The Local Newsroom
Green Felt Journal
A Game-Changing Scholar
February 21st, 2013
Bill Eadington, quite possibly the formative figure in the academic study of gambling, died on February 11 at age 67. Even if you weren’t one of his students, never read one of his books or never heard him speak, you’ve benefited from his work. Read more »
Seven Questions
Seven Questions for Mike Newcomb
The Sam Boyd Stadium and Thomas & Mack Center boss on rugby’s appeal, UNLV’s proposed mega-events center and who’d be favored in a rugby fan vs. cowboy throw-down
February 7th, 2013
To put it bluntly, Mike Newcomb’s job is to put asses in seats—as many as possible, as often as possible and however possible. So when a group of officials from USA Sevens rugby came to Las Vegas several years ago to discuss the possibility of relocating North America’s premier rugby tournament from San Diego to Sam Boyd Stadium, Newcomb—then second-in-command and now executive director of the Thomas & Mack Center, Sam Boyd Stadium and the Cox Pavilion—didn’t flinch. “We’re always looking for new stuff to do,” he says, “and we’re not afraid to take a risk.” Then the USA Sevens folks spelled out their plan. “We were like, ‘What? The games are only 16 minutes long? And there are 44 of them in two days? How does this work?’” Read more »
The Latest Thought
The Case for Interstate 11
As the second Obama term begins, Nevada’s wish list should start with a vital connection to the south
January 17th, 2013
Interstate 11 is also consistent with Gov. Brian Sandoval’s economic development program, which has identified logistics and operations as a key industry sector. Phoenix is already a major shipping hub, and once the port in Punta Colonet, Mexico, is completed, the need for warehousing, freight logistics and distribution centers will increase. That means more business investment and job creation in Southern Nevada. Read more »
Seven Questions
Seven Questions for Richard Bryan
Nevada’s former governor and U.S. senator on political dysfunction, the benefits of the Electoral College and his affinity for cupcakes
January 17th, 2013
Richard Bryan was twice elected as both Nevada governor (1983-89) and a U.S. senator (1989-2001), but throughout a near-hourlong conversation, the 75-year-old Democrat is as cordial and down-home as your grandfather. With a contentious election season in the rear-view mirror—and an inauguration in D.C. and a legislative session in Carson City around the corner—we thought it an ideal time to catch up with the statesman and take his pulse on the current goings-on in his old world. Read more »
Politics
A Model of Integrity
January 17th, 2013
Gene Segerblom, a lifelong teacher and longtime legislator, died on January 4 at age 94. She lived well, traveled widely and did everything she wanted to do, except stay around longer. Her husband Cliff was an artist, and Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith described her Boulder City home as “one part poem, one part art museum.” You can be a politician and still be interested in other things. Read more »
Can This Plan Make Our Med School Great?
January 17th, 2013
The University of Nevada School of Medicine is an icon of Nevada’s north-south civil war over public-program funding. The school’s dean, Thomas L. Schwenk, took less than a year to figure that out and another year to develop a more productive paradigm. In 2013, he’ll begin the long process of getting his plan put in place. Read more »
In Real Estate, Old Truths for a New Year
January 10th, 2013
No one’s ready to say a real estate rebound is here to stay. But at least we now have a hint of positive uncertainty. Here are a few things we’ve learned about real estate, Vegas-style, as we lurch into 2013. Read more »
About Town
The Lure of the Ice
January 10th, 2013
This has been a good winter for skating in the desert. In addition to the two year-round rinks we visited, three high-profile seasonal rinks have expanded the Valley’s ice awareness. Read more »
Social Vegas
Hashing Up Secrets
January 10th, 2013
Here, now, is everything I know about Hashing and the clubs that do it, known as Hash House Harriers. I know that Hashing is a combination of trail running, pathfinding, beer drinking and blue language. By doing a Google search for “Vegas Hash,” that there’s a local chapter—a tremendous sign that our scrubby little desert town is growing more worldly. Read more »
Fitness
The Mob Rules
January 10th, 2013
Triathlons are so 2010. If you’re not wearing a Pippi Longstocking costume caked in mud and hoisting a pint of beer as you pose for a group photo at the end of your race, you’re doing it all wrong. The name of the fitness game today is “mob.” Read more »
