NPR stations turn down President Clinton
There was a time in the fairly recent past when the opportunity to interview a former president of the United States would have prompted a conga line at the KNPR studios.
But not today. And by “today,” we do mean on this very day, because this morning KNPR and its Nevada Public Radio sister station, KUNR in Reno, rejected an interview with Bill Clinton. The co-hosts of the Friday KNPR-KUNV simulcast, Dave Berns in Las Vegas and Brian Bahouth in Reno, attempted to book all three Democratic presidential candidates for live interviews a day before the Nevada caucuses. Only Barack Obama agreed to appear, but in a taped segment that ran this morning (Bahouth conducted the interview over the phone). John Edwards was unavailable, and the Hilary Clinton campaign offered former President Clinton for 15 minutes, from 8:45 a.m. until 9. But he never appeared on the show.
As Berns explained on the air, he and Bahouth determined that they were finished talking to campaign “subordinates” and declined the offer to interview Clinton. I have to wonder how the ex-president took that news.
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Stray note on the so-dubbed “mob museum” that is being planned for the old federal court building on Stewart Street in Downtown Las Vegas: Each of the three floors on the attraction will be dedicated to a different mob era, and the displays are not limited to Las Vegas. This is to be a far-reaching, international tour of the mob’s history. Calling it a mob “celebration” is a mistake, as organizers are quick to correct. It’s no more a celebration than the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C., or the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
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A bad season and coinciding bad behavior has led the eradication of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football fan/alumni club from its most recent sports bar, Big Inning on West Sahara Avenue. The Cornhusker backers were once ensconced at the original Skinny Dugans on West Charleston, then moved to Big Inning when Skinny’s was being removed under its new ownership. Too much beer and bad football just KILLS all the fun.
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Our 24/7 city is without a 24-hour recovery spot. The Fourth Dimension, which is the old Steps Club on Highland Drive (conveniently located across the street from Foxy Ladies adult club, for those sober horn-dogs always on the go) has cut its hours and closes at midnight, reopening at 7 a.m. That’s not good news for people struggling with addiction who might need a safe haven, but if the club’s membership kicks up it will reopen all-hours.
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PL8 in my head: You from around here? VGSN8IV on a charcoal-colored Mini Cooper.
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Fabulous Las Vegas appears at this Web site. John Katsilometes, who also hosts Our Metropolis, a weekly issues and affairs show, each Tuesday at 6 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM, can be reached at 990-7720, 812-9812 or at [email protected].