Going bald to fight cancer is worth million bucks
Bald really is beautiful, after all.
Local St. Baldrick's Foundation organizer Brian McMullan of McMullan's Irish Pub tells me the tally for this year's event is approaching $340,000. That puts the gang of happy head shavers over $1 million in just four years. Proceeds from the annual event benefit children's cancer treatment and research.
Individuals and teams from throughout the valley participated in the March gathering, including a dedicated crew of performers from Cirque du Soleil. My favorite team, of course, is the one captained by my cancer-beating daughter, Amelia.
To date, a majority of the dollars generated here have remained in Southern Nevada in the form of grants for local children's cancer clinics.
Other participating pubs include Nine Fine Irishmen, Quinn's, and Fado.
St. Baldrick's Foundation funds more childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the federal government.
FEUDING FATHERS: Ron Chernow recently published a remarkable essay in The Wall Street Journal on our infighting Founding Fathers in time for Independence Day that should be read by everyone who imagines them as all but flawless men.
Chernow is the author of "Alexander Hamilton" and has a new book coming in October on George Washington.
Writes Chernow, "However hard it may be to picture the founders resorting to rough-and-tumble tactics, there was nothing genteel about politics at the nation's outset. For sheer verbal savagery, the founding era may have surpassed anything seen today. Despite their erudition, integrity, and philosophical genius, the founders were fiery men who expressed their beliefs with unusual vehemence. They inhabited a combative world in which the rabble-rousing Thomas Paine, an early admirer of George Washington, could denounce the first president in an open letter as 'treacherous in private friendship ... and a hypocrite in public life."
Say it ain't so.
After reading the essay, "The Feuding Fathers," you won't think less of the great pillars of the republic, but I'll wager you'll feel more comfortable with the so-called "negative" nature of modern politics.
51s FATE? Pacific Coast League baseball at Cashman Field has become a Las Vegas family tradition. Lately, there's been trouble inside the Las Vegas 51s franchise with the demotion to general manager of the popular Don Logan.
My question from the cheap seats: Will the 51s remain with its current ownership, the Stevens Baseball Group, or will minor league baseball officials strongly suggest the franchise be sold to a willing buyer?
It sounds crazy, but so does the idea of getting rid of Logan, one of the most highly regarded and versatile baseball men in all the minors.
The family that owns the 51s also owns the Golden Gate downtown.
Pacific Coast League bosses met recently in Las Vegas, and part of their conversation was focused on the future of the Las Vegas franchise. I'm hearing PCL President Branch Rickey is extremely focused on answering the Las Vegas question.
No matter the final outcome, professional baseball should remain a fixture in the community.
ON THE BOULEVARD: After taking so much heat for its series on the Tire Works auto shop chain, KTNV-TV, Channel 13, appears to have had the last laugh. Darcy Spears and photographer Oscar Palomo just won an Emmy for their reports. Spears won three Emmys in all.
BOULEVARD II: Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson continues to show he is an essential player in Democratic Party politics. He led a Wednesday rally at U.S. District Court calling out Sen. John Ensign for not supporting a bill that would bring $79 million in Medicaid funding to Nevada. I don't know how he does it, but gaming titan Steve Wynn once again has managed to avoid controversy after laying off nearly 300 casino employees while juggling a protracted tip dispute with some of his dealers.
Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.
