Herb Jaffe was an op-ed columnist and investigative reporter for most of his 39 years at the Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey. His most recent novel, “Double Play,” is available.
hjaffe@cox.net
You can’t imagine how I felt when the woman from the Nevada Department of Wildlife said that coyotes live in every state of the continental union. Moreover, “they flourish throughout the entire state of Nevada, including urban areas such as Las Vegas and Reno.”
Staged accidents are one of the many auto-related fraudulent schemes becoming popular, especially in middle-class communities such as Summerlin, where most motorists carry sufficient amounts of auto insurance.
Remember the accident on Summerlin Parkway back in February, when two travelers in a Toyota sedan died after being hit by a pickup truck that crossed the median near Rampart Boulevard? You may also recall that the truck driver, who was the only survivor in the mishap, was found to be DUI.
By now you probably know that the formal opening date for Downtown Summerlin is Oct. 9. And you probably know that the 106-acre site will contain retail stores, restaurants, a movie theater and a commercial tower. You may not know that this is just phase one and that it will connect with three existing facilities along West Charleston Boulevard to form only one half of a downtown project that eventually will total 400 acres.
When they open the new $65 million stadium in Nashville, Tenn., next April for the 2015 baseball season, Cashman Field, home of the Las Vegas 51s, will become the second-oldest ballpark in the 16-team Pacific Coast League.
It’s not until you sit and talk to Jerry Reuss, then you read his recently published book, that you realize how one of the great major-league pitchers of recent vintage could easily have made it on the stage, as a straight-faced, standup comic, had he not chosen baseball as a career. So what does Reuss have to do with Summerlin and northwest Las Vegas? Well, for one thing, he has lived in these parts for the last 20 years. And, for another thing, he has lots of glowing opinions about the community.
If you’re a 47-year-old guy who has raced in some of the toughest environments on Earth for the last eight years, you might say to yourself that maybe it’s time to relax in a lounge chair and enjoy the fruits of your home life in northwest Las Vegas. But that’s not for Mark Jaget, who began his professional life as a chiropractor, became a successful businessman and is now an adventure racer.
“Think about it, what would happen if your electricity, gas, water — even the ability to make a phone call — were stopped for any length of time, say for three days, or maybe even a week? Suppose you can’t get to the grocery store, and even if you could, you would find that it’s not open?” Those questions were raised by Ward 4 Las Vegas City Councilman and Deputy Mayor Stavros Anthony during an interview.
Mention the name Matt Smith in conjunction with physical therapy, and you’re likely to hear some positive words from prominent athletes, high-profile casino owners, top-tier entertainers and other professionals, not just in Las Vegas but throughout the country.
Say what you will about Summerlin Parkway, but to question its safety may be stretching things a bit. There are legitimate questions, however, surrounding the general vicinity of the Rampart Boulevard overpass.
What kind of people would shimmy up a metal pole, crawl along a narrow ledge some 40 to 50 feet above steadily moving traffic on a major freeway and risk their lives just to pull spray cans from their pockets and deface two of those large, green traffic signs, with the ultimate purpose of creating havoc for drivers?
In case you hadn’t noticed, Senate Bill 165, sponsored in the last legislative session by Democratic Sen. Aaron Ford, was approved, offering tax credits to the film industry. So what does this mean for Summerlin? It could mean more than a whole lot.
Could you imagine all of Summerlin being developed as an industrialized site “to test new and improved radar control and guided missile devices for the military?” Unthinkable, but not if Howard Hughes had had his way.
Yes, we all began paying more for water as of Jan. 1. And yes, the worst drought to hit Southern Nevada in more than a century is one part of the reason. Another part is the cost of providing the necessary infrastructure to deliver water to a growing population in the valley.
I waited my turn at the three-way stop, then watched incredulously as a woman tearing along in her Lexus never touched the brake pedal as she roared past the stop sign and headed south on Anasazi Drive. And the stop sign had a blinking red light.
