LETTERS: Downtown Summerlin signals future

To the editor:

Regarding the article “Delivering a second downtown” (June 1 Review-Journal), I would say that Downtown Summerlin is the future, just as Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s efforts have reshaped downtown. However, other areas of Las Vegas and Clark County will slowly decline, as evidenced by North Las Vegas’ present financial troubles and Caesars’ Entertainment’s $23 billion in long-term debt.

The Downtown Summerlin development will open this year and will be the epitome of the ideal urban center. This will be a new day for Clark County and Nevada. Importantly, it will attract businesses outside of gaming. In short, it’s an un-Vegas concept, and rightly so; the present Caesars philosophies have not kept pace with the times, and that’s why it’s in such financial trouble.

The winning new philosophy is epitomized by Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, Mr. Hsieh, Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn, Howard Hughes Corp. and the Downtown Summerlin project. Howard Hughes’ Summerlin master plan is the perfect blend of suburban and urban America. Summerlin is a new way of life: excellent schools, low crime, no homelessness, new businesses, high employment, highly educated adults and no sordid Strip pamphleteers. Downtown Summerlin will be the antithesis of all that’s unsavory in and about Las Vegas.

Already, more than 100,000 people live in Summerlin. Some cities with a mayor and police and fire departments don’t have that kind of population. And Summerlin has one of the most prestigious private schools in the country, the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Educational Campus. In short, Downtown Summerlin will be a Shangri-La.

CLYDE DINKINS

LAS VEGAS

Playground politics

To the editor:

Steven G. Hayes’ letter (“Reid and shady money,” June 6 Review-Journal) notes Sen. Harry Reid calling the Koch brothers’ campaign tactics the greatest threat to our democracy. The writer then suggests that if Sen. Reid wants to view such a threat, he should look in the mirror.

But Mr. Hayes offers no other argument or logic, just a taunt along the lines of the famous second-grade retort, “I know you are, but what am I?” It seems simplistic, but the concept that those with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend should drown out the voices of average American voters and political donors is pretty much the same playground philosophy.

JOHN ISAACS

LAS VEGAS

Suggestion on Sherm

To the editor:

I chuckled as I read Stephanie Wilson’s letter (“Scrap Sherm,” June 4 Review-Journal). Apparently, Ms. Wilson has distaste for any subjective criticisms of His Lordship in the White House. I took solace in Ms. Wilson realizing that “there is enough going on in the nation” for Sherman Frederick to write about; unfortunately, most of it has to do with the poor leadership of our president.

Let’s face it: President Barack Obama not only is the news, he makes the news by his actions — or his inactions.

If Ms. Wilson wants to feel comfortable reading a Sunday newspaper, then I suggest she concentrate strictly on the Las Vegas Sun, in which she’ll find all kinds of adulatory articles about President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid and the Democrats, re-printed from all the liberal newspapers across the biased spectrum of journalism.

Like Ms. Wilson, I also enjoyed Jane Ann Morrison’s columns, but they were mostly soft pieces. If Ms. Wilson only wants puff pieces about the president, she should subscribe to The New York Times or The Washington Post. Sherman Frederick tells it like it is.

President Obama continues to prove he was ill-suited for the job and has not learned a single iota of leadership in his five-plus years in the Oval Office. The man behind the presidency, Rahm Emanuel, is now feeling heat as he seeks re-election as mayor of Chicago. Small wonder: another Democrat with leadership problems.

I enjoy reading my Sunday paper, but I don’t let the biases in the op-ed articles of the Sun ruin my day. I simply smile and take them for what they are: liberally biased opinions that are not worth a second read. And that would be my suggestion to Ms. Wilson for Mr. Frederick’s columns.

GEORGE PUCINE

LAS VEGAS