Michael Mishak

Story Archive

Recession means there’s less money for political campaigns: Gaming cuts its contributions; developers aren’t giving at all; Monday, Sept. 28, 2009; Add politicians to the list of Nevadans hard up in the recession.
Karl Rove: Eventually, GOP must supply answers: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009; Introduced as a “visionary for public policy,” Karl Rove tried to live up to the billing, arguing that President Barack Obama’s health care plan had provided conservatives with an opening for a political comeback — but that Republicans need to offer an appealing alternative to capitalize on the opportunity.
Karl Rove: Health care an opening for conservative comeback: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009; Former White House adviser Karl Rove says President Barack Obama’s health care plan has provided conservatives with an opening for a political comeback — but that Republicans need to offer an appealing alternative to capitalize on the opportunity. “When it comes to health care, it’s fine for us to be beating up on ‘Obamacare,’” Rove said. “But we have to offer a positive prescription that makes sense for ordinary people.”
AFL-CIO sees young as challenge, opportunity: Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009; With a changing of the guard at the AFL-CIO convention here last week, the nation’s largest labor organization outlined an ambitious agenda, pledging to unify the movement, remake the face of labor and increase union ranks.
Culinary Union parent returns to AFL-CIO after split: Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; PITTSBURGH -- Unite Here, the parent organization of the Culinary Union, returned to the AFL-CIO in grand fashion this morning after splitting from the nation’s largest labor federation four years ago.
A call for unions to come together: AFL-CIO head asks groups to follow Unite Here into fold; Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; As Richard Trumka assumed the presidency of the AFL-CIO Wednesday, he issued a sweeping call for reunification to a number of unions that left the nation’s largest labor organization in a bitter split four years ago.
Obama reconnects with union allies: On health care, organizing bills, president reassures; Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009; When President Barack Obama took the stage at the AFL-CIO’s annual convention here Tuesday, he faced thousands of union foot soldiers who were wary of his leadership and Congress’ commitment to the labor agenda. Obama’s mere presence here seemed to allay those concerns, as thousands of labor leaders greeted him with a minutes-long standing ovation, a sort of collective sigh of relief.
As the Reids seek office, who hurts whom?: Each Reid’s campaign sees a potential obstacle in the other’s; Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009; According to sources close to Sen. Harry Reid’s campaign, the gubernatorial ambitions of son Rory Reid, the Clark County Commission chairman, have emerged as a point of considerable hand wringing among advisers who view it as an obstacle to the U.S. Senate majority leader’s reelection. Expecting Sen. Reid to face a tight reelection race, his advisers see Rory Reid’s presence on the 2010 ballot, in the cold calculus of political campaigns, as one in a series of preelection risks. It’s a view that some are spreading throughout Nevada political circles.
As day honoring workers nears, few here have much to celebrate: Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009; Thousands of union construction workers gathered on a vacant, dirt lot in downtown Las Vegas last week to hear some of Southern Nevada’s most prominent Democratic leaders fete their accomplishments. The event, dubbed a “Celebration of Nevada Workers,” was part political rally, part carnival — complete with hot dogs, shaved ice cones and amusement rides. But the high praise and free food were cold comfort for Las Vegas workers facing the worst Labor Day in state history.
Grass roots or not, Nevada tea parties had assist: Conservative activists stop in Las Vegas along cross-country tour; Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009; The Republican-backed organization that was unable to accomplish its sole objective in 2008 — to stop Barack Obama from becoming president — rolled into town Monday for a do-over of sorts.
Nevada’s on-the-job fatalities fell in ’08: Construction slowdown, safety improvements cited as reasons by experts; Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009; Nevada had the second sharpest decline in workplace fatalities in the nation last year, a drop that experts attributed to the slowdown in construction and a renewed emphasis on safety in that industry.
At Chamber meeting, Harry Reid plays to the center: Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009; About 100 protesters walked a picket line of sorts on Las Vegas Boulevard Wednesday afternoon, denouncing the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce for hosting Harry Reid as the keynote speaker for its luncheon. The common complaint: Harry Reid, Too Liberal For Nevada.
Next AFL-CIO chief pledges to press for health care, labor law reform: Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009; Richard Trumka fashions himself after some of the 20th century’s labor firebrands.
Fired workers’ claims typical of nonnatives who mull union bids: They say employer questioned immigration status to foil plan; Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009; Elias Garcia and his co-workers were fed up. They wanted more pay and better benefits for working the line at a Las Vegas recycling plant operated by Republic Services. More important, they wanted safer working conditions. They wanted to organize.
Disabled? For benefits, apply, keep waiting: Social Security judges say jump in caseloads is overwhelming them; Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009; The Social Security Administration is being slammed by a surge in disability and retirement claims that is threatening to shortchange applicants and cripple a system that, even before the downturn, was starved for resources.
See unions’ future here this week, but hurry: Convention’s white-collar crowd is new rank and file, experts say; Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009; Unionizing success stories are rare in the modern labor movement — and even rarer in the private sector.
Unions want their money’s worth from politicians: Leaders vow tougher push on health care, labor law reform; Friday, Aug. 7, 2009; Organized labor has always been one of the Democratic Party’s most powerful and reliable allies, bankrolling candidates and turning out votes — even, at times, at the expense of the union agenda.
Culinary Union sees shot in Station insolvency: Gaming company less able to resist unionizing while it’s in reorganization, experts say; Monday, Aug. 3, 2009; The Culinary Union fought for years to organize the Aladdin. But it wasn’t until the resort filed for bankruptcy protection that the union gained the upper hand. That lesson was on the minds of Culinary leaders last week as Station Casinos — the union’s bitter rival — filed for Chapter 11 protection.
Ruling: Wage suits can name executives: Appeals court says bosses can be held liable for pay, even in bankruptcy; Thursday, July 30, 2009; Station Casinos now counts itself among a number of Las Vegas gaming companies in or near bankruptcy, ratcheting up fears among thousands of workers concerned for their livelihoods in a fragile economy.
Sudden chill sent Wal-Mart’s way: Labor Department moves go against its lucrative, ingrained business model; Sunday, July 26, 2009; Labor Secretary Hilda Solis quietly announced two actions last week that could have far-reaching effects on workers and Wal-Mart, the country’s largest private employer. First, Solis boasted of a hike in the federal minimum wage. She followed up with news that her department will hire 250 investigators this year to enforce wage-and-hour laws.
Not so fast, union says on loan for city hall: Leader renounces his spokesman’s account of laborers’ move; Wednesday, July 22, 2009; Laborers chief Tommy White wants to make one thing perfectly clear: His union would like to build Las Vegas a new city hall — but not with nearly $80 million from the local’s pension fund, as one of his deputies told the Sun last week.
Card check might be yielding to other goals: Big labor bill appears to be in flux as Democrats try to gain filibuster-proof support; Tuesday, July 21, 2009; Prominent local and national labor leaders pushed back on news last week that a group of U.S. senators had dropped a key provision from a bill that would make it easier for workers to organize.
Old Vegas-style financing offered for city hall: Then, union pension fund loans built casinos; now, laborers, desperate for jobs, offer loan to government; Friday, July 17, 2009; Taking a page from the city’s past, the laborers union has offered to finance up to half of the cost of a new Las Vegas city hall — from its pension fund.
Cricket swarm brings plague to state’s North: Insects keep finding ways to thwart efforts to eradicate them; Sunday, July 5, 2009; Diana Bunitsky looked out the window and saw them coming. In a scene out of Revelation, a 25-foot-wide swarm of flightless insects started to climb the stairs to Lone Mountain Station, a bar Bunitsky owns with her husband, Victor, in northern Elko County.
In state GOP, Ensign finds few defenders: Governor, who has issues of his own, offers backing; Sunday, June 21, 2009; You know you’re at a low point when the only person willing to stand beside you in your time of marital and political strife is Jim Gibbons, the Nevada governor who was once accused of assaulting a cocktail waitress, is in the middle of an ugly divorce and has approval ratings below the freezing temperature of water.
State gaming regulators shied away from policing borrowing: Sunday, June 21, 2009; Because a healthy gaming industry is vital to the state’s economy, the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Commission are responsible for reviewing the financial health of gaming companies. Why, then, have regulators allowed companies to incur so much debt?
Jeff Tweedy puts Wilco back on course: Friday, June 19, 2009; You probably know Wilco as that hot “alt-country” band that got into a blistering scrap with its record company back in early part of this century.
Gaming companies ask Culinary for ‘relief’ on raises; they’re talking: Friday, June 12, 2009; Las Vegas casino operators, struggling under the burden of heavy debt and declining revenue, are leaning on their workers for help, asking the Culinary Union for “temporary economic relief,” according to the union’s leader.
In Labor's heart, Dems didn't deliver: Leaders say unions took unfair hit in legislative session, vow to fight in ’11; Tuesday, June 9, 2009; Nevada labor leaders are disappointed that their Democratic allies in the Legislature failed to advance significant items on labor’s agenda despite controlling both chambers for the first time in two decades. To be sure, unions can claim some small victories, including improvements to the state’s workers’ compensation system and mandated safety training for construction workers. But a sense of frustration — even outrage — was palpable last week as labor leaders lamented lawmakers’ failure to restructure the state’s tax system. To hear them tell it, the Legislature robbed workers for the second consecutive session, forcing cuts in public employee pay, pensions and health benefits. Moreover, legislators amended collective bargaining rules for local governments, tilting the system toward management.
Card check might be union war’s collateral damage: Bill founders as one leader of Unite Here departs; Wednesday, June 3, 2009; After spending hundreds of millions of dollars to win Democratic majorities in Congress and elect Barack Obama president, the labor movement’s No. 1 legislative priority — a bill that would make it easier for workers to organize — is in severe jeopardy, in large part because of high-profile infighting among some the country’s most progressive unions.
Wilhelm’s stand: Labor will rebuild middle class: Organizational fighting, he says, is a step toward private sector unionization; Sunday, May 31, 2009; We sat down with Wilhelm last week for a conversation at the Culinary’s offices, where he spent 11 years overseeing the local. In his view, the battle between Unite Here and SEIU will determine the future of the American labor movement.
Unite Here even more split as co-leader resigns in huff: Sunday, May 31, 2009; A bitter, protracted leadership struggle within one of the nation’s most progressive unions apparently ended Friday when Unite Here General President Bruce Raynor resigned.
Obama here for the sunshine: As president applauds Nevada's green efforts, two bills to foster industry's growth make their way through Carson City; Thursday, May 28, 2009; Some people visit Las Vegas for the sights. Others, for the sounds.
But Wednesday, President Barack Obama said he came here for the sun, touring a solar array at Nellis Air Force Base, the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
Obama and Reid are friends indeed: Their alliance boosts Reid's reelection hopes and Obama's ambitious agenda; Wednesday, May 27, 2009; In early February, Majority Leader Harry Reid stepped onto the Senate floor to announce that President Barack Obama had just accepted his invitation to return to Las Vegas.
Obama makes no mention of Vegas tourism remark: Wednesday, May 27, 2009; No apologies.

No clarifications.

No setting the record straight.

President Barack Obama's speech at a Harry Reid fundraiser Tuesday night made no reference whatsoever to the remarks that sent Vegas boosters -- and Mayor Oscar Goodman in particular -- into a fury a few months ago.
Obama praises Reid at Vegas fundraiser: President speaks at Caesars Palace event for Senate majority leader; Tuesday, May 26, 2009; On his first visit to Nevada since the November election, President Barack Obama played Fundraiser in Chief Tuesday night, delivering a 20-minute speech to a sold-out crowd at Caesars Palace, all for the benefit of Sen. Harry Reid.
Flight of the Conchords: 'Business Time' in Vegas: No one even had to scream 'Free Bird," they just played it; Sunday, May 24, 2009; Flight of the Conchords — "New Zealand's fourth most famous folk parody duo" — brought their A game to the new Joint Saturday night, turning in a riotous 90-minute set of acoustic numbers about love, ladies and killer robots, culled from the two seasons of their hit HBO comedy series.
Momentum from Obama campaign dissipates: Activists’ achievements in state fall short of goals; Sunday, May 24, 2009; Six weeks after Barack Obama won the presidency last year, political activists — empowered and enthusiastic, ready to take on the world — filled Teresa Crawford’s living room. Today they’re wondering what happened.
Why consolidating city and county governments isn't a silver bullet for waste: Combining Las Vegas and Clark County, some say, would save a bundle of money and maximize efficiency. But studies of similar mergers show such goals often aren’t met.; Sunday, May 24, 2009; Mayor Oscar Goodman is again asking the simple question: Would one government be better than two — or, in the case of the Las Vegas Valley, five? The city’s deficit — $150 million over the next five years — fuels his argument.
Nine Inch Nails eager to rock Las Vegas fans: Jane's Addiction holds its own - then some - against NIN; Tuesday, May 19, 2009; At first blush, the headliner on Monday night's double bill seemed obvious: Nine Inch Nails.
Unplugged: The SEIU chief on the labor movement and the card check: He’s signaling a truce with Culinary but has harsh words for its parent, Unite Here; Sunday, May 10, 2009; In Andy Stern’s world view, bigger is better. And better still if the center of that world is his 2-million-member Service Employees International Union.
Hard bargaining or bad faith at Wynn? It’s hard to say: Experts: Accusations are tough to prove; Wednesday, May 6, 2009; As dealers at Wynn Las Vegas enter their third year of bargaining with casino management over a union contract, two words can be found on the lips of both parties: bad faith.
Six Questions: Paul Davis, Vice President of Entertainment, Hard Rock: Tuesday, May 5, 2009; Paul Davis is the man behind the music at the Hard Rock Hotel. As vice president of entertainment, he oversees booking for the casino’s venues, including the new Joint, the $60 million, 4,000-seat concert hall that opened last month with the likes of Paul McCartney and the Killers.
Another union seeks Culinary’s right to organize Strip workers: Sunday, April 26, 2009; A month ago, when labor leader Andy Stern was drumming up excitement over a nationwide campaign to organize hotel and casino workers, he said his union wouldn’t set up shop on the Strip.
Labor secretary says OSHA to be strengthened: Solis: Hundreds of investigators to be hired to strengthen safety enforcement; Thursday, April 23, 2009; Echoing remarks she made earlier this week, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Thursday that her department would strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health Administration by adding hundreds of investigators and spending tens of millions of dollars on enforcement activities. Solis spoke briefly with reporters in North Las Vegas.
Let the good times roll. Please.: According to Mayor Goodman, local economy on rebound, though more conventional indicators disagree; Thursday, April 23, 2009; Oscar Goodman has always been a master image-maker. After all, the onetime mob lawyer who represented brutal enforcers such as Tony “the Ant” Spilotro parlayed his notoriety into a decade-long political career as the popular mayor of Las Vegas. His was always the World According to Oscar.
Goodman: Plenty of reason for economic optimism: In 30-minute speech, mayor says Las Vegas has 'turned around'; Wednesday, April 22, 2009; As far as Oscar Goodman is concerned, Las Vegas has turned a corner. Speaking to a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday, the Las Vegas mayor said the currents of the recession had shifted and that the city's redevelopment efforts have laid the groundwork for a big comeback.
Redevelopment staff had role in independent study: Sunday, April 19, 2009; Correspondence, obtained by the Las Vegas Sun through an open records request, reveals a tight relationship between city staff and Applied Analysis as the firm worked on the study.
Neighborhood indie record shops beckon: Friday, April 17, 2009; The independent record store is an endangered species. But in a town accused of being devoid of culture and community, a few indie shops have managed to thrive, providing Las Vegas with small doses of both. Record Store Day, set for Saturday, celebrates the sheer survival of these cultural gems. Top five reasons to visit an independent record store:
Has labor visionary crossed the line?: Critics say SEIU leader is harming movement in quest for power; Thursday, April 16, 2009; Call it Andy Stern gone wild. Critics say the man behind the Service Employees International Union, long hailed as a visionary within the modern American labor movement, is too ambitious and could hurt his cause.