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
How do you curtail, much less prevent, road recklessness and the accompanying mind-set, especially when there’s a limited number of traffic officers? That was the question put to a relatively new homeowners association in northwest Las Vegas, and the result was the creation of a community accommodation campaign built around Prevent Any Roadway Tragedy, or PART.
With construction on the 106-acre Shops at Summerlin retail center set to resume next year, many are wondering what the 200-acre tract adjoining the site will become. The Howard Hughes Corp. is saving the site for “something special” could that include a new home for the Las Vegas 51s?
Could it be that Summerlin is leading the way toward an economic recovery for Las Vegas? After almost five years of inactivity, what will ultimately become the very heart of Summerlin has begun to make its long-awaited resurgence.
Think about this for a moment: their motto is “Life without a limb is limitless.” Then you watch them display that motto on a softball field, and you become an instant believer.
Columnist shares story of his chance to reconnect with Jack Kemp 1996 vice presidential candidate and AFL championship quarterback of the 1964 Buffalo Bills in Sun City Summerlin.
Here’s a reminder for the 29.1 percent of Sun City Summerlin homeowners who, during a special election in February 2009, either failed to vote or cast their ballots in opposition to the city’s plan to build Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Station No. 107. Their action and inaction almost succeeded in killing one of the most important initiatives ever undertaken in Sun City.
If you’re a member of the senior class at Palo Verde High School, you’ve got a tall act to follow. That’s because college-bound students who graduated from Palo Verde last spring received $16 million in scholarships, a record for the school and a significant increase from the preceding year’s $12.6 million.
No, they’re not members of the U.S. Olympics swim team. They’re members of the Sun City Summerlin Swim Club. But don’t take that lightly because some of them have competed against the swimming elite, gaining fame and their share of medals.
Not long ago a big chunk of community theater in Summerlin had fallen into the throes of life support, the result of a Draconian fee increase for the use of the Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center. It appeared as if nothing could save Signature Productions, Broadway Bound and other production companies, that is, not until resuscitation arrived in the form of public pressure.
Remember getting a single phone directory dropped at your front door once a year? Now we have lots of books dropped at our doorsteps, some imitations of phone directories. And to confuse you more, they’re all being dropped at your front door at various times of the year.
There’s plenty of controversy brewing in Sun City Summerlin regarding new streetlights that Las Vegas officials say will save on energy and reduce the city’s electric bill by more than $2 million a year. But many residents say the old lighting made them feel more safe.
Maybe you think it’s New Year’s Eve in July with all that champagne-like bubbly pouring out of your water faucet. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but one taste and you know it’s not champagne, nor is it any other white sparkling wine. Yes, indeed, it’s just plain tap water.
Once upon a time, sales agents eager to sell new homes at such senior communities as Sun City Summerlin and Siena at Summerlin cajoled prospective buyers with promises that appropriate health care facilities for the Summerlin area were in the offing.
If you’ve been watching that massive area of construction along the eastern end of Summerlin Parkway, which some folks have referred to as the Las Vegas “bridge to nowhere,” well, there is an end in sight.
The city is replacing its 41,000 street lamps with a new technology that concentrates on illuminating just the streets and sidewalks, reduces energy consumption by 30 to 60 percent and lasts an average of 12 to 14 years instead of 18 months. Sounds like a win-win, right? Maybe not.
