Columnist Jeff German: Culinary gears for next battle with Adelson

THE BATTLE lines are drawn, and all that's left is to do battle Monday on the sidewalks of the Venetian.

The Culinary Union, angered over Sheldon Adelson's refusal to negotiate a labor contract, is doing its best to spoil the $1.5 billion megaresort's soft opening.

Union demonstrations are being planned for 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. while Adelson wines and dines the media and selected VIPs throughout the day to show off his prized Venetian, which has encountered construction delays the past two weeks.

Missing from the list of VIPs will be Gov. Kenny Guinn and Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, and probably a host of other elected officials who won't cross the union picket lines to attend the festivities.

Word of the conflict has reached as far away as Italy, where an angry Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari was quoted in a Rome newspaper last week accusing Adelson of treating his historic city "like a cheap whore."

Earlier in the month, you'll recall, Venice officials held a news conference in the famed city of canals to attack Adelson's Venetian. Cacciari had the Culinary Union's political director, Glen Arnodo, hand deliver a letter to Jones voicing his concerns.

Not to be outdone by the union on the Italian front, Adelson has persuaded legendary film actress Sophia Loren to take part in Monday's opening ceremonies that are attracting media from all over the world.

Adelson has laughed off the union's efforts in Italy, and he has accused Venice officials of trying to pressure him into contributing $300,000 toward that city's cultural scene in return for their blessing on the Venetian project.

And the Venetian owner is determined not to let the union's offensive ruin his day.

But the union marches on.

Late last week it kept up the heat, sending an emotional video about the unhappy plight of Adelson's former Sands workers to dozens of elected leaders and journalists throughout the state. The workers say Adelson has refused to give them first crack at Venetian jobs.

On Monday night the union will be showing its support for Reach Out, a center that helps children with AIDS, when it rallies outside the Venetian during the megaresort's black-tie VIP bash. All those attending are being asked to donate $250 to Reach Out.

Culinary pickets will be wearing red ribbons and carrying signs declaring their support for Reach Out as they protest along the Strip. The demonstrators will have the comfort of knowing their union made a $5,000 donation to the center earlier in the month.

What won't be comforting is knowing they're in for a long battle with Adelson.

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Word out of Washington is that President Clinton has rescheduled his Democratic fund-raising trip to Las Vegas. The new dates are May 16-17.

Clinton's March 25 visit here was postponed amid the Kosovo crisis.

The president plans to raise money for the Democratic National Committee in Washington and do a little golfing on the side.

We might have a clearer picture of which Democratic candidates will be running for the U.S. Senate by then.

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With his new leadership position as Democratic whip or assistant minority leader, Sen Harry Reid, D-Nev., is enjoying some new perks.

The furniture isn't ready, but Reid has a new office in the Capitol Building with a fireplace and a spectacular view of the Washington Monument.

History buffs will get goose bumps taking in the scenery.

Reid also has his own security detail and people to drive him around Washington.

Not bad for a skinny kid from Searchlight.

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As it turns out, the big-name political consultants never did rally around City Councilman Arnie Adamsen in the mayor's race.

That might explain why some say he has slipped in the polls.

People like Sig Rogich, Billy Vassiliadis and Kent Oram, who has run Adamsen's previous campaigns, all have indicated they're staying neutral in the race.

Many people have figured Oram was behind a series of vicious Adamsen attacks on front-runner Oscar Goodman.

But Oram says that's not case. He says he never really was able to come to an agreement with Adamsen on his role in the campaign.

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