Stacy J. Willis' recent story on Metro Sheriff Bill Young [cover story, July 15] was an interesting read, particularly since the article oozes some of the frustration anyone running a major police department in today's climate has to feel.
Metro has, I believe, one major task, and that is the education of residents on just what the department has to do, and what our local citizenry has to do, to maintain a safe and secure environment. At a recent local meeting, where Metro presented information about the proposed sales tax increase, the biggest concern of those attending was drivers exceeding speed limits on local streets. Unfortunately, although this is an important consideration, it is not the major task for police departments, particularly for those like Metro, which are seriously understaffed.
Protection of visitors to Las Vegas is a major task, since tourists are our largest asset, and asset protection is a security function. Las Vegas is probably the safest city in the country for visitors, and in that respect Metro does a heck of a job.
Complaints are voiced about the harassment of the homeless in the Fremont Street area. Similar to New York City, Las Vegas is considered a good place to "disappear"—a fact without basis—and picking up individuals for jaywalking, for example, can lead to finding that a warrant has been issued for that individual.
The ability to balance fair and ethical treatment of our citizens with that of protecting them is a difficult task. As the old saying goes, "When you try to please everybody, you please nobody."
Residents also have to help Metro better utilize its resources. Complaints about tires being slashed and theft from vehicles parked outside of homes would be reduced if residents used their garages for parking before using them as storage facilities. Residents who open doors to strangers, without using the door's interviewer (peephole), or having in place a security door, also create a breakdown in security, which adds to the law enforcement task load.
With continued growth in population, and with continued expansion of Las Vegas' roadway system and public transportation, the easier it becomes for those with criminal intent to find targets of opportunity.
We all want a safe and secure community, but we will not have that unless there is a cooperative effort between the public agencies responsible for law enforcement, and the rest of our community. The LVMPD is a good organization—it should just make sure that the public understands the roles each group plays in maintaining a safe and secure community.
Last week, Sonja, our relationships columnist, returned to duty after a long hiatus (see her June 24 cover story on being raped).
Yippeeeeee!!!!!!!!
But her last paragraph says: "I'm ready to start healing and living and loving again. It's what I do best."
Ummmm, sweetie, you're a pretty darn good writer, too!
So great to see her back...
I worked with Sonja on the independant film-festival short Grip. I recently caught the article on her bad experience and just wanted to say I was sorry to read about it. Please send my regards.
In the July 15 issue, Martin Stein compiled a roundup of articles about Vegas that appeared in offbeat magazines. The author of one of those pieces sent the following:
I'm very pleased that you mentioned the recent Poets & Writers interview I did with Donald Revell when I was in Las Vegas earlier this year. He's a terrific guy and a great poet. He's a real credit to his twin homes of Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
Your dismissal of my intro to the interview is pretty correct. I am a lifetime academic, but also a great fan of Vegas, a city I've visited countless times. In fact, I spent every summer from ages 10-15 in the city and still have friends there. In the process of writing the book The Poetry of Place, I visited 62 American poets in 62 American cities and towns. I found it a constant battle to capture some tiny shred of the essence of these varied and beautiful places, and I believe Mr. Stein is right that I probably failed with my facile description of your fine city.
However, I didn't think that taking a swipe at my family name was very sporting. And when I return, I'll be bringing Jerry Lewis with me to exact revenge.
Best wishes,
Editor's note: A warning: We'll defend ourselves by any means necessary, up to and including weapons-grade Marty Allen.
Just exactly what marriage will mean a year from now is anybody's guess—and Sen. Harry Reid is partly to blame for the uncertainty. He had the chance, when voting on the Federal Marriage Amendment, to stand up for traditional matrimony. He opted instead to open the door to cultural chaos—gay marriage, polygamy, even marriage between relatives or adults and children. We can be proud, however, that our other senator, Sen. John Ensign, mustered the courage the majority of his colleagues couldn't—the courage to say marriage should remain solely the union of one man and one woman.
Exactly what the future holds is anyone's guess, but one thing is certain: Only one of our senators understands the value of traditional marriage to society.
Editor's note: Who cares what marriage "means" a year from now? That's a blanket question thrown over millions of individual marriages that each have their own meanings. Here's what it will mean to me, regardless of whether gays can marry: my 21st anniversary. It makes no sense to me to salvage an abstract "institution" at the cost of hurting actual people. That's what slays me about the religious supporters of the gay marriage ban: They're perfectly willing to inflict hardship on real people for the sake of an abstract principle that, if enacted, actually helps no one. (Does anyone believe the rates of divorce or infidelity will drop once we've screwed with the Constitution?) I doubt "Supress their happiness" is, in this case, the answer to "What would Jesus do?"
Josh Bell's July 29 TV piece about new shows on basic cable drew this response:
Thank you for noting that there are a FEW scripted shows on the boob tube this summer. I also agree that cable isn't "crap-free" ... just look at The Learning Channel, with its While You Were Out, What Not To Wear, Trading Spaces and others too disgusting to mention. I don't see anything in those programs that cause me to do any "learning." But then, scripted dramas often require the viewer to think, and from the glut of reality crap on the networks, it's obvious that corporate television executives seem to think that American television audiences have no mental processes.
I have seen The Grid and only part of The 4400 but they, at least, have plots that can be followed. I can only hope that the major networks will soon grab their earlobes and pull down until they hear a loud, resounding pop (their heads coming out of their asses) and remove the mindless drivel that is reality shows, and return to creative, intelligent, scripted shows. Ah, but then that will cut into their bottom line, because they'll have to pay REAL actors, writers, directors and crews. The dumbing down of American television audiences will continue because of that.