Sam Skolnik

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Story Archive

You can trust that your vote counts in Nevada, election officials say: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008; Early voting begins this week in Nevada and anxious voters may have reason to wonder whether they can trust the outcome.
Council takes early swing at coming deficit: Even eternal optimist Mayor Oscar Goodman says this year ‘has been brutal’; Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008; State legislators, staring at a $1 billion-plus budget shortfall when they meet in February, are bracing for a bloodbath over fundamental issues of taxing and spending.
Property owner gets a break on fine, but others shouldn’t expect the same: Friday, Oct. 3, 2008; City inspectors visited the dilapidated site on Jackson Avenue 44 times over a three-year period.
Close races — such as Porter-Titus — breed attack ads, experts say: Monday, Sept. 29, 2008; The television advertising wars between Jon Porter and Dina Titus started off like the first round of most boxing matches: a few light jabs, with not many punches landing.
Beers, rival give voters face time: Monday, Sept. 29, 2008; For politicians in tight races, hitting the hustings as Election Day approaches — canvassing neighborhoods and knocking on doors — can be the difference between a narrow victory and a heartbreaking loss.
Mandate foe, not medicine’s: Joe Heck says his real objection is to the high cost of health insurance; Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008; State Sen. Joe Heck is one of the Legislature’s strongest voices on health care, which isn’t surprising given that he’s a physician.
Six questions for Bree Blumstein: GENERAL MANAGER OF THE BEAUTY BAR; Monday, Sept. 22, 2008; Bree Blumstein has been the general manager of the Beauty Bar in downtown Las Vegas for about two years.
Hello Mayor! Hello Governor!: As Mayor Goodman considers a run for governor, he names a possible successor: His wife; Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008; Love him or hate him — and most, according to repeated election returns, feel the love — Oscar Goodman will be forced to step down as Las Vegas mayor in 2011.
But does he offer them a drink?: Friday, Sept. 12, 2008; They come from far-flung corners of the globe: Peru, China, Kenya and Russia. Sometimes they come by themselves, sometimes in big groups.
Agencies cooperate to shorten delay in prosecuting DUI cases: Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008; Until recently in Las Vegas, it took on average almost a year for motorists arrested for misdemeanor drunken driving to be charged with a crime.
NFL games in city still a long shot: Mayor’s plan must overcome football’s gambling phobia; Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008; The city has come close to getting an NBA team, and still might — if only an arena developer can be nailed down to “turn the first shovel,” as the mayor has put it.
Once a talker, land lawsuit goes silent in settlement: Monday, Sept. 8, 2008; A court case that caused a big public stir several years ago, involving top Las Vegas figures and allegations of elder abuse and cronyism, died a quiet death when the case finally settled late last year.
Vegas Web site garners national award, and trip to Hollywood: Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008; After a couple of near misses, it’s finally No. 1. Las Vegas’ Web site recently was named the best city Web site by a national research and advisory institute, the Center for Digital Government.
984 times out of 1,000, they vote like a Politburo: Members: There’s nothing nefarious about unanimous votes; Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008; The Las Vegas City Council took 1,000 votes in a recent one-year period on issues vital to the city’s future and important to citizens.
City holds out hope for arena downtown: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; According to Scott Adams, director of the city’s Business Development Office, the possibility still exists for a sports arena complex, including a casino, on a 56-acre downtown site off Charleston Boulevard.
Oh, the irony: The former mob lawyer gets FBI support for mob museum: Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; In 2002, Mayor Oscar Goodman’s suggestion that the historic post office near City Hall be turned into a mob museum caused a minor uproar.
Ordinance would boost storm water policies: Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; Since 2005, Las Vegas has been in the cross hairs of the Environmental Protection Agency over its storm water management policies.
Downtown’s biggest booster unbowed: But economy undercuts Mayor Goodman’s pitch; Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; It’s not surprising that even in the face of a tough economy and several recent setbacks in downtown redevelopment, Mayor Oscar Goodman continues to push the effort on which he’s staked his legacy.
Tag, and you soon could lose your driver’s license: Monday, Aug. 11, 2008; Ricki Barlow does not propose that graffiti taggers have their thumbs cut off on TV, as Mayor Oscar Goodman once suggested.
Want to open a pawnshop? FBI might soon want to know: Friday, Aug. 8, 2008; What do psychics, ice cream truck operators and strip club owners have in common?
Two views of city government, one party: Candidates for Vegas council have distinct resumes, agendas; Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008; Though they are both Republicans, two very different candidates have emerged in the race to replace Larry Brown, the Las Vegas councilman whose long stint representing Ward 4 could end in a few months.
Signs are dim, but is Vegas’ future?: Experts admit we’re in a deep downturn, but each envisions a rebound — eventually; Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008; For those of us who thought we lived in Boomtown U.S.A., the dramatic downshift in the economy has been unsettling at the least, jarring for many. On Friday, Boyd Gaming paused work on Echelon — eight floors above the ground — until it can figure out how to pay for its $4.8 billion hotel-gaming complex on the Strip. Just that fast, 800 construction workers were sent scrambling for other jobs.
Vegas paper drops sections, not jobs: R-J’s move to cut costs follows price hike; Tuesday, July 29, 2008; Having just raised the newsstand price for weekday and Saturday editions by 50 percent, the Las Vegas Review-Journal announced Monday it has eliminated sections of the paper as a cost-cutting measure.
Affordable housing didn't stand a chance: Neighbors' opposition, city's process helped doom Vegas apartment project; Friday, July 25, 2008; At its simplest, it was a David vs. Goliath story about a band of scrappy Ward 1 neighborhood activists who came together to fight a former U.S. senator and his client’s proposed affordable housing project — and won.
Las Vegas putting slumlords on notice: Friday, July 25, 2008; The Las Vegas City Council is trying to deliver a message to slumlords and owners of abandoned property: We will no longer tolerate you.
Local downturn a hiccup or augur of a bleak future?: THE ISSUES: Forecasts for air travel, school enrollment growth and gaming companies might mark the end of Clark County’s boom time.; Sunday, July 20, 2008; For more than a decade, Las Vegas has been the envy of the nation in at least one regard: its explosive growth. Year after year, the region’s economy marched in step with fast-rising gaming revenue. And the population advanced at the same pace. As last year drew to a close, officials announced that Clark County had topped the 2 million mark — 620,000 people had arrived since 2000. It’s a story Nevadans have grown accustomed to hearing. And its repeated tellings have fed the belief that such growth would never end, that Las Vegas was immune from the economic pressures that affect the rest of the country. We may need to think again.
Vegas nears uneasy alliance: Council mulls grant for former member’s senior housing, retail project; Wednesday, July 16, 2008; The Las Vegas City Council is poised to hand $10 million to former Councilman Michael McDonald for a low-income senior housing project, acknowledging his checkered past will cause some to question the deal.
Vegas’ new disaster czar dwells on the bad — for us: Wednesday, July 16, 2008; On any given day, her job might require her to track alerts about possible earthquakes, rampaging fires or flash floods to hit the area. She might be on the lookout for warnings of medical epidemics or even terrorist threats.
Trust overcomes fear: Neighborhood crime subsides as police, mainly Hispanic residents build bridges; Thursday, July 10, 2008; Vianney Hernandez initially regretted her decision to become the manager of the Pine Village Apartments four years ago. The large complex at the corner of Arville Street and Silver Dollar Avenue is in the area known as Pennwood-Arville. In 2004, the neighborhood was filled with drug dealing and prostitution, and suffered more than its fair share of shootings and stabbings.
Mayor says Vegas hurt more than other cities by gas prices: Monday, July 7, 2008; Although mayors across the country for months have been paying lip service to concerns about the fast-rising cost of gas and its effect on their constituents, most are not really all that concerned, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said at his July 3 news conference.
Rich get richer, little guys lose their shirts: Apex deal benefits Vegas bigwigs but Ponzi scheme cheats 800; Sunday, July 6, 2008; By April 2005, when the deal was inked, the signs of trouble were everywhere if anyone had bothered to look.
City mulls downtown land sale at cut rate: Deal before council would transfer acreage to Lady Luck developer; Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Las Vegas officials want to sell downtown property to the new owners of the Lady Luck for tens of millions of dollars less than what the city’s appraisers say the land is worth.
Proposal would create chapel handbiller zones: Monday, June 23, 2008; Call it the Great Wedding Chapel Compromise of 2008.
Metro Police to pitch new digs: Force envisions campus-style headquarters uniting departments, top brass; Thursday, June 19, 2008; Sheriff Doug Gillespie confirmed late Wednesday that Metro Police will propose building a headquarters in Las Vegas, consolidating for the first time many departments and functions spread across the valley in more than 60 locations, at a public meeting Monday.
Arts District’s big brushes expected to win approval: Monday, June 16, 2008; The Las Vegas City Council is set to vote Wednesday on whether to give final city approval to the controversy-prone proposal for the Gateway to the Arts District public art project.
Quiet on the northern front: Downtown condo tower mostly empty as revitalization efforts limp along; Wednesday, June 11, 2008; The glossy sales brochure for Streamline Tower, a swanky new high-rise condo building in downtown Las Vegas, includes a photo of a dozen nicely dressed people milling about near the building’s front entrance.
Long-sought supermarket to make life in West Las Vegas a bit better: Tuesday, June 10, 2008; After going without a full-service supermarket since the closure of a Vons in 2004, Ward 5 has a grocery store coming by the end of the year, a Buy Low Market at Owens Avenue and H Street, thanks to Councilman Ricki Barlow and city redevelopment officials.
Economic chill freezes Vegas budget: Mayor Goodman disputes bleak forecast, but sees chance to trim fat; Saturday, May 31, 2008; There are several ways the local economic downturn will affect residents as Las Vegas confronts a budget crunch — one that might not end anytime soon.
To collar costs, Las Vegas will put its eight dogs out of work: Saturday, May 31, 2008; As part of a cost-saving program all city departments have implemented called Performance Plus, the city's canine program has been scrapped.
In varied Vegas, two buildings spark architectural debate: Sunday, May 25, 2008; On the Strip, a giant black glass pyramid sits next to a fairy tale-inspired castle with brightly colored turrets. A faux-Deco rip-off of Manhattan’s skyline stands down the street from respectful if miniaturized copies of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
Chapel owners say ordinance is a win-lose: Limits on handbillers would be good for their image, bad for their business, they say; Wednesday, May 21, 2008; The scene outside the Clark County Marriage Bureau in downtown Las Vegas has long been chaotic, a place where aggressive handbillers for wedding chapels often verbally and physically harass one another — as well as happy couples looking for a
License plates can help save history: Sunday, May 18, 2008; Las Vegas is celebrating its centennial — again!
Fremont East shows signs of regaining momentum: After a splashy start, development of the entertainment district stalled; Saturday, May 10, 2008; With great fanfare eight months ago, Las Vegas hailed the rebirth of East Fremont Street with a street party and the lighting of sparkling new neon.
Council finds soft spot for needy: Group may share ‘special events’ funds with elderly poor; Friday, May 9, 2008; Las Vegas City Council members soon may trade in a fraction of their “special events” budgets, typically spent on parties, luncheons and gifts, for something arguably much more important: subsidized meals for thousands of the city’s poorest seniors.
Bizarre allegations come to light: Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007; By now, many of the allegations against District Judge Elizabeth Halverson are common knowledge: that she ordered her bailiff to massage her neck and feet, that she fell asleep on the bench more than once and that she spoke to juries outside the presence of the lawyers in the case.
New law: Let them out of prison: Friday, July 27, 2007; Under a recently implemented law designed to reduce prison overcrowding, the sentences of more than 2,000 felons on probation and parole have been thrown out.
For a 7/7/07 anniversary, love waits in line but doesn't wilt: Saturday, July 7, 2007; They came from all over America this week, thrilled to be sweltering in the relentless heat outside the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas.
Judges step up feud, courthouse cringes: Tuesday, May 29, 2007; In a growing cascade of court papers and media reports in recent weeks, Judge Elizabeth Halverson of the Eighth Judicial District Court has been accused of the following:
Prosecutors try to block attorney from working on murder case: Monday, May 21, 2007; Prosecutors are demanding that a prominent Las Vegas attorney be barred from representing a defendant in the high-profile Palomino Club murder case, claiming he has a conflict of interest by also representing the defendant's father.
Judges take their shot: Thursday, March 22, 2007; Judges take their shot