Sunday, December 29, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
EDITORIAL: Did they really do that?
Yes they did -- and all in just a single year.
As humorist Dave Barry details in his satirical essay on the Focus cover, 2002 was a wacky year across the country and elsewhere. Here in Nevada, it was no different. With apologies to Mr. Barry, we are not making any of this up:
A UNLV law student was handcuffed and jailed in August for riding his bike without a light. ... The State Bar threatened two women with potential imprisonment for simply discussing in public a complaint they brought against a local attorney. ... The Clark County Commission spent numerous hours discussing the regulation of lap dancing in topless joints. ... Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman signed a lucrative contract to endorse Bombay Sapphire gin. ... The Nevada Ethics Commission -- which ought to lead by example -- was found guilty of violating the state open meeting law. ...
A rancher in Mina along U.S. Highway 95 got rid of his cows and started the Desert Lobster farm, raising half a million blue and red Australian freshwater lobsters in the middle of the desert and selling them to travelers cruising the rural highway. ... When county legislative lobbyist Terry Lamuraglia announced he was running for the Legislature, County Manager Thom Reilly shifted him to another position and assigned him "extra responsibilities" so he could maintain his $116,000 salary. ... Eight months before opening its doors, the new Nevada State College at Henderson had 15 applicants. ...
Nuclear lobbyist John Sununu uttered perhaps the most inane comment on Yucca Mountain in the past two decades: "If Nevada is not willing to do its part in what is part of a national plan for homeland security ... maybe Americans ought to vacation somewhere else." ... A new program designed to halt racial profiling went into effect this year, mandating the collection of information on all traffic stops by Nevada law enforcement authorities -- but not identifying any individual officers. ... Fringe Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Scott -- a former topless dancer -- filed a defamation suit against state Sen. Joe Neal, alleging that she lost the primary election and suffered mental distress because he called her a "blonde bimbo," which Mr. Neal denied. ...
A decade ago, a single executive assistant served the entire five-member Las Vegas City Council. This year, the six councilmembers and the mayor retained a combined 19 political staffers on the payroll at a collective salary of more than $1 million. ... Despite the fact that Wisconsin led UNLV 27-7 when the college football game was called due to a power outage at the Silver Bowl with 7:41 remaining, local sports books refused to cover bets on the Badgers -- who were laying anywhere from three to seven points -- because the contest didn't go 55 minutes. ...
An analyst told Gov. Kenny Guinn's tax-raising committee that ongoing growth will trigger state budget problems because the "service-demanding population is growing faster than the revenue-producing population." ... Asked if upon election he would enforce blatantly unconstitutional laws -- for instance, a statute that mandated Jews sew the Star of David on their clothes -- GOP state attorney general candidate Brian Sandoval said, "Yes that's my job" ... and he won. ... A Henderson police officer put an 84-year-old man in the hospital with five broken ribs and a fractured hip after stopping him for taking too long while waiting for another car to pull out of a local casino. ...
In recruiting volunteers to write the "against" argument for the transportation funding question on the November ballot, county officials originally tapped two people who admitted they favored the tax package. ... The State Bar held its annual convention in Hawaii, prompting almost two dozen judges to file some $28,000 in taxpayer reimbursement requests. ...
While a member of the governor's task force, Las Vegas Sun editor Brian Greenspun suggested instituting a personal income tax in Nevada. ... Oh, and that business above about tax-consuming seniors and kids being the fastest-growing population? The governor's task force actually found just the opposite -- the fastest growing demographic is age 45 to 64, the "least likely" to demand more services than they fund with their taxes. ...
To celebrate its 100th birthday in "public service," the federal Bureau of Reclamation shut down Hoover Dam for a night -- snarling traffic on the main drag from Phoenix to Las Vegas. ... Construction on the county courthouse continues almost a year behind schedule and at a cost almost double the $190 million cap voters were promised. ... Gov. Guinn, a "Republican," says he will propose at least $800 million in new taxes next year, warning: "How far I will go, I can't answer yet." ...
University Regent Linda Howard pored through the confidential records of a student who called her an "idiot" in a UNLV newspaper, arguing she feared for her safety because the student could have been a member of a racial hate group. ... Fellow Regent Mark Alden responded by calling Ms. Howard, who is black, an "orangutan." ... While constantly carping about a state budget crisis, Gov. Guinn served on a board that approved a $1 million PR contract to be let by the Department of Public Safety to a California firm. ... A UNLV law student faced sexual harassment sanctions after two female students saw him looking at Maxim magazine on his laptop computer. ...
Finally, after running virtually unopposed, Gov. Guinn said his re-election provides him a "mandate" to raise taxes -- which means 2003 will likely be an even wilder ride. Happy New Year.
