So many expectations, so few results
I sometimes write about things that are expected to happen. Then they don’t.
Here are three recent examples.
SPANISH VILLAGE
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman’s upbeat State of the City speech in 2015 proclaimed that a Spanish village was possibly in the works for Councilman Bob Coffin’s east valley ward. The village would emulate Chinatown along Spring Mountain Road, with shops, restaurants and specialized businesses catering to Hispanics.
Never happened.
The concept’s promoters never came through, said Coffin, who couldn’t remember who they were.
“They were going to take the existing area and give it a little push,” he said.
The push never came.
Oh, well. Goodman said “possibly.”
DOWNTOWN CARRIAGES
In April 2014, the horse-drawn carriage was a hot issue for the Las Vegas City Council. Animal activists aggressively spoke out against the idea. By a 4-3 vote, the council approved a downtown route for horse-drawn carriages, despite concerns about animal cruelty and traffic problems.
I kept waiting to see the carriages downtown.
Love Carriage tried it but couldn’t make a profit. Now Love Carriage can’t even be found on Google.
Maybe horse-drawn carriage entrepreneurs are waiting for downtown’s messy street construction to be finished. I can only imagine how road rage would evolve into horse rage in downtown Las Vegas, where every street seems to have been torn up over the past two years.
Recently, the council approved rickshaws for downtown while retaining the language that allows horse-drawn carriages, in case anyone wants to try again.
I’m eager to see how those rickshaws work out. Rickshaw rage could be a thing.
ILLEGAL MAILERS
Political mailers are illegal if they don’t show who paid for them. You saw some in the 2016 election. But they didn’t make headlines.
Go back to 2014. Gary Fisher, the leading Democrat in a four-way primary election for the Assembly District 34 seat, lost because of a series of anonymous mailers and anonymous robocalls. Those mailers and messages said the psychologist had past problems with drugs and alcohol. He had disclosed that himself, but not in the ugly way the mailers and calls did.
Fisher lost to Democrat Meghan Smith by 22 votes, and she lost to Republican Victoria Seaman in the general election.
Former Secretary of State Ross Miller and current Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske were tasked with finding out who sent the mailers. Cegavske’s office couldn’t build a solid case against anyone.
So that anonymous mailer case was closed last October, Cegavske said recently.
Smith was indicted in 2015 on charges of felony perjury because she didn’t live in the Assembly district. Her trial is set to begin April 24.
Candidates tend to scoff at election laws, again and again. Tougher enforcement might change that cavalier attitude.
Jane Ann Morrison’s column runs Thursdays. Leave messages for her at 702-383-0275 or email jmorrison@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @janeannmorrison