LETTERS

Hello Greg Miller,

Just wanted to thank you for your public-transit story in the May 12-May 18 issue! I was made aware of your article today. Had I read it sooner, I would have responded sooner!

I'm keeping fingers crossed for the future of the Las Vegas Monorail.

Best Regards,

Dear Stacy Willis,

I was searching for Clear Channel billboard information to protest the new "busty" KOMP sign in my neighborhood and came across your story, "The Clean Billboard Brigade Charges Ahead" (May 13, 2004). This same sign that was mentioned in your article, the bust with KOMP across it, has just been put up on the corner of Sahara and Nellis, right where my family has to pass to go anywhere in this town and where much of our grocery shopping and other shopping is done. We're all very sorry to see this billboard reappearing. We had seen it across town about a year ago and had called KOMP to let them know how unhappy we were about it. They ignored us with a certain amount of patronization and smugness.

We all appreciated your story in Las Vegas Weekly and were happy to hear that perhaps going directly to the billboard company would have a greater effect than speaking with the advertiser. I hope that we will be as successful in ridding our community of this trash.

Sincerely,

Dear Editor,

Looking out over the growing horizon, it may be hard for some of us to fathom the depth of emotion surrounding the controversy over the Southern Nevada Water Authority's quest to take rural Nevada's groundwater.

That controversy could be quieted if SNWA agreed to support residential water reuse.

For 15 years, my company tried to get the SNWA to support residential water reuse, but they always claimed they do not need reuse because they get "return flow credits" for dumping treated sewage back into the Colorado River.

Residential water reuse systems not only recycle half the water from a home and use it up to 60 percent more efficiently in the landscape, they significantly decrease wastewater treatment costs. Altogether, the water provided by these privately-owned systems is about the same cost as freshwater.

With groundwater being SNWA's new source of water, return-flow credits is no longer a valid excuse for not supporting reuse, but the SNWA still doesn't support reuse, even though they'd only need half as much water if they did.

If the SNWA was being honest about their statement that they mean to do no harm to the communities they intend to suck the water out from under, then they'd support whatever reduced their need for more water. The single largest step they could take in that direction would be to require residential water reuse wherever new landscape irrigation occurs, which is currently everywhere in the SNWA's jurisdiction.

If they are not willing to require reuse, then Mark Twains's saying that "whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting for" is surely still true.

Dear Editor,

I have to make a comment regarding Steve Bornfeld's article on Robert Goulet's well-reviewed role as Georges in the current Broadway (that's in New York, folks) production of La Cage aux Folles (May 26-June 1). Stating that "Bobby G's" 2001 "concert showcase at the Venetian embarrassingly flopped to the point of nearly begging for customers ..." isn't quite fair, or accurate.

Here are some direct quotes from Las Vegas Review-Journal's Mike Weatherford's July 27, 2001, column: " ... Goulet and his manager-wife, Vera, were self-financing their summer run at the Showroom at The Venetian after an investor dropped out, but audiences didn't show up in enough force to meet the room's high overhead." Weatherford went on to say, "Bad business shouldn't be confused with a bad performance, and Goulet's show was clearly headed in the right direction. Word-of-mouth had to be good for the 67-year-old performer, who wasn't taking any shortcuts with his voice in what was, for a month at least, the classiest show on the Strip ..."

For Mr. Bornfeld's information, the Goulets rented the Venetian room for $80,000 per week. In addition, they paid all advertising costs, musicians and guest artist Paige O'Hara's salaries, as well as other miscellaneous expenses. They got no financial help from either the hotel or H&H, the then-"owners" of that room. Even Queen Celine would have had a hard time with this one. Mr. Bornfeld should have given credit where credit was due.