbandry: "The mayor is, he's a stud."
On the demise of Las Vegas: "For months and months and months I've been saying this city's falling apart. And boy, it's falling apart. ... It starts with you"—the man points an accusing finger at the mayor and council—"you are to blame."
Local Girl Puts Hair on Feet, Visits Middle Earth
A tape made by 13-year-old Hillary Hindi beat out thousands of videos, including more than a few made by adults, to win the chance of a lifetime. The Las Vegas teen recently left for a five-day trip to New Zealand, where she will host the America Online broadcast of the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King.
Hindi pulled some hair from combs and brushes, glued it to a pair of yellow rubber gloves and stuck them on her feet to imitate Pippin, her favorite character from the series. Once in character, she conducted a mock interview with a cardboard cutout of Gandalf, using a large mushroom as a mike, to win the contest. As well as hosting duties, Hindi will interview some of the movie's stars and then join them for the screening.
"My grandma was crying," Hindi says, describing people's reactions to the news. "I started crying when I found out, 'cause I was so, so happy. My mom started getting teary-eyed when she was talking to the lady on the phone. And we called my dad and we started screaming, we're like, 'We won!' and he was like, just sitting there, and we were like, 'Father?' and he started crying."
Vegas Makes Newsweek Twice, or Does the Left Editor Know What the Right Editor is Doing?
Michael Isikoff wrote an article about the use of the Patriot Act in the Michael Galardi/Clark County Commission scandal in the Dec.2 issue. In it, Shelley Berkeley says, "Never did the FBI say we needed new tools to keep us safe from strip-club operators." Isikoff doesn't name the commissioners, saying instead "Galardi ... gave one official $20,000 to help buy a new SUV; another received $400 worth of lap dances at one of his clubs."
A few pages forward, there's another mention of Vegas.
In an article on corporate workers taking their families on business trips, Vegas is called a "kid-friendly" city and a Vegas photo appears next to a shot of Disney World. Don't they know about the newer, sexier Vegas? Did they skip the Isikoff article on page 36?