Last word on last day’s ‘last straw’

Veteran political writer Erin Neff has left the Review-Journal, saying a decision to pull her column without her being notified was "the last straw." Her last day was Wednesday, the day after elections.

Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick said in an e-mail, "Erin made the decision to leave before that episode. She applied for (and I approved) her early out on the first day the program was implemented."

He made the decision to hold the column because of its "personal content," Neff's "own personal endorsements for public office."

When she heard through the grapevine that Frederick had held it, "that was the last straw," said Neff, who joined the R-J five years ago after a number of years at the Las Vegas Sun.

"My point was, and still is, the writer is supposed to be notified," she said.

Neff acknowledged she had applied for the company buyout days before her Oct. 30 column, which included a Barack Obama endorsement. She said a "toned down and tweaked" version of her column ran a day later, but her line, "Obama is the right candidate for this time," remained intact.

On the day her column ran, she learned her buyout had been approved, Neff said. Her last column ran Thursday.

Given her liberal-leaning ideology and the R-J's voluntary staff buyouts, "I felt my days were numbered," Neff said. "I decided to jump before I got pushed."

Frederick said, "I was told she was returning to school and to spend more time with her child. We're going to miss her, and I considered her to be an asset for our opinion pages. That decision was hers.

"As for the column: The column for Thursday (Oct. 30) came to me Wednesday night, and her content, which was to issue her own personal endorsements for public office, caught us by surprise. I was out of the city when editors alerted me to the unusual content, and I made the decision to hold it. The next morning, after giving it more thought, I decided it was fine to publish and did so on Friday. If it was edited at all, it was edited through the normal channels, and none of the editing was cut through me.

"As publisher, I and my editors make calls like this all the time. We edit and direct the content and assignments of stories every day," Frederick said.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

French entertainment icon Line Renaud was among those elated that they lived to see a person of color become the U.S. president-elect. In a message left on the voice mail of longtime Las Vegas friend Jerry Engel the day after the election, Renaud, 80, recalled Las Vegas in the 1960s, when black entertainers had to use back doors. After Sammy Davis Jr. was not allowed in the Dunes showroom to see her show, "Casino de Paris," she held a backstage reception for him. The next day, Renaud was summoned to the office of Dunes owner Major Riddle, who told her not to do that again. ...

KVBC-TV, Channel 3 entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, reporting on the Miss USA contest returning to Planet Hollywood Resort for two years, said the big question will be whether Miss USA falls down for the third year in a row at the Miss Universe contest. Jacobs said a Las Vegas oddsmaker plans to post odds. In an interview last week, Miss USA Crystle Stewart told Jacobs her gown got caught under a shoe and the bugle beads caused her to slip "like I was on roller skates."

SIGHTINGS

Lindsay Lohan, at Pure (Caesars Palace) on Friday, hosting a holiday collection showcase for her leggings line, 6126, to benefit the Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She joined friend Samantha Ronson in the deejay booth and danced to "Bossy," from her upcoming album, "Spirit in the Dark." Also in the house: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. ... At "O" (Bellagio) on Friday: Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton, her husband, David Hunt, and their four sons, meeting performers. They are in town for the boys' tae kwon do competition. ... Comedian/UFC fan Kevin James, dining Friday next to UFC legend Randy Couture and friends at Stack (Mirage).

THE PUNCH LINE

"Arkansas banned gay couples from adopting children; Colorado voted to end affirmative action; Michigan voted to legalize marijuana; and Louisiana voted to neuter Jamie Lynn Spears." -- Jimmy Kimmel

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.